Chapter 99
Different Homes
Barnacle-eyes
Chance of Mutiny: 11%.
150 levels until fleet evolution.
From atop the deckhouse of the galleon, the view was enthralling. All that was needed to get a better, closer view was a quick wipe of cloth over the cracked lens of my monoscope. The sea sparkled orange in the early morning sun. Snow melted off all my ships.
One, two, three…Fifteen sloops sliced the sea in the wake of two ketches. All that my fleet was missing was Goblin Come Here Inn, and the recently evolved jolly boat. It was no longer towed behind the galleon. Ah, but where was it?
After counting my ships once more, I turned my stretched eye westward toward the marshes ahead. The water was clear and the sea was deep. Yet long bamboo stalks grew from the depths and breathed the air. Sea wind rushed through the leaves. Dragonflies and big flying things rushed about. The birds that lived among the plants of my fleet charged for the insects. There were thousands of patches of bamboo. Here a patch, there a patch, over there a patch, all the way there were more patches…And they were getting taller and taller.
Some of the patches were swaying as though a heavy gust had suddenly hit them. Suddenly, between two swaying patches, out came the lugger bursting across the water. There it was! And standing at the prow was Pinky-chew. A crew of goblins held tight to the thwarts. Though the lugger’s sail was eased, it raced toward the fleet as fast as Thrush could run!
The lugger slowed to a stop and all the goblins aboard wrung their hands from maybe gripping the thwarts so tightly. Captain Pinky-chew waded through the goblins to the stern.
“Heave,” she commanded.
Two goblins at the stern righted a floppy burlap sack with a drawstring at the end. Pinky-chew took a deep breath that lasted at least two minutes. Her chest became round as a barrel. Her head nearly disappeared as it sank between her shoulders. Then she blew into the sack. First it filled with air, then it bulged, then it stretched and bulged again. She drew the drawstrings closed.
“Down!” she commanded.
The two goblins tipped the bag over so that the top faced out the stern and at the sea. After Captain Pinky-chew resumed her place at the bow, she said, “Loose!”
The drawstrings of the sack were loosened and air blasted out, spraying water for hundreds of feet. The lugger lurched forward. The prow lifted off the sea, and the lugger raced across the water with incredible speed. Her crew gripped the thwarts tightly. Their cheeks flapped around their gums; their ears bent back.
“Draw!” Pinky-chew said as the lugger came up alongside the galleon after performing a turning circle. The drawstrings were tightened, and the lugger slowed to match our speed. “All Clear, Admiral! Lurk-murky is just ahead! Water’s deep enough! Follow us.”
“Bring us in Commodore!” I said.
“Please thank you!” said Gabby.
While Pinky-chew led half the fleet under her command, Spickle-Spack—my newly appointed Commodore—led the other half. With signal flags, my ships fell in line behind the galleon into new deeply marshy waters.
“Sun-burn, fetch a bucket of sea water!”
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“Please thank you”
Sun-burn bent over the portside taffrail for a minute, and then he returned with a bucket of sloshing sea water. Bamboo leaves floated in there. I dunked my sea map within, splashing water on my dress, on my boots, in my hair, on Gabby, on Sun-burn, all over the deck…
[Congratulations! You have reached New Waters!]
[You have reached Admiral level 851!]
[All sloops in your fleet now travel as fast as your fastest ketch.]
“Ease the sails” I said.
“Please thank you!”
Once the signal flags were waved, the fleet slowed. The waters were calmer through the deep marsh and quieter. It was smooth sailing. And as we went deeper, we came to taller and taller bamboo, and it was colder.
“Maybe-land-ho!” cried Boggo and Ella from the crow’s nest.
As the bamboo suddenly gave way to open water, I stretched my eye through the monoscop and blinked big. We had sailed into a bay where the marshes really began. There were dozens of over freebooter ships with hundreds of goblins bailing water from each one. The shore was muddy and there were grasses all along the inlet. I spied reed and bamboo buildings on land. Goblins waded through the inlet and wrestled with eels.
Pinky-chew led us into the bay until, “As far as we can go!”
“Churn the capstans!”
“Please thank you!”
Having moored, I kept an eye on my Chance of Mutiny. It went down to 10%, but no less. But why? From experience, Chance of Mutiny was always higher at sea than near land, but why did it stop at 10% this time?
Down! Down—go down!
It seemed that no matter how long I held my breath, Chance of Mutiny was stuck at 10%. 10% was much much better than 33%, which was the highest it had been from Fiberthorn Cove to Lurk-murky. Was that why Gloom-glower stayed at Hawkin’s camp? Was his Chance of Mutiny always too high to risk going back to sea? His fleet was indeed massive! Was that the purpose of beer? To distract my fellow snots?
“Disembarking!” called Pinky-chew.
Thus began the long process of lugging goblins from ship to marshy dock. And on dock, I gave each of my snots their fair share of pay.
“Missing one!” said Gabby.
Pinky-chew blanched. Upon furiously looking back at the ships, I spotted Remember-not aboard the galleon waving desperately. Oh, how sad she looked! Pinky-chew raced to lug her to shore.
With Gabby trailing, we skipped up the dock. My goblins swarmed the shore outside the village. Hundreds of lime-green goblins welcomed my crew. Among the throng, I witnessed delightful reunions.
“Bear-feet! Long-tussle!”
Big Bear-feet said, “Ah! Squint-to-see! Long time! Long, long time!”
Flap-ears squeezed between two goblins. “Admiral, I wanted to say thank you for bringing me back home. I didn’t think I’d ever leave Laven-forks-ish. You’re a good Admiral. I bet you’d become queen goblin one day.”
Without another word, Flap-ears squeezed between goblins and disappeared in the crowd. Gabby clung to my dress as we squeezed through toward the village. Along the way, a goblin crawled out from under goblin legs.
“You be Admiral Barnacle-eyes!”
“How’d you know?”
“Wrinkle-knuckle said you had ships with giant onions!”
“Wow, Wrinkle-knuckle! Haven’t seen him since Ladden-chow-miss! Him and Pock-ears!”
“Follow me, he’s in the middle of a lore.”
The goblin was fast! I had to battle my way under armpit and leg-pit, between shoulders and bellies, over knees and boots! Gabby followed like the tail end of a scarf. We had a long way to go through goblins that laughed and greeted each other.
“Welcome home!”
“Did you see the humans? Stab any?”
“What happened to your ears?”
“Silver-snot, Silver-snot! I thought you died!”
“Bend-thumb, you’ve got a backpack? You get one for me too?”
“I can’t believe my eyes! It’s Snap-fingers!”
“Blue-tongue, is it really you? Ah, let me buy you a soup at Toad Sk’inn!”
The goblin escorting us said, “Toad Sk’inn! That’s where we’re going!”
“Taller-than! I knew that was you in the crowd! Come, come for a drink!”
What an obstacle course! Ah, it was so much fun to hear all the goblins smile and laugh be happily be happy. It felt so good to bring goblins together, to bring them home. Ha! How funny was that! All kinds of goblins had all kinds of homes. Yes, I knew first hand how important it was to have a home to come home to. Even Gabby was laughing and snorting and burping as she bounced off of thigh and boot and back and arm while she fiercely held tight to my dress. I knew I was losing some of my crew to Lurk-murky, but I’m glad she was staying. She was part of my home, and I hoped that I was part of her home too. Wow! She was even like little sister! Yes, that’s the kind of smile she had: A following-big-sister smile.