Chapter 3: Volume 1- Chapter 1

“Looks like the little one is finally awake,” someone spoke in the Human language.

 

“Rivet caught the little monster just a few hours ago,” said another voice, both of the speakers were grown males.

 

“Half-thumb Rivet did? I would have thought the knights that went out to Lakerest would have slaughtered the whole Goblin tribe?”

 

Brokentoe peaked open his red eyes and found himself staring up through a series of iron bars… a cage. He had seen cages before made by the better craftsmen of the tribe. Though those had been small wooden things meant for fishing in the river. This cage was much bigger, big enough to fit him and possibly three more Goblins inside of it. He glanced around the cage and discovered that he was alone in his prison. But he was not the only Goblin in the back of this wagon.

 

There were three more cages to his right and one to his left at the front of the wooden wagon. To his right, in each of the three cages held three Goblins except for the third which held four. The fourth Goblin in the furthest cage was smashed up against the bars as the other three were trying to break out using all the force they could muster against their iron jailor with their tiny green bodies to little use. In the cage to Brokentoe’s left was a single occupant, a Hobgoblin forced into a fetal position, his skin and fat pinched between the bars of his cage. It looked extremely uncomfortable and somewhat painful. Brokentoe looked away from the hob to stare at the two Humans standing… watch? Guard?

 

The man in the helmet shook his head. “Nah, only got a couple Goblins and a few hobs.”

 

The other man, a Human with greasy yellow hair scratched at the back of his head. Brokentoe didn’t know someone could have hair that color. Goblins were either bald or their hair was all black. For the very few that lived to an older age those Goblins had gray hair. Brokentoe had only ever seen one Goblin with gray hair and that was the tribe shaman. “A few Hobgoblins? Must be one huge tribe, damn. The tribe wasn’t put down?”

 

“They never found the tribe,” Helmet said. “Tricky bastards threw their scent and the hounds led the knights in circles.”

 

“And Rivet found this one still alive?” asked Greasy. “I find that hard to believe. Knights like to kill everything they can get their uppity gauntlets on. No sense for value in those bucket headed buggers.”

 

“That’s on Rivet's part,” Helmet chuckled. “Said he stopped one of the king’s men from running the Goblin through with some good long steel.”

 

Greasy sighed and grabbed for his curved sword. The man ran his fingers along the hilt before leaving the blade at his hip. “I could use some good steel. Don’t get paid enough for this.”

 

“Fancy joining up with someone else’s company to be a hired sword?”

 

“Don’t know. Maybe I’ll just sign up for the city watch, become a real guard and all of that.”

 

“You? Become an honorary guardsman of the city watch? Please spare me from that nonsense. You’ll miss out on all of the freedom,” said Helmet.

 

“You’re right… say… you think that one in there is a female?” Greasy asked the other man as he turned his upper body to stare at one of the Goblins in the cage to Brokentoe’s right. “I don’t see any teats on it. But look at them hips, they’re certainly wider than the rest of the green skins in there.”

 

“Does it matter?” Helmet only glanced over his shoulder to eye the Goblin in question. “So what if it’s male or female?”

 

Greasy reached into his pocket and withdrew a small metal ring with some oddly shaped metal objects hanging from it. “I’ve got the keys right here. Mister Kelic left them in my care for the night.”

 

Finally Helmet turned to give the other wagon guard a blank stare. “And just what, might I ask of you, are you planning to do with those keys?”

 

Greasy stared at the Goblin who Brokentoe and every other Goblin in the cages knew was the one female among them. The Goblin in question was barring her sharp and pointed teeth at Greasy in an attempt to intimidate the Human. The man averted his gaze and adjusted his trousers. “Nothing much. Was just thinking of a little fun is all.”

 

Brokentoe stopped paying attention to the two Humans as they began to bicker between themselves. The little Goblin sat back down in his cage and sighed. He looked to his right and watched as the other Goblins silently regarded the Humans with blatant contempt and hatred. The one female in the cages was picking at her claws, sharpening them. Not one of them said a word in the Human language or in the Goblin language and Brokentoe did not try to break their silence.

 

The smallest Goblin from the Creeping River Tribe rolled onto his bare back and closed his eyes. He felt cold without a nearby pit fire to sleep next to.

 

---

 

For the other Goblins in the cages, this was not their first time experiencing a morning in the capital of the Zolilvel Kingdom. Brokentoe on the other foot, was waking up with a sore back caused by sleeping on the hard wooden boards of the wagon beneath him. His nose and ears twitched and there were so many smells just as there were so many different noises. Everything just blurred together until he opened his eyes and pushed himself up to stare out through the iron bars of his cage.

 

Unlike the previous night, Brokentoe could see more wagons with cages in the back of them. These cages did not hold Goblins. Brokentoe was not completely sure just what exactly he was looking at. These were no animals from the forest that much was evident. In one of the cages something resembling a mountain lion with longer fur and feathers and folded black wings with even a hooked golden beak instead of a snout was pacing back and forth. Another strange creature the Goblin had never seen before was some sort of giant lizard… only it looked like it was just a Human covered in scales with a multicolored set of frills around his or her neck.

 

Tents had been erected that reminded Brokentoe of the chieftain’s tent as well as the shaman’s tent he had shared on several occasions with Leafbite and other Goblins of the tribe. However, these tents were colored and painted and sported wooden poles with fluttering painted clothes attached to the top. Flags, these Humans were using flags. Brokentoe had heard that other Goblin tribes, not all, had flags and symbols of their own. Though Brokentoe had never seen a flag before nor a Goblin from another tribe. Not until he had been captured. None of his fellow Goblins in cages in the back of the wagon were from his tribe. He had no idea what tribe they were from or even if they were from the same tribe.

 

Just why were they here and trapped behind these metal prisons? Brokentoe would have that answer soon enough. The two wagon guards from last night were gone, replaced by two new guards sporting much more impressive weapons and armor, not to mention these Humans looked bigger and stronger than Helmet and Greasy. Along with the two new guards for the daytime shift, there was another Human man. This one was not wearing armor, nor was he skinny or lanky. This man was quite round in bodily structure wearing a set of matching black clothing that covered him from head to toe. Brokentoe was quite taken with the man’s top hat.

 

Brokentoe was about to speak up. He didn’t know a lot of Human words but he did know a few. He wanted to know just what was going on. A part of him already knew what was happening, Brokentoe had heard Leafbite’s own story of how she had been captured by Humans once and the terrible things they had did to her. Maybe whatever was happening to him now would not be as cruel. The little Goblin’s lips parted and that’s when someone approached the cage, undeterred by the Human wagon guards.

 

"Mommy, mommy! Look! Look!" A little human girl with curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes pointed up at the caged Goblins.

 

"What is it dearie?" asked an older woman dressed in a pink and purple dress as she eyed the wagon guards suspiciously with her own blue eyes before putting her hands on her daughter’s shoulders to steer her away from the captured Goblins.

 

The little Human struggled out of her mother’s grip and stared up at Brokentoe with unabashed curiosity. "They've got little green men in those cages, mommy!"

 

"Little green men?” The Human woman blinked and then laughed. “Oh sweetie, those are Goblins. They're not men at all."

 

Brokentoe raised his hand to wave at the girl and froze. His blood red eyes narrowed at the woman who had just insulted him and every other male in the back of the wagon. None of the others appeared to be fazed by the statement and that only angered Brokentoe further. They looked so quiet and submissive. As if they were used to this and they were fine with it when they clearly were not fine with it.

 

The little Human turned around to look at her mother. "They're not?"

 

"Of course not, Lydia. These are monsters." The woman said it as if it was common knowledge for Humans to know. It was wrong. Brokentoe knew the truth as did all of the other Goblins in the cages. Humans were the real monsters. He had heard the stories from the raiders. Brokentoe had even watched the Humans in shiny metal armor cut down a surrendering Goblin last night.

 

"Like from the stories?” Lydia asked. “Like Zombies and Dragons?"

 

"Yes, exactly like those, sweetie. These are Goblins,” said the mother to her daughter. The Human woman gave the Goblins in the cages a dismissive look and shook her head. “Little flea carrying monsters that like to eat little boys and girls," the woman chuckled as the little girl screamed and backed away from the caged Goblins in horror. "Now come along, dear. We've got a real slave to buy... not some discolored creature that will eat us in our sleep given the first opportunity."

 

Brokentoe snarled at the Humans. The Human woman and child flinched away. The little Goblin grinned as he watched them walk away. It was kind of funny that even in these little prisons, it was Humans who were the one’s afraid of Goblins-

 

Something cracked against Brokentoe’s wrist. The Goblin cried out and fell onto his butt as something snaked away from him and back through the metal bars it had come from. Brokentoe clutched at his green wrist which was red and… bleeding? There was a fresh cut that felt like it was on fire where there had not been one moments before. Brokentoe winced and turned his eyes to stare at the round man dressed all in black, he was holding onto a long rope and slowly coiling it back up.

 

“How am I supposed to sell any of you miserable little worms if you scare away all of my potential customers!” The Human man fixed his top hat and glared at every Goblin, not just Brokentoe. “The next time any of you scare away a buyer, you will all get a taste of the whip.”

 

"Not. Slave," Brokentoe said. The Goblins in the cages flinched, all save for Brokentoe who was glaring daggers at the man with the top hat. The man turned his attention back to Brokentoe and the man smirked.

 

"Is that right, little Goblin? You are not a slave?" The man glanced over to one of the guards. "Heren, open that cage door. It would appear as if we have made a mistake. This little Goblin is not a slave."

 

The guard, Heren grinned from underneath his helmet and withdrew a familiar key that Brokentoe recognized from the night before. Brokentoe watched warily as Heren pushed the key into the lock and turned. One pointed green ear flicked as the little Goblin heard the sound of the tumblers clicking. The cage door swung open and Brokentoe stared at the opening with wide eyes.

 

Was it really that easy? They could just ask the Humans to let them go? Why hadn't the other Goblins thought of that before? Brokentoe glanced over at the rest of the Goblins in the other cages and he felt the slowly forming smile on his face die. None of the Goblins were looking at him, in fact they were all looking away from him. Some of them were even covering their ears. Brokentoe took one step back into the cage and away from the open door when a gloved hand reached in and grabbed him. He screamed and another hand shoved a small metal rod into his mouth before he could try to bite down on the gloved hand.

 

"Blinded by my own naïve arrogance," the man in the top hat said shaking his head in disappointment. "You are right little Goblin. You are no slave... not yet." He smiled at Brokentoe who was trying to struggle out of Heren's grip. "Heren, teach this little wretch how to be a proper slave."

 

Heren grinned from behind his helmet and nodded to the man in the top hat. "With pleasure, Mister Kelic," said Heren as he carried Brokentoe behind the wagon and into a faded yellow tent. The metal rod preventing Brokentoe was replaced with a thick rag. Brokentoe tried to kick and hit the man to no avail as Heren only laughed and raised some kind of wooden tool that looked like a thick tree branch only it held flat and carefully carved edges.

 

Outside of the tent, the rest of the Goblins in the cages tried to ignore the silent and pained screams that they could hear coming from the little Goblin in the tent with their sensitive hearing. And Mister Kelic, the man in the top hat, Slave Master Kelic laughed and smiled and told a light hearted joke to a passing man who was glancing towards the Goblins in the cages before he shook his head and left to look at the caged lizard woman. Minutes passed into an hour and soon Brokentoe was returned to his cage in the back of the wagon and the little Goblin sat down and winced as his bruised bottom touched the floor. His eyes felt wet but he knew better than that because Goblins did not cry. It was a useless thing that would not change anything.

 

Brokentoe rubbed at his eyes and stared out through the metal bars of his cage and watched as Kelic laughed with Heren and the other guard, laughing and gesturing to Brokentoe. The little sniffled and bowed his head.

 

---

 

"Well ain't that a load?"

 

"No, no. I'm serious here, man. He's really passing through the city tomorrow."

 

The day was moving on. Brokentoe sat quietly in his cage and looked up at the sudden discussion. Heren and the other guard who was called Tom had left the caged Goblins to grab a quick bite to eat somewhere close by. Mister Kelic had gone and come back again only to leave. He was in his own words "a busy man."

 

"Look Jean, I don't know what you've heard down at the tavern. But a bunch of down on their luck drunks aren't the most reliable source of information."

 

"What? No! Kale? I haven't been... me and the misses got everything settled. My drinking days are behind me."

 

Brokentoe watched the two... guards? These two were wearing much better armor than any of Kelic's guards. Their armor even looked clean, spotless and lacking any rust. 

 

"That's a load of horse manure to believe, Jean," said Kale the guard, putting a hand on his hip and laughing at his fellow guard.

 

"Hey! I'm being serious here. I am done and I have put all of that nonsense behind me."

 

"Even the brothel visits? You're pulling one over me aren't you?"

 

"Broth- shhh!" Jean the guard shushed his companion. "Milly doesn't even know about that. Keep it down, damn you."

 

Kale waved a hand. "What? It's not like she's gonna find out, what with you out here on patrol."

 

"Still, just keep it below the belt."

 

"Hrk!" Kale's face twitched.

 

"Oh shut up," Jean said, glaring at Kale. "Look. The point is that the prince is coming through tomorrow and before you say how unlikely that is. It's supposed to be his girlfriend's birthday."

 

"Girlfriend? The prince has a girlfriend?"

 

"You know, that rich lady who lives around here."

 

Kale gave Jean a blank stare. "... which one?"

 

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"You know the one," Jean said while snapping his fingers and then his eyes lit up. "Her father is the Royal Coinman."

 

"What? I thought Lord Veyis was the Royal Advisor to the crown?"

 

"That's because he's both, man."

 

Kale crossed his arms. "He can't be both."

 

Jean raised an eyebrow. "Why can't he be both?"

 

"That's not how it works!" Kale threw his hands up into the air in frustration.

 

"Well, I guess they changed how it works because that is how it works now," Jean said, looking amused. "He's the Royal Coinman and the Royal Advisor. Oh and don't forget that Lord Veyis is also the Royal Swordmaster. There is no other with a blade that can match his skill in the entire kingdom."

 

"Well that's... wrong?"

 

"Says who?" asked Jean.

 

"Me, that's who says it," Kale told his fellow guard.

 

"Well the crown thinks otherwise," Jean smirked. "Do you want to make a public argument against the king and queen?"

 

"I... er. Did I say that it was wrong? What I meant was... it's surprising. That's all."

 

"All the same, his daughter is the prince's girlfriend," Jean said, nodding confidently.

 

"What? No she ain't," Kale shook his head. "The prince hasn't shown interest in any women as of yet."

 

"That's not what I heard from another guard who transferred from the palace in the capital," Jean said mysteriously before giving a slight pause between his words to lean over and whisper into Kale's ear. "Word is they caught a young woman with silver hair sneaking in and out of his highness' bedchamber at night and in the mornings."

 

Kale took a step away from Jean, his eyes wide in surprise at the scandalous rumor. "No... blast it can't be so."

 

"Who else would it be?" Jean challenged him. "There is only one family with silver hair and it's Lord Veyis' bloodline. And the man only has the one daughter. It can't be anyone else."

 

"Are you sure?"

 

"They visit one another often enough. Haven't you at least heard of that rumor?"

 

Kale stared at Jean with apprehension before sighing and letting his shoulders fall. "Damn... I guess we know who the next queen is going to be eh?"

 

"Who else was it going to be?" Jean asked him with a smile.

 

"What about that princess from that kingdom of farmers?" Kale offered an alternative.

 

"Her?" Now it was Jean's turn to take a step away from Kale. "No one is ever going to marry her. I hear she's slept with every man in the castle. Even the women too."

 

"The women too?" Kale shook his head. "That's... not right. What kind of a woman sleeps with other women?"

 

Brokentoe watched the two Humans and realized that he was learning a fair amount about their species by just listening to them talk. They liked to gossip about their lords and ladies and whatever a prince was. And just what was wrong with a woman sleeping with a woman? Leafbite did it all the time, then again, that was Leafbite for you. Brokentoe idly wondered if they were also bothered by males sleeping with other males too? Humans... were silly things. They could be so big and tall and mean and so self centered and evil and picky and petty about the smallest things. They were so full of themselves they believed that they were right and everyone else was wrong. Brokentoe hated them.

 

"And get this," said Jean as he stepped closer to Kale once more and leaned in close to whisper into his fellow man's ear. It wasn't quiet enough to evade a Goblin's ears. "I heard that she eats her bastards and feeds their bones to her brother's hounds."

 

The other guard gagged behind his helmet and took a step back. "Monstrous."

 

"Heh. She ain't no better than these little bastards right here," Jean pointed over at the caged Goblins. Then he frowned when he noticed Brokentoe was watching him. "Oy, little green-skin. Who are you looking at?"

 

Brokentoe blinked with his crimson eyes at the stupid question. Who else was he looking at? "You," the Goblin said as he pointed to the guard.

 

The guardsman recoiled. "It can speak?"

 

"Damned creature!" Kale reached inside of the cage with a gloved hand and grabbed Brokentoe by the ear, yanking the little Goblin's head against the bars of the cage with a metallic clang. "Keep your stupid little mouth shut, you hear?"

 

"Easy Kale," Jean placed a hand on Kale's shoulder. "That's not our property, you can't just go around causing injury to another man's slave. We're guardsmen of the city watch, it would be against the law to damage someone else's property. We don't want to go and lose our jobs now do we? Besides which, everyone knows that Goblins are lackwits. Even if you got a hundred of the little monsters together, not a single one of them would have a thought between them."

 

"Heh. You're right man." The guard let go of Brokentoe and stepped away from the cage. "Come on. Let's move on down to the other end of the street."

 

Brokentoe fell backwards and landed hard on his bruised bottom. He wanted to do something, to get out there and just hurt them. Just like they hurt him. Not just the two guards, all of those Humans walking this way and that down the street. He lowered his head and he gnashed his pointed teeth together while trying to ignore the ringing in his head.

 

"Oh! You think they still have those cat girls for sale?" Jean spoke up in an attempt to lighten up the mood as they started walking away from the wagon.

 

"Cat girls?" Kale grimaced. "Are you lacking a brain like a filthy Goblin? It's wolf girls that are nice to look at."

 

"Cat."

 

"Wolf."

 

"Cat!"

 

"Wolf!"

 

---

 

"So.. This is a Goblin?" asked a woman with red hair that was almost as bright as her dress. She waved a hand in front of her face and flicked open a fan. The street had gone quiet and several well dressed men and women stood on both sides of the red haired lady. Men in shiny metal armor, knights stood at attention watching over the crowd of onlookers.

 

Slave Master Kelic nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yes indeed. Such a dreadful looking creature isn't it, miss?"

 

"Very horrifying," the red haired woman said slowly. She snapped her fan shut and peered at Brokentoe through the iron bars that separated them. "Look at it. It's skin... it's green? Is that even skin?"

 

The Slave Master chuckled. "I assure you, this is indeed flesh you see before you."

 

"I... I've never laid eyes on a Goblin before today," the woman admitted, opening the fan again and covering her face as she took a step back away from the wagon.

 

"Have you never been to the slave market before, my lady?" Kelic asked the woman.

 

The red haired woman seemed to hesitate. "I... This is not my first time but even so... never on my travels did I ever encounter such a beast."

 

"A beast?" Another Slave Master spoke up from a nearby wagon full of caged animals that Brokentoe had never seen before. "Do you find yourself in the market for a tamed beast, my lady?"

 

"I don't know... I really just wanted to window shop today..." The woman frowned. "Does it do anything? Or does it lack a mind of its own?"

 

"Well... let's see just what this Goblin can do, my lady," Kelic smiled for the woman before turning and cracking his whip against Brokentoe's cage. "Hey! You in there! Do something for the lady!"

 

Brokentoe flinched and shied away from Kelic and his whip, as did every other Goblin.

 

"Mister Kelic was it?" The lady asked Kelic. "Is that really necess-"

 

"What are you? You little green worm!" Kelic cracked the whip against the cage again. "Get up and dance. Do something entertaining for the generous and beautiful lady."

 

Brokentoe felt afraid. So terribly afraid and yet he did not want to do as this man said. The little Goblin steeled himself and then glared at the Slave Master. "No."

 

Kelic nearly fell over, his eyes going wide first with shock and the replaced with unabashed fury. His cheeks flushed and he opened his mouth to shout. Kelic raised the whip and the red haired woman spoke.

 

"You can talk?" she asked Brokentoe, the fan fluttering shut once more as she stared at him with her yellow eyes. That was weird. Over the course of the day, the Goblin had seen many men and women with red hair. But not once had he seen a Human wander by with yellow eyes. They were always blue or brown or green or hazel, never yellow and never red. Those were the eyes of a Goblin.

 

Brokentoe crept closer to the bars of the cage as he looked into the woman's yellow eyes with his own crimson. All Goblins had red eyes, all but a few. "Yes," he told her.

 

The woman opened up her fan and covered all of her face save for her eyes, those yellow eyes that watched Brokentoe with curiosity. "Do you want to leave that cage?"

 

"Yes," Brokentoe did not hesitate to answer honestly. "Yes."

 

Slave Master Kelic's fury seemed to be falling away as he observed the interaction between the Goblin and the lady.

 

The woman smiled from behind her fan. "Then how would you like for me to buy you?"

 

Brokentoe's red eyes widened at the offer. The other Goblins shifted and turned to stare at Brokentoe. Even the Hobgoblin forced into an uncomfortable fetal position opened his eyes to look at Brokentoe. Kelic might have been drooling as he glanced away from the Goblin and the noble lady to gaze upon the size of her retinue.

 

The little Goblin's breath caught in his throat as he thought about what the woman had just asked him. The... Human. There was only one thing he could say to her offer. "No."

 

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