The look of both fear and confusion was plastered all over the face of Jala as he ran out of the hut to meet the Orcs. He couldn’t understand why they were there that fast or why they were asking about the tribute.

This should’ve just been a routine patrol for them. The tribute isn’t ready, and it isn't due for another few weeks so he couldn’t understand why they are asking about it now. But he knew all too well if he didn’t find a way to appease them, the entire village could be up in flames before the day was over.

Once he made it outside, he immediately saw the Orcs standing in the middle of the tribe seemingly waiting for something, they hadn’t said anything else after that first initial question.

It was then the Orcs saw Jala running towards them with what they thought was a funny-looking face.

“Hahaha! Oglub look at the weak Goblin running! It looks so scared hahaha!”

“Enough Parfu let's do what we came to do.”

“You're no fun Oglub! We should have fun with these weaklings! We never get to do anything back in the village!”

“That’s enough Parfu!”

“Ahh fine! You! The Goblin with the funny face, come here.”

“Yes sir I, Jala is at your service.”

“Yeah yeah you better fucking be, anyway where the hell is the tribute, I can’t seem to find it.”

“Sir, I don’t mean to offend but shouldn’t the tribute not be due for another couple of weeks?”

“Are you trying to call me stupid Goblin?”

“No sir of course not!”

“That’s what I thought. Now I’ll ask one more time, where the fuck is the damn tribute?”

Without knowing what else to do, Jala motioned for two Goblins to go and grab what they have prepared so far for the tribute. He knew it was nowhere near enough for what the Orcs usually demanded but he had no choice.

The Orcs surprisingly waited patiently for two Goblins to run into one of the huts and before then coming out with what seemed to be some sort of box. It was roughly a foot and a half in height, two feet long, and one foot wide.

It seemed to be made out of wood, but the wood looked to be coated in some sort of resin. The two Goblins carrying it finally reached in front of the Orcs and placed the box down in front of them and stepped away.

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“Well fucking open it then!”

“Yes sir!”

Jala quickly lifted up the cover and what came out of it would’ve left Rick speechless.

It was cold air! The box was releasing extremely cold air! If Rick was here to see this, he’d immediately think he was looking at a cooler from back on earth. The inside of the wooden box seemed to be coated with the same resin as the outside of it but there was something else mixed in with the resin coating the inner walls of the box.

It looked like little blue grains of sand spread all over the inner walls of the box, and these little grains seemed to be constantly giving off almost freezing cold air. This truly really would’ve left Rick’s jaw on the floor if he got a chance to see it but the same couldn’t be said for the Orcs.

“This is nowhere near enough is it? Where the fuck is the rest?”

The box wasn’t even a quarter way filled with meat, even the normal Goblins knew just how grave this situation was.

At this point, Jala was extremely worried about what would happen from this point forward. He knew there was nothing else he could do to get a tribute prepared right this second for the Orcs. He also knew just how quickly this can take a sharp turn for the worst.

But most of all he didn’t know what to say to fix this situation. His mind was running on fumes as he tried to figure out what to say but the orc in front of him wouldn’t afford him that time.

“Are you going to make me ask you again?”

“No sir of course not! But if we can just have a little more time, we’d be able to meet the required amount of meat! Just a little more time is all I’m asking for!”

“Then get down on your knees and beg me for it.”

“Parfu this should be enough, we have other things to do.”

“I’m getting tired of you trying to tell me what to do, Oglub! Just shut the fuck up and watch!”

One must understand that throughout this entire interaction between Jala and the Orcs, Jala had been standing the whole time. And since he is in fact a Maglin that has been through one evolution, he was basically eye to eye with the Orcs.

This fact alone was very upsetting to the orc known as Parfu. He strongly believed that Orcs were superior to Goblins. In fact, all Orcs including Oglub believed this as well. Though Parfu couldn’t stand the fact that a Goblin could stand in front of him at the same height. In his mind, this couldn’t be allowed.

“Now back to what I was saying, if you want more time, get down on your knees and beg me for it.”

After realizing he was not getting out of this situation, Jala got rid of all hesitation and immediately got down on his knees. Even going as far as to put his head into the dirt. If it meant he and the entire tribe could survive for another day, he would do anything it takes to ensure that.

“Sir I am begging you for an extension of time for us to gather enough meat for the tribute.”

“That’s more like it! This is how it should be every time! Goblins don’t even deserve to breathe the same air as us! Here! Hurry and pack this shit up so I can leave this filthy place!”

Parfu threw a large leather bag at Jala, but this wasn’t an ordinary bag by any means. If one were to check the insides, they’d find the same blue sand-like material woven into the leather. It didn’t provide the same level of cold air as the box did, but it was good enough for the purpose of transferring the meat.

Jala quickly got up and did as he asked, carefully transferring the meat from the box into the bag. Parfu snatched the bag from him as soon as Jala was done, and the two Orcs left just as quickly as they arrived.

Though not before Parfu shouted one last line on his way out.

“YOU HAVE TWO WEEKS! HEADS WILL FLY IF IT’S NOT READY! HAHAHAHA!”