Chapter 35: The Goblins

  Goblins were the most common subhumans, found in nearly every corner of the continent. They were roughly the same height as humans, with green skin and generally ugly features—most notably, a pair of large ears protruding from the backs of their heads. Strictly speaking, they should also be classified as orcs; though slightly less intelligent than humans, they spoke the human language. It seemed they had a language of their own, and rumors claimed they’d even had their own kingdom long ago, though it had collapsed for unknown reasons. As the only subhuman race with some connection to human society, people didn’t treat them like beasts (as they did other orcs)—merely as an inferior species. They usually lived in the gaps of human civilization: petty theft was their specialty, though some also did menial work. Kidnapping for ransom, however, was unheard of for them before.

  Ethan followed the map the goblins had left. He’d expected a hidden, heavily guarded lair, but instead, their base was just on a mountain a dozen miles outside Bracada. The stockade they’d built openly at the cave entrance was hard to miss—visible from far away.

  After Ethan announced his identity and purpose, the goblins led him into the stockade. There were about a hundred goblins inside; when they heard Ethan had come to ransom the hostage, they cheered and pointed at him from a distance. Ethan noticed this didn’t look like a well-fortified lair—it was more like a temporary camp. The “houses” were haphazardly built with planks and thatch, scattered here and there.

  The goblins hadn’t specified a ransom amount when they first sent word—they’d only told the duke to send someone. It was as if they hadn’t expected such a valuable captive and needed time to figure out how much they could demand.

  “Where is she?” Ethan’s main concern was still the book; he needed to see Chris first and ask about it.

  A few goblins chattered among themselves, then led him to a cave.

  The cave entrance was blocked with a wooden fence, turning it into a makeshift prison. From the leftover food inside, it seemed the goblins hadn’t mistreated their valuable captive. But Chris was clearly terrified—she looked haggard. When she heard someone had come to ransom her on her father’s behalf, she collapsed by the fence and burst into tears. When she got a good look at Ethan, she gasped in surprise. “It’s you?”

  “Where’s the book?” Ethan asked.

  “Book? What book?” Chris’s answer made his heart skip a beat.

  “The one I lent you—from the Magic Academy library. You said you’d read it on the trip when you left.”

  “I’ve been locked up here for so long, scared to death, and the first thing you ask isn’t how I am—you don’t even care about me—you just ask about some book!” Chris burst into tears again.

  Ethan forced himself to stay calm, speaking in the gentlest, most childlike tone he could manage: “Don’t worry. Now that I’m here, you’ll be fine for sure. I’m glad to see you’re safe and still in good spirits. But that book is really important—do you remember where it is?”

  “I put it in my bag. These guys took it when they robbed us,” Chris said.

  Ethan almost jumped up. But then he thought: maybe the goblins wouldn’t have shipped the goods off without checking them first. If they’d seen the book, they might have tossed it somewhere carelessly.

  “Be good and wait here. As soon as I work things out with them, I’ll get you out,” Ethan reached through the fence, patted Chris’s head to comfort her, then turned to the goblins behind him. “I want to see your leader.” The goblin grunted and led him outside.

  In the center of a crudely built wooden hut stood an ornate table—obviously stolen. A goblin who looked like the leader sat behind it, trying to look imposing by sitting up straight. Several other goblins stood behind him.

  Ethan wanted to ask about the book right away, but he reminded himself he’d come to ransom Chris first. He sat down at the table and asked: “How much money do you want?”

  The goblin leader grunted, as if clearing his throat, and spoke in the thick, nasal tone typical of goblins: “You humans have always looked down on us, oppressed us, called us barbarians. But we have a long culture too… See? We didn’t mistreat the hostage, and we tried not to hurt anyone when we robbed the caravan…” He twisted his ugly face, trying to put on the solemn, composed air of a diplomat.

  Ethan cut him off impatiently: “Get to the point. What do you want? How much ransom?”

  The goblin leader slammed his hand on the table, as if offended. “Your attitude is an insult to us! Do you think we’re inferior? Let me tell you—our time to rise up has come. We won’t let you humans oppress us anymore!” He scowled fiercely.

  Ethan nodded and waved a hand. “How much?”

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  The goblin leader glanced at the goblins behind him, exchanging looks with them, then turned back. “Don’t underestimate us. We know she’s the daughter of Duke Mrak. We sent someone to check—this duke has great power and wealth.” He held up five fingers, then quickly folded four down. “We want f—one thousand gold coins.” His shifty eyes darted nervously to Ethan.

  “Fine,” Ethan nodded without hesitation.

  The goblin leader froze—he hadn’t expected such a quick agreement. One of the goblins behind him nudged his leg with a foot. The leader immediately held up another finger. “No—two thousand gold coins.”

  “Fine,” Ethan agreed even faster. He just wanted to settle the ransom quickly so he could ask about the book.

  Even the goblins behind the leader looked shocked. This time, the leader didn’t wait for a signal. He stood up, excitedly saying: “No—I made a mistake. We want… we want five thousand gold coins!”

  Ethan frowned. He could tell these goblins were testing his limits. But while he could tell the difference between a few silver coins and their actual value, when numbers exceeded his experience, he grew completely confused. To him, a hundred gold coins and ten thousand gold coins both fell under the simple category of “a lot.” Considering the duke’s status, money probably meant nothing to him—so Ethan nodded again.

  “Final offer—ten thousand!” Ethan’s readiness had stirred the leader’s ambition. He made a bold, greedy demand.

  Ethan slammed his hand on the table and stood up, finally losing his temper. The leader immediately backed down, holding up his hands. “That’s it! We won’t add another coin—no more!” When he saw Ethan sit back down, he added, “Who doesn’t love their children? Think about it—all creatures care for their young. If something happened to my kids, I’d pay any price to get them back. Duke Mrak would do the same. Compared to gold, his daughter is priceless. He’ll pay this amount.”

  Ethan frowned. “All right, that’s settled. I’ll bring the money tomorrow, and you release her.” The leader’s eyes lit up. “Good!” he said firmly.

  “Oh, one more thing…” Ethan finally brought up his real purpose, downplaying it casually. “Our young lady had a book with her. We’d like it back.”

  “A book? No idea where that is,” the leader said, and the goblins behind him shook their heads, exchanging glances.

  “It’s useless to you—worthless, just sentimental. It was in our lady’s bag. Could you look for it and give it to me?” Ethan watched the goblins’ expressions carefully.

  “Her bag? All the goods were… taken care of… long ago,” the goblin said evasively, as if being careful. But his words confirmed Ethan’s worst fear.

  “Where is that book now?” Ethan asked, clinging to a final glimmer of hope.

  The leader suddenly grew defensive and angry. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up. “We’re not fools! Don’t try to trick information out of us!” He waved a hand at Ethan. “Now go! Remember to bring the money tomorrow. Otherwise, prepare to bury your lady!”

  The goblins practically shoved Ethan out. Several times, he almost punched the ugly face of the goblin pushing him from behind, but he forced himself to hold back.

  It was indeed the worst-case scenario: the book had definitely been sent to that orc city. How was he going to get it back? Ethan was overwhelmed with frustration. He’d never been this angry before—having no outlet for his rage made it boil hotter and hotter. If Chris weren’t still in their hands, he would have turned back and killed every last one of those green-skinned fools.

  This pent-up anger lingered until he returned to Bracada’s town hall. He planned to find Lord Bolgan and sort out the ransom issue.

  “Ten thousand gold coins?” Lord Bolgan looked as if he’d been stabbed. He jumped straight up from his big chair, mouth hanging open, his bulging eyes staring fixedly at Ethan.

  “Did the duke tell you this was an acceptable amount beforehand, Sir Envoy?”

  Seeing Bolgan’s reaction, Ethan realized he’d probably made a mistake. He shook his head.

  “Do you know what ten thousand gold coins can do?” Bolgan’s expression was completely blank.

  Ethan shook his head again. He really had no concept of it.

  “A single silver coin can feed a poor family for a month. Do you know that?”

  Ethan nodded. He’d once worked as a mercenary for just a dozen copper coins.

  “One gold coin can support an average family for ten years. Five can support them for a lifetime. Ten thousand can support two thousand families… for a lifetime. Two thousand families—over ten thousand people… for… life.” The rest of Bolgan’s face was motionless, but his duck-like voice rose occasionally, each word driving home the seriousness of the situation for Ethan.

  “Even if I arrested every caravan in this town, seized all their property and goods to sell to you, plus all the money in the town and every house sold off—we might maybe scrape together ten thousand. Maybe. And realistically, that’s impossible.”

  Ethan swallowed hard.

  They stared at each other for several minutes. Finally, Bolgan jumped onto the table and said to Ethan: “Sir Envoy, sit down and tell me exactly what happened.”

  After listening to Ethan’s account, Bolgan stared at him and shook his head. “I suspect the duke sent the wrong person. You’re really not suited to handle things like this.” Ethan’s face turned red.

  “Those goblins must be used to being poor—they have no concept of money. How else would they come up with a number like that? Do they think the duke runs the imperial treasury?” Bolgan’s bushy eyebrows furrowed again. He didn’t notice Ethan’s face growing redder.

  “I didn’t even know they’d built their lair in such a place. Hmph—if the troops stationed here hadn’t all been transferred south, and if my men weren’t busy dealing with thieves and other goblin gangs in the town, I would have crushed them long ago. But this just proves it’s their first time kidnapping—they’re being so reckless. We can’t really pay them that ransom. Maybe we should think of our own way…”

  Ethan wasn’t listening closely. He was tangled in a mix of anger, frustration, and shame—emotions he’d never felt before. He’d always done whatever he wanted: if he couldn’t do something, he tried harder; if hard work didn’t work, he fought with all his might, acting as directly as an animal. He’d never lacked courage, perseverance, or quick wits, but he had zero experience handling situations like this—or managing such complicated feelings. But in his daze, one of Bolgan’s words suddenly caught his attention. He thought about it, and suddenly everything clicked.

  That’s it—he should have thought of this earlier. With a clear plan in mind, the anger swirling in his head turned into resolve and strength. He looked up at Bolgan and said: “Don’t worry. I know what to do now.” He stood up and walked out.

  “Wait—wait a minute…” Bolgan chased after him a few steps, but by the time he reached the town hall door, Ethan was already gone.