The sun rose in the distance, welcoming the start of a new day, and Byung was going to be shown what he would be doing in this new settlement.
He didn't see the rest of the goblins he came with, so he assumed they had already been given a task, which was fair in all honesty.
But there were whispers; Byung could tell something had happened because these creatures seemed to be anxious.
He initially thought it was because of their arrival, but the little to no attention he got from those he walked by told him otherwise.
If the subject of the gossip walked in, the gossip usually came to a halt, so this helped him understand they weren't talking about him.
He also couldn't see either Gribnox or Murkfang; he was being led by what he assumed to be a supervisor.
"You're of orc blood, aren't you?" the goblin leading him asked, prompting Byung to raise a brow in suspicion.
He shouldn't know this information unless they thoroughly researched whoever they were bringing in here.
That would make sense, considering they were given numbers and treated like livestock, but there was a hint of disgust in his voice.
"That would be me," Byung responded, knowing there was no point in lying.
And silence followed right after that. Byung didn't care much because he had gained favour with Murkfang and hopefully, Gribnox.
"And what about you? What race were you mixed with?" Byung fired a question right back, trying to strike up a conversation with the goblin.
The goblin looked surprised by this act because it wasn't common for goblins to be inquisitive.
If anything, Byung was showing abnormal behaviour.
Younger goblins were only focused on pleasing their supervisors and working for the collective good of their race.
Personal relationships weren't something deemed necessary, as goblins could speak like they were best of friends for a day and never speak again the next, with no hard feelings.
And they all got along so well, at least for the most part, but this was a weakness.
If Byung could use the right words, there was no telling how far he could go with that alone.
"We are here," the goblin said, but Byung was standing in front of a building that was barely standing.
Did architects not exist in this area? Did they only care about mining?
"Wait a minute…" Byung remembered there were farms and that was how they were providing their food, but he had never seen farmers.
However, that would be because of his limited exposure to this world, but something was going on here.
Byung wanted to get to the bottom of it and figure out what was going on, but he couldn't ask this grumpy goblin.
He opened the door and walked into the room, but it was empty. Byung was confused but walked right in regardless.
"Wait," the goblin said before shutting the door, allowing Byung to explore the room.
He noticed there was a shoddy knife in the corner and raised a brow as to what that was doing here.
If he was some sociopath, he would have taken the knife and run amok like a madman.
But this could also be a test. No, that wouldn't make any sense.
Byung knew he could do so much good in this world, but he had to play by their rules.
Someone joined him soon after, and upon tilting his head, he saw Murkfang—but he looked worried.
"Are you okay, sir?" Byung questioned, but Murkfang was trying to gather his thoughts.
"One of our settlements was attacked. They took all our minerals," Murkfang spilled.
The truth was that Murkfang was beginning to trust him, and this made talking to him easier because it was clear Byung was different from the rest.
Murkfang wanted to bring him up to speed about what was going on because he could help with his knowledge.
"Attacked? I thought these things don't happen," Byung questioned with a raised brow, but Murkfang sighed upon saying this.
"That is why everyone is panicking, but the worst part is we don't know who is responsible," Murkfang said.
"Which settlement?" Byung questioned.
Murkfang looked right at him before revealing the settlement that was robbed—it was the one he had just left.
This was all the information they had, but it wasn't a brazen attack because there were no casualties, just injuries.
But whoever they were, they were strong enough to overpower the goblins. They might be weak one-on-one, but there was no way they wouldn't have downed at least one of the attackers if they attacked together.
This might also be why they did it at night—to limit the goblins' vision—but this was worrying because it was the first of its kind.
Murkfang couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that it had to do with this boy. Even someone as stupid as him could figure that out.
And he wasn't going to let him fall into the wrong hands because he could change and save this region.
The fact that they had been robbed only put a deeper dent into their future, as Drekk was looking for any reason possible to get rid of them.
It was no secret he didn't like them, but one thing he respected Drekk for was that he never used his feelings to take action.
But regardless, this was someone signalling they wanted war—but without knowing the enemy, how could one retaliate?