9 Chapter 9: Goblins!

The beautiful woman stared blankly at Wilhelm's extended hand for a few moments before grasping it with her own and shaking it. Although she didn't fully trust him, she didn't feel that he had any ill intentions, thus, a friendship would be in both of their interests.

Seeing that her reaction was as he expected, a small smile formed on his lips, "your name, is?" he asked a with a tilt of his head. He disliked speaking to people that he didn't know the name of, especially so for women.

"My name is Anastasia, however, please refer to me as Anna," she said politely and gently pulled her hand away from Wilhelm. Contrary to her looks, her name wasn't of Asian origins, perhaps, she was born in America, Wilhelm quickly deduced and also pulled his hand back.

After they exchanged a few more formalities, Anna surveyed their surroundings, "is your group nearby? Or perhaps, have they fallen to the beasts of this world?" she asked curiously. According to her knowledge, humans were transported in relatively large groups.

"Unfortunately, the fairy must have a slip of hand when transporting me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been transported alone" Wilhelm said with a chuckle as he gazed at the large moon in the sky. He was quite happy that he had finally found some people that he could converse with.

Not knowing of his inner thoughts, Anna simply nodded whilst looking at him incredulously, "I won't ask of you anything personal, as that would be overreaching my bounds as a friend. However, I am quite curious as to how you have survived alone until now."

Her words trailed off as her group of five allies, or friends approached. They carried expressions of scorn and disgust as they observed Wilhelm's filthy clothes and beard. They felt as though someone of his caliber was not worthy of shaking hands with their esteemed Anna.

Seeing this, Wilhelm merely chuckled and didn't bother to answer Anna's previous question, "is your group of people in possession of water? If so, I would gladly join you" he said monotonously without sparing a glance to the group of five rude folks.

Anna was first taken aback, but soon seized ahold of herself and nodded her head energetically, like a woodpecker, "Someone of your expertise would be greatly appreciated, please follow me!" she said quickly and led the way back to her encampment, to which Wilhelm followed silently.

He walked shoulder to shoulder with her and the other five could only grind their teeth angrily as they followed behind them. This caused Wilhelm to snicker, "Anna, what type of monsters have you come across thus far" he initiated small talk as they walked, but he was also intrigued as to what other monsters were present.

Anna didn't mind his abrupt question and answered without much thought, "we've only been released to the wild for about a day or so, however, we've come across tribal races such goblins and strange feathered creatures that walk on two legs," she explained.

Her words caused Wilhelm to stroke his scraggly beard, "I've come across an assortment of beasts myself, such as oversized rabbits, flame monkeys, giant spiders, colossal wolves, and a cyclops," he spoke whilst tapping his chin as if trying to recollect his memories.

Before she could even respond, he chuckled, "it would appear that just like earth, there are many different creatures dependant on the environment… Perhaps, the more intelligent creatures reside in this savannah," he muttered and patted Anna on the back.

Anna nodded her head at Wilhelms words and they continued on their way to her encampment. They didn't talk much more whilst walking, but he could certainly hear the gnashing of teeth from behind him.

This was something to be expected as he was most definitely considered an outsider, however, he was in dire need of water and other necessary supplies. Besides, even if they detested him, they would not be able to deny his special set of skills.

However, he was quite intrigued as to why their reaction to him murdering someone was so monotone. He figured that they had been through their fair share of dangerous events on the holy land, alas, that was not enough to become so apathetic toward human death.

Thinking to here, both he and the company arrived at the encampment. Large tents were already set and a crude looking fence surrounded them. Many weak looking guards holding robust sticks stood there as guardians for their pitiful looking village.

Such a sight nearly caused Wilhelm to burst out in laughter, but he held himself back with much effort. Instead, he praised the encampment whilst Anna led him through the guards. They looked at him with curiosity, but it would appear as though Anna was quite respected in the small village, thus, they didn't pay him much mind other than a simple glance.

The group of five closely followed in tow as Anna led Wilhelm through the village, their actions were excessive and even an outsider would feel that they were abnormally obsessive. However, as if their current actions didn't bother Anna in the slightest, she continued showing Wilhelm around.

They passed by a ragged looking shack where they stored the food, a white and open tent where they treated the injured, and, of course, the residential tents which varied in size. They appeared to have been pitched by someone well-versed in survival skills.

Surprisingly, however, there weren't many people roaming the encampment, instead, they seemed to be resting in their tents or guarding outside. Thus, their little sight-seeing trip ended without any mishaps and they soon arrived in front of the middle-most tent in the encampment.

Two muscular guards stood in front of the entrance and glared at Wilhelm as he approached. In response, Anna simply waved her hands and the both of them fearfully gulped down a mouthful of saliva and looked elsewhere.

"You seemed to have tamed them well... " Wilhelm commented from the side and pushed the drapes aside, entering into the spacious tent. Once he entered, he immediately inspected his surroundings and couldn't help but smile cheekily once he perceived what was inside.

A few dozen barrels and flasks of water littered the walls and even some more advanced weapons, such as knives or spears were present. This was presumably their "treasury" which in comparison to earth, was quite lackluster.

However, to the ravenous and thirsty Wilhelm, he couldn't think of a much better sight as he took a few steps forward and directly removed the lid off one of the barrels. He then entered into the barrel with his head and spontaneously drank a few mouthfuls of water.

Immediately, a burning sensation assaulted his throat and mouth, causing him to fall back and collapse on to the ground. His body spasmed for a few moments before he raised his upper body whilst massaging his neck and breathing heavily.

"Y-you monster!" He whispered whilst glancing at Anna with a wronged look. It didn't burn as much as the lake he had discovered prior, but it was certainly not the refreshing taste he had envisioned.

Anna merely chuckled in delight after seeing his pitiful appearance, "I simply told you that there was water, whether or not that water was palatable on the other hand, was not something you asked of me" she replied jestfully and exited the tent with a sway of her hips.

Wilhelm, who was still on the ground, rolled his eyes and subtly grabbed a small knife that was on a nearby table. He figured it was the least they could do for tricking him into this place full of obsessive beauty worshipers.

He then exited the tent and followed Anna, who was now a fair distance away from him. They continued walking in a similar fashion for about five minutes until she stopped in front of a small tent riddled with holes. It was possibly the worst one that he had seen yet. and a dark premonition overtook him.

"This will be your temporary residence since you had agreed to join us on the condition of water… I don't believe you are the type of man to go back on your word, are you?" she asked with a tilt of her head as she flashed a bright smile in his direction.

Wilhelm smiled wryly and glanced at her, "Unfortunately, you seem to have misjudged me for someone who actually cares about measly words. I'm someone that acts based on benefits" he said with a calm smile as he took a step forward, towering over the small woman.

However, contrary to his expectations, she didn't falter in the slightest, instead, she walked away and waved, "then I can trust you for as long as I am the one who offers you the best deal, right?" she called out after she walked a certain distance, disappearing from Wilhelms sight.

Wilhelm stared incredulously at the spot where her figure had disappeared into. The moonlight perfectly illuminated his lone figure as muffled laughter escaped from his lips, "interesting" he said lightly and pushed aside the drapes of cloth sealing his tent.

He didn't have any particular reason for staying, other than the fact that he didn't want to sleep on the ground with the danger of animals attacking at any minute. This way, he could sleep peacefully and at the very least, eat some well-cooked food for a change.

With this in mind, Wilhelm wrapped himself up with his ragged clothes and looked through the holes in the tent, gazing at the night sky. He felt that the little encampment possessed many secrets, especially Anna. Alas, he couldn't put his finger on it, though, he didn't notice the minute details.

***

The next morning, Wilhelm woke up after a great night of sleep and lazily stretched his limbs. The smell of burning meat wafted into the air and many people could be heard talking. Something he hadn't yet experienced since arriving at the holy land.

A smile formed on his lips as he exited his tent and stretched his limbs even wider. However, his good mood was soon ruined by a piercing scream, which was generated from the eastern direction. Shocked, Wilhelm quickly rushed in that direction.

He passed by the other startled residents and soon arrived at the front of the encampment, where a few corpses struck with dozens of arrows entered into his line of sight. He then raised his eyes and couldn't help but whistle in admiration at the sheer number of goblin-like creatures just a few meters away from him.

They were stout like figures without any body hair. Not only were they extremely short, but their skin was also a dark shade of green and they carried hideous expressions on their faces. This, however, wasn't what caused Wilhelm to whistle. It was the advanced weaponry and vast numbers they possessed.

They numbered easily in the hundreds and were equipped with bows, swords, and even shields. Whereas they, the humans, wielded robust sticks and rocks. Such a sight would be unfathomable back on earth, but here, it made Wilhelm chuckle at the irony. Which inadvertently caused him to become the center of attention.

After all, his appearance was very abnormal, especially his unusual behavior in such dire circumstances. Even the goblins stared curiously at Wilhelm's laughing figure, and the person in question attempted to stop himself from giggling, but he just couldn't.