The next day, I had sent Gro’Bur out to scavenge for more food. With all of our supply eaten by the pig, it didn’t seem like there would be much of a choice. The beast itself had eventually gotten up. Once it noticed that there wasn’t any food remaining, it glared at us once and trotted away from the camp.
Despite the damage done to our food stock, the boar was frankly a little cute, in a burly sort of way. Even the way it trotted out made my goblin heart melt a little. Returning my attention to the projects at hand, I remembered that we would be going to see the river today. If Gro’Bur’s words could be believed, the place would be a hotbed of monsters, beasts and other whatnot. Even if we would just be taking a peek, it would be foolish to go there unarmed.
My attempt at a stonehead spear was a failure, so simple would have to do. Sharpening the end of the wooden branch to a point before heating the tip on the fire seemed to do the trick. The sharp end would hold, good for at least a stab or two. We’d have to make them count I guess. Hopefully the trip to the river would be uneventful enough not to require any fighting.
Gro’Bur entered the camp through the vine curtains, this time with a new delicacy to replace the ones we had lost: a fly as large as a rabbit, fat and shiny. A deep imprint of a hand had dug into its side, leaking the juices all over the ground. My disgust for the morsel had dropped a little, having eaten a bunch of them the night before. I absolutely wouldn’t touch it raw though.
After a good breakfast, the sun had risen high enough in the sky. We decided to finally make the trip to the river, with Gro’Bur in front of course. In the forest my father was clearly in his element, leaping off rocks and ledges like a well-trained monkey. It made me think that if goblins were so happy in the forest, why were so many of us sheltering within the cave?
The trek lasted what felt to be an hour, though in reality I doubted it even crossed half. Eventually sounds of running water hit my ears. Gro’Bur had suddenly crouched down low, even going so far as to pull me to the ground roughly. We crept to a thorny bush that pricked me in several unmentionable places, but did its job as good cover.
Inching my eyes above a couple of twigs, I spied on the stream. The crystal clear water sloshed about lazily, its height reaching to slightly above my ankles. We stayed in the bush for about an hour before I grew restless. There was no movement and no danger whatsoever.
I shifted uncomfortably. Gro’Bur’s hand remained clasped on top of my wrist. Last night’s food had recovered my strength to a reasonable level, but even that wasn’t enough to break free from his grip.
“Son, quiet. Watch only. Promised. ” whispered Gro’bur sternly. My retort died in my throat after realizing how serious he was. I didn’t really want to argue now, especially since he was the native here. If he really thought there was something dangerous enough to warrant the caution, then I supposed that was enough for me.
Soon enough, his wariness paid off. From the other side of the river came a large scaly beast, it’s jaws much like a crocodile, though it more closely resembled a bear than anything else. The monster lumbered towards the river, placing its elongated mouth on the surface before lapping the water.
The sun made the creature’s scales gleam in a myriad of different colors, each one reflecting beautifully off the water. As it sat there drinking from the stream, it was apparent that it wouldn’t be the only one.
A long-haired elk had also begun drinking from the water nearby. It’s neck stretched to an impossible length, while maintaining the monster’s balance easily.
Bellowing an enraged roar, the scaled bear lunged towards the elk, shaking the ground with every step it took.The monster then curled it’s freakishly long neck towards the bear, and I could see the lips on it’s mouth contort.
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An ear-piercing screech resounded across the area, forcing Gro’Bur and me to cover our ears in pain. Stopped in it’s tracks, the bear’s gait had turned drunk and unsteady, allowing the elk to get in one more hit. A full horned charge had caught the bear in the shoulder, cracking the silver scales and causing dark blood to leak into the river.
The powerful elk had rammed itself hard enough to cause the both of them to fly out of the river, colliding into a tree and goring the bear with its deceptively sharp antlers.
That seemed enough to take the bear out of the fight, the loser not rising again after the elk ceased it’s attack. With a haughty snort, the creature withdrew it’s antlers and strolled back to the same spot at the river, drinking again but now keeping its eyes on the fallen opponent.
After drinking it’s fill, the beast had finally galloped away. A few loose strands of reddish mane were all that remained of the battle. That and the corpse of the bear of course.
The two of us waited a while more for the creature to disappear completely. Eventually emerging from our hiding spot, Gro’Bur motioned to head back to the camp before I stopped him.
“Father, meat.” I pointed towards the bear. “Delicious, you waste?”
He shook his head sadly. “Danger son. Badlands come soon. Must waste” He looked longingly at the beast before walking off but I wasn't going to give up that easily. Great risk, greater rewards.
“Not all meat. Some. Only some. Please Father.” I replied, once again giving my trump card a go.
I was pretty sure my puppy dog eyes looked ugly as hell considering they came from a goblin, but with any luck they would work on my endearing father. There was a short pause as he weighed the scales, but from the drool dripping from his mouth, the answer was already set in stone. He nodded.
With a great deal of enthusiasm, we tore into the bear's prone corpse. The spear had broken off when we tried to enlarge the pierced wound in the corpse, so we had resorted to using our hands.
An uneven application of effort caused me to tumble into the rive; my first contact with water in this world. The coolness of the clear water rejuvenated my tired feet, making me feel like I had just woken up. Cupping my hands together, I gulped down some of the water greedily.
Fresh and revitalizing, it tasted nothing like the recycled tap water we had back on earth. As I was enjoying my first drink in two days, a sudden oddness struck the inside of my stomach. It wasn’t bad nor was it painful; just out of place and uneasy.
“Faster son. Badlands soon.” pressured Gro’Bur. His hands moved quickly, tearing into any exposed chunks of flesh with his claws and dropping them in the water.
I put the feeling at the back of my mind and focused on the task at hand. Since it seemed that our hands and claws were the only tools we had available to us, the entire process quickly became messy. Scoops and chunks of flesh were torn out, with many of the bear’s guts strewn across the riverside.
Eventually we had torn off as much as we could carry. My father had opted to lugging the flesh on the ground but I had a better idea. Our work had caused much of the beast’s skin to be torn off, allowing me to wrap a good amount of flesh within it. Then using its own thigh bone as a pole, I tied two grotesque sacks of bear flesh and silver scales on to each side like a morbid carrying pole.
The process did take time however, and the sun was beginning to set by the time we were done repeating the process. Gro’Bur was practically vibrating with fear as the evening light approached. The two of us were already racing through the wooded trees along the river.
“Must head back son. Hurry..! ” pleaded my father. In response I drove my already tired feet even faster, not even having the breath to reply.
The sound of a twig snapping nearby forced the two of us to hurriedly hide behind a fallen log. The uneasiness in my stomach suddenly flared up and I could feel it like a fire burning within. The feeling threatened to make me drop the carrying pole, but I held on by mustering as much willpower as I could.
Large shadows loomed across the ground beside us, elongated by the light from the evening sun. Every passing moment seemed to make them appear even more intimidating. As my eyes caught my father’s, I could hear him whisper softly.
“Badlands.”