The word Thief rocks me back. I don’t… I shouldn’t… yet here I am, mesmerized by that four-letter word. But I am a Goblin. And we are RAIDERS! Yet… the Elder’s words are now bouncing in my brain.

Thief.

Is that a path? Why have I never heard of it!

“You look confused, boy,” Elder Bones muses.

He watches me become lost in thought for thirty minutes before finally putting a hand on my shoulder.

“You want to learn more?”

I nod sheepishly at first but then vigorously with enthusiasm, like a youngling. This can’t be real. Thief.

“Thief has always been an option. Well, unless you reach level 2. In which case, class changes become…more difficult.”

I don’t know what the fuck he is talking about, but I am all ears!

“At your stage, Raider is merely a job. Do you know the difference between a job and a class?”

I shake my head no.

“A job is temporary, something that can change depending on what you’re doing for reward. A class is something associated with you as a Goblin. Make sense?”

Nope. But I nod yes.

“If you want to become a Thief, you have to change your job to Thief first.”

“But elder, why aren’t there other Goblin Thieves?”

Elder smiles, “Inquisitive, good. Long ago, Goblins chose freely between Raiders, who fought and pillaged our enemies below these mountains, and Thieves, those who stole valuables to enrich themselves and the tribe. But that was when the races were young, and humans, elves, and dwarves lived in small settlements tending to small farms and protecting small communities.”

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The Elder drew as he talked, scratching the mountains with his cane first before drawing a facsimile of a riverbank with small circles. Those had to be human settlements in the Elder’s day. But the human settlements now were nowhere near rivers but close to our mountains. What happened?

“But humans and their kind were cursed with the power of ‘civilization,’ and they built mighty castles and holds. Eventually, cities held the secret to vast armies and professional soldiers. The dwarves and the elves followed suit, and what was once easy prey for Goblin-kind became impenetrable fortresses promising death and woe. Now we only attack the undefended farms and small villages at the bottom of this mountain.”

As Elder talks, I nod along, enjoying the history lesson. When he stops, he points a finger at my chest, the same way he used to when I was a youngling, and asks, “So with the humans living in guarded cities and fortresses, what do you think happened to the Goblin thieves?”

I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know. They kept trying to steal shit?”

Elder Bones laughs. “Yes and no.” He points his cane in the direction of the Chieftain’s hut and then continues. “When all humans lived in the open, Goblin thieves stole and took many things, bringing back riches to the tribes. But as more humans moved to the cities, the riches went there too. And eventually, Goblin thieves found it harder to take what they could before. And what they found only enriched themselves, which pissed off the Chieftains who were often Raiders or Variants, so the Class ‘Thief’ was banned.”

“Banned?”

“Well, strongly discouraged from being taught to younglings. Eventually, the practice of selecting Thief as a class was forgotten.”

I stare at Elder Bones for a long moment, the wheels in my brain turning slowly as my entire life spilled out in front of me; all the raiding, all the near-death experiences, everyone who died on a raid that went nowhere… all of it felt strange. I wasn’t angry, shocked, or even confused.

Raiding worked. Raiding fed the tribe. If thievery couldn’t do it, then, of course, it wouldn’t be taught to the younglings. More raiders mean a more successful raid. Even now, being here and not out in the field puts my cousins in danger and puts Dagger in danger. How can I change to a class that doesn’t work?

“I’m so confused… if being a Thief doesn’t work, why are you telling me about it?”

“Because son, it has always been an elder's job to give you younglings their choices. Instruct you, encourage you, beat you if I have to, but never deny you a path.” Elder Bones squeezes my shoulder. “And who says it doesn’t work?”

“YOU DID!”

“No, stupid boy! I merely explained why it didn’t work for those other Goblins!”

I shake my head, no longer able to hide the fact that I don’t understand. “What’s the difference!”

“Hopefully, you Rock. Hopefully you.”