Moving through the brush as fast as they could they slide to a halt as they found a creature. The sleeve of its tunic stuck to a tree by Maeryn’s arrow. So this is a goblin, Jeanne thought to herself, not much different from the books Leonidas showed me. The goblin was short, reaching to halfway up between Jeanne’s knee and thigh. It had shoulder length hair, palish green skin, its muscles were wiry and defined. Its eyes were gold, with green rings circling the outer part.

The face somewhat rounded, with a nose somewhat turned up. Teeth bared as the two women drew closer. “Do you know if goblins have their own speech?” Jeanne asked.

“I don’t know,” Maeryn replied.

“I know common, damn it!” the goblin snapped.

Both women turned to the goblin, wide-eyed.

“Didn’t bother asking me, did you?” the goblin challenged.

Maeryn turned to Jeanne. “They got us there.”

“I’m a man!” the goblin replied.

“I don’t know how to tell,” Jeanne confessed with embarrassment.

“I can, but I didn’t want to assume,” Maeryn followed.

“Well isn’t that awfully kind of you,” the goblin said. “Now, if my damned support would come and help me!”

“We’re dealing with their backup!” another goblin voice shouted.

Jeanne and Maeryn turned to find two more goblins their bows ready to loose their arrows at Benkin, Gabriel and Leonidas. Their own weapons drawn and ready to engage the enemy. “Well, that explains a bit,” Jeanne said pulling out her hammer and stepping towards the other two goblins.

Maeryn trained her weapon at the other two, who noticed the threat behind them. One of the goblins turned their weapon to Jeanne and Maeryn.

“Let our friend go!” the one facing Jeanne and Maeryn demanded.

“Put your weapons down!” Jeanne ordered.

“You attacked us first!” the second goblin shouted.

“You were sneaking on us,” Maeryn replied.

“And this isn’t disproving why we were doing that?” the one facing them answered.

“We wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t kidnapped the halfling child,” Gabriel responded.

All three goblins turned towards the vampyre. “What now?” the one facing the vampire asked.

“You have a child, Cullen, we’re here to find him.”

The goblins exchanged glances. “You’re here … for him?” the one facing Jeanne and Maeryn asked.

“Yeah,” Benkin replied, “his parents sent us to bring him home.”

“As in … take him away … from us,” the goblin stuck on the tree followed.

“Do you not know what find and bring home mean?” Jeanne asked.

One of the goblins unnotched their arrow and began crying as the other comforted him. “It’s over,” the first said. “It’s finally over.”

“I didn’t think this day would come,” the other said.

Jeanne and the others looked at each other, bewildered from the spectacle. Jeanne turned to the goblin stuck to the tree and said, “The hell are we missing here?”

“It’s a long story,” the goblin said, “and I’d be bit more willing to explain if I wasn’t stuck on this damned tree!” The goblin turned to Maeryn, “no offense meant.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Maeryn asked, offended.

“Given the way this day is going, I’m not taking any chances.”

***

Cid stared at Jeanne and the others as they gave him their report, their three goblins guests standing nearby. “I’m starting to wish I’d taken up a whole different career entirely,” he said aloud. “So let me get this straight,” he said to the goblins, “Gavin came to you … willingly?”

One stepped forward and said, “As crazy as it sounds, yes. We were out searching for game to hunt, when this halfling boy comes down the road, skipping and hollering all the while, and when he found us, declared he was one of us.”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“And you didn’t send him home?” Benkin asked.

“We tried,” the other said, “we kept escorting back home. Even doing that smack on the bottom with our bows to keep him from following us. But he just kept tracking us and insisted he was one of our kin.”

“Where is he now?” Kveldulf asked.

“Back in our village, in a cave not far from here.”

“You brought him back to your village?” Cid asked.

“He was going to get himself killed!” the one who was stuck on the tree insisted. “If he wasn’t somewhere safe the he’d be dead, and we’d take the blame for murdering him. The chief thought if we informed someone from the village of the boy’s whereabouts that’d be the end of it.”

“I’m assuming that didn’t go according to plan?” Gabriel asked.

“That’s putting it lightly,” said the first goblin. “Anytime we came near the boy’s farm, they’d sick the dogs on us. Then we tried contacting someone at one of the other farms, and they either tried to turn us into dog food, or shot us up with crossbows and bows. And then when we were trying to contact their reeve, they grabbed a whole posse and hunted us for two weeks!”

“Well,” Cid said, leaning back and shaking his head slowly. “That’s something.”

“Have you tried writing something to them?” Leonidas asked.

“We don’t know how to write Common,” the second goblin said. “And even if we were able to get a message to anyone in that village, there’s no telling whether they’d tried to kill us on sight for whatever reason.”

“And how do we know this isn’t some kind of ploy to throw us off our guard?” said Maeryn.

The one who was stuck on the tree said adamantly. “We’re hunters, we hunt! And we want to get this idiot out of our home.”

“He keeps getting on some of the other goblins’ nerves, and the chief has been the only one keeping him alive!”

“We don’t want money. We just want to live in quiet and away from all of these troubles. Which he’s made worse since he’s been here. The sooner he’s back with his family, alive and unharmed, the better is for us.”

Cid rubbed his chin while pondering his next move for a moment. Jeanne turned back to the goblins, tapping her foot as she waited to hear Cid’s decision. She was taken aback by how the goblins had acted different from what she had always heard about them. They stood upright, proud and noble in their bearing. Far from the image of sniveling, hunched, wicked creatures lurking in dark woods and caverns, waiting to strike at the first person thing to prey upon.

What’s more, what caught her off guard was their conduct. She had heard more stories than she could count on the finicky nature of these goblins. How they’d turn on each other for food, for gold, for their self-preservation. But these didn’t run. They stayed with one who was unable to leave. Risking their own lives for their companion.

It was admirable. It was noble. It wasn’t the greatest show of bravery in the face of death. But bravery can found in the smallest of actions. And this was anything but small.

Added to this, their conduct was what through her off the most. Despite their initial hostility, they were calm, thorough in their examination. They spoke with the same level of fluency as people she had known back in her village. Little if any broken speech.

She scratched the back of her neck, having a problem comprehending all of this as she felt Leonidas nudge her shoulder. She turned to him as he jutted his chin up quickly. You doing all right, he gestured to her.

She nodded. Just, she hesitated for a moment, wrapping my head around a few things.

Do those things happen to be standing in front of Cid?

Jeanne nodded.

“Ah” Leonidas said softly. He leaned in next to her ear. “Come over here.”

The two walked a short distance from the others.

“What’s got you all … um …” Leonidas tried to ask, having an issue with finishing the question.

“Befuddle?” Jeanne finished.

“That’ll work,” Leonidas said, nodding slowly. “Wasn’t what I was thinking of, but it’ll work.”

Jeanne looked back to the goblins before turning back to Leonidas. “It’s just, these weren’t what I expected goblins to be.”

“What, short, snappy and lack general understanding of proper social decorum?”

“Pretty much, yes.”

“Something I learned quickly when I was in The Outlands was to set aside much of what I was told about goblins, ogres, orcs and all the rest.”

Jeanne demurred at the comment. “Really, orcs?”

“You don’t buy the stories told about them,” Leonidas responded.

“They pillaged and burned half the empire,” she replied, trying not to raise her voice.

“And the empire was altruistic in its own acquisition of territory?”

Jeanne leaned forward, grimacing at the comment. “Don’t take that fancy word tone with me,” she said.

“It doesn’t disprove the point, Jeanne.”

“Nor does it excuse what they did.”

“I’m not excusing the actions of a group long gone. I’m talking about the group that exists today.”

“Oh Shepherd’s sake, this is turning into one of those …” Jeanne said, throwing her head back and pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Sophist debates, which you have no earthly desire to participate?”

Jeanne tapped his chest repeatedly. “Yeah, that, that one.”

“Fair enough,” Leonidas followed. “I’d rather not have this out in the woods either.”

Jeanne looked out into the woods her mouth jutting to the side slightly.

“What is it?”

“I was trying to find to say to make you uncomfortable, but I couldn’t think of anything.”

“Always in the moment, aren’t we?”

“Listen,” Jeanne said, “I’m getting upset, this is how I deescalate myself.”

Leonidas gave out a pronounced snort.

“What was that about?” Jeanne asked.

“Now you have me thinking weird stuff,” he said, trying to stifle his laughter.

“Don’t blame me because you have a filthy mind, you filthy little man.”

“Just remember that when we get back to the inn.”

“What does that mean?”

Leonidas paused for a moment, pressing his lips together. “I was hoping you wouldn’t ask that.”

Doc, Jeanne!” they heard Kveldulf call out. “Cid wants you back here.”

“Coming!” Jeanne replied. “Come on, before they start suspecting.”

“Suspecting what?” Leonidas asked, confused.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Jeanne replied.

As they returned to the others, Cid nodded a little before rising to his feet. “All right,” we’ll be moving out to the goblins’ home in the morning. And … I’m sorry, I know you told me, but what were your names again?”

“Heliw Vey’in,” said the first goblin.

“Heliw Tar’kis,” said the second.

“Heliw Kul’kis,” said the who was stuck to the tree.

“Um,” Silvius said, putting his finger to his mouth, “I’ve been meaning to ask. Do you all share the same first name?”

“Oh no,” Tar’kis said, “that’s the name of our title. It means hunter.”

“That makes a lot of sense,” Silvius said, turning to Hypatia.

Tar’kis turned to Kul’kis next to him. “We’re siblings though, if that helps at all.”

“The ‘kis’ part?” Hypatia asked.

All three goblins nodded.

“I’m going to need to jot that down before I forget everything,” Hypatia said before she began frantically searching for her writing affects.