Grip training. Core training. Defense. Offense. Dodging magic attacks. Feeling vibrations in the ground, indicating an underhanded attack. Eadwald really is not holding back these days. Blago decided to stop training me, focusing instead on his smithing. I still have to do his training regiment, just not with him. When Eadwald is not pushing my limits, I have to do weight training with Meuko. When that is not happening, I have to improve my ranged techniques with Sylvar. What else? In a way, I am glad I cannot use magic. And that is not even half my day. I have to keep in touch with the Villagers, taking care of kids, ensuring the patrols are uneventful. I even trained some of the Villagers. Me. Since when do I train people. I can barely train myself. It has been a few days of this hectic schedule. Thankfully, I had enough personal time to travel outside, making contact with Snaray.

“So, you are not a leader or anything.”

“No, goblins have kings and queens.”

I missed that weird snarling and clicking voice. An ally outside. Very much worth the effort.

“How often do you communicate with the eastern goblins?”

“Quite often. Trading a few things every now and then. I feel like we talked about this before.”

“No idea. Just for my notes.”

“Sure.”

“Were any of the kids yours?”

“Yes. The one you carried back. That is why they followed me in that fight. I think...”

“Is the kid fine?”

“Not really. She is alive but we had to cut the foot. It got broken in too many places. She barely eats...”

“I am sorry.”

“Do not be. You brought her back.”

“And you saved my life...” I take a deep breath, trying to maintain control of my thoughts. I cannot. “I am confused. How do I tell which one is male and which one is female?”

“Do you have to?”

“Just curious, I guess.”

“Anyways, what about your people? They are hunting down goblins. We try to avoid them, so they have barely killed anyone but they are relentless.”

“They are trying to keep the Village safe.”

“What Village?”

“What do you mean? The one…” What is happening?

“Yes?”

“You are saying that you do not know of a Village.”

“We have villages. Underground. We have a couple hidden in the mountains. But you are not from there.”

What is he- Is he a he?

“Snaray...”

“Yes.”

“Are you male or female.”

“This again. Here.” Snaray drops the animal skin around the genital area. Definitely a he.

“What are you doing? A simple answer would suffice.” I say, putting my hands in front of my eyes.

“What are you scared of? You have one as well.”

“So what? I do not go around showing it.”

“I guess we do not care about that stuff.”

“But you are wearing stuff to cover it.”

“Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to climb naked? Fight naked? We protect our important bits. That does not mean we are ashamed of them.”

“Fair. Thank you for showing me? What am I saying...”

“What about you?”

“Male.”

“Show me.”

“No.”

“Come on… No need to be shy.”

“Why would I ever...”

“I showed you mine.”

“Which you should not have done.”

“You really need to be more confident.”

“This is not the way.”

“Come on...”

I quickly reveal my… Bits, instantly pulling my clothes back in their original position. I cannot believe this is my life.

“There you go. Was that so hard?”

“Please, no.”

“You have no humor.”

“Can we move on, please?”

“Sure.”

“Gray goblins, green goblins. What do I have to worry about the green ones?”

“Well, you are simplifying things. Our living ways change not only depending on grand races. The area is important. Things can change from camp to camp. Also, there are more goblins than just green and gray.”

When did he start talking like Sylvar?

“Anything useful?” I say, ignoring the fact that there are more goblins than what I know. No reason to worry about that.

“The eastern ones are mad that the group burned down an entire camp worth of goblins, releasing captive animals in the process.”

“That happened accidentally. The releasing, not the burning.”

“What? Why would they do the burning but not the releasing?”

“Not they… I did that.”

“You are the ones full of rage. The ones who killed one of the sorcerers. The guards are after you.”

“Guards? What guards?”

“The Guards. The Queen’s Guards. The sorcerer was training to be one of them.”

“Training? How strong are the Guards then?”

“Forget that. Why would you burn us like that?”

“A moment ago you mentioned the eastern ones but suddenly you are part of them?”

“Answer the question.”

“I was scared. All right? Scared. They used some sort of cursed arrow against us, then tried to take the cure away.”

“The griffin. You are the mad ones running between two goblin hunting parties and a griffin.”

“Ones full of rage, Mad ones. Anything else you want to name our group?”

“But… You fed our children.”

Maybe I should not mention the whole killing-someone-behind-us-out-of-fear thing.

“Look. I told my group to not kill anyone else. At least not attack them. If we get attacked by goblins, we have no choice. I wanted to find out more about the goblins when I entered that cave but I had to leave behind one of my own. That scared me.”

“A part of me wants to lash out.”

“I get it. But?”

“But… We live by hunting. We know what it means to be killed during the hunt. They knew the dangers of drawing attention towards them. I cannot entirely blame you.”

Snaray… Is this a goblin version of Sylvar? Did he magically make himself look like Snaray? Is that even possible? Our Leader would have killed me on the spot if I had killed one of his Villagers.

“You saved my life, as well as my friends’ lives. If there is anything you need, you can call on me. I will answer.” I say, maintaining eye contact as a way of showing seriousness.

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“There may be something… But not yet.”

“Anything I should know?”

“There have been problems far away. South. But it might be too much for you.”

“How should we meet next time?”

“Make a whistling arrow. Shoot one upwards. That should be enough. Most of the goblins from this area know how you look. They have been told to avoid you, even though you are friendly.”

“Smart. We could be with the other three that are hunting you down.”

“That is what I thought. You could always tell them to stop.”

“Think of our Leader as your Queen. I have no right to tell him what to do.”

“Fair. Hiding it is.”

“I do not think he would hunt you inside the caves. We have problems way closer. Immediate problems.”

“I wish you a bountiful catch.” Snaray waves goodbye.

“I do not really… Eat meat.”

“What else do you eat?”

“Here” I offer a handful of dried fruits and nuts.

“Looks strange but it is what my daughter ate. She liked it.” He munches down “Salty. Good. What is it.”

“If you walk around these woods, they have fruit hanging.”

“Yes, I know those. They go bad soon, though.”

“Not if you heat them up. At least, I think that is how they are dried up. Experiment on them. They could bring you a lot of food. You could also farm.”

“Not here. We would have to relocate for better ground.”

“You said you have sorcerers, right? Have them change the ground.”

“Yeah, no. Magic does not work like that. Thanks, though. Got to go.” He says, quickly turning his back on me.

“See you.”

Is Modesta’s magic that unique? I know he keeps repeating that… I just never sort of believed him. Eadwald, Alayne, Modesta… They have unique abilities, even compared to the outside of this Village. That is it. I can help the goblins. I can limit their exposure to the Hunters. I start running back, my facial muscles hurting from the intense smiling. I shout happily, taking in the beautiful sight of this place. These woods, peaceful as always. My thoughts are disrupted by the memory of these weird Tree Beasts. They had the ability of throwing darts with great speed. It might not have hurt Meuko that much… But if these things ever ambushed us. I do not want to think about that. I gather the group right outside the Village. My thought is that no one will be able to sneak up to us that way.

“Another one of these meetings. People will start asking around for me.” Julie says.

“I will make sure that it is a short one.” I say.

“Looks like someone has a plan.” Sylvar says, petting Sylvie. It looks like they missed each other.

“What are we doing?” Meuko says.

“We should stop the Hunters from going outside.” I say.

“Of all the plans… And there have been a few… This is the craziest one.” Julie says, sighing with every sentence. Is she trying to make sure I get that she disapproves of my thinking?

“So much for believing in my plans.” I say.

“Now, now… We are still listening.” Sylvar says.

“Just know that you sound crazier than ever.” Meuko says.

“That is what you always say.” I respond.

“Because you always find a way to say something crazier than the previous time.” Julie says.

Everyone is sighing. I suppose the idea of losing the protection they offer is less than ideal. Still…

“What else can we do? Snaray and the other goblins are communicating with us. We have a chance. Think about it. Trading with goblins instead of being afraid of them. Fighting with them instead of against them.” I say.

“I get that much. But what about the ones that attack us from the east?” Meuko says.

“Of course they attack us. I burned about forty of them.” I say.

“No. We did that. Together.” Meuko says.

“And it was closer to fifty.” Sylvar says.

“Great.”

“How would we even stop them from going outside? Alayne would burn us alive before he took orders from us. And there is no way he would just agree to letting the goblins run freely around this place. Goblins have never reached this close… Those were his words.” Julie says.

“I have a way. It- It might work.” I say.

“Your voice is trembling.” Sylvar says.

“It is risky, okay? And it would happen in front of everyone. That means that if it fails he would probably kick me out.” I say.

“This sounds better and better.” Meuko says.

I crawl near Sylvie, trying to run my hands through her healed fur. Still dirty, just much better. It calms me down.

“Still, you cannot do it yet.” Julie says.

“If at all.” Meuko chuckles.

“Why not?” I ask.

“Because we need him to go out one more time for one of these long outings. So we can read his books.” Julie says.

She has not given up on that. Just never had a proper opportunity.

“We are still considering that?” Sylvar asks.

“I guess information is good.” Meuko says.

“Yes.” I celebrate “I have just the thing.”

“Please...” Meuko puts her hand in front of her face, probably contemplating the recent choice of asking me for plans.

“This one is fine. We venture out. Blago wants a certain material. We will simply propose that all Hunters gather for this one. We use the recent changes in water and ground situation to say something terrifying like things are getting bad and all that… Someone has to come with us. If someone stays, we ask my parents to keep them busy.” I say.

“That… Is a surprisingly solid and rather sound plan. Unexpected, my friend Volter.” Sylvar says.

“That… was rather unnecessary.” I say, laughing.

“So… You get them outside, I use that chance to find information.” Julie says.

“You have a notebook, right? Take it with you. Write anything you cannot memorize.” I say.

“Right. Tomorrow?” Julie asks.

“Tomorrow.” I say.

“A plan it is.” Sylvar says.

“I do not feel comfortable having my sister there alone.” Meuko says.

“If more of you were with me, it would make them more suspicious. I can at least pretend I am shaken by the recent injuries and desperately want to learn new things.” Julie says, raising her voice in a mocking manner during the last words of those sentences.

“True.” Meuko says.

“Shall we?” I say.

We all head back to the Village, readying ourselves for yet another risky endeavor. After gathering the Hunters, we have a meeting with Blago.

“Why are you all annoying me? I have business.” Blago says.

“We want to know about the weird resource you wanted...” I say.

“I still do not know why we are required here.” Modesta says.

I have to be honest, it feels like Modesta is holding back. Maybe because he is in the presence of Alayne.

“Oh, come here.” Blago says, gesturing towards a few barrels that are full of equipment. “I made a few discoveries on this staff you gave me that I wanted to talk about.”

“You? Talk?” I scoff.

“That is rare.” Meuko says.

“Whatever, shut up. This staff.” Blago says, revealing a broken half of the staff I gave him.

“This is a rather interesting piece of material. Eadwald, use your… Other eyes.” Blago says, extending the piece of wood towards her.

“Gravity. But it does not originate from the wood. It was added.” Eadwald says, blinking her glowing eyes back to normal.

“Well, this wood works like metal. You can smith it into things. That is how tough it is. Unfortunately… My tests resulted in half of it being wasted, splintered into small useless bits.”

“How does that help us?” Alayne asks.

“Magic can be combined with this material. You can do it with rocks, ground, even some low quality metal. These are for limited time, resulting in the magic running out or the material breaking because it is weak. This wood however… Varuna, I named it. This wood maintains the gravity part of it still. I could, with Modesta’s help disenchant it. You said you have seen the same wood before?”

“Yes… There is a tree.” Modesta says. “But we have no time. Between patrolling and helping here, we have our hands full.”

“Is that not why we have a particular group claiming to want to help?” Alayne says, looking at the general direction of us, the inexperienced ones. Me. I think he is looking at me.

“I am sure you understand… Given the rise of activity of creatures, such as trolls, we cannot go there unprepared. If what our trusted blacksmith is saying is true, then acquiring these materials would require a lengthy amount of time, as wells as prolonged effort.” Sylvar says.

The way he turned this whole conversation. I thought I was going to have to convince them. I had almost forgotten the wonderful way he has with words. When he wants to. Surely his kindness goes a long way.

“Is this wood required, Blago?” Alayne asks.

“I think it is our best bet.” Blago says.

“For what?” I ask. Meuko slightly hits me with an elbow. I am pretty sure she wanted to just friendly pat me to remind me to take the win. It is actually very painful.

“Not. For. Your. Life.” Alayne growls, faint sparks flying from his nostrils.

How is it that every time I think I have achieved something, there are more questions thrown in my face. In this particular achievement, the question came with a lot of fear. Fear of being killed by Alayne’s claws in front of everyone.

“Regardless, we go now.” Eadwald says.

“Now? It is almost past noon.” Meuko says.

“Do you have any problems? Would you like us to change our schedule just to fit yours?” Modesta asks, same mocking tone as usual.

“Of course not, Hunters. Simply give us a minute to get our supplies ready. My friend Modesta, come with me. We will carry two bags this time. Supplies for all.” Sylvar says, moving away. Modesta follows, throwing insults at him while doing so.

“I need to prepare as well.” Alayne says, moving towards his house, which happens to be right next to Blago’s smith.

“I should retrieve my arms.” Eadwald says.

“I will be back soon.” I say, only to be held back by an arm. Blago’s arm.

“Hold on.” Blago says as quietly as he can, almost... Afraid. “I made you the guards I was talking about. I will not give them to you here… Listen carefully, kid. Do not wear the guards in front of the Hunters. Say it back. Now.”

“Not in front of them. You are scaring me.”

“Do not be scared. Be careful. Also, I lied. Here you go. Same applies. Do not use it in front of them or they will burn both of us.” Blago hands me a weird wooden dagger, which spirals into an edge. “Meuko, stand in front.”

Meuko steps in front of us, using her body to conceal our movement.

“This dagger can cut well. Too well. It stabs even better. You will need this if you are an Empty One. It guards better against magic. It can hold magic, shielding you from some… Some damage. It is for an emergency. Be careful.” Blago says, then acts as if nothing happened.

“Alayne.” Meuko says.

“You better explain when we are back.” I say, strapping the holster that Blago gave me to hide the knife at my trousers, just above my boots. I turn around to face Alayne, who is the first one back. Nice one, Meuko. Eadwald comes soon after, followed by Sylvar and Modesta… And Julie.

“I came here to say goodbye. I will need Blago.” Julie says.

“Me? What for? I am telling you right now, I am not about to heal anybody. And I do not care for plants.” Blago says.

“You say that, but I notice a rather healthy garden you have behind the smith.” Julie says.

“Well… That one is a very simple one. All I have to do is throw water every three days or something.” Blago says, clearly embarrassed.

“Anyways, I want you to go keep the kids busy. Murat is getting exhausted with all her responsibilities and she needs a break. As soon as they return, you can go back to your usual business.” Julie is trying to get Blago away from Alayne’s house. Everything is happening so fast. So many questions. So many problems. One thing at a time.

“Why can nobody else do it? I am not good around kids.” Blago says.

“Not true. I always liked you.” I say.

“You are different. You barely had anyone… Sorry.”

I was seven… I remember those days. I was in a forest, all alone. Crying my heart out. I was found by the Hunters. Well… One of them. Eadwald. Not her usual cold expression. Instead, a caring one. She has not changed a day since then. Like time does not affect her at all. Sylvar told me that is highly unlikely even for an elf. She was asking me questions. All I remembered was running from wolves. I kept running, even after I cut my legs. Even after I fell and hit my head. Even after everything… I kept running. I could feel my throat hurt. Almost as if it was being ripped apart. That was the intensity with which I was screaming. Eadwald always said I must have scared the wolves away just with my voice. A cornered beast is the most dangerous and all that. No matter what she asked me, the answer was the same.

Volter… I am Volter…

“Volter?” Sylvar’s voice brings me back.

“Yeah, are we going?” I ask.

“Lead the way.” Alayne says, gesturing at Modesta.

“I shall accompany you.” Sylvar says. Much to Modesta’s growling discontent.

“Hey, you better pick up the arrows you shoot. I am out.” Blago says.

An outing. With the Hunters. This better take a long time. Julie needs time.

“I expect improvements. You cannot sustain the same injuries.” Alayne says.

Maybe I should be more worried about me.