Wealth Mountain is an ancient structure in the far away, uninhabitable northeast. It's taller than any other peak, protected by an unfathomable monster, and apparently filled to the brim with precious goldatinum metal.
Four goblins, all of which ha...
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As the team floated aimlessly at sea long into the night, Colb dozed off on the cool bed of ice.
After some time, he half-awoke to the sound of Elvish voices, feeling dazed and confused. Colb experienced a sensation of being lifted and moved, but was too drowsy to react. Everything seemed to be happening more quickly than he could understand it. Something was wrong.
An unknown amount of time later, after being set on the ground, the chef goblin had regained enough energy to look up. He noticed thick branches of goldatinum-colored leaves swaying in the air above him. Hmmm... trees? he thought to himself. Did we hit land while I was asleep?
Colb peered downwards, where he saw a mound of goldatinum-colored clovergrass underneath him. I am on land, he confirmed. Hmmm, this is very beautiful clovergrass, yes? Did I die? Is this a dream?
The chef next attempted to stand up, only to discover his arms and legs had been bound by rope. Wait... this isn't right, yes? he thought.
Colb blinked a few times and shook his head to wake himself up more. As his daze faded away, and his eyes started to focus, Colb noticed his friends sitting with him. They were all bound as well, and surrounded by elven guards.
These elves – who were more than twice the height of Colb – carried wooden blowguns and sharp, white-painted boomerangs. Weapons! Colb worried. Hmmm! We must've hit the Elvish Kingdom while I was asleep, yes?! Have we been captured?!
Colb looked outwards, towards the sea. At the shore's edge, a different group of elves with blue-colored skin, sharp-pointed ears, and long, flowing white hair were holding their hands out. As they did so, the water before them shifted, magically swallowing up Kashmir's iceberg. Hmmm! This seems like no dream, Colb realized.
Colb looked back at the guards surrounding him and his friends. They appeared to be answering to one particular elf, who looked quite different from all the others. This elf's natural skin was a mixture of white, black, and red lines, all twisting around each other as if someone had scribbled on their body with inks and paint. The elf also had a potent magical aura about them, which Colb could sense like waves of pressure through the air.
Colb looked around at his friends, to see how they were dealing with the situation. Stibs struggled against his ropes, which became tangled slightly in the backpack he wore. Drek sat proudly: tied up, but still wearing his glorious goldatinum crown, which had been left untouched by the guards. 27 looked absolutely confused and upset. Kashmir was simply staring at the ground, with defeat in her eyes.
Hmmm, we should get out of here, yes? Colb thought to himself. The chef goblin perked up his ears, hoping to get some information from the nearby elves that might help him escape – but as the guards spoke, Colb found their language foreign and impossible to comprehend. Confused, he looked down at his necklace. The Yiklar Amulet of Open Ears was still around his neck, but it didn't glow the way it used to. Instead, it appeared dull, more similar to the gemstones he'd purchased in Cantia than to an item 27 would sell.
