The Wolves followed the three goblins towards the opening of a large cavern. Two other goblins walked out, spears in hand and pointed towards the mercenaries.

“Halt and be heard,” one of the guards called out.

“Gwyfyn Sil’vah, Gwyfyn Qos’riw, it’s us. We’ve arrived with some guests,” Vey’in replied.

“And what from the hunt?” one of the guards asked. “We starting to get low on the rations.”

“Nothing, Sil’vah,” Kul’kis said. “Something has been chasing off the deer and everything else.”

“Anything from the casgwrs?” Tar’kis asked the guards.

Qos’riw shook her head. “Not yet, haven’t heard a word from them for the last three days. I think the boss will send some people to go find them.”

“Ah!” Vey’in growled out loudly. “We’re never going to find anything to eat at this rate.”

“Have you tried farming?” Silvius asked.

All of the goblins turned to him, snarling.

“Was it something I said?”

“The last time our kin tried to head out and farm these lands, they hunted down like dogs and piked outside this livingly quaint village. So, you tell us if those words were ill chosen.”

Silvius’ head sunk into his neck as turned away from the conversation.

The guards spoke to the three hunters in their native tongue, Heliw Tul’kis turned to The Wolves. “Nothing to fret, just letting them know you’re not here to cause trouble.”

Jeanne noticed Kveldulf was looking at her. “What?” she asked him.

“You heard what they said, no trouble.”

“I am not an instigator of trouble,” she followed.

Kveldulf kept his sight on her.

“I’m not!”

Kveldulf remained unmoving.

“All right, I might be troublesome.”

Kveldulf turned away, a slight smirk on his face.

“And you’re the enabler,” she said.

“Fair enough.”

One of the goblin guards left their post and walked deeper into the cave. The others looked at each other and however much they were able to see into the great cavern until darkness blocked out their vision. After a long moment, the goblin returned, muttering something to the other guard before they turned to The Wolves. “The glowplm will see you all now,” Sil’vah said, “but we will need to keep hold of your weapons until your business is done here.”

“I’d rather not, thank you kindly,” said Silvius, placing his hand on the scabbard of his blade.

“Then you can wait here until everything is concluded,” Qos’riw followed. “We’re not letting strangers into our homes so fully armed.”

Cid raised his hand to the others. “Why don’t I and a couple others go in and the rest of you wait out here?” he said, removing his sword from its belt.

“I’ll come with,” said Jeanne, removing her hammer.

“Same here,” said Leonidas, handing the guards his sword and staff.

“You can leave them at the front here,” said Sil’vah, to a table resting a short distance within the mouth of the cave, “and they’ll be returned to you when you’re ready to leave. Now, if you’ll follow me, please.”

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Cid, Jeanne and Leonidas followed the goblin guard and the three hunters as they journeyed deep within the cave. The bumpy stone walls jutted out and receded, with small fingerlings of tree roots piercing through the top of the rocky ceiling, and stretching out to the open space below. Gradually encircling around the stalactites hanging from above.

Some of the stalagmites were hewed away to make the path inside easier to traverse. Once through the first passage, and the opening behind them was nowhere to be seen, they came to a wider opening within the bowels of the cave. A small creek running along the bottom, with fish swimming through the waters. Homes were carved out of the rocks themselves. The windows placed high above and no opening was seen on the walls.

“How do your people enter your homes?” Jeanne asked the goblins.

Vey’in pointed towards one residence where a father and son were lowering a ladder before climbing down from the rooftop. “We have it where we enter from the top. Keeps predators and the like out.”

“And what if something comes here and they’re not an animal?” Cid asked.

“Depends,” Tul’kis, “we keep a good watch at the front to ensure no one can simply sneak in, and don’t leave anything of great value here in the living chamber.”

“I don’t suppose asking where that is would be a good idea?” Jeanne asked.

“Would you give that up so a stranger?” Qos’riw said.

“Not a bad point,” Leonidas said.

“Either way,” Vey’in continued, “that’s known to our glowplm.”

“Glowplm?” Cid asked.

“Our leader, it means mine leader in your tongue.”

“I take it mining is an important part of your community?” Jeanne asked.

“Not just the dwarves who find caverns deep and old their home,” Qos’riw replied. “Our kin have been diving the earthen seas for jewels and riches for generations.”

They passed a goblin working a smithy, the smith paused his work a hot iron as he watched three tall strangers pass by their village. Vey’in spotted the goblin stupefied, “Don’t worry, Kal’en. Everything’s fine.”

“I hope so,” the smith replied, “Or the boss is going to have a field day and a half when he’s done.”

Qos’riw chuckled, “We’ll see old-kin.”

The three Wolves looked at the goblin inquisitively.

Qos’riw turned to them, seeing their faces. “Oh right, that’s something we call our older members. Sort of an honored titled.”

“Oh,” Jeanne replied. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Lemme guess,” Tul’kis said, “you heard we eat our elders after a certain age.”

“That was one of them, yeah.”

Tul’kis shook his head, looking up in disgust. “And we’re the sick ones.”

Reaching a third chamber of the cave, even greater in size than the last, they found a complex set of wooden scaffolding, rail system and hewed paths along the cavern walls. All three of The Wolves dropped their mouths at the scene.

Vey’in turned to the other goblins. “I told you lot this would happen.”

“You say that after the fact,” Qos’riw replied, playfully punching her shoulder.

“Come on,” Tul’kis said to the others. “We aren’t off duty yet.”

Reaching a platform holding up an l-shaped desk, with the railing of the deck surrounding the back of the furniture piece, the group found a female goblin going over a series of parchments laying on her desk. She drank from a tankard and bit a small bite from a bread slice on her plate. “Boss!” Qow’ris called out, “Here are the people the hunters found nearby.”

She put her tankard and parchments down and calmly stood up from her desk. “So they are,” she said holding out her hand. “I’m the goruchlwr, here Wyluch Ar’iel.”

Cid returned the gesture, “Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’m Cid of The Wolves, these are two of my people, one of my lieutenants, Joan and our doctor, Leonidas.”

“And you lot are here for our halfling … guest?” Ar’iel asked them.

“Gavin? Yes,” Cid replied.

“Right,” Ar’iel said, gesturing them to follow her. “I’ll take you to him. Tul, Qos, Kul, Vey, you all can all return to your posts.”

The three goblins gave her a quick nod and moved back to their positions. Ar’iel turned to the three Wolves. “Let’s not keep good Gavin waiting.”

They negotiated down a long flight of stone steps deep into the caverns of the mining space. Jeanne felt her leg muscles begin to burn with each step. She noticed Leonidas beginning to rub his thighs and wincing a little in pain. “You all right?” she asked him.

“Nothing to worry about,” he said. “Just been a while since I’ve had to climb a lot of stairs.”

“Took us a while to get used to it, too,” Ar’iel said to them. “And sometimes even I wish we could hire someone just to lug us up and down a flight or two.”

“Don’t you have elevating platforms to use?” Leonidas asked.

“That would require more advances carpentry, which means more resources and tools, and that would mean interaction with our neighbors, who’d much rather have our heads on plates of a variable nature in quality,” Ar’iel replied.

“Oh yeah,” Leonidas said, “that would create a bit of a problem.”

“That’s putting it lightly,” Ar’iel followed. “but I don’t want to burden you with all those troubles.” She reached one longer stone landing with a grated metal door. She pulled out a key and with a quick couple of twists, pushed the door inside. “Come, come,” she said, “Our guest of honor is inside.

Stepping into the room, the three Wolves saw the walls, unlike outside, were smoothed and lined with firmly reinforced shelves, each one holding large wooden boxes marked with labels saying, Iron, Coal, and other earthen materials. Pickaxes and other mining tools hung on the wall, stretching the entire length of the long hall, save for the spaces made for the doors into deeper chambers.

Ar’iel stopped on the third door to the left and turned back to The Wolves. “Give me a moment, if you’d please. Gavin can be … interesting at times.”

“What do you mean interesting?” Cid asked.

“You’ll see,” Ar’iel said as she walked inside. The three could hear her say. “Well this is about what I expected. It’s good to come in!”