Player Submissions
Every month, we invite players to submit their own original works for inclusion in the newsletter.
This month's piece is a parable about trust, greed and hubris.
A Goblin's Trickery
by
Eraser418
A man was strolling down the road and approached a small tent when he heard the voices of many other men. He moved closer to see what the commotion was about. The man came across a group of Elves who were gambling with a strange, old goblin. The man reached into his pocket, felt the heavy bag of coins and decided to give the game a try.
"You there, Goblin!" he shouted with confidence, "I would like to partake in your gambling game."
The goblin looked up at the man, noticing his bag of gold, and responded. "Very well sir. The name of the game is Pea-shell and the rules are quite simple."
The man smiled to himself. He had played this game regularly and had become very adept at it. The rules were very simple indeed. He would bet a number of coins and select one of three shells, after they were rearranged, in hope of finding the pea underneath.
The man said, with great confidence, "truly a game of great skill and observation." And bet a single coin. The old, frail-looking goblin leisurely rearranged the shells and told the man to pick one. The man's eyes lit up, upon finding the pea underneath the shell.
Noticing how easy it was to win the first time, the man bet five coins and carefully watched the goblin's hands as he moved the shells to and fro. Again, the man selected the correct shell. With his confidence bolstered, he decided to exploit the goblin's slow, relaxed pace and bet fifty coins this time.
"Feeling lucky I see," the goblin commented as he, once again, rearranged the shells. This time, however, the goblin’s hands were a blur and shocked the man who then began to worry.
Carefully, the man picked a shell and let out a cry upon discovering it to be the wrong one. In a desperate attempt to win his gold back, the man bet the last of his coins and told the goblin to swap the shells.
The goblin's hands moved lightning fast - so fast, in fact, that it was near impossible to see his hands. "Go ahead," the goblin said, mockingly.
The crowd behind the man waited anxiously. He slowly picked up a shell, his hands trembling, sweat beading down his brow. His heart sank when he discovered that he had picked the wrong shell and lost; to an old, wrinkly goblin, no less.
Slowly, the man walked away from the tent with his head down low in shame. His overconfidence had cost him all of his gold. In the distance, he could still hear the faint cackling laughter of the old goblin.
If you would like to submit a piece of original writing to be considered for the newsletter, please feel free to email it to us at
[email protected]
. We can't promise to use every submission but we do read all of them. We look forward to receiving your contributions!
1st place
