A Plant’s Life - Chapter 19 United we survive

Then came a loud roar, they had attracted the attention of a ferocious beast!

Goblins looked at one another without fighting for a second, their eyes filled with anxiety. It would be fatal for them if a giant monster attacked, now their fight for supremacy seemed stupid. What use winning had if one died before enjoying the rewards. Some time passed and no danger was insight, using this opportunity chief Kala cut the neck of a distracted enemy. The poor goblin was stupefied, not believing his own misfortune. Not accepting fate, he struggled to breathe, only to find his efforts to be futile, dying with many regrets. This move made Jiji and his army furious, they forgot about imminent danger, starting to fight again. Defenders responded in kind, Kala’s sneaky move raised his troop’s moral, shouting they started to fight.

Battle continued for a short span of time after the scare, then another loud roar followed. However, this time the snarl was followed by heavy stumps, the danger was fast approaching.

Thump, Thump

Thump, Thump

Thump, Thump

No one could differentiate between their heartbeat and heavy steps anymore; all villagers were mortified. Scared out of their minds, goblins were at a loss, so the chief stepped in, organizing everyone. Kala commanded: “Everyone take arms, we have to defend the village, if we run, other beasts will definitely kill us. United we survive”

Besides taking responsibility for the lives of all community, Kala had other goals in mind. First, he planned to show valor in combat, attracting supporters. Second, he planned to “accidentally” push Jiji and his men in front, getting rid of them. Third, if the Jiji was stupid enough to object at the time of the enemy attack, Kala could command the entire community to take them down. Chief could already feel the taste of victory, it was sweet, truly the best.

All goblins quickly stood beside the entrance of their village, holding their ground; this was not their first experience. Unfortunately for chief, Jiji did not object to any orders, simply following them, even though he was in the frontlines.

Jiji had been shocked to his core, holding his catapult firmly, the pressure of this occurrence had terrified him. Something deep within his brain was mortally scared of the coming beast.

Suddenly a massive with bear sprinted towards them; it was akin to a ferocious tsunami closing on small boats, informing them of their imminent doom. The giant beast arrived within a flash of time.

Kala shouted: “Brace yourselves, kill the beast, there are many of us and one enemy. United we survive”

The white furry polar bear attacked with sharp claws, one slash threw 4 goblins were thrown into the air, unknown if they still lived.

The goblins counterattacked with all their might, it was, kill or be killed. Many slashes and stones were aimed at the colossal bear. One cut the fluffy tail he had, another left a long scar on his giant hand, a tone broke a tooth. Meanwhile, the bear slashed and bit the unfortunate souls close to himself.

Suddenly a big tone was thrown with very high velocity, it landed on beast’s injured face, this straw broke the camels back, the gigantic white bear fell amongst his shaved fur. This had been a costly victory for this goblin village, more than 20 dead, 15 critically injured and 40with medium injuries. Chief had survived this ordeal by hiding in the back, striking when it was safe, he looked around counting his troops and rebels. He was pleasantly surprised; most rebels were either dead or in no shape for another fight. Jiji was nowhere to be found, which would not pose any issues, claiming him as a deserter would essentially be equivalent to killing him.

All of a sudden, a chant started: “Jiji, Jiji, Jiji, Jiji”

Kala was flabbergasted, why were they chanting the traitor’s name? Did he not run? Where is the bastard?

Noticing a crowd forming close to the battlefield, he approached them, pushing sweaty green goblins aside, Kala arrived at the center. Jiji was standing there holding his invention, looking like a proud father. Chief overheard: “Jiji, this tool is amazing, you killed the bloody beast!” Another yelled: “We fought hard to bring that damn creature down, I had it, you stole my kill”

Compliments and criticism were flown around Jiji; while he seemingly kept quiet, enjoying the attention. In truth, he had been terrified beyond reasoning, that had been the reason he ran to find his dear partner, his crusher to fight from afar. Accidentally he hit the monster right in the face, bringing it down. Now he had turned into a courageous warrior of the tribe, his life would change from this moment. Then he remembered his mutiny, this made him feel very angry, why did the beast show itself this late? Damn slow foolish bear! While cursing within his mind, Jiji did not notice the hostile look within the eyes of the chief. How could he forget about the troubles this foolish goblin had caused him? He was trying to find a way to make Jiji disappear.

Chief yelled loudly: “Enough is enough fools, bring the dead ones. cleric help the wounded, the rest, take the beast into my residence, we shall feast tonight”

Passing Jiji, Kala whispered: “I will get rid f you soon, then use your body as a rug!”

The poor goblin felt a cold chill around his neck, Jiji cursed in his mind and did not respond, as he had just lost his army.

Later that day, the smell of cooked meat had filled the village, they had learned the methods of starting fires and cooking from their ancestors. Whom, in turn, had learned culinary skills from adventurers and their human slaves.

Within the chief’s residence, a massive corpse had filled all the ground. Many battle scars littering its beautiful white fur. One would wonder, where did the goblins secure meat for such feast if the bear was not used? The answer was quite simple, cannibalism, it had never been a taboo in their beliefs to eat one another. Using their fallen members would provide nutrients to future generations. The only occasion this would be avoided was when illness struck, killing goblins, at that point they would burn the bodies.

Jiji had been very worried when a cleric’s apprentice came to him baring goodwill.

She relayed the message in a low voice: “You have the support of head cleric and ancestors, do not be discouraged, simply kill Kala and we help you, secure power. Remember to kill Kala in secretly”

The cleric faction was planning to use this opportunity to replace the chief with a weaker leader. That way they would be able to secure more power and benefits. Since the new village head needed their power to stabilize his ruling, it was the best chance.

Kala was pacing around his new rug; it was a big furry beast! Thinking of methods to get rid of his challenger. He did not know about the outside help Jiji was about to receive, so he assumed by taking care of the head of the snake, the problem would be solved.

Suddenly the eyes of the dead bear opened with a red flash.

Jiji sneakily moved towards where the chief stayed, it was a rundown small cave, but this small cave was considered a luxury; the only others with such lavish residents was the head cleric.

When he arrived at the cave, no one was there, the chief was gone! He was so surprised that he did not notice the miserable bear corpse on the ground, it seemed as, it had been there for years rather than a freshly killed prey!

Jiji quickly ran around, trying to locate Kala, and kill him secretly, but to no avail. It seemed Kala had disappeared, vacating his position, this was the best chance.

Jiji walked to the feast loudly shouting: “The coward Kala is nowhere to be found, he has deserted our community, and by rules, he is no longer chief. I AM