Chapter 9: Exiting the village - a few variables

No one could leave or enter the village without Lake’s permission. This was because the barrier installed was under his command. Azeth, who hadn’t considered this, realized only when Dirt mentioned it.

“So, now we need to go and get Lake’s permission?” Azeth asked, a little uncomfortable with the situation, feeling like a trapped bird.

“Fufu, if it were any other goblin, then you might have had to do that. But me, I have special permissions to leave, thanks to this crest which Master Lake has engraved on me,” Dirt flashed his left arm, which was initially completely green like any other part of his body, but soon a black-colored marking appeared momentarily and vanished again.

Apparently, that was the mark provided to Dirt previously, and that was one of the reasons why he was able to exit the village and accompany the elders. He would have done it even if they rejected him, so rather than inviting trouble, Lake agreed to bring him along.

Anyone accompanying Dirt could also leave as he had the permission to open the gate, therefore, it was not much of a hassle for Azeth.

“Alright then, let’s leave,” Azeth said as he started walking towards the barrier, but Dirt didn’t follow him initially. He stood idly as if thinking about something.

Realizing Dirt’s absence, Azeth turned back and with a little confusion on his face, asked, “What’s wrong? You forgot something?”

“Master, I was thinking about informing Master Lake about our departure and how many days we would be out for training…” Dirt said as he tapped his chin.

“Wait wait, what do you mean by how many days?” Azeth was surprised even more.

“Um, obviously, training master. We have 15 days left, so how many days would we be out? If it is 10 days, then we can return back to this village, but any more, we need to go directly to the place where the Tribal Wars will be held. So I need to make a proper note about that.”

‘Ah… so he doesn’t plan on returning? He thinks we are going to keep hunting for all 15 days or something?’ Azeth finally understood Dirt’s mind.

He didn’t hate the idea though. He hadn’t come to rest or be happy with others. Protecting the goblins? That was more work!

Going out to hunt and increase his strength was the perfect thing for him, and since Dirt was going to do the same, Azeth realized that his task could end up being easy.

“Alright. Let’s meet Lake and talk about the matter…”

Having said that, both of them now turned the other way and started walking towards Lake’s Hut, which was rather bigger than any of others. It was made not because of Lake’s ego but out of respect for the folks that were under him.

It wasn’t all that far. Taking only ten minutes, both of them reached the hut. They didn’t even have to enter as Lake sat just outside, close to a banyan tree that was next to his hut.

There were a few other elders, some noticeable like Turd and Mud, and others seemed different with one of them holding a spear in his left arm and a scar in his right eye; a female goblin who was the same height as Lake, but with a little less muscle, yet she looked ripped! She held a bow and a quiver willed with arrows which rested on her right shoulder.
Looking at Azeth’s arrival, all of their gazes instantly shifted to him, momentarily shifting to Dirt as well.

“Lord Azeth!”, Lake’s face brightened up, a smile decorated by his lips. “Such a surprise. What brings you here so late?”, he had expected Azeth to rest after the travel and celebration. His presence was quite unexpected.

Dirt, on the other hand, who was just a step behind Azeth, spoke up and explained the situation. Hearing which, in synchrony, all the elders except the female said, “No!”

Lake, Azeth, and even Dirt were startled by such unison in denial.

“Are you mad? You want to venture into the forest at such late night where there will be countless other strong beings awake?”, Turd was completely against the idea. His words held some value though.

“Yes. And pardon me for saying this, Lord savior, but you are weak right now. The same is true for Dirt. We can’t recklessly endanger both of your lives!”, Mud added further, expressing his thoughts.

Another elder, who had the scarred eye, was called Giruk. He too was in denial, giving his opinion.

“With your strength, I doubt you can even survive for a night, much less 15 nights.

Giruk’s voice was deep, probably the deepest out of all the other goblins. In contrast to others, Giruk was the only one who was completely covered - wearing a leafy shirt and pants. One of his teeth resembled a tusk of an elephant as it protruded a bit outside the left side of his mouth. And unlike others, he was the only one who seemed to have a little bit of hatred, not killing intent, but something like hatred against Dirt and Azeth, which was evident from his killer eyes.

Either way, the elders were not ready to let them out, and Lake would probably say the same. Azeth was not going to accept their opinions if that's what they had to say. Therefore, he had no other choice but to force them to accept their exit by giving a good reason.

“Lake, you brought me here so that I can grow stronger, right?”, Azeth asked, reconfirming the initial goal.

“That’s true,” he nodded his head, agreeing to Azeth’s words.

“That can’t happen by just staying here. I need to go out and hunt some monsters so that I can grow stronger. The same holds true for Dirt; you know that very well after all, you too suggested the same.”

“That’s right,” Lake nodded his head again, a little hint of a smile seen on his face.

“Therefore, we need to go and hunt. That’s all there is to it.”

“Haha, true indeed,” Lake laughed out, seeing which the other Elders stared at him momentarily.

“But Lord Azeth, what the elders said also holds true. It is rather unsafe if you go out alone, so why don’t you accompany Elder Giruk and Elder Ella?”

Hearing that, Azeth had no words. He smirked inwardly, and that was because he was surprised by Lake’s mind and wisdom.

‘Look at him, he is indeed quite the smart one. Knowing fully well that if he agreed to my reasoning, the elders would be angry, he decided to change the demand by asking the elders to accompany me. It would not only make him keep an eye on me, safeguard me, but also will keep the elders in check by not hurting their ego.’

“Yes, that’s fine with me. That would be much safer option. What do you say, elders?”, Azeth asked as he stared Dirt and drifted his gaze to Giruk and Ella.

“Fifteen days… I need to be with Master Lake. So unfortunately I can only be with you for a few days, I think 3 days? There are preparations to be done. But you, Ella, I think you could accompany them for fifteen.”, Giruk said, asking Ella’s opinion.

Ella didn’t say much and just nodded her head, agreeing to what Giruk said.

“Fine then, it’s decided. Ella will accompany you both for thirteen days when you must return and join us when we are leaving to the battle ground.”, Lake concluded.

And with that said, they departed almost instantly, and exited the barrier.

…

About a hundred kobolds had gathered in a darkened cavern, the sole illumination coming from a few candles they had stolen from passing merchants, whom they ruthlessly killed. The kobolds wielded various weapons suitable for their size, including small daggers, short swords, and crude spears.

While their appearance was only half-human, their cunning and wit almost matched that of humans. It was no wonder they could ambush and plunder goods from petty merchants.

Among the 107 kobolds, one stood out, surrounded by the rest. Twice as tall and about three times bulkier, the Kobold Lord, supreme ruler of the Stone tribe, held a glinted sword with a saw-like appearance. Quite rusty but durable, he brandished it, often acting as a potential poison weapon, ruthlessly dispatching foes who tried to escape.

“My followers, are you all ready!?” Grimrock, as he was known, raised his sword and began his battle cry.

“Yes!” The reply came in unison, the ground vibrating with the combined voices.

“Do you have the will to win over others!?”

“Yes!”

“My followers, prepare your weapons! Let’s begin our invasion!” Grimrock roared, causing everyone to jump around and scream like maniacs. The entire surroundings trembled because of this.

Their aim was nothing but simple: a war with the other four kobold tribes and their complete unification.

This marked the beginning of a small war within the Kobold Races, where the Stone tribe was ready to attack the four smaller tribes - Tooth, Bone, Iron, and Steel tribes.

It was supposed to be a complete victory for the Stone tribe due to their large numbers: 107, and the presence of maniacal brutes. Unfortunately, a simple factor altered the entire course of history that Grimrock had envisioned. The variables were: Azeth, Dirt, and Ella.