This revealed a wide room full of a thin, transparent mist. Clouds of this fog poured out of the lab as the group stepped into the building. The winter foxferret on Vitra’s shoulder squealed with joy, jumping down and rubbing its body against the interior walls of the room. A clank! clank! sound came from the back of the laboratory, as if someone were banging two pieces of metal together.

Colb shivered at the sudden change of temperature upon walking into the building. The walls of the room, which Bitty was furiously rubbing her body against, had the same purple hue and white-painted pattern as this human’s peculiar plate armor.

“Ah, welcome to Vitra’s Lab!” Vitra announced to her guests. “The ‘Vitra’ part refers to me, yes it does,” she added fondly. The four goblins visibly shivered again, and Kashmir stood normally as if nothing were different between this room and outside.

As he rubbed his arms to keep them warm, Colb took in his surroundings. Vitra’s Lab was split into two halves. The closer half, which contained the lab’s entryway, was filled with disorganized, human-height desks covered in books, papers, and bubbling vials of liquid.

Colb stood on his tip-toes to look at the contents of a nearby table. It was covered in mangonuts, many of which had been half-hazardly chopped and crushed. Under the table, a short cauldron sat filled to the brim with some swirling purple liquid.

The other half of the lab, at the opposite side from the entryway, appeared to be a blacksmithing studio. That dimly lit section of the laboratory sported a tough furnace, a variety of different anvils – some of which were covered with hammers – and a large pile of loose scrap metal shoved into the corner.

“Colb,” Kashmir suddenly murmured under-her-breath. “Could you ask the short one if he thinks his iridhodium arrow might pierce the human’s armor? Or, if he’s a good enough shot to hit her in the head?”

Colb sighed. Change takes time, he thought. Just like good team takes time, yes? I should try pushing her in the right direction.

“Hmmm, let’s hear about the human’s restorative experiment first, yes? She might be doing good thing for the endangered animals of this island, yes?” Colb whispered back. Kashmir gave him an annoyed look in response.

Clank! clank! sounds continued to fill the room. “Oy, Borin!” the woman shouted in Dwarvish. “We’ve got visitors!” The clanking stopped, and a muscular dwarf stepped into view. He stood at just over 4 feet in height: shorter than Kashmir, but taller than all four goblins. He had dark skin, but not much of it could be seen under his mounds and mounds of well-combed hair. Indeed, only his spherical nose popped out from the mop of brown hair covering his ears, eyes, mouth, and everything else on his head. As if that weren’t enough, he also sported a wide, brown beard that went down to his stomach.

Below the beard, he wore a dwarf-fitted, half plate version of the same magic armor as Vitra. He carried a blacksmithing hammer in one hand, and held a clamp with a red-hot metal tube of some sort in the other. He hiccuped, then touched the red-hot tube to his chestplate. With a sizzle and a pop, it cooled to a metallic gray almost instantly upon touching his armor.

“They prefer you speak Goblish, yes they do,” Vitra added, switching back to the Goblish language.

“Uh… hello,” he burped. His voice was much rougher than Vitra’s, and his Goblish pronunciation sounded a bit off. “I make things,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Then, Vitra does the magic. To the things that I make, that is.”

“Here,” he burped, holding the clamp out to Vitra. She opened her hands, to which he opened the clamp, dropping the metal tube between her palms. “That’s a thing I made,” he explained. “I made it at Vitra’s... um… return,” he said.

“Mm, at my request,” Vitra corrected.

“Ah... yes,” Borin burped. He awkwardly scratched the back of his hairy head, looking a little uncomfortable. “My… Goblish isn’t very good,” he repeated. “What brings you here?”

“Hmmm, Vitra says that her work is assisting the animals of this island, yes?” Colb said. “We were hoping to see an example of that.”

“Ah… well, that tube’s perfect for that,” Borin replied. “Assuming Vitra finished the… the… um… what’s the Goblish word for… uh… the pedal-plant?”

“The flower,” Vitra finished. “Ah, I did finish the flower, yes I did!” she cheered. Vitra inspected the metal tube Borin had given her. “That’s a good idea, Borin!”

Vitra smiled at the five travelers. “Hm, you guys want to see a live experiment, yea?”

Colb nodded. “Hmmm, that sounds great!” he encouraged.

“I’ll… um… leave you all to that,” Borin muttered. With a couple of stomps, he turned around, then retreated back to his anvil on the other side of the room.

“Mm, he’s not much for words, no he isn’t,” Vitra confessed as she toyed with the metal tube Borin had given her. “But he makes up for it in spirit, yes he does!”

A loud sizzling sound filled the lab as Borin poured a couple red-hot potions together at his workstation on the other side of the laboratory. “And by that, I mean he makes good stuff! Let me show you what the two of us have been working on, yea? We need to step outside for this particular experiment, though, so out you go.”

Vitra shooed the group back out the lab’s entrance. The four goblins jumped out immediately, happy to get beneath the warmth of sunlight. Kashmir rolled her eyes aggressively, clearly showing the human that she didn’t like being pushed around.

“Hmmm, come on outside Kashmir, yes?” Colb called out. “Give the experiment a chance, yes?” Kashmir reluctantly followed Colb outside.

Hmmm, I’ve definitely built up some rapport with Kashmir, yes? Colb thought to himself, proud of the accomplishment. She stepped outside, even though she’s clearly anxious about Vitra. I hope whatever this experiment is can calm her worries.

As the group of six stepped out of the lab, the winter foxferret launched itself onto Vitra’s leg, then climbed up her armor and back onto her shoulders. “Hm, you’re a cute little girl, Bitty,” Vitra cheered. “Fun fact about winter foxferrets: they’re native to the Frosted Wastes,” Vitra announced.

Bitty sneezed, sprinkling some snow in front of the woman. “Here’s another fun fact for you,” she continued as she shut the complicated laboratory door behind her. “Winter foxferrets shrink when they’re relaxed, and grow when they feel stressed, yes they do. My research suggests this is the smallest they can be, and that means I’m taking good care of her!”

Vitra lightly patted the small creature’s head with two fingers. As she did this, her armor brightened, placing a protective field around the alchemist’s hand. “They’re a little too cold to pet normally, yes they are, but I can touch her no problem if I keep this armor on!”

Kashmir looked down at her purple, ice-cold hands, then at the four goblins. Colb caught eye contact with her, and gave a comforting smile. Hmmm, I suppose she can relate to that little creature, he thought.

“Hm, let’s get to the experiment, then, yea?” Vitra continued, pulling a potion out from her duffle bag. She held it up for the others to see. It was a glass bottle containing a frothy pink liquid. “You,” she continued, pointing at Stibs. “Who are you? You look strong, yes you do. Do you smith?”

“Hurmph, only if you count woodworking,” Stibs replied. “The name’s Stibs.”

“I do count that, Stibs!” the green-haired woman cheered. “Might you have a hammer available?”

Stibs nodded. He slowly took off his backpack, with Drek helping to stabilize him as he did so. Stibs then pulled out a stone hammer with a wooden hilt. Leaning on his crutch, he hobbled over to the woman, offering it to her.

Rather than accepting the hammer, Vitra frowned at the old goblin. “Mm, is something wrong with your leg?” she asked.

“Hurmph, it’s broken,” Stibs grumbled, still holding out the hammer.

“Ah, want me to fix it?” Vitra replied.

Stibs stepped back slightly in surprise, then looked at Colb for a medic’s approval. Colb shrugged. “Hurmph, I guess you can try if you want,” he mumbled.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

She placed her vial of frothy pink potion down on the clovergrass, then rummaged through her bag some more. After a moment, she pulled out a luminescent yellow potion with bits of ladybugmoth wings floating on the surface. Kashmir’s eyes turned furious upon seeing the concoction.

“Here,” Vitra continued, pouring some potion into a syringe. “It’s a healing potion of my own design.” Without giving Stibs a moment to react, she stabbed the syringe needle into his kneecap, injected the potion in, and pulled it out.

“Hurmph! Ouch!” Stibs yelped, pulling his leg away. He whipped his wooden crutch at her in retaliation. It shattered like glass upon slapping her armor.

“Ow!” she said, stepping back reactively. Bitty sneezed some snow at the old goblin in retaliation.

“Why… wait. Hurmph!” Stibs spoke softly as he realized he was standing fine on his own. The four goblins all looked down at his leg. Where it had been swollen and deformed just moments before, it now looked just like his healthy leg. “Hurmph! I… I think I can walk again!” Stibs continued. He stomped around, then jumped up and down a few times.

“Hmmm! That’s great,” Colb said. “Hmmm, but are you okay?” he continued, looking at the woman.

“Ah, yea I am. I just said ‘ow’ from surprise… my armor totally froze and destroyed your stick, so I didn’t actually feel anything,” Vitra cheered.

Meanwhile, Kashmir had quietly walked around and behind Vitra. She picked up a frozen shard of the now-shattered crutch, and held it towards the back of Vitra’s head. “Get out of the way,” she shouted at the winter foxferret covering the woman’s neck. Bitty turned, sneezed some snow at the elf, then let out a wide yawn.

“Hm?” Vitra murmured, turning around. Before she knew it, she was looking down the center of a cold wooden shard. “Woa! Why is this happening?” she questioned.

“Stop pretending to be good,” Kashmir sneered. “I saw what’s in that potion. You killed a ladybugmoth to make that! Those things are endangered!”

Vitra slowly put her syringe down, and retrieved a bubbling, orange-colored potion from her duffle bag in its place. “No…” she replied, switching from Goblish to Elvish, and taking a step back. “They are not endangered, and I did not ‘kill’ one to make my healing elixir.”

“I could see its wings floating in your syringe!” Kashmir cried out, taking a swing at the woman.

Vitra quickly uncapped her orange potion, and splashed it on Kashmir. It sizzled, then popped as it hit the elf’s dress – making a small, fiery explosion that knocked both Kashmir and Vitra off their feet.

“Hmmm! Don’t fight,” Colb cried out, jumping between them. He held his shield towards Vitra, keeping Kashmir safe behind him.

“She tried to cut me with a sharp piece of stick – what was that about?!” Vitra countered, switching back to Goblish. The woman gave the other three goblins a look of befuddlement, as if checking to see which side they would take. “I appreciate your interest in my work, but I can’t do anything if you’re going to attack me?!”

The door of the laboratory creaked open, and Borin stepped out. “I hate this door,” he mumbled, fumbling to shut it with the complicated locking mechanism. “Oy, who set off an explosion, huh?” he bellowed in Dwarvish.

“I was just starting to show them the experiment, and the elf swung at me!” Vitra exclaimed.

“Of course she did,” Borin said, walking over to stand next to Colb. “She’s an elf; I was surprised to see her visiting our lab in the first place. Elves don’t like us, remember? And for good reason.”

“Oh…” Vitra mumbled, standing back up. “I forgot about all the tension that brought us here in the first place.”

Vitra adjusted her spectacles, cleared her throat, and started speaking in Goblish so everyone could understand her. “Hm, I’ve heard you elves care a lot about the creatures on this island, yea?” Vitra said, looking at Kashmir.

Kashmir stood up, patting off her burnt dress. “You hurt me!” she shouted. Colb looked back at Kashmir, unsure if he should continue standing in-between her and Vitra.

“I’m sorry,” Vitra said. “I was so excited to learn about your powers, and your apparent interest in my work… I forgot about all the politics of this area, so I wasn’t ready when you attacked me. I reacted offensively, and that was wrong.”

“Hmmm, she didn’t want to hurt you,” Colb observed, looking at Kashmir. “She’s apologizing, yes? It looks like she wants to talk, instead of fighting more, yes?” Kashmir narrowed her eyes.

“Around 30 years ago, a group of sailors discovered this island,” Vitra explained. They quickly informed the empress, who sent some scientists to map it out. Those scientists discovered this to be a sanctuary of rare, never-before-seen creatures… a carefully balanced, and extremely delicate ecosystem.”

“My father says that you humans ruined that ecosystem,” Kashmir spat. “I heard your people killed off some of these rare species, and you won’t leave the island even though you’ve done irreparable harm!”

“We didn’t kill off anything on purpose,” Vitra countered. “It was the spiderbats.” Drek licked his lips at the sound of that creature.

“When the first humans discovered this island,” Vitra continued, “some spiderbats had stowed away on their ship, and thus came along with them. Those spiderbats made a home here, safe from their normal predators of the mainland. Unchecked, their population grew and grew. They hunted and eventually wiped out some endangered insect species native to this island… which was bad for those insects, but also meant less food for other animals, such as the owlvulture. This is a slippery slope, especially when every creature in this fragile ecosystem is already on the verge of extinction.”

“This is all still the fault of humans,” Kashmir pushed.

“Yes,” Vitra replied, “which is why the towns of Claus and Blip were built: to redeem our mistake, and study this beautiful place. Almost everyone living in these two towns is a scientist – just like me and Borin. We’re all doing our part to help bring balance back to the ecosystem, and to protect all the rare creatures still here from extinction.”

“How can you say that when your potions contain dead ladybugmoths?” Kashmir cried. Snow started to form around the corners of her eyes as she spoke. “I loved those creatures as a kid! How could you slaughter them, especially when they’re endangered?!”

“Sally Drewdyle’s been breeding them like crazy over at the ladybugmoth sanctuary on the other side of town,” Vitra countered. “The ladybugmoth is only considered threatened now… it’s no longer endangered!”

Kashmir tilted her head. Hmmm… Kashmir is listening! Colb thought to himself. She’s talking with the human! This is good, yes? I’m proud of her.

“Also, the ladybugmoth in that potion was already dead when I received it,” Vitra continued. “I only recycle animals which have passed from natural causes. There’s no reason to kill them for my research.”

“So… I’d like to offer you this,” Vitra said. She pulled out another ladybugmoth potion, and held it out. Borin stepped out of the way, and Colb mirrored him: opening the space between Kashmir and Vitra. “I’m sorry for tossing some explosive liquid on you… if you’re hurt, can I heal you?”

“Um… I’m okay,” Kashmir said. She seemed unharmed by the small explosion – her dress had some soot on it but hadn’t ripped. Colb did notice the elf occasionally rubbing the ice-bandage over her crossbolt wound, but it would probably heal on its own over time.

“Rrghegh… I’ll take some healing,” Drek added, showing his neck to Vitra. It contained a half-healed frost blister from his first encounter with Kashmir. Vitra sucked up some of her potion with a small syringe, and applied it to Drek’s wound – healing it instantly.

“Would you still like to see my experiment?” Vitra asked, picking up her vial of frothy pink potion and looking at Kashmir. “I think you might like it.”

Kashmir looked at Colb, who nodded encouragingly. “Um… okay,” she said, sounding calmer. She rubbed her eyes, wiping away the snow-tears that had accumulated during the emotion-filled conversation.

“Alright. What happened to that hammer?” Vitra asked.

Stibs walked up to her – happily skipping a little bit, with his freshly healed leg – and presented his woodworking hammer. Vitra accepted it, then kneeled to the ground. She placed Borin’s metal tube into the clovergrass, then hammered it in place with the old goblin’s small tool. “Thanks,” she said, handing Stibs his hammer.

“Alright… now watch this,” Vitra announced. The human poured her potion down the center of the metal cylinder. The pink froth cascaded along the interior of the tube, eventually soaking into the dirt beneath. After a few moments, a bright flower magically sprouted, poking out from the tube’s opening. Mixed between its pedals, a lob of green plant matter formed into the shape of a toadroach.

“Instant flower!” Vitra announced.

“Nice,” Borin grunted.

“Hmmm, where did that toadroach come from, yes?” Colb asked, pointing out the plant matter on the tip of the flower.

“It’s not a real toadroach, no it is not,” Vitra explained. “Rather, it’s plant matter that looks like a toadroach, yes it is – and if I did my math correctly, it should be full of a concoction called garvine.” Vitra looked up at Kashmir, who met her eyes with a cautious glance. “Now, garvine is an interesting solution I’ve come up with,” Vitra continued. “After extensive testing, it has proven to be harmless to all known animals… except for spiderbats.”

Vitra pointed up into the sky, where a spiderbat had begun circling overhead. The human then took a step away from the flower, and urged the others to do the same. “As I explained before, spiderbats are an invasive species on this island, yes they are,” Vita continued. “With no predators here, and only prey, the spiderbat population is going to keep growing until they wipe out a vast number of the endangered creatures on this island. How can we solve that? By engineering a predator to balance their population.”

As the human, elf, and four goblins stepped away from the flower, the spiderbat took the opportunity to dive down, snatching the fake toadroach off the plant. As it flew away, it began convulsing midair, eventually losing flight and dropping to the ground. A new fake toadroach magically grew on the tip of the flower, replacing the lost one.

“Mm, it’s a bit grim, yes it is, but this garvine flower is my and Borin’s latest contribution to the research,” Vitra explained. “While others are breeding endangered animals and improving their habitats, I’m tackling the source of our initial mistake: getting these invasive spiderbats to stop living unchecked on this island.”

“So… you came here to help the endangered creatures of Jaiphione’s Crescent?” Kashmir asked.

“That’s right!” Vitra replied with a nod. Kashmir looked down at the garvine flower. She then looked over at Stibs and Drek, who had been freshly healed. Finally, she turned back to Vitra, whose armor shined with magic, and whom a magical winter foxferret seemed to love and trust.

“Hmmm, perhaps there are some good humans, yes?” Colb prodded, trying to put words to the thoughts he imagined Kashmir was thinking.

“…Alright,” the elf conceded. “I’ll admit we found one human that isn’t terrible.” Her shoulders, which had been tense since the moment she set foot on this island, lowered a little.

Kashmir adjusted her hair to cover her face, preventing anyone from making direct eye contact with her. “Um… I guess I apologize for attacking you, human,” she continued, staring at the ground. “Um, Vitra, that is. You have a name. And… to both of you… Vitra and Borin… th-thank you for the work you’re doing here. Like any elf, I care for Jaiphione’s creatures. Anyone who cares for them as well is good as an ally in my book.”

  Hmmm! This makes me proud! Colb thought to himself. The chef goblin smiled, feeling warm inside as Kashmir apologized and thanked the scientists. Hmmm! It looks like I finally got through to her!