The adventures of Mochaki the goblin – Chapter 1

Akta winked and held the cookie to him.

“This one is my own special recipe,” his chest puffed out with the boast.

Grabbing the cookie, Mochaki paused long enough to give it a curious sniff before he scarfed it down.

“Peach and flies!” Eyes wide, he stared at his friend. Akta shushed him and glanced around.

“Don’t give it away, you cavey! Just you watch, this will be the one the humans love the most.”

“You’re so smart! Humans love mixing meat and fruit. They’re so weird about flavour.”

“Exactly. With my winning recipe, they will finally accept us. We’ll become one of the higher races.”

Mochaki nodded slowly at Akta’s wisdom.

 ~~~

The goblin elders had been the first to come up with the idea.

“The humans don’t accept us because they see us as lower beings. Until now, us goblins have been bottom of the food chain, because we cannot offer humans what they do not have. We will change this! We will find what they love, and supply to them. Until they see us as equals!”

Amidst the cheers, Mochaki had raised a hesitant green claw.

“Uhm,” all eyes had been on him. He had fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. “Humans love cookies.”

Whispers had broken out. The elders had frowned and started speaking among themselves. Finally, Elder Kimato had turned back to the tribe.

“Mochaki, where did you hear this?”

“Uh… a human kidling. One of the lone ones. He said he wished for cookies.”

“Fellow goblins! Form hunting parties! We will go steal flour and eh… other ingredients. The humans want cookies, and we will satisfy their needs and become crucial to their existence.”

There had been cheers, and many goblins had slapped Mochaki on the back. He had been happy until Elder Cartoki had spoken.

“We will need someone to go to the humans and trade with them. Mochaki, as the only goblin who speaks their tongue, your mission is to make them understand that we wish to trade.”

Mochaki had gulped.

“I… I don’t think they’ll listen to me. I am small and…”

“Mochaki, we need this to protect our tribe. Go and form connections. We will send you supplies-“

“Cookie samples,” Atka had piped up.

“Yes, yes, samples! You will make the humans taste and love our cookies.”

There had been more cheers, but Mochaki had been unhappy. Leave the safety of the tribe? Adventure to where the humans were and convince them to trade in goblin cookies? The very thought had made his tummy twist.

 ~~~

“Oi Mochaki! Stop spacing, we need to get these to the mage. He said he can make a… a… bag of pockets. We fill the samples from here, and you can use the bag to give them to humans wherever you go. Now hurry up!”

With a sigh, Mochaki resumed pushing the heavy cart of oatmeal and skinflake cookies. It appeared that he was going on an adventure whether he liked it or not.

Chapter II

Mochaki felt miserable. He’d travelled for days to reach the nearest human town, his pockets filled to the brim with samples, but not a single person had been willing to talk to him. It didn’t help that rain had started pouring down and made his mushroom-and-beetroot cookies all soggy. Despite it still being the time of year where the sun remained in the sky for the longest part of the day, the rain that pelted down darkened the streets and bit into Mochaki’s skin with cold. With a slight shiver he scurried over to a small, dishevelled stall with a bright green awning. The cover from the heavy rain sent a feeling of relief travelling through him. At least he would be able to sleep here if he needed to.

As he looked out onto the street, he saw a skinny elvish woman running through the rain, her figure hunched over to protect from the icy droplets. He scrambled from his hiding place and held the mushy cookie out toward her.

“E-e-excuse me, this is…”

“Ew, get away from me!” Her sharp voice stung his ears. The woman pelted past him and continued down the street, out of sight.

He stood, staring after her for a moment, then he threw the cookie into a puddle by his feet and stomped back to the stall. People in this town were very unfriendly. He missed his tribe. Even when they were mad at them, at least the other goblins would talk to him. Thinking of the goblins back home, he knew what his best friend, Akta, would say to him.

C’mon, don’t be such a cavey. Put on a big smile and go give that lady one of my prize cookies! Once she tastes it, she’ll fall in love with you.

Mochaki didn’t think that any cookie could get a lady to fall in love with him, but he felt slightly better imagining his friend’s boasting. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t notice the stranger until she crouched down right next to him and slung an arm over his shoulders.

“Well now, what do we have here? I didn’t know this town had a goblin problem.”

Mochaki tensed and looked up at the woman. She wore dark clothing that had been soaked in the rain. Her hair was short and black, framing an easy smile. Despite the friendly voice, her hand held a cold blade against his throat. He knew he was in danger, but something else grabbed at his attention. Her breath smelled of something sweet and heady and the scent tugged at the back of his mind as he tried to place where he knew it from.

Akta? No… the fields?

“U-uhm…”

“No, not a problem,” she mused as she studied him with keen blue eyes. “There is only one of you. Your kind normally travel in groups, don’t they?”

That smell was potent. Was it from the elders? Had he smelled it in the woods?

Mochaki swallowed heavily, and swallowed again.

“I am a- a travelling merchant,” Mochaki finally managed to squeak the words past the heart hammering in his throat. The woman huffed out a laugh and Mochaki finally managed to place the smell. He had smelled it on a farm one hot summer, when Akta had made him break into a store and drink from an old barrel. Mead, he had called it.

“You’re a merchant? What could a goblin possibly be selling?”

“I sell c-cookies to humans. Would you like to try a f-f-free sample?”

The woman looked surprised for a moment, then she pulled away and sheathed her blade.

“You’re serious?”

Mochaki nodded and took a new, only slightly moist cookie from his pocket. He held it out at the bemused looking lady who took the cookie, sniffed it, and with a shrug tossed it into her mouth. Her face scrunched up with the first bite, then she turned her head and heaved half a chewed globule onto the ground.

“The hell kinda cookie is that?” She rasped out.

“Th-that one is mushroom and beetroot. The cavies, uh I mean cave-dwellers seem to like-“

“Are you trying to kill people? You can’t just hand someone a mushroom cookie, you dumb little vermin.”

Remembering Elder’s instruction, Mochaki hurriedly pulled out his little notebook, wiped to get most of the moisture off the page, and peered at the runny charcoal note.

“If… uh if a human doesn’t like a corn- uh sorry a cookie, ask if… something… sorry, can you read this serval please?”

She looked at him in disbelief, grabbed the notebook and squinted at the writing.

“A survey?” She bellowed. For a moment Mochaki expected her to hit him, then she let out a loud bark of laughter. A moment later the strange woman was doubled over, holding her belly and laughing until Mochaki’s ears hurt. He watched the human politely, unsure of when it was acceptable to speak again. When it seemed like she would never stop, he reached out carefully, took his notebook from her hands, and frowned at it.

“W-was the cookie too uhm… scrunched?”

“Crunchy,” she gasped as she wiped a tear from her cheek. “No kid, that’s the only good thing the cookie had going for it. Goblins selling cookies, what a hoot.”

Mochaki looked up hesitantly. The strange woman said that she didn’t like the cookie, but she was smiling. Mochaki wasn’t sure if the human was being sincere. She looked at him with a tiny smile and shook head.

“Sorry, you’re all out of luck. No one is gonna want to eat that crap, nevermind buy from a goblin.”

Mochaki lowered his eyes to the notebook he was still clutching against his chest. If Akta had been here, he would’ve known exactly what to say to this lady. But only Mochaki was here, and he secretly agreed with her words. He was the wrong goblin to try and sell anything to the humans.

“D-do you have suggestions on making them better?” Mochaki asked softly. The woman patted him on the head, twice, and responded.

“My suggestion is to give up, kid. You don’t belong in a town like this. Go home, be with your clan. Leave the travelling to the real merchants.”

Unable to speak past the lump in his throat, Mochaki simply nodded once. The woman whispered a “sorry” and walked away. Mochaki didn’t watch her leave. He didn’t watch anything, really. He stood silently for a while, until the rain splattered onto his toes and he remembered that he still held his little notebook. Finally, he moved to close it and shove it deep into his bag again. Then he looked around at the dark empty streets, tilted his chin up and said in a stern voice:

“I am not a scared cavey! I’m not giving up on my tribe’s plan yet.”

The words were lost to the cold and the rain, but Mochaki was proud of himself. He wouldn’t be cowed by one angry lady who probably just didn’t like mushrooms. He would find a human who did like mushrooms, and he would try again. Today was only his first real day as a merchant, and he would do his best.

Find the next chapter at: https://dumdumdie.co.za/2023/02/25/the-adventures-of-mochaki-2/

To be continued – Teddy