"Where are the goblins now?" asks Hooflepoof.

"They're out in their bunkroom. I just gave them their breakfast. Anyway, they don't go out in the city in the daytime."

"Can we talk to them? They might have some info that would be useful for us."

"Goblins? If you say so... well, I don't generally give guests permission to bother other guests, but I can ask them if they would mind talking to you."

"Tell them Bilbo and Elfo want to talk to them," interjects Bilbo. "They might know us. Tell them we want to talk to them about Baldur's Gate."

"Ok," says Ontharr, "I'm about to go pick up the breakfast dishes anyway, I'll ask them."

He returns just a few minutes later. "They said they don't know any Bilbo or Elfo, but they don't mind if you want to come talk to them."

So Ontharr leads Elfo and Bilbo out to the stable to talk to the goblins. He knocks on the door, and hearing a greasy acknowledgment from inside, opens the door. The adventurers walk in.

"Hi, I'm Bilbo," says Bilbo.

"I'm Elfo," says Elfo.

The biggest goblin stands up to address them. "I'm Gruik," he says in the common language, looking away as if a little afraid, and not wanting to cause any problems.

"We had some goblin friends," says Bilbo, "called Droop and Floop. Maybe you know them?"

Gruik scoffs a little as if it is a stupid question, then catches himself. "Those aren't goblin names. They must have adopted common-language nicknames to make it easier for you to pronounce. Anyway, there are lots of goblins."

"No worries," says Bilbo, "I was just wondering. Where are you guys from?"

Gruik names a place "up north", but he identifies it in goblish, and it isn't familiar. He indicates that it is far away.

"Where are you going?" asks Bilbo.

Gruik names another place in goblish, explaining in the common tongue, "another goblin encampment."

"Why?" asks Bilbo.

Gruik seems happy to tell a complicated story that effectively illustrates what Ontharr said about goblin plans making no sense. It's full of details about his cousins and brothers and goblin tribal relationships and indecipherable social concerns, but following the thread of it is impossible. Only goblins can understand, and he doesn't stop until Bilbo interrupts.

"What brings you here to Elturel?"

"Good food! We go out of our way to come here when we're traveling. Ontharr is a master of the goblin cuisine."

"What's so good about it?"

"Oh, it's got the basics, the right giblets, properly aged, and... I don't know, he just makes it good."

"Are you guys in a hurry?"

"Not urgent."

"How long are you staying here?"

"Just two nights, we're leaving tomorrow. We decided to take a rest day and enjoy the food, since we went out of our way to get here, and traveling is difficult for goblins."

"How far out of your way is this?" asks Bilbo.

"Why are you asking so many questions? We are not causing trouble."

"Just curious what life is like for goblins," explains Bilbo. "Have you heard about this dragon cult?"

"Heard stories. Haven't met them ourselves."

"Do you have a leader?"

"I'm kind of the leader of this group," he says, which elicits mild outbursts from a couple of the other goblins, though none other steps up to talk to the strangers. He lists off a few other names in goblish.

"Alright, we're going now," says Bilbo. Oh hey, if you're going to Baldur's Gate, be aware that they have a lot of very strict rules about entrance. Carts, horses, and dogs aren't allowed. Not sure about goblins, but I wouldn't go there if I were you."

"Yeah, we know Baldur's Gate. Our camp is pretty near to there. We mostly avoid human cities anyway."

"Near there? Past there or nearer?"

"Like, north of there."

"People say there's no road. How do you find your way?"

"We're goblins. We live in the woods. We know our way around."

"Ok, thanks," says Bilbo, and she and Elfo make their way back to the dining room.