The Goblin Nation

The brothers examined the fur. It was gray, soft, and somewhat warm. There must have been a deer in the area recently. The brothers continued to look around for more clues. Rock found some feces near the stream. Along it was footprints traveling downstream. They tracked it down for about twelve minutes until it disappeared near a fallen log clogging the creek. "Now what?" Stick asked the group." Sun decided to travel to the other side, and sure enough, the track reappeared. This time it was heading upstream. The brothers let out a heavy sigh in unison. They traveled back upstream until the footprints diverge away from the stream.

The brothers continued to follow the footprints through the bushes and up a small hill. The tracks ended on top of the hill in front of a rocky steep. They slowly climbed down. At the bottom was a trail of broken branches with gray fur stuck on them. There were also furs stuck on the barks of trees. "The deer must be in the middle of shedding and was using the trees and branches to brush off its fur." Sun examined them. Sun saw this type of fur in his past life. He could not recall what animal has these type of fur, but it's certainly not a deer. "These things look strange."

"What do you mean?" Smoke asked.

"Well, these furs are so long and fluffy."

"Wouldn't that make sense? It's cold, after all."

"That's the thing, though. Look at our coats, for example." The three checked their coats and pants. "The things we're wearing are made out of deer. Notice how the fur is short and stubby."

"Oh yeah!" Stick remarked.

"These fur feel different from the ones we are wearing has. I don't think this is a deer, but even if it was, it's strange. Why is it shedding when its the beginning of winter? It just doesn't make any sense."

"Does it matter? We have to kill it to eat regardless, anyway." Rock said.

"I guess so. Stick climb up those trees and look around the area for any sign of movement."

"Alright." Stick climbed up the tallest tree he could find.

"Smoke, Rock, I need to tell you the hunting strategy. We are going to hunt in a skirmish line. I'll tail behind the deer while both of you form a line the opposite of the direction we want the deer to go to. Rock, I need you to be ahead of the deer. We want it to run toward the creek and into our ditch. There's a lot of trees here which limits the deer's movement. But once it gets close to the stream, our chances of chasing it to our trap become slim. There are no trees to hinder its movement, so Rock, you need to throw those stink bombs when the deer steers away from our desired path."

Stick climbs down the tree. "I spotted the deer. It had those antlers, so it must be alone."

"Perfect!" Sun exclaimed. "Alright, get into formation. Once I give chase, the hunt starts."

The brothers got on their given position. Smoke and Stick formed a line to the opposite side of the direction of the creek. Rock was stationed up ahead, ready to move forward as the deer runs. And Sun was behind it crouching closer to it. The deer was busy eating. As Sun got closer, he unintentionally entered the deer's flight zone. The moment Sun entered it, he accidentally stepped on a pile of sticks, which made a sound alarming the deer heard. It raised its head, scanning the area for any predators.

The element of surprise wasn't Sun's intention, so it didn't matter too much that the deer noticed him. What was the problem was the deer itself. The deer's antlers were just two long protruding horns that curve backward. It was three times the size of an adult goblin. It had a long goatee on its chin, and its eyes looked like goblin eyes. That's no deer, that's a goat. The goat noticed Sun behind the trees, and it darted right to him. All Sun could do to avoid the attack was to climb up the tree as fast as possible. The tree vibrated from the headbutt.

Smoke and Stick were the first to notice and ran to help Sun. The two saw Sun hanging on the side of a tree with the goat bashing his head on it. "You guys get out of here now!" Sun yelled at the two. The goat turned around and charged at the two. Both of them jumped to the side and avoided the attack. Smoke grabbed his spear, and countered attacked, but the spear could not reach it. The goat made a u-turn around a tree and charged toward Smoke. "Get up the tree now!" Smoke scrabbled back up and climbed the tree behind him.

Stick climbed up the tree and started throwing rocks at the goat. The rocks did not sway the goat from stopping his attacks. The goat stood up on his two hind legs, and then his head came crashing down on the tree trunk, shaking the tree violently. Smoke looked down at the goat while holding on the tree for dear life. Then suddenly, out from the bushes came Rock. "Rock, quick run away!" But Rock didn't hear Sun. The only thing in Rock's mind was an image of his birth mother's lifeless body lying on the floor. His strength was the reason his mother died by his hands. And its the only thing he can use to make up for his past. Now his brother is telling him to leave them behind. Rock has the strength to stop this deer and to rescue his brothers. He chose to stay and fight. He chared at the goat, which was preoccupied and body-slammed on its side. The goat rolled over its back from the impact, but it quickly stood back up.

"Rock! Be careful, that's not a deer! That's a goat. They're far more aggressive, and their headbutt can rival a bull." Sun yelled at Rock.

"I don't even know what a bull is. Come at me, you damn goat!" The goat lifted his head and stood on his hind legs once more. It started to move forward as its head descended down to Rock.

"Rock dodge it!" Sun warned him, but it was too late. Rock crossed his arms, blocking his and upper chest from the attack. The headbutt sent Rock flying to a tree. He landed back on his feet, standing tall, but the damage was already done. His right forearm was blue and swelling. The goat stood up on its hind legs again, getting ready for another attack.

"Rock grab hold of its antlers!" Stick yelled. Rock bit his lower to distract himself from the pain he feels on his arms. He forced his hands up in front of his face. He ready himself to catch the goat.

"Stick good idea!" Sun exclaimed. This boosted Stick's confidence. "Smoke! You and I are going down there and attack it behind once Rock wrestles with it." Sun and Smoke jumped down their respective trees and armed themselves with their spears.

"I'm coming down too," Stick said.

Sun turned to him and yelled, "No, stay there! You'll only get hurt." Stick felt his heart sink. He tightened his grip, frustrated that he couldn't help.

The goat rams its head towards Rock. The horns landed right on Rock's hand. The impact forced Rock on his knees, but he tightened his grip nonetheless. The goat, realizing what happened, started to kick with its hind leg to create space between it and the two goblins behind it. However, its legs were too short compared to the reach of their spear. Sun and Smoke thrust their spear on its butt.

The goat rocked its head back and forth to shake off Rock. Meanwhile, it's back was repeatedly attacked by Sun and Smoke. Eventually, the goat fell on its knees, slowly losing consciousness from blood loss. It still tried to shake free from Rock's grasp, but it barely had any energy left in it and finally closed its eyes. With the lifeless state of the goat, the brothers knew they won.

The hunt was a success, more or less. They only had one casualty, Rock and his broken forearm. "Rock, are you alright?" Smoke asked.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Good, but since your arm is still broken, I'll carry the goat."

"I'll help," Sun said. The brothers carried the goat on opposite sides. Sun noticed something strange underneath the blood. It looked like scratch marks. "It looks like it was already injured when we got to it," Sun remarked.

"Maybe it fell off that cliff. Could explain why there were so many furs on the bottom of the hill. Must have fallen down, and its fur just got rip off the rocks and gently floated down to the ground or blew by the wind towards the trees." Rock explained.

Stick climbed down the tree; he wanted to help by carrying their spears. As he was gathering the spears, he heard rustling behind the bushes. Stick walked to his brothers to warn them, "Guys, I think they're something else here with us." The brothers turned around and looked at the bushes. They felt something eery coming out of the bushes as goosebumps travel down their spine. They can hear its snarls, its heavy steps, and its overwhelming presence.

Out from the bushes came a giant black wolf, two meters tall. Sun recalled the Stick mentioning a giant wolf before. That must be it, the Timber Wolf. It towers over the goblins. To them, it was as big as the trees they climbed on. On its head and mouth were bundles of grey fur similar to the goat's wool they killed. That's when Sun realized that the goat did not fall from the cliff, but must have been fighting for its life against that wolf.

But the most frightening thing of all was that they were not the first goblins it encountered. Between the wolf's teeth was the body of a dead goblin with spikey hair. That same goblin they met at the wall, Lite.