The swamp quickly engulfed the goblins, the orc warrior, and the minotaur. Dizzy strode alongside Kitty, looking around at the goblins. All were moving quietly through the swamp, but no grins or capering about. The pall that had fallen over the normally boisterous goblins deepened.

“Dizz, what are we going to do?” whispered Kitty.

“Not sure. Slugger wants us three to run away if the orc and minotaur turn on us.”

“Really?”

“Actually, it was more like ‘When.’”

Kitty looked to where Isaar and Stormhoof were slogging through the swamp. Stormhoof’s weight dug deep into wet ground, mud and grass covered his hooves and lower legs.

“But what do they want at the village?”

“No idea. I thought I heard Stormhoof say something about a gem of some sort, but we don’t have anything like that. An old brass bull, a leaky stone temple, and a bunch of huts. Treasure? Ya, right. We’re goblins, we don’t have anything good besides what we’ve stolen ourselves, and the farms and towns around here are just about as poor as we are.”

Dizzy shrugged as he walked. Isaar and Stormhoof clearly had a plan in mind, he would have to wait and see what the two would do once they made it home.

The second return trip through the swamp took less time since the goblins didn’t need to lure pursuers to their doom. It was just after sunset, and the glow of cook fires could be seen between the trees. YDB sniffed the air and said “Fish.”

“Yeah, fish for dinner. Wish it was boar,” answered Dizzy. Kitty rubbed her belly in anticipation.

“Smells spicy! I love spicy fish!” Dizzy glanced over and saw her smile for the first time that day.

The goblins streamed into their village, hungry and ready to eat. Dizzy grabbed a pan he had found in a trash pile and made sure the clay plug was still in place. He joined the mob as it flocked around the three cookpots. A scoop of spicy fish stew was dumped into his pan with a growled “It’s hot,” from the cook. Dizzy wasn’t sure if the cook meant spicy or temperature, but probably both as he nearly dropped the pan when the heat reached his fingers.

“Ow, ow, ow!” said Dizzy as he pushed through the crowd to find a place to sit and eat. He sucked on his fingers to cool them while switching the pot from hand to hand. He spotted his friends and angled himself to be near them. Soon, he was sitting on a log with three of the older goblins, with Kitty and YDB on another facing him. YDB grinned at Dizzy as the goblin sat his pan down on the log.

“Hot!” said YDB as Dizzy continued to blow on his fingers. Kitty tutted at him, then handed Dizzy a rag to serve as a potholder.

Looking up, he saw Slugger leading Stormhoof and Isaar to the Chief. The Chief stepped back as the minotaur tromped up the stone stairs, iron shoes clanking loudly. Dizzy handed Kitty his makeshift bowl and whispered for her to hold onto his meal. Elbowing several goblins aside, Dizzy moved towards the temple to see and hear what was going on.

Inside, the Chief sat with Slugger at his side, in front of Stormhoof, who was seated cross-legged on the floor, facing the two goblins. Behind the goblins was the statue of the bronze bull. Isaar paced behind his Captain, watching for any trouble from the goblins. Seeing none, he plopped down onto the ground, his back to Stormhoof’s. Dizzy knew he would not be able to get close enough to hear without a good excuse. The orc and the minotaur were simply too wary and cautious about their surroundings.

Dizzy tried to blend into the crowd of goblins eating their supper while wondering what was being said. He looked over to his hiding spot near the big tree, but the orc kept glancing that way. Dizzy knew he would be spotted if he tried to go there now.

The meeting between the goblins and the minotaur went on seemingly forever. Dizzy gave up trying to find a way to get close. Going back to where Kitty and YDB sat, he took up his bowl and spoon and began to eat. The fish was spicy, but the broth had cooled to where he could eat it without burning his tongue. Dizzy kept an eye on the temple, wondering what the Chief would tell the minotaur. There was no gem, at least none that any of the goblins in the tribe had ever known about.

When he finished his stew, Dizzy scooped up a bit of sand to clean his pan, then rinsed it out with water. He glanced up at the temple again and saw the minotaur pacing back and forth, looking even more agitated than usual. Kitty looked between Dizzy and the temple and shook her head.

“I don’t know what you’re planning, but don’t. That minotaur will pound you into paste,” she advised.

“I’m not planning anything. At least, not yet. Stormhoof seems to think there is a gem of some sort hidden in the village. Maybe when he realizes there is nothing here, he’ll go away.”

“I hope so.”

Kitty patted Dizzy on his shoulder as she left. YDB sat down next to Dizzy and picked up a pebble. He tossed it from hand to hand, waiting to see what his friend would come up with. Dizzy tapped his toe on a rock, unsure of what to do. A frontal attack on the minotaur and orc would result in nothing but death for any goblin foolish enough to try.

Dizzy looked around, trying to find an excuse to get closer when the cook startled him.

“Here, take this to Slugger. The Chief already ate, but the Battle Boss didn’t,” said the goblin. Dizzy took the slab of wood with steaming meat and a bowl of fish stew from the cook and nodded.

“No problem. Glad to,” replied Dizzy. With a grin, he headed towards the temple, food in hand. As he mounted the steps, Isaar scowled from the top.

“What do you want?” he grumbled.

“Uh, just bringing the Battle Boss his meal. The rest of us have eaten, but Slugger hasn’t. Can I come up?”

“Yeah, sure. Drop it off, and get out.”

Dizzy carefully brought Slugger’s meal to him, walking slowly enough to watch the minotaur, but not so slowly as to raise suspicion from the orc.

“It’s still warm, and very spicy, Battle Boss,” said Dizzy as he sat the meal down. Slugger nodded and took up the spoon to begin eating.

Looking towards the pacing minotaur, Dizzy saw the monster with a scroll of paper in his huge hands. The beast kept looking between the bronze bull and the parchment. “It’s gotta be around here somewhere.” Stormhoof rolled it up and stood before the bull. Suddenly, he grabbed the statue by the horns and shoved it. The metal creaked, but the bull refused to budge from its pedestal.

With an angry roar, the minotaur punched the statue square in its face, the hollow bronze making a loud clang.

“This bull is the entrance. There must be some way!” he roared.

“What entrance?” asked the Chief. “I have lived here with my wives and servants for years. The bull is just a fertility god. We rub his balls for healthy and strong whelps. He’s not even our god, he was left behind when the humans fled the swamp.”

The minotaur whirled on the Chief, bringing his fist back. He paused, then uncurled his paw.

“How long have you lived here? Who lived here before you?”

“We took over the temple from an old crone five rainy seasons ago,” answered the Chief. “We’ve lived here ever since. Plenty of fish, plenty of boar, close enough to the humans to raid supplies, far enough away to keep the humans back.”

“Old crone? Who or what in the Abyss was that?”

“She was a goblin witch. She had magic, but we had numbers. We drove her out into the swamp. She lives on a riverboat stuck in the mud that way,” answered the Chief, gesturing to the southwest.

“Well, it looks like someone is going to have to go get her and bring her back,” said Stormhoof. Glancing around the temple, he spotted Dizzy.

“You’re my volunteer. Go get her, and bring her back. I don’t care how you do it, but have her here before sunset tomorrow.”

“Uh,” began Dizzy.

“You’re still standing here?” roared the minotaur. He began to draw his sword. Dizzy held up his hands.

“I’ll go get her!” He turned and ran down the steps. Behind him, the minotaur cackled.

Down in the village, Dizzy slowed and looked back at the temple. He just had to be curious. Now he had to go find the old crone, the witch of every whelp’s nightmares. Some said she was six feet tall, others said eight, with a mouth full of jagged teeth, and could turn a goblin into a toad with the snap of her fingers. Looking up, he saw the last of the day’s light fading. If he left now, he would end up lost within an hour, and probably in a gator’s belly in two. Better to start the hunt with a night’s sleep.

Kitty came up beside him and took his arm. “What happened up there? Why was Stormhoof hitting the bull?”

“He thinks there’s an entrance to something somewhere in the temple, and that the bull is the secret. I’ve never seen the bull anywhere but right where it is. The Chief told him about the old crone who lived here before we arrived.”

“The old crone? But she’s a witch! She’ll turn him into a toad or something!”

“Yeah, except it’s me she’ll turn into a toad. Stormhoof told me to go find her, and bring her to the temple by sunset tomorrow.”

“And if you don’t?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t want to test him. He would rip me in half if I refused.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“What? No, it’s too dangerous,” began Dizzy, but Kitty waved his objections away. She leaned in to whisper a secret.

“I’ve never told anybody, but I’ve met the witch. She’s not what people think.”

“Wait, really? When...” Dizzy stepped back, eyes wide.

“I’ll explain on the way there. Just get some sleep. She’s not one for early visitors, and she has guardians.”

Kitty turned away and headed for her hut. With nothing left to do, Dizzy headed for his own home, dreading the encounter with the crone the next day. Spotting YDB yawning, Dizzy waved at his friend. “YDB! It’s going to rain tonight. Come sleep in my hut so you stay dry!”

YDB looked up into the dark sky and sniffed the air. The smell of impending rain was present. He quickly tossed a leaf from an elephant ear plant over his workshop to protect the powders from the rain before joining Dizzy at his hut.

“Thanks,” he said before crawling into the shelter.

“No problem. I might need your help tomorrow. Let me tell you what I put my foot into today.”

As the night fell, Dizzy explained what had happened in the temple, and his mission to find the old crone. YDB nodded at all the appropriate moments, then simply fell asleep on the floor.

“Ah, well. It’s good to have friends,” said Dizzy when his tale was interrupted by YDB’s low snore. He patted his pillow and dropped off to a dreamless sleep. He would need all his energy the next day.