An easy transition
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 119148
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They came out of nowhere, around a half dozen of them, and poor Hannah - or Vulbi, at least for now - was terrified. When they asked, "Who you? Where you come from?" she answered, "Me Vulbi. Me not know." And they accepted this answer quite easily. Well, this was easy. In the moment, that was a relief - she was probably safe. But when she thought about it, she realized she'd actually been hoping to be rejected - then at least she could know this would all end quickly! Now, who knew how long she'd be here? They brought her to a shallow ravine crawling with vines and roots, with quite a bit of cover. Humans certainly couldn't live in it comfortably, but it seemed perfect for a clan of goblins. They quickly pulled her around, telling every member - of whom Vulbi quickly lost count - of her presence, and never directing another question at her. Finally, they brought her to a small lean-to, currently empty. One, whose name she had gathered was Argri, told her, "This nursery. This where goblings live. This where you be, till you grow." She nodded mutely, paling at the thought of being here long enough to grow. By the end of the day, she had learned what the situation was in the clan: she was by far the youngest member - she was already a member! - of the clan, the next oldest already being an adult. She had been assigned a "mother," whose name was Teeberk. Teeberk would live with her in the nursery. She would mostly remain there, for her safety. She strained to remember what Belboz had told her about goblin longevity. Though she couldn't quite recall, I'll tell you: goblins could live to be as old as 25, but most didn't make it that far. They reached maturity at the age of six, and Vulbi was around the age of two and a half. It comforted her to know that she wouldn't really be expected to do anything, and would have her needs mostly taken care of by adults. But when she was given her only meal the following day - a scrawny, completely uncooked rat - she quickly began to wonder if it was worth it. Still, Teeberk was clearly utterly devoted to her care, and when she asked questions, Teeberk answered to the best of her ability. She told Vulbi several stories in the first few days, sharing how the goblins viewed the world. It was not romantic at all - they were completely preoccupied with survival in a harsh world that was constantly gunning for their gruesome deaths. Vulbi at least found their concept of religion interesting, and even a bit comforting. When Teeberk noticed this, she invited the clan's shaman, Horgu, to come tell some stories. Over those first few days,
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5/29/2022 1:17:48 PM
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