One More Mug: 3 Goblin Nuts

“Ok so we need a cloak to blend in, you be the legs, me be the top, sounds good?”

A stout dwarf wearing merchant's clothes instead of a blacksmith's apron.

“But… you’re…”

The goblin carrying notes and scrolls has been tailing him since they entered the tavern protest.

“Hmm??”

“Fat… Just plain fat”

“Oh me know”

“And they don’t like you, if I was the top one, bozz, no one knows”

The goblin explains further as the two help each other up on a regular size stool, having the goblin boost the heavy dwarf, and the heavy dwarf pulling him up to the stool beside him.

“It’s not me fault we were banned.”

The goblin look at him unamused and comments back

“You kicked the chieftain’z dog”

“Well me think that dog isn’t well fed if it can’t play”

The goblin sighs of exasperation

“How did granpap and popz handle you”

“Sigh… Tavernkeep, two Woodnut sap, goblets with ice, please”

A golem poured them a cold batch and served it to them before politely leaving them as the goblin gave her a tip.

“You're feeling generous today, aren't you?”

“I am just liking it when someone makes an honest living, you know?”

He hands the dwarf his goblet and chinks before drinking. While drinking someone made a joke that got people by the corner laughing. As he try to focus in, he hears someone familiar.

“Sigh, Hey boss, don't look, but he'z here too.”

“The human?”

“Yep…”

As the goblin averts his eyes, he was too late when he noticed his boss went down his stool and started approaching the merchant that's dressed the same as him.

“Hey, human, fancy meeting you here. Me thought you were traveling to the east.”

As he finished his sentence, the goblin came beside him but didn't interrupt the conversation.

“Ah yes the two half men, I see you are keeping tabs on my route. Hmm? Needing some better wares than what you sell?”

The dwarf looks at him but not offended but amusement as he begins laughing.

“Hahaha! You and your jokes me friend, me don't need as me always make and sell with the finest quality!”

Then throws a gold coin to the human merchant as the other patrons look at the two salesmen boasting.

“Here’s something to pay for that, be ashamed to see fellow merchant ask for money”

The human caught it and slid it back as he refutes

“Thank you but this has been paid, and maybe I am feeling generous.

He clinks his spoon to his mug and gathers everyone's attention.

“Everyone, as this seems to be a good day for me and my guild, all drinks are on the house!”

All cheered and thanked the human as he sneered at the dwarf and goblin.

“Sir, if you plan to do the same, it might be better not to”

The goblin talked his boss out of his attempt of one upping, letting the dwarf slowly lower his hand.

The human carries a glass of ale and gives it to the two and they almost spilled it for not being given properly, causing them to glare at his back.

“I guess you ain't bad, sir”

“Well no need to thank me, I just think it's safe not to show any gold at this moment”

The human joke as the dwarf raised an eye brow.

“And what do you mean by that,... friend?”

​"Oh you know, sometimes it's better to make sure to save every penny instead of letting it be taken."

The human smirks as he kneels down and pats the dwarf's back, and continues.

​

"You know, bandits, savages, pitpockets, thief's, those kinds. You're a merchant too, you know well gold is important to us... Unless we are comparing against them"

​

Some of the patrons slowly quiet down as he hears what he said as he turned his eyes to the goblin.

The goblin tries to look at his eyes, but eventually gives up and averts as some patrons look and gather to the three.

The dwarf brushed off the human's hand from his shoulder and frustratedly scoffed.

“Don't you ever speak that way to my assistant”

The human chuckle as he backs off with his hand raised to his chest as if he is surrendering.

"Woah woah woah! I didn't say anything, you're just putting words into my mouth. I mean my caravan was raided by those bandits" looks at the patrons for sympathy "and even threatened my life! I was on my knees, begging, so I had to give it to them... But I am not talking about your friend here, I bought him a drink didn't I?

He raised his drink to the goblin with a smug smile, but as the goblin didn't raise, his smile disappeared briefly as he kneels and made him clink.

"See? I am just making sure everyone's money doesn't have to be taken."

The goblin, shaken a little, walked back to the dwarf and hid behind him, making the dwarf frustrated.

“That's enough, you know well what you are trying to say, but I have known him and his family for a long. They ar-”

The goblin raised his hand against his boss and went forward, using a stool to look at the human eye to eye.

The goblin stared at him, not of hate, annoyance, or distrust, but with understanding catching the human merchant off guard.

“Look, I know you'll never see me eye to eye, and I getz it, my kind has a history of doing those things. I never wished harm to anyone as well…”

He gets on the counter and talk to everyone as he spills his emotions and disappointment to them, moving his hands with his body, his eyes of authenticity. Everyone was silent, giving the floor to him and even the human let him speak his heart out while the dwarf merchant looked at him proudly.

“My kind has been infamous for many things, we did steal, threaten… even kill… but notz me, not my father, my sister, my mother, my family. My grandfather knew what kind of life would happen to us if we stayed there, if we kept being within that clan…”

He looks at the mirror of the tavern, seeing his reflection with everyone's eyes on him.

“And that'z why he broke that cycle, he went away with my grandma, and started a new life outside, he worked with boss for a better future. With honesty and new found life, my dad came into this world, knowing the hardships he encountered, he taught him how to live and fit in and the mistakes he did… just like what he did to me before taking over as bozz' assistant, and here I stand before you to please, hear me and see us… I understand what others did will never be fixed, but I also understand that no matter what kind of kind actions and honest life we show, even generations do…”

He turned towards the human and looked eye to eye with integrity and fire as he pointed at him..

“To people like you, you will look the other way.”

The human look at him embarrassed but muster his arrogance back up and challenged him/

“An why should we believe you? If you want us to see, then where's the proof? Give me one good reason, one proof, even small, to trust you”

The goblin's ear went down a little, but the dwarf puff up and was about to condemn the man, but before he could, the tavernkeeper threw in a thick book and pile papers in the middle of them.

“If you don't want to trust a goblin, then don't. But a merchant like you and the dwarf know what a real list of purchases isn't it?”

The two went close to the paper as the goblin went to the back as he saw something on the wall.

“These invoices… they are old, aren't they?”

The man examines the paper, delicately holding it as if one wrong move would crumble to dust.

“They are invoices… from me shop… but me don't recall you buying or paying for anything”

The dwarf confirms that it was his paper and list.

The tavernkeeper went out of the counter and walked toward the two revealing who made the sale and why there aren't any records of it.

“Back then when this tavern was newly built, we didn't have much, or actually, I can't pay for any stools or tables that you are using now.”

“So how did you buy it from me shop with no money? ”

He looked at the goblin staring at the photo of his grandpa and the tavernkeeper in the younger days together.

“His grandfather”

“You knew grandpap?”

He slowly took the photo from the wall and carried it towards the three.

“Mmhm, he sold me the very furnitures everyone is sitting on without a cent spent”

The man chuckled as the dwarf remembers something

“So that's what happened back then. Me thought his grandpa was still not used to living clean and stole some of my wares, Me turned a blind eye giving him a chance tho…”

“Oh I am sorry if his grandfather made you had that suspicion”

The two shared a laugh as the human merchant is confused still on what's happening while the goblin is still looking at the picture.

“No worries, he paid me still after getting salary after 2 months”

“2 months? But I haven't fully paid him till a year”

The human merchant interrupted them wanting clarification as he waved his hands around.

“So you're telling me, he paid you early” points at the dwarf “and he carried your expenses?”

“It seems that way, and that's why I trust him, but not only the grandfather, his father as well, while he was financially, the father was manual labor, he fixed the roof, broken furniture, and because of that…”

He gave the goblin a sack of coins.

“I have offered to pay them monthly to show gratitude for life, I have paid them, and don’t need any service, but I owe them for building this place.”

The goblin look at him as he hands the picture to the tavernkeeper, making him look at the two of them and remember the old days

“Tell your grandpa I understand why the hips now hurt, I might join him for some old man time haha!”

He nudges the goblin as he hangs back the picture on the wall, but this time near the counter where everyone can see.

“Back then, that's where the counter is before we expanded heh, I forgot to move along with it, thank you, lad”

“Anytime sir”

The goblin look at him with gratitude and warmth as he meets the man that his grandpa helped, now helping them.

The human interrupted the moment as he tried to keep his presence.

“But your kind still steals, and threatens us, are you not going to fix that?”

Before the tavernkeeper answers him, the goblin attacks first with his words

“Human bandits were hurting different people, even almost killed some here”

The golem on the back was added while cleaning a table, making the others look at her.

“I was taken away by them!”

The goblin looks back at him to ask.

“Are you not going to fix that?” He raised his eyebrows with arms crossed

“I-I…”

The dwarf laughs at the man as he went close and pats his back, but he swatted his hand back.

“Don't you dare touch me, you're no saint either, I mean you keep kicking puppies and dogs, who does that!? I am not the only one who thinks that's wrong, right?”

The dwarf smug knowing the goblin is behind him

“Sorry friend, but you are alone on that one”

The goblin shakes his head slowly in silence as he disagrees with the dwarf's statement, causing the human merchant to be confused as the two are opposing each other.

“Ugh! Just go back to your table, you made your point.”

The dwarf looks at the time and disagree with him

“Me think we will take our leave, come along kid”

The tavernkeeper smiled as he moves back to the counter to clean and waves them good bye

“Oh before I forget, sir merchant…”

“What?”

The goblin faced him from the exit and did an awkward hand gesture

“That means ‘in your face' from my culture”

Then both leave the tavern with the merchant annoyed in the end as they close the door.

While walking outside the dwarf ask while holding his laugh back

“Pfft, you know well that is offensive and your mom will ground you from working if she learns about that, hahaha!”

He bursted out laughing as he rested his hand by the goblin's shoulder as he chuckled along.

“Are you going to tell her?”

“As your boss, I'll let that slide… he deserves it”

“...and you did well today, that I will tell them”

The goblin gave him a smile, but it soon dropped as soon he heard from him”

“Oh! A puppy!”