“Are ya sure we shouldn’t stay in the fort? I ‘member using a lot of Earth Magic to make those walls, so they should be pretty sturdy if we need ‘em,” Dom said, glancing back at the fort.

“Too big. Hard defense,” was all that Grool said, his back turned to the fort, and on that back, a large bag full of supplies.

“Ya says that, but…” Dom continued, glancing back at the now disappearing fort behind the trees of the forest, until it was out of sight, which caused him to sigh and look forward once more. “So, where are we going?”

“Our base,” Grool simply replied, pushing aside a branch that was in his way.

“Huh? So, we’re going from one base to another?!” Dom exclaimed, then glaring at Grool’s back before throwing a glance at Eleanor. “Doesn’t that sound familiar…?”

Hearing Dom say that, Eleanor’s eyes widened and she stopped walking. Both Grool and Jul turned to look at Eleanor, with Jul carrying an expression of confusion. Eleanor had a forced smile, which she used to try to hide as best as she could the worries that she now felt.

“U-um,” she stuttered, holding the hem of her skirt. “What kind—what kind of base is that?”

Jul chuckled with a confident smile while shaking his head. “It’s the most amazing, wonderful, impressive, and magnificent structure thou shall lay eyes upon in this forsaken place. Thou shall feel the aura of radiance when your eyes are set upon it, and the desire to leave shall therefore be forgotten, with a yearning of home being one that will all too easily be mixed with our supreme design!”

“E-eh… is-is that so? Um…” she hesitantly said, turning her eyes from both Jul and Grool to look at Dom. “I think it would be best for us to go our separate ways, now that I think about it.”

“Eh!?” exclaimed the goblin, taken aback. “B-b-b-but how can this be!? Hath this one’s golden words not been enough to entice those who listen to them to be rejoiced in their existence?! Wouldn’t it be the most wondrous of things to hear this one’s words rather than the crude and unintelligible sounds of the wild?!”

“W-well…” Eleanor replied, looking at the sides. “How many people are there in your base?”

“One,” Grool replied.

“Just one?” Dom followed up, and Grool nodded his head. “What about all the other demons in that place? I’m sure that I’ve fought with more than just you—unless you’ve been the same every time, but I remember seeing ones with horns, and different kinds of body shapes.”

“They gone,” Grool replied, shaking his head. “They move other zone.”

“Other zone?! You mean to tell me you know where the next gate is and how to open it?” Dom asked, narrowing his eyes while looking at Grool, who nodded in response. Seeing that, he turned to look at Eleanor. “Y’know what? I feel the same as you do. This all sounds too good to be true,” then turned to look back at Grool, “If you know how to get out of here, why would you come looking for us?”

“'Tis within our nature to not leave behind those who hath been forsaken. We shall, with all of our might, go forth, and search for those that may need a hand in times of need, even if those we reach do not want the hand doth extended, for we, as beings that share in our joys and pains, shall take thou hand and bring thusly…” Jul said, pausing for a moment while looking seriously at both of them. “Home.”

Stolen story; please report.

There was a moment of silence where both Eleanor and Dom looked at Jul. Eleanor appeared to be hesitating after hearing their words, while Dom had a narrowed-eye look of suspicion.

“I ain’t buying it,” he said while looking at Jul and sticking the butt of the spear into the ground. “Be honest with me—no, rather, you stop talking, I don’t get what ya’saying,” he turned to Grool, “I understand you better. Explain.”

“Hmm…” Grool considered with his eyes set on Dom for a moment. “Jul right. We help.”

“Just like that?” Dom asked, his eyes serious. “Ain’t no way.”

“We… Need help too,” Grool followed up, appearing somewhat ashamed despite not being able to see his expression behind the mask.

“Ah! That’s right, that’s right!” exclaimed Jul, seemingly remembering something important. “There doth be a most extraneous requirement at the point of importance. One has to walk, hand in hand, with the aid of other living beings. Truly, this, thusly means, that therefore, one shall capture the wild beasts of this place, or come with cooperation of others and achieve victory against the trials of the world!”

“The hell?” Dom replied. “What does that mean?”

There was a moment of silence, where Eleanor appeared to be considering something, after which she asked, “Is it something like the last place? Where I had to defeat that horrible monster to open the door?”

“Yes,” Grool replied with a nod. “Here need more.”

“More what?” Asked Dom, removing the spear from the ground.

“People,” Grool replied, lifting a hand with the palm opened. “Five.”

“You need five people to be able to move on to the next place?” Eleanor asked.

Grool nodded, but then shook his head. “No. At least five beings.”

“Ah, so… You could also pick up the animals in this place—like the chickens—and bring them to that place you’re talking about?” Eleanor asked, her face somewhat awkward when she remembered the chickens.

Grool nodded. “Chickens not want to come. People better.”

“So, is that why you went after us in that fort? Were you trying to get us to help you or something like that?” Dom asked, cocking his head to the side.

Both Jul and Grool nodded, with Jul taking a step forward with his arms spread. “That doth be the case! It was through words and understanding that we wished for thou to join hands and spread words to the world, to move forward in friendly conversation and connect the past with the present and be expunged to a future of wordful joy. Human, we must now, therefore, thusly, travel the path that hath been placed on our—”

“That’s enough. I ain’t getting you!” Dom exclaimed with a glare, “Why do you do that? Speak normally, demon!”

“W-wha—But this one is speaking plainly! This one is exposing the best part of—”

“Yah, yah, okay, enough,” Dom interrupted, raising a hand, and turning to look at Grool. “Let's say we join you… Who are we meeting?”

“You see then,” Grool replied, and turned around once more. “She strong.”

“She?” Eleanor asked, a look of surprise on her face. “There’s another woman in your base?”

Grool nodded, and Jul spun in the place while holding his hands together. “Quite, yes, indeed. She is but the prettiest of flowers that the world hath created. One of so much beauty, radiance, and splendor, that one cannot help but feel like a world of words is naught but a reality already. This one cannot use enough words to show just what kind of—”

“Where did you find her?” Dom asked, taking a step aside to move past the rambling goblin to approach Grool. “She wasn’t from our fort, right?”

“No,” Grool replied, and continued walking down the forest, with Dom behind him.

“Alright… I’m curious now. But if I see that your base is something different from what you’re saying here, I’m bailing as fast as I can. I might not be able to kill ya’all but I’m certain I can at least get away,” Dom said, following Grool and half-turning his face to look at Eleanor. “What about you?”

“I uh…” Eleanor replied with uncertainty, glancing down at me as if I had the answers.

I just tilted my head to the side as I didn’t understand anything. She considered me for a moment, and in that moment, the others continued walking deeper into the forest, which is when she took a deep breath, and walked after them.

“I’ll go see for myself as well…” she said with some uncertainty, and her hand right on top of the blade’s handle as they continued into the forest.