21. VOYAGE OF DESTINY
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The school of deerdolphins sped across the water all day, eventually reaching the Frosted Wastes at nightfall. After the crew dismounted their steeds, the rubbery creatures grouped together to preserve warmth in the chilly waters.
“Hmmm, thank you for the trip, yes?” Colb called out to the deerdolphins. A few of them let out soft squeaks as they fell asleep near the shore’s edge.
“Hurmph, I don’t think they understand Goblish,” Stibs chuckled.
“AaAaaaaahhhh, but it’s nice of Colb to have thanked them anyway,” 27 said. The noble goblin activated his Yiklar Folding Cabin as he spoke. “I’m sure they could sense the sentiment, yes they could.”
“Rrghegh, it’s cold here,” Drek complained with a shiver.
“Seems fine to me,” Kashmir cheered, diving into a pile of snow. The young elf nearly disappeared as her white dress camouflaged her amongst the blankets of frost.
“Hurmph… whereami?” Stibs mumbled, pulling out his Yiklar Map of Finding Location. A brilliant light flashed onto the map, forming into a point on the western coast of the Frosted Wastes. Suddenly, out from the dot, the lights started to crawl eastwards, displaying a path through the mountain range and up to a cave entrance clearly marked as “Wealth Mountain.” Below the cave entrance sat a dangerous-looking mark of a monster.
“Hurmph, that’s convenient,” Stibs announced. “1 laid out exactly where we need to go. It’ll probably take a couple days to walk this path – and the Frosted Wastes certainty doesn’t have ideal conditions for walking – but if we take occasional breaks in 27’s cabin, I think we’ll be alright.”
“Rrghegh, I’m ready to find that goldatinum and start my kingdom!” Drek cheered.
“Hmmm, we can’t forget about the howling sound that 1’s oracle heard, yes?” Colb worried. “The sound that might be linked to some horrible monster in this area, yes? Hmmm, we shouldn’t get careless, yes?”
“Rrghegh, did you forget about our superweapon?” Drek countered.
“AaAaaaaahhhh, that’s right!” 27 cheered, holding up the Yiklar Spear of Irreversible Death. “Nothing can stop this!”
“Rrghegh, I meant our other superweapon,” Drek said, pointing his gnarly green finger at a pile of snow nearby.
“This is literally the best place I’ve ever been,” the muffled voice of Kashmir exclaimed from under it.
“Hurmph, with Kashmir’s powers, 27’s spear, and my ingenuity, nothing’s going to get in our way, Colb!” Stibs agreed.
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“This seems like the last leg of our journey together, and I’ve come to care deeply about all of you,” Colb clarified. “Hmmm, I just don’t want any of my close friends to get hurt, yes?”
“AaAaaaaahhhh, then let’s take a nice rest out from the cold,” 27 pitched, opening the door to his Yiklar Folding Cabin. “That way, we’ll start our journey with fresh minds and warm bodies, yes we will. The perfect combination to keep ourselves sharp and safe!”
The crew nodded, pleased by 27’s plan. With that, the goblins head into their climate-controlled Yiklar Folding Cabin.
As the goblins shared a quick dinner to end off the day, Kashmir built a bed of snow outside. When Colb left to check on her, the young elf announced that she wanted to spend the night a “comfortable snowbank,” rather than inside the cramped, goblin-sized cabin.
Once it was time for bed, Colb pulled his cot over to a window, such that he could watch over Kashmir as she slept amongst the elements. As Colb looked out along the vast wasteland of snow beyond the glass, he reflected on his journey so far – the friends he’d made, the places he’d seen, and the distance he’d traveled. Hmmm, it’s hard to believe we’ve almost made it to Wealth Mountain! he thought to himself. Although this landscape is foreign and scary, I find myself eager to explore it with my good friends, yes? Wealth Mountain, here we come!
With that, Colb laid down on his side, watching Kashmir through the window until he drifted off to sleep.
When morning came, a spark of excitement flew around within the goblin crew. Even Drek jumped out of his beanbag chair at the first sign of sunlight, exclaiming “Rhe rhe, soon I’ll be rich!” as he did so.
“Hurmph, look at you! The first one awake, eh?” Stibs cheered, rubbing his eyes as he sat up.
Colb turned to the window, where he saw Kashmir waking up under beams of sunlight spilling over the horizon. “Hmmm, off to Wealth Mountain, yes?” he rejoiced.
“To Wealth Mountain!” the other goblins cheered in reply.
The group quickly gathered up their things, and began their long trudge northeast through the snow. As they moved, Colb and Kashmir kept an eye out for any winter foxferrets that might consider befriending the purple-skinned elf.
As expected, the cold air of these Frosted Wastes took a toll on the goblins, requiring them to periodically stop and rest in the climate-controlled Yiklar Folding Cabin. The Frosted Wastes were a cold and barren place, filled with dull, stick-like stones protruding up from the ground. The bright morning sun reflected off the snowy landscape with a blinding white hue, making it hard for the goblins to look upwards at the mountain range ahead of them.
The journey took three days of walking in total, slowly wearing away at the spirit of the travelers. Nevertheless, the potential of fortune, destiny, and new winter foxferret friends ahead kept everyone moving, excited for what the future had in store.
Stibs walked in front, navigating for the others with his Yiklar Map of Finding Location. As the third day of travel entered late afternoon, the old goblin spoke fondly of their progress. “Hurmph, look at that!” Stibs exclaimed, pointing out an exceptionally tall summit in the mountain range nearby. “That’s got to be Wealth Mountain. There’s only another mile to go, and we should find some sort of cave entrance to the goldatinum.”
Colb, who had generally been focusing his weary eyes downwards to avoid the sun’s reflection off the arctic landscape, now finally glanced up to see what Stibs was pointing out. Sure enough, a glimmering peak stood before him, two times taller than all the other mountains in the Frosted Wastes. A thick stream of ice curved down along Wealth Mountain’s summit, like an extravagant waterfall that had been frozen in time.
“Rrghegh… maybe we rest for today, and get goldatinum tomorrow,” Drek replied with a shiver.
“I could keep going,” Kashmir added smugly. Colb shook his head, deciding not to translate her reply to the freezing Drek.
“Hurmph, I’m pretty cold too, but I think we could make it another mile,” Stibs countered.
GGGggggrgrrrrorroooooooooooooooooooo! a low, pained howl suddenly echoed throughout the mountain range. Immediately, the wind started to pick up, knocking Drek off his feet and covering the rest of the team in a veil of sleet.