The Corporal was pissed that Eustace had agreed dinner at this place. The big nosed bastards always had a scheme you couldn't quite see. He heard from his boss that Gnadst was going to hire some of them to escort out goods to a goblin tribe. How this happened without his consent he didn't know.These fucking gnomes had some weird eating habits.Stephan thought dryly

I followed the two gnomes to the dining hall. Gnadst sat at the end of one table on a beaded pillow. I was seated to his left Eustace on his right. The Corporal was at the other end of the table he was given no cushion. Not that is mattered to him he just plopped down and waited for his meal in silence.

  The large baskets of big crackers I saw early were still there but now mismatching crockery bowls with steaming broth were placed beside them. We were given big tankards of what tasted like sourdough bread juice, it was effervescent . Kvass. Dinner was a strange affair. Cheallah was thrown from table to table. Each person got 4 pones of cheallah. Small tongs were passed out from the kitchen counter clockwise. Words were said in quick succession. “ Grab it as it's passed if you don't you shall fast. Without Almensch we feel the pinch blessed be his scales may they balance for Iron Pail.”All gnomes at the table intoned with reverence. I knew to wait until Gnadst tasted the centrally located broth before I could dip my pone. I drank my Kvass first as I was sitting to his right.

  Gnadst complimented me. “You do have some manners.” I nodded in return. Dinner passed uneventufully. We neared the end of the broth and Gnadst bobbed his head twice in my direction giving me the honor of last belch. After dinner, I was taken to the heart of the warehouse to get geared up for my adventure into goblin lands. The best I could do was an wagon axle and some bronze tacks . I figured I'd make an oni club like I saw in an anime once. If rednecks had a martial weapon it would be a beating stick . I took some canvas in my hands, Carmen transmitted the image of a great kilt to me I wrapped the wagon canvas about me in the same manner. It wasn't armor but it was better than nothing. It'd keep my warm at least.

  We went out of the gnome's warehouse after dark. The street was pretty busy with most people getting off of work and fishing boats coming into port. We weren't the only wagons on the street, but we still made good time and were at our destination shortly. We stopped outside of a wooden wall with a set of wide double doors. Stephan dismounted from his horse then beat on the doors. “Open up we made it. I need a beer to wash out the taste of that gnomish pisswater.”

“Yes doing it now.” said a voice from the other side.

  This warehouse was not quite the same as the one we visited earlier. There was a stable outside between the outer wall and the main building. A few small outbuildings that may have been a kitchen or tool sheds. Inside it had no bathing room, but there were beds. There was also a dining area and a fully stocked bar. The bar was brightly lit. Practically everything on the shelves was in a green bottle.The Corporal sat down and took a drink. “Get to bed, some of you have an early start tomorrow.” he said after taking a long stemmed pipe out of a box on the bar. At dawn The Corporal gave us our marching orders. “Ballentryte, Braynard, Armando, Peeter, and the Giant are to escort the wagons out to Bowlegs territory. Ballentryte has command. I want all of you back in one piece.”

                              One week time warp

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  I am on the road acting as a translator between the gnomes and the Thirnic guardsmen. Two wagons loaded down with beads and other sundries with four gnomish drivers. We followed the map exactly but all we found wads an abandoned campsite where we were to meet the goblins. A few wattle huts and a pile of rodent bones were all that remained of what was supposed to be a fair sized campsite of goblins. Neither the guards nor the gnomes were having any luck.

  Archie the Bastard of Ballentryte was trying to find some sign of the goblins to begin to track them. This was supposed to be a simple escort mission that would take 2 weeks at most. Sending me and Peeter was overkill for security. Although the Corporal was more concerned about the boys than the gnome's goods. Birds never fly unless they leave the nest. Another war with the Empire might be just around the corner their old man wants to season his progeny before it happens. Archie was in thought. My old man doesn't even want to admit that he didn't kill me when he set fire to my mother's hovel.

I knew I'd not be of much help to anyone but I thought of someone who could.

BB, do you think you can help us track down where the goblins went to?

I've been smelling all over the place but the scent is thick everywhere. Some different smells have crisscrossed over them. Joe I think I see a track that belongs to something different than others I saw around here.

Thanks BB I'll pass along the info.

“Excuse me Ballentryte. I think my dog may have picked up something.” I reported to him.

“You can talk to canines?” He said this without looking up from the smaller tracks he was studying. His voice was not condescending nor did it hold disbelief. “Have you hit your head recently?”

“ We can share thoughts and what we see with each other. He says he found a bigger track further out.” I responded to his questioning.

As if on cue BB arrived to lead us to the tracks.

“ Those are definitely orc tracks.” Archie said without ceremony as he viewed the tracks.

“As in Orcs, that have green or black skin, large tusks, and pointy teeth. Ill- tempered with a penchant for raiding caravans and kidnapping people to eat later?”I asked to make sure I was on the right track.

“Pretty much except these can be any color. We are in luck this one wasn't mounted on a boar, if he was we'd have some major problems to contend with.” Archie had relief in his voice.

“Yeah if it's a piney wood rooter big enough to ride that be a major problem omnivorous and with an excellent sense of smell we'd be dead meat in no time.” I said with genuine horror at the thought.

We are being watched Fatboy. I smell fresh goblin in the bushes.

Is he close from which direction?

Right now he's upwind that's the only reason I can smell him maybe further up that hill over there. Fatboy he's alone I smell nothing else here.

  I told Archie that we may company. We began to walk nonchalantly back to the wagons. I told one of the gnomes about the lone goblin that may be stalking us. They were unsure about what to do so they took out a small square black rock which one of them took up a hill with him.Something about the scene seemed highly familiar. He came back shortly. He looked irritated.

“Gnadst said to wait here we will be met shortly. Glasha linked him earlier he had forgot to link us. The Bowlegs pulled stakes from here Gnadst said that the Red Maws were encroaching into Bowlegs lands. Our contacts are further in a guide is supposed to meet us.” the gnome replied.

“If you could speak with Gnadst why didn't you use it earlier to save us some trouble.” I asked

“Well we are terrified at the prospect of being seen as incompetent. Gnadst cuts dead weight off without remorse. He killed his nephew because that guy was late with a delivery of fruit.” the gnomes all nodded gravely.We heard a whistle from above us. Out stepped a goblin that I presumed was our guide.