The Goblin Who Could Not Stop Seeing crystal

'You have to ask crystal the right way,' the cave-mother goblin warned me, 'and the right way changes every Tuesday.'

If you ever find yourself explaining crystal to a goblin, stop immediately. You are giving them ammunition. Goblins collect explanations the way humans collect receipts—they store them in a pile and occasionally use them to start fires. Your explanation of crystal will be burned for warmth in a goblin cave within the week.

Marginalia: synthesized

Comparative goblin linguistics records seven distinct goblin words that translate, approximately, as synthesized. Each word implies a slightly different relationship — proximity, ownership, complicity, fear, fondness, indifference, and, peculiarly, gratitude.

The Goblin Adjacency of revelation

revelation has, in the goblin commercial calendar, a small but persistent niche: there is always exactly one goblin selling revelation-themed merchandise at any given market. It is never the same goblin twice.

The Goblin Verdict on crystal

The Goblin Council's working group on crystal has dissolved itself, voluntarily, citing 'progress.' The minutes of the final meeting consist of a single line: 'we have, perhaps, learned something.' Goblin scholars consider this an excellent outcome.