"A quick word of advice should you ever decide to visit the goblin lands and participate in one of their rituals: have some form of birth control ready." - Common advice anywhere near a goblin territory.

By dawn the next day, Cal and Fheeri left their tents - goblins had not possessed a concept similar to inns and usually shared their houses with travellers - and breathed in the morning air. She stretched a bit and enjoyed the slightly cooler air in the morning while she could. As soon as the sun rose higher the weather would have turned into the sweltering morass that defined her stay so far.

They had a simple breakfast by a roadside stall, which consisted of a soupy porridge of rice flavored with many strong spices. It was served with chunks of fried meat and fatty sausages, and washed down with a local alcoholic beverage, made out of fermented sugar cane juice.

For the rest of the morning, they toured the city and looked around for souvenirs, or at least Cal did, as Fheeri spent most of her time gawking at all the things she saw. Cal had a private moment of amusement and had to suppress her giggles when she saw some wooden carved idols. Without fail, they sported overexaggerated phalluses or mammaries and buttocks, much like the idols Clan Grandtower supposedly had.

Lunch was simple yet robust and delicious fare. The food was simply chunks of meat, freshly chopped in front of them by the butcher before it was grilled over coals, with a liberal dousing of spices. While they waited for the meat to cook, a thick, hearty soup made with the animal's innards were served.

Cal wasn't sure what meat the animal was from, but the structure of the skinned leg she saw, as well as the ignorable discomfort the food gave her hinted that it was likely another kind of lizard endemic to the area. Either way, the soup was hearty and filling, with a sharp tang from the spices used, and a spicy aftertaste.

The roasted meat was tougher than the plumed lizard meat she had, yet more flavor came out of the meat the more she chewed, which was rather addictive itself. The lizard meat's strong flavor was balanced out by the spices, which imparted hints of fiery spiciness and a sweet-sour tinge to the savory meat.

A satisfied pair left the stall an hour later, and Cal was just about to ask Fheeri what she had in mind to do until the evening when a loud horn sounded.

Alerted by the noise, Cal turned and looked at the watchtower which sounded the horn, and heard other towers replicate the noise. Around them, parents grabbed their children and hid inside the huts, while other adults came out and readied ranged weapons.

The reason for the alarms soon came within Cal's sight, as multiple winged silhouettes in the sky approached the city. Many of the armed citizens had lined up atop the walkways on the palisades, as they waited for the flying monsters to make their approach.

Cal and Fheeri followed suit and climbed the ladder to the walkway. Cal had brought her crossbow out, a bolt loaded and ready to fire, while Fheeri had a larger than usual lead pellet in the pouch of her sling.

When the flying creatures approached, Cal saw that they were wyverns, but a different kind than the sort she saw in Knallzog. The sort she encountered in Knallzog were slender, long necked lizards with wings that resembled bats and long tails, often with a venomous stinger at its tip.

These wyverns had smaller bodies and no tails. Most of their size were from the massive leathery wings they had. They rarely flapped their wings and mostly glided through the skies, and their heads were dominated by long straight beaks filled with sharp teeth.

When two of the wyverns dove at a section of the wall further away from where Cal was at, she saw the defenders there - predominantly goblins - whirl their sling in unison and loosed as one. A literal cloud of solid projectiles rose and met the diving wyverns halfway. The balls of lead punched holes through their leathery wings, and Cal nearly winced when she saw how one of the creatures took so many hits half its beak broke apart.

Those two wyverns plummeted to the ground and never rose again.

Three other wyverns chose a section of the wall nearer Cal's to attack, and this time she fired off a bolt. Her shot only punctured a hole through the beast's wing, while Fheeri's was more effective. The lead ball she fired off her sling struck her target right by its left shoulder joint. The heavy projectile pulverized the hollow bones and rendered that wing useless as the creature spiraled uncontrollably on its way down.

As for the rest of the wyverns, they were smoothly downed by concentrated fire from the defenders on the walkway.

A few people were injured, mostly due to sling projectiles that struck each other in mid flight and were diverted their way, or poorly fired shots that went straight up, and hit them on their way down. Fortunately goblin skulls were tougher than the hollow bones of a wyvern.

An impromptu barbeque party was then held, where the wyverns that weren't too badly crushed by their fall were roasted and feasted upon. Cal was given a wingtip with a crisp sheet of wing still attached, supposedly a delicacy, and took a bite with some curiosity.

There wasn't much meat at all on the leathery wing of the wyvern, but the wing itself had been cooked to a crisp, and gave a pleasant crunch very similar to cartilage when Cal chewed it. The flavor was relatively plain, with a light savoriness and spiciness from the spices it was dusted with.

On the other hand, Fheeri was offered several thick, roasted bones, full of marrow. The therian girl happily gnawed on them, as her strong jaws crunched apart the bones. She devoured her portion with obvious relish, and the way she chewed bones as if they were crackers somewhat impressed Cal.

Later that evening, Cal and Fheeri observed the traditional pre-harvest ritual the goblins held every autumn. The old mayor himself led the rituals as they prayed for the blessings of the gods, while nubile dancers gyrated their bodies around the pyre. Cal had heard rumors and stories about such rituals, but wished to observe one herself to see how true the stories were.

Symbolic offerings were fed to the pyre as a sign of gratitude - Cal heard that long in the past the offerings were less symbolic and had included live animals and enemies from rival tribes - while singers sang praises in the goblin tongue. Fragrant incense sticks were lit, while torches are set at intervals, which made the fields nearly as bright as daytime despite the late hour.

Then followed the part most stories told. Thousands of citizens flocked to the fields, cheered wildly, and then proceeded to fuck one another wildly in the open. Cal declined politely when some locals invited her to join in the massive orgy that took place, and after a while she left with Fheeri for their tents as the night grew late.

The young therian girl turned around and stole looks at the ongoing carnal frenzy as she left, though.