Toshie opened her eyes.

  Someone was screaming. It wasn’t Sally or Yrlith. It was much more annoying.

  “Thief! Thief! Thief!”

  Half in a daze, Toshie looked around. The yelling had also woken up the dozing couple. Toshie was still too weak to stand.

  “What’s going on?” Toshie tilted her head to get a view.

  A tiny green something was running toward their corner with a heavyset woman chasing it.

  “Thief! Thief!” the woman continued, each word strained by her ck of breath.

  “I am not!” said the little green – Toshie guessed it was a man. He tried to hide behind Sally. The heaving woman finally made her way over.

  “You protecting that Thief?” she yelled at Sally.

  “Whoa, hey, I have no idea who this is. Who are you?” Sally grabbed the green creature by its shirt colr and pulled it before the angry woman.

  “My name is Brot! I am no Thief!” the little creature cried out.

  “What’s a Goblin doing here?” Yrlith asked.

  Brot’s eyes widened. “Hey! The two of us are not so different. Look how green we both are!”

  Yrlith sighed. That hit a soft spot. She turned to the dy. “If he says he’s not a Thief, what makes you so sure he is?”

  “Simple. Check his pockets.” The woman crossed her arms and nodded at them.

  “For what?” Sally asked.

  “Anything! Why would a Goblin be on a ship if it wasn’t thieving?”

  ‘Great, a Fantasy Karen,’ Toshie ughed to herself. Her stomach churned.

  “Brot,” Sally said, bending to look at the Goblin eye to eye. “Want us to kick her ass?”

  The woman gasped. “Thugs! You are thugs and thieves!”

  Yrlith sighed again. “If you don’t have any proof he stole anything, why don’t you return to your pce? We’ll make sure he doesn’t bother you, okay?”

  “I’m supposed to listen to some lizard?” the woman asked, closing in on Yrlith. Without saying anything, Yrlith’s face turned into a familiar dragon face, and she took a bite out of the air. The woman fell over as she scrambled away.

  ‘She’s not as gentle as she acts,’ Toshie thought as cold sweat dripped from her brow.

  Yrlith changed back and shrugged at Brot. “I doubt she’ll bother you anymore.”

  “Thanks, ma’am,” Brot said. “I am no Thief.”

  Sally sat again. “We believe you. But you must admit that it is uncommon to see Goblins around these parts.”

  “Yes, I am very aware. But I am on my Mission,” Brot said. Toshie could feel the capitalization in his voice.

  “Mission?” Toshie asked before returning to the bucket.

  “I am a Priest,” Brot said, standing straight with pride. He pulled out a golden trinket from his pocket. “Well. I am as close to a Priest as one can be. That is, before discovering my Mission, as I mentioned. She might have seen me with this and thought I had been so bold as to steal it.”

  “A Goblin Priest? Now that’s a new one.” Yrlith sat next to Sally.

  “We all have our callings,” Brot said. “My father was a Thief, but he died when he stole from the wrong person. I did not wish to follow in his footsteps. So, I turned to the Church of Elma. Now, I am in search of my Mission. You see, upon becoming a Priest, one must–”

  The sound of Toshie vomiting interrupted Brot’s touching speech.

  “Oh my. Allow me to help you,” he said, going over to Toshie.

  “I dunno what – blerch – you could do.” The bucket was about a centimeter from being full.

  Brot closed his eyes and pced a hand on Toshie’s head. She felt an instant wave of relief.

  “Can we keep him?” Toshie asked.

  The rest of the day was uneventful. Thankfully so, Toshie thought.

  Sally decided Brot’s mission should include helping an old dy get to Waterlink. Yrlith kept asking him questions about his Priest studies. The strange vocabury gave Toshie a headache, so she closed her eyes and tried to rest.

  She managed to get to sleep without feeling the need to vomit. Another dream, but this one was a repeat of when she met Sally and Yrlith. Only this time, when Daedalus blew open the door, Toshie was inside with the couple. As before, Yrlith disposed of Daedalus and spit his head out. Then, everything went dark. Toshie was alone with his head. She tried to speak. She wanted to say she was sorry. Daedalus’s head stared at her for what felt like an eternity.