“Is that it, Brood Doc.?” Speak-speech squeaked. “Is it happening? Is it time?”

Right to be excited, is the little one, but too excited just yet. “It’s happening,” I told him, “but it ain’t time.”

“But I felt it, Doc. The earth, move-moved!”

Lippy whelp.

“I said it ain’t time!” I told him again, with a clap for the disrespect.

The earth is grumbling, though. Grater is waking up. There’ll be a shaking yet.

“Doc-boss!” a littleun said, little floppy ears poking into my hall. “Chief Boss wants to be seeing you, right quick.”

Not good to be summoned like a whelp, but guess that’s on me for being slow. No surprise Chief Boss wants to talk about this. Big things happening.

Found Chief Boss in her hall, as is proper, but she weren’t alone. That ain’t proper.

“What’s he doing here?” I said.

“Bog-boy reckons it’s time to go,” Chief Boss said.

Looks like she’s none too happy, and yet Big-boy’s got himself that big millipede smile on his face. No good, that. Reckon they’ve been hashing it out, and looks like Big-boy came out on top. Chief Boss is getting weak.

“Big-boy ain’t no Brood Doctor. Ain’t no Chief Boss either,” I made sure to nail him with a look when I told him that.

Chief Boss hits me with a big grey-brown frown — she knows I’m giving her a reminder. “And Brood Doctor ain’t Chief Boss neither. Why ain’t we going?”

“Not time,” I tell her.

“Earth’s shaking,” Big-boy says. Licks his teeth and all. That one’s hungry for the kill. Won’t be breeding topside, I’ll wager. The Hunt Blood’s too strong on him. He’s out to kill Talls.

“Earth’s trembling,” I tell him right. “You’ll know when the earth’s shaking.”

Big-boy steps up like he means to have at me. I show him my teeth to tell him I’ll not go down quiet if he wants to start a scuffle. Big-boy’s got a head taller than I have, though. He’s been scuffling a lot of late, too. Might be I’ve killed Talls, but he’s dropped six clan since the last cycle. Push comes to shove, I might not come out on top.

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Chief Boss puts her sword across her lap. Big vicious bastard is Jagged Tooth. Even Big-boy looks at it with some proper respect. That stills him a little for now.

“We’ve waited long enough,” Big-boy says, only it’s more a growl. He’s too far gone that one.

“It ain’t time yet.”

“It’s time!” he shouts back.

Big Chief smacks him with a backhander. Dishonourable hit that, but Big-boy deserved it for sure.

“Out of my hall, Big-boy! You’ve said your bit,” she tells him.

She’s got some of that energy back in her. It might not be yellow blood, but she’s showing that dark, clever look I last saw on her face when she had to chop down Mutinous-prick a few cycles ago.

I can see Big-boy’s veins pumping. I can smell the bloodlust on him.

But he does back down.

Might not be too far gone yet.

Big-boy talked out in dark-dark silence. Not good when a goblin goes quiet. No doubt he’s thinking of murder.

“Too far gone, that one. If there’d been others here, I reckon he’d have both our throats for the honour of it,” I tell her.

Chief Boss plays it cool, but I know she’s stressing. “If there’d been others here they’d have cut him down for talking bad-mouth to his betters.”

“Not so sure about that,” I grunt

I can see she’s not sure either.

Chief Boss throws two fingers after Big-boy. “To much with him. He only needs to check his blood until the breeding.”

“Cost us enough breeders already,” I say-think. “Doubt he’s good for anything now than murdering.”

Chief Boss nods my truth. “Well if he’s murdering Talls then at least some of our breeders might make it to the pools.”

“He’ll need to murder good if any are to make it back,” I tell her. “We’ll be outnumbered this time, I reckon.”

She looks tired. That makes me even more worried. “Gonna have to be different this time. Maters are gonna have to mate. Killers are gonna have to kill. Can’t rush the clan like we did last time.”

Last time cost us big in blood and guts. We took plenty of Talls to the earth father’s halls, but mated far too little. Might be other clans did better, but we got far too few brood.

“Reckon you might be right. We’ll have to kill them Talls before they’ve a chance to kill us.”

“How long, Brood Doctor?”

“The mushrooms are almost ready. They’ll be glowing bright in three nights. I reckon that’s when Grater will give us the nod.”

Chief Boss eyed her old armour. Looks weak like her skin now, but might be it’s got one shaking left in it. “I’ll keep the boys in check until then. I promise you that.”

“Get ‘em good and ready. When it’s time to go, best we’re quick about it.”

She shakes her head, slow and firm like Grater himself. “Best be you’re right about the timing, Brod Doctor. Don’t think I can keep ‘em in check much longer.”

Not good for a goblin to admit being weak. Chief Boss is smart, though. She speaks the truth.

“Three nights,” I tell her, and pray Grater doesn’t make me a fool-liar. “The clan needs it.”

Too long we’ve waited to breed. Too long we’ve waited to grow our clan.

Can’t breed when we choose, no more. The Talls wait for us where we burrow out. The Talls set traps and bring fire to burn us from our tunnels.

But the Talls forget sometimes. Sometimes the Talls aren’t ready. Then we have a chance. Then Grater shakes to tell us it’s as safe as it’ll ever be. Never safe — nah, never safe — but Grater watches out for his children. Grater will tell us when some of the breeders will make it.

The shaking earth is coming.