It was finally time to leave since everything was now in order, and Rick, Rogu, Loruk and Surgsha departed eastward from Jala’s tribe. They rushed through the plains quickly with the night sky still rich with darkness that helped them to maintain their stealth as they ran.

  ‘Velora, I feel like a spy on a secret mission.’

  [You need to remain focused and take this seriously Rick.]

  ‘I’m both focused and taking things very seriously, but it doesn’t help that I feel like a spy. Here I am with a small squad of other Goblins, silently running through the plains in search of my brethren to help them evacuate. Oh wait, I don’t feel like a spy, I feel like a special ops agent.’

  [I hesitate to ask, but what is a special ops agent?]

  ‘I’m glad you asked. A special ops agent is someone who carries out secret and very important missions for their country. The type of missions that would have grave consequences for the agent and their country if it failed. There’s probably more to it than that, but that’s the general gist of it. Any questions?’

  [No. We are approaching the tribe.]

  ‘I see that. Hm…I can’t sense any Orcs, and everything looks fine. Weird.’

  “Rogu, I believe your senses can reach further than mine, can you sense any Orcs?”

  “No, My Lord, I can’t sense anything other than our brethren.”

  “Hm…interesting, well let’s not let our guard down too much. We’ll inform them of what’s to come and to prepare, before moving on to the next tribe.”

  And that’s precisely what happened.

  There were three other tribes in this direction and not a single one had the presence of Orcs. Not one. They reached the second tribe and after informing them about the move and to pack up, they promptly moved on to the third and final tribe in this direction. Once there they were quickly informed about what was happening and a short while later, they were packed and all of them turned around and began heading back.

  They were prepared to face the Orcs on the way back, but there was nothing. Even though they had to move slower due to the now bigger group, not a single Orc was spotted as they made it to the second tribe.

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  It didn’t stop there. By the time they made it to the first tribe they stopped at on the journey the mood was a little odd. They all should’ve been happy that there were no Orcs, and no danger faced, but it didn’t quite make sense.

  Something was off.

  ‘Velora…something is definitely wrong right?’

  [It is indeed possible that something is wrong. Though there could be a possibility that they only focused their forces towards the tribes on the west because that’s the direction that Kris and Krel escaped from. Though despite that, I would operate with the understanding that they are planning something.]

  ‘Hm, good points all around. On one hand, I’m gonna hope they just sent all they had to the west in search of Kris and Krel, but on the other, I think there’s absolutely going to be something in store for us. It’s been more than a couple hours now since Rogu killed a Tier 5 Orc, and the idea that they wouldn’t respond in some way shape or form by now doesn’t add up.’

  “Rogu…what do you think about this? The fact that we haven’t seen a single Orc this entire time?”

  “My Lord, I think you are right to question it. Something is off. I believe it’s best we prepare for some type of engagement happening soon. The chances of an ambush waiting for us at Jala’s tribe are high.”

  “An ambush waiting for us at Jala’s tribe huh…”

  Rick then stood up and looked around for a bit, before standing still as he turned to face the forest.

  The forest that had extended all the way to where the third tribe was located, and it even went a little past it. So, it was without a doubt it was also here, where they stood in the first tribe.

  The Nameless Forest.

  The same Nameless Forest that Rick and the others had come from.

  Rick stared at it for a while longer. It was still dark, apart from a few mumbles and hushed whispers here and there, no one was talking.

  [It is now 0300.]

  Of course, Velora was talking as well.

  Eventually, it was like a lightbulb finally came alight in Rick’s head.

  ‘Ah…why don’t we just go in the forest from now. If there’s a chance there’s an ambush waiting for us at the end of journey back, why don’t we just avoid it completely, and head straight into the forest from now…’

  [That is a sound plan. An ambush is likely only effective if one is unaware. There is of course a chance that we are overthinking it, but there is no harm in practicing caution.]

  ‘I appreciate the vote of confidence Velora.’

  [Of course.]

  Rick then proceeded to explain his plan to the others, and Rogu was all for it. After making sure the now 80ish Goblins they had following them understood what was to happen, the entire group pivoted and moved in the direction of the forest.

  After making it into the forest, they walked in a bit deeper so as not to be easily seen, and quickly headed west towards where Kris and Krel were supposed to be waiting.

  Sometime later, the entire group made it, and they found Kris, Krel, and a few other members of the Royal Retrieval team waiting for them as well. Only Sarug and Ulgri were missing as they were needed to back with the Outpost team, who still hadn’t begun any sort of building and were still heading deeper into the forest.

  Though…it wasn’t only the other members of the Royal Retrieval team that Rick and the others came back to see.

  ‘Verlora…this wasn’t something as simple as an ambush…’

  [No. it doesn’t appear so.]

  ‘This…this is a small army.’