THE CRUEL ALPHA

Huge web emerged from the pile of dry leaves, engulfing Kron and Revan along with their mules. Fortunately Frig swiftly flew back, so Rio was saved. The sound of rustling bushes filled the silence of the forest. Rio could hear the murmurs of the people. They seemed to be talking about something loudly.

Frig was planning to run away, but before he could, the ropes of the vines grabbed his hind legs. Unfortunately again, the end of the rope was tied with a large stone so that it was no longer possible for him to move.

Rio who fell from above made a loud thud as he hit the ground, sprawled out helplessly. After that, the group of little creatures began to charge at them with sharp spears. This creatures were only seventy inches tall with green skin with yellow spots. However, the reason Rio screamed in terror was their extremely long and large nose, as well as rows of razor-sharp pointed teeth.

"Take them!" said one of them, whose eyes were as big as marbles, pitch black.

Revan and Kron were dropped from the net and dragged by force, while Rio was carried by two long wooden blocks, followed by Frig who was snared by his legs. Along the way the spooky creatures were muttering, talking to each other. Their bodies were so thin that their ribs were sticking out. That's it, none of these creatures are wearing clothes. They only wore short skirts made of tree bark.

"We were caught in a goblin trap." Revan whispered worriedly.

"Bad start." Kron chimed in just as quietly.

Through the thick mossy trees, crossing a shallow river. At that time Revan and Kron were completely drenched. In fact, Kron's bear jacket was starting to give off a musty smell. Not to mention the muddy road that littered the bodies of the two of them. Fortunately, Kron's mules had been returned to imaginary captivity by chanting a secret spell. It's been a tiring journey.

From a distance, Revan could see the roofs of the thatched huts. It must be close, he thought. A goblin ran ahead of the others, intending to put everyone in order at village hall, so their captives could be seen by the entire population.

"Stay away! Stay away!" He screamed as he pressed his hands to his mouth, and his nostrils the size of a cherry blossom.

First, Revan and Kron were thrown into the middle of the village. Next, it was Rio's turn who was placed not far from his two friends, followed by Frig who was struggling to be released. The goblin villagers approached cautiously. Rio was too scared. His hands were shaking violently, his heart was pounding.

Kron didn't like himself being watched by many people, especially with strange looks. He groaned in annoyance, so the group of goblins scattered. Kron's mouth was finally able to heave a sigh of relief. However, a second later his heart was beating fast again, precisely when the Alpha, Bayrak came with the goblins who arrested them.

As an Alpha, Bayrak has a bigger and stockier body. The skin is dark green, with a long nose that bends downwards. Then, his ears pointed like a bat. Bayrak's chest, which was left unwrapped, to reveal the scars he had received during his time as the leader of the herd.

"Snotty humans!" He roared with anger. The eyes as big as black grapes glared at Revan, Kron and Rio. "Now I have to decide what punishment the trespassers deserve." He raised his head proudly.

"Wait a minute, O Alpha!" said Revan. "We came with good intention." He squirmed closer to Bayrak.

"What good intention?!"

"Tarnath. We want to overturn Tarnath's rule. You can join if you want," replied Revan.

"Liar!" He snapped again. "I can't believe it since the orcs of Nepheel have repeatedly invaded our village." Bayrak stamped his feet full of emotion.

"Please, O Alpha! Without your help we will fail. I swear." Revan persuade as much as possible.

"Prove it to me!" He growled, showing off his hook-like teeth.

"Let us go first," said Kron, who had been cramped in the net.

"You are too presumptuous, Midget giant!"

"What are you saying!?" Kron offended.

"Please!" Revan cut in half, warning Kron not to rebel. "Please, let us go first before proving anything to you. I swear on behalf of The great Nefertyland, we will not move a single step except with your permission."

Bayrak brandished his muscular arm. The goblin soldiers spontaneously pointed their wooden spears at the three intruders caught today. The impression seemed to want to stab, to the point that Revan and Kron regretted having negotiated. A second later, a goblin suddenly bent down to cut the net with its spear. Revan and Kron were freed, although dozens of spearheads were still aiming at them.

"What do you want to prove?" said Bayrak.

"We… we have this!" Revan handed him a large map after reaching into his tattered backpack.

All the goblins were suddenly shocked, not to mention Bayrak who was gawking, speechless. They never knew the legendary map still existed. Unfortunately, in the next second the goblin leader's eyes flashed with anger.

"You don't deserve it!" Bayrak snatched the map from Revan's hand.

Kron immediately stood up, trying to fight back, but the sharp spears came forward to intercept. He had to slowly back away. The goblins were still staring intently, with glossy black eyes.

"Hurry up and skin them!" Bayrak's orders. His net focused on reading the legendary map.

The male goblins came and pulled the arms of the three men towards the big bonfire (usually used for goblin feasts), where the hugh cauldron was already sitting there. The furious Kron immediately kicked the goblins that were only knee-deep. Revan chose a smarter path.

"Transfiguration: Parakeet!" He cast a spell.

His body shrank and his arms bent, forming a pair of crimson wings. Revan flew in his parakeet form, trying to dodge the rampage of the goblins attacking Kron.

But, the stone slash hit Revan's head before his wings could flap twice. As a result, he fell to the ground, growing back into human form. Goblins are brutal. They were not afraid to face a giant with long hair, even daring to climb his tall body to wield a spear and gnash their teeths.

"Damn it!" roared Kron, jolting his body so hard that the goblin army fell.

Now he was too angry. Kron shouted in annoyance and crushed all the goblins, breaking their spears in half. Not caring about the dozens of scratches it got, the giant just kept going on a rampage. The goblins suddenly ran in panic. However, after that they lined up in front of Kron, complete with an annoyed expression mixed with revenge.

Despite being busy enduring the pain, Revan could see each goblin clasping their hands together as if pleading for something. A moment later, he jumped in surprise.

"Kron!" He cried frantically. "They're firebenders!"

Of course the giant who was originally very brave was suddenly anxious. One goblin was fine, but there were already more than twenty in front of him. He took a careful step back, afraid that things might get worse. Unfortunately, now the goblins were ready. As their hands stretched out, a ball of bubbling fire was created, red and smoky.

"Oh, c'mon! Could it be any worse?" cursed Kron in a panic.

And sure enough! At the signal of Alpha—who was still holding the legendary map—the goblins began to shower Kron with fireballs. Like a deadly shooting star, the cluster of smoky balls glided, racing to burn their target. Kron was nervous, but an idea flashed through his head. Before the fireball arrived, the giant rushed to spread out his arms with a face full of confidence.

"Re-size: Reduced!"

Transparent wave burst out from his arms, sweeping through all the fireballs until they shrunk to the size of marble.

"Gwahaha!" Kron laughed firmly.

Even though it worked, when the tiny balls hit him, Kron still screamed in panic.

"Oh, no! No! Damn it!" He quickly took off his steaming jacket, slamming it on the ground to keep it from getting burned.

Luckily the antique jacket had been wet from the start, so the fire was quickly extinguished. However, the business isn't finished. The goblins put their hands together again, intent on starting a second attack. Kron was nervous again. Fireballs sized of melons appeared in the hands of the goblins, ready to scorch their targets.

"Stop it!" shouted Rio interceding. "We'll work for you, anything!" His temples were dripping with sweat as he said that. And, the good news, the goblins—by Bayrak's orders—agreed to cancel their attack.

"Anything?" Bayrak smirked with satisfaction, as if he knew what kind of job would be appropriate for his prisoner today.

Rio nodded. His face was pale, slightly tense. Although he was sure that there were so many cunning plans piled up in Bayrak's mind, but for the safety of his two friends and pride as a king, Rio was willing to do anything.

"Good." Bayrak's grin became wider and his eyes stayed in line. "Keep them! I want this winged creature to be herded into the cages of the cornibus, immediately!" The huge goblin pointed at Frig who was still tied to the rope.

"No need to bother!" Kron said. Frig suddenly became a speck of dust and shot into Kron's head through his ear canal.

"Oh, you have two magic genuses apparently," said Bayrak, his gaze scornful. "No wonder you're so arrogant."

"Tch!" Squeaked the giant's annoyance, a little slowly.

~~o0o~~

Kron grumbled a little about his jacket along the way, while Revan was busy stuffing his bleeding nostrils with medicinal herbs. They had been through a lot of bad luck before, but never as annoying as this time. Bayrak who walked ahead led them to a large hut with a dull yellow thatched roof. Dead leaves littered the yard. Small, jagged holes were clearly imprinted on the walls of the hut.

A gray goblin was seen waiting with a worried face. Unlike the other goblins, she doesn't have a long nose, but only a pair of openings for breathing (like a lizard). In addition, her oval head was covered with several strands of hair as stiff as palm fiber.

"They're pests!" She's getting shrill. "Pests can't take care of babies."

"They're pests with brains," said Bayrak as he climbed the wooden steps with three people behind him, sounding joking.

"Our descendants can be contaminated by dirty hands."

"It's useless to eat them, they're too dirty," Bayrak said, looking into the hut and his green lips smiling mischievously.

Hoarse cries were heard outside. A very discordant voice, even worse than the whimper of a dog. In that instant, Kron and Revan looked at each other wide-eyed. Their faces tensed, then they said, "baby goblin!"

"Right. Just yesterday they were born and now the mucus has covered their bodies. Looks like I need to be bathed immediately with a deodorizing potion," said Bayrak, grinning.

"You are cruel," said Revan

"You are crazy! I don't like baby goblins," Kron protested half-nagging.

"Then hurry up and soak in the hot cauldron!" snapped Bayrak furiously. His right eye narrowed and his hook teeth gritted. "How dare you blaspheme my descendants."

Kron's guts shrunk, not from fear, but from worrying that his bear jacket might be damaged in the fire again. After all, they couldn't escape from the goblin village without taking Kholoros with them. Damnit, Kron cursed in his heart.

Unsteady steps up the mossy plank, leading to the room inside the hut. When he got there, he saw a tub full of disgusting babies, piled up. They were as big as a raccoon with pointed ears. Some are dark green, some are gray. Most had pointed noses, but some had none—like the gray goblins waiting anxiously outside.

Rio flinched when he saw the tiny goblins whimpering strangely while squirming with a slime as sticky as glue. There are about fifteen in total and they are ready to be cleaned right now.

"This is the pot of potions. Dip them for a few seconds and then lift them up and place them in the stone tub." Bayrak pointed to a large marble tub opposite the baby goblin tub. "Remember! Don't let these babies suffocate. You have time until dusk. If it's too late, the mucus can clog their noses."

After giving a brief direction, the Alpha left the hut, leaving the three humans with a number of sickening baby goblins. The gray goblin still peeked occasionally from outside. Her face was not friendly at all.

Kron pinched his nose with his finger as he picked up a green baby. Once in front of his face, he immediately felt the urge to vomit.

"Argh! It smells like rotten eggs," He said nauseated. "Why are their parents reluctant to take care of this baby themselves?"

"Adult goblins are allergic to mucus after birth," Revan said. "Usually they would hire someone to take care of the babies."

"Fantastic! Looks like they got the free one now," said Kron half grumbling.

Revan rushed to carry a gray goblin that moved agilely. Her eyes were closed because of the mucus, but her mouth never stopped whining. As for Rio, he was holding the arm of the green goblin baby who liked to pee. The smell are so similar like wet socks, he thought.

"Grey goblins that don't have noses are females, while those with long noses are males. Just so you know, Rio, the male smells are more pungent." Revan explained as he dipped the goblin in his hand into the vat of cinnamon water.

Three seconds the baby goblin sank in the tub, before finally being picked up. So fabulous! No more disgusting slime, or foul smell, or the smell of wet socks. The goblin's skin became so rough that it squeaked when rubbed.

"In a day or two, their nosy nature will come out. At least tomorrow the holes in this hut will add up." Revan put his goblin into the marble bath while laughing amusedly.

On the other hand, Kron, who couldn't hold back his vomit, was forced to spit out his guts like slimy goblins. The goblins' whimpers grew louder as the rain of chopped food fell on them.

"Oops! I'm sorry," Kron said as he brushed the corners of his lips. His face was pale.

"Great, Kron! Your vomit makes them look like giant slugs," commented Revan as he picked up another goblin that was drenched in vomit.

It took so long to take care of the babies until they were all brilliantly clean. Rio managed to dip five goblins, Revan dominated by clearing half of the total, while Kron who was constantly vomiting, could only dip one. In fact, after that he went straight out of the hut and coughed loudly. There was no protest from their supervisor, for the gray goblin had left ten minutes ago.

"It looks like he has allergy," Revan grumbled. "Rio, can you tell Bayrak when we're done? He lives in a tall cabin with cornibus horn." He glanced at the lanky young man behind him—fondly stroking the baby goblin's pointed chin.

"Of course." Rio rushed out of the hut, down the wooden steps, then ran to find a big hut with cornibus horns on it. He didn't know what a cornibus was. But when it comes to horn, according to him, it must be the same as rhino horn, even though it's just a guess.

(To Be Continued)