Chapter II: Time (Part III)
The night approached and I quickly became tired after doing several minutes' worth of happy jigs with Wurzlag. I decided to sleep next to the overhang, waiting for the morning to arrive so I could head back to my work, a new plan hatching in my mind…
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Zzzzz….
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…..
…
"Look-look out, man-man thing-!"
…
Shick!
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
I awoke to sharp pains across my back, and nearly rolled off the cliffhang, which was easily several meters above the ground below. In fright and fury, I turned my gaze on the assailant- Seeing an ugly green face jutting into my view; A goblin in shoddy clothing, wielding a jagged crude knife.
"Heheheheh!" It cackled, as if delighting in my misery. My rage exploded in that moment, and my hands launched forward, reaching past his knife and clutching the goblin by the throat. "Grhrhrhhhhh!"
It choked and gurgled as I raised it above the ground, swinging its little frame around so that the goblin was now dangling over the cliffhang. It noticed its perilous circumstances and began trying to cry out in fear and despair.
There it was… that same expression of horror. The prospect of losing one's life. No matter how much it immersed itself in death, violence, and destruction, no sane living being could ever fully accept something that was so fundamentally against its very existence. The cessation of life would never be fully and wholly accepted by life itself.
…
Exhausted, I tossed the goblin back onto the level ground, leaving it to cough and gasp as it shook violently; Having almost lost its life. I left for the camp, eager to do my work, and hoping this green little shit wouldn't gather his friends to stab me in my sleep. Though I didn't fear that too much; I had set up multiple traps and hired slave scouts (not from my own site) to alert me when something suspicious was approaching my abode.
The goblins could certainly try.
…
For a moment, I rubbed my head in thought. Just a moment before I had been fully woken from my sleep, I swore I heard a voice try to warn me…
My daily routine continued, this time with more gusto; And a bit more anger.
The slaves under my purview wore faces of abject shock as they saw me approach the mining site in a fully recovered state. I couldn't help but grin maliciously as I saw them, mouths agape and jaws slackened.
Fucking rats. They were more Skaven than the rat-men themselves.
"WORK, YOU GITS!"
I shouted at them, cracking the whip at one of them more closely; No longer did I hold remorse for them. They had shown to want me dead and gone for too long now, and whatever precious memory they had held of me before all of this was now erased.
Replaced by a tyrant.
CRACK!
In the days following, I went down into the main Ork camp more often, more emboldened towards holding my own in a fight than before. While I still strayed from challenging Orks -I was still too young, my body too immature to take them on right now- I was content in taking up challenges from Goblins that wanted to try and exercise power over me, be that in the form of bullying, threats or otherwise. In most cases, I would simply drag them towards a remote area of the camp and bash their skull in before they could make much of a fuss; It was far too easy to take them down individually, as I was doing now.
CRACK!
It was odd, really- how I decided to let one of these little devils live last night, and now I was beating in the head of another one, with no regard for its life. Was there an aspect to their character that I was subconsciously judging to decide this? Or was it just at my own, selfish whim?
CRACK!
I drew a cruel breath as I dislodged my bloodied club from the Goblin's skull cavity, wiping the gore on the Goblin's clothing. It was necessary to dispatch challengers away from the rest, to avoid additional and unnecessary confrontations, especially with Orks. At this point, I felt like I was sneaking around the camp more than I was living in it.
Taking one more look at the body, I turned on my heel and slinked away.
Night came once more. I sat on the cliffhang contentedly, as Azur continued in his jigging nearby; He would occasionally ask me questions, and I would ask him a few questions in turn. It was an enjoyable way to pass the time, as we both learned more about the world from one another- Even if the Ork's words were almost gibberish half the time.
It was.. The first form of genuine conversation I'd had since my time in Nuln. And I was grateful for it- I had feared I would lose my mind in isolation the weeks before.
"Huh?"
It was then that I heard the sound of incoming footsteps- too light to be Orks, so it was definitely a Goblin. I turned my head to see the same Goblin from a few days ago approaching me with something in its hands.
"Pleaze, boss, don' kill me!"
Without hesitation, the Goblin immediately began groveling as it got closer, bowing its body low to the ground in a show of submission, holding what I now saw to be a few gold coins in its hands. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.
"...Boss?" I questioned aloud, uttering the word with hesitation. The Goblin nodded fervently.
"Yes, boss!" It insisted. "Youz din't bash me 'ead in! Youz big, an' mean, an' youz can foight! Soz I figgered, if youz let me join ya mob, I won' be gobbled up by sum Big'Un or stabby-ed by sum otha Gobbo! If youz let me serve ya, Oi'll be da most loyalz an' best Gobbo! I swearz it!"
I stared at the Goblin with disdain and loathing; What kind of sick joke was this?
"Gh-!"
I picked up the Goblin by the neck, beaming a murderous gaze into its beady red eyes.
"You think I just fucking forgot about you trying to poke me off a fuckin' cliff, you little shit?"
The Goblin choked and sputtered as I tightened my grip around itself, waving its bony hands as if trying to explain itself.
"No -Grh!- Boss, I SWEARZ to ya, I don' want 'ta -GH!- stab yaz!"
I dropped the Goblin, as it crumpled to the ground and coughed for air- a familiar scene from a few days ago. I loomed over its small body as it held up its hands to plead.
"Pleaz, boss! *cough* If oi wanted 'ta kill ya, oi would've just called some Gobbos ova to stab youz in ya sleep!"
Knew it, I thought subconsciously. Though I was surprised the Goblin was trying to appeal to my logic- considering how its overlords in the camp definitely did not adhere to that school of thought.
I stopped looming over the Goblin, contemplating its offer. On one hand, there was no damn way in hell this Goblin was actually going to stay loyal to me under circumstances worse than great. I was privy to the backstabbing culture of their society, and so I had no doubt this goblin would try some scheme in the future to-
"Boss!" The goblin continued. "Oi know youz fink we'z Gobbos are all bad an' backstabby, but oi don' wanta stab youz in da back! I swearz!"
The goblin pointed at the camp fervently, in the familiar jittery manner that inhabited all Goblins like some kind of possessive spirit.
"Oi HATE dis camp! Been 'ere for years, an' I fink oi'm gonna get me 'ead bashed in every DAY! Oi wanta seez da WORLD!"
The Goblin spread its thin arms across the air, gesturing to the entirety of the world.
"An oi fink youz can get me outta 'ere! Youz spared me, an' oi take dat as'n omen! So pleaze, boss, lemme be yor 'ead Gobbo!"
It knelt before me, as if a crude parody of a knight pledging its allegiance. I felt the urge to laugh out loud, but sensed that might be a bit too cruel for the occasion. I sighed, and decided to open this shaky foundation of a relationship for the potential benefits.
If I felt, at any time, that this thing was trying to betray me, I would crush its head without a second thought.
"...Very well, then. What's your name?"
"Strosk, big boss!"
I raised an eyebrow.
"No last name?"
The Goblin was silent for a moment, as if ashamed.
"Gobbos don' usually get da second name 'til dey do sumn' dat earns 'em a second name! I 'aven't done anythin' big an' bad to get one yet!"
I rubbed my chin in thought, wondering if I should give it a 'second' name; Though I felt that would just be too churlish, for right now.
"Well, we can work on that later. I have had an itching question, though: How can you understand me, exactly? The same goes with… Azur here."
"Most Big'Uns an' Gobbos jus' pick up a few wordz an' all!"
I nodded curiously, realizing I could mine this Goblin for information that could benefit me in the future. I spent the rest of the night asking… Strosk… all kinds of questions regarding Greenskins.
The night carried on, and soon we unknowingly descended into entertaining ourselves with small musings (like Azur randomly blasting off magic, or Strosk finding a nearby creature to stab in amusement). Whether it was out of boredom or curiosity, or if my mind had just shut off and followed the flow, I was amused- if only mildly.