Village was peaceful in the morning. Whatever warriors or hunters there were they surely started their job before the sunrise. Goblins usually started their day by creating ambushes for any forest trespassers. No wonder they needed to start the day early.

Despite few still active campfires Gob shuddered from cold and continued to walk outside the barricade. It was guarded by a lowly greenskin with a spear. He was also active, snorting and growling in his sleep.

Gob went past him with no issue. He wasn't needed near the elder before the afternoon when the old goblin woke up. Spinecrack also wouldn't mind his absence as their loot from tomorrow was highly praised by the hob chieftain.

He wanted to look in the cave, but he knew that he shouldn't rush things. Every year the shaman would gather some stones in order to perform a winter ritual. Said stones would turn into ember like gems and would keep their heat for three days of the ritual.

Gob was once ordered by the elder to dispose of them after the celebration and they still reeked of ether. Although he didn't understand magic principles at all, he could tell that the human girl smelled way worse than them. Whatever magic was casted on her she shouldn't be able to leave the cave for some time.

His steps turned east as he followed a small path towards the mountains. It wasn't steep yet he couldn't really walk all that fast. He was too small and so it was easier to walk around many giant rocks and boulders instead of climbing them.

After an hour-long walk he finally reached the riverside.

The water was flowing down the mountain range. Amongst its clear droplets smashing on the rocks several small fishes could be seen. Gob ignored them despite not eating today yet. He instead followed the river bed until he reached a small shack made of branches.

"Keruek."

With no other invitation Gob peeked in the shack only to see an old goblin sleeping on a makeshift bed.

Quess she isn't home.

He turned back and moved further upstream until he saw a much younger goblin tinkering with a small wooden dam. The goblin was female. As long as Gob know she didn't have any distinct name. Just like the rest of the low class gobs she would be at most referred to as "you", but Gob already gave her a nickname before.

"Fishcatcher Keruek."

"Keruek."

She looked at Gob and continued with her work. She patched a small hole in the dam and regulated the flow of the water a bit. The whole construction was rather simple. Wooden hatch would allow the water flowing from the dam to enter a small enclosed basin on the left creating a small pond. There was nothing in the pond. Yet.

Gob came closer to the Fishcatcher and helped her regulate the water flow. It was a simple yet tedious task. Some wood here. Some rock there. Check if there are any leaks big enough to allow the fish to escape, if so try to minimize it and hope for the best.

After the dam maintenance both goblins set a simple net on the bottom of the pond by putting rocks all around it so it wouldn't swim away or enable any fish-escape possibilities.

"Looks good keruek"

Fishcatcher nodded and departed to take wooden spears from the shack. In the meantime Gob stood near the hatch waiting for the female. Few grown fishes jumped over the dam and swam downstream to safety. It didn't matter. They were way too big to catch easily and some of them even possessed the ability to shoot water-diluted poison.

They weren't dangerous by any means yet being dangerous and easy to hunt were two different things. Gob looked over the dam and checked how many fish were remaining. A few times a year grown up fish would swim upstream to lay eggs in the riverbed. Here were the river wasn't as fierce goblins would try to catch them for their meat and even low quality poison.

The Fishcatcher finally came back and gave Gob the signal to raise the hatch. It wasn't easy. The wooden part which the hatch was made of was heavy. It was probably a part of a metal enforced carriage he salvaged a few years prior. He wasn't sure though. There was a lot of junk he touched over the years of hunting. 

He opened the hatch and watched as the fishes, lazily enjoying their artificial habitat were suddenly pulled to swim forward in a much stronger current. The dam made a few creaking noises, but it stood still. Gob could already see some damaged parts they didn't properly patch earlier. Nothing mayor though.

After he counted a few dozen fish, he closed the hatch. Now was the fun part. He quickly rushed to help the Fishcatcher. She was already attacking the fishes with her spear. She also brought one for Gob. Together they stabbed the fish in the pond and hit those which tried to jump out, but didn't make it to the river. They were flapping helplessly trying to breathe with their gills.

Gob would just pound them with the blunt part of his spear fearing their annoying spit. The Fishcatcher on the other hand was skilled in dodging their shots. She rushed the unlucky bunch and grabbed them by their tails. Then with little ceremony she would pound their heads on the nearby rocks.

They worked for about an hour until they caught or lost all the fish in the pond.

Gob was then sitting and watching the Fishcatcher preparing the fish for transport. She would wait a bit for them to dry. Then remove their heads and stab them on a series of sticks. Gob always found this process fascinating.

The Fishcatcher was the first to break the silence.

"Old not learning me nothing."

Gob could tell she was practising the words he told her.

"The elder didn't teach me either."

"Gob already smart. Old just wanted mate."

She smiled and looked at Gob.

"He asked a lot."

"He can still move?"

"No... You... Can???"

She lost her words and fell silent. Gob couldn't tell if it was because she was embarrassed that she asked him or because she couldn't communicate properly. For all he cared she could forget about him already. For him to sleep with another low goblin would be to admit he is low.

Hobs didn't sleep with gobs. They would take human woman...

Gob suddenly wanted to go, but Fishcatcher's silent gaze stopped him in his tracks. He forced himself to change the subject.

"Down the river is lake where human live. Many fish there."

"Many fish here."

"Many many down the river."

Gob added the second many to make her understand him better. She gasped and fell silent for a while.

"Fishcatcher go there."

"You would rather die. Human kill Fishcatcher."

"Fishcatcher die and teach."

Now Gob was silent. He knew how the dam was made. The Old goblin got paralyzed by the fish spit. As he sank downstream, he ended up in a small pond near the river where the current led him. He survived and gathered many fish. How was the pond created Gob couldn't tell. Maybe a landslide created a small oasis for the Old goblin.

It was dumb luck.

The Old goblin lived. He saw the fish in the pond and created a barrier so he could catch them easier. He evolved the fish catching of all goblins. He changed the fate of the Fishcatcher. He also lied about all this bullshit.

Fishcatcher was still silent. Was she really thinking about going? Would she survive the trip to the human lake? Could she learn by some dumb luck... Could it be that he was being lucky right now?

He quickly stood up. He hated all those fools but maybe he needed something dumb to push him further. Something unheard of. Something unlikely. Like a human girl with a wounded leg trapped in a cave only he knew about.

The Fishcatcher saw his rush movements and gave Gob a stick with some impaled fish.

He grabbed it and ran down the stream without looking back at the Fishcatcher.

He couldn’t even hear her say a simple:

"Keruek."