The city of Berics was an impressive sight to behold, but only if it were the first city you had ever seen. The walls were high and the buildings ornate, indeed there were even high-level guards at all the gates, but that was only in comparison to the towns and villages of the surrounding areas.
If one were to compare Berics to the capital or the Holy City, then there was no contest at all. That didn’t make its people any less proud, nor did it make those who guarded them any less determined.
No, it only made them less equipped.
A lone figure, hooded and short of stature, approached the gate very slowly. There was no cart or bag on his person, in fact it had nothing in its possession aside from the oversized robes that covered it. As it slowly approached, the guards became able to identify it.
“Halt, goblin! Monsters are not welcome in Berics!”
The figure stopped, standing still for a few moments.
“Who, me? I am no goblin. I just come from a small village and am here to sell food.”
The guards looked at each other briefly at the response. They were decently high leveled, but still not enough to know precisely how strong the goblin was. Their armor was quality bronze, better than some out there and worse than others. All in all, they were equal to most challenges.
“We are no fools, goblin. We can identify your race and level. Begone from this city or you will be treated as a hostile!”
They were not equal to this one. As both men grabbed their spears tightly and prepared for a fight they couldn’t win, the goblin proceeded to create a door out of thin air. That was unusual.
Weirder still, it retrieved a cauldron and some bricks, setting up a little sitting area about two hundred feet from the gate entering town.
“Is that allowed?”
One of the guards looked to his companion who shrugged in response.
“I mean we said not to come closer. And it’s not in the city. I told it to leave but, uh…”
Neither of them was about to chase it off. Not at that distance. It wasn’t that the archers on the wall couldn’t back them up out there, no. But the goblin was just far enough away that it could run out of range before too many arrows would reach it. Neither guard was feeling that brave.
“It’s not like anyone would buy food from a goblin by the side of the road anyway, so what’s the worst that could happen?”
More bricks came out of the door before they were organized into the shape of an oven, mortar being added in for structural support.
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“It’s actually setting up a shop by the road. Hey you can’t do that!”
It shuffled around for a little bit before looking back in their direction.
“You told me I can’t come inside.”
“That doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want outside!”
A few seconds of silence passed between them as the cloaked goblin and the nervous guard stared at each other.
“Really?”
“Really!”
Another half a minute passed as the guards began to sweat.
“Why can’t I?”
The gall of this goblin was incredible!
“That land is part of the city! If someone wanted to set up shop there, they’d have to get a license and pay the fee!”
More time passed before the goblin reached back into his pantry. It pulled out a sack of flour before holding it up in the air.
“Does this count?”
“No!”
“No!”
This time both guards yelled in response. A few of the men on the wall began snickering at them as well. The goblin was making fools out of them! How dare it!
“Well, I’m going to cook and sell food here. If you’d like any then I’ll give you a discount for being so helpful.”
“I already told you! You can’t do that!”
“Yes, thanks for the advice.”
“It wasn’t advice!”
One guard’s face was red from screaming as his companion next to him gave an exasperated sigh, slouching into the wall.
“It isn’t worth it, man. Just let him be. He’ll get bored or run off eventually.”
The man seemed to calm down a little at that.
“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. It’ll probably be gone between now and our next shift.”
The sun was about to set, meaning they’d be relieved soon. The odds that the creature would hang around the rest of the day and all night were quite low. But not, as it turned out, zero.
“It’s still here.”
The night came and went before giving way to morning. Meanwhile, the goblin had built a patio. There was a brick foundation off the side of the road with several chairs. They were goblin sized, making them uselessly small for any adult, just like the oven it was currently using. But that wasn’t the shocking part.
This was the west gate for Berics and, unlike yesterday, they were now downwind of the goblin and its oven. The food it was making smelled better than anything they’d ever sensed. They could practically taste the flavors, and it made for an excellent advertisement.
“I want one.”
“You don’t even know what it’s making! Those could be people it’s cooking! It could be children! Or worse, it could feed you other goblins!”
His slouching companion seemed to consider his words for a while, much longer than made him comfortable.
“I guess you’re right.”
“You guess?!”
The frustrated guard, a man affectionately referred to as Shotwell and occasionally mocked as Shitwell, was getting spun up again which didn’t bode well. After all, their shift had just started. But Shotwell could handle it. He was a guard trusted with the safety of everyone in Berics, placed at the second most critical location for the city. He was built for this kind of stress. Besides, it couldn’t get worse.
The gate opened an hour later and the traffic came along with it. People began lining up on both sides of the gate about half an hour before it opened, meaning the guards had to deal with a rush of work before things calmed down. It was only after the fifth people he let through that he noticed something.
“Is that a pie you’re eating?”
“Hmm? Oh, yes, the nice kid with the cooking station sold it to me for two small coppers. It’s amazing! Easily the best food and the best price I’ve ever had!”
The man stilled as he listened to the merchant talk.
“You bought food from a goblin?!”
“He was a goblin?”
He watched as realization dawned on the merchant’s face, slowly infesting his smile with the full gravity of his actions.
“Huh. He did seem too good to be a kid.”
“That’s all you have to say?!”
It was going to be a long day.