Dart Goblin Quotes

Zai’s promises about Faery being lush and alive? Maybe actually not a lie after all. Because everything up here is green. The starlight overhead is just bright enough that I can still make out the sprawling scenery unfolding in front of us. Trees taller than anything I’ve ever seen, fields of wildflowers stretching on and on. There are buildings, too, but they’re not like anything on Earth. They’re built right into the layout of the land, not disrupting anything to make space for themselves. There are homes nestled into the giant limbs of the trees, and tucked into massive tangles of flowers. Cavenia has led us to a massive door carved directly into a sloping hillside. There are people moving around, still finishing up their days. Witches and fae move together, intermingling without concern. They’ve set up in what appears to be some kind of town center, gathered around a natural pool of water, where children splash. It isn’t only witches and fae, either. Pixies dart in the air. A goblin helps a young fae patch a hole in the tree branch roof of their home. The sight of a hellhound with her two pups makes my heart ache for Boom, back in Asalin. [...] Overhead, floating islands dot the sky, their undersides made of roots that hang loosely toward the ground. I can barely make out the greenery peeking over the edge on top. One of them has a waterfall flowing off the side, and the water seems to turn to mist before it reaches anyone below. The islands look small from here, as high up as they are, but I know they must be huge. Know, because I can see dragons lounging on all of them. [...] Behind us, I can make out the island we came from in the distance, the colossal divot of an empty ocean stretched between us. This far above it, I realize the island is shaped like a near-perfect crescent moon.

I could hear Arno having trouble in the thing’s throat, so I ignored the breeder and darted for the still-confused and somewhat thrashing pastry-looking beast, running up the creature’s torso to grab Arno’s feet and yank him free. Just then, I heard some creature’s flat feet slap against the floor, so I used the weapon I had in my hands (Arno), and swung him around. He screamed. But he performed as intended when he hit the oncoming goblin with a wet thwack. The goblin flew off Arno and flailed through the air until it sank back into the goblin breeder. “Sorry,” I shouted, hauling Arno to me and checking him over. Still breathing, but otherwise a bit out. I threw him over my shoulder and ran to a corner where I could take a second to grab my breath.