“You couldn’t bring us any closer?” Leandra complained

The three Goblins stood at the edge of a vast plain that was dotted with onyx-colored trees where packs of Bloodlings rested within the meager shade away from the blistering red sun. Behind them were the bubbling waters of a twisted marshland with gnarled vegetation and creatures that hunted and moaned.

“Come on, Leandra, a little walking won’t hurt you,” Graul replied.

Leandra turned on her colleague with fury in her blue eyes. “A little walking? It has been two days!” She cried.

Graul snickered unperturbed.

Ziplocke scratched his head and stated, “I’m still learning the Rift aspect.”

Like a hurricane that changes direction, Leandra spun on her other colleague. “Don’t give me that! You are trying to conserve your energy!”

Graul snickered some more. “He is so cheap.”

“He is a Goblin Lord! He has the ability to use the Rift aspect! It is innate within him,” Leandra declared.

Ziplocke scowled and hissed, “We are trying to overthrow the Fiends. I must be wise with my abilities. Not draw attention to us, and conserve my power.”

Leandra crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the red sand. Her light green skin was marred with the bites and gnashes she endured from their travels through the marshland. She pointed her finger at Ziplocke.

“You also have a Hold Core within you,” Leandra observed.

Graul snickered. “Like I said, he is so cheap.”

“It takes a lot of energy to use the Rift aspect! Even with a Hold Core, I have limits!” Ziplocke shot back.

Leandra scoffed and replied, “It can be recharged.”

Graul nodded and added, “You can’t absorb essences without breaking a few Bloodling eggs.”

Ziplocke waved his arms in the air and exclaimed, “What do you two know? Huh? Nothing!”

Leandra crossed her arms and hissed, “We learned plenty watching you fail.”

Graul laughed, “Ooh, that was a good burn!”

Ziplocke narrowed his eyes and snarled, showing his sharp teeth. Leandra and Graul’s pointed ears pulled back, and they tensed their bodies. They hissed and gnashed teeth at each other as they circled. Then they broke out laughing. Each holding their stomachs as their chests heaved.

“Imagine that, the fate of Goblins ending here as we killed each other,” Graul snickered.

Ziplocke howled and pointed at the stocky greater Goblin. “You think you two stood a chance against me? Please! It would be your two corpses here.”

Leandra giggled with tears streaming from her blue eyes. “The look of surprise on your face when we gut you!”

“With what? You don’t even have weapons!” Ziplocke howled with glee.

Graul stepped forward in between the two, and he laughed so hard he was barely able to speak. “Imagine the Goblins back at home when they realize we are not coming back and,” Graul couldn’t finish as a fit of laughter overtook him.

“And that will mark the end of Goblins,” Ziplocke completed the sentence.

They stood in silence at the edge of the Marsh.

“So, where is this Wayfare Market?” Leandra asked.

Ziplocke nodded his head toward the plains. “Just ahead.”

Graul squinted into the distance. “About a half day if we don’t get eaten by Bloodlings.”

Leandra was looking in the opposite direction and into the Marsh. “Ooh!” She exclaimed and rushed back in.

Ziplocke smacked his forehead and rubbed his face. “What are you doing? The Market is the other way!”

Graul sniffed the air, and his red eyes went wide. He ran after Leandra. Ziplocke sulked and shuffled after his colleagues. At this rate, the Goblin uprising will take forever. His eyes went wide at Leandra’s discovery. A Well of Despair nestled in between the gnarled trees and roots. Its dark, putrid waters gave off sinister energy. It was the collection of despair from the souls of the Material realm.

“This is a good find!” Ziplocke exclaimed.

“Quick, before the Swamp Demons get a whiff of it!” Graul insisted.

“Wait!” Leandra snapped, and the other paused. Her sharp blue eyes spotted something, and she pointed out a hidden Rover.

Graul snickered as he pictured the look of pain and shock on their faces when the Rover snagged them in its barbed tentacles. The scarred Goblin Summoned and Shaped balls of fire that he launched at the hidden demon. The Rover squealed as it unfurled itself from its hiding place among the gnarled trees.

“Ooh, that is a big one!” Leandra exclaimed.

Ziplocke nodded. “It must have been feeding off the Well of Despair.”

The Rover shambled after the three, and its tentacles lashed out as quick as a darting mosquito. The three Goblins easily dodged the assault. Graul launched globs of burning fire while Leandra struck the Rover with red, putrid Affliction energy. Ziplocke just watched. He had forgotten how formidable the two Greater Goblins were. They had to be, after his most recent failure. They had to survive the aftermath among the Fiends and other denizens of the Abyssal plane.

“You two are doing a great job,” Ziplocke announced.

Leandra inflicted a variety of curses that caused the monster to move slower and have longer reaction times, while Graul burned the Rover with an impressive display of the Fire aspect. Ziplocke leaped into the air and smashed the vulnerable center of the Rover with a large rock and it twitched a final time before dying.

“You were a big help,” Graul stated in his guttural voice.

Leandra rolled her eyes and immediately went to absorb the essences from the Well of Despair. All three snickered as the memories of the damned souls entered their bodies.

“Ahh, that’s the stuff,” Ziplocke said as his body took in the energy.

“What is it like in the Material plane?” Graul asked.

Ziplocke snickered. “We have to eat food to survive.”

“That’s barbaric!” Leandra exclaimed.

“But seeing the shocked looks on their faces is pure enjoyment!” Ziplocke cried.

Graul nodded. “I did a stint once on the Material plane. I didn’t like it, but Zippy here is right. Seeing a look of shock on Mortal’s face right before they bite the big one. It is something that I will never forget!”

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“I think I will answer a Summons one of these days,” Leandra added.

Her colleagues laughed. “Imagine the look of disappointment on the poor mortal that would be stuck with her!” Ziplocke shrieked.

Leandra scowled and then giggled along with them. “I would be horrible indeed!” She exclaimed.

The three resumed absorbing the essence from the Well of Despair. Ziplocke felt satiated as the energy fed his Goblin Lord’s body. He was able to drink more to fill the Hold Core within him. It was like an endless pit within his soul, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Graul and Leandra staring at him.

“You drained the entire Well!” Graul exclaimed.

“Sorry, did you not get enough?” Ziplocke asked and then snickered. Imagine if they didn’t and I stole their meal! He thought to himself.

“We are full,” Leandra answered and added as she crossed her arms, “You have enough now to teleport us to the Wayfare Market.”

“He can’t teleport us inside. The Fey Touched won’t allow it,” Graul pointed out.

Ziplocke arched an eyebrow. “Graul here is full of surprises. Have you been to the Wayfare Market before?”

“Once or twice,” the stocky Goblin answered with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

Leandra’s eyes went wide. “Really? I never been there. I hear they have amazing things!”

“Why were you at the market?” Ziplocke asked.

“Some Winter Fey hired me as a guard,” Graul replied.

Leandra and Ziplocke laughed loudly.

Graul snickered and then exclaimed, “It’s not that funny! I’m a great warrior!”

“Imagine how sad that merchant had to be if the best they could do is hire Graul as a guard,” Leandra teased.

Ziplocke stopped laughing and asked, “Why did they need to hire you? The Fey Touch have the Iron Trolls guarding their markets.”

“The Winter Fey bloke wanted to see the Abyssal plane,” Graul answered with a shrug.

“Oh, you were a guide. Not a guard,” Leandra observed.

Graul scowled and turned to Ziplocke, “What about you? Have you been to the Market?”

Ziplocke nodded. “I ran errands for Modok when I was his assistant.”

“You mean slave!” Leandra cried.

The Goblins laughed. Ziplocke sighed as he recalled the beatings he received from the Greater Fiend and then chuckled.

“So, take us closer! I want to see this Market! I have heard wonderful things about it,” Leandra said with a grin. Her fingers twitched.

“No stealing!” Graul insisted.

“What? Me? Steal? Never?” Leandra replied with a delicate hand over her chest.

Ziplocke growled. “Seriously, no stealing. The Fey Touch are not ones to trifle with.”

Leandra’s eyes narrowed. “Now, I feel it is a challenge.”

Graul leaned forward. “Think about it, Leandra. How do you think the Fey Touch are allowed to operate a market here in the Abyssal plane?”

The blue-eyed Goblin shrugged her thin shoulders and replied, “Everyone loves to shop?”

Ziplocke agreed. “Commerce is important for the functioning of any society.”

Graul hissed at the two and stated, “It is because they are powerful. Might makes right! Power brings legitimacy. You don’t think the Greater Fiends tried to steal from the Fey Touched?”

Ziplocke nodded, “The Iron Trolls are definitely effective at what they do.”

“Which is mauling and killing,” Graul stated, and he started to laugh.

Ziplocke joined him, and Leandra crossed her arms. “What’s so funny?” She asked.

“The look on your smug face when you are caught and torn to pieces,” Graul answered.

Leandra stuck out her chin. “You underestimate my abilities.”

“The Iron Trolls are strong enough to kill a Greater Fiend, but that is not all. They have incredible senses and are stealthy,” Ziplocke explained.

“Not to mention the Dark Fey Lord that oversees the entire operation,” Graul added.

Ziplocke nodded. That was how the Fey Touch were able to teleport to the Abyssal Plane. It was through the power of the Fey Lord, who became incredibly wealthy from the Market’s business. In other dimensions, the Wayfare Market went by many names. The Under Market and the Night Market, to name a few.

Leandra grinned and rubbed her hands together. “A gal likes a good challenge.”

Both Graul and Ziplocke thumped their foreheads.

“Leandra, you are not to steal. We are going to find the Gem of Magnificence so that we can turn one of you into a Goblin Lord. Do you understand? That is an order!” Ziplocke commanded.

Both Graul and Leandra stood at attention and saluted. “Yes, Sir!” They exclaimed before giggling.

Ziplocke sighed, “We are doomed.”

The Goblin Lord Summoned a Rift, and the three entered it. They appeared some distance within the plains, surrounded by gnarled onyx-colored trees. They felt the oppressive heat from the red sun kiss their hides. One hundred strides in front of them was a sprawling marketplace with flashing lights and colorful tents. A complete contrast to the bleakness of the surrounding hellscape. Leandra’s eyes went wide, and she clapped her hands. All around them, beings and creatures approached the Wayfare Market. These included bloated Imps that flapped on bat-like wings and hunched over Swamp Demons that loped on four clawed legs.

“This place is amazing!” Leandra cried.

They three walked along between market stalls large and small. Merchants hawked out goods that ranged from the mundane to the extraordinary. From beaded shirts to glowing vials of grinded Angel bones. Everything and anything was sold at the Wayfare Market that spanned multiple dimensions.

“Where are these fearsome Iron Trolls?” Leandra asked.

“They are here,” Graul promised.

“Iron Trolls have the ability to be invisible,” Ziplocke whispered.

Leandra smirked. “How convenient.”

The three Goblins shaped Shadows around themselves to hide among the stalls as a pair of lumbering Fiends marched into view. The giant Demons walked on goat-like legs with their bat-like wings draped over their shoulders like dark cloaks. The Fiends had muscular red-skinned torsos and giant horned heads. Their eyes flared with orange flames as they scanned the market place and their canine shaped heads snarled showing sharp fangs.

“Where’s Leandra?” Ziplocke whispered from the shadows.

Graul shrugged his stocky shoulders. Ziplocke groaned to himself. When the Fiends walked past, the two scurried out from their hiding spots.

“If the Fiends see us here, they will know we are up to something,” Ziplocke pointed out.

Graul replied with a sneer, “Thank you, Captain Obvious.”

“Hiya, fellas!” Leandra greeted them.

“What trouble did you get into?” Ziplocke snarled.

Leandra blinked and held a hand to a chest, “What little ole me?”

Graul scanned their crowded surroundings. “Seems clear.”

The three had to move constantly in order to avoid getting stepped on by the much larger denizens that crowded the marketplace. These included indigo-skinned Ogres, onyx-tinged Lava Giants, an occasional Ice Giant, and two-headed Howler Elites. Fiends, significantly smaller than the two Greater Fiends they saw earlier but still much larger than the Goblins, were numerous in the Market. It was much harder to hide from them, but the Goblins did their best to stick to the shadows. They were hiding by a stall that sold weapons. Graul’s eyes went wide.

“I need a sword and shield,” the stocky Goblin stated.

“I could use a nice blade as well. Since ours were lost during Ziplocke’s last failure,” Leandra said with a snicker.

Ziplocke rolled his eyes. Graul approached the merchant, a warty-skinned Fey with bat-like wings and a frog-like tongue.

“How much for this sword and shield?” Graul asked.

He pointed to a red-edged scimitar with a golden crossguard and a jagged-edged round shield. The Dark Fey crossed her blubbery arms and glared at the goblins with slitted eyes.

“I accept essence gems or mana crystals,” the merchant said in a raspy voice that reminded Ziplocke of a talking toad.

Graul glanced at his two colleagues. Leandra shrugged, “I left my purse at home.”

Ziplocke’s eyes went wide when he realized he also didn’t have anything to barter with.

“Don’t waste my time. This is a business, not a charity! Be gone, or else I summon the Iron Trolls,” The Fey merchant snapped.

The three hurriedly scurried away. They huddled around in the shadows.

“So, wise leader, what do we do now? We came to a marketplace without money!” Leandra snapped.

“I didn’t plan for this!” Ziplocke shot back.

Graul perked up. “We did leave a castle with a dead Greater Fiend.”

Leandra slapped her forehead. “I can’t believe I didn’t think we should loot that place.”

Ziplocke agreed and then paused. “Wait, are you saying we go back to Modok’s place?”

“Duh! Use your Rift aspect!” Leandra stated.

“That’s going to waste a lot of energy,” Ziplocke whined.

Graul crossed his muscular arms. “What do you propose then? How else can we find the Gem of Magnificence if we have nothing to barter with?”

Ziplocke scowled and replied, “Modok’s vaults will be locked and trapped!”

Leandra cackled with glee.

“What?” Her two colleagues snapped.

“Well, I can disarm traps, and luckily, I have a Bone key,” Leandra replied as she produced a white key with a skull handle.

Graul and Ziplocke looked around nervously and giggled. She had stolen that from the Greater Fiends.

“We best hurry then!” Graul hissed.

Ziplocke nodded but inwardly groaned. Why did he plan an uprising with Goblins! They were beings of Chaos and not the best planners. He missed Jeze. She always had a plan, and Dunar he was always organized.