RUSTY

With the cookfire outside, the gang hadn’t bothered to block off the entrance. A shadow appeared in it, followed by a blue-haired goblin with a swollen belly.

“What’s this?” Yun demanded. “What do any of you have to be so happy about?”

The gang scrambled to their feet, grabbing whatever was at hand to use as a weapon, kabob, spoon, and comb alike. Rusty reared up and flared his wings, trying to look as big as possible.

"Back off!" Seok shouted, swaying from drink. “This is a private party.”

As Yun stepped inside, they saw the look on her face, and lost some of their hostility. She was alone.

"Yun? What are you doing here?" Jiho asked, eyeing her belly. She looked like she was ready to have a litter of goblin pups at any moment.

"Where's Bok?" Sooji added, her voice tinged with concern.

With a somber expression, Yun entered the den and made room for herself on the colorful cloth, nudging aside Rusty’s gifts with her foot before making herself comfortable. "Bok’s fine,” she said, her eyes deepened by exhaustion, “and I bring news. The Great Goblin is dead."

A collective gasp echoed through the den, and the goblins exchanged glances. Yun continued, her voice barely above a whisper, "He died during the raid."

Jiwoo barked a laugh. “Toogi’s down? Serves him right.”

The reactions of the others were less enthusiastic. Worry and alarm. Sooji looked down at her hands, blinking away tears.

"I don’t know how much you saw," Yun said, taking a deep breath before reiterating what had happened during the raid. “He fought them off, and most of us got away. There were dead, but it wasn’t the worst raid I’ve seen. Except there was another hero, we think it was a [Rogue], that camped one of the tunnel entrances. The Great Goblin got got. He was stabbed in the back. Stabbed a lot.” Yun's voice grew heavy with emotion. "I’d never seen him fight like that. It was incredible. He took on two of them at once and gave the rest of us time. Now he’s gone.”

The gang had seen that part from their hiding place under a wagon, but they hadn’t witnessed the ending.

"Great Mother," Sooji murmured, her eyes glistening.

"They’re going to write a song about it," Yun affirmed, pride and bitterness warring for their place in her words, “Toogi will be remembered.”

“The Great Goblin is dead,” Jiho said flatly. “Long live the Great Goblin.” The others murmured an echo of the sentiment.

Yun let out a weary sigh. "There’s more," she said. "Bok didn't want you to know, didn’t want me coming here.”

“There’s going to be an election,” Jiho said.

Yun nodded. “There are gobbos who won’t want you there, but I think it’s important that you’re involved. People remember you,” she met Jiho’s gaze, “even if they don’t like you. If you all really want to be back in the tribe, with Toogi gone, now is the time.”

“Why are you really here?” Jiho asked. “You don’t want us back, do you?”

“As leaders?” Yun shook her head. “No. But you two,” she addressed Rusty and Chul, “are too important to not be a part of the future of Midden.”

“Me?” Chul asked, eyes wide.

“Mostly the dragon,” Yun replied, though there was humor in her voice.

The gang exchanged glances, their expressions a mixture of eagerness and uncertainty. They had made their play and it had ended in rejection. It seemed impossible that they would have another chance to be welcomed so soon.

Chul grinned. "Rusty is very important," he agreed affectionately. "he’s a good scaly dog. Aren’t you Rusty?"

Rusty nudged him with his snout. He knew Chul didn’t mean to be condescending. “What would happen if we went back?” He asked. “Last time, the tribe seemed ready to kill at least half of us. If that’s going to happen again, I don’t think this is a good idea.”

Yun gaped. “You can talk? Why didn’t you talk before?”

Rusty ruffled his wings. “I don’t know. I was nervous, I guess. Everyone was threatening everyone. I didn’t really have anything to add.”

Yun recovered quickly. “All the more reason to have you there. The tribe will see how special you are. A lot of excellent fighters died in the raid, and we can’t afford to leave anyone out right now.”

“If there’s an election,” Jiho said, “I’m going to compete, there’s no question.”

“That’s a stupid idea,” Sooji snapped.

“No, it’s not,” Jiho insisted, running a hand through his hair. “Think about it. I’m the smartest member of the gang, and definitely smarter than anyone in the Midden Tribe. They could benefit from having me take charge.”

Sooji rolled her eyes. “Like they would ever follow you. Everyone hates you, Jiho.”

"Ha!" Seok stood, flexing the biceps of his good arm. "Strength is what the tribe needs now. I can crush any foe with my bare hands!"

"Bird brains," Jiwoo said sharply. "It takes wisdom and experience to lead a tribe. I did it once, I can do it again."

"Experience?" Sooji snorted derisively. "What good is that when you're too old and frail to defend your people?"

"Great Mother!" Yun swore. "None of you should compete. Weren’t you listening? This is your chance to come back, but you’re crazy if you think they’re going to accept you as leaders. The future of our tribe is at stake. This is not a game."

"Very well," Jiho murmured, his eyes narrowing as he assessed his competition, as if he hadn’t heard a word Yun said. "Let the best goblin win."

"That’s right,” Seok agreed, and did a little shimmy of excitement. “Let’s do this. Let the best goblin win.”

Sooji put her face in her hands, and Jiwoo’s expression darkened. The weight of his experiences as a former chieftain seemed to press down on him, and he shook his head, backing off from his claim.

"I've been down this path before," he admitted heavily. "I know what it means to be chief, the backstabbing, the danger. It's not a life I want back. I’ve had enough children, had enough wives. I’m too tired to start all over again.”

Sensing Jiwoo's falling mood, Sooji reached out to pat him on the shoulder in consolation, only for him to recoil from her touch. "Get your big, disgusting hands off of me!" He snarled, and she drew back, cowed.

"Fine by me," Jiho said, a hint of relief in his voice as he realized he had one less competitor to worry about.

Rusty and Chul were both more hesitant.

"Should we really get involved?” Rusty asked. “Taking part might draw too much attention to us. I feel like things are alright the way they are."

Chul nodded vigorously, his hands gesturing animatedly as he voiced his agreement. "Exactly! We should just keep collecting on our own and forget about the Midden tribe. They never looked out for us anyway."

The goblins bickered back and forth, leaving Yun to watch them in confusion.

“Well,” she said, taking advantage of a lull in their backbiting, “are you coming or not?”

Jiho clapped his hands. "We should at least observe the competition," he declared. "We need to see which goblins are involved and gather information, so we won't be surprised by the outcome. If nothing else, we can't afford to be ignorant about the political landscape of the junkyard."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The others conceded to his point.

"Fine," Yun said, looking like she wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep. "Spin it however you want, but it's better if you don’t compete. No one likes you, remember?" Her words stung, but Rusty noted that no one disagreed with her.

Seok flexed his arm again. "Everyone will come around after they see how well I perform," he boasted. His other arm, swollen and stiff, hung limply in its sling, a painful reminder of what happened what his opinions of his of his own prowess encountered reality. "Once I win, they'll have no choice but to accept us."

Sooji frowned at her cousin’s bravado, her gaze drifting to his injured limb. "Maybe you should let me look at that before we go," she suggested. Seok's pride faltered for a moment, but he quickly masked it with a nod.

"Fine, but I don't need any help," he grumbled. “It’s just to make you feel better.”

As they gathered supplies and readied themselves, Rusty couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. Was this the right path for them? He shook his head. As much as he wanted to remain in his lair, the world was turning around them. Even if they didn't participate in the competition, it would mean something if the gang could become a part of the wider community again.

The gang blocked off the entrance to their den, and under a sky mottled with storm clouds, they trudged through the shell fields in the company of Yun. The wind was picking up, whistling through the alleys and blinds, fluttering scraps of cloth, and disturbing the orange column of Sooji’s hair, which she had to hold in place with both hands.

"Yun," Rusty ventured, his voice hesitant as they picked their way through the debris, "how do these competitions work? How will a new leader be chosen?"

Seok's eyes lit up, and he eagerly launched into an explanation. "It's a tournament among only the strongest goblins!" he exclaimed, nearly tripping over his own feet in his excitement. "There are four rounds, each with its own set of rules. For example, one round may involve wrestling while blindfolded, or racing across a treacherous obstacle course filled with traps, blindfolded."

“No one’s going to be blindfolded,” Jiho sighed. “No one is ever blindfolded.”

“They’re not?” Seok asked, genuinely baffled. “What’s the point of competing if no one is blindfolded?”

“Even if we were blindfolded,“ Jiho smirked, “it would only be to my advantage. I’m very sensitive to my environment.”

Sooji scoffed at her brother's arrogance. "Don't get too cocky," she chided. "There are other goblin families who are much higher level. You have no chance of winning."

“All I have to do is make it through the first round,” Jiho claimed, “then I’ll have all the pledges I need.”

Rusty tilted his head, curiosity nipping at his thoughts. The goblin [System] for advancement was peculiar, but clear. Jiwoo had once had wives and children, and when he lost them, he lost most of his power. But the gang was all related, and Jiho and Sooji always referred to him as grandfather, so he must have still had some benefit from having them around. Now that he thought of it, none of the goblins had ever shown him their status screens, though they had all read his. "Sooji, if having children is a way for goblins to get stronger, why don’t you have any?"

A heavy silence fell over the group like a shroud, punctuated by a brief rush of wind. Chul gave Rusty a little kick in the hip to get his attention, shaking his head.

"Let's keep moving," Sooji said quietly. “We don’t need to talk anymore.”

"Sooji, I’m sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," Rusty apologized. He’d obviously blundered into a sensitive subject.

"It's okay, Rusty.” Sooji said. “I can't have children. It happens sometimes, and that's that."

Yun, who had been keeping ahead of the gang, glanced back at Sooji with sympathy, one hand resting on her heavily pregnant belly. The wind picked up around them, sending a flurry of scraps spiraling through the air, and Rusty silently berated himself. He should have known not to ask about that but given how easy it had been for him to reach second level, it had made him wonder why the gang was so complacent about their own lack of power.

They walked on in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, until Chul spotted something glinting amid the detritus around their feet. He bent down, retrieving a chipped blue shell that caught the weakened rays of the sun exactly right, making it appear like a piece of the sky fallen to earth.

"Here, Sooji," he offered, extending the shell toward her. "I thought you might like this."

"Thanks, Chul." Sooji said, examining the delicate object in her hands. "But I think this should go to Rusty for his hoard. I'll carry it for him, though."

Chul grinned. "I'm going to have to sew you new cloak, Rusty, with pockets this time."

"Thanks, Sooji." Rusty said, still embarrassed by the awkwardness he had caused. Something strange had happened when Chul gave Sooji the shell. Despite its unique color, his material sense hadn’t marked it as being valuable. But as Sooji continued to clutch it, the object took on a new meaning. It became more real to him, more present, standing out from the other fragments around them as strongly as any of the gifts the goblins had presented him from their collections.

Rusty had already observed that the [System] seemed to value potential additions to his hoard according to how other people valued them. But this was the first time he had seen the effect in action. Chul’s gesture had meant something to Sooji, and that meaning had been imparted to the shell. It went a long way toward explaining why so much of the surrounding garbage didn’t seem to count as far as his material sense was concerned. In order for an object to be worth experience, it had to be cherished first. It didn’t matter what it was; it mattered that it had mattered to someone before.

The Creaking Forest came into view as they topped another mound of calcified clam shells. Goblins and their thrown together hovels were scattered throughout the expanse, nestled between the groaning wooden beams and planks that formed the body of the faux forest. The creaking and moaning of the wood in the wind created a near constant background noise, as if the place was forever in conversation with itself.

Yun paused, looking around at the encampment before turning back to the gang. "I'm going to find Bok," she informed them, her gaze serious. "Remember, I wasn’t the one who told you to come. And if you’re smart, you won’t compete. Maybe try to make some friends while you're here."

“I’m smart,” Jiho said, “don’t you worry.”

"Good luck, Yun," Rusty said, watching her walk away, her figure soon swallowed by the background of the Creaking Forest.

"Let’s find a spot to camp," Sooji said. “It looks like we’re going to be here for a while.”

The gang weaved through the crowded pathways of the Creaking Forest, their eyes scanning for any sign of the goblin in charge of the tournament. Other goblins didn’t challenge them, though they received more than a few angry stares. The families here were still in mourning, so despite the upcoming event, it was hardly a festival air.

"Excuse me," Sooji said to a mother as they passed, "Could you point us toward whoever is organizing the election?"

The goblin woman eyed them suspiciously before grudgingly gesturing towards a platform near the center of the forest. The mast of a ship, complete with a crow’s nest, jutted up from the platform, and there were a handful of goblins men clustered around it.

“Grik,” Jiwoo said, “of course it’s him.”

Grik was an old goblin wearing an elaborate sash, with a monocle balanced precariously over one squinting eye. He leaned against a staff topped by a dinky lantern. Grik's gaze fell upon them as they approached, his expression quickly souring.

"You lot," he spat. "I didn’t think you’d be stupid enough to come."

"Nice to see you too, Grik," Jiho retorted with a smug smirk, crossing his arms over his chest. "We're here to sign up for the election."

"Absolutely not," Grik said, the other goblins crowding around him to face off with the gang. "You’re not wanted, least of all in our most sacred tradition."

Seok stomped his foot, undeterred by Grik's words. "Well, you'll have to make room for us, because Jiho and I are entering," he declared.

“Stop playing around,” Jiwoo said, glaring balefully at the resistance arrayed before them. “You know the rules. If they want to put their names in the hat, you’ve got to let them. It isn’t up to you who gets to be in our out, it’s up to the godknobblers who pledge to elect the new chief.”

"Bah!" Grik grimaced, putting his staff under his arm to take out a piece of charcoal and a ragged-looking sheet of parchment, "Fine. It doesn’t matter in the slightest. No one’s going to pledge to them. Seok and Jiho, correct? Is that everyone?”

“That’s right,” Jiho said, watching the elder scratch on their names. Grik turned his back on them when he finished, a clear dismissal, and the gang marched off. Rusty didn’t enjoy seeing them treated this way, but they had gotten what they wanted, so he said nothing.

With their place in the election secured, the gang sought a spot to camp for the night. The curious eyes of other goblins followed them, mostly focused on Rusty. As they settled down, a group of goblin children crept closer, their curiosity piqued by the presence of the hatchling. Nada and Yumi were among them, the same children they had met the day before, and Rusty was relieved to discover they had survived the raid.

"Hey little gobbos," Chul called out, his broad grin inviting as he waved them over. "Want to hear a story about my scaly dog?"

The children hesitated, eyeing Jiho and Seok warily, but the pair wasn’t interested in the younglings, and this time, there was no exchange of insults.

“What kind of story?” Nada asked.

Chul launched into a wildly embellished account of the dump beetle hunt, flailing his arms, and adding sound effects to every line. The children were more somber than the day before, but they appreciated his performance, and listened happily, peppering Chul with questions that he answered with grand lies. Chul wasn’t much older than Nada and Yumi, and Rusty enjoyed watching him engage with them. He knew he was technically only about a week old himself, but he felt older, almost like Chul was his little brother rather than someone who had been present at his hatching.

The wooden poles continued to groan, and the storm made good on its promise of rain. Droplets fell around them, and the goblins sheltered where they could, but most of them still ended up staying out in the wet and didn’t seem the worse for it. It was the closest thing to a bath many of them ever got.

Sooji sat close to her brother, trying to reason with him.

"Jiho," she began, her voice low, "promise me you'll concede if the fighting gets too tough."

Jiho scoffed in annoyance. "I'm not a fool, Sooji. I don't need you mothering me."

Rusty's gaze flickered between the siblings; his curiosity piqued. He wondered how Jiho planned to fight at all, considering he hadn't even tried to help when they were confronted by the [Ranger]. As the others continued their conversation, Rusty let his thoughts wander, listening to Chul’s increasingly outrageous account with one ear while observing the rest of the camp.

The sudden appearance of Jiwoo holding a handful of raw eggs pulled everyone's attention back to the moment. He offered them to the gang with a generous smile, clearly pleased with himself. Seok squinted at the unexpected bounty, a puzzled frown tugging at his lips.

"Where do you keep finding eggs, Jiwoo?" he asked.

Jiwoo's grin only broadened, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Ah, now that is my special secret."

Sooji snorted, shaking her head as she accepted an egg. "We're going to need a lot more special secrets if we’re going to make it through this election in one piece."

“Don’t you worry, granddaughter,” Jiwoo said. “I’ve got secrets for days