8. SAILING INJURY
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“MMmMmmmm, apologies, but I’d rather not get in another handmade boat,” 27 worried.
“Hurmph, then you’re welcome to buy one for us,” Stibs grumbled.
“Well – I am little bit low on funding in my Yiklar Bank Account, yes I am,” 27 confided. “I went frantic buying items during the battle, yes I did, and... to be honest, I lost track of what I was spending. By the end of the battle, my personal funds had wholly depleted, yes they had, and I’d already let Sunbolt take back Leader Glazeanvil’s money. With all that in mind… well, there’s not really anything left.”
The other three goblins gave the noble a surprised look. “Rrghegh, you’re broke?” Drek chuckled. “You? Richie rich goblin?”
“MMmMmmmm – I was one single goblin purchasing literal army worth of goods, yes I was!” 27 retorted. “Of course it cost fortune!”
“Hmmm,” Colb mumbled, scratching his chin. He noticed a dwarven trade ship, which floated peacefully near the shore. A couple of sailors were loading boxes onto the wooden-and-cloth vessel. “Let’s ask them for a ride,” he declared, pointing out the sailors.
Not waiting for a response, Colb trotted over to the dwarves, who were dressed in leather armor not unlike his own. “What?” a heavy-set dwarf asked, as Colb stopped in front of him.
Colb’s Yiklar Amulet of Open Ears glowed with understanding as he stared up at the dwarf. “Hmmm, do you speak Goblish?” Colb asked.
“I-I don’t know what he’s saying,” the sailor responded, looking at his companion. The second dwarf shrugged as well.
Colb glanced back at his crew, who appeared to have followed behind him. “Hmmm, show them where we want to go on the map, yes?” he said. Stibs pulled out his Yiklar Map of Finding Location, displayed it to the dwarves, and pointed at the Frosted Wastes in the northeastern corner.
“What, you want to go there?” the sailor guessed. Colb nodded. “Are you asking us to bring you?” Colb nodded again. “No,” he grumbled, then went back to stacking boxes.
“What did he say?” 27 asked.
“Hmmm, he’s not interested, yes?” Colb said, feeling disappointed.
“Hurmph, try being persistent,” Stibs pitched. “I know sailors – they like the path of least resistance. If we keep bugging him, eventually he might decide that saying yes is easier than saying no.” Stibs walked up to the dwarf, and again displayed the map.
“What? Go away,” the sailor grumbled. Colb just stared back at him blankly, while Stibs continued to hold the map out.
“What does he want?” the sailor asked his companion.
The second, thinner dwarf set down a box and walked up to the goblin crew. “That’s a nice map,” he said. “Nothing’s labeled in Dwarvish, but I can tell where things are just by the drawings. Did you four make this?”
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Colb shook his head. “Well, then what do you want?” the second dwarf asked. Colb pointed at their trading ship, which looked like it was just about ready to set sail.
“You want our ship?” the second dwarf chuckled. “No can do, little guy.” Colb shook his head.
“I think they wanted to hitch a ride. They’re looking to go all the way here, but I already said no,” the first dwarf grumbled, pointing at the Frosted Wastes on the map.
“Oh, we’re not going that far, buddy,” the second sailor replied. “We’re going to Cantia, then down to Forgar, then back here.” He traced their path out with his thick finger on the Yiklar Map of Finding Location.
“Hmmm, they’re going to Cantia,” Colb observed. “That’s closer to the Frosted Wastes, yes?”
Stibs turned the map back towards himself, and stared at it. “Hurmph, that’s true,” he replied. “If we go there, we could then make some more progress by land.”
Stibs turned the map back to the dwarves, and pointed at Cantia. “You want to go to Cantia, now?” the sailor guessed. Colb nodded. The dwarf shrugged. “Alright.”
“Really?” the first sailor questioned.
“Yea, why not? We’re going there anyway,” the second dwarf responded. “Plus, didn’t Shieldbell say a goblin gave her the money to start this whole operation? Plus, Maxten just gave his miracle to the goblin tribes, didn’t he? Helping goblins must be good luck!” The first dwarf shrugged in agreement. With that, the goblins had their ride.
The four travelers climbed onto the dwarven tradership, which was respectably large for having just a two-dwarf crew. It was pulled by a series of three sails and sported a catcrow’s nest high up in the sky.
After they finished packing some finals sets of boxes, the two dwarves set sail. The heavy-set dwarf manned the steering wheel, while the other climbed up the catcrow’s nest to navigate. Colb, 27, Stibs and Drek sat on the frontmost deck of the ship, feeling the wind on their pointed ears as the ship whisked them out on the peppersalt sea.
After they’d been traveling without a word for a few hours, Colb decided to start up a conversation. “Hmmm, you know what humans are like, yes?” the chef goblin questioned 27, who had been monotonously tapping the ship’s deck with his sharp set of claws.
“MMmMmmmm, only what I could garner from a class I took at Yiklar University,” 27 replied, glancing at Colb. “Although Yiklar goods are enjoyed across the goblin and dwarven lands, we’ve never broken into the market of humans or elves. The rest of this trip is going to be quite foreign land for me, yes it is.”
“Hmmm, you do know how to speak with humans, though, yes?” Colb inquired.
“Yes,” 27 replied, “I did learn Hewmish in my studies, yes I did. I suppose some part of me wondered if they’d ever be potential customers of Yiklar. However, we were warned that they can be dangerous, unpredictable creatures.”
“Hmmm, how so?” Colb questioned.
“MMmMmmmm, from what I have heard – and again, we are headed farther north than I have ever gone, so I am out of my element here, yes I am – but from my studies, I’ve learned that the humans find us disgusting,” 27 responded. “When Yiklar goblins approached them in the past, they spurned our items and threatened us if we didn’t leave, yes they did.”
“Hmmm, that doesn’t sound very nice,” Colb muttered.
CREAK! A large wave bumped up against the boat. “We’re on course,” the dwarf announced from up in the catcrow’s nest, “but the waters are getting a bit bumpy.”
“Aye,” the ship’s captain shouted back.
“MMmMmmmm – what are they saying?” 27 asked.
“Hmmm, the waters are getting a little bumpy, but we’re on course, yes?” Colb answered.
“AaAaaaaahhhh, I see,” 27 replied. “Erm… what were we talking about again?”
“Humans not liking goblins, yes?” Colb reminded.
“AaAaaaaahhhh, humans, yes,” 27 continued. “If I am remembering correctly – and again, I may not be – I believe humans and elves are at odds, as well. Now, elves I understand even less than humans, you must keep in mind, but, it just goes to show that the humans aren’t very friendly, no they are not.” Colb nodded his head as he listened to his friend’s words. “I’ve sometimes dreamed of being the goblin to finally break into the human market, yes I have… however, being spurned and threatened doesn’t sound most pleasant, no it does not.”
27 scratched his head, as if pondering the problem. “But… you never know. I think Yiklar products are quite fantastic, yes I do. I’ve always thought, if I ever met a human, that I’d try to be the first goblin to sell them something. The first goblin to convince them that we aren’t an enemy, and they can receive most highest-of-quality items if they’d just give us a little trust. Plus, once humans see how wonderful Yiklar’s products are, there’s no way they could continue to dislike us!”
“Hmmm, well if that’s your dream, then you should give it a try, yes?” Colb agreed.