The clack clack of the little crab's pliers only served to draw more attention from little Drizz. The crab ran back and forth across the table desperately seeking escape, while Drizz ran around trying to prevent it from escaping.
Finally exhausted, the crab remained motionless in the center of the table, praying to the god of the seas that his death in a pot of boiling water wouldn't be so painful. He waited and waited while watching the green face of little Drizz barely illuminated by the only light in the room, which flickered at times and illuminated more than usual at others.
The little goblin, barely six years old, lived in this house with his uncle, Maug of the Steam, while his parents worked hard for the merchant prince. His parents were recognized for their mathematical skills and constantly had work to do, especially at night when the merchant prince would ask them to read the accounting book before going to sleep.
-What kind of animal is this? - asked Drizz to his uncle, though he knew his answer might not be very accurate, since the old man's mental gaps were getting worse each year and his fantastic stories to cover memory gaps were becoming increasingly imaginative.
-It... it's... - hesitated the uncle -It's tasty!... You'll see!
Uncle Magu stirred the clam soup and carefully tasted the seasoning of his stew. He added a few herbs and decided it was ready for the main ingredient.
-It's ready! - he said -Bring that tasty thing here and throw it into the water, soon we can eat.
Drizz took the crab in his hands and ran to the kitchen, brought a bench near the stove, and lifted the crab high to throw it into the water. Then he felt a slight pinch on his hand. It wasn't a great pain, but rather a touch the crab had made with its pincers, a kind of last plea before the imminent death that awaited him. The little boy looked at the crab for a moment. It was the first time he had ever seen one, and now it would be the first time he would eat one.
Many years have passed since that day and Drizz still wonders why he decided to put the crab in his pocket while forcefully throwing more clams into the pot so that his uncle, who was also somewhat blind, would think they were eating a delicious crab soup.
\*\*\*
-Pay me right now, Jack! - shouted the goblin magnate.
Those shouts and cheers pulled Drizz out of his memories, he left the shelter where he slept with the other homeless people under the bridge, in the Barriada, where once was his parents' house, when life was simpler, before Galliwix became the new merchant prince and turned the former domains of his predecessor into this dump.
The old fat and greedy Gallywix seemed to have no limits to his greed, for he had not stopped trying to strip even the humblest goblin of all his possessions. What also seemed to have no bottom was his laziness, for years he had not walked on his own, but left that tedious task to his self-scratching, which accompanied him everywhere.
-No please! I'll pay! I'll pay...- Jack the Hammer swallowed his words when the hit from one of the magnate goblin's enforcers knocked out several of his teeth in one move.
It wasn't the first time he had been hit, and in fact Jack swore that one day he would become a millionaire if he could get off the island and sell his "5-Minute Post-Fight Teeth Reinstallation Technique".
The magnate withdrew with his enforcers, asking for Frankie Deslizatuercas' shop. It seemed today would be a day of collections.
Drizz passed by the luxurious sports car of the magnate and climbed the hill with Sabroso following closely. The neighborhood was the worst place in all of Kezan. Galliwix ordered the first highway of Kezan to be built right above those territories, making all cars pass over the high bridges, which led to the collapse of all businesses that remained underneath. The area filled with crooks, fugitives, and people like Drizz who had nowhere else to go. The waste thrown by motorists, along with constant drainage leaks and the lack of running water, made this place an incomparable stench.
After climbing the muddy path, Drizz and Sabroso entered an alley that led them directly to the center of the city, next to Anakin's house, a young and showy goblin who enjoyed spending his mother's widow's fortune on race cars that ended up as junk after every race. They descended the street toward the coast, passing in front of Szabo's shop, the tailor, with his poisoned lawn garden decorated with pink flamingos. They continued on until they reached the promenade where the stale smell of the sea came from.
-Good day doctor!- he greeted as he entered the corner house.
The "doctor" had a small illegal kaja'mita processor, with whose profits he paid for his wild experiments.
-What do you have for me?- said the doctor smiling greedily upon seeing how big Drizz's suitcase was.
After the usual haggling, Drizz left the place with some coins and a couple of extra bottles of kaja'kola in his bag. He left hurriedly before the doctor could start explaining again the wonderful uses of his new invention: "The Churumbele," which would finally let him leave the illegal distilling business of kaja'kola and let him be known as the great inventor he is.
They traded a bottle of kaja'kola for a pair of hamburgers and stayed for a while listening to the conversation of other goblins who also came to eat. Everyone was talking about the big party that a wealthy goblin would throw, about how Gallywix was screaming because he hadn't been invited, and about the possibility that this magnate might become the new merchant prince of the region.
Suddenly a loud noise shook the store. At first it seemed like just an explosion, but a voice echoed from the sky, causing all the goblins to go outside and point at the sky. Drizz barely understood anything about the end of times or something like that that the voice was announcing, but when he finally got out of the store, the only thing he could see was the silhouette of a dragon disappearing into the horizon.
-Come on tasty... let's go see if someone has a job for us in Barriada- said Drizz to his pet and started the journey back.
A few blocks away from the alley that led him to Barriada, a big commotion coming from the center captured everyone's attention. A goblin passed by his side fleeing at full speed from the center while shouting "Pirates! They're attacking us!"
Raising his pointed ears, Drizz could hear the sound of gunfire, knives, muffled screams. Surprised that the pirates had suddenly appeared in the city center and were moving quickly to the mansion of the magnate who was going to throw the party, Drizz decided to take the long way home.
Passing behind the First Bank of Kezan, he quickly descended to the viaduct tunnel that passed right next to the kaja'kola factory. Without stopping to look at the huge machinery, he ran toward the end when a big noise shook the ground and made all the metal joints of the tunnel fall apart. This time definitely wasn't an explosion, he could see ahead strange lights that occasionally illuminated the entrance of the tunnel.
Arriving where the tunnel joined the highway, he jumped to one side of the containment fence and found himself in Barriada.
Upon arriving, he passed over the body of a pirate lying a few meters from the black water lake in the center of Barriada. Running between the stalls, he found Frankie taking advantage of the situation to steal belongings. Frankie smiled at him with what seemed like Jack's teeth.
-This is crazy, Drizz!- he said -First those pirates come out of that dirty puddle killing everyone in their path, then the volcano erupts and huge balls of fire fall from the sky... definitely today I'm going to get rich!... if the island doesn't sink after the eruption-
A new shake gave his words a new meaning, a huge ball of fire crossed the sky and the impact made Drizz's sparse hair tremble.
-If you want to live, the best thing would be to go check if that scoundrel of Gallywix lets you ride on one of his ships...-
Drizz crossed the tunnel again and arrived at the front of Gallywix's mansion where a crowd of goblins was gathering, carrying their most precious (and expensive) belongings. Gallywix's employees were "cleaning" the goblins literally in exchange for letting them board the ships, surely they would need an additional ship to carry all that wealth.
-Come on, friend- he said to Sabroso -we'll find another way to get up-
Both returned to Barriada where Frankie had already stripped the pirate's corpse.
-Those pirates entered the city this way, I'm almost sure that that fat and greedy goblin helped them in to finish off their rival- said Drizz to his pet while examining the putrid water.
Drizz headed toward the swamp and, holding back the disgust, began to swim toward the center where the drainage pipes were submerged under the water. On the shore, Sabroso circled around and persistently clacked his claws.
-I don't like the idea as much as you do, but we can't stay here, so let's go-" said Drizz and dove into the water.
The crab spun around twice in a bad mood and finally swam into the murky waters in search of his owner.
Visibility was almost nonexistent and his eyes burned, but he was able to find an open tube with clear marks left by the rub of the swords. Feeling as if Sabroso was behind him, he entered the tube and swam through the pipes until he found the other exit.
The tube took him to the back of the factory, which had already been abandoned. Quickly and ignoring the smell that remained, they ran behind the mansion and managed to get to a few meters from the docks where several guards and Gallywix himself were watching the entrance. The boat was a few meters away, and Drizz could see that a corner of the deck "El Churumbele" was already on board.
While trying to come up with a plan to pass the noise of a fireball to the guards, the sky was illuminated, immediately after someone from inside the mansion shouted "They've stolen the Goblin Lisa!"
Gallywix rushed into the mansion, leading the guards behind him. Drizz and Sabroso ran along the dock and reached a couple of boxes that were already packed for transport. Drizz opened one of the boxes and crawled inside. With a whistle, he called Sabroso, who also entered the box, and they waited silently until the box was aboard the boat. With great relief, they listened as the sound of the volcano faded into the distance.