“So, what are the Ogres eating exactly?” Asked Crassus out of curiosity.
“Our fool’s gold!” Said chief Twinkie with distress evident in his voice. “It can be eaten by everyone. We were told it has a sweet taste, and it is like human candy.”
Crassus shook his head, imagining several Ogres trying to live off candy. He had never heard of an Ogre with a sugar high. Would their bodies handle the fool’s gold better than a human would?
“Ants, report.” Said chief Twinkie to the ants. One moved forward and clicked its antennas at him. “You are to begin mining the rock from the cliffs near the village. Mine as much as you can.”
The ants moved as one and began to head towards a cliff. Chief Twinkie rubbed his hands together in excitement.
“And you say they work fast?” Asked the chief, and Crassus nodded.
“Now, for my crew and our boat…”
“No boat! We can’t build you anything big enough. But you can use our teleport.” Said the chief, and he pointed towards a glowing arch.
“And to where is it connected to?” Asked Crassus. He was not going to step into an unknown teleport without details.
“Well, to Hag’s end. But you wouldn’t want to go there. And to Val, they can make you a ship there. We used to trade the useless rocks with Val, but they never send someone to mine the cliffs. We will trade with them no longer.” Said the chief, and a chorus of “Aye” came from all the Leprechauns.
“Well, it appears that the only thing I need to do is find the Ogres.” Said Crassus. Nipsy stepped forward.
“I will lead you to the bottomless pits.” Said the Leprechaun, and he gripped his spear and pointed it towards a cave not too far from where they were standing.
Crassus followed Nipsy, and what he found made the Leprechaun give out a battle cry and charge at the nearest Ogre. Which surprised Crassus, since it was only the Ogres laying down.
The Ogre stopped Nipsy with one hand and groaned as he petted his stomach. Ah, that explains it. This was the storage for the fool’s gold. Thought Crassus to himself. And now it only had Ogres in it. Crassus shook his head and went and took Nipsy away from the Ogre.
“Nipsy, the ants will make up for what you have lost quickly enough. There is no need for violence. Crew, please tell me you are not in a food coma?”
The Ogre that had stopped Nipsy patted his stomach and let out a loud belch.
“Sorry, captain. The yellow stones were so tasty we couldn’t stop.” Said the Ogre, and he laughed at Nipsy, who threw his tiny spear at the Ogre. It did hit him on the nose, but it bounced off it and fell uselessly on the ground.
“Everyone, the Leprechauns have agreed to let us use their teleport to the island of Val. There we will find a new boat and continue our journey.” Said Crassus, and he watched with upturned lips as the Ogres rolled on the floor uselessly.
“But, perhaps, a good night’s rest is in order?” Asked Crassus as he watched some Ogres yawning.
“Not here! Where are we going to sleep? Out, bandits!” Screamed Nipsy.
“We will sleep on the beach.” Said Crassus. Then, much to the grumbling of the Ogres, he said. “Come on, up with you. The beach is a short trek from here.”
The Ogres got to their feet and made unsteady steps towards the exit of the cave. Crassus led them down to the beach and watched as the Leprechauns were taking a lot of seawater and carrying it back to the village.
“Nipsy, here. Fill this up. The ants have mined ten kilograms worth of stone. Chief Twinkie said we will have a feast tonight!” Said a small female Leprechaun as she handed a bucket to Nipsy.
“Oh, Flora, that is wonderful news. Human, keep the gluttons in check. If they get hungry again, tell them that the waters around the island are rich in fish! May a shark eat them!”
Well, for something this adorable, Nipsy had a mean streak bigger than himself, thought Crassus and he looked at the waters. There were indeed countless fish swimming around the reef that hugged the shore.
The Ogres were stuffed, but he hadn’t had anything to eat in a while. He took a branch and then his knife from his belt and began making a spear. When he was done, he went to the reef and speared a fish.
It was a big, silvery fish with a rainbow tail. He didn’t know the species, but it looked as if it had quite a lot of meat on it. He dug a fire pit and then left the fish inside so that the sea doesn’t reclaim it.
The pit was far from the water, but he didn’t put it pass these waters to reach the fish. Then, he went to the surrounding greenery and collected fallen sticks and dry grass.
When he got back to the fish, he took it out and then piled the sticks and grass inside. He didn’t need a fire that would last him through the night. It was pleasantly warm now, and he was sure it would be during the night too.
As he turned the fish, now skewered on a stick, this way and that, he began to think. The Ogres hadn’t been able to restrain themselves from eating the fool’s gold. Was it that good?
He picked up a chunk of the stuff from the ground and wondered why it was littering the beach if the Leprechauns had such trouble producing it. Then he bit down.
His teeth rattled from the hardness of the stone. This didn’t taste sweet at all. This was not fool’s gold, as he originally thought. This was normal gold. And the Leprechauns just left it lying around.
Thinking quickly, he ate his fish and headed back to chief Twinkie. Maybe the Leprechauns could eat regular gold, but they seem to prefer fool’s gold. Which begged the question, for what would they be willing to trade the gold for?
