The Goblin Nation

Cyrus" call woke White from his terror, and he turned and ran towards the group. While he ran, the moments he bare witness kept replaying in his mind because it was etched in his brain. Before he knew it, his body slammed against the soft cushions of Natasha"s chest. "What happened?" Mari grabbed him on his arms and looked him in the eye.

"Sam,"

"Sam, what?"

"Sam, um,"

"Out with it!"

White looked at the direction he ran from. "Sam fell off cliff, but Cyrus, ok."

Mari pushed the goblin aside and ran towards the center of the cave where the ma.s.sive hole is placed. Natasha and the rest of the goblins followed. Once they arrived, they saw Cyrus on the floor, dazed and confused. They ran up to her and embraced her while she cried on their shoulders. The legions walked up to the cliff and looked down at the bottomless pit. Some of them tried to climb down on the ledges protruding out from the walls, but their efforts are in vain for its too dark to see the deeper they descend.

Mari ordered Spat to inform the brothers. When they heard the news, they stood frozen in time from their disbelief. Smoke noticed Stick"s body about to give in from the pressure. "Stick, get a grip of yourself. We need to go there now!" He said.

"Ok,"

The three goblins ran towards the hole. They saw Mari and Natasha carrying Cyrus away from the cliff despite her protest. Then she saw the brothers. She jumped off Mari and Natasha"s arms and hugged the two goblins. "I"m sorry I was too weak." She said crying, "She tried to protect me but, but she got," She dropped on her knees and hugged Stick on his waist. "I"m sorry, I"m sorry, I"m sorry." She continued to repeat these words until Stick woke up from the shock and pulled her up on her feet.

"Stop it, don"t say that!" Stick yelled.

"Stick?" Smoke said.

"I forgive you, but don"t you say that. Don"t you ever call yourself weak!" Stick tried to holp back his tears as much as he could, but some leaked out on the corner of his eyes.

Cyrus eventually calmed, letting the group some time to search for her missing sister. Smoke and Stick tied ropes around themselves and climbed down in the abyss. Mari stayed above with her hands extended and glowing as bright as day, but the light could not break through the black, and the brothers were too deep for the light to reach them. Noticing the darkness around them, Smoke rubbed his hands together and lit his palm, while Stick was too preoccupied to see the darkness consuming them. "Stick, wait!" Smoke yelled.

"Huh, what is it?" Stick turned around and realized he was blind. "Oh s.h.i.t, I can"t see!"

"Obviously. Lit your hands!"

Stick cast his light spell, and the light did not reveal anything in the shadows, not even the ground, "I can"t see anything. Not even you. Where are you?"

"I"m still higher up. You kept climbing down while I was trying to use the light spell. Just wait a few minutes, I"ll be right there!"

"No, it"s fine. I doubt we"ll even reach her." Stick tugged on his rope, but it did not give an inch. "Our rope is too short and our light too weak. Let"s go up."

"But what about your mother."

"She protected the person she loved, so its only fitting I take her place. And be strong." Stick climbed back up and saw his brother"s light shining above him. The two of them continued to ascend back to the surface.

While the group was busy searching for Sam in the hole, Cyrus rested her body under a large crystal pillar leaning against another. The crystal above her was not as pristine as the others. Grey spots were covering the upper tip, and the crystal would not glow as bright as the others. But the light was strong enough to give her warmth and comfort. She leaned against the base and hugged herself.

White walked over to her to ask about what happened on the cliffside. To erase his worries, he wanted to know the truth and reasons behind the scene he witnessed. Suppose they were real, or it could be just the perytons messing with his head. He wanted to ask her what happened, but when he approached her, he heard Cyrus murmur something to herself. The tone of her voice sounded comforting as if she was talking to a child. Then she turned her head and looked at White. His body was paralyzed in fear when he saw her smile. "Are you ok?" She said.

"Nothing," White turned around and walked away. The brothers returned to the group without any good news. Smoke organized the group to march once more. Stick wanted to help, but Smoke insisted he rest, and Mari agreed. They lost someone precious to them today, but she was most precious to Sticka and Cyrus.

Stick sat down with Cyrus while the group prepared to move. Cyrus held his hands and combed his hair. "You"re the only relative I have." She said to him, "Let"s do our best to live."

"Yeah,"

Smoke led them out of the crystal chamber and continued their march until they reached the cold spring. Above it was a large glowing mandrake, and its roots extended down with its tip touching the water"s surface. Around the pond was Rock"s group.

Spat ran in excitement to see Mabel, but before he could reunite with her, Dawn stopped him. She told her what happened and rea.s.sured him Mabel would be fine. Dawn led Spat to her and their son. When Spat saw Mable, he got on his knees and held her hand. "Papa?" Spat"s son sat next to him and gave him a hug.

"Yeah?"

"You really Papa. Papa not red. Papa turn red? Papa strong?"

"Yeah! Papa is strong because he wasn"t scared. So Papa turned into a red conqueror. And I will protect you because I"m strong."

"Me strong too. Me no scared, me no cry. Me protect Mama!" The boy said with so much vigor that it made Spat laugh.

"Sahahaha! Of course, you"re strong. You got it after me."

Dawn left the family alone and joined the brothers. Just then, Sun"s group emerged from the dark. The tribe was shocked to see Sun covered in blood while carrying Cast"s corpse. The brothers, the mothers, and Flute rushed to his side. They took Cast"s body off of Sun and laid it on the floor. Sun collapsed to his knees. "What happened?" Mari asked, "Why are you covered in blood and your legs. You were basically limping across the room." The Mari turned to Shuja, hoping for answers, but she too was covered in blood and barely able to walk. May had to carry Shuja on her shoulders. "What happened to your legs?"

"I couldn"t protect him. I"m sorry, Stick, he was your follower, but I couldn"t protect him." Sun covered his face in shame. "I was just too weak."

"Don"t say that!" Stick yelled, and it caught everyone by surprise. "Don"t ever say that, or else you"ll regret it."

Sun pushed himself up on his feet with Mari"s feet. He could sense something was wrong. He looked around and noticed that only three of their mothers were present. "What happened?"

Finally, the dam that was blocking the flow of tears on his eyes burst. "I wasn"t there so she, so she,"

Sun leaped forward and held his brother tightly around his arms. "Let it out. Everything is going to be ok. Just let it out." Stick cried, and his tears washed away the blood on Sun"s chest. Smoke and Rock joined in and embraced Stick.

After reuniting, the tribe continued their march. They left the cold spring with Flute and Tie leading the way. Not long after, they reached the cave"s exit. They emerged from the darkness and into the forest with the sun shining on them. And outside the cave was a group of dwarves waiting for them under a green maple tree surrounded by purple crabapple trees with no snow in sight.