The Maid and Her Princess

A Curtain of Ears (Goblin Eschaton 1)

An Adventurous Year, Act 13
Goblin Eschaton

I.

Madoka was not sure how to feel after the heavily armored man's comment. His accent was thick and clouded by the helm upon his head. His words were thunderous hammers landing blows with strength but they did not have enough precision to hit their mark. Something resembling a chuckle echoed from under the visor but he started to turn back to where Guild Master Luxgor posted. She decided to remain silent and wait for the other adventurers' comments. That is, she thought as Knotting strands tangled beneath the walking tower's tough metal boots.

"Just what in the hell do you guys feed that guy?" Audrey looked up at the armored man. Eraziror simply shrugged and looked assuredly at the princess as if he would explain later. She was already shorter than Madoka and he was several heads taller than her. The maid feared Her Highness's words would not even reach the giant's ears.

Madoka designated the huge man as "Iron Armor" or "Armor" in her head and shrugged. Madoka pondered if she could grow to be that big if she ate enough. Armor rested while Audrey kicked dust. Luxgor was delivering a speech but Madoka did not care for it.

"What are we even doing here?" She asked Audrey. "Don't we have these so-called goblins to worry about?"

"Well we're at a kind of makeshift rally point," Audrey told her. At the sight of Madoka's puzzled face, she sighed. "It's something militaries do but since we're not military he's probably explaining what we're going to be doing. Or something. I can't hear him!"

"Have you seen rally points in your life?" Madoka asked her. They moved away from Eraziror's party and spoke quietly while the other adventurer parties looked on at Luxgor.

"No, Father did not allow me to watch over the soldiers in Fiara," Audrey sighed. Her father was a smart man, Madoka shuddered at how much trouble Audrey could cause with an army. "Something about responsibility and protecting his little girl. Do I look little? D-Don't answer that! In my other life, there was this weird kid at school who blabbered about the Navy a lot. Always a weird kid..."

Madoka looked down at her princess and stifled a laugh at the sight of her attempts to see the stage Luxgor stood on. The adventurers here seemed hardened enough to rip through such insignificant creatures. The maid was unsure whether she would rather pick herbs again or hunt monsters. A chuckle came out of her but she covered her mouth. Perhaps she did like battling more than she thought.

"I don't know what to expect from goblins," Audrey sighed. "Normally, they're low leveled mobs and it seems so in this world but... I thought we passed the tutorial zone already."

"Tutorial zone?"

"Like uh... a beginner's zone," Audrey explained. "I know we're the back up copper newbies but if you ask me I think we're here to protect those guys."

She gestured to the party they were assigned to.

"Why would we do that?" Madoka glanced over and realized she did not need an answer. The Sovos party leader was picking his nose with his finger while the Night Operator sat silently. The other Sovos was inspecting her bow but there was something odd about the girl. "They seem weak besides the big one and the girl."

Madoka wondered what exactly she felt from Kanys's hidden intent. It felt similar to Audrey's own intent when the princess was scheming over something. A hidden strength kept locked under a mask, she mused. An unwavering determination for a goal the Sovos ranger was not willing to share so easily.

"Exactly," Audrey clicked talismans in her bag together. "Liabilities. Except the big guy and if I could be honest, I don't like the look of that Dragon girl. She seems like an imposter among-- I mean, just something ain't right about her. I know trust is necessary and needs to be built in order to maintain team cohesion but be wary--"