It was dark when they finally stopped. A terrible idea really as most of them didn’t have night vision. Ratface watched them all stumble around with some satisfaction. Tiffany was using her plants to stabilise herself which was clever but also felt like cheating to Ratface.

  The bad news was that when the rest realised Ratface was having no problem moving around they left most of the actual camp setup to her. At least it wasn’t so difficult. Enough people had stopped here that there were clear spots to put everything, and she didn’t have to clear anything out. She finished by setting up with the fire and it was only after she realised, she could’ve started with that.

  Kryssa and Halmir arrived suspiciously soon after that with a boar slung between the two of them. Abigail suggested a stew that the rest of them turned down in favour of something they could sink their teeth into. They settled on frying it and Abigail and Albert got to butchering. Ratface took the time to catch up with Tiffany. The two of them talking about nothing important while they waited for the meat to be cooked.

  Albert brought them their plates and sat down next to them. They’d ended up making a steak out of the boar meat and Ratface dug in with relish. It wasn’t particularly spiced but sometimes hunger was all the spice you needed.

  Once they’d all finished eating, Abigail got them all to crowd around as she sketched out a map in the dirt. Ratface shouldn’t have been surprised to see that it was well drawn. It looked like a set of lands kept apart by rivers and one big landmass in-between them.

  “The Butterfly Plains are this area in the middle. You may notice that it’s surrounded by three different countries. This is not an accident,” she began, “these countries all have names which we’ll get into later but for now you only need to know one thing. Each country represents a different race’s interest.” She pointed between the three. “Humans, Elves, Demons.”

  Tiffany’s eyes widened.

  “An entire country of Demons?”

  “There was a breach decades ago. I’m surprised you don’t know about the other countries,” said Albert.

  “Not a lot of need for a farmer to know about world politics,” she said. She gave him a wry grin and he looked away embarrassed.

  “The main thing to keep in mind is the area is going to become tamer the closer we get to these spots. We’re going to see less monsters and more guards. This is especially important to you two,” said Abigail. She pointed at Halmir and Ratface. “Out in the sticks people know real monsters to your kind but the closer we get to these cities the more wary of you they’ll be. You need to be with one of us at all times.”

  Ratface grumbled and Halmir turned into a rat in protest. Abigail gave him a smile that was all teeth.

  “How many humans do you think enjoy seeing a rat in the street?” she asked. He squeaked at her but didn’t argue the point. “Good. For now, that’s it. We’re still while away but we should keep it in mind.” With a wave of her hand, she dismissed them, and the group went back to mingling. Ratface kept sitting with Tiffany and Albert. It didn’t escape her notice that Albert still seemed distant.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “I’m going to get more firewood,” he said eventually. He stalked off into the night. Tiffany and Ratface glanced at the nearly full firewood they had.

  “I guess he’s feeling restless,” said Tiffany.

  “I get the feeling he’s avoiding me.”

  “It’s not about you, it’s about him,” said Tiffany.

  Ratface hummed to herself. She stood up and went trailing after him. It may be about him, but it definitely involved her.

  She walked into the dark until she found Albert. She hadn’t come up with what she wanted to say yet, so she just watched him.

  Albert had grown a lot in the time they’d been together. He was already a lot taller than he had been and his armour was beginning to be too tight on him. They’d have to get him some new stuff soon. He looked a lot like his father in some ways. Sleek and dangerous. Yet his face was still soft and thoughtful. She wondered if he got that from his mother. She knew she herself didn’t look like her mother at all. She apparently took after her father.

  Albert bent down and grabbed a few more sticks. He was already holding a pile of them and kept searching for more. Wait had he actually come out here to look for firewood? One thing she did notice is he had absolutely no problem walking around in the dark.

  “You totally could’ve helped with the camp set up,” she said. Albert looked up and gave her a wolfish grin.

  “You never think about the fact that my family is hunters huh?” he asked.

  “It doesn’t cross my mind a lot,” Ratface admitted. She walked over and handed him a stick he’d been reaching for.

  “Is that why you’ve been so distant lately? Thinking about your family?”

  He took the branch and added it to the pile.

  “Sort of,” he said. He set the pile down and found a log to sit down on. Ratface came and sat next to them, and they stared into the dark. She couldn’t make out colour in the dark so a lot of the time the world became blurred edges. Like a dream you could walk through.

  “I never thought I’d be going to the big cities,” he said eventually, “I planned on sticking close to home. Going on adventures and just living my life. I liked my home ya know?”

  “Then I came along,” said Ratface.

  “I don’t regret helping you. I think it was the right decision to make then, and I still do,” said Albert. He grabbed one of the sticks and idly swished it in front of him. “I didn’t regret fighting the elf either, I didn’t even regret helping at Halvin’s rest.”

  Ratface smiled at that. That he’d still turned up each time held a special place in her heart.

  “But doing all that? It’s going against forces that heroes would hesitate to fight, and I’m just a kid.”

  He turned to look at her and he looked lost.

  “Spending time with you it always feels like the right decision, but I look back and I can’t help but wonder how I got here. I worry I’m going to end up against the world without ever having made the decision to do so.”

  He gestured at her. “For you this is inevitable, and I get why Tiffany sticks around, but for me? I didn’t choose this. I know that’s not what you want to hear. I know how it makes me look. But I’m just a kid.”

  Ratface looked out at the forest. She didn’t know how to respond to that. A part of her wanted to say that she never got to choose to join. That she couldn’t just put this down. But it wasn’t quite true, was it? She could have stayed in Claudette’s village. At least part of her was choosing this.

  “You know I never thought I’d even leave Lurian. Just another goblin that lived until some adventurer had a permit. Then I found myself in a sewer surrounded by adventurers who wanted me dead. Different location same fate.” She turned to look at Albert. “And then you came to my defence, you even stood up to your father for me. It’s not something a goblin ever expects, to be saved by an adventurer.” She grabbed Alberts hand. It was calloused from all the fighting, but still soft. “Don’t ignore me because you’re scared that I’ll judge you for leaving. Follow me as long as you want to, and when you’re gone, I promise you’ll still be a hero in my eyes.” She smiled at him, and he gave her a shy smile back.

  “You think so highly of me,” he mumbled before looking away.

  “You deserve to be thought highly of.”

  The two of them sat there in the dark together, peering into it searching for their futures. They couldn’t see it yet, but right at this moment? It didn’t look so scary.