The brothers moved down the railtrack toward the base of the park. As they stepping onto the platform and out of the rail tracks, the sun seemed to give way, obscured by a large passing cluster of gray clouds.
The shadows dimmed and disappeared back into their unknown realm beyond the sun. The brothers made their way to the only standing building in the park: the goblin barracks and park administration center.
The large, three story, octagonal structure of wood and clay loomed over them; windows dotted every wall with the exception of the third highest floor. Instead of solid brick, it had glass panels which offered a panoramic view of the park. Two dark orange and needlessly large doors, made to accommodate the only regular sized individual in the entire park, welcomed the brothers.
Ini glanced to his side, seeing a few of the off-duty goblin squads outside of the building. They were using their free time to reinforce and upgrade the walls of their barracks, replacing the wood and clay with water-resistant granite.
The brothers walked through what had become the designated common area for the goblins. The first floor was divided into two sections. A large kitchen and pantry was at the northern division while the rest was occupied by wooden tables, benches, and chairs that the workers used.
The smell of the deep-fried eels, crawdads, and step crawdads flooded the brothers’s nostrils, as did the more pungent sauté of mushroom, frog blubber, and duckweed. Yet the goblins did not complain. Instead, they reveled in it; the crowds downed the never-ending stream of swamp meals that emerged from their kitchen. The meat, as dank and rank as it was, had been delivered.
The brothers quickly moved toward the center of the floor, where a large wooden spiral staircase led to the second story. In their ascent, they noticed that the goblins were still hard at work.
They were decorating and painting their walls with sharp geometric designs and interlocking tribal clan markings reminiscent of their old country and of their time as the Royal Green Guard. Even across the tables the brothers could see cliques and factions begin to emerge. “Dear Cog ... It's like the International Gommo in here.”
Ini shuddered as they continued their climb. “Don't remind me, Ono. You are wrong—t -- the smell isn't nearly as bad.”
“Yeah, not using hat deodorant will do that.”
On the second floor movement was much sluggish, for it was entirely occupied with rows of bunk beds. Most were empty, but a few were still occupied by tired goblins.
Many still wore the distinctive dark scarves and fabrics that signified their role as the night shift. Some of them had even laid them out on the small footlockers that hung on the edge of every bed. This was a veritable luxury that no goblin had ever known, even back in the days of the Green Guard.
The brothers continued their ascent of the spiral staircase, finally reaching the topmost floor: the administration center. Light flooded the great octagonal room through its glass panels as the gnomes emerged from its center. Around them was a large table that matched the shape of the room. Its multitude of chairs and space signified its role as the meeting place of the worker's union.
The gnomes left the spiral staircase, ignoring its additional half level that led to a central wooden platform with a high seat. This was mostly used as the princess's throne. But, much more importantly, during proper union time it was the union leader’s seat.
#
“Ah, little ones! Come here,” Ivy's cheerful voice called out. She sat between Figwit and Lemin at the edge of the table's eastern section. The three of them were deep in thought, concerned and deliberating over some blueprints.
“Hello Ivy, Figwit, Lemin.”
“Is there something wrong?”
Ono and Ini respectively called out as they pulled out two chairs and stood atop them, ogling over their own schematics on the table.
“Unfortunately yes. Something is very wrong,” Figwit admitted as he stroked his chin, his smile obscured by the great weight that crushed the management council.
Lemin spoke up. His voice eched in the empty halls as he berated the brothers. “It's your foul dwarf railcart design! It's unsafe, unwieldy, unpractical. As the elected green union leader I will not stand for it. And once the rest of the union hears of it, they won't stand for it either.”
“Now, now. Calm down captain,” Ivy said in her old distinctive courtly tone to gain back the attention and control of the room. “Am sure little ones will help manage this.”
“Hmph.” Lemin said with an annoyed puff of his chest. “Well ... they did keep their word after fire. The barracks are quite pleasant, the union can attest to that. Very well, continue.”
The brothers looked in confusion at the entire ordeal. “What's this about?”
“Yeah, and what's Figwit doing here? Isn't he meant to be helping the goblins too?”
Figwit raised his hand as if to speak, but as soon as he opened his mouth he was interrupted by a cough from the princess. “I called Figwit to help me. I needed different eye set to go over your plan design.”
“Oh, because mine is not enough?!” Lemin said with an angry bash on the table. He was still upset that he had to share the management with her most gracious and unelected majesty.
“Your input is priceless, captain. But also very lopsided and not clear enough to whole picture. I needed Figwit,” Ivy said as she tried her best to appease the Chairgob's pride.
He merely let out a near inaudible grumble as he leaned back into his chair.
“Yeah sure, you needed him ...”
The princess directed her attention to the two short people in front of her, guiding their eyes to the blueprints as she pointed with a red pencil. “You see, little ones, I have been going over designs for roller cart and I notice very big problem.”
“What is it?” Ono said as he and Ini scanned every inch of their blueprint for any sort of fatal error.
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“The scale is wrong.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
The princess continued. “When you draw these plans, you draw them for short people. For gnome, goblin, or kobold. But I did math and if anyone that is bigger than us, like, human,” she said with a nod of her head to the concerned and horrified Figwit by her side, “Or even a dwarf ... The weight on cart. It is too much. When they reach track drops, turns or, Gobmother forgive, the loops, the cart is gonna fall off the track and hurt them.”
“’Hurt them’ is the light way to put it.” Figwit added. “If we keep going as we are, we might get a repeat of the molasses disaster. At least, in the eyes of the judge it will be.”
“No, but that's impossible.”
“Let us see that!” Ini and Ono both cried out as they grabbed on to the schematics and carefully looked over to the numbers and names of its sections. They slowly lowered it as a concerned and shocked expression came across their faces.
“Princess, where did you find these blueprints?” Ono mumbled in a scared tone while holding to the left edge of the schematic.
“Same as all other plans you had for park. We found it in chest you took back from burned out tower,” Ivy said, somewhat confused. At her side, Lemin scowled at the brothers.
“Oh no! ” Ini let out in a hopeless cry. “This is the original roller coaster plans, not the one we actually designed with everyone else in mind! This was meant to be for our own personal amusement!”
“But if this is the original, where is the ne-—” Ono continued, stopping as the realization atop his hatless head came to him. “Ini ... It's in the hats.”
“Oh ... oh no. You are right!” The brothers dropped the schematic as they realized their predicament, quickly turning to Lemin and pleading.
“Please Lemin! Give us back the hats!”
“Yes! We need to take those plans out!”
“No!” Lemin cried out as he retreated back into his chair. He crossed his arms. “The deal was you wouldn't touch those hats again until the park was ready. You won't touch them! And before you ask, no. I won't send any goblins to retrieve those plans. I'm not losing any more workers. Those hats are safely stored away in the union safe because they are dangerous! No one is handling them until our work is done.”
The gnomes felt as if their spirits had left their bodies. They slumped over the table, their dreams and hopes dashed and their fate in the coldest, darkest, and deepest dwarf pit now all but assured.
“That's it then ... it's over.”
“After all that too.”
Figwit let out a slight chuckle. “My, my. One would think it's all in the hat. Cheer up, you two. You aren't doomed.”
“What are you talking about, Figwit?”
“Yeah, you just say that cause you still got your hat!”
The brothers each cried out, struggling to lift themselves.
Figwit replied back, ”I'm not wearing my hat. I lent it to you, remember?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Yeah we just stored it in our locker after awhile. Was causing too much trouble between us.”
Figwit shook his head and stared disapprovingly toward the two brothers before Ivy finally intervened and raised the brothers from their slump.
“We have good news for you then, little ones. We don't need other plans. I didn't even know there were other plans really,” She said as she tapped on the schematics with her pencil. “Here look, I fixed design of coaster roller.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
Both of the brothers let out as they once more analyzed and scanned the schematics. This time, they noticed red adjustment markings and math calculations in the margins of the paper.
Ivy continued. “Captain Lemin was worried we would need to tear down whole ride and build again to make safe, but I write easy solution. With slight enlargement to track gauge, some angle adjustment to turn and incline, and changes to carts axel, we don't need to rebuild anything. We can still have ride be safe for everyone,” Ivy said with a bright smile, clearly proud of her ability.
“Ivy ... how did you come up with this?” Ono asked with a strange mix in his voice of elation, confusion, and jealousy.
“Well,” the princess said in her distinct royal voice, “I may no longer have kingdom, but I still have kingdom worthy education.”
Figwit smiled and nodded at Ivy's ability, letting out in praise, “I'm not one for math, but the plan seems sound.”
“Yes, and the union will be happy to know we won't have to redo everything. They won't like the fact we have to retouch anything at all, but I can get them onboard. Especially considering what the alternative is,” Lemin said praising the princess, with a cautious and suspicious tone.
“Then what's the problem?”
“Yeah again, why did you need us here?” Ini and Ono asked once more. The council all looked at one another, each afraid of bringing the true issue to light until, finally, Figwit stepped up to it and spoke.
“You huh, remember that section of the coaster no one else wanted to make? The one where only you two were willing to go and work on?”
“The mountain?” Ini asked. Suddenly, lightning struck outside of the park.
“Yes,” Figwit replied as he felt the shadow of the ride's biggest climb and drop weighing heavily on his back. “The mountain.” Lightning struck again, this time causing Lemin to look back outside and raise his eyebrow to the strange coincidence.
“What's wrong with, the mountain?” Ono asked as, yet again, lightning struck outside.
“What's happening?” Lemin yelled. Turning anxiously on his seat, panicking over the mention of the coaster’s section.
“Well,” Ivy spoke up, holding her head, struggling to break it to the brothers, “I fix most of ride, most of it can work, but ... that thing. It is too dangerous. It can't work. We need to tear it down.”
“You wanna tear down the mountain?” Ini asked as lightning struck again outside. The flash of light revealed Lemin, now hiding below the table, yelling out in anger and fear.
“Stop saying that!”
“That's the most exciting part though,” Ono added to his brother. Everyone in the room seemed to ignore the panicking and fearless union leader below the table.
“Sorry little ones. We can still use it or ... I mean, have something similar, but it needs to be smaller, much much smaller,” Ivy said as she turned the schematics on its back, now showing the brothers her redesign of the dreaded peak and its optimal height.
“Have you worked out who's gonna do it?” Ini asked as, finally, the union leader came out from his safehouse.
As he sat back in his seat, still shielding his head, he said, “No one's gonna do it! That's why we called you. That's exactly the issue. Every goblin is too afraid to go that far up. You built that thing and ... well, we need you to break it down again,” Lemin pleaded. His authoritative and angry tone suddenly changed to a gentle one as the fear from the thunder coursed in his eyes.
“Oh, that's the problem ...”
“I was so excited to test it out though,” the brothers admitted dejectedly, slumping over the table. The shadow from the coaster’s peak taunted them with a joy they would never feel.
“Little ones,” Ivy said in a warm and pleading tone. “Please, we need you to do this. We can't finish ride unless you do.”
The brothers sighed, nodded, and finally relented. “We'll do it ...”
“Yeah ...”
Figwit watched the brothers look down at the scaled-down version of what they thought would be their masterwork. Before they could leave with their spirits broken by the forces of gravity, he spoke up.
“Actually, Ini, Ono. Would you mind if I accompany and help you with it?”
Everyone in the room looked at the human with shock. The brothers almost immediately lit up and their slump almost dissappeared.
“You would, Figwit?”
“We would love to have you with us.”
“My star champion.” Ivy's voice wavered. She quickly stood up, her posture breaking, clearly afraid of the dangerous work. “You don't have to always play hero. It's fine if you don't want to ...”
“It's alright Ivy,” Figwit reassured as he leaned in and hugged his love. He comforted her with his words and a kiss. “I'll be fine. I have been through worse with those two.”
“Hmm, I suppose so,” Ivy relented. She answered back with a kiss of her own before finally the human and the two short people stood up, preparing to leave to work on the most dreaded section of the entire park.
“With your help we'll have it done in no time, Figwit,” Ini cheered as he playfully elbowed his friend.
“Yeah, one more adventure for the Pump Brothers and Figwit,” Ono completed as they reached the staircase. The wizened Figwit only answered with a chuckle and a laugh.
“Good luck, non-magic man!” Lemin cried out from the edge of the room, bidding the trio farewell. “Maybe I'll get you a spot in the union if you are actually able to bring down the mountain.”
Once more, lightning struck outside. It flashed the room and the union leader suddenly vanished below the table, crying out a loud, “Dang it!”