Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

Chapter 97 Honey for Medicine [3k]

"Shansio told me that you used to live on the west side of this fortress, right?" Charles placed a cup of hot sugar water in front of the goblin chieftain.

"Yes, what's wrong?" The other person sat on a rock, looking up at Charles as he sat cross-legged.

"I'd like to know, when you went out to look for flowers, did you find any strange buildings or entrances?" Charles said.

"Buildings?" The little fairy chieftain thought for a moment and shook his head.

He then added, "But if there's anything strange about it, there is one place."

Charles looked at the other person quietly, listening attentively.

"While we were searching for flowers in the forest, we saw a big tree."

"A big tree?" Charles repeated. "Isn't it normal to see a big tree in the forest?"

"It's not an ordinary tree. Within a radius of about twenty meters around this tree, no other trees grow, and even grass is scarce, yet quite a few goblins live around it." The goblin chieftain paused, recalling for a few seconds, "Those goblins are strange. We've never seen them searching for food in the forest, but I remember they used to do the same things as you a long time ago."

"A goblin tribe that doesn't hunt or gather?" Sharl was somewhat surprised. These goblins didn't need to eat; were they practicing abstinence from grains?

"I'm sorry, I can't say for sure that they didn't gather food. Maybe we just didn't see it. But you know, there are fewer flowers in the forest after autumn, and we little fairies need to search more areas and spend more time. In the process, we still haven't seen them gathering any food."

Charles nodded slightly, thought for a moment, and asked, "Tell me about that tree. Why do you describe it as a strange big tree?"

"That tree isn't green. Its trunk is silvery-white and very thick, so thick that several humans couldn't encircle it. It also reflects light in the sunlight. The canopy is like a huge disc, but the leaves are all gray. I've seen leaves fall from it before, but the goblins under the tree collect them."

As the little fairy chieftain spoke, he dipped his finger in the water in the cup and began to draw on the stone.

Charles leaned closer to examine the large tree the other had drawn. "It doesn't look like a tree at all; it looks more like a mushroom with its cap open."

"You're right, it does look a lot like a giant mushroom, but after looking closely, I realized it's a tree."

"A giant tree that looks like a mushroom, with no other trees around, and a group of goblins that don't need to gather food." Charles stared at the disappearing water stains. "It looks like the same thing no matter how you look at it."

"What came to mind?" the little fairy chieftain asked.

"A cult, or rather, a ritual of evil gods," Charles said solemnly.

The scene was indeed similar to some movies and TV shows I'd seen before: a huge object that seemed like a miracle attracted a group of ignorant and blindly obedient people to gather around and worship it, and goblins were indeed a race that could be attracted and driven.

"No, it's not an evil god." The goblin chieftain waved his hand. "Our abilities allow us to sense good and evil. I didn't sense any evil thoughts from those goblins. However, that giant tree did make us uneasy, but it wasn't to the extent of an evil god."

"Is that so?" Charles frowned. "As long as it's not an evil god, we can handle it."

He had been somewhat worried beforehand that if it was an evil god, then the opponent would be too powerful.

"Alright, thank you very much," Charles nodded and said. "This is indeed very important information."

"Then I won't bother you any longer. I'm going to enjoy this honey water too," the little fairy chieftain said with a hearty laugh.

"Okay." Charles stood up to say goodbye, while behind him, many little fairies were planning their dwellings on the wall.

Charles plans to clear out the huge stone chamber where rune materials were originally stored for the goblins to live in, and at the same time move Red Bull's cedar wood cultivation base here, and make more shelves to put the cedar wood on them, forming a multi-tiered layout.

In the future, this 700-square-meter, 4-meter-high stone chamber will be completely filled with food, and houses will be hung on the surrounding walls for the little fairies. What a spectacular Red Bull production base that will be!

He gazed at the fluttering little fairies as if they were gold coins leaping about.

"If they all move here, we won't have enough sugar cubes. We need to buy a new batch quickly. We also need to have Mary contact the carpenter to make some shelters for the little fairies. They can't just live in thatched huts." He patted the dust off his pants. "We also need to make some other furniture. Let's start with a table and chairs."

"Ding-a-ling," the bell hanging behind the door of the "Undying Alchemy Workshop" rang.

"Hello, what would you like to order?" Mary stopped reading and looked up at the customer who walked in.

The newcomer was an elderly islander with bronze skin, about 1 meters tall, dressed very elegantly, and carrying a cane. He did not look like an adventurer.

"Excuse me, is this the White Shell Merchant Guild? I saw your purchase request on the Merchant Guild Alliance website. Do you need a large quantity of honey?" The person walked up to the counter and asked with a smile.

"Yes, that's right." Mary looked at the other person and quickly judged that he was a merchant from the archipelago. Archipelago merchants rarely appeared in Goat's Horn. When she went to the Merchant Alliance to inquire before, the staff said that most archipelago merchants stayed in Black Lion City.

This person has a somewhat soft face and wears a feminine ruby ​​necklace, but has a very robust build. If he were to wear a suit of armor, he would definitely be a qualified berserker.

"My name is Mary, what's your name?" Mary asked politely.

"Hello, you can call me Salmu. How much honey do you need?" the man asked politely.

"Mr. Salmu, we need a lot, as much as you can get."

"Hahaha," Mr. Salmu laughed, "I have half a boatload of honey."

"This—" Mary hesitated for a moment. She had seen the ships at the dock before. If it was half a ship carrying cargo, it would indeed be quite a lot, but she might not have enough gold coins in her possession.

"I'm sorry, we might not have enough gold coins. I need to ask my boss," Mary said apologetically.

"Sure, no problem." Mr. Salmu turned and looked around the alchemy workshop until he saw the small blackboard standing at the door.

"Is there a buy-10-get-1-free deal on the healing potions?" he asked.

Yes, that's right.

"If that's the case, I suggest we don't have to use all gold coins for trading. I'd like to switch to healing potions of the same price."

"I see, that's a lot." Mary was somewhat surprised.

"To be honest, before I became a merchant, I was also an adventurer for a while. I know the price and demand for healing potions. Not only adventurers need them, but knights need them, and even the kingdom's army needs them. However, no alchemy workshop offers a buy-10-get-1-free deal. I can buy them from you and bring them back to the archipelago to sell. Not only will I make a profit, but the goods will also be in high demand."

"But our inventory is limited," Mary said, somewhat troubled.

"You can ask your boss," Mr. Salmu said with a smile.

"Please wait a moment." Mary bowed slightly, then ran into the workshop. She locked the door, went to the warehouse area, wrote down the situation, and sent it out through the portal.

A few minutes later, a piece of paper appeared in front of me.

Mary looked at the contents: Try to stall him, ask if you can wait for the delivery time, don't worry about production capacity, trust Chief Engineer Claw.

Mary smiled and quickly returned to the counter. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Could you please wait a while while we prepare some more medicine?"

"Sure, no problem. I was planning to stay in Gieshorn for a while anyway," Mr. Salmu nodded in agreement.

"That's great! I can go to your ship right now to inspect the goods," Mary said happily. This business deal was quite substantial.

"Sure." Mr. Salmu glanced at the potions on the shelf and asked casually, "I heard that there was a Brotherhood selection event in Giraffe Town a while ago. It was quite a big event with many adventurers participating. Your business must be doing very well."

"Yes, it was really good," Mary replied with a smile. "But the Storm Brotherhood left early the next morning, and our business returned to normal."

"Yes, it's a shame I couldn't see the selection process," Mr. Salmu said with a smile, shaking his head. "By the way, did your boss name this White Shell Merchant Guild?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing, just an interesting name," Mr. Salmu said. "If you're going to the docks now, I'll wait for you outside the shop."

"Okay, I'll tidy up a bit, it'll be quick," Mary nodded and said, as she looked down and pulled out a padlock and a wooden sign that read "Closed" from the counter.

Mr. Salmu pushed open the door and walked out of the alchemy workshop, looking up at the shop sign above.

"The 'Undying' Alchemy Workshop," he muttered to himself, "is also the headquarters of the White Shell Merchant Guild."

"A trading company located near the forest was not called Oak, Lark, or Autumn Leaf, but White Shell, a name more commonly found in coastal areas."

"And this is the name Vivian gave to her small business when she was a child, which is quite interesting."

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Mary locked the door and hurried over.

"No, it'll only be a minute or two." Mr. Salmu smiled and looked up at the shop sign. "The name is interesting. Your boss must be a young, humorous man."

Mary smiled and adjusted the hem of her long dress, saying casually, "No, my boss isn't alone."

Meanwhile, inside the Goblin Fortress, Sharl excitedly rushed to the alchemy and potion-making area.

"Little paw, little paw, I have good news for you."

The crawling claw finished stirring, jumped back to the edge of the wooden bowl, and asked, "What news? Has it discovered my master?"

"No, I got you a big order," Charles said loudly.