Chapter 107:

Anton never thought he would be leading almost a thousand people through an unexplored and hostile land. But here he was. He rode near the front of the column of people as they manoeuvred through the mountain pass. Verona, Kal and Cetina, the only other people with horses, were spread out to try and keep everyone in line and from fighting each other. That hadn't happened yet but it was a serious concern. The Beast-kin were hardly impressed they discovered they would be travelling with Seocurians, even if they were just fisherman, not actual slavers. With some extra help from Kal's friends, it was interesting to see how much influence a single Drakeling had, they were kept behaved. The Seocurians, under the leadership of Ndale and Lerato, kept to the back. It seemed like the best idea. Though the Beast-kin didn't like the idea of Seocurians right behind them it was better than coming to a halt and the two groups running into each other. Then there would be chaos.

As they reached a crest in the stony path Cetina, who had ridden ahead, returned to the front of the column.

"How much further?" Anton asked. He looked down to the Beast-kin beside him, nearly all were keeping him in their sights. "The sooner we can spread out the better. Away from this grey."

"It's not that much further. After that little ridge, it's a gentle path to open grasslands. Is that what you were expecting?"

"No goblins hiding in wait for us?"

Cetina shrugged. "I couldn't see anything. Doesn't mean they aren't there though. There's all these small forests dotting the grasslands. Perhaps they're living in them?"

"They could be. This entire area was overrun by the little bastards...Any sign of any buildings? New or old. Even burnt ones?"

"There could be something in the north-west. Maybe. I'm not too sure." Cetina rubbed her eyepatch. "It's kind of hard to judge distances with this.

"When we get back to Atros I'll think of a way to get around that. Kal will be able to help as well. Right now we need to keep as much mana as possible. I know there must be a solution, and we’ll find it."

"Thank you." Cetina bowed her head and smiled. "It would be nice to see with both eyes again."

"I'll be glad when everyone's safe at Atros." Kal slinked right next to him. With her mask gone her face was once again exposed to the light and air, something she thoroughly enjoyed. "I don't want them out in the wilderness for long."

"Even though they've gone through hell and back I don't think they know how to survive out here like you do. Despite the horrors of the Seocurian Empire they did take care of them. Even if it was shittly." Anton looked at the large crates and barrels the Beast-kin were carrying. "And with this many more people I don't think we'll make it. Even with the extra supplies they brought."

The Seocurian fishermen carried their dried and salted fish over their shoulders in great bundles, the children the smaller baskets of fruit and skins of water. It looked to be a weeks’ worth of food at best.

Anton whipped his reins and followed the column. As Kal and Cetina followed he reached into a pack, scratching Luna on the way, and retrieved Cassius map of the Kar Kingdom. The intricately detailed map showed nearly all the important locations, most importantly where the cities and towns once lay.

"According to this." Anton looked at Kal who took the reins of his horse. "There should be a river right next to that burned city you saw."

"I didn't know if I saw a city." Cetina shrugged lightly. "But I can't see that well."

"The map says it's on the other side and comes down from the mountain...I wonder if that purple fog can leach into the water?"

"Let's hope not." Kal chuckled. "Otherwise we’re in a lot of trouble."

The front of the column began to slow. A few yells from Kal's friends and they continued but nowhere near as fast. They rode their horses to the front and saw what gave the Beast-kin pause. Lush green grass, rolling empty fields, extended as far as the eye could see, dotted by small forests and shrublands. A faint breeze blew from the south in a short burst, the grass bent in the waves with the wind. It was beautiful.

"Come on," Anton said loudly. "We've still got a long way to go yet."

A few Beast-kin returned disgruntled looks but the vast majority were still riding the high of being free for the first time in their lives.

How long will that last once we start trekking for weeks? I need to make a good impression now so they keep together.

"Where are we going?" Marion called out. She, Kristof and Rasha pushed their way through the crowds to him. "I can't see anything that looks like a city..."

"Still some ways away." Anton smiled and glanced at Kal. "But the place we are heading towards is very real."

Kal nodded furiously as a wide smile washed over her face.

"But for now I need everyone out of the pass. After that, I'll talk with the representatives of both sides, which means you three and Kal's friends from the Beast-kin, and show you where we are heading."

The Beast-kin spilt out of the pass and onto the sparse grass on the other side. Some burst into tears as they saw the near endless grasslands. Never before would they have seen such open and green fields. The Seocurian fishermen followed and moved to the other side. They didn't look so happy, many held odd looks for the Beast-kin's sudden outbursts of joy. Understandable when their home lay abandoned just behind, abandoned to become a nest for Goblins. Ndale and Lerato kept them moving and in order.

Verona parted from the rear of the Seocurian column and re-joined them, a bright smile on her face.

"How did it go? The Beast-kin didn't get into any trouble, did they?"

"No. They were fine. Could you please get Ndale and Lerato for me? Kal, could you get the Beast-kin? We need to have a little chat about what comes next."

Both girls nodded and sped off to their respective groups.

---[]---

A few minutes later everyone had assembled. Anton picked a spot between the two groups, a modest divide separated them where the Beast-kin nervously eyed off the increasingly sullen and despondent Seocurian fishermen. Despite the Beast-kin's ingrained hatred for their old masters, there were a few that gave them looks of pity. Anton hoped that could build into something more over the coming days. Anton coughed to focus himself. Everyone had dismounted and gathered around him. He beckoned Cetina to bring her horse close and use its side to rest the map upon. Her horse was not phased in the slightest, especially after Cetina rubbed its neck.

“Here’s the situation everyone,” Anton said as he unfurled the map. He held it high so everyone could see. “We are currently here, just the other side of Dragon Tooth Bay. Now, we need to get to here.”

He tapped just below the marker for Mount Aspire.

“Are you serious?” Marion asked, frowning as she looked at Kal.

“That’s where Atros is,” Kal said quietly. “And the only place where we can be free.”

“That’s a really long way.” Rasha shook her head and folded her arms. “Are you saying we have to cross an entire Kingdom?”

“Basically…Yes.” Anton smiled bitterly. “There’s no other option.”

“But this place is supposed to be full of Goblins and other things.” Ulyaa shuffled her spider legs. She stood slightly lower than everyone else, except for Verona, but Anton could see that she was simply resting and could easily reach Rasha’s height if she wanted to. “You can’t honestly expect us to make it that far.”

“And most of our people are weak and tired,” Lerato added. “Most of your…kind look like they’re pretty tough but we’ve got lots of children and the elderly with us.” Lerato held her children tight. “And they can only move so fast.”

“I understand that.” Anton looked at the map again. “But that’s what we have to face right now. There’s no other way to Atros…So we have no choice but to get through it as fast as possible. We’ve done the trip before. Once along this old road to Graterious and then through the Empire. All things considered, it was pretty safe.”

“That was on horseback,” Verona added very quietly.

“Yes, it was.”

“How long did that take?” Irso asked, her voice echoing and crackling with each word.

“Quite a few days. And we were riding pretty fast, from dawn till dusk basically. So it’ll take a lot longer on foot. I’m thinking fifteen or twenty days, depending on how fast we can go.”

“How long?” Marion asked exasperatedly.

“Fifteen to twenty days,” Anton replied, fully understanding that she had heard him clearly.

Marion looked at both sitting groups, then at the food and water they held between them. The others looked and came to the same conclusion. There simply wasn’t enough to go around. Ndale and Lerato quickly started to look very nervous but Anton cut off any thoughts that might be bubbling away.

“That won’t be a problem.” Anton took the map off Cetina’s horse and brought it closer to them. “This map shows the rivers and streams that cover the Kingdom. We’ll be able to get water and maybe some fish there…Are…Are there some Beast-kin that don’t eat meat?”

Rasha and Kristof raised their hands.

“We don’t eat meat,” Kristof said. He looked at Rasha who nodded. “It makes us feel bloated and sick. We just can’t eat it.”

“Maybe some eggs.” Rasha offered. “One or two a day I could handle but that’s it.”

“So what do you guys normally eat?” Anton asked.

“Fruits and vegetables mostly. Lots of vegetables…” Rasha frowned. “That’s going to be a problem. Isn’t it?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Rasha and Kristof raised a brow as Anton turned to Kal. “While I don’t know much about what might be edible or not, we have someone that’s spent the last twenty years living off the land and knows what’s edible.”

“Years?” Ndale asked.

Anton didn’t acknowledge his slip and continued. “We’re going to need your help to stretch our supplies. Things like those mushrooms and wild fruits and berries. Everything that can be eaten we’re going to need.”

Kal smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll do my best.”

Marion gave Anton a look, she didn’t like him sending her daughter off as a forager but he ignored it.

“So that will help stretch those supplies a little.” Anton mused. “Everyone’s going to be eating quite lean until we reach Atros. Right…Any questions?”

Everyone appeared a little dazed and confused. Slowly Irso raised her hand.

“So which way are we going? Are we heading straight towards this Atros of yours?” Irso stepped through the group and tapped the paper with her clawed finger. “How many Goblins and other things are going to get in our way? Even Beast-kin slaves know that the Kar Kingdom is gone and infested with the things.”

“Well, if I’m honest, there could be a lot.” Irso returned to her earlier position while the others looked very concerned. “On the road we took to get to Graterious we only passed one village, a small one that didn’t even have a name on any map. And that had a lot of Black Goblins lurking in it. I’m guessing that the ruins will be the same and simply teeming with Goblins. And I don’t want to fight them if possible.”

“So the plan…”

“Right. We head back to the road we took and follow it back to Atros.” Anton held the map against Cetina’s horse again. “If we take a line...we’ll have to pass through that city to the North West, but otherwise we can head straight back to the road and back to Atros.”

“Why not just head straight north until we reach the road?” Ndale asked. “Follow the mountain and then join that road. Seems like it might be safer. We don’t have that many weapons…And they’re just fishing spears and pitchforks.”

“Those will be more than enough against goblins. But will the four of us there won’t be a problem dealing with the Goblins. Verona and I can use very powerful magic, Kal’s a crack shot with a bow and Cetina’s an expert with a sword and shield.”

“That’s still only four defending hundreds.” Marion frowned faintly.

“You haven’t seen him when he’s serious.” Verona smiled and folded her arms. “In one attack he killed almost ten thousand Clansmen and Orcs.”

Everyone except Kal and Verona’s jaws dropped.

“And then he still fought.” Verona chuckled.

“Well…” Anton faintly smiled. “I think I’ve gotten better since then.”

“What are you people?” Lerato asked, hiding her disbelief.

Anton laughed. “We get that a bit. But there’ll be time to explain on the trip. But we can’t just head north to the road.”

“What’s wrong?”

I don’t think we should tell them about the crystal chasm that runs the border. Doubly so since we might have caused the Goblins in the chasm to go crazy when we crossed. And we don’t know how many Goblins are lurking there now. Could be more than we can handle.

“The purple crystals that burst through that mountain would be here.” Anton tapped on the map. “And we really should not be heading anywhere near that. So, we’ll head through the city to the North-West and keep moving parallel to that until we reach the road and then straight to Atros.”

Anton looked towards the ruined city. He quickly chanted a vision enchantment prayer. He could see things moving amongst the blackened and ruined city. The stooped gait meant one thing. Goblins. Not many, perhaps a few dozen at most, but there were likely many more hiding in the buildings. They could bypass the city but he didn’t like the idea of having a nest of Goblins lurking behind them. It would also be a good opportunity to show off their power and ability, just in case someone was thinking of doing something stupid. Just like with Virgil in Graterious…

“It’ll be fine.” Anton smiled and looked at Verona and Kal. “I just want to know, before we go any further, how good are Beast-kin at fighting something like Goblins?”

“We’ve never had to fight.” Marion began. “Or had the opportunity. The masters don’t want slaves that can fight. I guess one of the few good things about being a slave was that we never had to deal with them.”

“But they were still there?”

“Oh yes. Not that many of them though. The Seocurians…” Marion’s eye trailed to Ndale and Lerato before snapping back to Anton. “They have large patrol’s that scour the land and slaughter every goblin they can find...Honestly, I thought that they would be the ones to find Kal. They are very good at finding them.”

“Right…In that case, you’ll want to keep as far away from them as possible. Spears, or just pointed wooden sticks, would do for now.” Anton nodded to the burned northwestern city. “There still might be weapons there. We’ve found quite a few good things hoarded by Goblins before.”

“We can fight.” Rasha thumped her chest with her fist. “At least I can.”

“Because you’re all muscle.” Irso snidely added. “And not much else…”

Irso frowned at Rasha’s immense chest and held back a snarl. Rasha frowned and looked down to the Drakeling. “You can fight too. I know that your claws can easily tear through leather. Like when that Canine tried to grope you and you damn near lost your mind-”

“How do you know about that?” Irso flushed lightly. “That was…”

Irso barred her large teeth and stomped and kicked on the grass, small green leaves flying into the air. Everyone took a step back and let Irso vent her anger in peace. Finally, Eider and Ulyaa stepped forward and held Irso’s shoulders. Her anger filled eyes snapped to her two friends before softening to normal.

Irso hung her head low when she returned to her previous position. “Sorry. My anger can get the better of me sometimes.”

Anton glanced at Rasha. She smiled weakly and tried to shrink her form, despite that being all but impossible.

“But…” Irso clicked her neck. “Rasha is right. If I needed to I could tear apart something like a Goblins…Or a Canine that decided to put his hands where it didn’t belong.”

I bet he didn’t do that again. If he survived…

“What about you, Eider and Ulyaa. Can you fight?”

Eider looked at her claws. “I suppose so. My claws aren’t as sharp as Irso’s but I’m sure they would hurt.” A nervous expression washed over her scaled face. “But I don’t really want to fight them. I’ve never killed something in my life. It sounds…scary.”

“I don’t want you to fight but just be ready to, just in case. You need to be ready to defend yourself.”

“I won’t be much help,” Ulyaa said. “I don’t have claws or the strength that Rasha, Kristof or even Marion has. Maybe if I had one of those spears…”

“I take it you can’t make your thread fast enough for it to be a weapon?”

“No. But I don’t see how it could be a weapon. It’s strong but…”

“I was thinking something like a lasso.” Anton shrugged. “But it is asking a bit much for you to know how to do that right after being able to make silk again.”

“What’s a lasso?” Ulyaa cocked her head. Verona and Kal looked oddly at him as well.

“Don’t worry about it. But, despite what I’ve just said, I don’t want you to fight the Goblins by yourselves. They’re not something you should fight without some experience.”

“Which most of you don’t.” Kal quietly added. “After coming all this way I don’t want any of you to die from a Goblin.”

“Are they really that dangerous?” Rasha asked, resting her body on her stick. She looked at Ndale and Lerato. “I mean, I know they destroyed your village but there were a lot of them. But they’re so small compared to someone like me. I’ve never fought them before but they can’t be that much of a problem one on one…Can they?”

“They aren’t big or that strong but they can be very crafty.” Anton began. “But yes, you could easily kill them with just that stick. You, Kristof and any of the bigger Beast-kin. I’m sure that I could do it even.”

“So what’s the problem?” Rasha looked to the Seocurians. “Apart from them just overwhelming you?”

“Well…” Anton scratched his chin. “It’s just that. They’re never alone. I am a little worried about them climbing over you and stabbing you in the neck or something.”

“They can do that?” Rasha’s and Kristoff’s hands gripped tight on their sticks.

“Probably. You’re big enough that they can’t just leap up and kill you. But they would get onto your legs no problem and clamber up. The last thing I want to see is you have those things crawling around your neck while you’re trying to throw them off.”

One of Rashsa’s blue hands reached for her throat.

“Kal and I can heal just about any wound. But not if you’re dead. That’s something beyond Tethra’s power.”

“I’ll…I’ll…” Rasha simply trailed off.

“Don’t worry too much.” Anton smiled at Rasha. “And that goes for all of you too. Just stay together, never get separated and let us do the fighting.”

“That isn’t so bad then.” Rasha quietly mumbled. Irso, Eider and Lerato nodded in agreement.

Anton clapped his hands loud enough to attract everyone’s attention. “With that sorted, we should get moving right now. We aren’t going to get to Atros just by standing around, talking.”

“Do we want to keep both groups separate?” Verona asked. She looked between the Seocurians and the Beast-kin. “You guys won’t be getting along any time soon.”

Marion and Ndale locked eyes for a moment.

“I think it would be best if we moved as a group.” Marion began. “With the Beast-kin on one side and the Seocurian…fishermen on the other side. And you four in the middle on your horses.”

“Do any of you Beast-kin want some spears?” Ndale asked. “I’m sure we could spare a few.”

Marion shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. We-”

A deep rumble stopped everyone. Anton felt his blood run cold, Verona and Kal reached for him, as lightning echoed from far away to the south. Immediately his mind flung himself back to Fort Acidava; the red lightning swarming in the sky and the Demons that burst forth. He forced himself to focus. Kal, nor any of the Beast-kin, had acted strangely just before. Rather everyone looked oddly at them, and at Cetina who had drawn her sword, as they looked to the south. Dark clouds loomed at the very edge of the horizon. Every few seconds a flash of blue lightning rippled through the clouds but none struck the ground. The air underneath was grey and hazy from a significant downpour of rain. Anton grimaced as he watched the storm clouds. It was clearly coming towards them at a reasonable speed.

“A storm…Only the second one I’ve been through.” Anton turned to Verona and Kal. “How bad do you think it’ll be?”

“The ones from the south last for a few days,” Verona said. “It looks bad but I’m guessing that it won’t last that long.”

“By the morning it should be gone.” Kal looked at Anton. “But there’s going to be lots of lightning. And I’m still not comfortable with that.”

Marion winced and looked away, Eider and Ulyaa looked at her but she gave no answer.

“Hopefully it’ll only last a day but I don’t want to be out in any of it. Rain soaked clothes…or fur isn’t what I call a good time. That means we’re going to have to take refuge in the city until the storm passes. Which means we’ll be fighting.”

The idea they would actually fight made them all very nervous.

“But, as I said, we’ll be doing the fighting so you guys just hang back and let us handle it.” Anton clapped his hands again. “Tell everyone to get ready to move out. We won’t have long before the storm hits us.”

Everyone gave a nod and returned to their respective groups, except for Marion. Her fingers fidgeted with each other as she nervously approached Anton.

“Please keep Kal safe.”

“I will,” Anton replied. “We’re going to play it safe and lure the Goblins out of the city rather than search the buildings. All we need to do is make some noise and they’ll come running straight at us.”

“Okay…” Marion scrunched her eyes.

Kal gave her mother a deep hug. “I’ll be fine, mother. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to do something like this.”

Marion wasn’t entirely convinced but still gave a final nod before returning to the Beast-kin. When she was out of hearing range Verona moved very close.

“How long do you think this is going to work before we have some sort of fight?”

“Hopefully it won’t get that bad. But…The moment the food starts to get low they’ll turn on each other.” Anton sighed. “In future we won’t be able to make this journey. It’s just too risky. We need to make that portal I was talking about in Porswea. Then we won’t have to cross this open and dangerous land.”

“But…”

“But we can’t fix that now.” Anton walked and took the reins of his horse. “We’re just going to have to do this the old-fashioned way. The long way.”

---[]---

The storm clouds and rolling thunder was barely half an hour away when they neared the perimeter of the city. It was a modest city, probably as large as Atros when they left, but had clearly gone through a lot. The wooden walls were almost all burned down, there were more gaps than wall, but the buildings in the centre of the city remained relatively intact. Most importantly the rooves still looked to be in one piece. Even if there were a few holes it was better than being outside and exposed to the elements, especially if the storm lasted more than a few minutes.

Anton pulled hard on the reins to stop his horse. Verona, Kal and Cetina stopped beside him while the Seocurians and Beast-kin stood some meters behind them. A few Goblins had been spotted lurking in the grass, trying to stalk them, which upset and deeply disturbed the Beast-kin and Seocurian’s as they kept a nervous eye on them. It was the way the Goblins kept them in their sights, slunk low through the grass but clearly didn’t care they knew they could be seen. Kal fired a normal arrow and scared them off but it was enough to let everyone know that the threat was very real.

A few Goblins, yellow and green, peered around the burnt sections of the wall but didn’t try to attack them yet. Instead, they began chittering and chattering as more Goblins slowly came to the front.

“I’m going to need your hand.” Verona slyly said.

Anton didn’t hesitate as Verona took the blood. She didn’t look back, just in case someone saw her red eyes, but there was no way they couldn’t see the few parts of her exposed skin glowing red. When Anton turned back nearly everyone looked shocked.

“Right,” Verona mumbled. “Didn’t tell them what I am. Not that it would really prepare them.” She sighed as she ran a hand through her silver hair. “Can’t wait to have to explain it all again.”

Anton leant over and kissed her, one she readily accepted. They dismounted as the representatives came up to his side.

“How many are there?” Marion asked.

“Couple hundred,” Lerato replied. “At least. You think you can fight all of those at once?”

Anton nodded. “Yes. It won’t be a problem. The only problem will be that some might try and flee once we attack. And we can’t use our magic when we’re asleep.”

“Right.” Marion nodded and looked at Lerato. “I guess we’re stuck sleeping together tonight.”

Lerato laughed. “I don’t have a problem with that. Some of you Beast-kin seem quite sexy.”

“Mine’s taken.” Marion’s clawed feet gripped hard into the grass.

She looked back to Kristof. He smiled and held her arm. Anton knew that he had been staring at Lerato just a moment before.

“We should focus on what’s in front of us.” Irso pointed to the wall. “There’s a lot more of them while you’ve been chatting.”

“Oh no…” Eider shied away behind Rasha, who looked down blankly at the Cobra.

Almost four hundred Goblins, a few Black’s amongst them, were lurking around the broken wall. All held the sneering and hateful look Anton had always seen in their kind. Why they weren’t attacking was a mystery.

“Let’s get this over with…Do you think that the wood can be burned again?”

“Let’s not find out.” Kal smiled and nocked a lightning arrow. “I don’t want to be sleeping in the rain again. Shivering and trying to keep warm. That’s not fun.”

Kal loosed her arrow into the Goblins. The lightning arced through them, killing dozens and stunning the rest. Marion stepped forward and looked at her daughter. Kal turned back and smiled as she readied another arrow. Marion frowned and retreated to the others, standing very close to Kristof and his large stick. Kal’s friends moved close to Rasha, despite their previous relationship.

The Goblins, as ever, couldn’t stand being on the receiving end of an assault. A loud screech rang throughout the city as the Goblins began to pour out. The Beast-kin and Seocurian’s backed away and those with weapons shakily held them at the ready. Evidently, the Seocurians hadn’t faced this many at once. Verona glowed red and summoned her blood crystals over her head while Cetina drew her sword and moved closer to Anton and Kal. They waited until the Goblins had committed themselves to the assault before attacking. It didn’t last long. Anton unleased a wave of lightning bombs, Kal a flurry of lightning arrows and Verona her blood shards. The Goblins disintegrated before their very eyes into red giblets. Those at the back realised they couldn’t win and ran away. Anton threw dozens of lightning bolts and Kal chased them with arrows. Less than five made it back inside the broken walls.

When Anton turned back he was greeted with faces filled with unimaginable terror. Three people had just destroyed a horde of Goblins with barely any effort and there was still one that had done nothing. No one spoke until Lerato’s two children cheered.

“That was awesome!” Seumas and Lili yelled in unison.

Lerato was shocked by their outburst, pulled them back a little, but her face slowly changed to mirror theirs.

“What was that?” Ulyaa asked, peering around from behind Rasha’s large form. “Was that lightning? Did Kal just use lightning? And what did Verona just do?”

“That was the power of Stratos, God of Storms.” Anton began. “Kal used the magic of Tethra to make lightning arrows and Verona-”

Verona patted his arm as she withdrew the blood crystals to float above her head. “I should probably be the one to do this part.” Verona took a deep breath. “And I am a Blood Berserker.”

The Seocurian’s looked on blankly, perhaps a little confused by the use of the word blood, but many of the Beast-kin knew what she was.

“But.” Verona raised her hand. “I’m not like the others. I’m not crazy and constantly desiring to kill people. I’m perfectly normal…except for the fact that I glow when I use my powers.”

“I’ve heard a bit about them.” Marion kept close to Kristof, who was more surprised than she was. “Sometimes the Seocurian’s talk about them. But they’re mostly from the Clans…”

Verona sighed dramatically. “My ancestors are from there. Apparently. About two or three generations ago. But I’m not one of them.”

“Not that I haven’t had to deal with that a lot already…” Verona mumbled under her breath.

“Right…”

Another rumble of lightning caught Anton’s attention. The storm had overtaken the mountain pass. It wouldn’t be long before it reached them.

Anton started to wave them forward. “Everyone start moving into the city. Stay close and keep an eye out for any Goblins. If you see any point them out but don’t pursue. We don’t want something to happen to any of you now.”

Slowly the Beast-kin and Seocurian’s advanced into the city. Deliberate steps were taken to avoid the blood and fleshy remains but it was exceedingly difficult to avoid them all. Anton and the girls mounted their horses and rode ahead of the main group. They kept their weapons ready just in case. Once inside Anton was oddly surprised. Despite the city clearly having fallen to the Goblins it didn’t look that bad. Most of the central buildings were relatively intact, baring the obvious fire that had swept through, but it was leagues better than the small village they found along the old road.

“Now that we’re actually here it doesn’t look that old, does it?” Anton asked aloud.

“No.” Kal reached out and touched the burnt walls. She sniffed the black soot that came off. “It’s weak but it still smells of smoke. This is recent...As recent as a few winters ago.”

“Not forty?”

“I don’t think so. I could be wrong but I’m sure this is relatively recent.”

“That means this place was still alive and going before you turned up,” Verona said quietly. “And I thought that we were the only people left in the Kingdom. At least that’s what my parents always told me.”

Anton shook his head as he continued to ride forward. “It’s a real shame. But there’s not much we can do to help them now. If there are this many Goblins I doubt they’re still alive.”

“If we find the bodies we should give them a proper burial,” Verona said. “Not just a hole to dump it in.”

“If we do we will.”

Anton kept watch for any movement as they rode towards the largest building. He didn’t know what it was originally, perhaps a storage warehouse, but it was the largest building and in the best condition. The warehouse appeared to have multiple levels but he didn’t want some of the larger Beast-kin, like Rasha, Kristof or even Ulyaa, up there just in case. It was more than large enough to hold everyone on the first level if they were willing to bunch up.

“Found one.” Kal loosed an arrow.

It struck a solitary fleeing Yellow Goblins in the back. It didn’t explode in lightning or flame, the Goblin simply fell dead. Anton looked around but couldn’t see any more of the little critters. Anton motioned for them to stop and wait. They waited a few moments and Kal killed four more Goblins. They looked mainly confused or scared but once they spotted them the anger welled up within them. Anton waved the group to slow down, just in case there were more, but it seemed all the Goblins were dead.

“That should be the last of them,” Anton said. “We’re going to stop for the night in this old warehouse. Everyone make sure that you stick together and always have a weapon with you. The Goblins will tear you to shreds if they get the chance. Or worse.”

They dismounted and approached the warehouse. One of the wooden doors had been broken off. Cetina clanged her sword loudly on her shield, the sharp noise echoed throughout the building. Nothing came out.

“I think it’s good.” Cetina glanced back with a faint smile.

“We’ll still need to be on guard, just in case something’s lurking inside.”

Cetina nodded and entered first with her shield raised. Verona followed, then Anton and Kal. The interior was almost completely barren; the wooden windows had been broken, a few sections of wall were missing and broken crates littered the floor. A rickety staircase, nestled in the far corner, led upstairs. The upstairs floor, their roof, had many holes but what lay above was shrouded in darkness. But for what they needed from this building it was perfect.

“We just need to do a little cleaning and then we’ll be good.” Verona nodded to the far side of the room to a table that was only partially burned. “That table…You still need to contact Atros before we go to sleep. Let them know we’re coming.”

“And with a lot more people than we thought we would.” Anton pursed his lips. “I hope Zac’s been busy.”

“If not he’s going to be.” Kal smiled warmly.

Marion and Kristof entered first.

“It’s not too bad,” Marion smirked lightly. “We’ve had to sleep in worse places. Right, Kristof?”

“Yeah. Like the days after the riots.”

“Yeah…” Marion looked away.

I want to know what happened when Kal was thrown from the walls of Danafra. Kal hasn’t told me what happened before that, I don’t think she even knows what happened. But I want to know. Especially since I’m married to her.

“After we clean this place up we’ll have lots of room to sleep…” Anton looked around the floor. “Though you might have to get pretty cosy for tonight.”

“Not worried about that.” Marion smiled at Kristof.

They entered the warehouse, followed by a small stream of Beast-kin, and began to rearrange the rubble. When the Seocurians began to enter the Beast-kin had already finished using the discarded wood from the crates to crudely patch the gaps in the warehouse's walls. It clearly wasn’t the first time they had done something like this.

Marion caught his eye. “We always have to make do with what we have. And normally that’s not a lot.”

“It’ll keep out the spray.” Anton nodded as he lightly pulled on the wood. It felt pretty solid. “And the Goblins.”

“Should we bring the horses in?” Cetina asked from the open door. “The rain is almost on us.”

“Bring them in. We may need to head upstairs to see if we can patch any of the holes.”

Cetina and Kal brought their horses inside and directed them to sit just inside the door. They didn’t look too happy resting on the burned wood but eventually they complied with their instructions. Kal picked Luna out of her pack and let her loose. Luna ran outside for a moment before returning to Kal’s side. She gave her a quick scratch before Luna began to sniff at everyone. Most seemed rather enamoured by the small Peryton and looked to Anton to see if it was alright to pat her. Luna looked delighted to receive near unlimited attention.

Anton motioned for them to gather around the table.

“How long until the rain gets here?” Anton asked Cetina.

“Not long.” A loud rumble of lightning echoed through the warehouse. “It’s probably over us right now.”

“I think we should check the upper levels. Just in case there’s something valuable hidden up there. Or anything dangerous hiding from the storm.”

“Last time we got clothes.” Verona frowned lightly. “And that journal…I wonder if that man found his way here? That noble guy from the old Kar Kingdom.”

“I think he died in the end. Him and everyone else in that place that he fled to. Balefire Mine. I guess it’s just like this place now. The Seocurian fishermen seemed to be the other people that Nithroel was speaking about.”

“What clothes?” Cetina asked. “You were wearing pretty simple armour when I first met you.”

Verona explained what they found in the small nameless village on their journey to Graterious. She appeared quite interested that the chest had revealed a decent haul of good clothes and the mysterious journal.

“Excuse me…” Marion’s voice brought Verona’s story, already deviating to the types of food Kal was capable of cooking, to a halt.

“What’s up?” Anton smiled as he lent against the table. “I know this is pretty bad but it’s the best we can do right now.”

Marion smiled. “It’s not that, Anton. Just…Even in Seocuria, we had some blankets. And we don’t have any. And…” She looked to the Seocurians, specifically Lerato trying to raise the spirits of her children and Ndale keeping his people together. “I don’t think they have anything like that either. They had to leave their homes in a rush and really only took food and water. And what they’re carrying right now.”

“We’ve got packs…” Anton looked at the floor above them. “If this is a warehouse there might be something we could use. It might be burned but it’ll be better than nothing.”

“Thanks. I don’t want anyone to get cold. Even the Seocurians.”

“Verona, Kal. Could you come with me and check out the upper levels. Cetina, I want you down here, just in case something goes wrong. Someone needs to stay here that can fight well.”

Cetina rested her hand on the pommel of her sword. “Got it. I’ll keep an eye on things.”

“We can fight,” Rasha said loudly. She had chosen a spot relatively close by and raised her wooden stick above her head, nearly taking out a nearby Beast-kin and a Seocurian.

“I think Anton means something a bit more than just waving a stick about.” Cetina almost smirked.

Rasha blinked blankly before her blue face contorted into a frown. “That’s what it is, isn’t it? I’ve watched the Seocurians practice a few times. They just thrust and smash their sword about until the target is dead. Isn’t that right?”

Cetina chuckled. “There’s a bit more to it than that. I didn’t have the best training but there’s so much more to fighting than that.”

“Really?” Rasha’s voice was flat and devoid of emotion.

“If I were to block or parry your strike then what would you do? You’d be exposed to my next attack.” Cetina scratched her head. “There is quite a bit to learn. And strength alone isn’t enough.”

“I’ve bonked a few Seocurians and Beast-kin on the head hard enough that they have trouble moving for a long time.”

Anton raised his hand. “Rasha, while I appreciate your enthusiasm there is more to fighting than just swinging a stick about. Though with your strength it should be enough. ”Rasha’s face brightened a little. “But you will listen to Cetina’s orders if something goes wrong. Out of all of us, she has the most combat experience…in melee, at least.”

“I-”

“And, if I’m honest, we’re all a little bit stressed, myself included. So please just take a deep breath before you say or do anything. There’ll be plenty of time to relax and unwind when we make it to Atros.”

“Okay.” Rasha nodded slowly. She turned to Cetina. “Sorry.”

Cetina waved her down with her free hand. Everyone was on edge right now.

Another rumble of thunder told him they were minutes away from a great deluge of rain. They couldn’t waste any more time.

“We’ll be back soon,” Anton said as he motioned towards the staircase.

“Ha Ha.” Irso, sitting a few meters away, chuckled with her crackling voice. “You just got told off. That’s a first, isn’t it? Most of the time you can just bully your way out, huh?”

Rasha didn’t respond and looked away.

---[]---

The stairs were almost completely rotten. Each step felt as if it would their last and would simply disintegrate into dust beneath them. However it held Anton, the heaviest of the three, and they made it to the second level. While the Goblins had cleared out the bottom level this was in far better condition. Most of the wood still had fire damage but there were some crates that were in one piece. Whether or not they had been looted or not was another story entirely.

Kal gingerly stepped forward first, pressing a hand on Anton’s chest to hold him back, and tentatively stepped on the wood. It didn’t groan or shift underneath her weight. After a few light jumps she seemed confident in the strength of the floor and beckoned for Anton and Verona to follow. Anton caught a sly look from Verona as they approached the crates on the far side of the room. There were quite a few small gaps in the floor, more than big enough for a foot. Anton led Verona after Kal, Verona almost slipped into one. It wouldn’t have been large enough for her to fall through but it would create a scene to see Verona’s leg dangling through the roof.

“Any symbols on them?” Anton asked. “So we don’t have many more surprises today?”

Kal rapped her gloved fingers on the top of the crate. “It says Kermuric Shipping. I…I don’t know who they are or what they did. But…Every single crate has their name on it.”

“Oh well. Let’s see what we’ve got then.”

With a mighty heave, the lid snapped off. The nails holding it together had long since rusted away to nothing. The blackened lid crashed loudly onto the floor, Anton heard murmurs from below. Inside lay a motley collection of metal cutlery, badly rusted, but some appeared to be made of porcelain. Anton tossed out the broken plates and picked out those that could still function as cutlery.

“At least they’ll have something to eat off,” Anton said. “Well, a few at least.”

“It might start fights.” Kal frowned lightly. “I think everyone’s really tense right now. If we hand something out it might make it worse.”

“Surely it can’t be that bad.”

Kal winced. “As I said a while ago I can see the small changes on someone’s face…And everyone’s really nervous and scared right-”

A distant rumble of thunder, the roof above them flashing brightly for a second as the lightning ran along the cloud, stopped Kal dead. She reached and held Anton’s chest tight. He held her hand and slowly stroked it until she relaxed.

“Sor…It still makes me nervous.”

“Tonight’s going to be really bad for you then,” Verona mumbled with a faint and awkward smile.

“Let’s keep searching.” Anton looked at Kal’s ears. “We might need to cover them with some pads if the storm gets really bad.”

Kal chuckled. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

They separated and searched the remaining crates. They were filled with rusted pieces of metal, some of the objects so far gone that he had no idea what he was really looking at, but nothing of much use. The Beast-kin and Seocurian’s would have to eat with their hands. Though, in this world, that appeared to be the norm for most people.

Verona, sighing upon finding rusted simple forks, stood up and straightened her back. “Hang on…I can see something up there.”

She pointed to the corner of the roof, a small hole leading up. The remains of the ladder had almost entirely rotted away entirely but a single beam remained with small stumps of the rungs sticking out.

“Is it more crates?” Anton asked.

“I think so. But I can only see two.” Verona shrugged. “Whoever goes up there will be able to tell.”

“Who’s the lightest of us?”

“I think that would be me.” Kal handed over her bow, cloak and daggers to Anton. “I’m pretty sure that’s me…”

Kal glanced at Verona, her eyes flicking down to her chest before she clapped her hands together and prepared to climb the ladder. “At least I’m not that heavy.”

Verona chuckled. “Don’t worry Kal. If Marion’s anything to go by you’ve still got some room to grow.”

“I’m older than both of you.” Kal chuckled.

“Not that anyone would think that.” Anton smiled.

Kal smiled, shook her head, and pulled on the ladder. It appeared strong enough but Kal wasn’t convinced.

“Another chance to test out my magic I suppose. Tethra, Goddess of Prayer, make this wooden ladder sturdy once again.”

Kal took a deep breath the next second, her eyes widened slightly, and gave the ladder another pull. She seemed much happier with it now. Kal ascended the ladder faster than a cat scaling a tree. Anton looked down to Verona, she looked just as impressed as he felt. Kal wiggled slightly as she reached the top and hauled herself up.

“What do you see?” Anton asked.

Kal lent back over. “I can see the actual roof from here. There aren’t that many holes up here and most I think we could patch up really easily. There’s…There’s three crates up here. One’s broken and looks like it had more knives and things but the other two look fine. I’ll see what’s in them.”

Kal left their sight and began lifting the lids off the crates. She grunted as the first one came free.

“Well, we’ve got some blankets.” Kal returned with a large bundle of dark green cloth in her hands. “Not enough for everyone but it’s a start.”

Anton pulled Verona back and Kal dropped the blankets. They weren’t particularly thick, many had holes, but it was better than nothing. Before they could retrieve it Kal dropped another two large bundles of cloth.

“I’ll take these down.” Verona heaved the bundles in her arms. “They’re going to want them before it gets cold and wet.”

“What else have you got up there?” Anton asked as Verona gently trotted down the stairs.

“It’s a big crate,” Kal yelled down. “The same name as before but it looks a little different.”

After a few heaves the lid slid off and fell with a loud thump. Anton saw the roof above move ever so slightly but it didn’t break.

Kal returned to the edge a moment later. “You need to come up here and see this.”

“Hang on. I’ll be up in a second.”

Anton gingerly climbed the ladder, always afraid that it would give way at any second. When he reached the top Kal looked more than a little concerned. She nodded to the crate. Anton peered inside. A skull looked back at him, many skulls. He recoiled a little in shock before he steadied himself. He had seen things far worse in his time in this world but it was still unexpected.

“There must be thirty skulls in here.” Anton gingerly reached in and picked one up, the jaw falling loose. “They look human…at least I think they are. I’m not sure if humanoid Beast-kin have the same shaped skull as us.”

“I’ve…I’ve never thought about it.” Kal raised a brow. “But why so many? And why here? They seem to be pretty old. There’s no flesh on them at all.”

“I’ve got no idea. But someone went to the effort of putting them here. And just the skulls. The rest of the body…” Anton moved his head to the side. “Looks like there’s something underneath this.”

They gently removed the skulls and placed them to the side of the crate. Neither wanted to desecrate the dead any further than necessary. Removing the skulls revealed another large ream of cloth, nearly identical to the previous crate.

“Seems like a little much for a piece of cloth,” Anton mumbled.

Four at the bottom were particularly big and had to be laid from corner to corner. These looked far too large to be wielded with one hand, perhaps not for someone like Rasha or Kristof. Perhaps they could use one in each hand?

“So…hiding weapons.” Kal raised a brow at Anton. “Underneath a blanket. And some skulls…Am I missing something?”

Anton shook his head. “I have no idea. Maybe someone, before this place fell, went a bit crazy and tried to hide all his good stuff. Or hers. I don’t think we’ll know. But we should give these out. A few more weapons will really help them feel safer. I’ll hang halfway down the ladder and you pass them down. Hopefully, Verona’s already done handing out the cloth blankets.”

“Okay.” Kal frowned as she picked up a mace. “There’s something in the corner…Looks like a piece of paper.”

She passed the mace to Anton, the weapon felt very heavy in his hands and pulled out a single scrap of paper. It was very old, slightly rotten and stained with dried blood. Kal moved closer to Anton and held the piece of paper up.

“Looks like a map.” Kal murmured.

“Of this city…No name though.” Anton frowned. “I don’t really know what I’m looking at but I’m sure that we’re in this big building here. Seems like…Seems like nearly half of the buildings here belonged to this company.”

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“There doesn’t seem like there were many cities or towns near here. According to that map from Lord Cassius.”

Anton looked more closely at the smaller buildings. There were small markings underneath the dirt and dried blood. He chanted a prayer to restore the piece of paper. It took some mana but it worked. The stains and torn sections faded away until it looked like new. No names had been revealed but the small markings became much clearer. Next to the smaller buildings were small icons that looked like bundles of grain, logs of timber and dried fish.

“Looks like it was a major resource distribution centre for the region. Probably from the Seocurian fishermen and the smaller towns. Makes sense I suppose.”

“Everything’ll be gone by now.” Kal sighed. “Definitely the food. Even the wood is probably gone by now.”

“Yeah. But the cloth was still here.” Anton rubbed his chin before tapping the map. “But this building looks like it has cloth in it. That little mark looks like reams of cloth. This place might have made cloth as well.”

“During my time in Seocuria and Graterious they didn’t like transporting wool or cotton that far. It could get damaged or something. They preferred to just transport the cloth. There might have been a lot of herders out here so they moved the industries here.”

“It’s possible but I don’t think we’ll ever really know. But, there might still be some left. Someone survived here until pretty recently.”

“Are you guys alright?” Verona shouted from below.

“Yeah,” Anton shouted back. “We’ve got some more cloth and even some weapons. How did they like the blankets?”

“Really good. But it’s looking a little tense right now. There’s not enough to go around and it’s making everyone really agitated.”

“Everyone can suffer through hardship together.” Anton murmured. “But it can be really hard when someone’s got it easy, and you’re shivering in the cold.”

“We definitely need to see if that other building is still in one piece.”

“Verona?” Anton shouted back down. “We’ll start bringing down some more blankets and the weapons. I need you at the bottom of the ladder to take them.”

“Aren’t you just going to drop them from up there?”

Anton smiled at Kal and began descending down the ladder.

The Beast-kin and Seocurians were quite surprised to see a massive ream of cloth being brought down. Verona, or whoever had distributed the cloth blankets, had focused on the elderly and the children. It should, should, keep spirits up. The adults would have to tough it out for a bit. The iron maces, still covered in dried blood, brought some concern, especially when they were laid down on the table.

“Are these for us?” Ndale asked, a thought shared by Marion.

“You need something a bit better than claws and a few sticks.” Anton smiled. “It’s not that much but it’s a start.”

Marion picked up a smaller mace and swung it in the air. “It’s not as heavy as I thought it would be.”

“Well, you work hard nearly every day.” Anton began. “So it really wouldn’t be a problem. Whether or not you’ll be able to land a hit or not is something entirely different.”

“It can’t be that hard. I’m sure I could hit one of those Goblins with one of these.” Rasha tried desperately not to make a move.

Cetina stepped forward and took a mace. “It’s harder than you think. Goblins are really small and move about really fast. If you swing and miss you’ll just be letting yourself open to attack.” Cetina tapped her metal chest armour. “And you don’t have this to protect you.”

“I don’t think your fur is enough to stop their wooden spears,” Anton said. “Or their claws. Or teeth.”

Verona and Kal nodded.

“I was stabbed through the foot by a wooden spear.” Verona frowned and rubbed her chin. “It really fucking hurt. Though that was Rock Rats rather than Goblins…”

“What?” Ndale shuffled towards the table. “The Rock Rat’s are usually peaceful unless you disturb them. They live in the mountain range that protected us but we’ve never had a problem with them.”

Anton shrugged. “Well, we needed to get to a stone mine. Stone to build walls to defend against Goblins. We didn’t attack them just because we felt like it.”

“That’s what humans do best...” Marion muttered under her breath. Kal shot her a death glare and she immediately withdrew her assertion.

“Anyway, we need to hand these out to the strongest we’ve got here.” Anton looked at Marion and Ndale. “I don’t know who that will be for each group but I think that two of the larger maces need to go to Rasha and Kristoff.”

“You want us to take these weapons?” Kristof asked. “Actual weapons.”

“Yes.”

“But…But we’ve never held a weapon before.” He looked at Rasha, who seemed rather indifferent, then to the other Beast-kin listening in. They were more worried about having to fight. “We’re…We’re basically farmers and labourers, not soldiers.”

“Cetina?” Anton began. “If you could, could you show the Beast-kin and Seocurians that take up weapons how to actually fight? They need to know more than to just swing it wildly about.”

“And so they don’t hit each other.” Kal nodded. “That won’t help them get along.”

Verona smiled and leant against the table. “Thankfully we don’t have that problem when we fight. We tend to keep out of each other’s way. Imagine if we had to fight side by side with swords or spears.” Verona looked up at her red crystal tipped spear. “I mean, I just swing and stab with this thing.”

Cetina nodded seriously, a light frown gracing her face. “I’ll do it, Anton.” Cetina scratched her temple. “If you want me to that is. I suppose it’ll be good practice for me. Better than just standing here waiting for the rain to stop.”

“Thank you, Cetina.” Anton smiled, he received an honest one in return. “But I don’t know how much room you’ll have. There’s not all that much in here.”

Anton looked out the only open door. The rain had almost reached the warehouse, the ground outside had turned dark and slick with water. He couldn’t hear the rain just yet, the roof was quite thick and far above them, but when he focused he could hear it. Quickly the faint patter of rain turned into a roar. Everything beyond the door became grey and opaque. The Beast-kin and Seocurian’s shied away from the door and pulled closer to one another, Anton could see rain spray starting to dampen the burned floor.

“Everyone’s going to have to bunch up to stay away from the rain,” Anton said, an order quickly repeated by Marion and Ndale. “Don’t worry about getting cosy with your neighbours. We’ll all be doing this over the next few days.”

They moved away from the door and some of the larger people moved pieces of wood to try and keep the water away. Anton looked up to see three places where the water was starting to come through the ceiling. By some miracle they only came through at the edges of the room. Again Ndale and Lerato ordered everyone away from the streams of water coming down through the roof. How they would deal with the pools of water as the night drew on would be something to worry about later.

“Better than being out in the rain,” Marion said, taking a quick glance at Ndale then to Kristof. “I don’t fancy getting my fur wet and freezing to death.”

Verona sighed, leant against the table and stretched her arms above her head. “Since it’s raining, and we’ve got every entrance sealed except the front, are we going to go to sleep? There’s not much else to do except talk. And I think we all really need some sleep.”

“Well…” Anton turned to Marion. “How many people still need blankets?”

“Most.” Marion smiled bitterly. She nodded to the younger Beast-kin, those that Anton would say were in their early teenage years, and the Seocurians. “They’re good but we could use a lot more.”

“There’s supposed to be a building out there that’s full of cloth. I don’t know if it still exists or it’s going to get waterlogged but I want to see if it’s still there. The Goblins hopefully should have left it alone.” Verona and Kal looked at him. “Hopefully. Possibly.”

“Just having three of us isn’t going to be enough.” Kal threw her cloak over her shoulders, quickly followed by Verona. “Especially if there’s going to be lots of stuff to take back.”

“Or Goblins,” Verona added. “We didn’t get them all so they could still be out there…And your magic isn’t going to be that effective.” Anton looked at Verona. She shrugged and smiled. “Fire really doesn’t work in the rain and your lightning will just follow the rain down to the ground. So…”

“Yes...That’s right. But I don’t want you going out there on your own.”

“We won’t.” Verona looked to the Beast-kin. “We’ll just get some help. Besides, we probably won’t be able to carry all of this with us.”

“You could just use your blood crystals.” Anton offered as he stood up from the table. “You handed over the food, before we got into Graterious, with a plate made of blood…”

“What?” Verona smiled sweetly and leaned in towards Anton. “I know that look. You’ve got an idea.”

“Maybe. But you’ll need a bit more blood than you’ve currently got. But first, we need to see who’s going to help us.”

Anton first looked to the Seocurians. Most seemed very despondent and sullen. Now that they had a real moment to sit and think, think about their upturned lives, the thoughts were taking their toll. Anton doubted they would be any real help for a while. Perhaps getting them moving and working would raise their spirits but it was still the same day their lives had been turned upside-down. Having the man responsible for their evacuation of their homes telling them to get to work might be counterproductive. None looked like they wanted to help, except possibly Lerato or Ndale but both were needed here for different reasons. That left the Beast-kin. They were a little better than the Seocurians but were still very nervous and apprehensive at the sound of the rain and distant lightning. Evidently, it wasn’t just Kal and Marion that suffered through the storms.

I really need people that I can trust. Not that there are many. Guess it’ll have to be Kal’s friends…At least I know their names.

Anton approached them. Kal’s friends, and Rasha had remained very close together. Irso nudged Eider and Ulyaa, both of whom were starting to doze off when he approached. Rasha perked up and watched him. Luna, who had been busy receiving pats and scratches from anyone that was offering, ran towards them. She still wasn’t entirely stable and crashed into his legs after a flurry of hooves and claws scrapped at the burnt floor to stop her. Anton gently picked her up, Luna looked a little indignant but he didn’t know why and gently stroked her head.

“I need a favour from you girls.”

“What?” Irso growled, a scowl forming on her lightly scaled face.

As ever the Drakeling was very curt and aggressive towards him, mainly to protect Eider and Ulyaa. Not that he would do something to them. Eider and Ulyaa smiled at Anton before lightly nudging Irso. She glanced at her friends before softening.

“Sorry,” Irso mumbled as she avoided eye contact.

“What’s happening?” Eider asked. A small forked tongue licked the air. “I don’t really want to say it but…Everything, everything seems to be fine right now.”

“You’ve just ruined it.” Ulyaa chuckled and lent back. Meaning she leant back along her spider body. It was quite large compared to everyone else but she kept her spider legs tucked tight underneath to minimise space.

“I…I need your help to move some more cloth blankets in.” Anton looked around. “There’s not enough as there is but we might have enough if we can get to a building out there. And if the cloth is still there.”

“Out there?” Edier nodded outside. “With all the cold rain?”

“It shouldn’t be that bad,” Rasha said. She appeared to be quite aware that she wasn’t included in the immediate grouping but Anton allowed her to continue. “I mean, we’ll get wet and a bit cold but we’ve all been through worse…A lot worse.”

“Yeah.” Irso and Ulyaa’s faces turned crestfallen.

“It’s easier for you three.” Eider sniffed angrily at the air. “I don’t like the cold.”

“That is something I wanted to ask.” Eider glanced at Ulyaa then to Verona. Verona chuckled but didn’t say anything. “But do you have problems with the cold? Since you’re a Cobra?”

Eider hesitated before shrugging. “I’m not really sure. Seocuria doesn’t really get cold, even during the winter. But I have been cold a few times and I didn’t like it. I didn’t feel bad but everything slowed to a crawl. Like my head was filled with gunk and my body was covered in it. Nothing moved like I wanted it to, not even my mind.”

“Sounds like you don’t produce much heat yourself. Tell me, do you like working in the sun?”

“I guess so. I feel warm in the sun but then it can get too hot.” Eider looked at the other Beast-kin. “They can sweat but I just get hotter and hotter. I have to ask the masters to get out of the sun for a while to cool down. They do, but I have to do something else.”

“Right. I’m asking that, not just because I’m curious about how some of you more exotic Beast-kin work, but we might be getting wet and cold.”

“It shouldn’t be a problem. I might just get slow and tired, that’s all.” Eider reached for Ulyaa’s spider body, landing her head and upper body with a loud thump. “I might need this after I’m done.”

“I’m not going to be that for you.” Ulyaa gently pried Eider free. Both girls gave a quick chuckle before attention returned to Anton.

“So, can you help me? I just want to make sure as many people as possible have blankets. Especially if this storm gets any worse or it starts to blow in.”

“Sure,” Rasha said quickly. “I can carry a whole bunch. If you want me to come. I’m probably one of the strongest here.”

“Get one of the bigger maces and get ready to head out into the rain with the rest of us.”

Rasha nodded and moved to the table. Ndale and Marion were discussing something but parted for the large blue Minotaur as she reached for the weapon. She stopped at the table and looked at Anton.

“What about you three? Every person helps.”

“Sure.” Ulyaa rose up on her spider legs. “I’m not as strong as a Minotaur but I’m not weak either. And I can use my silk to bundle up the cloth if you need to.”

“Didn’t think of that.” Verona smiled at Kal, who returned an odd look.

“Me too.” Eider stood up, brushing the soot off her backside. “Some of the Seocurian fishermen don’t look that good. They probably need something like a blanket more than we do. Besides, if I don’t get one, I’ve got a big ball of heat right here.”

Eider slapped Ulyaa’s spider body. Ulyaa squeaked and jumped at the sensation, quickly turning and slapping Eider’s shoulder hard multiple times. Eider raised her hands in submission but Ulyaa got a few more hits in before huffing and turning away.

“I’m not so sure.” Irso scratched her chin. “You said that this place was crawling with Goblins. And I know that you didn’t get them all. What if they’re waiting out there for us?”

“We can deal with them pretty easily. Verona and Kal are really strong and good fighters, better than me, and I’ll have Cetina wait here with the others to make sure they stay safe.”

“Again?” Cetina chuckled and leant against a support beam. “Well, it means I don’t have to oil my armour again. So that’s good…I suppose.”

Irso ran a hand through her hair. She slapped her thighs and stood up. “Fine. I’ll help. But only because these two are going. I can survive a night without a piece of cloth to cover me.”

“Thanks, all of you. Grab one of those maces and get ready to head out.”

“So what’s your plan?” Kal asked. “You obviously have some better plan than just walking out into the rain and drying off when we get back. Not to mention, how are you going to keep all the cloth from getting wet?”

“Yeah…” Verona slowly nodded.

“It involves you, Verona, and your blood power. However it’ll take more than what you usually have and I don’t feel like falling unconscious, so we’ll need to share it around.”

“Okay…Still waiting to hear what you’re planning with my powers.”

“Trust me. You’ll like it.”

“I trust you.” Verona smiled. “I’m just curious.”

“Um, Cetina? Could you please take care of Luna for a little bit? I don’t want her to try and follow us out there.”

“Sure.”

Cetina gently took Luna from his hands. Luna tried to struggle free but relaxed when she was scratched behind the ears. Cetina looked more than a little annoyed Luna didn’t want to play with her until scratches were involved.

“Okay.” Rasha rested the mace on her shoulder. “I’m ready, and so are the others-”

“We aren’t others.” Eider frowned as she came alongside Rasha. “And you shouldn’t talk down to us like that. That’s why no one stood up for you when the Seocurians took you away when we could have said something.”

Again Rasha turned crestfallen and looked away. Anton spied Ulyaa and Irso sharing the same look but to a lesser degree for Irso. He didn’t want something like this hidden for much longer. Like everything, it was better to nip it in the bug and not bring it to Atros. Leave it in the past.

“Rasha, I know this might be rude to say, but I’m guessing you might not have been the nicest person.” Anton began.

Rasha winced and picked at the end of the mace. “Yeah…I was pretty much always bigger and stronger than everyone else. And I could get away with anything.” She looked to the Beast-kin. “And I overdid it. Too many times.”

Anton turned to Kal’s friends. “I ask that you leave the things that happened to you in the past, in the past. Even if that sounds impossible. Atros will be a new start for all of you and I don’t want the past to tie us down.”

“We’ll try, Anton.” Ulyaa scratched at her ear and tucked her hair over it. “I think we’re all going to have to do it.” She looked at the Seocurians then to Rasha. “Some things might be easier than others.”

“I’m only asking that you try.”

“Thank you,” Rasha whispered and looked away.

“Gather near the door.” Anton waved them forward. “We’ll be there in a minute.”

They nodded and gingerly pushed through the bundles of bodies on the floor. There was a path but it wasn’t very big, something that proved to be an issue for Ulyaa and Rasha. Both had to take considerable effort not to stand on someone.

“I never thought Rasha was actually bad.” Kal lightly kissed his cheek. “When I was speaking with mother she told me what she knew about them. Rasha came up a few times…I don’t think she actually liked doing what she did.”

“It was probably the easier thing to do.” Anton shrugged. “I guess you had to do whatever was necessary to survive. But it’s in the past. And where it belongs. So, Verona?”

“Yes?” Verona smiled and leant forward. “Am I finally going to hear what your plan is?”

“Yes. You’re going to need quite a bit of blood. More than I can safely provide. That’s…That’s another reason why I needed your friends.”

“I don’t think they’re going to like being Verona’s blood bags.”

“That’s…” Verona scratched her head. “That’s one way of putting it. Not the way I would but…”

“Take a bit more than the usual from each of us.” Anton ushered them to the door. “Kal and I will heal their wounds.”

“Okay. Still want to know what you’re doing.”

The Beast-kin girls were a little concerned when Anton explained what Verona needed from them. Verona winced when they looked at her. Until now her main supply of blood had been Anton and a very few times Kal. This was something entirely different.

“Okay.” Ulyaa held out her hand. “You’re only taking a bit, right? I mean…we’ve all been through worse.”

“Oh yeah.” Eider nodded, her tongue flicked around her face.

“Not me though.” Irso flicked her mane backwards. “Only stupid people would try and touch me.”

For a second she glared at Anton. Evidently his touch, even the few moments it lasted, still lingered on her mind.

Rasha said nothing but looked ready to help. Verona took a deep breath and activated her blood power. They recoiled ever so slightly as the red glow overcame her body. The only time they had seen this they had been far away, not this close. Verona tried her best to appear calm as an awkward smile formed on her face.

“Woah.” Irso managed to say.

“It is pretty odd, huh?” Verona scratched her head. “Haven’t had to use this in front of people that aren’t strangers in a little bit.”

“It’s just…your eyes. They’ve gone completely red. I can’t even see the black dots in the middle.”

“Yeah…So…” Verona looked at Anton as she took out her knife. “I’m going to need your hand for a little bit.”

Anton allowed her to take a small amount of blood. Again the Beast-kin girls looked on concerned as the blood flowed from his shallow wound and into the air. Verona used a hand and directed the blood to one of the clay pots on her hip. Anton chanted a healing prayer as Kal took off her glove. Verona hesitated before making a tiny nick into Kal’s hand.

“Ow.” Kal’s eye twitched as the knife made its incision. “I don’t know how Anton can do this with such a calm face.”

Eider and Ulyaa glanced at each other.

Anton shrugged. “Guess I’m used to it.”

“Now it’s your turn.” Verona chuckled, almost devilishly. “So, throw out your hands.”

Verona took a small amount of blood from each, the same she would have taken from Anton for combat. Eider and Ulyaa chuckled as the blood defied gravity and floated away from their small wounds and into the clay vials. Kal healed Irso, still eying off Anton, while Anton healed the others. With all her vials filled Verona deactivated her power.

“Okay.” Anton turned to the rain, still thundering down outside. “I want you to form all your blood into a very flat and wide cone, with the point in the middle.”

“I’ll give it a go.”

Verona activated her power again and shaped the blood into a cone. The crystallised blood was very thin when but the cone ended up very large. More than enough to cover everyone with lots of room to spare.

A Blood Umbrella…

“Oh.” Verona smiled and nodded. “I get what you’re doing.”

“I never thought that your power could do something like this.” Kal smiled at Anton then patted Verona’s shoulder. “See, your power isn’t just for fighting and killing.”

“Yeah…” Verona seemed quite happy. “Thanks.”

Verona moved the blood cone into the rain. Water splashed off and into the warehouse but the cone held its shape. A strange high pitched clanging sound rang out with every drop, the blood itself was ringing with every strike.

Verona grunted and frowned as she lifted her hand up. “The rain’s making it heavy. It feels like it’s constantly being dragged to the ground.”

“Is that going to be a problem?” Anton asked.

“No. But I need to focus on keeping it where it is. I don’t think I’ll be much good in a fight. Not without getting wet.”

“That means two of the normal fighters can’t fight.” Kal smiled. “And I can’t use my special arrows either.” She turned to the other Beast-kin. “I’m glad that you’re coming with us.”

Eider smiled, folding her scaled arms. “It’s not a problem Kal. You’re always going to be our friend no matter what, even if it’s been twenty winters since we last saw you.”

“If…” Ulyaa nervously held the mace in her hands. “If we do meet Goblins what are we supposed to do?”

“Just swing it at them.” Verona offered. “Crack them in the skull. It’s kind of what I do most of the time. When I don’t have my blood power.”

Ulyaa, nor any of the others, looked particularly pleased. Nevertheless, they followed Anton, Verona and Kal underneath the Blood Umbrella. Rasha coughed lightly and Verona lifted it higher. As Verona stretched the crystallised blood a bit further Anton looked at the tattered paper. Now they were out in the rain it didn’t seem so bad. The mud kicked up by the rain splashed onto their boots. However, four of the Beast-kin with them didn’t have any sort of footwear. Mud had already started to stain their feet…hooves and clawed legs.

“When we get back don’t forget to clean your feet.” Anton smiled awkwardly. “Since we wear boots all the time I really didn’t think about it…”

Rasha looked to her hooves. “It’s fine for me. Most of the time I’m like this. And there’s enough water puddling around to wash it off.”

“So long as Anton doesn’t try and touch my feet.” Irso quietly said.

“You don’t need to mother us, Anton.” Ulyaa chuckled.

Verona made a tiny noise as Anton pointed to a blackened building in the distance. Compared to the others it most in one piece, though it was difficult to make out in the rain.

“If this map is correct that building might still have some cloth in it.” Anton frowned. “And also a good place for Goblins to wait out the storm. If there are still any left.”

The Beast-kin girls took things a little more seriously and held their weapons tight in their hands, bunching ever so slightly closer together as they scanned their surroundings. Their sense of smell was almost useless in the heavy rain as was their hearing. For Kal, and Anton didn’t know about the other types of Beast-kin, with her heightened senses would stuck listening to a cacophony of worthless noise. They only could rely on their sight. And that didn’t extend that far.

“What is that?” Eider whispered harshly.

A shaky scaled hand pointed deep into the rain. Anton focused and saw a blob of movement run through the flickering grey of the rain. Verona grunted and readied to throw a shard but Anton held her shoulder. She looked up, an unreadable expression in her glowing red eyes, but Anton shook his head. He looked at Kal who was already nocking an arrow, losing it the next second. Over the roar of the rain Anton heard it pierce flesh, followed by something landing in the mud. They gingerly approached, the Beast-kin girls incredibly nervous, and found a dead Yellow Goblin shot through the throat.

“That’s a really good shot, Kal.” Anton squeezed her side.

Kal smiled and retrieved her arrow. As she wiped the blood off the tip she looked around. “Why was he outside?”

“Maybe he’s still trying to find somewhere nice and dry.” Anton offered. “Still, we need to keep moving.”

Verona began moving forward but Irso didn’t. She looked at the dead Goblin, its face submerged in the mud as blood leaked from its neck and started blending together.

“It’s…It’s just so quick.” She said. “It was alive a few moments ago…”

“Come on.” Anton waved her forward, not daring to touch her.

Irso quickly caught up before the rain reached her. Kal kept her bow ready and nocked as they moved through the remains of the town. While they didn’t see any more Goblins Anton was sure that he saw some at the very edges of his vision. When he glanced at Kal she shared his opinion, though she wasn’t willing to voice it. They could both see the Beast-kin weren’t coping well with the stress. Their eyes were swivelling about for the faintest sound or movement in the rain.

Another minute passed before they arrived at the building. Compared to the others this, and the next two were almost completely intact, barring being burned. It was still worth a look. The buildings didn’t look much worse than the large warehouse. As they approached Anton slowed Verona to a crawl.

“We can barely see in there. And I don’t want to get stabbed by a Goblin.”

“We don’t have Cetina’s shield,” Kal said quietly.

“True.” Anton coughed. “Oi! Anyone in there?”

All turned in surprise at Anton. Anton shrugged and focused his attention into the building. Nothing emerged so Anton gingerly ushered them forward. Verona raised the blood cone above the building just as Anton and Kal stopped them again. Ten Green Goblins sat inside huddled in the far corner, desperately trying to light a fire with normal stones and charred wood. How they didn’t hear him was unknown. For a moment Anton’s mind flashed back to when he first met Cetina when she was trying to start the fire. A quick blink dispelled such wandering thoughts.

“What do we do?” Eider asked, bringing her mace close to her chest.

“Pretty obvious.” Verona said quietly.

“What?”

“This is a good chance to show you what fighting, killing, is really like.” Anton readied some lightning bolts, just in case. “Just swing and retreat. Don’t let them attack you.”

“Are you serious?”

“You’ll be fine. Trust me. We’ll be right here.”

“Okay.” Eider looked at Irso and both girls nodded. “We can do this.”

The Goblins looked up, at the roof then at Verona’s blood cone. One turned to the door and saw them, shrieking in their strange language. Almost as one they picked up their crude wooden weapons and turned. Rasha and Irso readied their weapons to fight but Eider and Ulyaa shied behind Anton and Kal now they could truly see them. It was still too early for them to lunge into the fray.

“Just like the eyepatch girl said.” Rasha glanced at Irso. “Don’t risk yourself and breathe.”

Irso clicked her tongue. “Can’t believe you’re trying to pick a fight with someone this quickly. You really have something against her.”

The Goblins charged, with their usual lack of self-preservation, and soon were within striking distance. Kal loosed an arrow and felled two Goblins as they reached the door. Irso swung her mace late but the shaft still connected with a Goblin’s head, crushing it like an eggshell. Rasha raised her leg and stomped down hard on one, the Goblin crushed underneath her hoof, then swung her larger mace upwards, taking out another Goblin. However, their attacks left them unbalanced and exposed to the remaining Goblins. Just as Anton was about to throw the lightning bolts Eider and Ulyaa rushed forward, perhaps unable to watch their friends get attacked. They were even less coordinated but Anton liked their determination. They only managed to strike a single Goblin, Rasha another two and Irso one before Anton fired his lightning bolts and killed the remaining two Goblins.

Anton waited a moment before stepping forward. “Take deep breaths. Take your time.”

All were breathing very hard, their hands shaking with the rush and thrill of battle. Irso backed away from the door, almost into the rain, before she steadied herself. Eider and Ulyaa took a moment longer before they were better while Rasha bashed her hoof sideways on the floor to remove some of the Goblin that was stuck inside.

“That…” Irso shook her head. “That was…”

“I thought that after everything we’ve been through something like that would be easy.” Eider dropped her mace in the mud. She quickly retrieved it but her fingers hesitated to touch the blood-stained metal. “We always dreamed of killing the masters. What we would do to them. But I never thought it would feel so…”

“Wet.” Ulyaa continued. She had Goblin blood staining her arms. “Warm and wet. All that’s left of them.”

“There’s a bit of them stuck in my hoof.” Rasha raised her leg and pried out bits of Goblin with her blue fingers. “But it was so easy to kill them.” She turned to Anton. “How do you three not just go crazy? Killing all the time?”

“It’s not something we do lightly,” Anton said. “It may look that way, when I can just wave my hand and someone disappears. Or Verona using the blood or Kal her bow and magic arrows. Killing something isn’t done without reason.” He felt the urge to look away slightly. “Even if that reason is sometimes petty and selfish. We don’t do it just for the fun of it.”

“I…” Rasha couldn’t finish.

“Come on. We can’t wait here forever.” Kal said quietly and gently pushed them forward. “And they’re all waiting for us. I don’t want my mother to come out into this looking for us only to find us chatting.”

“I don’t want to see Marion angry again.” Irso smiled, exposing her large teeth.

When they were inside it was clear why the Goblins had not heard them. It was incredibly loud. Anton couldn’t understand why from his first glance. He looked more closely and saw thin rusted metal forming a sheet over some sections of the roof. The sound emanating from the metal plates was deafening, especially since they were so thin.

“Do we have anything here?” Verona asked.

“If there isn’t we need to head back,” Kal said. “The map only showed this one having anything that looked like cloth. The others were supposed to hold timber.”

“I can’t see that far,” Rasha grumbled. “It goes back a fair way but there’s not enough light.”

Kal squinted her eyes. “There is something there but it’s a little hard to make out.”

“Hang on.” Anton summoned a small fireball to illuminate the room. “There we go.”

A warm orange light filled the room. It wasn’t as empty as they first thought, at least towards the back. To the side of the attempt to light a fire three Green Goblins lay still. Their bodies were emaciated and almost husks. Anton didn’t know what to make of this. The Goblins needed to eat only grass to live so why were these so weak.

“Any idea?” Anton asked Kal.

Kal shook her head. “I…I honestly don’t know Anton. I know that Goblins don’t let the weak ones live. Maybe that’s what these are?”

Verona tugged on his hand. “Remember what happened in Mount Aspire? In the depths?”

Anton did remember but it wasn’t something he liked to think about often. But Verona was right. In the cave, they found the captured women of Atros giving birth to Goblins, and the female Goblins killed one born slightly deformed. He looked to the still Goblins but didn’t see anything that looked too odd about them.

“Better be safe.” Verona stepped forward and stabbed each in the head. They were alive and let out a final whisper of a breath as they died. Verona didn’t look particularly happy putting them down.

Beyond the dead bodies, on the far side of the room, lay more crates marked with the symbol of the shipping company. Many lay broken and torn apart by the Goblins, their contents destroyed from exposure and interference, but quite a few remained.

“Let’s see what we’ve got here.” Verona pried the lid open with her spear. It fell loose with a mighty thud and revealed the precious cargo within.

Anton reached in and pulled out the reams of cloth, still in one piece despite the passing of time. They were rough and coarse, many fraying fibres and holes, but they were better than nothing.

“This is a great start.” Verona smiled and Anton passed a cloth ream to Verona. It was too large for a single person but everyone was going to be sleeping close to each other for some time. It would be enough to keep the worst of the elements away.

“There are quite a few of these to bring back.” Anton mused. “How…How heavy are these things?”

“Let me give it a try.” Rasha stepped forward and picked up an unopened box. She lifted it effortlessly, a slight frown on her face, and stacked four boxes in her arms. “This doesn’t seem as heavy as I thought it would be. I guess that healing thing you did made me a bit stronger.”

“Or you’re just a massive slab of meat.” Eider quipped.

Rasha shuffled and gave one of the crates to Eider. She guffawed under the sudden weight and dropped it to the ground, the crate shattering on impact.

“Oops.” Rasha smiled and looked away.

Eider huffed but didn’t retort.

“Well…” Anton scratched his head. “We can still get most of these back. But I’d like to get them all if we could.”

“There might be a way.” Kal turned to Ulyaa. The arachnid looked around nervously as she pointed at herself. “Yes. Your thread. Marion told me that she’s met some arachnids that could still use their thread. Could you bundle those up and then wrap your thread around them?”

“That…” Ulyaa scratched her head. “I suppose so. But I’ve only made a thread once. And that was just to show that I could do it.”

“I know I don’t completely understand how it comes out.” Anton began. “But if you just make a long enough string of silk we could do it by hand.”

“I suppose so.” Ulyaa moved to the broken crate and arranged them in a rough pile. “I remember some saying that they could just use their hind legs to do it.” Ulyaa stepped over the pile and tried to pick up the bundle with her rear four legs. She was incredibly uncoordinated and could only hold a few at a time. “Not that I know how to do it.”

“I’ve got another question.” Anton’s words stopped Ulyaa. “When the silk comes out of your…Your spinneret, when you want it to stop does it just stop?”

“I don’t...” Ulyaa’s face flushed red. “Oh. Oh, I understand what you’re saying. Um…” She looked at the end of her spider body. “Sort of, I suppose.”

“Why don’t you just check?” Verona sniggered at Anton. “It’s not like you haven’t seen a girls body before.”

“It’s different than that.” Ulyaa breathed deep to calm herself, the red faded away from the brown. “Having someone look at that would be worse than having my top exposed.”

Ulyaa trailed a hand over her human body. Anton couldn’t help but notice the size of her curves, barely hidden underneath her thin clothing.

“Do you want something to wear over your spider body then? We have more than enough cloth now.”

“I’ll think about it.” Ulyaa nodded seriously as Rasha put down her crates before adding another to the stack. “But first let me get some silk.”

Ulyaa backed away from the cloth and looked shyly towards them. “Could you please look away? It’s kind of embarrassing when everyone’s watching.”

“You did it in front of us before?” Verona asked as she turned away.

“I was kind of shocked what was happening. That I could actually do it.” Ulyaa shrugged. “This is different.”

Anton turned away and looked out into the rain. It appeared to be thinning but it could have been wishful thinking. Behind he heard a tiny grunt and one of Ulyaa’s legs moving on the old wooden floor. He caught Kal’s eye. She smiled and lightly punched his arm.

“When I met you I didn’t let you to see my tail. Each Beast-kin’s got something they keep very personal.”

“When did you lose yours?” Eider asked.

“Can we turn back yet?” Anton asked.

“Yeah.” Ulyaa sounded a little out of breath. “Yeah, I’m done.”

Ulyaa held a small bundle of white silk in her hands, far larger than the first bundle she had made on The Snowberry.

“Right. I’ll bundle these together.” Ulyaa lowered her body and collected the cloth, with Irso’s help. “Not much different than what we used to do.”

Kal looked at Eider. “What did you say?”

“I asked when you lost your tail. I remember it being pretty big.”

Eider and Rasha leaned to try and get a look at Kal’s backside. Anton frowned and pulled Kal towards him, an action which Kal found funny.

“Even though I love having it free I’ve had it bound for so long that I barely notice it at times.”

Kal lifted her armour, exposing a sliver of taught mocha toned stomach, and unbound her tail. With a sigh of relief, the long limb fell free to swirl in the air. It coiled around her body before gently poking out of her cloak. The Beast-kin girls stopped as it swayed through the air.

“Woah.” Rasha managed to say. She looked at her own tail, barely a foot long tipped with a small tuft of red fur. “That…”

“Holy shit.” Eider chuckled. “I don’t remember it being that big.”

Kal smiled and held the fan end, twirling the orange stars around her fingers.

"That's insane." Eider pulled up her much shorter and fatter tail. "I wish mine was like that."

"If it was you'd be dragging your arse all the time." Irso chuckled, somewhat forcefully as her eyes were glued to the swirling green tail.

Ulyaa sighed as she finished arranging the clothes in a bundle and began to tie them with her thread. "You lot do your fascination with tails." She looked at Anton and Verona. "Sometimes it's all they talk about. I'm sure you can understand where I'm coming from."

"I guess so." Anton reached for Kal's tail. She obliged him and the three fans found their way into his fingers. He couldn't help but smile as he felt the softness and warmth in his hands again. "But I do think Kal's is fucking beautiful."

"Stop it." Kal playfully swatted away his hand. "You're trying to make me flush on purpose. Again."

"True." Anton held her tail again.

“Even Marion’s isn’t that long.” Rasha moved closer and leant down. “Can you move it like we can?”

Anton saw Rasha’s short tail swish through the air with complete freedom. Kal nodded and lifted up her cloak. The tail twirled and flicked through the air like a streamer. Finally, she let it rest naturally behind her with nearly half her tail sticking up despite it nearly touching the ground.

“That must get really annoying to hold it like that.” Rasha flicked her own tail again. “I mean, you can’t just let it hang down like we can.”

“It’s…” Kal frowned and scratched her cheek. “I really don’t notice it. If I have it out all day it can get a little sore but most of the time it’s bound up or I’m moving it about.”

Kal swished her tail in front of Verona, Verona’s red eyes followed the orange star on her fans. Rasha, Irso and Eider chuckled at Verona’s stare, Verona laughed as well.

“I think it’s pretty too.”

Kal brought her tail underneath her cloak and wrapped it around her waist. She didn’t rebind it but she tucked the fan end so it wouldn’t come loose. Now there wasn’t much chance of it getting wet or covered in mud when they left.

“Got it!” Triumph came from Ulyaa as she picked herself up and rested her hands on her hips. “That won’t come undone any time soon.”

The bundle of cloth now looked very secure with her white silk digging in very tight. Anton smiled at the small cute bow that adorned the top. Ulyaa caught his eye and looked a little embarrassed.

“So,” Verona looked further into the building. “There’s still a lot to take back. If I had all my blood I could carry it back.”

“But then we’d get wet.” Anton nodded out the door. “And if anything it sounds heavier than before.”

Verona clicked her tongue. “I suppose so. But if you were to give me some more blood…”

“Can you control that much safely?”

Verona nodded. “Yep. Just can’t let it touch my lips, that’s all.”

“What happens if you do?” Irso asked, a clawed finger gripping tight on her mace.

“Nothing good.” Verona winced as she approached Anton. “Nothing good.”

With another small vial’s worth Verona picked up almost half the remaining crates. It clearly took a great deal of effort to control everything. Anton didn’t really understand how much mana Verona had, he knew she had some but it wasn’t limitless. He and the other girls picked up a crate each and Ulyaa the bundle. The crate was extremely heavy in his arms. When he looked at Rasha, carrying four without any visible exertion, she smiled and chuckled as she lifted her crates higher.

Now I’m really glad that Kristof didn’t get his fingers onto my throat. My head would have popped off in a second if he did.

Verona moved the blood cone with them and back into the rain. Anton scanned the surroundings for any signs of more Goblins but his fears were unfounded. He spied Cetina standing at the door, sword drawn and shield in hand, looking anxiously into the rain. For a brief moment he feared an attack was imminent but upon seeing them Cetina’s worried look transformed into a smile. She waved them over.

“We were starting to wonder where you’d gone to.” Cetina visible relaxed and moved to the side. “I was wondering if we had to go out into the rain to rescue you.”

“Thankfully everything went fine.” Anton waved the girls inside.

They brought the crates inside and placed them near the entrance. Verona relinquished her control over the blood cone, after moving it far away, and then the rest of her blood after putting down her crates and moving it outside. She breathed deep and shook her hands. Anton gently held her shoulder.

“I’m fine.” Verona smiled. “It’s just a little tiring to hold all those things up with just my magic, you know. Controlling them on their own is fine but once there’s weight on them they take so much more effort.” Verona looked at Rasha as she put down her crates. “Of course, being that strong would make it so much easier.”

Rasha looked at Verona but she gave nothing away. Rasha shrugged lightly and began ripping the crate lids off. The Beast-kin girls handed out the bundles of cloth to Marion, Kristof, Ndale and two Seocurian’s. They in turn handed out the cloth to some very eager and desperate looking people. However, Anton noticed some looks the Beast-kin and Seocurian’s where shooting each other. Not many of them were good.

Looks like some are already starting to blame the other side for the situation we are in. Hopefully, with a full night’s sleep and a bit of food, that’ll go away.

“I’m going to talk with Marion for a bit.” Kal gave Anton a kiss and walked towards her mother.

“Same.” Verona smiled. “Well, sort of. I want to have a talk with the Beast-kin. I’m kind of curious about a few things.”

“Alright.” Anton kissed Verona. “But make sure that you keep your hands to yourself. I don’t want to see you running away from Irso if you try to grab her butt like you did Kal.”

Verona laughed as Irso glanced at her. “I wasn’t thinking of that…But do you think I could outrun her? Probably not.” She chuckled again. “Don’t worry. I’m just going to talk to them, I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

Verona sauntered off and began helping the Beast-kin girls unload the reams of cloth as she chatted with them. Cetina, still with her sword drawn, moved next to Anton. She looked at him with questioning eyes.

“Did she really do that to Kal?”

Anton nodded. “Yeah. Within a few days of meeting her. Though she wanted to see if Kal had a tail and simply travelled a bit too far south.”

“What…Oh.” Cetina smiled. “I bet that caused some problems.”

“A quick swat but nothing too lasting.” Anton smiled as he watched Verona and Kal chatting. The Beast-kin that received their cloth blankets stopped and looked in awe at Kal’s tail. “I’m lucky that I was the first one to touch her tail.”

Cetina threw him an odd look.

“It’s not something Beast-kin just let anyone touch. Think of it as someone just coming up and grabbing you on the butt.”

“That’s nearly happened before.” Cetina shook her head and chuckled. “Though not for some time…”

“Actually, Cetina, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Yes?”

Anton nodded for to move closer to the single opened door. And the sound of the falling rain. Cetina looked a little confused but followed his action. She moved him away from the door and held her shield against the wall to block any intruders.

“What’s the problem?” Cetina asked. “And just after talking about groping a woman’s butt.”

Anton turned to see a sly smile on Cetina’s face, almost a playful one. He couldn’t help but smile knowing that she could make such a face. Cetina chuckled and ran a gloved hand along the rim of her helmet and tucked the few strands of black and blue hair that hung over her ear.

“So what did you want?”

Anton moved closer so he wouldn’t have to yell. “I wanted to know how everyone’s doing. How the Beast-kin and Seocurian’s are getting along. If they’re getting angry or tense or if they’re just sitting about.”

“Oh. Okay.” Cetina looked at the people still sitting down. “They haven’t done much yet. A few tried to get into the food, from both groups, but we managed to make them back down.” Cetina looked at her sword. “They’re afraid of someone like me. But I don’t know what they’re going to do when we start getting low on food. I don’t know how to forage for food…Or if there is even any out here.”

“Kal will help us with that.” Anton smiled. “She’s spent nearly twenty winters living out here on her own. And she’s got a bow so we can hunt animals for food. Not to mention myself and Verona can hunt too.”

Cetina took a deep breath. “At some moments I was starting to worry. But apart from that they really aren’t a problem. They keep to themselves…You can see the gap down the middle of the room. A few are talking to each other but apart from that they aren’t doing anything.”

“Some are actually talking to each other…Interesting. Thanks, Cetina. I was a little worried leaving you here, by yourself, but I should know that you can take care of yourself.”

Cetina smiled. “Thanks. You don’t need to worry about that. I can take care of myself. I’ve been alone for a very long time…”

Her face fell at the end of her sentence, her eyes looking down.

Anton held her shoulder. “Not any more you’re not. Now, have you had something to eat yet?”

Cetina glanced at his hand before shaking his head. “Not yet. We were going to wait until you returned before we started doing that. Just in case something like a fight broke out while you were gone.”

“Can you help me hand out the food? We can’t just have everyone taking food like it’s a free for all.” Anton looked at Rasha and Kristof. “Especially some of the larger Beast-kin. I’m guessing they didn’t get much to eat but if they’ve got an open buffet…”

“I’m not sure what a buffet is…” Cetina shrugged. “But I guess I understand what you mean. That they might just try to eat their fill. And some of them look quite skinny and hungry.”

“Exactly. I need someone that no one’s going to mess.” Anton smiled as he started walking towards the piles of food. “And no one’s going to mess with you.”

Cetina chuckled as she followed closely behind. Anton told what he was doing to Kal and Verona, who both agreed and kept working. He and Cetina reached the crates and barrels but was stopped when a hand touched his shoulder. It wasn’t armoured but he heard the sound of Cetina’s armour grinding against itself. An extremely dark hand rested on his shoulder. For a moment he thought it was Ulyaa but as he turned he could see her still talking with Verona and the other Beast-kin girls.

“Hey.” The owner of the hand said. “Are you handing out food now? We’re all starting to get hungry.”

Anton turned around fully to see Lerato, one of the few Seocurian fishermen he knew by name, and her two children, Seumas and Lili. Her children partially hid themselves behind her but they didn’t shy away from Anton’s gaze.

I don’t actually know that much about the Seocurian’s yet, I know quite a bit about the Beast-kin, and I really should if we’re going to be travelling together. It might make things easier for the Seocurians if I…we can actually talk with a few of them. Make them think they aren’t something we’re just dragging around.

“We’re about to start.” Anton smiled. “But at the moment it’s just me and Cetina’s who’s going to be handing it out.” Lerato raised a brow. “So there isn’t a rush or fight over it.”

Lerato nodded. “I can see that might be a problem. But…” She scratched the back of her head, her inordinate breasts moving with every twitch of her muscles. “But do you want a hand? There’s not much for us to do and I feel that I’m just sort of mooching off you. Considering what you did for us…That doesn’t feel right to me. I think we all feel that way a little.”

“Of course you can help out Lerato.” Anton smiled, Cetina relaxed her sword arm. “I think your kids can help us as well.”

“They’ll be glad to help.” Lerato pulled her children close. Their faces didn’t speak of eagerness to help but they were just children, children whos whole lives had just been uprooted forever in a single day. “It’ll be good for them to be doing something with their hands. Keep them busy…”

Anton agreed, sparing a momentary glance towards Cetina. Moving was the better alternative to sitting and dwelling on disaster.

“I’ve been meaning to speak with you as well,” Anton said as he opened one of the crates. Inside lay tightly packed dried biscuits and large bags of nuts. While they were not the tastiest of treats it would keep them going.

“Oh?” Lerato leant against a crate slightly lower than herself. Her old and slightly ragged fishermen shirt didn’t do a very good job of hiding her chest. “And what you could possibly want to know about little old me? I’m certainly not that interesting. At least, not compared to those Beast-kin you’ve got wrapped around your little finger.”

Anton followed Lerato’s nod towards the Beast-kin girls. They were chatting and smiling, even Rasha, as happily as they could be expected. Verona and Kal looked to be having an equally good time. Anton smiled as he turned back to Lerato.

“They’re just glad to be free of their hell. To be able to walk free for the first time in their lives.”

“Maybe…If you really think it’s just that.” Lerato sighed. “But what could you possibly want to know about me? I’m probably not even the most interesting person from our group.”

“I, hang on. Cetina, could you please make a little noise to get their attention?”

Cetina clanged her shield lightly. “Dinner is about to be served.” She glanced at Anton who motioned for her to continue. She cleared her throat to steady herself, now that she was the centre of attention. “So…Um, form a line and we’ll hand it out. There’s no need to push. There’s enough for everyone.”

“Anyone that does will go hungry for tonight,” Anton added. “There won’t be any of that now or later. Understood?”

There was no sound of opposition. Cetina smiled as the rough line formed in front of her. The Seocurian and Beast-kin didn’t seem to care where they stood. The notion of filling their rumbling stomach would be enough to keep them calm. For now. Anton and Cetina moved to the side of a food crate and began handing out enough for the evening meal. The Seocurian’s looked on blankly at the food, obviously expecting a little more, while the Beast-kin were pleasantly surprised by the quantity and quality. Many were skinny but not as bad as Kal when they first met. Slaves couldn’t be effective if they could barely rise from their beds. Lerato picked another food crate, containing the same food, and began distributing. She looked at what they were giving out for reference and didn’t let anyone get too much, no matter how much they pleaded with her. Seumas and Lili remained close to Lerato, took a smaller barrel of water to stand on, and helped their mother. Their eagerness to contribute, and their smiling happy faces when the food left their small hands, stopped many attempts of complaining dead in their tracks. The relatively orderly procession continued for several minutes before Lerato spoke up.

“So what did you want to ask me?”

“To start off with, just the basic stuff. Like who you are and what you did before coming with us.”

Lerato shrugged. “There’s not much to tell.”

“Try me.” Anton handed out another piece of food. “We’ve got some time to kill.”

“Okay. Well, I was born in Jaka, like everyone else…Not the Beast-kin, obviously. And I’ve lived there my whole life. Every day it was either fish, in a small boat or from the shore, collect fruits and nuts or chopping wood.” Lerato shrugged. “That’s all I can really remember. That’s what my life was until the Goblins came and…changed everything.”

Anton glanced at her children, happily helping her mother. “I’m sure that you found someone though.”

Lerato looked at him when he nodded at her two children. “Yes…He died in the Goblin attack.”

Anton didn’t like the cold way she looked when she mentioned him. She saw him stare before she sighed again. “Fine. I’m guessing that you won’t let this go. Seamus, Lili, could you please go back to where we were sitting for a bit? Mommy needs a little privacy.”

Both children glanced at each other, nodded and left. As they walked away they kept glancing over their shoulder but Lerato waved them on.

When they were clearly out of hearing range Lerato sighed again. “My husband was not a good man. At first, I thought he was but…it wasn’t long before he showed me what he really was. A brute…”

Lerato pulled down her shirt slightly. Anton knew it wasn’t meant to be teasing or titillating, especially when he saw bruises on her skin.

“He liked to hit me when something went wrong.” She glanced at her children. “And his eyes wandered a lot…”

“Did he actually fall to the Goblins or…?”

Lerato nodded. “Oh, he did. But not bravely. He tried to use me as a shield when they burst into our house. But…I moved out of the way and let them attack him. The little bastards didn’t seem to care who they started tearing into. He screamed and begged me to help but I didn’t. I didn’t even run away. I just stood there as they tore him apart, limb from limb. When he was dead the Goblins turned towards me and I ran. My children were near the other side of the village so I ran to them. No one asked how he died, other than he did.”

“Sounds rough,” Cetina said. “Did you stay because of your children?”

“There wasn’t much choice. Not in a village that small. And…Well, we thought we were all alone. And no one was allowed past the mountains in case it drew attention. I could hardly run away with my children.”

Cetina nodded. “I can understand that.”

Lerato frowned but didn’t ask further.

“Well. Thank you for telling me.”

“You’re the first people that I’ve told. And probably the last. Now…” Lerato rested her hands on her hips. “I’d like to know what it’s like to have a good man. One to help raise my children.”

“What?” Anton was slightly distracted by a reptile Beast-kin trying to sneak an extra biscuit. His glare was enough for him to back down.

“You’re cute, Anton, but not for me.” Lerato folded her arms underneath her chest. “I need a man that isn’t dallying with a whole bunch of women at once.” Her eyes raked over his body. “And someone with a bit more muscle on their bones.”

“Well…I know of at least one person where we’re heading that fits that bill.” Anton smiled. “Would…Would it change your opinion if I said he already had children?”

Lerato paused before shaking her head. “No. Not really. I don’t think I can be that choosy. Are they good kids?”

“Very good, very nice and kind children. He’s done a good job after his wife passed away.”

“Well, I’ll certainly have a chat with this man.” Lerato wore a sly smile. “Do you think he’ll like someone like me? I mean, I’m not that young. And I am a Seocurian. I was always told the people beyond the mountain had extremely light skin and they didn’t like to talk or even look at us. Would that be a problem?”

Anton’s eyes flicked over Lerato’s most obvious assets. He remembered one of the earliest conversations he had with Jonathan before he and Verona were together. Jonathan had expressed envy at Verona’s mother’s features, larger than what Verona had currently.

“I don’t think so.” Anton smiled. “I’m sure he’ll like you a lot. And his kids will get along great with yours too.”

“I’ll definitely think about it. Someone to cuddle up to at night. It could be fun.” Lerato chuckled weakly. “Can’t be any worse than it was.”

Anton smiled weakly and continued handing out food. There wasn’t much more to say.

---[]---

Even as the sun set the rain had not let up. It had weakened but continued to fall in great sheets outside. The food had been distributed, some looked a little hungry, mainly the larger Beast-kin like Rasha and Kristoff, who Anton sneaked a little extra food, and so had the cloth blankets. Unfortunately, there still wasn’t enough to go around. However, all the women and children were now protected, so long as they were willing to snuggle when they slept. A few of the men had cloaks. They tried to complain that they needed them more but Kristof quickly put them in their place. Despite being only slightly bigger than a human, and nowhere near as initially intimidating as Rasha, he was probably slightly stronger than Rasha. A stern look from him was all it took. But he was still incredibly nervous around Anton. Guards had been chosen and stationed near the door and barricades. They hadn’t seen any Goblins since returning but the threat was very real. Once the rain stopped they would be free to move unimpeded, and there was no way they would just leave them to pass through unmolested. Not after they had been the ones to invade their ruins.

With the sun setting Anton took up position near the burnt table and took out the communication pen and what was left of their paper. As it was starting to get dark he summoned a small fireball to illuminate the area. As he was almost finished done setting up Verona and Kal sat and sat down next to him.

“How was it?” Anton asked, gently patting their heads.

“Good.” Verona smiled. “It was nice to speak with them. Even if it was about the little things.”

Kal nodded. “It was. Marion’s doing very well.” She pulled herself close and rested her head on his shoulder. “She won’t say it but she’s really looking forward to getting to Atros. And able to live without being beaten every day.”

Anton scratched her hear. She tried to turn her head away and her ear pricked up but Anton simply followed it. She smiled when Anton scratched the very tip, something he knew that she enjoyed very much.

“I hope they all enjoy it.” He ruffled Kal’s hair. “After everything they’ve been through they deserve it.”

Verona pulled on his other hand. “Just by talking to the Beast-kin I can tell that they’re already happy. Can’t say the same about the Seocurian’s, but…there is something wrong about them.”

Verona waved a hand towards the Beast-kin side of the room. Now the Beast-kin were settling in for the night many simply stared at the roof with blank or worried eyes.

“For the first time in their lives they’re free,” Anton spoke very softly. “And I don’t think they really understand what that means. Even on the shup they thought they’d be dragged off to some plantation or workshop for the rest of their days. It’s going to be a massive shock to them.” He pulled Verona and Kal close. “Over the next few days they’re going to be going through a lot. They might start being weird and distant, as they come to grips with the reality that their past lives as slaves are gone for good. And they really don’t know anything different. I need the both of you to help guide them through it.”

“Not a prob.” Verona leant into Anton. “We’ve had it pretty good compared to them. Not sure what I can do but I’ll give it a go.”

Kal nodded very seriously.

“Thanks. Now, I need to tell Atros that we’re here and on the way. After that, I’ll be going to bed. I think we’ve got a guard watch just before dawn so we need to get all the sleep we can.”

“No fun stuff until we get back…” Verona sighed dramatically as she rose.

Kal lightly flushed and shook her head. “That and food are all that goes through her mind. I’m sure of it.”

They moved to get their sleeping gear from their horses. All four had been well behaved, not that they had much choice. Occasionally they would stand up only to peer outside and return to the original positions. No one approached them, Cetina’s larger warhorse stood protectively in front of the others. Anton didn’t understand the relationship between horses but they appeared to be friends, or whatever passed for friends for horses.

Anton set himself up on the table and summoned a small fireball for light. Many people looked towards him but none were going to question him. As he mentally prepared himself Kal and Verona returned with their sleeping gear. Theirs was considerably better than anyone else’s and attracted looks of envy. Verona casually turned around and their eyes shied away. She shrugged and rolled the packs out.

“When you’re done come join us.” Verona smiled. “I don’t want to go to sleep without you.”

“I’ll be done as soon as I can.”

Kal chuckled. “We aren’t going anywhere. But I will be glad to have my boots off for the night.”

She unfastened her boot as exposed her Beast-kin feet. Her claws clacked and scratched at the hard floor as she flexed her toes. Some of the Beast-kin looked on surprised, especially her friends. They sat nearby, preparing their own sleeping gear as best they could, but Eider had alerted them. Kal smiled as she stretched her body before slumping onto their sleeping pack. Verona did the same and tucked herself underneath the fur covers. A gap formed between the two, one reserved for him. He focused himself on the task at hand.

Hello. This is Anton. Are you receiving this?

Anton still disliked the odd way he introduced himself each time. Nevertheless, the communication pen began to move.

Hello Anton. This is Bertram. How are you? It's been a few days since we spoke and some of us were getting worried. Are you still on the ship?

No. We've landed safely and are currently taking shelter in a ruined city from a thunderstorm. There were a few Goblins lurking about but nothing that we couldn't handle.

That's a relief. How many Beast-kin did you bring? Zac and his builders have been working extremely hard, from dusk till dawn, but I don't know if it'll be enough.

We have about four hundred Beast-kin. But we have some extra people that are coming with us.

What?

We found a fishing village inside Dragon Tooth Bay, Jaka, still alive but under siege from Goblins. Turns out they are Seocurians. And it's making things really difficult.

Anton looked up and surveyed the warehouse floor, the small rift between the two groups clearly visible. They kept their backs to each other but some, a very rare few, were willing to speak to one another. It was more of a whisper but it was something. It was the young that were willing to talk, those more open to change and fastened with an insatiable curiosity for the unknown. Anton returned to the paper to find more writing coming through.

After what they've gone through I wouldn't doubt they would be furious. How are you keeping them from tearing each other apart?

Right now, literally. I'm also talking with representatives and I'm hoping that's enough. So far it's working. I’ve also shown that we’re powerful mages in our own right so they aren’t going to try anything with us here.

I hope you can keep it together. We all would like to see you again. We're starting to have some issues here.

What's wrong?

A number of things. We've had four more people receive the glyphs of the Old Gods. Two with the fire glyph and two with the lightning glyph. It was very scary to hear them scream in the middle of the night but they seem glad to have it. Since you aren't here I've told them not to use their powers under any circumstances. Since we don't have anyone capable of healing.

That's a really good idea, Bertram. We can't have anyone getting injured from those powers. If they do it'll make things a lot more difficult. But you said issues...

The Goblins have become far more aggressive lately. A few days ago they started to get so close to Atros that we had to stop anyone from going outside the wall in case they lured them in, stopping further construction of anything outside the outer wall. We can't get stone, coal or wood, though we managed to get a decent amount of each before it got too dangerous. Right now everyone is very nervous but we're holding on. My son wants to lead an attack on the Goblins to drive them off but I've told him to wait until you get back.

Any idea where they're coming from?

Dana found a small mountain to the northeast that appears to be the source. None from the south thankfully. Whatever they're doing in the old capital it's best not to disturb them. There were tens of thousands when you arrived. Who knows how many there are now.

I'm going to get these people to march as fast as they can but it'll still be a while before we get there. And I can't just leave them just in case something happens. Not after everything we've gone through to get them here.

I'll tell Jeff that you're on the way and to stay put. I might have to get Sybil to knock some sense into that boy but he'll listen.

Once we get back we'll find the main Goblin nest and destroy it. We're about to have a lot more people in Atros. And a lot more that can fight. You should see the muscles on some of the Beast-kin. And even the Seocurian fishermen will join in, once they get over losing their home. That might take a while.

I'll do what I can to make sure everything's good and ready. There is another thing. It appears Shawn and Jocelyn had a strange dream the a few nights ago. Shawn saw a woman with red hair and a red dress and Jocelyn an older man with a white robe and purple sash. At least that’s what they described.

Those are their Old Gods. What did they want?

They said that Tethra has sent you help and it’s about time they did the same. They mentioned Kal and it sounded like it would be like that.

I’m sure that Verona and Kal will be fine with that.

They did say that it wouldn’t be like that, unless you liked beards or stealing married women.

I don’t want either of those. But any more information about what that means?

No. They both said the dream was very hazy and over very fast. The dream hasn’t happened again and we don’t know what to make of it.

I’m not too sure either but keep alert, just in case something happens. So far they’ve been extremely helpful to us and I don’t doubt that now. Hopefully, it’s something good.

We’ll keep an eye out. Other than that everything is going well. We would like the Goblins to go away.

I bet you do. We’ll move as fast as we can but it’s still going to take some time. Do whatever you need to in order to stay safe.

You too. Tell us each night how you're travelling. It'll give the people hope.

Will do.

Anton laid down the pen. A breath had been locked within his lungs formed the moment goblins and Atros were mentioned. He slowly released it and began to roll up the paper.

Those creatures are always going to be a thorn in our side until we can eliminate all their nests. The other kingdoms and empires still struggle to wipe them out so it can't be easy. A few will likely survive a purge, everything goes quiet for a while and then they begin again. Damn things are like roaches like that just come out of the ground. I wonder if there are wolves or some other creature we could use to hunt then? Just release a pack and leave it at that…And what was that about help from the Old Gods? And why not just tell me?

Anton's mental musings were interrupted by a shuffle nearby. Kal was sound asleep, her mouth slightly agape revealing her set of canine teeth, but Verona was not. Her eyes spoke of the pleasant dream she had been awoken from and the desire to return.

"Are you done?" Verona asked in the faintest of whispers. She looked over the other sleeping Beast-kin and Seocurians. By now nearly everyone was still and silent. "You've been at that for a while."

Anton tucked the pen and paper away before extinguishing the flame. "Just finished. Seems that Atros is having a little trouble."

"They worried about the Beast-kin?" Verona hauled herself up onto an elbow. "They weren't too pleased about Kal when she first arrived. And she's basically human compared to some of them."

"Goblins." Verona tensed to his words. "They're stalking outside the walls and they can't safely get out."

"Little bastards."

"When we get back we'll deal with them. Sounds like they're coming from that small mountain we saw those Green Goblins running towards on the way through." Verona scrunched her eyes as she dredged up the memory. She nodded once. "And it'll be a good chance to show these new people how to fight them properly."

"That little battle wasn't enough?"

"Certainly not. Killing a few sickly Greens isn't much of a challenge. Especially for some of them."

Verona hummed and slumped lower as sleep tried to overtake her.

"There's not a lot that we can do here." She suppressed another yawn. "And we'll need all our strength tomorrow if the storm's let up by then. So, come to bed with us."

Anton kicked off his boots and slid in properly between them. Kal, in a sleep filled daze, pulled Anton's arm around her waist and up to her chest. His fingers didn't find leather armour, rather warm and extremely soft flesh. He lifted the covers slightly to see her armour undone. Verona took his other hand and directed it to her rear underneath her armour. She giggled as he gave it a little squeeze.

He took one last look around the warehouse. Those few on guard duty held their weapons close as their heads bobbed around, listening for any hint of a goblin attack through the rain. The Beast-kin girls had chosen a place near them to sleep, with Ulyaa in the middle and Eider and Irso either side. Rasha sat between the two groups with her mace resting on her legs. Her hooves had trouble getting a firm grip on the floor so she let them lie out in front of her. Her eyes were closed but Anton knew that she was awake, as her mind tried its utmost to process what had just happened to all of them. Cetina sat on the other side, her sword resting on the floor and a hand resting on the pommel. Her eye scanned the room constantly. When it reached him she smiled before continuing her scan, her hand moving closer to her sword. Everyone else he knew was asleep, including Luna. She had taken a spot underneath the table as her own, nestling deep between their packs. He didn't want to disturb her sleep so he left her be. Tomorrow would be an exhausting day.