Summer singing in the mountains,

Winter laying on the ground.

Follow fishes in the rivers,

Follow eagles reaching skies.

We are longing for adventure!

We don’t care for other schemes!

Let’s forever live and venture!

For the everlasting Guilds!

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Navigating through the forest was easy despite the darkness. After a goblin enters the marked path, he never loses his way. Goblins weren’t the best at traveling over long distances, but they surely knew how to make their territory known for others. Was it a totem adorned with a skull, or a simple marking left by the goblin scouts like Shadowstep, after Gob stumbled on the tracks he would never miss the way to the tribe…

Which was why he was taking the detour. The decimated tribe didn’t hold any value anymore. Maybe if he were to return the very night, the human knight came he might still find his dagger stash untouched, and apart from that nothing else.

It was many days since his disappearance. The tribe, whatever shape it was in surely moved on or got annihilated by the surrounding threats. There were many other goblins living higher in the mountains. There was a troll in the upper mines. There were wolves and a few kobolds that once peeked their nose into their camp. They were interested in the mines…

And then there were humans. The ones in shining armour. The ones with magic. The ones that usually killed other less shiny humans.

What would they do if there was no shaman to give them their vials? Even Gob didn’t know what was being given away. At first he thought that it was the poison goblins tend to make from rotten animals and poisonous mushrooms, but it would be silly.

Gob learned to politely talk and run away the moment he could from every encounter with those people. Why would those killers that always won against other humans and stupid hobs need some meager goblin poison?

Gob’s ear twitched as something rustled in the treetops. He scratched his ear. A small part of his left earlobe was missing after the Molerat encounter. It didn’t bleed so he couldn’t care less. As he continued to walk the rustling happened once more. And again. And again…

“Why aren’t you looking!”

“Because I know it’s you.”

“Stinky liar! No one can track a fairy!”

“When she makes it so she can be seen then yes, yes I can.”

Evie approached Gob as a restless ball of light and began to circle around his head. Then she suddenly sat down. On his head. An uncomfortable feeling of something warm, but not quite there plagued Gob’s senses in an instant. He tried to shake her off, but he only felt warmth on his hand. He surrendered and asked.

“Fine. So why do you follow me?”

“Glad you asked. Won’t tell.”

“What? Why?”

“Just won’t!”

Sassy answer made Gob try again and put her down from his head, but the fairy seemed unshakable. So he did the unthinkable. He stopped talking. It didn’t take Evie a minute to get bored.

“Goooob!!!”

She groaned.

“What?”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

His answer was oozing with arrogant pleasure. It was so bad it actually made Evie shut up for a while. Short one. When she spoke her tone was different.

“I can be whatever I want right?”

“Why are you asking me? You are a fairy, not me.”

“Well. You weren’t surprised when you saw me the first time, so I thought you knew other fairies.”

“I was just seeing things, and you never shut up. Also you were in a book.”

“Abook?”

“You will see in a moment.”

Evie was lost in her own fairy mind trying to figure out what “abook” was, so Gob suddenly curious asked her about the shape shifting business. The warmth on his head changed its intensity suggesting that the mood of the fairy was changing. As she was hesitant to answer he insisted once more.

“I want to be her...”

This answer made him stop. He really wasn’t over this deal. In fact, his eyes were only dry because he forcefully emptied all the tears he had. The Goblins only truly cried before their own death if the suffering was too great. What happened to him before was an event he could hardly explain. No way she would be like her.

“No.”

His answer was cold. It was getting dark and so he angrily kept walking. Evie left his head and flew along his shoulder.

“You didn’t even...”

“No!”

Another denial made Evie fly a little further ahead of him and mutter in her squeaky exaggerated voice.

“No...”

“He says no no no...”

They were drawing near the cave when Evie’s form changed into that of a miniature Gob. It was weird to look at himself, but as he had no way of dispersing the illusion, he observed himself in a miniature form walking in the air.

Evie’s form seemed to perfectly resemble him. From his current worn out pants to even his marked earlobe all the details checked out. It was so good that it made him straighten his back and walk in a manner similar to how Curan walked.

“Why can’t I be her? She was so lovely!”

“I don’t know. Why won’t you stay in your home? It was so nice!”

“You trashed it all and even buried her there!”

“If it wasn’t good to bury her why didn’t you stop us?!”

Evie felt silent for a while making it obvious that she didn’t think that it was improper to bury the Fishcatcher there. Gob asked.

“You were in the dungeon with me right?”

“I was it was so scary! These stones were speaking of terrible rain!”

The Altar seemed spooky, but Gob didn’t feel like investigating something Curan disregarded as simple decoration. He concentrated at his little self.

“Evie. Why did you came with me to that place?”

“It's simple Gob! I didn’t want you to die, so I helped you!”

Gob was at a loss of words. Did Evie’s voice always resemble Fishcatcher’s so much? Did she change it mid conversation? He muttered “Oh thanks.” in response. It was then as they arrived at the cave.

Gob entered it without hesitation. It was the first time when he didn’t feel at edge upon entering. He almost wished his dumb luck would sit in her makeshift bed. Of course Hestia wasn’t there.

The place wasn’t trashed. It seemed that the knight didn’t feel like destroying things he considered to be the girl’s property. Wait. How did the knight enter with no light? Gob conjured a flame in his hand and chuckled. It was so easy to light up this place.

He rummaged the stuff Hestia moved in her own way until he finally found what he came here for. The book was on top of Hestia’s bed, hidden under the blankets. Before sitting down Gob made a small fire. He saw decently in the dark, but reading still required some light.

He flipped a few pages. Colorful illustrations reignited the passion he had since he first saw them sitting in his Father’s hut. He couldn’t read actual words, but the letters weren’t important. What was important were the knights and dragons! Important looking human females and important looking human males with long beards and small golden helmets on their heads!

He slowly reached the page where the fairy, a small ball of light with wings appeared for the first time.

“Evie?”

“Yes?”

Gob couldn’t see the fairy anywhere. Was she hiding?

“There is a fairy in the book. Come and look.”

He heard a rock tumble, so he turned his head in the right direction.

Evie was slowly walking towards the light. Her head was looking down ashamed. Her little see through wings were shaking with each step. Her pure white dress. Her miniature frame.

As she stood before him he looked back at the book. He then asked.

“Why do you want to be her?”

He expected many answers, but not the one she gave.

“Won’t tell...”

He looked at her, bashfully shaking her head. Her voice wasn’t quite like the female he knew. Her looks weren’t quite the same. She resembled the vision she created just before he stabbed the undead in the heart more than anything else. She had a certain fairy look she couldn’t hide.

Hearing her answer Gob looked at her once more.

“Just come and look. This fairy here is about to help this human.”

Evie brightened up and flew straight to Gobs head, laying on his forehead. As he kept telling her about special swords and giant monsters she smiled. He almost looked at her in a way he did before killing the undead. She couldn’t tell why, but it made her truly happy inside.