Two kingdoms sat divided between a mountains range. One, a bright and illustrious realm, was home to the fae. The country was ruled by a queen who loved her people fiercely, and would do anything to protect them.
The second kingdom, to put it lightly, was the dominion of the goblins. Anarchy reigned in the stead of principality. There was no such structure as government, and the only rules were that there were none at all.
The goblins were a vile sort. They spent their time fighting amongst one another, and sucking on the bones of the unlucky soul who happen to cross their path.
You see, a goblin will eat anything — be it man, woman, or child. However, a goblins favorite meal is that of the fae. Due to the fae's habit of flying, they have the most tender of meat from never having to walk around.
The Queen Fae knew this, and had sadly lost many a fairy to goblin gluttony. Her sole purpose had become to snuff out the goblins for the sake of her people. This is why, when she witnessed a human vessel crash upon the rocky shore, she devised a way in which to end the goblins once and for all.
Down to the shore she sent her flying horse, and upon his back he brought her the captain.
The captain was a keen fellow, and had equal acclaim among his crew as the Fairy Queen did amongst hers. He knew he wasn't spared out of the kindness of the Queen's heart. His crew had been lead away by the monstrous goblins, and he had shamefully been whisked away before he could join them.
The guilt the captain felt was his reason for accepting the Fairy Queens offer, for he truly believed a captain should be the last to leave his ship, and if he cannot save his crew then he should not save himself.
The Queen Fae, aware of this tradition, presented the captain with the chance to save his crew but only if he destroyed the Goblin City.
The captain, ever discerning, accepted the offer with the addition of a brand new vessel.
The Queen Fae, pretending to be hardballed, accepted the offer and explained the plan.
"First, you must make your way through the mountain tunnels into the Goblin City. When there, you'll plant bombs around the burg which shall be ignited by my magic. The goblin smog will catch flame and combust, creating an inferno that no goblin can escape."
The plan seemed simple enough, so the captain filled his knapsack with the bombs, and set off through the tunnels.
He could smell the Goblin City before he saw it. It reeked of rotting corpses, and perhaps eggs. With the easy part over the captain began to creep around the city, planting the bombs in any good spot they wouldn't be seen, and hoping he wouldn't be caught.
Weaving his way throughout the city, he came upon a stone hut. Inside, he found his crew — though not all of them were there. Peering into the hut, the captain saw a goblin sat at a wooden table. The goblin was preoccupied with his meal, and crunching and munching he sang:
"The meats of men, the meats of fae
We eats them up all nights and days,
And when there's no more meats to eats,
We eats each others hands and feets!"
Thinking quickly, the captain slipped inside the hut, and struck the goblin until he fell to the floor.
After freeing his remaining members, the captain instructed his crew to make for the shore.
Running as though the devil himself nipped at their heels, the captain and crew sprinted through the streets, dodging hands that grabbed at them, never stopping for the shrill shrieking of the goblins protests.
Coming upon the shore, the captain sighted a beautiful oak ship he rightly assumed was his. Setting out to sea, the captain and crew felt the thunder of the bombs, and turned to see a city engulfed in flames.
Author's Note: I had fun writing this story. I wanted to explore more of the fairy that was briefly mentioned in the original, so I expanded upon her character. Originally I wanted her to be more of a General type, fighting a war with the goblins, but I didn't have the time to go in depth with that story. Maybe later!
Bibliography: The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse.
