4. DALREK TREK

[https://static.wixstatic.com/media/ce80ea_a771da2952314f33b6f971f1641f1d1e~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_1200,h_900,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/4.png]

After the successful encounter with 1, the goblin crew went back to the main market square of the Yiklar tribe, ready to set off on the first part of their quest.

“Hurmph, Bellra’s pretty far west on the map,” Stibs announced. “If we’re going there for the magic spear, we should start by going to the dwarven town of Dalrek by boat. From Dalrek, we can get to Bellra on foot.”

“Great! I know a guy who sells highest-quality boats,” 27 replied. “We’ll pick up the pigeonhorses from 578, and then be on our way.”

“Hurmph! Let me stop you right there,” Stibs retorted. “Pigeonhorses are notoriously fearful of water. It is not a good idea to put one of those things on a boat.”

“Oh… that’s unfortunate,” 27 replied.

“Hmmm, what if we trade the pigeonhorses for a boat?” Colb pitched. “That will give them good home, and will give us boat, yes?”

“AaAaaaaahhhh, that is true,” 27 replied, scratching his chin. “MMmMmmmm, they will not be worth enough, though, no they will not be. For a highest-quality, Yiklar-made boat with magical properties, we will all need to pitch in some funds in addition to the pigeonhorses for a good purchase of boat.”

“Hurmph! Why must everything be so luxurious for you? I can craft a boat with some logs and these two hands,” Stibs exclaimed proudly, shoving his wrinkly, beaten hands in 27’s face. “Let’s trade the pigeonhorses for some raw materials, and I’ll make us a boat in just a few hours. I’ve done it before, and I can do it now!”

27 appeared hesitant at this idea, but Colb and Drek supported it, curious to see if Stibs could really build a boat that fast. Outvoted, 27 led the goblin crew to 949, a seller of raw materials.

“AAAAAHHHHHHH, 27! Why, you’ve been promoted to carry a Yiklar Bag of Traveling Inventory, yes you have!” screamed a short, middle-aged goblin wearing a construction hat. “What brings you to my shop, when your companions could just order products directly from you with your magic bag, yes they could?”

“AaAaaaaahhhh, yes, well, we’ve come to barter items for items instead of simple money-based transaction. Plus, it’s nice to see a friend from Yiklar University again!” 27 replied.

“AAAAAHHHHHHH, wonderful! You come to me with a custom offer, then?” 949 inquired.

“AaAaaaaahhhh, yes, it is most custom,” 27 confirmed. “We have two pigeonhorses at the Yiklar Steed Holder Service, yes we do, and wanted to trade them for some raw materials to build a boat.”

“MMMMMMMMM, that is a most intriguing offer, 27. However, I have a pigeonhorse of my own at the Yiklar Steed Holder Service already, yes I do,” 949 replied. “I don’t need two more, no I do not.”

“Oh,” 27 said. “MMmMmmmm, that’s disappointing, yes it is.”

“Hurmph! Well, what do you need? Maybe we can work something out here,” Stibs threw in.

949 thought for a moment. “MMMMMMMMM, well, I do have a bit of negotiation problem with another goblin right now, yes I do. I could use help persuading him to see my side?”

27 nodded his head. “AaAaaaaahhhh, I can be persuasive, yes I can be,” 27 cheered. “I am a merchant of high-quality goods, after all! That takes a little bit of a silvopper tongue!”

“AAAAAHHHHHHH, sounds promising!” 949 shouted. “MMMMMMMMM, okay. Well, I’ve been having a problem with 789 recently, yes I have been. He’s increased his prices on bismuthslate from the Yiklar Quarry. It’s been making it tough for me to upsell those raw materials, yes it has been. It used to be 5 electronze per pound of bismuthslate, but now it’s up to 8. Convince him to bring the price down – back to no more than 5 electronze – and I’ll reward you with some wood fresh from the Yiklar Mapleoak Farm.”

“MMmMmmmm, alright, it is deal,” 27 cheered. The noble goblin stuck out his hand, shaking on the proposition with 949.

With that, 27 led his teammates to another part of the city, where a group of dusty goblins were moving rocks out of Yiklar Quarry and onto a wooden wagon.

“AaAaaaaahhhh, laborers of stone,” 27 said, announcing his presence to the workforce. “Where might I find 789?”

Three of the goblins pointed towards a nearby straw hut, which sat precariously near the edge of a mined-out quarry hole. 27 waltzed into the hut, with Stibs and Drek trailing behind him. Colb stayed behind, nervous to enter a structure so close to a gap in the earth.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“Hmmm…” Colb muttered, sheepishly inspecting the mine from afar. “Why is that hole so wide and so deep, yes?” he asked one of the laborers.

“MmMmmmMm, we’re in desert, yes we are,” the goblin replied matter-of-factly. “You’ve got to dig deep to find bismuthslate under all this sand, yes you do.”

“Hmmm, I see,” Colb replied. “I go by the name of Colb, by the way. What is your name?”

“My name is 255,861, yes it is,” the goblin replied, still loading chunks of bismuthslate rocks onto a wagon.

“That’s a long number, yes?” Colb inquired.

“MmMmmmMm, don’t remind me,” 255,861 mumbled. “If I had the honor of a lower-digit name, I wouldn’t be lugging rocks all day, now, would I? No, I would not.”

“Hmmm, well I like your name,” Colb cheered. “The high number sounds powerful, yes? It makes me feel like you could do anything you set your mind to, yes?”

255,861 rolled his eyes, and went back to stacking rocks silently. Moments later, 27 and the rest of his crew exited the hut.

“AaAaaaaahhhh, we did it, yes we did!” 27 cheered as he approached Colb.

“Hurmph! More like I did it,” Stibs clarified.

“This is true, this is true,” 27 admitted. “Colb, it turns out that 789 has been struggling to keep up with booming demand for his good bismuthslate business. Stibs connected him with second supplier in Kreet, which will help to alleviate that issue.”

“Rrghegh… but that wasn’t enough,” Drek grumbled.

“AaAaaaaahhhh, yes, yes, 789 was concerned he didn’t have a means of quickly traveling to-and-from Kreet – so, we made special deal! 789 promised to offer permanent preferential discounts to 949 – never to exceed 5 electronze per pound of bismuthslate – and in exchange, we yielded to him our two pigeonhorses at the Yiklar Steed Holder Service, yes we did!”

“Hmmm, good job!” Colb praised. With that, the team turned to walked back towards 949’s shop.

Colb paused, looked back at the laborers, and checked his pockets for any goldatinum he might be able to give them. They deserve a tip for helping us find 789, he thought. Unfortunately, his pockets came up empty, as he’d left everything with Vrel before leaving Skaal.

He looked back toward his teammates, who seemed eager to return to 949. Another time, Colb thought to himself, catching up with the crew.

“AAAAAHHHHHHH, excellent, excellent, excellent!” 949 cheered after 27 delivered the good news. “Take anything you want! I’m happy to oblige!”

Stibs rubbed his hands together excitedly as he went through the scraps of wood in 949’s yard. He pulled out long mapleoak poles, stout wooden blocks, and various planks from the piles. “Hurmph, you said anything I want, right? Can I take some stuff that isn’t wood?” he asked.

949 nodded, to which Stibs shoved some string and some chunks of flintcoal into his backpack. After Stibs finished looting what he needed from 949’s shop, the goblin crew said their goodbyes, and headed to Yiklar Port.

Stibs worked for a few hours, rapidly scraping together a rowboat with the planks of wood. Additionally, he carved a set of paddles with his wood blocks, string, and wooden poles. While he did this, the others left for a meal – paid for by 27 – at Yiklar Cuisine, which they found to be quite suitable. The chefs in Yiklar were certainly up-to-par with Colb’s skill level, if not a little better. 27 still held that Colb was his favorite chef, though.

After a short while, the trio of goblins regrouped with Stibs at Yiklar Port. Colb handed the old goblin a packet of cowmammoth jerky when they arrived, since Stibs hadn’t joined them for the meal at Yiklar Cuisine.

Stibs accepted the meat, then presented his shoddy, quickly-built boat to the group. It was a small 4-goblin canoe, with hand-crafted paddles. “Hurmph, not bad for only a few hours, eh?” he asked. “I didn’t even use all the materials!” Stibs opened his backpack, presenting the chunks of flintcoal, some leftover string, and a couple of wooden poles that stuck out the top of the bag.

“MMmMmmmm, that boat…,” 27 replied, “it… does seem to float.” 27 stared at the mass of wood bobbing up and down in the water with a face of horror. “…But maybe we should stay in Yiklar for little longer, so you have time to really polish it off, yes we should.”

“Hurmph, nonsense! She’s sea-ready right now!” Stibs replied, giving the side of the boat a slap, which sent a creaking sound throughout the whole thing. While 27 and Stibs spoke, Colb and Drek climbed onto the boat.

“MMmMmmmm, well it might take a long time to paddle far, though,” 27 continued to stall. “Perhaps we should hire an architectgoblin to enchant the boat, so it can magically propel itself, yes we should.”

“Hurmph! You haven’t seen me paddle, boy!” Stibs defiantly replied, jumping into the boat. “I’m strong as a hawkbear! I’ll get us across this sea no problem!”

Once again outvoted, 27 hesitantly entered the boat, and Stibs launched the team out to sea. True to his word, the old goblin paddled with rigor, moving the crew surprisingly speedily through the waters.

After a day of rowing, land was far from sight. The sun was low in the sky, and an audible grumble came from Drek’s stomach. “Rrghegh… stop moving the boat. It’s hunting time,” he announced, standing up. The young goblin looked around at the water and sky, scanning for prey.

“Hurmph, I suppose this is good a place as any to rest for the night,” Stibs agreed, stopping the vessel. The old goblin pulled out his Yiklar Map of Finding Location, and took a look at it.

“Whereami…” he grumbled. Suddenly, the parchment glimmered with a bright light. After a few moments, the light faded, leaving behind a white mark on the map.

The mark sat somewhere in the peppersalt sea, several miles west of Yiklar. “Seems to work,” Stibs observed with approval. “Looks like we made good progress today.” He pulled the paddles into the boat as he spoke.

“Hmmm, we should order food through Yiklar Cuisine, or at least buy some ingredients for me to make us a meal, yes?” Colb inquired, glancing at 27’s fancy new Yiklar Bag of Traveling Inventory.

“MMmMmmmm, this bag is not infinitely powerful, no it is not,” 27 replied, patting the magical red sack. “You heard what 1 said when he gave it to me. I can sell you highest-of-quality items from the Yiklar Factories, but that’s it. Stalls like Yiklar Cuisine and Yiklar Produce are entirely separate, independent businesses. We must be in Yiklar to purchase from them.”

“Rrghegh, then we shall hunt for our food!” Drek cheered.

“Hurmph… there’s signs of seagullfish in this area,” Stibs observed. “We’ll find ‘em if we watch the waters. I’ll make some seagullfishing poles with my remaining materials.” The eyepatched goblin pulled the wooden poles and string out of his backpack.

“Rrghegh… no need,” Drek said with a smile, pulling out his Yiklar Bow of Returning Arrow. “I bet I could catch way more seagullfish than you if I use this.”

“Hurmph! You’re on!” Stibs challenged.

Drek loaded his bow with the fancy iridhodium arrow. “May the better goblin win,” he jeered.