Impatiently, I repeatedly interrogate Ah’choo on his experience as the glowing ball, but it’s useless.

  “Sirc… urgh. Sirc sirc? Non bref. Mud der. Wat?”

  “Spak wat?” the confused little one aimlessly responds to the grilling identically to every other previous iteration. “Afras!”

  This is getting me nowhere. How in the world am I supposed to express such complex ideas with this awful, limited tongue? Is there really nothing that can be done? No way to cheat and subvert the restrictions?

  Unable to contain himself any longer, Ah’choo rushes back into the circle, ready with or without me. However, I’ve resolved not to needlessly kill my brother again. After all, the experiment’s been completed. There’s nothing to gain from testing the same exact premise more than once.

  Ah’choo noisily calls for me as I stubbornly continue sitting to ponder. Would writing work? That pair of goblins that I first encountered when crawling out of the mud. One of them had paper. A scroll. Was he writing on it? Does that mean that at least some of them can write? Therefore, those brothers should also be capable of reading, I would hope. Although, it’s hard to imagine any of the creatures here being able to do either.

  Preparing to test the new idea with the closet goblin, I’m interrupted by a sweet, melodic whisper seductively wafting into my exposed ears. The source isn’t clear, but that doesn’t seem to matter to anyone.

  “Come, come, join the hoard. There’s tasks to do, you won’t be bored!”

  What’s this? All of the goblins nearby have risen. Even Ah’choo has lost all interest in the circle. They’re streaming into the nearest cave, down into the depths of the mound. I can’t let myself be left behind again! Besides, this song. This beautiful song. How could I resist its lovely, considerate invitation? Although, how do they all know where to go? Whatever. Follow, follow, the brothers for now.

  Trekking through the dark underground tunnels reminds me of my first time here. However, there’s so many more marching with us this time. More and more keep joining from other parts of the mound into a larger and larger main passage the deeper we go. Eventually that faint light appears again, and an absolute sea of little green heads is illuminated all around me. There must be thousands of them. Tens of thousands? More? Where did they all come from? There weren't this many outside!

  We’re again dumped into the same giant, open cavern deep below in the hollow form of the mound. I quickly shuffle down the ladder to the base, loath to take another injury. Must assure that I’m a good goblin this time. I’m fitting in. Exactly as I learned to do in the big one’s dungeons. No! More than fitting in. After all, I belong here. I’m meant to be here, right? This isn’t like being out there amongst the big ones. It must be different, right?

  Self consciously, I fix my hood to assure that it’s pulled down as much as possible, properly exposing myself. I must proudly display my face and figure here. No more hiding, no more fear. Only brothers. Doing the… what are we doing? Why are we down here?

  “Hurry, come, almost there, almost there. So crowded, but plenty to share!”

  Oh right! That beautiful, mysterious whisper serenading us. Where’s it coming from? What does it want? Why did it take us here?

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Buried in the throngs, I’m ceaselessly pressed forward towards the center of the cavern. A light! There’s another light, like the last time. However, this one’s sitting on the floor, like a giant, shimmering, open door. Is it… a tear?

  The tears usually only last for a few moments. Is this really possible? I suppose that ripped space lasts for a much longer time, but everyone seemed to think that was very bad. Also, threads of connected space? Why don’t I know what those are? Why can’t I see them?

  There’s so many of us flooding into the welcoming portal in constant waves. The little ones up front obstruct my view, so I can’t see where it leads. However, who am I to question the flow? I’m not stuck here with them, I’m choosing to stay. I’m fitting in. I’m supposed to be here! I want to be here.

  Finally stepping through, an intense heat strikes my face. The air is practically boiling. Still, the waves of brothers unstoppably flow onto the practically molten rock on the ground. An intense pain in my feet suddenly forces me back into a right mind. After rapidly sprinting across the flaming ground, I anxiously climb up to a cooler rocky terrace higher above the vibrant activity below.

  My poor boots! Taking them off, I hammer them against the cooler stone until all the flames have been thoroughly extinguished. At least this provides the opportunity for good repair practice later.

  Scrambling back over to the edge, I take in the landscape of this place. Fire embraces almost everything. Lava swirls around in pools, perilously surrounding the paths along which my brothers march. Occasionally the pools spit up onto the walkways, obliterating the hapless goblins passing by. How cruel! Why? Why are we here? What’s the point of this madness?

  Carefully amplifying my eyes, I peer far off into the distance, following the long trail of parading goblins. At the end, I spy another portal, shimmering brightly. Nearby, a ferocious battle is taking place. The flood of goblins swarm a group of giant, flame spewing lizards. They’re getting absolutely eviscerated by the terrible lizards, but for every one destroyed, three more from the stream take his place. Checking back at the portal where we entered, the flood of incoming brothers has remained strong. There’s no stopping us. The lizards may be winning now, but how long will that last? And what happens when they inevitably fall? Where does the other portal go?

  Curiosity almost getting the best of me, I have to stop myself from racing farther ahead to explore. No, no, it’s dangerous out there. Too dangerous. I love my brothers, but this is too much. I need to figure out what everyone’s doing here before effective help is possible. Otherwise, I’ll simply end up another one of those suckers caught pointlessly dying down in the spitting lava.

  Dying, eh? The memory of my rigorous experiments comes back to me, and I bring up my map. Watching in real time, I catch the icons of my recent goblin friends slowly making their way up the treacherous trail. Ah’choo, unsurprisingly, is the farthest out front. He’s probably eager for the exciting fight.

  More surprisingly, in the chaos of the march, I catch several icons dying in the fiery lashes of the lava. Immediately, they transition into the same blue, glowing balls witnessed with Ah’choo. The balls are then quickly whisked away towards the first portal. Reading all their names repeatedly to lock them in my mind, I wait for them to disappear. As soon as they do, I switch back to the maps for the mound and pits, but there’s no icons there. Only the overview maps themselves. Can I not track those who’re too far away?

  No matter, I’ll simply sit here and be patient. There’s enough entertainment watching the brothers wrestle with these lizards. I wonder how well I’d do against them? After all, my weapon songs have really improved a lot after hunting all those rats.

  Sure enough, roughly three hours later, the living icons for the remembered names pass through the entrance portal for a second time. It’s not only Ah’choo! Does this really verify that none of my brothers can truly die? What about me?