This story and the entire series was inspired by jayaurysmut and his Lost Lands series. I highly recommend his fun stories as well worth reading.
All participants in this work of fiction are over the human equivalent age of 21.
Sitting around the fire, Martin accepts the wine skin from Tully and takes a swig of the firey brandy before passing it around, eyeing his fellow adventurers. He is still surprised that Salindri asked him to join this little venture. He didn't think the Elf liked him.
"Tell me plan again. You sure are only three?" asks Garth the big burly half Orc right before he takes a couple deep pulls from the wine skin. Of the four, Martin thinks, Garth is most lacking in the brains department. And, likely, the most useless. It's only three weak little Goblin women sitting on a horde of potions and more importantly, gold. What use a glorified axe swinger?
"Okay, so. Yarlmouth pass." Salindri scratches an X in the dirt, then an inverted V. "Here's Coldpeak. The river," and the mage gestures a thumb over his shoulder as he draws a long curved line connecting the two. "Runs from Coldpeak through the Pass, right? Now, we are here and the tower sits sits about here, less than an hours walk." Salindri stops and looks around the overhanging cliff they are camped under. "Garth, throw some wood on, it's getting dark and I can barely see what I'm drawing." Garth hands the brandy back to Martin and spends a minute adding wood to the fire.
"SO you said there were three of them? I thought Goblins tended to lived alone." Tully says as he practices making one of his many knives dance across his fingers like a party trick. The rogue makes it look effortless. "And what of this tower?" He motions to Martin who hands him the wine skin. Martin shifts his seat back from the fire as he's already getting enough heat from the brandy warming his belly. Tully takes a long drink then throws it to Garth who finishes it. Salindri accepts the empty wine skin back with a nod.
"I was getting to that, and yes, Goblins do tend to live alone. Since what ever happened to the male goblins, we all know the females tend to...
charm
males of the other races into little more than breeding stock to have children, or rather daughters. I believe they live alone to avoid competition." Salindri stands and stretches. "O gotta take a piss, I'll go into detail on the tower in a minute." and walks out of the firelight, following the cliff wall. Martin eases his log back from the fire again and finds he's feeling a little light headed.
"That pretty good brandy, think Salindri has any more?" The big half Orc stands staring at the fire, saying nothing so Martin turns to the sneak thief Tully. The slight built man has dropped a knife and sits blinking at it.
"I, I know why Garth and I are here... what about, about you?" Tully seems confused, "What was your question again?"
"Brandy. I was... asking about brandy?" Martin sits looking at Tully wondering if that really was what he was talking about. He blinks a few times then smiles when a sweet floral scent tickles his nose.
"Hi guys!" a bubbly female voice hails from the edge of the fire light. The three heads snap in her direction in surprise, which quickly turns to smiles. Standing, hands on ample hips is a short very busty Goblin with long golden blonde hair. "Whatcha doing out here?" Uninvited and unafraid, she skips into camp, her boobs threatening to burst out of her constraining lacy top with every bounce. Quickly she circles the camp, pausing to smile at Tully then Martin, a cloud of enticing perfume following in her wake. She stops on the far side of the fire, looking up at Garth.
