Author’s Note:

Sorry about the unscheduled hiatus.

Last minute Job increase + Christmas family gathering + writer’s block + Tales of Demons and Gods + Hearthstone= procrastination

I have no excuse

*Kneels down and begs for forgiveness*

Chapter 25.5- Life of Brian

Day 39

***Cani's Cave***

***Brian Garland***

After days of torrential rain ended, the sun finally once again showed its’ face in the nearly cloudlesssky. Birds in the forest chirped in unison, celebrating the end of the downpour. In the midst of the chorus, a lone, feeble goblin staggered along side of the mountain range. With his food supply completely exhausted from the long journey, he was eager to return to his home for a warm meal and a long, well deserved rest. He was sent out by Cani a few days prior, as a scout to the dwarven mines. Even though he was exhausted from the long journey, in his heart, he was happy. He was glad that he survived another day.

Brian Garland was weakest goblin in the tribe. He was so feeble and powerless that he lost every single fight that he had. He even lost against a child once. Due to his weakness, he faced the fear of dying every single day. If he had a choice, he would have chosen to stay inside the safety of the cave. Of course, he wasn’t allowed to do that. Those that don’t work, don’t eat. Over the years, in order to survive the treacherous forest, he had developed skills to keep him alive, skills that no other goblins had. His first skill was his sixth sense. He could sense dangerous beings that were around him. His second ability complements his first skill. He was very good at running away. When his adrenaline kicked in, he could even outrun a wolf, for a short duration.

Ironically, his ability was also the cause of him being in constant danger. Realizing his abilities, Cani made him the scout for his tribe, sending him far away from the safety of the cave. When he was on these scouting missions, something always happens. He was the bearer of bad news. The first time when he went scouting, another tribe marched towards his tribe for an attack. The second time he when was out, he was caught by three goblins while he was asleep. He was used as an hostage. Brian thought he was in the clear for this trip. For once, he can bring home some good news. After being exhausted from the lengthy journey, he finally got close to his home. He sprinted towards the final stretch. When he finally got close enough to his home, what he saw completely betrayed his expectations.

““Umm... I am pretty sure the cave is supposed to be here.”

He knelt down on the muddy forest floor from exhaustion. Not knowing what to do, he stared blankly at his home, now covered by mud and rocks from the landslide. His mind raced with different thoughts, trying to come up with an explanation of what he was seeing.

”Oh, I know I must have made a mistake, the cave must be a bit further.”

Using his spear as a crutch, he got up from the ground and summoned every ounce of strength inside him to keep moving. Every step he took was harder than the next one. The mud held his foot down as if it was telling him that he had already reached his goal, telling him to stop. Ignoring the mud’s plea to stop, he continued his journey towards the north.

Day 40

***Welleborn Mountain Range***

***Brian***

*Growl*

“Why me?”

Straddled on top of a tree branch, Brian’s stomach roared with hunger. Unfortunately for him, his stomach wasn’t the only thing that was growling. Below him was a pack of wolves growling menacingly at Brian. A few moments ago, his senses warned him of the incoming danger. Quickly following his intuition, he hid in the trees before the pack caught on to his scent. Finding Brian, the pact decided that he would become their meal. A few of them tried to jump and snapped their jaws at Brian’s dangling feet. Luckily for Brian they were just a tad short. Not wanting to take the chance that the wolves will make the jump next time, he retracted his feet and sat completely on top of the branch.

“Go away!”

When one of the wolf jumped, he tried fight off the wolf with a jab of his spear. Attacking from an awkward position, it was no surprise that he completely missed. Using the chance, the wolf quickly leaped again and bit the spear. Caught completely off guard by the wolf’s attack, he almost lost balance and fell off the tree. He let go of the spear the very last moment before the wolf pulled him off of the branch. Feeling frustrated, the wolf decimated the spear, warning Brian that he was next on his list.

“WAHHHHHH!!! MY SPEAR!!! Give me back my spear!”

His crying and complaining made the wolves angrier. They barked and growled louder at him. He finally gave up paying attention to the wolves. There was nothing that he can do about the wolves except to wait for them to leave. Turning around and lying on the branch, his stomach growled again. He looked at the leaves, wondering if they were edible. At this point, he was desperate enough to try. He grabbed a handful of leaves and stuffed it in his mouth. His tongue was filled with a bitter sensation, but he suppress his impulse to spit out the leaves. After chewing them a few more times, he reluctantly swallowed everything. Even though it was not much, he was able to curb a bit of his hunger.

“Uuuuuuuu, that was horrible.”

Grumbling about the the bitter taste in his mouth, he relaxed a bit and looked up at the sky. He saw a single cloud floating in the sky. The shape of the cloud reminded him of his favorite food, the drumstick of a rabbit. Even though it made him feel hungrier, it was better than nothing. When he tried to focus his sight on the cloud, he couldn’t. His vision was starting to blur. At this point he knew that there was something wrong with him. He finally realize that the leaves that he ate had a side effect that he didn’t knew about. He tried to stay awake, but his consciousness gradually became distant. With a thump, he fell from the tree. Smelling the breath of the wolves, he finally closed his eyes and accepted that this was the end of his unfortunate life.

*THWIP*