After trying (and failing) to carry on a proper conversation with Marble, Len accepted that for the time being, she’d have to leave things as they were. Perhaps the girl would open up to her once the greenhouse was built and she didn’t need to spend all of her waking time working to make sure that there was enough food for everyone to survive another meager day. Still, it was good that she was able to take a day or two off for once, thanks to the stockpile, that’d have to be enough for the moment.
Len mostly avoided everyone while they enjoyed their time of rest. Given that she’d pushed them so hard without realizing it, she felt a bit awkward staying too near to them as they rejoiced. No sense in making them feel like she was watching them even after giving them the time off. As such, she retreated back to her tent to ponder and plan.
She’d mostly gotten over her worries about the saboteur for now. They’d reveal themselves or not as things played out. Maybe it was a momentary outburst and the culprit would take the secret to their grave, regretting it or not, or maybe they were already planning their next move. There wasn’t much to be done on that front, glass wasn’t the most durable of substances and could be shattered the moment no one was looking.
It did raise a thought, though. They didn’t have the strongest night guard setup in general. They relied mostly on Valkar and anyone that he roped into covering a shift when someone could be bothered. He’d only been up for half the night and had missed it, there’d been no one else posted. This situation kind of demanded a response and, given the damage to the main glass stockpile, it kind of demanded putting more attention there.
That really could only mean one of two things. First, it could be an attempt to focus their attention away from the perimeter, weakening their overall defense even further. Frankly, that didn’t make a lot of sense since their defenses were complete garbage at the moment. Alternatively, it was a move that demanded they put more energy into their defense and not rely on just one old dude with a sour attitude. A small smirk crept up her face.
“You sly asshole,” she muttered.
To be fair, it was only a guess, and one that was pretty hard to substantiate, and she doubted he’d reveal anything more even if she asked him directly, but it didn’t actually make any difference. The solution here was the same either way. That it just happened to very specifically ease the burden of only one member of the Hovel wasn’t of much consequence. She was annoyed with herself for taking so long to come to this conclusion but she had to admit that nearly getting killed on an already bad day would throw anyone off their game. She filed that decision away and moved on to the next issue.
The would-be killer. There was no way to be sure what their intentions were either, at least not until she caught them. The real problem there was that to catch them, she’d need to bait them. She didn’t think that it was either of the hunters. For starters, they wouldn’t have missed but more than that, they wouldn’t have retreated after the first shot. Knowing what she had to do, she grimaced and called for Curly.
“What’s up, boss?” the older Goblin asked.
“I’ve got a job and I think you’re the one to help me with it,” she began.
Curly nodded and waited for her to say more.
“I know that you are still pretty firm on being a pacifist. I haven’t asked you for much by way of details, but I get the feeling that there’s a lot more to that story than you’re telling me. You’ve been willing to bend your rules for me several times now and I’m grateful for that but I’m going to have to ask you to do it again.”
“What are you asking, Lenore?” his voice had grown just a touch colder, less familiar than usual and infinitely more professional. Almost eerily so.
Withdrawing the arrow from her desk to show him she continued.
“Someone tried to kill me. I don’t know who, but they clearly wanted me to think that it was one of ours. I don’t think it was and I need to find them. I’d been operating on the assumption that whoever tried to kill me was the same person that destroyed the glass but I’m less sure of that now. If I’m right, that’s a whole other can of worms that needs dealing with but isn’t quite as serious as it seems. This one, though… this was a deliberate threat.”
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Curly kept his face still throughout the conversation, not revealing or saying anything because she still hadn’t told him what she needed.
“Every now and then I see that you’re quieter than you should be, damn near invisible sometimes. Maybe you were a spy at one point, maybe something else, I’m not asking about it. Your secrets are yours to keep. What matters is that I need you to shadow me. The last time they shot at me, I was alone. Had no way of knowing who they were, where they were from, anything, really. I’m going to give them another chance, and I need you to catch them when they take it.”
“You’re going to be bait, then,” he said carefully.
“Pretty much, yeah. We could send you out to examine the attack area, see if you could find anyone out there. You might even get lucky and find them. Your odds will be a lot better if we just draw them out again.”
“You think they’re still there?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe it was a pure attack of opportunity, but that doesn’t track with the fact that they used one of our arrows. They were trying to send a message. That tells me that they have a direct interest in us. An interest that I just don’t see them walking away from. If I had to put money on it, I’d bet that they’re out there waiting for another chance to strike. I say we give it to them.”
“And what do you want me to do when they take it?”
“Subdue them. You don’t like violence, I get it, but I need you to take them down so we can find out what’s going on. I absolutely don’t want you to kill them. That’s a last resort under the best of circumstances and here it’s not even an option. I need to question them, find out what this is about, and find out if anything’s happened to our hunters.”
“All right,” said Curly after taking a deep breath. “I’ll do it. I’d much rather stick to hauling cargo for you or scouting areas without engaging, but you’re right. I have the training to do what you’re asking. I’ll need your word on one thing, though.”
“What’s that?”
“You won’t kill them once you’ve gotten your answers.”
“The hell, man!” she scoffed. “What do you take me for? I’m not going to just be executing prisoners for the hell of it. Shit, depending on how it plays out I’ll probably just let them go. Maybe we’ll get real lucky and this was all a misunderstanding and the shooter’s just too embarrassed to come forward.”
The flat stare Curly gave her told her exactly how likely that scenario was.
“Yeah, I don’t believe it either. Still, you have my word that you won’t be indirectly responsible for any death here. We need this job handled, and you’re the best Goblin for the job. All right then, let’s go.”
“Wait, what? Right now?”
“Yup, I let this hang over my head all day yesterday and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let it linger on into tomorrow. I mean, unless you’re married to the idea of sitting on your ass all day. I did announce a rest period, after all.”
“Nah, it’s fine. If it’ll bring you some peace of mind, let’s get it over with.”
Len grinned at her pacifistic minion. This wasn’t quite the relationship she’d imagined as a Demon Army commander, but she was better suited to the misfits anyway. Let that brutal military discipline be maintained by other folks, she’d deal with things her own way, to hell with the consequences.
Valkar had remained on duty, citing the importance of maintaining the guard, but she noticed the jug of mushroom wine that he had resting beside him and the slight rosiness of his cheeks. She smirked and saluted him as she and Curly left the hovel, he returned the salute with a half-assed wave of his hand. It was a tad rude (considering the source, this was to be expected), but no actual disrespect was evident in the gesture and she didn’t mind it. Still needed to have another conversation with him, but that was lower on the list right now. She wondered if she even noticed as Curly slipped over the wall a decent way down from them.