Leaving Dregs to fend for himself wasn’t exactly what Dizzy wanted to do, but the need to get to Granny Rags’ former home to find her spellbook for Kitty, then get on the trail in pursuit of Stormhoof and his crew didn’t leave him with many options. Dregs assured everyone that he would be fine in a few days, a week at the most.

“Maybe I’ll even catch up with you,” Dregs said.

Dizzy bid Dregs well. Turning in the direction of Granny Rags’ boat, he strode off into the swamp. Kitty and YDB fell alongside him, looking to make the best time they could.

Dizzy walked in silence for nearly an hour, not wanting to confront Kitty about her relationship with Granny Rags. Eventually, his curiosity overcame his anger at the old woman.

“How did you meet Granny Rags? How did you learn magic? Do you have demon blood in you?” asked Dizzy.

“Slow down!” scolded Kitty. “The first one is easy. I told you already, I was out looking for wild mushrooms, and so was Granny. We were sniffing around, trying to locate some rose mallow and sweetgrass. When we came around a fallen tree from opposite sides, we bumped into each other. I thought she was the witch everyone says she is, and I was sure I was as good as dead.

“But instead of turning me into a toad or something, she invited me to her boat. I was too afraid to turn her down, so I went with her. She fed me, then looked into my eyes, rubbed my fingers, sniffed my ears, and said, ‘You’ll do.’”

“You’ll do for what?”

“Apparently, as her apprentice. She said I had the gift, and it would be a shame to waste it.”

“And she taught you magic?”

“Nope. First, she taught me how to read.”

“What? Reading is dangerous! The letters attack your brain, and steal your thoughts!” said Dizzy. Superstition ran deep in the swamp goblins.

“That’s what I said at first, but Granny made me learn the letters, the sounds they made, and how to control them. Then she taught me how to do magic. Words, things, and gestures all mixed to make things happen.”

Kitty looked abashed. To goblins, books were dangerous, with the ability to snare innocent minds and make them think things that were not “goblin” enough.

“And the demon blood?”

Kitty laughed. “I promise you, I’m not a demon!”

Dizzy looked at her suspiciously for a long moment, then let his eyes drop. “A demon would deny it was a demon, but I don’t see any wings or flames in your eyes. I guess you’re you.”

“Glad you think so!’ said Kitty with a laugh. She hugged her friend and looked up. “We’re here!”

Kitty was right. While talking, the three goblins had passed through the swamp and had reached Granny Rags’ barge. Spreading out in case something had taken up residence since the previous morning, the three goblins cautiously approached the vessel. Nothing moved on deck, and no noises came from below. Kitty led the way up the ramp, assuming ownership of the boat as her right as an apprentice to a now deceased master.

The door opened to her touch, and the cabin was unchanged. Kitty lit a candle Granny had near the door, then lit the three candles scattered about. The cabin took on a warm glow.

Dropping to all fours, Kitty reached under the bed and pulled out a leather backpack. When she opened it, she found a large, purple-covered book. Riffling through the pages, she nodded to herself.

“Yep, Granny’s spellbook. Mine now, I suppose.” She closed the pack, setting it on the bed before getting down on all fours again. This time, she pulled out a broad leather belt with many small tubes sewn onto the leather. Opening one of the tubes, she produced a scroll.

“More spells, these I can cast whenever I need,” she said. Dizzy looked at her quizzically.

“I can only memorize so many spells a day. But if I read a scroll, I can cast it then and there. Scrolls are a pain in the neck to make. Once I cast the spell, the scroll burns itself up. But just the right scroll at the right time can make all the difference.”

“It sounds like you know a lot about magic,” said Dizzy. YDB nodded in agreement.

“It’s… It’s mostly stuff Granny told me. I’ve never cast anything besides the Light spell. Just because Granny said all I had to do was read the scroll doesn’t mean it’s going to work for me.”

“Well, practice on one or two, but save the rest in case we need them. Do you need anything else?”

Kitty looked around at all the clutter that made up Granny’s magical supplies. Her magical supplies now. Some were quite big, and there were a lot of glass and ceramic pots, cups, and flasks. She spotted a set of six tiny bottles sitting on a shelf. Small corks stoppered the openings. Kitty pulled the corks one at a time. Sniffing at the contents, she read the labels. Two read “Heal,” the next read “Floating,” then “Love,” “Critter Control,” and finally “Spider.” Kitty carefully placed the bottles, two at a time, in the empty scroll tubes, making sure they didn’t rattle around.

“I don’t know how to use a lot of this stuff, but maybe we can come back for it later.” She paused to scoop up the bag Granny always seemed to have with her. She wondered for a moment why Granny had left it behind. When she saw the glass ball Granny used to study the future, she suddenly understood Granny’s reasoning. Granny had left the supplies for her to find later. She knew Stormhoof was going to kill her, and she wanted Kitty to carry on her memory.

Searching through the bag revealed more fireflies, a frogskin, a bit of bark, white and black pebbles, as well as an inkpot, parchment, and three quills for writing new scrolls.

“I think this will do. Let’s go after Stormhoof and his crew.” Kitty hefted the pack onto her shoulders, readjusted her bow over the pack, and resettled her quiver on her hip.

“Should we torch the boat?” asked Dizzy. “Make sure no one else can steal Granny’s magic?” The superstitious goblin had flinched every time Kitty had put an item into her bag as if anyone could explode like one of YDB’s bombs.

Kitty looked around, then shook her head.

“Not many know how to mix the potions, and I have Granny’s spellbook. We might need the boat later,” she answered. Kitty didn’t want to admit she had fond memories of learning about magic with the old woman here.

The disappointed look on Dizzy’s face told Kitty everything. “We can burn the next boat, Dizz. We’ll call it your birthday present.” She grinned at her friend.

Dizzy rolled his eyes. “Let’s get on the trail. Stormhoof could be taking the tribe anywhere.”

The three goblins trotted down the ramp off the barge. Dizzy paused, then grabbed the ramp and pulled until the top slid off the deck and dropped to the ground.

“Might discourage animals, especially if Fluffy doesn’t come back” explained Dizzy. Kitty nodded, while YDB merely shrugged. “Let’s get moving.”

Kitty and YDB followed Dizzy back through the swamp, heading back to their village. The return trip was faster than the hike to Granny’s boat. Dregs was still asleep. Kitty paused just long enough to check his injuries, and make sure the wounded goblin had water and food nearby. He would need it when he woke up.

Dizzy and YDB easily found the tracks left behind by the minotaur and orcs. While goblins could slip through the swamps without a trace, goblins, as roped together prisoners, left a wide swath. Kitty came up to Dizzy. “Dregs will be fine in a few days. Let’s get going.”

Back in the marshes, the three goblins moved as quickly as they could to catch up with Stormhoof’s band. As Dizzy slogged his way forward, he noticed the light beginning to fade. It was a long time until nightfall, but the trees blocked his view of the skies.

“Storm,” said YDB. Dizzy sniffed and realized YDB was right. A storm was coming. Moments later, the grumble of thunder could be heard off in the distance. Soon the rain began to fall, soaking the three through their ragged clothes.

“Crap! We could lose the trail,” said Dizzy. He began moving faster through the swamp, watching mostly for Stormhoof’s iron-shod hoof tracks. The path seemed to be heading in a direction Dizzy knew. The farm where the girl and her cat lived. Dizzy hoped the girl wasn’t there, then with a vicious grin, hoped that the cat was.

The swamp ended where the farmer had cut back the trees to create his field. Dizzy peeked past the last trees and saw signs that Stormhoof had been there. The farm had been burned in passing, but the rainstorm had put out most of the fire. Stormhoof must have decided getting the goblin slaves to his ship was more important than making sure the entire farm was destroyed.

As Dizzy crept out onto the field, a creak sounded, followed by the rising of a square grass. A helmeted head could be seen peeking out. It turned and stared straight at Dizzy. Not knowing what else to do, Dizzy waved.

“They’re back!” yelled the man as he shoved the trapdoor open and surged out of the ground. He held a sword in one hand and balanced his helmet with the other. He was as huge as any human Dizzy had ever seen,

“Stand back! I know how to use this thing!” he threatened. Dizzy held up his hands and backpedaled.

“Wait, wait!” said Kitty as she rushed to Dizzy’s side. She put her hand on Dizzy’s arm, preventing him from drawing one of his two swords. “What happened here?”

“You know what happened! You goblins raided the place with that minotaur and those orcs!” yelled the man. “And now they sent three back to make sure the job is done!” He raised his sword to strike at Dizzy and Kitty.

“Wait!” said another man’s voice. A moment later, a tall elf climbed out of the hiding place to stand near the warrior. Dizzy thought he was dressed oddly for an elf. He wore the usual robes, but the hat looked like nothing the goblin had ever seen before. It had a brim only in the front, and a symbol that looked like a seven-bladed leaf.

“Hold up, Rabnar. These three came from the swamp, not from the coast. They couldn’t have come from the minotaur.” The elf took a knee to look the goblins in the eye.

“Who are you and what are you doing?” he asked.

“What’s it to you?” snarled Dizzy. His tribe was getting further away, and this elf was delaying him.

“The farm was attacked and overrun earlier today by a minotaur and some troops. Orcs and goblins ran through, stealing and burning everything. We barely had time to get to the storm cellar without being spotted.

“A minotaur, a bunch of orcs, and a whole bunch of goblins. Were the goblins tied to each other?” asked Kitty.

“Yeah, like in a slave line. Thought that was strange. We hid, and the orcs satisfied themselves by torching the place.”

“That’s our tribe. The goblins I mean. The minotaur took them as slaves,” explained Kitty. Dizzy and YDB nodded.

“Swag, can we trust these goblins?” asked the barbarian.

“I think we can,” said Swag. “We’ll need to let someone know that there is a new threat to the land. Hope it gets us some good experience points.” He turned to Dizzy and Kitty.

“What do you know of their plans? How many, where are they based out of, what sort of weapons?” continued the elf.

Kitty looked at Dizzy. She relayed what little she knew. “We don’t know where they are hiding, and Stormhoof only said that he was going to start by burning the coast towns. And what are experience points?”

“Uh, we’re not exactly from around here,” began Swag. Rabnar shushed him before he could explain further.

“Anyways, we know he has a ship, so they must be out to sea somewhere,” continued Dizzy. “Maybe he’s got an island somewhere.”

“Stormhoof had a broken sword, a big one. The end was snapped off though, and the orcs had swords and cutlasses” added Kitty.

“No axe? That’s odd for a minotaur,” said Swag. He turned to his friend. “Do you know any stories about a minotaur pirate with a broken sword?”

“Not really. We’ll have to ask around when we get to town,” said the barbarian. While the five had been talking, more people came up out of the ground. Dizzy recognized the farmer and the little girl, followed by what appeared to be the farmer’s wife. She was a big woman. Dizzy thought he had seen her on earlier raids of the farm’s dump heap. A few moments later, the teacher whom Dizzy had rescued appeared. He was soon followed by a gaggle of children. Dizzy smiled for a moment, then scowled when the cat jumped out of the storm shelter. The cat didn’t look very pleased to see Dizzy either.

“Gwen! Come here kitty,” called the farmer’s wife. Both the cat and Kitty began heading to the woman.

“Oh, is your name Gwen too?” she asked.

“No, it’s Kitty. I thought you were calling me.”

The big farm woman burst out laughing. “A goblin named Kitty? I’m sorry, I never thought about goblin names.” She smiled down at Kitty. “I’m Maelee, and this is my daughter Sharla. You’ve already met Rabnar and Swag.” The woman went on to introduce her husband Valcar, the teacher, Mr. Ewalt, and finally the students. There were too many for Dizzy to remember, so he just nodded as the names were reeled off.

“We need to get to Bell Keep to warn the soldiers there,” Swag was saying. “You should return to your swamp. Three goblins against that minotaur and his orcs are likely to end up as a greasy stain. I’ll let the mayor know the goblins are prisoners and were forced to do the minotaur’s fighting.”

“We’ll take our chances,” answered Dizzy coolly. He looked to where Kitty was scratching Gwen behind the ears and cooing softly. The little girl seemed thrilled that her cat had made a friend.

“Kitty! Let’s get a move on!”

“Wait! Take Gwen with you!” said Sharla suddenly. “He’ll be a great help!”

“Uh, you know Gwen is normally a female's name?” asked Kitty. The cat licked himself smooth after the petting and scratching he had received.

“I didn’t know that when we got him, and Gwen just stuck,” answered the girl with a giggle. “He’s a smart cat, and he can help you hunt down the minotaur. He can track like a bloodhound, he just doesn’t like a leash.”

“Well, if he’ll come with us,” said Kitty. “Come along, Gwen! You’re with us now!”

The cat looked briefly at the girl, who shooed him with her hands. Standing, he rubbed himself on Kitty’s legs, then padded over to sniff Dizzy and YDB. YDB went to pat the cat on its head, but Gwen just moved away. Dizzy didn’t even try, still harboring a grudge from their previous encounters.

“Oh, before you take off,” said Valcar, speaking to the goblins for the first time. He held a cloth-covered bundle in one hand. With the other, he unfolded the cloth. As the contents were exposed came the smell of freshly baked bread. Three small loaves were revealed.

“I had finished baking these just before the minotaur and his orcs arrived. Didn’t want to leave them in the oven, so I brought them down into the storm shelter with us. You can have them if you want.”

Dizzy sniffed the bread, smelling the honey and nuts. He accepted them with a toothy grin. “Thank you, human,” he said as he handed one each to Kitty and YDB, stuffing the last small loaf into his bag.

The farmer’s family looked at the damage to their farmstead, and the farmer sighed. “We got a lot of work to get done. Let’s get to it.”

Rabnar and Swag waved to the farmer’s family first, then nodded to the goblins.

“Good luck, and don’t try to fight the minotaur head-on,” advised Swag. “Just follow them, and hopefully we’ll catch up with some soldiers.”

Dizzy nodded but didn’t reply. He gestured towards the coast, where Stormhoof and the orcs were headed last. Swag and Rabnar headed north along the road, while Dizzy and his friends continued northwest. Gwen trotted alongside Kitty, looking as content as only a cat can.