In a hole in a mountainside, there reside two dwarves. Not a cold, wet hole filled with the waste of bats and the stench of rotting carcasses: it was a dwarven hole, and that means it is a military outpost. The hole connects to a balcony overseeing the Raiden Forest.
The two dwarves sat on the balcony, looking out at the sun setting down the horizon. Their outpost lay on the border between the Raiden Forest and the Bolsca Kingdom, a mountain kingdom inhabited by mostly dwarves. The king assigned garrisons in the border of the Radien Forest to watch over the goblins and stop any looters or large armies from entering the forest.
The Dwarves garrisoned in the outposts are known as rangers. Each outpost has seven to eleven dwarves, five to eight of these rangers would patrol the forest while the rest stay at the outpost. The two rangers sitting on the balcony were waiting for the patrolling party to come back. One of the dwarves has a long and curly black beard. He has a scar on the left eye, a short stubby nose, and wrinkles around his eyes; he wears a white wig to hide his bald head. The other dwarf had a younger complexion. He had a goatee, bushy eyebrows, and a bowl cut.
"Aleksy, can I ask you a question?" The young dwarf asked.
"What is it, Damari?" The old one answered.
"Why are we doing this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, as rangers, we have to protect the forest and the goblins that live in the forest. It doesn't really make sense to me. So what if a bunch of adventurers enters the forest to loot and kill goblins. Why should we care? Goblins are a nuisance to our kingdom. Why protect them?"
Aleksy pondered for a few seconds before giving his answer, "I don't really know why, but I do know its because of a promise."
"You mean that promise."
"Yeah, the promise our king made to the people of the forest. You know those abandoned towns and cities?"
"Yeah, I know about those."
"The people that lived there once made a contract with the king. The king promised to protect the forest and the goblins from outside countries."
"But why, though? It doesn't make any sense. Sure no one knows who the people that lived in those towns and cities were. In fact, we have no records about the country that lived in the forest besides that contract the king made with them. But we do know that those goblins must be the cause for the countries downfall. Wouldn't it make more sense if we promised to avenge them rather than protecting the very enemy that destroyed them."
"You make a good point, new blood!" An old dwarf said down the plight of stairs. It was the patrolling party returning after a day of scouting. They climbed up the stairs connected to the balcony. They looked tired and hungry from their expedition.
"It seemed like you guys had a long day, Farzin," Aleksy said.
"A long day indeed," Farzin responded. He had a short brown beard and curly brown hair. He sat down next to Aleksy and Damari on the balcony while the rest of the party entered the hole. "You would not believe what we saw today."
Damari leaned in closer, "What did you see?"
"We saw a troll statue."
"What?" Damari exclaimed.
"What is a troll doing outside during the day?" Aleksy asked.
"I may have some idea." A female dwarf walked to the three after putting away her heavy coat. "You see, we saw the troll looking down a cliff. We climbed down to investigate, and we saw this." She pulled out a lump of fur.
"What's that, Peigi? Damari asked.
"Its fur from Timber Wolves," Peigi answered, "Timber Wolves can be found all over the north, and they come in packs of seven. But some wolves were tamed by trolls and other semi-intelligent animals. We also found a broken spear and a pool of blood. It's very likely that goblins killed a Timber Wolf or two that belonged to a troll family. And a member of that troll family didn't retreat to their cave until she found their wolves."
"Never knew goblins could kill a Timber Wolf."
"Hahaha," Aleksy laughed, "You'd be surprised new blood! During my twenty years as a ranger, I've witnessed goblins take on much bigger prey just by using their wits. Never underestimate the weak."
"We also know at least three goblins that could kill a Timber Wolf on a one on one confrontation," Farzin said while walking towards a cabinet. He pulled out a bottle of vodka and took a sip. "There is Tama, who is so strong he can overpower a wolf with sheer strength. Then there is Sum, a clever goblin and equally strong as Tama. Finally, the chief of the Lev tribe, a hobgoblin called Cala, has the power to use the mana in his body to strengthen himself. He could kill a wolf with one swing of his sword."
"And which one killed the troll's wolf," Damari asked.
"Not Cala, I could tell you that," Farzin said with confidence, "He is strong but paranoid. Cala is too busy worrying about losing his power to go out and hunt a Timber Wolf."
"And Sum is guarding the tribe's southern border," Peigi added.
"Which only leaves Tama as the culprit behind the wolves' death. It makes sense, though. We have reports from the outpost north of us that they saw Tama and his men killing a young troll. Those wolves were probably sent to kill Tama." Farzin took out four small cups from the cabinet and walked to the other dwarves. He gave each of them a cup and poured vodka in them. The four cheered then gulped down the vodka.
"Now, that's good stuff!" Farzin and Aleksy yelled. Both of them looked at each other with astonishment then laughed. "We are too much alike!" Yelled Aleksy.
After a few more drinks, the sun disappeared from the sky and replaced by the sparkling stars and gentle light of the moon. The night was silent, but Damari's mind did not quiet down. His question was still unanswered. He turned to Peigi, hoping for an answer he could be happy with. "Peigi, do you know any other reason besides the promise as to why we are protecting the forest and the goblins?"
Peigi looked up to the sky, thinking about a possible answer to give Damari. While searching for an answer, she recalled a memory when she was a child. A story her mother told her. "You should know about the legend of the Slave Queen Titania. How she united the races of the world to defeat the Sky People, an invading empire coming from the sky?"
"Yeah, I know about her. Everyone knows." Damari said.
"Well, there are thirteen goblin tribes in the forest. The tribe we watch over has about two hundred goblins. Let's say that's the average for all the other tribes except for three. Three tribes live inside large, ruined cities, so their population is much larger. Let's say about four thousand each. Altogether, the goblin population numbers in fourteen thousand. Now, I know you're new, but you should already know that everyone in their tribe, excluding children, are soldiers ready for war. With such a large number of goblins, do you think our kingdom can win against them."
Damari began to sweat, "No, that sounds like an unstoppable horde."
"Exactly, but individually, they are weak. Our army of two thousand men strong could wipe out two tribes easily. But if we do that, what do you think would happen."
"The other goblin tribes would unite against us!" Damari yelled as if he had a eureka moment.
"The thirteen tribes are busy fighting amongst themselves, but the moment we give them a reason to unite, then we have a horde goblins ready for battle. Worst of all, goblins can breed with the other races, and their hybrid spawns, for some reason, can grow into an adult in fourteen days. They can become an unstoppable war machine." Peigi burped, "That's why we protect them and the forest. If one of those independent counts, dukes, or kingdoms decides to exterminate the goblins, they could end up waking the beast that destroyed whatever country or kingdom that once resided in that forest."
"I never thought of it like that," Damari said with a bewildered expression.
Just as the four dwarves continued to drink the night away, a tremendous roar came out from the forest. The dwarves looked out the balcony. The troll the patrol team saw turned back into flesh.
In the dark forest, the stone casket crumbled as the troll moves. Its muscles flexed and loosened as the troll cry to the moon. Her wolves are gone, killed by the very same goblins that killed her brother. Hate and vengeance clouded her mind. Only the death of the goblins would satiate her thirst for blood.