THREE DAYS LATER
"You!"
I startle awake from a lovely nap in my new tiger den. No bed ever felt more comfortable than this. I have my mate, and that is all that matters, like Lobo said.
But the voice, spoken aloud, rising through the cavern, is definitely not Lightning’s. Or anyone else in the family for that matter. A visitor is here. And what of my mate? A sleepy "mrrrp" tells Lightning is out for the count and doesn’t notice the intrusion.
Blinking, I re-focus. The petite silhouette in dim light in the cave takes a mont to beco solid, and when I see who it is, my shock is palpable.
Dex!
The green imp from Mrs. Threadgood’s farm scratches his rear end while rubbernecking around my beautiful new den. "So this is why you don’t co see us?"
I offer a little "mrrrp" in response. Imps don’t have the power of telepathy with us.
[The idiot doesn’t realize that you can’t talk.]
Butterbur, the dragon, skitters across the floor and approaches us. I breathe a sigh of relief. At least Dex had the foresight to bring a translator.
[Butterbur. Sorry I haven’t been by. We’ve been training, and as you can see, I took a mate.]
The dragonet peers at the slumbering Lightning. [She is pretty. I have seen her before.]
She makes a series of sounds that might be Impish language. Apparently she can communicate with Dex, because he bows his head respectfully.
"I did not know you took a mate. Now I can forgive you for being a bad friend."
I give him an exasperated "mrrrp" in response. Yes, all right, I forgot about the imps, whom I promised to visit. [Could you tell him, Butterbur, that I am very, very, very sorry?]
[Of course, but he should be sorry for not realizing that you would take a mate. It is normal.]
Butterbur reminds so much of Gussie. They always are in tune with people’s feelings. Or, at least, they attempt to be.
Butterbur communes with Dex, who ambles around my cave, kicking up dusk and scaring the fish so that they subrge deeper in the pond. Sha, that. Lightning will have to coax them back to the surface. Although she loves diving in the pond to snatch a fish.
After Butterbur sets him straight, Dex ceases his mayhem and circles back to , flapping around and spreading droplets of water everywhere.
"Listen, Raar."
RAAR?
Static electricity crackles around . My ears and tail stand straight up. No one else knows as "Raar," except the goblins. Except goblin Chief Kasz.
I nudge Lightning, who makes a growly snore and rolls over onto her side, stretching as if she can’t be bothered. Ordinarily, I would be wise and let sleeping pregnant mates lie, but my intuition tells that I can’t afford to do that.
Nipping her ear, I get a venomous one-eyed stare in response. [This better be good.]
[WAKE UP. Please.]
She rolls over and stands right side up, blinking in a flummoxed way at Dex and Butterbur. [Why didn’t you tell we had visitors? My fur is a ss!]
Licking herself quickly, she becos presentable in no ti. [And who is this?]
[That’s Dex. He and his fellow imps are workers on one of the farms in the village. The dragonet is called Butterbur. They’re friends. And...Dex called "Raar" like the goblins.]
Lightning yowls as if startled by a door nearly catching her tail. [Goblins? How do they know the goblins? These are not your friends, sweetheart.]
I turn to Butterbur. [Ask him why he called "Raar."]
Puffing tiny wisps of smoke, Butterbur relays the question. Dex instantly hops around, energized like so kind of manic hare. "Imps know goblins. They are looking for you."
Goblins? Looking for ?
[BLAZE.] Lightning’s energy screams "red alert." [The goblins agreed to let you go and not bother you. This is a trap.]
I stare into Butterbur’s eyes. [Lightning has a point. The goblins stole away and promised to leave alone in exchange for the humans and elves leaving them in peace. Why bother now? Don’t they know any better? Do they have no honor?]
Lightning stands shoulder to shoulder with . No question, she doesn’t like this situation at all.
Butterbur conveys our displeasure with a series of clicks and roars and growls, and Dex responds. "Goblins could have co here if they wanted. But they honored the bargain with you. This is what their ssenger said."
[ssenger?] I’m curious now. [A goblin ssenger ca to the farm?]
A voice I never expected to hear again invades this sanctuary.
[Raar! You co!]
Flapping down, bedraggled, a piece of flotsam with feathers, Dag lands on my nice green grass. Now I feel like pulling an old man routine and roaring at him to get off my lawn.
Lightning is ahead of . [Who is THIS stray?]
Dag glowers at her. [Talk to Raar, not you.]
[His na is BLAZE, birdbrain.]
That’s my feisty and pregnant love. Not one to suffer annoying avian fools gladly.
She continues, because Dag’s brain is slower than Gussie’s. Dag is either stupid or stunted by living with the goblins in a cave his entire life. Although how did he get out and co here? Never mind. Lightning wants her say, and she intends to have it.
[His na is Blaze, and he does not owe the goblins anything, and whatever you have to say to him, you can say to , too.]
Dag pecks at the grass. [What this green stuff?]
Lightning moans, mortified for him. [Spare us.]
She doesn’t know that he’s incapable of feeling embarrassnt. He is not self-aware. I redirect his attention. [It’s grass, Dag. And leave it alone. Why did you co here?]
[Grass. Green. Yucky.]
He really is hopeless. [That’s right. No grass. Talk.]
Dag’s yellow eyes fix on . [Goblins need new ho.]
I nearly fall down in shock. [New ho? Why?]
Glancing around, Dag doesn’t like the cave. [Too shiny. Not dark enough. Not goblin ho.]
I heave a sigh I didn’t realize I held in. [No. not goblin ho. Why do goblins need new ho?]
[Trolls take over.]
AH. So, the trolls drove the goblins out of their caves. Trolls are bigger, stronger.
I probe for more information. [Big trolls.]
Dag seems pleased that I’m astute. [Big. Crush Dag friend with foot. Dag friend gone.]
Bykt, Dag’s handler. Bykt, we hardly knew ye.
Lightning growls. [Well, you can’t live in this cave, it’s too bright and has yucky grass.]
[No other cave. We need.]
Dag sounds pitiful. Absolutely pitiful. Not only that, he looks around as if sothing is going to devour him at any mont. So cages don’t have bars. Dag is a prisoner of his own limitations and his conditioning. And yet, he is here.
I pull Lightning aside without bothering to inform Dag. Her golden eyes telegraph confusion and suspicion. [NO.]
Just one word. She knows so well. She can feel my heart through the bond.
{Lightning--]
[DEMOS! LOBO! GUSSIE! PERIDOT! WE NEED YOU!]
Now she did it. Our beast family will have sothing to say about
[You heard him. A troll stomped on his handler. The closest thing he has to a friend.]
I loathe Dag on principle. His feathers look grimy, his eyes are a little too glare-y, and he has the general "kick " vibe going. He’s a simpleton. A moron. But I feel sorry for him.
Lightning hisses. [They captured you. They attacked House Lamrmoor. They wouldn’t have let you go if we didn’t force them. Blaze, you have cubs to think of. Or you will. Goblins will take everything you have. They are thieves and scavengers and they can’t help getting their grubby hands all over everything. Besides, do you really think that our families will let them stay?]
Oh. She’s right.
Dag, of course, doesn’t comprehend much of anything, but he can sense sothing is going on, and he can read the room. [Stay! Stay!]
[NO! Back away, birdbrain!]
Green confetti grass scatters as Demos charges full tilt at Dag, who cries out, "BAGAWK," like a chicken, and dives for the nearest tree, where Gussie swoops in, leading him in a dizzying tilt-a-whirl until he plumts to the ground and hides behind a rock. Lobo howls, rolling on the cavern floor, while Peridot hisses at Dag.
Kaline and Hans stride in. They are inseparable ever since Lightning ca to live with us. "What in the na of the Seven Spires is going on here?" Kaline exclaims.
I pad over and poke at Dag. [We have a visitor.]
Dex cries out, "Young Miss, the goblins need Raar’s help."
Raar again? I suppose that na is going to follow forever.
Dag hops onto a rock. Despite his ordeal, he’s too oblivious to suffer real damage. Maybe the System protects him.
[It does.] System is surprisingly non-judgntal. [You see, he is a ssenger of a quest. Your next quest.]
Uh oh. Will I have to leave Lightning?
[Not this ti.]
That’s not exactly reassuring. What is this quest?
[New Quest: Shelter the goblins. Help them resettle in a new ho. 15 XP]
WHAT? System, you have to be kidding !
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