Goblin Diaries, Vol 27: Getting to Know Erin Callen
(From the 01/23/2026 newsletter)
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19th
Day of Snow Moon, 1219th Year, Human Age of Magic …
We are three days into our journey north
on a trail that winds its way through the foothills of the Darinian Mountains.
As we crest each hill, we are afforded an occasionally spectacular view to the
east. Through the morning of the first day, that view was of the sweeping
grasslands of the Plains of Saha’ar. But we soon made our way through a pass
between the Darinians that dominate our view to the west and another range of
mountains, the Faricican, that juts away to the east, separating the grasslands
in the south from the Great Eastern Desert in the north.
Since then, our vistas to the east are
nothing but a vast palette of rolling dunes stretching to the far horizon,
broken only by an occasional dense cloud rising from its surface. Erin tells me
the clouds mask fierce storms that constantly shift the pattern of dunes,
confounding even the most experienced desert travelers. Erin claims to have
crossed that desert on her way to Zemburith, and I’m glad she has chosen this
alternate route for her return.
This gentle human woman who first
impressed me as a red-headed demon has proven to be a comfortable and
accommodating traveling companion. She was patient with me during my
convalescence in the cave, and she’s been willing to acquiesce to my preference
for walking over riding behind her on her horse, which slows her down—although
I’ve assured her it won’t once I’m fully recovered from my wounds and can
attain the normal footpace of a healthy goblin.
At first, she would dismount and walk with
me. But after she realized her walking pace was holding me back, we’ve
established a routine where she rides and I walk, and our travelling distance
each day is gradually increasing as my stamina improves.
Beyond being my savior and pleasant
companion, the woman remains an enigma. Her name is Erin Callen, and she
travelled across the desert by way of the Oasis of Ga’an, arriving in Zemburith
a few days after I escaped Mazuom’s dungeons. She has not shared with me why
she went to Zemburith nor who she travelled with, and she is consistently
evasive when I press for more. She also seems to be in no big hurry to get home
to her Valley of Kilaren. She often dawdles over the morning campfire, usually
not hitting the trail until late morning. And she stops often, not to rest, but
to simply take in some view, during which times she seems lost in melancholy
thoughts.
She does have a curious mind, though.
She’s asked me about my home and culture, and I’ve tried to be as open as I can
about how I came to be where she found me. Of course, I haven’t disclosed that
I’m an agent of the protectorate. And I’ve adhered to all protocols in not
revealing that my home is not on this planet (although, at this point, I’m not
sure how her knowledge of that could hurt anything). But I did tell her about
being captured by Mazuom and how I escaped from the castle dungeons.
She has told me something of her
childhood, that she immigrated from the northern continent with her family as a
small child and of life growing up in her mountain valley. She also said that
she left home to take an indenture as soon as she was “of age.” But she’s
reticent to elaborate on her life after that point. She is holding on to some
big secret, of that I am certain. But, as I’m holding on to plenty of my own, I
don’t feel it’s my place to press her on it.
I’m curious, though. And it is my hope to
learn more of this Erin Callen. For now, however, I am grateful to the Gods of
Urgule simply to have put her in my life.
