Goblin Queen's Plan

Egla and Reav

We walked for almost a whole day before we came to a small village. As we approached the place, Zora told me that we'd be keeping an eye out for anyone we could add to our group.

We made our way through town, getting the layout in our minds. We found a baker and picked up some stale bread for a few copper pennies. A soup bone - from the butcher - cost a few more pennies. We finished out scouting and supply-gathering and left town. We found a small copse of trees with a crude shelter inside. I collected some water and we started the broth.

Once darkness had fallen, we banked the fire, covered the pot, and walked back into town. We made a quick loop through the streets of the poorer sections. We found a young girl, crying, lying under a thin blanket on the stoop of a house. She looked to be close to adulthood - not that I was any judge of goblin women's ages.

She eyed us cautiously as we approached. Zora crept over, with her finger held to her lips and asked her to come out to the middle of the street - away from the door - to talk. She looked hesitant but finally came. She stood well away from me and held her blanket as if it was a talisman against evil spirits.

"Why are you sleeping out here?" Zora asked.

"My mother's new husband won't let me sleep in the house."

"If you could have anything you wanted, what would you pick?"

"A knife," she said, seething.

The girl's ears were larger than Zora's - and stood out more. Her hair was straighter, much lighter (but still green), and shorter - bobbed off just below her chin. Her green eyes looked dull and haggard. She wore a thin shift that had once been white. It didn't look warm - and neither did her blanket. Her feet were bare.

"I wouldn't advise revenge," Zora told her. "It's a miserable life. What would you do - just for yourself? Does your mother want you?"

"No."

"Would you like to leave here?"

"Where would I go?" she asked.

"We're on a quest," Zora told her. "We're going to rescue some friends of mine. I escaped but I want them to be free too."

"What would I have to do? Why is the elf with you?"

"He's my slave. He's a healer", she told the girl. "You don't have to do much. Forage for food, fetch water - whatever we need to survive. Nothing more."

"You own him?"

"Yes."

"Where are his chains?"

"He doesn't need them. He has bound himself to me."

At that, she looked hard at Zora.

"You can stay here, if you want," my queen told her. "I'm offering you a different choice. We will not be coming back this way. If you want to come with us, this is your only chance to decide."

"I'll go. Do you have food?"

"Bread and broth - at our camp outside of town."

"I'm hungry," the girl said.

"Is there anybody else here that should come with us?"

The young woman started to shake her head but then froze, her eyes fixed straight ahead. She darted off, down the street and around a couple corners. She brought us to an alley.

In the back corner, there was a board propped against the wall with some rags under it. She lifted off the board to reveal a small boy resting, fitfully, beneath. He was shivering. If he were human, I would have said he was six or seven years old. He might have been a little older but he was scrawny and underfed - so it was hard to tell.

I knelt beside him. He was severely malnourished and his leg had been broken and then had healed incorrectly.

"He's crippled, my queen," I said. "I'll need to break the leg to fix it. He'll need to get his strength up first or he'll likely die of shock when I do it. He needs food and water until he's well enough for me to help him."

"You can heal him?" the girl asked.

"Yes."

"His name is Reav," she told Zora. "He begs for scraps. His mother died in a fire. She threw him from the window so he would live. That's how he got hurt. No one wants him."

"He can go with us," I told the girl. "There's no way I could leave him here. Let's get him back to camp."

I scooped him up and started pushing some strength and warmth into his body. I also killed all of the fleas and lice that covered his body and his clothes. I left his blanket of rags where it lay. The girl didn't question that decision at all.

At the camp, Zora found a blanket. I wrapped him in it, sat down, and held him on my lap. She retrieved the tin cup, filled it with broth, and gave it to me. I brought it to the boy's lips and tilted a little into his mouth. As soon as he got the taste of it, he started coming awake enough to take small sips. Within a few minutes, I was giving him bits of bread that the girl was tearing off for me. After each bite, I'd give him a little more broth. He didn't eat that much before he fell asleep in my arms.

"Where do I sleep?" the girl asked.

"You and Zora can have the shelter," I told her. "I'll hold him and keep him warm."

"I'll relieve you in a few hours," Zora said.

"I'll be fine, my queen," I said, seeing the girl looking nervous.

Zora glanced at the girl and then nodded.

I got up a couple times to add wood to the campfire and then finally dozed off as the morning sky started to lighten.

"How much sleep did you get?" Zora asked me.

"Enough, my queen," I said.

She looked at the girl and asked, "Will anyone come looking for you?"

"Probably not," she admitted.

"Stay here with Zack and Reav. I'll run to the butcher's and get some meat so we can have a hearty stew. I think it would be better to remain here another night."

The girl looked a little nervous but nodded.

"Do you have any injuries?" Zora asked her.

She showed us a cut on the inside of her arm that looked a little infected.

"Can I heal that for you?" I asked her.

She shrugged.

"I'll need to touch your arm. It looks like it is sore. Does it hurt when you touch it?"

She nodded.

"It's infected. I can make it better."

"What's your name?" Zora asked her.

"Egla," she said quietly.

"Egla, he won't hurt you. Let him put his hand on your arm. You'll feel better right away. It won't hurt. It might tingle for a little bit while he's fixing it."

The girl finally stepped over and held out her arm to me.

I laid my palm on the injury and pushed healing into it. As the wound healed, her body shoved the puss out.

"Rinse that goo off of your arm," I told her. "That's the poison that was inside of you."

Zora showed her where the water bucket was and told her to scoop water from the bucket - not to put her arm into it.

As Zora started to head into town, I said, "My queen? I would like Egla to gather some water for me to heat so I can clean Reav up a little. Do you have a basin I can use - and some rags?"

"No basin; I have rags. Gather the water and start heating it. I'll see what I can find in town. We may just have to scoop water from the pot, and pour it over the rags."

"Thank you, my queen. That'll work. You getting more bread too?"

"Yes."

"Alright. I'll warm the rest of the broth and give him a little more of that for breakfast."

She nodded and headed off.

Egla still shied away from me but she seemed less nervous as she helped me with Reav. He sat up about the time Zora returned and we introduced ourselves to him. He held a hand out to Egla. When she took it, he told her thank you for rescuing him. She got teary-eyed and squeezed his small hand.

Zora gave me a shirt and pants for the boy. I laid them to the side. I stood him up as well as I could and told him that I was going to strip him, scrub him as clean as I could, and then put his new clothes on him. He nodded.

Zora had two rags. Egla helped me with the boy as Zora worked on the stew. The young girl would get the rag wet, trade me for the filthy one, and I would scrub more of Reav clean - before trading rags again. She cleaned the rags by scooping water from the bucket, rinsing the rag, and wringing it out - again and again.

Once most of the grime was cleaned off of the boy, he shivered in the gentle breeze.

"Sorry, bud," I said. "We're almost done. I think you'll feel much better when we're finished."

"I feel better already," he said.

"We fed you and I healed you a bit."

"Can you heal my leg?"

"Yes - but I'll have to break it first. It will hurt - a lot. Your tummy needs to be full before we try that - but - yes - I want you walking on your own."

"You really can?" he asked.

"It will hurt bad when I break your leg," I warned him again.

"Remember how you told me you unhealed that one man?" Zora called out to me, guiding my thoughts - but avoiding mentioning that I had used my skills to kill someone.

"Yes, my queen?"

"Do you think you could get the bone to un-mend the bad heal - and then straighten the leg - and then heal it correctly?"

I thought for a minute and then said, "Maybe. That would keep me from having to break it - but I'm still going to be pulling muscles around differently than they've been for ... How long has your leg been like this?" I asked Reav.

The boy shrugged.

Egla said, "At least a year."

I put my hand on his leg and sent my senses inside, feeling the injury and reevaluating my plan. Zora might be right. Maybe I could even convince the muscle to change as I moved the bone. It would take longer - and require more magical energy - but maybe it wouldn't hurt Reav so much.

"Maybe I'll see what I can do after we've had lunch," I told Zora. "Reav and I both need our strength before we can try this."

Zora finished the stew and we each had a bowl and a crust of stale bread. Reav still didn't eat as much as Egla - but he ate more than he had before.

"How are you feeling?" I asked him.

"Good. I haven't had that much to eat in forever," he said, smiling.

"Lay on this blanket. I'm going to see what I can do with your leg. Hold Egla's hand." Looking at her, I said, "If he squeezes, you tell me and I'll stop what I'm doing."

She nodded.

I had just put my hand on Reav's leg when he squeezed Egla's hand and she gasped, "Stop!"

Our alarm and concern momentarily turned to anger when the goblin boy started giggling - but then we giggled along with him.

"That was ornery," I told Reav. "I'm glad you're feeling good enough to do that but you scared Egla and me."

"Sorry," he said, reaching up to dry the tears from his mischievous eyes.

I looked up at Egla again and she nodded, smiling. It was the first time I had seen her smile. She was pretty. I put my hands on Reav's leg but didn't do anything else for a moment, waiting for him to prank us again - but he laid still this time.

Egla was still smiling, looking from Reav to me, as she continued holding his hand.

I closed my eyes and "looked" for where the bone had healed incorrectly. Following Zora's advice, I sliced through the bonds that incorrectly joined the two pieces of bone together. Once they were separated, I started moving the leg.

"Hey, uh ..."

"My name is Zack," I reminded him.

"Zack?"

"Yes?"

"It doesn't hurt but my stomach's wiggly."

"Okay, I'll go a little slower. That's probably nausea - which means I'm going too fast. If you feel like you're going to throw up, turn your head."

"Okay. It's a little better now."

"That's because I stopped. I'm going to move it again."

I tried to smooth out the muscles as I moved the leg. I went more slowly now. I worked to make sure the muscles didn't get trapped between the sections of bone I was aligning. There were loose bone shards in there that had scar-tissue around them, I healed the muscle tears and eased the bone fragments to where I needed them. Once they were in place, I made them grow back to what they were originally.

"It's hot inside," Reav said.

"I'm growing your bones. I need another minute or two. Will you be okay?"

"Yes. It's fine. I was just telling you," he said, his face focused.

"You're doing really well. Hang in there a little longer."

Once I was finished with the bone, I "looked" back over the ligaments, muscles, and cartilage. Everything seemed to be where it should.

"Egla and I are going to help you stand up. Go slow but I need to know if anything doesn't feel right."

"Everything feels weird right now."

"Yeah, probably," I told him.

I took his right hand; Egla still had his left. He stood up.

"Shift from your good leg to the bad one. See if it can hold your weight okay now."

He did, and said, "Yes!"

"Okay. We're going to let go. I want you to take a few slow steps. If you take off running, Egla and I won't be able to keep up."

Both of them laughed giddily at the thought of him sprinting away.

We let go of his hands and he took a few cautious steps. Then he took two steps towards where Egla was kneeling and hugged her neck. After that, he took two steps over to me and did the same.

"I can't believe it!" he exclaimed. "I can walk."

Reav realized Zora hadn't gotten a hug and he ran three steps to hug her waist. She laughed with him as Egla and I dried the tears from our eyes.

"Let's wash your hair, scoundrel," I told him. "The rest of you is mostly clean but your hair is still a nasty mess."

Reav's hair was darker than Egla's but not nearly as dark as Zora's. He looked a little older now that he was clean and could walk on his own.

Zora gave me a chunk of soap and I used the tin cup to scoop water over Reav's head. Once his hair was wet, I started working the soap through his matted locks.

"Keep your eyes closed," I warned him. "It'll sting if it gets into your eyes. I'm trying to be careful but it looks like it's been a while since you've had a bath."

He tried to nod which had all of us laughing again.

I rinsed his hair with the tepid water. I was looking around for some kind of towel to use to dry him when he shook himself like a dog - covering Egla and I in water droplets.

I scooped him up in my arms and tickled him, telling him that he was a troll's turd. He howled in laughter.

Once we quieted down, Zora said, "Let's break camp. I'd like to travel a few miles before we have to stop again."

"Yes, my queen," I said.

The kids started following our directions to help get everything packed and soon we were on our way. Egla carried a small pack. We left Reav without encumbrance and he ran circles around us, turning cartwheels and squealing with glee, as we traveled along the dusty road.

We'd walked for a few hours when he matched pace with me and captured my right hand with his.

"Can I stay with you?" he asked.

Zora looked back from where she was walking and replied, "If you want to."

"I do," he told her. "Can I call Zack 'da'?"

"If you want - but not when we're around others."

He looked at me. I said, "I would be honored, Reav."

"I never had a da before," he said, elated. "Egla, will you be my sister?"

She glanced at me. I shrugged and smiled. She looked back to him and said, "Sure, squirt."

"I have a nickname?!" he exclaimed, bouncing up and down.

Zora smiled as Egla and I laughed.

We walked a few more hours and the sun was starting to set. Zora found a bramble of thorny briars and laid her palm on the ground. As the rest of us watched, the thorn bushes formed a small thorny cave that the four of us could safely rest within.

I made a small fire and we warmed up the rest of the stew, eating it with the dried bread. Once we'd gotten a little food in our stomachs, I doused the fire, and we crawled into our shelter. Zora placed her hand on the ground and sealed off the entrance.

We put Egla and Reav in the middle. Zora laid beside Egla; I laid beside Reav. We pulled the blankets over the top of us and were soon all asleep.

Imka

Early the next morning, Zora freed us from our thorny prison. We relieved ourselves, got a drink of water, and refilled our canteens. Soon we were back on the road.

Reav walked beside us now - either holding my hand, Egla's, or both at the same time. It felt a little weird but it also felt right.

It was mid-afternoon when we got to the next village. As before, we scoped things out and picked up a few cheap food items.

On the other side of the town, we found a traveler's camp and claimed the empty shelter. We ate and placed our things inside.

When darkness fell, Zora sealed off the entrance with thorns and we headed back into the small town.

As we flitted through the streets, we found a house with an obvious domestic dispute going on inside. We left Reav with Egla. Zora pulled her knife and we headed through the open door. A huge male was holding a female against the wall. She was already bloody. One eye was swollen and her lip was torn from being smashed into her teeth. The goblin's fist was pulled back as he prepared to punch her in the face again.

I raced forward, put my hand on him and shoved "SLEEP!" at his body. He was already fairly inebriated so there was no resistance. He collapsed to the floor. The female slid down the wall, to the dirty planks beside him, tumbling out of his grasp.

"How long will he sleep?" Zora asked me.

"I don't know. Let me patch her up and I'll see if I can tell. What do you want to do?"

"Honestly? Kill him and bury him outside of town - but that won't help her - and might cause more problems for all of us."

I laid my hands on the woman and started healing her cuts, bruises, and broken bones. Zora found some water and brought her a drink.

"Who are you?" she asked Zora when her mouth was repaired enough to work properly once more.

"Travelers. You can come with us if you want."

"I couldn't."

"This is the first time he's beaten you?"

From what I felt of the scar-tissue inside her body, I knew it wasn't. I looked at Zora and shook my head no.

"No," the woman admitted, looking at the floor.

"He won't change," Zora told her. "I can't make you come with us but we won't be here to save you next time. Come outside with me."

She took the woman by the hand and led her out to the street. I heard her telling Egla and Reav to tell the woman about us. As they talked, I took the man's money-pouch and quickly searched through the house for food, clothes, a blanket, and valuables. I brought everything I thought she needed out, bundled it into the blanket and handed it to the woman.

"What are you doing?" she asked me.

Looking at what I had collected, Zora said, "Zack thinks you should leave. I agree. You don't have to come with us but you shouldn't stay here any longer."

The female looked at the items I had collected, checked the coin purse, took out a couple silvers, and handed the pouch back to me. "Put the rest of the money back. If you take it all, he'll think he needs to come find me. Otherwise, he'll probably forget I existed. I was desperate when I moved in with him."

I went back inside, put the money pouch back the way I'd found it, and left - closing the door behind me.

"Have you eaten?" Zora asked her.

She nodded.

"What's your name?"

"Imka."

"My queen?" I asked, wondering if we were going to search any more streets.

"Let's call it a night," she replied.

I nodded and said, "I'll take the rear."

She nodded in return and led the way out of town - back to our camp.

Imka watched as Zora removed the brambles covering our shelter, eyes wide. Zora waved us all inside and closed the entrance back behind us.

"We'll be safe without having to post a watch," Zora explained. "We need to be up early and moving."

"Sleeping arrangements?" Imka asked, glancing sideways at me.

"He and I are bonded. I might share if you ask nicely - but not tonight. We've been keeping the littles between us, to make sure they're warm. You can pick your spot and the rest of us will snuggle in, together. We'll add your blanket to the pile. You can sleep by yourself if you'd rather."

"If it's alright, I'll just snuggle in behind him," she said, glancing at me again.