Wurtt sighed as he surveyed the smashed remnants of his makeshift vehicle. "Well, looks like I'm walking the rest of the way. But I got pretty far with that little experiment! Just need to figure out steering and speed control...not to mention making it less bouncy."
He chuckled, adding the ideas to his mental drawing board. "Chalk one more up for science!" Wurtt wished his goblin friends Squee and Fizzle could have seen him rocketing down the road in his crazy contraption.
Wurtt spent the next couple of hours traveling down the forest road, taking time to gather useful herbs, fungi, and other components he spotted along the way. As the sun sank below the treeline, staining the sky crimson, he decided it was time to stop for the night.
That night, Wurtt's dreams were haunted by nightmarish visions of his brother screeching as he burned alive. "You're a monster, a traitor! How could you turn against your own kind?" the apparition accused as Wurtt thrashed in his sleep.
Finally he fumbled for a vial of his special potion, gulping it down to numb his mind and bring blissful, dreamless sleep. As the concoction took effect, visions of rainbows and angels singing lulled Wurtt into tranquil oblivion.
In his enlarged potion-head floating through the night sky, Wurtt touched a twinkling star, surprised by its intense coldness. Abruptly it expanded into a swirling inferno, unimaginable heat melting Wurtt as he dripped down to earth as rainfall. He landed gently in a puddle as the visions dissipated.
Waking with a start, Wurtt discovered he was soaked to the bone by a downpour. "Really need to get myself a tent or something," he muttered, rummaging in his pack for his rain cloak as the deluge continued.
It was going to be one of those days, he realized glumly as he began trudging along the muddy path toward the Trailblazers Society headquarters. His boots squelched and slipped in the greasy muck left by the unrelenting rain.
After three sopping hours, a covered wagon approached from behind. "Need a ride, buddy?" the driver called out. Relief flooded through Wurtt at the offer.
"Do I ever! Much appreciated," he said gratefully, moving toward the wagon. But as he drew near, the elderly farmer brandished a pitchfork menacingly from his seat.
"Back, you devil!" he shouted. "You ain't coming anywhere near my wagon or my darling wife!" Before Wurtt could protest, the farmer flicked the reins, spurring the horses into a spray-spewing gallop and vanishing down the road.
"Why?" Wurtt cried out, the injustice stinging bitterly. "Just because I'm a goblin, I don't have feelings too?" He kicked at the puddles moodily as he continued on, muttering "Can't blame the fellow. Wouldn't want a hideous wretch like me around his wife either."
About an hour later, Wurtt spotted a wagon stuck fast in a deep muddy rut just ahead. Drawing nearer, he realized with astonishment it was the same one whose driver had denied him aid. The elderly farmer was attempting in vain to extricate the trapped wheel, but his exhausted donkey lacked the strength.
Wurtt's first instinct was vengeful glee at the comeuppance. "Ha, serves the rotten codger right!" he thought, smirking. But just as quickly, he reproached himself. "No, that's not who I want to be. I should offer to help him, despite how he wronged me."
Approaching the man with a broad smile revealing his snaggleteeth, Wurtt called out "Let me lend you a hand there, sir!"
The farmer recoiled in fright at Wurtt's sudden appearance, raising his pitchfork defensively. "I knew it! This was your plan all along - trap me here so your gang can come and rob us!" His eyes were wide with paranoia. "Well take what little I have, but please leave my precious wife alone, I beg you!"
Wurtt was dumbstruck by the accusation, hands raised placatingly. "Good sir, I promise you have nothing to fear from me. I only want to help free your wagon, with no reward required." He gestured to the filthy, bedraggled state of his clothing. "Do I look like a bandit to you?"
The elderly man narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "A scrawny creature like yourself, help me? I find that difficult to believe. This is surely some trickery!"
Wurtt stood tall, looking the farmer directly in the eye. "On my honor, I mean you no harm. Please, allow me to assist you with my knowledge of science."
The torrential rain beat down on them as Wurtt inspected the wagon's wheel, deeply mired in viscous mud. Grunting, straining, and cursing accomplished nothing. Stepping back, he scratched his chin thoughtfully as icy droplets rolled down his face.
"This calls for some alchemical innovation!" Wurtt declared, digging through his satchel for a particular vial. With utmost care, he poured the amber liquid around the trapped wheel, letting it seep into the crevices.
In mere moments, a reaction occurred. The substance began rapidly bubbling and expanding into rigid yellow foam. As the mass proliferated, it gained enough firmness to act as a lever point against the tenacious mud.
Bracing himself, Wurtt pushed against the wagon tongue with all his might. Assisted by the resistant foam's leverage, the stubborn wheel finally popped free of the rut with a sucking squelch!
"Hah! Alchemy triumphs again!" Wurtt cheered, turning to the dumbfounded farmer with a broad grin.
The elderly man removed his hat, shamefaced. "Sir, I owe you an abject apology. I reckon I sorely misjudged you." He extended a weathered hand. "Name's Henry, and this lovely lady here is Mary." He gestured fondly at the donkey.
"Charmed to make your acquaintances!" Wurtt said graciously, only briefly nonplussed.
"Say, where are you headed in such foul weather?" Henry inquired conversationally as they boarded the repaired wagon. "I'm off to town for supplies."
"As am I. I'm joining the Trailblazers Society!" Wurtt declared proudly.
Henry looked at him askance. "Can't say I've ever seen one of your folk among 'em before."
"Well, there's a first time for everything, eh?" Wurtt replied jovially.
Soon they were chatting amiably, the rain no longer dampening their spirits.