CHAPTER 6. FOLLOWING THE THIEVES

Even though Mor had fallen asleep late, his eyes opened with the first rays of sun. He was in no hurry to get up, since walking to the field in the morning after a night of rain would mean getting covered in mud from head to toe. First, he decided to have a good breakfast. But disappointment awaited him: his food supplies had run out.
He could have snacked on earthworms, which were surely plentiful in the puddles and wet grass. However, Mor was not overly fond of worms. He had to take a basket and set off for the cellars. He didn’t feel like going alone, though, so he decided to stop by Vuk and Nuk’s place — maybe they were headed out for food too.
As he approached the brothers’ house, Mor saw them pacing around the yard, chatting away cheerfully about something. Their mood was clearly excellent.
“Hey, you lazybones. What are you up to?” he asked, just as cheerfully.
“We decided to wash our feet while the grass is still wet,” Vuk answered with a smile, clearly happy to see his friend.
“Vuk’s the one washing his feet. I’m just walking around. I love going barefoot through wet grass,” Nuk clarified. “Where are you off to, anyway? I see a basket. Going for food?”
Mor nodded and explained that he meant to restock on food and then head out to the field. The brothers immediately agreed to join him, and Vuk ran straight into the house to fetch a basket.
“Oh, brother! I never doubted for a moment it’d be you running for the basket,” Nuk remarked good-naturedly, once they were already out on the road.
“Of course. In our family, I eat a bit more than the rest of you, which means I know more about food. So I’ll be the one choosing it. And so you don’t feel useless, you can carry the basket home afterward.”
“How generous of you. But I’ll leave that priceless burden to you all the same. And I’m asking you: don’t go inspecting every single potato and every piece of meat today. There happen to be other goblins in the cellars too, you know.”
“Why not? I’m taking what’s rightfully mine, same as everyone else. It’s a good thing, having everything in common. We work the fields together, we raise the sheep together, and then we eat it all together. Everyone can take what they like and leave what they don’t. And once what everyone likes runs out, we’ll go on choosing whatever we like best out of what we didn’t like before. And so on, right to the end. Seems very fair to me.”
“Right. Except it doesn’t quite make sense,” Nuk drawled, but Vuk paid no attention to his brother’s words at all.
The road felt short as they talked. First, the goblins went into the cellar with the meat. It was a large, deep, elongated dugout with stone walls and a stone floor. Its roof was covered in a thick layer of reeds. All the other cellars looked exactly the same. There were five cellars in the goblinum altogether: one for meat, one for potatoes, one for skauti, and one for honey and bartered vegetables, while the fifth was kept in reserve for an especially bountiful harvest.
Today everyone was in the mood for fresh mutton, specifically. Mor quickly picked out a small piece for himself. Nuk didn’t care one way or another, so he just stood there waiting for his brother. Vuk, on the other hand, approached the matter with the utmost seriousness. The piece couldn’t be too small, since there were three of them in the family, but it couldn’t be too big either, or they’d never finish it in a day. On top of that, Vuk was looking for meat that wasn’t too fatty. He was convinced that fat somehow stuck to his belly and made it grow. Vuk had long dreamed of losing a little weight. Unfortunately, his excellent appetite and his regular hunger did everything they could to stand in the way of that dream.
In the end, a suitable piece was found, and the three of them headed to the potato cellar. Everything went much faster there. Noticing his brother’s displeased look, Vuk decided not to examine every single potato one by one. Nobody wanted skauti today. Besides, the cellar turned out to be locked. The goblins didn’t wait around for the Warden to open it and headed home instead.
On the way, Vuk’s arm — the one carrying the basket — suddenly started to hurt, quite badly.
“Nuk, take it for a bit,” he pleaded. “The important thing right now is that the pain doesn’t spread to my other arm. Can you imagine if I ended up with no good arms left today?”
Nuk, of course, felt sorry for his brother, though he suspected there was nothing at all wrong with the arm. Still, Vuk was his younger brother. Nuk often gave in to him, even knowing that Vuk sometimes took advantage of his kindness. That said, Vuk never wished his brother any harm and loved him sincerely. It was just that laziness, more often than not, was what drove his actions.
By the time they reached home, the brothers remembered that Mor meant to go to the field, and offered to keep him company. They had already come to feel responsible for the potatoes they were growing. But Mor assured them there probably weren’t any beetles out there, and that he was only going as a precaution. Now he almost regretted having mentioned it at all.
Fortunately, the brothers didn’t press the matter. Mor said goodbye to them with relief, went home, and had a hearty breakfast, eating nearly half of the supplies he’d brought back. He had barely licked his fingers clean when he felt his eyes closing on their own. Sleep, it seemed, had decided to reclaim the time it had lost the night before. Mor didn’t resist, and fell asleep quite happily.
When he woke, the sun already stood high above the trees. Stepping out into the yard, Mor shielded his eyes against the bright light without meaning to. There was no trace of the rain left.
“Now I can go,” he said to himself, and set off toward the fields.
The closer he got, the harder his heart pounded. Mor was clearly on edge. To calm himself a little, he didn’t go straight to the anthills, but stopped by his own field first. He walked along several rows, studying the leaves closely. Just as he’d expected, there were no beetles anywhere. Weeds, however, had already sprung up. Mor stopped and stared in surprise at the young shoots, amazed at how quickly they’d grown after the rain.
Time passed, and still Mor couldn’t bring himself to go to the anthills, so he kept wandering aimlessly among the rows, making his way around the whole field that way. There was nothing left to inspect. Unless he wanted to look at other goblins’ plots, but that wasn’t his business.
With a loud exhale, Mor set off resolutely toward the anthills, glancing around from time to time. Curious looks were the last thing he needed right now. Ahead, low, dark-brown mounds came into view. At first glance, everything looked as usual, though the tall grass made it hard to make out details. A few more steps, and the first anthills came into clear view. They looked untouched, and their inhabitants scurried about in every direction, disorderly as ever. Mor slowly moved his eyes from one mound to the next, and suddenly noticed scattered earth at the edge of the row.
Coming closer, he saw exactly what he and Azuel had feared most. Before him lay dug-up anthills. There were quite a few of them. Two swarmed with ants, while the rest stood empty. Mor crouched down and began examining everything closely. He found tracks nearby. Looking around, he noticed tracks by the neighboring anthills too, and a few more, less distinct ones, a little further off. Mor studied them carefully. He was no expert in tracking. But even he could tell what sort of two-legged creatures had left them.
The tracks in the middle had held up well. That must mean they’d still been walking here when the rain came. And the rain had started once it grew dark. So how many anthills had they managed to dig up before the rain? Half of them? Almost all? The questions came one after another.
He looked toward the nearest stretch of forest.
They had no other way to go. They couldn’t very well have made camp in the middle of the meadow.
Mor headed for the treeline, studying the grass as he went. Not far from the anthills, he found more tracks leading into the forest.
Now he had to decide what to do next.
Follow the tracks right now? But what if the thieves were still there? They almost certainly had swords. If they spotted him, he might never make it out of the forest at all. And then Azuel would never learn any of this. No, better to tell him everything first. And it was probably worth informing the Warden, too.
With these thoughts in mind, Mor hurried back toward the goblinum.
He spotted Azuel from a distance. The old man was sitting on his usual stone by the house, seemingly dozing. In truth, he had already been waiting for Mor for quite some time. Earlier that day, Azuel had noticed the young goblin leaving the yard, and had no doubt where he was headed this time. The whole while, the old man had felt uneasy, sensing that Mor was unlikely to bring good news.
And so it was. Mor came over, sat down beside him, and told him everything. Azuel remained seated with his eyes half-closed, showing no reaction at all to what he heard. For a moment, Mor even thought the old man had forgotten their conversation from yesterday, and didn’t understand at all why he’d come to see him.
“Maybe we should go to the Warden? Can he be trusted?” Azuel asked at last.
“Yes. I wanted to suggest that myself. Warden Ogl is a clever and worthy goblin. I have no doubt the story of the Ant Power will astonish him greatly, but I’m sure he’ll find a way out of this,” Mor answered.
They set off for the Warden’s house right away. The whole way there, neither of them spoke. Both were weighed down by thoughts of what the thieves might do with the Ant Power they’d stolen. Would they use it for good? Perhaps they wanted to ease the work in the fields, or build something they’d never had the strength for before? Or maybe some old enemy had reappeared somewhere, or a new danger had arisen, and the power was needed for defense? Or had someone set their sights on a distant journey, meaning to discover new lands?
Both goblins, old and young, tried to push the worry away, but it kept coming back, again and again. It was under the weight of such thoughts that they reached the Warden’s house.
“Is Warden Ogl here?” Mor asked Nora, who was dozing on the bench.
“Oh, it’s you,” she replied with the same phrase she used to greet almost every visitor. “He’s not here right now, but he should be back soon. If it’s urgent, you’re welcome to wait.”
“Yes, it’s very urgent,” Azuel said, sitting down beside her.
“Don’t worry, you’ll see him for certain. He rode out to the shepherds to arrange for some sheep to be slaughtered tomorrow — the cellar’s starting to run low.”
“I see. That’s a good thing,” Mor said, just to keep the conversation going.
“A very good thing indeed!” Nora perked up. “I simply adore mutton. So fragrant, so rich, so delicious. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day, and I’d never get tired of it.”
“Hard to argue with that. Back when I still had all my teeth, I could eat it every day too,” Azuel said, joining in.
“See, you’re a true connoisseur of good food, just like me. In the morning, I love the neck best, always with a good layer of fat. In the afternoon, it’s dried ribs, with strips of fat warmed by the sun that leave the loveliest shine on your lips. And in the evening, I prefer a good fatty piece of hind leg. Luckily, I’ve still got every one of my teeth. So after dinner, I like to gnaw on a bone too. Sometimes I even fall asleep with it still in my mouth,” Nora recounted with relish, and burst out laughing at the end.
“I envy you. I’d love to do the same, but I’m not the age for it anymore. And then there’s my teeth,” Azuel replied with mock sorrow.
Watching Azuel, Mor still couldn’t tell whether he was speaking in earnest or teasing this great lover of meat and fat.
“Yes, Azuel, I do get real pleasure from this food. Though I’ve noticed that the more mutton I eat, the less often my dear Ogl looks at me. At first I couldn’t understand why. But then I worked out the reason. The more I eat, the less is left for him. And he probably resents that. But being a loving husband, he doesn’t want to look at me with reproach. My poor Ogl. So I try not to let it come to that. Sometimes I make myself eat only potatoes. And often I’ll make do with just breakfast and lunch. It’s torment, of course. But I’m willing to suffer as long as my husband is well-fed and doesn’t hold it against me. And his grudge can run so deep that it takes him a long time to start looking at me again. Sometimes a whole summer goes by.
“Well now. I want to tell you, that’s a great sacrifice on your part. You’re a strong gobliness, Nora, and I’m not talking about your arms right now. After all, your husband sometimes matters more to you than your beloved mutton,” Azuel said thoughtfully.
“Good day, Warden! We need to speak with you!” Mor called out loudly to the Warden, who was still riding up toward them, if only to put a quick stop to his wife’s further meaty confessions.
He rode up to them shortly after.
“Greetings to you, Mor, and to you, Azuel. If you need to speak with me, then let’s begin,” the Warden said, tying up his riding ram, which Mor was already eyeing with distaste, while Nora looked on with great interest.
“Honored Warden, I have no wish whatsoever to offend your wonderful wife, but it would be better if the three of us spoke alone. This is a very important matter,” Azuel asked politely.
The Warden, of course, wasn’t offended in the least. He knew the old man to be a good goblin, one who had become one of their own in the goblinum over the years.
“If it must be so, let’s go inside. No one will disturb us there, and my wife lets nobody past her,” he said.
A moment later, the three goblins had disappeared behind the door. Only Nora remained outside by the house, along with the ram, blissfully unaware of anything.
Azuel spoke first, briefly recounting his story. Then Mor told him everything he had seen that day. Warden Ogl listened closely, without uttering a single word. Both goblins waited impatiently for his reaction. But the Warden was in no hurry to speak; instead, he weighed whether or not to share what he knew. What the old man had told him hadn’t stirred any particular alarm in him. Mor’s account, however, troubled him deeply, though his stern expression made it hard to tell what he was feeling.
“Why didn’t you tell me about the Ant Power before now?” he asked Azuel.
“To be honest, I didn’t know whether I was allowed to reveal such a secret to you. But I knew very well what the Ant Power was capable of, and what temptations it could stir up. And I know that in your hands, with your authority, it could easily turn into an unstoppable weapon. But Mor said you could be trusted. That’s why I’m here now, and why we’re counting on your help,” Azuel answered.
“You’re absolutely right. A secret like this can’t be revealed to just any goblin. And we were all very fortunate that it was you, of all goblins, working that field the day you saw that boar. Because you proved yourself a worthy goblin, and kept this great secret for all these years.”
After a moment’s hesitation, the Warden decided, after all, to break his Vow of Silence.
“Now it’s my turn to share secrets. I know the Ant Power exists. And I’m not the only one. The Warden of every goblinum knows of it. At least, he’s supposed to — because I’ve heard that these days, many have forgotten. This knowledge has passed from Warden to Warden for over a thousand years now, ever since that terrible war ended, the one that nearly brought about the destruction of our tribe. It’s written down in an ancient manuscript — our Oath Scroll. Every Warden is meant to keep that too, as a reminder. Well, it says there that we received the power from the ant queen. That’s why it was named the Ant Power. Just as you said, Azuel, it came in pouches. Each pouch gave strength for two days. At first it helped the goblins defeat the trolls, but afterward it turned goblins’ heads, and led to war between the clans. And it was our clan that started that war. Probably because the anthills lie on our land, and our ancestors thought the power was on their side.”
“The Vow of Silence must never be broken. Except, perhaps, in the case of grave danger.”
What he heard left Mor stunned, while Azuel took the Warden’s confession more calmly. The old man had long suspected he wasn’t the only goblin who knew about the Ant Power. He was certain these anthills were very ancient. Perhaps they had existed here since the very birth of the forest. And over the course of thousands of years, someone was bound to have learned about the Ant Power.
And now his suspicion had been confirmed. Azuel, of course, hadn’t expected that this was a secret known to every Warden. But now all the secrets were out in the open, and what remained was to find out why, after centuries of neglect, someone had needed to steal the Ant Power.
The Warden was asking himself that very same question. Neither goblin could stop thinking about the three strangers the neighbors had spoken of. They were most likely the ones who had dug up the anthills. Mor had spoken of tracks left by two goblins, but it wasn’t hard to guess that the third had simply waited for them in the forest. After all, someone had to watch the rams they’d been seen with.
Azuel shared his thought that the thieves might be wild goblins. Warden Ogl recalled the distant goblinum of the Hermits, which hardly anyone ever visited. But whoever it was, he was planning something. Only what?
It was clear that the Warden of some goblinum had to be behind this. But why would he need the Ant Power badly enough to steal it, rather than simply ask for it openly? If his goblinum, or the whole land of the Hermits, were in danger, he could have come to the Bignoses and spoken with the Wardens. After all, they were all equals, bound by the same secret. Or perhaps the Hermits held some grudge against the Bignoses, and that was why they had acted so treacherously?
The questions kept multiplying.
Azuel suggested setting off at once in pursuit of the thieves, hoping to catch them before they reached home.
“I think they’re already far away, and there’s no way we could catch up with them now. And it’s unlikely we’d even manage to find them in our great forest. So there’s no point wasting time on that. But we’ll still need to travel to the land of the Hermits, to find out who stole the Ant Power, and why. Maybe you’re right, Azuel, and it really was wild goblins. Then we should start with their goblinum.”
“Yes, I think it was them. Wait, though — that would mean the thieves get home, and right on their heels the Bignoses show up. Won’t the Bignoses’ arrival raise suspicion? Our goblins would simply be seized before they learned anything at all. And whoever goes there will have to be told about the Ant Power. They won’t forget it afterward, either, even if everything turns out well. So you must choose the worthiest goblins there are. I’d go myself. But as you can see, I’m already old. Too old, even,” Azuel said, with a sad smile.
A long silence settled over them, broken only by the deep breathing of Nora, who had dozed off again. Azuel was thinking about what he would do if he were a hundred years younger. Warden Ogl was thinking about which goblin he could trust with such a difficult task. Only Mor seemed to be thinking about nothing at all — as if he had already made up his mind, and simply didn’t want to interrupt the others’ thoughts just yet.
But before long, his patience ran out.
“I’m ready to go. And there’s no need to explain anything to me. I already know everything.”
Azuel and the Warden clearly hadn’t expected such a statement. For a moment, they were even taken aback. But their surprise quickly gave way to concern. What lay ahead wasn’t some merry adventure, but a dangerous journey, and both of them thought Mor too young and inexperienced for such a task. On the other hand, he was clever enough, and that might matter far more than experience. Besides, Mor himself had firmly decided to set out for those distant lands. Ever since Azuel, and then the Warden, had let him in on the secret, he could no longer simply stand by and watch what was happening around the Ant Power.
In the end, both goblins agreed.
“I’ll back you, and do everything that’s asked of me. But you mustn’t set out alone. Take one goblin with you — better yet, two — someone you trust completely,” the Warden said.
Mor nodded in agreement and answered right away, as if he’d already thought it all through.
“I’ll take Vuk and Nuk. They can be silly and childish at times, but there’s no ill will in them. They’re good goblins, and I know for certain they won’t betray me.”
“It’s good you have such friends. But simply showing up among the Hermits with no reason at all would be far too dangerous. We need a believable reason for our goblins to be there right now,” Azuel warned.
“I think I’ve found such a reason. As you know, the forest goblins have an old tradition. After the harvest is brought in, we give thanks to the Supreme Rider for helping the food grow in our fields and for keeping the sheep’s lambs safe. We hold a celebration and often invite guests. Yes, in recent years goblins have started forgetting the traditions of their ancestors. And part of that is my own fault. After all, I’m one of those who’s meant to keep those traditions and pass them on to the generations to come. Now is exactly the time to remember them.
We’ll hold a great feast and invite guests once again. We’ll be glad to see goblins even from the most distant goblinums. So then, Mor — I’ll write an invitation letter, which you’ll deliver to their Warden. That will be your assignment, and your rightful reason for the visit. Everything about it will be perfectly real,” Warden Ogl explained.
Azuel nodded, pleased. He liked the idea. He recalled that celebrations like this had once been held every year. But over time they’d been held less and less often, and in recent years had stopped altogether.
Yes, a great deal has changed over the last hundred years, he thought.
Having agreed on everything, the goblins decided not to waste any time. Mor was to go to the brothers, while the Warden would see to it that the three best riding rams were prepared, and everything needed for the journey was gathered.
Before long, the three goblins stepped outside. Nora was still dozing on the bench, and nearby, the ram grazed lazily on the grass.
Mor walked toward Vuk and Nuk feeling a little uneasy. He didn’t expect anything bad, but he still couldn’t know for certain how his friends would react, or whether they’d agree to set out on such a distant journey.
The brothers turned out to be home. Mor found them sitting under a tree. They told him they’d spent almost the whole day doing nothing, and had come to the conclusion that even picking potato beetles would be better than being this bored. Mor didn’t beat around the bush, and told them right away why he’d come.
The brothers listened very closely. At first, they couldn’t tell whether Mor was joking or being serious. What they were hearing seemed too incredible to be true. But from his slightly anxious look, they quickly realized he was in no mood for jokes. They even laughed at the thought that, as it turned out, they’d been working practically right next to a place where such great power was kept. They remembered, too, the old story about the magic ants, which they’d never taken seriously before.
After hearing the story, Mor saw no sinister gleam light up in Vuk’s and Nuk’s eyes. They remained the same cheerful, easygoing goblins they’d always been. And without much deliberation, they agreed to set out on the journey.
So I wasn’t wrong about them, Mor thought happily.
He suggested they go together to the anthills and into the forest, to have another careful look at everything. Six eyes, after all, might notice what two hadn’t.
Vuk and Nuk agreed readily. They wanted to look at the anthills with fresh eyes now, knowing their secret. Besides, the brothers had long since grown tired of sitting under thе tree.
Mor had promised the Warden and Azuel that he’d report back on his talk with his friends right away. So the three young goblins headed for the Warden’s house first. By the time they arrived, Nora was no longer on the bench. Azuel sat in her place, with Warden Ogl standing beside him.
Mor told them the brothers had agreed to go on the journey.
Both of the older goblins nodded approvingly. Then the Warden, looking very serious, explained to Vuk and Nuk that the Ant Power was a great secret, one that could never be told to anyone. Now it would be a secret shared among the five of them. A secret belonging to five goblins.
At these words, the brothers felt like real spies, and solemnly swore not to breathe a word, even if they were tortured or starved.
Meanwhile, a goblin came up to the Warden and reported that his orders had been carried out.
“Well then, young travelers, everything’s ready for you. Weapons, food, and plenty of other useful things. I even had some hooks put in, in case you feel like doing some fishing. Three of our best riding rams will carry you. So you can set out tomorrow morning. And remember: as far as anyone else is concerned, you’re going to the Hermits to deliver an invitation to the festival,” the Warden warned.
“Of course. Right now we want to go to the anthills and into the forest. Maybe we’ll find some new tracks,” Mor said.
“Do as you see fit, Mor. I think it wouldn’t hurt to take another look around there. Azuel and I will stop by ourselves tomorrow,” the Warden answered.
Everyone went their separate ways.
When the goblins reached the anthills, they saw that many of them already looked normal again. That meant the ants hadn’t wasted any time, and were busy rebuilding their ruined homes. You could see them breaking down the hard, dried mud into loose soil and carrying it, grain by grain, back to the anthills. Any observer who didn’t know their secret would surely have wondered where such small creatures found so much strength. After all, to them, chunks of sun-baked mud were the same as huge stones would be to goblins.
Mor, Vuk, and Nuk already knew their secret, and so felt no surprise. Still, they now watched the ants with far greater interest than before.
The brothers decided to walk among the anthills. But the only tracks there were the ones Mor had already told them about. They found nothing new, and had already begun glancing toward the forest, hoping to stumble on something important there.
Meanwhile, Mor’s attention was drawn to one particular dug-up anthill. Very few ants were near it, and it looked as though no one had even begun to repair it yet. Mor came closer and crouched down.
Well, there has to be something unusual about these anthills, doesn’t there? Otherwise this is getting rather dull, Mor thought, and began looking everything over closely.
A small hollow in the center of the anthill caught his eye at once. Inside it, he could make out several small grooves, set close together. Less sunlight reached this spot, so a little water still remained in the grooves.
Why, those are marks left by fingers! Mor realized.
So the thieves were searching for something in this little pit. Maybe this is exactly where the ants keep their power. But it’s certainly gone now.
The tip of a stick sticking out of the ground near the tracks caught his eye.
Probably just a bit of twig got mixed in with the dirt, Mor thought, and pulled on it.
The find came loose easily. And then it turned out this wasn’t a twig at all, but something that looked like a large, light-brown larva, or an elongated pouch. In that same instant, Mor remembered Azuel’s story about the strange caterpillars. Realizing what he was holding, he immediately looked over at the brothers. They were still wandering lazily among the anthills, and weren’t even looking his way.
“Come on, let’s head into the forest. I don’t think we’re going to find anything else interesting here,” Mor called out to them.
Vuk and Nuk agreed at once, of course. They were eager to discover something important, though they didn’t yet know what exactly.
Mor quickly found the tracks in the grass that he’d already seen before, and led the brothers toward the forest.
“I can just imagine how much the ants must hate us right now. After all, it was us who destroyed their homes. Well, not us exactly, but goblins in general. But I suppose to them, all goblins probably look the same, just like all ants look the same to us. And can you imagine if the Ant Power made them grow to our size, or even bigger? They’d probably destroy our whole goblinum out of revenge. They’d be like trolls, only with six arms… or however many arms ants have. Maybe they’ve even got sharp teeth. It’s honestly frightening to imagine what ants that angry could do to us,” Vuk began musing.
“And what would you do, in their place?” Nuk asked.
“Yes, I’d probably do just that. My home would’ve been destroyed, after all. And I wouldn’t bother figuring out exactly who did it. I’d smash everything in my path. So it’s a good thing ants stay ants, and we stay goblins. Though a little Ant Power wouldn’t hurt on our journey. But we didn’t find anything like that in the anthills. No big caterpillars at all. You didn’t find any either, did you?” he said, turning to Mor.
“Look, here are their tracks. They went this way. Let’s go too,” Mor answered, pretending not to have heard the question.
With great difficulty, the goblins reached the remains of a campfire. For some reason, the tracks didn’t lead straight to it. It turned out they wound around and approached the fire pit from almost the opposite side from the anthills. Mor guessed that the thieves had been trying to cover their tracks this way. Though why they’d bother doing that, when no one had been chasing them, he couldn’t figure out.
The goblins quickly realized the thieves had made camp here and spent the night. There really had been three of them, as shown by both the goblins’ own tracks and the tracks of three rams.
The tracks led off to the east.
There was no longer any doubt that these were goblins from the Hermits’ clan. But which goblinum exactly? Or had the whole clan organized this?
With these thoughts, Mor, Vuk, and Nuk returned to the Warden’s house, where Azuel had stayed, and told them everything they’d seen.
To Azuel and the Warden, too, it became clear that the Hermits had stolen the Ant Power. Azuel, as before, pointed to the wild goblins. But since no one could know for certain, the Warden decided to write three more invitation letters to the rest of the Hermits’ goblinums.
“Now that will be a feast, if they all come,” Azuel said cheerfully.
“Indeed. Our forest has never seen a celebration like this one. But what else can we do — I don’t see another way. This way our goblins can visit any goblinum of the Hermits without arousing suspicion. And I hope they’ll manage to find out who needed to steal the Ant Power, and why,” the Warden answered, and, noticing Azuel’s pointed look, went on: “Yes — go to the wild goblins first. If Azuel turns out to be right, that’ll save us a good deal of time. Take a good look around while you’re there. You’re my messengers, so the local Warden is sure to offer you a bed for the night, and to stay a day or two as guests. That’ll give you time to find out at least something.
Whichever goblinum of the Hermits you end up at, be careful. Whoever stole the Ant Power will grow suspicious the moment they see you, no matter what, and may start watching you. Don’t say anything you shouldn’t.”
“Well, none of the Hermits have ever seen us before. So there’s no need to worry too much,” Vuk said.
“I certainly hope so,” Azuel said slowly, and looked at Mor.
The young goblin understood the old man’s look, and he, too, thought of the tall tree.
“Now, I think everyone should go home and get a good rest. Especially the three of you,” the Warden said, looking at the three goblins who were about to set off on a dangerous journey. “Tomorrow I expect you here with the first light of dawn. You too, Azuel. Good night, everyone.”
The night that followed brought sleep to no one. The five goblins who shared the secret seemed bound by an invisible thread, along which sleeplessness passed to them all.
It was hardest of all for Vuk and Nuk. They’d told their father they were going on the Warden’s errand to deliver invitation letters. The brothers felt a little ashamed for not telling the whole truth. But they consoled themselves with the thought that it was all for the sake of an important task. And once their father learned what a great deed they’d accomplished, he’d surely understand.
With the first rays of sun, all five who shared the secret were already standing by the Warden’s house. Strangely enough, everyone looked fairly lively. Warden Ogl had brought three riding rams, with bags of traveling gear neatly fastened to them. So all the future travelers needed to bring from home were their cloaks.
They buckled on their belts, fastened their swords to them, and got ready to mount the rams. But they didn’t rush, since they had no idea how the animals would react — after all, this was the first time goblins and rams had ever met one another. And these really were the finest rams. Very large, with thick, coarse wool, powerful curved horns, and a fearsome look about them.
At last the goblins worked up their courage and climbed on. The animals accepted them calmly, as if they already knew they’d be carrying this burden for many days to come.
“It’s time, our brave young goblins. If you have to visit every goblinum of the Hermits, the journey may end up taking a while. But there’s no need to hurry — not if it means giving yourselves away. Don’t let us down, and be very careful. Now — on your way,” the Warden said, stepping aside and clearing the road.
“Do your best to find out. What awaits our lands in the near future depends on it,” Azuel added.
“We’ll manage. You can count on us,” Mor answered confidently, and set off.
Vuk and Nuk hurried after him.
Once they’d ridden out of the goblinum, they headed toward the anthills. The goblins had decided to go to the thieves’ camp first, and continue from there following the rams’ tracks. There was no one in the fields yet, so there was no one to wonder why, instead of taking the Road of the Four Clans, they were heading into the forest in a completely different direction.
This time, going from memory, they quickly made their way to the camp. The rams’ tracks showed up clearly on the ground, so the travelers moved quickly, and by midday had covered a great distance.
Time flew by unnoticed amid all the talk and joking. The goblins felt cheerful, though a little anxious too.
The day wasn’t even over yet, and they’d already found themselves in a new forest. Or rather, it was the very same forest. But the three young goblins had never traveled so far from home before, and so everything around them seemed different now.
Now they felt as though they were getting to know the world around them all over again.
“If only our mother knew what a special task we’ve been entrusted with. She’d probably be so proud of us. Isn’t that right, Nuk?” Vuk asked, a little wistfully, turning to his brother.
“Of course she would. And yesterday Father said he was pleased with us too, lazybones that we are. Because they’d never trust a job like this to just any simpletons. And don’t forget, we only told him about the invitation letters.”
“Yes, I remember. A little shameful, but what can we do. We can’t reveal the secret of the five great goblins. And when the time comes, he’ll learn everything, and he’ll be so proud that his son Vuk turned out to be one of the chosen keepers of the secret. And you too, of course,” Vuk said proudly.
Mor barely heard the brothers’ conversation, since at that moment he was turning over whether to tell them now about the Ant Power he’d found, or leave it for later. He’d brought the pouch along, hiding it in a small, almost unnoticeable pocket of his cloak. Mor didn’t want to deceive the brothers, but he wasn’t especially eager, so early in the journey, to delight them with the news that they had the Ant Power with them. Knowing Vuk, he had no doubt his friend would beg to use it at the very first trivial problem. And Mor knew he’d give in to the pleading, because he’d feel sorry for his friend. So he decided, after all, not to rush.
“What are you thinking about, Mor? Home, probably? We’re already far from it,” Nuk asked.
“No. Haven’t had time to miss it yet. What I’m thinking about is when we should turn toward the river. I was hoping the tracks would stay clear for a good while longer, but they’re getting harder and harder to make out. And unfortunately, I’m no great tracker. Neither are you two, for that matter. Ah, if only we had Azuel with us now. He’d spot the tracks for sure, and lead us straight to the thieves. For now, as you can see, they’re leading east.”
“Yes. But which of the Hermits turned out to be the thief — that’s the question.”
“That it is. But if the tracks don’t tell us anything, then we’ll head to the wild goblins, just as the Warden ordered. Besides, Azuel is sure it was them. But what if the wild goblins really did ride through here? First east, and then, once they stopped leaving tracks, turned north toward the river and crossed it. Maybe they suspected something, and decided to send anyone chasing them down the wrong path,” Mor explained.
“Turns out these thieves are quite the clever ones. They don’t want to give themselves away. Friends, when are we going to eat? It’s already past lunchtime, and we haven’t had a bite. We must have just forgotten, what with all the excitement. Now we’ll have to make up for both breakfast and lunch. There’s some kind of clearing right up ahead. We could stop there,” Vuk suggested.
A while later, the goblins rode out into the clearing.
“Yes, let’s stop here. We’ll eat, and the rams can rest a bit and graze on some grass while we’re at it,” Mor agreed, climbing down off his ram.
Vuk dismounted right after him. Meanwhile, Nuk had no intention of getting down. Instead, he was slowly riding off to one side, trying not to make any noise, peering intently at something in the grass. Mor and Vuk noticed, and fell quiet too. They watched with interest to see just where he was sneaking off to.
After riding a short distance, Nuk gave the ram’s sides a squeeze, and it lunged forward. Suddenly a reddish tail appeared in the grass ahead of him and darted quickly toward the nearest trees. Nuk let out some kind of fierce roar and immediately sent the ram after it. Mor and Vuk finally saw that it was a fox, carrying something in its teeth. A moment later it disappeared into the forest. Nuk kept right behind it and vanished after it.
Silence fell, broken only now and then by a light breeze stirring the treetops. Time passed, and no one emerged from the forest. Mor started to grow uneasy. These lands were unfamiliar to them, after all. There was no telling who might live here. Vuk kept glancing nervously toward the forest too. And just as they were about to set off in search of this sorry excuse for a hunter, Nuk rode out of the forest, holding something in his hand. By the time he was fairly close, the goblins could make out his pleased expression, and a bird in his hand.
Looks like the hunt was a success, Mor thought, and smiled.
“Wait, did you actually catch up to the fox and kill it, then take its catch?” Vuk asked.
“I didn’t kill it, only scared it off. I pulled out my sword, threw it at the fox, and missed. But the sword landed right in front of it and stuck in the ground. That must be when it got really scared. Decided its life was worth more, and dropped its catch. So now we’re going to have something unusual to eat — and tasty too, I hope!” Nuk said proudly, holding up the bird.
“Well, brother! You’re a born hunter!” Vuk exclaimed happily. “We’ve never once eaten any kind of bird in our whole lives, and we’ve never even seen anyone else eat one. There aren’t many of them anyway, and they sit way up high in the trees. How would you even get one down from there? Am I right, Nuk?”
“That’s right. Though I did see some like that once, out in the far meadow. But they run faster than a ram, and then on top of that they fly off. How’s anyone supposed to catch one? But this time the fox did all the work for us. We’ll finally get to try some bird.”
“I remember now!” Mor exclaimed. “I’ve eaten a bird like that before. Just once, though, and a long time ago. Back when I was still little and used to go to the meadow to watch the sheep.” The shepherds treated me to some there. I even remember what they called it. A partridge. And they boiled it. They said boiled tastes better than raw. I remember it was tasty, but there wasn’t much of it.”
“Then let’s boil the bird, if that’s tastier. We’ve got a pot. And we can get water from that puddle over there, where the rams are drinking right now,” Vuk said happily, and immediately grabbed the pot and ran off for water.
The goblins gathered dry branches around the clearing for a fire. But it seemed to them there wouldn’t be enough. Nuk and Mor decided to go into the forest, leaving Vuk to deal with the fire and the bird. It turned out there were almost no dry branches to be found nearby, so they were gone longer than expected.
As they made their way back, the goblins could see the fire already burning from a good distance off.
“Well, Vuk! The pot’s already smoking away. When it comes to food, you’re the quickest goblin there is,” Nuk joked.
Coming up to the fire, the two of them immediately fixed their eyes on the pot. They were very curious how the bird was cooking. And more importantly — whether it was time to eat it yet. Meanwhile Vuk took a stick and, with an air of expertise, began stirring the water.
“I can just tell it’s going to be delicious. And what a smell! I’ve never smelled food this good before. Must be from the feathers. Right, Mor? You’d know — what’s the tastiest part of this… whatever you called it?”
“It’s called a partridge. I don’t remember for certain, but I think the shepherds used to boil the bird bare. And it had a big hole in the back, too.”
These words left Vuk a little confused.
“Bare, how? How would they have stripped it, then? Or maybe the feathers are supposed to dissolve in the water? That would be some kind of sorcery. I actually wanted to try it with the feathers on. I thought it’d taste good. And what’s this hole in the back supposed to be? When I threw it in the pot, there wasn’t any hole,” he muttered, bewildered.
“Calm down, Vuk. You can see the bird’s just lying there in the pot, not trying to climb out. So there’s no sorcery involved. Let it sit in the water a bit longer, and then we’ll take it out, and you can try the feathers if you want to so badly. You can eat any part you like. If I were you, I’d try the wing. I think that’s where the tastiest feathers are,” Nuk said, reassuring his brother.
The goblins didn’t know how long a bird needed to boil to taste good. So they didn’t wait long, and pulled it out of the pot.
“Here,” Nuk said, cutting off a wing and holding it out to Vuk. “You’re the one who cooked it, so you’ve got the right to try it first.”
Vuk took the wing, turned it over in his hands, and stuffed the whole thing into his mouth. It was clear at once from his face that he was chewing something thoroughly unpleasant. After suffering through it a little and twisting his face nearly unrecognizable, he spat the wing out.
“Never again am I eating boiled bird feathers. They’re worse than the worst food there is. Though until today, I thought food like that didn’t even exist. But how do you get rid of them, then? Maybe skin it, feathers and all, the way we skin sheep carcasses, hide and wool together?”
He reached for the bird and grabbed hold of the feathers, meaning to lift it up and take a good look. But the moment he gave a slight tug, a whole tuft of feathers came away easily from the skin and stayed in his hand.
“So that’s how it’s done!” Vuk cried out happily. “They just pull right out, and the skin stays behind. And you can eat that!”
He scooped up the bird like it was already his to handle and set about deftly plucking the still-warm feathers.
“Listen! I’ve just had a brilliant idea. If hot feathers pull out of a bird this easily, why not try the same thing with sheep? We shear the wool off them, after all, and that’s slow, boring work. Believe me, I helped my father with it once, and I know what I’m talking about. My way would make everything simpler. Pour hot water over the sheep, and pluck all the wool off in no time. When we get back, I’m definitely suggesting this to the Warden. Maybe he’ll even put me in charge of it.”
“I don’t think you should,” Mor objected carefully.
“Why not?”
“We boiled a dead bird in hot water. A sheep is alive, though. It would hurt her. Stick your finger in the pot and you’ll understand for yourself.”
Vuk dipped his finger into the water and yanked his hand back at once.
“Yeah, you’re right. How didn’t I think of that myself. We do sometimes boil mutton and potatoes the same way, after all. Though, honestly, we could still try it on just one sheep. I figure their skin isn’t as tender as mine.”
“Can we just eat the bird already. You’ve plucked the whole thing,” Nuk said, losing patience.
“Plucked it, sure, but that hole in the back still hasn’t shown up,” Vuk answered, examining the partridge again.
“Then make one yourself, if it matters so much to you. We’re not going to just sit here waiting for it to show up!”
Vuk obediently took the knife and cut open the bird’s belly. The insides at once began spilling out.
“So this is guts and stuff like the heart! That makes sense. Sheep have all that too, after all. Mor, do you remember whether the shepherds ate boiled bird guts or not? I don’t want to mess up again like I did with the feathers.”
“I don’t think they did. But I don’t remember for certain.”
“Listen, Vuk!” Nuk nearly shouted, losing his patience. “Eat the guts if you want, eat the feathers if you want, just give me a piece of meat already!”
“I’m not eating the guts. I’ll split the bird evenly right now.”
The goblins made short work of the partridge, but, as expected, it did nothing to satisfy their hunger. So they brought out their stores of dried mutton and potatoes and finished their supper. Supper, indeed, because while the friends had been busy with the firewood and the bird, evening had already set in. No one felt like traveling anymore. After a good filling supper, it was far more pleasant to stretch out by the fire than to go bouncing along on ram-back again. The travelers decided to stay on the cozy clearing until morning.
All around them lay calm. They hadn’t noticed any predators nearby, though just to be safe they kept the fire going. So far, the journey pleased them more and more. Ancient forest surrounded them, overhead the stars shone bright and thick across the sky, and beside them the burning branches crackled softly. The goblins were very glad to have gotten out of their goblinum.
They were young, and had never been to other lands before. Even back home they’d traveled little, having only ever managed to visit the neighboring goblinum. Now, though, their path led through a good half of the vast forest. Of course, all three of them understood that this thrilling journey held a great many dangers, but right now those dangers seemed distant, almost unreal. Even Mor, who had a better idea than the others of what might be waiting ahead, was enjoying this rare moment of peace and harmony with the great Goblin Forest.
The silence of the night was broken only now and then by partridges, still being hunted by foxes. Even now Nuk kept itching to jump onto his ram and try his luck once more — everyone had liked the taste of the partridge meat a great deal. Mor and Vuk quickly talked him out of it. It was night, after all. And even in their own land, the forest wasn’t always safe at night.
Nuk calmed down, but decided that come morning, he would definitely go hunting for partridges, or at least for foxes with their catch, and would be sure to bring back breakfast. Vuk, meanwhile, suggested that next time they not boil the bird at all. He was very curious to find out whether fresh feathers pulled out just as easily. If it turned out they did, he meant to try the partridge raw and compare the taste.
Toward midnight, the talking finally died down. Exhaustion from the sleepless night before and the long road was making itself felt. Just to be safe, the goblins decided to post a watch. Nuk was the first to volunteer for the shift — he meant to wake up before anyone else for his morning hunt. After him, Mor kept watch, and Vuk took the last shift.
The night passed quietly. The first day of the journey had turned out easy and fun. And all three of them hoped the rest of the days would be just the same.