Morgan, Zack, and Amanda rode due south for a couple of hours before spotting a small pond of water amidst the sandy scrub brush. They stopped for a quick lunch. This water passed the toxicity test, maintaining its color when a small drop of potion was mixed in. Still, it was murky, so while the horses drank happily, the three humans were reluctant.

Amanda opened up their food, splitting up their rations, which were dry and flavorless. “The downside of everything being natural with no preservatives?” she asked, laughing at the disgruntled look on Zack’s face.

He shrugged, taking a bite. “It’s not bad. It just doesn’t taste all that-” He broke off, choking on a particularly dry piece. Morgan laughed and Amanda rolled her eyes, turning back to her meal.

They let their horses eat their fill of the scraggly grass around the pond before mounting up and heading out.

Dunes of sand began to rise as they traveled further and further into the desert. It wasn’t until the sun had begun to set, painting the golden sands red, that they spotted the next source of water. It wasn’t much, a tiny puddle in comparison to the last pond, but it was enough. They slowed their horses down and began setting up camp.

Nothing happened during either Morgan or Amanda’s shifts, so Zack was woken at the expected four o’clock.

He stared out over the expansive desert. The only existing light stemmed from the millions of stars in the skies. He checked their small clock periodically, thankful that Echoterra ran on a standard 24 hour day. There had been dozens of clocks hidden in the castle, none in plain sight nor stored in any useful manner, but thankfully all at the right time. Just as the sky was beginning to lighten, his eyelids began to grow heavy. Like Morgan, he ran off pure hyperactive energy. Unlike her, his was not infinite and when it ran out, he crashed. And while getting up early was very normal for him, doing so after riding on horseback for ten hours was not.

Zack had just started dozing off when he heard rustling. His eyes snapped open, scanning the area around him. Slowly, he rose to his feet as quietly as possible. He heard muffled breathing from behind the tent and the sound of cloth bags being rifled through. Cautiously, he put a hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw. The scuffling was far too animalistic to be a human. Heart hammering, Zack moved closer, trying to conceal the sounds of his footsteps on the soft sand. It was still dark and his eyes hadn’t quite adjusted - he envied the mages who had spent the previous afternoon learning the light spell. He slowly unsheathed his sword, careful to not make a single sound.

Taking a deep breath, he sprung around the corner of the tent, sword extended, ready to attack. The thing rooting around in their bags froze before scurrying away in a panic. Unfortunately for the creature, it was weighed down by the load of items it had stolen. It took a matter of seconds for Zack to catch it and press his short sword against the monster’s throat.

“Oh pleeeeease don’t kill me,” the thing begged in a high nasally voice. “Please, I’ll put it right back, I swear.” It began to wring its hands, dropping the bags of food it had been carrying.

Zack blinked. This was weird. The vocal tone and pitch were so familiar, one he’d spent quite a bit of time emulating at camp.

This thing was a goblin. A real-life goblin. Greyish skin, warts, long curved nose, just like the masks back home. He was smaller than a human, scrawny and shorter, skin leathery under nondescript brown and grey tattered clothing.

“Please don’t kill meeeeee!” the creature wailed pitifully.

The noise had attracted the attention of Morgan and Amanda, who appeared at the entrance to the tent, swords half-drawn, eyes puffy but wide. There was a brief silence as the two girls took in the scene before scrambling out, both eager to get a glimpse at their first actual Echoteeran monster.

The goblin, seeing how outnumbered he was, gave a cry of resignation and threw himself onto the ground. Zack, surprised by the sudden movement, instinctively jabbed at it with his sword, but Amanda grabbed his arm before he had a chance to do any damage.

“Are you holding it hostage?” she asked accusingly.

Zack raised his eyebrows, mouth dropping open at the suggestion. “It was stealing our food, Amanda. I didn’t just- Do you think I’d just find the closest monster and attack it?”

“It’s not a monster, it’s a goblin,” Morgan said, grinning, kneeling down next to it. “But seriously, Amanda? He’s not one of the heroes.”

“Yes, you’re not one of the heroes. Honorable Masters have far more pity than those selfish creatures. The Masters give goblins shinies, not take them away and scratch them with shiny swords…”

The three looked at the goblin, whose eyes were darting between the three of them. Morgan had an incredulous look on her face. “Are you asking for shinies?”

The goblin nodded hopefully.

“We have you at the end of a sword for stealing our stuff!” she said. “Why do you think now is the time to ask for shinies?”

The goblin blinked at her a few times, confused by the question. “Because… Because shinies!” he said, a huge smile on his face. “I have three shinies,” he said, holding up two fingers. “The heroes gave them to me some time ago. Years ago. They’re my favorite shinies.” The goblin held up two items, one, a bronze coin, the other a bent piece of metal. “They said they were worth ten of the silver shinies, so I saved up everything to buy them. And now they’re my favorite shinies and I always take them everywhere and someday I’ll get more shinies…”

The three exchanged a glance as the goblin continued babbling.

“We weren’t ever this annoying,” Amanda stated, flatly. “Our voices were not that… that piercing.”

Zack snickered, turning back to the goblin. “Alright. First off, you’re not getting any shinies. Just. No. Give us back what you stole and we’ll let you off with a warning.”

At this, the goblin gave a wail. “But we need foooood,” he sobbed. “There’s no food in the desert and we need food! That’s why I was taking them in the first place.”

Zack squinted at the goblin. “Well, we need food too. And this is our food. If you don’t like the desert, then leave.”

“We don’t! But we’re forced to live here! The other goblins don’t like us! They don’t like our pack’s leader, say he’s stupid and kicked us out into the desert.” He continued to cry, groveling at Zack’s feet. “Pleeeease give me your food so I can give it to the others!!!”

“We can’t,” Zack stated plainly. “Otherwise we’ll starve. If we don’t die of thirst first.”

The goblin shook his head, woefully. “There’s no water for miles and miles from here.” He pressed his face into his palms. “There are three more water holes that we know of in this direction before they become so rare you can’t find them. And two are poisoned and guarded.”

Amanda frowned, bending down next to the goblin. “And the third?” she asked.

“Hidden, hidden,” he said, shaking his head. “Only goblins know where. It has plants around that grow poison fruits that goblins can’t even eat. We used to trade them to humans, like heroes, when they came by.” His face was still buried but he sounded decidedly more put together as he continued. “They aren’t poisonous to humans. No, the humans can eat them just fine. So many creatures can but not goblins. If only we could trade the fruit to humans. If only…” He shook his head sadly.

Amanda sighed. “Oh, wait, I have an idea,” she started, voice deadpan. “Maybe we can make a deal. We brought extra food, so we’ll give you a day’s worth of our food if you bring us to the water hole.”

The goblin perked right up at this and grinned. “One human meal can feed up to three goblins! You really do that?”

She glanced back at the others, who nodded.

“How long away and in what direction is it,” Morgan asked.

The goblin stood up straight, sniffing into the breeze a few times, before pointing south. “One day's walk this way,” he said.

“Specific,” Zack said.

“I mean,” Morgan said, examining the map, “that is kinda the way we’re going? If we deviate too far from our path, we’ll reevaluate the situation.”

By now the sun had just started to rise and there was no sense in trying to sleep again, so they packed up camp and got an early start to the day.

---

Morgan let the goblin ride on her horse with her. Dunes, and hills, and mountains of sand stretched as far as they could see. The group had wrapped light scarves around their faces as protection against the sun, but the constant glare was blinding.

It wasn’t until the sun began to dip low in the sky, painting the sands with a dazzling sunset, that the group decided to stop, finding a dune that would provide shelter from the winds that had picked up around them.

The goblin shook his head nervously. “If this becomes a sandstorm, I’m outta here,” he warned, shaking his finger.

Amanda frowned. “How long do sandstorms last? Morgan, could you guide us through one?”

“Do we even want to travel in a sandstorm?” Zack asked. “I don’t want to be the one to object to moving on, but if it’d be dangerous…”

“I…” Morgan trailed off. She studied the frown lines on Zack’s face and her lips tightened. She wasn’t just in charge of herself here. A wrong move could mean her death as well as Zack’s and Amanda’s. “Alright then,” she said, addressing the goblin. “What’s the best way to survive a sandstorm?”

He had gotten as far as opening his mouth to respond when he closed it. “Why should I say?” He asked, slyly. “If you Masters go down I get your food!”

Morgan stared at the goblin, fingers itching towards her blade, wanting a reason to show this goblin exactly why he shouldn’t cross them.

“We’ll give you five shinies if you help us,” Zack said. “Five shinies is more than you have ever had and they’ll be the stars of your collection.”

This got his attention. “You’ll give me five shinies!!” His eyes lit up greedily.

Zack held up a hand. “Only if you help us. They’re hidden in our secret pouches where you’ll never find them. If you help us through the sandstorm and find the waterhole, we’ll give you enough food for nine meals for humans and five shinies.”

The goblin was quivering with excitement. “Alright! Alrighty! Here’s what we gotta do...”

---

The four sat huddled in the tent, with cloth pressed over each of their faces. They had moved the tent up to a higher ground to avoid being buried in sand blown off the dunes. The goblin said there was a smaller chance of being hit by larger debris than there was of being smothered. They had dampened a few of Morgan’s bandanas, wrapping them around their faces, and positioned the horses so that their heads were inside the tent. It was cramped but it was the only safe way to ride out the storm.

The hissing sand pounded against their tent all night. None of them got much sleep. They could hardly breathe. There was no way to get comfortable, there was just too much in the tent. Too many people, too many horses, too many bags. And the smell of an unwashed goblin was even less fun to inhale than the sand.

Morgan kept a close eye on the other two. Amanda mostly kept her eyes closed but shifted and adjusted her cloth enough that Morgan was reasonably convinced she was awake. Zack drifted in and out of sleep, but coughed constantly.

“You ok, Zack?” Morgan asked, after he had woken again, unable to control a coughing fit.

“I-I can’t,” he managed between coughs. “Sorry I just-”

Morgan reached over to one of the skins of water, pulling it over. They were down to just about half of their stores. “Hey, clear your throat. Try to drink something,” she said, her voice muffled by the cloth she had pressed over her face.

He choked some down. At first, it made his cough worse but eventually, the spasm subsided. “I’m sorry,” he croaked.

She shook her head, though he could hardly make her form out in the darkness. “Don’t be stupid. We should have prepared for this. Not like sandstorms are exactly uncommon in deserts.” She closed the water skin, placing it aside. “Try to get some sleep,” she said.

He pulled another bandana over his eyes, as further protection. The night seemed to last forever, the howling winds and suffocating abrasive sands seeming to continue on and on. Soon Morgan felt Zack’s body start to relax and she let her eyes drift for a little bit.

“Zack? Shit, Zack? Morgan, get the fuck up, he’s not moving.” Morgan had barely stirred at Amanda’s words at first until they sunk in and her eyes shot open, bloodshot and crusty.

Morgan fumbled for the water skin as Amanda pried Zack’s mouth open, trying to scoop sand out of his mouth, face scrunched up in worry.

“One sec, let me try.” Morgan opened the water skin and began pouring water over Zack’s face, into his mouth, some even went in his nose. “Come on you idiot,” she said under her breath. “How fucking lame would dying because of some sand be?” He didn’t respond. “Goddamnit, Zack! This is pathetic!”

She’d almost finished the skin before he coughed, choking and gasping. His eyes flickered open, and he instantly began hacking up ample amounts of sludge.

Morgan grinned, her body relaxing. “Welcome back to the land of the living, Zack!”

“You didn’t have to drown me,” he sputtered.

Amanda sighed, rolling her eyes, and started cleaning out the noses of the horses. “You did a crappy job of covering your mouth and nose last night. That’s not just water you’re coughing up.”

Zack glared at Amanda and opened his mouth to retort when another fit of coughing overcame him and he doubled back over.

Morgan shook her head, examining the filthy bandanas as she packed them back up. “Wasn’t entirely his fault. The cloth he had was pretty thin compared to the ones we all had.”

“Yeah,” Zack said, wiping trickles of sand away from his mouth and nose. “It’s all Morgan’s fault.”

She stared at him, regretting throwing him the bone. “Watch it. I just spent the last few minutes scooping sand out of your nose.”

Amanda, finishing up with the horses, snorted. “Let’s just never do this again. They gotta have sand proof tents in Echoterra. I mean, we’re two days from the castle. They must be pretty damn common.”

“Nope,” said the goblin, starting the group who had forgotten about their little guide. “Sandstorms like this are very rare. Very. Something is stewing in the desert. It’s not good. There are more lately than ever before! But the skies are clearing more now. We go now. We’ve missed too much morning.”

Morgan checked her clock. It was nearly eleven in the morning. The sand must have been blocking the sun more than she thought. “He’s right,” she said. “‘We need to get a move on. Keep your water consumption to a minimum, yeah?”

The goblin rode on Amanda’s horse that day, giving Morgan’s a break from the extra weight.

“I don’t think I like the desert,” Zack complained during one of their few breaks. “It’s disgustingly hot. What Order in their right mind would settle here?”

Amanda shook his head. “Maybe they were banished, like the goblins? Who knows, maybe the Daisan finally pissed off the others enough to be sent into the desert.”

Morgan laughed at this. “None of us even joined that Order.”

“Zack and I both did for a session,” Amanda said.

Morgan frowned, picturing finding the edgelord Order down here instead of the Kalivarma Order. But no; Patrick and Violet had Daisan in their blood. There was no way they’d messed up the maps.

“This map called to me and Carter,” she finally said. “It’s Kalivarma. If we find the Daisan, I’m gonna lose my mind.”

The first day, Morgan had found herself frequently wiping the sweat from her face. The movement had become subconscious, almost a robotic, so she noticed it pretty quickly when there was less and less sweat to wipe away. Her tongue was heavy in her mouth and she checked the clock. Three in the afternoon.

“Exactly how close are we getting?” Morgan asked the goblin, keeping her voice down. If they didn’t find water or their destination by this evening, they were going to be in very serious trouble.

“Not long now,” the goblin said. “By the end of this day, maybe. But we need to pick up speed.”

Morgan stroked the mane of her horse, worried. If they picked up speed, the horses would suffer. They’d kept the horses on a reduced amount of water and that, combined with the sandstorm, had left them physically and mentally strained. It had taken the combined efforts of the four of them to keep the horses down during the storm until they had calmed enough to be still. The animals were very on edge. They needed more water if they were going to continue carrying their owners.

“Guys, we’re going to have to stop for a bit,” she called back. “We have to water the horses so that they can press on more quickly.”

Amanda rode quickly to catch up to her. “Isn’t the water we have left supposed to be ours? We’re already dehydrated. We need that water.”

“Horses need it more. If we have to spend another night without finding water, we’re all pretty toast. The goblin says we need to pick up speed to get there tonight.” She swiped her face and her hand came away almost dry. “We can’t push the horses unless they hydrate. So we’ll go on a bit more. Keep an eye out for some shade.”

Morgan fell back to Zack. “We’re giving the rest of our water to the horses. We’ll find more by this evening,” she said.

Zack failed at keeping a worried expression off his face, his forehead wrinkling, thunderstruck. “Are you kidding? I have a fucking headache and I can’t see straight.”

“Join the club. But the goblin says we’ll find water tonight.”

Zack did not look convinced. “But... say the goblin is lying. He could be leading us in circles til we die so he can rob us. That was kinda his original plan. We made these things to be untrustworthy cause it was funny back at camp but what if-”

“Yeah, I know,” Morgan said. She lowered her voice, glancing up at the goblin on Amanda’s horse. “I know. But we made a deal and have to hope he’ll honor it. Besides, we don’t have a choice. We’ve only gone slightly out of the way towards the Order. And humans can go a few days without water anyway, so even if it’s a bust, we should be able to make it.”

Zack was quiet for a moment, before muttering, “We’re going to die out here.”

“Shit attitude, kid,” she reprimanded, but her voice lacked conviction. She knew the three-days-no-water rule wasn’t particularly airtight given how much they were sweating.

This could be really bad.

---

Hours later, the sun was beginning to set. The horses were weary again, trudging through the sands, heads low. The CITs continued forward at their guide’s urging, but they were all feeling the burn from lack of water and Zack and Amanda were a bit less transparent with the distrust of the goblin as frustration morphed into concern.

Morgan wracked her brain thinking of a plan b if this failed. She could hear Aaron’s smarmy voice, warning her to keep Amanda safe and she could hear her own voice, overconfident, telling him that she had this in the bag. She should have had a contingency planned from the start and now it was too late. They couldn’t turn tail and go back to the castle. They were two days away from the last water hole at a brisk pace. The horses wouldn’t be able to make it back. She should have made the call to turn back after the sandstorm.

She had long given up on stopping the other two from voicing their dismal complaints. They were right and even though they hadn’t blamed her, she knew it was her fault. A few hours later, everyone was too tired to complain anymore, anyways.

Only the goblin, accustomed to high heat and long periods without water, did not appear defeated. Finally, he held up a hand and they stopped their horses. Scrambling off Amanda’s horse, he ducked behind a small dune and vanished from sight.

The three stood still, staring at the endless desert around them. The sun had nearly disappeared and there was no sight of anything that wasn’t more sand around them. Nobody said anything. There was nothing to say. From the beginning, they hadn’t trusted the goblin and now here was proof that they shouldn’t have. If they pressed on, maybe they could still make the Order before dying of dehydration but the horses wouldn’t make it without rest.

Had they gone straight to the Order, they might have made it, but if she was being honest with herself, she just hadn’t brought enough water. Her group had packed the same amount as every other group, knowing they were going south to the desert. This is exactly what everyone called ‘no safety net’. This is why stupid Meredith and Jasper had hidden in the castle. Would the rest of the CITs ever find out what had happened to Morgan’s group?

“Why are you humans just standing around?” an exasperated voice called. “You’re supposed to follow me, that’s what guides are for.” The goblin had reappeared, looking beyond frustrated.

“Oh.” Morgan blinked. “Sorry.”

The goblin rolled his eyes. “You might want to lead your horses and follow on foot. Better to see in this light.”

They were still for just a fraction of a second, before clambering off the horses and leading the tired animals after their very annoyed guide.

“What is wrong with these humans. You lead them for days, you help them with the sandstorm, you help them live, and then they just ignore you. This is why we don’t talk to them. They always ignore goblins,” he muttered to himself.

“Well we’re not ignoring you now,” Amanda said. “Besides, we thought you had abandoned us.”

“Well, why would I do that!?” The goblin asked, exasperatedly. “If I wanted you dead I’d have abandoned you in the sandstorm. Why would I do that now?!”

“Well…” Zack started.

“We don’t go back on our promises as easily as heroes,” the goblin said. “Only if we really want shinies. And you promised me shinies. So why are you complaining?”

No one had a sufficient response to that, so they kept quiet. The dunes twisted oddly, more narrow and dense than the rest of the desert. The CITs were separated a few times, from each other or the goblin, and each time it took a few more minutes to regroup. Morgan’s ever-present headache was at the forefront of her mind and walking for the first time in hours was highlighting just how dizzy she’d gotten. They needed water.

“Are we almost there?” Zack asked, a note of desperation in his voice.

The goblin rolled his eyes, either oblivious or apathetic to their misery. “Soon soon. Don’t hurry me or we’ll get lost in these twisting sand piles.” Just the idea of getting lost made Morgan feel nauseous.

The sun had almost completely disappeared at this point but in the dying light, they could see the path opening up ahead. When they reached the opening, they were treated to what could only be described as an oasis. A small pond of water, multiple fruits bearing trees, even grass for the horses all lay in front of them.

With shaking hands, Morgan fumbled for the toxin tester, letting a drop of potion land in the water. It cleared instantly.

---

The group found themselves relaxed for the first time in days. Morgan cautioned against drinking or eating too fast, but they had plenty of time. There was no chance of anyone except goblins finding them here and they had food and water, enough to keep them satisfied. The horses drank their fill and ate what they wanted of the plants growing around the pool.

There was enough dead wood from the trees to start a small fire to keep warm and see by. Morgan took first shift again and the others headed off to bed, getting the best rest they’d had in days.

“Hey,” Morgan said to the goblin. “Thanks for saving our asses. We probably weren’t quite prepared to take this place on.” She waved an arm at the desert, a tired grin on her face. “And we’d probably have died last night.”

The goblin waved it off. “We had a deal,” he said, shrugging. “And we would probably have lots of us sick if we didn’t have the food, so it was good for both of us.”

“Mutually beneficial?” Morgan asked.

“Yeah,” muttered the goblin, sleepily. “Mutated.” He gave a loud yawn, before saying that he was off to bed and retreated back into the tent.

“I swear to god, goblins,” Morgan said to herself. “God, what else did we bring to life?”

---

The next morning they parted ways with the goblin, now loaded down with the food they had spared him, plus six ‘shinies’.

“You said only five…” the goblin remarked, eyes wide as they handed over the shiniest skill tokens they had. “This is more. I know this is more.”

Zack snickered. “Don’t worry. They’re yours.”

The goblin stared speechless, before shoving them into his satchel before anyone could take them back. He hoisted up the bags of food and turned to leave the oasis.

“Will you be alright to make it back to your pack?” Amanda asked. “We’re following our map out of here, but you know where you’re going?”

“Oh yes. I know just where to find them! And they’ll be so happy! Sooooo happy! They thought I was dead because I was away from the pack so long.” He shook his head. “They’ll make a small token in memory. Again. I have eight now. They always think I’m dead.” He wandered off, shaking his head at his pack’s foolishness. The three CITs watched until he disappeared around the bend.

“So… goblins aren’t all bad?” Zack said.

“I guess not,” Morgan replied. “Wonder why they were banished?”

Zack shrugged. “If it’s important, we’ll find out.”

Morgan laughed. “You think the plot here works like it did at camp? I don’t know if Chekov’s goblin exists in real Echoterra.”

“Well, it could. For all we know…”

The day started out promisingly They had full supplies of water, plenty of food, and were full of energy. But around eight in the evening, Morgan checked her map, again. She had been checking it every couple minutes and was thoroughly confused.

“This isn’t making much sense,” she said. “The spot we were moving towards… It feels like we should be here.”

“We’re here?” Amanda stopped her horse, looking around at the sand. “Superb.”

Morgan slid from her horse, taking down the cloth covering her face to get a better look.

“There aren’t many dunes around,” Amanda said, dismounting. “It’s not like you could hide a group of heroes, even a small one.”

“I know, but…” Morgan trailed off again. “We haven’t passed it. We can’t have. We would have seen something.”

The others circled around the map. “Ok, this is where I’m annoyed,” Amanda said. “Only you can even follow the map so we legit have no clue where we’re going. This was a bad idea.”

Zack scowled. “Well, she knows what she’s doing. The maps are magic. You felt the Binnbael map, so you have to trust she felt this one--”

Zack shut up quick and a moment later Morgan felt the tip of something sharp push against her back. Raising her eyes she saw Amanda, wincing, body tense and Zack’s eyes huge darting around the clearing.

A hard, gruff voice spoke, so close to her ear the hairs on her neck prickled. “None of you move. Don’t say a word. Don’t make a single sound, or you will die on this spot.”