Judgement On Ark (1)

~~** Interlude | The Great Protector **~~

"Guardian." the power-spoken word of the Great Protector summoned a now hyper-alert Prima inside the cave-hole.

"Yes, Great Protector?" Prima replied fearfully.

"You have heard his words?"

"Yes, Great Protector."

"Show me to this cave-hole he spoke of." It demanded of Prima, and she could not refuse.

Prima led the Great Protector deeper into goblin-home, followed by the Old One, until they reached the cave-hole that belonged to Berry, who was there alone, sitting with her daughter Diana Artemis on her lap as they ate sweet purple berries from a clay bowl in front of them. Berry could not ignore the immediate intrusion into her cave hole by Prima, and the unforgettable presence of the Great Protector.

Berry was a bit panicked, not knowing why of all people in the world the Great Protector was at her cave-hole! Was it to see her strong one?

"G-great Protector!" Berry cowed her body, forcing Diana Artemis who was in her lap to bend forward as well, though she was entirely oblivious to everything except the yummy berries in the bowl she kept reaching for.

The Great Protector heard the Old One say a goblin child was born, but dismissed it as perhaps a misunderstanding. Goblins were among the fastest species which procreated, but the human hadn't been here for more than a week yet, and the Great Protector was sure it took at least a few passes of the moon for a goblin to gestate a child to term. So why was there a rather large goblin child in this small room already…?

The Great Protector hardly fit into the room of the newly mothered goblin. It had looked at the brown-skinned child with interest at first, but was able to see clearly a sharpened stone on the ground near a wall with no possessions against it. Small gouges into the wall were as visible in the darkness of the cave to it as if the wall was outside in the light of the sun. The Great Protector walked over to the wall and placed a clawed hand upon it.

"Child. This room should be wider, should it not?"

"I-I'm sorry, Great Protector! I… Th-there's a reason for it n-not being…"

"Calm yourself. I only asked a question." The Great Protector said while trying to control the intensity of its voice. The lesser species often had difficulties due to such a natural power difference. Rather than the mother cowering, the child in her lap not cowering or crying, or even trying to scamper away was far more intriguing to it.

The Great Protector was ready to widen the damn room to the same size of the one it had made for the human to solve his tantrum, but it was now understanding why. And the Great Protector sneered with tremendous self-satisfaction.

"I… was chosen to receive big seed from Husband. A-as you can see, the seed was big and strong. My belly grew fat by the morning after and by the night the strong one came out from inside of me. H-Husband was concerned for me, and tried to help me dig the wall to make my cave bigger. I-I was sure the Old One said it would take three moons to have a strong one, but…"

The Great Protector lowered its body to observe the child. A clawed hand extended towards the child, and the child grabbed at it, daring to put its teeth around a taloned finger while trying to bite it. It had no fear of the Great Protector, and a great power was felt emanating from the child as well.

"No! Diana Artemis! You must never bite the Great Protector!" Berry had said in an absolute state of panic, reaching for her strong one's mouth to pull it open.

"It is fine. This one will not just be strong, it will be mighty. A Goblin Huntress, no doubt."

"W-what?"

"This strong one. You will raise it to be a hunter?" The Great Protector asked the scared goblin mother with an ugly brown scar across its green body.

"Yes! She will hunt with arrows of poison. No prey will escape her!"

"Hoh. That is a human way of hunting."

"W-well Husband… is human?"

A ferocious smile splayed across the Great Protector's face.

"She will offer me a worthy beast she hunts as tribute three moons from now."

"Berry swears it!" Berry said quickly, hoping to appease the Great Protector.

The child goblin, Diana Artemis, stopped trying to bite the taloned finger of the Great Protector, instead focusing again on the bowl of berries it was being fed that it had much better success in chewing and swallowing. The Great Protector did not fail to notice the goblin mother let slip the name of her child, and now name of herself. It seems the human had been quite busy in a mere week.

"To have a strong one in a single day. Have you eaten more than berries? You cannot have hunted so soon?"

Berry nodded vigorously.

"Yes, leaving Husband's room the morning after he gave me much big seed, my belly was already fat. Prima–Guardian had given me raw meat she meant to eat together with Husband. The Morning after my strong one came out, Lily–Runt brought me a freshly hunted rabbit to share with Diana Artemis. She also brought a squirrel the morning after. Didn't even ask me to trade. She just gave me meat. Thinks Husband wanted her to."

"And what do you think of your Husband, my child? You may tell me without fear."

"Husband… cares. Berry knows it's true. Husband wouldn't hurt Berry or Diana Artemis… But…"

"Speak."

"Why does Husband have to die because he wanted to do something to care for Berry and Diana Artemis?"

The Great Protector nodded. That was indeed the question it wanted to know the answer to now as well. Though, it already knew the answer. Sometimes certain things must be played out to the masses in order for them to be readily accepted.

"I have heard enough."

"Hiik!" Berry squeaked, holding on to her daughter tightly.

"Guardian! Go fetch the two others who carry the seed of the human. Bring them to me at his cave-hole. I will wait with the human."

"As you command." Prima said, and rushed off to find Jewel and Lily.

The Old One remained behind and was commanded to guide the Great Protector back to the breeding cavern it made for the human. The Old One's steps were slower, her confidence that this human would be properly punished was waning. The Great Protector said nothing to her as they walked.

Once more in the cavern where the human lay asleep due to the Great Protector's sleeping magic, the throne of dirt was remade in an instant and it sat waiting upon it once more until three goblins entered. Two others, and the Guardian it had entrusted with leading the tribe. The two taller ones already showed signs of their belly beginning its gestational growth, the smaller runt hadn't yet, but that meant at least with these three, things were proceeding normally.

"Now, I will hear from each of you about this human."