Hazeel walked out of her tent and stepped into the now familiar goblin camp. She gazed up at the sky, which was rapidly darkening and started moving behind her tent. It hadn’t even been a full year since the attack of Blood Tusk and her decision to chase the beast down, but already her people had adapted to the new lifestyle and were thriving as nomads.

Admittedly, it had taken more months and a few more deaths than she would have liked, but all had gone according to her own plan, and it had been worth it. The once cowardly village under her had transformed into war-mongers and accomplished survivors after she had rallied them from the tragedy.

Hellbent on taking advantage of the villager’s desire for revenge, she had even designated the first champion her village had ever produced, Zeek, and sent him on a quest to find said boar. Zeek had the animal cornered, but unfortunately had to back off of the hunt due to the incoming cold front.

She reached into a chest positioned in between some rocks behind her tent, and pulled out a dull bronze bottle. She tilted it and took a sip of her Shikal, a strong alcoholic beverage that had gotten her through this past winter. A crate of 24 bottles was one of her keepsakes from before the King’s decree outlawed the race from entering human settlements and trading for more. There were only 10 left, and even she was anxious about how she’d cope once they were all gone.

Typically she only broke out a bottle if there was a tragedy, or if she needed a pick me up from her crippling winter depression, but today was a joyous one. In fact, some of the expedition party that had gone out when winter started receding came back to the settlement today and brought her news of the Boar’s extermination.

Feeling empowered from the news, her facade crumbled away as the goblin recited the rest of the story. An unknown human duo hunting in their part of the plateau was one thing, but the fact that they had taken down the boar, the object of their ire, was just insulting to her.

Hazeel scoffed at the notion of what Zeek was planning to do. The poor brute felt emasculated by the idea that his quarry was stolen from him, so in order to prove himself to the tribe, and probably ask for her to bear his children again, he wanted to defeat those who he felt had stolen his glory.

As the messenger scurried off to make preparations for the feast that night, Hazeel sighed to herself before a smile etched itself onto her face. Sure, they were taking a chance with these humans, and even Hazeel herself held some grudges towards the race which had classified her as a monster, but she was strangely satisfied with how her life had turned out, and only prayed that Zeek would take no for an answer after he beat the intruders.

The thought crossed her mind that bloodshed might make the meal unappetizing, but what was a feast without some form of entertainment?

---

It was almost night when we arrived at the goblin’s camp, and just in time because Brago collapsed the moment he saw the settlement of tents. I sighed and hoisted him onto my back, where he chuckled.

“Sorry boy, my stamina isn't what it used to be.” I would have complained, but who could blame him? Walking through a forest at his age, especially for hours on end couldn’t be healthy for him. Especially when you consider how much he put into just getting up to the plateau.

I carried him in the direction that the goblins were leading us, and watched as they brought us over to a certain tent. The fabric was a rusted blood red, as if a white cloth had been dragged through some corpses and left to dry for years. A halberd and a one-handed sword were stuck into the ground at the entrance, and lay under an intimidating boar’s skull above the curtain.

“Enter.” I barely translated the word before we were shoved in by the goblins behind us. Unable to keep my balance, I sacrificed the weight off my back and straightened myself.

“Why!?” An upset Brago cried out only moments before he comedically hit the floor. A grin came onto my face, and bright, cheerful laughter came from behind me. I turned rapidly to find a woman standing there. She must have been the chieftain, but she was so different from what I had imagined.

Her forearms and legs below her knees were colored a forest green, but the rest of her skin was a dark tan. She was wearing a black top that hugged her curves and exposed her midriff, and black shorts that stopped midway down her thighs. She wore the skull of a canine beast with two horns over her face and lustrous silver hair, which was tied into a ponytail that ran down her back.

However, maybe the most surprising thing of all was her height. She was tall for a goblin, and in fact was probably a bit taller than Bella’s height, and nearing that of Jane’s. I stood there in shocked silence while Brago picked himself up from the ground.

“Ouch! You brat, did no one ever teach you to respect your elders!? I swear, If I was your father then I-” His gaze caught the figure standing before us, and instantly his eyes went wide.

“That’s a drakanine skull!” At Brago’s outburst, I looked at the bone structure on the woman's head and frowned. All it looked like to me was the bone remains of a large dog.

Wait a minute. A woman who wears a drakanine skull… it can’t be!” He instantly bowed down and prostrated before the woman in front of him.

“Oh! To think human society still remembers me, what a pleasant surprise!” She chuckled from beneath the skull and Brago dug his head farther into the ground.

“Hazeel the Conqueror, I beg your forgiveness for our intrusion! Had I known this was your tribe I-” Hazeel’s foot was placed in front of Brago’s face. “Silence. I am not as savage as you may think, human. It was circumstance that you came to my camp, so I will not hold it against you for now.”

Brago picked his head up in thanks when a spear came down in front of his face where Hazeel’s foot had been only moments before. “However, as for what happens in the future, that all depends on how the young one here contends against my champion.”

She flashed a grin that looked menacing in the shadows of her tent. “Speak up boy, you are who intrigues me the most here. How old are you?” It took me a moment to register her question in my head, and I was about to answer when a sudden thought occurred to me: In an unfamiliar situation and surrounded by potential enemies, why not keep up my act?

I thought about it, but the more I thought, the less likely I saw that making a difference. She’s already clearly stated that she sees me as little more than a trophy for her champion to claim, and just a replacement for Blood Tusk.

I straightened my posture, struck the ground with the cold-steel scythe, and said, “First of all, my name is Leon.”

---

“First of all, my name is Leon.” The instant the boy spoke, the tension in the room spiked. Hazeel’s eyes wandered downwards and locked onto the pitch-black scythe then back up to the boy’s indifferent face. He couldn’t have been older than 18, his facial hair must have just started coming in and his build was nothing like Zeek’s.

She could disqualify him from being the one who slayed the boar just based on physique and age alone, yet when her gaze returned to his eyes, she sensed a deep hatred, an innate coldness and the calculation of a killer in him.

However, the next instant it was gone when the boy continued, “I’m 22 years old and new to the Azure continent. Nice to meet you.” He extended his hand, a gesture which neither Hazeel, Brago, or anyone else in the room seemed to recognize.

Seeming to notice his blunder, the boy pulled back his hand and scratched his head. “So it’s not a custom here…” she heard him mutter before he brought his gaze to her own. Hazeel’s eyes narrowed, unable to discern whether or not the pressure she felt was from the boy, or perhaps a display of resistance from the groveling man at her feet.

She decided to move on, deciding that worrying about such a thing wasn’t worth her time. “Very well then, Leon. I hope you’re ready for a little exercise during the banquet later. My champion was very upset he didn’t have the opportunity to prove himself earlier, but you will do just fine for him tonight. Just try to make sure you last longer than the the first course.” And with that, she left Brago and I in the tent.

After a moment of silence, the ex-knight picked himself off the ground. “Thank god she’s gone. I thought for sure I’d have to castrate myself just to get out of here alive. Why didn’t you tell me your studies had already progressed that far? Man, you really took me by surprise as well!”

I gave him a stupefied look before asking a very obvious question, “Why didn’t we just slaughter them all when we killed the boar? It seems like that carried less risk than coming into their camp and digging ourselves even farther into a grave.”

Brago returned my look in full, “Because, Leon, violence isn’t the answer to everything. Sure, I was a former soldier so from a risk versus reward standpoint, I can see where you are coming from. However, as the king’s aid, I must ensure that my actions align with the goals of his majesty.”

“As such, I cannot allow any harm to come to those who my lord wishes to make amends with. This is a crucial step in repairing our relationship. What do you think slaughtering their warriors would make us out to be?”

“Smart.” I muttered under my breath, but Brago either didn’t hear me or ignored my remark.

“In any case, we need to make sure this goes as smoothly as possible, and that means not killing them in cold blood, or without provocation. Do you understand?” He stared me in the eyes, no trace of humor on his face.

“Yes, I understand.” I must have sounded dejected, because he gave me a pat on the back and smiled at me.

“Good then.” He started to walk away when I grabbed his arm and dragged him back to the center of the tent.

“We’re not done yet, Brago.” My tone became harsh and fast at my impatience. “I need you to explain everything. Who is that woman, why are you so scared of her, and why is she leading the goblins!?”

Brago sighed and sat on the cold dirt floor. “Take a seat boy, this explanation will take some time.” After I complied and sat opposite him, he asked with a tinge of annoyance in his voice, “Alright, spit it out. What don’t you understand about our situation right now.”

So he had heard that. “I guess the first thing would be that woman. Who is she, and why are you showing her such an excessive amount of respect?”

“Couldn’t you feel her overwhelming presence?” I shook my head and Brago sighed. “I guess when someone is that much more powerful than you, there’s such a gap in your abilities that you can’t even tell. What am I going to do with you.” He sighed.

“Her name is Hazeel, boy, and you would do well to remember her name. Before the advent of the decree that would outlaw all forms of demihumans, Hazeel the Conqueror was the greatest commander that our knight’s order ever had. She led us in the war against the Silver Continent and her actions were one of the very reasons we ended that war in a draw, and not a horrid loss.”

He took a swig from a bottle of wine that Hazeel had left on the ground before continuing, “If you would have ever seen her in battle, you would know she’s not a woman to be trifled with. She’s a forest elf, which means her control of nature magic is naturally decent, but combined with her diligence I have complete faith that it might even rival Jane’s now. Not to mention, I’ve seen her break both a fair share of hearts and bones. The woman can hold her own and fight, both to a scary degree.”

He took another pause and started drinking again, which I took as my cue to move on to another question. “Alright, that explains that, but why is she leading the goblins? Shouldn’t she have returned to whatever country she came from instead of hiding away up in the plateau?”

Brago shook his head sadly. “There’s a disgusting part of goblin culture boy. Whenever a group gets together and decides to create a village, they abduct children from different races to govern them.”

My eyes widened in shock as the news hit me. “Why? From what I heard, they can speak the language well enough. If it’s not to communicate with other people of leadership, then what is it?”

Brago frowned, “That’s exactly what it is, boy. How many people do you think would take goblins seriously in society? In order to actually participate in the economy, They send out the child they abducted in order to work and earn them money to send back to the village. Goblin villages are very low maintenance, but the very nature of this relationship is generally very toxic and warps the perspective of the children representing those villages. They can also appoint champions of the opposite gender, and they are expected to work in tandem and eventually mate. However, judging from Hazeel’s nature I don’t believe she’d ever let her champion anywhere near her bedchambers. But I’ve also heard that if a village champion ever beats the chief, they’re allowed to use the loser as a slave since the champion would then become the village leader.

Brago shook his head. “I’d heard rumors that something wasn’t normal about that woman, but to think that all her salary was being sent to this village…” He sat there, stupefied, when a loud grunt came from outside and the tent opened. A larger goblin stood there, up to my chest and with a menacing sword in his hand.

“You two done? I am the village champion Zeek, and I’ll be leading you through the festivities. Follow me, humans.” Zeek lumbered off and I glanced back at Brago, who was as pale as a sheet.

“W-well, that was quite menacing, huh? Leon, let’s get going then, shall we?” I followed him out of the tent and in the time between when we entered the village and when the light had faded, the encampment had become a completely different world.

Lights were hung from tent to tent in a way that captured my eyes. The boar was being cooked in between a cluster of trees in the corner of the mass of tents and goblins were sat outside their tents to sell various wares that they had crafted.

“What is this?” I wondered aloud, and was surprised when a calm voice answered my question.

“This is tradition, young one.” I brought my gaze up from the wares and saw Hazeel standing in between a mass of goblins and two rows of tents. She made a gesture signaling me to follow her into the sea of people. I looked back over my shoulder to see Brago still obediently following Zeek.

I left his side and went over to Hazeel instead. “Good, I like obedience.” She smiled under her helmet and led me away into the crowd.

“Hey, why do you lead these people? According to Brago, you have both superior strength and intellect, and shouldn’t need to lower yourself by doing this.” Her eyes widened at my question.

“That was Brago!? He’s grown so much! I only remember him as the little teenage boy who was the deceased prince’s playmate.” She smiled as we weaved through a plethora of goblins. “I remember when he first joined the knights. The poor kid wouldn’t accept that a woman like me was leading the army, so he challenged me to a duel. Needless to say I tanned his hide though.” She grinned and picked up a few skewers of boar meat from a vendor. She shrieked until she saw who it was that took the meat, and smiled with crooked teeth at her chieftain.

“Want one?” She handed me a skewer, and against my better judgement, which was aided by the fact I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, I took a bite of the sweet smelling meat. It melted in my mouth, and the sweetness of whatever sauce was on it combined with a light salt seasoning made sure it was in my stomach within seconds. “Glad you like it.” She said as we continued walking.

“So,” she gestured to the cacophony of festivities around her, “you see this as lowering myself, huh?” She sighed as we reached a tent that was much larger than any of the others. I stopped at the entrance, but she ruthlessly pulled me inside.

“Sit, have some Shikal.” I glanced at the bottle questioningly, but remembered Brago’s words in my head. If this was some sign of goodwill and I declined, it could negatively impact Brago’s attempts to reconcile with the goblins, and more importantly, Hazeel herself.

She took a sip and handed me the bottle, which I obliged. “So, why I ‘lower myself,’ huh?” She took off the skull and revealed normal ears, brown eyes with purple irises, and a long bangs. “Would you believe me if I said it was for family?”