I have made a little bit of a poor first impression, anyone respects strength but trying to convince monsters to join you after killing people they knew five minutes ago is difficult, to say the least. Paired with the anger they now hold for goblins and if it weren't for Jorr, I don't think they would have agreed.

He is good at telling them the right words that a warrior would need to hear, as it turns out most of the hobgoblins were guards and hunters in their homes before they were forced to flee from the valley. So with a few words about vengeance, unity, and the promise of a future, together with Jorr's support and the Huani around us boosting my image as a strong leader, the surviving hobgoblins accept to join us.

They ask to burn their dead first, and when deciding where to do the pyre, I tell them to burn them inside the tower. They don't think much about it, but I do. A part of me wants to see this place gone, consumed by flames.

But not out of anger. It is a desire to cement my change.

To burn and bury the man I was when I first came to this tower, with no sight of my future, and wish to help someone as an excuse to help myself. I accepted the monster when I torched that village, now I want to forget the human within, especially now that the warband grows. This means more food, more demands, and more needs.

Things we will have to take from others. From humans.

Thanks to my training and orders, I lost none of my men, and minus a few bruises and cuts, only Lina was wounded for real. Despite their initial mockery, as soon as the Huani saw her on the ground they rushed to their side, I suppose their bond as a tribe is stronger than opinions.

The hobgoblins gather all the wood, and corpses, inside the tower. I walk inside to check the trap door before they burn the tower and find it empty. I thought Fogosh wouldn't take the armor and weapons since they were too big for a goblin, but since it turns out he is recruiting hobgoblins, he must have taken them anyways.

Once I step out, they light the tower on fire and stand around it as it burns, even Jorr and the hobgoblins that originally came with me join them, a sense of brotherhood compelling them to share the loss they have suffered.

Only then it dawns on me that these may be the last Hobgoblins from this side of Volatia. Jorr had told me their numbers were scarce, and if they have been attacked by Fogosh and forced out by the orcs, then their numbers must be the smallest they have had in a good while. I can see the weight on their faces as they watch the dancing flames and listen to the cracking of the wood.

I provided some rudimentary medical assistance to the wounded hobgoblins and was pleasantly surprised when a pair from their group joined me, having experience patching up wounds of battle, I wondered if I could deepen their knowledge further, so they could help me prepare more medicine, and as our numbers grew we would need more men capable of dealing with injuries.

After they have mourned, we head back to camp.

It takes several hours and it's late at night when we return, I see the surprise on the face of the hobgoblins that had recently joined when they see us return with even more of their kind as allies. And they quickly rush to help carry the wounded to the closest tents. I notice some will have to begin to share a place to sleep.

The hobgoblins take their kind to the tents and the same ones that helped me patch up the wounded back at the tower continue their duty now that I hand what little medicine I managed to make after spending it all before. I am ready to go and drop on my worn bedroll inside my tent when one of the Huani stops me.

"Chief," he says with reluctance, most Huani still don't fully accept me as their leader "Lina is wounded, and the bastards won't treat her," he says pointing at a group outside a tent.

I see one of the Huani carrying Lina in his arms as he begins to lose patience at the hobgoblin telling him to deal with the Huani himself. They don't understand each other but it's clear things are about to descend into a fight. It seems the vastly superior number of Hobgoblins in the camp has given them the courage to start trouble.

I don't have the energy to deal with this bullshit.

Entering my tent for a moment I step out with the artifact in my hands, I break the tip of the arrow and tense, the Huani looks at me shocked, unsure of exactly where I'm aiming. I shoot the arrow and the other two manifest, they hit the hobgoblin on his body, pushing him to the ground as he yells in pain.

The hobgoblins look at me in awe and then at each other, unsure of what to do. Until I get monsters loyal to me, I better hold on to this bow to make them think twice before they attempt to take over the camp.

"Take her to my tent," I say after staring around for a bit to see if any hobgoblin tried something "I will treat her" This is better, my little stunt may have kept order, but I just want to sleep and not wake up with a riot in the middle of my camp.

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I return to my tent and reach for my bag of herbs, I'm gonna need to make some medicine right now. The Huani enters the tent with Lina in his arms and I point to the stool nearby, he then carefully sits her on it, she winces in pain and he leaves.

My eyelids are heavy, and I jawn, pouring a bit of water on the mortar with the herbs and I begin mixing them with the pestle, it will take a bit but since her wounds are only holes, this little will suffice.

I glance at her while my hands work, she wears pants taken from the guards like all Huani in here and uses the tattered rags she used to have as a dress to cover her excuse for breasts. It is cold but that fur must keep her warm enough to not be bothered by it.

As my gaze goes up I meet her stare. Still as distrustful of me as she was when I first met her, but now I can appreciate better her feminine beauty now that her face isn't covered by waste. Her long eyelashes, and thin lips. Enough is enough, I better focus on the medicine if I want to be done with this quickly.

Silence endures all around us if it were not for the sound of my mortar and pestle, as well as my occasional jawn, it would be almost disturbing. The wind whistles now and then, but not even the insects sing tonight. I catch in the corner of my eye how Lina's head goes up and down slowly, exhaustion likely getting to her too.

"Lay there," I say pointing at my bedroll. It will be easier to treat her wounds there anyways.

She stays put for a bit, before getting on her feet, or trying to. There is nothing to hold on to in this tent, and with one leg in pain, she winces as she tries to take a step forward, losing balance and falling forward. I jump out of pure instinct and manage to mitigate her fall, catching her before she reaches the ground and then helping her to lie down.

I glance at the mortar and let out a sigh of relief as I see the contents were not spilled. I get back to it.

"Thanks," Lina says, her voice a whisper. She lays on the bedroll, sitting as comfortably as she can without a solid surface where to lean on.

"Why did you come?" I appreciate the thanks, but if she is in the mood to talk then I have questions "With us, why did you want to come?" The tower had made an effect on my mind, I was seeing things more clearly after reminiscing about my past.

"I want to help" It takes her a bit more silence, but she answers me.

"Help me?" I reply immediately "Help your people?"

"Yes"

"No, you are lying" I put the slimy medicine in a wooden bowl and wash the mortar "You were willing to abandon your people, for the human" I reach for my other bag of herbs and mushrooms, I'm halfway done "And you hate me"

She stays quiet, but I can feel her stare on my back. I keep working on the medicine.

"Why?" I speak after almost a full minute of silence "You seem attached to him, do you love him?"

"Yes" She replies, annoyed but quickly "Yes I do, and a goblin wouldn't understand"

"And he loves you back, of course. That's why he came out of his tent to greet you when you returned to the camp, or why he is here right now seeing for your well-being" She doesn't answer.

I feel a sting in my heart. I wish these words came backed by a sweet memory, but no, I remember the way Maeld looked at Makur when he was wounded. The care in her touch, and the worried look she gave him when she saw him.

How different it looked from how she looked at me, and I had seen it that moment, but in my desperation for affection, I had fed the delusion that there was a space in her heart for me. I craved the safety Makur must have felt, the comfort, the happiness.

"Fight for yourself, before you fight for others," I tell her, adding the final ingredients to the medicine, I must have been half an hour working on this since she was brought to my tent "And don't let your hopes blind you. They will be the end of you"

"You don't know anything," She says almost grinding her teeth "Andrei fought for me when he first came to the slave camp where I lived for two miserable years. And I will fight for him"

"Listen. I don't care why are you fighting, take my advice or don't, is not my problem" I pour a little bit more water into the medicine, and it is done " But if you want to join in the fight you can't break under pressure and run away in a fight, you will take part in the training exercises from now on"

I put everything aside and pick up the wooden bowl and carry it with the mortar with me, sitting next to Lina.

" They say you are weak because you are a woman, but I will be the judge of that. I don't care what you have between the legs, if you can't fight, I will throw you and your human out" I hand her the mortar and she winces as she lifts her arms to hold it "Understood?" She stares at me angrily, but after a few seconds nods "Drink that"

Her face twists in disgust just by smelling it, and suddenly it's like she has become a child, looking at me with glassy eyes after trying to down it all in one go and failing, now holding the bitter liquid in her mouth.

"Don't you dare to throw up" I reach out and keep her mouth shut, making her look up as the liquid flows down her throat, she gags and for a moment she seems about to lose it, but finally she swallows it all and I can let her breath. Tears fall down her cheeks as she lets her tongue hang freely out of her mouth.

"What was that?" She spits to her side, coughing.

"A test" I grab her shoulder "Now lay down. seven, eight, nine..." She raises an eyebrow but does as told and I keep counting in my head. A full minute passes but finally I see her eyes fighting to stay open. It seems I did that sleeping poison just fine.

After one minute and twenty-three seconds, she falls asleep, I shove her a bit and then slap directly on the wound in her thigh, she doesn't wake up. I then begin applying the actual medicine to her wound, it is deep so I have to lift her leg and force it inside the open wound from both sides, and by how loudly she screamed when they pulled the arrow out of her body, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to test one of the poisons I learned so long ago.

I do the same with the hole in her shoulder, bandage her up, and finally, be done with this, and I noticed too late that she is asleep on my bedroll, and even if barely more than a glorified piece of ragged cloth, it is still my bedroll.

For a moment I consider shoving her out or calling one of the guards to take her to her tent...I remember the incident in the stream and decide to not give anyone the chance of doing something while she is out cold.

So I shove her more to the right and lay down giving her my back, tomorrow will be a busy day and I will need all my energy because with the many mouths we have and the lack of resources...I must train these men to lead our first attack on a caravan.