After another day of onit on Zaka, it seems like he's slowly rec, which is good. He's starting to stay awake for longer periods of time, although he's still very exhausted. Since he's awake for longer, I asked Zeb to help me ask Zaka some questions about what happened in the goblin vilge over winter. After thinking for a little bit, I decided to start the versation off by discussing the night we came down after we spotted the eagle.

  I asked, "So, Zaka, when the snow first melted, Zeb and I saw the eagle carrying a goblin up the mountain, so we hurried down to the vilge in the middle of the night. We were surprised whe there, because we were threatened, and the goblin on the wall cimed we were cursed, and that we caused all this. What happened over wi about an even more bitter response in the vilge than before?"

  Zaka listened as Zeb trahen pondered for a moment before responding, "As you were aware from before, there are two fas in the vilge. Over the st year, before wihe pro-you fa had been gaining more steam, with the pletion of the path up the mountain, and the pnt fields and salt that you've enabled us to get, more and more of the goblins were ing around to agreeing to let you bato the vilge. The leader of the opposition, one of the new hobgoblins, Kurg, seemed to be quite frustrated, and was vihat letting you ba would cause us harm again."

  Zaka paused to drink some water, a Zeb transte for himself before he tinued, "A few weeks after the snowfall on the mountaiiced the eagle. It wouldn't be a day ter that we got a report of one of the goblins in a hunting party being carried away by it. Not long after that, anoblin was carried away, this time it was ohat was w the salt pond. It became clear that this was going to be a major problem. I focused my efforts on keeping the vilge alive. I had Gakus make an underground area where I could safely summon imps in the vilge, as it became clear that we were going to need moblins as the eagle tio carry off goblins every few days. While I focused on maintaining the vilge, Kurg decided now was the time to vihe vilge of the danger yht. As more and more existing vilgers were carried off, many of the new goblins were vinced of the dahat you and Zeb posed to the vilge."

  Zaka pauses for another moment, seemingly in thought as Zeb begins transting for him again. After Zeb finishes, Zaka starts talking again, "Attempts were made to kill the eagle, but each attempt was futile. her my fireballs, nor any spears could harm it enough to stop it from taking goblins. Before I k, se in the vilge had turned quite harsh, and many of the goblialking about putting Kurg in charge. Eventually, a promise was made that he would be in charge of the vilges defensive pnning. Which lead to the situation you saw in the vilge. He attempted to implement harsher measures, but more of the goblied that idea."

  Seemingly finished with his regaling of the events of this winter, Zaka nods to Zeb to transte for him. After listening, this actually leads to quite a few s. First, with Zaka likely being sidered dead by the vilge, this other hobgoblin, Kurg, is probably the defacto leader. Sed, with the goblins having had a of high turnain, I'm a little ed for the infrastructure of the vilge. Another question pops into my head as well, so I ask it.

  I look over Zaka's body before asking, "What exactly lead to the situation of you being caught by the eagle?"

  "Kurg had the idea of attempting to bait the eagle to attack the vilge, where all of us who could attempt to hurt it would fight it at onbsp; I was the unlucky ohat the eagle decided to take away that day." Zaka replies.

  I hesitate, but eventually ask, "Did the eagle hurt you as it picked you up?"

  Zaka calmly replies, "Other than a lot of pressure, surprisingly no. That is until I heard that loud bst right as the eagle let me go and my leg was filled with pain. Of course, if it wasn't for that, I'd have died a mier at the hands of the eagle anyway." Zaka looks somewhat knowingly at me as he says the final portion of his sentence, and after Zeb transtes for him, the sinking feeling I had before is all but firmed. The on is likely what blew off Zaka's leg.

  I avert my gaze and say, "Sorry about that... The on we made is almost certainly what destroyed y."

  Zaka lets out a ugh, which helps ease the tension before speaking again, "Well, I'm alive now, which is better than what I thought was going to happen. What happeo the eagle after that?"

  I respond, "After we gave you emergency treatment, I went out and killed it. The on had broken one of its wings, and it was bleeding in a lot of pces. It wasn't an easy fight, but I fi off."

  Zaka let out anh after hearing that and said, "Go figure, we spent all wirying to kill that eagle, and yht it down on your first attempt. This is exactly the sort of reason that we o keep you around, not shun you."

  I let out a little chuckle of my own after hearing that. I still think that I might, ily, be the cause of a lot of these problems, but I feel a little better knowing that Zaka, and at least some of the goblins, think that highly of me.

  After that discussion, Zaka started to feel tired, and took another nap. As I pondered everything that was discussed, I talked with Zeb for a bit.

  "What do you think about Kurg, and what's likely happening in the vilge now?" I ask.

  "Well, Kurg was always a little hard headed, and he liked to be the one leading his hunting groups. I 't imagine him purposefully putting Zaka in danger, if that is what you're asking." Zeb replies.

  "I'll take your word that he didn't put him directly in danger, but I'm more ed about his position on things, and now that Zaka is currently sidered dead by the vilge, what might be happening." I reply.

  Zeb thinks for a minute before responding, "I think there are two options, they're opposites, and one is more likely thaher. The more likely option is that Kurg is going t arm the vilge into whatever the harsher measures were that he wao implemeed to us, and he'll use Zaka's death as a rallying cry for it. The less likely option is that now that he's likely fully in charge of the vilge, he'll tone his rhetoric back because he feels like he o be more moderate for the sake of the vilge."

  I ask, "Do you think one is more likely because of his personality?"

  Zeb replies, "Yeah, like I said, he's hot headed, so if he thinks we're cursed, he's likely bming Zaka's death on us as well, so he'll probably be wanting revenge."

  "What would you reend doing then?" I ask.

  "Well, probably just keep our eyes peeled, and be careful. Ultimately, Zaka's alive and we killed the eagle, so as long as we show the oblins that, it shouldn't be an issue." He says.

  While it's true that Zaka is alive, so we always show the oblins that. I'm not so sure that Kurg will let it go at that point. I don't know him very well, and Zeb seems to have at least had some iions with him, but I'm ed about a power struggle. I'm worried that even if the oblins would stand down if Zaka turned out to be alive, that Kurg will still be an issue. That said, I'm ly pnning on pre-emptively doing anything. Until Zaka is healed enough to return him to the vilge, the most we hope for is that the goblins will leave us alone.

  I decide I should at least tell Zeb what I'm ed about, "Zeb, I don't know Kurg at all, so I 't say for certain, but power messes with people's personalities, so I wouldn't be so certain that he'll just stand down if Zaka is alive. Just keep that in mind as we act."