I watch as Zeb fights Kurg as I regain my senses slowly. While we were flying backwards, it looks like Zeb mao stab through one of Kurg's legs with ah spike. Kurg winds up a throw with a rock that Zeb barely mao dodge. Just as it's looking grim, from underh me, Zaka mao get a fireball off, distrag Kurg for just long enough for Zeb to get a sed earth spike off.

  I'm still struggling to catch my breath after that ter of mass hit, but it looks like the fight is over. With both of his legs incapacitated, Kurg 't realistically fight babsp; Zeb doesn't stop though. He's breathing quickly, and seems like he's a little panicked as Kurg haphazardly throws a rock backwards at him. I still 't catch my breath enough to tell Zeb to stop as I watch him stab int's back over and over, well after he's clearly dead.

  Finally, I start tain my strength, a up, freeing Zaka from under me. By now, all the fighting has stopped, and everyone is quietly watg Zeb, who is now staring at Kurg's lifeless body, partially supported by the two earth spikes going through his legs. Zaka clears his throat, and says something loudly in the demon nguage, to which the remaining goblins all drop their ons.

  Zeb is motionless just looking at Kurg's body as the goblins slowly head back towards the path. Zaka begins following the goblins on his crutches, and as he gets further away, he turns back towards us, and says something in demon nguage, and motions for us to follow him. This seems to break Zeb from his stupor, aart following Zaka and the goblins dowh back towards the goblin vilge.

  Along the way, we take breaks at every stop, and even sometimes less than that, so that Zaka catch his breath. During the whole trip Zeb remains quite quiet and withdrawn. sidering everything, I think it should be fio give him some spabsp; Of course, that also means that I'm basically back at the stage where I 't uand anything that everyone else is saying.

  When we finally make it back to the vilge quite a otion is made at the gate, but after Zaka eventually raises his voice, the guards on the wall let us in. I 't help but notice that many of the goblins around still look quite angry the fact Zeb and I are walking around the vilge. A sed thing I notice is just how many of the goblins appear to be new. Although I reize around half of them, the other half all appear to be new.

  By the time we make it to the pavilion, we've already gathered quite a crowd. Zaka takes the opportunity to yell out very loudly, to which a rge number more of goblins join the crowd. I see a lot of differeions among the goblins. Some seem happy, others seem shocked, and around a third are clearly upset.

  After Zaka looks over the crowd, he begins speaking loudly, projeg his voibsp; The goblins in the crowd all grow silent. As he speaks, many ranges of emotion are seen on the goblins, and each of the groups react differently to most of the news. At one point though, a cheer breaks out from all the goblins for a short while, followed by sileer Zaka resumes speaking. Finally, he end of Zaka's speech, most of the crowd looks about at each other with before splitting up.

  After this, Zaka slowly makes his way back to his house, and motions for Zeb and I to follow him. Whe to his house, he begins speaking, then looks at Zeb expetly. After Zeb doesn't do anything for a moment, Zaka raises his arm and puts it on Zeb's shoulder, and says something briefly. After a pause, he repeats what he said a moment before, ara for me.

  "Givehing that's happened, I've decided to resd your expulsion from the vilge." Zaka said. He paused for a moment, waiting for Zeb to transte before tinuing, "However, I want your input on something. I believe many of the new goblins will find it very difficult to adapt to this, and given what happe time, I would like to try to e up with a way to prevent a repeat of what happened with Kurg. Do you have any ideas?"

  I think for a little while. Part of the issue is likely the turnover rate of new goblins in the vilge. I say that because the oblio form a rge part of the fa that supports Zeb and I. It's ly all of them, but most do. The newer goblins, though, form the other fa generally.

  As I think on why that might be, I e to realize that the oblins all probably remember how life in the vilge was before I arrived. They all used to live in dirt huts, and were hunting with their bare hands. Despite the lizard siege, before I arrived, the lizards were a meo the goblins anyway, so the oblins probably don't see the siege as that much of a disruption from how their lives were a ferior. To the new goblins though, life was always in the protected vilge, with all the amenities and teology I built, and they didn't even realize it. To them, I brought the bad times only.

  Oh, a good history education is usually how you would teach younger geions about the struggles and successes of eions. In theory, I'd love to start a school for the goblins, but practically speaking, that isn't feasible given how primitive a lot of their society is, and how the vilge is structured. Instead, I really only have oion to offer to Zaka.

  "What about letting some of the goblins form a sed vilge? There is a sed valley on this isnd that could easily support aire sed vilge. You could still trade and i between your vilges, but let them have some autonomy. If they want help building or doing anything in the vilge, they're free to ask for help. I think part of the issue is that many of the goblins don't have perspective on the differences betweehis vilge is now, and where it was only a few years ago." I say.

  Zaka nods along, seemingly in thought, and doesn't say anything for a little while. I interject with another ent while he's thinking, "Of course, a lot of that is on me. After building out the basics of the vilge, everything else I worked on didn't improve most of the goblin's lives, only a handful, so I 't say that I'm not also to bme somewhat."

  Zaka finally replies, "To help a few, or to help many, both are still help. It's a shame that so many of the young ones don't reize that. Oher hand, I'm ed that f a sed vilge may be seen as banishment, which I don't want."

  I respond, "Thehem know they're free to e and go from this vilge as they see fit, but they should know that Zeb and I could be here at any given time. I'm n to say they should be banished. I'm just reending that they be aware that this is a settled matter in this vilge, so they o make their choice moving forward."

  Zaka sits in thought for a few minutes befiving his reply, "Then tomorrow m I shall let the goblins know that a sed vilge will be formed. I've stayed in your house for a while now, and I'm afraid you'll be staying in mine for a little while now. After this st winter, some goblins had moved into your houses in the vilge, and although it's a bit rude, I 't bring myself to evict them. So please, make yourselves at home here for the time being."

  After our versation ended, and the night began t on, some goblins that I reized as the shop owners for the shell store and clothes weaver brought food for the three of us to Zaka's house. We each ate our fill, and Zeb was the first to fall asleep, leaning forward in his chair, his upper body resting oable we were seated at. Zaka stood up and looked at Zeb's sleeping form for a little while befoing to his owo sleep. After which I myself sat in the chair for a while before sprawling forward over the table to sleep. Holy, it wasn't actually all that unfortable.