One Is A Lonely Number

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Silent wings flew through Hoia Forest towards the dim glows high in the tall trees as they carried weary but proud riders. Grinning, each goblin rider urged their mighty messenger bat lower, aiming for the ground beneath the towering timber. Suddenly, goat calls carried through the night as Brute Squad sentries hidden in the trees announced their return. Secret doors built into the trunks of the trees appeared and opened. Excited goblins ran out to form circles for the bats to land.
Sleizbykt took up his broom and began to sweep the floor of his trading shop. Leaves more than dust drifted inside making a mess. Most days he never bothered but this was the Beetle Feastings. A grin spread across his face, widening until his teeth gleamed in the dim glow of the luminant tree mushrooms growing in the upper corners. Feasting nights brought in the most coins. As the cheers carried up from below, the sounds of merry customers headed towards his open door.
by JuliusH

by Bergadder
Not all trade happened in his shop and this night, Sleizbykt was returning to Gobblyton after trading with his wealthiest customer, the leader of the Southpack Werewolves. As always, this deal had been well worth a trek through Hoia.
His satisfaction at the wealth of coins weighing down his pack did not lessen his alertness to the forest. Walking in Hoia was always dangerous. Then, he heard voices coming from a copse of young trees just off the trail.

by Darelle

TURN PAGE 2

The first, a female human's voice, caught Sleizbykt's curiousity. "If we dont bring them a werewolf, the Van Helsings will suspect us, Flavius." "Livia, we'll kill Lu--." The male voice stopped as a breeze wafted past the goblin and into the copse. A loud sniff then an inhuman growl replaced his words.
Sleizbykt gasped and ran back down the trail. He did not get far before a werewolf pounced on him. "Wait! Stop! Don't kill him!" Livia, now in her terrifying wolf-woman form, snarled at Flavius. "He's collared!" "Bah!" The male's fangs gnashed before Sleizbykt's face. "Curse him then."
by sabrinabelle

by Dazzlinkat
Sleizbykt bleated and chewed on a bush as the cart full of cabbages rolled by. Neither the farmer nor his son bothered to glance at the goat. Letting out another bleat as the cart rolled around a bend in the road, Sleizbykt shifted out of his goat form and back into his goblin self. The sun was already starting to set and he felt confident no more humans would be traveling the narrow road.
His amulet, gifted to him by Iolanda years ago, marked him as a friend of the South Pack Leader and had saved his life. It could not save him from the sorrow of the curse that banished him from his homeland. Alone and heartbroken, hope faded with every failed attempt to break the curse. One last hope remained. Baba Yaga. Tonight, after so much searching, he would finally beseech her.

by Darelle

TURN PAGE 3

Shaking with the last strands of effort, Sleizbykt pushed through the thorny bushes into a large yard. An old woman knelt at a stream feeding her fowl, seemingly uncaring of his arrival. "Fie, fie, the smell of a goblin comes." Tossing the last of the grain in her hand to the fowl, she stood. "Do you come to me freely or forced?" Sleizbykt hurried over to kneel among the fowl before her. "I comes alone though forced by a curse." She frowned. "A curse?"
Narrowed eyes looked the goblin over with gleaming darkness. "Van Helsing filth." She lifted a hand to snap a finger then stopped. His soul was branded. Blast Nyx and her hoarding of night time souls! Removing this curse would cause her too much trouble. Dropping her hand, she gave a sad shake of her head, and lied. "You would not survive the breaking." Tears poured down Sleizbykt's face and he fell flat before her. She looked down with an enticing grin.
by Darelle

by Avalon_Art
"I can lessen your curse but it is very tricky and comes with a price." Sleizbykt looked up from the wet ground, tears still running down as he wiped his long nose. Hope brightened his eyes.
"I'm a haggler, though not so much since the curse. I will find the ways to pay your price." Baba Yaga's eyes darted to her smallest hut filled with a myriad of trinkets, bobs, and baubles she no longer found interesting. It was so disgustingly cluttered she was at the brink of tossing things out.
"Can you turn my baubles into profits?" Sleizbykt jumped to his feet. "Of course I can! I built my shop on the eighth high branches of Home Tree!" She pointed to the smallest hut. "Befriend that to seal our deal." Sleizbykt paced around it then stopped. Spreading his arms wide, he smiled. "I shall call you Stixzy." The hut happily danced on its chicken legs. Baba Yaga rolled her eyes. It could have held out for something better!