Chapter 355: The Mothers

  There were no trees nor bushes in a ten-meter radius around the Blood Fang village. Countless beasts could climb the ashen trees. Many of them would have used the branches as a perch to leap over the walls if the trees were any closer. The walls themselves were made of tall logs that stretched over ten paces high. Wooden spikes decorated the base of the walls, discouraging any fauna from trying to clamber up.

  In the past, Stryg thought the walls intimidating, a warning to any who dare attack the Blood Fangs. But now, after living in the City of Shades, surrounded by the towering ebon walls, the village’s defenses seemed… small.

  Stryg and his companions stared at the village from the bushes at the edge of the clearing. There was only one gatehouse on this side of the village. A narrow parapet had been built on top of the gatehouse where three hunters stood watch.

  “It will be hard getting inside unnoticed,” Third Mother muttered deep in thought.

  “You’re a Mother, surely they will concede to whatever you demand of them,” Stryg said.

  Third shook her head, “My sway over them is not as strong as you think. I didn’t raise those three hunters, they were already grown when I took my oaths to the Mother Moon.”

  “Even still, the word of a Mother is not to be trifled with—”

  “This isn’t some random task. I am asking the hunters to risk the safety of our tribe. I am not First Mother, my voice does not carry the same commanding weight. If it was just you, I could probably get you across the walls without raising too much of a fuss. But with your two… companions? The hunters will surely ask me why I’m bringing them into our home.”

  “Then we just force our way in,” Tauri said.

  Stryg glanced at her in surprise. Her hood obscured her features, he couldn’t tell if she was joking or being serious.

  “Is your companion an idiot?” Third said incredulously.

  “What?” Tauri crossed her arms, “I’m not saying to kill them. Stryg, you said Sylvan goblins respect strength more than anything. If we show them we are strong they’ll let us in, right?”

  Stryg grimaced, “That’s—”

  “If you lay a single finger on one of our hunters, our whole tribe will not stop until your corpse is strung up for all to see,” Third hissed angrily.

  “She’s right,” Stryg nodded reluctantly, “My people favor strength, but the tribe comes first, it always has. If you hurt one of the tribe, it is an attack on all of the tribe.”

  “So, what’s the plan then?” Tauri asked.

  “The outsiders should wait here,” Third said.

  “No!” Plum answered first. “There’s no way I’m standing out here in bloodthirsty Sylvan territory by myself.”

  “You won’t be alone,” Tauri said. “But still, I agree with Plum. It’s best if we don’t split up.”

  “How many people are inside the village right now?” Stryg spoke up.

  Third looked hesitant to answer, but after a moment her lips moved, “Of the 207 souls, there are probably around half still here. The hunters, gatherers, anglers, and fellers have all already left for the day. They won’t be back until dusk, which will be upon us soon.”

  Stryg nodded to himself in thought. “Hm. So the cooks, carpenters, and others are probably on the other side of the village, near the bonfire, preparing for when they return?”

  “Well, probably, I suppose. Why?” Third asked suspiciously.

  “If most of the people are near the bonfire they will be far from the wall. If we stick close to the wall we'll have a clear path towards the Moon Hall.”

  “The Moon Hall?” Tauri asked.

  “It’s where the Mothers reside,” Stryg said.

  “Even if that would work, we’d still need to get inside the village,” Third said.

  “Plum, are your illusion skills sharp?” Stryg asked.

  “Of course,” she said proudly.

  “Make an illusion of a dire bear, I want it to emerge from a bush as far to the east of us as possible.”

  “Sure thing,” Plum smiled, happy to finally be able to put her magical abilities to use.

  “Tauri, cast whatever enhancement magic you need,” Stryg said. “When the bear catches the attention of the hunters, we’re going to run west and make a jump over the wall.”

  Tauri sized up the wall, “That’s a big jump but I can make it.”

  “Wait, your friends wield magic? They’re shamans?” Third asked, surprised.

  Stryg couldn’t help but grin, “We are.”

  “Done!” Plum said. As if on cue, an enormous black bear strode out from the east, and roared angrily in defiance of the village.

  The hunters above the gatehouse shouted in alarm and pulled their bowstrings back and fired. But the bear moved unnaturally fast and weaved in and out of the bushes and trees, dodging each arrow.

  “Now!” Stryg whispered. Plum jumped on his back without a word and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her focus still on controlling the bear in the distance.

  Stryg glanced at Third, “If I may, Mother.”

  “Huh? What are you—?”

  He didn’t wait for a response. He scooped Third up into his arms and channeled orange mana through his veins. Blossom’s white petals snuggled closely around Stryg as if it knew what he was about to do.

  Stryg dashed across the open field in a blur of blue and white, Tauri right behind him. They crossed the ten grassy meters in a single breath, behind the watchful gaze of the hunters. Third opened her mouth to scream in panic as they were about to crash into the wooden spikes, but then she was in the air, weightless, flying high above the wall. Stryg landed with a heavy thud on the other side of the wall. Tauri landed next to him far more gracefully, the grass below her feet barely shifting.

  Third opened her mouth, sputtering, and tried to form a coherent sentence. But Stryg pulled her closer to his chest and glanced at Tauri.

  “This way,” he said and dashed off at breakneck speeds.

  The world blurred around them, log houses and tents fading into a panorama of browns and greens. Then suddenly it all stopped. In front of them stood the largest building in the village, built of ashen grey timber that stretched out in western and southern wings.

  Stryg knew there was a large set of decorated double doors at the front of the Moon Hall, but he had opted away from such an extravagant entrance. Instead, they had gone to the back of the Hall, where a small simple door sat. It was usually only used by menial tribal paths who dared not disturb the Mothers, but today Stryg found himself using it for quite the opposite.

  He gently placed Third onto the ground and held her shoulder as she gathered herself.

  “That was pretty easy. I’ve never infiltrated a village before.” Tauri glanced around the corner of the building, searching for any threats, “The coast is clear.”

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  “Not for long.” Plum hopped off Stryg’s back and dusted off her pants, “My illusion is gone. I couldn’t very well control it without sight. We probably have a few minutes at best before the guards realize what really happened.”

  “We must move quickly then.” Third opened the back door and walked in.

  Stryg stood at the entrance and stared at the long hallway inside. It had been a long time since he was here. He had run across the village without thinking about what he had passed, solely focused on his target. But now that he was here, the weight of where he was finally began to settle in.

  Home.

  “What are you waiting for?” Third looked back at him with an arched eyebrow.

  “R-right,” Stryg swallowed hard and ducked his head under the doorway as he stepped inside.

  The realization that he was too tall for the door left him stunned. Fortunately, the hallway was amply wide and the ceiling was a few feet above him, though it did not soothe his mind.

  Plum and Tauri quickly followed him inside and closed the door behind them.

  “This way,” Third whispered, and then she was off.

  Stryg kept his eyes on the wooden floors and followed Third Mother’s feet in a numb daze, the planks creaking underneath his weight with every step. They turned several corners and were suddenly in front of another door. This one was made of dark wood. Dozens of symbols were etched into the doorframe, like springs of water flowing out, and at the center of each spring were small brown, grey, and red stones.

  “Enchantments,” some small part of Stryg’s mind noted. He hadn’t realized it before, not once in all the times he had run through these halls as a child. He had always simply thought of them as decorations, a carpenter's embellishment.

  “We’re here,” Third said and gently pushed the door open.

  A round room lay behind the door, a fire pit crackling at its center, with a hole in the ceiling above for the rising smoke. Four women sat around the fire, each wearing a scarlet wreath over their hair, the same as Third Mother, save for the one in the center whose wreath was mixed in with black leaves as well.

  Third stepped aside from the door and bowed her head, “Sisters, we have a problem.”

  Stryg stood stiff at the doorway, unsure of what to say. Everything felt so uncertain suddenly. And so he mumbled the only words that fell into his thoughts, “Hello, Mothers…”

  The four goblin women sitting around the fire seemed more shocked than he.

  Fifth Mother, or Fourth Mother now Stryg supposed, jumped to her feet and pointed an accusing finger at him. “You brought a foul drow into our home! What is wrong with you, Third Sister!”

  “Kill the drow, kill it now!” the youngest of the Mothers chipped in with a hateful tone. She was once Sixth, now Fifth, and despite not recognizing him, she was as spiteful as ever.

  Stryg wanted to retort, something witty or something just as poisonous, but nothing came to mind. For all the magic in the world, he felt alone, scared, a small child in trouble in the hall of the Mothers once more.

  Second Mother stood to her feet slowly and raised her hands as if to calm the others, “Stay your dagger, Fifth. Surely, Third, must have had some reason to bring this outsider into our home. Surely, she would not have risked us all for nothing. Am I right, Third?”

  Stryg desperately hoped Second Mother had survived the lamia’s cave. Seeing her alive had lifted a weight off his chest he hadn’t known he had been carrying.

  It was Second and First who had raised him since birth. But Second did not recognize him. A new weight crashed over him, heavier than before. It felt suffocating.

  Was he so different now? He had fought so hard the last few years to be a goblin, to not be ashamed of who he was in front of the eyes of so many mages and nobles. And yet here, in his birthplace, he was just a stranger, an ‘outsider.’

  A hard lump formed in his throat. He chastised himself silently. How else did he think this could have possibly gone? Did he think they would have welcomed him with open arms? Hailed him as a hero? For slaying the lamias? Avenging their tribemates? 3 goddamned years too late?

  Stryg swallowed hard, turned to Second, and tried again, “Hello, Mother. I—”

  “—You do not speak here!” Second snapped.

  “Second Sister, please, I can explain!” Third said anxiously.

  “I expect you will,” Second glared at her and Stryg, “Or else I will—”

  Second stopped in mid-sentence as the last of the Mothers slowly stood to her feet. She wore the scarlet and black wreath, the crown of the tribe’s matriarch, First Mother. The others stepped out of her way and bowed their heads in deference.

  At 40 years of age, First Mother was the eldest of the Blood Fang Tribe, though the chieftain and Second Mother were close behind, not even they would dare speak over the matriarch.

  The whole room fell silent, every single breath held taut, waiting for First Mother to cast her judgment. But she said nothing. Her bright yellow eyes widened as she stared straight at the blue goblin, her gaze not shifting once. She inched towards him, her feet shuffling with each step, then she stumbled, and Stryg caught her by the shoulders. Still, her gaze did not falter.

  First Mother cupped her hand over his blue cheek and said softly, “Stryg, what are you doing here?”

  He smiled weakly, “Hello, Mother.”

  First pulled her hand back and slapped him hard across the cheek, her claws scratching his skin. “You imbecile!” she yelled angrily. “Why are you here, you stupid boy!?”

  Stryg stumbled back a step. His ears were ringing. He blinked hard and touched his face. Blood stained his fingertips. He hadn’t expected the blow. He should have. None were fiercer and more protective of the tribe than First Mother.

  “I didn’t…” Stryg swallowed, “I didn’t mean to place the tribe in any danger.”

  First clicked her tongue, “You're 20 years too late for that.”

  “Get back, you bitch!” Tauri yelled and ran into the room from the hallway. She stepped in front of Stryg and growled, “If you touch him again, I swear I will drop all of you!”

  “Y-yeah, what she said!” Plum nodded and ran to stand by her friends.

  First Mother eyed the two hooded figures calmly, “You brought two actual outsiders with you? What did you hope to achieve here, Stryg?”

  Stryg shook his head, “I promise, I didn’t come here to harm you nor the tribe.”

  First smirked, “You think I’m worried that you’ll hurt the tribe?”

  Second cleared her throat, finally coming to grips of the blue stranger’s identity, and smiled sympathetically at Stryg, “We are worried that the tribe will hurt you.”

  First snapped her fingers, “Sisters, you know what to do.”

  The four other Mothers had been staring at Stryg with mixed emotions, but the moment First spoke, they all sprang into action. Fourth ran to the door and closed and locked it. Fifth and Third pushed back a nearby bed, revealing a hidden trapdoor underneath. Second opened a wardrobe and pulled out two large traveling packs.

  “We had only ever planned for two, First,” Second said apologetically.

  “It doesn’t matter. All that matters now is that Stryg escape before the others learn of his presence,” First said solemnly.

  “B-But I don’t understand,” Stryg frowned. “You want to help me? Why? When I left the village you said you’d kill me if I came back without fulfilling the quest. You even said you were going to eat me after I lost the Night Challenge!” he screamed in frustration.

  First stared at him as if observing a toddler throw a tantrum, “I said many things. You’d do well to remember them all.”

  “What?” Stryg snarled.

  “The Night Challenge, Stryg, remember,” Second Mother said gently. “Try to remember what happened.”

  “I lost…” Stryg muttered, “I lost the Challenge. Everyone wanted to kill me…”

  “Yes and then what?” Second pushed.

  “Then First Mother came. She said I was a shame to the tribe.”

  Tauri and Plum looked at him with sympathy, they hadn’t known.

  Stryg ignored their looks and spoke quietly with clenched fists, “First Mother was so angry. She grabbed a spear and said she was going to drag me here and carve me up.”

  “Right. She was going to drag you here, away from the eyes of the rest of the tribe,” Second Mother spoke pointedly.

  Stryg stiffened, “What are you saying?”

  “This was always the plan, Stryg,” Second smiled. “In case you failed the Night Challenge, we needed a way to get you out of here. Pretending we had cooked you up into a stew was the easiest way to ‘dispose’ of the body.”

  First Mother kicked the trapdoor open, revealing a tunnel underneath. “But of course, you had to come back here anyway like an idiot.”

  “B-but,” Stryg felt his eyes burn with tears. “I thought you hated me…? I thought you all hated me!”

  “Many people in the tribe do hate you, Stryg,” Second said lamentingly.

  The spiteful scowl on Fifth’s face indicated she was one of them, but she said nothing for fear of First and Second’s retaliation.

  “You are safe with the people in this room,” Second said reassuringly. “But out there is a different story. Which is why you must leave.”

  “I… I don’t…” Stryg breathed shakily. He didn’t understand what was happening. Everything was happening too fast.

  First Mother sighed and walked over to him, “Child, listen to me and listen close. I will hate you if you don’t get down that tunnel right now. Understood?”

  “I hear people coming!” Fourth said, her ear next to the door.

  “Stryg?” Plum asked worriedly.

  Tauri held her flail with a tight grip underneath her cloak.

  “There is no time, go, now!” First shouted.

  Stryg glanced at the tunnel and then back at the door.