The Goblin Nation

After a week of preparation, Artio and Natasha packed their bags filled spirits, clothes, utensils, and dried yams. The brothers were waiting outside the barn with Shuja, Mari, and Cyrus. The moment Natasha exited the barn, Mari and Cyrus jumped into her arms, crying their goodbyes. And they continued to hold on to Natasha's arms on the way to the wall. "Are you sure you want to go?" Mari asked her.

"Yeah, I need to let my family know I'm safe. And why just me, what about you? Are you sure you want to stay? Because unlike, I mean, your family is probably worried sick for you."

"Oh please, we're a serf family, No one expects me to come back dead or alive."

"Don't say that!" Cyrus intervened, "I would never live in peace, not knowing if you're safe out there."

Mari smiled, "Thank you, Cyrus. But I really don't have anything out there worth for me to return. I rather stay here with my son." Mari held on Natasha's arm tightly as they walk down the hill and through town. She tried her best to hide her sorrow, for this could be the last day they will ever see each other.

The goblins they met along the way followed them. Some of the goblins in the Lev tribe were saddened by the news of Rock's mother leaving. Although her presence was not as pronounced as Mari's, they still felt sad to see someone so close to the brothers' leave. They could already tell her spot in the tribe will be unreplaceable, especially to Rock. In contrast, the Razin goblins followed them because they were merely curious about the commotion.

Spat and the Legions were waiting at the wall and saluted Sun and his companions as they passed by them. Cyrus and Mari freed Natasha's arms and joined the crowd next to Dawn and Mabel. They stood in front of the gate, ready to depart, but they were missing someone. "Where the hell is Cossack?" Sun asked.

Running behind the crowd of onlookers was the latecomer, Cossack. His tall body towered over the small green goblins. "I'm here!" Cossack waved at them.

"There he is."

"So, everyone going should be here then?" Smoke held his finger up, "Let's see, me, Sun, Rock, Shuja, Stick, Artio, Cossack, and Natasha. Seems about right. Should we say our goodbyes Sun."

"Way ahead of ya!" Sun leaped on the wall and faced the crowd, "Alright, everyone! We will be escorting Artio and Natasha back to their homes. We will be gone for two days, and I expect all of you to be in your best behavior while we are gone. Spat and the Legions will be in charge of maintaining order; meanwhile, Flute and Violin will handle domestic affairs."

"Will Chief bring treasure back!" A Lev goblin yelled out.

"We're not leaving for a raid! This is an escort mission, so don't expect us to bring treasure outside the forest. Also, Legion, you are to follow the rules I've written down. If you still haven't picked up reading from my mom's classes, Spat will tell you rules. Break any of them, and I will break you. Now, does anyone else have any concern regarding our absence!" The crowd murmured among themselves, but eventually, silence replaced their whispers. "Then, I guess that's it." Sun jumped back down, "Alright, let's go! We got ten hours of walking!"

"Bye guys, I will miss you, girls!" Natasha waved goodbye one last time to Mari and Cryus.

"Come visit us!" Mari yelled.

"Don't tempt me!"

One of the goblin caretakers jumped out from the crowd, "Wait!" She called out to Natasha, "Ren made gloves. Ren wish Natasha wear. Ren sorry no time friend Natasha."

Natasha was surprised to see her former caretaker come and give her a gift. They did not have the strongest bond. In fact, Natasha hated her during her vegetative state, but their relationship became more amicable over the days they spent together. Maybe it was because they both cared about Rock or Ren learning to be more patient and empathetic after losing a friend. Whatever it was, it matters not for Natasha. "Thank you Ren. I'll keep these gloves close to me." Natasha tucked the gloves into her bag.

Ren smiled and hugged Natasha before returning back into the crowd. Rock noticed his mother's tears running down her cheek. "Mom, give me your bag. I'll carry it for you." Rock reached out his hand.

"Thank you, Rock." She gave the bag to Rock. Afterward, she reached out to Rock's massive left arm and wrapped her right arm around it while they walk, letting him carry her burdens. His massive biceps and broad shoulders were out of this world. She couldn't believe the small green goblin she was forced to raise could grow as tall as her, and possibly taller if he transformed into another a similar form as Sun.

The tribe kept yelling at them their goodbyes, and it took a while for them to walk far enough for the roaring sounds from the tribe to disappear. The tranquil sounds of the forest became their new background music. The birds singing and the leaves rustling on the wind created a peaceful, harmonious experience for the brothers. Aside from Sun, this was the first for Rock, Stick, and Smoke. All they knew before Spring was the cold soft snow, the frol.i.c.k.i.n.g deers, and the terrifying Timber Wolves. The orc.h.e.s.tra of birds mesmerized the brothers, and they excitedly called out the colorful birds they've never seen before during their hike. Sun was also enthralled by his brothers' excitement.

Natasha told them the names of the birds they see and hear, and told them stories about them. Artio, Shuja, and Cossack walked ahead of the group. Artio was carrying a torn-up map of the forest and a compass. Their first destination was south of the Crimson Branches west of the Razin tribe. Once they rest for the night, they will head south until they reach the edge of the forest. By then, a castle owned by Artio's uncle can be seen on the horizon. Artio and Natasha head there by themselves.

Cossack leaned in to get a peek at Artio's map. "Isn't it dangerous walking so close to the Maston tribe?" Cossack asked.

"Who are the Maston?" Shuja asked.

"You don't know who they are?"

"Nope,"

Artio folded her map and turned around. "Hey!" She called out to the brothers that surrounded Natasha like eager children around their mentor. "Sorry to interrupt your field trip, but I need to know if you guys ever heard of the Maston tribe."

"Maston tribe? I never heard of them," Stick said.

"What do you expect? They were born just this winter." Shuja said, "They're practically babies born yesterday."

"Haha! Said the one shorter than me." Sun joked.

Artio whispered to Shuja's ear, and she immediately relayed Artio's words. "Well, a baby like you still can't handle me, no more how big you are I'll still crush you between my legs."

"What?"

Shuja's cheeks turned red after realizing the innuendo behind the joke. "I didn't mean it that way!" She turned to her mentor, "Master Artio!"

"Yahahaha!" Artio laughed, "Ok, that's enough fooling around. We need to discuss something important. Ahem," Artio cleared her throat, "We are going to enter Maston tribe territory, and they are not isolationists like Razin tribe."

"So, what you're saying is that they are dangerous?" Stick asked.

"Exactly!"

"Fear not," Sun rubbed his nose and took his sword, pointing it towards the sky. "I will burn them away with my flaming sword!"

"And I will," Rock took out his silver and bronze bucklers and punched them together, "Pulverize them with my bucklers!"

"And I will slice them with my sickle!" Stick raised his sickle to the sky.

Smoke silently judged his brothers next to Natasha. "Smoke, aren't you going to join?" Sun asked.

"Alright," He sighed, "And I will crush them with my warclub." Smoke raised his warclub to the sky.

"Shuja it's your turn!"

"No! I'm not doing that." She protested.

"Why not?"

"Because you look stupid." This statement was like an arrow shooting through Smoke's heart. He collapsed on the floor, defeated.

"Anyway," Artio clapped her hands to get everyone's attention, "Maston tribe can be very hostile against outsiders, but not all outsiders. And they also have times when they are least active in their patrols. Basically, if the conditions are right, they will attack us."

"And what're the conditions?" Smoke asked.

"The obvious one is the season. They are least aggressive during the winter because no one in their right mind will come here through three feet of snow. Summer is when they heightened their patrol since most peasants are done with their Spring harvest and finished planting their Summer crops. Its the best time for them to come to the forest and chop down wood. Something the Maston tribe is not too happy about."

"So they're tree huggers?" Sun asked.

"I guess," Artio walked up to one of the pine trees, "Now the second thing you need to know is the trees. The forest is special to them, and they will do whatever it takes to protect it. It's one of the reasons why dwarves don't patrol these parts the Maston can do their job for them. But there is one type of tree you don't want to be near, a bright red tree known as Tungstree. It's the strongest tree in the known world, able to go through the harshest storms and survive volcano eruptions. Because of this, most people that come through these parts harvest these highly valuable trees."

"And I'm assuming these trees are holy to the Maston. So going near these trees could get us mistaken as an invader trying to chop their trees."

"Exactly. But avoiding those trees is rather simple. If we see it, we move on. And finally, the third condition for angering the Maston tribe, are you a woman or a man?"

"What?"

"Maston is a matriarchal society, and from what I heard, they despise men, and they often target men that walk in on their territory. And the problem is, as you can tell, five of us are men."

"Sorry, but what do you mean by matriarchal Master Artio?" Shuja asked.

"Its a tribe ruled entirely by women. I don't know much about the men, but I know their leaders are women. Basically, if you guys treat women like trash in your tribe's past, that's pretty much the opposite of Maston."

Natasha covered her mouth in shock, "I didn't know such a goblins tribe exist. How do you know so much about them?"

"I told you, my relatives are near this part of the forest. We know a lot about the goblins in those parts than the north or eastern part of the forest." Artio walked back to the group and reached for her bag. "Anyway, you boys are going to be hunted down by the Maston tribe's women."

"Then why not go the other way," Rock suggested.

"Because adventurers often travel on the dwarven side. Cossack, Sun, and Smoke can walk the trail no problem. They can just tell those we meet along the way that they're half-angel and half-orc. The problem is the red goblins like Shuja. We can't exactly walk with them because they will be killed on the spot by any warrior that they happen to meet. And we can't disguise them as our slaves because the dwarves banned slaves from their kingdom. It's better to go this way, at least we can arrive at a place where my relatives are, and we can help Natasha get to her family faster."

"But what about the Maston tribe?"

Artio pulled out a wig and a bundle of cotton, "Don't worry. We can use these to disguise you as women."

"Disguise us as what now?" The brothers asked in unison.

"I said, don't worry. It's just for the trip, and I bet you guys will look cute. Right, Shuja? Natasha?"

Shuja showed a mischievous smile towards Sun, "Definitely!"

"Well, I'll be lying if I say wasn't interested to see my son in that wig," Natasha pointed at the shaggy red wig.

"Mom!" Rock yelled in protest, but they couldn't anything against the women because this was necessary for them to sneak past the Maston tribe's territory. They only wished the three women could hide their enjoyment as they play dress-up with their bodies.