Week 2 Story: The Story of How Goblin City Became No More

Hello readers! My name's Clover, and I'm a 398-year-old Sea Turtle. I'm about to tell you a story that many people believe to be a folktale but in reality, it's true because I was a part of that story when I was just a wee lad.  

It all started on a small island in the middle of nowhere called Agaraydum. This island was the nicest place I had ever seen. The island was surrounded by tall, jagged pieces of broken rocks, but inward, the island had exotic wildlife. If you have ever been to Germany, the castle looked a lot like the Neuschwanstein Castle. It was like this until one day, a woman washed ashore or that's what I thought. 

This woman, I'd later find out, was a She-goblin who had the ability to shape-shift. This woman came onto the island, investigated it, and left. I thought that was it, but boy was I wrong. She came back later with more people and settled down in the castle. Every now and then, I would see some humans wash up on the shore and trek on up to the castle; however, I'd never see them again.

Not long afterward, a ship of 200 sailors washed ashore the island and became trapped as their ship had wrecked onto the jagged rocks. The women came to their aid bringing necessities like food and dry clothes. Worried about what might happen to the sailors if they followed the women, I intervened and said to the sailors, "Hello, my name's Clover, and I can carry you upon my back and take you home". The Queen said, "There's nothing to worry about, Clover. Why don't you come as well?" Knowing that this may be a trap, I hesitated, but eventually said, "Okay, why not" because I was afraid of what might happen to the sailors.

We made it to the castle, and it was quite spectacular: the gold crowning of the ceiling, the jewels embedded in the floor, the old paintings. We made our way to the dining hall where a feast was waiting for us. One of the sailors asked, "Why do you have so much food prepared?" A woman said, "All of our husbands went to sea 10 years ago, and we prepare food just in case they ever come back." I later realized that this was all a ruse to get the sailormen to stay on the island. Everyone sat down and ate their meal. This went on for a few weeks, and the sailormen got too comfortable. The women showed the sailormen hospitality. In return, the sailormen would talk about their adventures. All the while, I had a feeling that impending doom was near. While the women were napping after lunch, I would search the castle to look for clues to see if I could find anything incriminating. Searching, I came across a hidden door in the kitchen. I opened the door and saw a passageway that led to somewhere in the castle. 

I decided to see where the passageway while the women were napping. I was alarmed to find a dungeon full of hundreds of humans. I asked, "What are you doing down here?" One of the humans said, "We all washed up on this shore by accident. We lived peacefully with them for a few months until one day, they threw us all down here because I saw their true form. "What do you mean their true form?", I asked. The human said, "Don't you know that they are shapeshifters called She-goblins? They are blue-colored creatures that are short-statured and always hunched over. They have patches of black hair missing from their head. Their ears and nose elongated while their eyes disappear. Their teeth become crooked and a single eye sits where her tongue used to be. Those creatures come every night and pick a few humans to eat the next day. This is why our numbers are slowly being depleted." Amazed at what I had heard, I told the others that I would come back for them and left.

I needed to find someone who I could trust. I waited until nightfall and looked for the captain's room. I went in because I had seen the She-goblin leave the room. I tried to wake the captain up, but he got startled and shouted, "Who's there?" "Captain, it's me, Clover. I need to tell you something, but I haven't got much time", I exclaimed. "Can't it wait until morning", he mumbled? I quickly told him of everything that I had encountered in the dungeon and the true form of these women. Captain was in disbelief and said, "We need to get off this island. So, let's meet at noon and come up with a plan." "Okay", I said. And with that, the captain went back to bed and I sneaked back to my room.

At noon, I found Captain in front of the castle already executing a plan. He was telling all of the soldiers of what I had witnessed. Those who believed him stayed with him and those that did not, returned to the castle. A fairy who despised the She-goblins all too well decided to help the sailors. She used her powers and made me big enough to hold everyone who wanted to leave. Everyone climbed aboard except Captain. He ran to where I told him the dungeon was and freed all of the prisoners. I saw Captain and all the prisoners running towards me and quickly climbed on. I swam away from the island and saw the She-goblins in their true form. The men who stayed behind quickly got devoured. The fairy never wanted anyone to have to endure this place again, so she cursed the island, and it began to sink. With hundreds of people on my back, we swam to a better place. And that is the story of how Goblin City became no more.

The fairy's horse carrying away the sailors (Source: IEReadingGuides)

Author's Note: This story is based on W. H. D. Rouse's "Goblin City". I wanted to put my own twist on the story and retell it with a different background and additional characters. I wanted a side character to have some sort of a relationship with the sailors and the She-goblins. In the original story, there was no sea turtle nor a proper place to live as it was a ruse. I thought it would be interesting if the sailors found that the women were living like queens. Anyways, I hope you liked my interpretation of "Goblin City".

Bibliography: "Goblin City" from Jakata Tales by W. H. D. Rouse. Web Source