Toad Harvesting

Mari woke up after a good's night rest. Cyrus' head was resting on her lap while Sam curled into a ball on the floor wrapped in a wool blanket. Natasha was sleeping on the opposite side of the room. They've been sleeping together for the past two days. They huddled together to keep warm while Mari read to the three women her books.

Mari looked out of the tent's entrance and saw the light peering through. She wanted to leave the tent and go for a walk, but her legs were trapped under Cyrus' head. Mari planned to wake her up, but Cyrus looked so peaceful in her sleep, and waking her up would be too cruel. Mari decided to stay still and caress her head. Cyrus' hair felt more like cat fur.

The silence suddenly ended when Cyrus jolted upright and screamed. "Cyrus, are you ok?"

Cyrus turned around and hugged Mari tightly, "You're not going to leave me, right?"

"No, I won't leave you."

Sam got up from her sister's scream. She crawled next to Mari and Cyrus, "No one is going anywhere, Cyrus." Sam joined the embrace, and the tent eventually regained its peaceful atmosphere.

The women got up and organized their bedsheets and blankets. Natasha was still asleep, "She sleeps like a rock." Sam joked. Once they finished cleaning up, Mari invited the twins for a walk around the camp. "I'm down for a walk, but we can't just leave Natasha. I mean, just look at her." Sam pointed at Natasha, lying on the bed. Natasha had an awkward posture with her face planted on the soft blanket, and her butt raised in the air.

"Excuse me, is anyone here?" Rock peeked through the tent's door. Cyrus hid behind Mari and Sam at the sight of the large red goblin. Rock's size reminded Cyrus of Tama when he was trying to break through the barn's door to rape them so she could not help but be cautious around Rock.

"Rock, how are you?" Mari asked.

"Oh, I'm good. I'm just here to give Mama something."

"Sam, could you wake her up?"

"Oh no, it's fine. I'll come back later." However, Sam already woke Natasha by hitting her butt with a blanket.

"We'll leave you alone, Sam and Cyrus will be joining me for a walk so take you time." Mari and the twins wore their coats and hid their bodies under their cloaks.

"Oh, thank you." Rock walked in with his hands behind his back. Once outside the tent, Mari glanced back and saw Rock holding a necklace that he most likely found in the rubbles of the town. Mari smiled, knowing other than his size Rock was far different than Tama. He is the definition of a gentle giant.

Mari, Sam, and Cyrus walked around the busy camp. Sun told them of their plan to migrate the entire tribe to the south. He was also going to take this chance to fulfill his promise to her and the other women. Mari had mixed emotions when she heard Sun's plan. Mari wanted to be free, and she felt like she already attained it, but just like Cyrus, the tragedy they experienced still haunted them. She doubts they will ever be free from the trauma.

Mari was also too curious to leave the forest. She witnessed a once in a lifetime event. No one has ever seen a goblin transform, and the new form Sun mutated into hold more mysteries to discovery. Mari wanted to stay with Sun to learn more, even if it meant facing her inner demons.

The women stopped and rested under a large oak tree. Mari noticed the icicles hanging above them on the branches were melting at an incredible rate. Spring is almost here.

While the women were resting, a group of goblin women walked near them carrying empty baskets, and children accompanied them, carrying small empty bags. Mari watched the goblins dig through the snow and mud. Flute was among the goblins digging on the ground.

Mari stood up and walked up to Flute, "Hey, what are you guys doing?"

"Mari," Flute was startled to see Mari outside the tent, "Women get horny toad for travel."

"Horny toads? What are those?" Sam asked. Cyrus followed closely behind while holding Sam's coat with her slender fingers. The three women got on their knees while watching Flute dig through the mud, looking for a toad to show them.

"This horny toad." Flute pulled one out and showed the women.

Mari covered her nose. The smell coming from the toad was stronger than the latrines they cleaned in the adventures' camp. "Why does it smell so horrid?"

"I smell a hint of dark elves on those toads," Sam commented.

"What?"

"Those toads might be related to those green frogs my tribe used to buy from the dark elves. Just like these toads, those frogs could only be found underground, so the dark elves had all the access to them. They were used for medicine and a delicacy for the older men."

"And are what are you going to use that for, Flute?"

"Purple stuff, used for medicine." Flute poked on pus, and purple liquid slowly flowed down the toad's back. Mari finally knew what made those sludge purple. She could also sense a hint of mana foreign from the toad. "But no need purple stuff for medicine. Mari greater healer." Flute smiled.

"Thank you,"

"Then what in the world are you going to use that animal for then, because I'm not eating it." Mari protested.

"Look," Flute pushed the toad's leg. Light brown liquid came out the skin, "We make spirit with brown water."

"What!" Sam could not believe the alcohol they were drinking came from the toad's waste. Cyrus' face turned purple as well. However, Mari had no idea the liquid coming out from the toad's legs were its waste. She never saw underground frogs before, while the twins have been interacting with them since childhood. "Mari, do you not realize what that is?"

"Is it some poison gland?" Mari asked while examining the toad with her hand. She flipped the toad and was surprised to see no anus. "Strange, how do they do their business." Mari looked back at Sam, who was looking away, hiding her face, which was trying hard not to laugh.

"Don't know." Flute shrugged her shoulders.

Mari noticed the other women find countless of horny toads under the ground. One of them nearly filled their basket to the brim despite only harvesting for five minutes. "Strange, why are there so many underground frogs so close to the surface." Sam wondered.

"Don't know, but Flute knows good for tribe."

Mari moved closer to Sam and asked, "Can I ask you more about your tribe? I always wondered why you and your sister left, from the stories you tell me, it seemed like an amazing place to live in. I mean, I would love to travel everywhere and discover all kinds of things. I didn't even know toads and frogs could live underground."

Sam looked down on the ground, "My tribe wasn't all fun. Cyrus is it all right if I share our story."

"Yeah, that's fine," Cyrus whispered.

"Cyrus and I lived in the Zhertva tribe. Every thirty years, a child will be born with the gift to see all things. That meant they could visually see mana within a person. We call the child Vidat, and they are seen as gifts from the gods. Crazy stuff. Anyway, they don't know who the next Vidat is going to be, but they do know that all Vidats have a preferred toy. A Vidat will always pick a flying wheel as its toy."

"So, your tribe gets all the children born on that particular year to choose a toy to play with," Mari said

"Exactly. Now, I failed the test, but my sister passed. So did twelve other children. The next to determine who is the real Vidat involved our head matriarch. She was the most powerful woman in our tribe and had an overwhelming amount of mana. If a Vidat sees her, the Videt would only be able to see an outline of her body. That's because her mana would be so strong and bright that it makes her body nearly unrecognizable. So they make all the children go to a private room with the matriarch and the child's parents. Now, the matriarch rarely leaves her home, so we had no idea how she looks like. So the thirteen children, including my sister, were asked to describe the matriarch's appearance, and if one of them could not do that, they are crowned as the new Vidat."

"Interesting. Now, what do they do as a Vidat? Do the current Vidats help teach them how to use their powers." Mari asked with gleaming eyes.

"There were no other Vidats. Once you are chosen as a Vidat, they take you far away with the elders to be sacrificed in the dessert."

"What?" Mari was horrified, "DId you try to escape then? Is that why you are here?"

"No. The children had no idea what being a Vidat meant. So when they tested them, they just said what they saw—no reason for them to try and hide their ability, because they don't know any better. But the tribe was mortified to learn that none of their candidates were Vidat. They all failed, my sister included. They were able to see the matriarch clear as day." Sam giggled a little, "She was the ugliest person you could possibly meet. My sister was the second to last, and when she said the word ugly, the matriarch flipped out and failed her on the spot. Not even five minutes passed when she entered the room. But that was not the end of it. They tried so desperately to find the next Vidat, but all of their tests failed. Over the years, our tribe suffered from famine after famine. Our mother died from starvation, and so did many of our tribesmen. Then when the famines ended, a raging sandstorm devasted our tribe every fall. We tried to change our path, but the sandstorm followed us to where we landed. Then when that ended, a plague hit us. Before the disease got any worse, our father told us the truth about Vidat and the ritual they performed. It turns out, our tribe was cursed, and if we fail to sacrifice our god a Vidat, we will starve under a storm while sick to our bones till we end on a sword. Or at least, that's what the curse said. Father made us leave before the sword part came. Eventually, we joined a merchant setting sail north. We landed on a port city and heard about job openings for an expedition to a goblin-infested forest. And that's how my sister and I got here."

Mari embraced Sam, "I'm sorry to hear all that. I'm sorry I made you remember those painful memories."

"What are you talking about? They were nothing." Her voice trembled. Sam tried to stop her eyes from crying, but she eventually gave in and cried on Mari's shoulder. Flute got up and moved the goblin women away from the two to give them space.

Cyrus watched Mari comfort her sister. Cyrus' tail wagged back and forth under her cloak. Eventually, her tail managed to shake off the cloak and revealed itself to the world. The children playing near them saw the dancing tail. One of them sneaked his way closer before grabbing its tip. Cyrus jumped up and yelped.

The children thought her tail was a toy and wanted to play with it, but Sam quickly got up and placed herself between them and her sister. "Play! Play!" The children cried.

"No, get lost, you brats!" Sam yelled back.

Mabel noticed the children bothering them and rushed over to get the children under control. Afterward, she apologized in place of the other mothers and for her boy, who was the one that grabbed Cyrus' tail.

"It's ok. Alls well." Mari said before telling the twins that it was time to leave. The three said their goodbyes to Flute and the women.

"Those brats need to learn their place," Sam muttered under her breath.

"But they don't know any better," Mari said while mimicking Sam's raspy voice. Cyrus laughed while she was holding on Mari's arms.