Jax: "Goblin?!"  

  

Alex: "Yes, goblins. They are the different people that live here, I mentioned. Or rather they mostly live here and, most of the people who live here are goblins. . . ?"  

  

Elena: "For your information, we just left Human-kvater. . . Where we live, you haven't been outside of it yet. But you don't have to worry, with us here ?. Never come here alone though, they might wanna try playing tricks on you. . . Or worse."  

  

However, Jax wasn't really listening anymore. Much like when he got off the train, he had entered a new world. The transition was extreme. It seemed like the sky was darker here, and all around them, lamps and fires had been lit to compensate. The air was filled with the smells of many different dinners being cooked and eaten. The sounds of many conversations demanded his attention. Some of them sounded angry, but most were fun and friendly. Jax refused to give in. In the distance, Jax saw many smaller figures. And there was something else, something Jax had never seen before. It was all around him and successfully grabbed his attention as soon as he laid eyes upon it. Whatever it was, it filled him with joy and frightened him at the same time, not just in the usual way, as all new things do, but deeper, more emotional, and more familiar. 

 

Jax: "What. . . are those?"  

  

Alex: "So you can see 'em. . ."  

  

Jax: "How could I miss them?!"  

  

Alex: "You didn't appear to see them earlier ?."  

  

Jax: "What do you mean?"  

  

Ela: "We have passed many before. Our city is full of them ?. Don't worry, it's not just you. There are more in this part of the city. Also, they hide less in Goblins-kvarter and are, in general, easier to see here. Anyway, it's fine that you had trouble seeing them, more people do ?. I mean goblins and ogres have trouble with it in general. . . Maybe that's why they like hanging out here better ?."  

  

Jax: "So these things are everywhere? What are they even?"  

  

Ela: "Spirits ?."  

  

Alex: "That's why I called this place 'Spirit Town'. Clever, no ??"  

  

Jax: "Sure. . . "  

  

Alex: "That was a joke ?. I did have to call it something though. . ."  

  

Jax: "But what are these spirits?"  

  

Alex: "Already over the goblins, ain't you ??"  

  

Jax: "You mean. . . these beautiful things are goblins?"  

  

Ela: "No. However, this place is full of those ugly green creatures ?. So, let's get out of the open. Afterwards, we can explain. . . While having ourselves a nice dinner, the dusk here makes me hungry ?." 

 

Elena quickly led them through a few small streets. For the first time, Jax felt like he was not following the same straight road. And he was instantly lost. He had an overwhelming urge to stand still and look around him, to wander. But Elena kept them all close by. And before long, she stopped walking herself. Jax finally had an opportunity to observe and to ponder. In general, this part of the city was much more maze-like, with narrow meandering streets and many smaller buildings with rooftops that almost touched each other. Jax still saw spirits, but he didn't see any of the small figures any longer. Elena herded them under a particularly low awning into one of the buildings. They had to duck to enter. Once they were in the cafe, they could stand up again. But they were immediately sat down by Elena on tiny chairs at a tiny table, so there was absolutely no way to get comfortable. 

 

Jax: "What's wrong with this place? Why is everything so fucking small?"  

  

Alex: "Well, it's made for goblins after all ?."  

  

Ela: "Hey waiter! Aight what you guys want? Nevermind, he is already here?. 3 Coffee, a jug of water, real water not like some half water half trash mixture, and all the cold food you have that is safe to consume for humans. . . Aight, yes, please do that ?."  

  

Their waiter made some affirmative sounding noises and left. During this short interacting, Jax couldn't help but stare at the creature.  

  

Jax: "That was just a really big ferret, right?"  

  

Alex: "I think it's a weasel ?? But whatever it is, it's an upstanding citizen ?."  

  

Ela: "It's a Marten ?."  

  

Jax: "I take it that's not what you guys mean when you say 'goblin'?"  

  

Ela: No, that's right."  

  

Jax: "But it understands you?"  

  

Ela: "Understand is a big word. . . Or, perhaps not. It seems to understand us. But it doesn't really communicate. If that makes sense ?."  

  

Alex: "Shall we leave this talk about Mustelidae behind us?"  

  

Ela: "So you do know ?."  

  

Alex: "And go back to your questions about spirits, which is a much more interesting topic ?. Though that otter might disagree ?."     

  

Ela: ". . . ?"  

  

Jax: "So just to be sure, those little balls of light are spirits, right?"  

  

Alex: "Yes, well sort of. The ones you have seen are little and look like balls of light ?." 

 

Jax: "What are they then?"  

  

Alex: "That's difficult to answer. . ."  

  

Ela: "First thing to note is that they aren't all the same. Some are like part of nature, or the souls of deceased creatures, the manifestation of strong emotions and impactful events. . .?"  

  

Alex: "They are creatures in their own right. And the powerful among them gain consciousness."  

  

Jax: "I don't. . . That doesn't really make it any clearer."  

  

Alex: "I mean, it's not a very clear subject. . . I don't think anyone truly understands it either ?."  

  

Ela: "Perhaps it’s more something you feel, rather than understand. . . ?"  

  

Alex: ". . .?"  

  

Jax: "So like, what do they do? Do we need to be careful of them, or what?" 

 

Ela: "They do whatever they feel like. But you don't need to be careful of those you have seen today. You won't even get to touch them unless you try really hard ?. And the scary ones usually keep to scary places, places one as you shouldn't go in general. . . "  

  

Alex: "You do need to be careful about absorbing them. I'd advise you not to attempt it. . ."  

  

Jax: "What do you mean 'absorb'?"  

  

Ela: "Consume, eat, whatever words you want to use. I'm not sure why Alex would want to tell you about that, however ?."  

  

Jax: "You eat them!?"  

  

Ela: "Yes and no. It's much like eating, I would say. But no one dies. . . Well, you might, the spirit never does."  

  

Jax: "Are these spirits alive then?"  

  

Ela: "Sort of. . . I think. I don't really know ?."  

  

Alex: "You can kill spirits though. . . ?"  

  

Ela: "I mean sure. . . But it's never easy to do that. You have to know what you're doing. And even if you do, it can still be a daunting task. Like you won't manage to do that by simply absorbing them."  

  

Alex: "I mean. . . ?"  

  

Ela: "No. You can destroy them afterwards, I suppose. . . When they already live inside you."  

  

Jax: "So the spirits can die now? And why would you even wanna absorb them?!"  

  

Ela: "I prefer 'destroyed' since they don't die by regular means. On top of their 'being alive' being a bit questionable ?."  

  

Alex: "They're like souls, straight and simple. Hell, sometimes they are souls. Just think of it like that ?."  

  

Jax: "It's news to me that souls can even get destroyed. . . "  

  

Alex: "Meh, I'm already glad you're at least acquainted with the concept of souls. That was just a wild guess on my part. . . Since you don't know about spirits and goblins and all. . . ?" 

 

Jax: "Are you kidding me? Of course, I know about souls! Though not everyone believes they exist. . ." 

 

Ela: "But going back to the other topic you asked about-"  

  

Jax: "Ah, yes, why would you even eat these things? I mean they're pretty and all, but that is hardly a reason. . ."  

  

Alex: "Power ?. What else?"  

  

Jax: "Power?!"  

  

Alex: "More or less. . ."  

  

Jax looked at Elena for confirmation. 

 

Ela: "Don't look at me. And don’t interrupt me again. . . ? But I mean, yeah, what he says, 'more or less'. Basically, you enter into a symbiotic relationship with them, most of the time that is. Either the spirit or the person can dominate, or ideally neither, of course. And independent of that, the situation can also be unbalanced in how much each gets out of it. In that sense, it's not always really symbiotic. . . It can even be actively bad for either you or the spirit. Think of it like, your relationship with your gut-bacteria. Usually, this is a good relationship for both of you. The bacteria get food and a safe place while they help you with digesting your food. But if the connection is off for whatever reason, these bacteria can make you sick or even kill you. And you can do the same to them. . . ?"  

  

Jax: "Oke. . . But what do these spirits do for you? Concretely I mean."  

  

Ela: "That depends on the spirit. . . But everything ?."  

  

Jax: "Everything?!" 

  

Ela: "Yes. When you saw me jumping over the rooftops and when I blew you dry. . . I can do that because of the spirits I have in me ?. And I talk about wanting to breathe right? I'll just need to find and eat the right spirits for that ?."  

  

Jax: "And different spirits do different things, I reckon?" 

 

Alex: "Yes. Both inside and outside the body."  

  

Jax: "How many have you eaten?"  

 

Alex: "Bit of a personal question ?, but a few. . ."  

  

Ela: ". . . A few 100 ?. For me that is."  

  

Jax: "What!? That must be a lot. . ."  

  

Ela: "It is ?."  

  

Jax: "How come you have eaten so many more than Alex?"  

 

Ela shrugged: "Bit of a rude question. . . But, various reasons, personal preference, Alex underselling how many spirits he's eaten, that kinda stuff. How many you can eat depends on you and on the nature of the spirits you eat. You need to work on your own soul if you want to accept others, including spirits. Oh, by the way, I agree with Alex that spirits are basically souls ?. But anyway, it's like. . . You are a bucket, and you can be filled to the brim with a 'foreign soul', without much consequence. That is, as long as you do it the right way and there isn't an attunement issue, etcetera ?. Every soul fills this bucket for a certain amount, which can vary a lot. And it's up to you to increase how large your bucket is. . . How much it can hold. I mostly ate smaller spirits with little consciousness. But if you were to eat spirits with more consciousness or energy, this would take up more of your bucket. And still, I needed to do a lot of training and go through a lot of experiences to make my bucket large enough to hold 100s of spirits. . ."  

  

Alex: "Which is good. If you could just eat as many spirits as you wanted, all your achievements and abilities would also very quickly turn meaningless. All that would remain would be your skill in finding the right spirits, half of which is luck anyway ?."  

  

Ela: "That depends on the spirit. . . But yes, kinda."  

  

Alex: "Anyways, this was fun, really. But I think we should get a move on ?." 

  

Ela: "Huh? What ??" 

  

Alex: "Don't 'huh, what' me. You told me to figure this out. Well, I came up with something to do ?."  

  

Ela: "Oh, right, good point. Yeah, let's go then. . . I'm done eating for now anyways ?."  

  

Jax: "Wait! Don't we still need to pay?!"  

  

Ela: "Nah, what are they gonna do ??"  

  

Alex: "Get into our chicken pen? We don't even have any chickens ?."