The Goblin Nation

Morning came, and the sleepy guards changed went back to sleep, but Olhos grew restless during the night and could not go to bed. He stayed awake when during the day despite Sum's protest. But no matter what Olhos does, sleep escaped him.

Olhos left their temporary home and wandered the village. Gever saw him walking at noon. She confronted Olhos with anger. "Why you no sleep? Go sleep now!" She demanded him.

"Sorry, I guess I've been sleeping for so long that I couldn't sleep today. Would you mind giving me a tour?"

"Well, ok." Gever took grabbed Olhos' large hands and showed him the tribe. They had a large wall made of stone and wood facing the northern mountains. And on the other side of the town was the river. Their longships were docked on the beached with the lower half-submerged in snow and ice. In the middle of the icy river were goblins gathered around different holes puncture on the ice. They were fishing for Perchers and Claycraws.

Olhos felt jealous of the Zackons tribe. Lev exhausted itself to death hunting for small game and the occasional deer while Zackons could just walk to their river and fill a basket of fish. They were not fully fed by any means, and some were suffering from a strange illness that made their gums greenish and made their skin brownish. This disease was used to be common in Lev until the discovery of Horny Toads. Consuming spirits made from the excrements of the toad prevented the illness from appearing.

Maybe the prize the Zackons must pay to prevent starvation? was this very illness? Olhos watched the men catch the fish. They would put small bits from the fish they've already caught on the hooks and use them as bait. The larger the bait, the larger the fish it would attract. Gever explained how the fish survives beneath the ice.

Her voice captivated Olhos, and soon, e found himself watching her instead of the men fishing. Soon, Gever's gentle voice made Olhos sleepy. They both walked back to the village and bid farewell. "Goodnight, Olhos," Gever said.

"The sun is still out."

"You know what Gevern means!"

"Kakaka! I know, and goodnight." Olhos kissed the back of Gever's hand then returned to his cottage, leaving Gever blushing in the middle of the snowy plaza.

He found her in the kitchen of the dining hall, preparing the tribe's lunch. She was cleaning the fish caught yesterday and boil the ones kept inside their cold storage. Gever tried to push Olhos out of the kitchen and go back to sleep, but Olhos insisted on lending his hands with the preparation. Olhos' stubbornness won her over, and the two went to work. The women that assisted in the cooking watched the two flirt in the background. They stared at them with envy and excitement because Gever was not destined to marry. She was infertile, which was no secret to the tribe as she led the women, who were also sterile. And yet, when the women warned Olhos about her curse, he simply shrugged it off and told them, "I'm attracted to her for other reasons."

The women were swooned by his words, and they continued to watch over them as the week goes by. Quiet nights and busy days kept the Chief wary. The monster has not attacked for a week, but Horder could sense the monster near them. And this instinct was proven right when a group of hunters entered the Chief's home telling them about a sighting of wolves by the river east of the Zackons.

But some of the goblins did not believe it, and even if they did, why should they care? Wolves are just animals they could scare away. The true menace is the bipedal monster that attacked them in the night. But for Horder, they're one of the same as the monster that stole their food looked like a wolf.

Horder got up from his chair and ordered his hunters to hunt the wolves with the help of Olhos. But suddenly, the doors burst open. A fisherman stepped, still holding his fishing rod screaming in panic. "What's wrong with you? Speak, dammit!" Horder roared at him.

"Wolves! Pack wolves coming."

"Get the guards out now!"

Horder ran out and ordered every goblin to stay indoors and organized the warriors to prepare for combat. The warriors knew of Horder's trauma with the wolves and did not believe the threat was that important. A pack of wolves can easily be defeated with their numbers.

They moved with swagger, betting on who will the first wolf and showing off their new weapons. Only Horder and the fisherman took the matter seriously. And if his warriors were so nonchalant about the crisis, then Horder would get people who do care, Olhos and Sum. Horder entered their home and woke the two up. "There are wolves spotted near the tribe, and I need you to kill them."

Olhos and Sum quickly got up from their bed and took their weapons. Lev has always taken wolves as a serious threat since they can not afford to lose their game. Gever saw the two sleepy goblins leave their bed to fight, and she disapproved. She approached her brother and berated him for waking up their tired guest after dutifully patrolling last night just to kill a few wolves. But Horder did not give in. She may ridicule him for his phobia of wolves and dogs, the entire tribe can ridicule him for it too, but he will get rid of them even if unnecessary force was used.

Meanwhile, outside the dining hall, the goblins were still at peace minding their own business. Only the goblins near the river bank were in an uproar after they spotted a large pack of wolves across the river. Usually, a pack is made up of eight wolves, but the size of the pack facing the fishermen was far larger. Nearly sixty wolves were staring at the Zackons.

And when the warriors arrived at the river, they're lazy outlook on the whole situation turned inside-out after witnessing the army of wolves walking towards them on the thick ice. Horder fell to his knees after seeing the wolves. The warriors making up the tribe were exactly sixty goblins, and it takes three well-coordinated goblins to kill one wolf without suffering a loss. "I'm doomed," Horder said.

Gever hugged her brother, reassuring him that everything would be ok, but he could not hear her. His body began to sweat profusely underneath his thick wool coat, and Gever could feel his body shaking. Horder's cowardice look reminded him of Cala when he fled from the troll. He expected Horder to retreat to his fortified home soon, so Olhos took the front to boost the goblins' morale. Sum followed him, eager to kill the wolves before them.

Olhos turned to face the warriors to deliver a speech to them. But when he turned his back, the wolves suddenly charged. The fishermen screamed in terror and fled from the river bank. The wolves howled while running to the goblins. Their powerful howls frightened the already wavering goblins, but Olhos and Sum did not face the wolves with fear. "Charge!" Olhos yelled at the top of his lungs.

His voice woke up the warriors from their frightened state, and they charged with Olhos and Sum. The wolves took out many of the warriors, but Sum and Olhos killed equally many as the wolves did. But the line the warriors held fragmented, and the wolves spilled through and charged to the village. Olhos turned around and saw Gever still at the river with her brother. And the wolves were closing in on her.

"Horder. Need get out now!" Gever shook Horder.

Horder got up and tackled the first wolf to reach the river bank. "Die!" He yelled with his trembling voice. But the wolves overran him and they were about to reach Gever when the ice suddenly cracked.

"Get away from her!" Olhos howled. His body mutated as a blue mist appear below and covered his body. The mist turned into a thick fog, and then coming out from it was the beast that plague the Zackons tribe. The wolfman that haunted Horder's nights.

The wolves charged at the Olhos with ferocity greater than before. Olhos killed every single one of them and the battle did not end until the wolves' bodies blanketed the ice. And the warriors could not help but watch the massacre unfold before them. But that was not the end. "You!" Horder yelled, "You're the monster that stole our food. And you brought these wolves to our doorstep and got my warriors killed!"

Olhos looked at his arms. It was covered in fur, and his hands were larger than before with claws instead of nails. He touched his ear and reached to his lower back, and he could feel a tail. And the warriors around him stared in disbelief at the sight of the monster and its true identity.

Gever ran to the Horder, "Calm down, Olhos save,"

"Shut up! That beast did not save anyone. Kill him."

Sum pushed aside the warriors, "Wait, he's not a monster. He must have been cursed, and maybe we can cure him."

"And?" One of the warriors said, "What if Olhos turn monster and kill town?"

"Exactly," Horder agreed, "Kill him!"

The warriors lunged at Olhos, but he was much faster and ran away. The warriors ran after him and threw spears at him. One of the spears managed to heat him on the shoulder, and Olhos fell on the ice. Just when the warriors reached him, Sum stepped in front of them. "I will not let you get near him." Sum turned to Olhos, "Get up and run you, idiot!"

Olhos got on all four and ran like a beast across the river. He could hear Sum fight the warriors in his stead, but Olhos could not bear to look back. He just kept running until he was far enough that the scent and sound of the goblins disappeared, and then he collapsed on the snow.

And that was Olhos' story of how he was cursed to be the monster he is today. The brothers sat around the fireplace quietly except for Rock, who was crying aloud. "What a sad story. I didn't think that bastard would sacrifice his life for you," He said. "And the romance between you and Gever was so beautiful."

"Romance?" Olhos and Gever got startled.

"It seems like this would be probabilistic for us," Sun said. "On the one hand, we need the Zackons tribe, and on the other, that beast form of yours is very interesting. And I'd love it you could join us."

"I don't think that's safe," Olhos said.

"So? We have all the time in the world. We'll see what we can do about that wolf form of yours, but for now, we need to convince the Zackons to join us."

"For what?" Gever asked. "We send tribute to city already."

"We know, but we're not from the city. In fact, we are trying to take it over, and we need Horder and his tribe's help."

"And how are you going to convince them to join you?" Olhos asked.

"Well we were going to being your head, but we can convince in other ways." Sun patted his sheathed sword. "We'll just demand a Tina Bökh Fight with our very persuasive reasoning."