I travelled the mountains of the Tlalli goblins on the back of the most ornery goat you've ever met in your life. That goat tried to nibble on every scrap of clothing on my body at one point or another, and even tried to munch on one of Garlic's wings. I was nearly ready to hop off of the blasted creature and walk back the way we came, when my nostrils were singed with the scent of spices. At the top of a mountain path was a large gate, decorated with bundles of dried peppers, garlands of flowers, and a cow skull with the most enormous set of horns I'd ever seen in my life.— Julienne, Adventurer, Chef
The Tlalli are a nomadic tribe of goblins who trek the
Yolotl Plains in the west of
Cornucopia. Though the Tlalli goblins formally make their home in the mountains east of the plains, spread out across several dozen small farming and crafting villages, they may spend as long as ten months out of the year traversing the plains for hunting, gathering, and trading with stationary settlements. In lean years, the tribe may only have three or four parties trekking the plains, but in years of plenty, there may be as many as thirty groups of Tlalli goblins traveling the plainlands. To outsiders, this seems counterintuitive, but the Tlalli believe that when times are hard, it's important to keep family close by and to conserve their resources and work the land, rather than overreaching and risking that hungry hunters may act out of desperation.
One of the key motivations for their nomadic lifestyle is their dependence on grazing lifestock, primarily goats, cows, and sheep, for both their own usage and for trade. The only animals the Tlalli will not trade away are their own domesticated line of
riding goat, for which they keep meticulous breeding records and track pedigrees. One of the finest gifts a Tlalli goblin can bestow on someone outside of their tribe is to gift them a wether goat, i.e. a gelded male. A wether is a prized mount for any small-sized rider, but still allows for the Tlalli to keep tight control over their goat pedigrees.
Agriculture
In addition to managing grazing animals on the plainlands, Tlalli villages grow a variety of crops and collect wild-growing vegetables and grains from the mountainside. They despise a monoculture, and they are more likely to plant one type of vegetable in a dozen mixed patches across their village than to put all of the squash together, all of the tomatoes together, etc. Their most beloved crop is the chili pepper, which they grow in their gardens and also collect in the wild. The Tlalli have cataloged over three-hundred types of chili pepper, each of which has its own unique applications in cooking and medicine.
Combat & Hunting
Tlalli hunters depend heavily on bows and arrows at a range, and spears up close. The speed and efficiency of the Tlalli goat cavalry are legendary, and they are capable of executing nimble maneuvers that would be impractical for larger animals and more heavily armored riders. Most Tlalli hunters travel with two or three goats at a time, enabling them to trade off to a more rested goat whenever speed is required; though all of the goats would still need to travel, only one at a time would bare the burden of a rider and their equipment. Multiple goats also allows a hunter to carry large game, utilizing collapsible woven sleds to drag their prize across great distances.
The primary combat tactics of a pack of Tlalli riders are the same when facing an enemy army or a pack of prey, such as wild goats, hogs, antelope, and aurochs. Mounted Tlalli archers begin by opening fire with a rain of arrows, designed to panic and cause their targets to scatter, breaking formation or leaving the safety of an organized herd. Once individual targets have broken off, they are targeted by mounted lancers making hit-and-run attacks until the target is felled.
The greatest prey that the Tlalli hunt is the mighty
dire cow, roaming in the mountains in which the Tlalli reside. The enormous beasts readily handle steep terrain that their bovine cousins avoid, and are territorially to a fault. Every spring, the Tlalli organize a traditional hunt of the dire cow, and from it, they make their traditional recipe, the
dire cow enchilada casserole. This marks an important milestone for all Tlalli hunters, as well as helping protect their territory from the aggressive beasts. Though casualties are common, the survivors of this grim hunt are honored with the first slices of the casserole.
Commerce
The Tlalli are well known for their wool fabric, dyed with brilliant reds, pinks, oranges, and teals, and woven into stripes or intricate geometric patterns. They are also known for trading fresh milk from cows, sheep, and goats to other villages in exchange for butter and cheese. When offered the techniques and equipment to produce their own cheese, the Tlalli decline; a history of illnesses from curdled milk has left them wary of the process, and they would rather entrust others to make their cheese than keep curdled milk in their own homes.
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