if i could see your face once more

Summary: Goldie visits Duckburg for the very first time.

Word count: 5353

Warnings: None

1933; Duckburg -> Mongolia

After Ayer's Rock, Scrooge and Goldie continued to meet up every few months for another adventure or gold hunt or some other fun (twice there was a gap of more than a year thanks to Scrooge getting fed up with Goldie's thievery). They went to countries they'd never heard of, underwater civilizations, and even traveled to worlds outside their own.

Still, none of that quite compared to the exhilarating feeling in Goldie's chest when she stepped foot in Duckburg for the very first time.

It wasn't exactly a metropolitan paradise, but it was certainly a bustling city. By 1933, the population was at over a million people thanks to the booming oil industry. Southern Calisota as a whole was pretty popular thanks to so many movies being produced there, too. It was an interesting place to visit.

Goldie had hotels all over the world now. A dozen in the United States and at least one in (almost) every continent. But none in Duckburg. Not even one in the entire state of Calisota. Which got a lot of questions from her more involved employees and she didn't have a good answer for them. Why didn't she have a hotel in one of the biggest states that made a ridiculous amount of money specifically from tourism? It didn't make any sense.

So finally Goldie decided she would just go there. She would, of course, barge into Scrooge's home and rile him up a bit and see if he wanted to come with her on another treasure hunt. But that wasn't the main purpose of her trip.

On her way to Duckburg, Goldie wondered if Scrooge's home would be difficult to find. She never asked him his address and she didn't want to ask around town and potentially alert the locals to her presence.

Upon her arrival to Duckburg, Goldie realized she did not need to be concerned. There was a lonely mansion on top of the hill, facing a giant bin with a dollar sign on it. Who might that belong to, she thought with an eye roll.

She strolled through the city on her way there. It was...surprisingly nice. Especially considering the state of the country over the past few years. There was lots of variety in stores and restaurants. Really nice boutiques which she had every intention of visiting at some point. She couldn’t help but wonder how Scrooge was maintaining everything in his town while the rest of the country was losing all their money. He probably sold all his stocks before the crash. He was always good at predicting those sorts of things.

Goldie had so much savings from all her treasure hunting that she didn’t have to worry about money like most people did, but she was still a bit concerned about the state of her hotels. She wanted to open one up in Calisota, but obviously it wasn’t the right time. This economic downturn couldn’t last forever, so she’d just wait it out for a bit longer.

(And of course she wouldn’t say a word about it to Scrooge. It’d be hilarious to open a hotel in his own city and for him to take a decade to find out.)

She entertained the thought of him having a meltdown over that as she made her way to the front gate of his mansion. It was a very tall gate and led to a long, winding path up to the front door. Goldie shrugged and started climbing.

---

Ring the doorbell or climb in through one of the windows?

Goldie hummed quietly and considered her options, but ultimately decided on the door. Who knew what room she might end up in if she just hopped in all willy-nilly? Plus...well, she wanted the full experience of being a visitor to McDuck Manor. After this visit she could mix it up however she wanted.

She rang the doorbell and waited a moment, feeling every second pass by.

The door opened and Goldie was met with an unfamiliar face.

“Um...hello.”

“Hello, ma’am. How can I help you?”

“I’m...looking for Scrooge. Is he home?” She didn’t understand her own surprise. Why wouldn’t Scrooge have a butler? He lived alone in a gigantic house!

“And you are?”

Goldie put a hand on her hip. “Goldie.”

The butler’s eyes widened and she felt a surge of success. Looks like Scrooge had mentioned her once or twice around the house! Or at least enough times to leave an impact.

“...come in, Miss O’Gilt,” the butler said, turning to the side and motioning for Goldie to enter.

She was immediately drawn in by the extravagant decor and giant paintings and Goldie had to stop herself from touching everything. It wasn’t like she was in a museum, but it sure looked like one. Some kind of McDuck Museum, if she had to guess. There was even a giant painting of Scrooge during the Gold Rush that made her smile. He was such a narcissist. Though it was a bit irksome knowing that he’d never admit to that, she enjoyed what she was seeing.

Goldie turned as she heard Scrooge’s voice shouting from the top of the stairs. “Quackmore! Who’s at the d-?!”

They made eye contact and the butler - Quackmore, apparently - slid towards another room.

Goldie just smiled. “Hi, Scroogey.”

“G-G-...Goldie?!” Scrooge blurted out, trailing down the stairs roughly. “What do ye think you’re doin’ here?! Ye cannae steal anythin’ from my house!”

Goldie laughed and rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, can’t I just visit you?”

Scrooge glared at her and glanced around the room, taking inventory of everything around them just in case. “Someone else could. But not you. You’re always up to somethin’!”

She locked her hands behind her back and strolled towards some of the paintings, ignoring Scrooge as he placed himself between her and the valuables. “I might have another reason for being here. But I was curious about your place.” She looked towards where the butler was previously and wondered how much of their relationship he knew about. There was somehow a lot and barely anything to know. “Since you’ve never bothered to invite me, I thought it might be a dump.”

“I didnae invite ye because I dinnae want my things stolen!” Scrooge scowled. “Will ye just tell me why you’re here so ye can go somewhere else?”

Goldie frowned at his dismissal and held in a sigh. She wished her immediate presence didn’t bother him so much - she didn’t even do anything. He could at least be a little excited to see her. But whether he wanted her to or not, she had every intention of looking around his entire mansion and seeing what his money could buy. So she’d need a good reason to stick around, and there were a few ideas in the back of her mind.

She reached out and grabbed one of Scrooge’s hands, holding it gently in her own. “I thought we could spend some time together before then.”

Scrooge looked down at their hands and then back up at her face, visibly confused.

Goldie rolled her eyes. Weren’t they past this? He knew where they stood. “Are you busy right now?”

“...not particularly.”

“Then…” Goldie said, leaning her face closer to his. “...how about you show me to your room?”

His hand suddenly squeezed hers and Goldie knew where the afternoon was headed. Hopefully Scrooge’s butler knew when to stay downstairs.

---

---

She was laying on Scrooge’s chest - not an unusual position - but the soft bed underneath them made the experience feel very new. Goldie played with his chest feathers and enjoyed the feeling of Scrooge running his fingers through her hair.

“Big bed you got here, Moneybags,” she mumbled idly.

“Hmm,” Scrooge responded. “I s’pose.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you had a little wife somewhere.”

Scrooge let out a laugh and Goldie felt his chest rumble against her face. “Oh, please, O’Gilt! I’m not about to share my fortune with anyone else!”

She hummed. “Of course not. Can’t have someone stop you from becoming the richest man in the world, right?”

“Bah!” He combed through her hair some more and Goldie thought it was the most relaxing feeling in the entire world. “I’m close, Goldie. There’s only a few men ahead of me.”

Goldie rolled her eyes at his emphasis of men and decided it was time to sit up and look around. “Bathroom?”

Scrooge pointed his thumb towards the door they came in through. “Next door to the left.”

She crawled off of the bed - making sure to rub herself against him and give him another smooch as she did - and quickly put on her pants and top. Just in case the butler was nearby; she didn’t want to give him a show.

To Goldie’s surprise, Scrooge didn’t follow her to try and keep her from stealing everything in the hallway. She supposed there wasn’t too much there - he was probably still filling everything in since he had so much space in this giant home. She made a quick trip to the bathroom and then opened the door next to that one, peeking in to see what was inside.

Not much, she thought with a pout. After a few minutes of opening random doors, she came to realize that most of them were empty. Why did Scrooge have this giant house if he didn’t have any use for it?

Defeated, Goldie made her way back to the bedroom only to find Scrooge in the middle of getting dressed while talking to someone on the telephone by his bed. He did not sound happy.

“Yes, obviously ye should call the police!” he shouted. “I’m comin’ over there now, just hold on!” He slammed the phone back down and tugged his jacket sleeve on.

“Going somewhere?” Goldie asked.

Scrooge shook his head. “Just some local nuisances tryin’ to steal gold from my money bin. I’ll be back in thirty minutes!” he said as he walked past her.

“What, you’re leaving me here?” She raised an eyebrow curiously. “I thought you couldn’t trust me not to steal everything.”

“Thirty minutes, Goldie!” Scrooge shouted at her from down the hall. “Dinnae go anywhere, dinnae touch anythin’! I’ll be right back!”

She leaned against the door frame and watched him and his butler leave. Was the butler also his chauffeur? He probably didn’t pay the man enough for all that. But this was a nice opportunity for her to take a look around and have a nice time on her own.

The door slammed shut and Goldie immediately turned to really take in Scrooge’s bedroom. Scrooge’s bedroom was a weird thought to her - he always slept in tents or on the ground or talked about the bedroom he shared with his parents and how he never had his own space. This was certainly an upgrade.

She walked around and decided to nosily go through each drawer, curious what kind of clothes he kept. He seemed to be wearing the same suit and fedora every time she saw him, so the idea that he had a variety somewhere was interesting.

One drawer open. A robe. A few sweaters. Nothing particularly interesting. Second drawer was filled with pants. When did he ever wear pants? Third drawer contained a variety of scarves. Goldie hated that she found that kind of cute.

In the scarf drawer, Goldie’s eyes were drawn to a lump in the corner. She grabbed the scarf and was surprised to find a box underneath it.

Scrooge said not to touch anything, but what was she supposed to do when she saw a little box of secrets? Not open it?! That’d be insane.

She grabbed the box and brought it over to the bed with her, sitting down gracefully on the edge. Goldie was excited. It was probably just a secret stash of money for emergencies, but it felt familiar. Reminded her of a time before things between them were so...complicated. Though, if she was being honest with herself, were they ever uncomplicated?

The lock was an easy pick, nothing to it and no damage done. As Goldie slowly opened it up, her eyes sparkled.

It was gold.

Not just gold. The gold nugget. The one that started everything.

She put the box down next to her and grabbed the gold nugget, holding it in her hands like she did so many years before. It felt so different now. This thing used to be more money than she’d ever seen in her life, and now it was almost nothing. But it still felt like she was holding the entire world in her hands.

Goldie smiled softly, stuck on the fact that Scrooge kept this in a box in his bedroom. It’d been over thirty years since that first night. The nugget probably made him think of more than just them, but for Goldie it was the catalyst and she couldn’t help but wonder if he thought about her when he looked at it.

She placed the nugget down on the bed and glanced at what else was in the box. Some papers, it seemed. Deed to his claim in White Agony, deed to Duckburg. And one other envelope that she didn’t recognize.

In an instant, she had the paper open in front of her.

“What the…” Goldie blinked at what she saw. “...is this hair?”

She couldn’t contain her confusion at the sight of blonde locks tied up with a tiny little ribbon. Why would Scrooge have something like this? And in his box of super-important-things-from-the-Klondike, even. It didn’t make any-

Goldie’s thoughts froze. She picked up the little clump of hair and slowly held it up to her ponytail, gasping silently at the realization that it was hers.

She put everything back in the box and closed it up again. Why? Why would he just...keep some of her hair? And why wasn’t she completely disturbed by it? Instead, she felt her heart racing and her cheeks getting flushed. How could he manage to throw her off so significantly when he wasn’t even around?!

The box was staring at her and Goldie let out a frustrated sigh. She couldn’t help herself but think...what did this mean for them? Did it mean he loved her? What kind of man kept the hair of a woman he lusted-after-but-also-kind-of-hated in a box? Besides a serial killer.

Oh, God. What if Scrooge was a serial killer? Goldie laughed at the thought and put her head in her hands. What a stupid question. He was Scrooge. He probably loved her. She didn’t quite know what to do with that.

She wanted to love him. So, so badly she did. She kind of did. She did. But they didn’t work like that. Loving each other wouldn’t be enough.

But being alone in his home with this realization was striking her with a fantasy she’d tried to avoid having. Goldie put the box back where she’d found it and looked around his bedroom. What would it be like to marry Scrooge and move in with him? To look him in the eyes and tell him that she loved him and wanted to be with him forever?

Her cheeks turned even redder and she felt sweaty for absolutely no reason. Just the idea of saying all that to Scrooge was humiliating. It reminded her of that stupid drunken letter she wrote him years and years ago, the letter that one of the other girls added to the mail pile without her permission. But it didn’t matter, since Scrooge never got that letter. If he had, he would’ve said something. Something about her feelings or her inability to say what she meant. How could she begin to say what she meant? All she could think about was how he’d get angry and embarrassed and he’d accuse her of lying if she tried. It would be a mess. And he’d never say it back. He was too prideful, even if it was entirely true. Not to mention how he didn’t want to be married and he would never want to share his fortune with her.

Goldie leaned her back against the drawers and slid down to the floor. She didn’t even care about his fortune. Not really. Of course she loved gold and money, but she had plenty of her own. Would Scrooge ever believe that, though? Not for a second.

So no. They would never work. Even if he did love her and even if she loved him.

She sighed loudly and leaned her head back to stare up at the ceiling. Scrooge’s house was so nice. It was so fancy and clean and spacious. It felt like the house of a man with a huge family - a wife and twelve kids and some dogs, maybe. Scrooge said he didn’t want any of that, but then...why did he have a house like this? He could’ve gotten something smaller but just as extravagant. It didn’t make any sense.

With a frown, Goldie stood up and brushed invisible dirt off her pants. Maybe Scrooge was proof that someone could have too much money. He didn’t seem to know what to do with it all. And he was still treasure hunting all over the world, proving to everyone that his fortune could still get bigger. To what end?

She wandered back to his bed and laid down. They were in their 60s and neither particularly looked it. Maybe there was no end in sight. Scrooge wanted to be the richest man in the world, but what would he do after that? He didn’t spend time with his family. He didn’t have friends. He barely had her.

But who was she to talk? She didn’t have family or friends, either. All she had was Scrooge and some flimsy business relationships. She couldn’t even count the orphans as real parts of her life when she didn’t even know their names. And she didn’t have near as much money as Scrooge, but the wealth she’d amassed wasn’t anything to scoff at, either.

Goldie rolled around until she was laying on her back, her ponytail coming loose and hair spread out under her. This thought process was getting her nowhere. It was the same kind of circle she went in when she thought too much about her and Scrooge’s relationship. There was no real conclusion, no end game. There simply was.

The door downstairs opened up and Goldie sat up, her heart racing with excitement. She hated herself for it, but she was still thinking about the lock of her hair.

A minute later, Scrooge entered the bedroom, visibly happy to see Goldie in the same place he left her. “Nothin’ to worry about, just the Beagles.”

Goldie smiled at him and watched him strip off his suit jacket. “I have no idea what that means.”

“Not important,” Scrooge said with a shrug. “I’d much rather talk about-”

He was cut off by Goldie suddenly kissing him, her hands squeezing the sides of his face and holding his beak to hers. Scrooge sighed into the kiss and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. He kicked the bedroom door shut behind him and they started making their way towards the bed once again.

---

---

“The Gobi Desert?”

“Mhmm,” Goldie hummed.

“And what’s the treasure?”

“Genghis Khan’s gold.”

That caught his attention. Scrooge opened an eye and stared down at her eager face suspiciously. “...sounds promising.”

Goldie scooted up on the bed so she could lean against the headboard, ignoring Scrooge’s whine when she removed her warm body from his arms. “I have a contact that can meet us in Ulaanbaatar and can get us access to transportation...for a small fee.”

Scrooge scoffed. “So what? Ye asked me to join ye so I’d have to pay your small fee?”

She rolled her eyes and grabbed his glasses off his beak, putting them on her own and smiling down at him. “I asked you to join because I thought it’d be fun.”

Scrooge stared at her, a hopeful but nervous look in his eyes. “Uh-huh.”

“As a gesture of good faith, how about I pay for everything, hm?”

He closed his eyes for a moment and then pushed himself up to lean against the headboard next to her. “Alright, Goldie. But if ye leave me for dead again…” he said with his pointer finger in her face.

Goldie closed her hand around his finger and gently pushed it away from her beak. “So dramatic. You were fine. You’re Scrooge McDuck!”

Scrooge’s ego took over for a moment and he smirked, always happy to hear his reputation coming out of someone else’s mouth. “That is true…”

“Exactly. So stop whining about the past and let’s talk about Mongolia!”

---

Scrooge shivered and groaned as a chilly wind blew past the two adventurers. “I thought comin’ here in the winter would be easier!”

“Well that’s on you, Scroogey!” Goldie answered with another eye roll. “It’s not that bad. Not anywhere as cold as Dawson got.”

He jogged up next to her and cuddled himself inside his coat. “That doesnae change the fact that I’m freezin’ my tail feathers off out here!”

Goldie dramatically laid her hand on his arm. “Somehow I think you’ll make it.”

With a scoff, Scrooge turned around and walked back to their khulan, which was braying loudly. Goldie had tried to buy two, but Scrooge refused to watch her get scammed by some salesman and convinced her to just get the one...though that meant they’d been sharing it for the last few days. Sharing with Goldie O’Gilt was never an easy task, though the saved money made him feel better.

He did wish they had a second map, however. Goldie’s “contact” had drawn little details and marks all over hers and it would’ve been good to have a clean one for comparison. Realistically, though, his hands were probably too frozen and too stuffed in his oversized gloves to deal with repeatedly taking out a giant piece of paper just to make sure they weren’t being screwed.

“Remind me what we’re lookin’ for.” He reached for his water and chugged a bit more than he probably should have. He needed to be more careful about their rations - it was a six-day journey, at the least.

“According to Altan, we’ll know that we need to start going east when we find a clearing of rocks shaped like a heart. He said it’d be really obvious.”

“See it yet?”

“No,” Goldie said as she stuffed the map back into her bag. “So we keep moving south. Based on our current speed, I think we should be in Oyu Tolgoi within the next two or three days.”

“Oh?” Scrooge smiled happily. “That’s much sooner than I thought! How about we stop for the night an’ save our energy for tomorrow, then?”

She turned around and glared at him. “Huh? The sun is still up, sourdough. We should keep moving ‘til we can’t anymore.”

Ignoring her, Scrooge was already unpacking his sleeping bag and dragging it behind a large rock - it was the perfect size for blocking the sun when morning came. “Come on, Goldie, what’s the chance we find another spot this good?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “What’s wrong with sleeping on the donkey again?”

Scrooge groaned. “My back cannae take another night of that! Sleepin’ on him while you sleep on me isnae the luxury spa ye seem to think it is!”

Goldie huffed and turned around to look at the path they needed to continue down. Scrooge was right, there was definitely a lack of giant protective rocks for them to sleep under. But she was still frustrated. He’d been whining for their entire trip. Even though she paid for everything! She paid for their flight (even though he owned his own planes), she paid for their food and water, she paid for the khulan...and he had the gall to act like she was still stealing from him the entire time they’d been out.

For the first time in her life, Goldie wondered if Scrooge was just slowing her down. She wanted that gold very, very badly. Maybe he was just spoiled by all the treasure and money he already had. She had treasure and money, too, just not near as much as he did. But really...at the speed he was going, they’d be out in the desert for another week and die of thirst before they got there.

When she turned back around, Goldie found Scrooge half-asleep in his sleeping bag and stared at him with an open mouth. That was exceptionally quick. She glanced up to see the sun going down, which was a good indication for her to follow Scrooge’s lead...but she didn’t really care. She was annoyed. He didn’t even complain about being hungry before bed, which led her to believe he’d been snacking on their rations during the walk. She knew he was weak for free food, but hopefully he didn’t go crazy.

Goldie grabbed dinner out of her bag - some stale bread and raisins, delicious as ever. It was the same dinner she’d had for the last few days. But hey, once all that gold was in her pockets, she could buy herself a one-way ticket to the fanciest, most extravagant restaurant in the world if she wanted to!

After eating, she glanced at her own sleeping bag, still tied up on the khulan. God forbid Scrooge set hers up while he was taking care of his own. She huffed and stared into the darkness, but try as she might she could not make herself tired. It was too exciting to know about all the treasure that was waiting on the other side of the desert. And she knew there was gold there - Scrooge may have been suspicious, but she’d worked with Altan before and he’d never led her wrong. Probably because he knew he’d get a small percentage without having to do any of the dangerous work. Lucky guy.

An hour later and Goldie still wasn’t feeling tired at all. She inhaled the night’s atmosphere and looked down at Scrooge’s sleeping self. He really had been wasting her time for the entire trip. First he complained nonstop about needing to pee or how cold it was or did we bring enough water? and then he wanted them to take a break for the night when she had plenty of energy to keep moving?!

As much as she didn’t want to admit it, there was no denying the fact that Scrooge’s heart wasn’t in this trip. He’d gotten spoiled and she wasn’t about to humor him just because she lov-...had feelings for him. She wanted to head over to Peking after getting her treasure - both to meet Altan again and to see if there was available space for her to open another one of her hotels. She didn’t have unlimited time.

With a quiet sigh, Goldie walked over to his bag and pulled out a notebook and pen. He’d be mad about this - completely livid, if she had to guess - so the least she could do was leave him a note. Fortunately, she knew he’d be fine to get through the desert on his own. He was, after all, Scrooge McDuck.

Goldie finished writing and tucked the letter into his sleeping bag so he’d be sure to find it in the morning. He snorted obnoxiously in his sleep and Goldie hated herself for thinking it was cute.

She leaned down and kissed his cheek. “See you later, sourdough.”

Hopping on their previously shared khulan - one that’d been sleeping for the past two hours and seemed confused by being woken up - Goldie tossed a few things Scrooge would need out of their pack onto the ground around him, and then took off.

---

Scrooge started to wake up a few hours later when he felt a piece of paper stabbing right into the side of his neck. He groaned and rolled around to get away from it, but then the paper was stabbing into his back, instead. He thought about shuffling around a bit longer, but ultimately realized now was as good a time as any to wake up and get back to moving.

“You up, Goldie?” he mumbled.

The lack of response sent Scrooge into immediate panic mode. He quickly sat up and looked around to see the sun peeking out on the horizon and, well, just a few things missing: his partner, his ride, and most of his supplies. His eye twitched in anger and he snatched the piece of paper that had been harassing him all morning. It was a letter from Goldie. Of course it was. Scrooge adjusted his glasses on his beak and read it angrily.

Scrooge -

Got tired of sitting around. Looks like the gold is mine!

XOXO GG

He exhaled loudly and ground his teeth together. He knew this was going to happen. He did! Just because she stuck around through some of their adventures - very occasionally, overall he’d say it was about 75% leaving him behind and 25% sticking with him the whole way through - didn’t mean this was one of those times. He was a fool for thinking she might’ve changed just because she came to visit him in his home.

There was something about having sex with her in his bed and his home that made him feel like they had a real chance to...be something. Together. But once again, Goldie proved him wrong.

Scrooge looked around his sleeping bag. Besides the canteen of water and his own bag of coins and supplies, there wasn’t anything in his sights but sand, dirt, and more sand. He didn’t even have to check to know that she’d taken the map with her. Why wouldn’t she?

Luckily, Scrooge McDuck was the smartest, sharpest guy in the world. He’d gotten a glimpse of the map a few times so he racked his brain to see what details he could remember. There were definitely a few small villages on the map - maybe monasteries? - and he distinctly remembered one that wasn’t terribly far from the clearing of rocks that Goldie described. It was probably less than a day’s hike and once he was there, he’d have food and people and help to get back to civilization.

Scrooge rolled up the sleeping bag and stuffed it into his bag. There was plenty of room in there since Goldie left him with such a scarce amount of supplies. It was times like these when he wondered if she cared about him at all. Would she care if he died? She seemed to enjoy leaving him in the worst possible situations just to see what would happen. It felt like their whole relationship was just some ridiculous experiment into how much abuse a person could take before they’d stop walking back into it.

Another blast of cold wind blew by and Scrooge shivered, wrapping himself up properly in his coat. He sighed. Maybe that was harsh. She did leave him his bag and water, so clearly she didn’t want him dead. But her impatience was frustrating. She told him she invited him because it’d be fun. Then she just decided she wasn’t having fun anymore and left.

Pulling out his compass, Scrooge found south and quickly started moving again. The faster he walked, the faster he’d get out of the freezing desert and he could fly back to Calisota where it was warm and sunny year-round.

During the hours of walking by himself, Scrooge wondered when he would hear from Goldie again. The frustration raging in his chest made him hope it wasn’t for a long time. But she was lucky, he mused. If she’d backstabbed any other duck like this, they’d be dead and she’d be guilty (or would she?).

But he was Scrooge McDuck, so he’d be fine.

This chapter contains a rewrite of a previously written fic of mine, which you can find here if you're interested: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15243537

REAL HISTORY FACTS:
- I based Duckburg's growth off of LA 'cause why not
- It's 1933, so the "economic downturn" Goldie refers to is the Great Depression. As I'm sure is obvious, though the Depression destroyed so many lives - rich people just got richer during that time.
- "Altan" is a Mongolian name that means golden. 'Cause I'm so funny.
- I did a lot of research on Mongolia and the Gobi Desert. Once you read the name Ulaanbaatar enough times, you will never forget that it's the capital of Mongolia. Never!
- Oyu Tolgoi is a large copper/gold mine in the Gobi Desert.

DUCK FRANCHISE REFERENCES:
- Albert Quackmore is Scrooge's butler in the comics
- Comic!Scrooge always keeps a lock of Goldie's hair in a box somewhere 'cause he's a creep. He's a weirdo. But Goldie finds it romantic.
- Though they didn't really do it in DT17, the Beagle Boys in the comics and DT87 are just constantly trying to break into the Money Bin.
- This adventure is referenced by Scrooge in "The Golden Lagoon of White Agony Plains!"