24 C24: Changing Sides

"Newbie, it's you! Griguek."

As Bane and his companion reached what was supposed to be Gam's hideout, he was greeted by a surprising encounter.

In front of the hut made of large died yellow leaves and mud, stood a familiar face. It was the same goblin that was guarding the fuck nest before.

'It's that goblin guard.'

A wry smile creapt onto Bane's face.

"Hello. How come you ended up here?"

"Griguek. Got a promotion. since a certain ungrateful kid killed all the woman, there is nothing to guard."

Bane smiled immediately disappeared. He couldn't escape the guard's glare.

"I owe you a favor."

Bane couldn't disagree on this. Turned out the guard covered up for him after the incident. At least that was what the guard told.

But Bane didn't believe it. It sounded more like the guard was able to save its sorry ass, rather than save Bane in any way.

All the woman died under the guard's watch, after all.

You can't blame a child for breaking a few toys while playing now could you? It was kind of obvious.

"You guys know each other?"

"Yeah somewhat..."

Bane shrugged.

"Griguek. How could I forget this problem child? Anyways, What brings you here? Make it quick."

"We want to meet Gam."

"Gam? No sorry. That's off limits. I have been instructed to not let anyone in."

Bane stiffened up at the quick rejection.

'They aren't even willing to listen to reason, huh?'

"Can't you make an exception for us please?"

Bane continued to pesture him. Since his earlier encounter, Bane knew that the guard was rather soft at heart.

"No."

"It's a really important matter. And I am sure that Gam will be fine to meet with me as well. He likes good fighters right? I am sure he would be willing to overlook a little selfishness of mine."

"I said no means no."

"Please."

Bane tried to give a little push. He didn't really held any hope that his persuasion would work.

But somehow it did!

"Okay, fine. Get in. But don't blame me for what happens next. I already warned you," the guard sighed.

The goblin guard moved away letting Bane and his friend in.

When Bane got inside the goblin's hut it was rather dark inside perhaps due to the lack of the moonlight sipping in. Not that it mattered to Bane much, as he had his night vision just like every other goblin.

But the goblin shaman probably wasn't as pleased with their intrusion. He was having his meal at the corner of the room.

He was standing on his feet and had bent low a bit just enough for his mouth to reach the meat piece he was holding. There was drool dripping from his mouth mixed with the blood of the forest bear giving it a rather pinkish color inside the dark room.

"Excuse me, sir Gam. This is my friend. He was the one who had most contribution to the most recent quest. He wishes to talk with you," the goblin spoke a bit terrified of Gam's presence.

Bane had already discussed with him, but he would rather leave the introductions to him. A pretty obvious decision for him to make, since he didn't know a damn thing about goblin culture.

The most foolish thing Bane could have done, was to blow up the conversation because of some stupid cultural tension. It had happened many times with him in the past and he wasn't going to repeat it.

'I will observe.'

The goblin sherman stopped nibbing on his food.

"Goblin? ...Ah, I see. You are 'that' goblin... good job though. It was a far easier harvest thanks to you. So what it is that you want?"

The shaman didn't even bother to turn around to face the two of them. There was just this little pause where he spoke with morsel in his mouth before going back to food.

Bane raised his brows. It didn't take long for him to make a judgement on the shaman's character.

'He pisses me off.'

Bane didn't like his guts. So much for being a goblin.

It was the same before and it was the same even now.

In its eyes the low ranked goblins were probably ants.

Bane had probably met a lot of people since he had been reborn but no one was particularly dislikable except for this particular one.

'This is why I let this goblin manage the introductions. It is much better this way.'

Bane didn't want to lose his calm.

In the end, no matter how haughty the goblin sherman was he was just a puny goblin. He seemed to not know of the bigger picture and acted on the little pride that he had. Bane knew of these types far too well.

But it didn't change the fact that Bane was himself a goblin too.

"My friend here wanted to know our last stop before our tribe had travelled here. Perhaps if you could let him meet a scout?"

"Last Stop? Why though? Tell him that it would be better for him to think about how he would survive the next harvest before winter comes. After all we lost quite a few soldiers in the last haul so he won't be able to use them as distractions."

Bane stiffened up.

'This guy...'

He had seen through Bane, but so what? It was his own fault in the first place. Pointing towards Bane wouldn't change a thing.

Bane clenched his fist resisting his urge to punch him hard. But unless he wanted the entire village to swarm at him, that was probably the last thing he should do.

Fortunately he didn't have to be irritated by Gam any longer.

"Now, get out of here. Both of you. Glendor!! Glendor!! How many times do I have to fucking tell you to not disturb me during a meal! Take them out. FAST!"

Glendor who was the goblin guard quickly moved in..

"I apologize," he confessed as he pushed Bane and the other goblin out. And although he had troubles with Bane who had gotten stiff with anger, in the end he was able to get them all out.

*Sigh*

Glendor sighed.

"How did you poke his buttons? Anyway, this is useless now. Don't come here again."

"But--" the goblin rebuked.

But Bane placed his hand on his shoulder. Only when he looked back did Bane shook his head denying his actions.

"It's useless," perhaps because Gam reminded him somewhat of humans, that's why Bane knew how to react.

What's more? Gam was probably expecting Bane to die soon.

'As if I would let that happen.'

But if Bane wanted to avoid that, he would probably have to hunt on his own to put food on his table.

Bane turned towards the goblin.

"I cannot rely on Gam anymore. We are going to die at this rate. So, I plan to hunt alone. Would you work with me?" Bane suggested.

Bane could swear that he could make use of help at this moment.

But the goblin seemed to be more shocked than surprised.

Even Glendor was equally shocked, for no goblin had even uttered such words. It would have been a different matter if Bane was a goblin warrior like himself or even a goblin shaman but that wasn't the case.

"But how? Without a proper leader... and we are so weak."

"I will be the leader."

Bane claimed with a resolute voice.

"Boy, you sure are full of suprises but no goblin has ever dared to take a step in the wilderness without the company of a higher race. You think you are anything special?"

"Yes I am." Bane claimed with a stern face, "And it isn't like I have an option. Gam didn't say it straight-out but I am going to die at this rate. I understand the system a bit better now. The goblin foot soldiers are being sacrificed so that the higher goblin races can survive through the winter. After the winter passes by, the surviving higher races will capture more women to breed and create more goblin troops to help them hunt for winter all over again. It is a never ending cycle that would continue until the tribe is wiped out or all forms of prey from the area disappears, after which the tribe will again migrate. Sorry to say, if goblins like us stick along with the tribe we are more or less dead. Only a few lucky ones will survive."

"Well, that's quite an interesting talk you got there... even though I don't understand most of it."

It was no doubt that the tribe was uniformly united. Without unity they would have probably be wiped out by now.

But that didn't mean that this unity was particularly beneficial for the foot soldiers.

Bane didn't have any counter measures for it either, as this was the most natural way a race as weak as the goblins could possibly survive in a world of beasts.

So, Bane had only two options to survive this ordeal.

Either he has to survive winter on his own not relying on the tribe. Or he has to evolve to a 'higher race' to gain access to the privileges' they enjoyed. But the latter came at no control of his own and he could die on the way of it, so he chose the former.

"What do you say? Griguek. Would you join me?"

Bane wasn't expecting him to help.

'But he doesn't have an option either. But I don't know if he understands that or not. Goblins aren't the smartest after all.'

Particularly, now that the goblin A had got involved with Bane, Gam would probably keep an eye on him. But whether that was a good news or bad news for A? That was fairly uncertain.

But the goblin didn't contemplate much or rather he didn't have the qualifications to do so.

"Of course! I will go and ask my other friends too."

"Others? Ah well... you can try."

Bane was happy that this goblin friend of his chose to follow him but he wasn't really sure about others really.

'I had been thinking about this for a while. But he behaves like an obedient dog doesn't he?'

Bane stroked his chin with his green hands as he watched the goblin leave not even sure if he would come back or not.

But he had a feeling that he will and probably all alone and disappointed.

There was clearly a far greater risk with working with Bane and also a sense of change out of their comfort zone. Bane's credibility as a leader wasn't much either.

Why would they follow Bane when he wasn't even a higher race? Hell, Bane was probably younger than all of them.

Goblin A clearly followed him, but the others wouldn't be as convenient.

"Ah well... this came sooner than I expected."

Bane's ethics were simple. It was tit for tat. If someone were to love him, he would love them back. And if someone were to offend him, he would take it out on him sooner or later. The goblin sherman was no different and Bane never forgets his grudges. He would surely get back at him for throwing him in danger, given the chance.

And now that Bane knew what kind of person the shaman actually was, he couldn't eat from the shaman's plate anymore, could he? Only a pushover would do that.

"But this can wait."

Bane merged into the nightly darkness leaving behind his last hearty meal that he would be having in a while.