We said our goodbyes the next day and headed further north. The emerald rolling hills got flatter as we progressed further and further, making the trip easier on our still wounded bodies. Maybe we should’ve waited and gotten some more rest. But Thet insisted on going the next day. She claimed that whoever sent the Goblins would have ways of finding about their defeat and treachery almost instantly. So sticking around for even a little while might’ve invited even more war on Trost’s doorstep.

 

We already got three innocents killed. I asked for their names, but they wouldn’t give them. They feared I would let the guilt eat me up. I guess they were correct in that, but it happened regardless of me knowing. In fact, somehow, not knowing the names of those whose blood is on my hands only made things worse. It felt like I was doing them a disservice by not at least carrying their memory with me. Even though I knew knowing their names was far from equivalent to that, it still felt that way.

 

As for the Goblins, they agreed to come along. They were depressed and frustrated. No surprise there. They no longer had a home they could return to. Not without being slaughtered, at least. They also weren’t welcome at Trost for obvious reasons. Going out into the wilderness in hopes of finding a new home was their only choice, so they joined us for extra safety.

 

Most of the day was spent in silence. I just looked around at the beautiful landscape we passed through to keep my mind off things. I caught glances of Vyth every now and then. He was at the front next to Eidechse. He looked agitated and on guard. I saw him glance back at the Goblins marching behind us on more than one occasion. He didn’t trust them one bit. Can’t say I blamed him. I didn’t fully trust them either. For now, I knew they wouldn’t do anything. It was in their best interest to keep us on their side. But who knows if they’ll be on ours if a good opportunity presents itself to them.

 

Once night fell, we set up camp near a couple of oaks that grew sporadically throughout these hills. It gave us some cover at least. We set up a couple of fires so everyone could sit around one and quietly cooked any food we could to make the salted jerky a bit more bearable.

 

Once I was done eating I left the camp for a while. It was becoming unbearable to sit around in that gloomy atmosphere. I just wanted to be alone with my thoughts for a moment. Something that I never thought I’d crave after what happened to the nest. I laid down on the cool grass and looked at the stars. It never had occurred to me, but even the star signs were different here. No Big Dipper or Leo. Instead, there were probably other ones I just couldn’t identify. I chuckled to myself. Those signs were probably given great importance by some people here as well. It seemed silly to me. Though at the same time, this was a world full of magic and I did reincarnate into it. So, perhaps not. My mood soured yet again, as I thought about it. Now those stars seemed toxic and evil. As if they were going to betray me at some point in the future.

 

Luckily, my mood didn’t have to stay sour for too much longer. My alone time ended once Vyth came to lie down next to me. We laid there in silence for a while, enjoying each other's company. I was glad to see him relaxed. He did still have his ears open for any noise out of the ordinary. He tried to hide it, but I could tell. I gave him a little nudge.

 

“Relax”, I said.

 

“I am”.

 

“Are you? Thet must’ve rubbed off on you”.

 

“Hehe. Fine, you got me. But I won’t relax. Not with them still around”.

 

“Well, they are going to be around for a while longer. Better get some rest while you can”.

 

“Did we really have to take them along?”.

 

“Didn’t you see it too? The fear in their eyes. The anguish from losing their friends and family. Just like us not too long ago”.

 

“I know! Of course I saw it. That’s why we can’t trust them. They probably hate us and I can’t blame them for it”. 

 

“Maybe. Or maybe they blame their former master”.

 

“Would you travel along with our nest’s killers peacefully?”

 

“This is different. They attacked us first. They realise this and realise we were defending ourselves”.

 

“Does that really make such a difference? We were sneaking into that human village. They could’ve easily seen that as attempts at attacking them. They likely did…”

 

“Vyth? Are you alright?”

 

“Of course I’m not! Think about it, Oth! The reason they attacked our nest is because we kept on sneaking in. It had to have been! It’s our fault everyone’s dead and it’s going to be our fault Thet and Eidechse die now too!”

 

“That’s not true, bro! They were going to attack regardless of what we did. We never hurt a single one of them before they decided to attack us. It’s just how Humans are. They don’t like anything that could even form the slightest bit of trouble around them, so they hunt it down like monsters”.

 

“What about the town, then? We burned down a man’s house!”

 

“They did come after us! It’s just that their soldiers weren’t as capable as the people the village hired. Look. It’s going to be alright. Those Goblins were glad we killed their leader, because he bullied them. I knew that bully in another life, remember? He was just as horrible back then, so I know they must’ve hated his guts. The pain we inflicted on them probably wasn’t as bad as what he’s done”.

 

“Sure. I guess”.

 

“How about we try to befriend them? Life is already hard as it is. Having them around would make the road a lot safer”.

 

“...”

 

“Come on! We can at least try it”.

 

“Fine…”

 

“That’s the spirit!”

 

I gave my brother a big hug, before going off to bed. Sleep didn’t come as easy as I’d hoped, though. So I was back to watching the stars again. Only in a bedroll now instead of grass. Most of the others had fallen asleep. Or were at least good at pretending they did. Thet was still up and quietly talking to a couple of Goblins around a small campfire. She was speaking in their tongue. For someone who couldn’t be bothered to pick up Draconic, she seemed rather good at it. Their tone was jovial. There was laughter and expressions of surprise. The Goblins sat at the edge of their seats like children fully immersed in a story. I wondered what got Thet to learn their tongue. What got her so comfortable around creatures that would be killed on sight if they were spotted near a town. What got her so comfortable around us? The people I belong to now are treated the same, yet they spared our lives when they caught us stealing. I had assumed that it was because of Eidechse. Because Kobolds and his people, the Draushril or Dragonborn as they call themselves, were related in some way. And although that still might be true, the relation is seen as that between Humans and Goblins. Now, though, I’m wondering if she had something to do with it. I’ve already spent a considerable amount of time around her, yet I still feel like I don’t know her.

 

My thoughts drifted from her to Eidechse, who I feel I know more of, but who’s still somewhat of a mystery to me. I figured that starting to ask questions now wouldn’t be a good idea. The two of them are already plenty stressed without me snooping around in their past. And although they might be a mystery, I know I can at least trust them. So, those questions will have to come later.

 

But others still remain. I never really questioned why I am here, for example. I was too caught up in trying to decide whether I wanted to go back to my old life or not. And by the time I had decided against trying, I figured that it was just the way life went. You die and are reincarnated somewhere else. It was weird that I seemed to be the only one with memories of my past life, but then again, I heard stories of little kids remembering their past lives back in my old world. But they always talked about past lives in our world. And why was Randy here? If remembering your old life is such a rare occurrence, how come we both remembered? The chances seemed astronomically small. Yet, it happened.

 

Was it because of a higher power? It could be. Eidechse might be a criminal, but his looks and his abilities are that of your typical paladin. And they usually get their powers from such higher powers. Yet, that doesn’t explain how it took me and that bastard from a world with no such magic.

 

I wanted to figure this out, but with little information to go off, I couldn’t do much. All I could do was be more attentive to anything that might give me a clue. With that, I finally fell asleep. The night passed peacefully. When I woke up the next morning, I ate breakfast as quickly as possible. Once done, I cut strips of bark from the nearest tree, grabbed a rock I sharpened, and wrote my thoughts out on it. It’s the best I could do for a journal of sorts. It wasn’t much, but it did seem to interest some of the Goblins. Seeing it as an opportunity to mend things over, I began teaching them what Turasijr had taught me over the past few months.