The Goblin Nation

The caretakers welcomed the new addition to their ranks. Tie offered to teach the newcomer their duties. The two sat down next to a fireplace and got to know each other before doing their work. May was a meek goblin and a timid one. It took a while for her to open up to Tie. She did not have any hobbies to speak, often spending her free time looking at the stars at night. Tie found her lack of hobbies a problem. Most of the caretakers were given tasks befitting their experience. Tie spent most of her time hunting before becoming one of Flute"s followers, and because of this, Flute relied on her to relay messages for her around the town. She would run across the town to deliver messages.

The most difficult task Flute gave Tie was to travel to Bona to get Sum and his followers. Fortunately, Tie knew of a path underground that lets her travel from Lev to Bona in two days. It was still a tremendous task for a small goblin, but Tie would do anything for Flute. Tie has only one regret, and that was betraying Flute"s trust. But just like her journey to Bona, she will teach May everything she needs to know if it meant she gains Flute"s trust once more.

Tie gave May a tour around the tent, showing her the tools the caretakers use in their daily ch.o.r.es. "This mop, this bucket, and this rag." Tie kept pointing at all the items while describing their use. "Use this clean floor."

May did her best to follow Tie. She kept a mental note of every items" name, its place of storage, and their use. Tie also showed her where they sleep and where they hide their barrels of h.o.r.n.y toads.

It was Nightfall when Tie finished giving May the tour, and afterward, the two women joined the other caretakers around the fireplace. They were squeezing out the white liquid from the h.o.r.n.y toad to turn into alcohol. "Hi, May, me, Pin." Pin moved to give May s.p.a.ce to sit. "Come sit." May sat down, sandwiched between Pin and Tie. They showed her how to separate the purple pus from the frog before squeezing it to death. Despite the tedious work, the women enjoyed doing their work in the presence of the warm fire. Some were gossiping about other goblins. Ren noticed May felt alienated from the group. Due to her shyness, she was unable to join in on the conversation. "Hey May. Tie teach good." Ren asked.

"Of course!" Tie yelled with confidence.

"Ren not ask you." Ren glared at Tie then turned her attention back to May. "Well. Tie good teacher, or she nags too much."

"Tie good," May said with her soft voice.

"Thats good." One of the goblins said, "Good thing Kai not teacher. She no good."

"Yeah, she kill baby once." Another said.

Kai jumped out of her seat and confronted the goblins that spoke, "Kai no kill baby."

"Oh yeah." The goblin stood up and faced Kai, "Flute say no wrap baby too tight. Three baby die already. But Kai still tie baby too tight. What if baby Sun. No Sun mean no Chief."

"Kai didn"t kill baby!" Kai pushed the other one away from.

Before the other goblin could retaliate, a mysterious voice came out of the darkness."Sit down!" Out from the darkness was Flute. Her hair was tied back which meant she will be joining the other caretakers with their menial task. The goblins stopped gossiping once Flute sat down with them.

"Tie, you show May everything?"

"Yes Flute." Tie said while bowing down.

The goblins got busy under the suffocating presence of Flute. While in the middle of their work, Sun, Root, and Smoke appeared from the darkness and joined the ladies. Flute stood up and greeted Sun, "Sun, why you here?" She asked while cleaning her messy hands.

"I"m just here to ask about the secret tunnel."

"Secret tunnel?" Flute looked puzzled.

Tie gasped when she heard Sun mention the secret tunnel. She jumped off her seat and announced, "Me know!"

Tie and Flute sat next to them to discuss the secret tunnel. May followed Tie and stood by them. Sun could not help but notice her, "Um, hi. I don"t think I"ve met you yet."

May"s cheeks grew bright red, "h.e.l.lo." Then she ran inside the caretakers" sleeping tent. Flute ran after her while waving her fist around.

"Well, that was weird." Sun and Smoke listened to Tie while she tells them about the secret tunnel. Root drew a map based on Tie"s accounts while traveling in the pa.s.sageway. Very few knew of the tunnel. Olhos and Sum and their followers were ones that discovered it, and Cala only shared it with his most trusted retainers. Tie managed to learn of it while delivering a message to Olhos. She followed them in the tunnel, only to get noticed by them near the entrance. Fortunately, they believed her lie about Flute knowing of the tunnel and sharing it with her.

Tie gave them the best route to take. Wide paths and small oasis-like rest stop for the tribe was Sun"s top priority. Tie also told them of narrow pathways used to scout the path ahead. The underground path has many dangers such as cave-ins and flooding, and using these small openings to scout ahead could save their lives.

Root finished drawing the map for the brothers. Sun was surprised to see the map"s render quality. Root"s drafting skill was not to be underestimated. The only problem Sun faced was light. Sun"s mother was experimenting with her healing spells, hoping to create a spell to create an orb dedicated to producing light.

The three men left once the map was finished leaving the Tie to finish her duty. May came out of the tent staring at Sun while he leaves. "No think about it." Flute whispered to her ears while dragging her back to the fireplace.

May could not help but admire Sun. She was one of the many goblins that witness Sun"s ascension into a red conqueror. And her admiration slowly turned to love. When she learned she could not give life, she was happy. That meant she would be part of Flute"s followers and finally get the chance of meeting her crush.

But goblins like May are useless as lovers. If they can"t give birth, then there is no use for them. May must know this harsh reality before its too late. Flute"s heart broke when she didn"t receive Cala"s love because of her useless body. She does not want May to experience the same sorrow she did, so she must bring her down before she gets closer to Sun.

When the women finished their work, they cleaned up their mess and returned to their tent to sleep. The next day, Flute guided the women to their usual spot to gather more h.o.r.n.y toads. When they arrived, they saw an extraordinary scene. Some of the trees around their spot were sliced clean in half, while others were uprooted with their trunks broken in two. And in the middle of this scene was Sun and Rock resting on the ground and covered in sweat. Sun"s sword was on the ground and Rock"s buckler was stuck in a tree.