The Forest Feeds No Idle Goblins

Shire looked at Little John, who stood there dumbfounded, and he was inwardly ecstatic.

He had noticed the young man’s dejection as he walked away, which is why he had deliberately picked up the Longsword and called out to him.

Sure enough, the young man had laid out his predicament.

The troubles of a young man were always the same: a father in debt, a gravely ill mother, a brother who needed to stay in school, and the girl he loved about to marry another.

Now that this champion of pure love had taken the bait, Shire was ready to show his fangs.

But he had to do so carefully. After all, his target’s defining trait was caution.

Now for step two: seize the initiative.

"I’m Shire. And you are?" Shire asked, tilting his head up.

"Little John. Little John Franklin." Little John’s brow twitched, as if he found it odd for a goblin to have a human name.

"Well then, respected Mr. Franklin, is it a large sum of money you require?" Shire asked, his hands behind his back, tapping his shoulders with the Longsword.

"I need..."

"It’s no matter, even if it is. That’s not a problem, Mr. Franklin," Shire interrupted.

"You can call me Little John." It seemed to be the first time in his life he’d been called Mr. Franklin, and he wasn’t quite used to it.

"Little John, you can work for me."

"Hmm?" Little John was taken aback. ’Did I hear that right, or am I losing my mind?’ "Work? Here?"

"No, Little John. I need you to handle some business for me."

"Business?" Little John asked dubiously, looking at the perfectly composed goblin before him.

"That’s right. One moment." Shire turned and entered the burrow, emerging less than half a minute later at a brisk pace.

Two goblins followed behind him, carrying a large package.

"Sell the contents of this package. After you’ve fulfilled my procurement list, the rest of the money is your commission," Shire said, pulling one hand from behind his back. He held up a rolled, yellowish piece of paper.

"Procurement list?" Little John took the list and scanned it. There were only three items: 10 kilograms of smoked jerky, 10 kilograms of hulled rice, and 5 kilograms of fine salt.

"On this one job, you can earn over 40 Silver Coins," Shire said, hands clasped behind his back, puffing out his chest over his round belly.

Drawing on years of memories of helping his father manage their domain, he easily calculated the price margins. Even accounting for regional and seasonal fluctuations, the profit would be about the same.

"You’re saying I can make 40 Silver Coins from one trip?" Little John’s eyebrows shot up. That was about what an Adventurer made from a single foray into the forest. He didn’t even notice he had unconsciously adopted a more respectful tone.

"That’s right. And with none of the usual bloodshed. All you have to do is meet me at the spot marked on the map on the morning of the fourth day." Shire pointed to the package, indicating that the map was inside.

"You can also provide me with intelligence I need—gossip from among the other Adventurers."

"So you mean I’m free to do as I please for the next few days?" Little John asked.

"Correct. I’m not putting any restrictions on you. You can even go see your, er, Mary. So what do you think of the offer?"

Little John didn’t answer immediately, and Shire waited, perfectly composed.

Man and goblin stared at each other in silence.

After a few seconds, Little John was the first to break the silence.

"You had this planned from the start. This is a setup," he said, staring into Shire’s eyes, his tone level.

"Yes, it is." Shire had to applaud the man’s caution. "So, what is your choice?"

"I could also..."

"Bring a party here to slaughter us," Shire cut in, tapping his back with the Longsword held behind him. "But do you have any idea what you’d be throwing away?"

"An opportunity. The single greatest opportunity to exploit the resources of this forest." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Little John remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"No one knows this forest better than we do. We know where all the... *lovely* plants grow."

"You can accept numerous gathering quests, have my people complete them, collect the bounties, and then use the money to make purchases from my list. The rest is your commission."

"In the meantime, you can run some of the safer jobs yourself to get familiar with the forest."

"I can even tell you what’s happening in the forest. You could trade that information to other Adventurers for a tidy profit."

"Safe, efficient... isn’t that a better deal than a one-time payment of 3 Silver Coins?"

"Or would you prefer scheming and backstabbing alongside teammates you can’t trust? Wondering which one of them will put a knife in your back?"

"You know a lot about Adventurers, Mr. Shire. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were human." Little John stared, trying to see through the goblin’s facade.

Shire just shrugged and gave a mysterious smile.

They both fell silent. The only sound was the CLANG, CLANG of Bai Mao the goblin stirring a large cauldron.

After a long moment, Little John asked, "Why help me?"

"This isn’t help. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement."

"Why me?"

"You’re a novice, and you’re in trouble."

Hearing this, Little John finally reached out and picked up the package.

"The right choice. Work hard." Shire smiled, then flicked the Longsword from behind his back, embedding it in the dirt in front of Little John.

"All right, it’s getting late. Linger any longer and you’ll be in danger traveling through the forest alone. Go on." He pointed in a direction. "Remember: the morning of the fourth day."

Little John picked up the Longsword and its sheath, shouldered the package, and strode off in the direction Shire had pointed.

After a few paces, he suddenly stopped and said, as if to himself, "They’re forming a bigger party to head into the forest."

After saying that, he strode away without looking back.

Watching him go, Shire couldn’t suppress a massive grin.

He knew he had, for the moment, successfully persuaded the future Hero. Three outcomes were possible in four days: one, Little John wouldn’t return at all. Two, Little John would return alone. And three, Little John would return with company.

If he didn’t come back, Shire wasn’t too bothered. It was only a few pieces of equipment, after all. The goblins couldn’t wear them, and they certainly couldn’t eat them.

If he came alone, Shire would proceed with the next assignment.

The only tricky one was the third possibility. A goblin hiring an Adventurer to run goods was unheard of. People were far more likely to believe in an Adventurer trading goblin ears for cash.

So Shire still had to prepare for the possibility that Little John couldn’t wrap his head around the idea.

And the way to prepare was...

"Chief, dinner’s ready."

The call interrupted Shire’s thoughts. He turned his head to see Bai Mao holding a wooden bowl brimming with food up to his face.

A green broth steamed gently inside the bowl. A pair of frog legs, boiled until the skin had burst, floated on the surface, glistening under the light with a tempting, pearl-like sheen. Crushed eggshells and yellow, writhing grubs were scattered throughout the soup, like stars and a bright moon in the night sky.

A "unique" aroma shot straight into his nostrils like an arrow, traveled up through his brain to the crown of his skull, and instantly made his eyes water and his breathing labored.

"You guys go ahead. You eat."

Shire hastily refused, grabbing a few tubers and burying them in the hot ashes to cook.

He then sat upwind, watching the three Green-skinned Little Nose Gargs as they huddled over the pot, wolfing down their meal.

’I’ve got to prepare a little surprise for the Hero.’