The expedition got to Winooski in the afternoon. They were allowed in by the goblins and welcomed by Bugeater, the goblin chief, a creature of spindly leg, wide carriage, and great decorum. They also met the Paquettes, who had a trading post set up not far from the goblin settlement.
When the Fire Market began, William saw an overcoat with impressive artwork. He haggled with the goblin merchant and she got the better of him. He got the coat, but he had to give his own over and promise help her learn to read, a task he immediately decided to pass on to his assistant at the library.
Devon, who had little affection for the goblins, was left at the expedition's tent to haggle with the passersby. He was approached by Wirenose, a goblin who claimed to be able to smell copper wire, even through sheetrock. Wirenose wanted to go into the Champlain Mill, the one building in Winooski yet to be mined. No one would dare go with him because of the darkness of the place. Wirenose produced a coil of wire and gave it to Devon in exchange for Devon's promise to accompany him to the Mill the next day.
Anna and Spit found themselves confronted by Bugeater and his retinue. Bugeater began negotiations for opening up trade by demanding all of Burlington. Anna countered by offering simply to trade. Bugeater, ever the cunning merchant, agreed. This seemed to rankle Alan Paquette, who had taken a liking to the goblins. Alan saw them as no different than humans; they wanted to live peacefully and well. He expressed his concern to Spit, saying that he hoped that Burlington would consider giving the goblins protected land to farm, something he had hoped would be part of the evening's negotiations.
As the Fire Market came to a close, Bugeater offered hospitality to the expedition, which they accepted. They found themselves among the goblin elite, including a lively, funny storyteller called Nice Eyes. Devon got the group to agree to go with him to the Mill, except for Anna, who decided to return the next day to Burlington to speak with Lady Limoge about how to continue.
