Chapter 7 #2
“Few want to intermingle with dragons, regardless of the location.” Jildarin lifted a hand, directing the rowboat toward them. It had drawn close enough that a single fisherman—or was that a fisher goblin?—was visible rowing and attending nets that trailed behind him and into the water.
“Greetings, dragon patron,” came the raspy voice of the goblin as the rowboat bumped gently into one of the dock pilings. “You’ve brought a female tonight? Will you attempt to get lucky on Lucky Island?” He cackled.
“I will not. You’ve acquired rare and delicious fare?”
“I’ve caught eight eels this evening. Do you want them all?”
“Yes.” Coins clinked as Jildarin delved into a pocket. He waved for their visitor to show his catch before handing them over. “Elder Wognov doesn’t deal in credit,” he told Rylana. “One must pay in coin.”
“What’s the going rate for rare and delicious fare?” Rylana asked.
“Five copper for eels, three for thunder fish, and two for simple purple trout.” The goblin opened one of several insulated boxes in the rowboat, revealing a stack of eels. Their glows had faded with their deaths but were still prominent enough to easily count them in the dark.
“Last week, it was four copper for eels,” Jildarin said.
“Because I didn’t have any eels.” The goblin cackled. “But I’ll give you a discount of two coppers if you take the lot. Three silver, eight coppers for all eight.”
“You are aware of where we are?” Jildarin asked, his tone cool.
“Oh, I’m always aware of where the pillars are in relation to the dragons that I deal with. But you are a noble fanged one, and I believe you will not slay the brave goblin who dares sell to such a fearsome individual.”
“I will not slay you if you honor your previous price and do not add on a goblin tip.”
“Very well. Four coppers per eel, but no discount.”
“I will give you three silvers for the lot.”
“That is a discount of another two coppers! When I’ve already lowered the price.”
“Your math skills are excellent.”
“Unfortunately, yours are as well. You not only refuse to give me a tip but you barely acknowledge the many hours of work that went into the catch.”
“I trust your tip is already calculated into the prices and that little has changed in the last week in the effort that is required to obtain eels.”
Rylana, watching the exchange with some bemusement, decided the diner’s messy financial situation probably had more to do with Jildarin's inexperience in running a business, and possibly a disinterest in anything that didn’t deal with the cooking itself, than a lack of intelligence.
The goblin sighed dramatically as he placed the eels in a portion of netting, rolled them up, and lifted them like a bundle of kindling. Jildarin dropped three silver coins into his hand and accepted the offering.
“Enjoy your female,” the goblin said as he used an oar to push the rowboat away from the boardwalk. “Or,” he added with another cackle, “is she an enemy you brought out to this particular location intentionally?”
“She is an enemy,” Jildarin stated. “One who attempted to price gouge me.”
Jildarin touched his temple. He and Rylana both knew a different type of gouging had been involved.
She shifted her weight, uneasy that he was still classifying her as an enemy.
Even if he was joking with the goblin—or were the words intended more as a warning?
—there was likely some truth to how he felt about her.
“Then I will depart before I accidentally witness something the peacekeepers will ask me about later.” With the rowboat turned, the goblin put his oars into the water and stroked away.
The rain was picking up again, and Rylana wanted to return to the city and somewhere dry, but she couldn’t help asking, “What’s significant about this location?”
Since she’d grown up in the area, she would have assumed she knew more about Tranquility and the lake than a newcomer dragon, but she couldn’t guess.
“It is between the last of the pillars at the edge of the city and the sole pillar on that island.” Jildarin pointed. “Both are sufficiently distant from each other that approximately one-hundred feet of the boardwalk is not monitored for the use of weapons, magic, or dragons changing form.”
“Interesting.” Rylana still couldn’t see much of his face and tried to determine if he was contemplating acting on that information.
Would he be telling her about it if he intended to kill her?
“Did you bring me out here to slay me and toss my body in so that the eels would eat it before the peacekeepers found it?”
“Freshwater eels, even interestingly glowing ones, consume insect larvae, snails, worms, and small fish.”
“So, you don’t think my body would appeal?” As rain pattered on the surface of the lake, Rylana pulled her cloak more tightly about her, feeling a chill for more than one reason.
“The carrion birds in the area might enjoy it.”
“I don’t know if we’re engaging in delightful if grim banter or if you’re going to attack me any moment.”
“When I invited you to join me, I contemplated bringing you to this spot so that I could physically overpower you and question you under duress about your motives in coming to my diner. Were my hands about your throat, I judged that you would answer honestly.”
“Have you changed your mind about interrogating me, or should I be figuring out how best to wrap an eel around the neck of an opponent who’s stronger than I am?”
“You’ve been a less belligerent companion than I expected on the walk out here.”
“I’m starting to like you too.”
Jildarin cocked his head as he regarded her. “That was sarcasm, I believe.”
“Yeah, but not belligerence.”
He snorted and walked toward her. She eased to the side, lifting a hand in case he decided to attack. But he strode past without touching her, save for the eels that brushed her sleeve. The boardwalk wasn’t that wide.
Rylana watched him, not sure if it would be safe to follow him or not. After walking about ten steps, he paused and stabbed a finger toward the dock at his feet.
“Beyond this point, the pillars can sense magic being used or weapons drawn.”
“Or a dragon shifting into his native form?”
“Indeed.” Jildarin took two steps forward. “Since I desire to keep my diner and must already pay one fine, you are safe from me at this point.”
“I guess that’s something,” she murmured and followed him back into the city.