Zet's
Tale
Chapter One
Zet let out a lethargic yawn, his horrid
breath causing the foliage around him to recoil slightly. He was
sitting lazily in his favorite tree feet propped up on a branch. It
was early morning, and he was late for guard duty. What did it
matter? They could manage for a little while without him. Just five
more minutes....
"Zet!"
Eyes snapping open Zet nearly fell from his perch. In fact, he
did fall, however, he managed to catch himself on the branch directly
below where he had been sitting. Now, as he hung by both arms he
found himself looking directly at a goblin. It wasn't a goblin Zet
was particularly keen on meeting at the moment as well.
" 'ello capin," Zet said still half asleep. His drowsy eyes
could just make out the features of Captain Fruc. Did he get shorter?
Zet had always thought himself tall at his four and a half feet, but
Fruc stood nearly five feet almost unheard of for a goblin. It took
Zet another few moments to realize that the branch he was hanging
from kept him a good head above his counterpart. For some reason he
found this amusing, and he grinned a toothy grin. He was young, so he
still had position of most of his teeth.
"Who you think you grinnen at?" Fruc asked, scowling. He only
had two teeth, Zet noted. This puzzled him. He could have sworn his
Captain had three teeth at least. Oh well must have been knocked out
sometime the night before. Last night? What had happened the night
before? Now that he was awake Zet could feel the beginning of a
terrible headache coming on. Ah so that was it. Alcohol. He
remembered being at Trih's place early in the evening, she had been
wearing a human dress that was way to big for her. She had looked
good in it though....
"Are you even listenen to me?" Fruc asked, his wart covered
face growing slightly greener. Zet shook his head.
"Aye I'm listenen," he said "sorry capin' didn't
realize this was your pissing tree."
"My piss..?" Fruc looked confused "Now you listen here ya
slog..."
"Capin' Capin'" Zet said shacking his head "It's
nothin to be ashamed of. Takin care of one's business in the
morning; It's only natural" Three emotions began to form on
Fruc's face all at the same time. Confusion mixed with a
dumbfounded expression that was beginning to lead into anger. Zet
smiled again. He did enjoy these games with his captain.
"Don't worry Captain. You can have your tree back, as it
stands I am already late for guard duty," Zet continued, dropping
from his branch. He landed awkwardly and nearly fell into Fruc. How
much had he had to drink the night before? Righting himself, he now
looked up at his captain "I'll be off now Capin'. Don't worry
I won't tell Trih how you lost your tooth."
With that Zet left the hopelessly confused captain Fruc where he
was standing and sauntered off. He chuckled to himself as he made his
way to the guard quarters. He knew there would be hell to pay in the
coming days, but for now he had avoided a confrontation. The words of
his older brother echoing in his mind.
"Disagreements get you killed. Best to avoid their lot."
Zet had become rather good at avoiding responsibility as well as
confrontation. He had found that a few words in the right place could
get you out of the worst duty. Like digging latrines. He had been
supposed to do that the night before as well, but instead he had
gotten drunk. Something about going to Trih's place always ended
the same. At least he had been in a tree this time. Last time he had
woken up under the peer with several little glib crabs pinching his
toes. Zet sighed heavily. Sometimes it was tough being the smartest
alcoholic that had ever lived. He chuckled to himself.
When Zet arrived at the guardhouse he found a scene of pure
boredom. Only Bonn and Druk where present which meant that Drulgo was
late as well. Bonn glanced down from his perch on the battlements.
"Was she worth it?" he called, as Zet hurried into the
guardhouse.
"Aye she was, but she was looking for the man with the most slog
on his face. I told her where to find you, she never showed?" he
called. He heard Druk laugh, and Bonn give a huff of annoyance.
Smiling to himself Zet pulled on his uniform. It was nothing fancy. A
simple black tunic with leather shoulder padding, worn down trousers,
and a leather cap for his green head. He scooped up the piece of
broken glass that was lying on the mess table. Their mirror. He
examined himself and frowned. He had never found himself ugly, but he
had always thought his nose was to big and his grey eyes where
uncommon for a goblin. Shrugging, he placed the "mirror" back on
the table. He collected his shield and small spear, noting the rust,
and headed up to the battlements.
It was at times like this he wondered why he had even bothered
joining the town guard. It was a silly question. He knew why. Money,
was unfortunately still a necessity in Goblin society. Of course,
they didn't have their own currency, but instead used gold and
silver stolen from humans. Some Goblin towns traded with human
cities, but Zet's hometown of Vaaldron did not take part in this.
For the most part the small town operated on a barter system. Gold
and other precious metals still carried weight within the market.
However, most goblins had no way of making a single gold coin through
normal means. Even some of the merchants could go their entire life
only trading in goods and never laying their hands on the smooth
metal that made up a solid gold coin. But if one where to join the
town guard...
It was an unspoken rule among guardsmen that any gold that was
confiscated or stolen during raids would be divided evenly among
those who took part. Of course, squad captains such as Fruc would
sometimes steal a few extra coins for themselves, but Zet didn't
mind that. As long as he got a few coins to spend at the tavern then
he was happy. The only downside of joining the town guard was that it
was also the only military force that Vaaldron maintained. While it
was true that they did have a few allies to call upon in times of
need, for the most part goblin cities and towns operated
independently of each other. Zet had always feared that one day he
might wake up to find an army of humans at their gates with only the
two hundred guardsmen to stop them.
Of course, no such army greeted him today as he emerged onto the
battlements. Druk glanced over as Zett took his place on the wall
next to him "Anythin exctin' going on?"
Druk sighed "Why are you always askin that?"
"Isn't it our job to watch for anything interesting?" Zet
asked, with a hint of a smile. This caused Bonn to huff in annoyance.
"Not like you do any work anyhow," he mumbled. Zet ignored
the comment directing his next comment to Druk "So nothing to
report?"
Scowling Druk glared at him "Listen ya' Slog, everyday we
stand up here and look at dirt. Yesterday we looked at dirt, today we
are looking at dirt, and tomorrow, when you show up late again, we
will still be looking at dirt."
Zet laughed and Druk just rolled his eyes. Bonn was still
scowling. In truth the field in front of the main gate was nothing
special. The ground was hard; a few patches of grass jutted out of
the ground as if in defiance of the oppressive heat of the sun.
Druk's description of staring at dirt had been a rather accurate
assessment of their job.
"The cappin' is gunna roast you over a slog pit if he finds
out you was late again," Bonn said. Zet just grinned. He knew he
would eventually have to face Fruc again. He doubted that the Captain
would simply let the incident he pulled that morning go without
repercussion. Still perhaps he would go easy on Zet because he
thought Zet had seen how he had lost his tooth. The reality was Zet
had no idea why Fruc now had one less tooth in his smile. However,
the look Zet had gotten when he had mentioned the tooth to Fruc meant
that it was most likely pretty embarrassing. Maybe if he asked around
he could....
Zet's thought process was interrupted as the final member of
their squad finally arrived. Zett turned to see Drulgo emerge onto
the battlements. He was short, even for a goblin, standing only three
feet in height. He was fat as well, though he didn't seem to mind
that as much as being short.
"Well look what the Slog dragged in," Druk said with a grin,
however his smile faded when he saw the look in Drulgo's eyes.
Something was wrong. The usually jovial goblin seemed troubled
"What's the matter with you? You look like a glib worm stole your
lunch."
"It's the King," Drulgo said.
"What about em?" Bonn asked.
"He's called for a raid."
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