I find myself inside my tent a few hours after the fight in the ring. Dandrie made sure to injure me as if we were enemies. And by the way, she looked at me, I don't think that's too far off of what we are. Such realization put into question many other things in the camp, especially regarding the new people living with us.
The siblings don't give me any sign that they are not to be trusted. But that is the thing that worries me the most. People that betray you are not those that you don't trust. Is their friendly attitude an act? Are they plotting betrayal? Questions that I keep in my mind every time I lay eyes upon them. Or I end up letting myself be vulnerable and suffer the consequences.
Even though Enon was in part responsible for saving my life, I do not read minds, so I can't phantom the thoughts running through his head. Only watch from afar, to anyway I can discern their true intentions. But for now, he takes care of my fractured bones, a day after the intense training with the Ajhalii.
"Once again, I'm so sorry for this," Enon says as he gently spreads the ointment across my forehead.
"That's fine, I did not want her to pull her punches" I reply, busy still translating a book.
I notice he stops for a moment when his fingers touch the spots where my horns grow. And with the corner of my eye, I spot the tiniest sign that it troubles him. I remember my fight with his sister, the way she looked, the horns...I close the book loudly, making him jump in his spot.
"O-Oh, I'm done," He says quickly wrapping the bandages on my head "Rokan, I meant to ask...what is it you want from this war band? And with my alchemy?" His words made me remember how we never went past the very basics regarding his craft, being too busy caring for the camp.
"A kingdom" I reply without need for further words, simple, direct, and effective. He looks taken aback "And I know little of this world, so I gather everything I can, especially anything that can help me shape it to my will"
"That is...an ambitious goal. I have never heard of a goblin being recognized as a king, and if you wanted to be called one, simply stealing a piece of land and having an army is not enough to achieve it" He says securing the bandages in place and pushing his wheeled chair a bit back "There have been many warlords who have tried to do so, but royalty is a most serious matter for all lords and kings, if you have no real claim to be called a monarch, the whole world will band against you"
"Because if anyone can call themselves king...I see" I took the people of this world to be simple, and for my goal to be even less complicated to achieve. Now I see I thought too little of them, of course, I can't simply take a castle and call myself king "And how would I gain...legitimacy?" I say now looking at him.
"Well, the easiest way to achieve status is marriage, universally understood among all realms to be a sign of nobility. If your spouse has the house to back her, then you would become by law and blood, a noble. That alone would not be enough to prevent a coalition of lords to try and get rid of you, but is a start" He replies, storing the medicine in their respective vases.
"Blood...so naturally, if I had noble blood it would be the same"
"Of course. But you would have to prove it...are you, you know...from a noblewoman?" He asks, unsure of how to phrase it.
"I do not know, and even if I am, I doubt I could ever confirm it," I think back on my mother, the last time I saw her.
A part of me is pained by the mere thought of her. I remember the comfort it gave me so long ago, I don't even remember the woods I was in, only the illusion of her warmth when I was at death's door, starving and weakened. The type of warmth I longed for those years ago...that blinded me, that made me so easy to manipulate. I look up, realizing my eyes hung low and Enon gives me a tiny, brief, but sympathetic smile.
"And of course, there are always those that are adopted into a house of great renown or make their own and are recognized by the lords of the realm he serves. You also bear the second name of Ushkur, right? Usually, only those belonging to a house own a second name, earning a nickname if they are lords or royalty"
"I see, of course, mine belongs to no house, I simply kept it because I was called like that some time ago. Those are the ways to become a king in this land?"
"Yes, the last way is not really possible, to simply conquer the land, and defeat all armies until your new kingdom remains, it has never been done before"
"Either way, I doubt if I somehow managed to attain the legitimacy through the three ways you have laid out for me, that the land would let me be. I am a goblin. When I claim my kingdom...I will face the world, no matter what I do" My words are heavy with meaning, as the future that awaits me seems to flash in front of his eyes.
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"But I still don't understand...If I may ask, why do you want this kingdom? As a goblin, you could go from burrow to burrow, leading numerous groups, raiding, and...doing what goblins do best. Why choose this path?"
Our eyes meet, and he manages to hold it for a few seconds until he looks away. For him to know the reasoning behind my ambition, I would have to share so much. And that is something I do not want to do, to anybody. My past is my own, my shame is my own, and I mean to keep it buried. I am about to stand up from the stool when I hear Lina arguing with Nojus outside the tent, shouldn't she be training with the goblins?
"Chief" Nojus says walking inside, Lina walking away with a quick step. By now I have spent enough time to know the small ways Nojus conveys his thoughts before he speaks them. The subtle changes in his face "Orcs"
That word alone is enough to send adrenaline all over my body. I take a deep breath and stand up, a single glance at Enon lets him know that I wish for him to leave. With a nod, he begins to push his chair out from the tent with noticeable difficulty, but his sister will soon see him, and aid him. Once he is out, Nojus approaches the table as I lay out the map.
"Where?" I ask grabbing a nearby dagger.
"East of the camp, near the rushing river close to the burned tower. My warriors went far today to search for rabbit burrows, and they stumbled upon a group of Orcs collecting water from the river" He says pointing at it.
"That means they have made camp near it" I slam the dagger on the spot, I will be needing this map to remain here for some time "It was a matter of time"
"What do we do, Chief?"
"That river is fast and wide, they won't cross it with this cold. But if we give them time or let them expand, they could build a bridge on top of it to keep expanding, and if they have gotten this close, that may take a month or less" I say using my finger to trace a likely path for the Orcs to have walked, Andrei did a great work mapping the surrounding woods past the river.
"So we prevent it, but we lack the men"
"We have goblins," I say choosing the most likely spot for them to make camp, far enough for not a sign of smoke to be seen, yet close to the river. I look up and see the doubt in his eyes "Come" I order, grabbing the thick pelt and putting it on my back.
Together we exit the tent and we head straight to the ring, I see Lina diligently guiding the goblins on the swings and stances, she perks up when we cross eyes, and I nod in approval of her work.
"She has grown close to you" Nojus comments behind me "The Hugoru, Andrei, departing is good. She will get rid of those silly thoughts regarding him. I would rather she chooses you Chief, as her ward"
"Ward?" I ask, we walk past the ring, heading to the blacksmith.
"She is a Silvertail. Proud, strong, and loyal warriors breed to be bodyguards and guardians for the Hugoru, the humans. That was long ago, and ever since we settle in the Tsardom woodland, all females who are born with Silvertails are not allowed to take part in raids"
"Why get rid of half your numbers? It seems like a waste of hands to arm"
"Dante, the culling of my people turned armies of thousands, into a few hundred. We had to grow our numbers, and we still are less than we were back then, before Death butchered my ancestors"
Dante. A name the Huani put on someone or something of terrible power. So much so that for them it means Death by itself. Is this a menace to my goal? Something capable of eliminating entire armies on his own is not something I can even begin to comprehend. But my thoughts will have to be entertained later, we reach the blacksmith and see the two of them hammering away at a hot piece of iron.
The furnace was finished a few days ago, and I wasted no time putting them to work, the sturdiest of the hobgoblins sees me and quickly leaves what he is doing to reach for what I commanded to be built.
"Boss, we are done with the first pair," He says placing the wooden shield on top of the anvil.
Using one of the books Scarlett gave me I designed with the blacksmith a sturdy, lightweight shield the goblins could use. Meant to use the small size of my brethren to their advantage, allowing the use of spear and dagger by digging the iron end of the shield on the ground and rotating to keep your eyes on the opponent. It is wide enough to cover the entire body, with a curved upper part meant to protect the goblin from overhead strikes.
A shield meant to protect them from taller enemies, while they strike at their legs and force the enemy to either go down on their level or try and use brute strength, opening them up for further attacks from my men.
"Good, I want the other six in three days or less," I say handing over the shield to Nojus, who eagerly inspects it "The best-trained goblins will be given these shields, and each Huani rider will be accompanied by one of them, we use their size to our advantage"
"Impressive, if every goblin has one of these, they could make a formidable shield wall," Nojus says as he swings the shield around "Not heavy either, it will endure well the strike of the blade, but fracture against the axe" He hands the shield back to the blacksmith.
"That is why they learn how to use the spear. I want the goblins to be more of a distraction than an actual threat, at least for now, eventually, the goblins will grow in size and be more useful in battle" Together we begin to walk away, back to my tent.
"I suppose they will be trained on the use of the shield as well, you have the gifted mind of a true warrior, Chief "Nojus says as we lay eyes on the dozen of training goblins.
Their movements were swift, and more unified than when they first began. Now listening to every order Lina gives. And for a moment I wonder if this is what Makur saw when I trained the goblins, I see myself in her. Her ward? The idea comes to mind, that just like Makur, I could use a dedicated bodyguard of my own.
"We wait for Jorr to come back, then, we will begin harassing the Orcs and make sure they do not cross the river" He should return with a least an extra dozen of goblins, numbers we need if we are to move as fast as we did before Dubby attacked us.
"First we should know where is their camp"
"I know. I will take care of that"