306

The name is fitting for this establishment. Just looking at it from outside it stands out, with a very large front door, larger windows in the bedrooms up above, and the building itself is really big compared to the ones around it. The inn’s name plate reading “The Big Bight” is placed right above the arched entrance, and each letter has a long pointy tooth under it. The front door is literally an invitation to come and eat masses of food.

You’re not the only human inside, but you may as well be. Everyone else is huge, and probably each above average for their species. In a huge front room, monstrous men and women sit at tables as high as your lower chest, in the company of equally gargantuan orcs, trolls, elves, and a variety of the more hairy and horned creatures you never learned the names of.

Behind the counter and the pretty serving girls each a head or two taller than you sits the only being you can see who isn’t of enormous proportions. Perched on a high stool, a goblin surveys the room, red eyes shining bright. It takes you a moment to realize he is watching you right now, and probably has been since you entered. You’re quite hard to miss, tiny little thing among all these giants.

The goblin beckons to you, expression unreadable. You approach the bar and he bids you climb onto a stool so you can see each other level. At least you think that is what he wants. He still hasn’t said anything. You wonder if he has some magical power. It would explain the red eyes.

“Hungry, little one?” the goblin rasps. It’s more a statement than a question. The next he does expect you to answer: “How far did you walk?”

You tell him of your village somewhere beyond the wooded plateau. He nods, as if he knows the place himself.

“Ph’arika.” he calls to a giant female elf, “Feed this little lamb.” She smiles at you and walks away, presumably to the kitchens. You begin to silently panic: you can’t pay, what are you supposed to do?

“Custom is you stay the night free, and you find work tomorrow.” says the goblin, apparently knowing your fear. “But I’m skipping the second step. You’ll learn to hunt with my niece tomorrow.”

Your jaw drops. Ph’arika returns with a plate of the strangest and most appealing looking meat you’ve ever seen. “Giant earthworm,” she tells you, “it tastes like chicken.” And she gets on with her business.

The goblin doesn’t say a word. Again, without words spoken you know he is waiting for you to take the first bite. As you sink your teeth in for the first time he carries on “I lost my hobbit to a rabid male dryad. Just as well; he was getting good enough to start asking higher wages. I would have lost him to a better job before long. I might have searched for another one, but a light little ape like you will do. Your kind will do for almost everything – except the women. No teeth on them.”

The giant earthworm is excellent. You start to feel a little dry, but Ph’arika brings you a pot of mild beer. You’ve no idea whether she was going to all along or if she saw through your skull the way the goblin did, but it doesn’t matter.

You don’t understand why you. Why does it have to be a small creature like a hobbit or an average human?

“Couldn’t any one of them hunt for you?” you motion to the beasts all around you. The goblin pulls his lips from his teeth in a grimace you could not say for sure was a smile or a snarl.

“Look at them, child; great stampeding brutes, the lot of them. I feed them deer, boar, direwolf, giant pheasants and the occasional bear. All of those creatures are people-weary. A pack of hunters will always succeed, but the kill will be stress-spoiled, and the pack hungry for high pay. I need someone cheap who can do all the work alone. Look at yourself. You’re an ant. Can you hear an ant sneaking up on you? Can you smell it? Can you even see it until it’s already on you and ready to bite? You’re mine now. You’re my ant. Unless you fancy yourself elsewhere? In which case I neither skip the second step nor uphold the first part of custom. Take it, or leave it and get out now.”

You double down on the worm. You’ve found employment and a place to stay. That’s a start. Restore 4 points to your Vitals (not exceeding initial value). Turn to 28.