Before leaving the vale, parting ways from Genzo, and teaching a couple of merchants a lesson about ethical business practices, I had brought Lily up the cliffside and back around to our den. I thought we should take one last look at it before we left. This is where our lives started, and though I had some lingering memories from a past life, this is the place I’d always remember as my home. I stepped in first, Lily right behind me with her ears folded back.

  There wasn’t much to see. Just a pile of bones and some tufts of fur from our family that managed to collect themselves in almost orderly piles in corners and against rocks and other crevices. I closed my eyes and inhaled softly. I could still smell them here, and if I kept my eyes closed, I could still imagine Mom lying against the wall where she spent most of her time. I could hear my brothers and sisters yipping excitedly, and remember what it was like to be on constant watch for Luke whenever he might decide to tackle me out of the blue, or catching a stray fireball from Ben and Jerry.

  I felt Lily come to my side and nudge me. I opened my eyes and looked back at her, then licked her face.

  We might never see this place again. Part of me knew that. But I did believe we could find our brothers, Iris, and Mom. Maybe when that day came, we really would come back and continue on like nothing had ever happened. We would all be so much bigger at that point and we could reclaim the vale. Lily and I were both already much larger than our flopping puppy selves, and I wondered if the rest of our siblings had evolved that much as well since we’ve been gone. I wondered what new powers they might get from their evolutions and what our eventual reunion would look like.

  There was no doubt in my mind that we would all be together again one day. I couldn’t let myself think anything else.

  Grick walked in carefully behind us, looking around. “This is puppy’s home?”

  I looked at him and nodded. He was a pretty smart goblin, and though we couldn’t explain exactly what happened to us, I’m sure he picked up on some of it from when Genzo was talking to us.

  I looked at Grick seriously. He didn’t have to keep coming with us, but the caves might not turn out to be safe for him after a while, either. The red masks, when they came back, would likely scour the tunnels once again and maybe find him this time. Even if they had no reason to think he had anything to do with the elimination of their hunting party, I’d suspect they might just kill him for the simple fact of crossing their paths.

  I sent Grick a thought through Pack Bond. Something like, “Do you want to keep traveling with us?”

  I hoped the answer would be yes. Grick had become a dear friend, and he had helped us more than I could ever repay since we crossed his path alongside the river.

  He seemed to consider it it for a moment, then gave an enthusiastic nod. “Grick stays with puppies,” he said. “Puppies Grick’s best friends. Nice to Grick. Make Grick happy.” He walked over and patted our heads. Lily gave him a big wet lick across his face that made him laugh.

  I gave the den one last look, then finally turned to leave the cave. Outside, Genzo was leaning against a wall, arms folded, pipe hanging from his lips as a thin trail of smoke came off it. He cracked one eye open and stared down at us, wind tugging at his red clothing.

  “Your memories of this place will forever remain strong. Ribbit. Let it fuel you, and never forget the noble purpose that drives you.”

  My ears folded down. It was an echo of his lesson about not letting hate alone guide me. I understood the sentiment, but to say I didn’t hate the red masks would be a lie. I don’t know how I ever could forgive them.

  His lips curled subtly over the end of his pipe. “You’ve grown well from the frightened pup I crossed paths with by the lake. Whatever it is you desire in this life, I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it yours. Ribbit.” He pushed off the wall, hopped down to the lower landing below the den, then lifted his long fingers to the pipe and took a deep drag as he paced over to the edge of the cliff and looked out over the vale. That was the very spot I had stood the first time I ever left my den, after a wrestling match with Luke led to us tumbling down that short slope together.

  I hopped down and walked over to sit on my haunches beside Genzo, then looked over my shoulder. I just realized that slope was not very big at all. In my puppy memory, it was a lot harder to get down from, but I suppose I was pretty small back then.

  Lily made her way down after us, and then Grick struggled a little, carefully finding footing and at some points turning around to climb down from sheerer drops more carefully.

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  Lily came to my side and looked out over the vale as well and let out a low whine. I canted my head towards her. She gave me a pretty serious look.

  “What’s wrong? Lily?”

  She dropped her gaze, then started walking, heading toward the path Mom used to lead us down when she would take us out hunting.

  “Wait but if you go that way…”

  She looked back for just a moment, still with that serious look in her eyes, nodded once, and then kept going.

  I followed her, and it wasn’t long before he came into view.

  Dad.

  Still lying on the cliff where he had been felled. The spears were still stuck in his body, and his fur was still black as ever. His muscles didn’t seem as strong as they once had been, but there was no stench of decay. Death had not claimed him in the way it claimed other creatures, as if time itself hesitated to touch him, only poking slowly.

  It almost looked like he was only sleeping. If I squinted just right, I could almost convince myself that his chest would rise, that one of his heads would shift and open an eye to fix me with that steady, watchful gaze.

  He wouldn’t, though. Never again. I understood at least that much. Yet, his three heads still stared out over the vale. The place that once was—no still was and would always be—his domain. Even in death, this place was his. One day, after I’ve finished rescuing my family. Once we’ve all grown strong. We would claim it once again—our inheritance. Silently, I swore this to him. He was no longer able to protect us as he once had, but I would be sure that if he were somehow still watching over me, he would be proud of what he saw.

  We took a long moment until Lily shifted and she looked towards me. It seemed like she was ready.

  We headed back up the slope to where we had left Grick and Genzo. Genzo looked as calm as ever, but Grick had a forlorn look in his eyes. “That was… Puppy's daddy?” he asked carefully. I nodded.

  Genzo looked down at him. “He was slain by the Bloody Peaks Tribe, and they have four siblings and a mother who is still lost to them. Their path will be a long and arduous one. Ribbit. Do you plan to stay by their side?”

  Grick looked up. “Grick does not leave puppys.”

  Genzo’s lips curled in approval. “Then you will grow strong as well. Small one.”

  Grick’s ears perked at that.

  Genzo pulled the pipe from his lips and turned his attention to me. “You remember the path I laid out for you?”

  I nodded.

  “And do you plan to accept my offer of joining the Verdant Empire?”

  I took a moment to think it over. I trusted Genzo, and though he admitted he had his own reasons, I didn’t think he would put us on this path if it were not, in fact, in our best interest. It could be a place where we could rest, be safe, and return to after our hunts as we continued to grow stronger.

  I nodded once again.

  “Then I look forward to when our paths cross again. Next time, I suspect you’ll have grown into something the world has to reckon with. Ribbit.” He gave us all one last look, then hopped down from the cliff and disappeared into the trees.

  Taking one last look over the vale. Over the forest with its strange grey trees and reaching branches, and the magical lake in the middle, from which large mana particles floated gently away. I felt the wind blow against my fur, and I knew it was time to get going.

  I nodded to Lily and Grick, and we continued back down the path alongside the cliffs. Down to the caves, where the evidence of our triumph over the red masks still remained. Eventually, scouts would come to investigate why they hadn’t returned, and they would see it too. I didn’t know what would happen at that point, but me, Grick, and Lily would be long gone by then.

  We made one final stop by Grick’s home deep down in the caves. I wasn’t sure how long he had lived down here, but based on the pile of treasures he’d amassed, it must have been quite a while. It really was a nice place. The crystal veins that glowed along the walls shimmered against the lake on the far end. Even his little house with its pile of junk next to it had a kind of cozy charm in a strange, goblin sort of way.

  Grick padded around the space one last time, muttering short goodbyes. “Bye, Grick’s house. Bye Grick’s fire. Bye Grick’s pickaxe…” He stopped by the pile of treasures, and I half expected him to change his mind about leaving it behind. But he simply poked through, found an old dented pocket watch with its glass cover missing, and stuffed that in his pocket, then said, “Bye Grick’s lovelies.” Then he turned away and gave us a goblin smile. “Grick is ready.”

  That’s when I remembered the story he told me when we first met, when I learned what was behind his pile of lovelies. Though he was happy with those things, it didn’t sit right with me that he had been getting ripped off and supposedly bullied by the people who “traded” with him for the mana crystals he mined.

  That’s when I had started to form my plan for what we’d do first during our expedition out into the world. I communicated the thought to Grick as we made our way out of the caves.

  By the time we were leaving the far end of the caves, where Direwings still hovered around masterless, Grick seemed to understand what I had in mind. A giddy smile spread over Grick’s face as he agreed.

  Achievement! Leaving the Vale!

  You have endured loss, faced death, and triumphed over impossible odds.

  Now, the place that forged you can no longer hold you.

  You leave as a growing force bound by loyalty, purpose, and will.

  The world beyond the vale is vast, where there will be new challenges to face, alliances to forge, and prey to be hunted.

  Major bonus to all stats!

  Read next chapter now!