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Goblin Chapter 161: News! Going to Barry City!
🕑 Added 2025-08-15 17:05:29 +0000 UTCThe year’s festival passed, and New Calendar 1015 arrived.
Within a couple of days of the new year, the ice and snow began to melt. Yet the thaw often feels colder than snowfall; even Gauss, tough against the cold, added a few layers for warmth.
Knock, knock, knock!
Gauss was packing up to go out and train magic, brute force, and swordplay when a knock sounded at the door.
He opened it to find Alia outside.
“Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year.”
It had been so bitter the last two days that Alia had holed up at home and hadn’t gone out. This was their first meeting since the holiday.
Gauss ushered her in.
“Something up?” he asked, curious. There were still a few days before their scheduled departure for new contracts.
“A big piece of news!” Alia could hardly contain her excitement. “I picked it up just now while buying meat for Ulfen!”
“Easy, take your time.”
Gauss poured her a cup of hot black tea and gestured for her to drink first.
Alia sat, warmed her hands on the clay cup, took a sip, calmed herself, and continued:
“Near the Forest Capital, Barry—just these past two days—someone discovered a newly emerged underground labyrinth!”
“Oh?” Gauss’s eyes lit up.
That really was explosive news!
A labyrinth isn’t the same as the dungeon he’d experienced before: it’s larger, multi-layered, with its own internal ecosystem and a higher challenge—meaning more monsters, traps, and potential treasure. A newly emerged labyrinth would draw adventurers from all around, perhaps even spawn a temporary town nearby. And best of all, it wasn’t far—right by Barry!
“Can we go in and explore?” Gauss asked.
“We should be able to, I think?” Alia wasn’t entirely sure. “We could go to Barry first and have a look, right? We were planning a trip after the holiday anyway—just move it up a bit.”
Gauss considered briefly and raised no objection.
Whatever the case, go see first.
A labyrinth teeming with monsters and loot—just hearing it was hard to resist.
He did keep turning one thing over in his mind, though. The early heavy snows before the holiday, the wyvern attack, the griffin-riders arriving in town, and now this newly emerged labyrinth—were these events connected somehow?
Perhaps the labyrinth’s appearance had long been foreshadowed?
Even so, deciding to head to Barry didn’t mean leaving immediately. They’d have to wait for more thawing and passable roads—and stock up well.
Labyrinth delving isn’t like short surface contracts where you can usually find a village or inn nearby. You need to bring lots of food and water, clothing, cookware, and all kinds of tools. Once you go below, unless you retreat to the surface, you depend on what you carry, what you can scavenge inside, or what you can barter from strangers.
“We’ll need to buy a lot of supplies,” Gauss said, glancing at the equally excited Alia.
They could buy in Barry, of course, but they didn’t know the lay of the land there, and big cities often meant higher prices—better to shop in town where it felt safer.
“Right. I’ve already made a prep list.” Alia produced a sheet of vellum—she’d clearly come prepared.
Gauss scanned it and nodded.
Alia was thorough; there was hardly anything missing.
Over the next few days they’d just follow the list, then wait for the melt to open the road and catch a wagon to Barry. The trade road from Grayrock to Barry is usually busy; once the road is passable, caravans set out at the first opportunity.
Days slipped by amid quiet anticipation and occasional meetups to gather supplies. Though snow still lingered outside, caravans were already preparing to depart for Barry. The labyrinth drew not only adventurers but also merchant houses eager to tap a new, steady stream of profit.
Because this was the first run heading to Barry, seats were in high demand. Normally merchant trains post notices inviting bronze adventurers to ride along; this time it was reversed—adventurers had to ask for seats, and even then might not get them. The caravans had their own cargo, and spare space was limited. A typical one-star adventurer couldn’t secure a spot.
Gauss’s two-person team got two places only because he was a Level 2 mage—but they’d have to share a carriage with others.
“Probably just like us—after labyrinth intel first,” Alia said, watching the bustle through the window, unable to keep from sighing.
She glanced at Gauss, who had already pulled out a book for the road, and felt lucky. Without him, she probably wouldn’t have gotten on this first wagon at all.
“A labyrinth…”
As she murmured, the special anti-skid auroch wagon eased out of town.
Barry is the closest major city to Grayrock, but it’s still not exactly near. The ride alone would take several days.
The caravan moved in steady fashion—march, make camp, eat, rest—detouring now and then around ruts and sinkholes from the thaw, sometimes calling on adventurers to help clear the way. Nothing serious cropped up.
During one rest stop, Gauss ran into the Iron Arm squad. They exchanged a few words. Quek and the others were shocked and congratulated him on hitting Level 2. But their minds, like everyone’s, were on the labyrinth at Barry.
For most low-level adventurers, a new labyrinth is a rare opportunity. If you can get inside, you might find rare herbs, treasure, even magic items. And because of the special “unstable space” rules of newborn labyrinths, they often only allow lower-level professionals in for a time—so the odds are better for them. Word had it that quite a few people had broken long-stuck level bottlenecks inside such labyrinths.
That’s a labyrinth: full of traps, peril, and monsters—yet brimming with hope and surprises, the very place adventurers dream of.
After days of monotonous white, the land grew damper under the wheels. Near the Forest Capital the air felt warmer. Patches of green appeared—trees, grass, moss—and only the coolness reminded them winter hadn’t fully left.
“Barry’s climate is so nice…” Alia stretched, gazing at the livelier scenery. As a druid, she preferred vibrant greenery to winter’s unchanging snows.
“Yeah,” Gauss nodded.
If he’d known, he might’ve come to Barry sooner. I wonder what housing costs here? Must be much pricier than Grayrock, he mused. Good security, booming commerce, pleasant weather—honestly he wanted to buy a place around here. Given how many people must think the same, higher prices were a given—the only question was how much higher.
As the land greened up, more caravans from other directions merged onto the main road to the city’s gate.
Busy…
Gauss lifted the curtain. He’d never seen this many wagons—horse-drawn, ox-drawn, and riders on special mounts—converging at once. They weren’t even in Barry yet, but its bustle was already blowing in their faces.
After a few more hours, at Alia’s prompt, Gauss looked out again.
In the distance, the silhouette of a mighty mountain city slowly rose into view.
The Forest Capital overflowed with green, rising in elevation toward the center. At the city’s heart a towering, unimaginable tree loomed, its vast crown like a canopy holding up the sky.
The Forest Capital—Barry—at last!
“Make way! Make way!”
Outside walls dozens of meters high, caravans queued in a long line for entrance.
“Merchants to this desk! Visitors over here!”
Soldiers in fine armor kept order.
“Professionals,” Gauss murmured, eyes narrowing. Even from the common gate guards he could sense the familiar aura of classed individuals. And this was only one gate on the barbican. If guards had classes, what about their officers—and the rest of the city?
He realized at once that professionals were not exactly rare here. For a city of a million people, you’d need serious security to keep order. This was the Jade Province’s secondary center, humanity’s forward base facing the Jade Forest.
He reined in the faint pride he’d felt from hitting Level 2 so quickly. Talent is talent, strength is strength. He might be far stronger than the typical Level 2 and climb faster than most, but against higher ranks—Level 4, Level 5, and above—he was still outmatched. This wasn’t Grayrock, where a Level 2 stood out among a sea of Level 1s. In Barry there would be many stronger. Guildmaster Eberhard was around Level 9 or higher. Barry must have Level 10-plus professionals—probably more than you could count on one hand.
When their turn came at the registration, Gauss understood he’d likely be working around the Forest Capital for quite a while. He could only hope to make a name for himself soon.
“Gauss, of Grayrock—Level 2 professional…” the guard read off, then asked, “Identity checks out. You’re here to explore the labyrinth as well?”
“Yes. This is my companion, Alia.”
The guard nodded. He’d processed more adventurers like them in the last few days than he could remember. Adventurers from dozens of towns and nearby cities couldn’t contain their excitement at a newborn labyrinth. Adventurers are people of action; more would come in waves for some time. Barry’s city hall had reinforced gate staffing to prevent disorder.
Once their identities were verified, they were waved through.
They passed the wicket, walked the dim, heavy stone tunnel through the wall—and light spilled in ahead, a sudden, broad vista. Noise, color, and raw vitality crashed into Gauss’s vision like an unfurled scroll.
A main avenue wide enough for nearly ten wagons abreast. A row of evergreens planted between the smooth flagstones and the sidewalks. Beyond the bustle of the barbican rose the inner city’s soaring, vine-relief-carved walls, and past them, at the center, that tree scraping the sky! Even from here he could feel its vast life-force and ancient breath. Midway up its trunk, entire districts clung to the wood—magnificent structures like a city of elves built in the boughs.
That was Barry’s heart—the Mother Tree, Telashil—the city’s namesake, and its greatest guardian and symbol.
He let out a long breath, tamping down the shock. The crowd’s roar, the powerful guards, the near-yet-far Mother Tree—all pounded at his senses.
He drew his gaze back to the streets nearby. Neatly planned rows of colorful tiled houses lined the road. Glass display windows showed off a wealth of goods—fashionable clothes, artful pastries, spices, leather, and cloth. Even the passersby looked different from small-town folk—clean, well-dressed, and when they saw adventurers, not fearful: at most a slight step aside before carrying on their conversations. Families strolled; children scampered around their parents—peaceful scenes everywhere.
And this was just the barbican?
Of course, Gauss knew this was likely a more prosperous quarter for greeting visitors. A city of a million must also have less developed districts—shantytowns, slums. Even so, the sight moved him.
He’d been to a few top-tier city centers in his previous world, but a sprawling mountain city steeped in otherworldly charm was a different kind of awe than concrete and glass towers. After half a year in sleepy Grayrock, dropping into Barry felt like a bumpkin walking into the big city.
“Sorry—let’s keep moving,” he said at last, finding his voice. Alia, who’d been here before, wasn’t as stunned and had waited patiently.
“Mm. Let’s get through the barbican to the outer city, then find the Adventurers’ Guild,” she said softly.
They walked slowly, taking in the shopfronts.
“Those look really good,” Gauss swallowed. In the windows: fruit tarts, sponge cakes, cream puffs, caramel custards, velvet cakes, candied fruit… The shopkeepers clearly knew what long-haul travelers craved most.
“Want to grab some?” Alia asked, eyes smiling: I know you.
“Better stick to business. Let’s hit the Guild here and get intel on the labyrinth first.” Gauss pulled a strip of jerky from his pouch and chewed.
His sword was itching.
The priority was getting into that labyrinth. The time it took to reach the Forest Capital meant they weren’t among the first wave anymore. As for treats… he could wait.
All that glitter is fluff anyway; my jerky fills me better, he told himself.
Suddenly he remembered a promise from the start of his adventuring days.
“West Barry, the Golden Beak Trading Company…”
Hailier had left in a hurry back then, without much detail; he’d thought what he had was enough. But now Barry seemed… a bit too big to find anything easily.
He’d ask around when he had time.
Comments
IdolTrust
Labyrinth would have a ton of different types of monsters and ranks. His Pokédex would be filling up.
SquiddlyWinks
Maybe it’s a good idea to stay at an Inn with a stables attached.
SquiddlyWinks
With any big upsurge in adventurer activity, many will die. Maybe someone will abandon their fancy mount, having died in the labyrinth. Opportunities abound for the patient.
