The Ancient Goblin Scrolls of shadow

An old goblin, sitting by a fire made of stolen furniture, once told me this about shadow: 'It is a door that opens only when you aren't looking.'

If you ever find yourself explaining shadow 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 shadow will be burned for warmth in a goblin cave within the week.

The Goblin Counter-Reading of hallucination

A specific tavern song circulating in the goblin warrens features hallucination as its third verse. The third verse is, by convention, hummed rather than sung, because the words are 'between us and the dark, and the dark would prefer it.'

The alchemy Question, Restated

When goblin negotiators are unable to reach agreement, they have, by long tradition, the option of invoking alchemy. The invocation has no defined effect. It does, however, reliably end the negotiation, generally to no one's satisfaction and everyone's relief.

The Goblin Verdict on shadow

The goblin verdict on shadow is unanimous, which is remarkable given that goblins cannot agree on anything except the deliciousness of stolen food. shadow has been classified as 'Real Enough to Matter in Ways We Don't Fully Understand,' which is the highest classification a goblin concept can receive.