The return to the village was a quite uncomfortable for Ash. Stavos gathered everyone and made her stand at the front, next to him with the pair of Lizard folk stood behind her. Ash dreaded the announcement that the pair would be staying with them. The mere sight of the two was met with several discontented murmurs, especially from those gathered around Livey.

  Then Stavos stepped in, drawing the crowd’s attention back and highlighting the more positive outcomes. “We set out today to rid ourselves of one of the two major threats plaguing our village. We delved into the heart of the dire ant’s hive… and slew their Queen!” There were cheers from the crowd at that one. “Yes, yes. With the Queen gone, the ant threat will quickly dissipate. While in the cavern, we discovered a group of lizardmen.” The crowd hushed. “The second and potentially greater threat has been the attacks from that savage lizard-man tribe.”

  A few angered cries sounded from the crowd, and Ash was pretty sure she heard Livey yelling ‘kill them all’ and pointing towards the pair behind her. Though, knowing the old bag, she may have been including Ash in her vehemence.

  Stavos raided his hand, quieting the shouts before continuing. “At first, we thought we would have to fight. But, it turns out that this group of Lizards was not from the group that attacked us. They are from a different tribe, completely unrelated to the savages that took so much from us.” There were further mutterings from the crowd, but Stavos continued, loud voice cutting across the discontent “Like us, this group of lizard-men had tired of the Ant menace and had come to stop it. Like us they hate this other tribe of savages who seek only to kill our kind people. So, we came to an accord. An alliance, between us and this new, friendly tribe with which we share a common goal – eradicating the savage lizard threat to our now home!” The crowd seemed to like this more, but Stavos raised a hand, continuing further. “This is a time for celebration and marks a major milestone in our settlement’s history. Thus, I have finally decided on a name. This will from now on be known as the Village of Greenhold. So, I invite you to enjoy a fresh barrel of beer this evening, and when you do, share a toast. To victory! To new alliances! And to the birth of our new home, Greenhold!”

  Ash was impressed at how well Stavos guided the assembled villagers, stirring their spirits in just the right way to get them on his side. She could see how he had managed to hold such influence in the past and begrudgingly accepted that he did actually have some good leadership characteristics. The crowd seemed almost completely mollified, now clearly in high spirits and excitedly helping set up for the upcoming night of drinking.

  This kind of seems like the occasion where one would have a feast or something. Ash thought, But I suppose the village resources don’t quite stretch that far. It’s a shame Dire Ant isn’t good eating, else we’d have plenty of food for a feast. In the meantime, it seems that plying people with alcohol is the best we’ve got.

  “So, it seems the people will be fine with us staying here?” Scholar hissed to Ash. She nodded to them, then spent a moment embarrassedly explaining what the head-gesture meant. Scholar seemed quite interested, requesting to know more of their customs and language while they were staying here. Ash was only too happy to agree. She spent a little time speaking with him. Finding out he was indeed male and was accompanied by what turned out to be his ‘mate’. She also had a long, difficult name which they had decided to shorten to ‘Spear’. Scholar was apparently the tribe’s scribe and linguist, having a dual specialty in scribing and languages as well as being a low-level defensive mage. Spear was a more-practiced melee fighter with, unsurprisingly, a spear specialty.

  Ash started training Scholar in some of the basics of ‘common’ which seemed to be the language spoken in the Emerald Empire, while he in return worked on improving her Saurian. She could now see both languages listed under her ‘Languages’ skill, with her skill in common being stated to be a whole level 36. That did seem high, but when she realised that probably meant it equated to her skill in English, she actually felt kind of insulted that it was that low. From her interactions, her Saurian had already advanced to level 13 and her overall Languages skill had gained a point too.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Scholar himself seemed to pick up the language quite quickly, his preexisting skill in languages allowing him to pick up the phrases far quicker than she had expected. By the time the preparations were finished for dinner she felt like she could hold an extremely simple conversation with him. He did trip up on some sounds, Bs, Ps and Ms seeming to give him most trouble. Ash attributed this to his lizard-like mouth structure, making forming those sounds much more difficult.

  As people began getting served stew and beer, Lance and Ama brought Hestia over to Ash’s end of the table, letting her properly introduce them to the two Saurians. At first, Hestia seemed quite hesitant, but upon a few minutes of seeing Scholar earnestly attempting to learn their language, she softened up and began offering her own tips to the avid linguist. Spear tended to just watch from the sidelines, clearly not picking up the language as fast. Occasionally she would hiss something into scholar’s ear and he would softly reply, but otherwise she mostly left him to communicate and learn on his own.

  They both accepted and ate the stew that was offered them but seemed much more fascinated by the beer. It tasted like wheat beer to Ash, which she expected may be quite foreign to the lizard-folk.

  “We make… spirit from… thin plant.” Scholar hissed to her when she asked.

  “Sugar? It’s sweet?” Ash guessed

  “Yes! This must be.” He replied excitedly. “I will have to bring some next. It put fire in belly!”

  “Well, I Like the sound of that!” Lance responded cheerily.

  “Of course you would. You like anything strong.” Hestia jibed good naturedly.

  “What can I say? I’m just drawn to strong spirits.” He turned to his fiancée, grinning “Just like my dear Ama here.”

  “Oh, stop you!” Ama pushed him away playfully.

  “Assh?” Scholar asked, turning to her. “Why do they fight? Aren’t those two mating?”

  Hestia almost choked on her beer as Ash flushed, struggling to find a reply “Ummm… It’s just teasing. They like each other… but it’s fun to pretend sometimes. Like a joke we can all find funny. Kind of.”

  “Hey! What do you mean? I’m hilarious!” Lance cried, seeming a little tipsy already.

  “You look pretty funny to me!” Ama said, then started giggling herself. Lance looked at her aghast.

  “My own fiancée! Like a knife to the chest.” He swooned dramatically.

  “As you can see…” Ash sighed, then cut off when she saw that Scholar had pulled out a bronze knife. He held it out, hilt first, to Lance. Lance stared down at it, eyes widening. The table quieted.

  “A knife…” Scholar spoke hesitantly “For your chest. You said you like?”

  “For my…” Lance paused, then finally realised what the lizardman was referring to, “Oh. Oh shit!” then he burst out laughing.

  “Ummm… Scholar, he didn’t mean it literally. It was a joke.” Ash tried to intervene.

  “Oh, I know.” The lizard-man replied, tucking his knife away. “Mine is joke too. Any good?”

  “Oh! Ah, not bad.” Ash said, noting Hestia’s stiffness next to her. “Just… maybe hold off on playing with weapons for now. People are still wary from fighting that other tribe. It’s been less than a week, after all.”

  After that, things settled into a more even pace for the evening. They chatted. At one point Tyra pulled over Jori and introduced themselves to the two Saurians. Jori seemed just as hesitant as Hestia, but relaxed a little after the conversation seemed harmless. Ash was a bit disappointed with his attitude, but remembered that he too had lost his carpenter friend during the last Lizard-man assault. It seemed experiences like that were not so easily glossed over.

  After that, other villagers slowly got up the courage to see what the two strange creatures were about. Ash was introduced herself to a few of the settlement’s labourers as well as a few new craftspeople who had arrived with Ama and Lance.

  “We should be making some good headway with a few of the other buildings now. By tomorrow, we might even be moving some out of this hall!” One craftsman informed her, a stocky builder called Hagen. Now Jori would be relieved from guard duty, they and a few of the other labourers were going to focus full time on finishing off some of the construction that had been abandoned to secure the village perimeter. Hestia and Ama were excited to hear their building next to the garden would be next on the agenda after the standard houses were finished.

  Eric the tailor came and handed Ash a pair of new shirts, taking the one she was wearing away for repairs. He also told her he would be accompanying Varden and a few others to see what they could gather from the defeated hive. Primarily he was looking into putting together some armour with a few of the materials from the ant infiltrators and hive guardians, who seemed to be made from hardened chitin.

  By the time the light had fully faded, Ash was ready to crash. She made sure Scholar and Spear were provided bedrolls of their own before she could finally collapse onto her own and was instantly out for the night.

  ??? GOBLIN SMASHING ???

  by CSN Publishing

  GOBLIN SMASHING

  Tokyo, 2045. For most, a future costs more than they’ll ever earn. For Rin Kazehaya, it costs everything his family’s home, his mom’s life in a hospital, and debt collectors closing in on his siblings. The only thing that pays is hustle and hope.

  When Hero’s Glory Online launches its Crystal League expansion, a single tagline is everywhere: “Bring your business here.” One week. Discounted entry. Real cash for every match, every territory won. Anyone can play but not everyone survives.

  Rin gambles the last of his savings on a shot he can’t afford to lose, logging in from a battered first-gen pod built by his father. But a glitch locks him in as a Goblin the weakest, most-mocked race in the game. No reset. No second chance.

  Now, every victory means cash, every loss risks everything, and every move is broadcast to millions while Tokyo’s most ruthless family closes in on his real life. If he fails, he loses more than a game.

  But Goblins don’t know when to quit. With nothing left but his wits, a gambler’s instinct, and a dream nobody believes in, Rin’s about to find out what happens when the underdog brings his business and his fight to the world’s biggest stage.

  New chapters every Friday at 8pm Central Time.

  Goblin Smashing comes from someone who’s lived the grind as an esports organization owner and competitive MOBA player. If you love siege games, high-stakes MMOs, and underdog stories, you’re in the right place.

  This story is only published on Royal Road.

  If you spot it anywhere else, it’s fake, please flag and report.

  ?? Listen to the Official Goblin Smashing OST ??

  

  #GoblinSmash, #??????, #Yuna, #??, #Neon9, #????, #GBub, #??, #ShadowDrive, #???????, #StartLine, #?????, #RiseFromZero, #???????, #Kpop, #Jpop, #GameOST, #VirtualIdol, #CSNPublishing,