The foxkin village had been simple and rural, the goblin's capital, Gurten, had impressed me with its stone buildings carved into the mountain, but the kobold village? I would call it 'quaint'. In all honesty, it looked like a miniature ginger bread settlement. We turned a corner and simply found ourselves a midst the town's houses.
The kobolds were only a little smaller than the foxkin had been before evolving, but the foxes still built their cone shaped family huts rather large. But the kobolds homes were to size, and I was almost have to crawl to get into a door and I defiantly would not be able to stand straight. Poor Lagdon eyed the buildings like they were made of matchsticks rather than the rather stylized timber the were actually composed of. There was no way at all that the hobgoblin would ever even get into one of these homes.
I tried not to laugh, but I could feel the princes eyes boring into the top of my head in irritation. Oops.
It really was a pretty little village, even if i could easily pull myself up onto the roofs of the houses if I needed to. But that was just on the surface. The truth was that there was an eerie quiet about the place, and not a soul was in sight as we guided our rohgek down the thin streets. The air felt thick with pain and sorrow and beyond it all loomed the Dark.
I could clearly make out the imposing forest now and even though it was true to its name, dark, even though it was still a couple hours till night fall. I had been told that it was a permanent twilight during the day once you entered the place, and now that I was closer I was not surprised. The trees were tall, dark barked, and the leaves of these trees almost looked like a dark teal color. And the canopy was very thick, blocking out all but the feintest light. I would need to be right up to the trees to get a true assessment of the place, but it was a pretty creepy sight to see next to this small, fairy tail like village.
I kind of felt like I had been dropped into a Grimm fairytale. Those never ended well.
"It is nearly nightfall." Said Shill in a hushed and hurried whisper, his eyes darting left and right. "The fog will be rolling in soon so everyone is hidden inside..."
"I don't mean to be the barer of bad news..." Said Brillum, his own eyes following the same path as his passenger. "But where are we going to hide from this ghost?"
Brillum was rather brave. If he wasn't than Lagdon never would have held him in such high regards, but I could tell that he was not happy about this current foe. After all, how does one fight a ghost like being that hid in fog and sucked the life out of people, unseen, in the night?
"Keep heading this way." Said Shill. "We will head to Mayor Wallace's home. It is built much bigger than our other homes, and you all should be able to get in there..." He said this a little hesitantly, examining Lagdon's bulk. "And then we can speak to him as we wait out the night. We should hurry."
The mood of the group was quite anxious, all of them silently following Brillum and the directing Shill. We slowly worked our way deeper into the village, the rohgek not having enough room in the streets to move side by side, so we walked single file. I could tell by the tensing of his arms that Lagdon did not like this. I'm sure it would be easy to ambush us in this formation, and even though the houses were not very tall they were still more than big enough to hide a small group of people behind each one.
It wasn't too long before the road opened up and we entered a sort of village square, and at the other end sat a mansion of sorts. It looked about the size of one of the old foxkin huts and the entrance and general size of the house looked more human sized. It was just the short stairway leading to the elegant wooden front door that gave away the actual size of the occupants: they were much smaller than any stairs I had climbed before with the space between each step being only a couple inches.
"Wait here, I will go and get Wallace." Said Shill, still in hushed tones, as he slipped of the back of the nervously pawing rohgek. We watched as he hurried past the rest of us, who had now spread out over the square and the mayor's front lawn-sorry!- and jogged up the stairs.
"I do not like the feel of this place." Draxly growled, appearing next to Lagdon and I, his rohgek some place else. I glared at the black furred male for startling me, but I understood what he meant. The air here was getting progressively thicker with tension, and every now and again I could see a curtain shift in the neighboring homes. Most disconcerting was the coiling fog that had begun to roll in, making our mounts nervous.
"I do not think we will all fit in that house..." Stated one of the goblin males. I had to agree. The house was a good size but there was no way it could accommodate a group of twenty, especially if ninty percent of them were massive hobgoblins.
"And where will the rohgek go?" I asked, patting the one Lagdon and I road. I wouldn't say that the wolf boars were cute in any way, but they were sturdy and dependable, loyal to a fault. I really did not want to leave them at the mercy of what ever this fog was bringing.
"Brillum, take the others back out of the village and set up camp well away from here." Stated Lagdon, his eyes never leaving the kobold as Shill knocked quietly but aggressively on the door of his mayor's home. "On the hill we passed about a mile back would be best. Then you can keep an eye on the situation. But if the fog gets near you, move farther back."
"Sir, do you and the Lady intend to stay here alone?" Brillum asked, clearly not pleased but knowing there really wasn't much of a choice.
Lagdon shook his head. "No, Draxly will stay with us as well. And, as much as I would like to send Lady Enna away..." He said, glaring down at me while I avoided his eyes. "We both know she wouldn't listen. Besides, I am unsure if more people will be any better against an threat that we can neither see or hit..."
Brillum didn't look happy but there was really no arguing with that. And so, as I watched the front door of the kobold mansion open a crack, the bright red foxie began setting to his task, organizing the other's retreat to a- hopeful- safe distance. Shill was ringing his hands as he spoke to whomever had come to the door, looking anxious and taking fearful glances over his shoulder. I knew why as well, because I kept doing the same: The fog was getting thicker.
"Hurry up and get out of here." I told Brillum anxiously, shooting fearful looks between the people I cared about and the fog that supposedly held certain death.
Holding the reigns of his rohgek, Brillum walked up to us and flashed me a toothy grin. "As if you would listen if we asked the same of you, my Lady." He said before reaching out and patting my head. It had become a habit of the more senior guardsmen when they were feeling particularly affectionate. Monsters seemed to be more touchy feely than humans- at least ones from my last life- but most were very careful to respect my space. But, over time, maybe taking their que from the few times Lagdon had gotten away with it, they would do this little ritual. I had to admit that I didn't mind it. It felt almost brotherly to me, and as these people's land god, they normally kept me at a respectful- even reverent- distance.
I glared at the male for good measure and shooed him off. I just needed them to be safe. After all, they were all here because of me, and I had enough of my people die since arriving here and had no wish to send any more of them off to their final resting places as I had, had to do after the battle with the Goregek months before.
"Lady Enna?"
I almost jumped as Shill appeared near me. Clearly I was the only one not paying attention as Lagdon and the foxies didn't look surprised at all.
"We are leaving." Brillum said as way of goodbye.
I nodded. "Keep them safe." I said, and he nodded, waved once, then got on the back of his rohgek, calling for the others already mounted to follow him. In a matter of seconds the hobgoblins and a few foxes disappeared into the mist as I turned my attention back to Shill.
He stood before me with a second kobold man. Like shill, this man was pale with a dog like face. But he seemed older and even wore glasses, something I hadn't even realized that I had not seen since my last life. He wore what appeared to be fine cloths and looked absolutely horrified, while simultaneously looking astounded at my presence.
"It is true... she glows." Whispered this new man who I now assumed to be the town's mayor, Wallace.
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"Mind your words, kobold." Lagdon growled, towering nearly three times the kobold's height.
Wallace flinched be fore glancing at me sheepishly. "Apologies ,Lady Enna. I was just shocked- er I mean..."
"It's fine. I know I am not what people expects to see when they think they are about to meet a god, much less one who watches over a nation filled with monsters."
"No, that's no-" Wallace shook his head, as if to clear it, before deciding to get on to the serious matters. "Please, let us go inside. We absolutely do not want to be out here right now."
We followed Wallace and Shill up the steps to the mansion. I had to duck my head a little to get through the door while Draxly and Lagdon nearly had to bend them selves in half. I did my best not to look amused, but I was pretty sure that Lagdon was not buying it at all. Wallace wasted no time shutting the door and bolting it behind us.
"Doors keep out this Specter, do they?" Draxly asked, a black eyebrow raised, eyeing the door skeptically.
Wallace sighed, turning to face us. "No, it does not. But it seems to help a little. And keeping the candles lit, and staying close to one another seems to help a little as well. But, in the end, nothing stops the Specter."
Well that sounded bad... Maybe Brillum and the others were the safest ones after all.
"Come, let us head to the parlor. My family is there and it is the largest room in the house."
We followed Wallace farther into his home. It was quite nice, and defiantly better decorated than my place. He had many paintings, carpets and even small statues. Clearly the kobolds had a wider spread gift for the arts than my monsters possessed at the moment. Still, nothing here compared to the mastery of Drazdon's stained glass windows. it would be hard to best that, however.
Wallace's parlor was a large sitting room dominated by a lit fireplace, a set of white couches, and a large painting of what appeared to be a wide view of the Dark's edge, the trees imposing yet strangely beautiful. Darkly enchanted, I think I would call it.
In the room were five more kobolds, all of them seated in almost a huddle on the couches. There was a pretty young female with bright blue eyes and a clean white dress, an older woman dressed in a powder blue nightgown, and then two younger children and one older one, all boys. This was clearly Wallace's family. They looked reasonably frightened and in need of a good meal, the bodies thin and eyes sunken in. No doubt they were well off, so likely this was due to stress and fear. I didn't blame them.
"Helena, this is Lady Enna and her two guardsmen. Shill brought them here." Wallace said, approaching the pretty kobold woman, taking her delicate hand in his own. "Lady Enna, this is my wife, Helena. This charming woman is my mother in law, Glady." He nodded toward the older woman who shot him a skeptical glare, but patter her nightgown and offered me a polite bow. "And these are my sons, Forest, my oldest, and these are the twins- Martin and Vance."
"It's nice to meet you all..." I said awkwardly. I wasn't really all that good with meeting new people, especially in high stress, or formal situations- which, this felt like both.
Wallace cleared his throat and told his wife and mother: "Lady Enna is this nation's new land god."
The other's looked surprised and went rather pale, clearly not expecting to be hosting a land god. "So it is true then?" Snapped the older Glady, eyes narrowed on me, face wrinkled with age. "That old toad of a dragon finally croaked?"
"Mother!" Gasped Helena.
"Yes. Seems he got bored of the job and decided to head off for greener pastures." I said frankly.
Glady nodded in an exaggerated fashion. "About time too. That beast has been terrorizing this world longer than anyone person could remember. And he had no love for our people..." With that, it was my turn to receive a skeptical, and rather piercing glare.
I couldn't help the twitch of my lips. "As I said to Shill, I have no issue with kobolds, nor any demi-human or human race. Not yet at least. So long as the people under my protection, and the lands I govern, are treated with respect and dignity, I see no reason to ostracize any one group."
"I see."
"Enough now Glady, Lady Enna has not come here to discuss politics!" Harumphed Wallace, guiding our group deeper into the parlor where he directed me to sit in the only chair in the room. It was small, but luckily so was I and managed not to break it at least. Wallace eyed the two men warily but they spared the kobold the panic of trying to find them chairs that could hold them, by taking up protective stances behind me. Judging by the slack jawed gazes of the mayor's three sons, I took it that we made quite the impressive sight. Or, at least Lagdon and Draxly did.
"I see you have been busy in the time you have taken over for the Lizard." Stated Glady, earning another groan from her son-in-law. She was eyeing the two men and I realized she meant their evolutions. "You don't look strong enough to have evolved these two, if I am to be honest-"
"Mother! Please!" Gasped Helena once again, this time shooting daggers with her eyes at her mother.
"What?" Snapped the older woman. "It was meant as a compliment. I may not know too much about the workings of gods, but I do know that human's are not often granted the status. Normal it is monsters or demi-humans, even if the foolish humans refused to properly acknowledge that. I am sure that a normal young woman would not have ascended with too much power. I was surprised is all."
"I am sorry for Glady, Lady Enna." Said Wallace, as he went to a near by table and poured himself a drink of amber liquid. He held out the bottle, offering us some as well, but I declined. Getting buzzed was not on my to do list tonight. Besides, I was pretty sure alcohol had no effect on me either way, and so it would be a waste of good liquor. The boys also declined. Alcohols and guard duty of one's god did not mix well, apparently.
"No, she is quite right. I am not very strong. Certainty not compared to Aeros at least. He is the only other god I have met, but I am sure the others out class me as well. My strength is in my people, and so it is to my people that I direct my efforts. When the foxkin devoted themselves to me I granted them evolution, and then I did the same with the goblins. I can't sit here and say it was easy. I'm sure that a dragon like Aeros could have done it with hardly a thought, but I thought it necessary and also a fitting gift for their devotion to a clearly under qualified God such as myself." I shrugged at the looks on the kobold's faces. "I am getting stronger, slowly and steadily. But like I said, it is only due to my people... and that brings me to our current issue."
I saw Wallace's back stiffen and Shill gave him a sympathetic look by his side. Clearly the poor mayor was unsure if I had plans to oust his people from these lands or do as Aeros would have, and have them all exterminated.
"I can not accept those beings of reason in my lands unless they fully intend to be my people. I have no intentions to do your people any harm, but if you can not swear yourselves to me and the better meant of these lands, then you will be expelled from here." I sighed and looked at the mayor with sympathy. it had to of been hard, making a home in these tortured and abandoned lands after fleeing their last homes. "But, should you and your people choose to abide by these mandates, I see no reason why you can not stay. Or even, if you so wish, to move to a more hospitable location than on the fringes of the dark."
"truly?" Asked the oldest of Wallace's sons. he looked to be in his mid to late teens, but it was hard to say for sure with the dog like faces they all had.
"Yes. I have had no reason to harbor ill will toward the kobolds, and I am sure your people could only better our community here. But..."
"But?" Asked Wallace, his drink still in hand but he had yet to take a sip, his eyes wide and anxious.
"But we have more pressing issues." Rumbled Lagdon, not ever one for enjoying small talk. It wasn't just age that made his brother Margund a better choice to succeed the goregek for the goblin throne. Lagdon just was not a very personable hobgoblin. not out side a military setting at least.
Everyone instinctively glanced to the single window in the room. the thick, green curtain had been drawn across it, but I could imagine that night had fully fallen now and that the fog would be as thick as pea soup out there, a monster lurking within.
"Have you come to best this creature?" Asked Helena, hopeful and warry.
"I am sorry, but no." I said, shaking my head sadly, silver locks spilling over my copper robe and my inter locked fingers resting on my lap. "I can not remove a threat I know next to nothing about. Likely one that is, at least in some very important ways, stronger than I. And I will not risk my people in a foolish suicide attempt either."
I saw Helena's face fall. "What is it you have come to do then?"
It was Shill who answered her, his voice high and excitable. "Lady Enna has offered the entire village temporary residence at her estate. I was asked to guide her here so that we may organize an evacuation of the village."
"Evacuation?" Grumbled Glady, glaring in distaste.
"Just until the specter issue can be resolved." I said calmly. "I will not force anyone to leave their homes, but to stay here seems to be a certain death sentence at this point. Aeros is no longer in charge, and there fore your people need not hide here at the forest's edge. I can not say that the whole nation is open to you, as I have yet to spread my influence to all corners just yet... but the east is pretty safe, and I have my people getting ready to house a village of refugees if need be."
"This is a very generous offer..." Breathed Wallace, finally raising his glass before downing it in one gulp.
"I doubt you will get a better one." Said Draxly, deciding to speak as he sometimes did. "Lady Enna is almost too welcoming to strangers, but neither us foxie nor the goblins have any room to judge, for it is though our land god's generosity that both our people have been able to prosper as we have."
"and you all... live together?" Asked Forest, the eldest son, holding a twin's hand in each of his own. "Goblin's and Foxes?"
Draxly flashed the boy a rare smile- even Lagdon smiled more than this ninja of a foxie- and shook his read. "No, not all of us. The foxes still have our own village and the vast majority of goblins still reside in the mountains, now ruled by the king Margund. But those of us who have decided to dedicate ourselves wholly to Lady Enna have come together at the estate, where her grand shrine has been built." He shared a brief amused glance with Lagdon before continuing. "It may be odd for our two people live, work and grow along side one another, but Lady Enna has managed to bring us together like no other has before, and we grow and learn everyday. though it was not long ago we two people were at war, we now coexist alongside one another under Lady Enna's kind and generous guidance."
I was pretty sure I was blushing. I defiantly felt uncomfortable. Talk about high praise! What the heck was I supposed to do with that? I was not nearly so special. it was the hard work of both the foxes and the goblins that made their alliance so strong and beneficial. I may have been the one to suggest it- alright, order it- but it was not I who had the power to keep them all together and motivated like that... was I?