No Better Feeling

Mari's hand emitted a soft glowing light. Flute watched as the light turned into bright glitter, floating down like snow. She smiled when the glitter touched her hands. After a few seconds, they disappeared into her hand. Flute could not but gasp at the sight of it. "So, what do you think? Do you think you can do that?" Mari asked.

"Flute, don't know. Spell hard, right?"

"It's fairly easy. A lot of people become wet nurses because it's so easy to learn. Once you learn how to use this healing spell, the goblins don't have to use those nasty purple potions."

"Ok. Flute, try now." Flute held her hand in front of her and forced herself to release the same blue light Mari produces. But alas, nothing but sweat poured out of her palms. Flute let out a sigh of frustration.

Learning how to use this healing spell could help Flute and the tribe immensely. Flute's caretakers would no longer have to spend their time on making more of the purple elixir, allowing them to use that time to take care of the new Chief and his mother. Unfortunately, the more Flute failed, the more likely she would never learn the magic spell.

Mari was slightly disappointed with the outcome. After four days of teaching, Flute was still unable to use the healing spell. Mari expected Flute to fail, but for failure to actually happen again disappoints.

The use of magic by small green goblins was never documented. Rumors were circulating in the surrounding kingdoms of the forest that they could use magical spells, but the scholarly community has never seen any tangible evidence. The larger red goblins, on the other hand, are known to use some form of magic, whether it is the ability to envelop themselves with mana turning it into a sort of armor, to basic cognitive spells like illusions.

Mari once saw the former chief fight with mana and witness it use a rudimentary form of blink, a spell that moves the user in short distances within a small-time frame in any direction they so desire.

Red goblins are considered to be highly dangerous because of their ability to use mana. Merchant guilds, mercenary guilds, and state officials consider the death of a red goblin as a top priority during expeditions into the forest. Hunters would venture at the forest's borders hunting red goblins. Because of this policy, goblins tribes residing at the edge of the forest have no red goblins as their Chief, diminishing their strength significantly.

The existence of red goblins also posed a problem to scholars and religious figures. Only those that are sapient could use mana, and goblins are not considered sapient creatures. When they were discovered a hundred years ago, they were more like chimps and monkeys with aggressive tendencies. Now, they have an organized tribal system and can mutate into another form that can use mana. Goblins break the conventional knowledge of the time, but even they have rules. She just needs to find them.

Mari hoped that she could learn more about goblins and their relationship with mana by teaching Flute, but the results were against her. At the very least, her relationship with Flute has improved dramatically during their time together. Their close relationship allowed Mari to ask for anything, as long as it's within her ability to achieve.

But it was not just her relationship with Flute that gave her the freedom to do as she pleases. Flute also wants to maintain her standing within the tribe. Her relationship with Cala was mixed. He rescued her from her abusive father and former Chief, but Cala also broke her heart when she chose Dawn over her.

Sun was different. Flute was not his caretaker, but he did rely on her more than he did with his caretaker. He was a strong baby able to wrestle against Rock, the favored halfling among them. He can be very bright, speaking at the same level as a redskin. And more importantly, he was not deceitful nor ambitious, but he wasn't content or craven.

Sun also had affection for his slave mother. By maintaining a friendly relationship with Mari, Flute retains her position as an influential member of the tribe. It's usually difficult to gain a slave's trust, but Mari and Flute shared the same curious attitude towards life. Flute learned a lot about magic, and she shared her recipes of the purple elixir and its effects much to the surprise of Mari.

Flute reached over the counter and got her a pitcher filled with distilled spirit. Hard liquor is one of the best ways to warm the body. Despite the lack of snowfall these past two days, the temperature continued to decline. The leaves on the trees were replaced with white ice that formed from the morning fog, and the water from the wells no longer flow.

The only good thing to come from the extreme cold was the deers and mountain goats leaving the mountain entering lowlands.

"Flute no good spell. But Flute no give up. But Flute do need break." Flute poured the liquor into two cups, one for her and the other for Mari.

"Oh, no, thank you. You can have it."

"No, too cold. Need this for hot body." Flute pushed Mari's cup to her. "Drink is good."

"Well, if you insist." Both women downed their liquor and sighed relief after drinking them. Flute poured more for her and Mari for another shot. This time, Mari extended her cup to Flute for a refill.

While the two were drinking, a pair of goblins entered the barn gossiping. "Rock still stronger." One of them said.

"So, Sun is chief. Me good caretaker." The other answered back.

"Rock only not kill troll and not be,"

"No one cares. Sun is chief, not Rock."

"Why you." The goblin pushed the other one to the ground and got on top of her. She grabbed the other goblin's blond hair and began to pull them.

Flute jumped off her stool and ran towards them. "Stop! You no fight here!" She yelled at them while pushing them apart. "No fight here. Chief orders" The caretakers already inside the building ran to Flute to assist her.

The goblin on the floor got up and pointed at the other, "She mad Rock not Chief. She think Chief weak, she traitor!"

"Me no traitor" She yelled back at him.

"Stop! Flute no care!" Flute smacked the two on the head while the other caretakers securing them in place. "Stop nonsense. Go back work for good of tribe and Chief. Understand?"

"Yes." They said while bowing their heads.

The caretakers returned to their post afterward. Once free, the goblin that was on the floor dashed out of the barn before anyone could notice. Mari saw the caretaker rush out the door and told Flute about it. Flute didn't care too much about Sun's caretaker. She just wanted to go back and drink with Mari and to learn more about mana and magic spells. "Why does she care so much about Sun?" Mari asked. "I was the one that gave birth to him. She even called me a 'mother of goblin'."

Flute poured more liquor on their cup. "Caretakers no give babies to world. Caretaker take pride of halfling they care. They care for halfling like own child."

Mari stared at Flute drinking. "Flute, do you have any halflings you consider your child?"

"No," Flute giggled. "Flute no deserve that."

"Well, I don't know if I'm right but," Mari downed her shot. "You're a better mother to Sun than that bitch that ran off or me."

Meanwhile, outside the caretaker ran through the thick snow and on slippery ice to her destination, the Chief. As her former caretaker, she was compelled to warn him about Rock and his former caretaker. She finally reached the wall. It's been five days since the troll attack, and the tribe managed to finish the wall on the fifth day. The workers were getting ready to move to the next construction sites. Leading them was Smoke and Sun. "I think it is better to prioritize the residential buildings over that warehouse." Smoke said. "What do you think?"

"I don't know. That warehouse was the least destroyed building out of the other buildings. Maybe we could use it as a temporary shelter for the homeless?" Sun answered back

"I might be able to finish the warehouse today and squeeze in some time to start getting the houses ready for building. Plus, the others are getting used to construction now."

"Yeah, let's try to get that done."

While walking down the beaten path, the brothers heard someone call out for Sun. They looked around and saw a female goblin skipping to them while waving her hand.

"Sun! Good thing me here before Sun go." She said while trying to catch her breath. "Me here, warn Sun. Careful of Rock, he no good."

"Um, ok," Sun whispered.

"Good. Me protect you. Rock and Rock's caretaker no get you. Me go now." The woman left as quickly as she appeared to them. Sun and Smoke looked at each other, confused at what they just heard.

"Smoke," Sun said.

"Yeah."

"Who was that?" Sun whispered while pointing at the female goblin.