Walking In The Dark

The tribe entered the cave after General Andrik ordered his troops to let them through. The goblins marched through the dark tunnel with five goblins shoulder to shoulder. The tunnel could fit at least ten goblins walking side by side, but the empty space let the legions travel if an emergency occurred.

The goblins had to remove their coats once inside the cave. The dark, damp atmosphere was letting luminescence moss grow on the walls and floor. But the deeper they march into the cave, the dryer and hotter the cave becomes. It was not a problem for a small group of goblins, but an entire tribe was making the air around them hotter than it should be. Fortunately, they brought enough cold water to cool themselves until they reach the underground cold spring.

The goblins were restless under the dark cover of the cave. Their only light sources were the brothers and Mari using a simple light spell to illuminate their path. The lights were strong enough to illuminate several meters in front of them, but their lights were slowly fading as the lights consume more mana. So far, the tribe has yet to experience any obstacles that could hinder their progress. Despite having a map, Tie, Root, and Mist scouted ahead to make sure to guide the tribe away from cliff sides and tight spaces. May also accompanied them as Tie's assistant. They found a few hurdles along the way, such a large stalagmite blocking nearly half of their way, but they were nothing to worry about.

But more perils could be waiting for them, hiding in the black shroud around their tribe. The presence of the perytons could prove to be dangerous. Sun asked his mother about these beasts. Mari knew that perytons were known for their aggressive nature and their strange preference for pure-hearted individuals. They have a way to sense their prey's moral compass, and they chose to hunt those align to good. Mari doesn't know how the perytons do it, and many stories try to explain their origins but are agreed upon by the scholar community as all false.

Sun was more concerned about earthquakes and cave-ins. After meeting General Andrik, Sun realized the extreme dangers he was exposing his tribe to just to reach their destination faster. If the general could generate tremors from only leaking a portion of his mana, then what would happen if he fought someone using all of his strength.

An entire civil war is raging beneath their feet, further down underground. Many of them may be as strong as the dwarf general, and maybe even stronger. He can't spare a moment to relax, always on guard to protect his tribe the moment the earth around them begins to shake. Shuja noticed Sun's anxious expression and tried to ease his mind by keeping everyone in line. If she sees one of them slow down, she figuratively whips them back to speed, whether it was berating them for their laziness or nudging them forward. Shuja's assistance did stop Sun's worries when it came to the earthquakes. That's because his most bravest legion, Spat, complained about Shuja's bullying.

"Shuja!" Sun called out for her.

Shuja ran down the line. "What is it, Sun?"

"Spat said you were rough with them."

"Spat said what!" Shuja glared behind her. Her eyes locked on Spat, who was trying to avoid her gaze. "Some of them were being lazy, slowing down the march. I was just trying to help since you need to focus on maintaining that light; you won't have time to keep the legions in check."

Sun sighed, "That's true. Just don't bully them, it's their first time carrying a lot of luggage while walking for so long. If any civilians slow down, just have the legions help them with what they're carrying."

"Civilians? You mean our tribesmen. Alright, I'll keep that in mind." Shuja turned around to face the legions, "You heard our Chief! If anyone slows down, help them with their bags!"

"Yes, Master Shuja!" The legions responded.

With the legion assisting those that were slowing them down, Shuja stayed by Sun's side while they were walking. The two were telling stories and talked about the future. Sun found Shuja a good company in the dark cave. He didn't expect her to be talkative or attentive, but it was a welcomed surprise. While they were talking, Tie's scouting group reappeared in front of them. They told them the halfway point was near. There would be a cold spring as well as glowing mushrooms and air vent above them, circulating cold air in and sucking hot air out.

After an hour of walking, the tribe finally reached the reach their rest stop. Above them were large mushrooms growing on the ceiling, illuminating the large cavern with its blue light. The heads of the mushrooms protected the ground from runoff; thus there were very few stalagmites found on the cavern floor. Most of them formed near the cold spring and its waterfall. Despite the cool, wet atmosphere, there was no moss to be found. Instead, pink luminance roots poking out of the ground could be seen in patches around the cavern floor and walls.

In the middle of the cavern was a large glowing stem stretching out from the ground and operating the cave's ceiling. The stem was exceeded Rock's shoulder width, making nearly two feet thick in diameter. And on the other side of the cavern were four diverging paths that lead to the same exit. Three of them were as large as their previous route while one was a small crevice on the wall that only a few goblins can walk in at the same time.

The tribe prepared their camp around the stem. They made sure to set their tents near the patches of glowing roots as their replacement of campfires. Once they were all settled, the legions were assigned their posts. The three legions will take turns guarding the tribe.

Rock's legions will be the first one, then Stick and Smoke's legions, and finally Sun's legions. Spat ran to his family the moment he learned they would be the ones in charge in the morning, or at least, what they assume to morning. Root and Mist joined Spat on his way to his family. Mabel was setting up their tent with the help of Dawn. "Master Dawn!" Spat took a salute stance, "Thanks helping Mabel."

"Spat, stop!" Mabel said with her cheeks blushing from embarrassment. She got up and took Spat's arm and pulled it down to his waist. "Dawn, friend. Spat not make weird."

"But Dawn Master Rock's wife. Spat need show respect." Mabel slapped Spat in the head. Mabel's child peeked through the tent and saw her hit Spat. He jumped out of the tent and joined in on the fun. "Hey, no hit papa. Go back, sleep!"

Before their son could go, Spat pulled him by the arm and embraced him while rubbing the boy's head with his knuckle. "You tough boy, huh." Then he let him go back to sleep.

"Sorry, Dawn. Spat not no better." They sat down around the glowing roots. The pink light shined brightly on their bodies.

"It's ok, Mabel." Dawn's cheeks were redder than Mabel's, but Dawn did not mind being called Rock's lover. Still, she found the topic embarrassing, and she had to find a way to change the subject. Luckily, Root and Mist were there. "Um, how about you guys? Are you planning on getting a lover soon?"

"What?" The siblings yelled. Marriage in the tribe is a sacred act, but just like many marriages, it was for economic reasons. During winter, every goblin must hunt to feed the tribe, everyone must work to keep the tribe alive. But once winter ends, women are excused from hunting, and instead focused their attention on producing as many children as possible while the men hunted for food. Because the men the only ones hunting for food, women are forced to marry one of them to get a larger share. But when Sun rose to claim the throne, food was rarely scarce due to Sun's more generous rations. This made many of the men excited to mate with the single women in the tribe. But mating meant losing their independence, which the women looked forward to during the months of winter.

Mist would like to avoid mating so she could climb the social ladder. Besides the caretakers, single women in winter are the only ones that could work to improve their status in the tribe, whether by hunting, joining the guards temporarily, or becoming personal messengers for higher ranking goblins. Some of the widows may not want to admit it, but many of them gained newfound independence under Sun's rule, and they hoped Sun would continue to be generous with the rations after winter.

Root did not feel ready to have a family. He only just got his new position as a draftsman for the Chief, and he still lacked the confidence to mate and married. Little did Root know that some of the single women view him as a favorable candidate if, by chance, Sun forces the women to choose a partner during spring. His position was unique among the past loyal retainers. He was no warrior by any means, which meant Root's wife would not have to worry about becoming a widow. "Um, maybe someday." Root said nervously.

"Don't hold out on me you two." Dawn continued pushing the subject, making the sibling even more uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the cavern, Tie and May just finished setting up their tent and was getting ready to sleep. While they were lying on their linen, May asked Tie for advice. "What if May love goblin? May tell goblin love them?"

"What?" Tie was caught off guard, "Tie not know what do. Tie thinks, better love far away. No want hurt when love not love back."

"But May not know that until May ask love for love back." May retorted with confidence, "May need try. Flute say May not have chance. May not give life, but May still goblin. May want love."

Tie turned her head to look at May. She admired May's bravery, but she also thought May to be too naive. "Tie want love too, May. Both get love someday, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

The two went to sleep after talking for a few more hours. However, Tie woke up in the middle of her sleep. Her linens felt wet, which only meant one thing. She removed her blanket, and underneath her pants and between her legs was blood. She didn't think her period would be today.

She got up and walked out of the tent, carrying her bloodstained blankets. Before going to the cold spring, she made sure no goblins were present, especially other caretakers. Once she found the coast is clear, she ran as fast as she could to the cold spring and started washing her pants and blankets.

After the wash, she walked back to her tent. On the way, she crossed past with Flute. "Flute?" What doing outside."

"Me going see Chief's mothers. You?" Flute pointed at her wet garments, "Why blanket wet?"

"Oh, me wash because," Tie tried to think of an excuse, "It smell, um, bad."

"Ok, me go now."

"Bye," Tie held her blanket closer to her chest. It was colder than the snow outside, dropping her body's temperature. But she did not notice the freezing blanket's effect on her body. She was too busy watching Flute leave, making sure she doesn't turn back around. If she found out Tie could give life; Flute would undoubtedly hate her till she dies. Tie ran back to her tent after Flute disappeared in the darkness and lay on the ground, unable to sleep.

Eventually, the last legion to watch over the tribe woke everyone up, except for Tie, who was still awake. Tie and May got up and folded their tent and blankets. The legions walked around to give a lending hand to get the tribe going faster. Spat walked to Tie and May and informed them that Root and Mist were already waiting for them at the entrance of the small crevice opening. The two followed Spat on the way. It was time to start marching out of the cave.