"Your Qiyki right?" A goblin in the traditional green robes of the Gu tribe ask’s, stepping up to me a bit nervously.

"That’s right" I affirm, lowering my head respectfully.

"I’m Guylo, nice to meet ya. Anyway if you will follow me I will show you what work we have to do."

This goblin is clearly my junior in years but today I have no choice but to work under him.

I don’t understand exactly what’s happening. I’ll fully admit I’m not intelligent enough for that type of thinking.

Chief told us to listen to what the Gu tribe said. He said it was important to be respectful towards them. But I can’t for the life of me understand why.

Someone had asked at the time, ‘is the Gu chief our leader’ but Chief Qi said ‘no’.

So then for what reason are we giving them this treatment?

Don’t get me wrong, I'm patiently follow Guylo without a hint of regret on my face. I wouldn’t be so brazen as to rebel simply because the situation is strange. Chief is an intelligent goblin. And his word is as good as law.

Me and Guylo arrived at an upward leading tunnel. Guylo scrambled up it first and helped me up. The tunnel was wider than normal so typical climbing methods failed me.

"Why…" I began to ask but the scene before me left me partially speechless. A long, wide, field of red flower buds swayed casually. On either side of the field rows and rows of goblins of all tribes dropped small things into the soil and covered them on either side with dirt. Behind them a row of goblins sprinkled water carefully over the mound of dirt.

"This is called cultivation. Here we will be able to make enough food for the entire tribe." Guylo explains pointing towards a distant field that was currently being cleared of trees and shrubs. "That one is going to produce wheat. The one over here on the right is the berries the Qi tribe eat."

"Qui berries?" I ask in confusion. "That’s impossible. Those can only be eaten after venturing through dangerous territory."

Guylo lightly shakes his head. "It can be done. And the man said it was important to maintain a diverse diet so he acquired the seeds for us. Just… don’t ask where they come from."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Instantly I wondered what dangerous thing must have been done to allow this to happen. I have heard rumors of times in the past where a tribesman kills a large foe allowing him to take many berries. But what trial must have been undertaken to allow them to be acquired in such mass.

Guylo, unaware of the goblins misunderstanding continued his talk as they stepped towards the berry field. "In this way, food can be taken indefinitely. Under him we will be able to live safely."

"…" I opened my mouth but words couldn’t come out. I’m not so stupid as to not understand those words. I wanted to ask about the leader who stood above the Gu tribe but I couldn’t manage to.

Guylo instructed me on our task. We take shredded leaves and disperse them over the field. Guylo explain it was in an effort to keep the soil wet. It made sense so I continued along with the task.

The group planting seeds finish and look particularly excited as they move back towards the entrance. Guylo beside me simply spouts a bit of laughter.

"Fools. They should know he won’t wake up for a few hours still." Taking another handful of leaves from a basket he turns back to me. "You should be glad to be on the late shift with me."

"Hmm?"

"When work is finished you will get something amazing." Guylo smirks. "If we are lucky we might even get to see him."

Those words seemed to clog my throat even though they weren’t my own.

The leader rewards us for this work? What is so amazing that he will give us? New weapons?

I couldn’t get those thoughts out of my head. Luckily the work was mindless so it didn’t slow my pace. The moon passed slowly as the first creeping of the sun peeked over the horizon.

Finally we finished both freshly planted fields so Guylo, I, and the few others on our shift began walking back towards the camouflaged hole.

"Mornin’!" A voice calls towards us, filling the cold morning with a sense of warmth.

His pronunciation was strange, but stranger more was his appearance.

No matter how you look at it, this man is a human.

I was dumbstruck for a minute. But to Guylo this seemed to be common place. So this is who he meant earlier.

"Morning. Work went well. Hopefully we will see berry sprouts within the week."

"Good. Good." The man nods. "Would you mind helping me carry the pots. I prepared a lot more than usual since the team increased."

"No problem." Guylo agrees with a bow. "Come on Qiyki!"

Shaking my head to remove the stun I follow Guylo rapidly. The place we walk towards is a large human house in the distance. Outside the door sits several large metal pots filled with steaming liquid.

"Yay stew!" Guylo says lifting a pot carefully with both hands. "Grab the other one. And be careful this stuff is worth it’s weight in gold!"

The smell told me he wasn’t lying. Just what in the hell is happening?

"Who exactly is that?"

"He’s our benefactor. He’s the one who will lead goblins to new heights. Likely to places we can’t even imagine."

I couldn’t even argue it. If this is the person who is leading us, then I understand why Chief Qi bowed to him.