The blade tiger run-in turned out to be the last major trouble Gobta encountered for the next month of traveling.
The hazy mountains that had seemed so far away long ago now loomed so large that the peaks were no longer visible, even if he looked straight up. The buttes above him had been weathered down by the rain to form a beautiful, powerful-looking, sheer wall. Everything was a new sight to Gobta, and everything grabbed his interest.
But he didn’t have the time to leisurely take in the sights. He was almost out of food again. He was already in lands more or less under the protection of the dwarven king, mostly grasslands outside the Forest of Jura. He tried to collect as much as he could before he took up the mountain road, but not only would there be no replenishing his stockpiles—those stockpiles were starting to look pretty meager.
The breathtaking views around him helped Gobta forget about his hunger, but it was now time to face reality. And that wasn’t the only problem. Gobta wasn’t the only one on the road to the Dwarven Kingdom. As a neutral trade hub, it played host to all kinds of different species—not just magic-born creatures and people but also humans.
As Gobta discovered, most travelers along this route preferred to stick to large groups if at all possible. All races were guaranteed safety in the kingdom, as a rule, but security forces could reach only so far in the borderlands. People needed to and were expected to fend for themselves. That was common sense to the merchants, but Gobta neither knew nor cared about any of that.
This was why, while he was distracted over the food issue, he ran into a wholly different kind of problem. Just as he was thinking about how he’d better find some real nourishment soon, he heard a voice.
“Yo,” it said, “what’s a lone goblin doin’ here cartin’ valuables around, eh?”
Gobta didn’t understand him. Goblins communicated with each other using a method not terribly far from the Thought Communication skill. A few broken words of human speech were the best they could handle.
He was, however, still sensitive to the malice behind the statement. He hadn’t noticed the human’s approach, and looking up at him, Gobta could already sense the danger.
Uh-oh… This can’t be good.
Gobta grabbed at the handles on his wagon, preparing to run away at full speed. But…
“Ohhh no you don’t!”
Another human appeared in front of him—a fighter in metallic armor. The other man, wearing lighter gear, peered inside the wagon and let out an appreciative whistle.
“Whoa! I wasn’t expecting much, but these’re magic items, aren’t they? Boy, are we lucky today! All we gotta do is kill this little guy, and we’ve already earned the money for our shopping trip!”
“Oh? I was expecting just a little spending cash, but what a stroke of luck. Can’t wait to see the faces on those bastards who were too lazy to join us!”
Gobta ignored the exchange as he thought about what to do next. Running into this unexpected trouble so close to the Dwarven Kingdom surprised him—but there was no time to ponder his fate. He calmed his beating heart as he searched for a decent solution.
What should I do?! If this keeps up, they’ll take all of it. And I think my life might be in danger, too…
As he thought about it, it was clear these men might be after more than some magic doodads. Only then did Gobta realize the extent of the danger.
Soon he realized he was right. Blocking his path of retreat, the men began attacking him. Considering Gobta’s childlike size, it wasn’t a fair fight. The men were fully armored and boasting the strength of rank-D adventurers. Gobta didn’t stand a chance. Without a stroke of luck equivalent to the one that helped him survive the blade tiger, it would be the end of the road for him.
But once again, the goddess of fortune smiled.
“What are you people doing over there?”
Gobta and his attackers turned around to find a goblina staring them down—a fighter, judging by her muddy red hair. They could see a kobold merchant caravan behind her—she must have been a bodyguard.
The men took a moment to size up their chances. They numbered two, and they’d potentially be taking on an entire caravan led by a professional warrior. Hobgoblins of either gender were high-level creatures capable of language, far more intelligent than their goblin relatives. In terms of skill, meanwhile, the men were still rank amateurs.
This was no match a sane man would take. And even if they just wanted to make off with this doltish goblin’s baggage, it was too late for that.
“Pfft,” the armored one said. “We’ll let you go this time!”
“Best be glad to still be breathing, worm!”
And then they left, leaving Gobta miraculously alive yet again.
✦ ✦ ✦
Gobta must have been so elated at this stroke of fortune that he lost consciousness, because the next thing he knew, the clattering of the horse wagon had started to rouse him. The bruises the men had landed on him stung enough to wake him up fully.
“Oh, are you up?”
He looked up to find the red-haired goblina at his side—almost human in appearance, unlike the apish goblins. A single glance made Gobta her prisoner. He instantly forgot all about his injuries and immediately fell in love with the woman.
“An angel. An angelic woman from heaven! Please! I want you to birth my children!”
When it came to romance, goblins never took things slow. The rest of the wagon’s occupants took it as a joke.
“Bah-hah-hah-hah! Nice one, kid!”
“Oh-ho! You heard him!”
“Silence, you two!” the goblina snapped. “Stop with the chitchat and stay on alert!”
The sarcasm flew straight over the head of Gobta, his burning eyes still fixated upon his new ideal. Reality, unfortunately, was not as kind.
“Look,” the woman said, “cowards like you just aren’t my type. Letting yourself be bullied by humans that weak? I’d never let a man like that into my life! I’d at least like someone who could rescue me, if need be.”
Thus Gobta’s first romance ended several seconds after it began. The physical pain returned.
“N-no… I can’t believe it…”
Then he fainted again, the sense of loss too much to bear.
The kobold caravan wound up taking him all the way to the Dwarven Kingdom, at least, which saved him the trouble of being killed by roadside scavengers at night…
His first love didn’t quite work out, but at least his first quest did.