The camp was in an uproar after we made it back with our unconscious captive. Brar met us as we made it to the inner circle and his men took the unconscious women into his tent while he sent us off to train. We were almost to the training grounds when an orc ran up holding a bloody package for me.

“Brar says you need to eat this now before you train.”

Opening it up I saw a heart inside of it. I looked at Vreek and pointed at it.

“The one you ate earlier today probably lost some of its potency from dealing with the poison," Vreek informed me. "That heart you have right there is the warrior I killed in the woods with their healer. After you eat that I am pretty sure you are going to be close to a point of evolving.”

“Evolving?”

Vreek nodded and looked around making sure no one was listening.

“Brar told me some about you. That heart and your gift will be a large boost to your power. I doubt after this week I could beat you one on one.”

“I have so many questions," I stammered.

Vreek shook his head and waved me off.

“And we do not have time for questions. Eat and start training. We will talk more in a few days or a week. Depending on how this training goes.”

I nodded and tore into the heart I was holding. As I started on my third bite, I felt my body quivering with a stronger power I had never felt before. I looked at Vreek and he saw me shaking. He nodded and motioned again for me to keep eating.

“You are going to be a great goblin someday. Do not forget it was I who kept you alive long enough to be one.”

I laughed between bites. I almost believed Vreek had just told a joke.

For over two days I trained. Time was impossible to track but I knew the moon had gone down two times. I ate more food than I had eaten in our entire time in this world in those two days. I crapped and pissed while I trained and thought nothing of it. Every one of Brar’s personal guards and captains spent time working with me individually as well as in pairs. I left multiple massive divots in the field from where I had pulled carts back and forth across it so many times I had lost count. Goblins occasionally even lined up around the edge of the inner circle and cheered for me as I ran laps.

“Dad, are you finally awake?” I heard Turk ask.

I slowly opened my eyes and glanced over and saw Turk sitting on the ground near me, reading a book. Dirk was across the tent and playing with some vials.

“You two look different," I muttered, sitting up a little and feeling the blanket I had over me slide down some.

They both laughed and held up their arms and flexed. Neither one of them was wearing a top and their bodies had grown considerably since the last time I remembered seeing them. They had hard muscles packed all over their bodies. No fat was evident and each of them I realized, was taller, even though they were sitting down.

“That's a nice scar on your arm, Dirk. Care to tell me how you got it?” I joked.

Dirk looked down at the scar and laughed as he shook his head no.

“Sorry, you aren’t my type. Anyways you really need a mirror to see what you look like.”

I stood up and then realized I had no clothes on, just the blanket I had been under. Both boys looked for a moment at my crotch before shaking their heads and turning away.

“Good god, put that thing away,” joked Turk. “Apparently, everything grows when you eat a heart.”

I looked down and did a double-take. Men all over the world back on earth would have paid fortunes to see this thing and even more to have one of their own.

“Should I try and the helicopter?” I said with a chuckle as I started to swing my hips.

Both of them moaned and turned their heads even farther away.

“Please put on some pants!”

I laughed and looked for something to wear and then realized this was not the tent we were in before. Picking up the blanket I had been wrapped in, I put it around my waist and started looking for pants.

“I’m not sure any of my old ones will fit me.”

I saw Dirk risk a glance and then his eyes went wide.

“Uh Da… I mean Zolb. You are tall now. I mean you are taller than Vreek now. I mean, holy crap, you are stacked like Arnold too.”

Glancing down across my stomach, chest, and arms I realized Dirk was right. Everywhere I looked, my muscles had grown to match the size of someone who had been bodybuilding for years. I could feel the strength in my arms and in my legs.

“How long have I been out?”

“Five and a half days. You were running laps when you passed out. They carried you in here and covered you up.”

Turk turned around, stood up, and walked over. His head came just to my shoulder, I noticed as he started inspecting me.

“That is impressive,” he said as he poked my arm. “Soon we may need a cave to live in if you keep growing like this.”

“I am not sure that is possible. Getting that big would be difficult for anyone, especially a goblin,” I replied.

“I am not sure you are a goblin anymore,” Turk declared. "You are bigger than every other goblin and more muscular. No teeth, though, like an orc."

Dirk nodded in agreement as he also came over and started to poke me with his finger.

“Vreek had mentioned he wondered if you would evolve.”

Ready to change the subject I decided to talk about them for a moment. “How long have you two been awake?”

“About four days. We only lasted a little under a day before they put us in here. I got a chance to train in some magic and Dirk already passed the Blackhand test. Now we were waiting to see when you might wake up.”

“Congrats you two! I am proud of you both,” I exclaimed as I reached out and grabbed them each and hugged them tight.

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Both of them started shrieking and pushing against me.

“Let us go!” Turk shouted. “You dropped your blanket!

I laughed, let go of them, and realized I had forgotten to hold onto it. I wrapped it around me again and, this time, tucked it in like a beach towel.

Dirk shuddered and walked over to the chest we had inherited and sat down on it. "I'm definitely going to need counseling for that."

“What tent is this?” I asked as I spun around in a circle.

“Oh, we are one tent past where Vreek was. He is on the same ring as us as well.”

I did the math in my head. Had we jumped three rings? Brar must have upset a few other goblins if he moved us up and others down. Then I remembered what I had forgotten.

“What about the woman!”

Dirk took a deep breath and looked at Turk.

“You tell him.”

“Tell me what?” I asked as I glanced back and forth between the two of them.

“She is alive,” Turk said. “Brar has her in a tent that is guarded 24/7. He has not allowed anyone but himself in there. That also reminds me that we need to go and see him. He wanted you to come after you woke up.”

“Do you think he will have pants for me?”

Both boys laughed and started walking to the tent flap. Dirk turned back at me and smiled.

“I sure hope so because I do not want to have to stare at that ever again unless it's my own.”

“Zolb, I would have never thought you could be possible of this the first time I laid eyes upon your weak, green sack.”

Brar was walking around me and poking me with a finger. I still could not understand why everyone felt the need to poke me. Thankfully he had found me a pair of pants meant for an orc that fit. I still had no shirt, but everyone in the tent was whispering to each other and shaking their heads.

“So what am I?”

Brar completed his circle around me and stopped in front of me. I realized I was now the same height as he was. He nodded his head a few more times and smiled. His red eyes were glowing in the dim light of his tent.

“You have evolved into a hobgoblin," Brar stated after he tsked and ran his tongue over his teeth. "Something that has not been done in a very long time. I have not personally seen it. The King, I believe, has only a few times. Those that have done this and are still alive serve as generals and warlords for him.”

Warlords and generals! I knew a little bit about goblin evolutions and possible things from the games we had played and shows we had watched. IF what we had read and seen in our world was from perhaps someone here coming to ours, there were still a lot of possible steps I could take in my pursuit of power.

“Can I pick a path I want to train in now?”

Brar’s eyes raised as he looked at my face and tried to read what I was thinking.

“You have an idea of what you are wanting to be? Isn’t being a hobgoblin good enough?”

“If you could be more than a shaman, would you not attempt it?”

Brar smiled and nodded.

“You are smart. I have said it before, but you understand power and the need to continue to gather it. Tell me then, what do you want to be.”

I already knew what I wanted to be if it was possible. With the way Dirk and Turk fought and our lack of healing, I knew I needed to be a tank and still be able to heal. Dear game gods, please let this one thing be real!

“I am not sure if it has the same name, but I would call it a Death Knight. Something opposite of a Paladin.”

The other goblins all gasped in shock.

Brar’s eyes went wide and he exclaimed in surprise, “You know that name! It has not been spoken of in a hundred years!”

“I know of it. Is it possible?”

Brar looked around the room and ran his tongue over his teeth.

“Everyone out but Zolb.”

After all of the goblins, including Turk and Dirk had exited the tent, Brar motioned for me to join him near his chair. Once I got there he sat down and did the same thing as before with his staff, sending a glowing field that covered half of the tent.

“I should have known better than to ask that question with everyone in this room. No doubts those fools are out in the center spreading tales and rumors of you being the next death knight. Do you really have any idea what one of those is?”

I closed my mind and tried to remember what I knew from the games I had played as well as the books I had read.

“They can drain the life of those around them to heal themselves, make people run in fear, command the dead, protect themselves against magic, and do some other nasty things.”

Brar huffed and shook his head.

“I guess you do know about some of it. There is more, but I will not worry about that now. I still need to inform the King about your transformation. I have no doubt he will send for you soon but you have still not fulfilled the task I told you to accomplish." Brar paused and pointed towards the map across the tent. "That town on the map is still standing.”

I laughed and shook my head.

“We almost died last week and now you are talking about me destroying a town. I am glad I had not attempted to attack the town then.”

Brar let out an evil cackle and his whole body shook.

“Did you learn anything from that fight?" he asked after he stopped laughing. "Vreek told me you and your two handled yourselves well, considering you had fallen into a snake's den with no clue that they were poisonous.”

“I did,” was the only answer I could give. “What scared me the most was the unknown. Those poisoned arrows and the tactics the second group used were some they had practiced a lot.” I paused for a moment as I remembered what I had meant to ask about earlier. “That reminds me, how is the prisoner doing?”

Brar leaned his staff against his chair and folded his hands together across his chest.

“Are you wanting to pay her a visit? She is still pretty angry and has a mean bite. I am not sure how she will react to you.”

“Do you speak her language, or does anyone here?”

Brar shook his head no.

“Vreek mentioned you wanted to try and learn it. I cannot recall the last time a goblin could speak the language of men.”

Damn it! I had hoped Brar might be able to communicate. I guessed we would have to do it the hard way. Thankfully Turk was amazing when it came to languages in our world. If we were lucky, he might be able to do the same here, given enough time.

“Well, I would still like to try. Learning more about them will help in defending against and defeating them later. Am I allowed to go and see her when I want?”

“You can but be careful. She is strong and has been a menace to us for a long time. Some wanted me to kill her while you were asleep. She must be restrained the whole time. Did Vreek tell you about that party?”

I nodded. He had given a few details as we had followed the stream back towards camp. They were the third strongest party of heroes in this area. They usually patrolled more as new heroes died and did not return. They knew the dangers of allowing goblins to get stronger and had killed hundreds of us.

“Then I will state the obvious.” Brar leaned forward and looked me in the eyes. “Zolb you will be a challenger to my authority soon. I believe you know this and as such I will limit my attempt to control you and your two sons. I will do what I can to assist you on your chosen path. The next time you consume a heart, I will train you in the few things I know that can help you with the magical side of what you want to be. Once that town is destroyed, you will have to leave. You will need to create a path of destruction away from this village so that the pink skins believe you have left this area. We need them not to come and attack this camp.”

Brar stood up and walked over to his chest and said a few words again and the chest clicked open. He dug into it and pulled out a black and red bracelet. After locking the chest he turned and handed it to me.

“Put this on and everyone in camp who sees this will know you are above everyone but me. Be warned, it will bring some possible challengers but I doubt anyone in this camp would risk your wrath or mine. You and your two sons can pick your new tent. Any of the ones that are closest to mine.”

I held that bracelet and felt the metal between my fingers. It felt cool and it seemed very thin. It looked too small to fit me but as I started to try and slide it over my hand, it expanded until it fit snugly around my wrist.

“Oh, did I also mention it is magical?” chuckled Brar.

Brar was smiling as he sat back down in his chair.

“What will it do?”

“Once a week, you can use it to disappear for around a minute. It works best in dark places but if you are crouched low and are not moving, even in the open, it will still work. It will take about a week to recharge by draining a small amount of your power from you. Be warned, though, that it will not work against someone who can see magic.”

“What do you mean when you say see magic?”

Brar tapped next to his red eyes and smiled.

“I can see magic. Not from far away but from anywhere in this tent. That band used to belong to the second in command here. The leader of the Blackhand in my camp.”

I realized what that meant.

“He tried to kill you?”

“Smart as always,” Brar replied with a smile. “He did not know I could see magic and so when he tried to sneak in here to kill me, he found out what I can do the hard way. I have held onto that for a long time. I feel you will best be served with it.”

I twisted the band around my wrist and felt honored Brar would trust me with it.

“Thank you. Can you tell me how to use it?”

Brar laughed and nodded.

“Only on the day you leave to destroy the village.”