Chapter 37

Candles and Gourds.

Thrush

Hawkin and I spent the next day finishing the cellar. More wooden beams were installed. We lined barrels in a row, and placed the gourds together in a corner. As the evening came near, I told Hawkin about my first quest to make my first trade.

“How do you think you’ll do it?” Hawkin said.

“I was thinking about visiting the goblins. Maybe pick a ship, climb aboard, and see if anyone’s willing to barter with me.”

“What will you barter?”

“We know that goblins enjoy beer, so maybe I could trade some of the big gourds you’ve got. I’ll share what I get with you.”

“That’s a marvelous idea. Those beers would just be sitting there for a while before I got to them. This way they’re put to good use. I’m brewing faster than I can drink, although the goblin spit beers are certainly going to take a good chunk of my time everyday.”

“I can help you brew,” I said.

“Organizing the cellar was all the help I needed for now. Just enough room to store one hundred of GloomGlower’s five gallon barrels.”

“It’s going to take you a while to fill those.”

“If my next batch of clone brew turns out well, then we’ll be shipping out beer soon.”

We paused for a delicious lunch. Hawkin put together a hefty cabbage salad and I threw some overly smoked fish atop. I didn’t mean to oversmoke it. I napped for too long. Lesson learned. The cabbage was fresh and bounced when I slammed my fish upon it. Little tomatoes were nice and juicy, and Hawkin made a wonderful discovery using dreambon juice as a vinaigrette.

Eating well pleased me and I practically skipped down to the coast. The wind was so thick that I could discern its rapid currents sweeping across the sea. Through the wintery haze where ice crystals dispersed, I saw a dozen goblins crossing the ice from ship to ship.

I climbed the rough materials of the first ship I encountered and swung over the banister. The goblins on deck panicked and put up a defensive guard. They surrounded me until their captain came up a ladder that was set into a hole.

“Calm it down!” the captain said. “Calm it down! This is the Thrush monster GloomGlower told us to leave alone.”

The goblins calmed down and shivered against a sudden buffeting wind.

“I’m PitPits.You’re on the wrong ship, Thrush monster.”

“I have a quest to complete and I was hoping someone could help me.”

“No, no, no,” PitPits said. “I don’t want nothing to do with it! I hear GloomGlower’s handing out FableStones and new ships. I can’t risk losing reputation.”

I used the trick that GloomGlower had used on me and presented one of the gourds of beer. If PitPits saw it with his own eyes, maybe he’d be driven to barter for it. PitPits shook his head at the gourd.

“I have this,” I said.

“So what?” he said. “I’m not interested.”

PitPits looked sideways at the gourd. Other goblins scooted closer.

“It’s beer,” I said.

“Beer?”

“I have to barter for my quest and I want to barter this beer for something.”

A little goblin poked through the others and raised a spindly hand.

“I’d like to barter for the beer,” the little one said. “If PitPits isn’t interested.”

“Now hold on a second,” PitPits said. “I never said I wasn’t interested. Why don’t we go below deck and talk some more. Follow.”

I wasn’t the only one to follow PitPits below deck. Every single goblin followed down through uneven levels of the ship. We passed under a horizontal ladder that slid left or right depending on how it was bumped into. Goblins didn’t care who was coming or going; they just pushed past each other, squeezing curses out of squeezed lungs.

I followed, eyes first, into a large room with tarps and chests stacked along all the walls. Three goblins tended to a large metal bowl of glowing coals that heated the room. I was invited to sit across from the only doorway. PitPits sat on a chest across from me. More goblins than could fit in the room shoved themselves into the room until it seemed that we were all heads without bodies.

“Where’s everybody else?” PitPits said. “Almost all of us are here.”

“There’s no room,” A voice said from the hall.

The walls and ceiling groaned. Materials shifted to reveal peering eyeballs and green pointy noses that hung like the beginning of stalactites. Wet noses dripped from the ceiling.

“Let’s have a look,” PitPits said.

A hand emerged from between the heads of lesser goblins who were nearly roasting from their place by the coals. I uncorked the gourd and foam hushed out.

“This is my friend's beer. It’s not very good.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” PitPits said.

He pulled the gourd through the crowd. It squealed as it dragged across green skin. When it reappeared in PitPits possession, he put an eye to the neck. Then his nose. Then a thumb. After licking his thumb he asked an eager comrade to test the beer in the same manner. Several thumbs promptly dunked into the beer at once.

“Stop! Stop! Stop! That’s enough tasting,” PitPits yelled. “Ok. It’s not goblin spit beer, but it’ll do. I’ll take it.”

“What do I get in exchange?” I said.

“Oh,” PitPits said. “Boots? Boots are a sign of promotion.”

“Boots,” I said. “What else?”

“You don’t want boots? What about candles? We can make you a few candles in exchange. Easy.”

“Hawkin has some candles made from fat. He needs them to see the cellar. I might be interested in some candles. Let me have a look.”

PitPits chuckled. “Ours aren’t made from fat. BLUNTTHUMB! Bring me a candle!”

In less than a minute, all the goblin heads rose and fell like a sweeping wave while someone moved through their midst. Then a hand emerged near my side, holding a candle. It was thick, the size of Hawkin’s copper mug. It was at least a foot tall.

“How many?” I said.

“They’re easy to make. For something like your friend’s beer, I’d say…” PitPits counted two hands worth of fingers and held them up at me. “A generous four.”

“Deal,” I said.

The goblins promptly chuckled. Most of them stifled their laughter and someone even said, “stupid!”, drawing laughter from PitPits.

“Alright snots!” PitPits said. “Let’s make a few candles for the Thrush monster!”

Goblin fingers began digging into goblin ears. It seemed easier for the goblins to scrape out the wax from each other’s ears than their own. Piles of wax began amassing. Wicks appeared, fetched from elsewhere on the ship. Blobs of earwax were molded around each candle and shaped by rolling it upon the backs of volunteers.

I ended up with six candles and handed over the cork to the gourd.

[Congratulations!]

[Quest Objective Complete: Make your first trade!]

[Reward acquired: 2 skill books and 1 Merchant loot chest.]

[Rewards have been added to your inventory.]