12 Recovery (2/2)

Maybe they're disappearing due to overhunting. From what I can tell, this tribe is pretty big. ”Flute, another question. How did Tama turned red and big like the chief?”

”Flute, don't know. Tama kill troll attacking hunting party.” She paused, then, after a few seconds continued to talk and massage my back. I yelp a little from the pain. ”Flute no answer that question no more. Chief say keep secret. Sorry child”

”It's ok. I understand that its a sensitive topic.” Across to my right, I saw Rock talking to one of the goblin mothers. She seemed very annoyed with Rock, but that dense meathead couldn't tell. He kept going on and on about his battle with Tama, exaggerating every punch he landed on Tama. I started to get embarrassed for him. I can't believe Rock is interested enough with that woman that he would socialize with her and attempt to impress her.

Across from me was Smoke. The caretaker covered Smoke's eyes with a blanket. His eyes were so red after the fight because his opponent used underhanded tactics during the fight. Luckily, his opponent was to busy torturing him rather than trying to win and ended up having his balls pop. I would say Smoke's opponent was cheating asshole, but this wasn't exactly a boxing match in the ring. And besides, Stick had to use similar tactics to win against his foe.

Still, something else was bugging my mind about Tama. One more question shouldn't hurt. ”Flute, was Tama alone when he fought that troll?”

It took a while for Flute to answer that question. Finally, she removed her elbow off my back and turned my body around. She placed her hand on my shoulder and looked at me with concern. ”You thinking of killing troll to become conqueror?”

”No. I was just curious about Tama, and his strength is all.”

”Hunt party of twelve goblins. That many goblins fight troll. Only one live. Tama.”

It took twelve goblins to win a fight against a troll! And from what I witness in the barn, the chief isn't happy about Tama becoming a 'conqueror.' I also wanted to ask how the chief managed to get close enough to Tama and slashed his arm off. The distance between the door and Tama was at least 20 feet. Not only that but, Rock told me he moved so fast that when you blink, it seemed like he teleported to Tama. I doubt Flute knows, so I didn't bother her about the question.

Stick sat on top of the counter across to my left. The caretakers were wrapping his hands up. From what I can tell, he tore a couple of layers off his skin. He also shattered his left knuckle. It should take two weeks for him to recover fully. It happened to me as well. One time in my past life, I started punching the punching bag without any gloves. I ended up breaking my fist. Stick also had a few missing teeth and a swollen right eye. But those were just baby teeth, and a pack of ice is enough to for the swollen right eye.

After the caretakers finish taking care of our injuries, they started cleaning up. The goblin mothers also finished bathing their babies. Rock's crush left along with the other mothers. Flute told us we would be sleeping here tonight while they move our mothers to a safer location. We decided to help them clean up, despite their protest. Rock carried the buckets out off the room, Smoke dried the floor with a cloth, and Stick carried a few garments out the back. I noticed Stick had a painful expression. Using your hand could stretch and pull the skin around the knuckles, causing a stinging pain. I hope he'll be ok.

I carried jars full of purple mush up the counter. Flute opened three drawers where I would place the jars. After the second drawer, I had no more jars to put inside. I went over the third drawer to close it, but before closing it, I noticed something peculiar. Inside the drawer was a hardcover book.