CHAPTER 8. THE JOURNEY CONTINUES: THE FIRST DANGER

Mor and Vuk lay beside the dead campfire, lazily opening their eyes after sleep. Suddenly, Nuk’s wild cry reached them from the forest. It was a cry of despair, for the long-awaited hunt had ended in failure. Nuk had spent the whole morning chasing partridges but had not caught a single one. In a fit of anger, he had even thrown stones at them and missed every time. In the end, the goblin decided to stop tormenting himself and look for a fox with prey. After a long search, he found one. But once again, luck was not on his side. Nuk chased after the fox and threw his sword.
If I miss, at least I’ll scare it like last time.
But the fox stopped only long enough to cast a quick glance at the piece of iron that had landed nearby and at the goblin. Not frightened in the least, it ran on and disappeared into the thick bushes. Disappointed, Nuk finally accepted that today was a bad day for hunting and turned his ram back toward the camp.
Mor and Vuk took one look at his displeased face and immediately realized they would not be having bird for breakfast.
“Well, never mind. We’ll eat potatoes. Next time, you’re sure to catch something,” Mor said, trying to cheer Nuk up.
The goblin said nothing and sat down beside them.
“Don’t worry, brother. I don’t think it’s your fault. It’s all the foxes.”
“What about the foxes?” Nuk looked at his brother in surprise.
“They’re the reason you couldn’t steal their prey.”
“How’s that? I don’t understand you at all,” Nuk asked, now somewhat confused, and looked to Mor for help.
But Mor merely smiled and shrugged.
“What’s so hard to understand? It’s simple. Foxes talk to each other too. Just like we do, only in their own fox language. The fox you scared yesterday told the others about a terrifying two-legged creature riding a horned monster. So today, all the foxes already knew about you. You should have killed it yesterday, and then no one around here would have found out about you. You could have caught someone by surprise again. And as for hunting partridges, there’s nothing even to talk about. We’ll never catch them alive.”
“Oh, is that so! So now you’re an expert on foxes, are you? Then why didn’t you chase after it and kill it yourself yesterday if you knew it would tell all the others?” Nuk even raised his voice a little.
“You see, dear brother, I’m more of a meat eater than a meat catcher. And I’m not as nimble as you are.”
“I don’t know about that. Yesterday, you swallowed your piece of bird pretty nimbly,” Nuk remarked sarcastically.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. I’m more of a meat eater.”
“That’s enough, Vuk. I think you’ll be in charge of the next hunt,” Nuk said firmly.
“Let’s hurry. The sun is already above the forest. We need to get going,” Mor said, putting an end to the morning argument.
The goblins finished breakfast, mounted their rams, and continued on their way. For now, they were still traveling east. All the talk about foxes had made Mor completely forget what he had planned to do if the thieves’ tracks disappeared for good. Beyond the forest clearing, they were no longer visible. Perhaps the tracks had vanished, or perhaps the goblins had simply lost them.
“Listen, Vuk. You told us foxes can talk to each other. How did you learn that if you’ve never been to the Lore-master? I admit, I didn’t go to him very often either, but I still know a thing or two about our forest,” Nuk said to his brother. He still could not forget his failure that morning.
“You know, I never wanted to go to him. In fact, I think it’s bad for you. If you learn everything beforehand, life becomes less interesting. So I prefer not to know anything in advance and to discover the world around me firsthand. What good does it do me, for example, to know that bears live somewhere in the forest if I never see them? That’s right, none at all. It’s the same with foxes. No, of course I’d heard about them before and even seen them from a distance. But yesterday, when I saw so many of them in one place, I immediately figured out that they talk to each other. Otherwise, how would they all have ended up in the clearing with the partridges? Obviously, they told each other. That’s what it means to discover things firsthand, instead of doing it the way you do with your Lore-master. First you learn something, then you have to remember it for the rest of your life. And you don’t even know whether you’ll ever need it. Seems foolish to me. What do you think, Mor? Am I right?”
“Well, I don’t know. I went to the Lore-master often. And my grandmother told me a lot too — about our forest and about the world beyond it.”
“And did any of that knowledge ever help you?”
“Why don’t we find out? Do you know what’s ahead of us?” Mor suddenly asked.
Vuk was not caught off guard.
“Of course I do. The forest is ahead of us. And not just ahead — behind us too, and to the right and left. And somewhere farther on, there’ll be Hermit goblinums, including the ones belonging to the wild goblins. It’s simple. You don’t need to go to any Lore-master to know that.”
“If you had gone, you’d know there’s a lake ahead, then a valley, and then the Bear Hills. Only after that, about two days’ journey from here, will we reach the first Hermit goblinum. So sometimes it’s useful to know things in advance.”
“Listen, you’ve got the whole Goblin Forest inside your head. I don’t have anything like that in mine. But I practiced with a sword a lot. So I think I’m the best swordsman of the three of us. And if there’s any danger, you two should stay close to me.”
“With a wooden sword, Vuk. You forgot to mention that it was a wooden sword,” Nuk reminded him.
“Of course it was wooden. You can hurt yourself with an iron one, you know. Besides, I was still little back then, and a real sword would have been too heavy for me. And anyway, it doesn’t matter what kind of sword it was. The one I have now is iron. And my hands remember perfectly well what to do.”
Then Mor remembered that he had not paid attention to the tracks for quite some time. Looking around, he saw no sign of them. He did not know when exactly they had disappeared for good either. And they had already been riding for a good half day. He felt a little embarrassed that he had become so absorbed in the conversation. Though even before the clearing, the tracks had been difficult to make out. Still, Mor had hoped to follow them for as long as possible. Perhaps they would have led to some unexpected clue that might help them learn more about the thieves.
He was just about to turn north when Nuk’s excited voice stopped him.
“Look! There’s some kind of water ahead, between the trees. Could that be the lake you were talking about, Mor?”
“Most likely. I don’t know of another one.”
“Let’s go closer. I’ve never seen a lake, only the river near our goblinum. And I don’t think either of you has seen one either,” Vuk immediately suggested, eager to see a new wonder of the forest.
“But we need to turn north. There are no more tracks,” Mor objected.
“Oh, come on. The lake is really close. When will we get another chance to see it? We could even do some fishing. They packed hooks for us, after all. Then we’ll head north right away,” Nuk urged him, eager to catch something at least while fishing.
In truth, Mor wanted to see the lake too.
I suppose we can go and have a look. It’s probably beautiful. And we won’t lose much time. We were planning to cross the river at the Stone Bridge, and I remember it’s much farther away. So it doesn’t really matter where exactly we turn north.
“Well, Mor, are we going to the lake?” Nuk asked again.
“Yes. Let’s go.”
Before long, the forest ended, and a vast open space with only a few scattered trees stretched out before the goblins. Ahead of them, a lake extended from north to south. Beyond it, a valley stretched far to the east, with hills visible at its distant edge.
The goblins gazed around as if spellbound. There had been nothing like this where they came from. Or rather, their forest and meadows were beautiful in their own way too. But they had long since grown used to that beauty and stopped noticing it. Here, everything was different.
Fish splashed carelessly in the water, their sides gleaming in the sun for a moment as they broke the surface. In the valley, birds kept flying up from the tall grass, apparently disturbed by something.
“They’ve made it here too. It’s the foxes chasing the birds, right?” Nuk asked Mor for some reason.
“Maybe. Or maybe mice are running nearby and scaring the birds,” Mor suggested.
“Mice? The same kind that live back home? Then I’ve tried those. They don’t taste too bad. I caught them in the house in winter. They look for a warm place for the winter too, you know. And they gnaw on the potatoes on the table. I managed to swat one. Though I didn’t quite judge my strength right. It left a stain. Well, never mind, I’m not squeamish. I licked it clean with my tongue, and the table ended up even cleaner. I gave you that mouse, remember?” Vuk turned to his brother.
“Of course I remember. The ones you caught whole, you ate yourself, and that one you gave to me. Thank you, brother.”
“No need to thank me for that. How could I not share with my brother?” Vuk replied, sounding even a little offended.
“We shouldn’t be watching mice and foxes right now. Not far from here begins the territory of a much more frightening beast,” Mor said seriously.
“There’s really someone here scarier than us?” Vuk asked cheerfully.
“There is. And if you’d ever gone to the Lore-master or listened to the stories of old goblins, you’d know that over there” — Mor pointed east, where hills could be seen in the distance — “cave bears live. They’re enormous beasts. Much bigger than a grown goblin. They say that when they stand on their hind legs, they block out the sun, and their fangs are stronger than any sword.”
“Why did we call them cave bears? I heard caves only exist in the mountains,” Nuk asked, glancing toward the hills.
“They dig dens for themselves at the foot of the hills. And those dens are very large, almost like caves. That’s why the goblins called them cave bears. And this” — Mor pointed at the valley — “is their land. I wouldn’t want to set foot on it. And I certainly wouldn’t want to meet a cave bear firsthand, as Vuk likes to say. So if this valley lies in your path, it’s better to go around it.”
“But we weren’t going there anyway. We need to go north. So we’ll ride along the lake. We haven’t even entered their territory yet. So we won’t meet any bears,” Vuk said a little nervously.
“I hope we haven’t. I was told it begins beyond the lake. But I don’t know on which side,” Mor replied.
“Maybe we’ve already met them. Look to the right. There, on the shore!” Nuk shouted, pointing.
Mor and Vuk turned and saw two creatures in the distance, standing at the very edge of the lake. For now, it was impossible to make out whether they were bears or something else.
Meanwhile, the creatures moved away from the water and began heading toward the goblins, sometimes merging into one and then separating again.
Three pairs of eyes watched their strange behavior closely. Before long, the creatures came close enough for their features to be seen.
“So these are your terrifying cave bears? I told you it’s bad to know things in advance. And it turns out our old goblins are great storytellers too. We got scared for nothing. Just look at them. They’re ordinary bears, the same kind we have in our forest. And these two are playful, too. See how they’re playing with each other and tumbling around? Probably brothers. Most likely they came here to drink,” Vuk said with undisguised delight.
“Look, look who’s come out of the forest!” Mor shouted, pointing beyond the bears, which were now slowly approaching the goblins and watching them with curiosity.
Where Mor was pointing, a huge bear appeared at the edge of the forest. It stood up on its hind legs and looked toward the goblins.
“What kind of monster is that?” Vuk asked fearfully.
“Probably a real cave bear, the one we weren’t planning to meet,” Mor replied with surprising calm.
“If that’s a cave bear, then who are those two?” Nuk tried with all his might to sound calm, but his voice betrayed him with a tremble.
“I think they’re just bear cubs, and that bear is their mother,” Mor realized.
The she-bear, apparently having seen all she needed to see, dropped onto all fours and began walking either toward the goblins or toward her cubs.
“I wonder who she wants to go to now? Maybe she’s going to the cubs after all, to lead them away from strangers? Meaning us,” Vuk asked naively.
“Let’s not find out. Let’s get out of here! Hurry!” Mor shouted.
He leaped onto his ram and squeezed its sides so hard that the animal shot forward and raced along the lake. Nuk did the same, catching up with Mor. Vuk understood the call in his own way and, in a panic, dashed into the forest.
Nuk quickly drew level with Mor. Both goblins were racing faster than the wind, or so it seemed to them. So they were certain that when they looked back, the she-bear would be far behind. When they turned around, they saw that, on the contrary, she was gaining on them. Their riding rams, fast as they were, could not pull away from the huge, powerful beast. It was not hard for the goblins to realize that it was only a matter of time before the she-bear caught her prey. Mor and Nuk drew their swords, hoping they could somehow defend themselves against their formidable pursuer.
Meanwhile, Vuk charged into the forest at full speed, with no idea what he was doing. He clutched the reins tightly in both hands and was not controlling the ram at all. Perhaps his panic had spread to the animal as well. The ram raced straight ahead, with no intention of going around the trees. But their luck did not last long. A tree stood in their path, and the ram crashed into it at full speed.
Fortunately, the ram’s horns and neck were very strong. After swaying a little, it even managed to stay on its feet. Vuk, of course, did not stay on the ram. He was thrown forward and, like a bent branch suddenly released, slammed forehead-first into the tree. Sprawled on the ground, the goblin was surprised to discover that his head was no weaker than the ram’s horns. The only problem was that a huge bump instantly rose on his forehead, one he could even see with his own eyes.
But Vuk did not want to think about the bump now. His brother and Mor were in danger. He quickly got to his feet. Stars flickered before his eyes, and his head had turned into a pot full of burning coals. Ignoring all that, Vuk mounted the ram and headed toward the lake. The animal carried its rider along briskly, as though its encounter with the tree had never happened.
As soon as they emerged from the forest, Vuk saw the chase in the distance. He immediately raced toward it, managing to notice the two bear cubs out of the corner of his eye. They were still tumbling around and growling at each other like youngsters, having lost all interest in what was happening around them.
Meanwhile, the she-bear had caught up with the two goblins and had already tried twice to knock first one ram and then the other off its feet.
Vuk gradually drew closer to the she-bear, watching in horror as she tried to do it. He had nothing but his sword. At first he wanted to throw it, but changed his mind. He was unlikely to seriously wound the huge beast that way, and he would lose his weapon. Nevertheless, he had to stop the she-bear somehow.
He remembered the potatoes in the bag hanging from the ram. Vuk took out the largest tubers and began throwing them at the she-bear. The first two got no reaction. But after the third tuber, the she-bear turned her head. To the goblin’s delight, she began to slow down.
Having achieved what he wanted, Vuk stopped too. That was as far as his plan went. He drew his sword and dismounted. But no ideas about what to do next came into the red-haired goblin’s head.
Suddenly, he heard a familiar roar — the same one as yesterday in the forest clearing, when Nuk had been chasing the fox. And sure enough, it was his brother with a sword in his hand, with Mor beside him. They had managed to ride back and were now trying to look as frightening as possible, waving their swords and letting out menacing roars. Now they wanted to distract the she-bear from Vuk and frighten her at the same time. She was distracted, but not frightened in the least. The beast, worked up by the chase, slowly turned toward Nuk and Mor, then suddenly lunged forward and swiped with one paw. Startled, Mor unconsciously yanked the reins toward himself with all his strength, and the ram quickly backed away. That saved them, because claws as sharp as swords swept past the animal’s throat.
Nuk, however, hesitated for a moment, and the huge paw came crashing down on his ram. The crushing blow sent the goblin flying toward the lake, and he nearly fell into the water. Blood immediately began flowing from his leg. But the ram took the main force of the blow. It was sent flying too, though not as far because it was heavier than its rider. Its pitiful bleating rang out. The animal tried to get up, but could only feebly beat its hooves against the ground — its strength was rapidly leaving it. The she-bear had no intention of giving up her prey, and a moment later she was beside the wounded ram. She sank her claws into its body, breaking bones and tearing flesh. The ram gave a low, hoarse rasp and fell silent.
When Vuk saw what had happened to his brother, he charged at the beast in a fury. He put all his strength into a sword strike against its hind leg. But the thick, coarse fur kept the blade from reaching the flesh. The she-bear still felt the pain and turned toward Vuk. At that moment, Mor struck the same leg with his sword. The she-bear whipped around toward him and swiped again. But the nimble goblin managed to duck, then in two leaps reached the beast’s head and slashed its nose — where the fur was short and soft. The sharp blade cut through the skin, and blood began running down its nose.
The she-bear realized she would not win if she kept turning from one opponent to the other. She began slowly backing toward the lake so she could see both goblins at once. She had no intention of giving up her prey and dragged it along with her. She had not taken more than a few steps when a shout sounded behind her. Nuk had gotten back to his feet and, limping, was approaching the she-bear. Now he truly looked like a real enraged beast.
The mighty beast clearly had not expected this turn of events, with her opponents standing on three sides and blood dripping from her cut nose. After hesitating for a moment, she suddenly rose onto her hind legs, turned her head toward the two cubs, and began roaring loudly in short bursts. It seemed as though the roar carried across the entire valley.
“Is that how she surrenders?” Vuk asked Mor hopefully.
“I doubt it. While she’s distracted, get Nuk and come over to me. If she charges at him now, he won’t even have time to jump aside with that injured leg,” Mor replied anxiously.
Vuk quickly rode over to his brother. Fortunately, the beast continued roaring at the top of her lungs and paid no attention to those around her. Vuk helped Nuk onto the ram and hurried over to Mor. Mor noticed the cubs running toward them and realized what the she-bear was doing.
“Look. She’s calling her cubs for help with her roar.”
“Then let’s get out of here before the whole family gathers here!” Vuk shouted.
Mor asked Nuk to ride with him, deciding that Vuk’s ram already had enough to carry with one rider. The goblins quickly left the site of the battle. Once they had ridden far enough away, Mor looked back and breathed a sigh of relief. The bears were not chasing them. Apparently, they were perfectly satisfied with the ram.
The goblins rode on for a long time without stopping. They all wanted to get as far away from the ill-fated valley as possible before taking a break. The lake had long since been left behind, and the forest had already appeared ahead. To keep the ram that had unexpectedly found itself carrying two goblins from becoming completely exhausted, they decided to stop for a short rest.
“Because of that nasty cave bear, we didn’t even get to do any fishing. And I wasted three whole potatoes on her too,” Vuk said irritably.
“Tell me, Vuk, does food ever leave your mind?” Nuk asked unhappily.
“Of course it does. When I’m asleep.”
“Come on, Vuk. We should be glad and thank the Supreme Rider that we got out of there alive at all. If help had reached the she-bear, there definitely wouldn’t have been anything left of us. So there’s no point regretting the potatoes or the fish. Especially when your brother has an injured leg,” Mor said.
“My leg will be fine. The claws didn’t go in deep, just scratched me. But I really do feel sorry for my ram. How are we going to travel now?” Nuk asked.
“The same way we are now. You and I will ride my ram, and Vuk will ride his. We’ll just have to stop more often. That’s nothing. The main thing is not to run into another beast like that.”
“What, are we going to pass through someone else’s territory too? I was hoping the first danger would also be the last,” Vuk asked, sounding a little worried.
“We are. Our forest is big. Bears aren’t the only creatures that live in it,” Mor replied calmly.
“Don’t worry, brother. Besides, you didn’t get hurt at all today. Well, except for your head. What’s that horn sticking out of your forehead?” Nuk asked, barely holding back a smile.
“It’s not a horn, it’s a bump. Just a big one. And it’s all because of the ram. It could have happened to anyone. It’s a long story. And stop smiling. You could say I took the brunt of the impact. With the most important part of my body, too.”
“You’ve really surprised me. I was sure the most important part of your body was your stomach,” Nuk said, no longer holding back his laughter.
“Leave me alone. Anyway, let’s eat something. Rams aren’t the only ones who need strength. We always need to keep a firm grip on our swords too.”
Mor and Nuk readily agreed, although after everything they had been through, they had almost no appetite. Vuk’s, on the other hand, had grown even stronger. As they sat there chewing potatoes or dried mutton, partridges kept running past nearby. But this time, no one paid any attention to the birds.
After eating, the goblins continued on and soon headed deep into the forest again. They kept traveling north until it began to grow dark. It was time to stop for the night. The travelers had no trouble finding a suitable place. They had enough strength left to light a fire, but none to stand guard. As darkness fell, all three collapsed onto their cloaks and fell asleep almost immediately.
The two riding rams, meanwhile, stood for a long time beneath the light of the cold sun, nibbling grass and exchanging glances. As if they were sharing what they had been through that day, or perhaps mourning their fellow ram, long since eaten.
Nothing unexpected happened during the night. Perhaps Vuk’s loud, whistling snores made the local forest creatures keep their distance.
The goblins woke with the first rays of sunlight. A long, deep sleep had not only relieved their exhaustion but also lifted their spirits. Mor and Nuk got their appetites back, while Vuk’s had never gone anywhere. Breakfast was more modest this time, since the supplies carried by Nuk’s ram had gone to the bears. So the goblins agreed to ration their food and hunt or fish whenever the opportunity arose.
The riding rams had also rested well and eaten their fill during the night. So they carried their riders along briskly. Before the sun had reached the middle of the sky, the goblins emerged onto the Road of the Four Clans, and soon they reached the river.
Now they needed the Stone Bridge, one of the oldest crossings over the river, built when the first trees grew in the Goblin Forest. The Hermits considered it the boundary of the eastern forest. The other goblins saw it as simply a bridge. Either way, no one had ever forbidden anyone from freely traveling in either direction.
Warden Ogl had told Mor that the bridge was about two days’ journey from their goblinum if they followed the road. The goblins had traveled through the forest, with adventures along the way. But Mor hoped they would still reach it today.
Because of their frequent stops, they did not reach the bridge until evening. The river narrowed considerably in this area. That was why the bridge had been built here. Mor was very glad that he had calculated the time correctly. They would be able to cross to the other bank today. After that, their path would lead to the only goblinum in that part of the forest.
As they approached the bridge, the goblins saw something that made them very uneasy. In the middle of the bridge, blocking its entire width, lay a huge snake.
They had never seen a snake like it before. It had a flat, forked tail covered with small spikes. Its body was covered in large black scales, and four fangs protruded from its closed mouth.
Apparently, the snake had settled on the bridge to bask in the rays of the setting sun. Now it was sleeping soundly, completely oblivious to the world around it.
“What are we supposed to do now?” Mor asked himself.
“Let’s sneak up on it and hack it to death while it’s asleep,” Nuk suggested, his eyes already lighting up at the prospect.
“Nuk, can’t you see how huge it is? And how do we know the snake is really asleep? Maybe it’s just pretending so its prey will come closer. Then it’ll lash out with its tail — and that’s it. You can see those spikes yourself. And then it’ll swallow us. I wonder, does this overgrown worm swallow its prey whole or eat it piece by piece? You wouldn’t happen to know, would you, Mor? Didn’t the Lore-master tell you about that?” Vuk asked, never taking his eyes off the snake.
“No. And what difference does it make how it eats? It’s better not to go near it at all. Maybe it’ll crawl away on its own soon. The sun is already setting, and it’s probably just warming itself on the stones like other snakes. The main thing is that there aren’t any young ones nearby, like yesterday,” Mor replied, looking around.
Fortunately, he did not see any other snakes.
Meanwhile, the snake opened its eyes and began moving strangely. Its long body first bunched up, then stretched out again and began contracting sharply. Its head jerked forward, then snapped back.
“What is it going to do? Is it about to attack us?” Nuk asked fearfully.
“I think I know what’s about to happen. That happens to me sometimes too when I eat too much. We’d better move farther away,” Vuk said with a frown, remembering himself at such moments.
The snake suddenly stopped twitching and froze. Its gaze settled on Nuk. The poor goblin instantly broke out in a sweat. But he did not lose his nerve. He drew his sword and began slowly backing away.
The snake closed its eyes, opened its mouth wide, and seemed to sneeze. The goblins saw something fly out from deep inside its tooth-filled mouth. They could not make out what it was.
While the goblins watched the snake closely, the evening shadow began to cover the bridge. If Mor was right, they would not have long to wait.
After its strange movements, the snake settled down again, giving the goblins only a brief glance. They, meanwhile, were now paying more attention to the advancing shadow. Before long, the long-awaited shadow reached the snake. And sure enough, it immediately raised its head high. Towering over the goblins, it began lazily studying them. The two-legged creatures did not interest it, and it slowly began making its way down into the river.
“Look at its body! In the middle! It’s way too fat there. It’s like it swallowed a whole barrel!” Nuk shouted.
But Mor and Vuk could see that perfectly well without him, especially as the snake heaved its heavy body over the bridge.
“I wonder what’s wrong with it? Maybe some kind of snake disease? They get sick too, don’t they? Or is that its fat belly? It has to have a belly somewhere, right?” Vuk asked, watching the snake go.
“That’s not a disease or its belly. Most likely, it’s today’s meal. Did you see its teeth? They’re like our axes. I don’t think something with teeth like that lives on little fish alone,” Mor replied.
While the goblins were talking, the snake disappeared completely into the river. And it did so smoothly enough to barely disturb the water.
The bridge was clear, but no one was in a hurry to step onto it. Quite some time passed before the goblins were convinced that the snake was not coming back. They cautiously moved forward, carefully scanning everything around them just in case.
As they passed the spot where the snake had been lying, the goblins saw what it had spat out. It was a piece of a leg, either from a wild boar or some other forest creature.
“So that’s why it was acting so strangely. The leg was stuck in its throat,” Mor realized.
“So the leg was one piece too many. But I still didn’t figure out whether it eats its prey piece by piece or swallows it whole. Still, however it eats, that’s another firsthand encounter. And a very interesting one too,” Vuk said with satisfaction, then continued, “Just look at how closely our rams are staring at that long-suffering leg. It was probably some distant forest relative of theirs.”
The goblins did not linger on the bridge and soon reached the other bank. By then, it was almost dark, and they decided to look for a place to spend the night.
“I’m never going into a river again. Better to stay dirty than end up in the belly of a monster like that. Let’s make camp in the forest,” Vuk suggested.
Judging by his mood, even if Mor and Nuk disagreed, he was going to spend the night as far from the water as possible anyway. But they agreed at once.
The goblins headed into the forest and traveled north for a long time before finding a suitable place to spend the night. That night, they decided to stand guard and kept the rams as close to them as possible.
The night passed peacefully, and by morning their anxiety had subsided. After breakfast, the goblins continued their journey through foreign, unexplored lands.