"Gods?"

"Yeah, the Gods. Every once in a while a couple of them decide to do something immensely ridiculous in the name of faith, like start a racial war or world domination. It's like chess for them." Said the tree. The multi coloured vines whipped back and forth while it spoke, giving the illusion of gesturing arms.

"I wouldn't put it past them to do something like this. Usually their apostles tend to receive divine messages." The aura excluded thick sarcasm. "It wouldn't be so bad if it didn't always involve the burning and chopping of my friends. Religion."

Divine messages? I sure as heck would have appreciated something like that. At the very least there'd be a goal or directions from my current predicament.

"I haven't received anything like that though. Does that mean it wasn't one of them?" I asked.

"Nah, they're a fickle bunch and they move at their own pace, and prayers are mostly a one way street. Plus, there's always a chance you just haven't heard from them yet."

"If you're looking to talk to them properly though, then your best bet's to get strong or famous enough to warrant one of their attentions. Maybe bargain your way to an answer. Like I said, its always a game to them, and a strong apostle is always in demand." chirped the voice happily.

I watched as its leaves and vines swung left and right gently. Stronger? How strong could one get as a goblin though?

Flashes of purple fire and deafening explosions ran through my mind.

Perhaps.. magic?

As I contemplated the possibilities, the crunching of leaves and twigs nearby signaled the return of my goblin father. In his hands he held a small green snake, its head crushed to a pulp. He waved to me happily and I returned the greeting.

"Is that one of yours?" came the voice.

I grinned lightly and nodded.

"Yeah. My father in this world. Wouldn't have survived these past few days without him."

The tree was silent for a moment as its aura shifted.

Concern. Studying. Relief.

"He's got a gentle soul. Rare for this world, even more so for a green one." It said. A soft breeze blew through its branches, and a vine casually brushed Gro'Bur's face as though following the draft.

"Will you be leaving now then?" It added, a tinge of sadness in its voice.

Lonely. Fear. Worry.

As much as I'd like to stay here with the tree, if what it said was true then there wasn't any way for me to achieve what was necessary without venturing out and well, doing better.

"I'm afraid so. I need to get to my wife, and it'll be difficult to do so staying here. I promise to come back though, and repay my life debt." I replied. As I prepared to make my descent, a sudden thought struck me. Right before I drew back my magi-sense, I tried asking one last question.

"If you would be so kind, would I have the pleasure of knowing your name, oh great viney one?" I bowed in mock reverence.

Surprise. Elation. Longing.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

There was a moment's pause before magic slowly filled the air, and I could literally see the hairs on my arm prick up..

"Very well!" chuckled the child like voice. "Since you have promised to return, you are deserving of such an honor."

A gust of wind burst out from around the tree, sending every bird and insect nesting within its branches into a frenzy. I could almost taste the grandness contained in its imposing aura.

"My name is Ash'Kar, green one. Remember it well."

[https://i.ibb.co/9NqMSN8/goblin.png]

We made the trek back to our campsite with renewed vigor. On the way, we passed through where we had stashed the bear meat. The humans hadn't found it but unfortunately some of the other wildlife did.

Since the sacks were hastily tied up with torn bear skin, most of the meat had already been eaten. Fortunately, the toughness of the bear's scales did it credit.

A good portion of them had survived the scavenging, to which I cheered inwardly. Together with the thigh bones we had used for poles, we might yet produce something usable. A shame about the meat though.

Trudging along the river, we hid along the nearby bushes once again, just in case another turf war were to begin, though in the end, it was largely unnecessary. I did get in a few sips of the clear fresh water though. The uneasy feeling settled in my stomach pretty quickly this time round, which might mean that I was getting used to it.

Eventually, the familiar curtain of vines came into view. We had barely spent a night there but after the first feast, the place somehow felt like home. Drawing the vine curtain gave us a pretty good illusion of peace.

The moment we returned my father was already preparing to go bug hunting, no doubt looking to kickstart that same feast again. I appreciated him doing so, since there were many other things on my agenda that required attention, the fire being one of them.

Restarting it at the pit wasn't difficult, but it did consume a good portion of the time I had left for the day. Once the fire had reached a manageable size, I switched tasks to one I had been pushing back for awhile now: Gear.

It wasn't clear exactly how strong I'd have to get before I drew the attention of one of the Gods, but good equipment would probably help with that.

I decided on making a weapon first, since the hide on which the bear scales grew on was unevenly torn. That meant that unless I wanted to make a rudimentary blanket, I'd need some way to hold it all together. I intended to eventually thread several of the thinner vines through to make a homespun chest piece.

This required something sharp enough to pierce a hole through the scales without ruining the entire piece of skin. Nothing too fancy, but definitely something possible with what I had available to me.

Grabbing one of the two thigh bones, I began the laborious process of grinding it down to produce an edge. I had a good number of rocks available that could do the job, and if my stash ran out there were always more just a little further out the clearing.

Night had already come by the time Gro’Bur returned. Surprisingly, bugs weren't on the menu tonight. Instead, two bulbous looking creatures lay dead in his arms. Except for the two rows of sharp teeth jutting from their mouths, it wouldn't be a far cry to call them one a furry balloon.

I spotted numerous bite marks on Gro'Bur's forearm, but judging from the bright smile he carried they must not have hurt much.

"Son! Meat! Good father found dinner!", he chuckled. I watched in fascination as my father exploded into a wondrously wild jiggy. Throwing his hands around, his body sprang about like a panther in the dark. I laughed as he tumbled over and hit his head on a tree.

Quickly balancing several of the flatter rocks on top of the fire pit, I formed something of a makeshift grill. As the rocks heated up, the two of us began tearing off the soft white fur from the monsters, less they caught fire. Once prepared, I left Gro’Bur to watch the morsels roast while I returned to my tools.

As we waited for the meal to be cooked, the monotonous grind continued. Slivers of bone lay around my bare feet. Despite the tough rock and my recovered strength, the progress I made was akin to a caterpillar crawling up a tree.

Testament to its strength, the bone endured my efforts all the way through dinner. Well, at this point it was closer to supper. The meat from the balloons turned out to be delightfully stringy, the rubbery texture causing my teeth to itch. I bloody loved the taste. And it was clear from the chewing sounds my father made that he did too.

Oil dripped down my chin as I went back for seconds, and not for the first time I wished this world had spices like pepper and salt more readily available. Priorities for another time.

The meal reinvigorated me enough to return to my work, whereas Gro’Bur dropped down on to the torn fur. His head had barely touched the pile before he began snoring loudly. Flexing my aching arms, I sat down on a root and pulled the half-hewn bone to me. It was going to be a long night.