Goblin Nation

DIREFANG’S CITY

More than a thousand goblins, and all the Dark Knights, perished in the fire from what Direfang could tell. Grallik had survived, though barely. He was being treated by Horace on the bluff where the stone spire once stood. The wizard was scarred all over from fire, all of his skin looking wet with blisters, no doubt appearing hideous as far as men and elves were concerned. Because of that alone, Direfang knew the wizard would forever stay with the emerging goblin nation.

Maybe that was good, Direfang thought. The wizard had given so much of himself.

The hobgoblin had not been able to find Mudwort or Thya, the greatest of his band’s stonetellers. But Draath had survived, and the Skinweaver had vowed to teach promising younglings the art of working magic through the earth. Graytoes said she would help too. Jando-Jando stood behind her.

Direfang silently regarded the yellow-skinned goblin. Umay was tucked in a pack on her back, wrapped in a faded cloth with metallic threads in it. Graytoes leaned on a spear she said she’d found in the forest the night of the fire. It was a crooked wooden thing that was charred in places and from which dangled a couple of yellow and green feathers that appeared as if they’d just been plucked from a bird. When the light hit the spear just right-or when Direfang looked at it from an odd angle-the spear looked different, singular, dotted with gems and seeming to be straight and perfect and smooth. But that might be his mind teasing him, so he dismissed it from his thoughts. He had more important things to worry about than Graytoes’s spear.

The surviving goblin horde had decided to follow the river east, to where the forest met the base of the dwarf mountains.

They would build their new goblin city there, fashioning earth bowls like Mudwort had taught them and cutting down trees that Orvago would mark as best for building. Some would make their homes in nearby caves-those goblins who preferred the earth all around them. And if no caves could be found, Draath and the other stonetellers would fashion some. He hoped the dwarves would not take exception to the goblins’ presence.

More goblins would come, called through the earth. Graytoes said she intended to continue the calling. She also claimed that she would teach Umay how to stonetell, and that one day she would pass the old, crooked spear along to her dwarf daughter.

It would take a very long time, Direfang knew, to establish a firm foundation for the goblin nation. He would grow old and die before it was strong and a force to be feared and respected.

But it would happen; he was never sure before, but he knew in his heart that the goblin nation would be forged. “Finally free,” he said.