The question that troubled him the most was why kobolds loathed humans so much. It did not appear that they mistrusted all other races on principle, since they seemed to harbor no negative feelings toward trolls. So whatever had happened, it must have been between kobolds and humans, perhaps even just these kobolds in particular.
He wondered if the kobolds had had some kind of quarrel with a nearby village, but that made little sense. The Greatwood was vast enough to house many villages, so there should be no reason for kobold and human interests to conflict. The settlers’ primary concern was fighting to maintain their borders against the incessant growth of trees. Even under perfect conditions—and they were far from perfect—it would take human settlers years to clear enough woodland to reach kobold territory.
For one thing, they had their hands full dealing with the forest’s ever-hungry trees and magical beasts. Even if they considered kobolds to be monsters, they could hardly afford to waste energy fighting with a group they could communicate with. Though they were ignorant of other races, the settlers were still rationalists, products of their harsh environment.
Then what? Grumbling and groaning, Gaius couldn’t make sense of it. He tried posing the question to the guard, but all he got in response was “Shut it, human!”
Without any answers, all Gaius could do was continue to wonder.
＊
The sound of the guard talking with someone reached Gaius.
“All right, my turn now.”
“What about your kids?”
“It’s fine, my neighbor’s keeping an eye on them.” After a brief pause, a white kobold entered the hut, holding a clay pot on a tray. It was White Fog.
“Brought you some dinner.” She set the tray with the stew pot down in front of Gaius, before walking around him and untying the ropes at his back.
“I appreciate it.” Gaius rubbed at his wrists where the ropes had left marks. In response to his gratitude, Fog gave a small smile. “No reason to thank me.”
“Go on, then, eat up before it goes cold. We didn’t drain the blood from the meat as quick as we usually do, though, so it smells pretty awful. Probably tastes that way, too.”
“I’m grateful for anything that will fill my empty stomach. What kind of meat is it?”
“It’s from the bear you took down. The men went back for its meat. Wouldn’t want all that going to waste, would we?”
“Ah, I see.” Gaius stirred the soup, staring down at the floating chunks of meat. Eventually, he steeled himself, picked up the wooden spoon, and brought it up to his mouth. Once he tasted it, he found it tasted like ordinary animal meat.
He ate the rest in a hurry.
“I’ve never had bugbear before.”
“Haha, we don’t eat it too often here. Those six-legged bears are brutal, and powerful too. Hey, sorry about what happened earlier,” she added as she began to gather up the dishes.
“No, the fault was mine. I didn’t explain myself properly.”
“Give me a break, that’s not true.” She laughed bitterly, which made Gaius smile slightly, too.
“I have a question, Fog.”
“What’s that?”
“Why are humans so despised here?”
Fog’s face clouded over, and she froze. She took a deep breath and looked Gaius in the eye. Slowly, she sat down in front of him and began to speak.
“You saw our houses around here, right?”
“Indeed. They’re so small and adorable!”
“That’s not what I mean. They’re a right mess, all of them. They’re barely held together. They’re not gonna last the winter, no way. Some village. And you know why?” Gaius cocked his head. Only bad reasons came to mind.
“Our last village, where we used to live, got attacked by you humans. You kicked us out.”
＊
It had been toward the end of winter. Suddenly, a band of humans arrived.
Without any warning, several of them drew their swords, readied their bows, and prepared to cast spells. They laid waste to the village and slaughtered kobolds. Men and women. The elderly, adults, and children. Indiscriminately.
The village warriors took up their own weapons, but they were no match for the size and strength of the humans. Or their combat technology, or their equipment. Most of the kobold warriors fell, and for those who managed to survive, it was all they could do to escape.
One-third of the village was killed, and another third went missing as they fled. All they wanted was to survive, but the Greatwood is not a kind land. By now, they’ve most likely fallen to hunger or the cold, or else became food for magical beasts.
Fog, who was pregnant at the time, managed to escape with the others, and after some wandering, they arrived at this area.
Her husband had stayed behind with the other soldiers, though, and fought the humans. To buy them time.
And he never returned to his wife’s side.
＊
The sun began to rise while Fog told her story. The only light within the hut came from outside.
“My husband was a great potter, but a real dummy. He was no soldier, but still went and...oh, brother! Are you crying?!” Gaius replied with a sniffle.
“Come on, what are you crying for?” With a wry smile, Fog picked up the tray and stood up. “There you have it. That’s why they all hate humans. I don’t like that they’re doing all this to the guy who saved my life, but you understand why, right?”
There was the sound of Gaius blowing his nose loudly.
He nodded, wiping at his nose with a cloth he’d pulled out of his breast pocket.
“So can you keep quiet about this place? You know, when you leave the forest.”
“Of course.”
“Thanks.” Fog chuckled and smiled, then headed for the entrance. “Well, that’s the way it is. We didn’t have much time to build this place, so we’re always low on supplies. We need all the firewood we can get, so everyone goes to bed early once it gets dark.”
“I see.”
“I’m beat, too. I’ll probably fall asleep as soon as I put these dishes away.”
“Uh-huh.”
“All right then. Goodbye, Gaius. I’m really, really grateful you saved me.” She looked back at him one more time, then left.
Fog did not return that night.
＊
The next morning, Gaius greeted Fog with a smile as she stood at the entrance frozen, a dumbfounded look on her face.
“Good morning! You’re quite careless as a guard. You forgot to tie me up again when you left! Hahaha!”
“Wha-wha-wha-wha-wha—”
“What?”
“What the hell are you still doing here?! Why didn’t you run for it?!”
Gaius cocked his head.
“Why do you think I sent the guard away and untied you?!”
“Huh?! So you didn’t forget to tie me up?!”
Had Gaius not been sitting on the floor against the wall, he would have fallen over in surprise.
Seeing his reaction, Fog clapped a hand to her forehead and sighed heavily.
There was a brief awkward pause.
“I, er...that is...I am sorry,” he managed clumsily, scratching his head.
...Gaius Beldarus was quite slow on the uptake.