‘How?!’ 

Ash panicked as a flurry of thoughts gripped his minds. How did she know?! 

Had she been stood there long enough to overhear their conversation? Or had it been the envoys? Had they actually possessed a perception spell that had allowed them to sense Calixxa after all? But why hadn’t they acted then? 

And even if they had, calling in a tier four elder to apprehend a child seemed like a massive over-kill. He’d barely seen a sliver of the Everwatch tribe’s strength during his visits, but he’d seen enough to know that they could put to muster a force of tier two’s large enough to make easy work of just him and Myr. 

No, something didn’t sit right with him. There was something else afoot. Elder Sylaxxa didn’t strike him as someone who would deign to attend to such an easily delegated duty either. Unless, they knew not only of Calixxa, but about what the girl had told him of. Of her ill luck. Was that why they were there? To eliminate her? 

Ash tensed and his mana roiled as a result. He didn’t think that he had even a sliver of a chance of besting such a powerful being as the elder, but he hoped to give Calixxa a chance at least. 

Elder Sylaxxa seemed to notice his surging mana and cackled in amusement. 

“Feisty one, aren’t you, child? Hah. Calm down, I’m not here to harm the little one if that’s what your fear is.” 

“What child? The-” began Ash in a desperate attempt at throwing her off. One even he knew was unlikely to work, and Myr even more so, seeing as how she cut him off with a glare and a hand pressed against his mouth. 

“She was cast out from her tribe.” said the woman as she cut in. “All we’ve been doin’ is keepin’ her safe.” 

“I see. Well, that is good of you to do so, but it does not change the fact that I must take her with me. Or will you allow her to stay here until her poor fate sees you both dead?” 

His eyes narrowed. So, the elder did know. That realization only served to unsettle him even more. 

“What will you do with her?” he questioned, and perhaps a bit more brusquely than should have been tolerated. Fortunately, Sylaxxa seemed to not care and maintained the same casual smile she’d worn since she’d stepped inside the burrow. 

“I will rest-” The goblin paused, and her eyes opened then. Those deep pools of silver and darkness stared Ash’s way with an intensity that made him flinch, and yet, for all her focus, he suspected that it wasn’t really him that she was looking at. A moment passed in thorny silence before his suspicion was proven true. 

“Yes, I’m back. Does that annoy you?” asked the elder in a mischievous tone that would have been more appropriate on a child than a wizened senior. Ash didn’t respond, and neither did Myr. They both had experienced this once before already. The goblin laughed then to some jest that only she understood. 

“Because this boy’s fate and that of my tribe is far more closely linked that I’d initially imagined. And that girl, for all the woe she may carry, is inextricably involved as well. To help the boy deal with this is to help my tribe. Besides, as well as you’ve done in suppressing her fate, you can't do much as you are, can you? The bharghest attack is more than enough proof of that.” 

A pause and the elder’s brow scrunched, a dozen more wrinkles forming as her smile slipped for the first time since her arrival. Ash tensed at the sight, and though she hid it better, he knew that Myr too had readied her mana. He still remembered well the avalanche of sheer power and presence that the elder had exuded all those days ago. It had left him feeling weak. Powerless. Less than human. 

In the face of that, what could he truly achieve? 

Likely nothing. But maybe something. 

A distraction, perhaps? Even a pebble could redirect a boulder with the correct positioning and application. It was more likely to be crushed, though. 

He hoped that he could avoid such a fate. 

Whatever conversation Sylaxxa was having seemed to have taken a sour turn if the sudden deepening of her frown was of any indication. 

“Kill her? That might have been an option long ago, not too long after she was born, but it is far too late now. Her fate has grown beyond such an easy solution. Whatever she has set into motion will come to be no matter what I do. I can only suppress her power as it stands. Perhaps not forever. The child’s affinity is great, and the burden she bears greater still. Only a tier seven or eight shaman would be able to shield her from the brunt of her curse, and it would only be at the risk of offending the gods of our people. No, I will shield her until her fate comes to be, as it inevitably will.” 

And with that, her attention grew shallow, as if she’d been looking into the far distance and only then saw the two stood before her. He felt her focus fall on him, and dared to speak despite the weight of her presence. 

“Why? If you know how her... fate works, and you don’t plan to kill her... if you can’t suppress it forever, then why take her in at all? She’ll be as dangerous to you as she is to us.” 

Well, perhaps not as much. She doubted whether her tribe would even look twice at an assault by a mere few bharghest, but if the next strike of ill luck was to be something worse? If it were to continue to escalate as he suspected that it could. 

Even a large and prosperous tribe as the Everwatch could be brought down. Surely the elder had to know that. 

The goblin laughed and then gave him a shrug of her shoulders. 

“Years, boy. That is how long I have foreseen the doom of my tribe. Of all my people and loved ones. Years of misery and dread.” The elder shook her head and spat, and he saw true pain flash through her expression for a moment before it faded to careful neutrality. 

“I do not know what shape it shall take, or when it will strike, but doom stalks us nonetheless. Do you know how it feels to live as such, Ash Pale? To wield all this power and still be unable to do a thing to save your people? I felt pathetic. Less so. For two years did I beseech my lady, Xxistami, for a revelation that will show me the path to salvation. One that will ensure the safety of my tribe. For two years I received nothing of substance. Perhaps, in my darkest days and lowest points, I would receive a flash of something; a morsel of hope to return some strength to me. But those were never answers. Not until shortly before your arrival on my doorstep, boy. Only then was I granted revelation!” 

“Revelation!” boomed the goblin again with such fervour and intensity that it nearly forced him to step away. Her eyes snapped to him and a bright, mirthful laugh left her lips that shook her whole body to its very core. “And in it, I saw you, Ash Pale! You and all you drew to yourself like moths to a flame! You will be our salvation, or a tool of our doom. It is a gamble, but how can I not place my trust in you and those you value? That is why I will take the child. To protect and guide her as best I can, until the day you rise and the fate of my tribe is made known. Is that not satisfactory?” 

Until he rose? He was... a saviour? Ash goggled at the sudden and unexpected burden hefted onto his shoulders. He was a child of prophecy? 

What kind of Harry Potter bullshit was this? He wanted to be Dumbledore, damnit! Not the Boy-Who-Was-Dumped-In-Goblinland! Was she going to reveal that Voldemort was also hunting him next? That it was his destiny to deliver the One Ring to Mordor? He nearly laughed outright then and there. And for good reason. It was a laughable revelation, and he would have if Sylaxxa’s eyes didn’t reveal the unquestionable sincerity that burnt behind them. 

Instead, all he could do was shove that revelation aside for the moment and softly ask her a far more pressing question. "You... won’t harm her, will you?” 

“I will not. I swear it on the Lady Xxistami herself.” 

Ash glanced towards Myr who noticed his confusion. “Their Mother Goddess. Also, the goddess of fate, the present, past and the future. Ain’t no surer promise than that, kid.” 

He nodded and returned his attention to Sylaxxa, and in those inhuman eyes he saw sincerity and determination, but a boundless hope most of all. It unnerved him to be the target of such a gaze. Still, he was hesitant. 

“If... I say no?” 

The elder cackled. “Then I will take her still, or do you believe yourself strong enough to stand against me?” 

Ash winced. He most certainly didn’t. 

“Okay...” he said after a long moment, and it pained him the second the words left his lips. Still, he knew without a doubt that it was the only choice he’d been left, and he could only trust that all would turn out well. 

◆◆◆◆◆ 

The following hours were... hectic, to say the least. Calixxa had been distraught when she’d learned of the choice he’d made, and Ash hadn’t exactly been any better. He’d tried to turn her mood by convincing her of how great a place the Everwatch township was, and how much better and safer she would be there. The little girl hadn’t cared a damn and had proclaimed that she wanted to stay with him. 

It’d gotten to the point that she’d refused to let go of his arms, latching on like a baby koala would its mother. It’d twisted his heart into ribbons to see that, and to hear her desponded wails echo around the burrow. 

His promises to visit as often as he could fell on deaf years, and not even the elder’s words seemed to have any effect. It reached the point that, finally, Sylaxxa had been forced to make a compromise that would be agreeable to even Calixxa. 

“You want us to live in the tribe?” asked Myr, shocked silly by what she was hearing. “B-but, we’re humans. No human has ever lived with a goblin before.” 

“Difficult times call for difficult solutions, human Myr. Seeing the little one so broken makes it obvious that this is the only sound course of action.” 

“Well, I can’t disagree.” admitted the earth mage, as did Ash. Living in their town would be leagues safer than living in the burrow would be, even if it would affect their lives in as of yet unconsidered ways. Having easy access to Calixxa would go a long way towards easing his worries, and to be honest, Ash was looking forward to the amenities he’d seen on display during his visits to their settlement being within arm’s reach. 

Besides, despite his stay in the forest, he’d always preferred the hustle and bustle of a city, and whilst the Everwatch tribe’s home came nowhere close in size or scope to his own home, it was the best substitute available. 

"S-so, I do not need to leave nice Ash?” came a soft voice from by his side. Sylaxxa glanced at Calixxa and nodded. “No, you will not, little one. They shall come with you.” A bright grin crossed her lips at that, and she burrowed her head deeper into his chest. He chuckled and wrapped his arms tighter around her all-too small frame. 

Myr watched them with a look of bemusement before her look grew more neutral. “Will this change the terms of our agreement in any way, honourable elder?” 

Sylaxxa snorted. “No. You may leave on your bi-monthly trade run as scheduled. In fact, you are due to leave in less than a week, are you not?” 

The woman nodded. 

“It will be hard going considering the state of your shoulder, even if you aren’t required to carry any great weight. I doubt that it will recover fully by then, even with the potions we provided. We could of course grant you access to a higher tier of potion, but it shall not come free. As large as we have become, my tribe isn’t yet developed enough that we can give away high quality potions without care.” 

“Er, I’d much prefer to avoid any pointless debts if that’s all right with you, honoured elder.” 

Sylaxxa nodded. “Perhaps then some assistance would be good. Take the boy with you.” 

Ash snapped his gaze to Myr and then Sylaxxa. “Take me where?” 

“On a trade run.” answered the woman. 

“Will that be... necessary? I mean, if we’re moving to the town and all that?” 

“I never said that it was to the Everwatch tribe’s township.” remarked Myr. Ash looked at the woman strangely. Where else would they go to trade? Unless there was another goblin settlement that was willing to open their doors to them, there wasn’t a single other location of interest in their section of forest as far as he knew. 

“You’re no moron, kid. You tellin’ me that you honestly never wondered why the Everwatch bother to deal with me?” 

To be honest, he hadn’t, though it embarrassed him to admit. There’d always been something more interesting or imminent happening that he’d simply never bothered to consider the details that underlaid her agreement with the goblins, but now that he’d been given reason to do so, he did find it odd. Myr was strong, but she was tier two nonetheless. She had nothing to really offer them that they couldn’t gather or hunt themselves. 

Not monsters. Not plants or material. 

So why would they bother to trade with her? 

What did she have that only she could provide... his line of thought froze as the answer came to him then. 

“You’re human.” he said simply, and she smiled and nodded. 

“Aye, kid. An’ what does that mean?” 

A trade-run that depended on the fact that she was human? Considering what he knew of goblins and the world in general, the answer was obvious enough. 

“They send you out into the human towns beyond the forest to trade?” 

Sylaxxa chuckled and clapped. “It is heartening to know that our would-be saviour is no fool at least.” 

“Congrats, kid. You’re a trader now.” 

He thought he was a mage. How his fate had turned in the blink of an eye. Ash really needed a seat to digest things.