Introduction

Black smoke billowed upwards from the factory chimneys and rolled across the sky, mixing with the gray clouds to further obscure the morning sun. "Dreary" doesn't even begin to describe the oppressive smog that permanently looms over the Lawrius: Wands and Potions manufacturing complex, as well as the blend of Lawrius compact housing units and various supply stores that surround it. Its tendrils stretched out into the horizon, growing thin the further it reached, allowing brief glimpses of a deep-orange sun in the clearest mornings and evenings.

Unfortunately, today was not one of those days.

"Geeeuuuaaakkk..." the young goblin let out an exaggerated groan as she stretched in her chair, her gnarled and calloused fingers twisting and curling awkwardly before falling limp at her side. "I'm not going to work today." she stated bluntly. Across from her, at the opposite end of a small table, sat an older goblin whose eyes remained fixed on the dry, half-eaten piece of bread in front of the younger goblin. "Don't be so dramatic, Orek, just eat your breakfast." came the older woman's response, her eyes narrowing in frustration.

Still lazily slumped in her seat, Orek slowly shook her head and placed one of her hands on top of the loose-fitting hat that covered her hair and ears, "I need sleep, not food."

The older woman closed her eyes and shook her head dismissively, "If you don't eat that, then I swear to the Will, I'll turn you into a stew."

The young woman feigned shock, "So that's your true motive... trying to fatten me up." Orek rolled over and planted her feet on the ground, "Well, you'll have to catch me first." She stood, her legs trembling slightly with the exertion, and picked up what remained of the loaf.

"Eat all of it, Orek." the older woman pressed, "I'm serious."

Orek paused, then turned and put on a broad smile, "You know I'm just playing. I'll eat it on my way."

The young goblin maintained the smile, but only received a raised eyebrow and an unconvinced "Mhm." in response. She left, taking a moment to pull on the insecure door so the freezing wind wouldn't blow it ajar while she was gone. By the time she finished, the wind had already cut through her poorly insulated jacket as well as her poorly insulated body, and stolen whatever small amount of heat she was able to produce on her own.

Pulling her jacket close and baring her head down against the wind, Orek walks out onto the gravel road towards the large factory at its end.

Chapter One

"You're going to starve if you're not careful." Eris spoke, having come up alongside and matched Orek's pace without the goblin even noticing, "You're still getting thinner."

Eris has been Orek's closest companion for the better part of a decade, having met at the age of 12, just after starting their work in the factory. Though they had split into different specializations a few years ago, they were inseparable in their free time. The goblin would still face quite a bit of criticism for befriending a ghoul, a race known for hunting and consuming other sentient beings, but criticism is hardly something that Orek worried about.

After all, the Will determined that ghouls deserve the same basic human rights that other sentient races receive, provided they follow the same laws that everyone else does. Of course, this didn't erase their social image, so as a sign of good will most ghouls hide their mouths beneath a scarf or mask. In Eris's case, a scarf that largely obscured her facial expressions, to the dismay of her goblin companion.

Orek rolled her eyes, "Your point?" The goblin playfully bumped up against her friend, who stood at nearly twice her height, "Besides, I don't have much of a choice in the matter, do I?"

Eris' expression didn't change, "You do have a choice."

"Don't give me that." Orek took a deep breath, then exhaled "I can keep this up for a while as long as I'm careful." Her face relaxed and pace quickened slightly, "Besides, everyone deserves to eat."

The ghoul remained silent, nodding slightly in tacit agreement, "As long as you're aware."

The two continued on in silence for a while, passing rows of scattered 'housing units', which were barely more than large storage crates haphazardly dumped around the factory. Occasionally it would be broken up by more intentionally placed structures, such as the general goods and bakery shops, though even those were run down apart from the golems and wards protecting them from theft. Security measures so expensive, you could likely feed the entire local population with what it costs just to maintain them.

Nearing the factory and further from the more well-guarded areas, the air became a bit thicker and the already sparse morning light even less prominent. Around them lay the sick, injured and elderly, curled up in the ruined and run-down remains of the small town that existed here before the factory was built. Orek turned and stepped off the path to her right, following alongside it briefly before disappearing between a pile of rubble and a standing wall. The desperate gazes of those who were dispossessed of their most basic needs followed the two young women and the bread they carried, but none of them moved. Those who still had the will to live were too wary of Eris to pose any threat.

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Behind this obscured entrance was a small room, primarily occupied by younger people with severe injuries. Mangled or missing limbs, burn scars from improperly brewed potions and the vacant stares of those who were blinded by shattered glass or some alchemical mishap.

Orek and Eris walked through the room, stepping over sleeping bodies before approaching one young goblin girl about their age who had been propped up against the back wall, her leg bent outward and inflamed at the knee. Her head hung to the side in an awkward position, causing her hair to tumble down to the left side and reveal the base of the young goblin’s missing right ear.

“Ascel,” Orek said softly, crouching down and brushing her friend’s hair over to cover the missing ear, “I’ve got something for you.”

Ascel stirred and pulled her head up straight, letting out a long breath before opening her eyes. The fog slowly cleared as she glanced between Orek and Eris, then forced her lips to curl into a pained smile, “Good morning, Orek.”

Her voice cracked slightly and the smile quickly faded into a more neutral expression. She reached down and began rubbing her lower thigh, just above the break, but stopped when she saw the bread.

“I can’t take that much, you have to work all day.” Ascel held up her hand to signal rejection, but didn’t look away from the offer, “You need it more than I do.”

Orek flicked Ascel’s good ear, causing her to wince, “We don’t need to have this conversation every day, just eat the damn food.”

“Okay.” Ascel chuckled and accepted the bread, “Just make sure you take care of yourself as well. You look like you’ve lost weight.”

Orek laughed in response, “Tell that to Lawries. All I’m doing is feeding a friend.”

Behind Orek, Eris pulled three entire loaves of bread out from under her scarf, broke each into four pieces and began distributing them to the others, “It’s pronounced ‘Lawrius’. Learn your employer’s name.”

“Whatever.” Orek waved her hand dismissively before standing and stretching, holding her dark gray cap against her head so it doesn’t fall, “If I’m hungry later, I’ll just have Eris steal some food for me this evening.”

The ghoul turned, having just finished passing out the last of the bread, “Not tonight.” She approached Orek, “Security was increased when I took these this morning. I think they’ve noticed.”

Orek groaned, “Damn it…” She finished stretching and let out a quiet sigh, “Then I guess we shouldn’t risk extra trips. Just make sure you get an extra for me tomorrow.”

“Alright.” Eris nodded, then turned and began moving towards the door, “Regardless, we need to go or we’ll be late.”

“Yeah… fine…” Orek drug her feet while slowly moving towards the door.

“Wait, Orek, first…” the goblin and ghoul paused, looking expectantly in the crippled girl’s direction, “I meant to ask last time, but forgot… What's with the hat?”

Orek reached up and began to pat the top of her own head, “It’s called a cap, and I’m wearing it so my bandage doesn’t fall off.”

“Bandage?” Ascel inquired, suddenly looking concerned, “Did you get hurt?”

“No, I’m fine.” Orek responded with a beaming smile.

Eris, who had just been looking over her shoulder, turned and faced her goblin friend with an irritated look in her eyes, “You didn’t…”

“They were running low on goblin ears for their potions, so they increased the bonus for anyone who was selling.” Orek pulled off her cap, her short, messy white hair stuck out in every direction, then turned her head to show the bandaged nub where her right ear used to be, “Since it’s just the tip of the right ear that has magical properties, I figured it would be fine.”

“Orek, if y-” “I’m sorry.” Eris began to scold her friend, but Ascel interrupted, tears starting to well up in her eyes as her attention shifted from Orek’s bandage to the half-eaten loaf of bread in her hands, “I know I didn’t put us in this position, I know it’s not my fault you’re starving, but I’m…” she paused to swallow her feelings as best as she could, “I’m sorry I’m adding to your burden by being so useless.”

Orek walked back over to Ascel, knelt down, and flicked her ear again, “Shut up.”

Over by the exit, Eris rolled her eyes and leaned against a nearby wall, allowing her attention to stray elsewhere.

“W-what?” Ascel’s remorse was replaced with shock at her friend’s response, which was only made worse when she saw just how irate Orek had become, “You’re a fucking person.”

“I-I don’t-”

The angered goblin put her hand on the slightly crusty loaf of bread, “This isn’t a trade. It’s not a gift, and it’s not a favor. It’s food.”

Orek moved her hand down, hovering her palm over Ascel’s injured knee, “This is your leg.” After a quick slap to the inflamed area and a short cry of pain, she continued, “It’s broken, and can not be relied on.”

With a painful grimace, Ascel rubbed her lower thigh, just above her knee, and watched as Orek placed a hand on top of her head.

“You. Are. A. Person.” the irritated goblin stated again, now visibly calming down, “Eat and be bothered that there isn’t more and better food. Be useless, and be angry that you were abandoned because of it.”

Orek stood and took a step back, “Stop pretending like you owe me, too.” She pauses briefly to bend over and casually brush the dirt off her knees, “If you owe me for stuff like this, then I’d owe Eris a whole lot more and I don’t want to spend the rest of my life doing what she tells me.”

“Besides,” the goblin continued, “I sold my ear to pay rent, so that old lady I live with can be close to her job at Lorrie’s General Junk Store.” She carefully slid her cap back on her head, over her ears, and began tucking her hair in, “I gave her the whole speech when we first moved out there, but she decided to fight me about it, so I punched her…” she trailed off for a bit, “...long story short, don’t tell her I sold my ear for rent. It probably won’t go over well.”

Eris stood up from the wall and gestured towards the exit, and Orek followed.

“O-okay…” Ascel offered a weak response, still a little shaken, but managed to pull herself together before Orek made it out the door. “Thank you… Orek.”

The goblin paused, “No problem, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Always with the speeches…” Eris playfully chided.

“It was either that or I would’ve punched her, and I don’t think that would’ve fixed the problem.” Orek responded, pulling her jacket tight around her shoulders as they once again entered the cold.

“The problem being that you were mad, of course.” the ghoul said, “It’s only natural that she would feel guilty, even if everything you said were true. It’s not like she had any reason to understand your motivations.”

“Yeah…” Orek conceded, “Maybe I overreacted a bit.” She paused to cough as the lower-hanging smoke clouds entered her lungs, “I’ll apologize tomorrow.”

The two walked in silence for a minute or so before Eris spoke up again, “Also,” she said, her tone slightly more upbeat compared to earlier, “I will find a way to punish you for mutilating yourself without so much as consulting me first.”

“That’s fair.” came Orek’s resigned response, “Just no permanent scars, okay?”

“Very funny.”

The goblin and the ghoul continued their trek for several minutes before finally reaching the employee entrance, where they were met with… something new. It almost seemed like the factory had prepared for war overnight.