Week 2 Story: Goblin Tricksters

Goblin Tricksters

Rakshasa as depicted in Yakshagana, an art form of coastal Karnataka, Wikicommons

The island of Ceylon is infamous for its deadly Rakshasa, or goblin, inhabitants. What most adventurers failed to learn was that one of the neighboring islands, Nolyec, is far more dangerous despite having very similar inhabitants. What differentiated the two creatures from the neighboring islands was their wit or lack of. The goblins on Ceylon were able to live off a steady supply of foolish sailors and only really had to rely on their disguise and simple lies. The goblins of Nolyec were far more cunning and thrived with a virtually endless supply of food and part of their success was the fact that nobody had escaped once landing.

An exhibition was held by a group of villagers from the mainland. This journey consisted of a crew of 100 warriors and 10 skilled sailors. All of which pledged their life to the cause at hand, and swore to not desert. The primary function of this fleet was to map the surrounding islands of Ceylon in hopes of finding a suitable island that could function as a home base of operations while they plotted their attack against the main island, Ceylon. 

The crew was at sea for only a few days but stopped at every potential prospect, but their efforts had been mostly fruitless. Each island visited had the similar issues of being too small or not having materials suitable to construct what was needed for their attack. This continued for a few more days until they ran upon the island of what was soon to be named Nolyec. From the sea the island appeared to be devoid of life but flaunted a lush forest with many low hanging fruits. It was the perfect case for the crew.

Shortly after beaching and setting up camp the night began to fall. The crew celebrated their good fortune with a feast of local fruit and wine from their ship. The festivities continued for hours until everyone got their fill of food and alcohol. The flames were quenched and everyone began to retreat to their tents. Suddenly, a blood curdling scream was heard from the center of the island. The crew, being a virtuous group, took to arms and set out to investigate the distressing noise. As the crew got closer to the center the screams not only got louder but multiplied. At this point it was a cacophony of anguish, for some of the crew it was too much to bear and they turned back towards the beach from which they came. 

By the time the center of the island had been reached the number of remaining crew members was reduced to only ten. Their eyes were all fixed on this lone hut in the middle of this forest. This was the source of the screaming that was still ongoing. They all gave each other concerned looks as the hut was no larger than a two person ten to fifteen person tent. There was no way what seemed to be screams of hundreds could all be sourced to this tiny hut. The men readied their swords and spears and approached the hut with caution. They swung open the door and breached the hut full charge. To their surprise there was no atrocities being committed and the screaming slowly started to die down. The men took a minute to recollect themselves before heading back towards the beach. 

On the way back they were met with a gruesome sight, their fellow men were strewn about in pieces. They proceeded with caution, but the scene only got worse. A million ideas flew around their heads on what could be at hand of this mess. Could it have been a wild animal? Divine intervention? Warring village that had tracked them down? All of these ideas were unfounded as the conditions were not right for any of these events. Clarity was soon shortly granted as they passed  goblins soaked in blood fast asleep with bloated bellies along their path. The men maintained their composure and made it back safely to the beach without waking a one.

They quickly embarked ship and set sail to their home village to warm any future exhibitions about the dangers of what is now know as Nolyec island.

Author's Note: This story is based off the Goblin City story. Goblin City focus on sailors who crash landed on an island inhabited by she-goblins. Some of the sailors get eaten and others escape through mythical means. I kept the same general premise of sailors and goblins but added more a theme to by having the ones who deserted die and the brave survive.
Bibliography:
"Goblin City" A Jataka W. H. D. Rouse