Glashtyn, Kirkcour Woods.

8:23 pm, 17th Banem 1092.

Kashi's negotiations with the Glashtyn tribe's chief went quicker than any of the previous discussions he'd had. The Glashtyn tribe, as they had suffered longer under the beasts' relentless assaults, had lost a large number of their forces to the monster invasion and itched for vengeance.

Kashi, Darian, and the other generals had to remind the bereaved chief and generals of the Glashtyn tribe of their duty to preserve their bloodline before they relented and allowed some of their soldiers to escort the civilians to the Lymar village. Even so, over seven hundred specialized mobile archers joined the conquest to save the last town, Longma.

Strangely, Darian pulled Kashi aside just before they set off for Longma. His brows were deeply-set, and his gaze was serious, yet slightly wary, causing the daeben to wonder what the issue was.

"Kashi-dono," Darian greeted with an apologetic expression. "Forgive my question, but how do you feel about the beast-kin?"

Kashi's brow rose, but he nonchalantly shrugged and answered, "Neither here nor there. About the same as every other race. Why?"

Darian's brows locked together as traces of shame and guilt flitted through his eyes. "The Longma tribe are different from us. They could be classified as beast-kin if looked at from your perspective."

"Beast-kin? More like demons," Casetes remarked as he joined the duo. He turned to Kashi, and the daeben could sense a hint of disdain in those eyes. "The Longma tribe are indeed centaurs as ordained by our god, but they are lesser creatures cursed by devils."

"That claim has no proof," Darian countered with furrowed brows. "They are centaurs just like us."

"Forgive me Darian-kun, but I am inclined to agree with Casetes," Balasius, the head general of the Tulpar tribe said as he too joined the discussion. "The Longma tribe are indeed a sub-species. But do not fear. As long as they are centaurs, we must protect them regardless, and so we shall."

Kashi listened to the three generals, and a hidden light sparked in his eyes. "Sorry, I'm not following. What do you mean they're like demons?"

"You have to see them to truly understand," Casetes said with a sigh that caused Kashi to frown. The daeben could hear the distinct tone of those who felt superior to others in society in the centaur's voice. "They look nothing like humans. Their upper bodies are covered in scales, and they have clawed hands twice the size of your head."

"Mm, furthermore, the Longma tribe are savages," stated Balasius as he folded his powerful arms across his chest. "Strong, powerful savages, but savages nonetheless."

"Yes, that's why, even though we are duty-bound to save them, you must remain vigilant," Casetes warned Kashi with a stern gaze. "The worst tragedy would be to lose you to friendly fire. We cannot predict what goes on in those savages' minds."

"I will keep that in mind," Kashi replied in a flat tone. He looked at Darian and asked, "Are you of the same opinion?"

Darian shook his head. "The Longma tribe might be a little wild, but I honestly believe that's only because it's the only way they know how to protect themselves."

"Oh?" Kashi's eyes sparkled with interest. "Why do you say that?"

"The Longma tribe has been ostracized for several centuries by other tribes for being too savage," Darian explained with a short sigh. "We do not share our technology, nor trade with them, yet we somehow expect them to keep up with our civilization. But whenever there's a significant threat to the centaur race, the Longma tribe is always the vanguard, shedding the most blood to protect our race." Darian frowned and glanced at Casetes, "Furthermore, we sow the seed of hatred in our foals when we tell them stupid, baseless stories like 'demon curses.' Frankly, if it were not for their undying loyalty to our god, they would have abandoned these lands ages ago."

Darian shrugged. "Then again, I might be biased because I fought alongside a few of the Longma tribe during my coming-of-age ceremony."

Kashi looked at Casetes. "What do you think?"

Casetes' brows furrowed as he sunk into deep thought. "I don't know. I have never thought of it that way."

"Well, that's the good thing about life," Kashi said with a warm smile. "We get to learn something new every day."

At that moment, a slender female centaur clad in leather armor and wielding a massive longbow strung over her shoulder trotted up to the trio. She bowed her head and introduced her identity. "Kashi-dono, Anatolia Tryphosa, general of the Glashtyn tribe has come to report. The troops are ready to move out on your command."

Kashi smiled at Casetes, Balasius, and Darian. "We'll continue this conversation later. First, we must fulfill our obligations."

"As it must be," Casetes, Balasius and Darian agreed and headed out to take command of their respective troops.

Kashi looked at Anatolia. "We march now. I'm sorry. Your men must be tired, but we absolutely cannot afford to waste any time."

"No need for concern," Anatolia boasted with a vengeful glare. "The Glashtyn tribe can fight for another five days without rest."

"Thanks. I'll be relying on your tenacity," Kashi said and watched as Anatolia trotted off to ready her troops for the march.

"You've come a long way from commanding a bunch of villagers in a swamp."

Kashi's heart skipped a beat. He turned and glared at the assassin that at some point, rode up next to him. "What nonsense have you been teaching your horse?" Kashi jokingly admonished Shadow as he looked at the young man's mount. Somehow, the horse, just like its master, had learned to hide its presence. He could not understand why anyone would teach their horse such a useless skill.

"How am I supposed to scare you if you can hear me coming?" Shadow replied in his trademark flat tone that made it impossible to tell if he was joking or not.

Kashi's brows drew together in mock anger. "You do realize it's not normal to want to scare the shit out of your friends right?"

"It isn't?" Shadow turned to look at Kashi, and for all the daeben's people-reading skills, he could not tell if the assassin's surprise was genuine or not. "But it's so much fun?"

"Fun? You're handing out heart attacks left and right!?" Kashi berated.

"Don't roller coasters, and haunted houses do the same thing?" Shadow countered. "They're fun aren't they?"

"Well, I mean, those are different." Faced with Shadow's silent stare, Kashi doubted his own conjecture. "...Aren't they?"

"Don't know. You decide." Shadow turned away from Kashi and looked at the troops below which had begun their march. Silence descended on the hilltop as the cool evening breeze rustled the tree leaves and grass. "Hey, Kashi, I never got the chance to say this, but thank you for finding us at Lew Creek."

"What's this all of a sudden?" Kashi responded with a light-hearted chuckle. "You're not dying, are you?"

"Hmph, I'll outlive you at the very least," Shadow countered with a snort.

"I guess I now know why you keep trying to stop my heart."

"It's only a matter of time," Shadow stated. He took a breath then added in a rare moment of solemnity, "I'm serious though, Kashi. You have no idea what you did for us when you picked us up at Lew Creek. You've shown us a world we would never have dreamed of." He looked into Kashi's eyes and said, "Especially Lune. If someone had told me Lune could be this happy two years ago, I would have killed them for giving her false hope. But you've made it a reality. For this, you will always have my gratitude."

Kashi's brows locked together in a tight frown and he waved his hands. "Enough with this talk of thanks. I don't know what you think I did, but I can assure you that the only reason I am standing here today is 'cause of you two. The man I am right now would not exist if it were not for every single one of you. So, don't ever bring this up again, or I will be forced to start bowing to every member of our party."

With those words, Kashi patted Shadow's shoulder then spurred Drixlia to chase after the centaur formation.

Shadow's eyes shone as he watched the retreating daeben and remarked in an almost playful tone, "How dishonest."

Derium Plains, Daggerfall,

10:02 pm, 17th Banem 1092.

A lone silhouette rushed into an old, dilapidated village located a few kilometers from Wazir river. The houses, made from run-down thatch and cracked mud looked like it had not been inhabited in several years, and as a result, it was not surprising to find that a clan of goblins had made the run-down town their home.

Goblins were tiny, green-skinned humanoid creatures that were roughly as tall as an average ten-year-old child. The derided creatures sported long, pointed ears akin to an elf's, and were often dressed in old rags scavenged from settlements of other settlements.

Goblins in this world presented an annoying conundrum most monster classifiers. Their savage, scrapper-scavenger lifestyle and disregard for life suggested they should be classified as monsters, but they also possessed bare minimum intelligence and could speak the common tongue, which disqualified them from being monsters.

Regardless of their status as monsters or not, the global dislike and disdain of goblins was an emotion shared by all races. As a result, goblins were usually exiled to the hidden parts of forests or old, abandoned ruins like this village.

A pair of goblins chatting on the village street paled as a massive shadow suddenly loomed over them. The goblins paled in fright as they looked up and saw a gigantic, bleeding orc glaring at them.

"Mercy, Mercy!" The goblins immediately knelt in fright and began to plead for their lives. They didn't even consider running or calling over their companions. Such was the level of their cowardice.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Ragnaf questioned as he observed the kneeling goblins.

"I'm sure of it," Rudega replied, then added, "You can put me down now."

Ragnaf snorted and complied.

Rudega looked at the kneeling goblins with a complicated gaze as he fished out a piece of paper and a pencil from his pockets. He drew a rough diagram then placed it on the floor on the floor in front of the goblins. "Don't worry, I promise we won't hurt you. We just want to know if you've seen this image."

The goblins looked at the image then at each other. It was apparent they knew something but were scared to talk.

"Hmph." Ragnaf's casual snort scared the living daylights out of the goblins, and they immediately spilled everything they knew.

Rudega looked at Ragnaf and chuckled as the goblins ran off. "It certainly helps to have an orc along."

Ragnaf snorted once more and pointed toward the village's interior. "Let's go find this chief before Renark catches up."

Rudega's gaze hardened. "You're right."

Ragnaf looked at the dwarf. "Are you fine to walk?"

"As long as we're not running away from anyone," Rudega replied as he walked ahead of the orc. The duo confidently made their way through the village. Their open stance caught the attention of several goblins who grabbed sticks and stones then fled to the chief's dwelling in panic.

Rudega and Ragnaf stopped in front of what remained of an old duplex. Their gazes, however, were drawn to the goblin standing in front of the small mob that had formed in front of the building.

This goblin was significantly different from the rest. It stood at least a head taller than the rest and held a sword in its left hand. Furthermore, it was dressed in old, but functional leather cuirass and its eyes shone with vestiges of intelligence.

The goblin, upon seeing Ragnaf, immediately dropped its sword on the ground, much to the visitors' shock.

The goblin stared at the two men and greeted them, "Name. Bok. No want trouble. What you want?"

Rudega hid his shock. There wasn't enough time to look into this mutated creature. "Nice to meet you Bok. My name is Rudega. My partner's Ragnaf."

Bok looked at the injured Durst slung over Ragnaf's shoulder and frowned. "Orc injured. You bring trouble."

Rudega nodded. "Unfortunately yes, but we'll be out of your way in only a few moments." Rudega pointed at the diagram on his sheet of paper. "Once you take us to the room with this diagram, we'll disappear and never return."

Bok looked at the sheet of paper and frowned. He felt uneasy, but the alternative was to force the intruders to search on their own. Who knew when whatever was pursuing them would catch up? "I know diagram. Come."

Bok led the duo to the duplex's basement, where they saw the image of a broken hammer emblazoned on one of its walls.

Rudega's gaze grew heavy as he approached the wall. This diagram represented the fall of the dwarfs. This spot, like a few others, were to be used during a do-or-die scenario for the dwarven race.

Rudega shook his head and cleared his doubts. No use moaning. It was time to face the future, whatever it may be. The dwarf ran his fingers across the diagram and tapped specific locations in a cryptic pattern.

Grrrooooo!

The earth trembled as a section of the wall slid open, accompanied by a sound akin to the groans of a waking dragon.

Ragnaf's eyes twitched as he stared into the dark abyss beyond the opened door. "Dwarfs and their tunnels."

Rudega chuckled. "This is one of our deepest. It had to travel below the Wazir river after all."

Ragnaf's eyes narrowed.

Bok looked at the tunnel with a steady gaze then turned to Rudega. "If trouble come, I talk."

Rudega's gaze hardened, but his eyes also held respect. "I would expect no less. Thank you and goodbye." The dwarf nodded then summoned a magelight and descended into the tunnel.

"You're brave for a mere goblin," Ragnaf praised and patted Bok's head. He then followed behind Rudega before the door slid shut behind them.

Bok waited till the door slid shut, then suddenly collapsed to the ground. "Uwaa, scary, scary," he cried to no one in particular. "Didn't think I'd actually fool them."

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