Viktor stood outside of the well, glancing around while standing next to Fafi who had her hood and mask back on as two goblins pulled Snek out of the well. The fool had failed to get itself out of the well, thanks to its brilliant idea of wrapping the rope around its ankle and hanging upside down.

Viktor was no longer naked. Fafi had gifted him with a part of her baggy robe for a loincloth.

“The lesss sneks hanging around, the better.” Had been her words as she ripped the lower part of her rope and handing it to Viktor.

The two newcomers had been part of Fafi’s tribe that had stayed above. They were more concerned with making Snek scream by swinging it around in the well than getting him out. They had been quite meek before when Viktor had pulled himself up after Fafi, probably because Viktor was scarred to the point of auto succeeding minor intimidation rolls and half a head taller than all the goblins in Fafi’s party.

Snek was quite the opposite, a snot-nosed runt who had, in some way, survived in goblin society till this point, despite the goblin society trying its darn hardest based on what Viktor had seen to this point.

The two goblins' treatment had rubbed off wrong to Viktor, too many similarities to his goblin brothers and sisters in the well. So, he walked away from Fafi who was also exhibited signs of impatience at this point, she had tried to explain some things to Viktor while waiting but Viktor hadn’t paid much attention.

Viktor walked behind the two goblins, who were too focused on making Sneks life as miserable as possible. He took the rope on the floor in both hands and tensed up before pulling with all he had.

The effect was immediate as the rope tensed up. The two on top fell on their asses and let go of the rope while yelping, while Snek let out a yip because of the sudden jerk up. The two troublemakers with wide eyes looked over the shoulder as Viktor kept pulling Snek out of the Well while giving a glare at the two with his single eye.

Once a leg came to view, Viktor snarled at the goblins on their asses and motioned with his head at the leg.

The two scampered towards the well, burning with enthusiasm like hounds smelling the butcher's leftovers.

A bruised and battered, snotty Snek plopped onto the overgrown village ground with the help of two saintly gentlemen goblins. One of them even offered a bone from its loin cloth to Snek.

After letting go of the rope, Viktor stood still, hands crossed as he kept glaring at the two.

He suddenly felt something touching his right arm and glanced sideways and saw Fafi groping around him while making “ooh” and “aah” sounds.

“Sssstonkk” Fafi declared when she noticed Viktor's look, making Viktor’s glare melt and he gave her a chuckle while shaking his head.

He didin’t really have immunity towards the goblin woman, the lasses in his village had not been… This direct and touchy.

He uncrossed his arms and let them fall to his sides and turned back towards the trio.

Snek was munching on the bone while looking at Viktor and Fafi while the two did the same sans the bone munching.

Viktor glanced back at Fafi who kept poking and pinching his right arm while ignoring the trio.

 He then looked back at the trio again who were still looking, before returning his glance to Fafi the second time before tapping her forehead with his left arm, making her turn towards Viktor.

Viktor motioned with his head at the trio, turning Fafi’s attention towards them.

She stared at them and they her for a few seconds, before she turned back at Viktor and shrugged her shoulders. Her eyes were saying ‘who cares’.

She still stopped her groping session and stepped away, towards the trio and kicked one of the two whose names Viktor did not know. She then grabbed Snek by the scruff of his neck and started to walk away from the well while dragging Snek who did not care one bit that he was being dragged and kept munching on the bone.

 

She paused and looked back at Viktor and probably smiled at him beneath the mask.

“Come, come. Letss meet tribe. Vukk and Tukk too~”

 

They walked among the ancient trees on pathless, erratic forest ground filled with small foliage, rocks, fallen trees and branches overgrown by vibrant green moss that covered everything in the forest.

It grew in the branches spread over them, the ground, rocks and fallen trunks. Only fresh and young Subshrub was clean of it.

 

Fafi had grown tired dragging Snek after a while and now he was walking on his own with Viktor behind Fafi followed by Vukk and Tukk as the rearguard.

None of the gobins carried weapons, unlike the ones that had hunted Viktor before.

They just lazily walked behind Fafi and chattered about goblin things while lazily scratching themselves.  

Fafi was the only alert along with Viktor as she led the group deeper into the massive forest.

Snek occasionally asked Viktor stuff and even offered his bone that he claimed “had not been chewed.”

The questions had been mostly irrelevant and odd. Questions like “where he had lost his other eye “ or “Why is the eye green” and “Why are you not green.”

Snek seemed to have warmed to Viktor’s presence immensely after he had dragged him out of the well. At the least he was no longer afraid of Viktor. And Viktor was not sure if that was a bad or a good thing.

Ah, heck, who was he trying to fool. Just like Snek had taken to him, he had taken to him.

He reminded him of the younger millers' apprentices. Stupid and kind of cute. In a big brotherly way, he chattered with Snek about mundane stuff and answered the goblins' questions whilst not caring much.

They walked past a skull of a canine, most likely wolves, with antlers added to it and erected on a post. The wolves' teeth had been removed from its skull and were strung in a string necklace hung on the antlers.  

Fafi glided her hand over the skull as she walked past it while humming a rhythmic tune without words.

“Home soon, Paley” Snek said addressing Viktor, nodding at the post. “Tribe totem.”

 

After a while, smoke was visible, rising from a valley in the forest. The trees were growing in an angle as they grew on the valley's sides, forming an odd ceiling like crown over the valley.

Upon the edge Viktor saw small hovels circling around the sides of the valley, using the slanted trees as support beams for a makeshift ceilings with sticks, foliage and moss and clay.

Hopefully clay.

The hovels were not slanted like the valley, but thick sticks were used as beams and supports were added below them as the foundation and the floor itself was made of small tree trunks and the floor was evened out with mud and clay.

The hovels were on multiple levels and wooden platforms and bridges connected the hovels on the same levels. The moss on the roofs that was everywhere in the forest slightly hid them from the eyes of the outsider.

There was a single path made of trunk of fallen trees, dug halfway underground, making a makeshift stairs cutting through the valley and leading in the valley floor.

On the other sides on the steep valley were sharpened spikes on multiple layers erected at an angle towards the outside around the village as a makeshift outer wall.

Should someone try to surprise the village and not use the stairway, one might find a slippery or an uneven ground beneath the moss and fall upon the spike wall.

Beyond it was, before the first level of habitation large tree trunks that had been erected in the ground with more trunks placed sideways between them to form a low wall around the village.

Up above, around the valley watch towers had been erected up in the trees.

Simple footholds had been cut into the trees to act as makeshift ladders and above simple platforms that were camouflaged in the foliage.

There was even a makeshift gate with more spikes blocking the stairs on the highest level of the village that stood open at the moment.

At the heart of the village, on the valley floor below, was a massive bonfire where smoke rose high above.

 

Viktor was surprised at the size and the quality of the village. As he stared at the competent craftsmanship in the forest, Fafi hooted at the village in a shrill voice. “Whooooo~”

“”””Whoooo”””” The village answered in kind as the inhabitants milling around glanced towards them in interest.

Snek smiled at them goofily as Vukk and Tukk waved at some acquaintance of theirs in the watchtower before heading towards that tree the watchtower was, but not before giving a quick nod towards Viktor and then Fafi who didn’t pay any attention to them as she began to descend the stairway.

“Come, come paley!” Snek urged as he followed Fafi who stopped and turned around and urged Vkitor and Snek.

Snek grabbed Viktor’s arm and dragged him with him to follow Fafi.  

They descended towards the valley's floor. Viktor was in the centre of attention as many heads poked out of their hovels and goblins lounging around the platforms, eating or tinkering with something, stopped as they passed and stared at him with interest.

 Even here, he was taller than most.

He perhaps saw a couple of goblins as tall as him.

While most had a slightly wary look on them when they observed him, the tall goblins, normally holding a weapon, looked at him with careful, yet calculative interest.  

 

When they reached the bonfire below, Fafi took them inside a large hovel. The only hovel that had stone among its construction material. The hovel had no windows, only a large entrance.

The inside was vast, as the goblins had expanded the hovel by digging inside the valley slope and supported the expansion with more beams of wood. The inside was smoky and dark, a large firepit in the middle provided the only illumination.

Large makeshifts tables with carved benches on the sides as seating sat on both sides on the fire pit and armed goblins lounged around and ate or played some sort of games with teeth and bone pieces, a few even snored calmly in the hubbub of goblin chatter.

Behind the large fire pit sat a large goblin, easily taller than Viktor.

It lounged on a tree stump that had been carved into a throne, skulls and bones decorated the throne while the crafter had used pelts of myriad of beasts as cushioning.

A couple of female goblins lounged around his knees while smoking wooden pipes.

 An axe occupied the large goblin's lap while a shield stood leaning against the throne's side.

The goblin was almost clothed like human with makeshift trousers and leather boots while his upper body was only covered by a bear pelt as a cape, the beasts maw rested upon the goblins head as a head dress.

The goblin was almost as scarred as Viktor, albeit it was deep green and wasn’t missing an eye like Viktor.

The brute lounged while supporting his chin with his hand while his other hand scratched one of the female goblin's head who had her eyes half closed and enjoyed the giant’s touch.

When the chief’s guards noticed the trio, they grew silent, the ones sleeping were woken up by the ones next to them as they eyed the newcomers silently.

The chief turned his attention towards the tables as they grew quiet and noticed Fafi.

He was about to turn away again just as he laid his eyes upon Viktor standing next to a very meek Snek.

The large goblin's emotion did not shift as he calmly looked at Viktor, who shifted uncomfortably below the gaze.

“Faafi.” A slow but deep voice echoed in the hall, made by the chief. His hand shifted from his chin as he straightened himself on his throne while looking at Viktor.

“Yes, chief?” Fafi asked as she bowed humbly, a gesture followed by Viktor before Snek joined him in panic.

“One?” the chief asked.

“Yes, chief.” Fafi acknowledged the question while keeping her head low. “But strong.”

Suddenly the chief jumped on his feet, avoiding the females who just tutted in annoyance before scuttling away from the chief who crouched and jumped over the firepit, landing with a thud on the other side in front of Fafi.

Now standing, the goblin was easily two heads taller than Viktor, comparable to a short human. It looked aloofly at Fafi who glanced up warily at the chief.

The chief motioned with his hand and Fafi scampered out of the way next to one of the tables.

He then turned towards Snek and raised an eyebrow like he only now noticed him, who wobbly backed out of the hovel while nodding furiously.

The chief then suddenly leaped at Viktor while turning towards him and punched him in the face, sending Viktor flying to the floor.

The tables hooted as it sent Viktor flying.

Viktor grunted as he hit the floor and rolled away from the chief and got on one of his knees and hands while turning towards the chief.

The chief did not follow up after the punch and just observed Viktor calmly.

Viktor snarled at the Chief who snorted at him while flexing his muscles calmly.

Viktor pushed himself as he leaped at the hulking goblin, trying to grab him at his waist and pulling him down with him.

When he neared the chief, the chief's right leg rose and Viktor landed face first into its boot sole, earning another hoot from the peanut gallery and Fafi covered her face with her hands while Snek was wincing while looking through the doorway with a bunch of other goblins.

With his momentum gone, Viktor slumped to the floor with a thud. The firm leg that had stopped him landed on top of his head, earning the chief snickers around the room.

The chief himself was quiet the whole time, only observing Viktor.

It tapped Viktor’s head with its foot while tilting its head and turning over to the tables and glaring at the peanut gallery, instantly silencing them.

He pulled his foot off Viktor’s head and pulled him up.

Viktor winced as the chief used its hand to grasp his neck and pulled him up to eye level.

His legs failed helplessly in the air as the chief extended his hand and held Viktor high. Its calm eyes still observing every action Viktor took.

Viktor grasped the chief's hand that was holding him up with ease, its muscles ballooning.

Then the grasp around Viktor’s throat tightened as Viktor grasped for air and his struggling intensified in the chief's grasp.

In desperation, Viktor’s single eye glowed green as he instinctively activated life drain, and for the first time during this scuffle, the Chef's demeanour shifted as surprise took it.

It lowered Viktor back onto eye level and twirled around before throwing Viktor against the wall.

With a heavy thump, Viktor slammed into the upper part of the wall that was made of wood next to the doorway and slowly slumped down.

There was a moment of silence in the hovel before the chief grumbled while staring at Viktor, “Fafi you lied.”

Before he rumbled into hearty laughter as he walked over the dazed Viktor and picked him up by the armpits while looking elated. “You found me another Shaman.”

“Wh-Yes?” Fafi squeaked in a daze while peeking through her fingers beside the table.

Viktor looked warily at the laughing chef and then at the stupefied Fafi.

The peanut gallery was hooting again and were now stomping the ground with vigour and Snek was squealing in the door way with a bunch of goblins looking at the chief who twirled around while hold Viktor up and laughing like a proud father upon seeing his firstborn.

In his mind, his own peanut gallery, whom he had ignored for a while, was hooting as well as Percy and Higgins joined the crowd with their cheering.

 

Viktor decided to let things go and go with the flow. Goblins be goblins. He did knee the chief in the face out of spite after getting his ass beat, but the idiot just kept laughing and prancing around the hall while his guards joined him and danced around them while hooting, cheering and stomping the ground in rhythm.

Fafi was now leaning on the table while the chief’s women came next to her as they watched the chief celebrating. One of the women offered Fafi her pipe that she gladly took and inhaled in big breaths through her mask as she dazedly stared at what had turned into a party, before bursting into hysterical laughter. Causing the consorts to roll their eyes before they joined her in laughter. They clapped in the same rhythm as the stomping and hooting.

Snek had snot falling from his nose as he and the goblins outside also stomped, clapped and hooted whilst more and more goblins gathered to see what all this commotion was about.

Soon the party was in full swing and a stupefied Viktor was the guest of honour.