The Monster King's Legacy

By now, it had been at least a month since Lance arrived in this new month, and he was integrating way better than he ever would have imagined. The goblins looked at him as their chief more, than just an interesting human. Lance had also grown rather close with the elders with the time he spent with each without even knowing.

Lance sat alone, absently poking at the ground with a stick. The day's work had left him physically and mentally tired. As much as he tried to focus on the tribe's progress, his thoughts kept drifting to how peaceful the tribe had been so far. This was nice, but where there are ups, there would follow one or two downs, as the statistics go.

"Daydreaming?" Rynne's voice jolted him out of his thoughts.

Lance glanced up to see her leaning casually against a nearby wooden post, her spear resting on her shoulder. Her grin was as sharp as ever.

"Not daydreaming," Lance replied, smirking faintly. "Just thinking."

"About me, no doubt. Your lose today had to be your greatest yet." Rynne teased, plopping down on the log beside him.

Lance chuckled, shaking his head. "I'd say otherwise."

"Don't flatter yourself!" Rynne said, her laughter ringing out as Lance groaned.

As the two conversed, Mira approached from the other side, carrying a small basket of herbs, seeming to have just returned from gathering herbs. Her expression was soft as always, but there was a flicker of irritation in her eyes as she glanced at Rynne, noting something others migh have missed as she walked over.

"Rynne," Mira said pointedly, "aren't you supposed to be cleaning your weapons? They looked positively dull this morning."

Rynne snorted. "They're fine. Besides, I'm busy keeping this human out of trouble."

"Is that what you call it?" Mira said, arching an eyebrow. She set the basket down and took a seat on Lance's other side. "Don't listen to her, Lance. She's just trying to make herself feel important." Mira said the later half shooting a look at Rynne who grinned at her.

Lance blinked, caught between the two women as they exchanged pointed looks seemingly over his head.

"Uh, am I missing something here?" he asked, glancing between them.

"Not at all," Rynne said, her tone light but her grin tight and fixed.

"Nothing at all," Mira responded, A hard smile on her face also.

Lance was how to handle the situation, something he was yet to learn properly. Luckily, the tension eased as Zarra arrived, her mischievous smirk cutting through the air like a blade.

"Well, well," Zarra drawled, her sharp eyes darting between Rynne and Mira. "Are we fighting over the human already? Didn't think it would happen this soon."

"We're not fighting," Mira said quickly, her cheeks flushing faintly.

"Not yet," Rynne added with a smirk.

"Relax," Zarra said, waving a hand. "There's enough of him to go around."

Lance groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Why do you speak of me like a flavoured resource?"

"Because you are," Zarra said cheerfully.

'I'm sure of it now, I'll really be exhausted before long.' Lance thought to himself, a complex emotion brewing within as he wasn't sure if he was to be happy or scared.

"Is this a meeting, or are we just wasting time?" Kaeli asked, her tone blunt as always.

She had been walking by, carrying a small hammer and wiping soot from her face, when she saw the gathering by the fire.

"Neither," Zarra said, her smirk widening. "We're discussing who gets to claim Lance first." She said mischievously. Now, it was very clear to Lance.

Kaeli rolled her eyes but didn't leave, instead taking a seat beside Zarra. "You can keep him. Outside his ideas, he's useless in a forge."

"Hey!" Lance protested.

"It's true," Kaeli said, though there was a faint hint of amusement in her voice.

The conversation quickly turned into a series of playful jabs, with each goblin taking turns teasing Lance about his various shortcomings, and themselves, Lance also joined in from time to time, everyone getting a laugh off of it. Despite their sharp words, there was an undercurrent of warmth in their banter, a camaraderie that had grown stronger with time. Well, maybe more than just camaraderie.

As the evening wore on, the group's teasing gave way to quieter moments of connection. Mira shared stories of her childhood, her voice soft and melodic as she spoke of her first attempts at healing.

"We were with a different camp then. I used the wrong herb once," she admitted with a sheepish smile. "The poor goblin ended up with bright red skin for a week. I was so embarrassed I hid in the forest for two days. Luckily, there were no preditors, if not my guilt would have literally killed me."

"That explains a lot," Rynne said, smirking.

"Oh, and you've never made a mistake?" Mira shot back, her tone playful but embarrassed.

"Not when it matters," Rynne replied, puffing out her chest dramatically.

"Riiight… except the time you tripped over your own spear during a raid," Zarra interjected, a wicked and mischievous grin plastered on her face.

Rynne glared at her. "That doesn't count! The ground was uneven."

"Yeah, sure, whatever excuse that makes you fall asleep better." Zarra said with a snicker

Kaeli, for her part, listened more than she spoke, occasionally chiming in with dry remarks that sent the others into fits of laughter.

"And here I thought humans were supposed to be intelligent," she said at one point, glancing at Lance. "Yet you can't even figure out which end of a hammer to hold."

"I'm learning," Lance replied, grinning.

"Not fast enough," Kaeli muttered, though there was a faint smile tugging at her lips.

Just then, Lia arrived, her calm presence bringing a sense of balance to the group. She settled right beside Lance without a word, in a seamless motion.

"I see you're all keeping Lance on his toes," she said after a moment, her tone light.

"Someone has to," Zarra quipped.

"Our chief can handle it," Lia said, her lips curving into a small smile.

Lance felt a flicker of warmth at her words, her quiet confidence in him giving him a sense of pride he hadn't realized he needed, even in such warm moments.

As the night continued on, the group's laughter faded into comfortable silence. Lance glanced around at the goblins who had become by far his closest allies, and as things were shaping up, probably something more, each of them unique in their own way, Lance couldn't help but smile.

"I think I'm starting to like it here," he said softly.

Rynne smirked. "Don't get too comfortable. We're just getting started."

Mira laughed, the sound light and musical. "I think he can handle it."

Lance looked at them, his smile widening. "Somehow, I feel I don't get something."

With a smirk, Zarra spoke, looking Lance in the eyes, "don't worry, you will soon."