This is a little later than I intended, I will admit. I meant to have it out on the 19th, but at the time I'm publishing this, it's the 21st (though only by about an hour).
Anyway, updates will be back to normal next week, so enjoy this chapter!
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Journal Entry 59
When I went down into the basement workroom today, I found that the door down into the Goblin Tribe’s Cave had been opened a little. It wasn’t much, because of the bookshelf, but it had been opened. One of them, or some of them, must know about the stairs. I’m afraid they’ll try and swarm the Tower one day, so I've increased my studies about Sealing spells, and have been practising them in town on the unsuspecting townsfolk.
Thus far, only a few of them have held past the initial attempt to open the door, but none of them has held for very long.
As a precaution, I’ve moved any important or dangerous experiments that I could risk moving up into the second level workroom, and keep the trap door down to the basement workroom locked and covered over when I’m not down there. I don’t want the Tower blowing up, or something equally bad, to happen because the Goblins knocked over or damaged things better left alone.
I’ve noticed the Archcurate around town a lot recently. I know he has the right to walk around town, same as anyone, but I wish that he would stop glaring at me whenever he notices me. It is incredibly disconcerting to look up and see him glaring at me from afar, and even more so when I look up and see him storming towards me, dark robes billowing, with the darkest expression I’ve ever seen on his face. I have had to retreat to the safety of my Master’s Tower more than once in the last few weeks because of him.
I can’t let him find out about my magic. I just can’t.
I like it here. I don’t want to leave.
Villager Observation 15 - Maxixe the Goblin
I’ve decided to nickname the skinny little goblin I’ve noticed when I’m observing them Maxixe. It’s likely a better name than whatever his tribe has given him - if he has a name at all. In some races, the “runt of the litter” don’t have names. Some don’t even have genders, in the eyes of their race.
If Goblins are anything like I think they are, then Maxixe is exactly that. A nameless, genderless thing that only takes up space. That he is even alive is a testament to something amongst the Goblins, I’m sure - whether it’s because he’s good at avoiding the ones trying to harm or kill him or, despite his apparent uselessness, he does indeed have some use that I’ve simply not seen, I do not know.
Maxixe spends most of his time hiding in his little hole in the cavern wall. If I can perfect the invisibility spell I found amongst my Master’s notes, then I’m intending to take the risk and investigate further into the Tribe’s land, and I’ll likely take a look at Maxixe’s home at the same time. I’m curious to see if it’s really just a small hole in the wall, or if there’s more room in there than even his Tribe has realised. It’s more likely the former than the latter, but I’ll simply have to wait and see to be sure.
Maxixe makes the occasional trip outside of his hole. Usually, it is when the main centre of the cavern isn’t too crowded. He makes darts for food, for water, and retreats back to his hole before anyone can catch him, stop him, take it away from him.
I know the feeling of having to steal and run away, find somewhere to hide before I could eat. I wish there was something I could do to help, but I cannot risk interfering before I perfect my Master’s invisibility spell.
From time to time, Maxixe is unlucky. From time to time, he is caught by the bigger Goblins, attacked and beaten while others watch, and I never stay to watch myself. I cannot bear it, and if I tried, I’d likely interfere. He always survives; I assume they let him go, or he manages to wriggle free and escape, but the state of him in slowly deteriorating. He looks worse every time I venture down.
I’ve noticed that he’s a curious one, despite the dangers that threaten him every moment. The tribe’s shaman doesn’t seem to mind his presence, at least not as much as the others, because I’ve seen him poking around her tent while she’s working on something in a big cauldron outside her tent that, honestly, looks poisonous. She occasionally chases him away, but not often. Mostly, he runs away himself when some other Goblin gets too close.
I wonder if they are related in some way. It’s hard to tell, with Goblins, but it might account for her tolerance of him.
I do not think I will be able to perfect the invisibility spell in time to be of any help to Maxixe, but I shall try my best. He reminds me of myself when I was a child, struggling to get by while everyone around me condemned me or ignored me. I do not even know if he will accept my help if I offer it to him, but there is no way for me to be certain if I don’t try.
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