Princed

Chapter 2

"What you reckon this is, Mump?"

A hairy, stout goblin with tanned skin and a big, fat nose held up the strange item to his friend.

It was night time, their preferred time of activity. The goblin holding the floppy white thing waved it in his friend's face until the latter snatched it.

"Give it 'ere, Glump," the creature snapped. This other goblin was much too skinny, black-haired, with twine tying its mane back. Both had bright orange-yellow eyes that peered down at the strange item.

"It's a paper." The one named Mump smacked his friend's head and began walking back to the caves with it.

Mump tore angrily at the strange red substance on the paper and ripped the contents out.

"It's a map." Mump sneered again. He tossed the casing aside and opened the folded paper.

"Are you suuure?" Glump asked, drawing out the 'ur' with his fat tongue. "It looks like a letter–" The goblin received another sharp jab from his friend's elbow.

"Auh' course I'm sure–" The goblin opened the paper fully to reveal a strange set of characters. "I can't read it, so it ain't no letter and it's got weird drawin's so it must be a map."

"Then where's it tellin' you to go, Mump?" The goblin asked as they entered the royal hall of the mountain.

They were two of the least likely goblins to ever come back with food, let alone something interesting. The commander of the food patrols sized them up undesirably.

"Nothin' again, eh, Mump an' Glump?"

"Well if it isn't anything I can eats then I don't 'ave to hand it over," Mump sniffed back, beady eyes flicking from the commander to the rest of the goblins who watched in anticipation as he hid the letter behind his back.

"I'm your patrol leader! You have to give whatever you found over to me!" The other goblin demanded childishly.

"No, I ain't!" Mump snarled, showing off his mismatched teeth.

"Maybe we should hand the map over," Glump whispered to his friend, catching the attention of the commander.

"You better not be hiding some map to some kind of food stash, you greedy, meagre milk-worm, or I'll have all the hairs plucked from your head." The commander threatened, his eyes going bright with rage.

"Well maybe I do and maybe I don't want to share it with the likes of you, fathead."

The mouths of the other goblins dropped open, including the commander who was reeling from the insult. An insult from a subordinate, no less.

"And maybe if good ol' Mump brings all the food back from this here map, I'll get your job, and Prince Froglip will 'ave to do somethin' nasty to yeh, Commanda'."

The commander's eyes lit up with anger and he stepped down from his dias in the middle of the room, preparing to have it out with the other goblin.

It was rare for one of these food gathering nights not to end in a brawl. However, a rough but reedy voice shouted from the top of the cave entrance and stopped the confrontation.

"What ith going on down here?"

The prince of the goblins, who had wandered all the way up from the royal chambers, sneered at the two gryping food gatherers. His golden eyes pierced them through the darkness and all the goblins repeated his name with dread.