Dizzy was up and moving before dawn. He shook YDB awake before gathering up the supplies he would need for the journey.

“We need to be long gone before that minotaur wakes. I think he wanted us to leave last night,” said Dizzy.

“Sleepy,” answered YDB as he rubbed his eyes. “Early.”

“Yeah, I know it’s early. But we need to get Kitty and find the old crone. And if the crone doesn’t have Stormhoof’s answers… I don’t want to think about it!”

Leaving YDB to gather up his own supplies, Dizzy pulled his armor on over a ragged shirt. He shrugged into the sword harness, settling his two new blades in place onto his back. Once everything was in place, he crawled out of the hut and headed for the females’ shack. Kitty was standing outside already, pack over her shoulder, bow slung over her chest and back.

“Where’s YDB?”

“He’s getting his stuff right now. He’ll meet us by the firepit.”

Kitty nodded. Dizzy wandered over to the firepit, hoping to find something left in the pot. There were several pieces of boiled pork floating in the greasy water. He grabbed three of the largest pieces, tore them in halves, and tucked them into a bag. A moment later, he was heading back to Kitty. “Looks like Stormhoof and Isaar didn’t eat everything,” he said as he handed her one of the bits. She took it and ate it in a single bite.

YDB had arrived and stood next to Kitty. He yawned widely, then smacked his lips.

“Breakfast?”

“Boiled pork. Eat it, and we need to get going,” answered Dizzy.

“Okay.” Instead of eating it, YDB slipped it into his bag to have later.

With nothing left to do and sunrise glowing over the trees, Dizzy lead the way into the swamp, heading in the direction he had been warned countless times to never go. Kitty trotted alongside, smiling a wide goblin smile.

“How can you be so cheerful? The crone is a witch! She’ll turn us into toads as soon as look at us!” said Dizzy after a short while.

“Oh, those tales are not true. She’s a sweetheart! I mean, she was upset that the tribe booted her out of her home without even a thank you, but I’m sure she will remember me.”

“Yeah? How did you meet her?”

While they walked through the swamp, Kitty told of how as a young goblin out searching for mushrooms, she had encountered the old goblin woman seeking the same thing.

“I had a whole basket full of the red ones with little white spots. She only had two, so I offered her a few. I thought she was going to turn me into a toad, but she took me back to her boat and fed me lunch. I see her once or twice every moon.”

“What? And you never told anyone?”

“No, of course not. She asked me not to, and I didn’t want to lose her as a friend.”

“Friend?” asked YDB.

“Yeah, she’s my friend. She knows a lot about magic. The tribe could use her abilities, so I don’t know why the Chief won’t have her in the village.”

Dizzy walked on in silence. He, like most goblins, had a healthy fear of magic and magic users. Wizards often enslaved goblins and other wild folks for their own ends. That the old crone of so many horrible tales was just a harmless old woman was a hard thing for him to swallow.

The trio of goblins trudged through the swamp as the sun climbed into the sky. Vapor rose from the water, creating a thin fog. None of the swamp denizens bothered the trio. Birds flew past, pursuing bugs. Finally, the fog lifted enough to spot the old crone’s boat.

The vessel was once a pole barge, used to bring cargo and passengers up and down the river that fed into the swamp. Somehow, the boat had broken free of its moorings and had drifted into the delta. Dizzy had a pretty good idea how the “accident” had happened, since the slow-moving water wasn’t likely to have dropped the boat off where was beached. The old crone probably had sneaked onboard one night, cut the mooring lines, and poled the vessel deep into the swamp.

Water sloshed against the far side of the boat. A low split-rail fence surrounded the vessel up to the water’s edge. Dizzy crouched down in the brush to observe the site before approaching.

The fence had a gate near the bow. There was a pile of brush near the gate, and a thin path passed near the pile to a small bridge leading to the main deck of the barge. As Dizzy watched, a large dog stuck his head out of the brush and sniffed the air.

“Oh, it’s Fluffy!” exclaimed Kitty. “Hi Fluffy!”

The dog’s head snapped to where Kitty was standing next to Dizzy, and it began to bark loudly.

“So much for the element of surprise,” grumbled Dizzy. Kitty whacked him on the back of the head.

“We’re not here to attack Granny Rags. We’re here to get her help.” Dizzy rubbed his head where Kitty had smacked him.

“Right. Well, if she’s willing to give us any help, that is.”

“She’ll help if I ask her. And as long as you two don’t say anything stupid,” answered Kitty.

The dog continued to bark at the goblins. A voice came from the boat. “Hush, Fluffy. Don’t be barking at squirrels!”

“Good, she’s home,” said Kitty. “Dizz, give me that chunk of meat. I’m going to feed Fluffy, so he’ll be in a good mood when he takes a sniff of you and YDB.”

Walking down the slope to the boat, Kitty held up the meat and called out to the boat’s owner.

“Granny! Granny Rags! It’s me, Kitty!” Fluffy continued to bark as the three goblins approached. “Oh, hush you,” Kitty admonished the dog.

“Kitty? Is that you, girl?” came a voice from inside. Just as Kitty, Dizzy, and YDB reached the gate, an old goblin woman appeared on deck.

“Hi, Granny! Can we come in?” Kitty yelled. A moment later, she tossed the meat where it landed in front of Fluffy. The dog snatched up the morsel and swallowed it in a single snap.

Granny looked towards the gate and spotted the two male goblins accompanying Kitty.

“Who are those two? You know I don’t like company, besides you!” scolded Granny Rags.

“I know Granny! I promise I wouldn’t have brought them if I didn’t have a really good reason,” replied Kitty.

The old goblin glowered at Dizzy and YDB from the entrance of her home.

“If Fluffy lets them pass, you can come on up. But if he bites them, well, that tells me all I need to know!” Granny Rags threatened.

“Bites us? I don’t know about this...” began Dizzy. YDB ducked behind Dizzy, fearing the dog as well.

“Don’t worry. I’m with you, and Fluffy knows me. Let him have a sniff of your hands, then we’ll go right on in.”

Granny Rags stood on the deck to see how Fluffy would react to the two new goblins. An expectant grin was on her face. Dizzy could tell nothing would make the old goblin happier than seeing her dog rip his arm off at the elbow.

Kitty pushed open the gate. “Each of you might want to offer Fluffy a piece of meat,” she advised. Dizzy grabbed the remaining chunks and handed one to YDB.

“That was supposed to be our lunch,” he grumbled under his breath.

Kitty skipped up to Fluffy and patted him on the head. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a big hug. “I missed you!”

She grabbed the dog's collar and looked Fluffy in the eyes. “These are my friends. Dizzy and YDB,” she explained to the dog. Fluffy growled deep in his throat. “Fluffy, stop that. You’ll scare them,” scolded Kitty. She released his collar to let the dog sniff at her friends. Fluffy continued to growl.

“Uh, hi Fluffy,” said Dizzy nervously. He carefully held out the chunk of boiled meat. “I brought you something.” Fluffy sniffed the meat, then snapped it out of Dizzy’s hand. Dizzy snatched his hand back and checked to see if he had been bitten. Fluffy had missed his fingertips by the barest of margins.

“Now you too, YDB,” coaxed Kitty. YDB approached as cautiously as Dizzy had, holding the boiled pork away from himself. Fluffy snatched it away as well, swallowed, then stood up and paced around the stock-still Dizzy and YDB. The big dog sniffed all four hands, then thrust his nose close in at Dizzy’s crotch. He growled again, hackles rising. Dizzy nearly wet himself as the dog’s sharp teeth were bared so close to his most delicate bits. Finally, Fluffy seemed satisfied. He sat down and wagged his tail, sweeping dust into the air. Dizzy sneezed at the sudden cloud.

“Ha! I thought for sure that one was going to faint!” cackled Granny Rags. “Come on up, and tell me what brings you out to Granny’s!”

Kitty led the way up onto the barge as Granny Rags went back below decks. Dizzy followed, with YDB bringing up the rear. As Kitty parted the curtain leading into the boat’s living area the smell of cooking wafted out. Dizzy’s stomach rumbled as the smell hit him, and he realized he had given his only food to a dog that had threatened to bite his goblinhood off. He sighed.

Once inside, Dizzy paused for a moment to let his eyes adjust to the light. Granny had a small lantern over a table, and a low fire burned in a pot-bellied stove. A stew pot bubbled, the old goblin woman stirring from time to time.

“Come, come. Sit at the table, and tell me why you came.”

Kitty sat and gestured for Dizzy and YDB to do the same.

“Well, it’s a complicated story,” began Kitty.

“Oh, those are my favorite kind!” said Granny. While Kitty marshaled her thoughts, Granny opened a cupboard and pulled down three bowls. She scooped a bit of the stew into each bowl and sat them down on the table. Pulling three wooden spoons from a bucket, she examined them, then wiped them clean with the hem of her apron. She sat the spoons down in the stew bowls, smiling.

“Eat, eat. Talk once you’re done.” The three goblins tucked into the stew, famished from their walk through the swamp.

“Um. It’s kind of bland,” said Dizzy after a bit. Swamp goblins were notorious for loving spicy food.

“Well, you don’t think I’d waste spices on the dog, do you?” laughed Granny.

“What? Are we eating dog food?”

“Are you complaining?” asked Granny a fierce glint in her eye.

“Uh, no. No, it’s just fine. Thank you,” said Dizzy, not wanting to upset the old witch. “Um, do you really know magic?”

“Enough to turn an ungrateful goblin into a toad, if he doesn’t watch his mouth,” snapped Granny.

“Dizzy didn’t mean anything, Granny,” soothed Kitty. She pushed her empty bowl back. “Did you Dizzy?”

“Uh, no. Thank you, Granny. It was, uh, filling.”

Turning to YDB, Granny asked crossly, “And you? Was the stew up to your high standards?”

“Good,” answered YDB. He gave the old witch a thumbs up.

“Just good?”

“Granny, YDB doesn’t talk much,” explained Kitty. The old goblin scowled again but saw that YDB had emptied his bowl.

“Good enough, I guess. Well, I’ve fed you and Fluffy didn’t try to eat any of you. I guess it’s time to tell me what brought you here.”

Kitty closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and looked directly at Granny.

“There’s some trouble in the village. We’ve sort of been taken over,” began Kitty.

“Taken over? By who?”

“A big minotaur and his orcs. The minotaur is named Stormhoof, and he’s looking for something in the village. A gem of some sort. He thinks it’s hidden in the temple.”

“The temple. My home, you mean? The place I lived in for years, practicing my magic in peace before that Chief of yours came along and booted me out? To survive as best I could, an old woman, alone in the swamp? That temple?”

“Uh...” began Kitty. “Yes, I guess so. I wasn’t even whelped then. None of us were,” she stammered. Granny held Kitty’s eyes with her own.

“And now you want Granny’s help to get rid of that lout of a minotaur. But I’ll bet I wont get my temple back, will I?” Granny’s eyes were like flint, hard and angry.

“Well, I can’t promise anything, but if you can get the minotaur to leave, maybe...” began Kitty.

“Maybe. Maybe you’ll talk to the Chief. Maybe he’ll be so appreciative he’ll let me have my old home back. Maybe he’ll even let me practice my magic. Huh. Fat chance.”

“I’m sorry to have upset you, Granny. We’ll go back and figure something else out,” said Kitty.

For a long moment, Granny fumed. Suddenly, her expression softened. “No, I’ll go with you. You’re my only company. If you go back empty-handed, that minotaur is likely to kill you all out of hand. And old Granny knows a secret or two. I don’t know of any gem, but maybe I know something that will lead to something.”

Dizzy sighed with relief. The old goblin made him nervous.

“Thank you, Granny. I don’t know how to convince the Chief to let you have the temple back, but I’ll talk with him and Slugger,” said Dizzy. The old goblin just scowled at Dizzy.

“Sunset,” added YDB.

“What?” asked Granny Rags.

“The minotaur expects us back with an answer by sunset,” explained Dizzy. “We’re going to have to take off soon if we’re going to make it back on time.” By Dizzy’s estimate, it was early afternoon. It had been a fairly long walk, and he wasn’t sure how fast Granny could make the distance.

“Let me gather up a few things before we go,” said Granny Rags. She stood and took up all the bowls. She looked at Dizzy’s empty bowl and smirked. “Bland, huh? Looks like hunger is the best sauce. I’m so glad my food managed to meet your high standards.”

“I didn’t mean to insult your cooking,” began Dizzy, but Granny cut him off.

“Don’t grovel boy. I’m just yanking your chain.” Granny gave him a smirk, turned, and dumped the bowls into a bucket of water. She shook them up and down to rinse the remaining food particles off and sat them upside down on the counter. The dishes done, Granny began searching through the cabinets and drawers of her boat, gathering supplies and setting them on the table.

Nothing she put on the table made any sense to Dizzy or YDB, but Kitty took the bat wings and bags of various powders and sorted them into a belt of pouches. Soon the old woman was placing vials of liquids of various colors and thicknesses, followed by more bits of debris. Flowers, insect wings, a live spider in a tiny cage, shards of glass, and old coins were added to the pile. Kitty sorted them into the pouches and bags as well, following some sort of order only she and Granny Rags understood.

“What is all this?” whispered Dizzy.

“Spell components. Granny needs them to make her magic work. She showed me a few tricks, but there’s a lot I don’t understand,” answered Kitty.

“You don’t be telling that boy none of Granny’s secrets now, young missy,” threatened Granny as she dug through more sacks and bags hung up on her walls. A cooked ham was tossed onto the table next to the pile.

“What’s that for?” whispered Dizzy.

“It’s my lunch! You lot ate the food I made for myself and Fluffy, and I’ll be hungry come sunset. I’ll give Fluffers a little something before we leave, and let him off his chain. He’ll hunt up something for himself, and be back before I do. And what did I tell you about nosing your way into the magic business? Want me to turn you into a beetle? I have spells that need beetle's wings, and I’m low right now!”

Dizzy ducked his head as Granny tossed a rock onto the table. Kitty flipped it over as she placed it inside a pouch, and Dizzy noticed purple crystals were all throughout the interior.

“Pretty!” said YDB as Kitty dropped the stone into a pouch and pulled the strings closed.

“Alright, I’ve got all I’ll need,” said Granny as she pulled a gnarled cane down from the wall. “Let’s get going. Kitty, have your friends carry those pouches. They look soft, a bit of exercise will do them a world of good!”

With a laugh, Granny hoisted herself up onto the boat’s deck and called out to Fluffy. Kitty shrugged and handed Dizzy and YDB each a bandoleer of pouches. As Dizzy slung it over his shoulder, he let out a grunt.

“How many of those rocks is she bringing along?” he asked plaintively.

“No more than she needs, I’m sure,” answered Kitty. She shrugged again. YDB slung his bandoleer and shook it into place. Kitty took a small belt and hung it around her hips. The weight was noticeable, but nothing she couldn’t handle.

With that, the three goblins climbed up and out of the boat’s cabin. Kitty pulled a heavy wooden door shut and followed Dizzy down the bridge to the ground. Granny had already fed Fluffy and had released him to forage for a better meal than whatever Granny had given him. Dizzy could hear the big dog crashing through the underbrush, flushing out birds and swamp rabbits as he bounded about gleefully.

“Let’s go then,” said Dizzy. He turned towards the way back to the village, adjusted the bandoleer again, and set off. The others fell in behind him, leaving the riverboat behind.