We stopped before a hut unlike the others. Its exterior was adorned with intricate carvings: goblins, orcs, and trolls locked in battle with elves, their limbs twisted in impossible contortions. On both sides there was also a mix of creatures—Ones that I had never seen before.

I stared at the carvings, their details vivid and deliberate. What was this place?

Another carving caught my eye, it showed the creatures bowing in worship to multiple figures, but one stood out in particular, a serpentine creature with horns on its head and wings along its back.

Unan knocked lightly, the sound muted against the damp wood. “Zee, it’s me.”

The door creaked open, revealing a single suspicious eye peering out. After a moment, the door swung wide, and Zee stood there, his expression one of wary relief.

“Unan,” he said, his gaze darting over Unan. “Glad to see you’ve left her behind.”

Unan frowned but said nothing, stepping inside as Zee glanced around, scanning the area.

“She’s my conjugate,” Unan said finally, his tone defensive. “Her name is—”

“Bah!” Zee interrupted with a dismissive wave. “I don’t care for her name.”

He stepped aside to let us in, shaking his head. “She just wants to use you, Unan. You’re the one who should be the next chieftain.”

“Again with this,” Unan groaned, running a hand down his face. “I’ve told you, I don’t want to be chieftain.”

“Tsk, tsk,” Zee muttered, his voice dripping with disdain. “That lack of ambition will get you killed.”

Unan laughed, flexing his chest muscles in a ridiculous display. “Who would dare? No one in the tribe could harm me.”

Zee’s unimpressed gaze shifted to me.

“And here we have the great warrior,” he said, his tone laced with sarcasm.

“One dart seemed to be all it took,” Zee murmured under his breath, his eyes narrowing as he paced the cluttered room.

I followed his gaze, taking in the interior of the hut. It was a chaotic mess of stacked books, discarded trinkets, and strange gadgets whose purposes I couldn’t fathom. The faint scent of old parchment and dust lingered in the air. This was no ordinary goblin’s dwelling—Zee’s home spoke of an eccentric mind, one more concerned with knowledge than warfare.

I snorted, shaking my head at the disarray.

Unan, standing tall and self-assured, ignored my reaction. “Zee,” he said with a note of authority, “the tribe is holding a banquet tonight to celebrate our victory over the elves.”

Zee froze mid-step, turning slowly to face Unan. “Victory, you say? What victory? We barely managed to fend off their scouts.” His voice was sharp, laced with disdain.

“With the great warrior by our side,” Unan declared, his chest puffing out as he gestured toward me, “we will invade and take down their stronghold.”

My ears flattened against my skull, and I shot Unan a bewildered look. His confidence was almost comical, considering my current state. Every step I took sent jolts of pain through my body, and my mana reserves were dangerously low. Yet here he stood, proclaiming me the savior of their war.

Zee groaned, smacking his hands over his face as if the absurdity of it all were too much to bear. “You’re too optimistic, Unan.”

“Optimistic or realistic?” Unan countered, brushing the comment aside with a wave of his hand. “With the great warrior leading us, the elves’ defeat is inevitable.”

Zee sighed heavily. “You sound like the chieftain. Perhaps worse. Do you even hear yourself?”

“Regardless,” Unan said, his tone resolute, “you have to join us, Zee. Chief’s orders.”

Zee’s eyes narrowed, his suspicion evident. “Chief’s orders? I don’t believe you.”

Unan’s grin widened. “When have I ever lied to you, brother? Even when you visit that evil spirit—”

“Shut it!” Zee’s hand shot up, silencing Unan mid-sentence. His head snapped toward the door, his eyes scanning the dim forest beyond as if expecting eavesdroppers.

The tension in the room thickened. I tilted my head, curious about the “evil spirit” Unan had mentioned, although I had an inkling of what it was. Zee, for all his bluster, looked genuinely unsettled.

After a long pause, Zee lowered his hand and exhaled. “Alright… I’ll come.”

Unan clapped his hands together, his earlier bravado returning in full force. “Good! That’s settled then.”

He turned to me, his grin broad and unwavering. “Tonight’s going to be glorious.”

I huffed in response, my mind already spinning with questions. What was this talk of an invasion? The goblins seemed far more complex than the feral creatures of Aurelian legends. As much as I loathed their crude manners and grotesque appearances, they were becoming harder to dismiss as mere monsters of the forest.

Zee crossed his arms, eyeing Unan with thinly veiled annoyance. “This is madness, you know.”

“Madness or greatness,” Unan shot back, his confidence unshaken.

Zee scoffed, muttering under his breath as he turned away, but I caught a flicker of something in his expression—concern, perhaps? Or regret?

Whatever it was, it didn’t bode well.

As they exchanged a few final words, I couldn’t help but feel the weight of the night ahead.

For now, I would play along. But deep within, I knew that whatever path the goblins had in mind, it would demand far more from me than anything I could offer.