27 thought for a second, then snapped his fingers. “I have idea!” he announced. The noble pulled out his Yiklar Folding Cabin, activated it, and ran inside. Moments later, he stepped back out the door, pulling a magically floating slab of stone with him.
“We could just push him on my Yiklar Floating Bed, yes we could!” 27 announced as he deactivated the cabin again.
“Hmmm, that is great idea, yes?” Colb replied with excitement. Kashmir shrugged and nodded, seeming pleased by the quick solution.
For the next few hours, the goblins proceeded after Kashmir by foot, working together to push along the floating slab with their injured friend upon it. Eventually, they reached the border of a bustling human village called Sesui. The buildings of this settlement were made of bismuthslate brick and mapleoak wood, and thus looked similar to the structures of Cantia.
“This is Sesui, a human town,” Kashmir whispered as the goblins joined her at the forest’s edge. “Stay hidden while I look around.” Colb repeated her instructions to the others. The trio of goblins proceeded to hide Stibs and the Yiklar Floating Bed behind a large tree.
Colb peeked out from the hiding spot, and watched as Kashmir skipped towards the town, keeping her head low and treading elegantly. Her footsteps made virtually no sound at all as she danced through the leaves. Her purple skin blended her in with the shadows cast from the clouds above.
After a couple dozen minutes, Kashmir came back. “I found the ports,” she reported to Colb, who translated her words for the rest of the group. “If we follow this forest around to the western edge of town, we’ll be right next to a merchant ship that’s just finished reloading. It has two guards, but they’re facing away from the boat. If we’re quiet and fast enough, I think we can sneak around behind them and get onto the boat undetected.”
With that, Kashmir proceeded to carefully lead the goblin crew around the perimeter of Sesui. As they traveled through a particularly narrow part of the surrounding forest, 27 winced upon seeing his bed get scratched up by some tree branches. The group eventually arrived at the ports, where water sloshed and splashed against the human-made ships and wooden docks. Kashmir pointed out the closest boat, which was quite large, and had two chainmail-wearing humans guarding it. “See that ramp?” she whispered to Colb, pointing out a wide wooden plank draped between the boat and dock. “We need to go up that, and then enter the door on the left. It’ll bring us below-deck, where the humans just finished loading all their supplies. I snuck a peek down there through a window, and it’s just a cargo hold, so they probably won’t check it again until we arrive at Jaiphione’s Crescent. That makes it a perfect place to hide while we hitch a ride. I’ll guide you past the guards and onto the boat; just follow my lead.”
Colb nodded, then repeated the clarified plan to the others. Stibs gave a thumbs-up from his seat on the Yiklar Floating Bed. Drek narrowed his eyes, looking wary of the two armed humans next to the dock.
Kashmir led the goblins along the edge of the shore. They tread quietly, careful not to alert the set of human guards – who were staring out at the town itself, and not back at the boat they were guarding.
Kashmir slipped behind the guards, and gestured towards the dock. Pushing the Yiklar Floating Bed, the goblin crew tiptoed to catch up with the elf – until they heard a clink! clink! sound of a can falling over.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Kashmir’s eyes widened. Colb looked at her, then looked down at the ground. The elf had knocked over a metal container of liquid that one of the guards must’ve left by his feet. Kashmir looked at the guards, who didn’t seem to have noticed the sound. She slowly bent down, picking up the can and placing it back where it was. Her fingers left some frost behind on the metal cylinder as she set it back into place.
Suddenly, one of the guards started to speak. The goblins froze, and Colb’s Yiklar Amulet of Open Ears glowed, translating their Hewmish words. “It’s a bit of a cloudy day, innit?” the guard said.
The other guard sighed. “What do you want me ta say to that, Eddy? Huh? Where am I supposed ta go with that? It’s cloudy? Yea, it’s cloudy. It’s always cloudy.”
Colb looked at his fellow goblins, who seemed petrified with fear. He mouthed the Goblish words: ‘It’s nothing. Keep going.’
“Geez, I’m just trying to make conversation,” the first guard mumbled. “And you know what, I did. That’s interesting, whatcha said there. It is always cloudy. I’d say it’s cloudy about 90, maybe 95% of the time. That’s a bit strange, innit? Why do you think Sesui’s weather is so often uninteresting?”
“Are you seriously tryin’ to make me talk to you about the concept of something being uninteresting? Geez, Ed, get a grip. Our job is literally to just stand around. My whole life is uninteresting,” the second guard grumbled.
The goblins continued to push their Yiklar Floating Bed, holding their breath as they got close to the guards – and breathing a shallow sigh of relief as they stepped onto the dock.
As 27 and Drek pushed the Yiklar Floating Bed the rest of the way onto the boat, Colb looked back at Kashmir. She was suddenly side-stepping a human arm, as the first guard turned around to grab his drink off the ground. The guard lifted the drink, then turned back to face the town. He didn’t seem to notice Kashmir or the goblins.
“What the-” the guard exclaimed.
“What? What?” his companion asked.
“Here’s something interesting for ya,” the guard replied. “I had a beer in here, but now it’s completely frozen! Just two minutes ago it was fine. How’d that happen?”
Kashmir grimaced, and tiptoed away from the guards, catching up with Colb.
“Aw, come on, you’re not supposed to be drinkin’ on the job,” the second guard replied. “I’m gonna have to tell Gary about this, man.”
“You are not going to tell Gary about this,” the first guard replied, glaring at his partner.
Kashmir caught up with Colb, and the duo snuck onto the boat, leaving the quibbling guards behind. Once they caught up with the others, the group pushed the Yiklar Floating Bed over to a wooden door.
“MMmMmmmm, this door has lock on it,” 27 observed.
“Rrghegh… I got this,” Drek announced, cracking his knuckles. He pulled out his dagger, slid the sharpened tip into the keyhole, then slapped the hilt of the knife with a quick blow. The lock split open. “Lock is picked,” he announced proudly.
The group continued forward, carefully sliding the floating bed down a stairway and into the cargo hold. When they all reached the lower part of the ship, 27 surveyed the space. “AaAaaaaahhhh, cargo area is quite big!” he cheered. “Whole cabin could unfold down here!”
With that, he pulled out his Yiklar Folding Cabin doorknob, and activated it in the least-cluttered area. The 12 ft x 12 ft x 4 ½ ft building barely managed to squeeze open, displacing some barrels of cargo as it unfolded. The Yiklar Folding Cabin’s door was positioned such that it faced the staircase the group had just descended.
“This space isn’t that big,” Kashmir grumbled. “Your cabin only fits because it’s so small.” She pulled open the door with a frosty hand, and ducked down as she entered.
Everyone piled into the cabin behind Kashmir, then 27 shut the door behind them. The party of five let out a collective sigh of relief, pleased to have successfully boarded the island-bound ship without causing too much trouble for themselves. They were safely on their way to Jaiphione’s Crescent: another step closer to Wealth Mountain for the goblin crew, and the ultimate destination for Kashmir on her current quest.