“Stop!” Vraz cried as he ran out of the kitchen—it didn’t take long for him to reach the contest, though pushing past the hoard of goblins spectating proved difficult.

But Vraz didn’t care; this was a matter of life and death. He shoved, punched, and in one case, even bit his way through the unruly crowd of Shadow-Axe tribe members.

Vraz broke past the mob and yelled for them to stop once more. The goblin judges were currently taking their seats. Gikx stood before them, a proud smile on his face. Strum looked between his plate of Minced Steak and the oversized platter of grilled meat that Rurk no doubt seared off. Likely, there was raw meat in that mess. Stop. Focus.

The crowd hushed as Vraz burst into the center of the contest. He slid between Gikx and the judge. No matter how it turned out, Gikx would walk away without harm. To achieve that, Vraz was willing to sacrifice anything; he'd made his mess and would make it right.

Rurk shot him an evil glare. “Why! If it isn’t the mad dungeon’s other brainwashed goblin—what, did your master realize that you stand no chance of winning? Are you here to grovel at my feet and beg forgiveness!” Rurk slammed his fists on the table, a grin on his face. “Why I bet this crap the Hero made tastes like crap! Ha!”

He grabbed his fork and faked disgust while looking at the Minced Steak.

The aroma wafting off the meat was heavenly, and a single bite would surely melt in his mouth. Compared to that? Rurk’s unseasoned and partly charred meat stood no chance. Were it not for the Chieftain cheating, and this whole contest would’ve resulted in his clear and decisive loss. As it was, watching that fork threaten to stab into the Minced Steak—Vraz felt his heart twist.

How long had he dreamed of this exact thing? Of seeing this foolish warmonger die? But he wouldn’t do it on his friend's back, wouldn’t allow an accomplice to this revenge.

Letting this hate consume him for so long had done nothing but formed a pit in his heart. It’d stopped him and held him back from what he could be. He was as much of a monster as the one facing him right now. Vraz let out a deep breath and then bellowed out. “Do not eat that.” He jerked a finger towards Rurk.

“Why? Embarrassed? You know you’ve lost already! Admit it!” Rurk let out a laugh. The rest of the goblin tribe was silent. Rurk’s eyes darted to and fro as he noticed he’d been laughing alone.

Everyone had noses, so they smelled the food as it cooked and sat even now—they could eat with their eyes. While it might be true that in order to appreciate the meal, one had to taste it, all it took was a single glance to tell which meal would taste better. Rurk’s laugh turned into a scowl. He tossed his fork at one of his armed hobgoblins.

“Laugh with me! Or I’ll smack you!”

The hobgoblins started a fake chorus of laughter at the command. Vraz sighed. It’s like he wants to die. “I’m not telling you not to try it because I’m afraid of Gikx losing.” Gikx had a mixture of horror and confusion on his face, no doubt the goblin didn’t understand why he’d interrupted the contest. After all, Vraz led him to believe he’d win.

Mallik snorted and stuck his fork into the minced steak, taking a bite. He chewed at a glacial pace, his head swaying to-and-fro as he measured the food.

“It tastes dreadful. I agree with the Chieftain, so this is a clear loss for the dungeon. How silly these games are.”

Strum stood up, hand tapping on the table. “I disagree. Those that know the truth of this situation can see it for what it is.” The boss was undoubtedly already plotting his next actions after this, but he’d never thought Gikx would win. None of them did. Not even Vraz, as ashamed as he was to admit. Not until he saw Gikx’s perseverance.

“The Chieftain’s food is poisoned,” Vraz said. Mallik stopped chewing.

The speed at which emotions flooded Rurk’s face was almost comical. Disbelief, shock, and finally landing on rage. Rurk stood up, shaking in his spot. “How! We all saw him cook it!” His eyes turned to his hobgoblins. “Seize the Hero!”

No! They wouldn’t touch his friend! Gikx started to back away, and Vraz put his body between his friend and the enforcers. “Gikx had nothing to do with it! I tricked him! I told him to poison the food with a mushroom that looked like the others!”

Mallik frowned as he pushed his plate away. “Nightcap.” His fork clattered to the plate. “It is an insidious mushroom with a similar appearance to Mudcap. From this distance, no one would be able to tell.”

Strum stood up and cracked his neck—striding out from his spot behind the table and facing the other two judges.

“If you’re taking anyone! Take me! Gikx doesn’t deserve it—he’s a hero!” Vraz shouted again, trying to redirect the attention to himself. If he could spare anyone else getting involved, he’d accept whatever punishment they wanted to give. Regis made a lofty promise of forming a bond with him, but he doubted his ability to get back to the kitchen. Besides, there was a price to pay for what he’d done. Gikx was shaking behind him. One glance at the hurt in his eyes was like a spike driven into Vraz’s core. He’d sworn to make this right.

Strum didn’t care about his noble sacrifice, blocking anyone from coming closer. Even if they’d been willing to beat up Gikx and Vraz, they knew better than trying to face whatever Strum was now.

“The contest is closed. There is no winner or loser. We will be going back to the kitchen to discuss this further.” Strum said, crossing his arms and shooting a withering glare. “I apologize for my employee’s behavior; we shall address this problem internally and find a way to make this right.”

Rurk rose a shaking finger towards the three of them. “You’ve declared war! The dungeon has declared war on the Shadow-Axe tribe!”

“Regis did no such thing!” Vraz yelled back. “I did this on my own! No one else knew my plan!”

Strum glared at him. “Be quiet, Vraz. You’re done talking.” Strum cleared his throat and turned toward the goblin crowd. “You all have seen the incompetence of this tribe’s leadership, have suffered for years under this Chieftain. Even this very day, you’ve seen him and the Shaman make a mockery of our traditions. To so blatantly cheat at a contest like this—poisoning aside, there was never any chance of Gikx winning! That is not cunning! That is not what it means to be a goblin!”

There was muttering in the crowd—a few cheers rang out as the energy levels heightened from the dramatics. The Shadow-Axe tribe loved a good confrontation. This meager cooking contest spiraling out of control was precisely the sort of thing they loved.

Mallik strode forward, a wide grin on his face. “You dare to accuse me, the voice of the Ground-Father, of conspiring against our sacred traditions? It is you and that dungeon which so blatantly throw aside our—“ He stopped, coughing. Mallik put a hand over his mouth. When he pulled it away, it was sleek with crimson. His eyes went wide. “Y-you—“ more terrible hacking from the Shaman. His hands wrapped around his throat.

“Did you give him the wrong plate?” Vraz asked, eyes wide.

“Gikx give Chieftain plate with magic mushroom! No know what happen!” Gikx shouted back. Strum bristled and raised his palms to the sky, two pillars of fire bursting forth from them.

“Out of our way!” Strum yelled, and the goblin crowd began to part, giving a clear path to the kitchen.

“They’ve poisoned the Shaman! Get them!” Rurk said. His hobgoblins failed to move, looking between each other and the column of fire still spewing from Strum’s hands.

Mallik collapsed to the ground, writhing and gasping.

“Get them, or I’ll toss you in the fire myself!” Rurk’s loud booming voice cut across the crowd to his enforcers. Strum didn’t wait for them to work up their courage. Instead, he shoved both Gikx and Vraz forwards. The hobgoblins made a token move to pursue them.

They made it into the tunnel, then to the kitchen. Vraz kept glancing behind them, startled by the cheering and jeering goblins. This was their ideal outcome. At least someone is happy.

One thing still ate at him: why had the Shaman been poisoned? Was he acting? Was Mallik using illusionary magic to deceive the goblin tribe and escalate the situation further?

They reached the kitchen Wort rubbed his stomach near the oven. Regis floated high in the middle of the room. Even the two twins and Jilde were present and pacing about. It seemed they’d managed to slip in while the contest reached its height. They must’ve predicted something going wrong, or Strum arranged this from the start. Strum stayed facing the entrance to the kitchen, his eyes narrowed.

“Well we’ve all convened, I infer they didn’t react very well to the admission of poisoning?” Regis hummed in a dry tone, floating next to Strum’s shoulder.

“You knew?” asked Strum as he rubbed his temple. A few hobgoblins were further down the hall, but they didn’t press inward. Not with Strum able to shoot gouts of flame. Nobody else but the Shaman had magic, and therefore there were no counters to Strum. “They’re going to siege us.” He concluded.

“They’re going to siege a kitchen?”

“Yeah, that’s uh, what I said. They can’t attack us directly, so it’s their only solution. I’m uh—not sure how many sympathizers we have out there. Even with them rigging the contest, Vraz poisoning them provides just cause for their war.”

“How absurd. They shall shatter their siege the moment the delectable scents of my kitchen flood outward and convince their stomach to concede. The issue with meager leadership is they lack actual control.” Regis floated away from the tunnel entrance.

Gikx burst into a bawling cry, complete with snot running from his nose. Vraz moved to comfort him, but the hero shoved him away. His beady eyes honed in on Vraz. “Gikx thought friend. Trick Gikx? Was never Gikx friend!” he began to sob again.

The twins glanced at one another.

Vraz balled his fists. “Gikx. I was not a good friend to you. I’m sorry. I was filled with—anger, hate, and violence; I did the wrong thing. I know you won’t be able to forgive me for abusing your trust. There’s no apology that I can make that will make things right, but I am sorry. From the bottom of my heart, I’m sorry.”

“Gikx no want hear!” Gikx shouted, running off towards the half-completed kitchen. The twins once more exchanged looks. Pox snorted and got in Vraz’s face.

“The Ground-Father doesn’t begrudge the use of poison to take on a stronger enemy. But he does find error in the betrayal of your tribe! Sinner! Think of your violations of his holy word and repent!” He spat on the ground. “Come, brother! Our duty as heralds to the Ground-Father is to provide aid to those who suffer!”

The twins followed the Hero. Vraz lowered his head and tried to fight back his tears. Thanks to him, they were in a worse situation than before. The kitchen was under siege, and he didn’t know how to make things right. Strum was too focused on their defense—otherwise, Vraz was sure the manager would chew his ear out, which he rightfully deserved.

“Did you not promise to form our bond? Sulking is ill becoming of you, Vraz. I see the regret of what you have caused with your mule-brained behavior on your face. But, it is past time we take the first step to mending the pain.” Regis flooded his vision, the red crystal pulsing with energy.

“I didn’t forget.”

“I shall have you form the same covenant I did with Strum. This will bind you to me. You will change, and with that change, your potential is limitless; we’ll thrive in this world with one another. It was detestable for you to poison another living creature. If I did not see this profound distaste for your actions today, I would’ve thrown you out of my kitchen. But it is there. You’ve seen and tried to amend your mistake. I learned long ago from my mentor that redemption is better than punishment.”

“I don’t deserve this.” Vraz wiped at the tears still rolling down his cheeks.

“Foolish goblin! This is no boon to you; no, it is a challenge. This decision brings more responsibility and hardship. Redemption is not forgiveness. You must make things right, but I will provide the opportunity to do so. Do you agree to this covenant with all your soul?”

Vraz clenched his hand. He’d caused so much pain for the people he cared about most. Even though he missed his tribe, they were gone now. He had to move forward, and the first step to that was to heal the damage he’d done. “I agree.”