Goblin Apprentice

by Gerhard Gehrke

  The sergeant spat. “Well, that’s the commander for you. But he’s right. Our walls here are solid. And our boys have sharp eyes.”

  “Not so sharp that they missed a troll getting into your harbor.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “It came in last night with a goblin and maybe another passenger, on the boat with the burned mast.”

  Recognition flashed on the man’s face. “We captured a goblin. But didn’t see no troll. What are you talking about? There are no trolls in the Inland Sea. They’re all out in the ocean.”

  “Not this one. It follows that goblin like a trained dog.”

  “She’s not lying,” Blades said. “We faced that thing twice.”

  “We have men watching the dock,” the sergeant said.

  Alma shouldered her quivers and bow. “I saw your men. They’re not enough. Double them and get some barrels of lamp oil down there. If it surfaces, you have to burn it.”

  She was surprised when the sergeant nodded. She opened her money pouch and took out a coin.

  “Now what can you tell me about the goblin?”

  The sergeant took the coin. “Not much. But I can take you to someone who can.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Spicy paced the five steps from one wall of the cage to the other. The bars were solid. The door wouldn’t even rattle. The spaces between the metal barely allowed his fingers to reach through. He peered at the children in the neighboring cage. There was something in their eyes that frightened him. A hollow look. There was little in the way of recognition and no hope.

  “This is your idea of a rescue?” Rime asked.

  “I said I’d be back for you,” Spicy said. “Are you guys all right?”

  “We’re alive, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  Rime tried to help one of the girls get more comfortable. They had a few small blankets and there were bowls in the cage. One had water in it. In the corner was a bucket.

  Spicy grunted as he pushed and pulled at the door to his cage.

  “The humans know how to build metal doors,” Rime said. “Stop making noise. I finally got Flora to sleep.”

  “I almost caught up with you before you crossed the sea. The troll brought us over. It’s going to sound crazy, but there’s a dragon with us. Rime, I have so much to tell you.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. And what’s the point of you getting captured? They’re going to sell us. They’re going to make us slaves.”

  Spicy let go of the door. “Not if we get out of here first.”

  “That’s not going to happen. They said what they’d do if we try to escape. We’re in the middle of a human city.”

  “Eel Port is just a town. There’s much bigger cities to the south.”

  “I don’t care.”

  Flora stirred. Rime stroked her head and shushed her. The other children were awake and looking at Spicy with wary eyes.

  “Did your sister make it?” Rime asked.

  “Thistle’s safe. I freed her. She’s with a group of goblin hunters who were tracking the humans.”

  Rime nodded. “At least that’s one of us.”

  “There’s other survivors from Boarhead. One Stone made it. If we get out of here—”

  “We can’t. There’s no way. I’m not leaving the children. If you see a chance, take it, but if they catch you, they’ll cut you so you won’t be able to run ever again.”

  “We can’t give up.”

  “I’m not giving up. I just don’t want to die.”

  Spicy sat with his back to a cage wall. He couldn’t stop weighing all his decisions. What mistakes had he made coming here? What could he have done differently? Were all his efforts and pain for nothing?

  For some reason, he thought about Daphne, the slave in her master’s library back in Bliss. She considered herself fortunate. But she was still a prisoner, her life belonging to another, a human free to abuse her as he pleased.

  The man with the clipboard opened a shutter that let light in. He came to the cage doors and looked inside both without comment. From a nearby desk, he removed a ledger and made an entry. Then he came to Spicy’s cage and unlocked it.

  Spicy backed away from the door.

  “Hold still,” the slaver said. He grabbed Spicy and began a rough examination. “Harold said you speak well. Can write. Know numbers and have a good memory. Is this correct?”

  “Look, there’s been a mistake,” Spicy said. “My master—”

  “Is dead, according to what Harold said. Are you marked?” The man checked Spicy’s cheeks, chin, and neck, and then began to pull his clothing off, examining his legs and arms. “No tattoo? No brand? Who was your master, and where did he purchase you?”

  “Uh, Orchard City.”

  The slaver let Spicy go. He pulled his clothing back on and was placed back in his cage.

  “Orchard City, you say?” the slaver asked. “Very unlikely. Not many goblins there. Don’t see many of your kind further south than Midsea.”

  The slaver shut the cage door and scribbled notes in the ledger. “Barely a mark on you except for that scratch on your arm. That’s impressive. Might be worth more because of your good condition. I’ll be testing your numbers later. But not that many buyers need that sort of thing these days.”

  “Because of the war?”

  The slaver snorted. “Because of the glut in the market. Now be quiet.” He sat at the desk.

  Another young man came in, delivering paperwork. Then the two men left the warehouse together.

  Spicy tried to get comfortable. Eventually he curled up on the floor and tried not to think. Tried to tune out all the sounds of the animals in the warehouse and the noise of the town around them. He thought of Thistle. Surely she had made it home. Boarhead could be rebuilt. They could start again, recover, and live life in peace. But somehow, something had changed. The world of man wouldn’t leave them be. Men like Lord and Harold were the norm.

  He tried to dismiss the rage. He was helpless, and his anger was a waste of energy. The children had stirred. Dill and Eve sniffled, and it sounded like the boy, Pix, had a cough. The youngest, Domino, had wandered to the back of their cage and had her arms wrapped around herself. Even if one of them could be freed, it would be worth all the effort.

  The pigs on the far side of the warehouse started to shuffle about in their stalls. The goats began bleating.

  The beams above Spicy’s cage creaked. There was little light. At first, Spicy believed the place had rats. Perhaps it did. But then the wood in the rafters groaned louder as something large moved above the cages.

  “Fath, are you up there?” Spicy said.

  There came a low grunt. The dragon’s long shape lowered slowly down from the rafters and thumped on the wood floor in front of the cages. Eve and Flora began screaming.

  “Silence them,” Fath said.

  “Rime, Dill, get your sisters quiet. The guards will come.”

  Dill hushed the two girls as Rime pressed his face to the cage. “That’s a dragon. A real dragon.”

  “I told you,” Spicy said. “Or close enough to one, anyway. Nothing like in the picture books. Kids, Fath isn’t going to hurt us, is he?”

  Fath looked down at the goblins with his one remaining eye. “That remains to be seen. I’m very upset.”

  “I thought you couldn’t swim,” Spicy said.

  “I said I don’t swim, not that I can’t. The troll is right. The water is filthy.”

  “Did you see Hog?”

  Fath pulled at the steel door to Spicy’s cage. “Off chasing fish, I suppose.”

  “You’ll need a key,” Spicy said. “The man with the clipboard has it.”

  Fath raised his head and surveyed the warehouse. It grew darker as the doors to the loading bays were slammed shut. The side door where Spicy had entered closed too. Next came the sound of hammering.

  “What’s going on?” Rime asked.

  “The humans are c
losing up the warehouse. But it’s still daylight. Why would they lock it up at this hour?”

  Fath let out a low hiss and crawled back up into the rafters. As long as he wasn’t moving, the dragon was invisible. The animals in the pens continued to panic. Spicy didn’t understand why the slavers weren’t coming in to quiet their stock. From outside it sounded like more men had gathered in front of the warehouse.

  In the cage next to him, Domino was staring up at the shadows where Fath had hidden himself. Her vacant eyes were brimming with tears.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Spicy said as his heart squeezed tight. “It’s going to be okay.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The goblin had been handed over to an information broker named Harold, who then in turn had sold him to a slave trader back at the waterfront.

  The information had cost Alma little. After all, the whereabouts of a goblin was hardly interesting to most, even though the broker had haggled with her for more than a few pennies of compensation for the last tidbit of intel.

  Blades had stopped at a vendor and purchased a bundle of fried fish and rice balls wrapped in a large leaf. He hurried to catch up as Alma marched back towards the harbor.

  “What’s the rush?” he asked. “And what’s the deal in volunteering us to go out and fight? Did I miss the part where we’re no longer enlisted? We broke contract, and I’m in no hurry to jump back in during this siege. We need to get out of here.”

  Alma stopped to face him. She plucked a rice ball from his bundle of food and handed it to Vine. Then she took a second one and ate it.

  “You may not remember Commander Zane from when we came through, but I do. Lord and I talked to him when we arrived. He runs as thin of a garrison as possible, all while skimming the difference from his budget. He’s a bureaucrat who’d never do anything that didn’t line his pocket. He’d never accept my offer because he knows I’d charge him.”

  “But what if he said yes?”

  “He didn’t.”

  Blades shoved the fish in his mouth before she could take it. “You didn’t mention the dragon.”

  “I know. We don’t know where the creature went. That’s why we need to find the goblin. I believe he’s the key to this.”

  “So we talk to the goblin, we have him show us where the dragon is hiding. Somehow, we kill the thing before we get killed, and then we profit. Am I missing something?”

  She nodded. “That’s about it.”

  Blades picked a bone from his teeth. “We’ve got a boat. We can buy a little food with the money we have. If everything else you’ve seen is true, we need to get out of here.”

  “The zealots have more work to do before they’re ready. We might have today before they attack. Knowing them and their schedule of prayers, they won’t come at dusk or at night, either. I’m guessing dawn tomorrow, after the prayer of first light.”

  “Is that what you did when you were one of them?”

  Alma’s face grew warm with anger but fought to not let Blades know he had struck a nerve. “Let’s find our goblin.”

  “Fine,” Blades said. “But give me a minute while I buy some more fish.”

  Vine nudged Alma and gave a surreptitious nod towards a corner. “That kid in the fancy coat. He’s been following us since we left the information broker.”

  Alma didn’t turn her head. “This Harold probably wants to know what we’re up to. No reason for us to care. Yet. Keep an eye out in case it looks like he has friends.”

  At the slaver’s warehouse, the information broker named Harold was waiting for them, along with another man carrying a clipboard. Two burly guards with metal-banded clubs were in the shadows of the loading bay. The smell of animals hung heavy in the air. The harbor wasn’t far away. No soldiers or city guards were in sight.

  Harold offered a nod and his whiskered face broke into a grin. The lanky old man looked like a scarecrow.

  “Did we have further business?” Alma asked.

  “No, my dear, we did not. But your inquiry intrigued me. So I thought I would head over and see if there was some new venture we might find in common.”

  She eyed him suspiciously. “What did you have in mind?”

  “From my observations, it’s interesting when three soldiers for hire come to town who, according to my sources, have departed their posts without permission from their superiors. That makes their visit here fraught with danger.”

  “Get to the point.”

  “You’d risk your life entering Eel Port, and the first thing you do is seek out a goblin. Not even taking the time for a bath and a meal. That means that little fellow is worth more than the pennies you paid and also worth more than our flesh trader here gave me for him. That’s why I just bought him back.”

  “I need to speak to him.” Alma tried to step past the men but one of the guards blocked her way.

  “Not for free, you don’t.”

  She sighed and reached for her money pouch.

  Harold raised a hand to stop her. “I saw how much you have. It won’t be enough. But perhaps we can come to an arrangement which will satisfy both our needs. What information do you seek from the goblin?”

  Blades edged closer. “We paid you already to talk to him.”

  The guards straightened up, their hands on their weapons.

  “Uh-uh,” Harold said. “You paid to learn his location. He’s inside here, as I told you. Now we begin a new transaction. If it puts you at ease, remember I can help facilitate the sale of any merchandise the goblin might help you acquire.”

  Alma motioned for Blades to back down. “We won’t just tell you what the goblin knows. Like you, we recognize what we know has value.”

  “Smart girl. But I can just turn you away and put my new goblin slave to the question. He might even survive well enough that I can resell him once I’m done. I’m sure I will extract what I need to know. But it would be so much easier if we work together. Much more pleasant, wouldn’t you agree?”

  Alma appraised the men in front of her. With Blades and Vine, she was certain they would be able to take them down. But there was always the possibility of getting hurt. And more guards might be inside the warehouse.

  “A dragon,” she said. “He knows the location of a dragon.”

  Harold laughed. The slaver with the clipboard looked confused, and both guards grew uneasy as Harold doubled over.

  “That’s good, so good. It’s been too long since anyone has come up with anything so amusing!”

  “I’m not lying,” Alma said. “We all saw it. It attacked a group of men across the sea near Bliss. It’s following the goblin. The goblin has a troll, too. It’s what pulled their ship across the sea.”

  Harold’s grin faded. “You’re going to have to do better than that. The goblin must have stolen something from you and buried it somewhere. In fact, I’d lay money on that. So spare me your dragon story.”

  Blades drew his weapon. Vine followed suit. The slaver with the clipboard jumped back as both guards freed their clubs and squared off with Blades and Vine.

  “Put your weapons away!” Alma ordered.

  Neither men moved. The two guards were clearly outmatched. Alma knew either Blades or Vine could cut them down without breaking a sweat.

  Harold snapped his fingers. “Back off, both of you. There’s no fight here. We’re just talking.”

  The guards backed away.

  “What kind of trouble did you bring here, Harold?” the slaver asked.

  “Shut up,” Harold said. “You’ve made your profit for the day without lifting a finger.”

  Alma let out a sigh. “Let us in to see the goblin. Listen in, if you want. I intend to ask him about a dragon.”

  “That’s your story and you’re sticking with it, then? Intriguing. All right. Let’s go see my goblin and we’ll ask him together.”

  Harold started to lead the way into the warehouse.

  “Wait,” Alma said. Both Blades and Vine halted.

  “
What’s wrong?”

  Alma took a moment to smell the air. It was like working a hidden-picture puzzle, ignoring the things that were obvious, and focusing on those which were not. The town stank, so it was impossible to be sure. But she smelled the sulfur stench of the dragon.

  “It’s here. The dragon’s here.” She stepped to the open bay and checked inside. “How many entrances? Are there skylights or an open floor?”

  “No skylights,” the slaver said. “And the floor’s built over solid rock.”

  “Seal this place up.”

  Harold studied her for a moment. “My god, you’re serious. Do as she says. If this is some game…”

  “It’s not. We may have just had our work done for us. It’s inside. Listen.”

  The goats and pigs were working themselves into a frenzy.

  “What’s happening to my stock?” the slaver asked.

  Alma put out a hand to stop him. “It’s not worth your life.”

  The slaver only hesitated for a moment. Then he gestured to the guards and they closed the bay doors. Next they moved to the side entrance and hammered a board across the closed door.

  Harold stood with his arms folded. “And now?”

  “And now we finish our deal,” Alma said. “Because if I’m right, we have that monster trapped. All we need to do now is figure out how to kill it.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “The warehouse is sealed up,” Harold said. “But there’s no way we can keep an eye on this place. It’s too big.”

  “How many men can you bring?” Alma asked.

  “My rogues aren’t fighters. And most of them are sleeping.”

  “Better wake them up.”

  “I think not. I want to see some sign of this dragon. Right now this appears to be a massive waste of time or a trick. Let’s open one of these doors.”

  But the slaver was gone. Both his guards remained, but they didn’t move to assist Harold.

  “Leave them closed,” Alma said. “We’ll need archers. Five or six, if you have them. There has to be a few men you can summon with offer of payment.”