Never underestimate the quiet ones

  The winter chill might be discomforting to some, but in the enclosed stone room within the forest, the temperature remained warm. Five orbs of fire circled the Goblin Shaman before scattering into yellow and reddish dust. The sparkling rain dissipated around the quiet, doll-like figure.

  "Over countless moons, Goblin Shamans have passed down to their successors the art of Goblin Fire."

  Said the Shaman while smacking her tiny palms like a teacher dusting away chalk dust. The nonchalant act caused Chu to once again be rendered speechless. Collecting his thoughts, he placed the stool at the side of Zubyia and then sat and stared again at the figure wearing the decorated clothes.

  "Can only the Shaman cast fire magic?"

  Chu asked while Ming exited the room to find seating arrangements for his companions. The flicker of a burning torch hung from the walls provided a faint illumination.

  "Shaman magic used for defense. Goblin Elders, however, can cast a ball of fire."

  Zubyia translated from below. Since he never raised his head, he missed the Shaman indicating with her tiny hands that the 'ball of fire' was roughly the size of a soccer ball.

  Folding his hands, Chu digested the startling information. He never witnessed a goblin fireball but recalled the reports on how the goblins once managed to invade deep into the Empire. Somehow, he felt fortunate in having to battle with only the Goblin Vanguard at the time.

  "Why didn't goblins use magic to conquer ruins. Fire is the bane of wild beasts, including spiders."

  "Goblin Elders, frail and slow, cast one ball of fire and become weak. Easy for skittling spiders to kill. Goblin Elder needs one day to recover. Wise Shaman not risk life of Goblin Elders in ruins."

  Bobbing his head, Chu agreed with the decision. If the ball of fire was anything like a fireball, then he would also not want to risk this trump card. He surveyed the Shaman sitting near the bed. Since he met this goblin patriarch, Chu never felt threatened by her small, doll-like figure.

  Unlike himself, Lucy, and even Ishara, the Shaman possessed no aura of leaking bloodlust. In a city, she might be ignored as a silent child.

  Dangerous...

  "Chu, Pug say Shaman mighty goblin. Only shaman can control all of goblin tribes."

  Ming whispered. He had returned with a small bench long enough to seat himself and the girls. Dyna sat on one end while keeping her green eyes glued onto the Shaman. The previous display had probably unlocked a world of questions.

  Ishara coughed slightly to return them to the topic at hand.

  "Magic. She owes me."

  "Wait, but fire magic belongs to goblins. Why owe you?"

  Chu questioned. Magic was a realm he recently dipped his toes into and where he considered himself as a novice. He voiced his question for Zubyia to translate and worded it in the ancient script for the Hakkim. Ishara scribbled a reply on reading his broken but understandable inquiry.

  "Hakkim teach Humans magic. All Human magic comes from Hakkim."

  Ishara spoke the words she wrote. The Shaman tilted her head in concentration before speaking after Chu read out the meaning.

  "Goblin lore says Hakkim high high-ranking members of the Ancient Alliance. Teach low-ranking Humans many things. Human grandfathers make an oath to Hakkim. Cunning Human owes Hakkim. Bound by oath."

  Chu finally relented. In this world, he had no idea of the consequences of breaking some long-lost agreement. Since it involved magic, he decided to take no chances. Otherwise, he might drop dead without knowing the reason why. The words from the Shaman, however, left him with food for thought. Something which required serious contemplation.

  With the nodded agreement, Ishara shifted herself on the bed. Armed with the pages of words and translations, she began writing. For sentences that required clarification, Chu wrote his questions. Soon, a vague but understandable summary formed from the words.

  "So you're telling me she came from over the mountains? And she was actually living there? Isn't that where all the demon beasts come from? I remember hearing tales in the tavern about how Demon beasts attack the walls of the North Pass by the hundreds. How do they survive across there?"

  Ming offloaded a cartload of questions as Chu focused on the one requiring his attention. Pointing to a particular sentence, he turned to Lucy.

  "Kurat. She keeps writing Kurat while pointing at her injuries. It seems we have to help in defeating this Kurat, which is chasing her. Hold on."

  Chu approached the bed and pointed to the word while raising one finger.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "Kurat. One?"

  "Yes..."

  Ishara said while nodding.

  "Only one? Then it's easy. I mean, really, how hard can it be?"

  Ming asked while raising the death flag.

  ***

  Chu held his boots and tapped them onto the stone floor before lifting them upside down. Force of habit from living in the wild had him always dusting or inspecting his belongings. After witnessing a scorpion amble out from inside a boot one day as if finally finding its elusive dream home, he respected that visual lesson.

  Armed under his cloak, Chu joined his companions by the light-emitting fountain at the center of the library.

  "Chu, is heading out into the forest a good idea? It's been two days since you found out about this danger. I don't mind, but can she keep up with her injuries?"

  Ming asked while pulling on the stiff jerky they shared for breakfast.

  "It's her decision, not mine. Besides, this is a scouting mission to gather data and not a full-fledged confrontation. The scout who went missing belongs to the goblin tribe living six days away. Before this, a few scouts from the tribe further north disappeared. The Goblin Elder of the tribe sent word by crow that they heard the crashing and breaking of falling trees. I suspect this Kurat or whatever is following her trail."

  Chu answered. Over the two days, he accumulated a roomful of knowledge that would require months to digest. He also racked up a similar number of questions yet to be answered. From a lost culture, a forgotten race, and also goblin magic, his brain became saturated.

  Since Chu suspected Ishara was fleeing a formidable foe, he had Ming monitor the goblin network. The loss of goblin scouts convinced him that something was slowly drawing near. Given the cowardly nature of the goblins, he didn't expect them to investigate these occurrences. The lack of sighting also informed him of something else.

  "How can this Kurat thing track her across a winter forest. It's been days between them with snowstorms and even cold rain. Even Lucy would lose a trail in those conditions."

  Dyna said. After her first meeting with the Goblin Shaman, she carted off Zubyia to hold a private conversation of her own. Late at night, she scripted her own questions and brazenly entered the room of the Hakkim.

  Since the respected parties did not voice any complaints, he ignored her actions. Her question, however, was legitimate and one which he also inquired about.

  "The Kurat track by magic. Apparently, it leaves a trace of magic when it injures an opponent. Ishara writes that the Kurat can track its quarry even with large distances between them. How great a distance, she doesn't know. Smell, footprints, or sound don't make a difference. It's like using a GPS."

  "I see. Chu, what's a GPS...?"

  A fresh blanket coated the forest, creating a near-virgin frontier. Tracks of the lighter forest dwellers crisscrossed the knee-deep snow like a pond skater on water. Troughs from the larger prowlers cut across either in straight lines or lazy curves while disappearing among the naked trees.

  Chu utilized his resources to the fullest. A dozen goblin scouts fanned the forest at a distance where they could barely be spotted. Between them prowled the two wolves whose main purpose was to uncover any ambush from forest predators. Since he had the scouts spread across the forest, he didn't want a Jaga or larger predator running off with a goblin dangling from their drooling jaws.

  Besides his companions, Ishara trudged alongside him while wearing leather armor under her cloak. Her natural fiery hue and contrasting black waist-length hair painted a surreal picture under the winter forest. The Champion walked with Ming while a band of goblin warriors guarded the rear. The party rested between the high roots of a tree at midday.

  "I think within the third day we should discover our foe. The plan is simple: we find a suitable ambush site and then have Ishara lure it over for the kill. I would have liked to use the traps in the ruins, but we'll hold it off as a plan B. Pug, let's see them."

  Chu said. He inspected the iron rods ordered to his specifications and nodded. Beside him, Zubyia translated while burrowing inside a large leather sack. Unlike the goblin fighters, he carried a load of stationery supplies. His function served in boosting effective communications.

  The evening half of the walk turned slightly difficult as they entered a rocky terrain. The navigation between the small hills and hidden low cliffs among the trees made the journey treacherous. Chu respected some of these ten to twenty-foot cliffs created by landslides or the weathering actions of the heavy trees.

  An inexperienced visitor could be strolling across a hill one minute, only to fall through the deceptive snow down to the sharp rocks below.

  Breaking a leg this deep within the forest meant certain death. They entered into a small clearing encircled by the hills. The shallow winding valleys provided easy access, but two of the hill slopes had eroded into inescapable cliffs. At least, it would take time for an agile person like Lucy to scale among the vines and icicles.

  "Hey Chu, look at this."

  Chu followed the call from Ming to one of the rocky cliffs. Behind a curtain of roots and dried vines, a black maw opened out. Above the entrance, a large boulder hung tottering on a narrow lip while supporting scree of rocks and gravel. The setup, however, proved too good to be true.

  "Ishara says Kurat strong, throw away large rock as if snowball. Gut us in cave and then walk away. Trap useless against strength."

  Chu stroked his chin as Dyna helped translate Ishara's words and actions. Waiting until she finished, he delivered a karate chop to the exposed red hair.

  "Stop translating like Zubyia and use proper sentences. I see what she means, but let's investigate inside while we're here."

  He answered. Ming lit a torch to follow Lucy and a goblin scout who moved at home in the darkness.

  Chu browsed around the clearing to settle on a perfect spot for the ambush. He planned on using a spiked trap inside a hollow pit to at least stab the feet of the demon. If lucky, the Kurat might stumble headfirst while chasing Ishara and then end up being skewered.

  "Have the goblins clear the snow and dig a pit here. I also want a log hanging from a rope on the tree leaning over the cliff. If a swinging log could kill a Great Horned Deer, then it could do the same for a Kurat."

  He relayed the orders to Zubyia and then walked towards Ishara to fish for more information about this approaching adversary.

  Ming joined them while they struggled against the limited conversation.

  "The mouth is around ten feet in height and then narrows to a passage and opens out into a small cavern. Lucy discovered a side tunnel wide enough to crawl into. We sent a goblin inside to see where it leads. I skewered about six of those large scorpions. One of them actually dropped from the ceiling onto my back. Luckily, the goblin behind me swatted it away."

  While Ming described the cave, Lucy returned with the explorers.

  "The narrow tunnel leads out to the back of the hill. If the Kurat is as large as she says, the cave is an ideal location to buy us some time in escaping. We can have someone cause a landslide while she and the Kurat are inside. When it's busy trying to chase her in the tunnel, we can all escape..."

  Lucy reported.

  Chu placed the palms of both hands together and began tapping the tips of his fingers together.

  "Yes, yes, excellent..."

  "Let's move this up to Plan B, but we need to add some insurance. Pug, I want something..."