"And why do you want to know that?" Asked Mink, her eyes just as skeptical as the other three in the cage with her, even if her bod language was a little less aggressive.

"I believe you lot haven't answered the Lady's question yet." Growled Draxly, still on very high alert. He was normally much calmer than this, so I could only assume that the recent attack had affected him greatly. And why wouldn't it. I may have accepted that monsters, on average, seemed to let such things as killing and being kill roll by that much easier than a human from Earth did, but that did not mean they were wholly unaffected. For all I knew, one of our dead could have been a great friend, or even a family member of the usually composed Foxie guard.

"No one asked you, stupid fo-" Snarled the female, eyes flashing angerly toward the foxie male, but Lagdon put out a hand, silencing her, and shook his head. This was a game between me and their leader, and the younger male would not allow the woman to interfere. Was he, also, a man of some authority amongst his people?

"We offer the souls of the deceased to our god, Aeros, so that he may guide them on to the after life and use their energies to further the prosperity of our race. then, if the bodies are recoverable, we lower then into the Pit deep within the mountain, to become food for the cave worms. The worms dig new tunnels and their waste provides nourishment for what meager crops we can grow in and around our mountain home." Explained Margund, stony faced. It was like a litany he had learned growing up, repeated again and again by some teacher when he was quite young.

"thank you for telling me. I am afraid that I cant have any of that done here." I said, then turned to the foxie elder. "Do you think the foxes can spare a cart? We can place the bodies on one so that they may be returned to the goblins, so that they may take them home and do as Margund says."

Brax, who had purposefully kept a stern and unwavering expression on his face through-out this conversation, now looked surprised. He eyed me before his eyes flashed to the goblins. No doubt they looked just as confused, but I kept my eyes on the older foxie, waiting.

"Yes, we have carts Lady Enna." He seemed to think for a moment before saying: "But if they send the should to Aeros, then that energy will not go to where its needed." He was purposefully not eluding to the fact that I was the new land god. I appreciated that he was doing this to protect me, who could hardly protect herself, but I believed that it would become necessary for these goblins to be made aware of who I was.

I nodded. "That's fine. they may send the energy where ever they will. It is not my place to tell these people what, or what not to believe in after all." I turned back to Margund. "Time for your question."

The mans large eyes narrowed and he seemed to contemplate my motives. At least, that's what I assumed the look on his face meant. "Why do the foxes take orders from you, a human?" He asked, and now we were getting into important questions.

"You need not answer that, Lady Enna." Warned Brax, glaring at Margund dangerously. He was right, the terms stated that if we felt we did not want the other to know the information, we did not need to answer. But this was all in my plans.

"The don't take orders from me." I stated. "Brax is the elder here. But they have been rather deferential towards me, and more than a little protective. But as to why they would feel that way toward a human... Well, I am the new land god of this forest."

Nord snarled in anger and Mink made a disbelieving noise. But the other two men simply glared, thoughtful and clearly at odds. These people did not seem unintelligent and no doubt could see the feint glow of my skin that was a pretty clear in indicating the truth of my statement. At least, the foxes seemed to see it as pretty clear proof.

I could see the frustration begin to mount on the goblin before me. Clearly Margund was now boiling with questions, but he was not willing to loose face in this game of ours. To loose this sport of questions seemed to mean a great deal more to him than me.

"Ask your question." He eventually growled while Lagdon tried to settle Nord back into silence.

All right then. "Why do the others take orders from you?" I asked. Tit for tat. But would the goblin answer? He and his people were at a greater disadvantage than me at this point. They were captives and surrounded by enemies. Any kind of admission could very well spell death for the goblin.

"I am one of the goblin king's sons. A prince of the Goblin Kingdom."

I sort of expected that. Or at least something similar to that. Clearly the other foxes had not however, as they all exchanged shocked glances. Maybe they just thought they had some kind of commander in their make shift cell.

"Alright." I said softly. I also noted that he made sure to mention the he was just one of the princes. for all I knew he was one of many, considering the foxes had said that the goblin king was at least two hundred years old. I could be talking to the next in line, or I could be conversing with just one of many, many, spares. Honestly, I was hoping he was high up the chain. If I could initiate a civil train of conversation with this goblin, then it was possible that I could strike some kind of peace between us and the goblins. Or at least a deal that Margund could them present to his father. "your turn."

"You claim to be a new god of these lands." Stated Margund while Nord brooded behind his left shoulder. "Lands that our god, Aeros, has held for countless generations. Tow thousand years, as a matter of fact. It by his power alone that this forest was formed as it is now. It was Aeros who brought so many lost and persecuted monsters to a single place, where they could live and flourish in relative safety from the persecution of humans and demi-humans alike. And yet, you- a tiny, powerless, human woman- claim that not only has our god abandoned the lands that he created, but also that you- again, a human- are here to replace him. I suppose my next question is: Why should we even entertain such a laughable notion?"

At his words, Draxly hissed and took a step forward. I saw a pale hand hold him back and the foxie grumbled in frustration but did not advance farther. Brax also looked angry, but had I not known him as well as I was coming to know the elder, I may not have noticed. But his back was stiff and his fingers twitched, no doubt wishing to light his pipe.

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"I suppose it is rather laughable." I said, smiling. It did seem like a bit of a cosmic joke to me as well, after all. But I was the god of these lands now, and I would do all I could to ensure its continued prosperity, even if I was almost starting from scratch, thanks to Aeros' laziness in regards to his duties.

"Milady!" Gasped a foxmen to my left. Brogan, I think his name was- one of the hunters working under Orvil. He was chubbier than most of the rather willowy and sleek foxie- though the foxmen seemed a little more prone to the pudge from what I had seen so far- and had a pretty deep voice. "None would claim your coming as laughable-"

At that I did laugh. "Well, clearly both I and Prince Margund here think it is. And, truth be told, Aeros thought so too." I said, chuckling. Of course, at that, everyone in the room was looking at me in a bit of shock. I had not told the Foxes that I had spoken to Aeros that first trip into my mental campfire, even though I did tell Brax that it was energy that Aeros had left behind that had been used to evolve the Foxkin into their current forms.

"As for why you should believe anything I say? I have no way to force you to trust me. I guess I could point out the evolution of the foxkin to their current states as proof. But other wise, I don't know what would convince you."

"You could simply be a lesser god taking advantage of Aeros' current apathy to invade, and sway his followers to your side." Said Lagdon, earning a quelling glance from Margund.

I waved off the princes' reprimand, however, and address the younger goblin. "I guess that could be a possibility. You would only have my word to take on that, however."

"And you think that adequate for us to abandon Aeros?" Snarled Nord.

"Enough!" Snapped Margund, glaring at the other two males. Nord's question could be seen as a break from the game and there fore Margund's loss. the older male looked subdued but still aggravated. Understandable. I would not expect a person to just stop believing in a god just because a new and younger face showed up. Especially one that was clearly so lacking in everything this nation needed right now.

"This game is done." rumbled Brax, whipping out his pipe finally, and lighting it with a finger. Clearly he thought it was my win and I could see that that irritated Margund as he glared at the older Foxie male. "And what you do or do not believe is irrelevant. Enna is our god. She has evolved the foxkin, and even the forest around our village has already begun to show signs of new life. I am sure even your kind must have noticed while you were skulking about out there."

This was news to me. I had not known that I was making any kind of difference really. I didn't even expect to for quite some time actually. After all, I just got here a month ago without a speck of magic to my name. the only power I had was what Aeros had left to me, and all of that went into changing the foxkin.

Nord grunted and made to lunge for the Elder, but Lagdon and Mink held him back. I was not entirely confident that the foxie's building skills were adequate enough to properly hold the goblins in the cage, so i was pretty grateful for the assist so that the older gobbling could not test the bars. Margund glared the man down until he settled before turning eyes back my and Brax's way.

"Do you deny the changes, goblin?" Asked Brax. I tried not to ask the elder to not be so rude. I meant what I said when I told the goblins that I had no right to order the foxes around. They may have allowed me too, but I was not looking to be a dictator here. "The Maubry Apple blossoms have begun to grow again along the rivers, our gathers have been bringing in more of the forests bounty in the last week or more than has been reported in years... Decades even. And that is from Lady Enna being for only about a month."

"She, is human." Rumbled the prince. "i can clearly see that she is small and weak, without any aura of power at all. Even the god like glow of her body is dim and hardly noticeable."

Feeling a little offended, I looked down at myself critically. True, I was thin compared to the goblins, and I could not deny that I was human... But the glow seemed more than pronounced to me. If I glowed much more I would be a night light!

"This body is a sight better than the last one I had, I'll have you know." I huffed, folding my arms and glaring at the goblin who could probably fold me in half... twice.

Brax sighed. "Lady Enna is not Aeros. Does the sudden healing of the forest not seem strange to you? despite the apparent frailty of our new god?"

"Maybe Aeros has returned to attentiveness!" Argued Nord, still desperate in his belief in Aeros.

Brax snorted, choking on the smoke from his pipe. I patted his back as he tried to work the excess tobacco smoke out of his lungs. Eventually he straightened up and addressed the goblins. "perhaps it was different for your kind, but as for us, Aeros would not even blink in our direction, much less make our little corner of the forest his first priority upon deciding to take interest in us all once again. Sure, you all would believe that you goblins would be among the first to earn his favor?" Nord, nor any of the other captured goblins seem to have any argument to that. "Exactly. And even if he were to take interest once again, would not the majority of the energy go to himself? Is that not how the old dragon worked?"

From the little I knew about the dragon, I'd say that was pretty accurate. The others must have thought so too because Nord was looking conflicted.

Brax continued on. "We have been funneling any and all energy to Lady Enna since she appeared among us. True, we are but a small village, and our power was not great, but we hoped to at least strengthen our new Lady as best we could. It was my hope that, should your invasion arrive, that we would have at least imparted enough power to Lady Enna that she might survive the slaughter."

I deflated as the Elder's eyes landed on me, full of kindness and affection. They had expected to die all along? That was heart breaking, I had to admit.

"the reason Lady Enna stands before you now, still as a relatively powerless human, is because she has funneled nearly every ounce of power back into the foxkin and back into the land itself."

HE said that as if it was an odd thing to do. That was my job, was it not? And what could I do with a surplus of energy? In the short term it would be useless anyway. I was not any kind of mage or something, as I assumed that was a thing in this world, and all of my existence here relied on the prosperity of this land and these monsters.

The goblins looked confused and skeptical. "It is true." Said Brax. "From the day she arrived here Lady Enna has only ever thought about the forest and the monsters who live in it. Even now, after seeing the horror that is being a monster that lives in this forest of monsters, she thinks only of us. And by us, I mean you goblins as well." He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Don't think that I don't know that you hopped that coming over here would stop us interrogating the prisoners in more conventional ways."

I didn't think that torture was 'conventional', but I didn't completely have the mindset of a monster just yet, so what was I to judge. Still, I hoped our cozy little talk wasn't going to dissolve into a blood bath all the same.

"This makes no sense." Muttered Mink, looking drained and confused. "Aeros is dead?"

"Of course he isn't, girl!" Growled Nord. "They are lying. Hoping to beat us with their silver tongues where their strength has failed them."

At that I laughed once again. "But you are the ones who were forced to retreat! You are the ones in a cage!" I said with a chuckle. It was mostly a bluff. Sure, we came out on top in this last fight, but that was just luck. The goblins expected to find a village of tiny foxkin and instead were confronted by the more magically adept foxie and foxmen. I had no doubt that when the next attack came it would spell the end for us.