Chapter 105 - 104: What Comes After
Goblin village
The wooden hall flickered with firelight. The core members had gathered, Uncle Drake, Celine, Orrin, Old Man Dan, Grokk, Aren, and a few trusted elders among the goblins and kobolds. The scent of pine and smoke clung faintly to the air. Outside, the village was quiet, the sounds of a distant wolf howling breaking the stillness every so often.
Lumberling stood near the hearth, his face calm, but his stance tight. He knew what had to be said.
"I need to tell you all something."
Everyone went quiet. All eyes turned to him.
"We were tasked to escort an item for a noble, an Earl named Cedric Ravenshade. But the item wasn’t cargo. It was her... an elf."
There was a rustle of discomfort across the room. Celine instinctively pulled her child a little closer. Jen frowned.
Lumberling continued, "She wasn’t a person to them. She was a possession. Something they bought, from the black market. When the mission went south, I saw her again, broken, I made a choice. I killed the knight of the Baron. I broke the contract. We silenced the soldiers to cover our tracks... but the Earl may still come looking."
The fire crackled, filling the silence.
He looked up at the group. "The Duskpire Legion is no more. We’ll lay low for now. We can’t risk exposure."
Another long silence followed.