A small groan escaped Haneul’s lips as he pushed himself up into a seated position. As he did, the goblin girl took a step back to give him some room. He shook his head once to clear away the last traces of fogginess from his mind before turning his gaze to the goblin. She met his stare, though her long bangs covered one of her gold eyes.
‘She doesn’t seem hostile,’ He mused, ‘I don’t think Lailah would send me into immediate danger… But I probably shouldn’t make any assumptions when I’m in a completely new world.’
“Nice to meet you,” The smile on his face was only slightly awkward.
‘It’s hard to know what to say in a situation like this.’
“Is it?” She replied, a small smirk spreading across her face.
‘What does that mean? What do I say to that?’ While he was doing his best to maintain an outwardly cool attitude in order to make a good impression, Haneul’s mind was racing to try and stay on top of this unexpected meeting.
“Is… it not?”
‘Really smooth,’ He mentally congratulated himself on his response, inner monologue dripping with sarcasm.
The goblin girl, unable to contain her mirth, burst out into a little laugh. Haneul watched, a bead of sweat running down his forehead. Once she regained her composure she flashed him a good natured smile.
“Most humans are either afraid of us or hate us. You’re an odd fellow.”
Internally, Haneul let out a sigh of relief.
“I like to think I’m pretty open minded,” He replied with a smile of his own, “My name is Haneul, what’s yours?”
“Huh?” She blinked, giving Haneul a dumbfounded look, “Goblins don’t have names. You didn’t even know that?”
“Oh, my bad, I’m sorry if-” His entirely too earnest response caused her to burst out in another small fit of laughter. He narrowed his eyes.
“Sorry, I just wanted to see if you’re as clueless as you look,” She apologized to his pouting face after once again catching her breath. Wiping a tear away from the corner of her eye, she introduced herself, “Lumi Wyrmspeaker. You have a strange name, Haneul. Are you a pirate from across the sea?”
“My name isn’t strange,” Haneul muttered, a slight pout still lingering on his face, “Wait, why do you think I’m a pirate?”
“You have a weird name and weird clothes and you’re in the middle of a unpopulated forest, far from any human law that might be chasing you.”
At her words, Haneul instinctively looked down at himself to inspect his clothing. He was wearing a loose fitting white shirt, comfortable black shorts, and a pair of sneakers.
‘Right. I was relaxing at home before I died so I’m dressed like this. Did that angel seriously send me here just to die? Give me some new clothes and a weapon at least! Should I tell her the truth? She might think I’m crazy. Or she might assume I’m like Sato and be on guard. The goblins were part of the Demon Lord’s army, after all. What’s the best way to play this?’
Haneul looked up at Lumi and took a little breath before declaring, “I’m a pirate. I washed up on shore after my ship sank and hid here to avoid the navy.”
“I knew it.”
He pushed himself up to his feet and dusted himself off as Lumi watched him with an air of smug satisfaction.
‘This is a weirdly perfect cover story. Until I know where she stands I should be careful about revealing too much, but I still need to be able to ask her questions about the country without seeming suspicious. It even explains why I don’t have any money or belongings with me. Thank you, Lumi.’
The more he thought about his situation the more overwhelmed he started to feel. He took a breath to steady himself, pushing any excess thoughts from his mind.
“Judging from the expression on your face you must be having a really intense debate with yourself right now.”
Haneul cringed, “Was it that obvious?”
“You have no Grogut face.”
He stared at her blankly for a moment, “Is… Grogut a type of card game, by any chance?”
Lumi stared blankly back at him, “A… card game? What’s that?”
“You’re messing with me again, aren’t you?”
“Aww. You’re learning,” A now familiar grin spread across her face as she let out a mischievous giggle.
“Give me a break,” Haneul sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, “Do you live here in the forest, Lumi?”
“For now. We Goblins are nomads. Staying in one place too long isn’t healthy for any monsters these days,” She climbed up onto a tree stump and sat down, lounging there in a relaxed pose. Seeing her so relaxed made Haneul feel more at ease himself and he looked around for a fallen log to plop himself down on.
“Is that because of the Sato Empire?”
“Sure is. The Warlord might be dead and his army scattered but the Empire still hunts our people relentlessly.”
“When you say ‘The Warlord’, do you mean Fatal Krait?”
“Yep. I think you humans called him the Demon Lord or something but to us monsters he was the Warlord.”
‘That’s interesting but I should focus on topics more relevant to my current predicament,’ Haneul reminded himself, making a mental note to come back to that conversation later if he had the chance, ‘Knowledge is power after all.’
“Can you tell me where we are?”
“Sure. We’re in a little glade. Oh, a glade is an open clearing inside of a forest. The trees and foliage are less dense here than elsewhere in the forest.”
“Oh, that’s really helpful, thanks,” Haneul replied in a deadpan voice, his glare boring a hole into Lumi as she did her best not to smile.
“We’re in the Durnhwood. It’s a forest that runs along the northernmost tip of the continent. It becomes a dense swamp if you head further north. It’s actually possible to cross to the northern continent that way but the swamp is full of nasty things and you’re more likely than not to get gobbled up by one of them.”
“That name sounds familiar. Don’t the Elves live in this forest?”
“Yes and no,” Lumi gave a little shrug, “The Durnhwood is big. Like, really big. The Elves live to the south of here, in the pretty parts of the forest where fairies flit around and the sun shines beautifully between the trees. Even the Elves don’t venture into the further reaches where the light fades and the night things dwell.”
“Hang on. Is this actually an incredibly dangerous place?” Haneul’s back straightened, his body snapping to attention as he took another look around. On closer inspection, while the clearing they were in was sunny and beautiful, the treeline at the edge of the glade was dense and dark. His companion chuckled.
“We’re right on the border region. Head just a little further north and it gets really nasty. Here, it’s relatively safe. We’re camping here to rest and stock up on food and other supplies. Hiding right under the Elves’ noses.”
“Isn’t that pretty dangerous?”
“These are dangerous times.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Haneul’s shoulders slumped slightly. His eyes scanned the treeline, looking for beasts lurking just out of sight.
“Want to come back to my village with me?”
He perked back up instantly, “Is that okay? For a human to go to your village?”
“Well, normally it wouldn’t be. You’re pretty interesting though. Not to mention, you don’t have a sword or any gear. You’ll probably die if I leave you alone out here.”
“Haha, yeah, probably,” Haneul laughed nervously, a forced smile on his face and beads of sweat rolling down his temples.
“It’ll also be a big help for us,” She added while hopping off of the stump.
“It will?” He followed her cue and stood up.
“Mhm,” Lumi walked right up to him, put her hands on her hips, and stared up at Haneul, “You’ll pay us back with your body.”
“Excuse me?”
She grinned, “That big body of yours is perfect for manual labor around the camp. We’ll put you to work right away!”
“Oh. Fantastic.”
---
Sato frowned and leaned forward on his throne. The Emperor’s throne was high backed and made almost entirely of gold, save for the lavish and extremely soft red pillows lining the seat and backrest. His surroundings were of the utmost decadence yet his furrowed brow made his displeasure plain to see.
One of his innate abilities, granted to him by the angel Eisheth, was [Magic Detection]. This ability allowed him to sense the casting of magical spells in his vicinity and to gauge what level of spell had been cast. The more powerful the spell being cast, the further away Sato was able to detect it from. With a low level spell he might only detect the spell being cast if it was in the same room as him, but his detection radius grew exponentially with the power of the spell.
‘That disturbance I just felt from the north must have been 10th level magic,’ The hero contemplated, ‘The information I’ve gathered tells me that there are only a handful of magic users on this continent that can cast 9th level magic and nobody had even heard of 10th level magic before I appeared in this world.’
He sighed and leaned back into the luxurious pillows, one of his feet anxiously tapping the ground, ‘Could one of them have made a breakthrough and discovered 10th level magic on their own? Maybe that lich Yevdon that Xo-ia was telling me about? He managed to escape when my soldiers raided his tower. Damnit, I knew I should've gone to exterminate him myself!’
“Is something wrong, my lord?” A gentle voice interrupted his internal monologue. Sato raised his head to see Bethany, one of his advisers. She was a beautiful human woman with long, straight dark hair that ran just past her shoulders. Her talents had been wasted serving under Minister Winther so Sato had brought her into his service after disposing of the upstart. Like all officers in the Sato Empire she was dressed in a tight fitting uniform modeled after military uniforms from Sato’s home world, though the skirt was deliberately trimmed shorter than any respectable military would allow, as per the Emperor’s orders.
“Is there any news?” Sato ignored Bethany’s question, his voice terse. She blinked with surprise, unused to seeing her lord out of sorts, but quickly regained her composure.
“Nothing out of the ordinary,” She reported, lowering her gaze to a clipboard containing several reports written on parchment, “We dispatched a messenger to parley with the Dwarves of the Southguard. They’ve continued to resist submitting to your rule-”
“If they don’t hurry up and fall in line I’ll go and deal with them myself,” He cut her off, clicking his tongue with annoyance, “Don’t they know everything will be better under my rule?”
“They’ll see the error of their ways in time, my lord. We’ll make sure of it.”
“Any other news?” He asked, tapping a fingertip on the armrest of his throne.
“The statue of the Goddess you ordered is almost complete and General Brenner reports another victory in the west. It won’t be long before the last of the Sanctuaries are brought into the fold.”
“Good,” Sato mumbled, not a single trace of satisfaction in his face, “Nothing about any unusual and powerful magic spells?”
“Magic spells? No, my lord,” Bethany replied with a surprised look.
“I see…”
‘A spell of that level would normally be something powerful enough to have reports flying in from the far corners of the continent. Unless it was a spell cast from beyond this world. Eisheth wouldn’t do anything to impede my Empire but could there be others I don’t know about?’
“Bethany,” Sato raised his head to look his adviser in the eyes, “Summon Countess Hedra to me at once.”
“That vampire!?” She gasped, recoiling with shock, “My lord, you shouldn’t-”
“Just do it!” He snapped, causing her to flinch slightly. Immediately, his angry expression melted away and was replaced by an apologetic smile, “Sorry, Bethany. I sensed a… disturbance that has me worried. I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to any of my people. Hedra may be a monster but she’s loyal and she’ll be able to help investigate before anything unfortunate happens.”
“Oh, of course, my lord!” Bethany’s eyes brightened, filled with admiration for the hero that had been sent to them by the Goddess, “I’ll have a messenger sent to her mansion at once!”
“Thanks, Bethany. I’m so sorry if I upset you. Why don’t you come by my chamber later this evening for dinner?”
“Yes, my lord!”
“That’s all for now,” With his dismissal, Bethany saluted and quickly turned to exit the throne room. Her footsteps echoed across the high, vaulted ceiling of the opulent throne room. As soon as she disappeared from sight, passing behind one of the marble pillars lining both sides of the court, his smile faded and his frown returned.
“This is my world,” He mumbled to himself, gazing at one of the water lilies floating leisurely across the reflecting pool at the far side of his throne room, “Nothing should happen here without my approval. Isn’t that right, Eisheth?”
---
As soon as Haneul arrived in the goblin village nestled deep within the forest there was a huge commotion. The village was made up entirely of tents, with a few outdoor campfires set up near the center, and a hastily constructed wooden fence surrounding it all. As soon as the first few goblins spotted him they started calling out in a language Haneul had never heard before. Dozens of tiny green faces popped out of the tents to stare at him with wide eyes and moments later, a pair of sentries wielding stone tipped spears came running towards him and Lumi.
“Uhh, they seem a little upset,” Haneul nervously said to Lumi, not turning his gaze away from the approaching sentries as he spoke. He backed up a few steps and held his arms up in a non-threatening gesture.
“Relax,” She responded nonchalantly, “A human is a pretty rare sight around here but it’ll be fine once I explain everything.”
Lumi then barked something to the pair of guards and they immediately stopped in their tracks.
‘Is she some kind of authority figure in the camp?’ He wondered, observing how the guards immediately deferred to Lumi. A brief explanation in the goblin language was all it took for them to return to their posts, allowing the pair to pass into the village.
“Come on, I’ll show you around,” She said, waving her arm in a gesture for Haneul to follow her.
Lumi guided him through the camp, leading him from the entrance up towards a larger tent near the back which seemed to be more lavishly decorated, having a red stripe along the top of the canvas and a faded gold trim around the fabric flaps that served as a door.
‘That’s got to belong to the leader of the village. Wait, Lumi couldn’t be the boss of this entire village, could she?!’ He cast a dubious eye at his tour guide.
The camp had been busily working before he arrived. He could see tree trunks that had been dragged to the camp and were being broken down into smaller logs that could more easily be transported, campfires where meals were busily being cooked in heavy iron pots, and drying racks that had animal carcasses draped over them. Everything had come to a momentary stop as the denizens of the village all ogled the new arrival.
Haneul noticed that the goblins of the village were dressed very differently than Lumi. Most of them wore crude patchwork clothing, stitched together from different hides and furs, whereas Lumi’s robes were neatly stitched and made out of some kind of fabric.
‘I wish they’d stop staring,’ Haneul smiled awkwardly and nodded his head to a few of the goblins that met his gaze. Most did not return the gesture but he did get the occasional nod in return.
“We’re stockpiling as many supplies as we can,” Lumi explained as they walked, “In a week or two we’ll be heading up into the mountains along the northwest coast. The humans and elves won’t pursue us up there so we’ll be safe for a while, but there’s very little food or firewood up there so we need to stock up if we want to stay there for long. Frankly speaking, it’s gonna suck being up there. Better than being dead though.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Yeah, I imagine so,” He couldn’t help but agree.
“I’ll introduce you to the chief and then we’ll put you to work.”
‘Interesting, I guess she’s not the leader after all. She definitely seems pretty important though. Are you watching, Lailah? I’ve gotten a job as a manual laborer in a goblin village. Am I living up to your expectations?’
They were still a dozen paces from the chief’s tent when the flaps of the tent flew open and an elderly male goblin came barreling out of it. He was dressed similarly to the rest of the village's inhabitants but wore a crown made from animal bones. At least, Haneul hoped they were animal bones. The crown was adorned with a large, square ruby that looked distinctly out of place on the otherwise crude headdress.
The chief barked something at Lumi, clearly agitated. She remained as calm as ever, the smallest hint of a mischievous smile on her face. While they were speaking another figure emerged from the chief’s tent. At just under five feet tall, he was noticeably taller than the rest of the goblins in the village. His skin was also a different tone, something like a mix between a dark beige and the green skin color of the goblins. He had dark black hair, worn slightly long, with the left side braided, and blue eyes. On his hips, he wore a pair of curved shortswords, and a wooden bow was slung across his back. The dark leather armor he wore seemed sturdier and better crafted than the clothing worn by the rest of the villagers. His face was boyish but had a hard edge to it and he narrowed his eyes to stare at Haneul suspiciously as he emerged from the tent.
‘Only those two have clothes that look professionally made, I wonder if he’s related to Lumi somehow. I’ll have to ask later,’ Haneul met the newcomer’s gaze for just a moment before turning his attention back to Lumi and the chief.
The chief had been waving his arms wildly when the conversation started but as it wore on it became clear that Lumi was gaining the upper hand. The arm waving slowed and eventually stopped completely while the volume and intensity of his speech got lower and lower. In a remarkably short amount of time his angry raving had been reduced to moody sulking.
‘Wow, he’s been utterly defeated,’ Haneul couldn’t help but be impressed. Even so, the intense stare of the other goblin was making him uncomfortable even without looking at him directly.
Another minute later and the chief shuffled back to his tent, an air of gloom hanging over him, and Lumi returned to Haneul with a satisfied smile. The other goblin remained, his gaze fixed firmly on Haneul.
“So, uh, I guess it went well?” Haneul asked, trying to ignore the eyes drilling into him.
“Yep,” Lumi reported, “He was worried that you might be a spy but I told him the spirit of the great dragon sent you here as a servant to help us gather supplies. Old Griknar can be pretty stubborn but he had to give in after I told him that.”
“I’m a servant now? Wait, what’s this about a great dragon?”
“The great dragon was a mighty beast that once toppled the Dwarven nation and united the monster tribes in an age long past. Our people believe that the spirit of the great dragon watches over and guides us still. The women in my family are responsible for communing with the dragon and advising the chief. We’re granted some special rights in exchange for our important job. For example, no one is allowed to damage or steal our property, not even the chief.”
‘Since she was the first person I met here I didn’t think much of her last name being Wyrmspeaker at first but I guess it’s a title as well as a name.’
“So you’re like a priestess? Wait, when you say your property, you don’t mean-”
“Yep,” Lumi let her response hang in the air for a lingering moment, waiting until the very second Haneul opened his mouth to reply before she cut him off and continued, “I’m like a priestess.”
Haneul squinted, “So, you commune with the dragon, huh? What’s that like?”
“I wonder,” Lumi replied with a vague smile before gesturing to the taller goblin that was still staring directly at Haneul, “This is Tuk. He’s going to keep an eye on you to make sure you don’t get into any trouble. Chief’s orders,” She sighed, “I had to give him a little compromise to keep him happy, you know?”
‘He didn’t seem very happy.’
“He’s a goblin, right?” Haneul asked, looking at Tuk, “He’s taller than anyone else here.”
“Half-goblin. His father was human but Tuk was taken in by the tribe after his parents died. He’s one of the village’s best hunters and the chief’s right hand man. Come on, let’s put you to work.”
“Sure,” Haneul turned his gaze away from Tuk’s piercing eyes and followed Lumi as she led him towards the edge of the village. Tuk followed, always staying a few paces behind them.
Just beyond the wall of the village a small work space had been cleared out. There were stacks of raw wood and stacks of lumber that had been processed already. Goblin workers were busy chopping wood and making trips out into the woods to gather more. Lumi marched Haneul into the work site and spoke to a goblin worker wearing a red bandana, who Haneul guessed was a foreman.
After she finished her discussion with the foreman, Lumi gave Haneul a few basic tasks to take care of. First, he had to make a few trips out into the woods to pick up fallen logs and tree branches that could be broken down into usable firewood or building materials and cart them back to the village. After that he was handed a hatchet and made to split logs for what felt like hours.
Lumi was always hanging around and watching, usually with a half smile on her face, but she seemed to be taking care of her own business at the same time. Other goblins would come up to her and speak to her at regular intervals, though Haneul had no idea what they were discussing.
In the beginning the other goblins all gave him a wide berth, watching the human with suspicious and nervous eyes. It made him feel extremely self conscious. Once he returned from his first trip into the forest though, carrying a sizable bundle of logs in his arms, he got a few impressed and appreciative gazes from the other workers. He wasn’t exactly experienced with this kind of work but his size and physique let him do the work of three goblins. Over the course of the day, they seemed to warm up to Haneul and grow more comfortable around him.
Tuk was always hovering around as Haneul worked, carefully watching him with a neutral expression. Haneul couldn’t help but notice that the other goblins seemed to give him just as wide a berth as they were giving Haneul himself. There was just one time during those hours of work that a sign of emotion passed across Tuk’s face.
It was on Haneul’s second trip back from the forest. He had just passed through the village’s gate when his foot snagged on a tree root, causing him to pitch forward and fall flat on his face, dropping the bundle of wood he had been carrying in the process. As he groaned painfully he saw, for just the briefest moment, the smallest smile spread across Tuk’s face. Tuk even glanced away for a second, as if he couldn’t believe the hilarious spectacle unfolding in front of him and had to contain himself from laughing.
After an hour of chopping firewood Haneul had built up quite a sweat and was wiping his brow when a young goblin shyly approached him, holding a crude clay mug in her hands. He gave her a friendly smile and she held the mug out to him.
“Is that for me? Thank you,” He reached out for the mug and slowly picked it up. The girl smiled and said something in goblin, watching him intently as he held the mug up to his face. There was a dark liquid inside of it which gave off a deep, earthy aroma. There were little pine needles floating around the surface of the liquid.
‘Is this a pine tea?’ The comforting aroma brought a smile to his face and he lifted the mug up to take a sip. The tea was warm and refreshing, and a relaxing feeling spread through his limbs as he savored the drink. The girl nodded happily and said something else, ‘I wish Lumi were here to translate for me.’
“It’s really good,” He said, hoping that some of his feelings would get across even if she couldn’t understand his words. Apparently she had lingered for too long because Tuk said something to the girl, causing her to jump a little and scurry off. Haneul turned his gaze to the half-goblin and took another deep sip of his tea.
‘It doesn’t seem like he’s angry, maybe he was just worried about her and wanted to warn her off? It’s hard to tell since he doesn’t let any emotion show.’
Haneul finished his tea, letting out a sigh of satisfaction as he did, then smiled brightly at Tuk. The half-goblin blinked in surprise and turned his head to the side, avoiding looking at Haneul.
‘What’s with that shy reaction?!’
He suppressed the urge to chuckle and carefully set the mug down on a nearby tree stump before getting back to work. He felt recharged after drinking the tea and worked even harder for the next hour, piling up a sizable amount of chopped logs, all of which he stacked neatly at the side of his work area.
“I knew you’d be a natural workhorse,” Lumi approached as the sun was beginning its slow descent across the sky, “Nice work.”
“Thanks?” As soon as Haneul set the hatchet down his arms felt like dead weights, exhaustion kicking in the moment he stopped working. He wiped the sweat away from his forehead with the back of one hand, “Nice enough to earn myself a warm dinner?”
“Workers get paid at the end of the week. You’ll have to buy your own dinner until then.”
“Huh? But you know I don’t-- Wait, you’re messing with me again, aren’t you?”
“It’s no fun if you stop falling for it,” Lumi grinned and turned around, walking in the direction of a campfire with a big iron cooking pot set atop it, giving only a brief wave to indicate that Haneul should follow her.
He was actually surprised by how tired his body suddenly felt, ‘I don’t think I’ve worked that hard in a long time. There’s definitely something rewarding about physical labor though.’
The sun sets quickly in the Durnhwood. The high tree line means that as soon as the sun is no longer directly overhead most of its light is blocked by the thick branches of the mighty pine trees. In just a short time it had already become dark enough that the goblins had started lighting torches around the perimeter of the camp for illumination.
When they were halfway to the campfire, in that liminal zone where the light up ahead makes the shadows surrounding you even darker, Haneul tripped over a tree root for the second time that day. He managed to get his hands under him just in time to stop himself from face planting again but with his body already exhausted from work he didn’t have the energy to immediately push himself back to his feet.
‘Should I just lay down here and sleep?’ He wearily rolled himself onto his back and pushed himself up into a sitting position. From there, he could see Tuk staring at him from a few paces away, his face as impassive as ever.
Breathing heavily from tiredness, Haneul held a hand out in Tuk’s direction, “Give me a hand up?” He asked. Tuk didn’t reply in any way and just stood there.
‘I guess he doesn’t understand me after all. I thought he might since his father was human.’
“Are you skipping dinner?” Lumi’s voice cheerfully called out to him. Haneul groaned and slowly pushed himself up to his feet and trudged after her.
Dinner consisted of a bowl of hearty soup. Chunks of meat and forest vegetables floating in a fatty broth that spread warm comfort all throughout Haneul’s body. The meat had a gamey taste, indicating it was something wild that the hunters had caught and not a domestic animal. He was too tired to try talking to anyone and quietly slurped down his soup. When Lumi brought him a second bowl he was so happy that he might’ve cried. Tuk sat at the edge of the campfire’s light, shrouded in darkness, and watched Haneul while silently eating his own dinner.
“Looks like you liked it,” Lumi said in a playful tone when Haneul finished his second bowl and sighed happily.
“Yeah,” He gave a little nod of his head, “It was really good.”
Lumi got the attention of a goblin that was wearing an apron and she came over to collect both Haneul and Lumi’s bowls, taking them away to be cleaned.
“Hey, Lumi, are you the only goblin that speaks English?” He asked, resting his back against a tree stump and lounging comfortably on the forest floor while savoring the rays of warmth given off by the roaring campfire.
“English?” For a moment he thought she was teasing him again but when she continued to stare at him quizzically he realized she wasn’t.
“The language we’re speaking right now.”
“Ah, is that what your people call it? We call it Low Imperial.”
“Low Imperial? Why?”
“Well, my knowledge of history is a little limited compared to a human scholar but I can tell you what I learned from my parents and from merchants,” Lumi mused, “In the ancient times there was an empire that spread from one end of the world to the other. They ruled over all the humanoid races, including the elves and the dwarves as well as your people. Low Imperial was the tongue of the common people, the peasants and such. The empire eventually collapsed but its language survived and it’s what most of the humanoid races still speak.”
“Interesting,” Haneul nodded, filing all the information away in his brain for later.
“As the next Wyrmspeaker my parents taught me Low Imperial as well as some history and other knowledge from the world beyond our tribe. One of the duties of a Wyrmspeaker is to translate for the chief and help communicate with people of other races. Not that there are many chances to actually do that in this day and age. Outsiders are more likely to attack us than speak with us.”
“It worked out nicely for me though.”
“That’s true. You’d definitely be dead by now if I hadn’t found you.”
“You don’t need to put it so bluntly,” Haneul said with an awkward chuckle.
‘It really did work out well though. Maybe Lailah sent me to that spot deliberately to help me out. Though it’s almost easier to believe it was just dumb luck…’
“I’m not the only one that speaks it though. There’s not many but a few of our tribe picked it up from merchants and such. I couldn’t tell you exactly who though.”
“I see-- Achoo!!” Haneul’s head whipped forward as he sneezed violently. Immediately afterwards he shivered and his hands instinctively moved to rub his arms. Between the warm food and the interesting conversation he hadn’t really noticed the gradual drop in the temperature but he was really feeling it now that the sun had completed its descent.
Lumi chuckled softly before standing up and stretching her arms, “Come on, I’ll show you where you’re staying. I’ve got a surprise for you there too.”
“A surprise?” Haneul stood up to follow her, half excited and half dubious to see what the surprise entailed. As always, Tuk followed a few paces behind them.
She led him up a trail to a small hill within the camp’s perimeter where a single tent was set up. Though the hill wasn’t large, the slight incline made it so the tent overlooked the rest of the camp. It wasn’t as nice as the chief’s tent but there was more open space around it, marking it as the home of an important figure. Judging by the dragon head carved of wood that was hung over the entrance Haneul had a pretty good idea who the tent belonged to.
“Isn’t this your tent, Lumi?” Haneul asked, pausing outside of it when Lumi held the entrance flap open for him.
“It sure is.”
“So I’m staying with you?”
“Isn’t it normal for a pet to sleep in his owner’s home?”
Haneul was sure he heard a small snicker from behind him and quickly turned his head to look but when he did he found Tuk staring back at him with a completely blank look, no hint of emotion showing on his face. Haneul squinted.
‘Did I just imagine it?’
He turned back around to face Lumi and stood up a bit straighter, mustering every ounce of his pride.
“Look here, I might owe you a lot but I am not your ‘pet’, okay?”
“Haha, I’m just teasing you,” Lumi laughed with a smile. She then shook the entrance flap invitingly, “Come on, come on.”
Haneul sighed and closed his eyes, ‘I’m too tired to banter with her right now.’
He had to duck his head a little when stepping through the entrance, but thankfully the inside was roomy enough for him to stand up without bumping his head against the ceiling.
“Good boy,” Lumi complimented him as soon as he stepped past her and his eyes narrowed, “It’s fine, it’s fine! I promise I don’t think of you as a pet!” She reassured him.
The inside of Lumi’s tent was warm and cozy. There was a small, low table set up near the entrance with cushions on either side of it, a little wooden bookshelf containing a few books alongside a half-melted black candle, and there was an inner partition which divided the tent in two, with a second room hidden behind a curtain in the partition. A pile of fur blankets had been set up as a bed near the back of this first room, with something sitting on top of it. Haneul made a mental note to check the books out later and see if there was any he could read.
“That’s your bed. Sorry but we don’t have a spare tent for you at the moment so you’ll have to stay in mine until we can make another.”
‘Thank goodness she isn’t expecting me to sleep at the foot of her bed or something.’
“Your surprise is on top of the bed. Oh, and don’t get any funny ideas about peaking in on me late at night.”
“Like I would!” Try as he might to ignore her teasing he couldn’t help but snap at that particular comment, earning him an amused giggle from Lumi. His cheeks warmed up slightly as he stomped over to his bed to inspect the gift she’d left for him.
The ‘surprise’ turned out to be a set of brown leather clothes, stitched together from animal hides. The stitchwork was a little rough and the hides didn’t all match but they would provide good protection from the cold without being overbearingly hot in warmer temperatures. There was even a fur lined hood on the coat.
“This is great!” Haneul couldn’t help but grin as he held the clothes up to inspect them, “Thank you so much!”
“It’s nothing, you more than earned it today with all your work,” Lumi replied with a genuine smile, “Besides, if you freeze to death or get sick you won’t be able to pay us back, right?”
“I guess that’s true,” He laughed, “Still, I really appreciate it. You’ve helped me out a lot.”
As Haneul was admiring his new clothes, Tuk plopped himself down in the corner of the tent furthest away from Haneul’s bed, ‘Is he going to watch me even when I’m sleeping?’
He set his new clothes to the side, neatly folding them again, ‘These’ll be really nice to wear tomorrow. I need to gather more information about Sato and head towards a human settlement soon but maybe I should stay here for a little while to pay them back for helping me out.’
After a moment’s thought he picked up one of the fur blankets from his bed and held it out to Tuk. The half-goblin blinked a few times with surprise, staring at the blanket for a moment before turning his head up to give Haneul a quizzical look.
“If you’re going to sleep here you should at least have a blanket.”
‘Not that he can understand me,’ Haneul flashed a tired smile as Tuk reached up and cautiously plucked the blanket from his hand, seeming suspicious of the human’s kindness but still accepting it.
Haneul plopped himself down on the pile of furs with a groan of relaxation, surprised by just how comfortable the makeshift bed was, “Hey, Lumi? Can I ask you something?” He grabbed the edge of one of the fur blankets and pulled it over himself. The warm, soft embrace felt so nice after the crazy day he’d had and he allowed himself to sink deeper into the pile of furs.
“Yeah, what is it?” Lumi asked, popping her head out of her room. She’d taken her robe off and was wearing a black tunic and pants.
No response came from the human and when Lumi turned her head in the direction of Haneul’s bed she saw him sleeping soundly, little more than a lump in his bed, slowly rising and falling with his breath.
“Pff,” A small smile spread across her face as she held back a laugh. She turned her head to look at the opposing corner of the room and found Tuk in a seated position with the blanket Haneul had given him wrapped around himself like a cocoon, with only his face visible. His eyes were closed and he was breathing softly as he dozed, “Sweet dreams, you two.”
---
The next morning the trio enjoyed a hearty breakfast consisting of two sunny side up eggs, a slice of crusty bread, and a link of sausage. The sausage was smoked but still held a strong gamey flavor and the eggs were way too large to be chicken eggs.
‘I can’t believe I fell asleep before I had the chance to ask her some more questions,’ Haneul scolded himself while munching down his breakfast, ‘But man, this is too good. Pretty heavy too, they must be planning to work me even harder today…’
His suspicions were proven correct as soon as he’d finished eating. He didn’t even have time to ask Lumi any questions before a small group of goblin workers came to collect him, leading him off to the edge of the forest to work. He couldn’t understand what they were saying but they all seemed to be in good cheer, one of them even smacked him heartily across the lower back.
‘I guess at least they aren’t frightened of me anymore. I really wish I could understand their language though. Couldn’t you have given me at least a power to understand languages, Lailah?’
Tuk was following Haneul again today, his eyes always watching the human as he worked, ‘There’s still one person here that doesn’t seem to trust me much though.’
Today’s job consisted of collecting more wood and using it to construct small sleds which could be used to haul goods around. The sleds were simple constructions, a bed of wood atop two runners that had a wooden handle on one end. Once complete, the goblins would be able to pile lumber or other goods onto the sled and then either push it around by the handle or tie a rope around the sled and connect it to something else to drag it around that way.
Haneul hadn’t seen any domesticated animals that could be used to drag the sleds around in the camp but even if the goblin’s just pulled the sleds by themselves they would be able to move a larger number of supplies from their current home up to their new home in the mountains than if they carried it all by hand.
Once again, Haneul was the star of the show. Goblins would chatter and point cheerfully at him when he returned from a trip into the forest with a big bundle of branches held in his arms.
‘I feel like I’m cheating. This amount wouldn’t be anything special if I was working with other humans my size.’
Lunch time came before he knew it. All the workers gathered around, finding places to sit on the forest floor or on top of small piles of logs as goblins from the village brought them steaming bowls of soup, the same kind that they’d had for dinner the night before.
He didn’t see Lumi around anywhere, ‘I wonder if she has something more important to do today.’
He was eating his soup when one of the other goblins came walking over to him with a smile on his face. He started speaking to Haneul in goblin while gesticulating with his hands, trying to get some kind of message across despite the language barrier. Haneul smiled apologetically.
“Sorry, I don’t understa--”
Haneul heard a whoosh of air followed by the thunk of something hitting flesh. His eyes instinctively closed as he felt a warm liquid splash across his face. When he opened them again only a second later he saw an iron arrowhead sticking out of the goblin’s forehead. The goblin stood there frozen for a moment that felt like an eternity before he toppled over, collapsing in a heap on the forest floor.
Startled shouts rose out of the forest all around him as Haneul sat there, momentarily frozen in shock. Slowly, he turned his head in the direction of the treeline where the arrow must have come from. Standing there, he saw a beautiful young woman with long, pointed ears and golden hair that was trimmed short to avoid getting in her eyes. She was clad in a green cloak with the hood pulled up and a shining silver breastplate worn over the cloak. In her hands was held a masterfully carved bow made from a supple white wood that had ornate decorations carved all along its length. Something about the elven woman looked familiar to Haneul but he was too rattled to recall where he’d seen her before.
The elf’s eyes, burning with hate, narrowed as several more elves emerged from the shadows between the trees, drawing curved silver swords as they came. A bloodthirsty grin spread across her face as she sounded a battle cry.
“Exterminate the beasts! Leave no survivors! For Queen Siona!”