Lenoldo didn't mention to Peter that the elves outnumbered goblins by about 50 to 1.
Instead, Peter found that out himself as a wave of elves stormed towards the caves and village. Granted, they were all about the same size as the goblins, but Peter knew he had to devise a strategy to preserve as many goblins as possible.
"Lenoldo, get whoever can shoot bow and arrows to high ground. I also need your strongest men to line up at a cave opening."
"Peter, we don't have enough bows and arrows for that," Lenoldo retorted.
Peter closed his eyes and snapped his fingers. "You do now."
Goblin soldiers made their way to the tops of cave ridges with bows and several arrows apiece, while Peter had arranged the strong goblins behind a cave entrance to set up a trip wire, which would delay the initial waves of elves.
On the way back to the village, Peter asked Lenoldo how magical the elves were.
"If they have any magical powers, it's because something has gone terribly wrong," Lenoldo stated. "That's always been our advantage."
"Well, the good news is we got lots of it," Peter said.
In his mind, Peter was using his video game experience to arrange the goblin warriors to take down the enemy. He knew this wasn't a game, but he had spent many hours playing war-style games and had never spent a second actually fighting, so he figured he would draw on what he had.
The sound of a horn from the front of the cave rang. The first wave of elves approached.
Peter finished preparing his third line of defense. Some of the goblins from other tribes had arrived, so between them and the remaining members of Lenoldo's tribe, they made up a ground unit equipped with swords, shields, and helmets, all of which Peter stocked up magically if they were short.
His last line of defense was one he hoped he didn't need, himself. Lenoldo and the elders were too weak to fight, so they stayed back to assist Peter in preparing. In the distance, Peter heard grunting and shouting. He knew the fight was on.
At the front lines, the first row of elves was already trampled by their own troops, and the next wave became tunneled into a row of archers, something they had not prepared for. The elves were getting pinned left and right like fish in a barrel, but some of the troops survived due to sheer numbers. They were met by motivated goblins who would battle them in swordplay on the ground, the way usual goblin vs. elf combat was fought.
Peter wanted to pace, as he was nervous. He did not want goblin-kind to lose a soldier under his watch, and while he knew that losing soldiers was likely, he still hoped for the best. He was also nervous, hopeful his plan worked.
Lenoldo saw the young man's mind racing. He knew Peter was doing everything he could for goblin-kind, a form of generosity no human had done in thousands of years.
Two horns blew from the cave. The attack was over, and from what Peter had understood, the goblins had won. He looked over to Lenoldo, who had a hesitant smile.
"We've won the day, but we've got long to go," Lenoldo warned.
===
Similar waves of elves arrived for the next three days. More troops from other goblin tribes made their way to the cave from hidden tunnels, and Lenoldo himself even teleported some. Peter focused on the strategy, which seemed to be working. Only a handful of goblin soldiers lost their lives in a matter of four days of fighting, while thousands of elves were piling up outside the cave, serving as a warning to the next wave of troops.
On day five, the goblin troops stood ready, but no elf troops approached. It was a welcome break, but Peter warned the goblins to stay prepared and to sleep in shifts to prevent a sneak attack. Sure enough, early in the morning on day six, the elves were back with a massive wave of troops, but only eight of them made it to the ground warriors, or third line, as Peter had started to call them.
Lenoldo received word from outside the cave about a jumbo elf, one easily four times the height of normal elves and goblins.
"This could pose a problem..." Lenoldo worried.
Peter looked back at Lenoldo and smiled. "If our troops can't handle it, I know I can."
Day seven was the final day of the elf attack. Their troops were discouraged, having lost many friends and family over the previous six days, and the goblin army, small yet mighty, proved too much for elfkind.
As promised, a jumbo elf was the last effort by the elves. Peter had prepared the soldiers well, getting the archers to aim for the eyes and the strong men with the trip-wire to do a drop and lift with the wire, which would typically have clothes-lined elf troops but cut off this elf at the knees. The ground troops hardly had to move. Goblinkind had won, and it was not close.
As Peter and the goblins celebrated, Lenoldo left the cave. He closed his eyes and extended his hand, sensing more elves on their way. He was startled when the head elf, who led the attacks, made his way to the cave alone. Lenoldo opened his eyes to see the old elf stumbling up the hill that led to the cave. From the looks of it, an arrow was stuck in his shoulder.
Slowly, the elf, known as Evet, made his way to the mouth of the cave. He panted as he spoke.
"We... surrender..." Evet uttered. "We have no more troops. We have no more resources. Please, stop the bloodshed."
"It's funny," Lenoldo scoffed. "I don't recall sending troops to your cave. I wonder how this could have happened."
Evet looked up with pleading eyes. "Please, don't. Spare our families."
Lenoldo smiled. He approached Evet and pushed the arrow into his shoulder slightly, causing the elf to shriek in pain.
"You should have no problem signing a peace treaty in your own blood, stating no more attacks on goblin-kind for the remainder of time. Or should I continue?"
Evet cried out, the pain in his body from the arrow paralyzing him. "I'll do it, please, make it stop."
Lenoldo snapped his fingers, creating a lengthy peace treaty out of midair. A feathered pen also appeared and dipped into Evet's wound, drawing blood for him to sign.
"Sign here and initial in the highlighted lines," Lenoldo ordered.
Evet grimaced as he painfully signed away the elfkind's abilities to start a war. It was a rivalry as old as history itself, and Evet knew his ancestors were ashamed of him for giving up. But there was no way to victory. The goblins had become too powerful, and elfkind could not deny it.
"There, it's done," Evet muttered.
"Good riddance. If we see you or your kind back here, look around. This will be the result," Lenoldo barked. Evet looked at the piles of elf troops that had died in the past week. It was unbearable to see his followers' lifeless bodies at the doorstep of his enemy.
"Your dead will stay here," Lenoldo added. "We can, and we will do this again if provoked."
Evet nodded. He sadly made his way down the hill. His cave of elfkind allies would be stuck in their cave for eons to come.
===
Peter and Lenoldo shared the peace treaty signed by Evet with the tribe, as well as the visiting goblin tribes. Their celebration was long, loud, and easily the most entertaining thing Peter had ever seen. He sat along the cave wall and watched goblins dance and sing while they celebrated a life without fear. It was an extraordinary moment for him.
Lenoldo approached Peter and smiled. "We owe you, big time."
Peter shook his head and smiled back. "You don't owe me a thing. You've already given me so much. I know I'll always have a place here in the goblin world, and to me, that is enough."
Lenoldo nodded. "Of course, Peter. Your story will be passed on for generations. Our goblin youth will remember you as Peter the Great."
Peter smirked. "I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but there's already one of those. I'm fine with 'Just Peter' or something like that."
Lenoldo and Peter both laughed. Then, Lenoldo extended his hand. "It's time to go, Peter. I hope you understand if I'm not around to visit for a while, as I'll be a little busy partying."
Peter smiled. "Totally get it. Let's get back."
===
What was more than a week among goblin-kind turned into no time at all in human time. Peter and Lenoldo flashed into the kitchen of Peter's apartment. Brooke and Sam were still unpacking in Sam's apartment across the hall. Peter sat down at the table and looked over at Lenoldo. He had a wide grin on his face.
"I have an idea," Lenoldo smirked. A flash of yellow magical energy came from his finger. He extended his finger and pointed to the sky. This yellow blob of magic grew larger and larger until it finally flashed in front of Peter's eyes. Afterward, Peter heard a thunder-like bang, which startled him. Afterward, he opened his eyes to see Lenoldo standing there, still smiling.
"What... did you do?" Peter asked.
"Something you'll have to wait and see," Lenoldo said with another smirk. It's my way of saying thanks again." Before Peter could rebut, Lenoldo snapped his fingers and disappeared.
Just then, Peter heard a knock at the door.
He checked his phone for the time. 'Who the fuck is knocking at 11:30?'
He walked to the door and opened it a crack. The two women who lived upstairs were a cute blonde named Quinn and a slender black-haired woman named Erin. They lived alone in their separate apartments, which were part of the quad-plex.
"We heard a loud bang and wanted to check and see if you were alright," Quinn stated. She wore a pink robe, while Erin wore a red one.
"I should be okay. I'm not exactly sure what it was," Peter lied, opening the door a little more.
"Would you mind if we came in to make sure you're okay?" Erin asked, flashing a cute smile.
"I mean, I guess," Peter replied.
Quinn and Erin both walked in past Peter. He smelled perfume on at least one of them. 'That's odd...'
Peter closed the door behind him. Quinn and Erin walked around, clinging to their robes as they looked at Peter's apartment. "You have a lot of cool stuff here," Quinn remarked.
As Quinn bent down to look at something on the coffee table, Peter accidentally brushed her ass with her arm while his hand was in his pocket. Quinn let out an audible moan, which caught Peter's attention.
Quinn looked up and bit her lip, but Erin wandered into the kitchen before she could say anything.
"Did the bang come from in here?" She asked.
"What are you doing in there?" Peter replied. He walked briskly to the kitchen, colliding with Erin, who was on her way out of it. They bumped into each other, and Erin's hands found Peter's arms and chest.
