Vreek sat there staring at the three of us for a few minutes and did not say anything. The only sound we heard was the fire going and the occasional animal calling out in the forest. I knew I could not rush him. I had just overloaded his mind with who we were.

“You met our god?”

I could see the shock at the idea that somehow their god would grant me an audience with him. I knew it had been hundreds of years since anyone had spoken with him.

I shook my head and groaned. Out of everything he could ask about, he wanted to know more about Bob. I had not used that name of course, as I did not know what they called him. Vreek had mentioned Dark One, Destroyer, and other names, but I had just told him that the god had not felt I was worthy to know his real name.

“I did. He was impressive.”

Vreek went back to sitting there and not talking. Finally, he pointed at Dirk and Turk.

“And they are your children?”

“They are. They were twin boys in our world. They looked exactly alike.”

“That is not true!” exclaimed Turk. “Mom always said I was the cuter one.”

Dirk spat on the ground and shook his head.

“That was just the lie she told you so that you wouldn’t get upset about knowing the truth, that I was the better-looking one.”

Both of them smiled and Vreek just stared at them and shook his head in disbelief.

“You three are considered myths or legends! We have not had a champion in generations! Now you are telling me there are now three!”

“Vreek look at me,” I said as I snapped my fingers to get his attention. I tried to speak in a calm tone as I saw he was beginning to freak out. “What did Brar tell you about me?”

Vreek turned and stared at me and I could see him relax a little bit.

“He said you were to be protected at all costs. Even from yourself.” When he chuckled about that last part, Vreek seemed to return a little to his normal self. He paused for a moment and then smiled at me. “He told me that you were the one who could finally give us a home.”

I stood up, walked over to where Vreek was sitting, and put my hand on his shoulder.

“That is exactly what the four of us will do. We'll make the other races give up their persecution and destruction of us or I will wipe them out.”

Vreek looked up at me and for a moment, I would have believed he might cry. Suddenly he dropped to his knee, grabbed my hand, and held it on his head with his hands.

“I pledge my life and my sword to you and your children,” declared Vreek.

I was stunned. Vreek had trained me, beat me, berated me, and I believed, befriended me. Now he was kneeling before me like I was a king.

“Uh, get up, you fool. You do not need to do this.”

Vreek looked up at me, and I saw tears had actually run down his face.

“You are wrong, Zolb. You are everything every goblin and orc has dreamed of since the day we were born and learned the truth of this land. I will guard your secret with my life and I will support you till I die.”

“Then get off your knees and stand up like the warrior you are,” I demanded. “You are a captain and a friend and I will not allow you to act like this.”

As Vreek stood up, I pulled my hand from his grasp and watched him wipe the tears from his face.

“I am honored to be called your friend Zolb.”

“If you two are done with the bro moment can we get back to the discussion about hearts?” asked Turk.

I nodded, punched Vreek on the arm, and returned to where I had been sitting. When I had sat down, I noticed Vreek had sat down and appeared to be collecting his wits.

“What did I last say?” asked Vreek.

Dirk chuckled and spoke first.

“You had finished saying how hearts from humans and the other races were more powerful depending on the strength of the one it came from. I think you were going to talk about other creatures next.”

Vreek sighed and nodded.

“Hearts from creatures. Like beasts or legendary creatures, is what you are talking about?” asked Vreek.

Dirk leaned forward and smiled at Vreek.

“Dragons or sand wurms or something powerful like that!” Dirk said with a look of excitement all over his face.

“Things that will get us all killed. Is that what you want me to tell you of?”

Dirk nodded he was correct.

Vreek shook his head and picked up the meat he had still not eaten. He looked at it and then set it back down.

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“There are so many things in this world like that. I only know of some, but legends and stories have been told. Brar mentioned a few years ago but most goblins and orcs will not have to deal with them. We purposely stay away from these things because we are already limited in numbers. The three races often seek them out for their treasure and their bodies are useful for many things. Like the hide on that boar, their scales and skin are rumored to make impressive weapons and armor.”

Vreek scratched his chin while he looked up at the evening sky.

“In the oceans are great beasts that are said to be longer than the fields of wheat we burned and covered in teeth and scales. I do not swim, so I do not plan on seeing one of them. There are dragons, wyverns, and other flying creatures that will easily kill most orcs, goblins, and heroes. Poison, fire, lighting, and other magic are used by them and they are immune to most weapons.”

Vreek pointed at my sword, which was resting by the rock I was sitting on.

“That would cut them but you would have to get close.” Vreek stopped talking for a moment and he appeared to be lost in thought. “I have heard stories of beasts and animals that are half animal and half something else. I would not know where to find such a creature either.”

Vreek suddenly perked up and looked at me.

“Did Brar ever mention a labyrinth?”

I looked at both Turk and Dirk and I saw they were thinking the same thing I was.

“You mean a place with lots of monsters, treasure, and other things?”

Vreek nodded. “So he did tell you about them. Good.”

I jumped up and grabbed the boulder I had been sitting on and flung it into the woods. Since I was upset, I had not given any thought to my strength again and watched as it flew over the trees and heard it crash into something off in the distance.

“That son of a dwarf!” I shouted as I turned on Vreek, who was leaning away from me. “He did not tell me anything about those! Why would he not tell me about them? Where can we find one?!”

Vreek held up his hands and continued to try and scoot back away from me.

“Uh, Dad. I think you are scaring him,” Turk stated. “There is a vein throbbing in your forehead right now.”

I glanced at both of them and Dirk was nodding in agreement.

Taking a deep breath, I held it in for a moment and then slowly released it. Breathe, I told myself. Wait till you see Brar and then strangle him, I told myself.

“Sorry, Vreek, I didn't mean to scare you like that,” I stated with a huff. “And no, Brar has not mentioned those at all. We know about them from our world.”

I turned to sit down and realized I no longer had a place to sit.

“I’ll get you another seat,” Turk informed me as I heard him stand up. “I don’t think it will be as big as the one you had, though. That rock was at least four hundred pounds and you threw it like it was nothing.”

I stood there staring at the hole in the ground where the rock had been. When I had thrown it, I did not even notice the weight of it. My anger and frustration had taken over and I just grabbed it and threw it. I was not sure a strongman in our world could have picked that thing up, let alone throw it.

I turned back to Vreek while I waited on a new rock from Turk and saw that his facial expression had changed from fear into something else.

“Is what I just did normal?” I asked Vreek.

Vreek looked at me and shook his head no.

“An ogre could do that without any real problem but I think you threw it farther than he would. So many times I wondered how you and,” Vreek paused and looked at Dirk. “Your sons managed to progress so fast. I have spent my whole life getting to where I am. Years of training and being careful. You three passed me in a month. Knowing why now makes me understand. Before, I had prayed to our god asking if I had upset him and limited my growth.”

“I am not sure what to say.”

Vreek waved me off.

“You do not have to say anything, and as a goblin, you should never apologize. You were chosen for this task and you are accomplishing it. Brar was right. You need protection from yourself more than from others.”

I knew Vreek was right again. He seemed to know me better than myself as well as my real limits. As pissed off at Brar as I was, I owed him for sending Vreek with us. Without his experience and guidance, we would have gotten ourselves into a situation that might end in death.

“Look out, Dad,” Turk said as he brought a rock for me to sit on. He chuckled as he dropped it in the hole I had pulled mine out of. “Looks like a dwarf’s chair now.”

I sat down and laughed because now I was below everyone else. It did feel like something a midget might sit on.

“Now that our dad has a place to sit, can you go back to the labyrinth topic?” asked Turk.

Vreek smiled, most likely from hearing Turk call me his dad.

“I only know that there are some. I do not know where they are. You might ask Brar the next time you two talk. I do not think a goblin has been in one for hundreds of years. The three races long ago killed any of our kind who got close.”

“The four hearts we have left are getting pretty foul. Does time cause a heart to decay in power?” asked Dirk.

“Most hearts will last up to a week. Even if they smell bad and start to rot, it still has some of its power. In a few days, the ones we have will not help much besides a little healing. “

“I wonder if we could dry them or preserve them somehow. Maybe like a heart jerky or something,” Turk offered up as a thought.

“I am not sure what this jerky is. We have tried storing them in jars with different liquids but often it did little to keep them.”

Turk and Dirk started talking about a smoke shed and Vreek was lost but listened in on what they were saying.

Listening to them, I found myself starting to grow tired. I realized I had not really slept since I had eaten May’s heart.

“Vreek, I just thought of something. I have not slept like one usually does when training hard after eating a heart. Ever since we left, I have been awake. Now I am starting to feel tired. Will I be asleep for days?”

Scratching his scalp, Vreek stared at me for a moment.

“How tired do you feel?”

“Tired enough that I could fall asleep if I closed my eyes.”

“That is not good then,” declared Vreek as he tossed his food scraps into the fire. “We need to prepare to stay here for a few days. Are you able to stay up and help us build a shelter?”

I nodded and found myself suddenly yawning. How long had it been since I had done that?

“Maybe?”

Standing up, Vreek started barking out orders at Turk and Dirk. They rushed off to find the rocks that he told them he wanted.

“Can you still swing your sword?”

I stood up and, when I grabbed the hilt felt more awake as the sword seemed to surge power into me.

“As long as I hold the sword, I should be able to.”

Vreek nodded and pointed to some trees nearby.

“Good. Cut them down with the sword and then try splitting the trunks into equal lengths. We will build a small building for you to rest in.”

Walking towards the trees, I felt another yawn trying to come out. I knew I needed to hurry up and get done what Vreek had told me to do.