Sun, Smoke, and Cossack followed the muddy green tracks through the woods until they saw a group of glowing orbs on the horizon. When they got closer, they noticed the orbs were floating on the trees, and eventually, they realize that those orbs were torches placed on top of the trees. They tried to walk closer, but patrols were making their rounds. "Should we fight them?" Cossack asked.
"No, not worth the trouble." Sun answered, "It's better to sneak around and search for them. We don't know what they might do to them if we cause a stir."
Smoke turned off his light spells, and using the light coming from the torches, they climbed to higher grounds to scout their surrounding area. The light barely touched their faces as they check the tribe. The Maston tribe had no houses, which confused the boys at first, but that was when they realized the torches above the trees were not there for no reason. The Maston tribe lived on large treehouses on top of these massive trees. And the trees' barks were crimson, and its leaves were pink and orange. "What kind of trees are these?" Smoke said in wonder.
"They must be the Tungstree Artio told us to avoid. And I can't believe they live on top of these things." Sun remarked.
"You think they're up there somewhere?" Cossack asked.
"I don't think you need to ask," Smoke pointed on top of the trees and saw a platform rising from the ground carrying Stick and Rock. They were guarded by a large group of leathered armored women with spears in hand.
"Looks like they have our brothers at least," Sun retreated back to the shadows. "Let's keep going around the tribe. Find a place we can sneak in and climb after them."
The boys crawled under the bushes, dodging the eyes of the patrolling women. Eventually, they reached the entrance of the tribe, a gate made from old wooden planks and numerous skulls on placed on top as its mantle. Tall goblin women stood side by side in front of the rotting gate, guarding the entrance with their wooden spears.
"You think we can sneak past them?" Cossack asked the two.
"We can try," Smoke answered, "What do you think?" Smoke turned to Sun, who was watching the darkness behind them. "Sun?"
While the two were looking at the entrance, Sun felt a strange presence far away from them. He could hear their whispers in the dark. "Shh," started crawling the opposite direction from the entrance, "I can see something over there, or rather feel it." He lit his fingers into flame and used it to light the darkness in front of him.
"Should we follow him?" Cossack asked.
"Might as well."
The three boys couched walk under the branches and leaves of the trees and bushes until they saw patches of light coming from a distance. The source of the lights was several fireplaces scattered around with goblins camping around them. Their tents were large enough to fit a family of eight goblins. Resting besides these tents were goats and sheep tethered next to log poles.
Each fireplace had dozens of goblins sitting around them, eating and talking amongst them. They had no weapons by their side, with their spears stored elsewhere in their camp. But even with no weapons in sight, Sun could tell their numbers easily surpassed Lev's population. And another odd thing about these goblins, most of them are men, barely any women in their camp, and not a single child present. "Why are there so many of them? And how did you know they were here?" Cossack asked.
"Even I don't know. But keep asking questions Cossack, someone is bound to answer them." Sun said sarcastically.
"You got it," Cossack winked and gave a thumbs up, unaware of the sarcastic tone behind the statement.
"I'll go talk to them. They don't seem to be dangerous."
"But if they do attack, we're running," Smoke mentioned, "There's more than a hundred of them from I can tell."
"Alright," Sun stood up and walked out from the bushes, "Excuse me," He waved at the goblins.
"Black Crows!" An elder goblin yelled, and together, the entire camp rushed over for battle. Some of them grabbed a spear on the way.
"Well, that escalated quickly," Sun draws out his sword and lit on fire. "Stand back!" The goblins stopped in their tracks after witnessing Sun's fire magic.
Smoke and Cossack ran in and took out their warclubs, ready to fight next to Sun. "I told you we're running if they attack us!" Smoke yelled at him.
"I kinda panicked," Sun said.
"Please, no hurt tribe, no more!" The old goblin cried and kneeled on the ground, followed by the rest of the tribe. Sun's flaming sword brightened the camp, revealing the goblins to be just old senile men. Not a single one of these goblins were young. The only exceptions were the women accompanying them. They looked somewhat young, most likely similar in age with Dawn and Mabel.
Sun stabbed the earth, killing the fire that engulfed the blade and lowered himself to the old goblin. "What happened?"
The old goblin raised his head slowly, checking Sun's right arm, "No Black Crow?"
"Black crow?" Sun remembered that name. It was the mercenary company known for their ruthlessness and infamous for pillaging during wartime. "No, I'm not a black crow, none of us are. So please, stand up." Sun gave the goblin his hand and helped get back on his feet. "My name is Sun, and this is my brother, Smoke. And this is my commander, Cossack."
"Nice to meet you," Smoke and Cossack waved at the crowd.
"We're goblins just like you. We were once red conquerors, but then we transformed beyond that form and turned into this new form. We still don't know what to call it, though. So could you tell us what happened here? And why are you guys so close to the Maston tribe?"
"Ok," The old goblins told everyone to prepare a seat and a meal for their guest and tent for them to rest. Then they sat next to a fireplace, eating a small dish consisting of goat cheese, lamb, onion, and tomato wrapped by a thin layer of roti. Sun was surprised to see roti in this world, and he wanted to ask the elder how to they made them, but there are more pressing matters to be learned. "We Orgut tribe and me Arga. Come from west, no trees, plains only,"
"Plains?" Cossack leaned closer, "Like flat farmland."
"We no have farm, we herders. Herd graze on grass. Outsiders attack. Outsider with black crow on shoulder. Outsiders call Black Crow. Black Crow steal herd, steal boys, and steal girls. We run, can no fight. Black Crows too strong. Black Crow Chief, very strong, quick. Goblin blinks, goblin die." Arga began to shake, "Black Crow Chief kill so many. So many die. So many hunted. Made slaves" Arga began to cry.
Sun dropped his food and sat next to the old goblin and embraced him. "It's alright, you're safe now."
"Thank you," Sun released the old man, and he wiped his tears and regained his composure. "Arga bring Orgut here. Maston keep safe forest, outsiders no come. But Arga also come to Maston because Black Crow Chief cut red trees."
"Really? Why are they cutting down the Tungstree?" Cossack asked.
"Me don't know. Maston not believe, then Maston saw Black Crows cut red tree. Maston furious."
"Excuse me," Smoke cleared his throat after finishing his food, "But who are these Black Crows? I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't know them."
"Oh yeah, you weren't with us," Sun remarked, "Artio told us about them. They're a mercenary company that would kidnap innocent civilians and pillages anything in their way. I think Artio said the Black Crows are not known for their combat prowess but by their villainous actions during a war."
"Ok, but what are they doing here? Are we even sure they're the same Black Crows? I mean, just because they're hunting goblins doesn't make them bad. You know what most people outside the forest view us from the stories our mothers tell us."
"That's true, but that doesn't change the fact that these Black Crows are assholes, and maybe worst, tyrants. And they can't go back home because of those bastards occupying their lands." Sun gritted his teeth subconsciously, "They lost everything. I know that feeling well." He whispered to himself.
"Where you going? Best not go west. Too dangerous. Not safe."
"Don't worry, old man, we're heading south from here," Cossack said. "This is the furthest west we'll be go-."
Sun stopped him, "I don't know about that."
Cossack and Smoke looked at each other, "What do you mean?" They asked.
"I have a plan that will solve everyone's problem." Sun grabbed a bunch of rags and rolled them up into balls. "Here, put this on." Sun tossed the balls to Smoke and Cossack.
"Where exactly do we put-" Before Smoke could finish his sentence, he saw Sun stuff his chest with the rage and shaped it to look like a woman's breast. "What are you doing?"
"Does it look good?"
"Wait? Are we going over to the Mastons?"
"Hahaha! Yes, we are!" Sun laughed.
After stuffing their chest to make fake breasts, Sun, Smoke, and Cossack reapplied their make up using the leftovers that Artio gave them and brushed their long hair, letting it flow in the wind. The old goblins were astonished to see the handsome men they met become so ladylike. Their lips were as red as an apple, they had fair skin, and the long hair shined.
Then they made their move. They left the with a few goblins following them and walked back to the Maston tribe's entrance gate. Sun and Cossack cat walked with confidence, while Smoke struggled to get used to the girlish act.
The guards stepped forward when they saw the three and their old companions. "Stop, what want?" One of them asked with a stern voice.
"I'm here to speak to your Chief to offer a proposition," Sun said in a pompous girly voice.
The guards looked at each other confused. The woman's voice far too deep to not be a man's voice, but other than the long nose, they had unparalleled beauty. But outsiders can be very crafty, with many intruders go unnoticed due to their cleverness. And then there are the Black Crows that have been destroying their forest. These women could be one of them, and the old goblins behind them could be their slaves they caught from the Orgut tribe. "Show shoulder first, then me get Chief!"
"Alright," Sun, Cossack, and Smoke rolled their sleeves, exposing their shoulders to the guards. Outsiders affiliated to the Black Crows have tattoos of their banner on their shoulders, and those tattoos were missing on them. They were clean from the guards' perspective. However, one of the guards could not help but admire their broad shoulders during the inspection. Cossack couldn't help blush during the whole ordeal, getting flustered after a woman compliments him for the first time. However, the compliments stop once the guard saw his long nose again, and her admiration turned to disgust.
"Finish yet?" Sun asked.
"Yes, me bring Chief." The guard turned to her companion, "You stay, watch outsiders." Then she left, walking away from them until her visage disappeared.
They sat down on a fallen log and waited outside quietly. The time passed by slowly while they imagined the possible scenarios that could happen after their negotiation. Would their real identity be revealed? Will they accept their turns, or attack them when they have their backs turned? These scenarios and many more kept playing inside their minds. In case of a fight, Sun already has his hand o his sword's hilt, ready to engage at any moment.
But then they heard the voices of many coming from the Maston tribe's village. A large group of older women appeared before them accompanied by an army of spearmen. And far behind them were familiar figures standing under the dim light of the torches. It was Shuja, Natasha, and Artio waving at them. Cossack was ecstatic to see Artio again, "My lo-"
Smoke placed his hand on Cossack's mouth, "Shh, be quiet. They're surrounded by guards," Smoke pointed at the women pointing their spears at their companions. "Let's try and resolve this peacefully first, without knowing we are men."
The green goblins had short curly grey hair except for the one that stepped forward and greeted Sun. "Hello. We Maston council. Chief long dead. No successor, so we rule for now. Me Isla, and you?"
Sun stood up and whipped his brown hair, "My name is Sun, and these two,"
"What Sun want?" Isla interrupted.
"Straight to the point. Well, we are here to make a deal." Sun pulled out his sword and stabbed the earth. He leaned on it, lowering his posture, so he meets Isla eye to eye. "You have kidnapped our friends, three women, one elf, one red goblin, and one human. Along with those women, you also took two goblin men. We would like to have them back."
Isla pulled out a knife and pointed. Cossack and Smoke tried to rush to Sun's side, but the guards stopped them with their spears. "Me know you man," She whispered, "Me should kill you. What you doing here?"
"We are merely passing by," Sun said nonchalantly. "But after hearing about the Black Crows and the fact that you have my companions hostage, I decided we can make a trade. I'll help you fight the Black Crows, and you will release my brothers, my commander, and the women we are escorting back to their homes."
"You think Isla stupid. No one beat Black Crow. They strong."
Sun lit his sword into flames, making Isla jump back away from him. Sun smiled and told her, "But I'm stronger." Meanwhile, Smoke and Cossack broke the guards' spears with one swing of their warclubs. Realizing they are no match to them with their broken spears, they backed down.
"Ishahaha!" Isla laughed, "You think Isla scared, we have your friends. Me hurt them. Unless go back! All guards, attack outsiders, now!" The guards hesitated, but since they outnumbered them, they rushed hoping to overwhelm. But Smoke and Cossack did not yield and beat every guard that tried to quell them. "Why no stop? That's it!" Isla turned around, "Guards go-" Isla's eyes widened when she saw the guards behind her lying on the floor. Even without their bow and arrows, Shuja and Artio managed to beat the guards around them. If not for Stick and Rock still held hostage by the Maston tribe, they would have fled with Sun.
Isla was trapped between two powerful fighters that broke through their warriors. The council had nowhere to go.
Sun pulled out his flaming sword from the ground and rested it on his shoulder. "So will you accept this trade?"