Celeste was getting tired of being knocked out and waking up in completely new places. This time, the scent of mildew accompanied her awakening. Celeste groaned and covered her nose. At least what she was laying on was very soft. And this time, she remembered what happened, every detail. Derrick was Davik and Davik was nothing like her brother. And his mortal enemy was Owain, who also had changed. It didn't seem real. She let out a heavy sigh.

"I thought I heard you shifting around up here." A voice behind her stated. She turned to see a goblin holding a torch. They were nearly the size of the goblins who worked for Davik but had some of the features of the river goblins she was familiar with. "How are you feeling? I honestly thought you were dead when Andra came dragging you in."

"I'm…"Celeste sat up. She was a bit tired but otherwise intact. Her emotions were a different story. "Confused. Where am I?"

"You're in what you tall folk refer to as Goblin Lake Town. It has a goblin name, but Tall folk can't pronounce it properly. You lack a couple of necessary organs to speak goblin properly."

She couldn't help but stare at the goblin as they spoke. They had the raspiness like the last one she met, but they didn't make odd noises when they spoke. They paused and blinked at her. Celeste cleared her throat, realizing that she had been rude.

“Sorry, I just…”

The goblin held their hand up. “No apologies necessary. If you’re the person I think you are, you’re about a quarter of a century less experienced with goblins than the average person.”

“Twenty-five years? How do you figure that?” As far as she knew, she had only missed out on twenty years.

“Because the peace treaty between Feon and us goblins was signed twenty-five years ago. Believe me, you would’ve heard about it if you had been around Feon at the time.”

“I was asleep for twenty-five years…” Her hand hit the moss she had been asleep on. Emotions started swelling up in her. “I missed everything…”

“Some would call you lucky.” The goblin remarked as they handed her a flask. “Here, this will help you feel better. It’ll give you some of that pep back that Davik no doubt got from you.”

Celeste opened the flask, only to pause. She remembered what happened the last time she drank some goblin brew. The last thing it did was pep her up. The goblin noticed her hesitation.

“This is a human brew. It’ll wake you up, guaranteed or my name isn’t Mid.”

“Mid?” She questioned before she took a sip. The liquid burned her throat and she nearly spit it out. The goblin chuckled as they took the flask.

“Yes, Mid. No, it’s not a goblin name. I could tell you my goblin name, but you wouldn’t be able to say it.” They remarked as they capped the flask. They smiled as they looked at her. “So you’re the infamous Sleeper, huh? The woman from another time… Were you Lord Davik’s lover? Usually, he just dumps those that he doesn’t kill by his touch outside his fort, let alone tell Andra to take them somewhere.”

Now it was Celeste’s turn to blink. She hadn’t thought that someone who didn’t know about Davik’s past life (which appeared to be most of the population) might not know their true relation. They knew they weren’t blood-related, so they went with what made the most sense. The logic still didn’t stop her from blushing a bit in embarrassment at the thought of it. She shook her head.

“No, we were in the same orphanage. We were the same age.” And that was all she was going to say to a goblin she barely knew.

“Ah, I see. Less on the romantic and probably more around the familial then.” Mid sat down, holding the torch. “I bet you’re wondering how I speak so well. Well, much like Tall Folk lack the correct organs to properly speak goblin, those same organs get in the way of us speaking Tall Folk languages. It takes a lot of practice and patient for a goblin to train themselves to speak a Tall Folk language. I am a singer, so I was used to having my voice do odd things. You'll find that most liaisons like me are singers.”

“So speaking Tall Folk is like singing opera?”

“If you talked opera instead of singing, then I suppose so.” Mid kept an eye on the torch, making sure none of the embers got near the moss bed. “Oh, if you feel the need to give me a title, it’s Miss. I know you Tall Folk don’t have sharp enough noses to smell the difference between a male and female goblin.”

“Are you a lake goblin or a river goblin?”

“Both.” She replied with a grin. “Dad was a river goblin, Mom was a lake goblin. It created quite the stir. See, lake goblins and river goblins traditionally don’t get along. Ironically, it got better once the treaty between Feon and goblins was signed. But there’s still some rockiness there.” Mid pointed to her bandaged arm. “I changed that for you while you were out. I’m guessing you stepped into a goblin argument. I can’t see the summoning goblins harming someone Lord Davik sent them to fetch.”

Celeste had almost forgotten about the wound amongst all the revelations that occurred today if it was still that same day. It was hard to tell when she hadn’t seen the sun since being at Rusty’s place.

“Yes. I’m friends with some river goblins where I’m staying and a couple of the goblins wanted to take a goblin pup. The father came, but they were overpowering him. So I stepped in. I thought kidnapping was a pretty high crime among goblins.”

“It is, but if they don’t live here, we can’t exactly enforce the consequences.” Mid tapped one of her claws against the floor and traced a pattern of some kind. “Back before your time, the river goblins were in pretty bad shape because of an extended drought. So to preserve themselves, several river goblin families would give a pup to a lake goblin family in exchange for some much-needed goods. It was supposed to be more of “if you give me this, my kid will work for you to pay you back and we have fewer mouths to feed” sort of a deal. That’s how my mom and dad met. He volunteered to be the one to go so his parents and siblings could have food. But like all things, it went sour and lake goblins would just take any river goblin pup under the guise of helping out the family and leave some sort of payment. It took us a while to straighten it out. It still happens occasionally, but outside most of the main goblin settlement’s jurisdiction. I’m sure that the pup’s parents are very grateful. Just make sure to keep that wound wrapped and cleaned.”

Mid stood up and signaled for Celeste to follow her. She noticed how dark it was in the goblin house. But she supposed they didn’t need too many lights seeing that they didn’t see that well in daylight. Fortunately, the torch was enough of a light for her to watch where her feet were going and not trip over anything. Mid led her to a table with a small sack on it.

“I figured I couldn’t send you off without some supplies, including some smear for that goblin wound. And you should eat something before you go. No need for you to collapse on the road.”

“What do you have to eat?” Her stomach grumbled a bit. “If you have any human food, that would probably be the best.”

“Don’t worry. As the liaison, I always have Tall Folk food.” She went over to what seemed to be the pantry and opened it. “I have some deer jerky and biscuits. Will that do? I’ll get you something to drink with it.”

“That it’ll be fine.” Celeste sat on the table and ate the offered food. Mid set a glass in front of her.

“It’s not that stuff you gave me earlier, is it?”

Mid laughed and shook her head. “No, it’s what goblins drink regularly. Humans often use it instead of water if they’re traveling somewhere. But I packed you water for the trip, plus something a little extra, in case you stop for the night and the feelings get too much.”

Celeste had a feeling that something extra was alcohol. It might be good to keep it around for trade. There was no telling who she would meet on the road. Once she finished her meal, Mid led her out of the house. The Goblin Lake Town reminded her of a human down, just with darkness, more moss, and smaller houses. Mid’s house must’ve been built to host Tall Folk. It was certainly busy, with goblins constantly jumping in and out of the lake. Some had fish, some didn’t. The smell was terrible though. She wrinkled her nose at it.

“Smell isn’t too pleasant to you I see.” She wasn’t sure how Mid noticed that with how dark it was, even with the torch she had. “You wouldn’t be the only one. I guess we goblins are just used to it. So, where are you heading? I’ve been all over the place, so I can give you directions.”

“Do you know where a half-dwarven blacksmith by the name of Rusty lives?”

“Ah, so you’re staying with him? At least you won’t have to spend more than a night out in the wild then. Oh, you might want to shade your eyes for a bit. We’re coming to the exit.”

Celeste gladly took her advice and shaded her eyes. The sun wasn’t too bright, which meant it was probably getting close to sundown. But it still took a bit for her eyes to adjust. Mid pointed in a direction.

“Head west until you get to a crossroads and take a left. Keep going and you’ll eventually get back to his cabin. Hopefully, you don’t go past it and walk right into the ruins of Feon. Don’t take a right, or you’ll wind up back at the Fort Ivanar, the Renewer’s base camp.”

She nodded, having understood the instructions. “I think I can manage that.”

“If you want, I’m sure I can get a couple of the lads to escort you. Rusty might have to feed them though.”

“No, I think I’ll be all right.”

“If you insist.” Mid then handed her the goblin blade off her belt. “Here, take this. You’d be surprised by how much of a deterrent just having a weapon can be.”

Celeste was glad that Opal had also donated a belt and that she chose to wear it today. She slipped the sheath onto it. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to use it. She shouldered the pack that Mid gave her.

“Thanks for everything, Ms. Mid.I’m sorry if it was an inconvenience.”

“It was, but it wasn’t your fault. The Renewers seem to think that they can just march in here whenever they please.” She sighed a little bit. “Well, you better get going if you want to get as far as you can before sundown. Fortunately, I don’t smell any rain so you should stay dry until you get to Rusty’s place. Keep an eye out for bandits and don’t trust anyone on the road, especially if they’re alone.”

“Got it.” Celeste didn’t think she needed to be told that, but let Mid advise her anyways. “Thanks for everything, Ms. Mid. Maybe next time, we’ll meet under better circumstances.” She shouldered the pack before she started.

Mid watched her for a bit before she returned to the cave. Celeste continued to walk forward with a heavy heart. Maybe she would indulge in that alcohol after all. There was no chance of her getting any sleep after meeting Derrick...Davik and what transpired afterward.