Goblin Queen's Plan Ch. 05

"The valley Vira described?" he asked.

Zora nodded.

"I was one of those who thought that I could not accept your ways," Gort admitted. "I am happy that you were able to show me that I was wrong."

"Me too," she said.

We traveled for another two hours, Zora made another water-station, Reav handed out rations, and Kia checked over the lines.

We came to a broad, flat area as the sun was setting. Gort and his men organized the travelers back into the same grid as before - with everyone returning to their same places - which helped us keep track of who was where and determine whether or not anyone was missing.

There were several blisters - and a few sprained ankles - but (otherwise) everyone was doing well. Gort's guards directed me to where I was needed, and we quickly got everyone healed up and working on their suppers.

Zora built another food and water station at the corner of the camp, leaving Awka and Reav to load it with provisions - before sweeping around the camp to build a modest defensive perimeter.

Complaints arose, almost immediately, that the fence prevented people from heading off into the trees to take care of their pre-bedtime needs. Gort's men helped us dig a series of holes, at the end of each row of campsites. Zora raised temporary latrines over each of the holes. Awka asked if there should be someplace for people to wash their hands, but Gort told her it would be a waste of time. Watching a few goblins leave the newly-constructed shit-houses, I had to admit that he was probably, unfortunately, right.

For the next two days, we quickly fell into a routine - repeating what was working - and making improvements where possible.

Our wagon - the "royal family" - led the way. Between us and Gort's lieutenants (who were guiding the caravan) there was about a half-mile gap. Every two hours, we would stop, build a supply-station, and then hurry off to reestablish the gap we needed in order to have time to construct the facilities before the three-mile long line of travelers caught up to us.

Egla (with Twirp's help) and Vira worked together to watch for predators - man or beast. Kia, in the form of a falcon, swept back and forth across the line on a regular basis to check in with Gort's guards, bringing status reports back to Zora and Gort.

We discussed the possibility of creating more latrines along the road but Zora was already unhappy about all of the way-stations we were leaving behind, littering the public ways.

From a safety standpoint, we were already doing most everything we could, to ensure that no wild animals would be coming out of the woods to attack. We reasoned that, if we started coddling our "followers" too much, we'd just be creating expectations for us to do the same when we finally arrived back in the valley.

We were all of the opinion that we wanted a society built as much on self-reliance as possible. Having the people become dependent on their queen - or even some sort of elected committee - was just asking for trouble.

The other consideration was that goblins were notoriously independent. Creating a situation that altered their behavior that dramatically was a recipe for disaster.

For those reasons, the water and food supply-stations were spread apart as far as we could make them - while still keeping the people behind us moving with some sort of speed.

We stopped at midday, each day, for everyone to have a chance to duck into the tree-line. The rest of the time, we did everything we could to keep the line moving.

We cautioned our "troops" to move aside for traders and other travelers. A few of those, however, that were heading our direction, tucked themselves in, behind Yirk, and used our numbers to bolster their safety.

Whenever Zora had an opportunity to buy food supplies, those were rationed off and added to the choices at the supply-stations. When Twirp spotted game within reach, we availed ourselves of those resources as well. Those, Zora usually stored until we stopped for the night.

Wolf Den

The sun was racing towards the horizon - at the end of our third day on the road - as the peace-keeper's village came into view.

"Head towards the wolf den until you see the carrion-pile," Zora ordered us. "Give it a wide berth. Pass a mile to the west and set up the encampment. Gort and I will catch up."

~~~

Zora and Gort stepped off, to the left, several steps towards the small city. She raised her hands and a thin fence of bramble bushes spread out across the road, guiding those behind us to bypass the town and follow our lead.

By the time she and the guard captain got to the edge of town, the peace-keeper was walking out to meet them.

Glancing at Gort, he glared at Zora and said, "I thought I made it clear that you weren't welcome here."

"Fear not, mighty peace-keeper, none of the mutts under my command will be spending a single coin in your tiresome burg. I only came to warn you that, if anybody tries to sneak into our camp tonight, they'll find themselves at the wrong end of a dagger."

Having delivered her message, Zora turned and walked - at a measured pace - to join the wagon-train, with the guard-captain at her side.

"He'll test you before we are gone from this place," Gort prophesied.

"I know," Zora replied. "I should probably thank him. He was the one who showed me that I was a fool to think that I could claim the throne from my sister."

"You are no fool, my queen. That throne was not fit to hold you. I think you will find that your kingdom soon becomes the envy of all those who despise you."

Zora looked at him, finding his words hard to believe.

"Dera is not the only one who can see the future," he said, smiling at her.

Zora laughed so hard that she had to stop walking. She hugged her arms to her sides, trying to stop them from hurting as she caught her breath.

~~~

It was full-dark by the time everyone was back in their allotted spaces. Once that was done, Gort met with his team while Zora and the rest of us headed back to the wolf den.

When we had left this place, several days ago, Zora had left bramble-walls blocking off the den. She created four will-o-wisps that hovered above us as we made our way back inside.

The last time, we had been intent on clearing out the wolves. We had not, however, taken the time to look for any loot. We had, of course, planned to collect the pelts - but the bothersome peace-keeper had spoiled our claim to any income from those.

While we had camped outside of Zeka's kingdom, Zora had grown more and more sure that - with the reward the village had offered - there must be multiple dead bodies somewhere in the den. Since we knew no one else had been inside, there should be a cache of weapons, money pouches, and other trinkets waiting to be claimed.

As we passed inside, Zora removed the barriers and each of us fanned out to explore the place. We covered every tunnel, entry, and cavern. As always happens, we found what we were looking for in the last place we looked.

(This is, obviously, true because one always stops looking once they've found that for which they are seeking.)

Behind the raised area upon which we had found the alpha wolf, we discovered a small treasure trove. I expected to find piles of human remains. However, the only things in the small cavern were the items that the beasts had decided were inedible. Even the bones had been removed.

Each of us filled our packs with tools, weapons, and armor. The jewelry, coins, and trinkets went into a bag that required Bish's superior strength to heft. She carried this and three others. Once the room was swept clean, we began making our way back out.

Zora replaced the thorny barriers. If any man or beast wanted to lay claim to this place we had conquered, they were going to have to work to take it.

Kia stepped over by Dera and asked, "Will we return to this place, dreamer?"

The goblin woman smiled at her and said, "None of us - but maybe in a generation or two."

Eyes wide, the dark elf asked, "How many babies will I have?"

Dera smiled evilly and said, "Two from Zack."

"From Zack?" Kia asked, not yet realizing Dera was baiting her.

"I probably shouldn't tell you," Dera stage-whispered, "but you'll meet an ogre with a cursed dick and well... it was an even dozen screaming brats by the last count, I think..."

"What in the seven hells?!" Kia gasped.

Dera couldn't keep her face straight any longer, she snorted, and dropped to her knees, holding her sides as she cackled in laughter.

The rest of us took a break while Kia threw down her pack to jump on Dera to tickle her.

The dreamer tried to shove her off, yelling, "I'm gonna piss myself!"

Zora let Kia go after Dera for another minute before pulling her up for a quick kiss - and then ordering her to knock off the play-time and grab her pack. She nudged Dera with her boot, telling her to get up as well.

As we arrived back at our campsite, Zora told everyone to load the stuff into the wagon. We were quickly running out of room.

Egla fixed a quick dinner as Zora raised our shelters and then went to fence in our entire encampment. She conferred with Gort to figure out how he wanted the gate to be set up.

By the time she returned, each of the women had been to my hut long enough to get themselves a quickie before bed. Zora came in, pulled off her boots, and laid down next to me. She placed her hand on my naked thigh, gave me a soft kiss, and closed her eyes. I pulled the blanket over us and kissed her cute little bump of a nose. I closed my eyes and joined her in sleep.

The Peace-Keeper

The next morning, as we got underway, Gort reported that two families had left the village to join our caravan. Raising his eyes at Zora, he said, "See?"

She laughed and shook her head.

As we passed the edge of the town, the river came into view. We aimed our column at the large stone bridge - to find the peace-keeper and some buddies blocking the way.

"What's going on?" Zora asked.

"Have to pay a toll to cross the bridge," the man said, sneering. "One gold per person."

"I think you're outside of your jurisdiction, peacekeeper."

"The village built this bridge."

"So, I can pay your toll or find a different way across the river?" Zora asked.

"Yup. Next bridge is a three day walk."

"Does the village own anything else around here I should know about?"

"Just the bridge."

Zora stared at the raging waters and then looked back at the impertinent goblin.

"Just so that there's absolutely no confusion - on anybody's part," Zora said (loudly enough for all of his men to hear), "once my people are on the other side of this river, if you are still standing here, you are a dead man. If you or any of your thugs attempt to stop me or any of my people from crossing this river, you all die."

She looked back and forth across their faces to be sure they understood.

"Pay the toll or go fuck yourself," the peace-keeper said.

"I will remind you - just one more time - WHEN we are across the river, YOU are a dead man. I don't need your fucking bridge."

When she said "dead man", she poked a finger at her heart.

She turned, nodded to Gort, and headed back to the wagon.

"Awka?"

"My queen?"

"Can you build a dam across this river and dry out the bottom so we can cross?"

Awka climbed down off of the wagon. The three of them walked towards the wide waterway - about a hundred feet upriver from the toll-collectors.

"This is all low ground," Awka said. "If I dam the river here, this whole area will flood. That'll cause bigger problems. What if I just build an ice-bridge across? It'll be a little slippery. Can we cover it in dirt or something?"

Reav tugged on Zora's shirt sleeve.

"Yeah, buddy?"

"Can't you grow trees?"

Her eyes instantly widened and Reav squeaked when she grabbed him up and peppered his face with kisses.

"Awka, come with me," she ordered.

The water-mage followed the nature-mage.

"Build us a walkway to the center," she said pointing.

Awka built them a frozen foot-bridge. They walked out to the middle of the river.

"I need a pipe - a small tunnel - down to the riverbed - with the water evaporated away so I can drop an acorn onto the bottom."

Awka built the ice-pipe.

Zora dropped the acorn in, stretched her hand out over it, and a sapling grew up, breaking the pipe apart as it rose five feet above the surface of the river.

"Same thing, about twenty feet left," Zora told Awka.

Awka extended the ice-bridge to the new location and built another pipe to the riverbed.

Zora grew another oak sapling to match the first.

"Alright, back to the bank and I'll get to work. Thanks, hun."

"Of course, my queen," Awka replied.

"This will take me a little bit, and everybody's already been standing here because of that fool," she said to Awka, glancing at the peace-keeper, who hadn't moved. "Can you and Egla run down the line and get everybody watered and fed so we can get the fuck out of here as soon as I get this damned thing built?"

"Yes, my queen," Awka said, heading to join Egla, who was already turning the wagon.

"Thanks, Egla," Zora called out.

"Have I earned a boon, my queen?" our young cook asked.

"What did you have in mind?" Zora inquired.

Her eyes shot over to the peace-keeper and his men. She looked back at Zora and raised her eyebrows.

"Twirp?"

"Yes, my queen, and a couple friends."

"Two passes only," Zora told her. "Don't run them off. I want to see if the dumbass is actually stupid enough to stand there until we've finished crossing."

Egla nodded and snapped the reins, goading the oxen into moving.

Twirp left Egla's shoulder and joined a small squadron of song birds that flew from the trees nearby. This aerial unit passed over the village's toll-trolls, shitting all over them. They swung wide, made a second bombing-run, and then dispersed. Twirp returned to Egla's shoulder and started chirping at her, dancing from foot to foot. The goblin girl cackled in laughter.

I looked over to see the men wiping bird droppings off of their hats and clothes.

On the river bank, Zora planted two more oaks. She held out her hands and the four trees began growing - up and together - forming a strong platform. Walking out to the middle of the river, she sent a branch the rest of the way across, walked it like a tightrope, and stood on the far shore - where she planted two more oaks. She worked from that side, growing a platform to match the first, sewing the two of them together.

"Bish?" Zora called, standing in the middle of her new bridge.

"My queen?"

"Can you jump up and down on this and give it a stress-test?"

The half-troll became a full troll, and she pranced back and forth - from one foot to the other - leaping a yard at a time - across the bridge - from the closer bank to the far end - and back again.

When she returned, Zora looked at her, smiling.

"You have the troll stamp of approval, my queen. This bridge is ready for business!"

Zora laughed and clapped the huge woman on the hip (she couldn't reach her shoulder).

Bish returned to her half-troll form, gave Zora a hug, and asked, smirking, "What's a beautiful girl like you doing in a shithole like this?"

Zora hugged her back, gave her a peck on the lips, and took her hand to walk back to join the rest of us.

"Everybody grab a drink and something to eat. Reav, this would be a good time to water a tree. As soon as Egla and Awka get back, I want to get the fuck out of this Gods-forsaken place."

A half-hour later, the girls were back. We waited a bit while they used the privy that Zora had just raised. Zora removed the outhouse and we got underway.

"Imka?"

"My queen?"

"As soon as Yirk steps off of this bridge, I want three arrows in that asshole's heart," she said, glancing at the peace-keeper.

"Gladly, my queen," Imka replied.

"Follow the road," Zora told Gort. "We'll catch up."

"Yes, my queen."

"You sticking around?" Imka asked her.

"I'm not leaving this bridge for them to have," she replied.

Imka nodded - and stood, waiting for Yirk.

Kia, Reav, and I joined Imka and Zora.

"What are you guys up to?" Zora asked, smiling.

"Mostly being nosey," I replied. "Kia says she can give you a ride back to the front."

"Can you now?" Zora asked the dark elf.

"I was thinking that a drake could carry two or three easily at a jog," Kia replied.

"Probably scare the shit out of our wagon-train though," Zora said laughing.

"Mule?" Kia asked.

"That's probably better." Zora replied.

"I may have to make two trips," Kia said.

"You think your griffin form could carry me?" Zora asked, suddenly distracted.

"Probably, why?"

"I'm a little jealous that Reav got to fly around the other day. I'd like a go."

"Now?" Kia asked, smirking.

"THAT would definitely scare the wagons," Zora said, watching as group after group and wagon after wagon crossed her newly-constructed oak bridge.

Kia laughed.

~~~

Finally, Yirk came into view. Zora walked over to meet the guard and waited for him to start across. As they walked, side-by-side, she began un-growing the bridge. The saplings on the far bank shrank back into the ground and the platform started withdrawing into the massive oaks in the middle of the river.

As Zora and Yirk stepped into the grass, I looked over to see the village's men still standing there, staring at us. They jumped at the sound of Imka's bow firing. It fired twice more, in the span of a heartbeat.

Eyes open wide, the peace-keeper looked down at his chest, finally noticing the leaf-fletchings of three thorn-arrows sticking out of his heart.

"See you in hell, dumbass," Zora called out as the man fell back, dead.

When his associates drew their blades, Zora called out, "I don't know about you, KIA, but I'm feeling a little peckish."

The men were halfway across the bridge when Kia - at a run - transformed into her warg-form.

They stopped, turned, and ran.

I thought Kia might just be planning to scare the shit out of them but - I've got to tell you - I think I'm going to have nightmares for a while. Her chosen method of ending their pitifully-short lives - each and every one of them - was to bite all the way through their necks - separating their heads from their torsos.

At least there wasn't a lot of screaming... but what a mess!

I quickly glanced over - to see if the families at the end of our caravan had witnessed the ugly incident - but Zora had raised a line of tall grasses between them and us. None of them had seen what happened.

When Kia returned, I healed a few cuts on her shoulders. Reav teleported around, collected the coin-pouches and weapons, brought them over, and laid them at Zora's feet.

She nodded and said, "Well done, all. Let's blow this popsicle stand."

As she removed the last of the bridge - leaving only the two oaks in the center of the river to show that we had been here - Reav asked me, "What's a popsicle stand?"

I shrugged.

Imka looked down at the pile of weapons and said, "How are we carrying all of this?"

"Can you make a four-person chariot?" Kia asked Zora.

Without waiting for her reply, the shape-shifter changed into a donkey.

Zora pulled a butternut out of her pouch, dropped it to the ground, and set to work. Soon there was a cart - with a yoke to hook around Kia's shoulders - that the four of us could sit in. It even had a handy cargo rack at the front - with room for all of the swords, hammers, daggers, bows, and quivers.

Once we were aboard, Kia took off at a trot. A half-hour later, we caught up to Egla's wagon. She turned to look at us and Reav stood up on his seat to wave. The bird-girl started laughing.