Risha: Chapter 35

“Thank you, Elder.” Risha walked over to the Elder, and offered her hand to the kneeling High Goblin. He took the hand, and she lifted him to his feet, “Go to Glo, tell him about Kolo, and about my request of you.”

The Elder bowed his head, then turned to leave, the excitement of an outside party still making its way to her tent.

“Oh, one last thing, Elder.”  

Elder Kulos paused, and turned back to her.

“You look different,” Risha tilted her head, trying to place the change in the Elder, a subtle thing that she couldn’t place her finger on.

Elder Kulos smiled wide, showing his sharp teeth. It was the first smile she’d seen on the grumpy goblin’s face in a long time, “I just evolved.”

Risha blinked in surprise, “Just now?” 

The Elder nodded, “The system calls me a High Goblin Spymaster.” 

Risha smiled wide, “Congratulations!” 

“Thank you, Grand Mother.” The normally grumpy Elder left the tent with a smile on his face.

Risha turned to Elder Tya, who stared at her with a frown.

Risha dodged the staff of the old goblin, jumping back just in time for the knob on the end to miss her, “Foolish girl! You can’t cut yourself every time you want to make a point! Tya will just let you bleed next time!” Risha ducked under another whack, then slipped out of reach of a third bonk, only for her feet to be swept out from under her.

The goblins cheered something outside, mocking her defeat at the hands of the old goblin.

Tya’s wrinkly face appeared over her, still frowning. She placed the tip of her staff against Risha’s nose. Risha expected the spiderlings on her to hiss at the old goblin, but instead they all hid away from the healer’s glare. 

“Stabbed, clawed, cut. You don’t learn do you?” Tya removed her staff, then grumbled as she walked over to the furs Risha had been resting in earlier. Tya fell into the furs, and placed her staff over her lap. 

Risha pushed herself off the floor, and looked away from the harsh glare of the old goblin. 

“Risha’s sorry.” 

“Speak up! I’m old.” 

“Risha’s sorry, Elder Tya.” Risha answered. 

“Good.” Tya gave her one last glare, “I’ve been wanting to check in on you, but some of the injuries were… severe. I’m not looking forward to seeing some of the slaves Glo rescued.” Tya shook her head, and refocused on Risha, “Are you alright, Risha?” 

Risha shrugged.

“Hmmm. Come here.” 

Risha walked over to the old goblin. Tya reached out and snatched Risha’s hand in a quick move. An energy made its way through Risha’s body, soothing pains and aches that Risha hadn’t even realized she had. 

Risha practically fell into the furs next to Tya, enjoying the sensation of the healing energy. 

“Mhm. Thought so. So many cuts and scrapes.” Tya tsked as she shook her head. 

Risha didn’t have the energy to respond, feeling similar to the way she felt in Iris’s hot springs. 

Risha closed her eyes, luxuriating in the sensation even after Tya stopped putting her energy through her.

“How did you survive this long without me?” Tya grumbled.

“I’m good at surviving.” 

They sat in silence for a long while before Tya spoke, “What next, Risha?”

“What next?” Risha repeated, opening her eyes. 

“We’ve dealt a strong blow to the humans and freed their slaves, and this Kolo comes with more refugees. Do you plan to fight the surviving chieftains and the human’s at the same time?” Tya shuffled in place, her next words taking a moment to come to her, “Your people across the mountains still need their Grand Mother.” Tya frowned, “Without the orc war-party, the forests are coming alive, and creatures crawl from the depths. In the goblin city and in the orc town, tensions grow as hatred’s seeds bloom. Our leaders fight here with you.  How long will our people fight here?” 

Risha stared into the distance, her thoughts not fully forming as she tried to find an answer to the old goblin’s question. After a moment, Risha closed her eyes, “Just a little longer, Tya. Just a little more. Our people still die in the pits of the Art clan. We are so close.” 

“You cannot save everyone, Risha.” Tya’s voice was soft, “And you spread yourself thin.”

Tya didn’t wait for a response as she pushed herself up. She walked towards the exit of the tent, leaving Risha alone with her thoughts. 

Risha’s spiderlings crawled up her cloak, and brushed themselves against her. Risha reached up and pet them with half a mind, letting them know that she hadn’t forgotten them. 

Risha stood up, and walked out of her tent. 

Celebrations were in full effect, a large bonfire lighting up the evening in the center of the military camp.

Several goblins waved and cheered towards Risha, on their way to the ammassing party.

She lifted her head up. 

Risha had some time before anyone needed anything more of her.

She called out to the leaving goblins, and they welcomed her with excitement as she ran up to them. 

One of them held out a bottle of terrible tasting liquor and she happily choked down a gulp. 

The other goblins cheered as she coughed. She stood up fully and lifted her hand to the air, eliciting an even louder cheer. 

Drums echoed out, and Risha smiled wide. 

The other goblins ran with her to the dancing circle of the bonfire. 

It perhaps wasn’t the smartest thing to party in the middle of enemy territory, but the goblins couldn’t resist, after the total victory of their latest battle. The monsters still watched their borders, keeping an eye out to make sure nothing made it through the intricate traps that their spiders had set outside the borders of their city.

And perhaps, it wasn’t the smartest for Risha to party instead of planning her people’s future. But she didn’t care. 

She had spent a week on constant alert, with never ending fighting and running, only for the responsibilities of her position to fall on her as soon as she was safe in the hands of her people. Tya was right about one thing, Risha would cut, stab, and claw herself for her people, but she couldn’t bleed out. She had to be strong, even when she was weak. 

As the drums boomed through her camp, Risha danced without care, her limbs flying everywhere as she stripped down to her underthings and sweated with her people. The bright light of the fire and the moon illuminated her, making her glow as she danced with the magic of her people. 

As the party went later, Risha managed to win several gems off of a craftsman, then convinced him to create a set of wooden slats for gambling. 

The idea of the wooden slats passed through the craftsmen quickly, and a competition of who could create the best looking wooden slats started, with a group made of kobolds and goblins judging. The orcs joined in to the party in small groups. Most of the other races watched them warily, but Risha spotted a couple goblins waving them over to join them. Risha’s plan to have the military groups consist of many races was having small successes, and that was the best that Risha could hope for. 

Risha spotted several of the former slaves watching the activities out of the corner of her eye, so she took a break from her dancing. A goblin handed her a silk shirt, which she took with a smile and walked over to the watchers. 

The child covered in vines was the first to notice her approach, and she hid behind the man of cloth. He noticed the child’s reaction, and turned to Risha. 

The man bowed low, his hands together in a purposeful motion that Risha didn’t recognize, “Greetings, Grand Mother.” 

“Hello.” Risha said, “Don’t bow, we’re celebrating.” 

The man rose from his bow.

“You wanted to speak with me, didn’t you?” Risha stretched out her arms, reaching to te sky, exhausted from the long night of dancing.

The man nodded, “We,” he motioned to the girl and himself, “need protection.”

Risha looked down to the little vine-child. The child hid further behind the man, only her eyes peeking out, “Protection from who?” 

The man was silent for a long moment before answering, “Many. Human, elf, angel, dwarf, demon…. Dragon.”

Risha looked up sharply, “Dragon?” She knew the word from somewhere, a conversation she’d overheard between the grandmothers. She remembered the seriousness it had been spoken with. Risha also did not know dwarf or demon, but she had ideas of what both were.

The man lowered his head, “I am Talo, son of Cala. This is Aliya. Aliya is not… she is valuable.” 

Risha blinked in surprise, “Son of Cala?” She smiled wide, and stepped closer to the wrapped man to examine him. It made sense now that Risha thought about, the wraps were very similar to the ones Cala wore. What was Cala? Risha still didn’t know. Maybe this man could answer that. If the man was related to Cala, then Risha would not refuse his request. Risha owed Cala that much after the help she gave in the defence of her people. 

Risha nodded, decision made. 

“I will protect both of you. Do not worry.” 

“No questions?” The man asked, he looked down at the girl beside him.

Risha shook her head, then lowered herself to be at eye level with the vine-child. “You are safe, little one. I am a Grand Mother.” 

The vine-child turned her head, and Risha smiled wide. 

“Risha protects all little ones.” She lifted her arm and flexed, her purple skin showing her hard earned muscle. 

She stood up, then looked around for a moment. Her eyes landed on Leaf-Watcher, the kobold busy in a wrestling match with another Black Lupus Kobold. 

“Leaf-Watcher!” Risha called.

The white wolf swept the other kobold’s feet out from under him, and landed on top with a growl. She then laughed as she leapt off of the kobold and turned to Risha. She ran over with happy energy, her mouth wide in a smile. “Yes, Grand Mother?” 

Risha motioned to the man and the vine-child, “These two have been granted my protection. Ensure they stay safe.” 

The kobold’s smile disappeared as a serious look came over her. She stood tall, towering over everyone in the vicinity. Her gaze remained soft as she looked at the child, but there was a seriousness there as she bowed her head to Risha. “No harm will come to them.” The words came out a growl, a promise that came from her eagerness to prove herself in this task given directly by the Grand Mother. 

Risha smiled wide, then turned back to the man, “You can trust Leaf-Watcher.” 

The man looked at her with an unreadable expression.

“Thank you.” The words were quiet, but Risha’s sharp ears still heard them. Risha looked down at the vine-child, and was surprised to see tears gathered in the corner of the little one’s eyes. 

Risha’s heart twisted at the sight. She knew what it was to be a child and live every moment in fear. To fear the monsters that harmed her and her family.

Risha leaned down, she didn’t have anything on her except a small dagger sheathed at her waist for emergencies. It would do for now.

Risha unstrapped the dagger, and held it out inside its sheath. “For you. For when I am not there.” 

The vine child looked up at the man in cloth. He gave her a small nod, and she stepped out from behind him. She glanced warily at Leaf-Watcher, and the white wolf lowered herself to the floor to appear less intimidating. A hard thing for a creature her size. The vine-child’s eyes landed back on Risha, then she slowly reached out and took the dagger. 

Risha reached out, and patted the vine-child’s head, careful of the vines that twisted over her human-like ears. 

The child’s lip quivered as she held the dagger close. She quickly hid back behind the man in cloth. Risha noticed that his own eyes had softened with a faint wetness. 

Risha stood back up and turned to Leaf-Watcher. Leaf-Watcher gave her an understanding nod, one filled with the same empathy for the child that Risha herself felt. 

Risha lifted her chin, “Dance. Enjoy the party. Tomorrow we plan our futures.” 

The three of them bowed low. Risha smiled wide, showing her sharp teeth, then she spun around and walked back to the partying goblins. 

***

Epigraphs for this next week:

Chapter 25:

The Lin once protected our forests. They were great druids, and the very land they walked on welcomed them with its gifts. 

Until they were slaughtered. 

Greed took over the monsters of our planet, humans, elves, orcs, shades, demons, dwarves, and even the dragons. Nothing could resist the plenty that the Lin offered. 

Realizing that their extinction was upon them, they disappeared into their forests, gone from even our sight. 

Some think that they became one with the earth once again. Others say that they are merely resting, waiting for a world that welcomes them. I do not think they are truly gone.

-Miyala, Dark Elf Flame-Weaver 

Chapter 26:

Death always accompanied her. From her first days as a child, to this very day, when she mourns our people with the rest of us. Death was always our companion. But somehow, someway, she kept her sanity through every test of the overseer, through every murdered sibling. Risha never looked away from death, instead, she danced with it. 

• Elder Tya

Chapter 27:

Saint Michael, even the name brings fear. 

Empress Shyanne’s first and most loyal servant, his sword pierced the hearts of dragons and elves without error. 

If he had been by her side when the humans turned against the angels, perhaps then, history would be different. 

Never, ever, underestimate a human saint. Paragons of the system, and dangerous beyond your imagining. 

-Alalio, Elven Tender 

Chapter 28:

“What separates us from the monsters? The orcs, the goblins, and the slimes?” 

“Classes, papa.”

“Exactly! And here you are, gallivanting with a group of mercenaries, days before your selection ceremony. What if you were to get an uncommon class? Or system forbid, a common class? Those who are able to upgrade their classes beyond their stations are rare, and I have no want for such a fate for the two of you.” 

“Sorry, papa.” 

“Off to bed! Both of you!”

-Lord Aaron to his two sons