“Making some sales would help with our money issue, too, yes it would,” 27 noted. “A kickback from each sale goes straight to my Yiklar Bank Account.”

CREAK! Another wave plunged into the side of the boat, knocking the sailor in the catcrow’s nest off his feet. “WOAH!” he shouted, falling over the edge of the high-up vantage point.

Stibs jumped to his feet, his wrinkly ears perking up at the sound of danger. “Hurmph, I’ve gotcha,” he shouted, hustling to get under the catcrow’s nest. The dwarf tumbled down one of the ship’s masts, plummeting to the deck – where Stibs dived to catch him. A sharp CRACK! echoed throughout the vessel as the dwarf landed on the old goblin.

The ship’s captain and the rest of the goblin crew rushed to the scene. “Rrghegh… did the boat just crack?” Drek cried out in fear.

“Not… catastrophically,” Stibs replied from under the dwarf, as if holding back tears.

The captain lifted his companion off the old goblin, who laid on the ground gritting his teeth. “I’m okay, I’m okay,” the dwarf assured. “Thank you for breaking my fall,” he cheered.

“Hmmm, he says thank you, yes?” Colb translated.

Drek kneeled next to Stibs, helping him sit up. The old goblin’s right leg had been smushed into the deck, and was trapped between two planks of wood.

“He squished your leg!” Drek shouted angrily.

“...My leg,” Stibs replied. “It hurts.”

“You’re still okay?” the captain asked his companion. The thinner dwarf nodded in reply. “Go drop the anchor,” the captain ordered, to which his companion rushed to another part of the boat.

“I’m going to go below-deck, and try to cut this goblin’s leg free, alright?” he announced. Colb nodded, then kneeled to investigate the crushed limb.

Stibs winced as Colb poked at the wounded area. “Medic…” he mumbled through grit teeth. “Please fix this. It’s like my leg’s on fire.”

Colb looked around at the others expectantly, then remembered that he was the medic. “Hmmm,” he replied, looking at the misshapen limb. “I do not see any fire, yes?”

“Hurmph, it just feels… really hot. I think… this is the worst pain I’ve ever… experienced… Fix this… please.”

“Hmmm,” Colb replied. He poked the damaged area some more, which made Stibs wince and grit his teeth even tighter. The old goblin’s ankle had twisted in an angle atypical to how a leg normally should look. “I think… I will need some medical supplies to fix this, yes?” Colb pondered aloud.

“You… you don’t have any?” Stibs asked. “Aren’t you a medic?”

“Hmmm… I didn’t bring any,” Colb replied. “I guess I didn’t realize I’d need to bring something like that,” he continued, glancing at 27.

“MMmMmmmm, well no reason to argue about who doesn’t have supplies, or who said someone was a medic when they weren’t, or anything like that right now,” 27 defended.

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Stibs suddenly hissed, as the ship’s captain shoved his leg up out of the crack. “I didn’t even have to use my saw!” the captain cheered, his voice audible through the newly created crack to below-deck.

The captain and his crew member then returned to the head of the ship. “Thanks for protecting my crewmate,” the captain said. “We’ll call it even for the free ride, how about that?” he chuckled.

The other dwarf presented a small box to the goblins. “Here’s our first-aid kit, if you need it. And yes, thanks again for helping me. I’m going to start being more careful about staying up there when the waters get turbulent.”

“Hmmm, perfect, yes?” Colb cheered, accepting the box. Unable to understand Goblish, the two dwarves simply nodded at Colb, then head back to their posts. They hoisted the anchor, and set sail once again.

Colb popped open the small kit, and poured out the contents: two white rags, and some dusty rosemushroom chunks.

“Hmmm, this is kind of a sad medical kit,” Colb observed. He picked up a rosemushroom chunk, dusted it off on his armor, and fed it to Stibs. “Do you have anything better, 27?”

“MMmMmmmm, the Yiklar tribe does not produce healing supplies, no it does not,” 27 replied, patting his Yiklar Bag of Traveling Inventory as he spoke. “Not that we’re swimming in funds right now, anyway.”

“Rrghegh… maybe humans will have medical supplies?” Drek pitched. He looked worriedly at crushed limb of the friend that had saved his life just the other day.

“AaAaaaaahhhh, I suppose we could search for human medical supplies once we reach Cantia,” 27 replied. The noble goblin scratched the back of his bald head anxiously. “MMmMmmmm… but that’s assuming we can find a way to pay for it, and that the humans don’t find us undesirable and attack,” he worried.

“Hmmm, every goblin is different, yes? As is every dwarf, yes?” Colb said. “Perhaps, if we find the right humans, you could find someone to do business with, yes?” Colb pitched.

“AaAaaaaahhhh, although I am worried – the optimism I appreciate, yes I do!” 27 cheered. Stibs wriggled on the ground in pain. “…it’s worth shot, yes it is,” he continued, looking down at the pained friend.

“Hmmm, Stibs, you should rest until we get to Cantia, yes?” Colb ordered. “I’ll make some rosemushroom stew, then we’ll find better medical supplies in human city, yes?”

Colb wrapped the two white rags around the goblin’s injured limb, then led a hobbling Stibs down to the ship’s lower level, where he could rest away from the action. The chef then whipped up a rosemushroom soup in the ship’s rudimentary kitchen, to feed both Stibs and to provide dinner for everyone else at the end of the day.

The next morning, while Colb was giving Stibs company below-deck, Drek rushed into the room. “Rrghegh… I spotted land in distance,” Drek announced. “…may I?” he continued, reaching for the Yiklar Map of Finding Location sticking out of the injured goblin’s backpack.

Stibs nodded, looking tired and pained. “Rrghegh… what was it? Wherearewe? Whereami?” Suddenly, the map glowed, flashing Drek in the face. He dropped the parchment and rubbed his eyes.

Colb picked the map up off the ground. “Hmmm! We’re very close to Cantia!” he cheered, seeing their latest position magically marked on the parchment. “We’ll find some human medical supplies for you, yes?” he promised, looking at Stibs.

“Rrghegh… you should go take look with 27. I’ll stay here with Stibs,” Drek said.

With that, Colb gave back the Yiklar Map of Finding Location, and climbed above-deck to peek out over the water. In the distance, he saw a forest-filled shore, upon which structures of black bismuthslate bricks and brown mapleoak wood blanketed the landscape. Wherever there weren’t buildings or trees, humongous patches of clovergrass – short, green plants unlike anything he’d seen in the Goblin Tribes or Dwarven Republic –spread far and wide. Hmmm, wow! he thought to himself.

“Hmmm, this is the Human Empire?” Colb asked, walking up to 27. “I see a lot of structures, yes? It’s more advanced than I was expecting, yes?”

“AaAaaaaahhhh, indeed!” 27 replied. “There are many buildings, yes there are. And these humans must like to trade, if the dwarves came all this way to ship goods for them. Maybe we will be able to find someone I could do business with? Someone to sell us human medical supplies?”

“Hmmm, I hope so, yes?” Colb replied. He thought about Stibs, who had stayed silent but was clearly in pain all night. The white rags and rosemushroom soup had not done nearly enough to fix his leg. “I hope so.”