“Begin.”

Gob closed the distance immediately. Fritz trembled, but he stood his ground. When Gob punched him he took it and despite taking a step back, he swung his own arm. It turned dirty quicker than Gob expected.

Fritz’s moves were nothing like Peter’s calculated stance nor like Curan’s trained strikes. He didn’t swing wide. The moment Gob was near he just punched the goblin over and over not letting him get any distance.

It was clear that he didn’t have any real game plan. He was just bigger, and he used that. After the initial punch-out Gob tackled Fritz by jumping on him. He managed to get on his back in this chaos of a fight, but it didn’t take long and his world was upside down as they both crumbled together on the ground.

“Harh Harh Harh!!”

Peter could only laugh looking at this squabble. His gargling laugh, courtesy of his missing tongue filled the forest. Curan couldn’t bear to watch. With his palm on his forehead he stopped the fight.

“Enough!”

He turned to Fritz. Gob was about to bite his arm as he had him in a deadlock.

“For fuck's sake Fritz! How useless are you? What is this childish display? You claimed to be a bodyguard before!”

“Because I was. For a short period... I know how to shoot you BEST at everything clown!”

“You shoot! I have seen you with a bow once and I am sure it was as pathetic of a display as this body stretching you did now!”

“Well sorry to disappoint the main hero! I did not want to live in this… place...”

Fritz looked away. He looked like he remembered something bad. He spoke some foreign words and silently got up, then wiped the dust from his clothes. Curan clicked his tongue. It would be way easier if Fritz would just spill the whole backstory here and now.

Curan knew about Piper. They escaped together after all. Viper was easy to understand. No. Take this back. Viper was a mystery to Curan. A mystery he didn’t want to unveil yet. Peter despite his lack of cooperation never broke his word. He was a crazed reliable hermit they just happened to rescue alongside. And Fritz...

Fritz the gambler. Fritz the cheater. He knew of his power. He saw it himself in the darkest place he had ever been to. This singular act of kindness made Fritz an irreplaceable part of the group. All Fritz wanted was a place to stay. He wanted to have a safe position of the second in command and Curan happily gave it away.

Fritz understood Piper more than others. He had a knack to forcing people to desired outcomes. He was a terrible gambler, yet a great conman. The way he acted was so natural that many items Curan sold solely because of him.

He understood value, was it about an old dagger or actual monster. Curan believed for quite some time that he was a red handed adventurer, as he possessed the Addendum he often read, but it made little sense.

This knowledge wasn’t for just any adventurers. Curan back in his glory days might afford to buy one and it’s not like he was the best at reading. Few people could read. Spelling one’s name on a woodwork was a luxury of snobs. To read endless passages of this book, nobles might be able to do so.

“I declare my win. Let’s go to this damned chest. Peter, gobl… Gob. Let’s go.”

Curan watched him get up.

Fritz was a decent swordsman at best, but so could the local blacksmith. He was nothing special. This one cursed power of his and a word that he wasn’t a Miko. It was all Curan had. He could ask, but it felt unfair. Noone asked about the past.

“I want to fight again. With swords.”

“Stick to Peter.”

“Was he strong?”

Evie came to randomly ask Gob. She forgot about Peter for a while. Gob pondered on her question and not having an answer just asked Fritz head on.

“I didn’t cheat if that’s what you are wanna know.”

“Then how? I don’t think Curan could beat him.”

Curan didn’t respond. He liked how it turned out. Will Fritz open up to this goblin he was so scared of until he was sure that he won’t kill him? Or will he make the goblin talk?

“I won through disqualification.”

Fritz finished improving his messed up hair and nodded at Peter who was already getting ready to leave. They built quite the connection over the months.

“Peter broke the rules. I won. And before you ask from strongest to weakest it would be Piper, Curan, Peter, me and you. And wherever Curan thinks this Viper guy should be.”

“I think somewhere between me and Peter.”

“There you go then.”

“But how did he broke the rules?”

“Do you really need to know everything mister mage heh? So you lob little fire left and right now?”

“I’m not a mage.”

“If you use magic, you are a mage. If you can cast spells you are a spellcaster and so on...”

“I never casted a spell, so I’m not..”

“Well someone did cast it to show you!”

“Hestia had never casted...”

Curan and Peter both shut up. Well mostly Curan. Gob stopped talking in an instant. Fritz had a talent to make people talk the way he wanted them to. It was sometimes a blessing. Right now it could be a curse. How can a goblin who claimed to live his whole life in the forest out of nowhere be taught magic by the Saintess of the North? The important piece of information fell into place.

“Great you know a girl! I’m not even gonna ask anymore. Goblin with a girl!”

Fritz continued to speak. His acting was amazing. Even if he didn’t instantly recognize the name, he stopped the conversation before Gob could look at Curan’s and Peter’s surprised faces. As they kept their cool Fritz advanced the party in order to leave the camp. Peter went to prepare his crossbow. Gob collected his dagger.

As the group was preparing to leave the encampment Curan pretended to check on Piper. The giant he knew from his prison days was sleeping soundly in his own tent. Well of course he did. Curan was lost in thought his mind racing. Fritz did a great job there. Curan would never approach the Miko in his rage. He walked further and looked back once more. He watched as Gob showed Peter the way.

It wasn’t really needed. Peter could see Viper’s signature from miles away. He was truly remarkable as a magic detector. Curan followed the three figures until they completely disappeared into the forest.

He is from a forest tribe, which is likely gone now. He knows language from human soldiers. Presumably the Empire was making its move through the forest. The fire he could use was a childsplay that Viper dismissed and Peter could easily stop. He didn’t seem to lie about being some wizard’s pet. The cleanly cut corpse of the undead. The fairy glade. This Evie Gob spoke of… She was still around him despite all this, Curan saw Peter’s secret signs, and the Innocence went for something in the past week. Now the city was sealed... Gob was young and curious. It checked out.

Curan entered his tent. Viper was standing at the giant mirror. She was adjusting her long fiery red hair, so they couldn’t be seen outside of her disguise. Even in this formless black attire she looked beautiful.

“Aren’t you a little quick to be back? I’m not taking this stuff off just to put it back on in five minutes.”

The magical lantern that lit the tent turned blue as the spell of silence absorbed Viper’s words. No one outside the tent could hear them, but Curan still came closer to hug her and whisper into her ear. She spotted his serious expression in the mirror. Her eyes widened as she heard the news.

“There is a chance that she is in the city.”

Viper stopped gazing in the mirror and looked Curan in the eyes. He spoke further.

“Call Emerald.”