Braid followed the goblin tracks so confidently that Vak was not sure what to make of the story of the 'Demon.' Should I really trust the word of thieves, perhaps they have skilled enough liars to deceive me? I have to remember that I am just a man from an island. There is much for me to learn, yet. It is entirely likely I've been made to look like the fool.

Can I trust Shattershade, though? After what I just saw? The way she manipulated those highwaymen. She told me her powers do not affect me, but how can I trust her at her word. She already made me fall asleep once. It is all too possible she used them again on the road to endear me to her. He tried to put the highwaymen from his mind. He could not reconcile how that had been necessary.

So, he focused on learning from Braid. Vak tried to watch as he made each turn along their journey. How is he so confident that the goblins followed the road for this long? Surely they would want to make a home in the forest where it would be easier to conceal themselves in travel. Braid pushed on, with a confidence Vak envied.

Finally, Vak decided he would not learn anything by merely observing. "Braid?" He asked.

"Yes?"

"We have been tracking these goblins for the entire afternoon now."

"Oh? Sorry, you are probably right." Braid said, putting up a hand and bringing everyone to a stop. "Rag is right; we should rest here. Let's try to make it brief."

Braid set down his hammer near a stump and walked over towards an abandoned campsite. Dam looked relieved and propped himself up against a tree about twenty feet away near the forest and closed his eyes. Anka and Cassie were arguing about something, and Cassie kept glancing over at Vak. She smiled that strange practiced, sincere smile. It probably made the other men swoon. Vak could see it was a mask. Behind the woman's supposed warmth, there was only that emptiness she talked about; he looked away.

Vak sighed and decided to try again with Braid. "Braid, I apologize for earlier, I wasn't trying to insist we take a break."

"No, its smart, Rag. I sometimes forget that the rest of you do not share my superior stamina. I can't expect you to keep up with me."

"I did not need a break; I merely wanted to…"

"There is no shame in it. You are new to this. Also, you're carrying vastly more than the rest of us. True, this is why we are paying you..."

"On the subject of payment..."

"...but there are limits to the normal human body. Set a goal each day, and the next day push yourself just a bit more. You will be surprised how much you've improved by a month. Trust me."

Vak started counting in his head, frustrated. "That is good advice." He told Braid in a wholly forced calm voice. "I was curious about how you tracked the goblins."

"What do you mean?"

"I have spent a fair bit of my youth tracking wild animals back home, but your method is… well, to be honest, I cannot even perceive the tracks you are following."

"Oh, I am not following any tracks," Braid said. He let out a loud laugh as though the idea was beyond absurd to him.

"What?"

"That stuff is all nonsense, Rag. Why waste all that time, goblins are stupid. If we just keep following this road by the forest, they'll surely try and attack us. It's in their nature."

Vak just stared back at Braid. "We haven't been tracking them this whole time?"

"I just said that. Ah, my apologies, I forget that you are a wildman, I know your kind tend to be a little less sophisticated and a bit slow in the head."

Vak chose to ignore the careless insult. He opted for a different approach. "Look, here, on the ground, by this campsite. The last people to use it left behind prints. By the look of it, they were here a few days ago and were heading toward the city. A small group, maybe two or three. By tracking them, we can tell their numbers, the direction, and follow them."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"You just made all that up. Rag, I know you're trying to impress me, but just be yourself, tell the truth, and I'll have all the respect in the world for you."

Vak was close to losing his calm. The rage inside him warred to surface. He insults me openly! It would be so easy to snap his neck. I doubt he'd even feel it coming. Through the red haze of his vision, he happened to see Cassie staring at him again. His anger evaporated. No, I am not a murderer. I will not kill over a misunderstanding. He shook his head and took the pack off his shoulders. The weight suddenly felt like too much to bear. He leaned back and closed his eyes.

"That's it. We took a break for you, after all, Rag." Braid told him. "Relax, and we'll be back on our way soon."

He is not making this easy, Vak thought to himself, opening his eyes. He stared out across the plains. I should relax. Who knows how long Braid will have us following the road pursuing these…

Vak's thoughts trailed off as he spotted a single print in the mud. It was smaller than the others he'd seen. Four toes each ending in a sort of claw. He felt his anger gurgle back up, like bad indigestion. This one print was more infuriating than the entire conversation he'd just held. It belonged to a goblin.

Vak turned his head towards a strange high pitched war cry coming from the forest. No! He screamed in his head. To his surprise, twenty goblins came barrelling out of the woods charging them.

Braid looked to Vak with the most shit-eating grin. Then he stood, drew his hammer, and walked confidently toward the descending creatures.

Vak grabbed his axe and stood to assist. Braid called back to him. "Watch the supplies, Rag."

"I can be of assistance."

"I know you want to fight. You'll get your chance someday, I promise. For now, watch the pack, make sure none circle around and grab it."

Vak lowered his axe defeated and stalked back toward the pack. It seems he was resigned to watch. The quickest goblins were nearly upon Braid as they leapt to attack. A wall of fire appeared before them reducing them to charred husks.

Braid stepped around it to meet the others. His hammer glowed with a bright white light that made the creatures shy away. He struck one with a full swing, and the goblin disintegrated with a high pitched scream.

Braid carried his swing through into a second goblin, then a third and a fourth. They all disintegrated under the white radiance of his hammer. The fight mesmerized Vak. Not because of the impressive display, and it was impressive. No, Vak saw a familiar look in the eyes of Braid. Each swing with his hammer drove him further into a rage. Braid fought with such ferocity and hate that it stunned Vak.

The last few goblins were retreating, and Dam struck once with a dagger thrown into its back. It fell to the ground. He raised his hand to kill the final fleeing goblin when Braid stopped him. He let the last one escape into the forest.

"You let him go?" Vak asked, stunned. Is he merciful, despite his anger?.

"Grab the pack, Rag, and try to keep up," Braid told him. He began to stalk after the creature slowly. "He is going to lead us straight to the goblin village. Today we crush every one of those vermin."

Vak hurried to comply but found there was no real need. He could easily keep up with Braid's clomping through the forest. The sound of the sticks breaking and leaves crunching under their feet echoed off the trees. They walked in silence for a bit, and the sun began to set.

"You really hate them," Vak said, breaking the silence after a few hours.

"Yes," Braid admitted. "I was not always this impressive physical specimen you see before you, Rag. I was once a kid, probably about as weak as you are now. I come from a small village called Caelfall. It was a small mining village near the mountains. We were poor and near the border of Abrune. The king's army didn't come out that far, so we were mostly left to defend ourselves."

"Despite all that, we were happy. I come from a big family. A loving mother and an amazing father. He was the first to stand up when the goblins came down from the mountain and attacked."

"I am sorry," Vak told him awkwardly, not sure what else to say.

"We drove them off with pickaxes, but not before they took everything from me. My father, mother, brothers, and sisters, all killed by those little green monsters."

"What did you do?"

"I had to look after myself. There was no one to take me in. Most of the village was in my exact situation. We struggled to keep the town thriving, but ultimately, many of us left after the first winter. We couldn't make it work."

"I thankfully was taken into the church in Elesville. They have a branch of divine warriors that shelter the faithful. They taught me to fight and to channel my loss. I told myself I would get strong. I wanted to stop what had happened to me from ever happening to another village."

"I see," Vak said. He knew he was terrible in these types of situations. He knew there were things he should know to say, but when he reached for the words, they flittered away.

"They aren't the same as you or I. They're soulless, killing machines. Always remember that, Rag. They live to kill humans." Braid stopped suddenly, and he held up his hand to indicate the party should halt.

Vak saw it as well. Neatly hidden before them, in the woods, tiny houses made out of the mud and fallen tree branches. Shattershade had, almost by accident, stumbled across the village of goblins Braid had set out to find.