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Captain Ron stared out of the porthole of his cabin aboard The Purple Jewel. His brow furrowed as he watched the gulls and other birds fly looking for their next meal. Ships docked, drifted out or were in unloading or being loaded. Driftwood’s docks bustled with activity and life.
That is what had him worried. Bernie and Harold were missing. They were human, like him, but more welcoming to the vices. They worked well and did not cause undue trouble. He didn’t know if they were hung over, lost or dead. This was an easy and quick errand. No more than three days, allowing for drink and folly.
A knock on his door brought him out of thought. He rubbed his beard as he answered, “Come in!”
The young goblin, Sonny, dressed in normal tattered sailors dress and a very pink dressed gnome, Calypso walked in the room. “Yes, Captain.” Calypso said. As she gazed around the room. A scroll top desk open, covered in papers, a table surrounded by chairs, and a weathered human man, three heads taller than she, standing at a window. Sonny bounced on the balls of his feet looking around as well.
Captain Ron waived his arm towards the table. “Have a seat. We need to talk about our missing mates.” She nodded as she and Sonny found their way to a seat.
He slumped in a chair across from them allowing the worry to cross his face. He forced himself to set up straight and get into the business at hand. “Calypso, do you know Crow Hill well?” He inquired.
“No, but I can get a friend or two to help me.” She realized why he asked for her. They would not be seen or noticed because of their size. They could weave in and out to gather information to see where Bernie and Harrold disappeared to. The Captain nodded and thought about his next question.
“Do you believe you can safely hunt down the path they took so we can find them?” He gazed at her expectantly. She took a moment to think this through as Sonny patted out a tune she did not know on his lap. His attention span was going to make this difficult. She hoped he listened well.
“Am I to bring this young one with me?” She asked as Sonny grinned at her. She felt the weight of the captain’s request so she phrased her question politely.
Captain Ron smiled at Sonny. “He has many skills and does have the ability to stay still when needed. He will be able to aid you in your search.” Sonny nodded in thanks. His face seemed to switch to understanding. He sat straighter and appeared more confident.
“With that knowledge, I believe we can do this task,” she agreed. There was something they were afraid of but were not telling her. She decided to help anyway. Ektra would have her back.
As Ektra landed just outside of Crow Hill, he realized he needed to work on his endurance. His dragon half gave quite a bit of strength which went a long way in hefting veggies, ingredients, and the animals for the food they make in his tavern. Unfortunately, the need to fly has been less and less.
He walked through the bustling town that has his heart. Townsfolk waved and greeted him as he walked through. Their smiles meant he belonged. He looked at the newly built stores to see what they brought in. So many species shopped here now. Goblins, hobgoblins, lizardfolk, orcs and so many more.
More and more have shown up since the two giants stopped by for a meal. Their goodwill to all species and willingness to feed anyone spread. Yes, his dad’s word of mouth helped majorly, too. Crow Hill just kept growing to what it is now two years later.
He was still smiling ear to ear when he finally walked into the Violent Blossom Tavern. The relief to be there washed over him. He saw regulars and new faces. Sefter and Galog, orcs and lifelong companions, kept the Tavern running smoothly.
Galog stood behind the counter talking to their gnome friend, Calypso and a goblin he didn’t know. Sefter sat bowls in front of Ben and Martha, an older gnome couple that moved here in the last year. The aqrabuamelus were sitting at the corner table as usual. There were many he didn’t know, too.
As he reached the bar, he heard the goblin say to Galog, “That’s a lot of places they could be. Do you think they would talk to a sea faring goblin like me?” He smiled. He realized Calypso joined a pirate ship while she was gone. He wondered which ship.
Galog smiled as he looked up at him and greeted, “Hey, Ektra. Did it go well?”
“Everything is set for the next year. The supplies should start showing up in the next fortnight.” He could see that Galog was just as relieved as he was to keep things coming in to help things continue to move smoothly.
“That’s a relief,” his smile was huge around the tusks. “ This is Calypso’s friend Sonny. Before you fully come back and get back in the kitchen, will you go with them to find their missing human friends?” He asked as he motioned his open flat hand at the young goblin. He smiled at the orc. Outside of working in the tavern, he was not a people orc.
He nodded in agreement as he looked down at the goblin. He smiled as he said, “Do you know what they came here to find? That would tell me where we could go first.”
“A Smith for weapon repair, spices, fabric and knowing them, drink.” Sonny listed off what they came for succinctly with very little extra information. Calypso watched expressionless and quietly as they talked.
Ektra took a deep breath as he thought. Deciding to start at one end and work to the other, he suggested, “Let’s walk down to Barb’s first. We will ask her if she saw them, then we will work our way up town.”
Sonny turned and looked at Calypso, she spoke up, “Seeing Barb again would be lovely.” They hopped off the stools to make their way out of the tavern.
Calypso and Sonny trailed behind their half dragon friend. With him parting the tide of the townsfolk, making it deeper into the middle of Crow Hill is way easier for a three and a half foot her and four feet for him. Everyone has places to go and things to do. Only those with children or small family members ever looked down.
Soon, they made it to The Green Maiden. Ektra held the door open for his petite friends. Sonny’s head moved from side to side trying to take it all in. Tables and piles of pillows enclosed in with curtains to make semi private areas for two to three people. Others were open with more seating available.
As they walked down the middle, Sonny peeked behind a few curtains to see them inhabited by a couple of creatures each. They seemed too out of it to notice him. He smiled and caught up with the two friends.
They walked up to the glass counter with bins of herbs of various shades of green with names like Cotton Candy Kush and White Widow. On the walls and behind the counter were other bins with many colors that said things like basil or mace to flowers such as lavender and cannula. It was almost like Sonny was trying to see everything at once.
With Barb not in sight, Calypso walked around the back of the counter to peek in the back room leaving Sonny and Ektra at the counter. He was smiling down at Sonny as the goblin walked around looking at all the bins to gently sniff each one he could reach without touching.
Barb was sorting through a pile of pink flowers and putting pieces into bins beside the pile as she went. She noticed Calypso before she could say anything. “Hello, Calypso. You made it back.” She greeted the gnome. She set down the handful of flowers. She dusted her hands off as she walked to the front of the shop.
“Welcome home Ektra. I pray your journey went well?” She said looking up at the Half dragon. He nodded, smiling. She turned to see a goblin looking at the apple blossoms with his head tilted to the side. “Hello, new friend. Are you with them?”
He turned around, eyes wide. “Yes.” He answered unsure.
“This is Sonny, Calypso’s shipmate. All the negotiations went well. We should be adding new dishes soon.” Ektra introduced him hoping Barbara would get the idea without too much explanation. She nodded her understanding with a smile.
“I look forward to trying them.” She smiled at Ektra and turned to Sonny. She looked down at the new friend. At six feet tall, she looked down at many folk. “Curious friend, how can I help you?”
“Have you seen two humans come with an order of various spices?” He asked. Ektra noted he was sure in his speech. This curious goblin is self possessed. A trait he appreciated in those he met.
Barb turned around grabbing a ledger to her left. She brought the large lizard leather bound tomb to the front counter. “How long ago?” She asked, turning it a little more than halfway open.
“Five days ago. Bernie and Harold are their names.” he answered realizing he is too short to peek over the counter. It was made to be a good height for the tall woman’s comfort.
She turned a few more pages and found what she was looking for. “They cleared out my stock of pepper, allspice, cloves, bay leaf… Does that sound right?” She peered down at him through escaped wisps of hair from her braid.
“Yes. So they made it here. Thank you. Do you know where they went next?” He asked, brow furrowed, he wanted to get to the point. Barb took a moment to think.
“They asked for directions for the smith. I helped them load their things on their cart. Then I pointed to where it was. They were on their way from there.”
Back on the street they followed Ektra to the Smith. They zigzagged through the walking traffic across the street into the Artisan Edge. A bell rang as they walked through the door. The shop was sweltering due to the kilns they could hear crackling in the back remove between hammer strikes.
Sonny walked around the well stocked shop. Barrels full of common swords with more ornate ones on the wall. Hammers and knives of varying sizes and types on the wall or standing on their heads on the floor. More types of armors than he had ever seen on mannequins. He tried to see each piece.
He had barely begun taking in the wares when a lovely lady dwarf walked in through curtains from the work area in the back. Her head shaved on one side and hair up in a braid in a bun. “Ektra you came home. Calypso, hello! Is this young one your friend?” Vala greeted them with a joyful smile, arms on her hips.
“ Hey, Vala! I am so happy to be home. This is Sonny,” Ektra introduced their new friend.
“Sonny is one of the ship mates I befriended while I was exploring. He is here to ask about two more of our human friends that are missing.” Calypso gave Sonny a lead in for his questions as he joined them. An older male dwarf walked in behind Vala.
“Welcome Sonny! Tell us about your friends and we will see if we may help.” Deghus’s booming cheerful voice filled the room. He smiled at him like they were friends forever. The happiest dwarf on Terra.
“Thank you! Bern has dark skin and had a dark colored shirt on and light colored pants. Harry was more like milk in coffee skin colored with brown pants and shirt. They would have asked lots and lots of questions about swords and knives. Trying to learn everything. They would have had spices with them on a cart.” He described his friends briefly to them.
“Aye, yes. We talked for a long time about types of swords and their uses. Bernard seemed quite knowledgeable. He taught me as much as I taught them. They left with six new swords and four knives. I hope they come back for more palaver.” Deghus laughed as he described their visit.
“Did they say where they were going?” Ever staying on point he asked. As they talked, Calypso found a pink encrusted set of armor her size near a long row of mannequins. She walked around it admiring the quality and the shiney. Ektra crossed his arms across his chest watching them talk.
“They asked about where to buy well made fabric. I gave them directions to the Sewing Sisters. They should be able to do a searching spell if they don’t know where they went.” Vala told them. Her face gleaned with envy. Like she wanted pretty fabric too.
Sonny bowed. “Thank you. I know he will want to see you again too.” The goblin stood and headed out the door not waiting for anyone.
Ektra tersely says as he waves as he runs out the door with his gnome friend. “Thank you. We will have dinner later!”
He gets outside in time to grab the little goblin by the waist and then he grabs Calypso, too. He took flight. Golden wings with red splatter coloration beating with ease. He flew them over the stores and crowd. His two small friends enjoyed the ride and view. The goblin giggled with joy as he saw the stores of different shapes and sizes lined up in two lines on either side of the street. So many races and colors of folk walked this and that. None noticed them in the air.
Ektra landed in front of the bright yellow store front. He set the small ones on the ground. They took a moment to admire the detailed flowers painted on the store. There were so many kinds that they didn’t know the names of them all. Calypso’s eyes kept going back to the different shades of Celosia.
Sonny opens the door and Ektra grabs it to let them walk in. Sonny and Calypso had never seen so much fabric in their lives. Ektra followed them in to walk straight to the counter in the middle of the store. As Calypso and Sonny walked through the aisles and tables they saw so many colors and patterns.
The goblin was drawn to the area where the sign said Yarn. He didn’t know what that was. The walls have five levels of baskets filled with yarn on two walls. It felt soft like sheep wool. It said animal names he could not pronounce on some of the baskets. Some skeins were single colors. To his delight some were multiple colors in one skein. He giggled at the feel and patterns. Some were even sparkly.
The gnome was drawn to the fabric. She found tables and shelves full of fabric. All colors of the rainbow including her favorite shade of pink. Patterns in shapes she didn’t know were possible on fabric. The mugs were her favorite. She found lace and beaded fabrics. The whole selection of fabrics were more beautiful than she could have dreamed.
She saw Ektra and walked toward him through scissors and other tools. A long strip with numbers and small two pointed things with sharp rounded points in the middle with more bins of tools that were foreign to her. She found Sonny was by him already.
Just as she arrived beside the golden half dragon, two ladies appeared out of nowhere in front of them. Ektra and Calypso bowed at the sight of the Goddesses. Sonny just stood wide eyed at them.
“Hello great and powerful Goddesses!” Ektra greeted them as regally as his training took him.
“Ektra, we are happy to see you came home. Thank you for bringing your friends to our store. No one has shown the joy of your goblin friend in a while.” Neith smiled warmly over the counter down at him. Her red crown shining in the overhead light from the window in the ceiling.
“You know why we came?” At the sight of the Goddess she knew, Calypso suspected the worst. Not only was this beautiful Goddess one of the most imaginative creatures, she was the Goddess of death.
Beside her stood a beautiful Goddess with raven feathers and twisting symbols woven into her beautiful gown. “Yes, dear girl. We helped your friends over.” The Morigan answered for her.
“Forgive me Goddess. I do not know of you but we are grateful nonetheless.” Calypso was surprised by the knowledge. She could not help her tears falling as the grief of her friends dying. They taught her so much of how to be a good deck hand. Even how to use her size to the crew’s advantage.
Sonny was knocked out of his wonder at that knowledge. “I do not understand what is happening here. Helped them over where? Why are you crying?”
“I apologize, young one. I am Neith and she is Morigan. We are Goddesses of creation, war and death. This store is our hobby where we enjoy each other’s company.” The Goddess spread her arms wide. Her red dress had a line of symbols they could not understand down the middle of the front. “We helped Burnie and Harry to their afterlife of their beliefs.”
The goblin stood staring back and forth at the Goddesses. The information was not what he was wanting to find. He had known Harry and Bern his whole short life. He grew up with them and his Uncle Cassava on the ship.
A man walked in the store. Everyone turned to look to see a man dressed in a white vest embroidered with white feathers over a black shirt and pants. He wore a bi-corn hat with black sunglasses and black boots.
“Captain, we have a problem.” Sonny said with no preamble.
Captain Ron bowed. “Hello Goddesses.” He greeted them both. “Goddess Morigan, did you help my men?” He asked, already having an idea what his ship mate meant.
“Yes, Ronald.” She nodded, her feathered headpiece ruffling. She clasped her hands in front of her waiting to see how he would react.
“Who did it?” He asked with a scowl. He rubbed at the side of his face as he looked pointedly at her. He stayed calm.
“Your gnome friends.” She said sadly, knowing he would know who she meant. They had not drowned when he had them walk the plank for eating another human shipmate. When he did not show up for any duties. They found him in pieces with parts missing.
He nodded. He bowed deeply. “Thank you for your blessings for my crew and I.” He decided he had enough information to know what planned to do to them this time. Three men under his protection.
A skein of yarn and knitting hooks appeared in one hand and a roll of pink fabric covered in beautiful lace appeared in the other of Neith’s hand. “Sonny and Calypso, please take these gifts.” Calypso reached up and grabbed the fabric hugging it to her face. She stroked it lovingly with one hand. As soon as Sonny touched the knitting needles he understood how they worked and what to do to make a new hat.
His eyes went wide. “Th-th-thank you Goddess.” he said, unsure of what just happened to him. He had never met a Goddess nor knew they could do or know anything he heard or saw today.
“Ronald, your men will meet you at Ektra’s Tavern.” Morigan nodded her head towards Ektra who was standing where he was with arms crossed on his chest. He had settled into the guide role well. His verbal input on anything at the moment was not needed, he realized. “They have your missing killers.”
“Thank you for that. Good Day.” Captain Ron bowed once more. Once he rose, he turned on his heel and walked through the pathway out the door.
They all watched him do so wide eyed. Ektra excused them by saying, “Thank you both. We shall join them.” He bowed and motioned the small ones to join. Sonny nodded. He bowed so low that his nose nearly touched the floor then ran after the half dragon. Calypso looked amused more than anything. She bowed as well then joined the men outside.
Ektra grabbed Calypso and Sonny mid-stride by the waist as well. With a few hard beats they were in flight. They saw Captain Ron walking with his Sea Elf first mate as they flew over. She nodded her head full of dark hair swaying as they both glanced up as the trio flew past. Captain Ron smirked at them amused.
Ektra opened the door of his tavern. The last place he saw Ben and Martha to find them both tied up surrounded by four folk he had never seen. A spider creature, two reptilians and another older goblin sat either on the floor or a stool sat around them. The rest of the tavern was empty except for his orc partners waiting at the bar. Ektra decided to go to the bar with his friends. It seemed the safest place to watch the show.
Sonny walked past him to the husband and wife gnome duo. He bared his teeth in rage. He said in a surprisingly calm sweet tone, “There’s no need to worry about hurting us again. You won’t be given the opportunity.” The two gnomes looked at him in amazement. He had only been kind and helpful before now. All of his shipmates nodded in agreement.
He walked over to the nearby empty table. Calypso had walked in behind him and watched from his back. She sat next to him and waited. No one spoke. Martha moved a bit to sit up straighter. Both of their faces went blank. Their guards were scowling.
Within minutes Captain Ron and his first mate made it to the tavern. He opened the door letting her walk in first. She walked over to her mates to find that they accomplished what they had accomplished capturing them. Normally, when thrown overboard in the middle of the sea, drowning happens. None of them knew what they did to survive
Captain Ron was on her heels. He walked over in front of the crew. “Job well done.” He nodded. “Are any of you injured?” He gazed at each of them. They all gazed at each other.
The goblin, Cassava, answered, “No, lhevk-rhu.” Captain Ron nodded.
“Did you find our goods?” Tidecaller asked hopefully.
“Yessss. b’Ap’c’Ap and Panvias took them and a few more we took from their nest.” The lizard being answered. She nodded, grateful to the Grung and Halfling.
Captain, that’s the list.” Tidecaller turned to her captain and waited for his next orders.
He nodded and turned to Ektra. “Our deepest thanks, good soul! Ye’ve aided us well. Now, we shall take our leave and sail onward!” Captain Ron said. He gave a slight bow, a fraction of what he gave the Goddesses.
He turned to his crew. “Gentlemen, let us be off,” he said to the crew. They all stood. The lizard kin helped the gnomes to their feet to lead them out of the door. As the crew filed out, Calypso weaved through the tables to Ektra. He got down on one knee to look her in the eyes.
She hugged him. “Thank you my friend. I will come back soon.” She cried as she let go and joined her friends. She had lost friends and had one heck of a journey.
What would you do if you fell in love with your best friend?
Rose Mowbray, daughter of the Third Earl of Rothesay in Chathom County, knows few things for certain after enduring loss as a child. One thing she does know, however, is that her best friend will always be by her side. Winnifred Warwick, daughter of Lord Warwick, knows many things for certain thanks to a keen mind and easy life. But the thing she knows above all is that she’s madly in love with her best friend. When Rose’s feelings begin to change, allowing her to understand what she’s felt her whole life, she fears it may be too late, however, to win back the only person she has ever loved. Discover the slow-burn lesbian Regency romance from Samantha Calcott and Melinda Lauer today!
Samuel has spent years running from the past. John Mowbray has no intention of letting him run anymore. Barrister Samuel Follett has built a quiet life in Chathom County. Quiet is safe. After betrayal and scandal, safe is all he wants. Then a powerful man from his past comes back, and he intends to take everything Samuel has worked for. Again. Enter John Mowbray, future Fourth Earl of Rothesay. He’s loud, warm, impossible to ignore, and he has known Samuel since the days when Samuel played with John’s older sister, Rose. John has spent a long time wishing Samuel would let someone in. Now he’s decided that someone is going to be him. If that means standing between Samuel and a Duke, well. Let the Duke try it. But Samuel is sure he’s a danger to anyone who loves him, and he’s prepared to sacrifice himself to keep John safe. John has never taken that kind of nonsense lying down.
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