Finally, Ziplocke, Graul, and Leandra were able to bring Modok''s heart to the Winter Sprite. Leandra activated the Pact Scroll, and the Feytouched agreed to the terms. The Pact was sealed, and the Goblins knew that the information they would be given would be trustworthy.


    "Who are these humans?" Ziplocke asked.


    The Winter Sprite smiled. Even without his ice magic, the smile gave the others chills. "A mixture of escaped Thralls and self-serving Demon worshipers."


    "Self-serving Demon worshipers?" Grual grumbled.


    "Cultists," Ziplocke explained.


    Leandra narrowed her blue eyes in thought and finally she laughed. "They are fools!" Leandra cried.


    Graul nodded and snickered alongside her. "They think they can bargain with Fiends?"


    Ziplocke shook his head. "Do not underestimate the Humans. They are capable of deceit, maybe as good as us Demons."


    "Or, maybe only to you!" Leandra shrieked as she pointed a finger.


    Graul snickered.


    The Winter Sprite crossed his arms with a scowl. "Are we finished? I''m very busy."


    Ziplocke glanced around and saw that there were no other customers. "No, you are not! Tell us, where did they go and how many were there?"


    The Winter Sprite sighed as if he was bored. He produced a scroll and drew a map. "They are located in the caves just beyond the Barren Plains. Such a dull place. My last count had them at about three or four. Though, it could be less now. Living out there is treacherous even for the Demons that are native here, nevermind mortals from the Material Realms."


    Leandra took the map and narrowed her blue eyes. "Why do you know this?"


    "Hmm?" The Winter Sprite asked.


    "Why do you even bother to know where the mortals are hiding?" She asked again.


    The Winter Sprite nodded with a grin. "That is my business."


    Ziplocke arched an eyebrow and wagged a finger. "It is because this information is useful. Who else have you told?"


    The Winter Sprite smirked and answered with a twinkle in his pale eyes, "Just you."


    "Yeah, right! You are lying," Graul hissed.


    "He can''t lie because of the Pact, right?" Ziplocke asked.


    Leandra shrugged and whispered to her colleagues, "I don''t know! It was not one of the terms we listed. All we can guarantee is that the humans have the gem and their location."


    The tall, pale Fey, who clearly heard Leandra, waved a hand and replied, "In either case, you best hurry."


    The three Goblins glanced at each other. They snarled once at the Winter Sprite and then ran off.


    "How do we know if someone else didn''t take the Gem of Magnificence from the humans?" Graul wondered.


    Leandra replied as they ran out of the market, "We don''t."


    "Enough yapping, you two. What other choice do we have? Let''s go and find out," Ziplocke stated.


    They exited the Market, and the three hunched around the crudely drawn map.


    "I know this area," Graul said.


    "How?" Leandra asked.


    "From my mercenary work," the stocky Goblin replied.


    Ziplocke and Leandra snickered.


    "It''s not funny! I am a warrior," Graul stated with his hands on his hips.


    This made the other two laugh even more.


    "You were a tour guide," Leandra muttered.


    Ziplocke wiped a tear from his eye and asked, "Okay, what do you know?"


    "It''s filled with Bloodlings. They are the most prevalent. The other beasts will leave you alone unless you get too close to them," Graul answered.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Anything else?" Leandra asked.


    Graul tapped his chin and shrugged, "Maybe an occasional wild Ogre."


    Ziplocke''s eyes went wide. "Why didn''t you open with that!" He exclaimed.


    "Yea, dum dum. Ogres are serious business," Leandra added.


    Graul snickered. "We may not run into an Ogre. But for sure, we will run into a few Bloodlings," he replied.


    Ziplocke snapped at his companions. "We are so focused on the Demons we have not made plans for the Humans themselves. We know that they are Cultists and escaped Thralls. We also know that they are strong enough to take down Modok."


    "That''s not saying much. He was a fat slob," Graul stated.


    "Still! He was a Greater Fiend," Ziplocke pointed out.


    Leandra looked serious without any sneer or smile on her face. She tapped her chin and said, "For them to break free from the Madness of a Thrall means that they have a strong Will. I think Ziplocke is right, we should consider how we will approach these Outsiders."


    "Exactly!" Ziplocke cried.


    Graul waved his hands up in the air. "Fine, whatever. You traveled the Material Plane the longest out of all of us. What can you tell us of these Humans?"


    Ziplocke paused and replied, "They are probably Adventurers."


    "The ones who try to defeat the Stronghold?" Leandra asked.


    Ziplocke nodded.


    "Are they warriors?" Graul asked.


    "They could be. Or powerful Rune casters," the Goblin Lord replied.


    Graul tapped his chin and said, "Interesting. I didn''t know Humans could be that dangerous."


    Leandra wondered, "Should we approach their hideout on foot? So we can get a better sense of what their defenses will be like?"


    Ziplocke shook his head. "That will take too much time."


    Graul snickered. "The cheap Goblin Lord here wants to use his precious Rift aspect? That''s a first!"


    Ziplocke scowled at his companions and explained, "We do not know who else the Winter Sprite gave this information to. Many Greater Fiends want to advance to the Lord rank, like us."


    Graul pointed at a spot on the crude map. "Can you teleport us here? This is close enough for us to travel by foot but far enough to avoid detection."


    Ziplocke agreed and activated the Rift aspect to the location. They entered the portal and appeared near some rocky hills out in a blistering desert. Ziplocke quickly closed the Rift, and the three Summoned Shadows and hid themselves just as a swarm of Bloodlings scurried by.


    "You weren''t kidding by there being a lot of them," Leandra whispered to Graul.


    The three found plenty of shadows to blend into from the numerous outcroppings of jagged rock and twisted glass trees. They manipulated the Darkness aspect and made themselves nearly invisible as they traveled across the twisted landscape toward the hills the Winter Sprite directed them toward. The three Goblins remained invisible as they carefully scaled the steep, jagged rockface.


    "Stop," Leandra hissed.


    The others froze as the green-eyed Goblin studied the black onyx rocks they climbed.


    "Clever," she snickered and pointed out a Rune trap.


    "We are close," Ziplocke observed.


    Graul nodded and said, "So wise, our Goblin Lord."


    Ziplocke scowled at the bald Goblin as Leandra disarmed the Rune trap. The three continued up along the jagged incline until they came to a flat plateau. It appeared as a campsite with a cookfire and a tanning rack that had the stretched out chitinous hide of a Bloodling.


    "We know what they use for food," Graul pointed out.


    The three remained in the shadows and observed. Beyond the campsite was a cave entrance that went deeper into the hillside. When they were certain, it was clear the three approached the campsite. Graul sniffed the cauldron over the fire. It bubbled with a stew that floated with chunks of meat. Ziplocke studied the tanning rack. Whoever lived here made clothes and tools out of the Bloodling hides.


    "These Humans know how to survive in our realm," Leandra observed.


    "What about water?" Ziplocke wondered.


    "What about it?" Graul asked.


    "Humans need water to live, and the water here is poisonous," Ziplocke replied.


    Leandra shrugged. "If they are Rune casters like you say, then they can use either the Life aspect or the Water aspect to remove any toxins."


    Graul nodded. "We should proceed with caution." The scarred Goblin was developing a newfound respect for these humans to survive this long in a hostile environment.


    Ziplocke''s sharp eyes noticed a detail, and he hissed, "Hide!"


    The three ducked behind a rocky outcropping that was near the tunnel entrance. Ziplocke pointed to what he saw. The shapes of approaching Fiends that flew on flapping wings.


    "That''s a Greater Fiend!" Graul exclaimed.


    "There is another!" Leandra pointed.


    Approaching from a different direction was another Greater Fiend. Each Demon had a small retinue of Regular Fiends that accompanied them. Lucky for the Goblins, the two groups of Fiends were occupied with each other and paid little attention to the outcropping they hid upon.


    "What should we do?" Graul asked.


    Ziplocke pondered. "They will most likely fight each other. We should head inside and work as fast as we could to steal the Gem. Once we have it, I can Rift us out."


    The other two agreed, and the three hurried toward the cave entrance while cloaked in Shadows. They paused as the hill they were on shook, and a cascade of rocks tumbled around them.


    "You have to be kidding me!" Ziplocke exclaimed.


    From above the three saw a huge red skinned Wild Ogre sliding down the hillside toward their location. The jagged rocks steamed and turned to magma under the Ogre''s feet as the beast gilded downwards. The Fiends picked up their pace and flew faster, and they would arrive around the same time as the Ogre.


    Ziplocke shook his head. "Nothing''s changed. We will enter the cave while they fight it out."


    Three scurried inside and ducked into the many shadows. When they traveled several strides into the cave, they heard the Fiends and the Ogre arrive at the campsite outside. The Goblins heard muffled shouts and then fighting. That worked in the Goblin''s favor as they continued deeper down the winding tunnel.


    "How much profit did the Winter Sprite make off of this bit of information?" Leandra wondered.


    Graul scowled, "That cheating bastard!" The bald Goblin then snickered. "Well played, though!"


    Ziplocke sighed and agreed. Well played, Winter Sprite, well played. Nothing was easy ever since Ziplocke arrived back home. Uprisings were so hard!