I skipped Borsdown on my return and flew directly to Serrington. I simply did not want to land yet. When I reached the city, I drew three circles above. Then another three. Then, after two more, I took off towards the west. My shadows pushed me to max speed and I did not stop more than a few hours every night to get some rest and have a meal.

A week later after having passed over another dwarven city and seeing one on the horizon to my south, I reached the end of the Dwarven Hills. The swampland. My eyes scanned the ground but with the snow, it looked not much different. The only notice I had was the hills flattening and the forest giving space to the occasional grove. I knew the south held a mangrove forest at the end of a large river. That same river was the main source of water for this swamp. It was not the only one. Everywhere, small to medium brooks and rivulets were frozen over from the winter.

There was no sign of people. The moors in between the flood-land made for an inhospitable region. Farming was not easy unless one had rice. Building houses was near impossible with the regular floods. There was only wildlife. The mangroves would hold another species that was believed to be related to the dragons but I had no interest in them at that point. I simply flew over and observed. No mad horde of animals was popping out from nowhere. No magical anomaly was threatening me either. I could just spend some time here and relax. But I decided I had enough of moping, for now, and turned around.

While my reserves were being strained, I felt refreshed. Just getting some distance and not thinking about anything was apparently all I needed. I might have overreacted a little bit. The goblins could do what they wanted. I did not need to lead them to a notion of ‘civilization’ they did not agree with. I could just offer my help. If they did not want it, I would move on. Simple as that.

My vis had been continuously pumping out of my core to power my wings. There was a bunch of flux within my body but over half was moving quickly towards my Core. Even as more was created, I found it was mostly stable. As much as the literal unstable remains of magic could be. My body seemed to be draining more of it the more I had. After my next food delivery, I would need to settle down and rest for a few days. In the sense of not using any magic. I could see myself spending some time with the two animals from Serrington. What were they called again? Foxy and Brilda? Maybe a few normal days with normal ‘people’ like me would help.

I returned to Serrington and stocked up on more food. This last delivery should be enough to make it through the winter. With what I brought before and what they hunted it would last them a month or even longer. That would get close to my first birthday, which was in spring. I was confident the snow would be gone by then. Hopefully, the goblins could hunt in the valley again.

This time I simply planned to drop in and give them what the crystals were worth. That turned out to be more difficult than I thought. Roguk brought me into his hut where Chef and a goblin woman were waiting already. The woman had wrinkly skin but not as much as to be really old. She was the oldest goblin in the village, of those I had seen. I remembered her from the first time I lived here. She had shown me how to sew the leathers they used into clothing. I did not remember her name.

The two goblins were sitting at a cleared table with some distance from Roguk’s experiments. A third stool was empty until the chief sat down on it. He beckoned me forward and I took place next to them. Sitting, they were only a little taller than I was standing.

We exchanged simple greetings in the form of nods, then Roguk began to speak, dodging my eyes.

“So. You said you can help us get some stuff. And maybe do something about our situation. I don’t think anyone was ever expecting something like that. That’s why…”, he looked at me, “Sorry. I think… we didn’t treat you fairly. You’re a friend. We shouldn’t have dismissed your offer like that.”

~ding~ You…

‘Not now!’

The system notification stopped. I would look at it later.

“We talked about it a little. No. A lot. We think it would be great to get some things. Like tools, for example. I don’t know the limits of your Skill but you can probably get us some basics, right?”

I nodded. I had not connected to their minds yet. I was mostly just looking to get out and get a break but… Their faces and Roguk’s tone made me reconsider.

“So… We’ve been trying to figure out what’s best… After all, we gotta pay you, right? So we have to see how much we need.”

The woman jumped in with a hoarse voice.

“We decided the hunters are keeping what they’re used to. No metal weapons or armour. It’s hard to maintain and noisy. Everyone else… We got some priorities but it depends on if you can find the stuff.”

Chef nodded.

“I need a bunch of tools for cooking. If they’re metal ‘s gonna be easier. No need ta replace ‘em every month or so.”

That made sense. I sighed. Wiping away the last bit of reluctance, I connected to their minds. In the meantime, I pulled out a notebook and a pen from my storage.

“What do you need?”, I asked when the connection was established.

Roguk answered.

“So, we’ve got Chef’s tools a priority. A bit ladle and maybe a pot. A bunch of knives. A cutting board. And dishes. Like, bowls and spoons. Stuff that lasts a while. We have to replace all our usual things three or four times a year. It’s hard on our resources.”

I wrote everything down. The old woman’s eyes traced the tip of the pen moving in the grasp of my shadow tendril.

“Then the sewers. They need needles and knives. That’s kinda it. Some woodcutting tools, a bunch of stuff for my alchemy. I don’t know. How much is that gonna cost?”

“No idea. The dwarves mostly use wood and clay for their bowls and mugs. I can get spoons and knives made from metal easily. The big stuff for Chef is gonna take a while. With everything you’ve listed I don’t think you’ll be above ten gold. That’s two decent vis crystals.”

They stared.

“Two? Not like, two-hundred? Two?”

Chef could not believe it.

“Yes. Two. To be honest, with the six crystals I took I could bring thirty food deliveries, disregarding payment for myself. You guys are super-rich. You just can’t buy stuff cause there’s nobody selling down here.”

Roguk collapsed on the table, hands splayed in front. One fist started to repeatedly punch the wood. I saw his head shake as small laughs resonated through the hut.

“If I tell the right dwarves about that node and the huge crystal covering the rift, they might send an expedition to harvest the stuff.”

The chief looked up from between his arms.

“Please don’t. We can’t defend against greedy dwarves.”

I scoffed.

“I wouldn’t.”

The three nodded at me.

“What about the other stuff? Moving might be difficult but I could find a way to get back to the ravine.”

Roguk collected himself with a deep breath before answering.

“No idea. Honestly. It’s too sudden. I don’t think many want to move. Mostly because we know what we have here. I’d have to send a team of hunters with you to scout the new place and then… maybe. I’m not sure I could convince everyone.”

“That’s fine. I kind of want to make the tunnel, anyway. There’s some risk, though. I’m not an experienced miner. I could go around and find some dwarves proficient at it. Learning from them would make it much easier.”

The goblins looked at each other.

“I don’t really care”, Chef said, “Just don’t harm the village and we’ll be fine.”

“Same”, the woman said, “I don’t think you’d go that way to harm us intentionally. But every problem coming from it will be pushed onto you to fix. Aight?”

I nodded.

“I was thinking… Maybe you want to try get a smith. You have some kids that could pick up a new Class. I could maybe convince someone with the riches you have down there.”

“What? To come over and teach? A dwarf, or what?”

I nodded.

“You’re insane!”, Roguk laughed.

“Thanks.”

“How’s that supposed to work? They can mine our crystals and teach us about smithing in return, or what?”

“I don’t know. Something like that, maybe. It’s a huge trek for you wingless folk but for a few hundred gold or something like that? I could probably find someone.”

“They’re gonna rob us if they don’t kill us first”, the woman croaked.

I shook my head.

“Dwarves aren’t like that. Especially if I explain it to them. You’d just have to teach everyone Ordugh. They don’t know your goblin tongue. Where’s that language even from?”

“It’s our people’s language”, Roguk said, “The goblin’s secret. Sort of. It’s what we spoke when we didn’t want the orks to understand. We just decided to keep using it in the village. There’s been no reason to teach the kids something else.”

“Wait… Why don’t the orks just learn it?”

“Do you really think orks would sit down and learn from a goblin?”

Uneasy chuckles followed that exclamation.

“I see. Well, the dwarves surely would like to know it. They have huge libraries with all kinds of knowledge. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them already know it.”

Roguk nodded.

“Makes sense. Not really. It’s hard to picture what you’re talking about. It’d be a leap of faith I’m pretty sure not everyone would be willing to take.”

“We really should send a squad with her”, the woman said.

“Right. That’d be the best.”

Roguk turned to me.

“Sorry, Fio. We just can’t trust you that much. It’s…”

“I understand. Trust needs to be built. I returned despite what I felt when I left the last time. Now I know it was good to do so. You’ll have to take the next step, though. I’m feeling like I’m only giving right now.”

“Heh. That’s not so bad, is it?”, Chef said, “I’ll tell you what, Fio. Get a squad of ours safely to the dwarves and back and the whole village ‘ll know ta trust you. But if they ain’t come back, you better ain’t come back either.”

I met his eyes. He was serious. And he should be. This was the life of his friends and family he would be putting in my talons. I would have to prepare.

“I say I scout a path before. It might be we need to go through the ravine to be safe. If that’s the case, I’ll have to dig first.”

The goblins laughed.

“Right you are, girl”, the woman said, “Don’t worry about time. We’re good to stay here another few decades. Only worry about making it safe, you hear?”

“I do. And I will. Thank you.”

With that, the heat of the discussion was settled. We moved on to a few more details of what they needed. The seamstress showed me the types of needles she needed, then she and Chef talked to me about knives for half an hour. I spent some time with Roguk talking about the pots and bottles that might help his alchemy. At some point, there was not much more to figure out and without lingering, I dropped off the food delivery and said my goodbyes. Maybe we could get the ball rolling. Maybe we could really turn this village into a prospering place. Or resettle them somewhere better. I did not know yet. Only time would tell.