"While most settlements in the goblin lands usually measure their members in the thousands at most, Sogasha is an exception. Traditionally the capital where the goblin emperor, the chieftain of chieftains ruled, the massive city sprawled in the center region of the rainforest, and well over two hundred thousand inhabitants called it home." - Garth Wainwrought, professor of socioeconomics at the Levain Institute of Higher Learning.

Even though Cal held her pace back somewhat so Fheeri managed to keep up with her during their journey, they still reached their destination in two weeks. The hyena-therian girl kept up with Cal quite well, as she had great stamina and had not minded the runs they took during the daylight hours of each day. Her speed when she ran on all fours came quite close to Cal's casual travel pace, so in truth she had not held back much other than how she consciously slowed down from time to time.

The way she ran resembled Willa's, since both were Therians and had similarly structured forms. Where Willa was bulkier and built more for explosive sprints however, Fheeri was an endurance runner, who had kept her speed up for half the day while barely tiring. The girl even showed amazing dexterity, as Cal noticed how during her run she sometimes grabbed a bit of jerky with one hand, popped it in her mouth, and kept her running pace unbothered.

Their destination, the grand city of Sogasha, was a sight to behold. Vast tracts of land were cleared out, the wildlife kept at bay by three layers of wooden palisades, which were manned by alert guards - mostly goblins, but other races were present as well. The guard waved them in after Fheeri spoke to them in the local language - which included noises that sounded like clicks - and they were allowed in without a fuss.

Some passerby looked at Cal a bit oddly for a moment, but soon turned and minded their own business. When she asked Fheeri what that was about, she answered that they probably aren't used to someone with pale skin like her. That made sense to Cal, since most of the inhabitants of the city had tanned or darker skins, and even the goblins leaned more to a brownish shade than the usual greenish or yellowish shades.

The city itself was actually smaller than what the palisades suggested. A large portion of the area enveloped inside the palisades were devoted for farmland or ranching space, while the city itself only occupied the center portion of the area. Many simple mud or wooden huts adorned the farmlands, as the farmers built their homes right next to their fields in most cases.

As per local customs, as visitors to the city they went to a hut where a city official was stationed. The hut they visited turned out to have the mayor himself within, as he happened to make his rounds, so they reported themselves as they greeted him politely.

The city mayor was an old goblin in his fifties whose skin was dark brown, and he politely welcomed them to his city. He introduced himself as Ksinau, and wished the visitors a pleasant stay in town. Amusingly, other than the feathered headdress - decorated with plumed lizard feathers - the major dressed no differently than other goblins.

First thing on Cal's list as they departed from the hut, was to search for a local weapon shop. Several questions got them directions, and before long Cal found herself before a simple building, just a roof with supports and no walls. The smiths worked further in the back of the building, while a long table was set on the front, which served as a display case for the weapons they made there.

Cal looked somewhat askance at the weapons, many of which had designs that were utterly foreign to her. Then again, it was not her decision that mattered, so she let Fheeri come forward and pick some weapons she fancied. When the girl protested that she had not enough to trade for them, Cal simply countered that they're part of her fee for being her guide so far.

While Fheeri was reluctant as first, the girl soon grew excited as she browsed through the weapons on display. She tested how one felt in her hand from time to time, and gave a few test swings with those she particularly fancied. Cal had not limited the girl, though she had suggested to her to pick two, to make the most of her ambidexterity.

Fheeri narrowed down her choices to two kinds of weapons in the end. One was an unusual hybrid of a spear, sword, and axe. The weapon had a wooden shaft around half a meter long, definitely for one handed use, and a curious blade attached to the shaft. The blade was long and straight, double-sided at the top and single-sided at the bottom, with the top part far longer than the bottom. Its overall structure looked like a sword blade that ended in spearheads, yet its mounting resembled an axe more.

The other was a sword with a curved, sickle-shaped double sided blade called a Khopesh. The curious construction of the blade granted it great chopping power, as well as the ability to loop around shields when needed. Fheeri was undecided between the two until Cal gave her a simple suggestion.

Simply pick one of each.

Fheeri covered her face with her palm when she heard the suggestion and grabbed one of each weapon. As with the settlement Fheeri called home, the goblins in Sogasha also accepted gold and silver as currency, but preffered to barter when possible. The brilliant plumage from the plumed lizard they killed on the road proved desireable, and they traded a portion of the plumes for the two weapons.

Cal frowmed a bit as she inspected the weapons. The workmanship itself was fine, excellent even, but the quality of the material used left much to be desired. She puts the matter behind, as the weapons were meant to be placeholders anyway. Should Fheeri be agreeable to the idea, Cal wouldn't have minded the therian girl as another student of hers.

She had no intention for that topic to be broached yet, however. Probably when they were on their way back out of the goblin lands. Perhaps because the experiences where she had taught students were fond ones, she found herself more agreeable to the idea of teaching others.

It was a curious thought, as for the decades during the civil war she too had taught others, but most of those she taught had perished during the long war, while left bitter memories instead for her.

On the other hand, the feeling she felt when she taught energetic youths who cherished every little improvement, and went on with their lives happily gave her a sense of satisfaction. One that had long been missed from her life.

She shook her head and cleared her thoughts, as Fheeri had finished admiring her new weapon and had them stored within her storage ring. Cal beckoned at the young therian girl as they walked off into the city.