Chapter 18: The Day Before Part 2
Echo two wryly smiled as she left the tent to follow her father's orders. Her ability to appear human had improved an she now appeared completely human, she could even create sound whenever she took a step and pretended to breathe to create a perfect Illusion.
Some distance away was the human who had been tied to a wooden post for the comfort of the other goblins. Beside her was Arisa who had taken her job as her protector too seriously and had decided to even sleep beside the human.
The human heard the sound of footsteps come behind her, she had yet to fall as sleep, her posture was uncomfortable, and her thoughts had been jumbled from the day's events. She looked at Arisa who slept beside her on the grass. Though they could share no words, the human felt a bond growing between them. She hated herself for sympathizing with a Goblin, she hated herself for being unable to hate the goblins in the camp. Shortly before she had been tied up she remembered the frightened eyes of some wandering children. Their eyes held jubilation that could only be described as someone who had found their home after a long journey. They happily danced on the grass and played with nearby sticks. The adults disciplined the children but then the Human God came and spoke a few words and made odd gestures before the children were allowed to play again. There were few Children, the human had counted six possibly eight. One of them had a large burn on the side of his face that seemed to disappear as the day went by while the other had lost a limb which also healed, only partially, over the course of the day.
Therefore, she could not complain or even spout angrily at them when the human God had ordered some goblins to tie her to the post. She was solemn and conflicted within herself, she had killed goblins indiscriminately over the course of her life, thinking them to be monsters but the lines had become blurred and now that she had seen the two sides, she couldn't shake the guilt growing within her heart.
Echo 2 stood before the Human startling her for she had not expected to see another human.
"another human!!" Kaya quietly shouted. Echo two wore glasses, something unfamiliar to the human. the human thought that the woman was perhaps royalty as she saw her red button-up shirt and black sweater. She felt the black and grey skirt was odd, she had never seen that type of clothing but even at a glance, it looked incredibly expensive.
“What are you doing here?” The human asked as she looked curiously at Echo two’s clothing. The more she looked at it the more she thought it had to be royalty, red was not a color just anyone could afford to wear, but that begged the question, “what is Royalty doing in The Great Valin Oasis?”
“Could it be that she was from a God kingdom?”
"What are you doing here?" Echo 2 Mimicked the human's words. The human furrowed her brow as If to state, "isn't it obvious." The human had not expected such a ridiculous question
“I’ve ban captura” the human decided to state the obvious. The human did not realize it, but that simple sentence was enough for Echo 2 to discern a large part of her language. Combination of 3 languages, Latin, French, English, further analysis required to confirm.
“what is your nem” Echo two said, making a mistake in the correct word for name. the human’s confusion only grew from that point on, if she had seen robots, she could’ve probably have guessed that the person before her was a machine, but she had never even heard whispers of the technology, so Echo two’s way of speaking confused Kaya. “My name is kaya” She finally managed to respond.
“I see, kaya.” Echo 2 continued to analyze the language, for a moment she thought of releasing Kaya to observe the appropriate body language but after a moment decided against it. “It would cause problems for father’s reputation.”
“Who are you?” Kaya asked, tilting her head to one side; her eyes showing a distinct confusion. What the woman before her said next only made matters worse for Kaya. “I have no name yet, I wait for my master to give me one.” Kaya stares at Echo two blankly for a few moments.
After the confusion subsides from Echo two's answer, she realized the word maestro is similar to the word she has been hearing the goblins call their god. Kaya wasn't dull, she could connect the dots and correctly concluded that the woman before her worked for the God that had captured her. At this revelation, Kaya's blood began to boil out of anger and disgust "so You work for that god." She said as she pretended to gag on her own words.
“Work? No, I am his obedient servant, nothing more, nothing less.” Kaya’s eyes widened, “could she be a slave, but I don’t see a collar.” Kaya began to think of how anyone could be a willing servant to a god. All possibilities led to one thing in her mind, Slave. The thought caused her anger to subside and was quickly replaced with pity.
"fuck him." She cursed him under her breath and as soon as she did she felt the strong force of something metallic hit her face. Echo two had slapped her, Kaya for a moment couldn't believe it, it had happened so suddenly that she didn't even ponder as to why her hand felt like metal nor why it weighed so little.
"you may insult me, but do not disrespect my master, he is the reason I exist." Then as if her former attitude had been a facade, Echo twos cheeks began to glow bright red and her eyes and mouth drooped into a bashful state. "Sometimes I even wish to call him father." Her hands covered her mouth as if she felt embarrassed by her own words. Kaya's mouth fell to the floor, the personality change was too the extreme she felt as if she was in a play and the woman before her was the story's fool. She had even, for a moment, began to believe that the goblins were actually children and her whole ordeal had been a joke. She turned to Arisa trying to examine her, but no matter how hard she looked, Arisa couldn't be anything other than a goblin. "Perhaps it's the dim moonlight that makes it harder to identify the trick," she thought to herself, desperately trying to rationalize that strange atmosphere she had felt the entire day. A Warmth and playfulness that even she could not indulge in when in the Godless territory.
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“am I going crazy” she quietly shouted, “this place is making me go crazy, mone of this makes sense.” She thought as she looked around looking for someone to come up and tell her it had all been a malicious joke.
A human god looking after Goblins, that fact alone was enough to think that it was false. She couldn't comprehend why the goblins were worshiping a human in the first place. Then there was the woman in front of her who called that human god, father. Then there was the nonsense that the woman in front of her was speaking.
Suddenly the women returned to her cold demeanor. Her gaze sharpened and her back straightened as she asked in her slightly monotone voice, "did that make your heart flutter?". In echo two's mind, it was simply a bit of practice so that she could teach Seresa the methods of charming others. Within her database, there were plenty of comics in which a bashful girl was well loved. Scitus had not realized that Echo two had decided to become more than just Seresa's basic education Teacher.
Kaya ignored Echo Two, she was too preoccupied with her thoughts. "Everything was wrong. All the goblins I have met before today were dumb and violent. Yet all the goblins here don't look twice at her and when they do it's in fear." It was a world apart from the last camp she was in. there the goblins would often come to grope the woman or do worse, here the goblins worked on the fortress and one was going as far as watching over her. At least that is all she could think up as an explanation when she looks at Arisa. "even my fucking food portions are better." Now that she was no longer a threat, she was being properly fed with jerky.
Out of all the anomalies she had encountered, the god Scitus was the greatest one. She had never once in her life seen a god be so close to his worshipers much less work alongside. Ordinarily only the highest echelons of society were even permitted to lay eyes on their Gods. Scitus, however, not only worked alongside them but coordinated and commanded a rescue mission. He had stepped outside of his territory, something that crippled normal gods in terms of power.
She had also witnessed a Goblin act like a young girl love. The thought of a goblin falling in love with a human was not in even the most fantastical of tales and yet it was most certainly a reality in the little kingdom she found herself trapped in. "a goblin loving a human, Impossible. It must be a mistake" She whispered
"Ah, you are speaking of my cute little student. " Echo two said, happy to hear someone speak of her student. Kaya, on the other hand, felt the woman was the Greatest mystery of all, she had even begun to question whether she was human.
"Her love for my master is very strong, but my master has only ever really spoken to two women in his life so it's unlikely he's noticed. " Echo two knew all about her creator. She and her brother, when they became conscious, gained insight on his life. They knew everything about him, almost as if they were there with him every step of the way.
“THIS IS INSANE!!!” Kaya screamed to herself, as the world around her seemed to break every rule she had ever come know. “Master asked me to learn your language,” Echo two spoke, bringing Kaya back to reality, “it was easier than I thought, with my mission now complete, I wish you a good night.” Echo two bowed her head and began to leave.
“WAIT!!” Kaya screamed, startling Arisa awake; before her mind had time to react, her body had already pulled her dagger out. “is that man really the god of this place?” She wanted to make sure one final time, she still didn’t understand whether she was going crazy or if the god himself had made it this away; even so she wished, no, she needed to know if the man was truly a god.
"Oh, yes he is." The words that Kaya dreaded were finally spoken aloud, She didn't want to believe it but now there was no doubt in her mind. She would be trapped forever, she would forever be a slave to the God of monsters. "Do you fear my father." Echo two was quick to notice Kaya's downtrodden mood. "I know father seems to be uncaring, but he will not harm you." Echo two had seen his father throughout his life, she knew her father was kind, he had only acted cold to protect himself. Echo two smiled as she left, only her brother would know the meaning of the smile, only he would know that she smiled because their father had become just a bit brighter ever since his arrival to this new world.
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The goblins marched into the night, their king, the purple goblin, eyes glowed in fury. They had been forced to march, they were going to attack the goblins who dared attack the king.
Some were excited about the fight and the others there only wished to protect their families. They still didn't know that their families were safe, the king had lied to them, telling them that a terribly evil tribe took them.
"Even if they notice", the king thought, "they have no choice but to fight when we get there." The purple goblin knew goblins well, they were the type to attack first and ask questions later. This was the reason for their survival, it was the safest option after all.
The king curled his lips into a wicked smile as he thought of his trump card.
BAM!! The ogre smashed the snakes head against a large boulder. In a single strike, a snake the size of a human had been killed. With the ogre at his side, he was unstoppable.
The ogre looked at his king with saddened eyes. He didn’t obey him out of respect nor fear, he obeyed him for his family. The problem wasn’t the king, it was something far more terrifying. As long as the king was safe, that other creature would be satisfied; at least this is what the ogre hoped was the case.
The goblins that smelled of sewage were smiling along with their king, many of them enjoyed war and battle and loved the grief-stricken faces of their fellow goblins. Not many remember a time when they enjoyed anything else other than slaughter. Most had killed goblins in the past this is what had caused their putrid smell. Though they didn't immediately turn into terrible beings, it was slow, at first, the smell was unnoticeable, some thought that it would go away if they acted like good goblins, but their vices would always get the better of them. Then they met the goblin king, a person who allowed them to indulge in their vices.
“camp, not far.” The king says as they reach a nearby creek.
Today they will sleep and, in the morning, they will march in for an attack. The goblins would not see it coming, the king thought. At night the enemy would have the advantage since the smell would give them away, the king decided to attack head on instead, with the ogre heading to battle first.
"Tomorrow, will goblin fall," the king thought to himself as he fell into slumber.