As Grimal walked through the forest on her own, her mind continuously and mercilessly listed the many, many reasons as to why trying to help the Elves was not only stupid, but also crazy. Elves had hated goblins since the very start of history, way before the arrival of humanity to Jericho. They were pompous, self-righteous and annoying in general, and if they were in the reverse situation, and it was Grimaline who needed help, they would certainly abandon her to a gruesome fate.
She was terribly tempted to turn right around and tell Little Olk that she couldn’t do anything, that she arrived too late and couldn’t save them, but then… those huge, wet eyes full of sadness and disappointment stabbed daggers right in her old heart. She cursed herself, when did she become so weak!?
The screams of the elves were jarring and desperate. She could guess, by the way they scattered, that the caravan was broken and everyone ran for their lives… so really, maybe she would have to disappoint Olk after all.
She arrived at a clearing in the forest, and there she saw an abandoned wagon, a trembling old elf being pushed against it, and a group of at least five humans armed with torches and huge forks.
There were bodies on the floor, bleeding, motionless…
Fear struck Grimal’s heart, as she stopped on her tracks and simply stared from the shade of the trees as that poor bastard was toyed with.
“Were you really the leader of these filthy demis!?” One of the humans barked at the old lady, her fork so close to stabbing her neck. “Where are the others!? Where will they hide!?”
The elf gulped, but remained quiet. She wouldn’t sell out her companions, not now, not never. And the humans liked it, it gave them reasons to smack her around with their tools.
“Answer, bitch!” Another human kicked the elf in the stomach, forcing her to fall on her knees. “If you think you can hide them from us, you’re dead wrong!”
The goblin gulped, trembling slowly. She had to do something! But if she jumped in, could she really fight all of them off? What if they overpowered her? She wasn’t as strong as she used to be, nor as fast or as nimble. Could she just abandon this poor fool to her fate…?
Oh no. The elf saw her. Those old, tearing eyes begged for aid. Grimal had never seen an elf looking so pathetic.
Grimaline took a deep breath, and then jumped into the light with a loud roar, her hammer swinging and soon finding the kicking human’s head. The crack was loud and violent, the man’s arms spasmed as he went down like a log, while the other humans quickly jumped back.
“It got Jeremy!” One of them cried.
“It’s armed!” Another said.
“Shit, shit!” A third was already feeling like things were out of his control.
The old goblin had learned many things in her violent, adventurous life. One of the most important was that, in a fight, the first one to hesitate is the one that’s going to lose: If you managed to make them think you’re fearless and hungry, if you project your fears into them instead of letting them overpower you? Then you have a huge advantage, no matter the size of the enemy.
And so, these humans who were not used to the idea of being fought against felt their morale crumble almost immediately. Suddenly four people felt like way too little…
“Bunch of cowards!” One of them barked at them, pointing his fork at the goblin. “It’s only one píece of filth! Nothing to worry ab–”
Grimal didn’t waste time. Feeling her muscles ache from the sudden movement, she forced herself onwards and slammed the man’s hands with the hammer. She could feel how the impact was enough to break a few bones, forcing the screaming man to let go of his fork and stumble back.
“Y-You little…!”
“C-Carl! I think I hear more!” Suddenly, one of the men pointed at the forest, as the entire Boiling Mud Clan jumped out of the trees with weapons in hand. “Run for it, run!”
“It’s an infestation!” They screamed, leaving their weapons behind and making a beeline out of the clearing.
Grimal sighed while her clan celebrated this little victory. Not even giving them the benefit of looking at them, she carefully helped the old elf back on her feet.
“Are you okay…?” She asked, feeling a little disgusting for having to be nice to an elf.
“I will be fine…” Clearly, the elf didn’t feel comfortable with this either. But swallowing her pride, the woman mumbled. “Thank you…”
“You’re welcome.” Grimal felt her own pride surge and swell, even getting her to smile toothily for a moment, but then she shook her head and turned to look at the others. Her intense glare forced all those cheers down. “What in the Hells do you all think you are doing!?”
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“W-We saved you, Mama Grimal!” One of the younguns said. “We came to rescue you!”
“You green-tailed idiots saved nothing. Don’t you realize what you’ve done!?” Grimal spat on the floor. “Those humans are calling us an ‘infestation’ now. They will come in greater numbers! Looking for us!” The Clan at large pouted and looked down. Grimal was forced to temper her anger a little. “... Look, I appreciate your help, but now it is important that we get out of here. Fast! Now go back to the carts and follow my orders, damn it!”
While the group sighed and nodded, returning to the forest, Grimaline turned to look at the elf once again.
“You. What will you do now?” She asked, not really sure why she cared.
“...I guess I will have to find my way on my own. The humans took everything of value from the wagon so I won’t even bother with it.” The old elf sighed.
Grimal was just about to say ‘good luck’, when suddenly Little Olk ran over to them and hugged her grandma.
“Mama Grimal!” He smiled brightly, before looking at the elf with huge, curious eyes. “Are you okay, ma’am?”
The display seemed ‘cute’ enough to melt a bit of the elf’s awkwardness.
“Awww, I am fine little one. Thank you for asking.”
“What’s your name?” Olk asked.
“My name is Halueve. And yours, little one?” The elf smiled warmly.
“I am Olk! Nice to meet you!” The little goblin offered the elf a hand, that was promptly taken and shook.
“Awwww, you are very polite for your age, little one.” Halueve was delighted.
“You know, this one saved your life.” Grimal said with a little grin. “He told me to come back and check on you.”
“He did? Why, thank you very kindly, Olk. You’re a lifesaver!” The elf even dared to squeeze the little kit’s cheeks, letting the boy giggle a little bit there.
Grimal sighed, already seeing where this conversation was going… but then, something in the distance called for her attention. A strange change in the wind, a smell of blood and magic. She looked up, quickly walking away from Halueve and Olk and looking into the forest. She had never been a very good huntress, or a tracker of any kind, but she could feel something coming. Something dangerous.
Her intuition was screaming at her, demanding that she ran right then and there.
Maybe it was a moment of awareness, or maybe the gods were whispering to her ear… but Grimaline was suddenly aware that they were being stalked. By the same Huntress she was sure they had left behind.
“We are leaving.” She suddenly said, turning to look at Olk and Halueve. “Elf. Are you coming with us or not? If you are, you follow us now. If not, run. But don’t stay here.”
“W-What?” The old elven lady blinked, watching as Grimal grabbed the tiny kit and ran. “Wait, wait!”
The goblin did not wait and did not offer any explanations. She was suddenly very sure that if she did, that would give their pursuer more than enough time to catch up. So she guided Halueve back to where their own little caravan had been parked, and started directing them further away from danger, hoping this would be the last detour they would take in their journey.
They walked without rest for the rest of the day, feeling sleepiness and exhaustion heavy on their shoulders. The goblins, used to a nocturnal lifestyle even before their descent into the Undercaves, were growing cranky and restless, especially as they abandoned the forest and walked into open fields. No longer protected by trees and shadow, the group was forced to double their efforts and move faster.
They had a real long way to go, and they couldn’t simply camp where people could easily find them…
The caravan didn’t even take the main trail, forcing their shoddy wagons off road to avoid human patrols. Luckily enough, night surrounded them all soon, and with that, people could take a sigh of relief as avoiding humans was suddenly much easier. After all, differently to Goblins, the humans needed light to move around! So they were easily spotted… all until breaking Dawn, when they finally reached a second forest in their way.
“Alright! Everyone settle down.” Grimal suddenly called. “We are taking a break here! So everyone grab some rations and get ready for some sleep!”
The goblins rejoiced, grinning and sitting down around their wagons. This is where Grimaline expected Halueve to start complaining, after all Elves very rarely needed to sleep or even rest, so she was ready to be nagged for this… but no! The elf was happily hanging out with Olk, telling him tales of old gods and elf splendor that went straight over the boy’s head.
The goblin grandma grumbled and walked over to the pair, maybe a little jealous of how easily they had bonded.
“... and so, Mother Moon guided us to leave our hiding places, and look for a new land beyond the sea.” Halueve said with a soft voice. “That’s how we started our journey.”
“Ohhh! It was a dragon who told us to go!” Olk commented, nodding quickly.
“A dragon? Oh my. Now that’s novel… do Goblins not have gods?” The elf grandma looked at Grimaline, making it clear that she had noticed her approach.
“Not anymore.” Grimal commented bitterly. “They have been silent for as long as I can remember so, who knows… maybe they are hiding too.”
“Mama Grimal!” Olk smiled so warmly, waving to her own grandma so she could come closer. “Halu is telling me stories!”
“Is she now?” The goblin grandma smirked a little bit, sitting beside them. “I hope you are not selling the poor boy any weird propaganda, elf.”
“Oh please, he is part of a new generation, a new hope for the world. Who knows, maybe his peers will be the ones to finally sign peace with elvenkind.” Halueve softly caressed Olk’s hair.
Grimal elected to keep silent there, grumbling a little to herself. ‘Peace with the elves? That would have been signed very, very long ago if the damn knife-ears weren’t so violently annoying about it’, she thought..
“She is also telling me about—” The boy suddenly quieted down to whisper into Grimal’s ear. “Magic!”
Both grandmas exchanged a worried glance. Clearly, both had told the little boy not to tell a soul about that. At least they found solace on the other already knowing. Still, Grimal gently pulled the kit’s ear.
“I told you not to talk about that.” She nagged. “What if the elf was mean, huh? What then?”
“She is not though, she is nice!” Olk pouted. “I am sorry!”
“It is alright, I am glad he told me… this lines pretty much with the prophecy.” Halueve nodded softly.
“Oh please, everything is prophecies with you elves!” Grimal was clearly not a fan.
“The gods said that the disappearance of magic from our land was only temporary, and that it would return in the hands of those we least expect.” The elf nodded softly. “Goblins have never been magically adept, have they? You have to admit this is wondrous.”
“Wondrously dangerous.” Grimaline grumbled. “I don’t want my Olk to get involved in it. Magic only brings trouble.”
“I am afraid he’s already involved. If magic came to him, he can only learn to use it, or risk being harmed by it… would you rather see him harmed, goblin?” Halueve grinned smugly, in the way elves do when they know something you don’t. Grimaline hated that, because this time she was sure the damn elf was right.
“Well, can you teach him stuff then?” Mama Grimal relented, eliciting a little cheer from her grandson. “You better teach him like you’d teach any elf!”
“I can certainly do that, and I will. He saved my life, after all.” Halueve smiled and hugged the kit again. “I wish to return the favor.”
Mama Grimal grumbled softly, but nodded. The elf seemed nice, maybe nice enough to trust her with this? At least for now. With a sigh, the old Goblin stretched and walked away from the two, wanting nothing to do with magic or any of its related business. She would simply find a comfortable tree to lay back against, and sleep the day away until it was her turn to keep watch.