Glibby was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to watch Daggat's challenge. Still, she snuck away for a moment to watch.

It was a challenge by riddle. To test his wits. Daggat simply ignored the challenge and asked the spirit beast unrelated questions. His confidence told her he had already won. When he selected the correct pumpkin with seemingly no effort, Gliby knew his wit and wisdom were unmatched. He was indeed the right choice.

He had also given her a quest. Find his manor, somewhere towards the south, and meet him there. This was a test. To ensure the goblins were skilled enough for such a task.

How Daggat would get there before her, she didn't know. Something to do with the trees. Still, he had yet to disappoint.

Some time later, Glibby had gathered the surviving goblin who decided to join her in following a new leader. Others had gone their own ways, presumably to die in the wilds. Alone. Sixteen goblinoids, altogether. The back line and cowards. Those who managed to survive by not fighting.

They were her people, though, so she couldn't fault them. She, too, hid.

"Alright, everybody, listen to Glibby," Glibby said as she gathered them to her. "We are on a dangerous quest! A test, to show we are worthy to lead!"

"Uh, huh. We were there, Glibby." Said Olly.

"Glibby is just making sure we all know! Has… uh… anyone traveled without the horde?"

The assorted goblins looked around. Nobody had raised their hand. Of course. They were all too young. Some not even a year old yet. Glibby herself should technically still be a gremlin. But she once went to loot a ransacked farmhouse. So… that counted, right?

"So, Glibby is most experienced." She said, confidently, "Remember, be sneaky. The forest is full of monsters!"

"But… we're monsters." Said Bebe.

"Mean monsters! Big, ugly ones. That eat goblins." Glibby said.

"Like orcs." Said Igi.

Glibby nodded, "They are out here too, so be careful. Now, let's go… but quietly."

Goblins are creatures of the night, and this crew was no different. They skulked through the evening and into the night. Allowing their night vision to guide them to their destination.

To alleviate their hunger, the goblinoids feasted on whatever they could snag. Squirrels, songbirds, toads, and grubs. In one desperate moment, a wild onion. They drank from streams and stayed in the shadows as best they could.

Though this food was not enough to fully satiate the goblin's hunger. They craved meat, charred and aged to give that sour flavor they oh so adored. So, on the second night of their travels, the goblins were happy to see flame off in the distance.

Flame meant people, and people can be eaten.

Glibby snuck up with a few of the more experienced goblins. She activated her camouflage biotrait, which she had brought to its apex. It allowed her to be virtually invisible, clothes and all.

A dozen people surrounded a campfire. A few dwarves and some humans. They had a wagon filled with tools and a strange pointed stone. Some of the other survivors from the village?

The older dwarf was speaking to a dwarf with an eye patch, "Should be another day or so, don't worry."

"I know. I'm not too worried. But the orcs came this way, too. Think we will run into them?"

"We've seen their trail; they are headed straight for the mansion. If what Daggat said was true, then they would be slaughtered if they stayed at the manor. They would either move on or die. I don't see them turning back."

They knew Daggat! That meant it was probably not a good idea to eat them. Besides, they looked like they would be in trouble.

Glibby started to back away when she heard a click. Glancing over, she noticed Olly stepping on some sort of metal contraption.

"Oops," he said, right before the contraption exploded into spinning razors. The goblin screamed as his hand was sliced away, blood spraying like a fountain.

Instantly, the older dwarf drew two axes. The other looked surprised and asked, "What's that, an animal?"

"No, they are set to only target monsters."

"Get him out of here!" Glibby hissed.

The other goblins dove over their wounded companion like chickens on feed. A second later, the wound was wrapped tightly with spare rags, and he was dragged away.

Not daring to move, Glibby watched the dwarf. He was ready, on guard. But he hadn't started to move yet. A few of the other humans closed in a circle and strung bows.

"Oi!" called the dwarf, "If you're civil, show yourself."

Glibby was civil. She thought so, at least. But she wasn't stupid.

He took a step forward, moving to investigate. She didn't want her companions to be discovered, so she grabbed Olly's hand and tossed it to the other side of their camp.

By pure luck, or perhaps poor luck on the dwarves' side, it landed in another trap, which sent a blaze of fire into the air.

Glibby ran, catching up with the rest of the goblins. Olly was sobbing, holding his blood-soaked stump. One of the goblins was preparing a strip of leather to act as a tourniquet.

"They are headed to the manor, too. There are orcs ahead for sure!" Glibby told them.

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"What do we do? Can we fight the humans?" Asked Lulu.

"No!" Glibby said, "They are strong, and they know Daggat. Perhaps they serve him. We shall follow. Let them fight any spare orcs."

Olly recovered from his wound, though he was still missing a hand. Sad, but an acceptable loss. At least he hadn't died.

The humans traveled by day and were now especially wary of them. So now Glibby was the only one who could approach.

It was that next night, when Glibby was scouting ahead to follow the mortals' paths, that she heard it. The music.

Soothing humming. It seemed to call to her, drawing her in. Beautiful and enchanting. Her will was low, so she could not resist its power.

It was the one-eyed dwarf who was making the music. Sitting on a mossy log, humming a deep, musical tune. Around him were dozens of critters and creatures. Birds, mice, squirrels, skunks, and even a fawn.

Glibby was so intrigued by the sight that she forgot to camouflage herself.

"Oh, hello." The dwarf said, shocked to see her.

Her instinct was to run, but something stopped her. Curiosity? Why would the dwarf greet her, instead of attacking?

"You summon beasts, very useful for food." She said. The animals scattered upon hearing her voice, small as it was.

"It is, but I don't like to use it to hunt." The dwarf said, "Are you a friendly goblin?"

"Do you know any?" She asked, amused.

"Yes. I have a goblin friend."

"Is that why you haven't attacked Glibby yet?"

He looked shocked, "I wouldn't attack someone not trying to harm me. Are you going to try?"

"No. Not if you'll fight back." She said casually, "Do you know Daggat?"

He smiled brightly, "Yes! He is my friend. That might be his charm abilities, but I like to think he still is."

"What do you know about him? And his party?"

"Hmm…" he said, "Well. He is a strange goblin. They all are. Monstrous, but not evil. Strong, but foolish. Reckless, but surprisingly caring. Why are you interested?"

"Daggat has given Glibby a quest! If Glibby can get to his home, then Daggat will be Glibby's new boss."

"Oh. We are going to the same place. How many of you are traveling?"

"Four hands worth."

"Um, twenty?"

Glibby shrugged.

"Well," The dwarf said, "that's a lot. If it were a few, I could convince my father to allow you to travel with us. I'm Pote, by the way."

"We can travel alone, but your traps hurt us."

"So it was you who set off the trap. I hope you're people are okay."

"Olly lost a hand."

"Sorry to hear that. I can talk to father, make sure he doesn't leave any."

"Can you leave some food? We are hungry. Only eating rats and grubs."

Pote frowned, "We only have enough food for us. Sorry."

Just then, the older dwarf walked into the clearing. "Son, have you-" He spotted Glibby and, in one smooth motion, summoned and fired a crossbow.

She ducked, causing the bolt to miss her head, but it cut straight through one of her ears, leaving a gaping hole. Glibby hissed in pain and activated her camouflage.

As she turned around a tree to hide, her whisper aura took hold. As long as she didn't attack, and the other was sufficiently foolish or weak enough, they would have forgotten Glibby. At least, they have seen the last few seconds they have seen. If she attacked, then the aura would break, and it took a while for it to return.

Glibby did not know how strong the dwarf was or how willful. So she ran away, silently.

A few hours later, the goblins found a dead deer, partially skinned and harvested. Something was scrawled into the earth, but none of the goblins could read it.

They did not have a way to make fire, so they ate the meat cold and raw. Not ideal, but it was filling. To a goblin, being full was bliss by itself, no matter the flavor of the food.

Food or not, Glibby had determined the dwarf was too dangerous. So they moved away from the caravan of mortals. When they reached their destination, Daggat would protect them from the dwarf, assuredly.

With no one to guide them, the goblins wandered in the direction they hoped was correct.

Traveling through the night, as the sun came up, they saw it. Smoke in the sky. A sign of civilization.

As usual, she went ahead to look first.

What she found filled her with terror. A camp of orcs! Large and loud. Creatures fighting with swords, axes, and spears. Some resting, some talking, others eating and drinking. Beyond the camp were only trees. But some part of her just knew her quest destination was beyond this evil place.

But how to proceed? Glibby could easily sneak her way through, no issue. But she had… lots of goblins with her. What were they to do? Sneak around, sure. But what if one of the orc scouts spotted them?

Well, it was that, or give up. She returned to her comrades.

"Glibby spotted something terrible! An orc camp!" She told them.

The goblins hissed and groaned.

"Must we face it?" Said Sox.

"Must we fight it?" Said Nox.

"No, no fighting," Glibby said. "Nobody here is any good at it. We must sneak around! Be quiet and quick."

With that, the goblinoids agreed.

Glibby was not the only goblin with useful biotraits. Lulu could imitate noises perfectly, and Olly could spit acid. Sox and Nox had some strange ability that let them see what the other saw. But none of these were suited to sneaking.

Thus, it was only a matter of time before they got caught.

"Oi!" Roared an orc. He had noticed Olly, who couldn't help but whimper. "Who's dat?"

"Nuthin'," Lulu cried back in an orcish voice. "Just an orc. Not at all, goblins."

The real orc looked confused for a moment, then turned to the camp. "We've got GOBLINS!" He roared with an amplified voice.

Uh oh, "Scatter!" Glibby yelled.

Fueled by panic, the goblinoids fled like rats.

Like rats, they were caught, one by one. Olly was the first to fall, being wounded. An orc scooped him into a large sack. Lulu and Bebe were beaten to the floor, then thrown into sacks as well.

Glibby was helplessly hidden as she watched her companions get captured. What could she do?! If she fought, she would be found. Then in the sack she would go.

Wait and watch. As she always did. Glibby sneaked after the orcs, listening to what they had to say.

"Got 'em, but why can't we eat 'em?" One orc asked.

"Wisdom says he wants them for something. They can't be killed. So maybe we can get a reward for bringing them to him."

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