Chapter 124

Gatekeeper

Hawkin

“I… can’t,” BarnacleEyes said, wincing in pain.

She fell to her butt and peeled off her massive boots. I turned to her. A yellow leaf passed between us. She looked miserable.

“You’ve been slowing down lately,” I said. “Is everything alright?”

“My heels,” she whimpered.

I asked to take a look and she lifted a foot. I sat beside her and laid her leg across my lap. Her boots had rubbed a nasty blister into her heel.

“Aw,” I said. “BarnacleEyes, how long have you been suffering like this?”

“Two days,” she said. “Keeps coming back.”

“Will you say something next time?”

“I don’t want to hold us back. I want to be valuable.”

“Nothing will ever change how valuable you are,” I said. “You’ll always be an amazing little goblin.”

Her eyes became glossy. Big. She smiled from ear to ear. I sighed and gestured for her other foot. She winced and laid that leg across my lap as well. Both her heels had blisters.

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” I said. “We’ll make camp for a day or two and take care of your blisters. Then we’ll see if you can walk barefoot, or see if we can… I don’t know—let’s see how you fare in a couple days. Mk?”

“See,” she said. “I’m costing us two days of travel!”

“We’ve covered most of the libation locations,” I said. “We have three more. We’re doing great and you’re not costing us anything. We’re not in any rush.”

“So, what do I do?” BarnacleEyes said.

“Take it easy. We’ll make camp right here. We’ll relax together and enjoy nature.”

She retracted her feet and made for her boots. I stopped her and she glared at me.

“Keep them off for now,” I said. “Trust me. You’ll feel much better without them. Don’t wear them for the next few days.”

“But-but-but, they’re my boots! That’s my life! I can’t not wear them!”

It took an excruciatingly long time to convince BarnacleEyes that it was ok not to wear her boots all the time. The only reason she agreed is because we compromised. Instead of wearing them on her feet, we tied the two boots together by their laces and she slung them over her neck. They hung at her belly and an unbearable stink wafted from the dark depths of her boots.

After only a couple of hours, her blister was nearly gone. Almost completely healed. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with the regenerative capabilities that goblins had.

“Do you always heal that quickly?” I said.

“I think so,” she said. “Depends how bad it is. I’ve broken most of my toes and fingers already. Always fine a day later.”

“A broken finger would take me months to heal,” I said.

“That’s cause you’re not a goblin. Goblins are the best.”

“Even GloomGlower?”

My question sent BarncleEyes into a thinking spell. Earned me a few hours of silence. Not that I minded her going on about things, but it was nice to enjoy the peace and solitude of the wilderness.

So I lay back against a tree with my bedroll as a pillow. Put my hands behind my head and watched sunlight dapple the canopy of the broadleaves. A couple of yellowed leaves fell every now and then.

I suddenly longed for the coming autumn when the world was cooler. The insects fewer. The foliage turning bright and vibrant.

But I was also nervous. I could easily say I had fallen way behind my homesteading tasks. I bore that thought like a burden. My food reserves were lower than last year’s. I had to travel further to fish, which meant fewer fishing trips. Fewer fishing trips meant less fish.

On top of everything, I wanted to share my food with BarnacleEyes, and hopefully Thrush.

I’ll have to work twice as hard before winter hits. Maybe BarnacleEyes and Thrush will help me.

I woke early the next morning, feeling quite stiff. My face, neck, and arms itched from mosquito bites. I shivered in the coolness of the early morning. BarnacleEyes snored beneath a pile of blankets. I was still on top of my furled bedroll.

Must have been too tired to make a bed.

I groaned like an old man as I rolled off and got up. I made fire. Made some dark dandelion tea and woke BarnacleEyes when the sun began to shine through the woods.

“Morning,” she said groggily.

We silently sipped our teas around the fire. BarnacleEyes rubbed her eyes. Yawned.

“How do you like the tea today?” I said.

“Tastes like dirt,” she said, “but I’m getting used to it.”

After my tea, I stretched to crack the stiffness from my bones. BarnacleEyes went about cleaning her nose and ears. Then we packed up within the next hour and followed the low country west to the coast. In just another day, we made it to our 6th libation location. Right on the water.

“Should we go out to sea?” BarnacleEyes said. “That way we can explore part of the sea after the mist wall is up and no one can bother us.”

I brewed another bottle of Mist Hidden attribute beer. I swam out to sea and tested how the libation would work on water. It turned out to work just the same as on land. When I dove down to check underwater, I found that the mist existed there too. I poured a libation on the water from the main Mist Hidden beers we were using, and then returned ashore.

BarnacleEyes hopped up and down in excitement as I dressed behind the privacy of a beached tree.

“Two more,” she said. “Two more libations!”

“Yup,” I said. “Both are going to be at the same spot at the end of the orc port to finish the circle. After that, the Mist Hidden attribute should connect every libation location and form the barrier. If we did things correctly.”

“Let’s go,” BarnacleEyes said.

“Have you thought about my proposal?” I said when we started heading north.

“About the gate?”

“You’re welcome to decline,” I said. “I’ll brew the Mist Hidden key beers and give some to you. You can keep an eye on the port, manage deliveries, guide people through if need be.”

“Let me get this straight. I drink the key beer to enter or exit the mist barrier,” she said.

“That’s right. Works exactly like a key. You’d be the gatekeeper.”

“BarnacleEyes! Captain and gatekeeper! I like the sound of that!”

“Here’s the deal,” I said. “If you ever want to stop being the gatekeeper, just let me know. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. If you don’t want to make a delivery one day, I’ll take over. How about that?”

“What a bargain,” she said. “I get to be captain, gatekeeper, and I can do whatever I want!”