We readied salt in barrels, hauled them onto the boat, and then watched as it sailed back down the river towards the ocean. With that done and dusted, we got to cleaning up—we gave the cutlery a light wash to take home with us, then put the carpet and the table in the hut. This location was going to be an important trading center in the future, so we were sure to use the furniture and carpets again.
I thought it might be worth leaving the cutlery too, but I knew that Alna would be mad if we weren’t thorough about cleaning it with one of her herbal soaps.
The goblin women and children hopped on horses or in the carts we’d brought, and the rest of us were on foot. The domain was a real sight for all the new visitors, and their excited voices filled the air with each new discovery and thought.
“It’s true!” cried one straightaway. “The horses carry things!”
“And there are other animals at the village too, right?” asked another.
“And there’s more than just seawater! They have things like milk and alcohol here!”
“I can’t wait to see everything they cook up over open fires!”
“Baars! I want to touch a baar!”
We could all tell that the young goblins had heard about life in Iluk from Iberis, and they were bubbling with curiosity about life on the surface. You could see them trembling with excitement, their eyes practically sparkling with anticipation.
I couldn’t blame them—if I’d heard a hero’s story and then been given the chance to walk the same path, I would have been excited too. And now that the young goblins were actually here, and on the way to the actual Iluk Village they’d heard all about, they couldn’t contain themselves.
And truth be told, now that I’d heard about the ocean from Iberis, I wanted to see it for myself. I wanted to see all the creatures you couldn’t see anywhere else but the sea, and I wanted to experience all the colorful fish that were everywhere you looked.
“What a strange thing the heart is,” muttered Iberis, walking by my side. “It’s only been days, and yet I’m getting all these nostalgia feels.”
“We’ve just started on winter preparations so it’s a bit hectic at Iluk,” I said. “But it’s still the Iluk you remember, I can guarantee you that.”
Iberis flashed me all his teeth as he smiled and nodded.
“It is, is it? Just like I remember, huh? This is no adventure like our last visit, but it sure sounds like I’ll have some new stories to take back with me all the same! We brought a lot back from Iluk the last time, but you know what? Everybody loved our stories the most.”
“Tales of adventure, huh? So how was it when you guys got back to the ocean, anyway?” I asked. “Everyone was happy to see you, I assume?”
“You don’t know the half of it! When some of our fellow goblins spotted us from the inlet, they started screaming with joy!”
Before he could go on, a little goblin ran up and started talking to us excitedly.
“Hey! When we get to the village, will there be carrots?! Will there be heaps of carrots?! They’re, like, hard, but they’re also, like, sweet, and you, like, can’t find them anywhere in the ocean and they’re, like, so delicious!”
“Yeah, there’ll be lots of carrots,” I said. “Everybody worked really hard to grow them, and this year was a really good harvest from what I hear.”
That little goblin’s smile was about as big as his entire face, he was so happy. He started laughing and running on ahead of us.
“Let’s talk about it later, when we get to Iluk,” said Iberis. “I think I’ll want to keep an eye on the kids and make sure they don’t get themselves into any trouble.”
Leaving me with that, Iberis took after the young goblin who had dashed ahead. We had Sahhi up in the sky and dogkin all around, so I didn’t think we were in any danger, but I could understand Iberis worrying about his own family. We all kept walking while I took in all our new visitors, and we arrived in Iluk a little before sundown.
We ended up throwing a welcome banquet for Iberis and his family. You might think the main attraction was all the seafood because of just how much we’d received, but actually it was Iberis’s stories.
Everybody in Iluk was as curious about the ocean as the goblins were about the surface. And with all the delicious scents of seafood filling the air, everyone wanted to hear all about the world that Iberis and his family called home. So we all gathered in the square and prepared a little platform for Iberis, where he stood to tell us all about it. Iberis was only too happy to oblige—he had a full stomach and some wine to help it go down, and he gave us his best storytelling voice.
“On the day we arrived home, we were met by the homely scents of the sea breeze and the cheers of our brothers and sisters!” he started. “Tears of joy ran down their faces, for they had worried that we would never return home. We were glad to have completed our mission, and we felt moved in ways that none of us will ever forget!”
So began Iberis’s story of the ocean and of adventurers returning home. All the while, everybody enjoyed their food and drink, hanging on every word.