Horrid creatures danced around a red corpse. A large, humanoid figure sat cloaked in furs. It raised its hands and muttered some words. The goblin corpse disintegrated into a red mist, which the dancers inhaled. They howled and screamed in celebration. “Now, tell me… What of those yellow goblins?” The figure spoke in a deep and slow voice. “Bleeding One! They're too vile! They cower behind stone walls. They shoot at us from trees and bushes. And they send wolves and frogs at us!” A red goblin pleaded. The hobgoblin got up from a skeleton throne, and scoffed, “The gods are merciful today, so I'll spare you. It’s time to move out all the soldiers.” The Bloody Bones’ tribe burst with energy. Every goblin got armed and dressed for war. A total of 132 warriors were ready. They moved like a red tide through the forest. They made camp in an abandoned cave. Some goblins rested in the hallways and rooms; others slept outside. A thundering explosion broke the silence of the night. A torrent of flames spat out from the cave entrance. A squadron of 300 people made their way on a dirt road. These soldiers were a motley crew. 250 of those soldiers were simple peasants with minimal training and equipment. They were the Baron’s men, granted to the Golden Rose merchants for a price. The merchants had their own, well-trained militia of 50 people, leading these recruits. Their next stop was a village that was supposedly overrun by goblins. Yet there were no signs of conflict. The soldiers did not concern themselves with this and looked for a place to sleep. The commanders searched for any clues of what happened to no avail. Once everyone was resting. An incendiary trap activated under the sleeping spots of the soldiers. The peasants screamed and fled back home. The officers did not pay attention to the burning men but focused on capturing the deserters. Their morale was destroyed, but this was a paid job, so they had to finish it. The army of Ovolenskia was clearing out a small patch in the forest for their camp. As soldiers were chopping and hauling logs, a stray arrow landed in the middle of the camp. The soldiers pulled out their weapons, readying for an attack, but no such thing came. Lord Helmia approached the arrow, there was a piece of parchment attached to it. “Back to work!” He ordered. He retreated to his tent to read the message. It was written in the language of Troystein. “To the commander of the Ovolenskian Army, I hope this message finds you well. I wish to express my desire for cooperation in the extermination of the red goblins. They are an invasive goblin tribe that has allied with Troystein to destroy us and your lands. To show our sincerity, we will share some information. 300 soldiers from Troystein will be crossing into your territory through ours. The goblins number over a hundred and have strange blood magic and a hobgoblin. To further show our sincerity, expect another arrow soon.” As he read the last sentence, another arrow penetrated the ground in front of his tent. An intricately carved piece of Torchite was attached to it. Lord Helmia took the gem and handed it to his court mage. “Appraise this.” He inspected it with a glowing magnifying glass. “Hmm… This is Torchite. It has magical qualities. The Court Mage Guild would pay a fair price.” He marvelled at the gem. “How much?” Helmia asked. “Around 50 gold,” the mage responded. The Torchite was cut well, but its true value lied in its magic. Something certain wizards would be interested in researching. 50 gold was not a breath-taking sum, but it could afford a few horses or cattle. Helmia began to read the second letter. “I hope you take this Torchite as a symbol of our sincerity. If you wish to speak with us, please meet us when the moon is highest, at the location marked on the attached map. Also do not consider manpower the only benefit we can provide you. Yours Truly, Gild Domov, Leader of the Amber Skin Goblins.” The Lord’s face furrowed His enemy was using savage creatures to fight this war, why couldn't he? He was an honourable man, but when it came to war, only victory brought honour. If the letters were true, the enemy had a hobgoblin, magic, and an army of over 400. A hard challenge to complete with only mundane soldiers. “What is your opinion on this?” He asked the mage. The mage carefully read the letters. “Well… No harm in meeting them. We can simply discuss things; this does not mean we have to ally with them. ” “Indeed. Let’s do that, but only take our most trusted soldiers for our guard.” Lord Helmia, his mage, and a group of 5 elite soldiers set out into the forest. The map led them to a small clearing. Their eyes widened in shock. A one-legged goblin, wearing well-tailored clothes was sat on an ornate rock throne. Unlike a typical goblin, his skin was clean and bright. His hair was black and curly, and his eyes had a spark of energy. Beside him was a shaman, wearing finely cut furs. A stoic looking hunter, wielding an expertly carved bow. These were not simple creatures. “Greetings, I am Gild Domov, Leader of Amber Skins. Shall we get to business?” “I am Viscount Helmia of the Kingdom of Ovolenskia. Yes, let's talk.” If I had known that a noble would come, I would have prepared refreshments. The Lord brought 5 burly soldiers armed with sturdy spears and helmets. The other figure was odd. He was dressed in dark blue robes with intricate yellow trim, he carried a sort of staff. He looked exactly like a wizard; he must have been the Viscount’s court-mage. “So, how about we go over what’s happening?” I spoke in human. Their eyes widened. “So you were truly the one who wrote those letters?” The noble asked. “Indeed. I picked it up when dealing with humans,” I replied. The Viscount had a short, but curly blonde beard. He stroked it as he stared at me. “Deal in what way?” “I have a trade agreement and non-aggression pact with them. Not with any nobles from Troystein of course, just some people who didn't see eye to eye with their Baron.” The man raised his eyebrow. “Goblins and humans working together?” “You saw the Torchite I gave you. I have a lot more I can offer. So why raid and pillage, when both parties can benefit?” I smiled. Lord Helmia thought about it. “Nothing is free. Tell me what you want.” I nodded my head. “It’s simple, I want a non-aggression pact with you and the Kingdom of Ovolenskia.” There was silence, and the Viscount considered the offer. “A non-aggression pact would require me to acknowledge you as an independent sovereign.” “A sovereign? That's a bit too grandiose. I only rule these forests, at most you'd have to recognise me as a count. I don't think that would cause anyone any problems.” I smiled politely. Lord Helmia laughed. “That would depend on what you are offering me. Dealing with goblins is troublesome, so you better make it worth my time.” I snapped my fingers, and goblins from the woods began brought in crates of goods. They brought crates of spears, arrows, iron and food. “If you acknowledge this territory as ours, we could sign a non-aggression pact and even a trade deal. You need resources to fuel your war, and we have them.” The noble’s eyes widened before returning to normal. “It seems you are smarter than a normal goblin. It’s clear to me that you are a civilised tribe, there should be no issues with us cooperating.” “Good.” I took out a piece of parchment and ink. I had drafted a contract beforehand. “Feel free to read through it and see if there is anything.” The details of the contract were simple. The Amber Skin Tribe would provide 100 spears, and 50 bows for the Viscount Helmia. We would supply them with food for 2 months. The contents would be 1 cabbage head per 4 people, 1 bottle of wine per 20 people, and 10 kilograms of meat per 100 people. This food would be given at the start of each month. Once the Viscount’s campaign is over, they will enter a non-aggression pact with the Amber Skins. Free passage will be allowed for both parties between their territories. Failure to meet any of these demands will result in a breach of contract. A breach of contract will result in the offending party paying reparations to the victim. Reparations consist of paying 500 gold coins or items of equivalent value for 3 months, once a month. Lord Helmia scanned through the paper, nothing seemed out of balance. I could have added a loophole for myself, but such tricks are only used when trying to exploit a weaker party. “These terms seem rather good. I am willing to sign this.” He seemed relieved. Before he could write down his signature I interrupted. “Before you sign, I need to know that you will hold up your end of the contract.” He paused, then leaned back into his chair. “Isn’t my word enough?” I suppressed my laughter. “No, it is not. I need a guarantee that you will hold up the contract. There is no court of law in this forest that will enforce this contract. You have nothing to lose but everything to gain. How will I know that you won’t breach it?” The brow on the man’s face twitched. “Alright, I understand. I will use my own stamp. It will validate the contract in the Ovolenskian court.” The mage nodded in agreement. “And I shall be witness, on behalf of the Court Mage Guild,” he spoke confidently. I clapped and smiled. “Excellent! Now, let's sign it.” I scribbled my initials onto the paper, and so did Helmia. He took out a small wooden case, and from it, he retrieved a blue stamp. The stamp had illuminated glitter on it, and as soon as he stamped the contract, it began to glow with a serene light. "Now, the relevant courts should have a copy of our contract." The lord explained. I reached out to shake hands with the noble, and he hesitated before accepting it reluctantly. “The supplies should be on their way tonight.” My face beamed. Interface You entered a contractual non-aggression pact with Viscount Helmia. You entered a contractual exchange pact with Viscount Helmia. You entered a contractual free-movement pact with Viscount Helmia. I grinned, revealing a set of sharp teeth. “Good! I look forward to working with you!” Lord Helmia stood in silence for a moment, before nodding. “Indeed. If you would excuse me, it is soon dawn and we must move to fight.” "Much the same here. My force will arrive in the morning at your camp." I bowed and left. We soon arrived at Yanberg. I had my dinner and slept for a few hours, to refresh myself before the battle. At the crack of dawn, my soldiers stood in a row. They sported freshly made armour from head to toe. Each goblin carried a spear, bow and shield. We only had 12 men including me, thus we would be taking a more distant approach at attacking. Some Gulk, including Umlau, stood in line. They wore petrified bark over their chests and held staves made from wooden branches. They would be stationed in Yanberg as a garrison since it was inconvenient to travel with them. Voglo, Zotnik, and Rugum stood side by side, with their goat mounts behind them. Upon the back of Dodge, I stood higher than any of them. “We have made it far. Thanks to all your efforts, we have survived this long. But I have to ask you once more, to lend me your strengths, so that we can defend our home and faith from our enemies. So that one day, we can live without fear of others, and so that we can live freely!” I spoke loudly. I looked back to the cave. I saw Olma standing by the entrance, she was on her final term. I gave an apologetic expression to her. The goblins roared in response. “Then let’s go! For our land! And for Yantago!” We quickly began marching through the forest. We travelled the Viscount’s camp, where we were greeted with scorn. Not a single soldier voiced their thoughts, either due to their discipline, or thanks to the fresh food. Lord Helmia was waiting for us in the middle of the camp. “Greetings, Chief Domov,” he said with a neutral face. I nodded. “Greetings, Viscount Helmia.” Some of the soldiers that spoke the Troystein language tried to hide their shock. The others that didn’t understand were still surprised by the interaction. Our squad of 12 goblins was minute compared to the force of 360 buff soldiers. Yet we stood side by side to them. We marched towards Chief’s Cave, the last location that the Thralls had seen the Bloody Bones. I chose to not use the Thralls, as the people from Ovolenskia might’ve been able to piece two and two together. A volley of red arrows struck us from the canopy. The surprise attack injured some of the soldiers, but their amour proved efficient. They huddled together into formation and covered themselves in with their kite shields. We quickly followed their actions as well. “Enemy in the trees!” A commander shouted. The red skin of the goblins made them stand out against the bark of the trees. We launched our own counter volley, sending the enemy tumbling down. “Magic to our north!” The mage cried. We turned around to see a large human-like figure, with dark red skis. Crimson thunder was crackling around his body. “I, the Bleeding One, plead to the Pulsation and Marrow of Life! Grant me strength and divinity to slay my enemies!” He screamed. Suddenly his body began glowing in a blinding red light, his eyes spewed fire. “Bleeding Shock!” He channelled the thunder towards the army. The lightning arced through the metal armour of the soldiers, shocking them and stifling their movements. The mage waved his staff and pointed it at the Viscount. “Dispel Debuff!” The red lightning faded from Lord Helmia’s body, and he regained his movement. “You red-skinned freak!” he yelled. “Healing Glow Heliodor!” A large glowing crystal formed above Voglo’s head. It shot out bright yellow light, that healed the soldiers caught by the lightning. I narrowed my eyes at the Hobgoblin. “Focus them down!” I commanded. “Obsidian Offensive!” With my spell, I conjured a black sheen on the goblin’s arrows. They launched the enchanted projectiles at the hobgoblin. They easily pierced their target, causing it to flinch in pain and losing focus of their spell. “Charge!” An enemy goblin cried! From the bushes, a red hoard charged down at the recovering soldiers. The rabid goblins lunged at the soldiers with might, toppling and wailing on them. But the soldiers were many, thus they easily dispatched the assailing goblins. While the hobgoblin was recovering from the damage, I made my move. “Crystallisation Ray!” Pulsating pink crystals sprouted from my hand, and I shot the beam without hesitation. The hobgoblin screamed as part of his body became covered in crystal. Rugum charged towards it. In one simple movement, he cleaved off the hobgoblin's arm. The hobgoblin yelled in pain and clutched the bleeding wound. “You think this will stop me!” He growled. “Red Rejuvenation!” Blood from his wound shot forward, taking the vague form of his arm. The blood hissed and bubbled, evaporating in the blink of an eye, revealing a freshly formed arm. The embedded arrows in its body were pushed out. “Push the goblins back!” Lord Helmia ordered. One by one, the frontline felled the goblins. The rest of the soldiers couldn’t do anything since the space was crowded. “Aim your fire magic at the hobgoblin!” I commanded. All the goblins equipped with the [Blazing Bolts Torchite] aimed their hands at the recovering hobgoblin. A bright volley of fire flew through the battlefield. The bolts flew wildly, but many hit their mark. The sheer amount of burning magic set the hobgoblin alight. It could not regenerate its burning wounds. “Fine,” it coughed. “Might as well…” It said faintly. “Blood Detonation!” It snapped its fingers. The corpses of the goblins began to glow with a faint red light. They swelled right before exploding in a loud red viscera. The men in the frontline were launched backwards, and the red goblins began to flee in every direction. “Sapphire Spear!” I launched a crystal bolt at the hobgoblin, leaving a clean hole in its chest. It fell pitifully to the ground. “Chase after the fleeing ones,” I ordered. Interface You have eliminated the Bloody Bones tribe The goblins and soldiers killed one by one the escaping enemy. A lot of men were lying on the ground, recoiling in agony from the explosion. The men who were further away from it suffered light injuries, while the ones close to them had some limbs blown off. “We can’t fight the Baron’s men in this state.” The lord gritted his teeth. Sensing an opportunity, I approached him. “The army from Troystein is on its way, you will stand no chance against them like this. Even if you try to escape, it will be difficult for you with all your injured soldiers. Troystein would eventually catch up to you.” Helmia’s face darkened. “Are you telling me to abandon my men?” “No. Of course not! My holding is well protected, you can rest with your men there. It would be better to fight from atop a stonewall than a forest. We have health potions that might help your men.” The Lord considered my words for a moment. He knew that if I tried anything suspicious, his force could wipe out mine with ease. “Alright, lead the way.” He reluctantly agreed. There were 12 dead and 51 injured, in total, the Lord had 297 able men. The dead were quickly buried and the injured men were gently transported to the Yanberg. The men were somewhat surprised by the fortified mine in the middle of nowhere. Not to mention it was built by goblins too. What shocked them was the presence of other humans. This helped Lord Helmia’s men feel much more at ease. Though some were put off by the Gulk. Potion production was set into full gear. I had my thralls work the potions stills in my tower. They constantly produced health potions, per Voglo’s recipe. Some men had deep gashes that could be mended by magic. Yet those with missing limbs would be permanently disfigured. A scout came running by, the Troystein army was approaching fast. They would arrive within a day. It was time for the final fight. Using our supplies we feed all the soldiers a decent dinner. All the non-combatants were taken to our bunker. The Gulk who were cable of magic clung to the stone walls. The mage cast magics upon the fortifications. The human soldiers stood in a row, bows ready to fire at the approaching enemy. Their force constituted of around 300 people, the majority of which sported plain leather armour. They hid behind log covers and magically conjured barricades. They shot boulders at us, but the Gulk’s acid magic dissolved them before they could breach our defences. The Troystein soldiers pitifully fired arrows, wildly missing their targets. Lord Helmia’s men steadily reduced the number of enemies. I destroyed their defences with my [Ground Shaker] spell, leaving them open to arrow fire. I enchanted our arrows with [Obsidian Offensive], increasing their power even more. The goblins launched their own barrage of fire arrows. The flying flames sowed chaos in the enemy ranks. “How do they have so many casters?” An officer cried. Another officer began packing his supplies. “It doesn’t matter, they have Ovolenskian soldiers on their side! This is way above our paygrade!” Realising the difference in strength, the Troystein army began to slowly retreat. I wanted to pursue them, but as soon as they turned their backs to us, Helmia ordered his men to stop firing. Thus, I didn’t wish to press the offensive. “Your people are fairly valiant,” Helmia said to me. “Thank you for housing my men.” I smiled. “It is not a problem for us. For such great warriors like you, it was our pleasure.” Helmia snorted. “Right.” “Are you going to fight the baron?” I asked. He shook his head. “Not with so many people injured. I will return with reinforcements, and then we will continue our offensive.” What he said was reasonable. He left a small standing garrison of men in our home, and the injured ones were transported back home. A week later, Helmia arrived with a force of 500 men. They stopped by our home, and we once more resupplied them, for a fair price of course. Then they marched their way into the Baron’s Territory. Around a month of unease later, I finally received a notification. Interface Your territory is now officially recognised by another sovereign. You have completed a quest: Ensure the survival of your people. You have received Heavenly Reputation I let out a big breath of relief. Lord Helmia must have destroyed the barony. With our non-aggression pact, I didn’t have to worry about any neighbouring enemies, since now he was my only neighbour. I ordered Voglo to gather all the people in front of the statue of Yantago. Goblin, Human and Gulk stared at me, as I stood upon the fort walls. “Today marks the day we outlived our enemies. From armies to other goblins, through our efforts, we bested them all. From now on, we will live through a golden age of prosperity!” I announced. The crowd erupted in cheers and tears. I stared down at them, the weight in my heart slowly easing. My ears tingled, I looked at the statue of Yantago. “Nice going…” I heard him faintly whisper in my ear. I smiled to myself. I was far from finished.