Tragic Goldtooth

"Hoist the sails, set sail!" Following Goldtooth's shout, the goblins began to chant in rhythm, heaving together. The sails on all three masts were fully raised. As the sea breeze swept by, Goldtooth's ship sped out of the port of Ratchet. Goldtooth had forgotten one of the benefits of his ship: it was incredibly fast.

Andy sat in the cabin, feeling the ship's swaying on the sea. At first, it was nothing, but after two days of sailing, Andy finally got a true taste of Goldtooth's ship!

That night, a fierce gale suddenly whipped up at sea. The storm, mixed with rain and massive waves, rolled across the ocean in wave after wave. Goldtooth was sleeping soundly when he suddenly felt the ship lurch violently, and he tumbled off his bed with a thud.

"Damn it!" Sensing something was wrong, Goldtooth hurriedly threw on his clothes. He had barely poked his head out before a wave slapped him right back. Once dressed, he darted out of the cabin and roused all his pirate brothers. Amidst the clamor, Goldtooth managed to stabilize his ship.

Andy sat in the hold, tossed about by the sudden storm until he was dizzy and nauseated. Bile rose in his throat, and he couldn't help but curse, "Goldtooth, you damn fool, you said your ship was stable! It's rocking so hard I'm about to pass out!"

"Shut up!" a goblin shouted loudly. "You're not the only one feeling sick!"

After a night of tossing and turning, the wind and waves gradually subsided, but none of Goldtooth's men could stand—some were exhausted, others were still reeling from the motion. Fortunately, there was no real danger, and Andy finally let his guard down. Throughout the night of wind and rain, he had thought many times that he would end up buried at the bottom of the sea with Goldtooth!

After several more days of sailing, the goblins on deck let out a cheer.

"We're here!" Goldtooth yelled. "Booty Bay is here!"

Andy was awakened by the cheering, and just then, a goblin came to wake him, telling him to prepare to disembark.

"Hey, Goldtooth, so you didn't die after all!" Heavyfist, who had arrived earlier, saw Goldtooth at the Booty Bay docks and said with a laugh, "I heard there were huge waves at sea a few nights ago, and I thought you'd drowned!"

"Heavyfist, do you want me dead that badly? If I die, who's going to pay you back?" Goldtooth snapped, thoroughly annoyed.

"As usual, one gold coin!" an old goblin in charge of managing the ships at the pier said, holding out his hand.

Goldtooth looked at the open palm and chuckled, "Uncle One-Eye, look, I just went through a massive storm and suffered some losses. Can't you waive it this time?"

"One-Eye, don't listen to him, he caught an Elf!" Heavyfist blurted out, exposing Goldtooth's secret.

"Damn you, keep your nose out of my business!" Goldtooth glared at Heavyfist, his voice filled with spite. He then looked at Uncle One-Eye, and seeing that the old goblin had no intention of pulling his hand back, he muttered, "My bad luck!" He then took a gold coin from his pocket and tossed it into One-Eye's hand.

"Alright, watch my ship well, I'm going to handle the paperwork!" Goldtooth said, heading inside.

"Hold on, no rush!" One-Eye reached out to block Goldtooth and said, "Look at this first!" As he spoke, he stepped aside to reveal a notice board behind him.

"All newly arriving ships must pay a one-week management fee upon entering the port. Large ships: ten gold coins; small ships: eight gold coins!" the notice read.

"Well? See it clearly now?" One-Eye said, reaching his hand out toward Goldtooth again.

"This... who made this rule! This wasn't the rule when I was here last time! You're just extorting money! I want to protest, I'm going to find the boss and demand an explanation!" Goldtooth shouted, baring his gold teeth. It wasn't that he didn't have the money; he was just making a scene in hopes of paying less.

"What's this, Goldtooth? You're not satisfied with the rules I set?" A sharp voice came from behind Goldtooth.

Upon hearing this voice, Goldtooth instantly deflated like a punctured ball. He turned around slowly to see an older goblin, quite sturdy, wearing an officer-like cap and followed by two bodyguards in black.

"Boss, how could I dare? I'm paying right now!" Goldtooth reluctantly pulled eight more gold coins from his pocket and tossed them into One-Eye's hand.

"It's ten!" the goblin boss said. "Your ship counts as a large ship!"

"What? This is..." Goldtooth started to argue, but seeing the goblin boss glaring at him and the cold glint in the eyes of the bodyguards, he quickly fished out two more gold coins and placed them in One-Eye's hand.

"Hmph!" The goblin boss snorted coldly. "That's more like it!" With that, he left with his men.

Andy watched everything that happened on the dock through a small hole in the ship. He wished Goldtooth would get fleeced, and fleeced even harder! However, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes when he saw the goblin boss in the general's cap. It wasn't strange that the boss of Booty Bay was a goblin, as it was built by them, but the two bodyguards behind him were human—genuine, through-and-through humans!

After the goblin boss left, Goldtooth walked off the pier in a huff, heading toward the nearest administration office, muttering curses as he went. Heavyfist watched Goldtooth's back with a grin, feeling delighted. His own ship was much larger than Goldtooth's, yet he had only been charged eight gold coins!

"Hurry up, I need to process my paperwork!" Goldtooth plopped into a chair at the administration office, looking sour.

"Oh, Brother Goldtooth!" a goblin said, looking up. "What's wrong?"

Goldtooth pouted and briefly recounted the incident at the docks, drawing a roar of laughter from everyone in the office.

"You're still laughing!" Goldtooth gritted his teeth in frustration. "Hurry up, process my paperwork, I have cargo to auction this time!"

"Oh? What is Brother Goldtooth auctioning this time?" the goblin asked with a smile.

"Slaves!" Goldtooth said. "And one other, uh, count him as a slave too!"

"Right, slave auction!" The goblin quickly filled out a form, had Goldtooth confirm it, and said, "There are many auctions this time, so yours will be held in three days. If there are no issues, pay the five-gold-coin processing fee, and you can take this form and go!"

"What!" Goldtooth nearly fell off his chair. "Three days? That's so long! And why did the fee go up? Wasn't it three gold coins?"

"It used to be three, now it's five!" the clerk said. "Even so, the auction house is overwhelmed! If you have a problem with it, go talk to the boss!"

At the mention of the boss, Goldtooth instantly wilted. He helplessly tossed down five gold coins, shoved the form into his pocket, and turned to leave the office.

"What kind of nonsense is this! I haven't even done anything yet and I've been extorted for sixteen gold coins!" Goldtooth grumbled as he walked back toward his ship. But as soon as he thought of the Elf in his cabin, his mood improved slightly.

At worst, he would just set a higher price for the Elf; someone would definitely buy him! Goldtooth made up his mind, chuckled to himself, and boarded his ship.