The Value of Insects [10,000 Daily, Please Subscribe]

At the edge of the Orc camp, waves of noise rose and fell. Orc soldiers carried today's hunting "spoils"—several Qiraji corpses—and eagerly gathered around the Rustwater Goblins' stalls.

"This shell's cracked! Not worth much!"

"These claws are too badly worn! Half price!"

"This whole thing's been smashed flat! It looks terrible!"

The Rustwater Goblins' shrill voices mercilessly picked apart every flaw as their little abacuses clicked rapidly, trying to drive the price as low as possible.

"Then we're not selling!" An Orc captain angrily hoisted a relatively intact insect corpse onto his shoulder. "Come on! Let's find the Rattlesnake Goblins and see what price they offer!"

Seeing that the Orcs meant business, the Rustwater Goblins immediately put on smiling faces. "Hey, hey, hey! Brothers, don't be hasty! Everything's negotiable! How about this price?" He painfully named a new offer.

The Orc captain snorted. "We'll sell you half first. As for the rest, I need to hear the Rattlesnake Goblins' offer." After several transactions, even the straightforward Orcs had learned to play the two Goblin groups against each other to secure the greatest benefit for themselves.

When the Orcs brought the other half of the insect corpses to the Rattlesnake camp, the Rattlesnake Goblins had already come out to greet them warmly.

"Oh! My brave friends! It seems you had quite the harvest today!" The Rattlesnake Goblin's eyes swept swiftly over the insect corpses, already calculating their value. "Same old rules? Gold, or... delicious jerky? We just received a batch of 'special supply' goods—jerky from Theramore, shipped in by air, so the cost was a little higher..."

"Jerky! We'll trade for jerky!" the Orcs shouted almost in unison. In this land, where everything but sand and insects was scarce, jerky that could fill their stomachs and provide energy was far more