Viktor, Sisa, Fafi and Krugh had left the main hall behind and were sitting in the chieftain’s private room filled with sitting mats. The room’s atmosphere was awkward, with a necromancer, a shaman, chieftain and a little goblin girl sitting inside who moments before had more than a petty argument.

Sisa was sitting in Viktor’s lap, petting the ferret who had survived the rough treatment from Krugh and patched up by Viktor after Sisa had brought the ferret to him.

Fafi was meekly sitting next to the chieftain as they all sat in silence in groups of two. The balance of power between the two sides seemed to be heavily in Viktor’s favour with the little girl sitting in his lap.

Finally, the other side made the first move.

“So.. Erm, Paley..” Krugh began awkwardly, “ You a conjurer, and um. All that?”

Viktor gave the large goblin a nod, not really focusing on him as he kept his focus on Sisa.

“Right, right. Sorry about all that. Stories about them passed down are never been.. pleasant.” Krugh apologised while taking a glance at the calm goblin girl, stroking a ferret while looking at him menacingly.

Viktor waved his hand dismissively and said: “I can’t blame you. When I became what I am now.. When I found out what I had become.. I despaired because I had heard of the stories.. Told by my people, as well.”

“So you really aren’t ki-“ Krugh stammered to a halt and corrected himself when he felt someone’s ire towards him grow. “So you were not originally kin.”

“Hm, yeah..”

“Paley, Paley! Who were you before?” Sisa interrupted the discussion as she turned to look at Viktor. “Ohh, and how did you become forest kin?!” she added as she excitedly urged Viktor to answer with her expectant eyes.

Unable to resist his saviour, he acquiesced and began his story.

“I was plane dweller. Got chased by hm, savage forest kin and fell into a well.”

“A plane dweller! Like those warriors in shining armour?” Sisa commented before pronouncing a word in Viktor’s old language “A k-knikt?”

The two others twitched a little upon hearing he had been human before, but beyond that, did not react.

“A knight,” Viktor corrected her. “And no, I was hm.. there is no word for it in forest kin tongue.. I learned from a master how to ground seeds in to dust.”

“Why would you want to grind seeds in to dust?” Asked Fafi, finally speaking up. She was frowning, most likely because she was rather nature oriented with her abilities, based on the thorn she had conjured to bind Viktor before.

Krugh was eyeing her with eyes that said, ‘who cares what plane dwellers do with seeds?’ but she adamantly ignored him and kept waiting for Viktor’s answer.

“We use it to make food..” Viktor awkwardly said. The duos relationship was rather peculiar because of last night’s events, “ Mix it with water, herbs and other things and make all kinds of foods from it.”

“From dust?” Fafi continued.

“Flour.” Viktor said in common sprechen. And continued with goblin tongue “ I misspoke, It is not dust but fine powder of edible seeds. It hasn’t got a word in forest tongue.”

“Flowr” Fafi repeated him in thought and did not continue her interrogation. Taking it as a cue, Viktor continued his story. He heard her mutter, “Flowr.. Plane dwellers weird. Waste good seed.”

“As for how I became forest kin, I- .. Don’t want to say. Let us just say I died and then become what I am.”

A tiny hand latched on to Viktor’s torn robe and large watery eyes looked at him in a worry.

“Died?” Sisa whispered in a forlorn voice. Viktor caught on to the sudden change in the goblin as he assuredly patted Sisa’s head. “I am still here and alive.”

He continued to pat Sisa’s head while turning to Krugh. “As I said before, I hold no hostile intent towards anyone of the tribe, and I am willing to be.. Kin. If I am allowed.”

“Allowed. “ Cooed Sisa as she enjoyed the head pats.

“Hm, thank you Sisa.” Viktor responded as he took a glance at the little goblin, who was so supportive of him. “I am rather curious, Krugh, while I don’t want to question It, why Sisa is able to decide on this.” He directed towards Krugh, who cast a glance at Sisa and see how she responds to the question.

Seeing as she didn’t bother to answer after a few seconds, Krugh spoke up, “Daughter of previous chieftain and the future chieftess.” He stated plainly, “Will give Sisa her rightful place once she comes of age.. I.. am warrior. Not chief. Will look after the tribe till she is ready.”

“Her will is law. As was his fathers.” He added with a forlorn look, while Sisa shifted uncomfortably.

Krugh rubbed his face in frustration before continuing. “Earlier, questioned. Did not trust judgment of little chieftess. Warrior me told, danger. And listened to it.” He motioned towards Sisa and Viktor and continued, “What I see now tells me the warrior was wrong. A warrior wrong is dangerous if leading.

Fear what would have happened to tribe if not stopped.. Now hear the pale one was plain dweller who died and came back as kin.. Might’ve been able to kill pale one but will it rise again? To bring vengeance with it?” He ended his monologue and caressed his arm bindings with a thoughtful look on his face before turning back to Viktor.

“You are Kin and friend of chieftess, the tribe is honoured to have you as their shaman, pale conjurer.” Krugh said while lowering to a bow, followed by Fafi.

Viktor accepted their declaration with a small bow of his own, and the meeting came to an end.

With the incident coming to an end, Viktor slowly acclimatised to the life inside the tribe, most goblins kept their distance after rumours about him and the confrontation with the chief becoming common knowledge.

Viktor took it in strides and kept mostly to himself beyond interacting with Sisa daily. He met with Sisa’s mother during those times. She was a sturdy-looking goblin matriarch and the only person besides Viktor Sisa listened.

Fafi kept her distance after the confrontation and Viktor felt it was a correct response. They were not in a relationship and expected nothing beyond the singular night of passion.

During the few weeks of peace, Viktor had taken on a habit of wandering the ancient woods and had carved himself a walking stick. On his little journeys, he gathered some edibles and an assortment of bugs he had raised after killing them. He stored them in small pouches he had added to his robe while mending the tears that it had received from the thorns.

After the darkness had descended, he revived teachings from Percy and Higgins and he was able to advance in his manipulation of life force.

But he was slowly reaching a limit while the grimoires inhabitants refused to teach him further, claiming they wished for him to experiment and learn on his own before they would teach him more as they wanted him to not rely too much on direct knowledge they possessed.

Viktor spent that night mostly awake thinking about what he should do. The energy he now possessed was multi-faceted and could be used in myriad ways. He finally decided to continue what he had been doing these weeks and seek resources to experiment on his forays beyond the village before falling to sleep.

He awoke around mid-day and ate a quick meal before gathering his things and leaving his hovel.

He climbed the staircase, mostly ignoring the other goblins milling about.

He used the walking stick to help him forward. Over the few weeks, he had been growing weaker and more thin due his use of his powers. While his body recovered his vitality but unlike his soul, it was slow a slow process and he had no access to large creatures to drain to recover it quickly.

He was panting as he reached the top of the staircase and took a breather while leaning on his staff.

The goblins around shot him glances as they moved around him, but kept their distance.

With a last sigh, he moved on and left the valley behind.

The foliage shuffled around him as he walked further away, his goal to head far deeper into the woods than before.

After around two hours of walking on the dense forest ground he stopped, completely spent. He sat down on a fallen tree covered in moss and brought a waterskin to his lips, taking large mouthfuls of the water inside before exhaling sharply.

He listened to the surrounding birdsong and called upon his link with the critters stowed in his robe, causing them to rouse and skitter out. He sent them out to scout around while he took out a hardened smoked piece of meat and gnawed it steadily while focusing on the connections. He left a few critters to circle around him and watch his perimeter to warn him of anything drawing near.

Over the week he had reached a decent proficiency with his links and could gain partial input of senses from his servants as long as he did not grasp over one sense.

The flightless bugs were not the best scouts as they made forward slowly because of their small stature, but they compensated with their inconspicuousness.

Viktor was seeking for something like a snake. It was simple to bring down and would not flee or charge him if he’d approach. He directed his bugs to contact him with the connection should they find anything alive in their search.

He hummed some folk song about a shepherd away from home as he let time pass while scanning around. He got an occasional ping from his connection because of the insects finding other insects before he defined his command better to not include them in their search.

After a few more songs, he received notification of a critter finding something he was searching. Concentrating upon his connection with the insect, he received a distorted and disorientating view of what it had found.

It was a lone bipedal creature, a goblin.

Not what he had been looking. He mulled over the creature he had sawn. The insects saw the world differently and was hard to make out of many details. Another demerit to using them, but they were easy to find and cheap to maintain as well as replace.

‘This might be better than a snake,’ Viktor thought to himself. If it would be alone and not from the tribe, this might be an unexpected boon. He did not really care for some unknown goblin and was more than willing to enter it into his service after killing it.

Viktor rose from the fallen tree and let his connection to direct his path as he called the other scouts to gather around the lone goblin and let the sentries to return to him.

He waited as they skittered over and crawled into a pocket before heading out.

He walked about five minutes before slowing down and hushing his steps. His goblinoid physique helping him silently move towards the goblin.

It had been mulling around in its immediate area. Viktor had lost a few larger insects to it as it ate them.

As he drew near, around 20 yards before the goblin who had its back turned towards him as it was digging the ground, his robe brushed past a dried underbrush, causing a branch to snap, alerting his foe to his presence. It turned around and warily eyed Viktor, who was hunched over because of sneaking.

Both of them stopped in their tracks. The other goblin was wearing only loincloth made of ferns and no weapon. It was dirty and sickly thin.

It said nothing as its eyes shifted at the hunched over one eyed goblin who was leaning over its staff.

‘It seems like not from the tribe,’ Viktor thought as he observed the starved goblin.

It looked like one of the savage goblins that had chased him before as a human. Tough, this one was in far worse condition.

‘Perhaps a stray from a savage pack?’ It was also seemingly moving around alone. It could always be a forager for some savage tribe, but what he had heard as a human was that goblins rarely moved around alone.

He had also never seen goblins of his own tribe leaving from the village alone.. With a few exceptions like himself and Fafi, who he had seen heading out a few times by her lonesome.

“Greetings kin.” Viktor addressed the goblin. He felt he should make sure he wasn’t wrong with his assessment and struck up a conversation.

“What want?!” the goblin snarled at him, its body language guarded, its eyes scanning Viktor before stopping on his satchel making its jaws clench a little and swallow before shifting to look at Viktor’s face. Its wary look had taken a calculative undertone that it hid poorly.

‘what a simple creature’ Viktor couldn’t help but think as he noticed the change.

“Heard shuffling when travelling, came to see and saw kin.” Viktor said while using simpler words in their language to sound stupider.

He had noticed that his own tribe mostly spoke in a more complete way, mostly but just like this one, and his brothers and sisters in the well they favoured shorter sentence structure.

“Travelling? Kin alone in forest?” The starved goblin inquired with a smile of pointy teeth. “Travel for long, hm?”

“Yes, yes. Long way and long way to go.. Yes.” Viktor responded with a similar smile as the goblin while leaning on his staff heavily. “What tribe kin from?” He inquired further while taking a sip from his waterskin and closing his eyes. He kept watch on the goblin using one of the bugs that he let peek out of its pocket.

“From tribe Bloodied Talon” The extinguished looking goblin took quiet steps towards him as he said so “Here to gather food for tribe.”

Its steps halted after a few steps as Viktor took the waterskin from its mouth and opened its eyes. Ignoring the sudden change of distance, he wiped his mouth. “Not heard of tribe Bloodied Talon, tribe near?” He asked and walked towards the goblin with a limp and supported his weight with his staff, who, upon seeing this, tensed up despite the seemingly feeble Viktor.

Nearing it, Viktor presented his waterskin towards the goblin. It eagerly scampered over and snatched away the waterskin and greedily drank from it. It seemed the goblin was also dehydrated.

As the goblin greedily drew water from the skin, in its lack of focus it failed the notice the pale goblins quick shift in gait as Viktor rose from its hunched stature and swung the staff with both hands, striking the goblins left side of the head with a heavy blow.

The poor wretch crumpled to the ground almost instantly from the force of the impact. Its skull had caved in from the hit and the goblin had died instantly, still having a relieved expression on its face.

Viktor sighed and picked up his waterskin and swiped some of the dirt off it before taking a sip and looking at the dead goblin.

He did somewhat feel sorry for it; he had after Sisa and interacting with the few goblins gown to see them as people. But that mostly excluded everyone outside of his own tribe. Especially the savage goblins like this, but seeing its relieved expression and malnourished body tugged at his conscience.

He could’ve so easily given it food and helped it, bring it to the tribe. Someone would beat it to show its place, but then he would’ve most likely been accepted to the tribe. It had been smart enough not to just charge at him. Surely he would’ve integrated with the tribe’s ways.

But that will not come to pass. The nameless goblin’s life had ended and soon a new one would begin. One of servitude.

Viktor sat down next to the corpse and closed its eyes before placing the hand on its head. He called upon his life force and directed it to enter the goblin. He felt something rip from its being as it called the body to rise and serve him.

The balefire danced and licked the corpse, the caved skull slowly crackling and returning to the correct place. It let out a groan of agony as it raised its upper body and standing up. Its eyes filled with balefire stared at its new master, waiting for instructions.

Viktor stood up as well and inspected the undead. An appreciative hum left his mouth as he walked around it, stopping only to admire how the skull had shifted back in place and the skin had re-knitted itself whole.

‘Something to look into later’ Viktor thought as he returned in front of the undead. Mending bones was not something he could achieve outside of his own body that healed without his input as long as he had energy.

He handed his satchel to the undead goblin and recalled his insects before telling the goblin to follow.

With this success, he was hoping to find a suitable source of life energy as well as he felt even weaker than before.

But before that, he wanted to relocate just in case he was wrong and his fresh addition had friends nearby.

They walked around 30 minutes, closer to Viktor’s tribe, before stopping next to a clearing with a small pond in the middle. Viktor sat down at the edge of the clearing, on another fallen tree, and prompted the undead goblin to fill the waterskin while he took a rest and sent out the insects.

Viktor took another piece of smoked meat and chewed it as the undead servant returned from its task.

It was already late afternoon at this point, with the sun taking its slow descent.

Suddenly, one of the insects nearby pinged him of a figure drawing near them from behind. Viktor stood up and snapped around. He ordered his servant to come in front of him.

Soon a veiled figure walk in to view. Fafi chuckled nervously as she looked at the tense, pale goblin and his undead as she walked closer. She raised her arms to show she meant no harm. She stopped 10 yards from them and took a nervous glance at the undead.

“Hi Paley, eeeh.. I mean you no harm?” She said underneath her veil.

Viktor relaxed somewhat as he saw Fafi and commanded the undead to distance itself a bit and stand down.

She let her hands down and walked over and sat next to Viktor, who sat down as well.

“Sensed something weird” Fafi gestured towards the undead and twiddling her fingers awkwardly and shooting Viktor a quick glance.

Viktor nodded and looked at the stoic undead. “Said was Bloodied Talon tribe. Probably a stray, came across him when it was foraging food.”

“Nasty tribe, savage.” Fafi nodded without going into details while turning towards the undead and studying it.

“Does it bother you that I raised a kin?” Viktor asked after a moment of silence. “Will it bother the tribe?” He added.

“Yes.” Fafi stated and turning towards Viktor “Tribe will probably feel the same..”

She motioned at the undead. “Unnatural, dead but so full of life. No emotion.. It’s scary.”

Viktor mulled over her words before rummaging in his satchel and offering Fafi smoked meat. She accepted it despite being confused by his action and lowered her veil to gnaw at the hard piece of meat.

“I expected you and the tribe won’t like it.” Viktor started as he looked at the sky above, slowly growing darker as the sun trickled down the horizon. “But neither do you like me or what I am.”

“We don’t-“

“Let me finish.” Viktor interrupted. “Yes, you have come to accept me as the member of the tribe.” He lowered his gaze and looked at the undead standing half a dozen yards away, “You fear it, for it is unnatural, dead, but so full of life. Like me, in a sense.”

He grabbed a beetle that was on the tree trunk and continued, “You fear I would do the same to you. You see yourself in that goblin.” He roused a bit of balefire and directed it to snuff out the life in the beetle, leaving behind an intact corpse. He opened his palm and watched the dead beetle in it before raising his hand.

He called the balefire again, this time rousing it to take a piece of himself and creating a minion. He commanded it to fly free until the energies that drove it depletes and it would be dead once more.

“I’ve only practiced this for mere weeks,” Viktor whispered as he watched the beetle fly away from his hand, “Merely scratching the surface of what is possible, yet I find it so pure.”

He looked at Fafi, who was watching the beetle fly into the distance.

“Despite the stories I have heard, I have come to see this like any other power.. Just like fire, water or wind or any other. It can harm and aid, to do good and bad.” Viktor continued before calling a large flame of balefire to manifest on his hand. “Even some other magic can control the dead in some ways, I believe.”

He winced as he dragged his talon over his skin, cutting deeply as he watched dark blood exit him. He controlled the balefire over the wound. “There is nothing inherently good or bad in this power. What you truly fear is me.” He stated as his skin healed, leaving a fresh scar.

“You fear me as you do not trust me to not do what I have done to him.” He stood up and picked up his satchel. “He merely reminds you of your distrust of me and what I can do.” He calmly stated as he took his leave, the malnourished undead in tow, leaving Fafi to sit on the fallen tree. “So many watched me do what I did to him to a small forest critter, and they watched in awe as it moved once more. Now they will see themselves In it, and the person they do not trust controlling it.”

He cast a glance at Fafi before leaving his parting words. “Fearing the bad will never let it become good.”