The Goblins, from their side, did not allow almost any information to be
shared either. They would visit often, but it looked more like spying than alliance
building. On their last visit, Ags was there, wanting to talk with Alex. They met at a
tent a hundred meters away from the edge of the fields around Argos, early at night.
“We do not seem to be learning a lot from one another,” said Ags with a
smirk.
“Well, Ags, learning from one another requires trust and a mutual goal. Or at
least mutual benefits.”
“We will be your friends and share with you, but we want something in return,”
said Ags, looking toward Argos.
“What is it you want?” asked Alex.
“We want one of those contraptions that plow the land and plant seeds and
then even harvest them.”
“That will not be simple,” said Alex, nodding with his lips pursed.
“Why will it not be simple?”
“You have been close to those machines in the past, haven’t you?” asked
Alex.
“I have. I also tried to understand how it works, but it is like magic.”
“It is not magic. But have you noticed that they have thick ropes that connect
them to the city?”
“Yes. They are not there to prevent them from leaving, are they?”
“No, they are there to provide them with water and energy. It’s hard to make
one for you because you will also need the contraptions that provide it with energy
and water.”
“Can’t you give me those as well?”
“I have an idea,” said Alex with a smile. “I can provide you with a simpler
machine that you can leave in the sun all day, and at night it can provide you with
light wherever you need it. It will have a few small branches that you remove from it,
and they will have light for much of the night. Small and easy to carry and without
fire. Let me show you.” He turned his torch on.
“This we can work with for now,” said Ags.
“I will make sure you have one delivered in a few days. Now tell me, Ags.
What do you know of the ancient cities that are everywhere on the planet?”
“These are the creations of our people. Back when the gods were with us …”
“Which gods were with you? Tell me about them.”
“You want to hear of our gods?”
“Yes, I would like that very much.”
“A long time ago, we were all living together in this world. We and all the
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others. We were living together with the gods too. They were coming and going to
the stars at will.”
“When you say the others, you mean the Orcs?”
“Yes, the ones you call Orcs, the Lot, the Ipc, the Zakil and many more.”
“Are you friendly with any of those species?”
“Not really. We have trade with some, but we don’t have peace. We don’t
know for sure how many have survived, but we have a history of many living
together. We are surrounded either by sea or by another race. The sea is dangerous,
and for us Goblins is a place we do not want to go near. We also have many species
that we are not sure if they ever existed outside of stories. Like the Semav.”
“And the gods were people like you? Who were they?”
“The gods left us when we began the great fight. The gods guided us to
create a world where we all had everything and lived in abundance. We do not know
anymore what caused the end of the world because that is ancient history. What we
do know is that after all was over, everybody wanted to be the ruler. Some still live in
the ancient cities, but only we have Dircesh or A-City, as you call it. We worked and
fought hard to reclaim it.”
“And now you can’t live there because there is too much water underground?”
“How would you know of this?” asked Ags with a suspicious frown.
“Do not underestimate our abilities, Ags. We have eyes in the sky that look
under the ground.”
Ags’s eyes opened wide. “You can see under the ground?” His face was
betraying fear.
“Yes, but we don’t look at you. There is nothing to worry about,” said Alex,
who felt that something was wrong. “So, why do you still fight? There surely are
enough resources and space for everyone.”
“Because they are not Goblin. They always think they are better than us. Orcs
think we are weak. The Ipc think we are stupid. Everyone thinks others are inferior,
but it’s them who are inferior. The question now is who are you? You are very few but
hold great power. Are there more of you coming?
“We are not here to wage war with anyone. We are here to find ourselves a
new home.”
“But this is not your home. Where did you come from? Why did you have to
leave?”
“Alex, this might not be a good question to answer,” said Konoya over the
communicator. “They might only understand that leaving your homeland to go to
another place is either scouting for an invasion or the invasion itself.”
“What was that?” asked Ags, looking confused.
“That was a call from someone in the city. We can talk from distances with
each other. That’s also something I can give you in the future. If we become allies, I
will provide you with a way to contact us instantly.”
“That sounds tempting. You haven’t answered me, however. Why did you
leave your world? Why are you here?”
“We left because we wanted to explore. Your world was close and looked
welcoming. We do not know how long we will stay here, but we will try to make our
stay without any incident.”
“Incidents have already happened. You killed my people, and this has
remained unanswered.”
“Without any more incidents then.” Alex looked troubled. He thought that the
mistake of killing some Goblins would haunt them for a very long time. Now he had
also lied about their staying. “We are not here to make war with anyone. We would
like to find a place to call our home in the future and live peacefully.”
“So, you are not planning on leaving?”
“We do not know yet. We wish to make peace with everyone around us, and
then we will see how things go.”
“You truly are from out of this world, Alex. Peace with everyone? There has
not been any peace for thousands of years. We lose our people every day.”
“Have you ever tried?”
“There are always those who seek peace. Peace allows for some to multiply
faster than others or make more weapons. Allowing one to become too powerful
cannot happen, so we are always at war.”
“I am starting to see the picture,” said Alex with his lips shut and his head
shaking.
“It is time for me to go. I will wait for the light present.”
Alex felt that there was too much hidden in Ags’s words. There was no trust.
There was too little information of the past. Just what you would expect from any
primitive civilization, the conversations provided little real insight to the past. Although
they are on their land, Ags did not ask us to leave or threaten us. Alex was thinking.
Did he understand that we are superior and he gave up? Something else must be
going on too.