A light nudge rocked Don. He settled back onto his warm patch of dirt, trying to ignore it. Another came, then another.

“Look at this lazy waste of food.” The high-pitched sound came from slightly above him. Don could practically hear the sneer on the gob’s face.

“He still hasn’t brought back a single rabbit.”

Another voice chimed in “Did you see that fox pelt he gave to Grey? What happened to all that meat?”

“He probably ate it all in secret. Look at how fat he is” Another foot poked him.

“Hmph, you actually believe this weakling killed a fox? He probably found a dead one and brought back its fur to show off.” said the first voice

This insult pricked at Don enough to bring his focus around from going back to sleep.

“I killed it” he grumbled into the dirty cave floor.

“What was that?” asked the instigator. “Did this red giant just speak or fart? I couldn’t tell.” A somewhat forced round of laughter broke out around Don.

Don gave up on sleep for the time being and pushed himself into a sitting position drawing level with his tormentors' height. Locking bloodshot eyes with Gat’s yellow ones, he planted a hand on his knee and heaved to his feet. Towering over the gobs, he repeated himself.

“I killed the fox”

A few of Gat’s followers were cowed by Don’s imposing stature but their diminutive leader just puffed out his chest and managed to hold his indifferent expression.

“If you killed the fox, where is the meat?”

Don rubbed the crust out of his eyes and sighed. “I don’t know. I looted the fox after killing it and then everything but the pelt disappeared. The same thing happened with the rabbit and hedgehog I killed.”

Gat snorted, the closest Don had ever heard him coming to genuine laughter “Meat doesn’t just disappear. You must be hiding it somewhere.”

“Look Gat, I’m not in the mood. If you don’t trust me, ask Kat”

“Like I would trust that sneaky little bug. You both probably have a secret stash of food hidden somewhere don’t you?”

“This is all the food I have” Don replied, holding out a palm and summoning his store of berries.”

“He was hiding food!” squeaked one of the gobs pointing an accusing finger at him.

“No, I just showed you all my food, that’s the opposite of hiding it.” Don was getting exasperated.

“How do we know you don’t have more food hidden that weird storage magic you use?”

Don opened his mouth to retort but paused. The gob made a good point. How could he prove to them that he didn’t have anything in his inventory? To them, it just looked like he made items out of light. There was no way for them to see the contents of his inventory. He frowned.

“You don’t, I guess,” he said more to himself than the gang.

Looking like he had just captured two rabbits in one ambush, Gat stretched his lips into a gloating smile. Before Don knew what was happening, the berries vanished from his hand, leaving it empty.

“Seeing as you have been eating our food every night and don’t want to share your rabbits with the tribe, we’ll take these berries. It’s only fair after all.”

Don stood in shock for a moment, looking at his empty palm, and then at the noisily chewing gobs. His stomach growled in indignation.

“Do you think someone who has been eating in secret would have the hungry effect?” he asked, rubbing his gurgling stomach in an attempt to placate it.

“Someone as fat as you?” Gat asked around a mouthful of berries

He pretended to think for a few seconds before answering his own question “Yes”

That small flame of anger bloomed once again in Don. He clenched his fists and glared down at Gat. Gat must have sensed the shift because he elbowed his snickering cronies.

“Let's go before the fat idiot sits on us”

The gang followed Gat up the slope and out of the cave, calling down insults until they got to the cave mouth where they vanished into the forest.

Lamenting the loss of his breakfast, Don stood there. The cave was quiet and empty, the other gobs must already be out for the night. Don gave an extended yawn and looked back at the patch of dirt where he had been sleeping. He could probably go back to sleep, he was still dead tired. His stomach growled again and convinced him that a midnight snack was the better idea. Don left the cave and made the short trip to the berry bush he found the night before. After eating half of what he could pick, his hungry debuff faded and he pocketed the rest before descending back into the cave. Now that he wasn’t preoccupied with Gat or his needy stomach he started to worry about Kat. Not only did he disappear yesterday, Don didn’t see him near the cave. This was the first morning when Kat didn’t have something for him to do right away. Don decided to visit Grey.

He crossed the cave to the alcove where he could hear a slow, rhythmic grinding. As he came around the corner, Sik and then Grey came into view. They were working on a potion Don had never seen before and he waited for them to finish before clearing his throat to get their attention.

“Did Kat come back from the hunt last night?” he asked, “He just disappeared at one point.”

Grey turned to examine Don from under a row of fox teeth. “Don’t worry about that boy, He’s performing some reconnaissance, you’ll have to get along without him tonight.

The tension Don hadn’t noticed building in his shoulders unwound partially. His worry drained out of him and was replaced with memories of his harrowing experience in the forest. He was still irritated from his confrontation with Gat and his lack of sleep didn’t do anything to improve his mood.

“Is that why he left me alone in the forest to get attacked by a giant?” Don snapped.

“No” Grey stated flatly, putting aside her potion making tools. “He left you because I told him to.”

Don wasn’t expecting that. “Why? I could have died!” he shouted. His voice rang off the walls of the enclosed space. Sik flinched at the sudden noise but grey maintained her composure.

“From what I can see, you survived. Tell me what happened” She said in a quiet voice which carried authority disproportionate to its volume.

Don ground his teeth for a few seconds before launching into an outpouring of complaints against Kat.

“First that runt tells me I’m bad at climbing and running so he runs me ragged through the forest all night. I’m pretty sure he led me into the place with the thickest brambles on purpose. After that, he leaves me in a tree to wait for rabbits and disappears! He could have told me if he wasn’t going to come back! I waited for him until well into the morning. I could have left before the sun was all the way up! Instead, I sat there until some giant found me. I barely got away but it found me again. I managed to hide but it came way too close to finding me again!”

Don was expecting shock or at least a little concern from his audience. Sik looked a little nervous at the mention of the giant but Grey simply nodded along as if she already knew the story.

Don was left breathing as heavily as if he just ran through the forest again.

“I told Kat to lead you to that part of the forest last night. I told him to make you sweat and leave obvious signs of your presence so the Mankeys would track you down. I also told him to leave you in the forest with instructions to stay put while he watched from nearby.”

Don’s mouth hung slack as he gaped at the old gob. He had trusted her and she sent him out specifically to get chased by that huge monster! The anger sparked inside him.

“This was your final test. We had to know that you could survive our worst enemy before letting you fully into the tribe.”

“I thought I was already in the tribe,” Don said, the sudden realization snuffing out his anger before it could build. Was he an outsider all along? With a few notable exceptions, he had come to care about these little monsters. Apparently, they were still keeping him at arm's length and treating him like a passing guest.

“No, we took you in and cared for your wounds but to join our tribe, you must make our struggles your struggles. Last night, you proved yourself capable of at least surviving against our enemies. Now we will see if you are truly one of us or if you are just hiding in our cave.”

Don was struck by the accusation. He was trapped in the cave for his first few days so he hadn’t thought about his motivations for staying there but she was right. He really was just hiding from the people who would kill him on sight. All he really had done so far was eat the gob’s food and use their potions. He did bring back some herbs and make some potions but Kat could easily double the number of herbs Don brought back if he didn’t have to babysit the demon. Grey and Sik were also clearly better at alchemy than Don so his contributions to the gobs potion stores were still a burden. The ingredients were basically wasted on him as he ground them up to produce trash quality potions at best.

Grey continued “We didn’t always live in this cave. We weren’t always such a small tribe. We lived in a goblin village for generations, thriving in this ancient forest. We had craftsmen who built sturdy homes and elders to share wisdom. It was a good life.”

A faraway look came over Grey as she was lost in memories for a moment before pain flashed across her eyes.

“Not long after the humans built their town, the Mankeys came. They came during the day when most of us were asleep. It was a massacre”

Don wasn’t adept at reading the goblins yet but there was no mistaking the heart-wrenching misery on Grey’s face.

“I escaped with the youngest gobs and led them to this cave. It’s was prepared for emergencies long ago. I thought we would be safe until the fighting was over. We have been here ever since. For some reason, the Mankeys moved into our village, taking our home for their own.”

Grey looked up from the stone floor and locked eyes with Don. The normally carefree and in-control gob looked to him with equal parts grim resolve and a mother's sorrow.

“Will you help us reclaim our ancestral home?”

Hidden Quest Completed

Goblin Trials

You have learned to live like a goblin.

After impressing the matriarch, she decided to put you to the test. By surviving pursuit by a Mankey you have been deemed worthy of formally joining their tribe.

Reward: The option to join the Whispering Claws tribe

Will you join the Whispering Claws tribe and share in their successes as well as their trials? Y/N

Don didn’t have to consider the question. The phrasing she used struck a chord in him. He denied so many citizens of their ancestral homes. He couldn’t do anything for them, at least not yet. Here though, here were some people he could help. He nodded solemnly.

“I will help you take your home back.”

A feeling of warmth spread through Don's chest. He may have made irredeemable mistakes in his past life but he was determined to do better this time. These little gobs were the only reason he was free from the torture of his victims. More than that though, they needed him. He was resolved to do everything he could to help this tribe.

Grey stood slowly, joints popping and shaking. A hand lifted and came to rest on Don’s forehead. She closed her eyes.

“I, Grey, Matriarch of the Whispering Claws induct Donovan into our clan.” She spoke as if she was addressing the cave, or the forest instead of Don or Sik as she Scratched down his forehead, leaving three distinct claw marks. Grey took her other hand and spread a salve on the thin lines. Don couldn’t see what was happening but his brow tingled where the claws passed and a dim green glow lit up the alcove.

Congratulations!

You have been formally inducted into the Whispering Claws tribe

Rewards:

Access to tribe-chat

Access to tribe-map

Tribal Quest Accepted

Home Sweet Home

A group of Mankeys have forced your tribe out of their homes and into this hidden sanctuary. Reclaim your home from these invaders.

Success: A suitable home for your tribe

Failure: The tribe will never progress past a subsistence existence