The Monster King's Legacy

Zarra grinned, trailing her fingers down his abdomen. "Let them."

Well, despite Zarra's eagerness, Lance pushed against it until she gave up. A man needed to know how to temper himself against lust after all. They were in a foreign area for now, and the number of uncertainty was much. Apart from that, there was no need to go overboard around the others, though, Zarra didn't seem to care, perhaps that was normal for goblins.

The next morning, after doing a quick survey of the surroundings to spot any changes that may indicate presence of any creature during the night, they left for their camp. The absence of presence served to show that there were no nocturnal predators, at least, as far as they could tell.

After returning, the move started. The goblins formed a line, each goblin carrying something with them. The move was gradual and planned. They started with the fences, which were the most difficult part of the move, and gradually, they moved to the houses, and then every other thing.

Kaeli, through Tharok's help, had created different carts of different types to carry different things, all aimed at making the work easier. Of course, as the carts were made predominantly using wood, every capable hand contributed in its creation.

In the span of two weeks, following constant work and effort, the entire tribe was able to move to their new home.

Just as they worked to take apart everything and bring them over, they had to put in the same effort to set things up in this new surroundings. Lance, together with Tharok's creativity, came up with a way for them to build simple wooden houses. It looked crude, but it worked.

As Lance finished up on one house, he fell from the makeshift ladder he had been on, plummeting straight unto the ground hard. Mira who was nearby witnessed it, and just like the goblins around that rushed forward to help, she pushed through, arriving before Lance, her expression covered with worry.

"Lance! Are you ok? You're hurt!" She said in a somewhat panicked tone. Assisting Lance too his feet, she brought him aside near her "herb station" that had been erected for her.

"You're pushing yourself too much," she said, her voice laced with concern for his body and the possible damage he could have sustained from the fall.

"I'm fine, Mira," Lance replied, though his body ached a bit.

"Let me help," she insisted, guiding him to a seat.

"Well, I can just use my healing touch to fix myself instantly." Lance said, raising his hand in gesture.

Mira rushed his hand, cupping it with both of her palms firmly but gently while shaking her head from side to side, "let me do it." She said. Giving into her request, Lance could only let her take care of him.

Well, before the next day came, Lance used his "healing touch", a name he had coined for his magic ability. He more than appreciated the care Mira gave him, but then, he needed to move around a lot, there was absolutely no reason to do so in pain when he could avoid it.

…

Three weeks after they started their migration, everything was set, and the goblin camp had undergone drastic changes, molding it into a place no one would ever expect to be a goblin settlement.

It was also time for Tharok to return to his people. He had been with the goblins for quite some time, had it was finally time to go. Through his guidance, Kaeli had been able to improve in her craftsmanship, so the goblin tribe and Lance were more than thankful to him for his contributions to their development, and their relationship was already quite firm.

"I've got something for you," Kaeli said, handing Lance a finely crafted dagger with Tharok standing by her side with a wide grin on his face.

"It's incredible," Lance said, examining the weapon.

"So am I," Kaeli quipped, her lips twitching into a rare grin, almost mirroring Tharok's.

'Looks like this dwarf has left quite the influence on her…' Lance chuckled dryly in his mind.

"Alright Lance, it's time for me to leave. I still have duties to attend to after all." Tharok said, stepping forward.

"Of course. You'll always be welcomed to our tribe any time. Perhaps, when next you come, we might have become more than just this little tribe." Lance said, a smile on his face as he looked at Tharok who seemed stunned for a bit before laughing out heartily.

"Somehow, I feel like those aren't just wishful words…"

Having had come with almost no baggage or load, he left almost empty handed, with some scouts having been sent with him as escorts to guide him to the road that was half a day's journey away from the camp.

…

From that point on, their lives started fully in the new environment, getting acquainted with the surroundings, with the scouting teams starting their routine scouting aggressively almost, seeking to gain more information about their surroundings.

Lance also introduced the concept of bathing to the goblins, and with the nearby river, they could do so more often with the intended goal of cleanliness in mind.

…

A week after Tharok's departure, while everyone carried out their usual activity, Zarra sprinted into the camp, her face set in a grim expression. Her usual playful smirk was gone, replaced by a sharp intensity that caught everyone's attention.

Lance noticed her immediately and set aside the tools he'd been inspecting at Kaeli's forge. "What's wrong?" he asked, his tone brisk as his brows furrowed.

Zarra didn't bother with pleasantries, catching her breath before she spoke. "We've spotted soldiers," she said, her voice low but urgent. "Humans. Heading this way."

As soon as Lance heard what she said, his heart sank. "How many?"

"Too many to be a scouting party," Zarra replied. "At least two dozen, maybe more. Heavily armed, moving like they're on a mission."

Lance's mind raced. They had come so far in building their defenses and training their warriors, but an organized military force was a far greater challenge than rogue ogres or wandering beasts.

"From their pace, they'll be here by nightfall," Zarra continued. "We need to prepare."

Lance nodded, his jaw tightening. One thought lingered in his mind, however. They had only relocated here a few weeks ago, there was no way the humans would be aware of them. The more logical thing was that the humans may just have a different goal in mind, and they were probably heading elsewhere.

Regardless of the more positive possibilities, Lance still saw the need to prepare, just as Zarra had said.