The Wandering Inn_Volume 1

by Pirateaba

  She was worried they’d puke or their stomachs would get full, but the Goblins seemed to be able to digest the food as quickly as they ate. Their thin bellies inflated very slowly. As Erin grabbed a whole fried chicken seasoned with hot peppers, she decided she had to take a break. She turned to the Drake who was shakily cleaning dishes.

  “Drassi, I need you to take over. Take this chicken out to the Goblins, will you?”

  “What?”

  The Drake jumped. Her pale scales grew paler and she raised her clawed hands.

  “Erin, I can’t. I can’t even—I don’t know how you can have them here! Here! At least have Bird come downstairs with his bow! We should be calling the Watch, or, or—I can’t do it.”

  Erin shook her head.

  “Just serve them, okay Drassi? They won’t be dangerous and Bird is right there! Lyonette’s upstairs with Mrsha—I need to make more food or we’ll run out!”

  “But—but—”

  “Go out. Like this…hi guys! This is Drassi. She’s going to put the chicken down on the table. I said down on the table, Drassi—okay, why don’t you put it on this table?”

  Erin managed to get Drassi to put the chicken down on the table and get her back into the kitchen. Drassi was trembling so hard she’d nearly dropped the whole thing. Erin had a suspicion that if she had, the Goblins would have picked it off the floor or just sat down and eaten it there.

  “Okay, was that so hard?”

  “Yes!”

  Drassi glared at her. Erin sighed.

  “But you did it. Just put the food on another table, okay? I’ve got to make more food. Uh…where’s the butter? And sprouts? They could probably use some greens with all the heavy food they’ve been eating.”

  She began to fry greens, put together a soup, and start a few loafs of bread all at once. Drassi took out a few more dishes very reluctantly, but reported the Hobgoblins did indeed seem to be slowing now. Erin let her finish putting all the food onto platters for later and tending to the soup—and mountains of finished dishes, and walked out into the room.

  Five pairs of eyes instantly focused on her. Erin froze, and then waved. One of the five Goblins waved back. The others just watched her.

  Drassi’s fear was understandable, Erin felt. Each time she moved, the Goblins all stared at her. Erin waved at them and pointed.

  “I’m just going upstairs. Okay?”

  They didn’t reply, but watched her as she climbed the stairs. Erin found Lyonette and Mrsha’s room and hesitated before knocking on the door.

  “Lyonette? Mrsha? Are you two okay?”

  “Erin?”

  She heard a lock turn and then the door opened. Lyonette opened the door a crack.

  “Come in.”

  Erin edged into the room and saw that Lyonette was sitting on her bed with Apista and Mrsha. The bee was crawling onto her pillow and Mrsha was shivering in Lyonette’s arms.

  “Is Mrsha okay?”

  “I think so. She’s not that afraid any longer, are you Mrsha? She’s just—she can smell the Goblins downstairs, Erin.”

  Lyonette didn’t quite look at Erin as she ran a soothing hand over Mrsha’s back. The Gnoll flinched when she heard the word ‘Goblin’. Erin paused.

  “Right.”

  Mrsha had her past with Goblins. Erin had almost forgotten that. She sat by the bed. Mrsha looked at her. Erin offered her a hand and the Gnoll licked it.

  “It’s okay, Mrsha. They’re not bad, I promise.”

  “You’re sure?”

  Lyonette spoke for the both of them. Erin hesitated. She looked at Lyonette. She realized she’d made a mistake. She’d assumed Lyonette would understand the Goblins being here, but the other girl was clearly as upset as Mrsha was. Erin paused, stroking Mrsha’s head.

  “You never really knew Rags, did you?”

  “I remember seeing her and screaming. But I didn’t, no. I’m sorry.”

  “Right. And she was only here…look Lyonette, I know you’re nervous. Drassi definitely is. But these Goblins aren’t dangerous. I’d feel it with my [Dangersense] if they were. And they helped us.”

  Lyonette nodded, but she didn’t look convinced. She stared at the floorboards, and then Apista as the bee crawled up a wall. She took a breath.

  “I know your friend—Rags—was a guest here. But Erin, I have to say it. These aren’t normal Goblins. They’re Hobs. They lead other Goblins and they’re very, very dangerous. One Hob is a match for most Silver-rank adventurers. More than a match, sometimes.”

  “I get that. But Lyonette, they saved us. They saved me, and they didn’t have to.”

  “I know. I saw. They saved you from the goats, but they also shot Bird. I was the one who heard him fall. Erin, he would have died.”

  Erin nodded. Her hand clenched. Bird was upstairs. He had a small room on the third floor and she’d ordered him to rest after his near-death experience.

  “I know. But it was self-defense. And I owed them something. Look, I’ll feed them for now and we’ll see what happens, okay?”

  “You’re the boss.”

  That was a bad answer, and Lyonette clearly wasn’t happy about it, but it would have to do. Erin nodded, relieved. Then she bent down to Mrsha.

  “I know they’re—I know they’re Goblins, okay Mrsha, honey? But they’re not like the other ones, I promise. They won’t hurt you.”

  The Gnoll was still shaking, but she raised her head as Erin spoke to her. Erin was prepared for tears or fear, but that wasn’t what was in the Gnoll cub’s gaze. Her eyes blazed. They narrowed as Mrsha stared at Erin. There was anger there. Anger and deep reproach.

  She had no words. But Mrsha made her opinion clear. Erin froze.

  “Mrsha? They’re going to stay a bit longer. But they won’t come upstairs. Got it? If they cause any trouble, they’re gone. I promise. Just wait here, okay? I’ll get Drassi to come up with food—”

  For once the promise of food didn’t satisfy Mrsha. The Gnoll swiped at Erin’s hand and she stared at Erin until the young woman left the room. Erin walked down the stairs and took a deep breath. Then she groaned.

  “Oh no. What now?”

  Someone had entered the common room ahead of her. An Antinium was holding a bow, and the room had frozen. Drassi was standing, shaking, mugs in hand, and the Goblin warriors had frozen, half of them about to leap out of their seats.

  “Bird!”

  Erin ran down the stairs. The Antinium turned his head, but his arms kept the bow trained on the Goblins.

  “Miss Erin, they were attempting to leave.”

  “What? Leave?”

  Erin looked at the Goblins. They hesitated. One pointed towards the doors.

  “You want to go? Why?”

  Again, hesitation. The Goblin pointed down. Everyone stared at his crotch. Erin’s face went slack until she realized what he meant.

  “Pee? You want to—Bird, he just wants to go to the bathroom!”

  “Oh. That was the reason I descended as well.”

  The Antinium slowly lowered the bow. The Goblins relaxed just as slowly. Erin strode between them, raising her hands, trying to play peacemaker again.

  “Let’s all calm down. We don’t want any accidents…especially the yellow kind. There’s outhouses for everyone. The bathroom’s right outside. Here, I can show you—”

  That seemed to be unnecessary. The Goblin shook his head as he walked towards the door. He put a hand on the handle and pulled it open. The door revealed a startled Jelaqua Ivirith, her hand raised to push at the door. She stared at the Goblin, and her eyes went wide. The Goblin stared back.

  Jelaqua backed up. Her face was always dead white, but now she seemed to be stunned. Horrified. She opened her mouth and stared at the Hobgoblin standing in front of her.

  “Garen?”

  The Goblin stared back. He recognized the word, Erin saw. He opened his mouth.

  “Redfang?”

  A giant hand reached past Jelaqua. Moore grabbed the
Goblin and threw him across the room. The Hobgoblin crashed into a wall. Jelaqua sprinted into the room as the other Hobgoblins shot to their feet.

  The Goblin who’d been thrown struggled upright. He swung wildly at Jelaqua—she grabbed one arm and then brought his head down to meet her knee. The Hobgoblin stumbled, and she knocked him flat with one punch. Jelaqua stood over the downed Hobgoblin and looked around. Then she looked at the unconscious Goblin at her feet.

  “Oh. It’s not Garen. I was worried there for a second.”

  The other Hobgoblins leapt over the table at her, roaring. One jerked as Seborn clotheslined him in midair and slung him to the ground. The Drowned Man leapt on the Hobgoblin and started beating him down with his fists.

  “Stop, stop!”

  Erin shouted, but Moore’s staff was already spinning. He flattened one Hob, and kicked the other. Jelaqua’s gauntleted fists flashed and the final Hobgoblin jerked back, stumbling from her punch. He feinted and jabbed at her; the Selphid let both punches meet her armor and hit him in the gut and chest with solid, heavy blows that made the Goblin stumble.

  “Enough!”

  Erin’s shout this time was backed up by more than just sound. The air in the inn cracked and the floor rumbled. The Halfseekers paused, eyes wide, and the two Goblins still on their feet halted as well.

  Slowly, very slowly, Erin turned to look around the room. Jelaqua’s eyes flicked to the Hobgoblins, to Drassi poking her head out of the kitchen, and Bird who opened the door and paused when he saw the chaos. She looked at Erin and groaned.

  “Please tell me this isn’t what it looks like.”

  The other two Halfseekers looked around. Moore shook his head. Seborn got up slowly.

  “Miss Solstice, I believe we’re owed an explanation.”

  Erin looked from face to face and tried to smile weakly. The normally jovial Halfseekers didn’t return the smiles. Right. They didn’t like Goblins either. She gestured to the tables.

  “Why don’t we all sit. Does—does anyone want a drink?”

  —-

  The drinks did help, but barely. The Goblins sat in a corner of the room, their injuries healed once again with Erin’s potions. Jelaqua shook her head grimly as Erin finished the story.

  “And so you invited them in. Why am I not surprised?”

  “It’s just—they saved my life, Jelaqua.”

  Erin spread her hands helplessly. Jelaqua turned and glared at the Goblins. They flinched. There was a clear distribution of power there, and they could tell they were on the losing end of it. The other two Halfseekers looked just as grim.

  “We like all kinds of species Erin, but our group has its problems with Goblins. You do know we lost half our members to one?”

  Jelaqua’s statement made the other Goblins sit up at their table. Moore’s eyes were shadowed as he watched them. Seborn’s gaze could have fried the egg in front of him. Erin waved her hands, trying to defuse the situation.

  “I know, I know! But these are good Goblins, guys! Just give me a moment. They might not be here long. I’m just feeding them!”

  “Right. Well, you’d better explain that to the others.”

  Jelaqua glanced towards the door. Erin looked as well.

  “What others?”

  “Your usual crowds. Who else? I saw the Horns finishing up their request at the Adventurer’s Guild a while back. They’ll be here soon too, and a bunch of people from Liscor. You’d better have a good explanation ready for them, too.”

  “Oh no. Wait here. Drassi! Go to Celum and make sure no one comes through! Jelaqua, Goblins—stay here!”

  Erin ran for the door. She threw it open and saw the Horns of Hammerad and a number of other people trudging towards her inn through the snow. Her dinner crowd, as usual. Erin raced down the hill towards them.

  “We’re closed! Go away! Shoo!”

  The people heading towards her inn hesitated as Erin ran towards them. She shouted, waved her arms. Ceria frowned as Erin shouted at the others.

  “Erin? What’s going on? What do you mean you’re closed?”

  “Does this mean there is in fact, no food?”

  Pisces peered at Erin, looking concerned. She grinned desperately.

  “That’s right! No food! We have a—a thing going on. A thing with the food! I’m sorry, but you’ll have to come back later! Not you, though.”

  She grabbed Pisces as he turned around and dragged him back. The other Horns of Hammerad clustered around Erin as she whispered to them.

  “There’s a minor thing in the inn, okay? We’ll all go up and nobody scream, okay?”

  “Goblin!”

  Every head turned. A Drake who’d approached the inn from a different spot on the hill backed out of the door, scales pale. He turned to them and ran down the hill, waving his arms and screaming.

  “Hobs! There’s five Hobgoblins in there! It’s an invasion! Run for your lives!”

  Erin groaned. She saw her guests turn and began fleeing towards Liscor’s gates. Alerted by the commotion, the guards on the walls began shouting down at the people below. In moments, horns were blowing.

  Ceria looked at Erin. Yvlon, Ksmvr, and Pisces did likewise. Slowly, Erin turned and grinned weakly at them. Ceria crossed her arms.

  “Erin. What have you done?”

  —-

  “Human!”

  Erin flinched as the door to her inn slammed open. The five Redfang warriors would have jumped to their feet, but the two adventurer teams kept them seated. They tensed as a group of heavily-armed guardsmen led by Zevara herself stormed into the room. The Drake Watch Captain halted when she saw the Hobgoblins, and then rounded on Erin.

  “I didn’t believe it when I heard it. I thought even a Human, even you wouldn’t be stupid enough for this. Harboring five Hobgoblins? Now? While the Goblin Lord is marching on our cities? Have you lost your mind?”

  “I can explain!”

  Erin strode forwards quickly and put herself between Zevara and the Goblins. She saw Relc standing behind Zevara with a group of Drakes in full plate armor. He and the other guardsmen were ready for a fight. But it couldn’t come to that.

  “Speak quickly Human.”

  Zevara lashed her tail as she stared at the Hobgoblins. Her sword was half out of its sheath, and the [Guardsmen] behind her looked ready to fight. Relc’s eyes smoldered as he stared at the Goblins. They were tense, but they waited for Erin to speak.

  She explained as fast as she could. Zevara was incredulous.

  “You were attacked by goats?”

  “Eater Goats, Captain. They have to be. Those buggers are nasty. If there’s a herd coming down from the High Passes—”

  One of the guardsmen murmured to Zevara. She turned to Erin.

  “We’ll inspect the bodies. But if these Hobs fought them, so what? Monsters fight monsters.”

  “But they did it to save the village! I’m sure of it! They attacked the goats when they were about to jump over the walls! Look, Captain, I know they’re Goblins, but remember Rags?”

  Behind Zevara, Relc twitched. Zevara glanced at him, then at Erin.

  “I remember a group of Goblins starting to raid the roads around Liscor before they vanished. If that’s your argument—”

  “These Goblins aren’t a danger! I promise!”

  “Hah! And I’m supposed to let five Hobgoblins sit here while—”

  “It’s five Goblins.”

  “Five Hobs! Do you understand how dangerous that is? A Silver-rank team wouldn’t be a match for them! And why are they without a tribe? They could be spies, saboteurs—”

  “Why did they sit in my inn and eat food for the last two hours, then?”

  Zevara hesitated. She eyed the Goblins. One waved at her. The other raised his middle finger.

  “It could be a Goblin ploy—”

  “Oh come on. Really?”

  Some of the guardsmen shifted behind Erin. One murmured.

  “She has a point, Captain. That would
be stupid, even for a Goblin—”

  “They might have heard there’s a softhearted Human with a fondness for Goblins around here. Maybe they lured the Eater Goats here themselves. I don’t know, but I’m not having them here! And you, why would you think this is a good idea?”

  The Drake Watch Captain glared at Erin. She glared back.

  “Haven’t you seen the sign outside my inn? Didn’t you see what it read? It says, ‘no killing Goblins’!”

  Zevara paused.

  “That’s not—”

  Erin glared at her. She rounded on the other Drakes and Gnolls in the Watch, raising her voice.

  “Did you think that was a joke? That I wasn’t serious? I am. Unless the Goblin is attacking me or other people, or stealing or—or being a jerk, I won’t let you harm them.”

  Zevara’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

  “This is Watch business, Human. You may not be in Liscor, but you’re close enough to fall under our jurisdiction.”

  “So what, you’ll kill them right here and now because you think they might be a threat?”

  The Drake hesitated. She eyed the Goblins. They were watching her. At last, she nodded.

  “That was our intent.”

  All five Redfang warriors shifted at once. The Watch did likewise. Zevara held up a hand.

  “We won’t have a fight here. I’d rather force these Goblins to leave the area than risk any deaths.”

  Slowly, the Redfang Goblins relaxed their grip on their weapons. But Erin was the one who objected this time.

  “You can’t.”

  “What?”

  “They’re starving. Can’t you see?”

  She pointed at the Goblins. The Redfang warriors glanced at her in astonishment. Erin spread her hands.

  “They were hungry when they came in, and I think they’re on the run. They aren’t allied with the Goblin Lord—I think they’re part of Rags’ tribe. Look, Captain Zevara, why can’t I let them stay in my inn for a day or two?”

  Everyone was gaping at her. Zevara shook her head.

  “You really are as crazy as Relc says. I won’t allow it.”