The sun had risen to a late morning position when Fin noticed the landscape had changed. The massive green trees had been replaced by small brown shrubs, and the rolling hills were replaced by rough, grey valleys. The road looked more narrow and less trodden by half. He noticed a horse and rider approaching on the same lane ahead. He tapped Brando on the shoulder and saw he was already alert. The two stayed as they were, unmoving but poised to jump up like a loaded spring.

When the rider was close, he led his horse off the road and hailed the cart. He was bald with a scratch mark scar down his left temple. His chin thrusted forward in a greeting. He looked like he recognized the two men driving the wagon. “It looks like you two had a successful haul.”

All hope of asking for help faded back into dread. Fin shared a look of concern with Brando as he got a better look at his fellow capture. He had short, curly hair that blended into a brown, braided beard. He wore animal pelts over his tunic, into the animal pelts. Giving him a barbaric look. His hands were thick and stained darker than the rest of his body. Fin couldn’t guess what could have dyed his hands the almost reddish color. His eyes were seething with a mixture of fear and rage.

“We aren’t the lady’s favorite for no reason,” Jack said, resting his stick over his shoulders. “A little cleverness goes a long way.”

The man rode passed, glaring into the caged wagon with no subtlety. Fin caught a bloodthirsty look from his silent stare. The two held eye contact as they drew closer and after passing as they moved further apart.

Slaves and slavers traveled the rest of the morning in silence until they came across two massive gates denying passage through a thick stone wall. Jack jumped off the wagon and struck the metal with his stick three times.

“What?” A voice from on top of the wall called.

“It’s Jack and Barnes. We have business with Lady Marsha.”

Silence engulfed them. Listening to the crackling wheels as they rolled through rough terrain for days on end made their momentary rest feel oppressively quiet.

Finally, the massive gates swung outward, letting the cart into the city beyond.

The cart lurched forward, and Fin absorbed his surroundings. The word ‘City’ might have been a stretch. Wooden structures stood in rows between cave openings carved into the surrounding rock mounds. People moved on top of, into, and through the wooden frames, seemingly built at random. Some people stood and watched as other groups worked. Some groups carried water vessels, some stirred steaming vats of what could have been stew or laundry, and some worked together to lift and carry long wooden beams.

Fin noticed that more than a few of the people looked sick. Their skin had varying shades of green, and some were too thin or walked hunched over. Looking closer, the ones with green skin had pointed ears and noses. He realized that they weren’t people at all; they were goblins.

Fin’s father had told him once to stay clear if he ever saw goblins. “They’re weak, but they fight something nasty. Nasty in theory and practice, mind you. A single scratch or bite from a goblin could give you the smirch.” He didn’t know what the smirch was, but he wasn’t eager to find out.

The cart pulled up to a cave opening on the corner of two intersecting passageways and stopped. A young woman standing in front of the cave went inside and came out with her eyes lowered. Jack and Barnes jumped down onto the dirt road. They brushed the crumbs off their pants and walked around to inspect their two captives.

Jack poked the bigger man in the side. “Well, get up. Make yourself presentable.” He then eyed Fin. Before Jack found another reason to stab them with the stick, a woman and two goblins walked out of the cave entrance.

“Hello, gentlemen,” the lady said smoothly. She was an interesting-looking woman. She looked middle-aged, but her white hair made her look older than she was. She kept it up, shamelessly displaying a missing ear on her left side. “What have you brought me today?”

“Got a couple of big ones,” Barnes gestured towards the two locked in the cart. “See for yourself.”

The woman, Lady Marsha, sized the two men up. “I’ll say you have a big one and a medium one, and that’s me being generous. The big guy looks older, and it’s harder to break the older ones in.”

“Why don’t you come in here, and we’ll see who breaks first.” Brando shot his arm out as far as it would go and grabbed at the empty air in front of the woman.

Lady Marsha raised an eyebrow at Barnes in a way that said, “See?”

Jack quickly brought his stick down hard on Brando’s arm before addressing the woman, “We would be happy to accept your offer.”

Lady Marsha nodded at one of the goblins who ran into the cave and came out with a leather pouch. He tossed it to Barns, who snatched it from the air, reached inside, and pulled out two raw jewels.

“Always a pleasure doing business with you.” He said, tucking the pouch away.

The goblin yelled out some incoherent words, and soon after, the cart was surrounded by goblins.

“Now, before we let you out, I feel like there’s something important you should know,” Lady Marsha addressed Fin and Brando. “If you make any problems, these good goblins here are going to do some very serious damage. You might be able to injure some of them, but eventually, you’ll be overrun. There are only two of you, but there are always more goblins. Assuming they don’t kill you if you are too injured to work, you won’t eat, and you will probably not survive.

“I understand you two have found yourself in a rather unfavorable position, and I can empathize with you. So, if you come quietly, without resistance, I will guarantee your safety and make sure that you are fed. I’m sure you are hungry from the journey, and who wants to fight off a bunch of scary goblins on an empty stomach? I’ll give you a moment to decide amongst yourselves.”

Fin counted the group of twelve goblins and realized that if there was a time to try to escape, now wouldn’t be that time. He looked at Brando but couldn’t read his expression. “Brando.”

“Yeah?” he muttered.

“You want to go for it or not?” Fin asked quietly.

Brando searched each of their captor’s faces for a long moment before coming to a decision. He did not want to fight on an empty stomach. “What are you serving?”

“Ah, an excellent question,” Lady Marsha smiled. “I’ll offer you two bowls each of Sophia’s famous stew; she really is our best cook. And, since it looks like you could do quite a bit of damage to my companions before they managed to break your ribs and bite your fingers off, I’ll throw in a pint of my personal ale for your trouble. Keep in mind, you’ll have to work for your next meal, so you should make it count.”

Brando gave Fin a nod. “Okay, get us out of this thing.”

Jack took a key ring off his belt and plunged it into the keyhole. He twisted the key until there was an audible click, then backed away behind the line of angry-looking goblins.

Fin pressed on the bars until the door swung outward in a controlled motion. The goblins lifted clubs, knives, and pointed sticks as Fin jumped out of the cage. Brando followed, bending his knees to test his legs.

Something told Fin that Brando was still on the fence about fighting the goblins but restrained himself for the time.

“Move,” one of the goblins said, pushing the point of his stick into the small of Fin’s back.

“Lady Marsha,” Fin raised his voice. “Tell your men, or whatever they are, that if they poke me with their stick again, I am going to start getting angry.”

“Vinny, that’s no way to treat our guests,” he heard Marsha address one of the goblins. “What have I told you about stabbing people that don’t deserve it?”

“Sorry, Ma’am,” the goblin replied with a gravely, high-pitched voice. “Stick gets restless.”

Some of the goblins nodded in agreement.

“My stick has a mind of its own, too,” The woman said. “Do you want me to show you?”

Before Vinny could decide whether or not it was a trick question, after all, he did want to see her stick, the woman dismissed them. She shooed them away with more than several sweeping hand gestures before issuing one exasperated, verbal command, “I said carry on!”

The goblins led them through uneven, dusty streets until they reached a wooden structure. It wasn’t more than four posts, a roof, and a table. An old woman was stirring a giant cauldron in the middle with a far-off look in her eyes. When she saw the goblins, she frowned. Her expression lightened up when she saw Fin and Brando.

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“The lady said to give them two bowls each,” Vinny said.

“Come in, sit down, you two,” the lady dipped in a ladle and filled two wooden bowls with her steamy concoction. She set the bowls on the table. “I’m sorry, there doesn’t seem to be any spoons here. I’m Sophia, and I’ve been making the best of this place for the last twenty years.”

After introductions, Fin picked up his bowl and took a sip. It wasn’t incredibly good, but he was hungry. “What is this place?”

“It’s a mine,” Sophia returned to stirring the stew. She didn’t seem to want to talk about it, so the two finished their first and second bowls in silence.

“Let’s go,” a different goblin said, pointing with his knife.

“She said there would be ale,” Brando said, wiping the inside of his bowl with his fingers and sticking them in his mouth.

“That’s not my problem,” the goblin tightened his grip on the knife. “It’s time to go now.”

“I don’t think you understand,” Brando set his empty bowl down and turned around on the bench. “I’m not moving until there’s a pint of ale in my hands. So, you can either stand there or go get my ale.”

The goblins chittered between themselves before their language turned into yelling. Finally, the most diminutive goblin ran back in the direction they came. Time slowed to a crawl as the opposing forces glared at each other.

Fin took the time to view a notification blinking in his vision. He looked at it and read the newest quest entries.

* Path Quest Complete: Gain over 10 enemies. +2 quests revealed.

* Blood Quest: Hold the beating heart of an enemy. +1 basic ability point, +1 talon ability. Forfeit all pain quests.

* Pain Quest: Deliver a hundred non-lethal cuts to a single enemy. +1 basic ability point, +1 talon ability. Forfeit all blood quests.

Fin cursed his luck out loud, causing everyone to jump.

“What happened?” Brando asked, not taking his eyes off Vinny.

“More worthless quests,” Fin said, knowing the statement wouldn’t mean much without context. “I’ll tell you about it later. Maybe you’ll be able to help.”

Before Brando could respond, the small goblin came into view running with two sloshing mugs in his hands. By the time the mugs were set in front of the two, they were pitifully more than half full.

“She said a full pint,” Brando sneered into his mug. “This is a very sad half-pint.”

Fin poured his ale into Brando’s mug topping it off and then finished the rest in two gulps. “I have some more enemies to make, and I need a clear head for it.”

Brando frowned at his full mug. “It’s the principle of it.”

Fin inspected the bottoms of his bare feet. “I understand, but I have some things to consider, and I can’t do it with all of these weird-looking green people watching us.”

One of the goblins muttered something while leveling his spear. His arms were immediately grabbed from either side to prevent him from charging in for an attack.

Brando took a deep breath, lifted his mug, and didn’t stop drinking until it was empty. “Okay, I’m ready,” he set it down on the table and addressed the goblins. “Where are we going?”

“This way,” Vinny said through gritted teeth, refusing to speak further.

As they were led away, Fin’s eyes darted in every direction to gather as much information as he could. Teams of goblins in every direction stopped to sneer at the two newcomers as they passed. He had never fought a goblin before and had no idea how many he could fight off. He noticed Brando sizing them up too.

The group stopped at a metal gate. One of the goblins ran ahead and unlocked the gate.

“Go in,” Vinny stabbed Fin in the back again.

Fin spun around, grabbed the stick from Vinny’s hands, and pointed it back at him. “I warned you the first time-“ his words were cut off when he heard the clicking sound from crossbows in every direction. He looked around to see more of the green creatures he hadn’t noticed before holding crossbows, all trained at his head.

“I say we all take a breather,” Brando gently took the stick from Fin’s hands and slowly lowered it to the ground. “There’s no reason to make any rash decisions in this heat.”

Vinny slowly reached down and picked up his stick from the ground. “You both are very lucky one of you is smart. I’ve been waiting for a long time to sink my teeth into slave skin.”

The two men walked through a gate that snapped shut behind them. The path led down into a grey and brown ravine that snaked between cliffs made taller by a wall parameter. The stone walls were patrolled by more armed goblins.

“What now?” Brando addressed the group of goblins from the other side of the rusted iron bars.

“Now, you do whatever you want,” Vinny said with a smirk. “If you get a mining pick from the bottom there, you can start digging for gems. If you want to eat, give the gems to the pit boss for food, or you can starve. The water is free. When the bell rings, return the equipment to the same place. Or don’t. I’m sure you’ll be fine either way.”

The group of goblins started laughing and walking away.

The two said nothing as they made their way on the dirt trail. At the bottom, they found a large cave with wooden, retractable doors. Inside the cave sat an old-looking man behind a stack of crates. He solemnly greeted the two when they came into his line of sight. “A couple of new faces, I see.”

“Are you the pit boss?” Brando eyed the man suspiciously.

“Oh, goodness no,” the old man smiled. “He only shows up once a day or so. The big, ugly-looking sort. Hard to miss. I’m Leonard.”

Fin greeted the man. “What do you do down here?”

“I’m in the same predicament you two are in,” Leonard lifted his hands to indicate where they were. “Too old to mine anymore. They have me sitting in here, most days, handing out tools and ladling stew come mealtime.”

“How long have you been down here?” Brando asked.

“You know, I’m not quite sure. Many years, I think.” Leonard stood up and stretched his back. “Anyhow, it’s pretty late in the morning. If you want to get any work done, I might as well get you situated.”

The man rummaged around and brought back two rusty pickaxes. One of them had a handle. “Numbers ten and twenty-seven. These two aren’t much, but they’re the best I have right now. The pit boss will ring a bell before he comes down here. When you hear it, be quick to bring them back. This whole enclosure is one big circle. You’re only allowed to mine on the inside, not the side with the walls. Keeps us from trying to tunnel out.”

Fin accepted the tools curiously and handed Brando the one without a handle. “How do we get out of here?”

Leonard looked around cautiously before speaking. “I’ve seen a few successes in my day but even more attempts.” He lifted his sleeve to display a pale brand in his skin. It was a simple ‘x’ of protruding skin on his forearm. “Tried so once myself. The goblins are pretty stupid, but they’ll fight you to the death. You can do it, but you’ll need to keep your strength up. For that, you’re going to need some of these gems. It wouldn’t hurt to gather a few extra to sell once you get out.”

“What do they look like, and how do we find them?” Brando pressed his hand over the dull point of his handleless pickaxe.

“Have you ever seen a topaz? They’re either light red, yellow, or clear.” Leonard pulled out three dull crystals from his pocket. One was pink, and the other two were light yellow. “This is what you’re looking for. I recommend finding a quiet place and start digging. This spot is riddled with gems. If you find a spot that has a lot of them, I recommend tunneling in and creating a shelter you can sleep in. It will protect you from the elements, and it marks your territory. Don’t go too far in, or your tunnel might collapse. And avoid the fire ants. They’re painful little buggers. I stepped on an ant hill once and got a bunch of welts down my right leg.”

Fin thanked the man, and the two walked out to survey the valley. They soon discovered that goblins weren’t the only ones guarding the walls. There were also humans walking around with spears and crossbows.

Fin felt more angry at the humans than he did the goblins. Everyone knew goblins were a savage race of grumpy green miscreants. The humans had no excuse.