New Chapter time, woo! This is basically going to be the time right before the group is set to leave the village again. However, Garrett, Creston, and Lianora discover a new threat in the Tipa Peninsula: Goblin Wall.

Note: This is basically going to skip over the caravan's inactive year, but I might not always do that. Just for your information.

ON WITH THE SHOW~
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Garrett took his weapon from the Yuke's hands. "Thanks, Lia!"

Lia smiled at him behind her armor. Garrett had been coming to her every week for the past year, getting his weapon checked or sharpened. Instead of pointing out the fact that they were on break and his weapon didn't need to be sharpened, the kind Yuke just humored the Lilty and did as he asked without protest.

Garrett, Lia, and Creston were all riding in the caravan together, going on a test ride. It would only be two more days before the caravan of Tipa left again in its journey to collect myrrh. But for now, they could just enjoy their little ride.

Creston sat at the front with the reins in his hand. Soon they would be leaving again.

"The years go by fast," he said. He stared out at the expanse of land before him. He could see the ocean in the distance, across the grassy meadows and fields. Trees littered the area, here and there. He could faintly see River Belle Path in the distance as well. Warm memories of the first year filled his head.

Suddenly, however, Creston caught sight of something different, something that had not existed the previous year. He turned the caravan and started to head towards it. He squinted at it. Finally, he noticed something; something bad. He took in a sharp breath.

"Lia! Garrett! Get out here!"

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Shock. That was the feeling as Creston, Lia, and Garrett stared at their new discovery.

"Whoa," said Garrett.

"Unbelievable," agreed Lia, her voice shaking. "To think monsters could do this…"

"We have to go back and warn the village," said Creston darkly. "They need to hear about this…"

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"I win again," said Ray, grinning deviously.

Sam sighed. The Selkie was way too good at this game. Sam, Ray, and Star were all playing Go Fish. And so far, Sam had two pairs, Star had five, and Ray had 13. Of course, neither of the Clavats knew that the necklace Sam was wearing reflected his cards towards Ray, nor did Star know that she was "bleeding" (a.k.a, showing all of her cards to Ray by accident).

They had invited Nieta and Mika to play, but Mika was too busy doing chores, and Nieta was eating. So the two Clavats and the Selkie decided to play a good round of cards before they returned to their journey. Of course, if it had been Sam's choice, he wouldn't have invited Ray, seeing as this was a good opportunity to get to know Star more (without the Selkie's antics). Sam had been trying to spend his time equally with all of the caravanners, but he found most of his time to be spent with Lia and Star. Not that he didn't like the others; it's just how things went down.

Ray was about to ask if Star had another six, when his sharp hearing alerted him of the caravan returning. In a rush. Creston wasn't the kind of person to go over the speed limit. He hopped out of his chair, signaling for Sam and Star to follow, and he ran down to the entrance of the village, the Clavats at his heels.

Nieta was already down there, as the Tipa caravan rushed into the village, screeching to a halt. Families gathered around, coming out of their homes to gaze curiously at the spectacle.

Roland moved forward, as the three caravanners hopped out. "Creston? Lianora? Garrett?" he asked. "What's going on?"

Creston took a deep breath. "The goblins are planning an attack," he said grimly.

Shocked gasps echoed around the village, as the people glanced at each other in alarm and unease.

"Garrett, Lia, and I were riding, when I spotted something," the Yuke began. "So we went to check it out. And when we got there…"

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Garrett signaled for the Yukes to move forward, behind the rock that the Lilty was hiding behind. The three still couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Goblins. A lot of them. Actually, that was an understatement. A MASSIVE number of goblins were hanging around an area. It appeared to be the outside of a large cavern. But the strange thing is, unlike most mountains or caves, the cavern went straight up, but did not have a peak at all. Instead, the new monstrous fortress was built by a wall.

"Look up there," hissed Lia, pointing. Creston looked at the direction of her finger, and saw what was holding the goblin's attention.

Atop a large pedestal, surrounded by four elite goblin guards, was a large goblin. He held a large staff in his blue hands, and was dressed in colorful clothes, as if he was a shaman. His dark, beady red eyes gleamed in the shadows caused by the wall. His teeth were long and crooked, like his nose. While Creston was captivated by the monster, he was even more surprised when it spoke.

"Goblins! Brethren! The time has come!" roared the large goblin on the pedestal. His voice was rather high, and it had a rather menacing lisp to it, but it was still deep enough to sound threatening. "I, the Goblin King, have called you all here today, for this is a plan of greatness!"

The goblins below let out shrieking cheers. The King waved a hand and they all fell silent

"As you know," the king said, resuming his speech. "There is only one village in this area. The smallest village of all villages in this land…Tipa!"

The goblins below growled.

"Now now, friends," said the Goblin King. "This is good news. However, now that the Giant Crab at River Belle has been annihilated by the caravan from this village, we must consider them a threat. Also, a new Crab shall rise to power, so our treaty with them is going to be strained. However, I have concocted a plan of greatness! With this plan, as soon as it succeeds, the goblins shall be one of the most powerful races on this earth!"

The goblins stared up at him, wide eyed and attentive. How? What was this plan?

"The plan is simple. When the caravanners head out for their next year, after they leave the peninsula, we strike! However, if they come here, we simply kill them, and then destroy their precious village. After that, we use the village as a secondary base. We take over River Belle and Port Tipa after that, and soon, the entire Tipa peninsula shall be under our control!"

The goblins cheered. Garrett looked uneasily at the Yukes. These violent creatures had a very well-made plan.

"But it doesn't stop there!" shouted the King above the loud cheers. "As you know, the Tipa caravan has recently ravaged Mushroom Forest. After we conquer the Tipa peninsula, we head threw the miasma stream and we take over the forest as well. However, if some of you are too spooked to go into the stream, we shall use Port Tipa to travel around it, and use the sea to gain access into the Iron Mine Downs!"

The goblins looked at each other in violent delight.

"Also, the Mine of Cathuriges is also a priority. Our rivals though they may be, it grieves me to tell you that the Orc King…has fallen in battle."

The goblins let out shocked cries and wails.

"Yes! Slaughtered, he was! And by who?" roared the king. "The accursed caravanners from Tipa! They have mercilessly slaughtered the king of all orcs! They will surely come after us next! Therefore, we must strike first! Also, we shall invade the Mine of Cathuriges. With the idiotic buffoon of a king out of the way, the orcs will be weak. We shall convince them we wish to ally with them, and then take over their home when they least expect it!"

The goblins let out booming cries of sadistic glee.

"But it doesn't stop there!" said the Goblin King with a menacing smile. "We shall take the Iron Mine Downs as well. Afterwards, we raise our army up, and then we shall attack Veo Lu, the Plains of Fum, and the Vale of Alfitaria!"

"What about Rebena Plains?" asked a voice from the crowd.

The Goblin King fell silent for a moment. Despite his confidence, he did not wish to go to the Rebena Plains. They were simply eerie. "We do not need the Rebena Plains. No one ever goes there. Even if someone does, they'll simply die there, as we will control every rest city around."

"Uh…what if plan doesn't work?" asked a nervous voice. Murmurs followed his uneasy words.

"The only thing that shall cause this plan to fail would be disloyalty," said the King loudly. "If you go through with this plan with all your strength, we shall not fail. Aren't you tired of being persecuted? As other tribes mock us and walk all over us? It is time to stop this! We shall have our revenge, and emerge from the bloody battles of war triumphant, as the greatest tribe of monsters this land will ever see!"

The goblins shouted loudly, louder than any other time during the meeting.

"We shall start right away," said the large, blue goblin. "Set out for River Belle, and check on Port Tipa. Afterwards, we shall plan a strategy. With that, this meeting is now over."

All of the goblins started to walk away in random directions, muttering with dark humor.

Creston shook his head. "That Goblin King can give one hell of a good speech, that's for sure."

"And it seems he has a lot of influence," said Lia. "And his use of propaganda is good as well. He's definitely smarter than the Orc King."

"Yeah, yeah, point is, we gotta go and warn the others," said Garrett. The three nodded, and set off back to the caravan.

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As they finished telling the story, they were met with an appalled silence.

"We need a plan," said Mika, breaking the silence.

Creston nodded. "The goblins are going to try and kill us if we go there. But we can't stay here. If a battle takes place here, the villagers are at risk."

Sam thought for a moment then opened his eyes. "Four of us will go to Goblin Wall. Four of us shall remain here."

"Who goes, and who stays?" asked Ray.

"Me and you for starters," said Sam. "Mika should come too. That leaves one more space open, but only one person can fill it. Garrett, you're the fourth person."

"Why is that your plan?" asked Nieta.

"I'm an all around fighter," said Sam, trying not to sound like he was bragging. "But goblins are fast. I may not be fast enough to avoid them, so that's why the Selkies are coming with us. Garrett, meanwhile, is the only one who can go with us, because he knows the way there."

"Why are we staying here?" asked Lianora. "We're the best at magic and healing. You'll need us."

"That's why you have to stay here," said Sam. "If we fail, then the village will need your help and support. Goblins aren't very good with magic. Plus, if any villagers get hurt, you'll be here to help them. Everyone understand?"

The eight nodded. Mika drove the caravan out of the village.

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The caravan pulled up to Goblin Wall.

"Is this the place?" asked Ray. Garrett nodded.

"Definitely," he said. "But we haven't seen the inside yet."

"Then let's not wait," said Mika, entering the cavernous wall. The others followed her lead, and made their way into the heart of the goblins' fortress.

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Done. This was more of a suspenseful chapter.

I got the idea of the Goblin Army attacking Tipa from the journal entry after you beat Goblin Wall for the first time. It says something about the goblins maybe attacking Tipa.

My image of the Goblin King is a smart, sneaky, and word-savvy person, who can use fancy words to persuade others to go along with him. However, I also see him as weak and cowardly as well (teleporting away from you, the dirty slimeball). This'll be shown later on.

Favorite parts: The Go Fish game, and the Goblin King's speech.

Up next: The dark domain of the goblins, GOBLIN WALL. Will Tipa's heroes make it to the Goblin King before his plan is put into action? And if they do, can they defeat the King of the Goblins?