“Why’s it so angry?” Kashmir called out.

“Hmmm! Kashmir’s wondering why it’s so angry, yes?” Colb translated at the top of his lungs.

“Rrghegh! It’s probably hungry and wants to eat us!” Drek shouted in reply.

GGGggggrrrgrrooooooooooo! the beast raised its head high into the sky, letting out another pained howl into the atmosphere.

“MMmMmmmm, if it’s hungry, let’s give it food?” 27 pitched.

“Hmmm! We’re running low on food just for ourselves, yes? What could we feed it?” Colb yelled back.

“Hurmph, everyone! I have an idea,” Stibs shouted. “The mountain’s only a mile away. Drek and I should split off, flanking around the side of the monster. When we do that, Drek can distract the beast with his arrow while I guard him with my shield. Meanwhile, you three can continue with the original plan. Sneak into the mountain, grab as much goldatinum as you can, and get out. Then, rinse and repeat until the mountain’s empty, while Drek and I keep the beast out of your way. Got it?”

“Hmmm, what if the goldatinum’s stuck in the mountain, and we need time to mine it free?” Colb asked at the top of his lungs. It was a struggle to be heard over the harsh winds the monster had summoned.

“Hurmph, chop out whatever you can with 27’s spear if you have to. We’ll distract the beast as long as we can, but this is a mission of speed,” Stibs shouted back.

“Hmmm, okay!” Colb called out. The rest of the team affirmed the plan as well.

“Rrghegh… see you in a bit,” Drek said, patting Colb on the shoulder. The old and young goblin duo then broke away from the group, marching off to prepare their distracting attack.

As Stibs and Drek ran off, Colb put the telescope back up to his eye, watching the colossal creature intently. It seemed to be glaring at Drek and Stibs, perhaps angered that the two goblins were approaching it.

“MMmMmmmm, this is working. The monster isn’t focused on us, no it is not,” 27 piped up. “We should get on with our sneaking, yes we should.”

Kashmir stepped in front of Colb, pulling her dress outwards to make herself look as big as possible. “Maybe we’ll blend in with the snow a bit better if I’m in front with my white dress?” she pitched.

“Hmmm! That’s a good idea, yes?” Colb agreed. He then turned to 27. “She’s going to camouflage us with her dress, yes?” he translated.

“MMmMmmmm, okay,” the noble said, gripping his spear. 27’s hands looked strained and veiny, as if he were holding onto the weapon for dear life.

“Hmmm, off we go,” Colb muttered.

The chef goblin held up his shield, and with Kashmir leading the way, the trio began to trudge in a straight line towards the base of Wealth Mountain.

As they walked, the monster howled into the sky with another wretched GGggrrrrrrgggroooooooooo! and looked more and more furious as Drek and Stibs approached it.

Once Colb, Kashmir, and 27 were within a minute’s walk of Wealth Mountain’s entrance, a fleck of iridhodium flew out from Stibs and Drek’s position. The shiny arrow made a direct hit at the side of the beast’s head, causing it to erupt with an enraged growl that echoed throughout the region like an earthquake.

With a single step, the beast took its paw off the summit of Wealth Mountain, and stomped onto the ground about 500 feet away from Colb. Three more icy tornadoes spawned right next to the city-sized foot.

“Go go go,” 27 ordered. Panicked by the tornadoes, the trio picked up their pace, rushing to the cave entrance. As they did, they could hear the BOOM! of another paw stepping closer to Drek and Stibs.

Once the trio successfully reached the snow-covered cavern, they looked around expectantly. There was no goldatinum to be seen – but a clear path leading deeper into Wealth Mountain did sit before them.

Colb looked back with fear in his eyes. “Hmmm! We can’t go spelunking now, yes?” he cried out. “That thing’s about to kill Drek and Stibs! There’s no way they’ll last more than a minute!”

27 looked down at the Yiklar Spear of Irreversible Death between his palms. “MMmMmmmm, I can think of one solution,” he confided.

Colb nodded, then looked over at Kashmir. Her eyes were covered with snowy tears as she, too, nodded in agreement with 27’s plan.

“Hmmm, I’ll cover you with my shield, yes?” Colb promised to 27. He then pondered what the young elf should do. Hmmm, it might be best for Kashmir to stay in this cave, he thought. I know she’s a fighter, but I’m worried Drek and Stibs might die if our plan with this spear doesn’t play out well. I don’t want her seeing that, yes?

“Kashmir… you stay here, yes?” Colb requested. “Hmmm, I don’t want you getting sucked into a tornado… plus, if 27 or I get sucked into one, or flung somewhere… then… we need you to watch where we land from the safety of this cave. Hmmm, so you can find us once the storms calm down, yes?” he said, giving her a task to ensure she wouldn’t follow them into danger. “Stay in this cave, and don’t take your eyes off me and 27.

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Kashmir nodded again, putting a hand over her mouth as snow rolled down her face.

“MMmMmmmm, okay, it’s now or never, yes it is,” 27 said. Colb and 27 shared a brief hug of reassurance, then rushed out together, back into the cold.

For Colb, the next few moments rushed by like they happened in under a second. Holding his shield high to protect 27 from the mighty winds, he ran straight into the face of danger, getting the noble goblin as close as possible to the beast’s fur-covered foot – without getting too close, else they might lose their own footing against the pull of the snowy vortexes nearby.

“Hmmm! I think this is as close as we can get, yes?” Colb shouted, as he started to feel the pull of the tornadoes against his skin.

27 let out a deep breath, stretching his arms. “I think I can make this shot, yes I can,” he said, sizing up the distance to the monster’s foot.

“Hmmm! Throw it before the monster takes another step, yes? Otherwise, the foot might go too far away,” Colb advised.

27 rubbed his hands together, then lifted the Yiklar Spear of Irreversible Death high. “For Yiklar! Or… or something! I don’t know. I’m not a warrior, no I am not,” he said, chucking the spear with all his might towards the beast’s enormous leg.

The dark blue weapon whirred majestically through the sky, aimed perfectly at the back of the monster’s limb… until a nearby snow tornado pulled it off-course.

The freak weather event ripped the spear off its trajectory with a powerful gush of wind. The weapon began to fling wildly around in the air, orbiting the snow-filled vortex.

Before Colb could tell what was happening, the Yiklar Spear of Irreversible Death suddenly broke free from the storm’s grasp, flying straight and true… back in the direction from which it had been thrown.

The Yiklar Spear of Irreversible Death flung back to 27 at an incredible speed, piercing into the goblin’s torso. Before Colb could even comprehend what he was seeing, Kashmir let out a blood-curling scream from the cave entrance behind him.

“TWENTY-SEVEN!!!” the purple elf cried out in horror.

Gggggrrrrggrrrrrooooo! the beast howled in reply. Its massive ears straightened into the sky as it reared its head, now looking down at the intruder in Wealth Mountain’s cave entrance.

Another fleck of iridhodium shot from Stibs and Drek’s position, but this time the monster ignored the sharp strike, seeming blinded by rage as it glared down at Kashmir. The beast reared its massive jaw, and blew a storm of hail towards the elf.

Massive chunks of ice smashed into the face of Wealth Mountain, causing a cave-in. “KASHMIR!” Colb shouted, turning to look back at the young elf with his magic telescope. The eyepiece revealed a mess of snow and ice rapidly covering the entrance to the cavern, permanently locking the young elf inside Wealth Mountain’s jaw.

Hearing another growl, Colb moved his gaze to the beast. It was looking furious, snarling as it towered above Colb. Another arrow flew at it from Drek and Stibs, but it didn’t seem to care.

“Hmmm! Kashmir!” Colb worried, too frazzled to know what to do. Now she’s trapped in the mountain! Hmmm! I shouldn’t have told her to stay in there! he thought.

The chef goblin then looked down at his noble companion, who had fallen limp in the snow. His body had been skewered by the dark blue spear. “27!!” Colb shouted, finally comprehending the reality of this moment.

A small explosion came from where Drek and Stibs were positioned, and a wide boulder sailed through the sky as a result. The boulder bashed the beast in the side of the head, splitting into pieces as it hit. The monster howled with rage, shifting its focus back to them.

With the beast successfully distracted by Stibs and Drek, Colb rushed to the side of his good friend. “27?” Colb whimpered, holding up his Yiklar Shield of Reflecting against the windy conditions.

27 stayed limp, the Yiklar Spear of Irreversible Death embedded deep in his body. Black tendrils of energy were visibly pouring out from the spear, flowing across the noble goblin’s skin in a pattern not unlike that of a spiderbat’s web.

Colb frantically pulled his homemade healing elixir off his belt, and poured it down the goblin’s throat. “Hmmm, come back… come back…” he cried.

27’s neck glowed as the potion dripped down his esophagus. The black tendrils along his skin seemed to react violently, twisting and curling as if being assailed by an enemy.

27 suddenly let out a cough, and half-opened his eyes. “MMmMmmmm… I am here…” he softly groaned.

“Hmmm! The potion’s working!” Colb rejoiced.

“MMmMmmmm… it’s taking away some of the pain,” 27 reported. “…Thank you… but… it will not save me.”

The black tendrils of the Yiklar Spear of Irreversible Death began to dance along his skin, shimmering and darkening as a magic battle of healing and death ensued inside 27’s body.

“Hmmm! That is not true!” Colb cried out, frantically checking his pockets for more items. All he could find was the silvopper coin he’d pick up from a fountain back in the Human Empire.

“Yiklar Spear of Irreversible Death… it is simply…” 27 coughed up a little bit of green blood as he spoke, staining his beloved silk clothing. “It is simply… too highest… of quality,” he finished.

“Surely this can be undone somehow, yes?!” Colb cried, shaking the empty health potion bottle to pull out any last drops he might’ve missed.

“This is a Yiklar-made item we’re talking about…” 27 replied. “Its only flaw… is that it’s… so very without flaw…” 27 smiled slightly, as if proud of his tribe’s handiwork to the very end. “It promises irreversible death… and a promise made is a promise kept…”

The web of black tendrils began slowly spreading again, as if starting to overcome the resistance Colb’s health potion had wrought.

“Listen to me, Colb…” 27 muttered, life fading from his eyes. “I think… I… I understand… 1’s secret… to… investing…” Colb began to cry harder, feeling unnerved by 27’s sudden harkening back to his roots – something that might imply the noble goblin was having his life flash before his eyes.

“Investment… is to believe in someone… someone worth believing in… like this team…” 27 coughed again, his throat turning drier and coarser with each word. “…a team of good friends… far outweighs the… value… of money…”

The black tendrils flowing from the Yiklar Spear of Irreversible Death had now flowed as far as 27’s knees. The noble shut his eyes, and his face began to wrinkle.

“Hmmm! We can’t do this without you!” Colb cried. “One goblin from each of the four tribes – those were your words, yes?! If you leave now, there will only be three goblins… so, you can’t leave. You can’t leave yet, yes?”

“…Oh, Colb…” 27 muttered. His voice sounded quiet and ethereal, and his blackened body looked limp and dry. Colb struggled to tell if this was even 27 talking, or just his imagination stretching out the noble’s final moment.

“…Three goblins is plenty…” the voice whispered.

“Hmmm… because there is no need for more, yes?” Colb agreed softly. “Quality defeats quantity, yes?” Colb could swear the noble’s body cracked a smile at those words. “…That is the Yiklar way,” Colb finished. With that, Colb gazed upon 27 fondly, until his tears blocked his vision too much to continue looking.