Ragnar slipped out of the village just as the first light of dawn crept over the horizon, painting the sky in soft hues of pink and orange.
His heart pounded in his chest as he paused at the edge of the path, his eyes darting around for any sign of the guards.
'What if they stop me? What if this is all for nothing?' he thought, his breath coming in shallow bursts.
But the post was empty, no one there to question him or block his way.
Whether it was luck or a curse, he couldn't decide, but he pushed forward anyway.
Vanishing into the misty woods toward the goblin patrol camp on the border.
The camp sat right on the line between kobold and goblin territories, a tense spot where alliances were rare and suspicions ran deep.
Ragnar moved carefully as he neared it, his gaze fixed on every shadow, every rustle in the underbrush.
Goblins had a reputation for popping out from nowhere, burrowing up from the ground or dropping from the trees, and they wouldn't bother asking questions.
They'd just end him right there.
He reached the camp's barrier, a tangled wall of thorns and sharpened stakes that looked as unforgiving as the goblins themselves.
Ragnar stared at it for a moment, weighing his options. 'This is going to hurt,' he thought, gritting his teeth.
With a deep breath, he pushed through, the thorns snagging at his scales and drawing thin lines of blood.
He stifled a grunt, forcing himself onward until he broke free on the other side.
What he planned next felt utterly foolish, but it was the only way in without getting skewered on sight.
Ragnar cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "I come in peace! Don't attack!"
The camp erupted in chaos. Goblins surged from their tents, weapons raised, their eyes burning with hostility.
They closed in around him, spears pointed at his throat, growls rumbling from their throats.
Ragnar's pulse raced, his legs trembling as he held his hands up. 'This is it, I'm dead,' he thought, regret flooding him.
"Hold!" a sharp female voice cut through the noise, stopping them cold.
The goblins parted as Aria emerged from the main tent.
She was tall for a goblin, nearly as tall as a human, with silver hair that caught the early light.
Her expression was cold, analytical, sizing him up like he was a threat rather than a living being.
"Why is a kobold here?" she asked, her tone flat and unyielding.
Ragnar swallowed hard, meeting her gaze. "I've come to offer a solution... to your problem."
Aria's stoic face didn't crack. She shook her head slowly. "Why should I even listen to a kobold's words? You're nothing to us."
His heart sank at her dismissal, a wave of desperation crashing over him.
'She's not even giving me a chance,' he thought, his mind racing for something, anything, to sway her.
He blurted out, "Then let me prove myself!"
She measured him with those piercing eyes for what felt like an eternity, long enough that his right leg started to tense under the strain.
Finally, she said, "Fine. But if you fail this quest I'm giving you... I'll kill you myself.
You've already trespassed into goblin territory."
Ragnar gritted his teeth and nodded, determination hardening in his chest despite the fear.
"Hunt a wild boar alone," Aria commanded. "Bring me its head before I finish my tea."
His heart plummeted. A wild boar? For him, the weakest in his village, against something that could gore him in seconds?
And in the time it took her to sip tea, maybe five minutes at most? 'She's setting me up to fail,' he thought, but he had no choice.
"I agree," he said, turning back toward the forest.
He ran, branches whipping at his face as he plunged deeper into the woods.
Soon, he spotted a thick trail of blood on the ground and followed it cautiously.
There it was, a massive boar, tearing into the carcass of some unlucky animal.
Ragnar's breath hitched. 'If it runs, I'm done. The goblins will finish me off for sure.'
He crept up from behind, every step deliberate, his hands shaking as he gripped a sturdy rod he'd picked up along the way.
Closer... closer... until he was right there. With all his strength, he swung the rod down on the back of the boar's head.
The beast's eyes flickered, its body swaying as if losing balance.
Ragnar didn't hesitate, he swung again and again, chaotically, desperately, like a man fighting for his very life.
Blood splattered, and the boar let out a final, guttural squeal before collapsing.
Panting, Ragnar hacked off its head with trembling hands and bolted back to the camp, the weight of it slowing him but not stopping him.
Aria sat calmly, sipping her tea as if the world hadn't just hung in the balance for him.
She placed the cup down, it was her last sip, her expression utterly unbothered.
"I've completed your request," Ragnar gasped, holding up the bloody head.
She nodded once. "Follow me. We'll talk in private."
She gestured toward the forest and walked ahead, Ragnar trailing behind her, his mind reeling from the close call.
They reached a quiet spot by a rushing river, the water's murmur providing a veil of privacy.
Ragnar took a steadying breath. "I know about the orcs harassing you... pushing into your lands."
Aria's eyes narrowed, a light glare flashing across her face, he'd struck a nerve. But he pressed on. "I have a plan to solve it."
He pointed toward the distant volcano, its peak shrouded in smoke. "We can use it to our advantage. Trick the orcs into heading there... then push them from behind until they fall in."
She contemplated his words, the river's flow the only sound for a moment.
Then she nodded slowly. "And what do you want as a reward? Women? Wealth? Pride?"
Ragnar shook his head. "None of that. I want to give you some Valva."
Her eyes widened in surprise.
"Valva? You mean the fruits? That's the reward you want, to give us, your enemies, some Valva?"
Then her gaze sharpened, suspicion creeping in. "They'd better not be poisoned."
Ragnar pulled the Valva from his hidden pouch, his system inventory, and handed them over to her.
After inspecting them, she nodded. "You need to follow me back to the main tribe.
Tell your plan to my father... and we'll check if these Valva are poisonous. For your sake."