by Pirateaba
Rags moved a piece. She traded a knight for a bishop and watched her knight get taken off the board. She immediately attacked again, aggressively pushing with all the pieces Erin had.
She could do it. If Erin could do it, Rags could learn to do the same. Besides, this player wasn’t Erin. How good could…could…
…
Rags stared at the board. All of her pieces were gone. Her king was surrounded, and he’d just been forced into a check that would lead to checkmate.
No. This other player had just taken her to pieces in a matter of moves. How?
Rags slowly tipped the king over. Instantly, the board began to reset itself as she watched. Numbly, Rags moved her own pieces back to their starting positions.
It was impossible. That was just a—a fluke. Rags was better than anyone else, except for Erin and maybe, maybe Olesm.
Furiously, she opened up the board, moving a knight out as a starting move. It was because she’d started with Erin’s game and not her own. But this time, Rags would play her own way she’d…
…
Lose. Lose and lose again. It wasn’t even a drawn-out game. Rags stared at the board as her king tipped over again.
Who was this other player. How—
The pieces were moving. Rags reached to pull hers away, but the pieces weren’t moving back to their original positions. Instead, they were forming a…face.
It was a basic face, the basic expression Erin would have recognized as an emoji, or a smiley face. It had two eyes, and an upside-down smile.
He knew. Rags stared at the board and felt the same feeling of smallness again. Whoever the other player was, he knew he wasn’t playing Erin. And he was disappointed.
For a second, Rags stared at the board. Then she hurled it off the table.
“Hey!”
The Goblin jumped as Erin shouted. The girl came over and picked up the board as the ghostly pieces reset. She glared at Rags.
“What are you—hey! You moved my pieces!”
She glared at Rags as the Goblin stared the other way. Rags couldn’t even face Erin. Shame and anger wormed through her stomach in equal parts.
“Aw. It was a good game, too. I thought I might actually l—well, maybe not. Anyways!”
Erin shook her finger at Rags.
“This is mine. I’m fine with you using another chess board, but this one is connected to another one somewhere and—well, I’m playing, okay?”
Rags shrugged, still not looking at Erin. She heard the girl sigh.
“Okay. Sorry for getting mad, but—it’s bad manners to play another game, you know? I’ll play you, if you want.”
And have her confidence crushed even further? Rags hesitated, but she still loved the game. Reluctantly, she nodded, and Erin beamed. It was hard to hate her, even when Rags tried.
“Cool! You just sit there and I’ll—oh?”
Someone knocked at the door. Rags turned in her seat, ready to kill whoever walked in as Erin called out.
“Come in!”
The door opened, and Rags saw a familiar face. Or rather, a familiar body. The Antinium still looked alike to her, but she could recognize Klbkch by his lack of four arms and slimmer physique. The Antinium nodded to Erin as he entered the inn.
He was joined by the other Antinium Rags recognized—Pawn. He was a good player, almost as good as Rags, but she scowled when she saw the third person who entered the inn.
The Drake.
He made much the same face when he saw Rags.
“Oh good. The stinking Goblin’s back.”
“Hey!”
Erin propped her hands on her hips as Rags stared at the Drake. He looked at her once without any trace of emotion, and then smiled and talked to Erin.
Rags listened impatiently. The two Antinium and one Drake weren’t alone. They’d brought twelve other Workers with them. And they were here for…
Chess?
No. But it seemed they wanted to play chess like they had before. Yet Rags knew the Workers who had played in the inn before, and all these Workers were new to her. They behaved differently, and with Klbkch in the room, they acted…differently.
“Well of course! I mean, I agreed to it and I love to play chess so why not? And I’ve got enough boards so…”
Erin began organizing the Workers while Rags stared at the black-bodied Antinium. Something was off. She couldn’t place her finger on it, but she had a sense this was different.
“Rags? Sorry, but I’ve got to teach some chess. You could play a game with me to demonstrate if you want.”
Rags had no interest in a game where Erin would stop every move to explain what was happening. She sat in her chair, watching suspiciously as Erin first ran through the rules of the game and then had the Workers pair up and play.
It was the same, but not. Rags remembered learning chess, and this was…different. The Drake yawned as he leaned against one wall and tried to chat with Ceria, but the two other Antinium watched.
And as the games between the Workers began, Rags knew something was wrong. It showed in every move, and soon Erin realized it as well. She saw the girl frowning, and knew the games would soon stop.
But Rags had no real interest in the whys and wherefores of why this was all wrong. She’d come here to relax, possibly to level up, but to learn something and…and figure out what to do next. Instead, she was stuck in an inn watching other people play chess – badly – and with the Drake.
Every now and then he would glance at her, and she would stare back. His gaze sent wriggling worms into her stomach, but she knew he was just as bothered by her stare. And as it happened, he had less patience than she did.
“Hey, mind if I toss this Goblin outside? She keeps staring at me.”
Erin was talking to Klbkch, but she looked over long enough to scowl at the Drake.
“Don’t be a jerk.”
He made a face at her, but desisted. For a few seconds. Then he casually propelled himself off the wall and ambled over to Rags. She tensed up.
The Drake stopped, standing over the table and staring down at Rags. He was grinning, but not in a friendly way. He bent his head and spoke quietly to Rags.
“I went looking for your little nest, but looks like you lot ran away. Lucky you; if you’d stayed I’d be turning in Goblin ears to the Adventurer’s Guild by now.”
She remained stock-still, fighting not to show any emotion. The Drake stared at her, and she saw the malice in his eyes. It was a familiar look, one she’d seen often.
“Of course, you’re too afraid to do anything than hide in this inn. If Erin weren’t here, I’d bet you’d be too scared to get within a hundred miles of Liscor.”
Rags bit her lip. She wanted to say something—do something. Anger was boiling in her gut, but he was dangerous. She knew it. Say nothing. Do nothing. Wait until Erin looked around.
“You lot are all cowards. The second I raise my spear, you run away. Makes it easier to catch you, I guess.”
Rags snapped. She looked up at the Drake, and saw his smile. Rags’ lips pursed, and then she spat.
A glob of spit landed on the Drake’s arm. He blinked down at it, and she saw his eyes narrow.
—Rags woke up on the floor, head spinning and jaw agony. She tried to sit up and fell back. Something was ringing loudly in her ears, and her teeth felt…loose.
Above her she could hear angry voices. The Drake was holding up two hands, shrugging his shoulders as Erin shouted at him.
“—dare you! How could you do that to her?”
“She spat on me.”
“You’re four times her size! And you’re a guardsman! You’re not supposed to hurt innocent people!”
“Innocent? People? It’s a Goblin.”
The Drake pointed at Rags as she slowly got up. Erin was red in the face as she yelled at him.
“Why are you doing this? You’ve never had a problem with her before!”
Rags saw the Drake’s eyes narrow.
&
nbsp; “I didn’t have a problem? I didn’t visit your inn, remember? That’s because I didn’t want to come to this inn and see those filthy little bastards running around!”
For a second Erin hesitated, but she refused to back down.
“But you came here. And I have rules. The sign says—”
“‘No killing Goblins’. Right, right. But I didn’t kill her. And anyways, who cares what the sign says? You’re not part of Liscor, and I’m an officer of the Watch. My responsibility is to kill Goblins and other pests. You can’t stop me from doing it.”
He pointed at Rags and she flinched. Erin just stared at him for a few seconds, and then her voice was soft.
“Why are you doing this? Why now? What’s wrong with her coming in here to play chess? What’s so different?”
“It’s different because Klb’s back, and our orders are to get rid of these things. And we will, believe me. The instant they start attacking travelers—”
Erin shot an anguished glance at Rags. Yes, there it was. Ceria had spoken the truth. Rags saw the half-Elf standing at the other end of the room. Her fingers were glowing, but Pisces was holding her back. Good. The Drake could kill them all quite easily. Just like Gazi.
“Relc. I will be fine. There is no need for you to act on my behalf.”
Klbkch said the words calmly, and Erin chimed in as Relc shook his head.
“Rags is just a kid. You can’t hurt kids—or anyone who’s not dangerous! She’s a friend.”
He glared at Rags.
“Great. So now I’m the bad guy because I’m the only person here with a brain? The Goblins aren’t your friends. They’ll stab you in the back first chance they get! Stupid little—”
He kicked out. The Goblin barely saw the foot before the table she had been sitting on flipped over. She cried out and tried to get out of the way. The edge of the table crashed into the ground, nearly crushing her stomach as Rags rolled aside just in time.
“Relc! You do that again and—”
The Drake looked at Erin and she froze. He pointed at Rags, and spoke with icy calm.
“I see this thing anywhere near Klb or the city, and I’ll cut it down.”
Rags stared at him, and knew he meant every word. She stared up at him, and felt heaviness settle over here.
There was no safe place. Not even here. She’d been relying on Erin, but she couldn’t stop the Drake with words. He was strong. She was weak.
She wanted to run. It was the same feeling she’d gotten, only magnified tenfold.
She was small. And when the Drake was looking at her, Rags could see the same sight. Always the same moment in her head.
A fleeing back, a blur of movement. The Goblin’s chest explodes as Rags hides in the grass, and the Drake crows in triumph as he severs the head. Neatly. So neatly.
The Goblin child hides in the grass, wide-eyed, trembling, watching staring at the torso. Such a familiar thing, but alien. How many times did those hands pick her up when she’d fallen? But the body is bloody now, and lifeless.
The child does not cry. She waits for death as the second one who raised her is cut down feet away. And then a third Goblin. She waits for the Drake to find her, but he only saw three. Three Goblins, and a child they left so they could steal from a lone human.
She hides in the grass, trying to be as small as possible. If she is small, he won’t find her. If she pretends not to exist, he will not hear her heart beating.
The bloody torso sits in the grass with her throughout the night and in the next day, slowly rotting and stinking. Until the human comes.
Reality hit Rags in the same moment the memory flashed through her mind. She felt it, the same fear as before. But never. Never again.
She couldn’t allow it. So Rags stared at Relc. His eyes were murder.
But she—
She drew her sword.
“Rags!”
The small Goblin trembled as she faced Relc. He towered above her, muscled, deadly. She was afraid. She was going to die. She remembered the dead, and wanted to run, to scream and hide, to cower. But she stood, holding her sword.
She would not be small again.
“See? What did I tell you? I’d be doing you a favor, getting rid of this thing right now.”
The Drake’s spear was in his hands. Rags hadn’t even seen him move. She knew he could run her through in an instant, but she couldn’t back down. Wouldn’t.
He was stronger, faster, more deadly. But if she kept running from him, she’d never stop. She couldn’t. She couldn’t be small any longer.
She looked at the Drake and thought of his name. Relc. She would remember it until she died. Whether it was now or in ten thousand years.
Relc. She would not forgive him. He was her enemy.
“Come on. Take a cut at me. I’ll even let you get the first three shots. Then it’s my turn.”
Relc beckoned with one hand. Rags wanted to do it. She wanted to strike, but then he’d kill her. She stood in a deadlock. She would not run. But she wouldn’t die ever. Not yet. Not—
“Stop. That.”
Erin’s voice was a cold piece of iron in the heat of the room. She walked in front of Rags and Relc and stared the Drake down.
“Get out of my inn. And if you touch Rags—”
“You’ll what? Hit me?”
Relc sneered at Erin. He spread his arms, daring her to take a shot.
“You can’t stop me. Not you, not that Goblin—not even you, Klb, so take your hand off the sword.”
Klbkch said something, but Relc wasn’t looking at him. He was still staring at Rags, and she knew that he was waiting for her to make a move. But she wasn’t looking at him, but rather, something above his head.
Rags looked up. Something blue and indistinct was hovering over the Drake’s head. His eyes narrowed as he followed the path of her vision and he looked up.
“Oh for—buzz off you stupid thing!”
He swiped at it, but the fuzzy creature dodged out of the way effortlessly. They always did. But as Relc raised his hand to chase it away again, Rags felt the air freeze, and then the Drake’s entire body was covered in frost.
“Graaaaaaah!”
Even the Drake wasn’t immune to cold. He clawed at his scales, and the Winter Sprite hovered around him again. He snapped at it with his mouth, but no sooner did he do so than the air seemed to get even colder, and his mouth was suddenly full of snow.
Icicles fell from the ceiling, materializing out of nowhere. Relc spat out snow, and nearly got an eyeful of ice. He roared in fury and slammed out of the door as the Winter Sprite chased him, letting the cold air blow in from outside.
“Wha—”
Erin was staring at the place he’d gone, but then she turned towards Rags, full of concern.
“Rags! Are you alright?”
She reached for the Goblin, but Rags stepped away. But Erin ignored that and reached out to inspect Rags’ face.
“Stop that. He hit you, didn’t he? I can’t believe that! How do you feel? Do you need an ice pack…some ice? Is anything broken?”
Rags pushed the hands away and shook her head. Erin tried to fuss over her, but Rags didn’t need it. She heard Klbkch speaking.
“I will make apologies for my partner, Erin Solstice, and to you, Rags. I believe he cares about me, and you. But he fought in the Goblin Wars and thinks of Goblins as enemies…”
Rags barely heard the rest. She sat back at the table, shaking. Her jaw ached. The flesh was already swelling, but that wasn’t important.
She’d done it. She’d actually done it. She’d stood up to him. She hadn’t run.
She wasn’t small.
“Rags? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
Rags looked up. Erin was back, trying to fuss over her. Again, Rags had to fend her off. But Erin kept coming back, hovering over her, anxious, fussing.
Just like the Goblins who Relc had killed. Rags could barely remember that time. Barely, but—
Af
ter a while, she slid under the table. Not because she wanted to hide; but because she couldn’t bear Erin coming over to ask how she was every few minutes.
No one saw her move. Rags was small. She was invisible, as Goblins were. No one looked at Goblins except as a threat or a pest. Only one person stared at them, and she—
—She was different. But she was busy, and so Rags sat under the table and thought.
Vengeance. Hatred. She would never seek revenge, even with the rest of her tribe it was suicide. No, now was a time for cold thought. The Watch was out for her tribe, but that meant she had to make the choice, and quickly.
Where could they go? The only ways were north or south, and south led to the Blood Fields and the Broken Spear tribe had sent her the threat of death with her messenger. They would fall upon her people and slaughter them should she go south.
North, then. The Red Fang tribe was marginally more accepting, or rather, indifferent to her tribe, but that would quickly turn to bloodshed as well if she stayed in their territory. So what could she do?
Think. Think logically about the threats she faced. Rags concentrated. What was more dangerous, staying here and facing the Watch or risking the wrath of the Red Fang tribe and monsters further north?
Even without the Drake—no, Relc, his name was Relc—the Red Fang Tribe was no match for the Watch. There were nearly a hundred guardsmen—well, some were always on the walls and many stayed inside the city—but the ones who went on patrols were stronger than Goblins by far. Even if not all of them were a match for a Hob one-on-one, they fought together, with discipline and intelligence.
Besides, the Red Fang Tribe would break themselves on Liscor’s walls. That was the real advantage the Watch had. They could defend easily and come out to attack in force at any time. If you make it an equal battleground, perhaps there was a chance…
But with Relc, there was not. He could kill four Hobs by himself, Rags was certain. In speed, strength, and especially his iron skin, he was another kind of creature, closer to a monster himself than anything else.
The Red Fang Tribe it was, then.
So then what? Did she bring the fight to them? How? The Red Fang Tribe numbered nearly a thousand, not even including the smaller tribes that paid them tribute. Rags had one special new type of weapon, some acid jars and explosive bark. How was she supposed to fight that?
