Fate Deals the Cards Temperance

  Chapter 12 Working For A Living

  I had a lovely nap as the sun came down, stirring me into action once more, as the stars came out, bathing the world in their divine light. That I woke in the arms of two warm, soft and squishy girls was super awesome… and I may have spent some time just enjoying that sensation.

  The natural result was unwieldy and awkward, in addition to being highly inappropriate for company. I spent a few more minutes implementing the meditation, breathing and biofeedback methods my sensei had taught me so long ago, sinking the mighty Ghnash junior back into his restless slumber. I got dressed, which was not entirely comfortable, but I felt better when my damn tackle wasn’t waving around at people.

  The sweet, rich scents drifting over my home and garden said I was going to be getting a lot of practice at restraining my friendly friend, who was eager to greet all the new ladies, very eager.

  There were goblin ladies and their kids here and there, preparing to find their nests, along with a large knot of girls lined up at the kitchen door, receiving bowls of hot, skeeter gumbo with croc eggs and crawdaddie, over wild rice. Beryl was there, with Saphie, dishing it out to the line of hungry goblins.

  “Papa! Auntie Sarafina says to come downstairs, but knock first and move slow… She said to wear clothes and a veil too!” She shouted, as every eye in the garden turned my way. My illusion crumbled under the gaze of so many, starting a lot of whispers.

  I’d snuck into goblin towns before, when I was still desperately searching for Rache and Sheela, my lost ones. The ladies moving about or working all had pups, or hadn’t had their first tummytime yet. Of old women there was no sign and I never scented a ripe goblin lass in the towns… never. Here the scents and sounds of so many ripe, ripening or suppressed tummytimes was a heady brew, too damn heady.

  I scooted for the house and rapped on the hatch, ignoring the angry form of Lapis, still waiting on my nest, alone. When I felt enough time had passed, I eased open the hatch and slipped down the ladder, moving very deliberately, my face hidden behind the same veil of undyed linen.

  “Ghnash Whar’rgh, chieftain of this tribe, meet Thera, your slave.” Sarafina announced firmly. “You can change her name if you wish.”

  The girl sat there on my nest beside the kiln, her head low, awaiting whatever would befall her next. I had a whole host of problems, not the least of which was the bevy of distracting dames, hanging out upstairs and in my garden. I was deeply unprepared for becoming a slaveholder, on just so damn many levels, so my brain skipped a few grooves, landing me in panicked denials and furious backpedaling, which only confused everyone…

  Mostly because I jacked my whole face up, like two words into my emancipation proclamation and ended up dumping a pint or two of blood down my chest.

  Thera was, I’m sure, suitably impressed by my grandeur and eloquence, on some level. She sat there, shocked and horrified by the goblin spitting blood from behind a veil while grunting and waving his clawed hands around in impassioned gestures.

  “Well done, my chief…” Sarafina sighed and waved at me to sit on the stool at my workbench. I complied silently, and took that opportunity to wipe most of the blood away and deploy a fresh veil. I had a few, for just that reason. “We’ll work on that, great chief.” The old dame whispered fondly.

  She turned to the cat girl and soothed her, speaking softly. “Great chief Ghnash wishes you to know that your service will not be onerous, nor will you be… harmed. I have told you this, now I say it again, in the presence of the chief.” She nodded to me, and sat down at my feet, which was super smooth and gave an air of dignity to the proceedings. “You may speak to the chief, he will hear and understand.”

  “Wh… What will happen to me?” She asked in a voice too soft for any but goblin ears to catch.

  “The chief’s daughter will be your master. She has asked you be given to her as a gift and the chief denies Sapphire nothing.” The witch announced firmly. “Sapphire will feed you and see to your needs, you will serve her as she directs. This is how it is done. Is it not?”

  My face was really hurting bad and I had a ton to say, which was probably the most frustrating part of the whole deal. I couldn’t even write anything down, the gobbos had no written language at all.

  I retained the skill somehow, but no-gobb could read my writing at all, not even Sarafina, who was literate in several languages, as an isekai human soul, lost on this dead-end world. Unable to communicate in any other way, I grunted and tried my best. “Ugh, yes, Saphie is boss. Listen to her.” It was the best I could do for the poor girl right now.

  My Saphie had not a drop of malice in her, while her auntie Emmie’s joyful enthusiasm and compassion reflected more strongly from the little tyke every day. I sighed, wondering what Beryl had been like, before Bagguzz got his paws on her. “Go, Saphie is outside.” I grumbled at the unfortunate slave, who scampered for the hatchway and ladder like her tail was on fire, the four foot length of chain dragging behind her.

  I scowled as she left, contemplating that chain… It was a safety hazard and a constant, uncomfortable reminder of the cat-girl’s enslavement, for us both. The wicked thing was beyond my ability to deal with for now and I saw few potential ways around that.

  I was stuck here too, chained as thoroughly as she was, though to my biology and weird stone age aesthetic. I would need to adapt to the world, or adapt the world to me. I was feeling pretty stubborn and I’d already become more goblin than I liked to think about. I’d killed men, gobbs and humans both. I felt no remorse or tingling, twinging guilt or self doubt over their ends, nor my part in them.

  The first human I’d killed, my would be lover-boy; I recalled him rather fondly and enjoyed reflecting on his demise when I was feeling down about myself. Remembering the romantic, special time he and I shared on that starlit evening walk always perked me right back up!

  I felt a rising certainty that if I let the circumstance choose my path, I’d be headed for full goblin mode, all the time. The world just seemed to keep shoving me into that shape and it was not one I wanted to take on.

  I held up my hand, forestalling Sarafina, when she rose to follow Thera out of my den below the house. “Waits.” I muttered carefully. “Tell Ghnash things.”

  “A male wishes for knowledge that is not carnal… How exciting! Ask, boy… and I will answer what I may.” She cooed merrily.

  “Slave-collar, is cursed. Binds her to obey.” I muttered, feeling shitty and dirty. “Can nub survive with nub master, only wait for orders and waste away…”

  “Very perceptive. Had they such things where you once dwelt as a… human, perhaps?” She asked, fishing for info in a clumsy way.

  “Nub. is stinky mojo, feels wi… wi.. Nasty.” I grumbled.

  “Wicked is the word for it, boy. And you have the right of it as well. She is cursed, but most of the effect is not even magical. She’s convinced of the power of the thing, which gives it power over her.” Sarafina sighed and laid back on the warm nest, holding her arms out to me, imploring, not demanding. “Embrace me, my chief. I have not been held by a man in many long years so very many long, long years.”

  I saw no harm, so I slid into the nest, enfolding her in my arms and entwining our legs together. Boney, frail and tiny, she melted into my arms and seemed to vanish, leaving a sense of deep, tranquil comfort over us both. The light that filtered in through the shutters was barely enough for goblin eyes, and the dim, warm workshop became an island of peace, floating in a vast sea of chaos. I forgot she was there, until she spoke.

  “Those curses can be broken, boy. I sense that you share my abhorrence of slave trading, but it will take time and work to free her.” Sarafina sighed from somewhere very nearby.

  “Trust will be needed. She will need to accept that her owner wishes to free her… an idea that is nearly unheard of and often difficult for many to grasp.”

  “Trust… Hard to trust walking dong and balls.” It was worth biting myself to make the old dame giggle and wriggle in my arms.

  She blotted the blood from my lip with a rag of human clothing and kissed me sweetly, her tongue lingering among my deadly fangs. “Yes, chief. Your babystick is a mighty and terrible burden to bear. You have other assets and tools to use… Though I suspect that hammer of yours can do more than just smash goblin girls into goo. Can you learn to use it with care?”

  “Nub animal.” I grumbled quietly.

  “No? Then here and now, just you and I… take me in the human way. The way I’ve never felt in all these centuries of life in this wretched place. Lay me down, stroke me, tease me, make love to me tenderly.” She whispered in my ear.

  “Can you do that, restrain your beastial self and remind me what it meant, to couple, as a human woman; with a man, not a beast?”

  My claws slowly and gently began tracing small, intricate patterns on her back, her skin felt thin and soft, slightly papery, but warm under my roving hands.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “Ghnash nub-nub, nub ever, before goblin.” I mumbled, feeling only pity for that poor sod I’d been.

  “Will study hard, teacher.” That made her giggle and squeak, like when one of my claws grazed her just a little in a tender spot.

  We explored each other, slowly and tenderly, since she had her own claws and sharp teeth to manage as well, even if they were so much less dangerous than mine. Together, she taught me things, while we discovered others together… over that long, quiet night we abated my animal lust slowly, carefully and with due attention to each other’s wants, needs and desires. Then we got experimental; teasing and taunting each other with gentle nips and scratches, licks, flicks and caresses in the dark, playing at sex, rather than engaging in it.

  “That’s it, chief… No more!” She gasped, flopping back on my nest. “I’ll be sore and hardly able to walk…” She complained softly. “Go upstairs, boy. I’ll need a while.”

  I popped up out of the hatch into the house and took a deep, long sniff of the warm, close air. It was filled with familiar and new scents all mingling together in a heady brew, but one I could enjoy without losing my mind… at least for the moment. I felt… good, calm, balanced.

  “Ah… Is good to be the king.”

  “King comes to bed… Emmie wants snuggles.” And she did, she curled up in my arms and fell asleep in just a few minutes. I held her for a while, then I slipped away, into the deepening night for my exercises and practices. Out by the baths, I warmed up and began my spear dance, flowing through the forms as I did every dawn and dusk, when I was at home.

  Saphie joined me, as usual; following along with her toy spear, mimicking my steps as the sun rose. She tried so hard to keep up, as my spear and I found a tranquil meditative state, where body, mind and spear become one.

  Our flute practice was one of my favorite parts of the day, as she discovered the fundamentals of meter, melody, harmony and improvisation all by herself, one inspiration at a time.

  “Good girl… now breath control exercise…”

  “Aww, I know how to breathe!” She complained weakly, as usual.

  “Breath control is fundamental. Foundational. All life is breath. Control breathing, control emotions. Control emotions, control situations.” I repeated once again, as we began the first of the seven basic breaths, greeting the rising sun together on the lawn.

  When the dreadful eye of the day peeked over the hills at last, I scooted for the house, seeking my nest and some real sleep at last.

  What I got was a face full of goblin rumps, lined up on my nest, pointed at me, with three smiling faces lined up behind the behinds. Alba peered at me from between her thighs, sweetly shy, but looking eager and determined too. Lapis cast glances over her shoulder at me, while an unfamiliar one with orange hair was half twisted at the waist in a way that looked uncomfortable. She was grinning, fingering herself and stroking a smooth, plump green boob at me, so there was that.

  “Good morning, ladies.” I said very slowly and carefully. “Who’s first?”

  My new visitor, Amyrilis smiled eagerly and waved her olive green and slightly plump butt at me, tossing her pale orange hair over her back. She was first, despite what anyone else had to say. The girl even begrudged giving me her name, before getting me jammed all up in there. Her tummytime had erupted like a volcano, leaving her desperate for attention and a little too eager for my services.

  Her eagerness evaporated as quickly as it arrived; she departed moments after, without so much as a ‘thanks for rearranging my guts, Ghnash’.

  “Huh, ok…” I mumbled, feeling a little cheap. I barely had time to come to grips with those feelings, when Lapis came to grips with me and used me like an object. She had a grand time, but she had it by herself, mostly.

  Like Amyrilis, Lapis had no further use for me, once she’d been smushed full of my empty babygoo, to sooth her insides for a while.

  Rather than leaving, she perched on the edge of the nest and poked me in the hip. “Now smush Alba. You promised!” She barked at me. “I make sure you don’t hurt her.”

  I ignored Lapis and rolled over to look at Alba, who was once more folded in a tight little ball in the corner hugging her knees clearly upset by what she’d witnessed. Her confidence had been short lived, once her friends got their helpings of my stuff, now she sat there, trembling in my nest.

  “Alba… wants?” I asked very quietly, without moving any closer to the poor dear. “If nub, is okie nub will take, only if given...” Her only answer was a small squeak of dismay, as she buried her face in her knees.

  “Ghnash sleeps.” I mumbled, before curling up around the trembling girl’s feet and pulling a warm fur over us. I was in for a long and busy winter, until the damn babynot root blossomed again.

  /

  “No, cardinal, I’m telling you that the entity is a sentient isekai… And he’s S rank, according to your scouter module. S rank with a power level of over nine thousand! Over nine thousand!” Peltier whispered to the bloated worm in costly robes. “We must mobilize a punitive force to exterminate it immediately.”

  The inquisitor had stumbled into an outpost town, half dead and raving; now, a week later, he was little better off. “Calm yourself, man. We’ll catch and sacrifice this one, like all the others. It’s just a single male goblin, out in the wilds. Most likely he’ll get gobbled up by some ravenous creature this winter. Come spring, we’ll mount an expedition.”

  “By spring it may be too late, cardinal!” Peltier spat.

  “Then go, I give you my full authority, create a punitive force and destroy it. Do not fail again, lord Peltham. The blessed Light does not shine on fools or failures.” He declared with a grim smile on his round, shining face.

  /

  Midwinter came in cold and harsh, filling my home with women, girls, runties and gobblings. They were just everywhere, warm and cozy… And many were at the end of the effectiveness of their tea, with little of the herbs and roots remaining in my stores.

  In self defence, I had used my flute to remove the hatchway into the house, isolating my underground workshop from much of the distracting, intoxicating and delightful action going on upstairs.

  Several snug bowers now surrounded the house, hard up against the walls, to capitalize on the warmth that escaped from the windows and seeped through the stone walls. The nests inside those primitive structures held the overflow, a small swarm of young goblin girls who hadn’t had their first tummytime and those not currently in the throes of the condition.

  Inside, Emmie ruled with an iron fist, directing and controlling access to the chief’s nest carefully.

  “Ghnash is booked up all morning and evening. Can squeeze you in tomorrow, first thing.” She grumbled at an insistent mountain gobb who could hardly stand still while arguing with the chief’s ‘Director of Staffing’. Emmie always giggled and did a couple pelvic thrusts when she mentioned her self declared title.

  “Is good-good? Tomorrow, before dawn? Some girls don’t like firsties in the morning. He’s usually a little rougher then, so keep in mind.”

  “Rough?” Daffodil asked eagerly. “Can I trades with you?” The tall dusty green desert gobb asked eagerly from nearby. “I has this evening! Tradsies for your rough ride!” She gasped excitedly, waving her small wooden token.

  “No tradsies!” Emmie announced firmly. “Ghnash is chief, nub a piece of meat or shiny rock! If you wants him to be rougher, ask him, or just scratch his back some!” The golden eyed goblin barked at her gathered tribe sisters.

  “Just remembers… His tushie belongs to me. Nub tushie for any-gob else! Now line up, chief wakes soon. First in line, diddle yourself wet and grab some slippery stuff. You has firsties today, good luck.”

  Kreesha nodded grimly and slathered her nethers with a double fingerful of the sticky, slippery slime Beryl smashed and strained from snotweed grass. It smelled nice and was super slimy… “Remember Kreesh fondly, if she doesn’t survive...” The girl muttered, as she entered the chief’s den.

  /

  In the dim, warm confines of my lair, I watched eagerly as the first girl of the day drifted down the steps, nervously peering all around.

  “Here.” I grunted quietly, drawing her gaze to my nest in the corner. “I is Ghnash… Chief of tribe. Tell name?”

  “Name? You really talk?” She asked tremulously, sounding as if she were about to faint.

  “Yub… Talking hard. Teefs. I has teefs.” I grumbled softly. “New girl… Emmie tell you? Nub babies in my stuff… only ease pain for some time. Nub babies.”

  “Emmie says so... But is true?” She asked, sounding more confident.

  “Is true. Smoosh and smoosh, nub babies. But, can come back to Ghnash, when hurts again.” I sighed and patted the nest beside me. “If ready, come, please… I has much to do.”

  My eternally eager ‘assistant’ was ready for duty; which gave her pause, when she drew close enough to see it standing over me, proudly eager to begin a new day. “If nub sure, send in next girl… Will give you a chance again when done with her.” I suggested, when she hesitated.

  “Emmie said no trades…” She whispered softly, drawing a little closer to my nest.

  “Emmie is nub boss of Ghnash. I say who gets smushed, when and how.” I kinda bit myself there, ruining a short, pain free streak. “Please, come close and tell name, or send in next.” I mumbled around a bloody rag.

  “Kreesha…” She whispered, stepping into the dim corner where I lay. “You won’t hurt me? Emmie said you might be ‘rough’ on me... Cause I has firsties.”

  “She tells all girls that… so the ones who like rough get in early. Ghnash can be rough, or not.” I purred as she slipped into my cozy nest of furs and soft boughs. “Say if too much… or want more, Kreesha.”

  “You said my name… like a real person…” She whispered, as I carefully took her hips in my hands and pulled her down into my nest. She didn’t have much to say after that… not in words, anyway.

  /

  “Next!” Emmie called, as Kreesh stumbled out of the underground den, wobbly-legged and disheveled, but smiling stupidly. “Nub be scared, Kreesh survived, so will you!” She chivvied and shoved the hesitant, pale girl down the stairs with a wicked grin on her green cheeks. “Come on Alba, today is your lucky day!”

  /

  Emmie and Lapis guided my next guest down, each one holding a slim, pale green hand as they almost dragged her into my lair.

  “Hello again, Alba.” I tried to sound casual and friendly, but I’d done some damage to my tongue just before she came downstairs, so it was a bit garbled. “Feel ready?” I asked her gently. “If nub, can just cuddle and talk, like last time.”

  “Chief Ghnash…” She mumbled weakly. “I’m still scared. Can Emmie and Lapis stay?”

  “Scared of me? Or of babystick?” I teased her just a little, gently mocking the poor girl. “They stay if wish… Remember, Ghnash is chief, nub this thing.” I gave it a cheerful swat, making Ghnash junior wave and wobble hilariously. “Is just meat and gristle.”

  As if that was her cue, Emmie pounced into my nest, dragging Lapis and Alba with her. “Come both, touch it, play with it. Nub scary. Is fun!”

  She pulled the two girls down onto me, sprawling out with their heads on my belly, looking up at the towering thing above them.

  I just lay there, hands behind my head, my shaft standing proudly eager into the dim confines of my den. Lapis slowly reached out a single claw and nudged it, just a little. She gasped, when it wobbled and then fell still. “Is hard to believe that fit in me…” She whispered, sounding just a little upset.

  “Did it hurt lots?” Emmie purred, already knowing the answer. “Tell Alba how awful it was, having Ghnash in you.”

  “Was… okie… for a boy thing. Nub like boys.” She complained a little weakly, while polishing my babystick under Emmie’s gentle instruction.

  “You touch too, Alba!” Emmie insisted, placing a pale green hand on my shaft with her lover’s. “See? Is just warm, stiff and friendly Ghnash. Nub scary, just big and goofy, like rest of chief.”

  “Hey…” I tried to sound indignant, but I was being fondled by three girls and that was a serious distraction, even if only one was really enthusiastic and skilled at the art of the hand-job.

  Emmie silenced me with a long, slow careful kiss that brought a gasp from Alba, who watched with fascination as our tongues danced among the deadly traps in my mouth.

  “See? Is just a piece of Ghnash. Ghnash nub will hurt you.” I purred warmly, when Emmie allowed me to speak again. “Tell secret… Emmie was scared too, first time.”

  I winced, as two small, strong hands put Ghnash the younger in a stranglehold briefly. “Nub tell Emmie’s secrets, Chief.” She purred and cooed, while one of her evil little toes crept toward my butt. “I know’s your secrets too, mighty Ghnash.”

  Alba emerged from my den still unsmooshed, but Lapis stumbled upstairs clutching her nethers after a second helping, while Emmie remained below with me, sprawled on my nest like a queen.

  “Next!” She shouted, holding the chief’s staff out for the short, blue haired, slim and narrow waisted lass who came nervously down the steps into my lair.

  “Oh, another new girl!” I purred warmly, holding the furs open for her.

  “I’m Chervil…” She whispered nervously as she slipped closer to the chief and his favored mate.

  “Come on, girly… Emmie will help you stuff it in, looks like a tight squeeze! Chief will have to lick this one a little, first!” Emmie’s evil giggle of delight was soon joined by howls of pleasure from the slim, quiet goblin lass, echoing through the hills.

  “Next time, for certain…” Alba whispered, with Lapis’ face buried between her pale thighs.

  “We’ll share.” The dark girl mumbled eagerly around her squirming, moaning lover. “As boys go, he’ll do.”

  /