Goblin Diaries, Vol 9: Holly's Landing
(From the 03/14/24 and 04/18/24 newsletters ...)
1st Day of Winter Moon, 1218th
year, Human Age of Magic …
Holly’s Landing,
named for the giantess Holly Trill who runs the inn and trading post there, is
deemed the only safe place to dock along the stretch of the Wiste River that
runs through the Forest of Baeth. Having met the alleged giantess—I suspect she
is not at all what she seems—and having had a most disconcerting encounter
there with the faerie Floreze, I would argue there is no safe place to
spend the night in that Enchanted Forest.
The inn and
trading post reside within a walled castle, which looms above the thick canopy
of willows that line the western shore of the river. I think the purpose of the
fortress is less for defense against an attack from the outside—the forest and
river are sufficient barriers to an invasion, and there’s nothing much there to
attract invaders—and more a means of keeping unwilling residents in.
The long dock
extending into the river from the keep’s thick wooden gate is sufficient
mooring for many vessels, but our cargo barge was the only one moored there
during our entire stay. The captain would not let any of his crew stay
overnight at the inn, and when I told him I’d planned to stay for several days,
he regaled me with warnings and horror stories about men being lured into the
forest never to be seen nor heard from again.
I now believe the
stories—all of them.
When I carried my
bags through the unguarded gates of the keep, I found the place deserted.
Likewise, when I entered the inn, I found the only inhabitant was Holly Trill
herself, who stood behind the concierge desk on the far side of an enormous
dining room full of tables set for a feast but absolutely void of clientele.
After paying in advance for a room and having my bags carted away by a
slack-faced human who appeared out of nowhere, she persuaded me to bide my time
before dinner by strolling through the gardens out back.
And that’s when it
happened.
The gardens were
lovely, but where they ended, at the edge of the forest, the pull was so strong
that I found myself deep in the woods before I realized what had happened. It
was faerie magic such as I’d never encountered, drawing me along a path that seemed
to open before me and close behind. I don’t know how long I walked before I
entered a clearing where an enchanting pool formed at the bottom of a lovely
waterfall. And there, sitting on a rock and gazing into the crystal-clear
water, was the most beautiful female goblin I had ever seen.
Of course, I knew she wasn’t real.
You see, we
goblins are not slaves to our baser natures. We think with our brains, not our
genitals, and it seems the faeries in the Forest of Baeth had forgotten
that—or, perhaps they’ve been seducing humans for so long, now, that they know
no other way—for, when I resisted the advances of a goblin who would never, never,
behave in such a manner, she began to sprout gossamer wings and take her true
form, the faerie Floreze herself.
She even tried to
seduce me in her faerie form! My jaw is still sore from the evil creature’s
caress.
We had it out
right then and there. I accused her of flooding the black markets of Azurith
and Zemburith with neleh berry wine—she didn’t deny it—and asked her to return
Ka’il Idreth to the Protectorate. She denied any knowledge of the artifact, and
I told her I knew she was lying, whereupon she disappeared in a huff, leaving
me alone in the middle of the Enchanted Forest as the sun was about to set. I
turned to retrace my steps to the inn, and the trail I’d followed into the
forest was gone.
Luckily, I’d
thought to bring a locator device, which guided me safely back to the inn,
although I had to fight my way through gods-know-how-many pentags of dense
undergrowth and arrived almost too late for dinner, scratched and bleeding.
I went straight to
the captain and negotiated passage for as far down the river away from Holly’s
Landing as he could take me. And I’m writing this journal entry from the safety
of the deck of his cargo barge the next day.
I’m faced with a
dilemma. I must distance myself from the Forest of Baeth and the almost certain
revenge of Floreze, yet I cannot return to Azurith to face the wrath of the
king there. I don’t want to accompany the captain all the way to Zemburith.
That city is ruled by an evil warlock who calls himself Mazuom, and I shudder
the think what I may encounter there.
