The goblin leader stopped walking and did not hurry forward.
He first looked around, then spoke to the nearest human merchant in halting Common.
"The goods are on the ship: pocket watches, lighters, glass cups, compasses, as well as seeds and medicine."
The merchant listened for a while, his gaze shifting from the leader's face to the crates piled aboard the ship, before he turned to look at his companions.
Several people moved a few steps closer. An elder in a worn gray robe spoke first.
Since the two worlds used different currencies and neither side recognized the other's money, they decided to use the most primitive method of all: barter.
The two sides stood by the pier for a while, confirming the basic terms of exchange.
The pocket watch that had been offered passed back and forth several times between the goblins and the human merchants of the Source Realm before finally being taken into one party's hand.
At the edge of an open area not far across from the harbor, an elf scholar in a light green robe also spotted the gray-green ship.
He did not approach immediately. Instead, he stood at a distance, watching the goblins disembark and observing the careful way they carried the crates.
His gaze followed them, and a moment later, his feet began moving in that direction as well.
Communication between elves and goblins was smoother than with humans. He soon struck up a conversation with a goblin scholar, and the discussion flowed from there.
The harbor of the Source Realm was not large, but it was bustling with people.
News of the goblin ship's arrival spread, and more and more residents of the Source Realm began gathering at the harbor.
The goblin merchants quickly discovered that the humans of the Source Realm