We entered the room to find barrels rolling around the ground. A few boxes had burst open, leaving piles of grain scattered over the wooden floor planks. Firro and several other crewmen were sweeping the floor and restacking the crates.
Firro looked up as we entered, and the scarred tissue around his eyes narrowed. “You’re not allowed in here, mates. Best get back to your bunks where it’s safe.”
Go back? That wasn’t an option. Looked like I’d have to talk my way in. “I need to find something,” I said. “I’ve searched everywhere else. Please, it’s very important.”
“Cargo hold is off limits,” Firro repeated. “No one’s allowed back here but crewmen.”
I tried to think of another excuse to get inside, when Kull spoke up for me.
“We’ve come to bargain,” Kull said and pulled a leather coin purse from his pocket. “I’ve seen the items the captain has to offer above deck. Seems you’ve got some more interesting items down here that might be worth my inspection.”
Firro gave him a sidelong glance. “Where’d you hear that?”
Kull nodded toward the crewmen.
Firro eyed the coin purse. “Gold?” he asked.
“Eighty pieces.”
Eighty pieces? I did the math in my head. If I remembered correctly, one gold piece was equal to one hundred Earth dollars, which meant he was toting around eight thousand dollars in gold pieces. Guess it paid to be a prince.
Firro stood a little taller as he inspected the coin purse. “Very well, you may come inside. I’ll instruct my men to lock the door behind you.”
Firro barked a few orders at his men. As we entered the room, I turned to Kull.
“Eighty pieces?”
Kull gave me a knowing smile. “The word is out that these fellows may have some curious items to trade. I’m glad I brought my coin purse along.”
“Yes, what a lucky coincidence. One might think you’d been planning for just such an opportunity.”
“Nonsense. This was a genuine accident.”
I wasn’t convinced. “Just don’t spend it all in one place,” I said.
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
Firro and the other crewmen set up a makeshift table and chairs out of boxes and barrels. I eyed the men as they removed a canvas tarp from a row of long crates.
“What sort of items are they selling?” I asked.
“Earth Kingdom junk. This should be worth our time.”
“Where’d they find junk from Earth?”
“No clue. But while I’m bartering, you might want to find your way to the other end of the room.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Firro waved for Kull to have a seat. The other crewmen gathered around the table as Firro lifted a lid off a box. Inside were rows of empty soda cans, Styrofoam cups, plastic silverware, stacks of CDs, and plastic grocery bags. Mounds and mounds of grocery bags.
Would people actually pay money for that junk? If so, I was in the wrong business. But where did they get the stuff in the first place?
Firro picked up a Styrofoam cup. “Very rare item from Earth Kingdom. It is made from a valuable material which is found nowhere in Faythander. The Earth Kingdom’s magicians have created it to be indestructible. It will not weather from wind or rain. When properly cared for, this item can last for a hundred lifetimes.”
Kull pretended to be interested in the cup as I made my way to the far wall.
I walked nonchalantly to the door where I’d hidden the orb. Stacks of crates kept me hidden from the crewmen, yet wouldn’t they notice at some point that I’d gone missing?
A crash came from the table where Kull sat. I glanced through a gap in the stack and saw Kull standing over the small man.
“Do you think me a fool?”
Firro shrank back, causing his fellow crewmen surrounding the table to stand with clenched fists.
“Ten pieces for a drinking cup?” Kull said. “Not on your life.”
“But it is made of a very valuable—”
“I don’t care what it’s made of. It’s worthless. Where do you keep the good stuff?”
“I don’t know what you’re speaking about.”
“Don’t toy with me. I’ve heard the rumors. Earth Kingdom potions and charms. Where are they?”
“You must have misheard. This is all I have.”
The two men continued arguing. I made sure the crewmen were absorbed in the argument before turning my attention back to the hidden cupboard.
The two wooden panels looked no different from the last time I’d seen them, so I held my hand over the wood to check for any enchantments. Finding none, I stuck my fingernails between the planks and pried them off.
A loud squeak filled the room as the planks peeled off. I held my breath. Had anyone heard?
Shouts came from the other side of the hold as Kull grabbed Firro by his collar.
Nope. They hadn’t heard a thing. Thank goodness for Kull and his short temper. Or, more accurately, his acting skills.
Setting the wooden panels aside, I scanned the cupboard. Thankfully, it looked the same. Although I couldn’t see the orb, I sensed it with my magic, which gave me an immediate sense of relief.
Blindly, I felt for the camouflaged orb. My hand brushed something that clinked as I touched it. When I looked into the cupboard, I spotted a glass bottle that I’d never noticed before, so I pulled it out to inspect it.
The glass was in the shape of a dark blue jug with a wide spout at the top and a small handle on the side. A thin golden rope looped around the top portion. Inside, I found a greenish liquid—a potion. My stomach sickened as I stared at it. Potions in Faythander were never to be taken lightly, and one species had a monopoly on them.
Goblins.
I quickly replaced the bottle as my search for the orb became more desperate, cursing my decision to hide it in the same spot where the goblin had hid its loot. I was either incredibly stupid or unlucky.
When I thought the orb was gone forever, right before I gave
