King of the Goblins: An Isekai Slice of Life Harem Adventure
Date: 2024-05-27 07:00:00+00:00
Description: A lot can happen in a week. Me? I became a king. An unfortunate accident destroyed my entire world, but the gods saw fit to zap me to a new one, a world filled with fantastical creatures and magic. To say I got a rough start there would be putting it mildly, but fortunately I had the help of Silvy, a beautiful goblin woman who told me I was the answer to her prayers. And she meant that literally. It didn't take long for me to learn that the goblin king was an absolute terror, the most violent and tyrannical in their history...and the reason the gods brought me to this world was to overthrow hi
Publisher: anonymous

King of the Goblins

Hey, it's Kind of Slice of Life

Micky Carre

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locations is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2024 by Micky Carre

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

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1

Even though I know how it happened, sometimes I still wonder just how it happened.

Let me go back a few steps and start from the beginning. It’s a hell of a ride.

Scientists had been creating infinitesimally small black holes for years at CERN, for research and to push the boundaries of scientific discovery. When the news originally broke people freaked out, but the scientists assured us that everything was totally fine. The tiny black holes evaporated in microseconds due to Hawking Radiation, so we were safe. Thanks for discovering that, Steve. May you rest in peace.

Except one day things suddenly weren’t fine.

They continually ramped up power at the Large Hadron Collider, discovering all sorts of new particles on a regular basis, including infinitely small black holes, each slightly larger than the last. And then, on an otherwise unremarkable Tuesday morning, they created one that was a bit larger. It didn’t evaporate immediately. Instead, it had enough mass to grow. And grow it did.

Fortunately, they were able to use the power of the particle accelerator to trap the black hole in an insanely strong magnetic field. Once they did that, the scientists sent out a warning message that spread across the entire globe in a matter of minutes.

Earth is going to be consumed by a black hole. Make your peace, as the end is here. We can’t stop it. For what it’s worth, we are sorry.

That was the last message they ever sent. Many people thought it sucked. I mean come on, perfect opportunity for a catchy one-liner.

As expected, everyone panicked. People started shoplifting, because when the world is about to end, you really need that new Playstation. Crime was rampant. In a matter of hours, downtown Cleveland was a smoking mess, filled with the sounds of gunshots and the screams of the dying. In other words, only slightly worse than usual.

I’ve always tried my hardest to be a calm guy. Ever since I was little, I always admired those people who could stay calm under pressure, in any situation. I tried to be that guy. And so, when the end came, I kept my cool.

It was just past ten in the morning when the news broke. I was at work, typing away on a report that was due later that week. Social media went insane, and my phone started beeping and vibrating like crazy. When I saw the news, I immediately checked several news channels. They all said the same thing: this was not a hoax. Many of the newscasters finished their stories with positive messages, trying to inject a bit of hope in the last minutes. One guy told his wife he loved her, in case he wasn’t able to see her again.

As for me, I simply got up from my desk, walked over to my boss’s office, and opened the door. I didn’t bother knocking.

“Hey, Chip,” I said.

“What the fuck is going on?” he shouted, practically tearing his hair out. “Did you see the news, Aaron?” He ran around his office, grabbing his laptop, shrugging into his jacket, and generally trying to do three things at once and failing at all of them.

“Thanks for being a good boss. Maybe take these last minutes to relax,” I told him. I wasn’t sure if he heard me, but hey. I did my part. We’ll check that box.

After that, I calmly walked out of the building, moving quickly but not rushing. A stampede of employees moved around me, intent on leaving as soon as possible. By the time I made it outside, the parking lot was already mostly empty. In their panic, everyone had already left.

Trey, the CEO, stood in the parking lot, cell phone up to his ear, shouting at someone. Since we were all going to die, I decided to try my luck. I mean hey, what was the worst that could happen? I was already going to be sucked into a black hole.

“Hey, Trey,” I said as I approached him.

“Not right now, Aaron,” he shouted, holding a hand up. He then went back to yelling at someone on the phone. It sounded like his wife, who was also yelling. What a great time for an argument.

“Hey!” I said, talking loudly enough that he couldn’t ignore me. “We’re all about to die. Let me have your car. I mean, you won’t need it, right?” It was worth a shot.

He dug in his pocket and pulled out his keys, then threw them at me. “Fuck, just leave me the hell alone, Aaron!” he shouted.

The keys hit me in the chest and I caught them. Score.

I turned and walked twenty feet to the brand new Porsche 911 Turbo S parked in the reserved spot and hopped in. The seats fit me like an alcantara glove. At least Trey had the decency to buy the car with a manual transmission. I turned it on and smiled at the sound of the engine roaring to life. I slipped it into reverse, backed out of the spot, then sped away.

Even with society melting around me, the drive home was pretty awesome. Every time a gap in traffic presented itself, my foot went to the floor. I wasn’t sure exactly how much horsepower the car had—around six hundred I thought, but wasn’t certain—but it was enough that the acceleration felt like I was offsetting the Earth’s rotation. I even lucked out and found a clear stretch of road out in the suburbs and managed to hit a hundred forty in no time. The acceleration felt more like a spaceship than a car.

I pulled into a parking spot in front of my apartment building, then remembered that I was about to die. With that in mind, I backed out, made sure I was in an open area in the parking lot, turned the wheel all the way to the right, and floored it. The car lurched to the side and white smoke poured off the tires.

Initially, I had my concerns that an all wheel drive car wouldn’t be able to do a donut. I guess with this much power, that didn’t matter. I kept my foot to the floor until I was spinning in a cloud of tire smoke so thick I couldn’t see out of it. With a laugh, I finally stopped, then hopped out of the car. I left it right there in the parking lot with the door open and the keys inside. The engine was still running, too. Hopefully someone else could enjoy it before we all ceased to exist.

Screams and panicked shouts filled the area, but most of them sounded distant. I hurried up the stairs in my apartment building until I got to the third floor, then made my way to my room. Someone was beating one of the other tenants with a baseball bat further down the hall. The assailant saw me and shouted, so I quickly went into my room, slammed the door, and slid the deadbolt. At least this place had steel doors. For good measure, I pushed my heavy-ass desk in front of the door so no one could get in. The guy banged on the door a few times with his bat, but eventually left to find easier prey.

My plan was pretty simple. I went to the fridge and grabbed a twelve pack of beer I had bought a week ago. I didn’t drink that much, so that twelve pack would probably last me all month under normal circumstances. Maybe longer. I set it next to my favorite chair, cracked one of them open, and put in my favorite video game. Maybe it wasn’t a memorable way to die, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to relax and enjoy myself with the small amount of time that I had left.

I downed the beer like it was water. After four of them, I checked my phone again. Amidst all the people freaking out about the end of the world, reports were coming out that the black hole had escaped the magnetic field at CERN due to a sudden power failure. It was growing at an exponential rate, so while nothing major had happened yet, we didn’t have long. I celebrated by launching my empty beer can out the window next to me. Yolo.

My ex sent me a text message, somehow apologizing, saying she missed me, and blaming me for all her troubles in a single message. Kate had always been good at drama. I didn’t bother replying to her.

Two hours into my game, I was pretty damn drunk. The characters were a bit fuzzy, and my coordination was all but gone. It felt like I was trying to move the joysticks while wearing heavy gloves. I had a great time, though. Always loved that game. To be honest, I didn’t give a shit that I kept dying. In fact, I was trying to find new and more inventive ways to die. Anything for a laugh at that point.

I downed the last beer, then got up to drain my bladder. Once I was done peeing, I stumbled back into the living room and checked out the window. The building shook, hard. We didn’t get earthquakes in Cleveland, so I knew that was the end coming. The Earth being sucked into a fucking black hole. The building shook again and the power flickered.

Gravity suddenly felt strange, like I wasn’t being pulled straight down any longer. Instead, I seemed to be pulled slightly to the side. It dawned on me that the black hole was the new center of gravity, instead of the core of the Earth. So I was being pulled towards Switzerland. The building shook again and I heard the sound of concrete collapsing.

“Damn,” I said to myself. “I should have rubbed one out.”

I had just enough time to laugh before I died.

2

The science on what exactly happened was a bit fuzzy, so to speak. Several times in the past, I had read educated opinions from theoretical physicists about alternate dimensions and even alternate universes. They postulated that these places very possibly and even probably existed, but getting there was the problem. One theory even said entire alternate universes could be located inside black holes. Ours could have been one. Apparently they had mathematical equations to back that idea up, too. Hard to argue with math.

Well, I wouldn’t be able to follow their math anyways, so I suppose that part didn’t matter. All I know is that I woke up on the ground, still drunk as hell. But this wasn’t the ground I was expecting. My apartment building collapsed right as we were sucked into the black hole. So if I somehow survived that, I expected to wake up amidst a pile of shattered concrete and brick, and maybe some tacky furniture.

Even if I had been yeeted outside by some crazed gravitational forces, I would have expected to wake up on Cleveland soil. So there should have been litter everywhere, and at least two potholes.

Instead, I woke up on rich, dark soil, the type farmers probably dreamed of. A bush was right next to my head, something strange that I didn’t recognize, and that wasn’t just the beer’s fault.

I pushed myself up to my hands and knees, expecting pain but finding none. Just my head swimming. Looking to the side, I saw a tree.

My parents waited until they were older to have me. My dad was forty-eight when he became a father. The benefit of that was that my parents retired when I was pretty young. When I was seventeen, we went on a road trip all the way to California and back, because my mother always wanted to see the Golden Gate Bridge and my father wanted to see those enormous redwood trees. I’ll never forget how otherworldly large they were.

What I stared at reminded me of those redwood trees, but somehow larger. Much, much larger. The base was the size of a large house, and as I craned my neck back, the top was nowhere in sight. It just disappeared into the impenetrable canopy above. Other trees like it were in every direction, creating a dense covering overhead that completely blocked the sun in most areas. I could help but laugh as I thought that someone could build the world’s most awesome treehouse up there.

The strange thing was that I noticed stairs on the tree next to me. Not carved into it or nailed to it, but as if the tree itself had grown both stairs and a railing. It spiraled all the way up the tree. Squinting, I saw the steps were worn. People used them. People climbed these ridiculous trees.

What the hell?

Thoughts came through my alcohol-induced haze. First, it finally dawned on me that I was still alive. Considering a black hole had just destroyed the entire fucking Earth, that was a pretty serious revelation.

The second thought I had was that wherever I was, it was similar to Earth. The foliage was different, but still consisted of trees and bushes and grass. The gravity felt the same. The temperature was quite nice, actually. I pushed myself to my feet and tried to get a better look.

Other than the fact that I didn’t recognize any of the species of plants around me, it looked like I was standing in a forest back on my home world. Even the forest sounds were similar; the chatter of animals, branches rustling in the breeze, birds chirping in the distance.

Perhaps it wasn’t that the place was Earthlike. Maybe the process of evolution just had a habit of making things a certain way, because those ways had the best chances of surviving. Made sense to me.

I took a step and immediately reached out for the nearest tree. That awful feeling in my stomach grew, reminding me that I wasn’t a heavy drinker but just pounded a dozen beers in two hours.

“Oh boy,” I said, and bent over.

Once I was done throwing up, I tried to spit the bad taste from my mouth and then gather my bearings. I was in a foreign place, so that was tough. I looked back at the stairs on that tree next to me. The ground was worn at the base of the tree, where the stairs began. I decided to try that direction. Climbing that many stairs didn’t seem like a good idea in my intoxicated state, so instead I went in the other direction and followed the path away from the tree.

Once I had traveled a hundred feet it dawned on me that I didn’t know who else would be on that path. Of course that much was obvious, but I didn’t know if they would be friend or foe. So, I went about twenty feet to the side of the path and continued. The underbrush wasn’t too bad so travel wasn’t that difficult, but I still had to step over bushes and push small branches out of the way. At least I was able to keep an eye on the path. Plus if I saw anyone, I’d be able to hide.

Five minutes later, when a branch slapped me in the face for what felt like the hundredth time, I began to question that decision. The ground was uneven, anyways, and I was drunk. At this point, I was just asking to trip and fall.

I stopped next to a large tree—it looked like one of those enormous ones, just much younger and thus smaller—and grabbed onto my zipper. My bladder had been full since I woke up here, so it was time to empty it. As soon as I pulled my zipper down though, I heard something unexpected.

Voices.

After yanking my zipper up, I flattened myself against the tree and waited. The voices grew louder. It sounded like two men talking. I risked a glance around the side of the tree. Wow, I had to pee, though.

A good distance away—I was still too drunk to say how far—two men walked down the path. Men with long blonde hair, and one of them had several braids. It was their clothing that first caught my eye. As they drew closer, I saw the unmistakable shape of a cloak around each of their shoulders. A cloak? What was this, a cheesy fantasy book? Were they going to call me “my lord” or something? Holy shit, I had to pee. My teeth were about to float.

I peeked around the tree again and watched them. It took me a moment, but I finally realized what was so strange about them, other than of course their cloaks. It was their ears. The men had pointed ears. They were close enough now that I could hear them better. Whatever language they spoke, it reminded me of French. Maybe French mixed with Italian, but it certainly wasn’t English. Something clicked in my head, and I knew what they were, although I laughed silently at the very notion.

They were elves. Fuckin’ elves.

I ducked back behind the tree as they passed, then looked around the other side so I could watch them go. They both wore swords at their hips; I was far from an expert on them, but they were long and thin, maybe something like a rapier. One of the men carried a bow in hand.

I watched them until they reached the tree and began climbing the stairs. After that, I pulled back around the tree so they wouldn’t be able to see me. My bladder was flashing warning lights in my brain so I finally whipped it out and emptied it right there. Aside from waking up alive, it was probably the best thing I’d felt, ever.

Think. I had to think. Surely I wasn’t that drunk. Had I really just seen elves? Maybe I really did die and this was the afterlife, where I just dreamed for eternity. No, that was stupid. I glanced around the tree again and saw the elves, still climbing the stairs, still talking their strange language.

How would they feel, finding me in their woods? I didn’t want to find out if they were the xenophobic type or not, so I decided to get the hell out of there. But where would I go? I decided to continue on my current trajectory, following that path from the woods. It was the best I had, and maybe it would lead to a town or village or something.

After about half an hour of wandering and stumbling, the trees on my right thinned out enough to give me a better view. A strange mountain stood there, tall and dark, with a nearly sheer face. The other sides rose at gradual angles, but the side closest to me made it look like a cliff. I decided to walk closer. If nothing else, I could walk around it and find my way to the top of that mountain so I could see around myself. Maybe some signs of civilization would be visible from up there.

It took me another hour of walking and in several directions, but I soon found myself walking at the very edge of the forest, keeping an eye on the face of the cliff next to me. What I found strange was that I saw footprints all around. No, not footprints—boot prints. Could that be more of the elves? The prints were a bit smaller than my size eleven shoe.

I decided to follow the prints as best as I could. They continued along the face of the cliff, and I soon found myself facing a cave. At least, I initially thought it was a cave. It took my drunk ass a moment to realize that it was not a natural formation. This had been carved into the rock.

“People live here?” I wondered aloud. Carving a house into a mountain seemed like a pretty secure way to build a house, but otherwise…. I mean, no windows? It just seemed miserable.

And so then, I decided to enter the cave. Tunnel. Whatever. What can I say, drunk Aaron does not always make good decisions. But, for better or for worse, I decided to explore.

3

Countless boot prints crossed the dirt on the floor of the tunnel, but after about ten feet the dirt gave way to solid stone. Daylight only reached a few dozen feet into the tunnel, and then it grew progressively darker. My curiosity kept me moving forwards, even when I couldn’t really see.

The other thing that kept me moving forwards was when I saw a light mounted on the wall. It wasn’t a torch, or a candle, or even a lightbulb. It was just a small globe affixed to the wall, gently glowing with soft white light. It gave off no heat or scent, and I couldn’t see any wires anywhere. Twenty feet down the hallway—I mentally called it a hallway now instead of a tunnel; it felt less creepy—I saw a second one.

I kept stumbling down the hallway, following the lights. This place was surprising me more and more with each passing minute. Whoever had carved this into the mountain was clearly an intelligent species. And those lights! I couldn’t figure them out with any sort of logic.

Something else came to my attention as I walked further into the mountain. The walls were carved with intricate designs and pictures. I stopped near one of the lights and tried to focus.

It was a battle scene, as best as I could tell. Tall men with pointed ears, so probably elves, fought against shorter beings with large, pointed ears and long spears. No wait, the taller men had pointy ears but also…tusks? So some other kind of creature. A hundred scenes like it covered the wall, with the shorter guys fighting against other types of people as well. I recognized elves and I think trolls. I dunno, I was drunk so I was guessing at everything.

Short, large-eared women were carved into the walls as well. It was easy to distinguish the women from the men, as the men were insanely jacked and the women had the most ridiculously oversexualized figures imaginable. They looked like they were three or four feet tall with triple-D boobs and asses to match. It made me wonder if the guys that had carved this were jerking off while doing it. Porn before the internet, right?

A glimmer in the distance caught my eye. I recognized it immediately, but it took a moment for my drunk brain to truly process it. Eyeballs, shining in the dark like a cat.

“Hello?” I called out. My voice echoed down the hall. The eyes blinked and remained focused on me.

The brightness of the light next to me made it hard to focus in the darkness, so I moved forwards until I was between two lights. That helped a bit. I definitely wasn’t drunkenly hallucinating; those were eyes in front of me. They looked far too high off the ground to be a cat, and too human to be some other kind of monster. Maybe it was one of those women with the gigantic tits. Heh.

“Hey!” I called out again. “Can you talk? Can you understand me?” I wasn’t sure why I initially thought that some stranger in a foreign fantasy land could understand me. It was probably all the beer in my veins making me think dumb shit.

The head containing those eyes turned as it hurried away. In the complete silence of the tunnel, I heard the sound of feet padding down the stone hall. Twenty feet later, the eyes appeared again, studying me.

“Hey, come here,” I called out, trying to make my voice gentle. “Can you help me? Do you understand that word, help? Look, I just got here and I have no idea where I am.” I sighed in frustration. I was probably talking to a raccoon or something. At least a raccoon wouldn’t judge me for slurring.

“Hey,” I said, walking quickly towards the eyes. I held up both hands, trying to show that I was unarmed. This time, the owner of the eyes let me get closer.

Whoever or whatever had the eyes, they were large. Larger than mine, but equally spaced. The person looked to be shorter, maybe chest high or so. Other than that, I couldn’t really tell. Was it a child?

I stopped walking when the other person started moving back. “Hey, look,” I said. “Can I just see you?” I pointed at my eyes, then at them.

To my amazement, after a few blinks, the eyes came closer.

“Holy shit,” I muttered, trying to contain my excitement. What could it be? At least the eyes were all wrong for a bear, so that made me happy. That would be just my luck to survive a black hole implosion of the Earth only to get eaten by a bear on the first day of my new life.

The eyes came a few steps closer, close enough that the glowing wall lights began to gently illuminate the person. I took a few slow steps so I could see better.

It was some kind of humanoid, that much was immediately apparent. I dropped to a knee to appear less intimidating. Those large eyes came another step closer, and I was able to make out that this strange being was covered with something. A robe or cloak of dark cloth covered them from head to toe, letting me see nothing but their face. But those eyes glowed like a cat’s.

My breath caught in my throat. Colors were hard to make out in the soft light, but her skin seemed to have a ruddy complexion. And I was immediately able to tell it was a “she.” Those large eyes were bright blue, and above a slender nose, with full lips. Fine wrinkles fanned from the corners of her eyes, barely visible in the dim light, but she was still quite beautiful. Stunningly so. My earlier assumption of her being chest high on me looked to have been roughly correct. She stood maybe four feet tall at the most.

“What are you?” I whispered.

She took another step closer to me, examining me just as I was her. Some of her hair peeked out from beneath her hood. It was dark, maybe black, although I saw a few streaks of gray in it. She pursed her lips and looked me up and down.

“Blez nafit per ah?” she asked.

I blinked. Of course she didn’t speak English. Even drunk, I should have guessed that.

“Hey, you pretty thing,” I said. Drunk Aaron would flirt with anyone, apparently. “Come here. Let me look at you.” I waved her closer and gave her my best, disarming smile.

She took another step towards me. Being covered from head to toe in that heavy cloak, I couldn’t really see much more of her. When she got closer, I thought her skin had a greenish tinge to it. The sides of her hood bulged slightly. I motioned for her to remove her hood.

She turned and looked behind her, then turned back to me and nodded. With slender hands, she pulled her hood back, revealing long black hair and large, pointed ears. I put her age at around early thirties tops, assuming she aged like a human, but still very beautiful. Even with those big ears, she was still gorgeous. And the green skin somehow made her more beautiful and exotic. To be honest, she was one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen.

“What are you?” I whispered again. I held out a hand to her, trying my best to appear non-threatening.

She took another step towards me and reached out. She hesitated for a moment, then slipped her hand in mine. Her skin was warm, a bit warmer than mine was. Soft skin covered her hands, but I felt small calluses on her palm. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and she squeezed back. We both smiled at each other. Her teeth were straight and white, and her smile was beautiful.

Her smile suddenly disappeared and her head snapped around. Slim fingers tightened on mine, and then she was chattering at me in her strange language and trying to push me away, back towards the mouth of the hall.

“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked, stumbling to my feet. I almost fell, twice. Fuck, I was still drunk off my ass, and I probably would be for a couple more hours. No amount of coffee could fix a dozen IPAs.

She whispered something that sounded like a warning, then pushed me again. Her head turned around and she looked behind her.

“Is someone coming?” I asked, pointing further back in the hallway.

She nodded and continued trying to move me.

“Hold on,” I said. I was eager to see who was coming. If it was another woman like her, maybe my luck was in. And if it was a guy, well he would only be like four feet tall so I could probably kick his ass. I wasn’t the best fighter but I was pretty sure I could kick a kid’s ass, if it came to that.

A stern voice barked something from the shadows. The beautiful woman pushed me again, then turned back and shouted a reply.

“Hey, look,” I said, holding my arms up again. “I was just wandering through the forest and found this place. I need some help, guys. I’m lost.” Later, I would wonder why drunk Aaron didn’t wisen up and just leave when he knew he should have.

The other person came into view, and that was when I knew I had fucked up.

He was the same race as her, whatever that was. Long, pointed ears and green skin matched the woman’s, and his eyes were large as well, but there the similarities largely ended.

First off, he was much taller. Still short, but probably five feet even. And second, whereas she was absolutely beautiful, this guy looked like he chewed rocks and kicked puppies for a living. I’ve seen some mean people in my days, but this guy took it to a whole new level. Thick eyebrows drew down as he glared at me, his eyes filled with malice. His jaw was thick and wide, like some guy that fought too much. Even his nose was flat and stubby, something that wouldn’t break easily. His cheekbones were prominent, something that would break a knuckle if punched.

I then noticed the club hanging from his waist. It was like a wooden baseball bat, slightly shorter, with iron wrapped around the end. That thing was made to break bones and little else. His hand flexed near the handle as if he itched to use it on me.

I kept my hands up. “Look,” I said. “I can see you don’t like me being here. I’ll just leave, okay?” I pointed at myself, then pointed back towards the mouth of the tunnel.

Instead, he shouted something angrily at the woman. She spoke back, her voice defiant, but he towered over her. He cut her off with a backhanded slap that sent her to the floor with a whimper.

“Hey, you fucking asshole!” I shouted.

I wasn’t much good in a fight—truth be told, the last time I had been in a fight was in middle school, and my performance even then was questionable—but I really, really didn’t like seeing women treated that way. It lit a fire inside me that wasn’t hot enough to overcome my lack of fighting ability.

While a language barrier separated us, the meaning of my words was pretty apparent. His lips curled in a cruel grin as he looked back at me. I raised my fists and lashed out, hoping to use my longer reach to win this fight. I had seen a few videos on boxing, so at least I knew the proper stance.

He ducked his head to the side, so my knuckles caught only air. I tried to follow it up with a left hook to his stomach. I failed in the worst of ways.

Drunk people often miss really obvious things. That’s one of the dangers of driving drunk, after all. So when I went to punch him in the stomach, for some odd reason I totally missed that he was wearing armor. Something made of cloth and leather, but enough that punching him felt like hitting a wall. I think I broke a knuckle.

He laughed at me, his hand going for his club, but then he grumbled something and stepped in closer to me. His first hit took me in the stomach and did exactly what I had been hoping to do to him—it doubled me over. After that, his knuckles found my cheek, knocking me sideways against the stone wall. Holy hell, this guy was small but punched like a sledgehammer. It was like getting my ass kicked by a middle schooler.

“Listen,” I said, holding my hands up and coughing. “I think we got off on the wrong foo—”

Another punch to my cheek split it open and sent me to the floor. He reached down and grabbed me by my hair, pulling me to my knees, only to punch me again. Holy shit, the guy’s punches felt like being run over by a fucking semi. Pain blossomed in my face and my entire worldview changed each time that bastard hit me.

He seemed to delight in the violence. After several more punches, I laid on the ground, limp. My face felt like it had been used as an anvil, and probably looked as bad.

The man shouted something at the woman again, who scurried backwards, away from him. He then took a few steps towards me and planted his boot right in my stomach. Pain exploded in my gut and I heaved bile onto the stone floor. His second kick took me in the jaw and I blacked out.

4

When I woke, I found myself in a strange room. The roof and walls were both carved from stone, with no windows. Two sconces held candles on the wall, but there were otherwise no decorations. I blinked and realized those weren’t candles in the sconces, but smokeless lights similar to what I had seen in the tunnel. The furniture was strange, and made from wood and something that reminded me of wicker.

I turned my head to see more and pain lanced through every fiber of my existence. I grunted and laid there for a moment, waiting for the agony to subside. It was then that I realized I was tied to the bed, although not very securely. Not like someone wanted to restrain me, but more like someone wanted to keep me from thrashing around.

The strange woman in the hooded cloak suddenly stood at my side, looking down at me with those large blue eyes. Her face was filled with compassion as she reached out and gently placed her hand on my forehead. She looked me over, taking a moment to examine my clothes that were probably strange to her.

“Blerg?” she asked, leaning her head to one side.

“What the fuck is blerg?” I replied, then winced. The pain in my jaw was worse than I had ever felt. I wasn’t sure what a broken jaw felt like, but I began to wonder if I had one. Considering that asshole had kicked me in the face, I probably did.

“Zin. Fel blerg,” she said with a small nod, as if stating fact. She placed her hands on her hips and pursed her full lips as she looked at me.

I opened my mouth to speak but immediately closed it at the pain in my face. Instead, I closed my eyes and took a few shallow breaths, whistling through my broken nose, then looked over at her.

The strange little woman walked over to a table on the other side of the small room and began to rummage through several items atop it. She returned a few minutes later with something in her hand. It looked like a small, egg-shaped gemstone, but it glowed with its own faint internal light. It was a faint pink tone, almost like the color of flesh.

“Floobee?” she asked, then gently placed the stone upon my forehead.

I wasn’t sure what she was doing but I was in no shape to resist. She began uttering something under her breath, words in a strange language I didn’t understand. Warmth radiated from the stone into my skin. Well, at least it was better than being cold. I hated being cold.

She placed her other hand on my shoulder to calm me and continued speaking in that strange language. Compared to the words she had said to me earlier, this had a very different sound. After a few sentences, she stopped talking and just concentrated on me.

The warmth from the stone on my forehead continued to flow into my skin, and it slowly spread through my face. A sharp pain lanced through my nose as it straightened itself. My left eye had been nearly swollen shut, but the swelling reduced and I could see again. I felt my jaw shift, confirming that it had indeed been broken.

I gasped at the feeling of my body and face healing. Cuts and scrapes on my body faded, and a broken rib healed itself as well. The sensation of things sliding in place was all at once relieving and sickening, as well as more than a bit painful. Seriously, the day you feel your ribs move on their own, you’ll understand.

After a moment, the woman sagged and closed her eyes as if tired, then removed the stone from my head. She took a deep breath, her hand still on my shoulder. Instead of calming me though, her hand was there to steady herself. She turned and went back to the table, where she set the stone. She selected a different stone, as well as a small figure made from straw and cloth, like a crude children’s doll.

I watched with interest as she came back to where I lay. The pain in my body was completely gone. I didn’t even have a hangover, which was impressive considering I had downed a dozen beers. Two was usually enough for me.

“Hey,” I said, smiling at her. “Thank you for healing me. That was very kind.” I knew she couldn’t understand my words, but hopefully she would be able to understand my tone, or at least my smile.

She set the new stone on my chest. This one glowed like the previous one, but it was green instead of being fleshtone. The woman pointed at my hair, then made a snatching motion. She then pointed at her doll and held up a single finger. Did she need to pull a hair from me? I nodded.

She smiled, and plucked a hair from my head. At least she was quick. She put it on the small doll, which she then set on my chest. The green stone pulsated once, and she moved it to my forehead. After that, she placed a hand over my lips and began uttering in that strange language again.

I didn’t feel anything this time. No warmth spreading through my skin, nothing. But when she finished, she let out a great sigh and slumped over on me, as if she had passed out. Her head rested on my stomach, and her hood had partially fallen off, revealing her long, black hair and pointed ears.

The lighting in her room was much better than it was in the tunnel, so I got a better look at her. Those big eyes, long, pointed ears, and green skin freaked me out a bit, but not as much as they would have earlier. She had just healed me, after all.

What I found most interesting was the sheer beauty of her face. I wouldn’t expect to find myself attracted to a middle-aged woman with green skin and pointed ears, but she was absolutely gorgeous to an extent I never thought possible. Her facial structure was humanlike with the exception of her slightly larger eyes. Full lips twisted and puckered and finally curved into a faint smile as she opened her eyes and looked up at me.

“I wish that wasn’t so tiring,” she said in perfect English. Her voice was low, almost sultry. “I’m not at my strongest when using blood magic, even with the stones to help me. I feel like I just ran a mile while carrying you on my back.”

“Hey, I can understand you now,” I said. “I didn’t realize you spoke my language.”

“I don’t,” she replied, straightening up. She knuckled the small of her back and winced. “But after that spell, we can understand each other with ease. You should be able to understand other languages as well, which will come in handy if you are who I think you are.”

“First off, thank you for healing me,” I said, wondering what she meant by that last part.. “I really, really appreciate it.”

She waved it away. “Sometimes, goblin magic can be powerful. Healing magic is one of the stronger ones, at least with my stones.”

“And second, what are—wait, did you say goblin?”

She blinked. “Yes, I did. What other kind of magic would I use?”

“So, you’re a goblin?” I asked, feeling slightly in a daze. Goblins? Seriously? I didn’t feel like I was still drunk, but I had to double check.

“Of course I am,” she said. “What else would I be?”

“Holy shit,” I said. “What were those men I saw out in the forest? Were they elves?”

“Probably,” she replied. “There are some other types that live out there, but elves are the closest. We tend to avoid most of the other races, though. They aren’t the kindest to goblins.”

“Can you untie me?” I asked, looking down at the strap across my chest.

“Oh, sorry,” she said. She reached out and quickly untied the wide strap that held me to the bed.

I sat up slowly, cautiously testing my limbs for pain. Of course, I felt fine. Better than I had in months, to be honest. That goblin healing magic was something special.

“Okay,” I said. “Let’s start from the beginning. Well, maybe not the beginning. I don’t think you’ll know how I got here. But what happened back in the tunnel?”

She sighed. “The guards are overzealous at times. Well, all of the time. To be honest, they’re quite horrible, and I hate them. I was about to use my magic against him when he attacked you.” She took a deep breath, as if to calm a sudden rise of anger. “They don’t like intruders. Especially with how big you are, there’s no way to tell if you mean us harm or not. I suspected you were kind from the moment I saw you.”

“So, that guy kicked my ass because I trespassed into goblin territory?” I asked.

“Basically,” she replied.

“Why did he hit you?” I asked her.

She frowned prettily. “I am not well liked among many goblins, especially the men. They see me as evil because I do magic, even though the king himself benefits from my magic. Even with my history, I am tolerated at best, as long as I avoid everyone. But, I have nowhere else to go, so I live here, on the edge of the city.”

That was a lot to take in at once. “City?” I asked. “There’s an underground goblin city here?”

She nodded, and looked at me strangely. “Do you not know anything about goblins?” she asked.

I thought of some of the silly stories I had read as a child, and movies I had later seen, all depicting goblins as two-foot-tall monsters with huge noses that were eager to gnaw your foot off. None of them were even remotely as attractive as her.

“Not really,” I said. “I’m new to your world. Mine was destroyed in an accident just a few hours before we met, and I somehow wound up here.”

“Interesting,” she replied. “How are you called? Do you have a name?”

“Aaron,” I told her. “Aaron Parker. What about you?”

“I am called Silvy,” she replied.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and ran my fingers through my hair. “This is crazy,” I muttered. “I don’t even know where to start with all this. Why are you so pretty and that goblin man was the exact opposite? He looked like a walking chainsaw with muscles.”

She frowned. “We have been bred that way for countless years. Only the strongest men are allowed to breed, and they always choose the most beautiful women. Many centuries ago, we used to be more similar, men and women. Now the men are savage brutes, while most of the women look like me. Any children that are born that don’t fit those qualities are killed.”

She still wore the cloak, so I couldn’t see much more than her face, although that alone was beautiful. When she moved her arms, the front of her cloak opened enough for me to see that she wore a simple brown dress and had large breasts. I thought back to the ridiculously voluptuous drawings I saw in that stone tunnel and realized they were probably not an exaggeration.

“What do you do down here?” I asked, although to be honest I wasn’t entirely sure what I even meant.

“Sometimes I am called upon for magic,” she said. “Although often in secret, as many would prefer to forget I exist.”

“Why would they treat you that way?” I asked. “I mean, you just healed me with magic. Can they not see how useful it is?”

She scoffed. Even that was pretty. “Men fear what they don’t understand,” she said. “None of them are able to do magic; it is only available to women and even then it is rare. They think it is a thing of evil. So they will shun me and chastise me in public and treat me as an outcast, but call for me in secret when they need my powers. Mostly it’s the king, but sometimes other nobles or his advisors need me. Usually for healing.”

“That’s horrible,” I said.

She shrugged. “It’s how I have survived the last two hundred years.”

Two hundred years? This just got more and more strange with every passing moment.

“What did you do before then?” I asked.

Silvy sighed. “Oh, I used to be much more than just a crazy old witch woman,” she said. “I was the king’s favorite wife. I bore him his eldest, his heir, and he favored me above his other wives.”

“And then what happened?” I asked.

“I warned him that Ralcor would rise up against him,” she said with a sad shake of her head. “And that he did. I told the king that he needed to rally support among the people or he would lose his throne.” She sighed. “He tied me to a stake and whipped me in front of everyone for not believing in him. My own husband treated me that way, due to his wounded pride. After that, he cast me aside. I never saw my son again.”

“Never?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Never.” Her eyes gleamed and a tear leaked down her cheek. “Even after all these years, the memory burns. Ralcor overthrew the king immediately after and put himself on the throne. When goblin men conquer the throne, they often kill any children from the previous ruler, then get the wives pregnant as soon as possible, just to try to erase his bloodline. Ralcor killed most of the wives and took new ones.”

“That is horrible,” I said. “It’s barbaric!”

“I am one of the rare women that can do magic, so I was called to Ralcor. His men came and took me from my home and brought me before him. He demanded that I use my magic to bless him and give him a long, fruitful life.”

I looked at her expectantly.

The sadness in Silvy’s voice changed to fierce pride. “Instead, I made him sterile. The only children he bore were from the first few days. He has only two sons and one daughter, and they detest him.”

“Wow,” I said. “Sterile, eh? Remind me not to piss you off.”

“He was furious,” she continued. “He stripped me naked and took his revenge right there in his throne room, in front of everyone. At least I never had to worry about having his child. I would have ripped it from my womb myself.”

“Why doesn’t someone do something about this guy?” I asked.

She barked a laugh, though there was no mirth in it. “You cannot begin to understand how cruel Ralcor is. The kind of violence he is capable of. Besides, he’s easily one of the best swordsmen that has ever lived. I get the feeling you come from a peaceful world. Things are different here.”

She reached up to her throat and untied her cloak, then tossed it aside. My eyes widened at the sight of her. Beneath her simple brown dress was the most ridiculous figure I had ever seen; huge breasts on her slender, four-foot-tall frame, with wide hips just made to grab onto. I couldn’t see her butt from that angle but I just knew it was big and round. Her thick thighs were further evidence of that.

She unlaced the front of her dress and I began to wonder if she was going to strip for me. Taking her figure into consideration, that sounded pretty awesome, but we were just talking about something pretty damn dark so it didn’t seem to fit the mood.

With the front of her bodice unlaced, I caught a glimpse of one of her large breasts as she pulled on the neck opening of her dress. She pulled it down to expose her shoulder, and slid her arm from her dress. Scars marked her arm, all the way up. She stood there, still as a statue, waiting for me to see. I squinted and realized I was seeing scars from bite marks on her arm, all the way from her wrist to the base of her neck.

“Jesus,” I said. “Why didn’t he just kill you?”

“Because he still needs me sometimes,” Silvy replied, stuffing her arm back into her dress. I was a little sad to see her tie the laces back up, but I understood that now was not the best time for that sort of thing. “As I said, I am one of the only people capable of magic. So once every few years, he calls on me. Besides, I think he enjoys seeing the hatred in my eyes when I look at him. He likes reminding me of the pain he has caused me.”

“And you work for him?” I asked. “The guy that did that to you?”

She shrugged. “It’s better than being killed, or forced into exile. Life can be difficult here, Aaron. We do what we must to survive.”

I shook my head. “Someone should do something about that guy. That’s horrible to have such a bad person as king.”

Her sudden smile caught me off guard. “Don’t worry, Aaron. Someone is going to do something about him. And that someone is you.”

5

Iheld up my hands to stop that line of conversation dead in its tracks. “Hold on. You want me to kill your king?” I suddenly felt like I had been thrust into a situation that was way over my head.

She smiled at me, her large, pretty eyes looking into mine. “I have prayed to the gods for more than a hundred years to deliver a tool that I could use to exact my vengeance. The moment I saw you, I knew they had sent you to me. The gods are often cruel, but once every few hundred years or so, they can be kind, it seems. I’m just glad they sent you so I don’t have to awaken the spirits of the fallen.” She shook her head. “They’re too angry, and can’t be trusted. That would probably be a disaster.”

“Look,” I explained. “I’m not sure if you remember, but I just got my ass kicked by one of the soldiers. I imagine the king would do a much more thorough job of kicking the shit out of me. You could do much better for finding a hero.”

Her smile never faltered. “I can handle that. As long as your mind is strong, I can take care of the rest. Besides, if the gods truly sent you, then they surely have a plan for you.”

I assumed she was referring to something magical. That was the only explanation. I mean, she had healed me, after all. What else was possible?

“So, what are you planning on doing?” I asked.

“I’m going to turn you into a living weapon,” she said. “A dagger, meant for the heart of Ralcor.” She took a step closer to me and examined me from head to toe. “You are much larger than us, which helps. We just need to make you stronger, much stronger, and teach you to fight.”

“And you can do this?” I asked.

“I can,” she said with a nod. “Or at least, I can help you learn. Others will teach you.”

I watched her warily. “All this feels like a bad dream. Are you sure I’m not actually dead?”

“You will be if you don’t listen to me,” she said nonchalantly. “I need you to lie back down on the bed.”

“Okay,” I said. So far, Silvy hadn’t given me any reason to not trust her, but I still watched her closely.

Silvy went back to the table and my eyes went straight to her rear end. I had been expecting something impressive, but that thing was downright ridiculous, even covered by her dress. I looked away and took a deep breath so I didn’t wind up with a rather embarrassing boner.

At the table, she sorted through a small pile of things. She picked up a scroll and scanned over it, then set it back down. Finally, she picked up a long, slender piece of wood—I felt silly for thinking of it as a magic wand, but that’s what it looked like—and a small dagger with a ruby for a pommel. She walked back to me, wand in one hand, dagger in the other.

“I need you to be very still,” she said. “I need to test your body, to see if you have any magical capabilities. For more than a century I have been asking the gods to send me someone. I need to make sure it’s you, so there are a few things I must check.”

I looked at the dagger in her hand. “Uh, and if I’m not?”

She looked at the dagger, then back at me and smiled. “I am not the strongest with certain types of magic, so these help. This dagger is for orcish magic, if you must know. It’s only a focal point, don’t worry.”

Considering she had already healed me, I decided to trust her. I laid my head back and tried to relax. It wasn’t easy.

Silvy held the dagger and wand above my chest, crossed in an X pattern, and began uttering something in what I assumed was the language of magic. The wand glowed gently, and Silvy’s eyes widened. She gripped the dagger tightly, but when the ruby set in the pommel flashed once, the tension in her seemed to evaporate. She laid the dagger on my chest, then set the wand atop it and stood there for a moment, silent. Her substantial chest rose and fell with deep breaths, and she reached up and wiped sweat from her brow.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

She loosened the laces of her dress and fanned herself a few times. After several minutes, she finally looked up at me. “If you want the truth, I had given up all hope that the gods would send anyone.”

“So you found something?” I asked, not entirely following her. My eyes crept down to the front of her dress, to those enormous breasts of hers, then snapped back up to her face.

Silvy nodded. “Magic resonated within you. The light in the ruby dagger was evidence of this. It seems you really might be the one.”

“Hold on,” I said. “Magic resonated within me? What does that even mean?”

“It means you can learn how to wield magic,” she said. “Although I know not how strong you would be, or what type of magic you would use.”

I looked down at the dagger lying upon my chest. “And if I hadn’t been able to use magic?”

She picked up the dagger and gave me a hard smile, then turned and walked back to her table. After sheathing it, she came back to me.

“So, where should we start?” I asked as I pushed myself into a seated position. “You want me to kill this dude, so I’m assuming you have a plan.”

She nodded. “I have an excellent plan. All it requires is you never giving up, no matter how hard things get. Because, trust me, things will indeed be difficult.”

“Boy, that’s not ominous or anything,” I muttered.

To my surprise, she laughed at my comment. Her laugh was absolutely delightful, and lit up her face like a sunrise. She placed her hands on her round hips and smiled at me.

“I think you’re going to be just fine, don’t worry,” she said. “I’m going to take good care of you and do things to your body to ensure you’re strong enough to do this.”

“Okay, I’ll bite,” I said. “What are you going to do to my body?”

“Make it stronger,” she said. “What else would I do?”

My eyes flickered down to the deep neckline in her dress for a split second and I grinned. “Ah, nothing,” I said. At least I was subtle enough with my glances that she hadn’t noticed.

She stared at me for a moment, then unlaced her dress further. “You like looking at me, don’t you?” she asked.

Well, shit. I guess she had noticed.

I shrugged. “Well, yeah. I mean, you’re very beautiful.” There was no use denying it.

She pulled the plunging neckline of her dress open further, exposing much of her breasts and the edges of her pink nipples. “It is good that you find goblin women attractive. That bodes well for your future.” She turned to the side and smoothed her dress over her round bottom, emphasizing her curves.

“Jesus Christ,” I said, looking away as I felt myself become erect. “Look, you’re a gorgeous woman. I’m just trying not to make this too awkward.”

She laughed as she took a step closer and shimmied her shoulders at me, causing her breasts to bounce partially out of her dress. They were big and round, and about as flawless as boobs could be.

“It has been many, many years since someone has looked at me in that way,” she said, finally tucking her breasts back into her dress. “I had almost forgotten how much fun it could be. Feel free to look if you want, Aaron, even though I’m old enough to be your grandmother.”

I laughed. “You’re old enough to be my grandmother’s grandmother. Humans don’t live as long as goblins do.”

“Is that so?” she asked, her voice suddenly growing more serious. “How old are you? And how old do your people generally live?”

“I turned twenty-six about three weeks ago,” I told her. “As for how long we live, well…. With some exercise and healthy food, eighty, sometimes ninety is possible. It’s pretty rare to live to a hundred.”

Silvy barked a laugh. “Oh, you’re so young. Well, I’m glad I asked you about your age. We’ll have to do something about that.” She turned back to her table and shuffled several things around until she found a thick book. After flipping through the pages for several minutes, she stopped and began reading.

“Uh, what can you do about my age?” I asked. “Can you warp time or something and suddenly make me thirty forever?” I chuckled.

The whole thing made no sense, but at least with her facing away from me I could get an eyeful of her figure. Those round hips, bubble butt, and thick thighs of hers were downright ridiculous, almost more like a caricature of a sexy woman than an actual person. Coupled with her beautiful face—surprisingly youthful considering she was two hundred years old—and I found myself unable to complain about my new companion. Well, other than the weird magical shit.

Silvy turned back to me, holding the thick leather-bound book in both hands. She slowly approached me, muttering quietly as she read from the age-darkened pages. After a quick glance up at me, she pointed to the bed.

“Lie down, please,” she said, then went back to reading out loud.

“No problem,” I said, and settled back on the bed. At least it was reasonably comfortable.

“Okay, this spell will take a few minutes for me to cast,” she explained as she slowly walked back to the table. She selected another dagger—different from the ruby-hilted one, this one was small and simply made, with a shining steel blade—then turned back to me. “You might feel some rather strange sensations during this spell. The recovery will require much of your strength, so this is a good test. I can assure you that no matter how uncomfortable you feel, I mean you no harm. Do you trust me enough to continue?”

I shrugged, my eyes fastened to her massive breasts. “Sure.” I mean, she wanted to improve my body and teach me how to fight and use magic, which all sounded pretty awesome. I wasn’t looking forward to fighting those crazed goblin men, although after a bit of thought I realized that getting some revenge might be a satisfying thing indeed. But, if she wanted all that, she certainly needed to keep me alive and healthy.

She stood next to the bed, small dagger in hand, and looked at me for a moment.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“Yes,” she replied. “I was just thinking to myself that it’s convenient that you find me attractive. This might get…strange.”

She set the dagger on the bed next to me, then hoisted her dress up to her thighs so she could climb onto the bed with me. It was a tall bed, waist-high on me so chest-high on her. Once she had climbed up, she kept her dress high and straddled me. After a deep breath, she closed her eyes and began quietly chanting something in the magical language.

My eyes practically bulged as I looked down. With her straddling me and her dress hiked up, her hairless pussy was completely exposed. Her thighs were indeed thick, but surprisingly muscular. My hands trembled with the desire to grab onto her.

She opened her eyes and shuffled forwards so that she straddled my crotch. “Again, I apologize if this is strange for you. I can assure you that it’s all part of the spell. I only have to make small changes to your body, to mix your essence with that of the goblins, to have the desired effect. Open your mouth, please.”

“My mouth?” I asked.

I barely had time to even think about her request, as she immediately leaned forward and placed her lips on mine. Her tongue pushed into my mouth and I pushed back on it with my own. It was an aggressive kiss, with us practically trying to choke each other with our tongues. To be honest, it was exhilarating. I became almost immediately hard, and without thinking, my hands went straight to her thick bottom and grabbed on. Holy shit, I felt like I was in heaven.

She smiled against my lips. “Ah, the excitement of youth,” she said with the faintest giggle, then pushed her tongue back into my mouth again for a few seconds. Our kiss was downright sloppy, and I enjoyed every second of it, especially since she was sitting right on my crotch. She spat a wad of her saliva directly into my mouth, and I loved it.

Silvy finally pulled away, laughing softly as she delicately wiped her mouth with slender fingers. “Thank you for making that so enjoyable,” she said.

“Uh, no problem,” I said. I felt like my mouth contained more of her saliva than my own. Honestly, I didn’t mind one bit. My hands went from her hips to her ass and I squeezed it again.

She sighed and gave me a pretty smile. “It’s a shame this spell doesn’t require any of those fluids,” she said, looking down at me. “Only blood and saliva. Even still, I think you’ll be pleased with the results. If you could relax for a moment, please.”

Silvy was so gorgeous that I completely missed the comment about blood. She poked at my arm with a finger, and I released her perfectly round ass and laid back. My cock was so hard it felt like a balloon about to burst. Holy shit, if she didn’t fuck me after kissing me like that, I was going to have to find a dark corner to finish myself off or something.

After gently pulling at the laces on the front of her dress, she pulled her neckline down far enough to free both of her arms. Of course that meant her big, round breasts were also freed. I reached up to grab them and she gave me a sharp look and raised an eyebrow.

“You are quite handsome, Aaron, and any other time I might oblige you. But right now you need to focus on this spell and nothing else.”

After that, she placed both hands on my chest, closed her eyes, and began chanting something in the magical language. I couldn’t understand any of the words, but they seemed to resonate almost unnaturally in the small room, echoing like we stood in a cathedral.

She opened her eyes and looked down at me for a moment. Noticing that I was staring at her bountiful breasts, she smiled again.

“Now, just lie there and be still. You might feel some unique sensations, so once again I will remind you that I am here to help you. If you survive this, you will be stronger in many ways. In fact, I imagine you’ll eventually thank me.”

Wait a minute, if I survive? I went to ask her what she was talking about and found that I couldn’t speak. In fact, I couldn’t move at all, not even my eyes. I was stuck staring at her huge tits, which was pretty awesome, I won’t lie. However, when she grabbed the dagger, my heart began to pound against my ribcage.

Her partially nude body moved as she raised the dagger and held it above me. She closed her eyes and continued chanting her spell, holding the dagger point-down above my chest. My pulse raced as I waited for her to drive it into my heart. Part of me wondered what she needed my blood for. Food, perhaps? Was she going to harvest my organs or something?

She had a pretty good system, I had to give her that. User her ridiculously good looks to seduce me, get me warmed up and ready to go, then freeze me with magic and stab me. I had survived the destruction of Earth only to be killed by a smoking hot goblin woman. Well, at least I saw her naked, so there was that.

Silvy lowered her dagger and grabbed my arm. The inside of my right forearm burned as she ran the point of the blade down my skin, from elbow to wrist. Blood immediately poured out, and without hesitation she drew the knife down her own right arm, then pressed our forearms together. From the corner of my vision I noticed that my blood didn’t spill all over the bed. Oddly, it almost seemed that her blood seeped into my arm.

“I am sorry, Aaron,” she said, giving me a look of sympathy. “I’m afraid this is going to hurt. I do hope you survive. I really do.”

Unable to move a single muscle, I laid there and stared at her beautiful tits while acid burned through my veins, first in my arm, then spreading all through my body. The pain was overwhelming, and I finally passed out.

6

When I finally woke, I found myself lying in the same exact position; on my back on the high bed, although a blanket covered me to my chin. My eyes snapped open and I looked around. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized I could move.

I grabbed the blanket and pulled it down, immediately noticing that I was naked. Silvy had removed my clothes and shoes and set them in a neat pile on a small table next to the bed. My skin seemed oddly clean, too, as if she had given me a sponge bath while I was out. I looked over and saw a small pillow next to mine, as if someone had slept there.

What the hell had happened? The last thing I remembered was Silvy straddling me like she was going to fuck me, kissing me like she was going to fuck me, but instead cutting my arm and casting a spell on me.

I raised my right arm and looked at it. Only the slightest pink line remained where she had cut me, elbow to wrist, which meant she had kept me in this bed long enough for the wound to heal. She was as crazy as she was beautiful, apparently.

I threw back the blanket and swung my legs over the side of the bed. It was only a bit cooler than I preferred, so I hopped out of the bed and went to my clothes. I made a noise when my bare feet touched the cold stone floor.

“Oh, you’re awake!” Silvy called out from the next room. She hurried through the door, hair frazzled, sleeves pushed up past her elbows. Flour dusted her hands. “Aaron, you made it!” She beamed a smile at me.

“Yeah,” I said. Damn woman had tried to kill me. I calmly grabbed my clothes and held them for a moment, ignoring her even though the front of her dress was halfway unlaced again.

“How do you feel?” she asked, taking a step closer to me.

“Fine,” I said, not really wanting to talk to her. Once I got dressed, I would find a way out of this place. Maybe the elves were nicer, and wouldn’t try to kill me.

She stepped up to me and reached for my arm. I quickly moved out of reach and backed against the bed. With a low laugh, she placed her fists on her hips and smiled at me.

“A bit upset after the spell? Well, I told you it would be strange. Look, if I wanted to kill you, I would have the moment I first saw you. Instead, I did the exact opposite.”

I stared at her for a moment. “What do you mean?”

Her smile deepened. “I told you that I needed to improve your body, Aaron. Have you looked at yourself yet?”

I gave her a suspicious glare, then looked down at my naked form.

“Huh,” I grunted.

Before this, I had been a solidly average guy. No visible abs, no burly shoulders, just average height and reasonably slender. I tried to eat healthy, which helped keep me from putting on any excessive weight, but I didn’t really have much muscle.

The changes I saw in my body were subtle, but they were there. I looked like I had been hitting the gym hard for several months. I flexed my leg and marveled at the outline of my quads. My arms were bigger, as well as my chest. Still not much for abs, but that was fine. The important muscles were there.

“What did you do?” I asked her, feeling slightly more trusting.

“Would you care to put some clothes on first?” Silvy asked. “I can’t have you walking around naked all day. You’ll wind up poking my eye out with that thing.”

“Sorry,” I said, then pulled my shirt over my head. After stepping through my boxers and pulling my jeans on, I gestured for her to continue.

“If you were to go through all the effort of overthrowing Ralcor and then just die fifty years later, that would be no good. So, I took care of that for you.” She crossed her arms beneath her breasts, causing them to bulge from the low neckline of her dress. “With that spell, I basically put some of my essence into you, what makes me a goblin. Blood, and saliva. So, now you’re stronger and you’ll live longer. Much longer.”

“Your blood in mine?” I asked. “Are we like, related now?”

She laughed. “No, Aaron, not even remotely. And to be technical, you’re not part goblin either. I simply used magic to give you some of our gifts.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“Well, you’ve already seen the improvements in your body,” she said. “You’ll also live longer. At least twice as long, possibly three times as long or more. Also, if you go long periods of time without seeing the sun—which often happens down here—you won’t get sick.”

“Huh,” I said, looking down at myself. “I don’t know what to say.” Was I really going to live two hundred years?

“Well, you could start by thanking me,” she said, raising a slender eyebrow slightly.

“I thought you were going to kill me,” I told her. “That you seduced me, then used magic to paralyze me and were going to kill me. I was scared out of my mind back there.”

She shrugged. “I very clearly explained that I wasn’t going to harm you.”

“Hard to take that seriously when you sliced open my arm,” I said, raising my right arm and pointing at the faint line. “Speaking of which, the wound is totally healed. How long was I out? Two weeks?”

Her laugh was melodious. “You slept the night, that’s all. The changes can be hard on the body. I healed you with magic, Aaron. Have you forgotten that I can do that?”

“And then you stripped me naked,” I said.

“Of course I did,” she explained. “I only have one bed, so I had to sleep there with you. Your clothes are uncomfortable against my skin. I much prefer the feeling of your body against mine than those clothes. Especially your breeches.”

“They’re called jeans,” I said, plucking at them.

“Well, they should be called garbage,” she said. “Perhaps I can get someone to make you a new pair. No, that would be too risky. The elves will have to do it.”

“Elves?” I shook my head and walked over to the table, the one with piles of magical objects on top. A chair sat next to it, so I pulled it out and sat on it. It was a bit too small, but otherwise reasonably comfortable. “Look, can you just explain exactly what’s going on?”

“I can,” she said. “But I’ll warn you, I need to cast one more spell on you before I am completely certain that you’re the one sent by the gods to save us. Although I have a feeling you’ll enjoy it much more than the last.”

I threw up my hands. “Silvy, you aren’t making any sense.”

She smiled. “Let me finish baking this loaf of bread and I’ll tell you everything.”

7

Roughly an hour later, I sat at a small wooden table next to Silvy. Several thick slices of fresh-baked bread covered with jam sat on a plate in front of me, with a mug of wine next to it. The wine had surprised me, but Silvy said that goblins often made wine whenever they found wild grapes or berries. Sometimes they even cultivated the grapes into a small vineyard to make more. It was a rare luxury among her people.

“So, from the beginning,” I said as I grabbed the pewter mug. The wine was a dry red, and every bit as delicious as I would have imagined. Goblin wine. Never would have expected that one, but then again I never would have expected goblins or elves either. Or, you know, surviving a black hole.

“I have been praying to the gods for decades, more than a century, for them to send someone to me,” Silvy said after stuffing a small piece of bread and jam into her mouth.

She chewed delicately and swallowed. Jesus, even the way she ate was adorable. I found myself more and more attracted to her every minute I was around her. The faint wrinkles around her eyes and mouth almost seemed to disappear. The green skin and large ears didn’t bother me anymore; to be honest, I didn’t even see them. I just saw an incredibly beautiful woman.

“And you think I’m that person?” I asked.

The bread was dark, not quite like pumpernickel but still darker than I was used to. I had no clue what kind of fruit the spread was made from, but it was easily one of the best jams I had ever eaten.

She shrugged. “I certainly hope you’re him. So far I believe you are, but there is still one more thing I have to check.” Color infused her cheeks and she glanced at me, then smiled and looked away.

“What?” I asked.

“You’ll see,” she said. “Later. Anyways, I am going to send you to the elves to train. That is the one thing I simply cannot do, is train you with a sword. I will send you to them with a gift, and if they accept then you will join them every day. They will train you with weapons and without, and possibly in the ways of magic as well.”

I blinked. “Elves are going to teach me to fight with a sword?” This just kept getting wilder and wilder by the minute.

Silvy nodded as if nothing were out of the ordinary. “The orcs are probably better fighters, to be honest, but they’re further away and I don’t care to deal with them. They’re more likely to just beat you instead of actually teaching you how to fight. Maybe in the future you can train with them, but for now, it’s the elves. Any questions?”

“A million,” I said. “I’m assuming you’ll show me the way out of here?”

She nodded. “Of course. As I have said, I live on the outskirts of this part of the city, close to the entrance. You’ll have to carefully sneak in and out each day so the guards don’t see you.”

I threw up my hands. “Well that sounds like a recipe for disaster. Have you forgotten what happened the last time one of the guards caught me?”

She shrugged as if nothing were wrong. “Well, I suppose you had better take this very seriously, then. Don’t worry, I can help you stay hidden. Avoiding detection by the guards…. Well, we can just call that part of your training.” She smiled as if she wasn’t talking about me possibly getting killed.

“Silvy,” I said after taking another bite. “I think you’re as crazy as you are beautiful.”

She flashed a smile at me. “Glad you noticed.”

“You don’t get much company here, do you?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” she replied.

I tried to think of how to phrase what I was trying to say. “Your demeanor has changed a good bit since I’ve been here. I’m saying you aren’t used to having people in your home, are you?”

“Oh,” she said, frowning prettily. “No, no one comes to see me. They haven’t in a long time. As I told you, I am an outcast.”

“Simply because of magic,” I added.

She nodded. “Well, magic and because the previous king publicly beat me and shamed me. And our current king tried to break me in front of a crowd of his soldiers while they cheered him on. I think some people assume I’m bad luck, even without the magic. But Ralcor doing his best to convince everyone that magic was evil certainly didn’t help.”

“But if they need magic, they’ll still come see you,” I said.

“Well, yeah,” Silvy said. “I mean, you have to get spells from somewhere, right? Might as well go see the crazy woman on the edge of town.” She huffed. “I do miss having people to talk with, though. It’s nice having you here, even if you are strange.” She looked me up and down. “Too tall, pink-skinned, tiny ears. Strange, indeed.”

I looked down at the back of my hand, at the pale skin. “My skin isn’t really pink. I mean, my mom was Swedish, so it’s more…. I dunno, peach? Ivory? To be honest, I have no idea what this color is called.”

“I’m green,” Silvy said. “Nice and simple. And what color is your hair? It’s like wet sand.”

“Blonde,” I said, running my fingers through it. “That’s called blonde.”

“At least your eyes are the right color,” Silvy said.

My eyes were blue, like hers, although hers looked more like shimmering sapphires, as they were notably larger than mine and caught the light like a gemstone would. Or perhaps that was just because they were large. Who knew, but they were absolutely gorgeous, just like the rest of her.

“Was the food alright? I have a tendency to eat the same thing every day.” She almost seemed nervous while asking.

“It was great,” I said. “And I’m not just saying that to be nice, it was really good.”

“Don’t get too spoiled with the elven food,” she said as she took my plate. “You still need to eat my slop.”

“So, how are we going to start that?” I asked. “Training with the elves, that is.”

“Ah, yes,” Silvy said, taking both of our plates over to a broad table. “I have something for that,” she said. She turned and went through the doorway, into the room where all the magical items were. “Come here,” she called out.

I pushed myself up from the small chair and went after her. She was rummaging through a case of brightly colored gemstones while muttering to herself. Finally selecting a dull green one the size of a chicken’s egg, she turned back to me.

“So, how many fights have you been in?” she asked, bouncing the glimmering stone on her palm.

“Fights?” I asked. “Look, that doesn’t happen very often back in my world. Before I ran into that asshole back in the tunnel, I think the last fight I had been in…. I dunno, middle school?”

“Middle school?” she asked, one eyebrow raised.

“I was about twelve years old,” I said. “My point is that fighting isn’t a regular thing back in my world.”

“Well, time to change that,” she said, looking down at the stone. “And I have just the thing that can help.”

“You aren’t going to hit me with that rock, are you?” I asked.

“Why would you think that?” Silvy replied, looking innocent.

I shrugged. “Well, you already paralyzed me and cut my arm open.”

Silvy rolled her eyes. “Are you ready?”

She didn’t wait for me to say yes before uttering an incantation. Lights began to flash inside the green stone, and it vibrated in her palm as if it were alive. Silvy continued speaking in the language of magic for a full minute, then abruptly stopped. Her shoulders sagged, but she smiled at me.

No, wait. That smile wasn’t directed at me. She looked at someone behind me.

I turned just in time to see a thickly muscled goblin man standing there. His shoulders looked like he could press a horse over his head, and the look on his face said he might eat the animal after.

“What the fuck!” I barked, stumbling backwards. The goblin man raised his fists, but remained in his place.

“Oh, relax, will you?” Silvy said, setting the green gem on the table. She dusted off her hands and took a few steps towards the kitchen.

“Is that one of the guards?” I asked, keeping my eyes on the heavily muscled goblin man. His cold, dark eyes focused on me like a cat watching a mouse.

“Aaron, take a deep breath,” Silvy said. “This is your new training partner. You can name him if you’d like.”

“Name him?” I asked, bewildered. I turned and looked back at the goblin man.

He stood roughly five feet tall, with heavy muscle on his shoulders and arms. His fists were still raised, but he just stood in place, watching me with a cold, slightly blank expression. Of course with his heavy brow and angular features, that blank expression was moderately terrifying.

“Training partner?” I asked.

“Yes,” Silvy said as if it were obvious. “I can’t send a complete novice to the elves, so I wanted to make sure you at least knew how to fight.”

I blinked and looked from Silvy to the magical goblin.

“You want me to fight him?” I asked.

Silvy spread her hands. “If you’d rather fight one of the guards, I can call them in here.”

“No, no, that’s fine,” I said, turning back to the goblin man.

I raised my fists and took a step towards him. To be honest, I didn’t really know how to fight. I had seen a few boxing matches and UFC fights, enough to know that I needed to keep my fists up so I didn’t get punched in the face, and not to land a punch on my pinky knuckle or I’d break it. But not much beyond that.

I took another step towards him and he began moving, bouncing around on his toes. He launched a fist at me, taking me right in the stomach. His fist struck my flesh and sank in an inch, as if he weren’t fully a physical being. It still hurt, but not like an actual punch to the gut would. I grit my teeth and slammed my fist right in his face.

“Wow, you’re horrible,” Silvy said.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I said through clenched teeth.

The goblin man circled around me, feinting a few times and striking with his bony knuckles. I managed to catch most of the blows on my forearms. Thankfully, his slightly incorporeal fists didn’t really hurt, but I definitely knew I had been hit.

“So, what am I going to name you?” I asked the goblin man. “How about Greg? I knew a Greg once, and he was a douchebag. Seems fitting.”

“What’s a douchebag?” Silvy asked.

“It’s what Greg was,” I replied. I sent a jab at Greg’s chin, then pulled it back and struck him in the stomach. I was momentarily proud of myself for landing a hit, but then he followed it up with a punch square in the middle of my face.

I staggered back a few steps, clutching my nose. Fortunately it wasn’t broken, just slightly tender. Had he been real, I would have been gushing blood.

“If you punch him in the face you’ll probably break a knuckle,” Silvy said idly, leaning on the table. “A real goblin, that is. Look at how thick his cheekbones are. Punch him in the stomach instead, unless he lets his guard down. Then punch him straight in the jaw. A solid hit square on the chin will knock him on his ass if you put some force behind it.”

“You know a lot about fighting,” I said, stepping closer to Greg again.

“When you’ve lived as long as I have, you pick up a few things,” Silvy replied.

I feinted with a couple left jabs, then threw a right hook at Greg once he let his guard down. He brought his hand up, deflecting my punch, and followed up with a blow to my solar plexus. I staggered backwards, wheezing.

“Could we start in easy mode first?” I asked Silvy as I tried to catch my breath.

“This is the easiest I can make it,” she said. “Hopefully you’ll take it seriously, now. Okay, enough fists. Let’s try this with knives.”

8

“Knives?” I asked, stepping away from Greg. “Silvy, there is no way in hell I’m fighting this guy with a knife. Magic or not, I won’t last a second.”

“Oh, relax,” she said, handing me a dagger with a long, thin blade. “Knife fighting is all about being quick and violent. Get in there and bleed him before he does that to you. And remember; knife fights are messy. You can expect to get tagged once or twice, so hopefully you’re wearing armor.”

I looked at the dagger in my hand, then over at Greg. A dagger had formed in his hand, its blade translucent and smoky. He held it ready to jab, with his other arm up to guard his face and neck. His black eyes were somehow simultaneously blank and filled with murder.

“You have got to be kidding me,” I said, crouching down. Speed was everything, she said, so I planted my right foot and used it to drive my right hand forward. I moved pretty quickly, but ultimately Greg was faster.

“God damnit, Greg!” I growled as his blade passed right in front of my face, narrowly missing me. Fake or not, the guy was relentless.

“That was actually pretty good,” Silvy said. “Just be a little faster next time, and make sure you keep guarding your face. One slice there and you’re done. Can’t fight if your eyes have been cut out, after all.”

I paused and looked back at the crazy goblin woman. She just shrugged.

“Okay, Greg,” I said, turning back to the holographic man. He just stood there, knife in hand, ready to fight.

“How am I going to get past you, Greg?” I asked him. He didn’t answer, of course.

I had to confuse the guy, and I had to do it quickly enough that he couldn’t follow my movements. Right as Greg drew his arm back for an attack, I lashed out, moving as quickly as possible. I sent my dagger at his face, knowing he would get there in time to block it. Right before it landed, I pulled back and stabbed at his stomach, then changed course once again and aimed for his face. I managed to slip past his guard and my dagger blade went right into his fucking eye.

I felt my gorge rise as my blade entered Greg’s eyeball, which sprayed fluids and leaked down his face. He didn’t even react; he just went back to a ready position, holding his knife ready.

“Jesus,” I said, looking at the gaping hole where his right eye had been.

Behind me, Silvy clapped. “Good job, Aaron! Now we just have to train you so you can do that consistently, and without getting gutted in return.”

I turned and looked at her. “You really know how to motivate a guy,” I said dryly.

She shrugged. “Well, your training partner is ready.”

I looked back at Greg, whose eye had already healed around my dagger. I reached out and pulled the blade out of his eye. Greg didn’t even flinch.

“Well, shit,” I said.

I continued fighting Greg for the next two hours under the watchful eye of Silvy. She offered surprisingly good advice, and even brought me some tea to drink when she noticed me working up a sweat. During that time she also chopped up a double handful of vegetables I didn’t recognize and threw them into a pot that hung over a small fireplace carved into the stone. I noticed the fireplace itself was cold; no wood or ashes at the bottom, but the water in the pot bubbled.

“Are you sure I need to go see the elves?” I asked, wiping sweat from my brow. “You seem to know your stuff, and I can just practice with Greg here.”

Silvy shook her head. “The elves know far more than I do. They can train you with a sword and a spear. This room isn’t really big enough for either of those.”

“I suppose you’re right,” I said. “Well, when do I start?”

“Tomorrow,” Silvy replied. She looked around, then took a deep breath. “I suppose there’s no more putting it off.”

“What?” I asked.

“One final test,” she said, eyeing me strangely. “I have to see if you’re compatible with goblins.” She pursed her lips, then walked over to the bed.

“What do you mean by compatible?” I asked, taking a step toward her.

Silvy uttered a few magical words and made a motion with her hand. Greg dissipated in a puff of green smoke.

“No need for an audience,” she muttered. She turned to me and pointed at the bed. “On the bed with you. And take your clothes off.”

My eyes widened. “Uh, what?”

“I have to see if you’re compatible with goblin women,” she said again. “And there’s only one way to do that. Now, take your clothes off and get on the bed.”

She began unlacing the front of her dress, then pushed it down. She had to wiggle a bit to get the dress over her broad hips, but in no time at all she stood there, stark naked.

“Holy shit,” I said without thinking.

Silvy’s body was something that I didn’t even think was possible without loads of plastic surgery. Her overall frame was small—I mean, she was barely four feet tall. But each of her breasts was a double handful and topped with a beautiful pink nipple, and her hips were nicely rounded to match. She turned and raised a knee onto the bed as she climbed on, giving me a splendid view of her impossibly round ass. Even the time-faded scars on her arms couldn’t take away from the beauty of her body. Once on the bed, she sat down and looked at me.

“Are you coming up here or not?” she asked.

I tore at my clothes in my struggle to get naked as quickly as possible. My shirt caught on my throat and choked me as I tried to yank it off in one motion, and my jeans chose that moment to catch on my ankle as I tried to kick them off. It took me a moment, but soon I was naked, as well as fully engorged.

Silvy looked down at my crotch and smiled. “Impressive,” she said. “Take it easy on me, okay?”

I looked down at my perfectly average penis. Well, she was four feet tall, after all.

I practically flew into the bed, eager to be next to her. Her previous spell had given me a taste of her—and quite literally—so I was pretty excited to go all the way.

“So, how do you want to start?” I asked, reaching out and caressing her thick thigh. It was surprisingly muscular, although her skin was smooth and soft.

“Don’t get too excited, young man,” she said to me with a hint of a smirk. “This isn’t so you can try to romance me or anything. I’m just checking to see if you are compatible with goblin blood. Lie down.”

“Uh, okay,” I said, lying back on the bed. My eyes stayed on Silvy’s ridiculous figure, which helped me maintain an erection that couldn’t have possibly been any harder.

She reached over and took my cock in her small hand, then gave it a squeeze and a stroke. She gave me a smile, then moved so that she could put it in her mouth. Opening wide, she took it nearly all the way to the base, then closed her lips tightly around it and sucked hard as she slowly pulled it out of her mouth. The sensation was incredible.

After that one single suck, she gripped me by the base and spat on the head of my dick. Then, she crawled over to me and threw one of her thick, muscular thighs over my hips and straddled me. The sight of her tiny-yet-voluptuous body hovering over me was quite possibly the most incredible thing I had ever seen.

Reaching between her thighs, Silvy took hold of me and lined the head of my cock up with her pussy lips, then rubbed it back and forth a few times. She made a faint grunt and smiled at me.

“It’s been a long, long time for me. I had almost forgotten how good this could feel.”

I was tempted to make a joke about blowing cobwebs out of her pussy, but instead I just smiled back and let my hands go to her round, full hips.

Silvy sank down on my cock, taking just the head, then raised herself back up and sank down again. She repeated that process, taking a little more of me each time, until I was fully inside her and she sat on my lap.

She closed her eyes and trembled for a second as she exhaled. Her hands went to my chest and she held onto me as she began slowly working her hips up and down. As for me, I kept my hands on her hips for a moment, then let them move back to her impossibly round ass and gave it a squeeze. The way her pussy felt was beyond words.

In only a matter of days I had gone from dying in a black hole to raw-dogging a beautiful goblin sorceress. I should have been weirded out, but as I watched Silvy’s beautiful face, eyes closed and breathing deeply while she slowly rode me, I didn’t feel weird at all. In fact, as one of my hands moved up to caress her large breasts, I felt quite the opposite of weird. This was like being in heaven, albeit some strange version where green-skinned women fucked my brains out.

“Gods, that is good,” Silvy said, still riding me slowly.

I had no problem with her slow pace. Her pussy was honestly the tightest I could ever remember being inside, so the slow pace was fine with me. While she insisted I wasn’t there to impress her, the last thing I wanted to do was blow in three minutes.

I bent my knees to better support her and she leaned forward, caught in the moment. Our lips met, and thankfully her kiss was just as aggressive as when she had cast the spell on me. Her tongue pushed into my mouth and I did the same to her.. My hands gripped her big, round ass and I squeezed it while thrusting up inside her incredibly tight pussy.

Silvy’s hand moved up and laid against my cheek as we kissed. Her other hand rested on my shoulder, where she held on tightly. Using my grip on her bubble butt, I helped her move her hips up and down, giving her my full length each stroke.

“You can speed up some,” she said in a breathy voice after a moment, speaking against my lips. “I can take it.”

She went back to kissing me and I moved my hands to her tiny waist. I held her tightly and picked up the pace, giving her full-length strokes at a relatively fast rate. There was no way I could last long like that, especially considering her tightness, but at that moment I didn’t care. My body was rapidly approaching the finish line and I wanted to be there.

Silvy’s faint moans began to increase in both pitch and volume. She finally broke our kiss and just held onto me, her eyes closed while I pounded her. Her breasts bounced with each thrust, and I found myself wishing she were a bit taller so I could suck on them.

As Silvy’s moans grew quite loud, I found myself rapidly approaching orgasm. I held her tightly and really started going at it, thrusting into her hot, wet pussy hard and fast. Her moans became staccato, rising a bit each time my hips slammed into her. That familiar tingle grew inside of me and suddenly my muscles clenched hard as I fired my load inside her. Silvy worked her hips up and down, milking every last drop from me.

Once I had finished cumming, Silvy leaned forwards and planted a soft kiss on my lips. She gave me a warm smile, then laid against my chest, breathing hard.

“It’s a shame all magic can’t be like that,” she said with a hint of a laugh.

“Tell me about it,” I said, and wrapped an arm around her.

We stayed that way for a while, breathing hard, just enjoying the feeling of each other’s skin in that post-coital moment. After a few minutes, Silvy finally straightened up. She sat on me for a moment, my softening cock still buried inside her, her cheeks glowing.

“Well, that was certainly fun. Time for the second part of the spell,” she said.

9

Iblinked at her words. “Uh, second part?” I found myself tensing up in anticipation of her pulling a knife on me. I mean, she had done it twice before.

She gave me a flat look and put her hands on her ample hips. “Oh, relax, Aaron. Besides, did you really think the entirety of this spell was just me having sex with you?”

I shrugged. “Hey, I don’t know anything about magic. It could have been.” I let my hands slide down to her hips and held her there, wishing I could go a second time right then. “But hey, it’s a nice thought, right? What if the spell didn’t take? Maybe we should do it again. I certainly didn’t feel anything magical, other than this ass of yours,” I reached around and slapped her on her plump bottom.

Silvy laughed and set both of her hands on my chest. She clenched her pelvic floor muscles and lifted herself off of me. I must admit to a bit of sadness as I watched her climb off the bed. Never in my life had I been with a woman that gorgeous before, nor that voluptuous. I don’t think anyone on Earth had. My eyes stayed glued to her bubbly round ass as she walked across the room, toward the table that held all her magical equipment. That thing was simply incredible. Her ass, that was. Not the table.

Silvy sorted through the pile of magical items on the table and finally selected another magic wand, this one topped with a small sapphire that caught the light and glinted. She stood there for a moment, waving the wand in small circles in front of her abdomen while speaking in the language of magic. The sapphire set in the end of the wand suddenly flashed, then flashed again.

“This is wonderful news,” Silvy said, setting the wand on the table. She turned back to me and stood there, stark naked, hands on her hips. “You are indeed compatible with goblin women. So, after you remove Ralcor and set yourself on the throne, you can take as many wives as you’d like and sire a tribe of children.”

I ran my fingers through my hair. There was just too much in that sentence to unpack, but I was definitely going to need an explanation, and soon.

“So, uh, does this mean you’re pregnant?” I asked her, and tried to think of what that would be like. My beautiful goblin woman, pregnant with my kid. I wondered if I would be raiding the goblin fridge at midnight and if I’d have to coach the little guy’s goblin baseball team.

“Oh, of course not,” Silvy said. She spread her legs and scrunched her face, then her stomach muscles tightened and she grunted. A wad of my cum squirted out of her vagina and splatted onto the floor. “I love sex, but I have no desire to be a mother again. Once was enough for me. Besides, we goblin women have other ways to enjoy sex without getting pregnant. Personally, I love doing it other ways. Most women do.” She winked at me.

“Wow,” I said, looking at the blob of cum on the stone floor. “That’s some impressive muscle control.”

Silvy gave me a wry look, then fetched a washcloth. She knelt down and cleaned my semen from the floor, facing away from me so I got another incredible view of her backside. I didn’t think she did it on purpose; she just wasn’t used to another person being in her house. Holding the cloth in her hand, she focused intensely on it and the cum evaporated in a puff of smoke, leaving just a clean washcloth in her hand.

If there was more magic that involved sex like what we had just had, then I wanted all of it. I stayed on the bed for a moment, just admiring the beautiful curves of her body as she tidied up around her place. She was fully comfortable in just her skin, even around me, a stranger from a different world.

“You didn’t say anything when you did that last part,” I said.

“What?” she asked, turning to face me.

“When you made my cum disappear,” I clarified. “You’ve been speaking magic words this whole time, but you didn’t say anything when you did that.”

“Oh,” Silvy said, and looked down at the washcloth. “No words are required for most magic, especially goblin magic. I’ve studied this for centuries and have learned other forms, some elven, some orcish, even some troll magic. There are other types of magic that do require words. Also, my stones require them.”

“Interesting. So, what’s next?” I asked as she bent over to clean up a small spot on her floor, giving me a perfect view of her pink pussy lips and asshole. I found myself wondering if there were any spells that involved the backdoor. I didn’t care what they involved, I would be down for them.

She straightened up and looked at me, giving me a small, knowing smile. “Oh, cool your blood, young man. As I said, I only did that to determine whether or not you were compatible with goblin women. Now that we know you are, we can finally continue.” She looked around the room for a moment, then fetched her dress from the table. “As for what’s next, I was thinking about dinner.”

Much to my dismay, she stepped into her dress and pulled it back on, then laced up the front. She was still gorgeous in that dress, even though it covered her from neck to ankle. But then again, a rough burlap sack couldn’t hide her figure.

I hopped down from the bed and pulled my clothes back on. Dinner sounded great, especially after two hours of fighting a holographic goblin man. The aroma of her stew filled the next room and leaked into the room we stood in. While I had never really been much of a stew guy, it smelled fantastic and made my stomach rumble loudly. Silvy heard that and smiled.

“I’m glad you’re hungry. I made extra.” She fetched a towel and went over to the cookpot, then used the towel to grab onto the wire handle. After moving the cookpot to her stone counter, she grabbed two bowls and filled them with steaming stew.

“Thanks,” I said as she handed me a bowl. “What is it?” I had noticed her frowning at the stew.

“I was just thinking that if you eat this much every meal, I’ll need more food.” Her frown faded into a sudden smile. “Oh, this can be a perfect opportunity for you to practice sneaking by the guards!”

I paused, a spoonful of stew halfway to my mouth. “Silvy, I think I would rather jump off a cliff than deal with those guards again.”

If my comment bothered her, she showed no sign. “Well, then I know you’ll take this seriously,” she said with another smile.

“Oh, and what was that about me taking over the throne and having a bunch of wives?” I asked. She had mentioned me killing this Ralcor guy before, but the rest was new.

She nodded like I had said nothing out of the ordinary. “Well of course, Aaron. Once you kill Ralcor, you will be the new king. The king is expected to take at least three or four wives. More if you’d like. The king is often considered the strongest of the goblins, so he is encouraged to have many children, as they would of course be the strongest children. This is one of the ways goblin men have become so strong and tall over the years, and our women so…” she paused, gesturing towards herself. “Well, like me. Your wives will be selected from the most beautiful of our women.”

I blinked. I didn’t even know how to respond to all of that. I shoved a spoonful of stew into my mouth, pleasantly surprised at the flavor. It was earthy and herby and rich and absolutely delicious.

Her comment about the most beautiful goblin women left me thinking. The way she said it made me think that somehow, some way, Silvy was just average. Other goblin women would be far more beautiful, although I didn’t see how that was even possible.

“I see you like my stew,” Silvy said around another bite. “Good. You’ll be eating plenty of that, although I’m already low on ingredients. We’ll have to do something about that.”

Fortunately, she had more of that rich, dark bread lying around, so I used a few slices of that to wipe the bowl clean once I was finished. All in all, it was a simple yet excellent meal.

“Thanks, Silvy,” I said. “In fact, thanks for everything. You’ve fed me, giving me a place to sleep, and in general just been very kind to me. I really appreciate it.”

Silvy watched me for a moment, then suddenly winked. “Nothing is for free, Aaron. You’d do well to remember that. Now, are you ready to learn how to be one with the shadows?”

I groaned. “Do I really have a choice?”

She smiled. “No.”

10

Ifollowed Silvy back into the room where she kept both her bed and the table with the magical items. Her cave-house only seemed to have two rooms, so I wasn’t sure if she had names for them, but I decided to just call one the bedroom and the other room the kitchen. Anyways, I followed her into the bedroom.

“Now, let’s see here,” she muttered as she rummaged through all the things on the table.

Standing where I was, right behind her, I finally got a good look at the table and its contents. A stack of scrolls and loose sheets of parchment were in a stack on the far left, with a pile of magic wands right next to it. On the right side of the table was a large bowl filled with egg-sized stones in every color of the rainbow. An assortment of different items were piled in the center of the table, everything from a few daggers to various bits of clothing and a couple small figurines.

Silvy sorted through the bowl of stones and finally selected one slightly smaller than the rest, mottled gray in color. She held it up, examining it, and uttered a few magical words under her breath. With a nod of satisfaction, she turned, blinking in surprise when she noticed me standing right there, unintentionally looming over her.

“Here,” she said, handing me the stone.

I held out my hand and she placed the stone in my palm. It was cool against my skin, with nothing suggesting it was magical in any way. It looked like an ordinary gray stone that had been polished.

“So, what do I do?” I asked, examining the stone. Its surface was as smooth as glass, but the color of fog.

“Simple,” Silvy said as she grabbed a canvas sack from beneath the table. She handed me the sack before continuing. “You hold that stone in your mouth, and as long as you are in the shadows, you will blend in with your surroundings and become invisible. Well, basically invisible.”

“Um, okay,” I said, looking down at the stone in my palm. “So, I just put it in my mouth and creep down the tunnel and they won’t see me?”

“You can walk normally if you’d like,” she said. “But if any of the guards are nearby, you should move quickly while being as silent as possible.” She reached up and tapped her large ear. “We have sharp hearing, after all, and our sense of smell is powerful as well.”

I suddenly looked down at myself and smelled my armpit. It wasn’t bad, but I could use a bath.

“Yes, you smell like a young man that just had sex and hasn’t cleaned up yet,” Silvy said when she saw me smelling myself. “We can worry about that later. For now, you’re going to fetch me some food. Come here.”

I followed her into the kitchen, where she pointed out several things. She handed me a root vegetable that looked like a potato, but orange. It very clearly wasn’t a sweet potato, but a regular potato in a different color. She also handed me some sprigs of herbs that she said grew in the area, with instructions to bring the entire plant, root and all, if I found specific ones.

“Won’t they die down here in the darkness?” I asked.

“You just let me worry about that,” she said. “Now, let’s get going. You need to get this done before the sun sets and you can’t see anything with those small, human eyes of yours.”

I let myself be herded to the door at the side of the kitchen. My head just barely cleared it, and I hurried through and held the door for her. After that, I turned and looked behind me.

We stood in a giant cave, a hundred feet tall and easily five hundred feet wide. What looked like glowing moss grew in patches on the ceiling of the cave, preventing everything from being plunged into darkness. The moss provided gentle illumination, something sufficient for goblins with their sharp eyes. For me, it was just a little on the dim side, but enough that I could safely make my way around.

Silvy’s home was on the far edge of the giant cave, carved deeply into the stone wall of the cave. Hundreds of buildings rose from the floor of the cave, built from stone and brick, some towering five or six stories high. Small orbs glowed orange atop poles at every intersection, like magical street lamps. Even from this distance, I saw hundreds of goblins walking around the city, and against one of the far walls a large opening that led into darkness.

“Does that lead to another cave?” I asked.

Silvy nodded. “There are about a dozen like this, although I believe workers are building two more on the lower levels as we speak. Ralcor lives in Royal City, which is above us. There are more beneath this one.”

“Hold on,” I said. “So there is another city like this but above us?” I looked up at the stone ceiling. “As in, carved into the stone up there?”

Silvy nodded. “Yes, the king lives on top of everyone. Most people live below this level.”

“Holy shit,” I said. “You’ve got an entire city carved into this mountain.”

Silvy shrugged as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. “Where else would we live?”

I followed her along a path that traced the very edge of the cave. There was just enough light for me to get a glimpse of her ass undulating with each step. I grinned like a kid in a candy shop watching her walk. I could have my own harem of women like her. All I had to do was defeat a centuries-old goblin man known for his strength and cruelty. No pressure or anything.

The well-worn path curved to the left and suddenly we stood before a large tunnel opening. Silvy stood there for a moment, hands on her hips, then turned to me.

“I don’t hear anything, but you never know who’s in there. Go ahead and put the shadow stone in your mouth and get out there.”

I looked at the stone in my hand and grimaced. “Why can’t this magic be like what we did earlier?”

Silvy chuckled. “Oh, like me casting a spell on you with my pussy? You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

I grinned. “Sounds like my kind of magic. If you need to practice it any, just let me know.” With that, I popped the stone in my mouth.

Silvy laughed. “Oh, Aaron. You are a delight, at times.”

From the way her eyes focused on something far away, I could tell she couldn’t see me any longer. For that matter, I looked down at myself and saw nothing but the cold stone floor.

“Well, that’s interesting,” I said, flexing my hand right in front of my face without seeing it.

“Listen, Aaron,” Silvy said, holding a hand out to me. I took her hand in mine and stepped closer to her. She smiled, still unable to see me. “Be careful out there, okay? You’re the answer to my prayers, so I can’t lose you. But more than that, all of my people are depending on you, even if they don’t yet know it. You don’t know much about this world, or how to fight. I imagine you aren’t good at foraging, either. Consider this your first test.”

“I’ll be careful,” I told her.

Silvy yelped as I used my grip on her hand to pull her close to me. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her, thoroughly and deeply. She giggled in delight and pushed away from me.

“You’re a real scoundrel, you know that?” she said, tucking away a few loose strands of hair. “Perhaps the gods sent you to me to punish me. Now, off with you. And be careful.”

“I will, I promise,” I said.

Stepping as lightly as possible, I crept by her. I was tempted to reach out and slap her on the ass as I passed by, but decided to calm myself a bit. There was no use pushing things too far with my only friend in this strange new world. Even if she did have a magnificently round ass.

I entered the mouth of the tunnel, grateful for the small, glowing orbs set against one wall that provided faint illumination. I made sure to stay against the opposite wall and hurried down the tunnel. As long as I remained in the shadows, I would be invisible, she said.

The tunnel was surprisingly long and gently sloped down as I continued. I realized after a moment that if the tunnel had sloped the other way, water would flow into the underground city every time it rained. Good thinking on their part.

I held my hand in front of my face as I passed by one of the glowing orbs. The light wasn’t bright, but it was enough to give me concerns about the effectiveness of the shadow stone. Sure enough, when I stood even with the light, my hand shimmered in front of my face. After taking a few steps further down the tunnel, I disappeared again.

That bit of knowledge came in handy when I saw a goblin man down the tunnel, approaching me with a militant stride. Simple armor covered his torso, with a mail skirt hanging to his knees. An open-faced helmet covered his head, with a row of spikes along the top like a mohawk. He carried a spear in one hand, with his other hand resting upon his club hilt.

My heart pounded against my ribs so loudly that I feared the guard would hear it. There was a light set against the tunnel about twenty feet in front of me. I looked back over my shoulder at the light I had just passed, and took a few steps forwards so that I was equidistant between them.

I flattened myself against the wall as the goblin guard approached. His hard, angular face was twisted into a permanent frown. A thick scar ran down the side of his face, just visible beneath his helmet. The guy looked like he chewed rocks for a hobby.

As carefully and quietly as possible, I slid to the side, trying to get further down the tunnel. My heart sank when the guard suddenly halted. He looked around, sniffing the air.

“Smells like sex in here,” he muttered. He smelled his own armpit, then shook his head.

I tried to continue down the tunnel, wincing as a small stone ground against the tunnel floor with my next step.

The goblin guard’s head snapped around, right towards me. His grip tightened on the haft of his spear and he raised it in front of him as his eyes scanned the area. He bared his teeth in a silent snarl as he took a step closer to me.

The futility of this suddenly dawned on me. This guy may have only been five feet tall, but he was absolutely terrifying. I would have to defeat dozens of these guys in order to replace the king like Silvy wanted. At that moment, I felt like learning to fly would be more realistic.

Taking a deep breath, I took another step, then bolted down the tunnel. The goblin thrust his spear and swung it to the side, scoring a line across the back of my shoulder as I fled. It was only a scratch, but it hurt like a son of a bitch. I kept my mouth shut and sprinted down the tunnel, letting my long legs carry me away from the shouting goblin man.

“Foul demon!” he shouted. “I know you’re in here!” He ran a few steps towards me, thrusting his spear into the air, hoping to kill what he couldn’t see.

As for me, I just kept running.

11

The guard only followed me for a few dozen feet down the tunnel, then merely shouted curses and threats at my back while I ran. I left him behind and hurried towards the entrance. The evening sun casting shadows across the opening was perhaps the most beautiful thing I had seen in a long time, with the exception of Silvy’s naked body.

I ran until I had fully escaped the tunnel, then stood there for a moment with my hands on my knees, chest heaving. I wasn’t particularly out of shape, but I hadn’t run like that in a long time. After spitting the stone out, I stuffed it into my pocket, then looked around.

The ground was mostly clear for a good twenty or thirty feet in front of the mouth of the tunnel. Massive trees towered beyond that, with smaller ones filling in the spaces between. It created a canopy that blocked most of the sunlight, but enough filtered down to make it relatively easy to see.

I studied the boot prints on the ground and decided to follow some of the smaller ones. They fanned out in multiple directions, most going into the forest. I picked one of them and followed as best as I could until I stood among the trees. Silvy had explained what the plants would look like, so I spent a few minutes scanning the ground as I walked along the treeline, looking for any herbs or anything that looked like the brightly colored potatoes.

Of course, I found nothing.

After fifteen minutes of that I felt like giving up, but I thought about how that would look, going back to Silvy empty-handed. Not only had I failed at finding any food, but I gave up after a short period of time. Suddenly ashamed of myself, I went back to studying the ground, looking for anything edible, and trying to keep my bearing.

To my delight, after another ten minutes I found a small bush covered in bright yellow berries. I picked half of them and put them in the bag, then continued on my way.

After another five minutes, I saw more footprints and a few patches of soil where something had been dug up. Jackpot. I looked all around and decided to follow those prints. They were smaller than the heavy bootprints I had seen outside the tunnel, and lacked the blocky heel of men’s boots. Honestly, the prints made me think of soft slippers.

I found more areas with churned soil and smiled to myself. If someone else was digging up food here, then I had found exactly what I wanted.

The sound of someone scurrying away through bushes suddenly came to my ears, and I stopped. One of the goblin men would have probably just killed me, which meant this was likely a woman.

I set my canvas sack on the ground and raised both of my hands. Looking around, I couldn’t see any sign of her.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” I said. “I’m just here to find some food. Maybe you can help me?”

A faint gasp came from a thick bush near my left. I looked over at the bush and after a moment, saw a pair of bright green eyes watching me. Her green skin blended in perfectly with the foliage around her, and I only saw her because I knew what to look for. I took one small step closer, still holding my hands up.

“Hey,” I said. “I’m Aaron. As I said, I’m just looking for some food. It looks like you’ve already dug up some stuff, so do you think you could help me?”

After a moment, she straightened up enough to look at me from over the top of the bush. My jaw almost dropped when I saw her.

Silvy’s beauty had startled me when I first saw her, but this young woman was on another level. Her hair was dark green, nearly black, and framed a face with a bone structure most models would kill for. Full, lush lips were pressed into a thin line and her large green eyes watched me suspiciously. Of course those large goblin ears poked through her hair on each side. I couldn’t see anything of her body, but my imagination ran wild.

“You speak the goblin tongue,” she said. Her voice was high-pitched, not in a childlike way but in a manner that somehow fit with her small frame. It was absolutely adorable, just like the rest of her.

“Yes, I do,” I said, silently thanking Silvy’s magic.

She stood up the rest of the way, still eyeing me with caution. A linen-colored blouse bared most of her shoulders but covered her down to her wrists. Even with the loose-fitting shirt, her large breasts were still apparent, just like the knee-length skirt she wore did nothing to hide the curve of her hips and thickness of her thighs. In one hand she held a large sack, much like mine, and in her other she clutched a thick-bladed knife. The way she held it made me think she knew how to use it, so I kept my hands up.

“Why do you speak our language?” she asked.

I didn’t want to come right out and say magic, because Silvy had told me that many goblins were suspicious of magic.

“I am a friend to the goblin people,” I said, hoping she would buy it. I needed to find a way to show her that I meant no harm. “I’m just here to collect food for Silvy, to repay her kindness.” The moment I said that, I cursed my loose tongue.

The beautiful young goblin woman frowned for a moment. “Silvy, the witch woman?”

I sighed and nodded.

“It is a shame how she is treated,” the woman said, shaking her head. “She does no wrong, but is treated as an outcast. And you say she helps you?”

“Yes,” I replied. “I, uh…. Look, it’s a long story but the summary is that I come from a far-away world. I don’t know anything about your world here, but I found myself inside the tunnel to your city, and Silvy found me and helped me.” I decided to leave out the part about the goblin guard kicking the shit out of me.

“Are you a magical creature? Your clothes are very strange,” the woman asked, one eyebrow slightly raised.

“I don’t think so,” I said, looking down at my Slayer t-shirt. “I mean, their album Reign in Blood was pretty magical, but I don’t think that counts.”

She frowned prettily. “Shame. I have always found magic rather fascinating, although many goblins fear it. Well, mostly just the men, probably because they can’t use it, but they are the ones in power.” She studied my face for a moment. “I am Zia. I will help you, but remember that I have this.” She held her knife up.

“Thank you,” I said, finally lowering my hands. “My name is Aaron. Hmm, Zia. That’s a pretty name.” A bit of flattery never hurt anyone.

“Thanks,” Zia said. “It means ‘warrior queen.’ I’ve always found that interesting, as we don’t have queens.”

“Interesting,” I said. “I think my name means ‘strong,’ although it’s been a while since I’ve looked at any of that stuff.”

“Are you?” she asked.

“What?”

“Strong,” she said. “If that is what your name means, then I would hope you would be strong.” She took a step towards me and finally lowered her knife.

I shrugged. “I suppose I am,” I said, remembering Silvy’s spell that grew my muscles a bit. “Say, can we start looking for food? I’ve been out here for half an hour and all I’ve found were these.” I reached into my canvas bag and pulled out a handful of the small, yellow berries.

Zia hissed and took a step forwards, slapping them out of my hand. “No! Those are poisonous. You cannot eat them.”

I turned my bag over and emptied it on the ground. “Well, I’m certainly glad I found you,” I said.

“Come. I will show you what you can eat,” she said, turning and walking away.

The way her ass moved in that skirt was, indeed, just like Silvy’s. I did my best not to stare too much as I hurried a few steps so that I walked beside her.

“These are good,” Zia said, stopping for a moment to kneel on the ground next to some green shoots. Using her knife, she cleared away the soil until she pulled one of those strange, orange potatoes from the ground. She pursed her beautiful, plump lips and blew on it, knocking more of the dirt from it, then handed it to me.

“Perfect,” I said. “Those are exactly what Silvy wanted. And some herbs, if we find any.”

“Here is another,” Zia said, digging it up. Once she had pulled it from the ground, she stuffed it into her own bag and then looked at me. “Do you not have anything to dig with?”

I frowned at my hands. “I suppose not.”

Zia shook her head. “She sent you out here unprepared. Shame.” Looking about her for a few minutes, she finally dug up a partially buried rock about the size of my open hand. It was flat as well, and would probably work as a crude digging tool. She handed it to me, and I thanked her.

Together we dug up a dozen of the strange orange potatoes. As the sun began sinking closer to the horizon, Zia suddenly hurried over to a small cluster of bushes. Using her knife, she cut several sprigs off and stuffed them into her bag.

“If she wanted herbs, here they are,” she said.

I approached her and knelt right next to her, examining the plant. It reminded me of basil, but the leaves were much smaller and lacked the pointed tip. Selecting the smallest plant, I pulled the entire thing up from the soil and placed it in my bag. Zia gave me a strange look, so I explained.

“Silvy said if I found any herbs to bring the entire plant,” I said.

“But it will die without sunlight,” Zia said.

I shrugged. “I said the same thing, but Silvy insisted she could make it work.”

“Magic truly is amazing,” Zia said. “If men weren’t so afraid of it, we could use it to grow all the food we wanted, without a need to come out here and dig in the dangerous forest.”

“Uhh, dangerous?” I asked. I had seen elves the other day, but Silvy insisted they were friendly.

“Yes,” Zia said. She looked at one of the massive trees, her head craning back as her eyes followed it all the way up. “Not everything that lives out here is kind like the elves. Gnolls roam the area. As tall as you are, they might not bother you unless there were enough of them. They attack goblins on sight, though. They think we are magical beasts, and that consuming our flesh will grant them magical powers.”

I blinked. “Wow, I wasn’t expecting that.”

Zia nodded. “That is why we don’t venture far from the mouth of the tunnel unless we have a man to guard us. A pack of gnolls would attack me without hesitation, but they know better than to mess with our men, especially the guards. If there are enough of them, though, even that won’t deter them.”

I looked around the forest, suddenly feeling unsafe. “It’s no wonder the elves live so high up in the trees,” I muttered. “What else lives around here?”

Zia frowned and looked around with me. “Nothing nice,” she said. “Fortunately, the orcs are further away. They aren’t always bad, but if a mood takes them they might just go into an uncontrollable killing frenzy. Harpies sometimes roam the area at night.” She looked over at me. “I’m mostly safe from them, but not you. They’ll sing to you, using their song to hypnotize you. You’ll walk right into their claws, smiling while they shred you. And sometimes trolls pass through here.”

“Trolls?” I said. “Well, shit. No wonder you live underground. This place suddenly sounds horrible.”

Zia’s frown remained. “Yes, after speaking of it, I have little desire to stay outside, especially since you have no weapons. The sun is setting, so we should head back inside.”

I let her take the lead, both so I could stare at her ass and because I didn’t quite know where I was. We wound through the forest, moving quietly and taking the long way back to the underground city. As we approached a small tree, Zia clapped her hands with excitement.

“Oh, these are wonderful!” she exclaimed. “The branches of this tree bend far too much to climb it, so you’ll have to help me up. Come here.”

I looked at the tree as I stepped up to her. Small fruit hung from the branches, like plums but sky blue in color.

“Okay, how am I helping you?” I asked.

She pointed to the ground in front of her. “Kneel.”

I chuckled. “Yes ma’am.”

She blushed, but as I knelt in front of her, she climbed on my back and sat on my shoulders. Her sitting there pushed her skirt high up on her thighs, and it was impossible to miss the faint warmth of her pussy as it almost touched the back of my neck. I placed my hands on her thighs to hold her in place, then stood up.

“Don’t get any ideas,” she warned. “I still have a knife, and you don’t.”

She directed me to walk around the tree while she picked the blue fruit from the branches. At one point I simply reached out and grabbed onto a branch, bending it down so she could pluck more of the fruit from it.

“That should be good,” she said.

I knelt back on the ground, and she slid off, hurriedly pushing her skirt back down, blushing slightly.

“Thank you,” she said, reaching into her bag. She gave me half of the fruit, which I put in my own canvas bag. “Shall we head back now? Are you still staying among us?”

“I am,” I said, pulling the shadow stone from my pocket.

“Well, let’s go home, then,” she said with a smile.

12

We made light conversation as I followed her back towards the tunnel. I clutched the shadow stone in my hand and focused on the land in front of us, struggling to see in the rapidly fading light. The moment I saw any sign of one of those guards, I would use the stone and disappear.

“How old are you?” she asked.

“Twenty six years,” I said. “Although I’m not sure if a year in your world is the same as mine. How about you?”

“Twenty five,” she replied. “My mother says I’ll die an old maid at this point, but I just ignore her comments. I’m not going to tie myself down to some monster.”

I was starting to get the notion that nearly all goblin men were assholes. I said as much, and she just nodded.

“That’s basically it,” she said, suddenly stopping. She looked around, then lowered her voice. “It’s our king, Ralcor. I’m assuming you haven’t met him, since you’re staying with Silvy. Everyone knows how much he hates her, even though he still uses her for her magic. Anyways, he treats everyone poorly, especially his wives. Other men often copy his behavior.” She suddenly gave me an odd look. “Speaking of which, are you her new mate?”

“Silvy?” I asked. “No, she’s just helping me out.”

Zia gave me a patient look. “So, the witch woman is just helping you out? Nothing in return?”

“She wants me to do some things in return, yes,” I said, trying to avoid the topic as much as possible. I mean, I couldn’t just tell Zia that I was ultimately planning on killing her king, even though she clearly didn’t like the guy.

Zia grunted. “I could only wish you were here to throw Ralcor off a cliff and take his place. We need someone better than him, especially if we want our society to progress. According to my mother and grandmother, nothing good has really happened since he took over, many decades ago.”

Well, shit.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Zia asked. She placed a hand on her hip and stared at me. Her green eyes caught the fading sunlight and glimmered like gemstones.

“I can’t really talk about it,” I said, not knowing what else to say.

Zia’s eyes widened. “You’re here to take over, aren’t you?” she asked. “Look, it’s no secret that Silvy prays every day for the gods to send someone to kill Ralcor. Everyone knows it, but people just brush it off as crazy talk from an old witch woman. Is it true? Are you him?”

I sighed. There was no way it was safe to talk about this sort of thing, and even her bringing up the topic made me feel like a dozen goblin guards were about to charge out of the tunnel and skewer me. I needed to steer our discussion away from this, but she had already figured everything out.

I spread my hands. “Look, Zia,” I began.

“You are!” she exclaimed. She stepped closer to me and took my hands in hers. “Listen, if there is any way I can help you, just speak it. Anything at all.”

“Zia, enough,” I said, my voice firm. “We’re talking about killing your king, here. This will get us both killed, and maybe tortured first!”

She shook her head. “I don’t think you understand, Aaron. Everyone hates Ralcor. They speak of it openly in the streets and over dinner. He knows he is hated; the only reason he hasn’t done anything about it is because everyone is too terrified of him to do anything more than talk. If someone were to try something, he would kill anyone and everyone responsible, and in a way that would turn your hair white.”

“All the more reason we shouldn’t be talking about this,” I hissed. “I feel like I’m admitting to a crime I haven’t even committed yet. Zia, I would love a bit of help, but not if it gets me killed.”

She clapped her hands and bounced on her toes, causing her large breasts to jiggle. “Oh, I’m so excited! When are you going to start?”

“Never, if you get my ass killed!” I said. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. “Please, Zia. You are very lovely and so far I enjoy being around you, but we simply cannot talk about this. As you said, the only reason Ralcor doesn’t lash out is because so far no one does anything other than talk about how much they hate him. If he discovered what I was here to do, that would be the end of me.”

She frowned. “I’m sorry, Aaron. It’s just really hard not to be excited.” Her expression suddenly changed and she leaned forwards, smelling me. “I thought I recognized that smell. You slept with her, didn’t you?”

I groaned. “It was part of a spell she had to cast on me,” I began.

“Good for her,” Zia said with a nod. “You’re handsome and strong, and everyone knows she hasn’t touched a man in more than a hundred years. Not after what happened to her.”

I blinked. “Uh, okay.” This whole conversation was just getting stranger and stranger. “Hey, it’s getting dark. Can we go inside now?” Part of me wanted to get away from this gorgeous woman before she got me killed.

“Sure,” Zia said, and turned back around.

I followed her and after a moment we came to the entrance of the tunnel. She stopped a few feet outside and turned to look at me.

“How did you get out?” she asked. “The guards would have killed you on the spot.”

I held up the shadow stone. “This,” I said, and slipped it into my mouth. My body immediately became translucent. There was still enough light in the area to keep me from fading completely.

Zia looked around for me. “Aaron?” She pouted her full lips and I suddenly wondered what they would feel like around the base of my cock.

“I’m right here,” I said, reaching out and touching her shoulder. She flinched, her eyes searching for me. “It’s okay, it’s just magic.”

“I wasn’t expecting that,” she said.

“Just keep walking, and I’ll be right behind you,” I said.

Zia turned and entered the tunnel with me right behind her. Of course I stared at her butt the entire time. It was hard not to. These goblin women were all so ridiculously voluptuous it barely felt real.

“I want to go with you,” Zia said over her shoulder.

“Where?” I asked. The stone made my words muddled.

“To Silvy’s house,” she said. “I want to meet her.”

“I don’t know if she would like that,” I said.

“I’m sure she’ll be just fine,” Zia said. “I and a friend of mine have dreamed about magic since we were little girls.”

I threw up my hands but held my tongue. I could tell that Zia was the type of woman that did what she wanted, no matter what anyone else said.

“At least I’m returning with food,” I muttered.

“Shhh,” Zia said over her shoulder.

As I was nearly two feet taller than her, I simply looked over her head and saw the guard coming. It was the same man, with the same sour frown on his face, walking down the middle of the tunnel.

“Move over away from the lights,” I whispered to her.

Zia nodded and moved to the side of the tunnel away from the glowing orbs. She maintained her pace and walked as if nothing were out of the ordinary as the goblin guard approached. My heart pounded, and I breathed as shallowly as possible as we drew near. The guard glanced at her, but paid her no mind. Relief flooded my veins.

All that relief went down the toilet as the guard suddenly lowered his spear, blocking Zia’s path.

“Is there something wrong?” she asked.

“That’s what I’m asking you,” the guard said in return. “Something was in here earlier. Couldn’t see it, but I smelled and heard it. Someone hiding. You see anything?”

Zia placed her hands on her hips. “The only thing I’ve seen is the vegetables and fruits in this bag. Now if you’ll please let me pass, I’d like to get home before they spoil.”

The guard looked at her for a moment, his hard eyes making a pass from head to toe, before finally raising his spear.

“Go in peace,” he said, making it sound more like an order than a pleasantry. “Let me know if you see anything.”

“Thank you, but I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Zia said.

Once the spear was out of her way, she continued down the hall, walking as if nothing in the world bothered her. I hurried behind her, silently willing her to walk faster. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that damn guard staring at her for a moment before turning back down the tunnel.

I waited until he was completely out of sight before I spoke. “I think we’re safe,” I whispered.

“Probably not,” Zia said in a quiet voice. “I’m assuming you don’t know how good goblin hearing is.”

I kept my complaints to myself for another fifty feet. By then, the tunnel opened up into the underground city, or as I understood just one of a dozen caves like it. Zia turned and regarded me for a moment.

“Is this the path that leads to Silvy’s place?” she asked, pointing at the worn trail on the rock where I had originally come from.

“Yes,” I told her. “Follow that for about forty feet and it leads right to her house.”

“Let me drop my food off and I’m coming with you,” she said.

My eyes widened at that. “I don’t know how she feels about visitors.”

“Well, she’s fine with you, right?” Zia asked. “And you’re a visitor.”

I frowned. She had a point. I removed the shadow stone so she could see me. We were far enough away from the main body of goblins that I felt safe doing so.

Zia looked down at her canvas sack, then back at me. “Actually, I’m just going to head in there with you now. No telling what you’ll tell her about me when I’m not there. Well? Stop staring and lead the way.”

I shook my head but hopped on the worn path and began walking towards Silvy’s house.

“I’m excited,” Zia said from behind me. “Me and my best friend have always wanted to meet her, ever since we were little kids and heard our first stories of her. She has survived so much, and stayed strong. Nothing can break her..”

When we reached the front door to Silvy’s cave-house, I knocked three times and waited. Zia gave me a big smile.

“What’s the matter, did your hand stop working?” Silvy called out from inside the house.

I looked at Zia. “You have a visitor,” I called out.

A moment later, the door flung open and Silvy stood there, dagger in hand, her face in a tight scowl. Her eyes took me in, then went right to Zia.

“Who are you and what do you want?” Silvy said in a tone that brooked no nonsense. She looked ready to use that knife.

Zia dropped into a curtsy. “Good evening, Silvy. I am Zia, and I wanted to talk with you about magic.”

13

Silvy continued to glare at Zia. After a moment, she transferred her glare to me. Finally, she took a step back.

“Come in,” she said.

The cheery, pleasant woman I was familiar with was gone, replaced by this version that looked ready to start stabbing with that knife in her hand. Although as I remembered her history, it made more sense. She was very open with me since she seemed to believe the gods sent me, but it looked like she was on edge with everyone else.

“Just put the food over there,” Silvy said, pointing with her knife at a large stone countertop in her kitchen. Her eyes stayed on Zia the whole time.

“So, Zia,” Silvy said. “People don’t come up here very often to speak with me, you know. They generally shun me instead, unless they want something. So, what about magic are you interested in? How are you paying?”

Zia held up a hand. “Oh, you misunderstand. I’m not here to buy magic from you. I want to learn.”

Silvy gave her a flat look. “You want to learn magic? Have you lost your mind, girl?”

“Possibly,” Zia replied with a shrug. “I’ve just always found it fascinating. I find it incredibly stupid that magic is seen as such a horrible thing, and you are shunned for using it. Especially when I look around and see how much magic has improved our lives; magic keeps our cities lit and our water clean. I can see through the lies Ralcor has woven.”

“Huh,” Silvy said, her face softening a bit. “At least you’re not stupid.”

“One would hope not,” Zia replied. “I’ve wanted to learn magic ever since I was a little girl and my mother told me about our lights and everything else. Of course, everyone says you’re some kind of monster that eats people, but once I met Aaron here I realized that wasn’t true. So, here I am.”

“Here you are,” Silvy said turning to give me a look that was as flat as her tone. “What did you tell her?”

“I asked for help finding food outside,” I said with a shrug.

Zia lowered her voice. “Also, I want to help overthrow Ralcor.”

Silvy threw her hands up. “Oh, damn it, Aaron! Do you want to get us both killed? Or maybe tortured for days at a time, then killed? Because that is what’s going to happen if you keep blabbing your fucking mouth.”

I held up my hands to stall her tirade, but she just kept going.

“And Ralcor will make it last for days, weeks even. Everyone knows how much he loves torture, which is one of the reasons no one has even tried to stand up to him yet. You think the fact that you’re a man will stop him from having his way with you, just to break your spirit? He’ll use your blood as lube and do it in front of a crowd, then order each of his guards to take a turn.”

“Enough,” I said, my voice firm enough to cut her off. “I didn’t tell her what I was doing. She figured it out herself.”

“What?” Silvy asked, looking over at Zia.

Zia shrugged again. “Everyone knows you’ve been praying for more than a hundred years for the gods to send someone to kill Ralcor.” She pointed at me. “When I saw this giant outside and learned he was staying with you, I put two and two together. It wasn’t that hard. Seriously, Silvy, you’re not that good at hiding this.”

“And what makes you think I would teach you magic?” Silvy said, her voice still thick with distrust.

“Because I want to help,” Zia said, her voice gaining heat. “Ralcor killed my uncle. I would do almost anything to have a chance at revenge.”

Silvy barked a laugh and crossed her arms beneath her large breasts. “So you want to help us kill the king and put this man on the throne? What, do you want to be one of his wives as well?”

Zia looked over at me, her eyes scanning me from head to toe. “If that’s the deal you’re offering, then I accept. You let me help you, and I’ll agree to be one of his wives. I’ll even bring my best friend along to marry him as well.”

I blinked. “Well, that escalated quickly,” I said.

They both looked at me.

“Fine,” Silvy said. “He’s going to be training with the elves anyway. Be here each morning, ready to learn. And don’t tell anyone what you’re doing, or I’ll strip the hide from you myself.”

Zia’s face lit up into a bright smile. “Oh, thank you, Silvy!” She rushed forward and hugged the woman, narrowly avoiding an accidental knife to the ribs.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Silvy said, awkwardly patting the woman on the back. “Tomorrow we’ll see if you can even learn.”

Zia released the older woman and gave me a coy look. “Don’t use him up too much, either,” she said to Silvy. “Make sure you leave something left for me to marry.”

Silvy laughed out loud. “Aaron, is there anything you haven’t told her?”

“It wasn’t him,” Zia said defensively. “I could smell the sex on him. Really, Silvy, if you’re going to sleep with him that’s fine, but have him visit the hot springs first to clean off.”

I found myself blushing at how sensitive goblin noses were.

“Well, enough of that,” Silvy said firmly. “On with you, girl. It’s getting late and I won’t let anyone interrupt my sleep.”

“Thank you again, Silvy,” Zia said. She turned to me and looked at me for a moment, as if trying to decide what to say. Then, she stepped close and hugged me tightly.

“What’s this for?” I asked, enfolding her in my arms.

“Well, I just agreed to marry you, so I suppose I should start getting to know you now,” she said.

I didn’t even know what to say to that. I had just started to accept that I was going to have to fight Ralcor, but now I was promised to Zia. Looking down at her, it was hard to find any reason not to be with her. She was as beautiful as a woman could be, and wanted to help us fight. But the whole thing just felt strange. I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her, enjoying every second of the hug. It was perfect.

Of course, then I remembered her comments about what assholes most goblin men were. No wonder she wanted to be with me.

Zia finally released me, then grabbed her canvas bag of produce and slung it over her shoulder. “I’ll be here first thing tomorrow,” she told Silvy. She looked at me again, and for a moment I thought she was going to try to kiss me, but instead she simply blushed and hurried out the door.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting that,” Silvy said, watching the door close behind Zia. “I suppose there are some benefits to being an old crone. Everyone knows I pray for the king’s death, but they treat it like the ramblings of a crazy woman. No one takes it seriously. Well, no one but her.”

I ran my fingers through my hair. “This just keeps getting stranger and stranger.”

“Well, at least you have your first wife already lined up and waiting,” Silvy said with a chuckle. “There will be more, don’t worry.”

“So, let me get this straight,” I said. “If I kill Ralcor and set myself up as king, I’ll be expected to take multiple wives and have children with all of them?”

“That’s right,” Silvy said. “Your wives will be selected from among the strongest and most beautiful of us. Zia is rather nice-looking. I think she would work. Although, I’m not sure how people would react to one of your wives knowing magic.”

“But you were married to the last king,” I said. “And everyone knows you’re strong with magic.”

She nodded. “And now everyone shuns me and thinks I’m a crazy woman, because Ralcor has spent so many decades telling everyone that magic is evil.”

I stepped forwards and took Silvy in my arms, spinning around in the room as if I actually knew how to dance.

“Why don’t I just take you as one of my wives?” I asked.

Silvy laughed, and I set her down. “Oh, Aaron. You don’t want me as one of your wives. First off, I’m too old. And second, I’m flawed. I’m the crazy old witch woman that was publicly shamed by Ralcor. If you took me as a wife, everyone would just think I used magic to control your mind and force you.”

I shrugged. “But if I’m king, then I get my choice, right?”

Silvy nodded, her voice turning serious. “That you do.”

“So, what if I just choose you as one of my wives?”

Silvy laughed again. “I would take you for another ride, then hit you in the head with a frying pan the first time you fell asleep. I belong to no one but myself, Aaron.”

“Fair enough,” I told her. “Maybe I’ll just keep you around as an advisor, then.”

“I might agree to that,” she said, giving me a suspicious look. “Alright, time for more important stuff. Let’s have a look at what you brought me.”

We went to her kitchen counter and she upended the canvas bag. Silvy was pleased to see the weird potato things, and absolutely delighted at the blue fruit I brought. The herb, she set in a small pot filled with black soil.

“What about sunlight?” I asked. “It’ll die without sunlight.”

Silvy rolled her eyes at me and went into the bedroom. She came back a moment later, holding a small stone in her hand. This one was bright yellow, almost like a crystal, and about the size of a grape.

“Watch and learn,” she said as she moved the plant to the corner of her countertop. She held the stone above it and uttered an incantation, and a faint light began to flicker from within the stone. When she moved her hand, it stayed there, floating above the plant.

“Holy shit,” I said. “Now that, I was not expecting.”

“Almost anything can be done with magic,” Silvy explained. “Sometimes you might have to learn a rare form of magic, but there’s a spell for nearly everything. I suppose you’ll learn, soon.” She took a deep breath. “Well, it’s time for some sleep, young man,” she said, walking back into the bedroom.

I followed her and pulled off my shoes. “So, I’m going to the elves tomorrow, right?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said as she unlaced the front of her dress. “I’ll give you something that you can use as payment. The elves are generally kind people, but they won’t train you for free.”

She finished unlacing her dress, then pulled the top down, exposing those huge breasts of hers. She shimmied side to side as she worked the dress down over her broad hips, then neatly folded the dress and set it on a nearby table.

“Clothes off,” she told me. “I can’t stand the feeling of your clothes. They’re awful.”

She turned and climbed onto the bed, and my eyes went right to that little pink slit between her luscious, thick thighs.

“And don’t get any ideas,” she said as she settled onto the bed. “I’m only using you as a pillow. It’s nice being next to a warm body, but that’s all you’re getting.”

I pulled my clothes off, then tried to fold them and set them on the table next to hers. Of course, after seeing her naked I had a raging erection. Silvy saw it and rolled her eyes at me.

“Really, Aaron?” she said, grabbing the sheets and pulling them back. “Just get up here, will you?”

“Hey, I can’t help it,” I said. “You’re absolutely gorgeous, and naked.”

“Well, you had better learn to control yourself,” she said, but color stained her cheeks.

I climbed onto the bed and laid on my back. Silvy made herself comfortable, resting her head on my shoulder. Her arm was across my chest and she threw a thick thigh across mine. My heart pounded at her touch.

I leaned down and kissed her on her temple. “Goodnight, Silvy,” I said.

“Goodnight, Aaron,” she replied sleepily.

14

When I woke the next morning, Silvy was on top of me.

Not on purpose; at least, I didn’t think so. In her sleep she had moved a bit so that her head was on my chest and her arms around me. Her legs straddled my left thigh, and she pressed against my morning wood. The look on her sleeping face was so peaceful that I couldn’t justify waking her, so I simply laid there for a while, enjoying the feeling of her on top of me.

After a few minutes, Silvy’s eyes opened. She looked up at me to see if I was awake and I smiled at her. Her eyes suddenly widened and she looked down at my erection pressed against her leg.

“Well, I suppose I should have expected that,” she said, pulling away from me. She moved over to her side of the bed and stretched, both arms over her head. “Sleep well?” she asked.

“Actually, yeah, I did,” I said. “Surprisingly well.” My eyes enjoyed her body, from her large, full breasts to her hairless pussy nestled between those thick thighs of hers.

“Oh, stop,” Silvy said. “Besides, we need to get started. You have a lot to do today, mister.”

She crawled over me, ignoring how it essentially put her ass right in my face. Or maybe she did it on purpose. If my body pumped any more blood into my erection, the damn thing might explode.

“Alright, time to get out of bed,” she said to me as she grabbed her dress from a nearby table.

I looked down at my cock, standing up like a flagpole.

“Do you expect me to do something with that thing?” Silvy asked, her large breasts bouncing as she shimmied into her dress. “Ask the elves, maybe they’ll help you.” She laughed as if that were a fine joke.

Sleeping next to such a beautiful woman was nice, but I needed to get laid again. I made a mental note to take my training with the elves seriously so I could hurry the hell up and kill Ralcor. Once I had done that, I’d get my wives. Including Zia, apparently. And hey, if I played my cards right, maybe Silvy would agree to join the family.

Looking over at Silvy, who was rummaging through her table filled with magical items, I once again thought that I would take her with me and keep her as an advisor. I would need one, if I were to be king, and who better than a woman who used to be married to one? Plus, her magic would come in handy.

“Hey, Silvy,” I said, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. “So, how is this going to work today?”

“Pretty simple,” she said, selecting a stone and holding it up so that she could look at it. With a frown, she set it back down and went back to sorting through all the magical items on the table. “You’re going to wait at the base of one of their great trees, and when you see them you will ask for passage to their city. When they ask why, you will say you need to be trained in the art of swordplay.”

“Trained in the art of swordplay,” I muttered.

“Yes, that is how they would word it. You’ll pay them for escorting you into the city, and you’ll mention that you brought payment for whoever trains you. If they ask why, just tell them you’re going to kill Ralcor.”

I paused, halfway through pulling my jeans on. “Uh, we aren’t keeping that a secret with them?”

“No,” Silvy said. “The elves hate Ralcor. We used to trade with the elves, all sorts of things, for as long as there were goblins and elves. When Ralcor took over, he put an end to that. Elven goods weren’t good enough for goblins, he said, and even went as far as to kill some of the elven merchants that had come here to trade.”

“Sounds like he’s trying to start a war,” I said as I pulled on my shirt.

“He almost did,” Silvy replied, selecting a wand and nodding. “But no one is stupid enough to try attacking us down here. There’s only one entrance, that tunnel, and it’s an absolute death trap to invaders. Instead, the elves simply cut off all trade with us. A few brave souls still sneak out and deal with them from time to time, mostly to buy wine, but in general the elves avoid us now. Trust me, they’ll be glad to see Ralcor gone.”

“And you said they’ll make me some clothes as well?” I asked.

Silvy turned and looked at me. “Yes. I’ll give you some money for that. Can’t have you looking like that.”

I looked down at my faded jeans and Slayer t-shirt. While comfortable, my clothes were definitely different than anyone else’s.

After a hearty breakfast, Silvy gave me a handful of small, silver coins, which I pocketed. She then handed me a wand. I held it up and examined it. It was about a foot long, and inscribed with magical symbols for its entire length. At the tip, a clear stone glinted in the faint light. I thought for a moment that it might have been a diamond.

“The money is for getting into the city and having clothes made,” Silvy explained. “The wand is to pay for your training.”

“What does it do?” I asked, turning it over in my hands.

“They’ll know,” she said with a faint smile. “Do you still have the shadow stone?”

“Yeah,” I said, fetching it from my pocket.

Just then, a knock came at the door. Silvy’s eyebrows drew down suspiciously and she muttered a few things under her breath before crossing her cave-house. When she pulled open the door, Zia stood there in a simple gray dress, hands folded neatly at her waist.

“Good morning,” she said in a pleasant tone. “I hope I’m not too early.”

I walked into the room and smiled at her.

“Not at all,” Silvy said, stepping back so that Zia could enter.

“Hi, Aaron,” Zia said, giving me one of her smiles as well.

“Hey,” I said. My mouth went dry at the sight of her. She was about as gorgeous as a woman could be. That was something that would never get old.

“Looks like we’re both starting today,” she said to me. “Good luck with the elves.”

“Good luck with Silvy,” I told her.

Silvy’s eyes narrowed at me. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” I said, bending down and kissing her on top of her head. “You’re perfectly pleasant to be around at all times and never frustrating.”

“Don’t make me fetch my knife,” she warned.

I laughed and walked out of the door. Zia and I smiled at each other as I passed. Her green eyes sparkled as she looked up at me.

After closing the door behind me, I made my way down the worn path that led to the tunnel. I pulled the shadow stone from my pocket and clutched it tightly as I approached the opening in the stone. Suddenly, a voice came to me, floating on the air. No, wait; several voices. Hurriedly, I stuffed the shadow stone into my mouth and crouched down.

A small party of goblin men from the city walked towards the mouth of the tunnel. Two of them held large cloth sacks and lengths of rope, and the rest carried bows and quivers filled with arrows. Hunters, perhaps? Whatever they were, I didn’t want them to see me.

It suddenly dawned on me that I could use them as cover while in the tunnel. I moved as silently as possible, grateful for the relatively soft soles of my worn running shoes. At least I had the sense to remember their sensitive noses and that I hadn’t bathed yet, so I stayed around ten feet behind them.

Fortunately, they were too busy talking to notice me. Shadow stone in my mouth, I crouched low and moved behind them, keeping to one side, hoping none of them farted or I’d catch it right in the face.

“Hunting today?” a gruff voice said. I peered around the group and saw a guard, leaning on his spear and talking with them.

“Yeah, I saw a lot of tracks to the north yesterday, so we’re hoping we’ll get something,” one of the archers said.

“Alright,” the guard said with a grunt. “Just be careful out there. Jamis says he heard something yesterday, something he couldn’t see.”

“Huh?” one of the other men asked.

“He didn’t elaborate too much, but he implied it may have been magic,” the guard said. “Said he heard it and smelled it, but couldn’t see it.”

Shit. I inched closer to the group, hoping no one would smell me. I wasn’t particularly ripe, but, well…I smelled like day-old sex, with a bit of sweat added in.

“Weird. Well, if we see anything, we’ll just shoot it,” one of the archers said, hefting his bow. The others laughed.

The guard waved them by and they continued down the tunnel. I stayed close by the wall and held my breath as I walked right behind them. My heart pounded so loudly in my chest that I was afraid the guard would hear it, but I managed to slip by unnoticed.

A few minutes later, they exited the tunnel. The group of goblins immediately turned to the left and began walking along the cliff, still laughing and telling jokes among themselves. I kept the shadow stone in my mouth and hurried forward to the treeline. In the bright morning sunlight I wasn’t invisible any longer, but instead shimmered, kind of like the alien in the movie Predator.

Once in the forest, I walked through the forest in the direction of the nearest of those enormous trees I had seen when I first arrived in this world. Every minute or so, I looked over my shoulder to keep the location of the goblin cave in mind.

The massive tree loomed high overhead, but didn’t have stairs spiraling around it like others I had seen. Another one of the enormous trees stood perhaps fifty feet away, so I went to it. No stairs on that one, either. I went from tree to tree and passed by a dozen before I found one where the wood grew into stairs that spiraled up its substantial height. I stood at the base and looked up, growing dizzy from how tall the tree was. I was thankful those steps had a handrail as well. A fall from that height would be fatal.

Still with the shadow stone in my mouth, I turned in a slow circle and looked around me. A well-worn path led to this particular tree, so I crossed my fingers and hoped all I needed to do was wait.

After a bit I decided to get comfortable, and sat with my back against the massive tree. Time passed by, and I tapped a rhythm on my thighs to help keep from getting bored. After some time—I had no idea how long, maybe half an hour—I saw movement in the distance.

I sprang to my feet and moved behind the tree, still unsure of exactly how to approach the elves. Silvy said it would be no problem; I could simply talk to them and tell them what I needed. But as I watched them approach, I saw a cloaked man walking with his hand resting on his sword hilt. In his other hand, he carried a bow. This was not a guy I wanted to piss off.

After a deep breath, I stepped out onto the path and waited for him to get closer. His long hair was blonde, with braids on each side all pulled together and tied at the nape of his neck with a ribbon. The pointed ears were impossible to miss. His clothes were what I would expect of an elf; dark brown pants tucked into knee-high boots, with a silver-trimmed green vest over a pale shirt. His cloak was a mottled shade of dark brown that would blend in with the surrounding forest with ease. He must have been deep in thought, for he didn’t notice me, even when he stepped close.

“Hey there,” I said, and his eyes snapped up.

“What—” his sword sprang from its sheath and he looked around, eyes searching.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” I said, spitting the shadow stone from my mouth. I had been so concerned about this whole meeting, I had completely overlooked that I had a fucking rock in my mouth. Stress would do that.

“Who are you?” he asked, holding his sword in front of his body, ready for an attack.

He squinted at me as I slipped the stone into my pocket. There was a look of recognition as he watched me.

“What kind of man are you, that uses a shadow stone in the forest?” he asked.

“The kind of man that wants to stay alive,” I replied, making sure he saw both of my hands so he knew I was unarmed. “The kind of man that’s pretty uncomfortable because he doesn’t know if you’re going to skewer him with that sword or not.”

The elf watched me for a moment, then lowered his sword and laughed. He slid his sword back into its scabbard, then set the tip of his bow on the ground and leaned on it. He examined me from head to toe, clearly taking in my strange clothing and lack of pointy ears.

“I’m assuming you want something, else you wouldn’t be standing here at the base of one of the great trees,” he said.

I took a deep breath. “I need some help,” I told him, reaching into my pocket. Whatever monetary system they used here was completely unknown to me, but I pulled out a small silver coin and offered it to him. “I need you, or someone else up there, to train me how to fight with a sword and any other weapons you can. Oh, and I could also use some new clothes, if you hadn’t noticed.”

He pursed his lips, still watching me. Finally, he nodded to himself and stepped forward, taking the coin from my hand.

“I accept your offer,” he said, examining the coin. His eyes widened slightly. “This is goblin money.” He looked up at me. “What kind of man carries a shadow stone and pays with goblin money?”

Silvy had said I could simply tell them that I was planning on killing Ralcor, but I didn’t want to take things that far, yet. I still didn’t know if I could trust this guy entirely, after all. I figured the best way to handle this was to tell the truth. Most of the truth.

“I’ll be honest with you,” I told him. “I came here from a different world, one that just died. Through some magical means that I don’t fully understand, I found myself here two days ago. The only person that would help me was a kind older goblin woman, and she also decided to send me to you guys, the elves. She said if I’m going to survive in this world, I need to learn how to fight.”

“Do people not fight in your world?” he asked, as if it were a truly strange thing.

“Not with swords, no,” I replied. “It would take me a long time to explain. But to boil it all down to basics, I have basically no idea how to survive in your world.”

“And this goblin woman sent you to us?” he asked.

“That’s right,” I said. “She said the orcs could teach me to fight as well, but they’d be more likely to just beat me to death than actually train me. She actually spoke very highly of you guys.”

“Well, that’s good to know,” the elf said dryly. “And she is right about the orcs. They know fighting, but they are not a kind people.” He bowed slightly at the waist, hand over his heart. “I am Taranath of House Zylnelas.”

I did my best to copy his bow. “Aaron, of House Parker,” I said. “Well, to be honest, we don’t have Houses the way you guys apparently do. But Parker is my family name.”

“Interesting,” Taranath said. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to Caelora.”

15

Taranath continued walking down the path, passing by the tree next to us without a second glance. I hurriedly caught up with him and fell in step beside him.

“Are we not going up that tree?” I asked, pointing at the tree we just passed.

“Not that one, no,” he said, not looking back. “That leads to a different part of town. If you want to learn to fight, you’ll need to see Althidon, and he’s this way.” He pointed in front of us.

“Who is Althidon?” I asked.

“He is the man that trains our fighters,” Taranath said. “We are not a militaristic society as the orcs are, but every elven man trains with the sword, spear, and bow. Those that want to take things a step further and help protect our lands seek additional training. The best see Sword-Master Althidon.”

“Sword-Master,” I said. “That’s an impressive-sounding title.”

Taranath nodded. “He has worked hard for more than two hundred years to earn it. You would have to travel for many days, months perhaps, to find someone better with a blade than Sword-Master Althidon.”

More than two hundred years? My own mortality suddenly stood out in my mind like black text on a white sheet of paper. Humans that lived to be a hundred were rare, indeed. Although, Silvy had worked her magic on me and done something with my blood. She said I would live much longer as a result.

“This one,” Taranath said, pointing to an enormous tree looming in front of us.

Calling it huge was an understatement. It seemed more fantasy than reality, with a base that must have been at least fifty feet in diameter. I couldn’t tell how tall it was, as the tree rose to the dense canopy far above the ground and I couldn’t see anything above that.

Taranath began walking up the stairs and I moved in behind him, my hand on the smooth wooden railing. While I had felt some trepidation that the steps might break, they felt solid as a rock beneath my shoes. The railing was the same; I jerked on it and it didn’t budge, not even an inch.

“This is incredible,” I said as I continued up the stairs. Taranath didn’t slow, but my legs quickly grew tired. “So did the tree grow these or was it something with magic?”

“Magic,” Taranath replied, not even sounding out of breath. “We talk to the trees and ask them to grow these steps, and in return we care for them, keeping them healthy and alive for far longer than they would live on their own.”

“And how long is that?” I asked, curious.

Taranath shrugged. “I don’t know the exact numbers, but most of these are more than a thousand years old. As long as we’re here, they’ll stay healthy and continue to live and grow.”

“Hold on a sec,” I said, pausing. My thighs burned from all the stairs.

Up ahead, Taranath stopped, then turned to look at me. “Are your legs already tired from the stairs?”

“Hey, I’m not used to this many steps,” I said, trying to keep my irritability in check. I then made the mistake of looking over the edge. The world reeled as I looked at a hundred-foot drop, and I clutched the railing tightly.

“You’re not used to heights, are you?” Taranath asked.

“Not like this,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Okay, we can continue.”

Taranath smiled. “If it makes you feel any better, we’re halfway there.”

We continued up the stairs, Taranath not bothered at all, me panting and breathing hard. By the time we reached the top, my thighs burned like fire. But the view I saw made the climb worthwhile.

A ring of thick branches spread out from the main trunk in every direction, and where they met they grew together, as one solid piece. Branches from nearby trees met with them, forming into wide pathways, gently arched bridges, and large wooden islands, all grown from the tree.

At the top of the stairs, we stepped onto a wide landing, a space perhaps ten feet by ten feet. The main trunk of the tree continued straight up, and I saw what looked like a second level to the elven city another thirty or forty feet up.

“Welcome to Caelora,” Taranath said with a smile. “I should note that our cities tend to be made up of islands and connecting bridges. Most have railings or walls on the sides to reduce any risk of falling, but I wanted to bring it up since heights seem to make you uneasy.”

“Thanks,” I said, still looking at the elven city like I was seeing a dream.

Three low, arched bridges led out from the landing we stood on and connected with other wooden islands. Many of those had buildings on their edges, also made of wood, although I noticed everything looked heavily carved and decorated. The houses—at least, I assumed they were houses—were small and circular, with pointed roofs to keep the water off. Looking at them, it was clear that the tree had been coaxed to grow into that shape, as opposed to something man-made.

“This is incredible,” I said, trying to take it all in. There was a simplicity to the city around me, but immense beauty in it as well. The beauty seemed to follow functionality.

“I’m glad you like it,” Taranath said. “This way.”

I followed him across one of the bridges, and of course the first thing I did was take a peek over the railing. We had to be two hundred feet in the air. My stomach lurched and I straightened up and focused on Taranath’s back in front of me. We landed on another island, this one four times the size of the previous one. Here, the branches had been coaxed to grow into a smooth, wooden floor.

Other elves watched me curiously as I passed by. They all had similar looks as Taranath: tall, slender builds with delicate features. Green and brown were the colors most often represented in their clothing, although I saw plenty of blue, yellow, and red, like wildflowers on a grassy field. In fact, they seemed to rather enjoy bright colors.

The women were every bit as beautiful as I had hoped. Most of them were my height, with a slender build that somehow managed to avoid looking overly skinny even though many of them were probably only a hundred pounds. Their dresses were modest, although I saw plenty of necklines that gave pleasant views of their small breasts.

After being around Silvy and Zia, I had come to absolutely adore the ridiculous proportions of the goblin women. So, while the elven women were among the most beautiful I had ever seen, I found their tall, slender figures not quite as enticing as I once would have. I mean, I was certain they would look beautiful lying on their backs with their legs spread, but their almost waif-like bodies didn’t do as much for me as they would have a week ago. It was like seeing a single chocolate chip after eating an entire double chocolate cake. Looks like Silvy had set the bar pretty high.

“You needed clothes?” Taranath asked. He smiled as he saw me staring at an elven woman.

“Yeah,” I said, picking at my t-shirt. “I have some more money. I can pay.”

He nodded. “Right this way.”

I followed him into one of the larger buildings. The doorway was open, so we walked right in.

Shelves grew from the wooden walls in the same manner the stairs grew from the trees. Bolts of cloth filled the shelves, cloth in every color of the rainbow. Wood from the floor swooped up into a large counter, behind which an elven woman stood. She had the same beauty as the rest, but gray streaks decorated her brown hair, which was pulled up tightly into a bun. She smiled at Taranath as we entered, but eyed me suspiciously.

“Who is this?” she asked, her eyes running from my feet to my hairline.

“Good morning, Elasha. This is Aaron, of House Parker,” Taranath said. “He comes from a far-away land, and has asked for our help.”

Elasha frowned at me. “Well, I can see he certainly needs help with his clothing. What are you even wearing? What is that horrible painting on your blouse?”

I looked down at my Slayer t-shirt. “It was a band,” I said. “Somehow, I have a feeling you guys wouldn’t like them.” Yeah, I didn’t think elves would enjoy Reign in Blood too much.

Elasha grabbed a measuring tape and walked up to me, still muttering no-so-quietly under her breath about my t-shirt. I supposed the elves just couldn’t appreciate good thrash metal. To each their own.

“You’re broad, here,” she muttered, drawing a fingertip along my back from shoulder to shoulder. “Tell me, what are you?”

What was I? Did she mean my race?

“I’m a human,” I said.

“Human,” she repeated, as if tasting the word. Apparently we weren’t too common in the area.

“Any recommendations?” I asked. “I’d like something comfortable, but stylish. To be honest, I don’t really know what to ask for other than those two qualities.”

Taranath shrugged. “Everything she makes is comfortable and stylish.” He gestured at his own clothing to offer evidence at that.

Taranath looked like one of those guys that went all-out for the Renaissance Faire. I had to remind myself that I was in a different world, so clothes were going to be not only different, but probably inconvenient.

Elasha measured my inseam, then went back to her counter. She dipped a large quill into an inkpot and began writing on a large ledger. “So, precisely what did you want?” she asked.

I looked over at Taranath. “I guess clothes like his. Maybe a little simpler; I don’t need anything fancy.”

Taranath chuckled slightly at my comment, leading me to believe that his clothes weren’t fancy at all.

“I’ll get started on them later today,” Elasha said, not looking up from her ledger. “I should have something for you tomorrow. I’m assuming you have money?” That time, she did look up.

“Yeah,” I said, reaching into my pocket. I withdrew four silver coins and set them on her counter. “Is that enough?”

“More than enough,” she replied, pushing one of the coins back to me.

I pushed the coin back at her. “To say thanks for helping me,” I said, offering her a smile. She pursed her lips and grabbed the coin.

“Alright, now let’s get you to Althidon,” Taranath said. He left the building and I followed.

We passed through more of the city and I saw all sorts of incredible things. Branches curved around into a fine mesh square, twenty feet on a side and two feet tall. It had been filled with soil, and plants grew there. I saw a variety of berries, as well as what looked like beans and some type of squash.

The distinct clang clang of a hammer on an anvil echoed through the area. To my surprise, we passed by a blacksmith, whose shop was also made from the tree. The forge itself was small and made from stones and brick, held up by thick branches. A barrel of rainwater stood nearby, for quenching metal. Notably, the forge held no bellows.

I watched as we walked by. The elven blacksmith was more thickly built than the others, but still a slender man. He placed his hand above the red-hot coals and spoke a few words, causing them to glow bright yellow. After a moment, he used a heavy pair of tongs to hold a piece of hot metal, which he set on a nearby anvil. Grabbing his hammer, he beat at the piece of metal. The way he hefted the hammer made it seem nearly weightless, but sparks flew from the hot metal as if it were a ten-pounder. It must have been magical as well.

“Seems dangerous, having a forge up here,” I said.

“It is,” Taranath said. “But we need quality steel, so we accept the risk. Aymer is a careful man, so no fires have ever broken out.”

After that, I saw a large metal cauldron resting on four square stones. While no fire burned beneath it, the contents of the cauldron bubbled as if boiling. It only took one whiff for me to realize that it was stew. A handful of elven men and women stood and sat around the cauldron, talking while drinking from wooden cups.

After a few minutes, I saw another cauldron set up in a similar manner. More elves surrounded that one, once again happily chatting with each other.

“Is food a communal thing here?” I asked.

“Of course,” Taranath said. “Is it not, where you come from?”

“Not really,” I said. “You eat with your family, at the most. People getting together like this usually only happens on holidays. And even then, it’s usually family members.”

“Huh,” Taranath said. “Here in Caelora, groups of houses often garden together and eat together. We find it builds tighter communities and happier people. Sometimes people cook on their own, but at least half of the nights we have dinner with our neighbors.”

“That certainly sounds pleasant,” I said. Whatever the stew was, it smelled absolutely fantastic. I took mental notes on several things like that as we walked through the tree city of Caelora. If the day ever came that I actually became king of the goblins, I wanted to make sure I worked to keep my people happy. Not like this Ralcor guy, who apparently no one liked.

An arched bridge gave way to a large platform, upon which a group of a dozen young elven men practice movements with wooden swords. Barking orders at them was an older elven man, his face only slightly lined with age despite his solid white hair. Before him, the dozen men all moved like a single unit, feinting and then dropping into a lunge.

Taranath and I stood there for a moment, watching the young soldiers train. Their movements had a certain precision to them that was impressive to see in person.

“These are new recruits,” Taranath said quietly, leaning over to speak quietly. “They’ve been training for maybe two months.”

I had no idea how long it took to learn how to fight with a sword, but I suddenly began to worry about just how long this was going to take. Living with Silvy wasn’t bad, but having to sneak down that hallway every day and hide for two or three months didn’t sound very appealing. And I still had to learn magic!

After a few minutes, the white-haired elven man ordered the new recruits to rest. Then, he came over to see us. His green eyes were hard on me the entire time, like polished gemstones and not nearly as forgiving.

“Sword-Master Althidon,” Taranath said, bowing low with his hand over his heart. “An honor to see you. I bring to you Aaron of House Parker.”

I bowed in the same manner Taranath had, with my right hand over my heart. It felt a bit dumb but I understood the need for propriety. “Honored to meet you, Sword-Master Althidon,” I said, hoping I had used the correct greeting.

He acknowledged our bows with a nod. “Why did you bring him to me?” he asked in a gruff voice.

Taranath smiled and held a hand out to me.

“I need you to teach me how to fight, sir,” I said. “With a sword, spear, with anything, really.”

The Sword-Master crossed his arms and frowned at me. “You’re an outsider. Why would I teach an outsider? How do I know you aren’t learning this to turn around and use our tactics against us? Why would I trust you?”

It was immediately clear he was not an easy man, nor a trusting one. I produced the wand Silvy had given me, holding it up for a moment so the filtered sunlight could catch the diamond set at the tip. After that, I handed it to Althidon.

“I offer this as payment,” I said. “I am staying with a goblin woman, who recommended I spend time with the elves to learn the art of swordplay.”

Althidon grunted at my phrasing. He examined the wand closely, then frowned at me again.

“So, I’ll ask you again. Why would I teach you?” He kept the wand in his hand and crossed his arms.

I wasn’t entirely sure what the man was looking for. “Because I need to learn how to survive in this new world,” I said. “I come from a different land, from very far away. Something magically brought me here; it was not of my own choosing.”

“Thanks for the story,” he said, still frowning at me. “Once again, I’ll ask you why I should teach you. If you can’t give me a good reason, you can turn around and go back down the steps. And if you waste much more of my time, I’ll just throw you over the railing.”

While not a large man, his arms were corded with hard, stringy muscle. I had no doubts he could throw me over the side.

I took a deep breath and hoped this didn’t backfire. “A goblin sorceress has been praying for more than a hundred years that the gods would send her someone to kill Ralcor. That someone is me.”

Both Althidon and Taranath stared at me for a moment. It was Althidon that finally spoke.

“Are you saying you want to kill the goblin king?” he asked in carefully measured tones.

I nodded, ready to take a chance. “That’s what I’m here to do; kill Ralcor and become the new goblin king.”

“But, you’re not even a goblin,” Althidon said. Taranath barked a laugh.

“Yep, and I can’t fight, either,” I said. “So we had better start my training soon.”

16

Althidon continued staring at me for a moment, then turned to Taranath.

“Did you know about any of this?” he asked.

“I only knew that he came from a different land, Sword-Master,” Taranath said. “The rest is new to me.”

“Are you going to give me a reason to believe you?” Althidon asked.

I carefully thought on my words. “Silvy sent me. I don’t know if you know of her or not, but she was married to the previous king. When Ralcor took over, he killed the previous king as well as all his sons. Including Silvy’s son. He then violated her in front of a crowd of people to teach her a lesson. The only reason he didn’t kill her was because she uses magic that he needs sometimes.”

“I’ve heard of Silvy,” Althidon said, his mouth twisting into a frown. “Foul business, what Ralcor did to her.”

“Since that happened, she’s been praying to her gods, asking them for vengeance. She asked them to send her someone that could kill Ralcor.” I shrugged. “Apparently, that’s me. She said I can learn magic as well.”

Althidon grunted. “Rare, for men of the lower races to be able to use magic. Did she tell you what type of magic your inner talent is?”

Lower races? I supposed elves thought of themselves as top of the world. Maybe that was why they lived up so high, in trees.

“No, she didn’t mention it,” I said.

Althidon nodded, taking it all in. “So, you want to kill Ralcor and place yourself on the throne, then.”

“Yes,” I said. “I’m going to kill him and fix their society. All their men are assholes, and from what I understand, Ralcor stopped all trade with the elves. I would fix relations between our people.”

Althidon rubbed his chin. Taranath looked at me as if seeing me for the first time.

“If he’s telling the truth, this would indeed be a great help,” Taranath said.

“I know, I know,” Althidon muttered. “I’ll tell you this, Aaron of House Parker. I remember the day when Ralcor took over. Even up here, tales reached my ears of the blood that flowed from Ralcor’s blade like water. I’ve never been a huge fan of goblin men—the women are lovely, but most of their men are little more than savage brutes—but making peace with our neighbors is a cause worth fighting for.”

“So, you’ll train me?” I asked.

He looked down his nose at me for a moment. “I’ll train you. But not how you’d like. I’ve been doing this for a long time, boy, so I’m going to train you in exactly what you need to make this work. If I spent a year training you with a sword, Ralcor would still slice you in half on his third move. You won’t get this done with a sword. No, the spear is what you’ll be learning.”

I clapped my hands and rubbed them together. “Alright, let’s get started.”

Althidon looked down at the wand in his hand. “I suppose this situation warrants that. Yes, let’s get started.”

He barked a few orders at the young men practicing with swords, then set another man to run them through a series of drills. After that, he fetched a long spear and brought it to me.

“The sword is as much a status symbol as it is a weapon,” Althidon explained. “Takes a long time to make one, and the quality has to be perfect or the blade can fail. It takes years of hard training to be even passably good with a sword. I’ve spent a lifetime learning and I feel like I’m only halfway there.”

“And the spear is easier?” I asked. In my mind I saw movies where characters twisted spears in their hands like quarterstaffs, pummeling their enemy until finally stabbing them in the heart.

“The spear is a superior weapon in most ways,” Althidon continued. “It’s cheap to produce and easy to learn. The length gives you an advantage over anyone with a sword. You can’t really lop anyone’s hand off like you can with a sword, but you can poke them full of holes from a safe distance.”

He offered me the spear and I accepted it, gripping it midway in both hands. I examined the spearhead: this one was a leather ball, and I assumed it was stuffed with something soft. So, a training spear.

“Left hand here,” Althidon said, pointing to a spot about an arm length from the butt of the spear. “And your right hand goes on the end.” He stood next to me, hands situated as if he were holding a spear as well. He thrust forward, his movement snappy and fast.

“The primary attack with the spear is the thrust,” he explained. “If your opponent is wearing armor then you’ll likely be thrusting at the face or neck. Your aim had better be spot-on. However, if your opponent isn’t wearing armor, the torso is a nice, large target.”

I nodded. “So, aim for the face.” I tried not to feel nauseous at the thought of stabbing someone in the face and what that would feel like.

“Aim for wherever you see an opening,” he corrected. “Stand like so. Good. Now, ensure you keep the tip of your spear at roughly face-level. That’s going to protect your head.”

He grabbed another practice spear from a nearby rack and came back to me, but this time he stood facing me. “Ideally, you’ll want to keep that spear in front of you at all times. If something knocks it aside, bring it right back. You won’t be doing any wild spins or swinging with this weapon. No, you’ll simply parry and thrust. Parry and thrust.”

“Parry and thrust,” I repeated.

Althidon raised his spear and slowly thrust forward, right at me. “Knock that to the side and thrust at me,” he instructed.

Using my grip on the spear haft, I struck his spearhead out of the way and thrust forward. I was still out of range, so I couldn’t hit him.

“Good. That is the foundation of what we will practice today,” he said. “I’m going to move a little faster, but I’ll be doing the same thing. And I want you to respond each time by knocking my spear out of the way and thrusting right at my chest.”

We spent the better part of an hour just working on that basic exercise. Althidon wanted me to be familiar with the motions of the spear, so that it felt as natural as my own hand.

“Go ahead and try to land a hit on me,” he said.

“You want me to actually attack you?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said with a nod. “I want you to see what it looks like at full speed.”

I brought my spear up and held it in front of me, then took a step closer. The moment I did, Althidon thrust forward with his spear. I went to knock it to the side, but he changed trajectory mid-thrust and dropped into a lunge, taking me square in the chest. He moved like a striking viper, almost too fast to follow.

“It’s a very simple movement, which allows for speed,” he said. “Again.”

I was more cautious this time. I moved in, expecting him to feint and juke, which he did. Once again, I could barely even see his spear as he struck me right in the stomach. Not hard enough to hurt, fortunately.

“There are a few more advanced techniques we’ll get to when you’re ready,” Althidon said. “But the benefit of the spear is that in just an hour, you’re at least familiar with all the primary attacks with this weapon. I’ll teach you new moves as we go along, but we’re going to focus on sparring for the next few months, for hours a day. I want this spear feeling like part of your body.”

“Who’s going to bring me here?” I asked. “I remember how to get to the tree I came from, but I would need some help finding you again.” I looked around for Taranath and didn’t see him.

“Well, I suppose you’ll just have to learn how to ask for directions,” Althidon said. “Fortunately, you speak our language so that shouldn’t be too hard. Where did you learn it, by the way? Your accent is very slight.”

“I actually don’t know your language,” I replied. “This is a thing of magic, done by Silvy when I first arrived.”

Althidon grunted and nodded. “Yes, that would make sense. Well, enough chat. Spear up.”

We went through another two hours of spear drills. Althidon focused on my stance and grip, ensuring they were perfect. By the end of the day my shoulders were tired and the skin on my hands raw, but I felt much more familiar with the weapon.

“Fortunately, you seem to be a fast learner,” Althidon said. “So, as I said, we’re going to focus most of your time on sparring. You’ll need to be highly skilled with a spear if you want to last even a minute against Ralcor. He is savage on a level you would not comprehend.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” I said, setting the butt of my spear on the wooden floor.

“Make sure you eat plenty and get sufficient sleep,” Althidon said. “Your body needs to heal and grow from the work we did today. It will only do so if you take care of it.”

“Is that it?” I asked.

He nodded. “That is it for today. For the next week, we are going to focus on just these basic movements and sparring. I may have you spar with some of the new swordsmen, just to get some experience with that. You’ll have to learn to fight against someone wielding a sword.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “So, we’re done for the day?”

“Until tomorrow,” he said.

I didn’t know what level of respect was afforded to a Sword-Master, but I decided to play it safe. I bowed to him, hand over heart the way Taranath had. “Thank you for your time, Sword-Master Althidon.”

He acknowledged my bow with a nod of his head. “Thanks for the wand. It appears Silvy knows what we want and what we need.”

“What does that wand do?” I asked.

“It’s used for enchanting other objects,” he said. “It can be done without a wand, but it’s much more difficult. Yes, this wand is much appreciated.”

After that, I left the training platform and tried to remember where the seamstress’ shop had been. I crossed over several arched bridges and asked a few people, and finally made my way back to Elasha.

When I entered her shop, she was seated on a stool, bent over a pile of cloth. Her fingers moved deftly as she sewed two pieces of blue cloth together. After a moment, she looked up and saw me.

“Back so soon?” she asked.

“I just wanted to check on my clothes,” I said.

“It’s going to take some time,” she said. “Fortunately, I keep a handful of cloaks on hand, so I have one that will fit you.” She nodded towards a rack on the wall where wooden pegs held a dozen dark brown cloaks. “It’s the one on the left.”

I reached out and grabbed the cloak. The material didn’t feel familiar to me; it felt nearly as strong as wool, but much softer. Not as soft as my t-shirt, but it would be pleasantly comfortable. I swung it around my shoulders and fastened it at my throat. It fit like it was made for me, and hung down to around mid-calf. The cloak also had a wide hood, and I pulled it forward for a moment, checking the fit.

“Thank you, Elasha,” I said, pushing the hood back. “I appreciate this.”

“Well, I appreciate your silver,” she said, turning back to her work. “Come see me in two days and I should have more for you.”

With that, I left her shop and tried to find my way around the city so I could leave.

17

It took me a while to find my way out of the elven city, since I was dead-set on not asking anyone for directions. I finally started looking over the sides of the bridges I crossed and tried to use that to determine where I was. Well, it wasn’t entirely accurate, but soon I found myself stepping down the lengthy stairs of a massive great tree, until I finally reached the ground again.

I just had no idea where.

Fortunately, the mountain was nearby and I was able to use that to direct myself towards the sheer edge. When I passed bushes and small trees, I snapped a few branches to help give myself a guide for the next day. It only took me a few minutes to get my bearings, then I walked for nearly half an hour until I found the cave opening.

I bounced the stone on my palm for a moment while standing there. Even being invisible, sneaking down the tunnel felt like I was playing with fire, at times. It was just a matter of time until one of those guards caught me, and where would I be then? If I were lucky, I would just get another ass kicking. Worst case scenario, he’d figure out who I was and take me to Ralcor.

With that in mind, I popped the stone into my mouth and set off down the tunnel. I worked hard on moving as silently as possible, but fortune was with me on that day. I didn’t run into any guards at all until the very end of the tunnel, where it opened up and offered a splendid view of one level of the city.

He stood there with his arms crossed, leaning against the left side of the tunnel and watching the city. Several weapons hung from his belt, but he didn’t have a spear like the others did.

The narrow pathway to Silvy’s place was on the right, so I slipped right by him. Just as I did, I heard him inhale deeply and mutter something under his breath. I rolled my eyes as I hurried down the path, finally spitting the stone out when I reached Silvy’s door.

After stuffing the stone in my pocket, I pushed the door open and walked in. Silvy and Zia were there, sipping on tea and talking.

“No, it was quite great. He—” Silvy cut off abruptly when I entered. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you to knock?”

“Hey, don’t set me on fire,” I said, raising both hands. I grinned at Zia and she gave me a bright, green-eyed smile in return.

“How did your training go?” Silvy asked.

“It went great,” I replied. “Hey, look. I need a bath, plain and simple. I’m kind of ripe, and the guards out there can smell me.”

“I smelled him, too,” Zia said matter-of-factly. “Although I suppose I was smelling you, Silvy.”

“Yes, a bath is long overdue with you,” Silvy said, ignoring her comment. “We’ve just been focusing on other things. We’ll wait until tonight, when the baths are empty.”

The way she said “baths” made me think of a public area. Well, that would be interesting.

“How’d your magic training go?” I asked.

“Great!” Zia replied.

Silvy nodded slowly. “Yes, she is able to learn. She is lucky that she has the inborn talent, and I think she can be reasonably strong. Tomorrow we’ll figure out exactly what type of magic she’ll work with.”

“I hope it’s elemental,” Zia said excitedly.

“Different types of magic?” I asked as I took a chair next to Zia. She smiled at me and I reached out, taking her hand in mine. She blushed.

Silvy frowned as she thought of an explanation. “There are multiple types of magic. Different branches, different fields. Some people even call them different flavors, although I never liked that term.”

“What are they?” I asked.

“There are many,” she replied. “Elemental magic is the most common. It’s rather self-explanatory. A person strong in elemental magic might cause the ground to move, make trees walk, or even change the weather. As I said, there are many types; even I don’t know all of them. Magic can involve living beings, it can create heat and light, it can even faintly alter time, although that is especially rare. Some types of magic involve objects, which you’ve seen me use.”

“So, what are you?” I asked. “What type of magic do you know?” She not only healed me but gave me some semblance of goblin longevity, so I imagined her magic was one of those that had something to do with living creatures.

Silvy gave a smile of pride. “I am one of the very rare individuals that can cast from many different areas of magic. I’m not particularly strong in any of them, but I can use most. Plus, I have my stones to help me.”

“I really hope I get to use elemental magic,” Zia said, giving my hand a little squeeze. “I think that sounds so exciting.”

“And what about me?” I asked. “You said I can learn as well.”

Silvy frowned. “Yes, indeed. Tomorrow, when you are done with the elves, I’ll conduct some tests on you. They aren’t particularly difficult, and if you have the inborn ability—which I’m certain you do, I just want to double check—then we should be able to figure out your magic very quickly.”

“Why wait?” I asked, standing up. I kicked my shoes off and put them by the door, then went back to my chair. “If it’ll only take a few minutes, I say we do it right now.”

“Yes!” Zia said. “I want to see what he can learn!”

Silvy frowned prettily. “Well, I suppose there’s no harm in that. Wait right there.”

My eyes followed her curves as she stood up and walked into the bedroom. She muttered a few things under her breath and I heard her digging through piles of magical things on her table. A few moments later, she returned with a large bowl in both hands.

“Fortunately, the test is straightforward,” she said, setting the bowl on the table. Inside the bowl were smooth stones of every color, even some colors that I had no name for, as odd as that might sound. She selected a pale blue one and handed it to me.

I took the stone and held it in my hand. It was cool to the touch, and nothing about it suggested it was anything other than a regular stone.

“You’ll have to let go of her to do the test,” Silvy said with a faint smile.

I released Zia’s hand. She smiled at me.

After that, Silvy instructed me to hold tightly to the stone and focus. She walked me through several mental exercises, from clearing my mind to learning how to tap into the world of magic. It existed all around us, she explained, and a select few were lucky enough to be able to touch it.

After a few minutes of struggling, I felt something. I wasn’t sure how to describe it, but something was there. I told her as much, and she smiled.

“Now, take that same energy and hold it in your mind, then focus on the stone,” Silvy said.

Zia looked at me expectantly. I closed my eyes again and touched that magical world, the magical dimension, and focused on the stone.

“Do you feel anything?” she asked.

“Nothing,” I replied. “Should I?”

She reached out and plucked the stone from my hand, then passed it to Zia. “Your turn,” she said. She then dug through the bowl of stones and handed me a dark brown one.

Together, we went through the same exercise. Zia was immediately successful; she said she felt a sort of resonance, an echo coming from the stone. Silvy smiled and clapped her hands.

“Well, it looks like you got your wish,” Silvy said to the younger woman. She crossed her arms and fixed Zia with a smile. “You’ll be able to learn elemental magic, although we don’t know precisely which types yet.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Zia said, bouncing in her chair and clapping her hands. Her breasts bounced when she did it, and I struggled not to stare. Jesus, these women were just ridiculous.

I tried the same exercise with the brown stone, and once again felt nothing. Zia, however, felt the same resonance from that stone as she had with the blue one. After that, we tried a green stone, which did nothing for me but resonated for Zia.

I began to wonder if I really could use magic. We went through almost every color of the rainbow and I felt nothing. Meanwhile, Zia was going to be able to use magic to affect the air, water, earth, and to an extent, even trees and plants. I felt like she had hit the jackpot.

Silvy frowned at a stone in her hand. “Last one,” she said, passing me a deep red stone. “Same thing. See if you feel something with this stone.” She seemed slightly concerned.

I closed my eyes and reached out with my mind, touching the magic that surrounded us. After doing it a dozen times, it came much more easily now. As soon as I focused on the red stone in my hand, I felt something.

“Woah,” I said, then concentrated. I immediately understood what Zia meant when she described it as a resonance. It felt like an echo, but an echo of magic, and coming from the stone. It almost seemed to pulse in my hand. My heart sped up and my breathing deepened, almost like I was exercising.

“Well,” Silvy said, gently taking the stone from me. “I suppose I should have expected this.” She took a deep breath. “It appears you will be learning blood magic.”

“Well, that sounds ominous,” I said.

She gave me a wry look. “Blood magic is especially powerful, but it’s primarily only used for two things: healing and killing. It is precisely the type of magic that makes people afraid of magic.”

“And you used some of it on me when you healed me, right?”

“Eh,” Silvy shrugged. “I can barely touch blood magic. When I healed you, I used magical items to assist. Once you learn how to use this magic, you will be able to heal people without daggers and wands and stones. Or, kill them.”

I took a deep breath. “Well, I wasn’t expecting that. Although considering your gods brought me here to kill Ralcor, I suppose it’s appropriate.”

“Yes, that it is,” she said. “But it’s very hard to train with.”

“How so?” Zia asked. She reached out and took my hand again, although her attention was fixed on Silvy.

“Zia will be able to use magic to change the earth with ease. She can simply go outdoors and force the soil to move. Or, she could do the same thing with water, basically anywhere she finds water. But with blood magic, you can basically just heal or kill. Those are rather difficult things to practice.”

“So, the only way to practice killing with magic, would be to kill something,” I said.

“Exactly,” she replied. “And you or someone else would have to be hurt to practice healing.”

“I’ll stub my toe for you,” Zia said, winking at me.

“Technically, that would work,” Silvy said. “But I don’t recommend you hurt yourself so he can heal you. That’s a bad way to start a relationship.” She tapped on her lips for a moment. “Speaking of which, Zia, you’re coming with us to the hot springs. Let’s go.”

“Now?” she asked.

“Yes, now. If you want to be his wife, then it’s only appropriate.”

“You have a point,” Zia replied. She looked over at me and blushed.

18

Ilooked at both of them. “What are you two talking about?”

“Come on, you pink giant,” Silvy said, pushing herself to her feet. “We’re heading to the baths. You have your shadow stone on you, right?”

I patted my pocket.

Silvy nodded. “Good. You’ll need that until we get there.”

She picked up the bowl of stones and took it back into the bedroom, where she placed it on her table filled with magical crap. Zia looked up at me and gave me a shy smile.

“Are you gonna tell me what you two were talking about?” I asked.

As soon as Zia opened her mouth to reply, Silvy came back into the room with towels in her hands. On top, she had a thick bar of soap.

“I only have two towels, so you will have to share,” she said. “Ready?”

“Let’s go,” Zia said.

I went back towards the door and grabbed my shoes. After stepping into them, I pulled the door open and held it for the ladies. Okay, I’ll be honest. Half of the reason was so I could check them out as they walked by.

“Now, just follow us,” Silvy said. “And use the shadow stone. Trust me.”

I pulled the stone out of my pocket, brushed it off, and popped it into my mouth. In the dim light of the underground city, I became almost completely invisible. I kept close behind the women as they walked along the edge of the underground city. At least we were moving away from the tunnel, so I didn’t have to worry so much about running into any guards. At least, I hoped.

I had to remind myself to look away from their butts so I could see more of the city, or at least this section of it. Most of the buildings looked to have been carved from the very stone that the mountain was made of, although I saw more traditional stone and brick buildings as well. Some looked like the stone had flowed up from the floor of the cave and shaped into houses. Overall, it was a fascinating place. I couldn’t look too much, as I had to pay attention to where we were walking.

The path Silvy took us on wound around the very edge of the city, until we reached a large tunnel. My initial concerns about guards were abated when I realized the tunnel simply led to another section of the city. It was much the same, with stone buildings and magical lights providing gentle illumination. Silvy had once told me that there were multiple caves like this—if cave was even the right word—and that King Ralcor’s section of the city was above us, on top of everyone else.

It was late in the day, possibly even night time, so there weren’t very many goblins outside wandering about, especially since the path we took mostly avoided houses and buildings. I caught glimpses of them though, and the women all looked to be just as beautiful as Silvy and Zia. Conversely speaking, the men, even just standard workers like butchers and bakers, all looked as mean as the guards in the tunnel. I found the physical differences between the men and women astounding and rather fascinating.

They turned left into another tunnel, this one much smaller. I felt an immediate change in the air as we walked down that tunnel, and when we entered the next room I saw why.

This section of the city wasn’t as large as the caves filled with buildings, but it was still expansive enough to swallow two dozen houses with room left over. More importantly, the ground was mostly made up of small pools, many that gently bubbled. Wisps of steam rose from the pools, and the water slowly leaked out and joined into a small stream that exited the room in the far corner.

“The hot springs,” I said to myself.

Only a handful of goblins were there, some of them scrubbing themselves down and some simply relaxing. Not staring at the large breasts and round bottoms of the goblin women was indeed difficult. I felt a bit like a dirty old man, mostly because I didn’t care.

Silvy led us around the edge of the room—I saw a pattern there, she always kept to the outer edges to avoid people—and we finally stopped near a medium-sized pool. The ground rose up irregularly next to it, providing a bit of privacy.

Silvy pointed at the raised stone and turned back to where she probably thought I was. “That’s so no one can see you.”

I snuck up behind her and placed a kiss on her cheek, then hurriedly backed away before she could slap me. Silvy cursed me, while Zia smiled and laughed. I moved up to her and placed a soft kiss right on her full lips.

“Okay, enough playing around,” Silvy said, tugging at the laces on her dress. “Hop in the water.”

I spat out the shadow stone and slipped it in my pocket, then grinned at the women. Silvy stood there with her fists on her hips. She was trying to give me a stern look but a smile kept breaking through. I’d wear her down, eventually.

I kicked off my shoes and started taking off my clothes. It dawned on me that they needed to be cleaned as well, but I didn’t have anything to wear while they were drying. I’d worry about that later. I tried not to be too shy around them as I stepped into the pool. After all, I had already had sex with Silvy. Zia watched me with wide eyes as I got naked. Hey, at least it was warm in that room, right?

The water was nice and hot, but not uncomfortably so. I stepped in, letting the heat seep into my limbs. It felt absolutely fantastic.

Silvy’s dress was unlaced and she was working it down, but clearly in no hurry. Her attention seemed to be focused on Zia, who stood there with her hands clasped in front of her.

“Well?” Silvy said. “Go ahead. You’ve seen him.”

I settled with my back against the edge of the pool as Silvy continued undressing. When I looked over to Zia, she was looking right back at me as she pulled on the laces of her dress. The way she moved, the way she looked at me, made it clear she wanted me to see her.

She undid the bodice of her dress and slowly pushed it down, exposing her large breasts. They were perfect in every way, large and round and firm, each topped with a plump pink nipple. She continued pushing the dress down, sliding each slender arm out of it. Her stomach was soft but flat, and she had to wiggle side to side to get her dress down around her hips, just like Silvy did.

Her body was shaped much the same as Silvy’s. There were subtle differences—her butt was slightly smaller but her breasts were bigger—but overall she had the same ridiculous shape as the older woman. The same hourglass figure, with thick thighs and a perfectly round ass.

I just stared. I didn’t even care if I looked like a pervert. She was absolutely gorgeous.

Silvy tossed her dress to the side and cleared her throat. I tore my eyes away from the flawless Zia and looked over at Silvy. The years hadn’t really touched her figure. Her breasts were still perky and round, and her hips deliciously grabbable.

“Do you approve?” she asked.

“Huh?” I replied.

She leaned her head back and groaned. “Sometimes I forget you know nothing of our culture. When a man is to take a wife, it is customary for them to see each other in the baths first, so they can approve of each other. Remember, it is customarily only the most beautiful women and the strongest men that find mates. Zia, you have seen him.”

She nodded. “I would gladly accept him as a husband.” Color stained her cheeks as she said that.

Silvy turned back to me and raised an eyebrow.

“I mean, of course,” I said, trying not to stammer. “How could I not? You’re perfect, Zia.” I looked over at Silvy and grinned. “You both are. I accept you both.”

Silvy rolled her eyes and stepped into the pool. Zia smiled ear-to-ear and hurried into the pool, then sloshed across the water and hugged me. The feeling of her naked body against mine had a predictable and immediate effect. Zia pulled back and looked at me, her eyes wide, then looked down.

I just shrugged.

Zia opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again. She turned around, purposely rubbing her ass against my erection, then moved over to the other side of the pool.

Silvy had caught none of that. Or if she did, she gave no sign of it. She merely scrubbed herself with the bar of soap, then passed it to Zia. I got the bar of soap last.

“So, everyone bathes here?” I asked, dunking my head briefly under the water to rinse the soap from it.

“Yep,” Silvy replied. “There are more than a hundred individual pools, so it never gets crowded. I usually avoid coming here during the day, though. The less people, the better.”

“You know, you aren’t as hated as you seem to think,” Zia said as she ran a soapy hand around and beneath one of her breasts. She glanced quickly at me and gave a shy smile, but continued talking to Silvy. “People are wary of you because of Ralcor. They don’t want to associate with someone the king hates so openly. They don’t dislike you, though. Many people, women mostly, see you as strong, as a survivor.”

Silvy’s large breasts rose and fell as she took a deep breath. “Well, I wasn’t expecting to hear that,” she muttered.

My eyes fell to Silvy’s scars. Teeth marks, from each shoulder all the way down to her wrists. Time had largely faded them, but they were still there. That a man could treat a woman so made me angry. Especially a woman as beautiful as Silvy.

“I’m going to kill him as soon as I can,” I said without thinking.

Silvy’s eyes snapped to me. She followed my gaze and looked at her own arms, then slowly sank beneath the surface of the water until it was up to her chin.

The last thing that I wanted was for her to feel embarrassed. I crossed the pool and reached out, grabbing Silvy by the hand. She yelped as I pulled her into a tight hug. The feeling of her body against mine was, of course, mesmerizing.

I sank down in the water until my face was on a level with her. Unintentionally, that put the head of my cock right between her thighs. Her breath caught and she looked up at me.

My right hand gently went to her face and I lifted it up to mine. She was only inches away from me, looking up into my eyes. Silvy was as beautiful as a woman could be, and had saved my life and showed me kindness from the first moment.

“I’m taking you as one of my wives, no matter what you say,” I said quietly to her. She opened her mouth to protest and I bent down and kissed her. It was a soft kiss, nothing aggressive. She pushed her hips forwards and the head of my cock pressed firmly against her, right against her tight opening.

Realizing that I was probably making Zia uncomfortable, I slowly pulled away from Silvy, giving her hand a squeeze as I did so.

Indeed, Zia stood there looking quite awkward. I smiled and pushed through the water towards her. Her face lit up as I approached her, and she reached out for me.

Zia practically leaped on me and I wrapped my arms around her. Our lips met in a kiss of passion and my hand automatically went to that big, round ass of hers. I gave it a squeeze and let my hand slide in a circle around it, around her hip and between her cheeks, as she pushed her tongue into my mouth. Her body slid down a few inches until I found myself in the same situation as with Silvy; the head of my cock nestled in her pussy lips. I ached to just ram it inside her, but I somehow made myself behave. Trust me, it wasn’t easy.

I broke our kiss and held her to my chest, both of us breathing hard. With a smile, I kissed her on the forehead and pulled away, then swam across the small pool to my side so I could relax a bit.

Silvy had finally gotten herself under control, although it clearly took some effort. She pushed a strand of wet hair back from her face and turned to me. I sat up straight and slowly pushed myself back towards her.

“So, as I told you earlier, I belong to no man,” she said, not quite meeting my eyes. “I am flattered by your offer, but I must refuse.”

I reached my hand out to her and she slipped her slender hand in mine without hesitation. That was always a good sign.

“Well, as I told you earlier, if I’m going to be king then you won’t have much of a choice. I want you as my wife.” That was about as straightforward as I could be.

Silvy blushed. “Well, then I guess I’ll be hitting you with a frying pan.”

I laughed. “Good thing I know blood magic, then. I can just heal myself. If that’s what I have to do to have you, then so be it.”

“Oh, just say yes, Silvy!” Zia said, crossing the pool to stand near us. “I think it would be great to be family with you.” She looked up at me and smiled, then stepped close enough that her hip brushed against mine.

Silvy looked up at me for a while, her gaze unreadable. “I think,” she said after a moment. “That I’m done with my bath.” And with that, she turned and began climbing out of the pool.

Of course, that bent she was bending over right in front of me, putting that glorious ass practically in my face. Silvy was oddly unaware of things like that at times, so I reached out and slapped her right on one of those amazing cheeks.

She gasped and turned around, ready to slap me, but I had already rushed forwards. The moment she turned, I was there, wrapping my arms around her. She stared into my eyes for a split second, and then we kissed, hard and passionate.

“I’m going to marry you, even if you hit me with a frying pan every night,” I said between kisses. My hand slipped around her lower back and I held her tightly to me, so our faces were only millimeters from each other.

Zia was suddenly there, her hand gently rubbing my back. “Stop being difficult, Silvy, and say yes already.”

My hand slowly slid down from Silvy’s lower back to her magnificently round ass and I gave it a squeeze. Man, I was addicted to these goblin butts. She smiled, just faintly, at that.

“I’ll think about it,” she said, gently pushing away from me. She turned again, climbing out of the pool. I think that time she purposely shoved her ass in my face. I was briefly considering leaning forward to kiss her right on her ass cheek when I suddenly felt a hand.

Zia stood next to me, her small hand wrapped around my cock, squeezing and stroking it. I looked down at her and she smiled and winked at me.

“I suppose I should get out as well,” Zia said, pushing past me to the edge of the pool. She rubbed her ass all over me, making sure to push it firmly against my crotch, and then climbed out. Much like Silvy, she first brought one knee up and placed it on the edge of the pool, giving me quite the view, then her other knee. She stayed like that for a few seconds, on all fours with her knees slightly spread, her beautiful ass right in front of me, then wiggled it at me.

I couldn’t resist any longer. I reached out and placed my hands on each cheek and then ran my tongue up the full length of her labia. She gasped and turned to face me.

I grinned at her. Her look of shock quickly faded into a sultry smile. She glanced over at Silvy, who was drying off.

“Can I have the other towel?” Zia asked.

Silvy tossed it to her and she caught it. She stood up in front of me, drying herself off, giving me quite the display of her body.

I finally climbed out of the pool, completely unashamed of my raging erection. Zia stared at it for a moment, eyes wide. She brought the towel up to begin drying her hair and Silvy spoke up.

“There’s a better way to do that,” she said. “Remember, you’re learning magic. You can use that to dry your hair. Much better than soaking that towel.” She took a step closer, still naked, and finally realized my erection. “Oh, put that thing away, Aaron,” she said, rolling her eyes, but on her lips was an unmistakable smile.

I shrugged. “I can’t help it. You two are the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen, and I love the fact that I’m going to marry you both.” I stood there, hands on my hips, proud of my boner.

Silvy blushed and tried her best to ignore me. She did something, I wasn’t sure what, and water suddenly flowed from her hair in a thin stream onto the stone floor. It took me a moment to realize she had dried her hair using magic.

“You won’t be able to do that for a while, but I just wanted to show you some of the things possible with magic,” Silvy explained. She concentrated and the water pulled out of Zia’s hair as well. After a moment, water fell from each of the towels, leaving them dry. She threw her towel at me.

“Cover that thing up, will you?” Silvy said as she turned to fetch her dress.

While Silvy was facing the other direction, Zia suddenly reached out and grabbed onto my dick. She gave it a squeeze, then paused for a moment as if thinking. She bent down and took it in her mouth, sucking hard, once, twice, and then pulled away. With a wink, she walked away and grabbed her dress.

“Wow,” I said, feeling an overwhelming urge to get laid. “I really need to hurry up and kill this guy.”

19

It took me a few deep breaths to be able to pull my jeans back on. Now that we were officially promised to each other—at least, I thought so based on my limited understanding of goblin culture—Zia seemed determined to flirt and make things difficult for me.

Silvy was oddly quiet after that, and still didn’t quite meet my gaze. Once we were ready, she led the way and we left the bathing room. I made sure to slip the shadow stone back into my mouth. I put my hand on Zia’s shoulder for a moment so she knew I was right behind her.

Zia looked around, and seeing no one nearby, hiked up the bottom of her dress as she walked in front of me, baring her entire bottom. She looked over her shoulder at me, laughing happily.

“Why do I get the feeling you two are up to something?” Silvy asked without looking back.

Zia just laughed again and reached out for me. I moved forwards and took her hand, although with our height difference it didn’t really work out. I offered her my arm and she slipped hers through it. That was a bit better, although to anyone passing by it would probably look strange; a short woman just walking with her hand in the air.

Silvy looked back a few times at us. Well, at Zia. At her sharp gaze, Zia removed her arm. No use clueing people in that an invisible dude was walking around, after all.

At least being invisible, I could stare all I wanted and no one could tell. I grinned like an idiot as I watched Silvy’s ass move in her dress, and slowed down for a moment to gawk at Zia. She really was something incredible. A group of three goblin women walked by in the opposite direction and I got an eyeful of their large breasts practically falling out of their dresses. Sometimes, life was good.

After a few minutes, we wound up back in the cave where Silvy’s house was. As we began heading to her house, Zia decided to part ways.

“I should get home,” she said, reaching out and hugging Silvy, who looked slightly surprised at the gesture. “Thank you so much for everything, Silvy. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” And with that, she kissed Silvy on the cheek.

Zia blindly reached a hand out and I grabbed it and pulled her to me. I kissed her briefly, not wanting to accidentally slip the shadow stone into her mouth, then let her go. She smiled and walked away.

Silvy stood there for a moment, hand on her cheek where Zia had kissed her. She looked somewhere between surprised and confused.

“Are you alright?” I asked, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.

“What? Oh, yes,” she said, blinking. “Come on, let’s go.” With that, she hurried away, pulling her skirts up so she could walk more quickly. I suppose after many years alone, she still wasn’t used to affection. It probably felt mildly overwhelming to her.

I followed her around the edge of the cave and we finally wound up at her house. It was just a tiny little place carved into the stone, but it was somehow charming. I hadn’t really thought about that before.

Silvy pushed the door open and walked in. I spat the shadow stone out and followed, and we both kicked our shoes off and left them next to the door. Silvy gave me a nervous glance, then went over to her kettle.

“Would you like some tea?” she asked.

“I would love some tea,” I said, grabbing the nearest chair and sitting down.

She used magic to heat the water, so it was ready in no time. She poured us each a cup of tea, then sat down next to me. The way she moved and sat showed she was stressed, or perhaps nervous.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

“I’m fine,” she answered, only slightly too quickly.

I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry if what I said stressed you out. I won’t apologize for saying it, though. I meant every word. I think you are beautiful and wonderful, and I want you.”

She gave me one of her unreadable looks and sipped on her tea. “I belong to no man,” she said, although there was little force in it.

“I agree,” I replied smoothly. “We can approach it as partners. As equals. I’m not trying to take away your independence. I’m just asking for an opportunity to care for you.”

Her eyes widened slightly at that, and she set her cup of tea down. “Why are you doing this, Aaron? Why are you saying these things to me?”

I shrugged. “Well, as I said, I think you’re great. Do I really need a reason beyond that?”

Silvy watched me for a moment, then grabbed her cup and took another careful sip of her tea. “You’re a strange man, Aaron.”

After that, whatever was bothering her seemed to evaporate. We talked, mostly about magic and its different uses.

“I would probably avoid telling the elves you’re talented in blood magic,” she advised. “They tend to have an innate distrust of blood magic due to their history. Elemental is more their thing.”

“Noted,” I said. “What are some of the stranger forms out there?” I asked. “Of magic, that is. Most of it makes reasonable sense when I think about it. Are there any forms of magic that don’t? Sorry if that’s a strange question.”

“It’s okay,” Silvy said, setting her empty cup down and gently twirling it by the handle. “There are some darker forms of magic that most users tend to avoid. And some forms that don’t come naturally at all; they can only be used if one pledges him or herself to a dark god.” She scoffed. “Himself. No woman would be dumb enough to do that.”

“What types of magic are we talking about?” I asked.

“Essentially variations on your blood magic,” she explained. “There are some that can warp and twist the flesh like clay, and I have even read of instances where someone was able to bring the dead back to life. Although calling it life was a bit of a misnomer; the person was more of a mindless shell. But they were no longer dead.”

“Necromancy. That’s creepy stuff,” I said. “So, what about my blood magic? You said I can heal and kill with it. How will I do that?”

She pursed her lips. “I’ve read about it, but I’m not entirely certain, to be honest. From what I understand, killing involves magically connecting yourself to a person’s body and simply forcing them to die. Remember, I am very weak in blood magic and have to use magical objects to heal. I’ve never even tried killing with it, although I’m sure I could figure it out.”

I blinked. “So I just will them to die and they die? Wow. Maybe I should go hunting so I can practice with this. Once I know how to do it, I should have no problem killing Ralcor.”

“Well, remember you have to get to him first,” Silvy reminded me. “And he is surrounded by guards. You learning the spear will help, but it’s going to take a lot of fighting to even get near him.” She sighed. “I suppose it’s good that Zia is so eager to help. To be honest, there is no way you’ll be able to do this without her help. Or mine, for that matter.” She huffed. “I do hope she was being serious when she said she was going to bring her best friend by. You’ll need all the help you can get.”

Marrying three beautiful women had never been so easy! All I had to do was kill a guy. I tried to ignore him being surrounded by armed guards and focused on the basics.

“So, when can I try to practice with my magic?” I asked.

“Probably tomorrow,” Silvy replied. “Zia will be here studying magic with me. You can go hunting in the woods surrounding the cave. If you walk for an hour or so, there should still be plenty of wildlife out there. I haven’t had a good roast in a long time.”

“Ah, man,” I said, chuckling. “You’re going to make me kill some cute animal, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Goblins don’t eat much meat, if that makes you feel any better. But there is only one way to learn how to kill with blood magic. At least in doing that, you can feed us.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I said, then finished the last of my tea.

“Well, I’m going to sleep,” Silvy said abruptly. “Stay up as late as you’d like.”

And with that, she got up, set her tea cup on the nearby counter, and went to her bedroom.

I sat there for a moment, caught slightly off guard by the suddenness of it. Of course, there wasn’t anything for me to really do in her house, so it made sense for me to go to bed as well.

I set my tea cup next to hers, then went into the bedroom. She was just crawling into bed as I walked in, so I caught a glimpse of her naked figure as she shimmied beneath the sheets.

“I’m coming to bed with you,” I said. “It’s been a long day.”

She laid there on her side, watching me quietly as I undressed. Something was bothering her, so I didn’t want to stress her out or make anything awkward. As soon as I was undressed, I climbed into bed next to her. After a moment of thought, I kissed her on the forehead.

“Goodnight, Silvy,” I said.

I laid back on the pillow and closed my eyes, trying to let my brain slow down so I could get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day, and I needed my rest.

Silvy gently shook my arm. My eyes snapped open and I looked at her. She was still lying there, watching me.

“Did you really mean what you said?” she asked.

Well, I had said a lot of things, but I had a feeling I knew exactly what she was talking about.

“Yes,” I said. “I meant every word. I really like you.”

She stared into my eyes for a moment, then stretched forward and pecked me on the lips.

“No one has wanted me in a long time,” she said quietly.

“That’s because they’re blind,” I replied. “Blind and stupid.”

She smiled at that, nearly laughing. I decided to try my luck, and I leaned over and kissed her softly.

Silvy’s hand immediately went to my jaw, holding my face to hers, and we kissed long and passionately. My arm went to her waist and I pulled her close to me, feeling the heat of her skin against mine. Her large breasts pressed against me and I smiled.

I had a sneaking suspicion this was what she wanted when she suddenly went to bed so early, so I wasn’t surprised when she suddenly threw a thick thigh over my waist and sat on me. Her pussy was warm and wet, and she sat so it was right on my erect cock, which was lying against my lower stomach. She leaned forward and I pulled her to me and we continued kissing, our tongues playing with each other.

I bent my knees to cradle her ass against me and my hands went right to her round hips. Silvy began working her hips back and forth, just slightly, rubbing the wetness of her pussy all over my cock.

She pulled back from our kiss for a moment and hefted her breasts in both hands, pushing them towards me. With our difference in height, I really had to bend down, but I got each nipple in my mouth and licked, sucked, and nibbled on them. Silvy bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes while I pleased her, and continued working her hips back and forth.

I was actually thinking of flipping her over and going down on her, but right at that moment she suddenly pulled back and raised herself a few inches off me.

“I need you right now,” she said, reaching between her thighs and grabbing onto my erection. She lined it up with herself and sank down on it while I firmly squeezed her bottom. She sat on me for a moment, just getting used to the feeling of being so filled up. I was a lot bigger than goblin men, so it made sense that my cock would be a lot larger as well.

She leaned forwards and we kissed again, although my hands stayed on her magnificent ass. She worked her hips up and down, sliding her tight, wet pussy up and down my full length with each stroke. After a moment she put her breasts in my face again, and the combination of all that made it very hard not to just blow my load right then and there.

“That feels so good,” she said, her eyes closed and her small hands pushing her massive breasts in my face.

I really wanted to just give it to her but I knew at that moment that wasn’t what she wanted. Instead, I let my hands slide up her hips and grabbed onto her narrow waist for a moment, giving her a few hard, deep strokes. Then, my hands slid up her sides and grabbed onto her large breasts, squeezing them. I used them sort of as handles and pulled her to me so we could kiss again.

She wrapped her arms behind my head as we kissed, ensuring we were close as could be. My hands moved up again, holding her close to me, and she responded by clenching her pelvic floor muscles. Holy shit, it was like she was putting my dick in a chokehold. There was no way I could last against that amount of tightness, so I simply held her tightly and started going fast and hard, giving her every inch of me. She moaned against my lips and I returned the favor as I finally came.

I grabbed onto her substantial ass and squeezed it good and hard as I fired several rounds deep inside her. She smothered my own moans with her thick lips and shoved her tongue deep in my mouth while slamming her ass down on me. I don’t think words could have described how incredible everything felt. It was the hardest orgasm of my life, without a doubt.

Once I had finished, Silvy collapsed against my chest. Sweat slicked our bodies, and both of us breathed hard. Her head nestled beneath my chin and one of her hands reached up and touched my jaw, gently caressing it.

“Don’t hurt me,” she said.

“Never,” I promised, and wrapped my arms around her.

20

When I woke up, she was still on top of me with my cock inside her. Of course, being first thing in the morning I woke up with morning wood, which meant I woke up hard and ready to go. Needless to say, I took advantage of the situation.

I gently shook her to wake her, as I didn’t want to wake her with surprise sex. I didn’t know how she might react, and knowing Silvy, she might throw some fists around. She blinked a few times and looked down at me, then smiled. Still sleepy, she laid her head against my shoulder and began moving her hips slightly.

I took that as my cue that we were good to go. My hands went straight to that amazing ass of hers and I gripped it tightly while moving her up and down. Unlike the night before, we went hard and fast that morning, and finished in no time. The head of my cock rammed against her cervix as I fired my second round deep inside her.

Even after that, she stayed on top of me. Silvy sighed happily and made herself comfortable. My cock was still inside her, but she laid her head on my shoulder and had her arms on me, holding me tightly. Both of my arms were wrapped tightly around her. I could have stayed like that forever, but I had things to get done that day.

“Shame we can’t just do that five more times. I had almost forgotten how great vaginal sex could be,” Silvy said, pushing herself up. “But, you’ve got a busy day.” She clenched her pelvic floor muscles and lifted herself off me, then climbed off the bed.

Pregnancy was something that concerned me. Of course, if I was to become king and have a harem of women, I would be getting them pregnant anyways, so I wasn’t sure why I even thought of it. Besides, last time we had sex, Silvy said goblin women had their ways of avoiding it.

Fortunately, Silvy took care of things for me again. Similarly to how she had done before, she stood there with her fists on her hips and her feet apart. Her stomach muscles clenched and an extra-large wad of cum dropped out of her and plopped on the floor. She looked down at it for a moment.

“That’s impressive,” she said.

I felt an odd bit of pride at just how much cum I had pumped into her during our two sessions. I avoided telling her that it was probably because she was the hottest woman I’d ever met.

“To be honest I prefer other ways of avoiding pregnancy, but magic will do for now.” She muttered a magical command and flicked her hand and the cum disappeared in a puff of smoke. However, that time I actually felt the magic surge inside her. It was like being next to a large amount of static electricity; the hair on my arms didn’t stand, but I could feel it, plain as day.

I noticed Silvy watching me. “You felt it that time, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” I said, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. “It was a vague feeling, I assume because that wasn’t blood magic. But I definitely felt something.”

“Very good,” Silvy said, fetching her dress from where she had laid it over the back of a nearby chair the night before. “You’re learning surprisingly quickly. I suppose the gods really did answer my prayers.” She paused for a moment, her eyes staring at nothing. Her gaze transferred to me for a moment, then she quickly pulled her dress on and turned away to hide a sudden blush.

Silvy wasn’t the kind of woman to blush very often, so I didn’t know what that was about. I was tempted to ask her but I ultimately decided against it.

“I should probably hit the bathing pools again this morning, so Zia doesn’t smell me,” I muttered, looking down at myself.

“I don’t think she would mind too terribly,” Silvy replied with a faint smile as she laced up the front of her dress. “But you’re probably right.”

My main priority was to train with the elves, but I still had to find time to go hunting. All in all, it was going to be a tiring day. There was just no avoiding that.

I hurriedly pulled my clothes on, then kissed Silvy on the cheek as I walked by her. “I’m going to hurry up and get right to it,” I told her, then left her small cave house.

As soon as I got outside, I popped the shadow stone in my mouth. The moment I turned invisible, I began walking on a path that wrapped around the current cave I was in. I did my best to go the same way Silvy had the day before.

Several times people got close to me and my heart pounded so loudly I was afraid they could hear it. On only one occasion it was a guard, but he was hurrying along and didn’t have time for me.

I passed through the tunnel that led into the adjacent cave, then power walked along the left wall, making my way to the bathing pools. As soon as I got there, two things dawned on me. One, I never even thought about bringing a towel. And two, there were a lot of women in there at that moment.

The tendency was to say they were all shapes and sizes, but the truth was all goblin women seemed to have a similar build. They had been bred that way for hundreds, possibly thousands of years after all; thick thighs, wide hips, a small waist, and large breasts. Each of them had a beautiful face, as well. They looked like oversexualized caricatures drawn by a horny teenager, and I was surrounded by them.

Fortunately the light was dim in the springs, so I remained invisible. Grinning like an idiot, I turned in a full circle to admire the women around me. Several of them splashed water at each other and laughed. A woman right next to me lounged in a pool, floating on the water with the back of her head lying on the edge, eyes closed.

I could have just stayed in there and watched them like a pervert and been content, but there was simply no time. Instead, I hurried around the room, moving towards the back where there were fewer people. The pools at the front were indeed the most populated, so when I got away from them I found myself mostly alone.

As quickly as possible, I stripped down and set my clothes and shoes behind a nearby rock. I then hopped into the nearest pool and spent a moment rinsing myself off while trying not to splash around too much. The room was noisy enough that people likely wouldn’t hear me, but I didn’t want to risk it.

As soon as I was done, I hopped out and stood there for a moment, drip-drying. Fortunately the cave was a reasonable temperature, moderated by being below ground and further warmed from the hot springs, so I wasn’t cold even though I was naked. I didn’t have all day though, so I grabbed my things and began sneaking around the edge.

Of course, as soon as I grabbed my things and turned around, a plump goblin woman walked right up to me and began to undress. Trying to be careful, I took a silent step back and knelt down. I even breathed carefully, so she wouldn’t hear that.

Well, she didn’t hear me. However, she did unlace her blouse and take it off right in front of me. She turned around as she untied the waist of her skirt, and slowly bent over as she pushed it down over her hips. That put her ass squarely in my face, and let me tell you what, it was quite the view.

My penis was so hard I feared it might pop like an overfilled balloon, so the second she moved, I got up and hurried away. At least by that time I was starting to dry off. I pulled the shirt over my head as I carefully walked along the edge of the room, sticking to the shadows. My pants went on next, and as I got close to the entrance I brushed off the bottoms of my feet and pulled on my socks and shoes.

That done, I jogged through the caves and tunnels until I made it to the entrance tunnel. That journey always filled me with trepidation, even though I was invisible. Those goblin guards were quick enough that they could still hit me if I wasn’t careful. The small hole in the back of my t-shirt was evidence. At least the cut was healing.

With that in mind, I jogged down the tunnel, trying my best to land softly on the hard stone floor. While not the best plan, it kept me alive.

After only around ten seconds, I came across a guard walking my way. He was in the center of the tunnel, so I had no choice but to get close to him as I ran along the unlit wall. I slowly increased my pace, as fast as I could run without my shoes scraping and slapping the floor.

His eyebrows drew down as I approached, and his shifty eyes searched the tunnel for me. He pulled his iron-banded club from the ring on his belt and held it ready. I had to get past this guy.

Fortunately, I was a foot taller than him. He knew something was in the tunnel with him and he lashed out with his club, nearly striking me in the arm, but my long legs carried me away from him in no time. He hurried after, trying to catch up, but I outdistanced him rather quickly.

I kept my pace up, ignoring his shouted curses. When I exited the tunnel I kept running straight for the forest in front, hoping the bit of shade it provided would help disguise me. I ran thirty feet past the treeline and hid behind a particularly large tree. Not one of the great trees, but it was still pretty big.

A moment later the guard emerged from the mouth of the tunnel, seething with anger. He shouted curses and threats, brandishing that club of his. It only took me a moment to recognize his voice. This was the guy that had kicked my ass a few days before, and had also slapped Silvy.

Anger rose in me and I crept closer to him. He walked in my general direction, entering the woods slightly to my left, still calling out for me to face him like a man.

I hadn’t really used magic yet with the exception of the test Silvy had given me, so I wasn’t entirely sure what I did. I just thought of magic, imagined myself holding lots of it inside my mind. Warmth filled me, only a trickle but something had definitely changed.

I focused on the goblin guard the same way I had focused on that stone. It took a second, but I suddenly felt incredibly aware of his body, of his lungs breathing in air, of his muscles working as he walked around, and most importantly, of the blood pumping in his veins. It was like I could reach out with my mind and directly touch his heart, or anywhere that blood flowed.

He stopped walking suddenly, his large eyes narrowing. Growled threats continued to pour from his filthy mouth, although now several of them had Silvy’s name in them. He knew something magical was going on, and he was blaming her. That wasn’t good. This guy would probably find her and beat her. I had to stop him, somehow.

Using my magical link to him, I pictured his heart in my hand. I could feel every blood vessel flowing in and out of it, every bit of muscle that contracted as it pumped hard with anger. I imagined his heart stopping completely.

The goblin guard’s eyes suddenly bulged and he clutched at his chest. He shouted curses and swung his club blindly, although after only a few seconds he turned and rushed back to the tunnel. Having no other choice, I followed.

He continued bellowing a warning that he was being attacked by magic, but his voice was weak. I still had a magical grip on his heart, though I did not know how I did it. Somehow I was preventing his heart from beating, essentially giving him a heart attack.

He didn’t last long. His strength ebbed and he sank to his knees. The club fell from his hand and clattered on the ground.

I walked up to him and picked up the club. So that he could see me, I spat the shadow stone into my off-hand, then moved to stand right in front of him.

His face contorted in rage when he saw me, and he tried to pull himself towards me but didn’t have the strength. A line of drool ran from his mouth, but his eyes were clearly fixed on me and he meant violence.

“I’ll never forget when I first met you,” I said as I hefted the club. “You struck Silvy, right in the face. As long as I’m alive, no one will ever hurt her again.” And with that, I raised the club and brought it down against his temple as hard as I could.

21

Istood there for a moment, adrenaline making my hands shake. The guard was dead; a combination of me stopping his heart and then beating him in the head was too much for anyone to survive. I took a few slow breaths to try to calm my pounding heart.

I had just killed a man. Yes, a bad man, but still. My entire life I had been peaceful. I had to remind myself that I had been brought to this world to kill Ralcor. So while killing this nameless guard made me feel slightly ill, I was going to have to get used to it, and fast.

But first, I needed to hide the evidence. I shook my head to try to clear my thoughts, then stuffed the shadow stone back in my mouth. I had nowhere to carry the club, so I slid it back in the loop on his belt. After that I grabbed him by the ankles and began dragging his corpse away from the tunnel, further into the woods.

If you’ve never dragged a body, you should know that it’s a lot of fucking work. And this guy wasn’t particularly large, but he was dense and muscular and wearing armor. So pulling his ass across the dirt floor of the forest was very tiring, but I couldn’t stop there. I pulled him past the treeline, then finally let go of his boots.

His body would be found within hours if I left him there, and it would raise an alarm. I had to bury the bastard. I dug through his pockets and coin purse, filling my own pockets with a few coins and more importantly a dagger. I used that to help pry a hand-sized rock from the ground, which I then used to start digging.

Digging a body-sized hole with a rock was a lot of work. I began to fear that I would get caught, and that fear made me move quickly, dirt flying out of the hole. It made me wish I could use elemental magic. That would have made short work of this whole scenario.

After a small eternity, I finally had a hole big enough for the guard. I removed his iron-banded club and rolled his body into the hole, then used my rock tool to push dirt over his body. When I was done I kicked the excess dirt in all directions so that only a small mound remained. Nothing overly noticeable.

“What a way to start the day,” I muttered to myself as I looked around. At least I had his club and the belt that held it. The belt was too small for me, but the loops that were designed to hold the club were easy to remove and loop onto my own belt. His dagger went on the other side of my belt.

The side of the goblin mountain was on my left, so I started walking. I still didn’t know how to get to the tree I had first found, but after half an hour of walking I came to what I thought was the tree I had used the day before when leaving the elven city. With a deep breath, I began to climb those stairs.

I was grateful for how Silvy had changed my body. In my previous life I hadn’t been out of shape, but I also hadn’t been particularly strong. Climbing all these stairs would have killed me. I still had to take a few breaks, but I finally made it to the top, nearly two hundred feet above the ground. I stayed there for a second, catching my breath and looking around.

And only a moment later, a rather angry looking elven man approached me in an aggressive manner. An elaborately gilded badge was pinned on one side of his vest, so I assumed he was some form of guard or law enforcement.

“Who are you?” he demanded, hand resting on the hilt of a short sword at his belt.

I raised both hands to him and took another deep breath. “I’m a friend. My name is Aaron, and I’ve come here to see Sword-Master Althidon.”

The elven man studied me for a moment with narrowed eyes, then finally nodded. “See that you go directly to him. I don’t want you wandering around.”

“If you could point me in the right direction, that would make it quicker, then,” I said, slowly lowering my hands.

The man glared at me for a moment, then turned and pointed behind him. After that, he walked away, continuing to patrol the city.

“So, looks like elven cops are assholes. Who would have guessed?” I muttered to myself as I started off in the direction he had pointed.

The elven citizens gave me strange looks as I passed by. After all, I was not only human, but wearing jeans and a Slayer t-shirt, so I looked nothing like them. Had I worn my new cloak today that might have helped, but I left it at Silvy’s house. Note to self, wear the stupid cloak.

After a few minutes, some of the buildings and landmarks began to look familiar. I made a few wrong turns, but finally recognized my surroundings and managed to wander to where Sword-Master Althidon worked.

The sound of wooden swords clacking against each other was loud enough that I was able to follow it. Soon after, I found myself watching a group of young elven men being run through basic motions. Well, they looked basic to me. But then again, I had no clue what I was doing. I was more likely to stab myself in the foot with a sword than parry an attack.

I let them train for a few more minutes, then stepped close enough for Althidon to see me. He briefly glanced at me but continued his instruction until the men had run through a parry motion a hundred times. Literally a hundred, he made them count out loud. After that, He directed one of his associates to continue the instruction and stepped to the side to talk to me.

I finally approached him and made sure to bow with my right hand over my heart, as I had seen Taranath do the day before. Althidon acknowledged my bow with a nod of his head as usual.

“You look like shit,” he said gruffly, eyeing me up and down. “Your hands are filthy, your face is dirty, and you’re sweaty. Do you not bathe?”

I sighed. “I had a run-in with someone this morning and had to fend for myself,” I replied. Well, it was close enough to the truth. He didn’t need any details.

“Come here,” Althidon said and turned.

I followed him around the formation of training men and he took me to a washing area. The tree had grown into several wooden bowls that held cool, clean water. At his direction, I washed my face and hands. Afterwards, I felt much better.

“Thanks,” I said as we walked back to the training area.

“So, did you win?” he asked as he grabbed a training spear from a nearby rack.

“Win what?” I asked.

“You said you had a run-in with someone this morning. Did you win?”

“Oh,” I said, unsure of how much detail I should give. “Yes, I did.”

“Good,” Althidon said, nodding. “How did you do it? With the dagger or with that club?”

I looked down at the weapons hanging from my belt. Could I trust Althidon? The elves and goblins used to be friends, after all. Taranath had seemed pretty excited at the thought of our two people trading again.

“Can I trust you?” I asked Althidon. I figured he was the type of guy that would appreciate directness.

He crossed his arms and frowned. “That’s a strange question. Almost useless. If I were to answer yes, how would you know if I was telling the truth?”

I shrugged. “Can I, though?”

He chuckled. “Probably. I know what your goal is, and I hate Ralcor as much as anyone else. Seeing him gone would be a good thing, and if you’re gearing up to do that, then yeah, I’d say you can probably trust me. Why do you ask?”

I took a deep breath. Silvy had told me this was a bad idea, but I wanted to be honest with this man. “Yesterday, I told you I had the ability to learn magic. After I left here, I learned what type of magic I could use.”

“And?” he asked impatiently.

“A goblin guard tried to attack me in the tunnel that leads out of their mountain city,” I said. “I used blood magic to stop him. Then I hit him in the side of the head with this club.”

Althidon’s eyebrows drew down and he stared at me for a moment. “Blood magic. That can be a nasty thing, indeed. A lot of us don’t trust it, due to its use in our history, but I know it can be used to heal as well as kill. How did you do it?”

“I stopped his heart,” I replied simply.

Althidon nodded slowly and rubbed his chin. “Well, if your end goal is to attack Ralcor, you’ll need all the help you can get. Killing with elemental magic is still very possible, but not nearly as easy. I suppose it’s appropriate that you can use blood magic. You won’t be training it here, though.” He handed me a training spear. “Now, let’s get started.”

I took the spear from him and he ran me through the basics, from fixing my stance and grip to basic thrusts. It appeared the spear really was a simple weapon compared to the sword. Those elven men were spending weeks, months, just learning new parries and attacks. After one day I already knew most of the moves with a spear, and now I just had to practice over and over until I was better at them.

After Althidon had me practice some basic moves for an hour, he went to the rack and grabbed a sword. The hilt looked normal, but the blade was made of two dozen thin sticks lashed together.

“Now it’s time to see how much you’ve been paying attention,” he said, raising the sword. “I won’t move too fast, and I won’t use any advanced techniques. I just want you to practice deflecting my moves and keeping me away from you. Remember, the biggest advantage of the spear is the reach. Don’t let your opponent get close to you; kill them before they can close the distance. Ready?”

I raised my spear. “Ready,” I said.

Althidon nodded, then stepped forwards and swung his sword at me. Just a simple attack, like he wanted to hack into my arm. I moved the end of my spear to the left and deflected it, then drove the padded tip of my practice spear into his shoulder.

“Very good,” Althidon said. “Again.”

He attacked me again, this time from the other side. The response with a spear was quite simple; the weapon was so long that simply moving the end of the spear to intercept rendered his attack useless. Plus, it put the tip of the spear right next to him.

Althidon tried an overhead attack, and I deflected it in the same manner. He even tried an upwards swing, but I slapped it down with my spear. After a few attacks I really felt myself moving into the role. My sense of focus sharpened and I felt ready for anything.

“Excellent,” Althidon said. “As long as you only fight complete beginners, you should have the upper hand.” He laughed at that, and I joined in.

After that, he called over one of the young trainees, and handed him the practice sword. He then instructed the young man to attack me and try to land a hit, but not to go too hard.

The only thing that saved my ass was the length of the spear. In order for him to attack me, he had to take several steps closer, during which I was almost always able to see what his attack was going to be. That made it easy to respond, which I usually did sloppily but effectively. Althidon watched us, grunting approval from time to time, and instructed the other young man on how to improve his attacks.

We spent two hours doing that. My shoulders and hands ached, but a bit of adrenaline kept me going strong. I didn’t realize how fun it could be, but I avoided telling Althidon that, as he’d probably chastise me for not taking it seriously.

All in all it was a great practice session, and it gave me hope for my future.

22

Once we finished, I thanked both Althidon and the young soldier, then left the training area. My spirits were high after performing so well and having the Sword-Master praise me.

Of course, finding my way back still wasn’t easy. I did my best to look for more landmarks to memorize. Eventually, I found myself back in Elasha’s tailor shop. She had a bundle of cloth on a table and was seated behind it, her needle making swift motions.

“Well, look who it is,” she said, barely looking up from what she was doing. “I’m not done yet. Quality clothes take time to make.” From her tone, she didn’t want to be bothered until she was done. I was just tired of everyone staring at my Slayer t-shirt.

“Can I grab at least one shirt so I don’t look so out of place?” I asked.

Her needle paused and she looked up at me. With a pointed huff, she set her needle down and pushed her chair back. She crossed the room and went to a wall covered with shelves and began digging through neatly stacked piles of cloth on one. She pulled an off-white shirt from the shelf and tossed it to me.

“There. The rest will be done in a few days. Probably quicker if you stop interrupting me,” she said as she went back to her table.

“Thank you, Elasha,” I said, bowing with my right hand over my heart, same way I did to Althidon. I didn’t know elven etiquette but it seemed like a very polite thing to do.

She raised an eyebrow slightly when I bowed, but otherwise stayed silent. I thought I detected the tiniest bit of a smile on her lips as she went back to sewing. Well, everyone could appreciate good manners. Even the elves. She muttered something about royalty, but I missed it.

I decided I didn’t care about propriety and pulled my t-shirt off right there. Fortunately Elasha was too busy sewing to really notice. She probably would have given me hell.

The shirt she had made for me fit nicely and was made of soft material, though I wasn’t quite sure what. It was off-white in color, with long sleeves that tied at the wrists. The top half of the front laced up, so I spent a few seconds tightening those. I didn’t want to look like one of those sixty-year-old dudes that walked around with all their shirts halfway unbuttoned, showing off their chest hair.

Not knowing what else to do with it, I kept my t-shirt in my hand and left her store. I stood there for a moment, racking my brain and trying to remember exactly where I was and which direction I should go. It only took me a few seconds, and then I was off.

Wearing this shirt over jeans and running shoes made me feel like one of those guys that went to the Renaissance Fair for the first time and bought something medieval as a souvenir. I probably looked like an idiot but I had to admit, the shirt was very comfortable.

At least by this time I was beginning to recognize more and more around me. I still didn’t have much of a clue as to where I was, but I wasn’t completely lost. In fact, I even found myself recognizing several landmarks enough that I knew to turn there, or go straight. It was a bit of a walk, but I finally found myself standing at the top of the stairs. The same stairs I had come up on. I turned and looked around me, trying to memorize the area before I left.

Fortunately, going down the stairs was much easier than climbing them, although there were still enough that it was tiring. I had to orient myself again when I reached the base of the tree, but at least I was beginning to get used to things now. I moved so that the goblin mountain was on my right and started walking back towards the tunnel, using the branches I had broken the other day to keep me on the right path.

I tried to think of how I was going to explain things to Silvy. She had told me that the only way to learn blood magic was to do it, so she had intended for me to go hunting today. Instead, I killed a goblin guard. There were bound to be consequences for that, but I had no clue what they would be.

The sun was still high overhead, so I moved carefully and quietly through the forest, staying close to trees. I was in no rush, and if by chance I came across a deer or something similar, I wanted to try to use blood magic to turn it into venison stew tonight.

I made sure to stay aware of my surroundings as I walked back to the goblin city, and for that I was grateful. A bit of movement caught my eye, and I immediately dug the shadow stone from my pocket and slipped it into my mouth. Hiding behind a nearby tree, I stood there and watched for a moment.

A small party of goblins walked through the forest, fortunately not in my direction. Three women, each as beautiful as could be, escorted by a goblin man that used a spear as a walking stick. They chatted amongst themselves while he kept a wary eye on his surroundings as if he expected an attack. He wasn’t wearing the armor of the guards I had dealt with in the tunnel but he had that same bony face and hard glare.

Well, both Zia and Silvy had told me that more than just elves lived in these woods. The orcs were further away, but apparently they could be nasty at times. Gnolls, whatever they were, would attack goblin women on sight, and I had heard mentions of trolls once. I had no idea what trolls looked like in this world, but there was no way they were pleasant.

I stayed behind the tree as the goblins walked by. Each of the women carried bags, so I assumed they were going out to forage for food. That meant there would be plenty more around, so I had to be careful and keep my eyes open. Especially if more goblin men were around; the women didn’t concern me, but the dudes all seemed to be assholes.

After they were safely out of earshot, I began slowly making my way towards the entrance again. On several other occasions I saw groups of goblins, some leaving the city and some returning. I had to move at a snail’s pace to avoid being seen, although it also dawned on me that I wouldn’t be able to make my way down the tunnel if a bunch of other people were using it. Someone would find me at some point. The shadow stone wasn’t perfect, after all.

I wound up crouching behind a tree for the better part of an hour, watching goblins come and go. In that time I learned a few things; the women were indeed all beautiful. Being selectively bred for so many centuries had truly made them all breathtaking. And while most of the men looked like psycho killers, I saw several of them laughing with the women, so perhaps they weren’t all jerks. Just a good portion of them.

Right as I began to straighten up, a group of a half dozen goblin soldiers exited the mouth of the tunnel. My heart sank as I saw two of them carrying shovels. A man in the front seemed to be leading them towards something, and I knew exactly what.

I moved as silently as possible through the woods, keeping my distance but following them. As they walked towards where I had buried the guard, I cursed myself for not having buried him further out, or for that matter, deeper. But, without a shovel I hadn’t really had a choice.

Sure enough, when they came to the burial site the two men with shovels immediately began digging. It only took them a moment to uncover the body, then they were all working to pull him out. Loud curses filled the area, and they immediately began shouting and growling their own conspiracies and suppositions on how it had happened. An intruder was a likely culprit—one of them reminded the others that the dead man had run into someone in the tunnel only a few days earlier and beaten him to a pulp. I winced at the memory.

One of the soldiers bent down to brush away dirt and pointed out the massive wound on the side of the dead goblin’s head. The others nodded gravely and noted that his weapons had been taken as well. Without thinking, I reached down and touched the club, hanging from my belt. The dagger was on the other side.

Well, in trying to defend myself it looked like I had inadvertently started a shitstorm. I was going to have to warn Silvy about this. Zia as well, since she spent most of her days at Silvy’s place, now.

I crept away from the cursing soldiers and decided now would be my best time to head back to the tunnel. When I approached the tunnel, though, I saw something unexpected.

Zia.

Grumbling to herself, she walked with a determined stride as she left the tunnel, canvas bag in hand. I smiled and followed her for a moment. She was muttering under her breath about how she would rather be learning magic instead of foraging for food. After all, if people learned more magic, they could just grow their own food underground, in the cities. Her ramblings made sense, to be honest.

I waited until she was far enough away from others that no one would hear us, and then stepped up next to her.

“Hey, Zia,” I said, giving her my best smile.

She looked over my way, then turned in a circle, trying to find me. I cursed myself for a fool and spat the shadow stone out, then stuffed it into my pocket.

“Sorry about that. Hey, Zia,” I said again as she turned back to me.

“Aaron!” she said, and moved forwards to embrace me. I felt like a giant, hugging the four-foot-tall beauty, but the feeling of her large breasts pressing right around my crotch area drove me wild.

“I wasn’t expecting to run into you out here,” I said, squeezing her tightly and then releasing her.

She stretched up onto her toes and I bent down so she could kiss me. Sometimes those first kisses are the best, when you’re still learning how the other person likes to do it. Do they use a lot of tongue, like Silvy, or are they more gentle, like Zia?

“Silvy sent me out to fetch some food,” she replied and turned back to the way she had been walking. I fell in step next to her. “I still gather food for my parents, after all. She doesn’t want me to neglect them.”

“That makes sense,” I said. “How’s the magic going?”

“Great!” she replied with a bright smile. “Silvy says I’m a fast learner. Another couple days and I should be able to finally start using magic to do some basic things.”

I avoided telling her that I seemed to be pretty strong already, my first day of using magic. But then again, I was a special case. Apparently the gods of this world had zapped me here, so that probably had something to do with it.

“Did you see what was going on back there?” Zia asked, jerking her thumb over her shoulder. “Those guards were cursing up a storm, like something was seriously wrong.”

I took a deep breath. If I was going to marry her one day, I couldn’t keep things from her. Trust was something that took time to build, so I decided to go ahead and lay the first bricks.

“I killed one of the guards, Zia,” I replied.

She stopped in her tracks and looked at me, eyes wide. “What? Aaron, you’re going to have to tell me more than that.”

“Well, of course,” I said, turning to her. “I had the shadow stone in my mouth, but he chased me down the tunnel and tried to attack me. Out here, the shadow stone doesn’t work that well, so I knew it would only be a matter of time until he found me.” I cleared my throat and went on. “Plus, he was the guy I ran into on my first day here.”

“Oh, the one that kicked your ass?” Zia asked. “Silvy told me the story.”

“Did she mention that he struck her in the face?” I asked.

Zia frowned. “No, she didn’t.”

“I protect what’s important to me,” I said, pulling Zia into another hug. “As long as I’m alive, I won’t let anyone hurt you. Or Silvy, either. That guard had to pay for what he did.”

She held me for a while before pulling back. “I admire you for that, but I think you just created more trouble.”

“You’re right,” I said. “No matter what happens, we’ll figure it out. Somehow.”

23

Zia reached out and took my hand and together we walked through the forest, searching for food. The forest was rich with edible vegetation and Zia was quite knowledgeable in that area. She found mushrooms, bean pods, more of those strange orange potato things, and berries. My untrained eyes found nothing, but it seemed everywhere she looked she found something useful.

“I talked with my friend, Tressi, about you,” Zia said as she glanced around herself, looking for more food. “She’s excited to meet you soon. Oh, I hope she can learn magic as well.”

I winced. “What did you tell her?” The last thing we needed was Zia spreading knowledge about me and getting me caught. That would be an absolute disaster.

Zia looked up at me and smiled. “Don’t worry, Aaron, you’re safe. I didn’t tell her anything I shouldn’t have. I just told her a little bit about you and that you’re from far away.”

“Does she know you’re learning magic with Silvy?” I asked.

“Of course, and hopefully she’ll be learning it with me soon,” Zia responded. “She’s my best friend. I tell her everything. Well, almost everything. She doesn’t know you’re here to kill Ralcor.”

“That’s a relief,” I said.

“She’s going to meet Silvy,” Zia continued. “I want to see if she can learn magic as well.”

“Isn’t that talent incredibly rare?” I asked.

“Most people think so,” Zia replied. “Personally, I don’t believe that. I think it’s rather common, but Ralcor is afraid of it so he spreads rumors to dissuade anyone from learning it. Our entire city was made with magic, you know. Not just the lights, but the caves and rooms and houses themselves. That took a lot of goblins working together to accomplish. And now, Silvy is the only one that knows magic? That doesn’t make sense to me.”

“You’ve got a point,” I said. If all three of my wives knew magic—assuming this Tressi was nice and liked me—that would help a ton. I needed all the help I could get, and magic was the key, I believed. There was no way I was simply going to defeat everyone with a spear, after all.

“You’re going to have to be really careful the next few days,” Zia said. “They’re going to be looking for whoever killed that soldier.”

I frowned. “You’re right. I suppose I overreacted, but he deserved to die. I feel no guilt for what I did.”

“Oh, I don’t blame you,” Zia said. “Those tunnel guards are all known to be assholes. They’re usually the toughest and meanest of the lot, as they’re the first line of defense for our city. But now they’re all going to be on edge and looking for whoever did it. It’s going to be a lot harder for you to sneak in and out of the tunnel after that.”

My frown deepened. She was right. I still had to leave every day, though, as I had to continue my training with Althidon. There was no way around that. I had definitely just made things more difficult for myself.

“I could just kill every single one that I see,” I said, only half-serious.

Zia barked a laugh. “They’d scour the city for you every day until they found you, shadow stone or not. And they’d come for Silvy, and probably me, as it would be obvious they were killed with magic.” She frowned prettily. “In fact, I already expect them to pay a visit to Silvy.”

I had to be ready for that. I had promised myself that no harm would come to Silvy again while I was around, and I planned on keeping that promise.

Zia suddenly leaned over and smelled me. “At least you don’t smell like sex this time. You know, I—” She stopped, her cheeks turning scarlet.

“What?” I asked.

“Oh, nothing,” she said. “Just thinking out loud.”

She turned to me and looked up into my eyes. I pulled her close to me and looked down at her, smiling as our gazes met. She opened her mouth twice before finally speaking.

“I just don’t think it’s fair Silvy gets all the fun,” she blurted out, blushing again.

Okay, here was my big chance. All I had to do was come up with a smooth line and Zia would be mine. Nothing stupid, nothing awkward, just something confident and casual, like what James Bond would say. Shit, what would he say though?

“Well,” I began. “If you—”

“Can you pull your pants down, please?” Zia asked.

Okay, no smooth talking required, and Zia just proved herself to be awesome, as if I didn’t already think that.

I hurriedly undid my jeans and she helped me push them down. It was a bit awkward, me standing there while she stared at my dick. Fortunately, Zia quickly turned things from awkward to hot.

“I’ve never really done much before,” she said, looking up at me again. “Not with men, at least. Only with women. Can I?”

“Of course!” I stammered. “Have fun!” Have fun? That was the best I could come up with? I was grateful Zia wasn’t overly judgemental.

“I hope this helps,” she said, unlacing the bodice of her dress. She grabbed the neckline of her dress and pulled it down with both hands, exposing her large, firm breasts. She looked up at me for a moment, biting her bottom lip, then knelt in front of me.

Zia took my cock in both of her tiny hands and gripped it tightly, smiling as it grew and became erect. She looked up at me again, then opened her mouth and took the head in. She sucked hard on it for a moment, her tongue twirling around, then pulled away.

“I’ve only done this a couple times, and never with anyone this big,” she explained. “I promise I’ll do my best.”

She sounded like impressing me was high on her list of priorities. What she didn’t seem to get was that having my dick sucked by a woman so insanely beautiful was hot in itself.

Zia began sucking on it again and my eyes about popped out of my head at the sheer force her mouth could generate. It felt like she was trying to suck my soul right out of my balls. She took me a bit more than halfway, until I hit the back of her throat, then had to pull away for a second. She kept a firm grip on the base and went back to sucking on me.

After a moment we built up a rhythm. I began gently thrusting my hips back and forth and her head moved with me, so that I was essentially fucking her mouth. Those thick lips of hers felt incredible. I looked down and watched in amazement as she focused on my member, sucking for all she was worth. Just below that, her large breasts gently swayed as she moved.

She may have been inexperienced with oral sex, but I certainly couldn’t tell. Her enthusiasm more than made up for it, although after a minute she had to stop and work her jaw for a few seconds.

“Sorry,” she said with a little chuckle. “That gets tiring.”

“Hey, I’m not complaining,” I told her.

She went right back to it, gripping the base of my shaft with both hands while intensely sucking on the end. When her jaw became tired and she had to take a break, she made up for it by vigorously stroking me with both of her small, slender hands.

I wasn’t the most sexually experienced guy in the world, but her eagerness to get me off was exhilarating and made it an intensely enjoyable experience. My breathing changed as I grew closer to orgasm, and she recognized it and redoubled her efforts. I suddenly wished I had something to hold onto, a tree, a bush, anything.

Instead, I just stood there as my body suddenly trembled. My orgasm was intense and built up from deep inside me, growing in intensity until I suddenly exploded in her mouth. Without thinking, I shouted loudly, almost roaring as my muscles clenched and I squirted thick ropes of cum into her eager mouth.

Zia didn’t slow one bit and swallowed every drop. She kept sucking, sending me into a fit of postcoital twitching and laughing. She smiled as she gripped me tightly and milked the last few drops out of me, swallowing those as well.

“That’s an interesting flavor,” she said, smacking her lips. “I think I like it.” She smiled up at me, a bit bashful but much more open after our sex act. “I hope that was good for you,” she said.

I almost laughed. That had been one of the most powerful orgasms I had ever felt. My heart pounded in my chest and I reached down and took her by the hand. She readily stood up and I pulled her into a tight hug, both of us ignoring my naked crotch pressing against her bare breasts. We just enjoyed that moment, even though the stark difference in height sometimes made hugs a bit awkward.

With that thought in mind, I reached down and took her under the arms, then picked her up. She yelped and laughed as I held her against my chest, and my hands went beneath her bottom to hold her up. Of course I grabbed and squeezed that amazingly round thing while I was there, but mostly I just held her close. Zia laid her head on my shoulder and sighed happily. Fortunately she didn’t weigh too much so I was able to hold her like that for a while.

When I finally set her down, we walked around the woods for a bit, hand-in-hand, just chatting about boring things. I supposed it was kind of like a date; just us getting to know each other, a bit of flirting. All that was missing was a good restaurant.

“So, tell me about Tressi,” I said. I winced as soon as the words came out. Mentioning another woman twenty minutes after cumming in Zia’s mouth was probably at the top of the list of things I shouldn’t have done, but it didn’t seem to bother her at all.

“Oh, I think you’ll really like her,” Zia said excitedly. “She’s—well, I suppose to your human eyes she looks a lot like me or Silvy. Her nose is a little thinner than mine. Her eyes are brown, which is very rare among goblin women. Her hair, too. It’s a sort of dark reddish-brown color that I’ve never really seen before.”

At least I knew I didn’t have to ask anything about her figure. All these goblin women were phenomenally breathtaking in how voluptuous they were.

“She’s very kind, too,” Zia said. “We forage together sometimes, and I remember one time we came across a baby bird that had fallen from its nest. She took it and climbed into the nearest tree and wouldn’t give up until she had found the nest and returned the bird. Is there anything else you want to know about her?”

I thought for a moment. With goblin women there was no real risk of her being ugly, and they all seemed rather nice as well.

“Not really,” I said. “I think I’d like to just learn the rest myself when I meet her.”

“Okay, great!” Zia replied, squeezing my hand. “You’ll meet her today. She should be at Silvy’s place right now as we speak, getting tested for magic.”

I laughed. I wasn’t a horribly impatient person, but life here really seemed to be pushing me in a certain direction; towards fighting Ralcor and marrying these beautiful women. Other than the whole risk of dying thing, I had no complaints.

24

Together, we made our way closer to the entrance to the goblin city. I popped the shadow stone in my mouth and released Zia’s hand, then tried to keep an eye open for anything suspicious.

As soon as we got close, I was grateful I had already decided to use the shadow stone. A dozen goblin soldiers were in the area immediately surrounding the spot where I had buried the one guard. They looked to be searching for any clues, and some of them questioned anyone that passed.

“I need you to take a few steps away and not react if I get questioned,” Zia said. “These guys aren’t very nice, but they’re just doing their jobs. They won’t do anything beyond annoying me.”

I grunted. “Okay,” I said quietly.

“Promise me,” Zia said.

I took a deep breath. “I promise I won’t do anything, unless they hurt you.” That would have to be good enough for her.

She pressed her lips together in a tight line. “I just don’t want you creating even more trouble for yourself. Or the rest of us, for that matter.”

I hated it, but she was right. Defending her against one rude soldier could bring the whole thing crashing down on my head. My hand gripped onto the handle of the iron-strapped club hanging at my belt and I clenched my jaw. I didn’t like this at all.

“You!” one of the soldiers barked when we drew closer. His angular face was twisted into a scowl that suggested everyone was already guilty of something in his eyes. One of his hands rested on the hilt of a club, the same iron-strapped type that hung from my belt. Boiled leather armor covered his torso and upper arms, and a mail skirt hung to his knees.

I took a few steps off to the side, my hand still on the handle of my club. I could already feel my blood pressure rising as the soldier walked closer. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself.

“What’s your business in this area?” the soldier demanded. His eyes narrowed as he stood in front of Zia, examining her from head to toe in a way that I recognized. My hand tightened on the handle of the club until a knuckle cracked.

“I am simply gathering food,” Zia responded. She set her bag on the ground in front of her and folded her hands at her waist. “Feel free to look through that if you need to.”

The soldier continued eyeing her up and down as he walked in a slow circle around her. “Have you seen anything out of the ordinary around here? Heard any rumors?”

“I have not,” Zia said simply.

The soldier didn’t seem satisfied with her answer. “Someone is hiding something, and I’m going to figure out who it is,” he said, his voice almost a growl. “Do you have any weapons on you?”

“Only this,” Zia replied, patting her belt knife, the one she used for digging.

“We’ll see,” the guard said, his voice thick with suspicion. “I’m going to check you.”

Zia nodded and kept her eyes slightly downcast. The soldier took a step closer to her and patted down each arm from shoulder to wrist. He then moved to her chest and gave each of her large breasts a firm squeeze while grinning at her. After that, he moved down, checking her waist and each leg. Finally satisfied—or perhaps a bit dissatisfied he didn’t find anything—he stood up in front of her, looming over her.

“You be careful out here,” he said, making it sound a threat. “There’s something out here that’s killing people, and we’re the only ones that can keep you safe.” He rubbed at his chest and suddenly coughed. “Don’t you forget that,” he said, his voice suddenly strained. He coughed again and took a few steps away, looking around in confusion. After a moment he hurried back in the direction of the other soldiers.

It was then I realized I had, in my anger at seeing him grope Zia, taking hold of his heart using blood magic. Without even realizing it, I had started killing the man.

Well, he would have deserved it. Anyone that touched my future wife that way would get what was coming to them.

Zia’s head suddenly snapped over in my general direction, although she couldn’t see me.

“I told you not to do anything,” she hissed.

“He touched you,” I said, my voice hard. But I released my grip on my magical powers. My grip on the handle of my club too, for that matter. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm my pounding heart. The time would come when I would change things. I would kill the king and change goblin society for the better. But now was not that time.

“Are you okay over there?” Zia asked. “I hear you huffing and puffing.”

“I’m okay,” I said, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder. She smiled and I gently squeezed her. “Come on. Let’s go home. Or, to Silvy’s place, I guess.”

Saying that made me realize that at that time, I didn’t have a home. I was staying with Silvy, which was certainly pleasant—she was a gorgeous woman, after all—but I had no place to call my own. That would change, soon enough, but the sudden realization brought me down a bit.

I left my hand on Zia’s shoulder as she walked towards the entrance to the goblin city. Not too far away, several goblin soldiers stood, talking about the recent murder. The one that had put his hands on Zia nudged one of his buddies and pointed at Zia, said something, and they both chuckled. I reminded myself that their time would come, but the pettiness in me decided to do something about it at that moment.

Using my blood magic I reached out and took hold of the soldier’s heart, the one that had touched Zia. The fascinating thing about blood magic, as I was quickly learning, was the amount of control I had over a body once I connected to it.

So I stopped his heart.

His eyes went wide and he suddenly staggered to his knees. His comrade tried to help him up and asked what was wrong as the soldier clutched at his chest. He wheezed, pounding his fist against his chest and breathing hard.

“Aaron,” Zia warned in a quiet voice.

I released my grip on his heart and let it start beating again. For now that was enough. Would it teach him anything? Probably not, but I felt a little better.

“Even though I can’t use blood magic, I can feel when you’re using it. Their time will come soon enough,” she said, echoing my own thoughts.

I squeezed her shoulder again, not wanting to talk. My voice tended to carry and goblins had sensitive ears.

I released her shoulder as we entered the entrance tunnel to the underground goblin city. Most times I walked the tunnel it was either early in the morning or late in the day and there was very little foot traffic. Not so this time. Goblins walked in both directions, both by themselves and in groups, chatting about every topic under the sun. That helped me to relax a bit, although I made sure to nudge Zia towards the wall opposite the one with the lights so I could stay hidden.

“Keep your eyes open out there,” a passing soldier said in a loud voice that echoed down the tunnel. “Something is out there, attacking people. If you see or hear of anything suspicious, report it immediately to one of the tunnel guards.” His tone absolutely made it an order, and one to be obeyed or else. His glare at everyone turned the order into a threat.

Zia muttered something under her breath, but it was so quiet I couldn’t make it out. I thought I heard a few curse words in there; if nothing else the tone of her grumbling sounded like a curse.

I kept myself low and stayed right behind her, trying to keep below eye level. I wasn’t completely invisible, just mostly, so I wanted to avoid any chances of someone seeing something that didn’t look quite right.

Of course, it also gave me a splendid view of her ass moving with each step she took. It was a good thing no one could see me, or they would have seen the goofiest grin on my face.

We reached the end of the tunnel and two guards stood there, watching everyone with suspicion. They questioned people at random, asking what business they were about. One of them called out to Zia.

“Where are you coming from?” he asked in a no-nonsense voice, but I could tell he was tired of asking so many people the same question.

Zia held up her bag that was filled with fruits and vegetables. “Just gathering food,” she said, not slowing.

“Be safe out there,” he said, and moved on to the next person.

I stayed behind Zia as she turned onto the small path that circled around the outer edge of the city chamber and led to Silvy’s place. After a few minutes we arrived there. As she grabbed the door handle, she turned and spoke over her shoulder.

“Are you still there?”

“Yeah, I’m here,” I said, placing my hand on her shoulder.

She smiled and turned back to the door, then pushed it open.

I spat the shadow stone out of my mouth and slipped it into my pocket as I entered the room. A goblin woman was seated at the table next to Silvy. It was Tressi. I had never seen her before, but she looked just like Zia’s description.

Most goblins had hair that was nearly black, sometimes with faint tinges of color—Zia had hints of green in her hair, for example—but Tressi’s hair was a rich, dark auburn in color. Whereas most goblins had bright eyes in blue or green or some shade between, Tressi’s eyes were large and dark brown that almost matched her hair. She saw me and smiled, and I gave her a smile of my own.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting to have you two come back at the same time,” Silvy said. “Aaron, are you responsible for this mess I’ve heard about?”

I shrugged. “You remember that guard that hit you the first day we met?”

“Yes,” Silvy said, her eyes narrowing slightly.

“You remember when I told you that I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you?” I asked.

“Aaron,” Silvy said, sounding like she was about to curse me out.

I decided to quickly cut her off. “The good news is that I finally got some practice with blood magic. Looks like I’m pretty strong with it, or so it seems.”

Silvy gave me a hard look. “I appreciate you standing up for me, but you’re being brash and risking everything. If you draw their attention, they’ll come here and I’ll be the one to pay the price.” She looked over at Zia and Tressi. “We all will.”

“I know,” I said. “And you’re absolutely right. I just can’t sit by and do nothing when one of these assholes harm the women I care about.”

Next to Silvy, Tressi looked up at me and smiled again. I suppose those were the perfect words to say.

“I admire your sense of honor,” Silvy said dryly. “Just don’t let it get us killed.”

“I’ll be careful, I promise,” I said.

She kept her hard stare for a moment, then lightened her tone. “At least you learned how to use blood magic a bit, though. I suppose I should focus on the positives. It also appears that Zia’s hypothesis was correct.” She turned to face Tressi. “Tressi can learn magic as well. Elemental, same as Zia.”

“Oh, I knew it!” Zia said. She rushed forwards and hugged her best friend. The sight of their bodies pressed together, large breasts fighting for room, made my blood boil. It made me wonder what sex would be like after we were all married.

Zia kissed her friend on the cheek and then turned to me. “By the way, this is Aaron.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Tressi,” I said, wishing I had some catchy pickup line to use on her. I racked my brain for the cheesiest one that would be perfect in a women’s romance novel or hallmark movie. “Zia told me of your beauty, but I see words do not do you justice.”

Tressi blushed from her neck to her hairline at that. “Thank you,” she said, and took a few steps around the table towards me. She offered me her hand and I took it in mine, and then bent down and kissed it. Her eyes widened a bit. I suppose she hadn’t been expecting that.

“I know we haven’t seen each other in the springs yet, but I hope you’ll choose me as one of your wives when you become king,” she said, her voice slightly shy.

My eyebrows raised at that. Zia hadn’t told her about my plans to kill Ralcor, which meant Silvy had. Tight-lipped Silvy that was cautious about any information leaking out. I looked over at her and she shrugged.

“You’ll need all the help you can get,” she said. “Besides, I think she’s trustworthy. And they both know what I’ll do if they betray you.”

It would be just like Silvy to sneak a threat in there. I looked down at Tressi again, and she looked up at me. I gave her my best smile and pulled her into a tight hug, and she wrapped her arms around my waist and squeezed me in return.

“I can’t wait to make you all my queens,” I said.

Zia blinked and looked over at me. Tressi pushed away and looked up.

“Queens?” Silvy asked.

“When you become king you will have us as wives,” Tressi explained. “Not queens. Wives.”

Well, that didn’t feel right.

“If I’m king, then as my wives you will be my queens,” I said. I mean, it seemed pretty cut-and-dry to me.

“No, that’s not how that works,” Zia said. “Your wives are not queens. They are just your wives.”

“What the hell?” I said, running my fingers through my hair. “How does that even make any sense? No, when all this is said and done, you will be my queens. If that’s not how things have been in the past, I don’t care. That’s how they’re going to be in the future.”

Zia looked confused, but Silvy’s lips slowly curved into a smile. Tressi just looked up at me. I tried to explain my position better.

“If I’m going to marry the three of you, then I want your lives to matter. I want you to be important and to help me be a better king. If—”

I cut off as someone knocked loudly on the door.

“Open up. We need to speak with you,” said a man’s gruff voice.

The women looked at each other, concern on their faces. I pulled out the shadow stone and popped it into my mouth.

“Aaron, you need to stay calm and collected,” Silvy said quietly. “I can handle this. If they get rude, just don’t react or you might ruin everything.”

“I already tried that with him,” Zia said with a quiet chuckle. “He’s not very good at listening.”

25

“One moment!” Silvy called out. She looked around for me, but I was invisible. “Don’t do anything!” she whispered.

“I’ll do my best,” I replied, just loud enough to be heard. I looked around her small house for a place to hide. Finding nothing, I finally decided to move to her table and crouched beneath it.

“Open the door!” the voice said again, knocking loudly.

“Just stay calm,” Silvy said to the other two women. They nodded, but both of them looked worried.

Silvy walked to the door, took a deep breath, and pulled on the handle. It swung open and three armored men pushed their way in, practically running over her in the process.

“So, two of you in here with the crone,” one of them said, slightly taller than the other two. The tone he used to address them made it clear he saw them as inferior. “She doesn’t have anything to offer other than her filthy magicks, so why are you here?”

“We just wanted to talk with her,” Zia said without hesitation. “She’s lived a lot of life and has some interesting stories.” She looked around the room. “Plus, I’ve heard she makes excellent tea. The rumors were true.”

“I’ll take some of that, then,” the tall goblin man said. With his glaring face and growling voice, he made everything sound like a threat.

Silvy bowed her head slightly and went to her tea kettle. She filled a pierced metal sphere with fresh tea leaves and dropped it into her kettle, then used magic to heat the water.

While she did that, the three soldiers looked around the room, poking and prodding at everything. Zia and Tressi stood there meekly, hands folded at their waists.

“Trying to spread your filthy magic to these young women?” a shorter guard asked as Silvy approached with a tea kettle in hand and three cups in the other.

“No,” Silvy said smoothly. She set the cups on the table right above me, then poured a bit of tea into each one. “Here is some tea for each of you. Now, may I ask why you’ve come to see me?”

The men waited a few moments as they sipped on their tea. One of them grunted in appreciation at the flavor.

“Yeah, it is pretty good,” he said.

“Can’t disagree,” said the taller one. He then turned back to Silvy. “Someone has been attacking the tunnel guards,” he said. “Someone, or something. We have multiple reports of men smelling and hearing someone walk by them, but they see nothing. And just today, someone killed one of us.” He took another sip of his tea before continuing. “He had a wound to the side of his head, but it was not enough to kill him. We believe he was killed with magic.”

“And so you came to me,” Silvy said in a flat voice. “Do you think I killed him?”

“I don’t know,” he replied calmly. “Did you?”

“No,” Silvy said. “Although gods know I wish I did. The lot of you aren’t very nice to me.”

“Why should we be?” he asked.

“Because I’ve done nothing wrong,” Silvy said. “And because I still help you when you need it.”

“Help,” he said, and I could practically hear the sneer on his face. “You and your dirty magicks. I don’t know if I would call that help.”

“Well, remind me of that the next time you want me to heal one of you,” Silvy said angrily. “Now, if there’s nothing else, I would like the lot of you to leave.”

“You’re a pretty one,” one of the other guards said. I saw Zia’s feet shift nervously.

“You will not disrespect this woman in my house,” Silvy said firmly.

“Then maybe I’ll take her outside your house and disrespect her,” the guard replied.

“No, hold one,” the tall guard said, placing a hand on his comrade’s shoulder to stop him. “We need information, witch. We need you to tell us if magic is being used against us, and we need you to help us catch whoever is doing this. Or, if it was you, then you need to fess up.”

“No,” Silvy said. “You treat me like an animal, and now you want my help?” She spat on the floor. “I have always used my magic for peace, but if you do not leave I might change that.”

“I knew it,” the short guard said.

“Maybe if Ralcor hadn’t brainwashed you all into thinking magic was evil you’d be able to see this more clearly,” Silvy said, anger creeping into her voice. “I stay in my house all day and night and only leave to fetch food. In fact, lately I’ve been having her do that for me. It would be awfully hard for me to attack someone in the hallway if I didn’t leave my house, right?”

“There is no reason for you to treat her this way,” Tressi said.

The shorter goblin man spoke up. “I don’t recall asking you a thing. You will shut your mouth or I will shut it for you.”

“We all know you pray for King Ralcor’s death,” the tall soldier said, emphasizing the king’s title. “Everyone knows that. So, why should we believe a thing you say?”

“Then why did you even come here?” Silvy asked, throwing her arms in the air. “Look, if you think I’m hiding some magical creature in my house, feel free to look around. You won’t find anything.”

Two of the guards began looking around, but the taller man stayed in place. “So, what do you think it is, then?”

Silvy shrugged. “Ralcor has made enemies of many people.”

“King Ralcor,” the soldier corrected.

“He is not my king!” Silvy insisted.

The soldier threw his tea cup and it shattered against the wall. “He is your king and you will show him respect or I will drag you before him! Furthermore, you will help us find whoever is doing this, and you will help us capture him!” His shouting voice was loud in the small house. Zia covered her ears with her hands.

“And if I refuse?” Silvy asked in a calm voice.

I couldn’t see it, but I clearly heard the sound of him slapping her across the face. Silvy fell back and Zia and Tressi rushed to her, helping her stand. Silvy couldn’t see me, but she looked under the table and shook her head slightly, as if reminding me not to do anything.

Silvy shook the other two women off and pushed herself to her feet. “You can’t handle a woman talking back to you, can you? I will wear this bruise as a badge of honor,” she said coldly.

The tall goblin leaned forward, placing both fists on the table. “Then you had better cooperate, or I’ll honor you again. We’re coming back tomorrow morning, and we’re going to take you to the tunnel so you can help us. Starting tomorrow, you will spend every day in the tunnel until we catch whoever is doing this.”

“Are these Ralcor’s orders?” Silvy asked.

“King Ralcor!” he shouted. And he slapped her again.

I had to close my eyes against the sheer rage bubbling up inside me. My heart pounded in my chest and I struggled to keep my breathing calm.

Silvy pushed herself to her feet again and stood before the tall goblin, completely fearless. “I will only say this once,” she said in a hard voice. “If you do that again, you will regret it.”

The tall soldier smirked. “Is that so? Maybe it was you in the tunnel, and you that killed one of us. I think if I slap you around a little more, your true nature will come out.” I saw him ball up his fist.

I couldn’t risk ruining everything, but I had to act. I couldn’t just stay there and do nothing while my future wives, my future queens, were abused. I couldn’t kill them though.

At least, not here.

Glancing at his boots, I noticed the leather looked relatively new. I didn’t see lines where they had flexed over and over again. That gave me an idea. Using blood magic, I reached out and connected with the tall soldier’s body. I could feel the flow of blood through his arteries and veins, and alter it at will. I decided to play things safe and stopped all blood flow to his right foot.

“She’s done nothing wrong!” Zia said. “You three just barged in here and started accusing her of things, simply because you don’t know who did it. Does King Ralcor know you treat innocent citizens this way? Is this what things have come to?”

The tall soldier chuckled softly under his breath. “So, she does have a spine,” he said. I watched as he shifted his foot a bit and stamped his foot. “At least you know how to show respect for your king.” He stamped his foot again.

“You okay over there, boss?” the shorter goblin asked.

“Yeah, it’s these boots,” he replied. “I thought they were broken in but it looks like I was wrong.” He leaned over the table again. “We’ll be back. Whether you like it or not, you’re going to help us.”

After that, he turned and limped towards the door. He pulled it open and the three soldiers left.

Silvy let out a heavy sigh and whispered my name, telling me I could come out.

I didn’t hear her, as I had already left her house.

26

With the shadow stone in my mouth, I was all but invisible as I crept behind the three soldiers. The shorter one made a few comments about the size of Zia’s breasts, and the other two laughed and then went on about how the tall one had slapped Silvy. Really put her in her place, he said.

“I’m telling you, I know she’s involved somehow,” the tall soldier said. “Ain’t nobody around here do magic except for her, and Grom was killed with magic.”

Grom. His name was Grom. I tucked that bit of information away, just in case it might come in handy later, although I couldn’t think of how it would matter.

“What makes you say that?” the shorter one asked.

“Because,” the tall soldier answered. “From what I saw, there was only one mark on the side of his head where he had been hit, and it wasn’t enough to kill him on its own. From the angle, he was already on his hands and knees when someone struck him with the club. Can you imagine Grom on his hands and knees? I don’t think there’s a man around here that could whoop him in a fight that badly. Grom was tough as coffin nails, I tell you. Magic is the only thing that could get him down like that.”

“So you think someone wounded him with magic, then hit him with his own club?” the other soldier asked.

“Right now, yes. That’s what I’m thinking,” the tall soldier replied. “At least my foot feels better. Damn thing fell asleep in there. That’s the only thing that kept me from handling Silvy differently, like she deserves. I know the king doesn’t want us too rough with people, but she needs to be taken care of proper-like.”

“She is a pretty one, I’ll say that much.”

“Yeah, and I would love to put her in her place,” the tall soldier said. “Break that spirit of hers. That would be a challenge worth accepting.”

“I dunno man, even the king couldn’t break her spirit.”

“He was too nice to her by far.”

“So, do you think she was hiding something?”

The tall soldier pondered that for a moment. “Silvy is smart. She’s been around for a while. I think she knows more than she’s letting on. I don’t know how I’m going to figure it out, but I will. Then I’ll get that promotion I been wanting for a while.”

Hearing that was enough to spur me into action. Using blood magic, I reached out and touched the tall soldier’s body again. Like before, I cut off blood flow to his foot. After only a few seconds, he stopped and stomped his foot a few times.

“Boots again?”

“Yeah,” he said, his voice filled with irritation. “I’m going to have to get them altered or something. This is unacceptable.”

I had to really think about what I was doing. Right now we were in too public of a place for me to kill them; everyone would see them. I decided to allow some blood flow back into his foot so he would keep walking. Sweat broke out on my forehead from the effort of working with magic.

“Tell Char he needs to work harder on boots.”

“That damn cobbler has always been a lazy bastard. Maybe he’ll fix the boot if you shove it up his ass.”

That got them laughing. The tall soldier stomped his foot a few times and they continued on, him limping slightly.

I maintained my connection to his body that blood magic had given me. Being able to stop his blood flow was an incredible power to have, but I found myself wishing I could use it to control his limbs. With that, I could really create an interesting situation. As it was, I was going to have to get creative in order to cover up what I was planning on doing.

As we drew closer to a wide tunnel that connected two of the massive underground chambers, a plan formed in my mind. Using my blood magic, I touched each of their bodies and felt through them. I immediately learned that I couldn’t slow their hearts at once—splitting my attention was simply too difficult. So, one by one, I slowed their hearts to a crawl. Not enough to kill them, but enough that they would notice within seconds.

“Ugh,” one of the soldiers said, placing his hand on his chest. “I feel…. I dunno, something’s wrong.”

“No, I feel it too,” the tall soldier said.

I found myself grateful for the running shoes I wore, as they were almost completely silent on the stone floor. The tunnel was dark, which kept me invisible. I took a few steps behind them and made my voice low and harsh, much like how the goblin men spoke.

“Hey,” I growled.

As one, they turned around and placed their hands on the handles of their clubs.

“Who the fuck was that?” the tall soldier demanded.

I carefully moved around behind them again. Their hearing was excellent so I kept my steps as light as a feather.

“It’s Grom,” I said in little more than a harsh whisper. “My spirit is still alive.”

The soldiers looked at each other, their eyes wide in shock. I took a few steps towards the next cave and immediately saw a shadowed section right outside the tunnel. That was where I’d do it.

“I knew it,” the shorter soldier said, still rubbing his chest. “That’s why I feel so cold and tired, all of a sudden. It’s Grom’s spirit!”

“Yes, it is me,” I said, glad they were dumb enough to believe my story.

The tall soldier drew his club and looked around him. “Is that really you, Grom?” He didn’t sound fully convinced.

“Of course it is,” I growled. “Who the fuck else would it be?” I felt like Grom would speak like that.

“What do you want?” the tall soldier said.

I took a few steps towards the shadowed area just beyond the tunnel. “Avenge me, my brothers. Find the bastard that murdered me and avenge my death!”

“Tell us who it was!” one of the soldiers said.

“Come closer,” I said as I exited the tunnel.

They all took a few steps in the direction of my voice. I kept their hearts slowed down, which not only served the purpose of keeping them cold and making them believe a spirit was near, but would make them sluggish. I would have to be out of my fucking mind to fight three of these guys at once.

“Who did it?” the tall soldier demanded. “Was it that bitch Silvy? I know she’s involved.”

“I can tell you in the shadows,” I said as I stepped into the darkness. “The light makes me weak. I’m stronger here.”

They followed me out of the tunnel, although they still looked suspicious. I drew my club just to be safe, and slowed their hearts further, again one at a time. My own heart pounded from the effort of using that much magic.

“Stop doing that!” the tall soldier said, holding a hand over his chest. “Look, it feels like you’re trying to kill us, man. Just tell us who fucking did it and we’ll take care of things.”

“It…was….” I waited for them to take another step closer and fully stopped their hearts.

Their eyes bulged as they realized how wrong things were. They had been double crossed.

My inner child suddenly got a great idea and I ran with it.

“Your mom,” I said, and swung my club like a baseball bat, as hard as I could. It connected with the tall soldier’s temple and sent him staggering to the ground. Without waiting, I attacked the next soldier, bashing him directly in the face. I winced as his teeth shattered.

“Must…tell….” the shortest soldier was struggling to get away, but with his blood flow completely stopped his limbs barely worked.

I calmly walked up behind him and struck him in the back of the head. He fell forwards, his face slamming into the stone floor.

Enough people came through this area to make things risky, and I knew I only had a few minutes at best. I slid my club through the loop on my belt, then grabbed each soldier by their ankles and dragged them deep into the shadows. After that I pulled each of their clubs out and placed them in their hands.

“Wait a minute,” I muttered to myself. The tall soldier had been sharp enough to study the wound on Grom’s head and determine that a single blow hadn’t been enough to kill him. With that in mind, I raised my club high overhead and brought it down with all my might.

I felt my gorge rise as I slammed the club into them, breaking arms and faces. It was disgusting work, but it had to be done. I needed this to look like they had killed each other in a rage. After a brief though, I swapped my bloody club out for one of their clean ones. Then, made sure to rub the ends of their clubs in blood, to further reinforce the idea they had attacked each other.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was all I had. After all, the tunnel guards were known for being assholes and hotheads, so who’s to say they wouldn’t get angry and beat each other to death?

I stayed there for a few minutes longer, ensuring their hearts were completely stopped. Once I felt they were as dead as dead could be, I hurried away from the scene of the crime and went back towards Silvy’s house.

My heart raced as I walked, and I took a few minutes to calm myself down. After a bit, my breathing slowed and the adrenaline began to wear off.

It dawned on me that I had killed again, and this time it wasn’t even really in self-defense. I clenched my hands into fists to keep them from shaking. Guys liked to boast about their toughness and it wasn’t uncommon for them to talk about how they could easily kill someone, especially if their life depended on it. I had never been one of those guys, but I had to say, beating three men to death with a club was not an easy experience. My stomach churned as I remembered the feeling of facial bones crunching beneath the club.

I finally arrived on the path to Silvy’s house, and took an extra few minutes to make sure I was calm and composed. Killing was something I would have to get used to, I reminded myself. The path to fighting Ralcor was going to be paved with blood. There was no way around that; I was going to save the goblin people, but I would have to shed a lot of blood to get there.

After one more deep breath, I pushed Silvy’s door open and entered her house.

27

The three women looked up as the door opened. I spat the shadow stone into my hand and slipped it in my pocket, then stood there and faced them.

“Well?” Silvy asked, her voice heated. “What did you go and fuck up now? How long until a dozen of those assholes are at my front door, wanting to slap some answers out of me?”

I held up both hands to try to calm her a bit. “That won’t happen,” I said. “Those three soldiers just beat each other to death in the shadows of the next cave.”

“What?” Silvy asked, her voice flat. Both Zia and Tressi gasped.

I shrugged. “Everyone knows how violent those guys are, right? I don’t think it seems too far out of the realm of possibilities that a disagreement could lead to blows.”

Silvy rubbed the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. “Yes they are assholes, but discipline is tight among them,” she explained. “Oh, damn it, Aaron. Everything is going to fall apart because you can’t control yourself.”

For whatever reason, that comment really bothered me. “No,” I said. “I will not stand by and do nothing when someone hurts you, Silvy. Or any of you. Anyone that lays a finger on any of you is going to die, plain and simple. And I will not apologize for that. If I have to kill their entire army, then I will.”

Silvy slowly walked around the table to stand in front of me. She looked up at me for a moment, looking quite displeased, but slowly leaned forward and wrapped her arms around my waist. I held her tightly to me.

“Thank you,” Zia said softly. Both her and Tressi walked over and hugged me, along with Silvy.

“I suppose I should thank you as well,” Silvy said, sounding only slightly grumpy. “I just don’t want this to all come down on our heads. I’ve prayed for this—for you—for so long. I don’t want this to end because of a stupid mistake.”

“I made it look like they killed each other,” I said.

Silvy pulled away from me, breaking our group hug. “Well, at least you’re getting practice with blood magic. I suppose you can heal my face to get practice doing that.”

Her green skin didn’t show bruising very well, but the swelling on her left cheek was clear. I took her face in my hands and used blood magic to connect with it.

With magic flowing through me, I felt at one with her face. I could feel the blood flowing through her body, even the broken capillaries on her cheek. I forced those to knit and heal and watched as the swelling went down right before my eyes. After that, her face still in my hands, I bent down and kissed her softly on the lips.

“Um, can you heal me as well?” Tressi asked.

I turned to look at her and she grinned.

“If healing comes with kisses,” Zia began. She reached around and pinched herself on her bottom. “Pretty sure I need some healing there.”

Tressi took hold of one of her large breasts with one hand and slapped it with the other. “Ow. Can I get some of those healing kisses?”

We all laughed.

“Well, I suppose we should get to planning, then,” Silvy said, walking back around the table. She grabbed a chair and pulled it back, then sat down. “I have a feeling this will come sooner rather than later.”

She was right. I took the chair across from her, and Zia and Tressi sat down next to her. The mood in the room went from light-hearted to serious very quickly.

“How long until you think you can face a soldier in a fight and win?” Silvy asked. “Is that even something I should be asking?”

“I’ve only been studying the spear for two days,” I said. “I’m learning it very quickly though, and most of the goblin soldiers use clubs, which gives me a huge advantage. If I have to face a group, they’ll rip me to shreds. However, considering the reach advantage a long spear gives me, I think in a week or so I could maybe give one of the guards a run for his money.” At least, I hoped so. One wrong move and I’d be dead, my brains on the floor.

“I wish there were a safer way for you to practice blood magic,” Silvy said, frowning at the table. “That’s how you’re going to have to do it, you know. There is no way you’ll be able to face down so many men with a spear.” She scoffed, as if the very notion were ridiculous. Well, it was.

“I know,” I said. “I came to that same conclusion recently. I’ll have to use the spear some—I simply won’t be able to kill that many with blood magic, I’ll be exhausted after the fifth time. Of course, I’l have you three helping me.”

“True,” Silvy said, looking over at the other two women. They had a bit of a deer in headlights look about them, as if finally understanding just how serious the situation was. “Fortunately, they’re fast learners, just like you. In a week they’ll be able to do some damage. Maybe sooner if the gods are good.”

“Are we going to try this in a week?” I asked. “I feel like this is something that will need months of preparation.”

“And your feeling is correct,” Silvy said. “We’ll do it when we have no other choice. But I want to be prepared as quickly as possible.”

“Do you have any more of those shadow stones?” Zia asked.

Silvy frowned for a moment. “No, I don’t. But I think I can make some if I have the right things. I might send you down to get them. We have some mines on the lowest levels, but they aren’t used anymore.”

Down. I didn’t like that word, considering we were already beneath the surface.

“Being invisible would give us a huge advantage,” Tressi added. “We might even be able to just sneak in there and take care of Ralcor before anyone realizes it.”

“If only that were the case,” Silvy said, her voice soured. “There are multiple guarded doors we have to pass through. There is no way around it; Aaron is going to have to kill some people just to get close to Ralcor. We all will.” She looked over at the other two women.

Zia had a look of forced confidence on her face. Tressi looked slightly ill, but like she was accepting what must be done.

“What about Ralcor?” I asked. “Once I get there I’ll be able to kill him pretty easily, right?”

Silvy leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She suddenly sounded exhausted. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. We’ll all be there to help how we can, but he’s going to be a problem.”

“I feel like you’re about to give me some bad news,” I said.

“That’s because I am,” Silvy said, opening her eyes and facing me again. “Ralcor has a necklace. A pendant.” She took a deep breath. “It doesn’t make him completely immune to magic, but it dampens any effects on him. You won’t be able to just outright kill him with blood magic like you can the soldiers.”

“Well, shit,” I said. “Are you saying I’ll have to fight this guy with a spear? That sounds like a recipe for disaster!”

“I know, I know,” she said. “We’ll be there to help you, but yes, you’ll have to fight him directly. I don’t think there’s any way around that.”

“I guess I should take my lessons seriously, then,” I said. “You’ll have to use your magic tonight so I can spar with Greg. Maybe pray for a miracle while you’re at it.”

“I did,” Silvy said, smiling faintly. “And the gods brought me you.” She looked at the other two women. “All of you.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to say the gods brought him to all of us?” Tressi asked.

Silvy chuckled. “Yes, I suppose you’re right on that.”

“Well, let’s get to it,” I said, pushing my chair back and standing up. “I need to learn how to fight in record time.”

Silvy followed me into the bedroom, where she used magic to summon Greg, my semi-translucent sparring partner.

“How are you doing, Greg?” I asked. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you. How’s your wife and my kids?”

Greg just stared at me, his eyes empty of all emotion, and raised his fists.

“Ah, Greg,” I said with a chuckle. “How I’ve missed that charm of yours.”

28

Ispent the next hour sparring with Greg with both fists and a knife, trying to hone my newly acquired fighting skills into something more usable. It was surprising how quickly a person could learn with proper instruction, but I reminded myself Greg was just a magical being. His punches didn’t hurt. If I had to fight Ralcor, I would get my ass handed to me. Or any of the soldiers, for that matter. I had already learned that one the hard way.

While I punched a magical goblin, Silvy instructed both Zia and Tressi on magic. They were both quick learners, which made me glad. Everything was pointing towards this needing to happen sooner rather than later. I began to wonder how I could practice my blood magic more often, and learn more about it.

Of course, my thoughts wandering resulted in Greg punching me square in the cheek. It felt like getting whacked with a pillow, but before I could recover and throw my own punch, he landed another one on my ribs and two in my midsection.

I had to take a step back and catch my breath. Greg was a savage; even those magically soft punches caught me off guard and brought me back to reality. I raised my fists and approached him again.

The bastard was relentless. I began to wonder if I could use blood magic against him. I tried to reach into his body, but found nothing. That made sense; he was a magical being, and didn’t have any blood. I’d have to beat him the hard way.

By the end of our session I managed to land a few hard punches to his face and a flurry of blows to his stomach. I had to be careful about punching goblin men in the face; I was likely to break a knuckle. The soldiers wore armor as well, so punching them in the stomach wouldn’t work. Those thoughts made me wonder if there was any real benefit to sparring with Greg. Well, at least I got to beat up a guy named Greg, so that made it at least somewhat worthwhile.

I made a decision to focus on knife fighting with Greg from that point on. Punching an armored goblin was pointless. I suddenly wished he could wield a sword so I could practice a spear against him. Even in the tight confines of this room, it would be better than fighting with my hands.

Although considering I’d be fighting in a tunnel, that suddenly sounded like a perfect idea.

“Hey, Silvy,” I called out.

“Yes?” she asked from the next room.

“If I give Greg a weapon, can he use it in training?”

Silvy paused before answering. “Yes, but if he hits you with it, he’ll be actually hitting you with the weapon. Not soft, like his fists. That’s something to consider.”

I frowned. That was a good point. I made a mental note to grab one of the practice swords from Althidon the next time I saw him.

After a few more minutes of sparring with Greg, I decided to call it a night. I went back into the main room of Silvy’s house, where she was enjoying a cup of tea with the other two women. She asked me if I wanted some, and I told her yes.

“This one will help you sleep,” she explained as she poured some into a small cup. She handed me the cup and I thanked her.

“So, what’s your plan?” Silvy asked as she sat next to me at the table. On my other side, Zia and Tressi perked up and watched me with interest.

“My plan?” I asked.

“For Ralcor,” Silvy said, watching me over the rim of her cup.

I frowned as I thought on that. “Sometimes thinking out loud helps, so I apologize if I ramble,” I began.

“Ramble away,” Silvy said.

“The spear will help, possibly a lot, but ultimately blood magic is what’s going to get me through this,” I said, staring into my tea cup as I talked. “However I do it, I’ll need your help. All three of you. If I try to do it alone, I’ll quickly get overwhelmed. I figure that’s how they’ll try to stop us; by attacking all at once. So we need to figure out ways to kill a dozen soldiers at a time.”

“Ugh,” Tressi said, placing her hands over her stomach. “Sorry, I’m here to help, but I’ve never been a violent person.”

“Once Ralcor is gone, you can go back to being as peaceful as you’d like,” Silvy said. “But taking him down is going to be rough. There’s no way around that. But I promise you, it’ll be worth it. Go on, Aaron.”

“I need to see where he lives,” I said. “Tomorrow or the next day I’ll need to go explore his area, so I can get an idea of what we’re up against. I don’t know anything about military tactics or planning an attack, but that much makes sense to me.”

“We can’t go there, but I can give you directions,” Silvy said. “As you can imagine, I’m not well-liked in the royal areas.”

“I also want you to teach Tressi and Zia how to kill with magic,” I said. “Or at the very least, how to incapacitate people so I can kill them. If you don’t want to get your hands dirty, I completely understand that. I can do all the killing, I’ll just need some help slowing them.”

“I don’t mind killing them,” Silvy said, her voice turning grim. “I’ve dreamed of revenge for more than a century. I’ll gladly get my hands dirty.”

Next to her, Zia took a deep breath and straightened her back. “I’ll do whatever it takes.” Tressi nodded in agreement.

“Well, I think it’s pretty straightforward, then,” I said, then downed the last of my tea. “We just need to know where we’re going to fight, and if the rooms or hallways are going to present any difficulties. It seems to me like this is relatively simple. The hardest part will be the fighting itself, but it’ll be magic against spears and clubs, so we should win easily.”

“As long as no one sticks an arrow in you,” Silvy grumbled. “But they mostly use those for hunting. I don’t think we’ll see many bows during our attack.”

“Is it really going to be that simple?” Tressi asked. “We just march in there and kill our way to Ralcor?”

I shrugged. “Yeah. None of them can use magic. Ralcor has spent decades convincing people that magic is evil. I think I understand it now; he knows that he can be easily defeated with magic. If no one can use magic, then there is no risk of anyone taking his place by force.”

“Well, no one but me,” Silvy said.

“Yeah, but he uses you for your magic,” I said. “And spreads word that you’re some crazed old crone, so no one takes you seriously. And he has that stupid pendant, presumably to protect himself from you.”

Silvy frowned at my words.

“Hey, I don’t think you’re a crazed old crone,” I said, raising my hands. “That’s just what Ralcor says. And let’s be honest, so far it’s worked. But we’re going to bring the fight straight to him, and he’s going to lose.”

“How can we kill with elemental magic?” Zia asked.

I answered before Silvy had a chance to. “I imagine there are countless ways. You can make the stone open beneath their feet, then close around their ankles so they can’t move. I can finish them off. Our bodies are mostly water, so I’m willing to bet you can use magic to pull water from their bodies. That’ll kill them in a matter of seconds. If you can affect their clothes or armor, make it choke them until they pass out.”

Zia looked mildly horrified as I continued to describe how to kill people with magic. “Are you sure you’ve never done this before?” she asked.

I laughed. “I guess I’m just a bit desensitized to death, coming from my world.”

“How so?” she asked.

“Well,” I said, then paused. “I mean, my entire world just died a few days ago, remember.” I paused for a moment after saying that. Until that moment, it hadn’t really hit me. “Holy shit. I’ve been so busy with all this I never really thought about it. My parents are dead. My friends are dead. Everyone is gone.” I slumped in my chair. An overwhelming sense of sadness suddenly loomed over me and threatened to smother me.

“I need you to stay with me,” Silvy said as she reached out and took one of my hands in both of hers. “Don’t drown in your sadness right now, Aaron. I know you’ve got loss to deal with, but you’re here and alive, and that’s what’s important. Everyone else died, but you got a second chance at life.”

“You’re right,” I said, wiping an eye that suddenly felt damp. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. “I’ll take the time to mourn them, and maybe build something to help remember them. A monument or something.” Shit, I didn’t even have a picture of my parents. All I had were memories, and those would fade with time.

What a fucking dark thought.

“Let’s stay focused on the here and now,” Silvy said, giving my hand a squeeze.

“Yeah, that’ll keep me from getting down,” I said, squeezing her hand back. “So, where was I? I need to see where we’ll be attacking. I need to see Ralcor’s place. If you just give me directions there, I can probably use the shadow stone and see enough to start really planning. I can’t think of anything difficult about what we’re doing, other than the actual fighting. It seems like a straight shot to Ralcor.”

Silvy nodded slowly. “There isn’t anything complicated about it, other than fighting all the people. Killing them, that is. I think you’re right.” She turned to the other two women. “Well, at least now I know what to teach you two.” She clapped her hands once. “Tomorrow, I’ll start teaching you both how to use magic as a weapon.”

“I suppose I don’t need much help in that department,” I said. “Blood magic makes killing surprisingly easy. Like I said, if you three can even just stall people or hold them in place, I should be able to take care of the rest.”

“Be careful,” Silvy said. “If you overwork yourself, you won’t be able to use magic at all until you rest.”

“Good point,” I said. “So, once we get in the area, is there anything I should know about Ralcor?”

Silvy frowned. “He’s as vicious as they come. A long time ago, when he killed the previous king, it was just him and a small handful of supporters. Ralcor did most of the killing himself. The man is an absolute monster with a sword. I don’t think there’s anyone around that could even come close to challenging him.”

“Note to self, don’t fight Ralcor without magic,” I said. “Except with that pendant, magic doesn’t work very well against him, you said. Maybe if we all use magic against him, that’ll be enough to slow him down.

“I think it will be. You wouldn’t last a heartbeat, otherwise,” Silvy said. It wasn’t an insult, just a plain statement of fact. “He tore through the king’s personal guards like they were novices.”

“How did he get so good with the sword?” I asked.

“Because he practiced for years on end, making sacrifices in every other area of his life,” Silvy explained. “Becoming a more ruthless fighter was all that mattered to Ralcor for decades. People thought he was obsessed and wondered why he spent every waking moment perfecting his skill with a sword. Then, on his hundredth birthday, he began to gather support.”

“Let me guess, he used his skill with a sword to convince everyone he was the best choice?” I asked.

“Basically,” Silvy said with a shrug. “He said that no one could challenge him, therefore he should lead.” She sighed. “I tried to warn my husband, but he didn’t listen. And now he’s dead. Him and a hundred other people, at least.”

“This world will be a better place once Ralcor is gone,” Tressi said. “I suppose as a king he’s not the worst. He doesn’t tax us too heavily, justice is swift and reasonably honest. But we all know what kind of person he is. Anyone that upsets him is likely to find themselves dead, sometimes for the silliest reasons.”

“Plus he ruined relations with the elves,” I added.

“I’ve heard from some of the elders that elven wine is amazing,” Zia said. “None of us have had any in more than a hundred years.”

“Well, when all this is done maybe we can raise a toast to my family, and we’ll make the toast with elven wine,” I said.

“Keep that thought,” Silvy said. “First you’re going to check out the royal city. And the sooner the better.”

“Why do I get the feeling you want me to go tonight?” I asked.

“Because I do,” Silvy said with a smile.

29

Itook turns hugging and kissing Zia and Tressi after that. They were both such beautiful women; I was sad to see them go, even though I would see them tomorrow. Maybe if I was lucky, I’d get to spend a few minutes alone with Zia or Tressi in the woods.

Once they had left, I turned to Silvy. She was watching me with an odd smile on her face.

“What?” I asked.

“I get the feeling you’re not used to women,” she said.

“Well, my last girlfriend dumped me for some shitty reasons,” I said dryly. “And to be honest, she wasn’t that good to me. I think I understand what you’re asking though, and no, I’m not used to women being so nice and simple.”

“Simple?” Silvy asked. One eyebrow was arched in a way that suggested I needed to choose my next words very carefully.

“Yeah, like no drama,” I added quickly. “No problems. You’re all just so nice. Even you; I know you try to push people away, but you’re really great, Silvy.” Really great? Wow, certainly I could do better than that.

“Thanks, I think,” Silvy said, turning away. I caught a hint of a blush on her cheeks, but by the time she turned back to me she had recovered. “So, tonight. You’re going to see the royal city.”

“Yes,” I said, clapping my hands and rubbing them together. “Let’s do this. So, where do I go?”

“Do you remember how to get to the hot springs, where we bathed?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s pretty easy,” I said. “Just the next cave over.”

“City,” Silvy corrected. “I know they seem like caves to you, but we call them cities. For example, we are in Tunnel City right now.”

“Okay, the next city over,” I said with a smile. It sounded weird, but whatever.

Silvy nodded. “Yes, go there and keep walking. On the other side, opposite the entrance tunnel, you will see a path that gently turns as it takes you up to Royal City. It’s a good bit of climbing, as Royal City is above the springs. When you get there, you’ll see plenty of guards, although at night there are fewer.”

“And when I get there, where do I go?” I asked.

“It’s very straightforward,” Silvy said. “In fact, that was the perfect word to use. When you get to Royal City, just keep going straight. As you cross the city, you will see Ralcor’s palace on the other side. The closer you can get the more you’ll see, but you need to be very careful there. If anyone sees you, this will all end.”

“Understood,” I said. “Well, I guess there’s no point in putting things off.” I looked down at my mismatched clothes; a pseudo-medieval shirt with jeans and running shoes. At least the shoes would be quiet.

“Please be careful,” Silvy said. I detected a hint of nervousness in her voice.

I pulled her in for a tight hug. “Don’t worry, I’ll be safe. I promise,” I said. I held her tightly for another moment, then went to the door. As I pulled it open, I slipped the shadow stone into my mouth and disappeared.

Silvy followed me out the door, watching as if she could see me. I bent down and kissed her on the cheek, drawing a surprised gasp from her. She gave me a devilish smile and closed the door, but not before whispering once again to be safe.

I hurried down the path along the outside of the cave—or city, Tunnel City that was—and slowed down after a moment. I was excited to explore this underground city more, but I needed to be slow and careful, calm and collected. Any extra noises would likely get me caught.

At least I didn’t smell like sex. Heh.

It only took me a short time to reach the entrance tunnel. From there, I continued around the outskirts of the city until I came to another tunnel, the one that led to the hot springs. I paused at the mouth of the tunnel, waiting for a family to pass by. Once they were out of earshot, I hurried through the tunnel.

As soon as I got on the other side, I stepped to the side, off the main path. Fortunately, sticking to the sides had the extra advantage of keeping me in shadows, guaranteeing I wouldn’t be seen.

The springs were surprisingly busy that night. The gentle glow of the lights was more than enough to see but dim enough that the shadow stone could do its job. I found myself concerned as a crowd of people walked in front of me, towards the springs themselves. I frowned and turned back, then crossed the tunnel and continued on the other side of the city.

The other side was blessedly empty. I kept glancing to my left, watching as people went in and out of the springs. The constant flow of water kept each pool clean, but I found myself wondering where the water eventually wound up. Some underground reservoir somewhere, was my best guess.

Being late in the evening and on the side away from the springs themselves, I had an easy journey across this city. Everyone was focused on the hot pools, so no one saw the faint shadow moving against the wall. Although to be honest I looked more like Predator, with his light-bending camouflage.

I came to a tunnel and almost entered, but caught myself. First, it was too brightly illuminated and two people were crossing it. And second, this tunnel gently sloped down, not up. Wrong one. I looked back in the direction from which I had come and saw that I was probably in the wrong place. I saw another tunnel, but it was dark, so that clearly wasn’t it.

A few minutes of quick walking found me at another tunnel. The entrance to this one was twice as wide as the rest, and immediately I saw that the smooth path gently rose and curved to the left. Bingo.

Of course, there was a guard standing there at the mouth of the tunnel, wearing armor and looking like he’d rather be fighting someone. While he was alert, he also looked slightly bored, standing there with his arms crossed, frowning at anyone and anything he could.

I waited until he was looking away from where I was, then hurried past him into the tunnel. Thankfully, my running shoes were just as quiet on the stone floor as I had hoped they would be. That helped calm my nerves a bit.

I made sure to be careful and kept my eyes and ears alert as I made my way up the tunnel. I stayed against one of the walls, following it as it rose in elevation. It was surprisingly long, and its curve was gradual; by the time the tunnel had turned a hundred eighty degrees, we had already risen at least fifty feet.

The tunnel exited into another large chamber, or city. My wits told me there would be guards at the mouth of the tunnel, and I was correct. Two guards stood there, still as statues, wearing armor and holding spears. Great, the last thing I wanted was to fight someone that actually knew how to use a spear.

I kept myself low to the ground and stayed in the middle of the tunnel, then exited quickly and silently, hoping I would be out of their line of sight. To my amazement, they didn’t see me. Perhaps I needed to give the shadow stone more credit.

As soon as I was clear of the tunnel, I hurried towards the first building I saw. It was large and square, almost monolithic in its construction. I had no clue what the building was for, but it had the look of something important. Old banks and government buildings always had a certain look that said they mattered, and this building reminded me of that, even though the style was different.

I stayed there, crouching down at the corner of the large building for a moment as I looked all around me. Soldiers walked all around the Royal City, either on errands or guarding the area. My heart sank a bit as I counted the amount of goblin soldiers I saw. Sure, I could kill them with magic, but there were a lot of them and I knew from experience those bastards were fast.

My sudden fear was that as soon as I exited the tunnel, killing with magic, they would swarm me. I couldn’t let that happen. I had to find a way to slow them down, or just sneak in without them seeing me.

Us, I reminded myself. It wouldn’t just be me. I would be accompanied by the three women I planned on marrying. That thought sobered me up right away.

I glanced to my right and saw exactly what Silvy was talking about. The path from the mouth of the tunnel was a straight line towards the royal palace. That made this a lot easier, although I would have to worry about attacks from both sides. So on second thought, perhaps not.

It wasn’t a particularly difficult process to make my way to the royal palace itself. I crept along the front of the building until I reached the far corner, then waited for the path to be clear before moving to the next building.

The way soldiers were constantly walking in and out of one of the buildings clued me in that it was military-related. Perhaps barracks or something. Whatever it was, I took a mental note of the building as that was where soldiers would come from when we attacked.

After moving from building to building, I finally found myself on the other side of Royal City. The royal palace loomed just to my right. The front was a set of massive stairs, with two guards posted in front of it. Unlike the rest of the city, that area was brightly illuminated, enough that the shadow stone wouldn’t be sufficient in keeping me hidden.

I got an idea, and decided to run with it.

Slowly moving around to the side of the stairs, I kept myself low to avoid being detected by the guards. My heart pounded in my chest but I made sure to control my breathing so they wouldn’t hear me.

The guards stood there like statues, clearly taking their jobs seriously even though they knew no one would come up here to attack. Well, with the king so close that made sense. I crept past one of the guards to the side of the massive stone stairs. Fortunately, he didn’t hear me. I placed both hands on the stairs and pushed myself up, smiling as I silently placed my feet on the stairs only a short distance behind the guard.

I realized I was holding my breath and slowly let it out as I climbed the stairs. My heart was racing with excitement, but I managed to stay calm as I slowly ascended.

At the top of the stairs stood a set of massive double doors that were currently open. Light spilled from the opening, enough that I knew I couldn’t go in there. I had to look, though.

I crawled on my belly up the stairs so that I could peek through the entrance. It was incredibly uncomfortable, but I held myself there for a moment so I could see.

The throne room was massive, especially considering this entire place was carved inside a mountain. Upon a slightly raised dais sat a sturdy throne, and on that sat Ralcor.

Truth be told, he didn’t look that much different than the goblin soldiers I had seen thus far. Even in his kingly raiment, I could tell he was a muscular man. His face had that same harsh look that all goblin men had, but there was a cruelness in Ralcor’s gaze that made him stand out. One look at him and it was clear that the only life that mattered was his own.

A red gem hung from his neck, catching the light. I would have to find a way to deal with that in order to kill him. Somehow, some way. A crown sat snugly on his head, but not one made of gold or silver. It looked to be made of steel. So, something practical and strong instead of something gaudy. That told me something about him as well.

Two other goblins stood in front of him, delivering what sounded like financial reports. At that distance I could only make out a few words, but it sounded like they were discussing the economy. Ralcor gave a few curt nods and ordered them to continue, but he didn’t like what they said.

After another few moments of them reporting to him, Ralcor suddenly shouted at them. The echoes made it hard to understand, but he ordered them to find more money, no matter what it took. Both men bowed their heads, and one said something quietly. Ralcor leaped up from his throne and struck the man in the face, knocking him to the floor.

“I didn’t ask for excuses, I asked for results!” Ralcor shouted, standing over the man with both fists clenched. After a moment, he went back to his throne and sat down.

I wanted so badly to reach out with blood magic and end it all right there. It would be so simple to just stop Ralcor’s heart from where I was. Except, I reminded myself, that damn pendant. Somehow, I had to get that thing off of him.

Even then, I knew things weren’t that simple. If I were to try, he would probably shout for his guards and they would find me in a heartbeat. No, the only way to do this was to kill everyone.

Althidon had told me that the streets ran red with blood when Ralcor took power. It looked like they would be red again when I got rid of him.

30

Getting back to Silvy’s place wasn’t hard. It was getting pretty late, so most goblins were in their homes instead of wandering around on the streets like I was. Streets? Paths. Whatever.

After what felt like half an hour, I pushed Silvy’s front door open and spat out the shadow stone. She was still seated there at her table, nervously tapping her finger, and leaped to her feet when I came in.

“There you are!” she exclaimed as she rushed towards me. She threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly. “I knew you’d be gone for a while, but I was so scared. I was afraid you’d been caught.”

“Nope, I’m right here,” I said, bending down to kiss the top of her head. “And everything is fine. It’s just like you said, a direct path right to Ralcor himself. It’s just guarded by a ton of guys ready to rip me in half.”

“I’m glad you see the problem,” she replied, and finally released me. “I guess we’ll really be earning our spot as your wives.”

“My queens,” I corrected. “And don’t forget it.”

Silvy rolled her eyes. “Aaron, goblins don’t have quee—”

“Well, they will when I’m king,” I said, cutting her off. “Especially if you three are fighting by my side.”

“I guess I’d be wasting my breath trying to convince you otherwise,” she said, glancing at me. “It’ll take a while for the people to accept it.”

“That’s fine,” I said. “One of the first things you did was a spell that lengthened my life, so I’ll be around for a while. If they can accept a human king, they’ll be able to accept that my wives are queens.”

Silvy laughed. “Okay, you’re really determined to make us queens. I won’t fight it anymore. Starting tomorrow, I’m going to start working with the other two so we can help. It’ll take a bit of thought but I think we’ll be okay.”

“You don’t have much time if we’re keeping to the timeline you had originally set,” I warned.

“I know. But it’s as you said; they have no way to deal with magic. We’ll have the upper hand. Even just basic elemental magic will overwhelm the soldiers.”

I frowned in thought for a moment. “The one thing I’m worried about is arrows, but you said they don’t really use those.” I shrugged. “I guess I’m still adjusting to how easy this will be. I feel like it should be harder.”

Silvy placed her hands on her round hips. “Sure, it’s easy,” she said in a sarcastic voice. “You just have to fight your way through a dark tunnel, through Tunnel City, then another tunnel, then the hot springs, then the long path up to Royal City, then through that city itself.”

“Yeah, point made,” I said. “It’s going to be a fight. At least with the shadow stone, we can start the fight pretty much at Royal City.”

Silvy stretched her arms over her head and yawned. “Can we talk of more peaceful things? I need to sleep and this is going to give me nightmares.”

I chuckled. “Of course. What’s your favorite flower?” I wasn’t entirely sure where the question came from.

Silvy frowned. “I don’t think I have one. We don’t bring many flowers down here. Most of the plants are just for food.”

“Well, that’s something we’ll change,” I said as I held a hand out towards her. She placed her tiny hand in mine and I gently pulled her towards the bedroom. “Once we’re in charge, we’ll start using magic to grow food down here, so people don’t have to forage. I’m amazed you haven’t stripped the forest bare by now.”

“We have, in some areas,” Silvy said as we entered the bedroom. “It’s becoming a real problem.”

“Good thing we have the solution,” I said. “When I’m king, I want you to use your magic to grow flowers around the royal palace. I saw that place earlier and it was stark and ugly.”

Silvy pursed her lips. “Ralcor is not the kind of man that appreciates beauty.” She scoffed as if the very thought were silly.

“Come on, honey,” I said, pulling my shirt off. “Let’s go to bed.”

We stripped down and she climbed into bed with me. Cuddling with Silvy was always nice. Her soft curves were incredible, but the small size of her body made her lightweight so I didn’t have to worry about things like my arm falling asleep.

I expected nightmares that night. Dreams of being stabbed by Ralcor and his soldiers, dreams of our plan failing and all of us dying. Instead, I dreamed of sitting on my throne, surrounded by my queens. Magic lit Royal City brightly, and flowers and other plants gave the entire area a floral scent. It was the very image of peace.

Oh, and I started calling it the Royal District instead of Royal City. That made much more sense.

All of that put me in a good mood the next day. Breakfast with Silvy was a joy, as her mood was elevated as well. Zia and Tressi came over early and the four of us just enjoyed a nice morning conversation together. Even my trip to Caelora was easier than usual; the elven city was becoming more familiar by the day.

And so I found myself standing in front of Althidon, telling him my plans. I avoided telling him that Ralcor was partially immune to magic. I’d have to think of a solution to that and offer it when I told him. He listened to every word I had to say, then pursed his lips and rubbed his chin.

“One week?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “If we wait too long, we run a serious risk of Ralcor finding and killing me before I’m able to do anything.”

He barked a sudden laugh. “Ha! You think you can do all this in a week? Are you out of your fucking mind?”

“Probably,” I said. “But I don’t see that I have much choice. Also, remember that I know blood magic, which is getting stronger by the day. And my future wives will be there with me. Silvy is quite skilled with magic, and Zia and Tressi are learning elemental magic.”

Althidon nodded slowly. “Yes, that does help your case quite a bit. Goblins don’t use magic much anymore, do they?”

“Not at all,” I said. “Ralcor has really worked hard over the years to spread the idea that magic is evil and no one should use it. For the longest time, Silvy was the only person capable of using any magic. Now, it’s us four.”

“So the soldiers you’ll be fighting won’t be able to defend themselves,” he said. “Yes, I see now. The only problem is you need to learn more about blood magic. It’s nasty stuff though, and hard to practice. You run a serious risk of killing someone by accident.”

“Or on purpose,” I said with a shrug.

Althidon raised an eyebrow at me. “So you’ve used it already?”

I nodded. “Some goblin soldiers. One attacked me. The other group slapped the woman I’m going to marry.”

He nodded slowly, looking at me as if seeing me for the first time. “Well, boy, I certainly won’t think less of you for acting out in those situations. The important thing that I must know is how did it feel? Not killing them, but how did the magic feel? Was it difficult?”

“Honestly? It was easy,” I said, running my fingers through my hair. “A bit too easy. It felt almost as natural as breathing. I can feel anywhere their blood flows in their body. So I used that to stop their hearts.”

“Incredible,” Althidon said. “From what I know of blood magic, it should take several months, maybe longer, for you to be able to do that. What about healing? Can you heal as well?”

“Yeah,” I said with a shrug. “I healed a bruise on Silvy’s face yesterday and it wasn’t very hard. I just used magic to force her body to heal itself.”

Althidon rubbed his chin in thought. “The gods really did answer Silvy’s prayers. No one learns magic at that pace, boy. No one. It takes some people years just to be able to do anything of note with it. Learning it is drudgery, and slow enough that some people just give up. Whatever the gods did when they brought you here, they made you special.”

“Althidon, are you saying I’m special?” I asked.

He looked at me for a moment and bit back a laugh. “I can still break bones with a practice sword, you know.”

31

Ispent a solid two hours practicing the spear with Althidon. He had me spar against one of his pupils, and for a few minutes I even tried to defend myself from two at the same time. The long reach of the spear was the only way I managed to fend them off. Had I been using a sword or any other weapon, I would have been done in a matter of seconds. Althidon himself ran me through a number of drills, including practicing defending from his attacks.

“You’re showing real promise with the spear,” Althidon said, wiping sweat from his forehead. “I wish my other students learned as quickly as you. Granted, they’re learning swords, not spears, but still.”

“I practice at night sometimes as well,” I said. “Usually just with fists or a knife. It’s helping me build my reflex speed.”

“How do you practice?” he asked, his voice skeptical.

“Uh, Silvy has this…thing. It’s magical. A goblin man appears and I fight him. His punches don’t hurt much, and if I hit him it feels like I’m striking a pillow. But he’s fast, and a solid fighter. That’s really helped me.”

Althidon’s eyes widened. “A goblin automaton,” he said, sounding almost shocked. “I didn’t think any of those were even left.”

“I call him Greg,” I said. “It helps me punch him.”

“I’m assuming you named him after someone you didn’t like?” Althidon asked.

I nodded. “Greg was a douchebag at my old job. He was lazy and then just up and quit one day with no prior notice, so we all had to cover his work until a new guy could be hired.”

Althidon looked at me quizzically. “Douchebag?”

“Ah,” I said with a laugh. “It’s a term from my world. We use it for people we don’t respect. Assholes.”

“Asshole?” Althidon asked. “Why would you call someone that part of the body?” He abruptly laughed. “We elves don’t use terms like that. Our curses are different. I think I understand it, though.”

I was tempted to ask about some elven swear words, but I decided to focus on more important things instead. “How much do you think I can learn in a week?” I asked.

“You? A good bit. You’re doing well so far, and learn faster than anyone I’ve ever trained,” Althidon replied. “I’m tempted to give you a small shield so you can practice with that as well. Standard infantry issue. Yes, in fact, tomorrow we’ll start with that.”

I nodded. “Thank you. I’m starting to feel a bit of hope in this ridiculous situation.”

“Ridiculous is the correct word for it,” Althidon said. “But I will do everything I can to ensure you survive. None of the elves like Ralcor. He’s been a menace since day one, and there were times we feared relations would sour to the point of becoming hostile. Having you on the throne would benefit both of our nations.”

“So, what do you think my chances are?” I asked.

He frowned at me and rubbed his chin. “Honestly? I think you stand a chance, simply because of your blood magic. That, and you said those women will be helping you. I don’t think you’ll fail, unless something goes horribly wrong. Don’t get overly confident, though.”

“That helps,” I said. “Thanks. It’s a shame I don’t know how to use a bow and arrow.”

“Hmmm,” Althidon said, rubbing his chin again. “I might be able to help with that. Not that I want to risk any of my men for your cause, but…. We’ll talk about that tomorrow.”

“Oh, I wanted to take this with me today,” I said, hefting the spear in my hand. “I was hoping to use it on Greg.”

Althidon shrugged. “Just make sure you bring it back. Those aren’t free.”

I bowed to him, hand over heart, then used the practice spear as a walking staff and made my way out of the area.

Caelora was much more familiar to me now, at least the path I took every day. Some of the elves even greeted me now that they recognized me. Word had spread of the human training with Althidon, but he knew not to tell anyone exactly what I was training for. Still, being an alien species in their midst, I was a bit popular.

Plenty of men said hello to me or returned my greetings, and I received more than a few interested looks from the elven women. They were indeed beautiful, as beautiful as I would expect elven women to be, with their modelesque features and flawless skin, but I found myself not particularly attracted to them as much as I thought I would be. They were all tall and slender, and I preferred the short, curvy look of the goblin women. Still, I wondered what many of them looked like beneath their thin, flowing dresses.

But, some of those elven women had a certain haughtiness to their looks. I didn’t think a relationship with them would be fun, unlike the goblin women which were amazing.

I poked my head into Elasha’s tailor shop and saw her seated behind the counter, writing something in a thick ledger.

“Hey there,” I said, stepping into her store. “I hope I’m not pestering you.”

She looked up at me just a bit too long before answering. “No, you’re fine. Your clothes are finished.” After finishing what she was writing, she pushed herself to her feet and went to the side wall.

From one of the shelves built into the wall, she retrieved a neat stack of folded clothes. She brought them over to me and handed them to me. I accepted them with a word of thanks.

“I appreciate this,” I said. “I know you worked hard to get them done quickly.”

“Yes, I did,” she said, and went back to her desk. She sat down and picked up her quill, then began writing again.

“Okay,” I said slowly. “Well, have a nice day. Thanks again.”

“Mmhmm,” she said, not looking up.

“Well, she’s a real charmer,” I muttered to myself as I left her shop. But that didn’t matter. I finally had new clothes to wear. I still needed to see a cobbler about my shoes, but my running shoes would do for now.

Finding my way across Caelora wasn’t too difficult, and soon I was at the tree I used to enter and leave the city. As I descended the long spiraling stairs, I began to wonder how long it would take me to become accustomed to them. There were so many that even going down was tiring. Silvy’s spell that strengthened my body helped with climbing the stairs, but every day was leg day here.

Once I reached the base of the tree, I walked thirty feet away until I came to some bushes, and used them as a table to set my clothes on.

They were simple and plain, with three more shirts like my first one and as many pairs of pants. They laced up front and were in different colors; earthy brown and two shades of gray. Elasha had also included two vests in my stack of clothes, both in a dark forest green color. I decided to go ahead and change.

I made the forest my dressing room and stripped down right there. The pants felt like the same material as my cloak—as soft as cotton, but as sturdy as wool and not itchy in the slightest. The fit was excellent, although I should have expected as much from an elven tailor. I tucked my shirt in, and then slipped my arms through the vest and took a moment to look down at myself.

With the dark brown and green tones, I looked like I was dressed like a stereotypical elf. My shoes definitely ruined the look, but that was fine. They were comfortable, and that was all that mattered at the moment.

At least it looked like Elasha had included a few pairs of hand-knit socks as well, so I went ahead and swapped mine for them to help keep my feet from stinking. I also made sure to transfer the shadow stone to my new pants, and was grateful they had pockets.

I wrapped up my bundle of clothes in one of the shirts and tucked it beneath my arm, then set off towards the goblin city. The weather was nice that day, not too hot and not too cool, and the massive trees kept the sun from heating me up. It was a nice, pleasant stroll through the woods.

As I came closer to the goblin city, I went ahead and popped the shadow stone in my mouth, and not a moment too soon. Shortly after doing that I came across a team of goblin scouts making their way through the woods. From the way their heads were on a swivel, it was clear they were looking for something or someone.

Me. They were looking for me.

I realized how careful I was going to have to be. They didn’t know exactly what was wrong, but they knew something was wrong so they had stepped up their security. Five minutes after that first goblin patrol, I came across a second one. My heart sank a bit as I saw one of them carrying a short bow, with a quiver of arrows peeking over his shoulder.

A few minutes after that I began to see goblin women walking to and from the forest to forage for food. Some of them had men accompanying them, to protect them from all the shit Zia had told me about. Harpies and trolls and gnolls and all sorts of nastiness.

I spent two hours searching the area until I finally heard a familiar voice. Zia.

I hurried towards the sound and was pleased to see that Zia was with her best friend, Tressi. Each of them carried the sturdy sacks goblin women often used when they searched for food, and they both had broad-bladed knives at their waists. Both of them wore the simple and fairly plain dresses that most goblin women wore, although Tressi’s bodice was mostly unlaced, probably due to the warmer temperature.

“Hey,” I called out, keeping my voice soft.

They both looked around at the sound of my voice, although I saw recognition in Zia’s eyes.

“Aaron?” Zia asked, looking in my general direction.

I turned in a slow circle, making sure no one else was in the area. Once I felt safe, I took the shadow stone from my mouth and slipped it in my pocket.

“It’s good to see you two,” I said, taking a step closer.

Zia rushed towards me and threw her arms around my waist, squeezing me tightly. I hugged her back and bent down to kiss the top of her head. Tressi was there a moment later, still a touch shy since we didn’t know each other that well, but eager for a hug and kiss of her own. I struggled not to stare at her large breasts that were mostly exposed from her unlaced dress.

“How are things going with the elves?” Zia asked.

“Good,” I said, looking around us again. “Althidon says I’m learning the spear quickly. I think he’s going to do something to help me tomorrow, but I don’t know what.”

“From the way you keep looking around, I’m assuming you’ve seen the patrols,” Tressi said. She sounded afraid.

“Yeah, I’ve seen two of them so far,” I replied. “I’m making sure I keep my eyes open for them.”

“Ever since you killed that one soldier and buried him out here, they’ve been on alert,” Zia said. “Last night my mother told me she had heard a rumor that someone was trying to attack our city.”

“Well, as long as the rumors stay like that and don’t involve someone wanting to overthrow the king, I think I’ll be good,” I said. “In fact, it might be good to encourage that rumor. Anything that takes the heat off of us. Although no matter what happens, I know things will get more difficult every day.”

“We believe in you,” Tressi said, giving me a sweet smile.

Zia suddenly whispered something in Tressi’s ear, and they both smiled at me.

“What?” I asked.

“She wants to see it,” Zia said. Next to her, Tressi blushed.

“See it?” I asked.

“Take your pants off, Aaron,” Zia said.

I laughed at how forward she was and unlaced my new pants. They noticed and complimented my elven style.

A moment later I stood there, my pants around my ankles, while the two beautiful goblin women that I was planning on marrying stared at my dick. It was a bit awkward. Okay, it was really awkward.

“It’s big,” Tressi said. “You were right.”

I suppressed a laugh. I was perfectly average in those regards, but to a four-foot-tall woman I was apparently pretty well endowed. That thought made me feel a lot less awkward. I stood there, proud of my penis, no matter how ridiculous the situation was.

“At least with goblin men, I feel like the meaner they are, the smaller their cocks are,” Zia said, still staring at me. “At least now we have proof that you’re kind.” She gave me a devilish smile and took a step closer. Tressi stepped up next to her. “Can I….”

“Of course,” I said, snapping my mouth shut before I said something stupid like “knock yourself out!”

As soon as I gave permission, they were both on their knees in front of me. Zia took me into her mouth and began sucking, hard. Tressi pushed her way in and took over, and the two women began taking turns, all the while giggling and smiling. As small as they were, they couldn’t quite take my full length, but they certainly tried.

Tressi reached into her unlaced bodice and pulled her large breasts out, then began pinching and rubbing on her nipples while she sucked me. Zia noticed, bit her lip, then suddenly leaned over and began sucking on one of Tressi’s nipples. Tressi looked surprised for a moment as she looked down at her best friend doing that, but smiled and went back to sucking me.

Well, if that wasn’t the hottest thing I’d ever seen, I didn’t know what was. My dick somehow grew even harder as I watched them. Tressi was giving it her all as she sucked on me, gripping and squeezing the base of my shaft with one of her small hands and sucking hard on the end.

Zia took a break from the nipple play and straightened up for her turn on my dick. Tressi kept her hand on it, stroking the base while Zia sucked on the tip. After a moment, Tressi moved in and licked my shaft, and it only took a moment for the two beauties to begin kissing. They alternated sucking on me and cramming their tongues down each other’s throats.

All of that brought me to the brink. When my breathing increased and I began to moan, Zia hurriedly took as much as she could in her mouth and sucked, hard. The sensation sent me over the edge and I blew my load in Zia’s mouth. Tressi pushed her way in so she could swallow some as well, and soon the women were both sucking on the head of my dick at the same time while I came in both of their mouths.

Zia squeezed me from base to tip, milking every last drop out of me while Tressi sucked and swallowed. After that, the two women smiled at each other and shared a kiss, then looked up at me.

“You two are incredible,” I said between breaths.

“I can’t wait until we can do that every day,” Tressi said as she stood up and tucked her massive breasts back into the bodice of her dress. “And on a bed, not the ground.”

Life was good.

32

That thought lasted until I got back to the mouth of the tunnel that entered the goblin city.

Several groups of goblins walked in and out of the tunnel, but what bothered me most were the two goblin soldiers flanking the entrance. The sun was still up, so I would be partially visible if I tried to cross the clearing between the forest and the tunnel itself. In short, I was screwed.

“Well, that’s not good,” I muttered. We were still in the shaded area of the forest so I was invisible, but two more steps and the guards would likely see me. “Hey, pretend you two are talking.”

Zia turned to Tressi. “So, what are we going to do?”

“I need to learn their schedule. That might help,” I said. “But for now, we need a distraction. I could just kill them, but I think that would be a bad idea at the moment. It would just attract the wrong kind of attention. I mean, that one soldier already suspected Silvy, so it’s only a matter of time until other people realize that the crazy old woman living by herself is actually plotting a coup.”

“We can distract them,” Tressi said. “If we can get them both to move to one side, you can slip in unnoticed on the other side. Once you’re in the shadows, you’ll be good.”

“It’s worth a try,” Zia said.

“How are you going to distract them?” I asked.

“Just watch,” Zia said with a wink.

Zia held her elbow out and Tressi looped her arm around it. Then, the two beauties walked straight towards the mouth of the tunnel. I saw Zia lean over and whisper something, but it was too quiet to hear.

As they approached the soldier on the left, I immediately saw what they were doing. I moved to the right, slipping through the trees until I was twenty feet away. Once both of the soldiers had their eyes on the women, I dashed across the clearing, until I was pressed against the stone cliff.

They spoke with the guard on the left and it was clear from the beginning they were flirting, or at least being friendly enough that the overconfident guards would consider it flirting. Zia had his full attention immediately, and Tressi looked over and smiled at the other guard. After a moment, that guard crossed the entrance of the tunnel and stood next to the other one, casually leaning an arm against the side of the tunnel.

That was my moment. I carefully crept closer to the tunnel, my eyes on the two soldiers. At that time I was grateful for my running shoes, as they were silent on the rocky soil.

“We just wanted to thank you for keeping us safe,” Zia said, twirling her hair around a finger.

“You’re both so brave,” Tressi gushed.

“It’s not the easiest job, but someone’s gotta do it,” one of the guards said, sounding very proud of himself.

“Yeah, there’s always the threat that someone will attack, so we have to stay alert,” the other guard said. He suddenly jerked his head to the side as if he heard something, his hand going to his club at the same time. “Ah, just a bird.”

I suddenly wished I could use blood magic to make them piss themselves, anything to take them down a rung.

Wait a minute. Could I?

I reached out to the one soldier’s body with blood magic as he continued to explain how tough he was. I searched through his body, everywhere that blood flowed. It wasn’t the easiest thing, but I had enough of an understanding of biology that I eventually found his bladder. Blood vessels surrounded it, and I gave them all a squeeze.

I had to cover my mouth with a hand to stifle a laugh as the guard’s eyes suddenly widened. He looked down at himself and took a step back.

“What’s wrong?” the other guard asked, looking him up and down. “Mate. Did you just fucking piss yourself?”

“I don’t know what happened,” the soldier said, looking down in shock at himself.

Zia and Tressi took that as their cue to hurry away.

“Stay safe!” Tressi said as she moved towards me.

“I can’t believe you fucking pissed yourself,” the guard said.

As the two ladies walked towards me, I reached out and touched Tressi on the shoulder. She jumped slightly, then smiled.

“Did you do that?” she asked, her voice quiet.

“Yeah,” I whispered. “I didn’t realize I could until just now. Looks like I still have lots of learning to do.”

“I can’t believe you made him pee his pants,” Zia said, grinning broadly. “Silvy’s going to love that one.”

I left my hand on Tressi’s shoulder as we walked, so she would know I was there. Zia and Tressi talked about the food they had foraged that day, and I simply walked with them. We passed by another guard, but he was too focused on Tressi’s unlaced bodice to notice the slight shift in light that was me.

We finally reached the end of the tunnel, and the three of us turned sharply to the right and went to the narrow path that led to Silvy’s house. I stayed in front, as I walked much faster than them and sometimes having to walk so slowly got on my nerves. When I got to Silvy’s place I looked around, then pushed the door open and removed the shadow stone.

“Welcome back,” Silvy said as she stirred a large pot that bubbled even though there was no fire beneath it. She gave me a smile and looked me up and down. “Nice clothes.”

“You were right,” Zia said as she set her forage sack down. “It’s easier each time we do it.”

“Huh?” I asked. Were they talking about blowing me?

“She had us practice our magic in the woods,” Tressi explained. “Before you found us, that is. Just simple things, like pulling the water from soil, digging holes, moving rocks around. But it really helps us grow more comfortable with magic.”

“And the more you practice, the stronger you’ll be,” Silvy said. She walked over to me and gave me a hug. “How did your training go? I see you brought a spear home.”

I held her tightly for a moment, then released her so I could lean the spear against the wall. “Yeah, just a practice spear. I figured I’d use it with Greg for some more realistic sparring.”

Silvy nodded. “Good idea.”

“Tell her what you did,” Zia said, suddenly smiling.

Silvy stared at me for a moment and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “I already don’t like the sound of that.” Her mouth curved into a concerned frown.

“Go on, tell her!” Zia said.

“You should have seen it,” Tressi added. “It was so hard not to laugh.”

Silvy’s eyes stayed on me and she raised a slender eyebrow. “Well?”

I sighed. “I made one of the guards piss himself.”

“You what?” Silvy asked. Her face went from shocked to angry to outright laughter.

I shrugged. “I had to let them know I had passed the guards, and it was the first thing I thought of.”

“That’s the only reason you did it?” Silvy asked, her eyebrow still raised.

“Well,” I began.

“Oh, they deserved it,” Tressi said. “You should have heard them, Silvy! They do nothing but stand there for hours but the way they explain it, they’re saving our entire people on a daily basis.”

Silvy chuckled. “Yes, I suppose that would have been a sight. And probably less likely to bring attention back here.” She gave me a concerned look. “So is that a new trick you’ve learned?”

“I think so,” I said. “To some extent, I can affect any part of the body where blood flows. I can kill, I can heal, but it looks like I can do other things as well. I’m not sure yet what all I can do though. It’s kind of a hard thing to practice.”

Silvy took a deep breath and went to the table where Zia and Tressi were already seated. “Go ahead and try. Just don’t kill me.”

“You mean—”

“Yes, I’m giving you permission to use blood magic on me,” Silvy said. “Just don’t kill me. I know you’re smart enough to make that distinction. But if exploring will help you learn, then explore.”

I pulled back a chair and sat across from her, wondering exactly what I would do. “Thank you for trusting me,” I said. And with that, I reached out with blood magic and touched her.

It always started with a vague feeling, like I was nowhere specific in her body. Perhaps I was feeling all of her blood; I didn’t know, to be honest. After a few seconds my magical touch seemed to solidify roughly in her midsection. I could reduce and increase blood flow to certain areas, so I decided to start there.

“Oh,” Silvy said, her eyes widening slightly. She looked down and gently unlaced the front of her dress, showing how her skin was flushed. “That actually feels rather nice.”

Yes, I had increased blood flow to her breasts. Call me a child, I didn’t care.

I made sure to avoid her internal organs, but I pushed and pulled on her blood flow around her body. She winced as I all but stopped the flow of blood into her hands.

“Can you move them?” I asked.

She weakly flexed her hands twice, then tried a third time and couldn’t. “That is rather unpleasant.”

I quickly restored circulation to her hands and moved on. That was a solid attack I could use against someone: halting their blood flow into their limbs so they couldn’t move or swing a sword at me. I was familiar with that and had used it a couple times already, but I began to wonder what else I could do.

Using blood magic, I felt through one of her arms, noting how the blood flowed in capillaries in her muscles. I was able to make her biceps muscle contract just slightly, enough to make her arm move.

Silvy’s eyes widened, and I think she looked just as surprised as I did. I focused all of my concentration on that one muscle and the blood flowing through it, and I was able to make her arm move again.

“Incredible,” Silvy said. “I have heard of this, but blood magic is so rare I didn’t think I’d ever see it.”

I branched my control out, making her shoulder muscles flex as well, and managed to make her lift her arm off the table. The motion was crude and jerky, but it was enough to let me know what was possible.

“I think I have an idea,” I said. “But I need to practice this. A lot.”

33

Ispent an hour trying to control Silvy’s body. Zia and Tressi let me practice on them as well, which helped me learn the action more so than just learning a person’s body. It all felt very natural to me, and downright easy in some cases. Silvy insisted that wasn’t the norm, and that the gods had truly blessed me with my magical ability. It usually took months for people to be able to do what I could do after two days.

Precise control was far beyond my capabilities, but by the end of the time I spent practicing I could make them move like jerky marionettes. Not hugely useful at that level, but it already had my mind racing on the possibilities.

I finished by making Tressi flush, then pumped a bit of blood into her nipples and made them erect. She gasped and looked at me and I just laughed.

“Thank you all again for trusting me enough to do this,” I said as I released my hold on magic. “I appreciate you all.”

“Thanks for not killing us by accident,” Tressi said with a chuckle. She got up from her chair and came over to me, then gave me a big hug.

I squeezed her tightly, then bent down and kissed the top of her head. I stayed that way for a moment, staying close, breathing in the scent of her. She was perfect in every way.

“Did you just smell me?” she asked.

“Shut up,” I replied.

She laughed.

“You had better smell us as well,” Zia said with mock seriousness. “We deserve just as much smelling as Tressi. Right, Silvy?”

Silvy scoffed. “You tell me you want me to be your queen, but you won’t even smell me.” She turned her head to the side, refusing to look at me, and shook her head.

I burst out in laughter. “Hurry up with my dinner, woman.”

Silvy’s mock surprise turned genuine. “What? How dare you—”

I rushed forwards and wrapped my arms around her, then lifted her from the floor and smelled her hair as loudly as possible.

“It’s about time!” Silvy shouted.

When I set her down, her laughter eventually faded. I kissed her on the forehead, then went to Zia to show her some love so she didn’t feel left out.

“You should start practicing with that thing,” Zia said, nodding towards my spear.

“You’re right,” I said, bending down so I could kiss her softly. “I guess I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

Zia hugged me again and let out an exaggerated sigh. “Oh, I’m so happy with you, Aaron. I can’t wait for all this to be over and for our lives to start.”

“We’ll be the first goblin queens,” Tressi said with a smile.

“Alright, off with you two,” Silvy said. “I need to finish cooking, Aaron needs practice with that spear, and you need to see your families.”

She walked up to Tressi and gave her a big hug, which surprised me. Until now, she had always taken an almost maternal role with them. The hug between them at that moment was one between equals, and equals that cared about each other. Afterwards, Tressi kissed Silvy on the cheek.

When Silvy went to hug Zia, the younger woman threw her arms around her and squeezed her tightly, almost like how she hugged me. I initially wondered if that was simply how Zia hugged people, but after a moment Zia whispered something in Silvy’s ear. Silvy initially seemed taken aback by what she heard, but after a few seconds she nodded.

I watched in surprise as Zia took Silvy’s face in her hands and placed a gentle yet very passionate kiss right on her lips. Silvy stood there awkwardly for a moment, then finally reached forwards and placed her hands on Zia’s hips until the kiss was finished. After that, Zia hugged Silvy again and whispered something in her ear, this time making the older woman blush.

“Why wait?” Silvy replied. It made me wonder what Zia’s question had been.

Tressi hugged and kissed me, followed by Zia. Tressi’s kisses were soft, while Zia’s tended to have a lot of tongue. Both were amazing.

“See you soon,” Zia said with a smile. That smile promised lots of fun the next time I saw her. Her eyes briefly flicked down to my crotch, then back up to my face, and her smile deepened. She reached out and took my hand, giving it a squeeze, then the two beauties were gone.

“I wasn’t expecting her to do that,” I said after they had left.

“Me either,” Silvy said, touching a hand to her cheek. Her face was still slightly flushed, and she watched the door long after the other two women had left.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

“Yes, fine,” Silvy said. “I’ve never kissed a woman before. That was…interesting.”

“She is quite beautiful,” I said.

“Oh, absolutely,” Silvy replied. She took a deep breath and let it out. “Well, I suppose I’ll get started on dinner while you practice with that spear of yours.”

I took her by the hand and pulled her to me, then softly kissed her forehead. She smiled at me and I kissed her full lips, then fetched my spear from where it leaned against the wall.

So far I had used the spear to defend against some of Althidon’s attacks as well as several of his pupils, but I had not fought a goblin yet. Being shorter, their reach was not that great. But they were also a smaller target and incredibly fast.

Silvy cast the spell to bring Greg into existence. She ordered him to use a magical knife, then winked at me and went back into the kitchen.

“Alright, Greg,” I said, twisting each way to pop my back. “Are you ready to get your ass kicked?”

Greg just stood there, knife in hand, staring at me blankly. Granted, with his hard features, that blank stare was still relatively frightening, but the guy—goblin automaton, Althidon had called him—had the personality of a rock. I thought I liked him more than the Greg he was named after.

“Let’s go,” I said, firming my grip on the spear. I bent my knees and held myself ready. “You can move at full speed.”

The moment I finished saying that, Greg launched himself at me. Even being a mindless magical construct, he recognized the disadvantage he was at due to him having a knife and me having a spear taller than I was.

Greg feinted a few times, then tried to knock my spear aside. I was stronger than him and kept it in front of me with the point aimed right at his face, just as Althidon taught me. Greg took a hit on the shoulder and rolled with it, then managed to slip by it and ram his dagger into my stomach.

“Shit!” I said, staggering back.

Greg took a step back and stood there, ready to attack again.

“You’re a fast son of a bitch,” I said, rubbing the spot where Greg had stuck me. Even with the additional reach of a spear, I needed to be a lot faster to survive against a goblin soldier. Granted, I would be using magic, but still. I needed to practice for Ralcor.

“Okay, let’s try that again,” I said. I crouched down slightly, putting myself at a better level so Greg couldn’t dip beneath my spear as easily.

He rushed towards me, then juked to the side at the last millisecond. I somehow managed to keep my spear point focused on his face, although he was moving so fast I could barely keep up with him. I winced as the blunt tip of my practice spear went right into his mouth, shattering teeth and ramming into his head. Right as that happened, he threw his dagger underhanded at me. It struck me right above the belly button.

“Shit!” I said again as the dagger faded from my stomach and appeared back in his hand. I pulled my spear out of his face and he took a step back, his face magically returning to normal. “You seem to have gotten better since the last time I fought you, Greg.”

“Oh, he’ll do that!” Silvy shouted from the other room. “He learns if I let him. I decided to let him learn this time, since you need all the practice you can get.”

“Gee, thanks,” I said to Silvy.

“You should be glad I don’t make him even faster,” she said with a laugh.

“That’s it, you’re getting it in the butt tonight,” I said, aiming for a joke.

Silvy peeked her head into the room. “Promise?” she asked with a big smile. “It’s been a long time, so you’ll have to be gentle with me. Oh, let me hurry up with dinner. Now I’m excited.”

My jaw almost dropped. Silvy, with the most gorgeous ass I’d ever seen, was going to let me take the service entrance? Was I dreaming?

I had trouble focusing after that. All I could think about was that big, round butt on Silvy’s tiny frame. My attacks after that sucked, and Greg slipped by me every time.

Dinner was a hearty stew filled with spices and root vegetables. I could tell Silvy was excited; she sat next to me and kept flashing her smile at me. She even fed me a few bites. I hadn’t seen her like this before. Note to self: make more buttsex jokes.

Once dinner was done, I helped her clean up, although she insisted she could take care of everything herself. She used magic to clean her pans, so she was done in no time.

“Come here, you,” Silvy said, taking me by the hand and pulling me into the bedroom. She quickly unlaced the front of her dress with her other hand.

I took a cue from her and began tugging on the laces of my shirt and pants with my spare hand as she pulled me behind her. My eyes stayed glued to her tiny yet voluptuous frame as she pushed her dress down and wiggled her broad hips side to side to push it all the way down.

I practically flew out of my clothes. My shirt and pants came off in a heartbeat and I threw them behind me, not even looking to see where they landed.

Silvy was in my arms in an instant, stretching up onto her toes. I wrapped my arms around her tiny waist and lifted her from the floor so her face was on a level with mine. We smiled at each other for a moment, then kissed, her tongue pushing into my mouth. She nipped at my lips, and I could tell she really wanted me.

I gently lowered her down an inch at a time, and the head of my erect cock rubbed against her lips. She was hot and wet, and moved her hips in circles until I was perfectly lined up with her. I lowered her a few more inches, savoring the feeling as I entered her. Silvy moaned, but quickly pushed me away.

“You know what I want tonight,” she said, climbing onto the bed. As soon as she was on top, she bent over and spread her knees, giving me quite the view of her perfectly round ass. She looked over her shoulder at me and shook her bottom.

I rushed forwards, slapping both of my palms on that glorious ass of hers and giving it a hearty squeeze. She arched her back, eager for me, and I bent down. I ran my tongue from her clitoris along her labia, then pointed my tongue and pushed it inside her pussy.

Silvy moaned and laid her head on the bed, then reached back with both hands and grabbed onto her ass, spreading it wide for me.

I worked my tongue inside her for a moment, savoring her delicious flavor, then ran it back down to her clitoris. It wasn’t as easy in that position but I craned my neck and managed to lick and suck on her love button until she was moaning happily.

Silvy slapped herself on the ass with one of her hands. “Get in here,” she said.

I swirled my tongue around her clit one last time, then licked up and down her folds, pleasing her as best as I could, before moving up and finally arriving at her backdoor. I ran my tongue up and down her tight hole, enjoying the sounds she made.

“Get inside me,” she said, pulling away from my face. “I can’t wait any longer.”

I climbed onto the bed as Silvy rolled over onto her back. She spread her legs for me and licked her fingers, then reached between her thighs and wiped the saliva onto her asshole.

I moved between her thick legs and lined the head of my cock up with her ass, then spat on my fingertips. I rubbed the spit all over the head of my cock, ensuring it was as slippery as possible, then began pushing myself inside her.

Silvy sucked in her breath through her teeth, holding a hand against me to slow me. I paused, not wanting to hurt her, then pulled myself back out. Another thick wad of spit went onto the tip of my cock, then I began pushing inside her again.

Silvy reached down and grabbed onto each of her large cheeks, spreading her ass for me as I slowly entered her. She gasped as the head of my cock finally entered her, and I kept myself there for a moment. She closed her eyes, biting her bottom lip, and finally nodded.

I slowly worked the tip of my cock in and out of her, then pushed in deeper. I spat on my fingertips and wiped the saliva on my shift, which helped ease entry. She moaned loudly as the thickest part of my cock went inside, and then suddenly I was buried to the hilt in her ass.

Words could not describe just how good it felt. Her big, round ass was warm and tight, the stuff of dreams. I guess you could say it felt as good as it looked.

Silvy’s eyes were still closed, but she reached out for me. I bent down and she pulled me to her so we could kiss. I held myself inside her for a moment as our tongues pressed against each other, then slowly pulled my cock halfway out.

“Ohhh, by the gods,” Silvy said against my lips as I pushed my cock back inside her.

I knew in that moment that I wouldn’t last long. I had to take things slow, so I focused on kissing her while slowly pushing in and out of her.

Silvy’s loud moans echoed throughout the stone room. After a few minutes she really warmed up and moved her hips with me, eager for more. I gave her a few full-length thrusts, reaching down with one hand to grab onto her round hip. It felt incredible.

“Roll over,” Silvy said, wrapping her legs around me.

I pushed myself all the way inside her again, smiling as she moaned. Together, we carefully rolled around so I was on the bottom and her on top. She sat back, taking me extra deeply in her ass, her eyes closed and a big smile on her face.

Right after that, Silvy began working her hips up and down. Without hesitation, my hands went right to her hips, then slid around to grab onto that magnificent ass of hers. I squeezed on those beautifully round cheeks as my cock slid between them.

“I’m not going to last much longer,” I told her. I wanted this to last, but there was simply no way I could hold back with her riding me.

“Fuck me good and hard, then,” Silvy said, leaning forwards so she could kiss me.

Her tongue practically invaded my mouth and I used my grip on her ass to work her tiny body up and down, sliding the full length of my cock deep inside her ass each time. Silvy moved with me, and soon she was slamming her ass down on my hips and moaning around my tongue.

It didn’t take long at all for me to reach the point of no return. I squeezed her ass hard and pounded her aggressively, smiling as her moans nearly turned into shouts. Silvy tried to kiss me but she was so intensely enjoying our sex that she couldn’t stop moaning.

My hands slid up to her waist, where I gripped her tightly as I fucked her hard and fast. At that point, it only took a few seconds for me to reach orgasm. I practically yelled as I came, and Silvy buried her mouth on mine, pushing on my tongue with hers. She worked her hips back, taking my full length inside her.

My body clenched and I squirted a massive load deep inside her ass. Silvy clenched her muscles and worked her hips in circles while sloppily kissing me. I think I had more of her saliva in my mouth than my own, and I loved it.

She kept her muscles tight and moved up until just the tip was inside her, then relaxed and sat back down. She did that three times, milking every drop out of me.

“Oh, that was incredible,” she said, finally collapsing against my chest. She kept moving her hips in small circles, giggling at the sounds it brought out of me. “We are definitely doing that again.”

“I had no idea goblin women would be so into anal sex,” I said breathlessly.

“Of course we are,” she said. “We do it all the time, especially if we don’t want to get pregnant.”

For a moment I thought of how round and perky Zia and Tressi’s butts were, and I smiled.

“I’m just going to stay here for a moment if you don’t mind,” Silvy said, kissing my neck and chest. She slowly worked her hips back and forth, her eyes closed and a big smile upon her face.

“Stay there as long as you’d like,” I said.

“Oh, Aaron,” Silvy said, lying back down on my chest. “Promise me we’ll do this all the time after we’re married.”

I blinked. I hadn’t been expecting that.

“Once you’re my queen, we’ll do this as often as you’d like,” I said, smiling.

34

Silvy eventually rolled off of me, then curled up next to me and fell asleep. Needless to say, I slept very well that night. The next morning when I woke my eyes, I felt fully rested. Silvy woke only a few minutes after me, and leaned over to kiss me on the cheek.

“What’s your plan for the day?” she asked.

“Lots,” I said. “I’m going to hit the hot springs, then head to Caelora to practice with my spear. Althidon said he’s going to teach me how to fight with a shield as well.”

Silvy nodded. “Good. You’ll need any advantage you can get.” She yawned and stretched an arm over her head, then plopped her head back on my shoulder. “Ugh, I don’t want to get out of bed this morning.”

I reached down and grabbed onto her butt, then gave it a squeeze. “Well, I know a way we can pass some time.”

Silvy laughed. “I would, but I’m a little sore after last night. It’s been many years since I’ve done that, so I’ll have to get used to it again.”

“That makes perfect sense,” I said, then kissed her forehead. “Well, let’s start the day, I guess.”

Silvy yawned again, then pushed herself up to a seated position while I climbed off the bed. I grabbed my pants and pulled them on while Silvy slowly climbed down. I turned to get a nice view of her round bottom as she stepped down, and couldn’t help but smile.

I had never done anal with a woman before. It was pretty awesome that my first time was with a woman with such an impossibly nice ass.

“Let me get you something to eat before you go,” Silvy said, walking into her kitchen without bothering to put any clothes on.

I pulled my shirt on over my head, then grabbed my shoes. I decided to try the socks Elasha had made for me as well.

I went into the other room and sat in a chair, then pulled on the socks. They were as soft as brand new cotton ones.

“This should work,” Silvy said after a moment. She handed me a large slice of bread with mashed berries on top, drizzled with honey.

“Thanks,” I said, taking a bite. It was every bit as good as I’d hoped. I stuffed my feet into my shoes, then scarfed the rest of my breakfast.

At that moment, a knock came at the door.

“I guess I should put some clothes on,” Silvy said, turning to walk towards the bedroom. “Come in,” she called out.

The door immediately opened and Zia and Tressi came in. They caught a glimpse of a naked Silvy leaving, and Zia suddenly grinned.

“I guess I missed the fun,” she said, transferring her smile to me. “At least we get to see you this morning before you go.”

“Perfect timing,” I said, standing up. I went over to the two women and hugged them both tightly. Silvy came out of the bedroom after that, lacing up the bodice of her dress. She walked over to me and hugged me as well, and I kissed the top of her head.

“I’ll see you all in a few hours,” I said.

“We’ll probably see you in the forest,” Tressi said. “Silvy keeps us busy.”

“That’s the price for me teaching you magic,” Silvy said. “You keep food in my kitchen.”

“Not the worst agreement,” Zia said.

“Alright, let’s get right to it,” Silvy said as she sat at the table.

I took that as my cue to leave. I told them all goodbye, then popped the shadow stone in my mouth and left.

The narrow path that led from Silvy’s house was quite familiar to me, now. It hugged the very edge of Tunnel City, all the way to the entrance tunnel. That allowed Silvy to live her life without ever interacting with anyone. It also allowed me to make my way across the city without being noticed.

When I got to the mouth of the tunnel I had to wait a few moments. A soldier stood there, looking bored but still vigilant. He stood leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, and after a few moments he turned to look down the tunnel. Once he did that, I hurried by, continuing until I was sneaking through another tunnel to the next part of the sprawling underground city.

Fortunately, the hot springs were in the next section. Unfortunately, they were quite busy that morning.

Glowing moss on the walls and ceiling gently illuminated the area, such that I was still mostly invisible but had to be careful. All of the pools nearby were full, some with lines of goblins waiting to enter.

I slowly walked around to the other side, trying to find some pools that weren’t as popular. Of course, I made sure to take a moment to appreciate the naked goblin women climbing in and out of the hot springs. They certainly were gorgeous.

With my back against the stone wall, I moved all the way around the area that contained the hot springs, until I reached the furthest one. Most of these were empty, so I decided to take a chance.

What I didn’t expect was that as soon as I removed my clothes, they lost their invisibility. It seemed that items had to be touching me in order to be affected by the shadow stone. Well, hopefully no one noticed the clothes suddenly sitting there.

As quietly as possible, I dipped into the water and hurriedly scrubbed myself down without splashing or making too much of a ruckus. Goblins had excellent hearing, and I didn’t want someone to get scared and report something to one of the guards. Just my luck I’d wind up having to fight one while naked.

The moment I was done I hopped out of the water, once again realizing I had forgotten a towel. I didn’t know any elemental magic either, so I couldn’t use that to dry myself. I had no real choice other than to stand there and drip-dry for a few minutes.

It took a solid fifteen minutes, but soon I was dressed and leaving that area. Once I got to the main tunnel I again had to wait for that soldier to look away so I could slip by him unnoticed.

I picked up a small stone from the floor of the tunnel as I hurried down it. I needed any and all advantages I could get, and I wasn’t above using looney tunes-level diversions.

When I arrived at the tunnel entrance, I stood there for a moment, holding the stone in hand. I had to do this just right or it wouldn’t work. Once I stood right behind the guard on the right, I threw the stone at the guard on the left, striking him on the side of the neck.

“Hey!” he shouted, clapping a hand to his neck. “The fuck was that for?” He marched over to the other guard, hand on the hilt of his club.

“What was what for?” the other guard asked, glaring at him. “What are you, drunk or something?”

“You hit me with a fucking rock!” the guard shouted.

I slipped behind him and hurried across the patch of grass in front of the tunnel, then ducked behind the first bush I found. After turning around to face them, I decided to try my luck.

The two guards stood there, shouting at each other. Using blood magic, I reached into the body of the man I had hit with the rock and made his arm move. I was careful with the muscles I made work, which resulted in him slapping the other guard across the face. It was a crude slap, like a broken marionette, but it got the effect I wanted.

They both stood there for a moment, each man looking shocked. The man that had done the slapping looked down at his hand like he had no clue what was going on. Two seconds later, the punches started.

Laughing to myself, I hurried away towards the tree I used to access the elven city of Caelora. In my excitement I ran up the first stairs, which of course left me heaving and out of breath a hundred feet up. I took my time finishing the rest. No one needed to see the hero struggle, after all.

Once in the city I walked around a bit, taking an alternate path. I looped back a few times, trying to memorize the layout. Caelora had a very organic feel to it, with practically no straight lines. That made sense, since the entire city had been magically grown from the branches of those massive trees. It mostly consisted of large islands connected by wooden bridges.

I found Elasha’s shop, but the door was closed. I had been planning on thanking her for the clothes, but it looked like she was starting late today. That was fine. She wasn’t the most pleasant person.

After that I continued on until I came to the training grounds. As usual, Althidon was there, running a group of young men through several drills with practice swords. He stepped aside when he noticed me approaching.

“Good morning, Aaron,” he said. “The look on your face speaks of stress. How are things at home? Are you ready to fight?”

I took a deep breath. “Security is getting tighter by the day, and it’s only a matter of time before more soldiers come snooping around Silvy’s house and find me. I don’t have a choice. I have to be ready, and as soon as possible.”

“That’s the right answer,” Althidon said. He walked over to the weapons rack and grabbed a wooden shield and handed it to me. “Let’s get started.”

35

Fighting with a shield was much more difficult than I had anticipated.

First off, the damn thing got heavy after a few minutes. Althidon explained that the training shield was slightly heavier than a real one to help build strength. I didn’t have the time to build much strength.

Second, that left me with only my right hand on the spear. So while I could still thrust, the amount of strength I could put into parries and other moves was greatly diminished. For that matter, so was my range.

However, when one of Althidon’s students managed to slip by my poor spear thrust, I blocked his attack with my shield, then jabbed him in the shoulder with my practice spear. So it was a trade-off. Granted, that was my only successful block out of a dozen, but still. The potential was there.

“We might need to go back to just the spear,” Althidon said after an hour of training. “You’re horrible with the shield.”

“It’s better this way, though,” I said, hefting the heavy wooden shield. “I just need to keep practicing.”

“And your blood magic?” Althidon asked, leaning on his wooden sword.

I frowned. “Practicing that isn’t easy, although Silvy and the others let me try some things on them yesterday. I’ve figured out a way to crudely move people’s limbs. I made one of the goblin soldiers slap another one this morning.”

Althidon barked a laugh. “That’ll create a distraction. What else have you figured out?”

“Not a ton,” I said. “The primary thing I can do is control blood flow. So, I can stop a heart or make someone blush, or pull all the blood out of an arm so it doesn’t work any longer. Making muscles move is a new thing that I still need to practice.”

“Sounds like it’ll all come in handy,” Althidon said. “Alright, enough yapping. Let’s get back to work. You!” he barked, pointing at the nearest student, who jumped. “Spar with Aaron.”

I spent the next hour sparring against several young elven men, each of them trying to land blows on me with their practice swords.

Using a shield also required me to split my focus; I had to concentrate on blocking their attacks, then my counterattack. Apparently I wasn’t the best at multitasking. Well, they both required a lot of concentration. It was something I would just have to get used to.

“I see one benefit of all this,” Althidon said. “You get to practice using blood magic to heal yourself.” He chuckled.

“Good point,” I said, and did exactly that. I felt through my body with blood magic, finding all my bruises, and forced them to heal. It took a few seconds, but after a moment I was as good as new, albeit tired.

“Keep doing that and I’ll make sure my boys keep beating you with practice swords,” Althidon said with a gruff laugh. “That way you get to practice both fighting and healing. You’ll be ready in no time, at this rate.”

I raised my shield and spear. “Alright, enough yapping.”

I lunged at him, but even relaxing, he was quicker than me. He moved to the left in a flash and my spear struck only air. Before I could blink, the blade of his practice sword was against the side of my neck.

“You’ve got a ways to go before you can get the jump on me,” he said with a hint of a grin. “That was actually a decent attack, though. Try it again.”

Together, we went through his preferred method of practicing a move one hundred times before moving on. By the time we were done, my muscles felt like water and the shield seemed to weigh fifty pounds. My shirt was completely soaked with sweat.

“Well, at least you finally look like you put some effort into it,” Althidon said, giving his practice sword a twirl. “I’d say we’re done for the day, although I’d recommend you spar with that goblin automaton when you go home tonight.”

“Don’t worry, I plan on it,” I said, setting the butt of my spear on the ground and leaning on it. Althidon was fast, so sparring with that bastard was serious work. I think jogging a mile would have been easier.

“What is it?” I asked. Althidon was giving me a strange look, like he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure if it would be appropriate.

He spoke slowly, as if choosing his words carefully. “There is a rumor I heard, more than a hundred years gone. I had completely forgotten about it, but our conversations about attacking overwhelming odds brought it back to the surface. I don’t want to speak words that are false, so I would advise asking Silvy about it.”

“About what?” I asked.

Althidon hesitated. “The spirits of the fallen.”

I frowned. I had heard Silvy mention that, back on my first day with her. She said something about not being able to trust them, but I didn’t even know what she was talking about.

“I’ll ask her,” I said. “What is it? Or, they?”

“When Ralcor took over, there was a slaughter,” Althidon said, his voice somber. “It’s always that way when a new goblin king takes over, but he was particularly nasty. Women, children, it didn’t matter to him. He killed anyone and everyone that was in his way. There was a rumor, many years gone, that the angry spirits of those people were still around, waiting for the day they could enact their revenge. Again, it was only a rumor. I would advise asking Silvy about it.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I will. As you’ve said, I could use all the help I can get. Although gods willing, with the help of my blood magic I’ll be okay.”

Althidon nodded and extended his hand. I shook it and thanked him again.

“You’re a faster learner than I’ve ever seen before,” Althidon said. “I can believe that you were sent by the gods. I believe in you, Aaron. Ah, perfect timing.” He said that last line while looking over my shoulder.

I turned and saw a tall elven man approaching.

“Taranath,” I said. “It’s good to see you.”

He gave me a slight bow as he approached. “I see our sword-master is working you hard, so that’s good.”

“Taranath here is the best man with a bow I’ve ever met,” Althidon said.

“You flatter me,” Taranath replied, waving the comment away with his hand. “The gods gave me a gift, it is true.”

I looked back and forth between the two men. “What is this about?”

“I’m going to join your fight,” Taranath said. “You need all the help you can get, Aaron. And we all agree that both of our economies would benefit from you replacing Ralcor. This helps both our people.” He shrugged. “So, here I am.”

“It’s not going to be the safest thing, you know,” I said. The last thing I wanted was for this man to die for me or for my cause. Although it suddenly dawned on me that having a good archer would help take care of my Ralcor problem, since magic wasn’t going to be reliable.

“Well, that’s why I have a bow,” he said. “No one will get within twenty feet of me.”

“You sound optimistic,” I said.

“That’s because you haven’t seen him use that thing,” Althidon quipped. He looked over at me, finally noting how sweat-soaked I was. “That’s a lot of sweat for some that hasn’t been working that hard.”

“What?” I spluttered. “I’ve been busting my—”

“Oh relax, I was just kidding around,” he said with a chuckle. “Go on, get some food and rest in you. And practice with your goblin automaton later. Take the shield, you need to learn that thing and get used to its weight.”

“Thanks,” I said. I left the spear there but carried the shield with me. I still had a spear back at Silvy’s place to practice with, after all. At least with our training done for the day I could hold it down by my side instead of hefting the damn thing.

By now the path through Caelora was relatively familiar, so it didn’t take me long to find the tree I used for entry and exit.

Several elven citizens recognized me by now, and a few of the women even gave me looks that I could only describe as cautiously interested. Not going to lie, I definitely had a few fleeting thoughts about bouncing several of the elven beauties on my lap, but I was solidly into goblin women now. The elven women were breathtakingly beautiful with their flawless bone structure and slender figures, but after experiencing the curves of the goblin women, nothing else would do.

Besides, I liked Zia and Silvy and Tressi. The last thing I wanted to do was mistreat any of them or be unfaithful. That wasn’t the kind of person I was.

I reached the tree and began descending the stairs. My running shoes looked incredibly out of place next to my elven clothing, but I was honestly grateful for their comfort. Last I checked no one had invented memory foam in this world, so I wasn’t looking forward to having boots made.

Once on the ground, I kept the shadow stone in my hand and began walking to where I usually met Zia and Tressi. Hopefully they wouldn’t mind too much how sweaty I was. After some thought, I pulled my shirt off and tried to wring out some of the sweat, then draped it over my shoulder and continued walking.

An hour later, I found them plucking berries from a tall bush. I stood there and admired them for a moment, short and curvy as they were. Zia’s hair was a green so dark it was nearly black, while Tressi had auburn hair, rare among goblin women. Aside from that and their eye color, they were built similarly, with thick thighs and large breasts. I felt my pulse quicken as I watched their curves strain against their simple dresses.

“Oh! Hello, Aaron,” Tressi said when she noticed me. She walked up to me to hug me, but stopped when she noticed that I was sweaty. She scrunched her nose, then laughed and hugged me anyway. I made sure to keep the shield out of the way.

“I should learn how to use magic to clean you off,” Zia said to herself as she looked me up and down. She pursed her lips, then hugged me tightly. “I’m assuming from all the sweat that your training went well.”

“It did, yeah,” I said, hefting the shield for a moment. “This thing is heavy though. My arm feels like it’s going to fall off.”

Tressi was staring at my body, and her eyes went down to my crotch. With the cut of my pants, my erection was pretty obvious. She looked hungry.

“I really want to taste you again,” Tressi said. “I don’t want a mouthful of sweat, though. You need a bath.”

I laughed. “Don’t worry. Soon, we’ll be able to do that all we want.”

“What, take baths?” She raised an eyebrow.

“That too!” I said. “But I was referring to sex.”

“And we look forward to those days,” Zia said, looping her arm through mine. “Let’s go back and see Silvy.”

“Speaking of sex, I learned something interesting recently from Silvy,” I said as we slowly walked towards the entrance to the goblin city.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Zia asked.

I tried to think of how to phrase it. “I learned what goblin women do for birth control.”

“Birth control?” Tressi asked.

“How you have sex without getting pregnant,” I clarified.

Zia looked up at me as if she wasn’t quite following me. I reached down, grabbed her ass, and gave it a hefty squeeze.

“Oh, that,” she said. “You say that like it’s not an ordinary thing. Did women not do that back in your world?”

“Not nearly so often,” I said.

“Really?” Tressi asked. “I find that so strange. It’s so intimate. I can’t wait until I can feel you cum in my ass.” She said it casually, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

“Do you like to start with vaginal sex, and then finish with anal?” I asked.

Tressi and Zia looked at each other, then at me. “We haven’t done it yet, but that makes the most sense,” Zia said. “How else would we do it?”

I looked behind Zia to catch a glimpse of how the light fabric of her dress laid across her bubble butt and let out a happy sigh. Only a handful more days, I reminded myself.

36

The three of us hid behind some bushes for several minutes and watched the goblin guards at the mouth of the tunnel from a distance. It was possible that Zia and Tressi could distract them, but we had to be careful. Not all of them were so easily duped.

The guards standing there were the same ones I had provoked into fighting each other this morning. Their faces showed several bruises, and they stood there with the sullen looks of men that had recently been punished by their superiors. No, flirting wouldn’t work on them at all.

“Have you figured out what you’re going to do yet?” Zia whispered next to me.

“I can’t think of any way to sneak by them,” I said. “I’m going to have to use magic, and that’s going to escalate things. There seems to be no way around it.”

Tressi frowned. “And you have to be careful that using magic doesn’t lead more of them to Silvy’s place.”

“Exactly,” I said. “And while I’m sure they’re assholes, I don’t want to kill them.”

“I almost wish you would,” Tressi muttered. I looked over at her and she looked back at me and shrugged. “Most of our men are assholes, Aaron. With Ralcor as king, goblin society has become such that men are generally rewarded for being assholes. Nice men are indeed rare.” She turned to look back at the guards, her full lips twisting into a frown.

“There will be plenty of killing when I take over,” I said. “There’s no way to avoid that. I’ll be fighting for my life. I don’t want any extra blood on my hands, though.”

“Well, you don’t have to kill them, you know,” Zia said. “Can’t you do other things with your magic?”

She was right. As I was learning, I could control their bodies, at least to an extent.

With that in mind, I used blood magic to feel my way through their bodies. I couldn’t manage complex movements on multiple people at once, so I simply reduced the blood flow in both of their arms and legs.

The soldiers immediately realized something was wrong. They looked down at themselves, then at each other.

“You feel that, too?” one of them asked.

“Yeah,” the other guard replied. “Is this what you were talking about earlier?”

“I told you, something else moved my arm.”

I focused on the guard on the left, and he sank to his knees. He looked down at his body in disbelief and rattled off a string of foul curses. I pushed and pulled on his muscles and he fell forward, so that he was lying face down.

“What the fuck is going on?” the other guard asked. He glared at his legs as he, too, sank to his knees. Controlling so many muscles was incredibly difficult, but I managed to make him lie on the ground as well.

“Not very subtle, but that’ll work,” Tressi said.

I took the shadow stone and slipped it into my mouth. “Just give me a moment, then come after me. Wait until they recover so they don’t see that we’re together,” I said. The women nodded.

As I walked towards the two prostrate men, I tried to think of something to say to them. Even though I was invisible, they would hear me walk by them. I had to make the best of this situation and mislead them.

Something Althidon had said floated to the top of my mind. The spirits of the fallen. I didn’t know a thing about them, but I was pretty certain I could improvise.

“Your king killed us,” I said in a raspy voice as I walked between the two men. “He killed us, and we seek revenge. We yearn for vengeance. All that stand by Ralcor shall fall.”

I nodded to myself, satisfied with how ominous that sounded. They still couldn’t move, so I released my hold on their blood flow so they could return to normal after a moment. After that, I hurried down the tunnel, as far as I could go while still being able to see them.

Less than a minute later, they pushed themselves up to their hands and knees and began talking to each other. I couldn’t quite make out their words, but they seemed shaken. Good.

One of them looked down the tunnel while the other soldier scanned the area in front of the mountain. As soon as they began to calm down, Zia and Tressi approached, acting as if they had seen nothing. The guards asked them something, and once the ladies shook their heads the guards let them pass.

“I’m right here,” I whispered as soon as Zia and Tressi stepped close to me. I placed a hand on Zia’s shoulder and followed them down the tunnel.

“What did you tell them?” Tressi asked.

“I pretended to be a spirit,” I replied. “A spirit of someone Ralcor killed. I said vengeance was coming.”

Tressi and Zia exchanged a concerned look. “You’re definitely going to have all these guards on edge,” Zia said.

“I know,” I said. “I don’t think there’s any way to avoid that, to be honest. I figured I might as well use it to my advantage. Maybe I can hurt their morale and make them not want to defend Ralcor.”

Tressi shook her head. “I don’t think that’ll work. Everyone knows how Ralcor is. If a soldier refused to fight for him…. Well, he’d probably just be tortured to death. Or worse.”

“What’s worse than being tortured to death?” I asked, not entirely sure I wanted an answer.

But at that moment another guard became visible in the distance. I kept quiet, remembering how sensitive goblin hearing was. Luck was with me and the guard was so focused on the two women I was able to slip by him without concern.

I moved in front of my future wives and walked down the narrow path that led to Silvy’s house. Once we got there I pushed the door open and held it for the two women. As soon as we were all inside I removed the shadow stone from my mouth and set the shield on the table.

“Welcome back,” Silvy said as she stirred a small pot of stew that filled the room with delicious aromas. “Just put your gatherings over there.” She pointed to the counter next to her and Zia and Tressi filled the area with fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

“Hey, I had a question,” I said. I walked up to Silvy, bent down, and kissed her on the cheek. She blinked, looking slightly surprised, then smiled up at me.

“What is it?” she asked.

“The spirits of the fallen,” I said after a moment. I had a feeling this was a touchy subject. “You mentioned them days ago, and Althidon brought them up today.”

“No,” she said flatly.

The suddenness of her answer took me aback. “Well, I was wondering if—”

“No,” Silvy repeated, more firmly this time. “I don’t think you understand, Aaron. What Ralcor did to those people was so bad, they refused to fully die and enter the spirit realm, as we usually do. Their spirits roam our cemetery, our crypts, refusing to go away. We often have to bury our dead in the forest now because the spirits have made our cemetery so dangerous.” She stirred the pot for a moment, then brought the ladle to her mouth and tasted it. “Almost there. This will be ready shortly.”

“So, what’s so dangerous about these spirits, then?” I asked.

Silvy took a deep breath and turned to me. “They are blind with their desire for vengeance. If given the chance, they will kill anyone and everyone possible in order to get to Ralcor.”

“Sounds like they could help me,” I said, crossing my arms.

“No,” she said firmly. “You are not a goblin, Aaron. You are a human. They would see you as an invader and kill you on the spot. And being killed by one of those spirits is a horrible ordeal. They tear the very soul out of your body.”

“Where is the goblin cemetery?” I asked, curious.

Silvy frowned at me for a moment before answering. “Go to the hot springs. Instead of taking the tunnel to Royal City, go north. There’s another tunnel that leads down to them. Don’t go there, though. Those spirits would not be glad to see you.”

I tucked that bit of knowledge away in the back of my mind, but decided to leave it be for now. Silvy seemed worked up over that topic.

“Tressi,” Silvy said, taking a step away from her stew. “Add a bit of heat to this.” She pointed at the small pot.

Tressi nodded, then her eyebrows drew down as she focused on the stew pot. A moment later, steam rose from the top of it. Zia smiled and clapped her hands.

“You two are learning almost as quickly as Aaron is,” Silvy said, placing her fists on her ample hips. “I could almost believe the gods sent all of you as an answer to my prayers.”

I walked up to her and pulled her into a hug. “I’m assuming they did,” I said, making my voice light. “After all, I know you were really praying for the gods to send someone for you to fall in love with.” I chuckled and kissed the top of her head.

Silvy didn’t answer. I looked down at her and saw her blushing slightly.

“Silvy?” I asked. “What did you ask the gods for?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said, pushing away from me. “You two,” she said, pointing at Zia and Tressi. “Let’s continue your studies while Aaron trains with his spear.”

Well, I knew not to push things. Silvy could be touchy at the best of times. I grabbed my shield and went into the bedroom, where my practice spear rested in the corner. After fetching that, Silvy came in and turned on the goblin automaton.

Greg appeared in front of me, looking villainous as always with his scowling face and raised fists. He observed me holding the spear and shield, and a moment later a large knife appeared in his hand.

“Well, looks like someone is ready,” I muttered. Silvy probably altered him and made him slightly smarter.

I stood there for a moment, spear and shield ready. I had the advantage of a vastly superior reach, but Greg was fast, damn fast, and fought with the viciousness of Mike Tyson in his early years. For a moment I thought of how I would approach my attack, if I—

Greg suddenly rushed forward, knocking my spear to the side. He slammed his elbow into my shield, then rammed his knife into my stomach over and over like a prison shanking scene in a violent movie.

“Holy shit, enough!” I said, stepping back.

Greg took a step back and stood there, ready to go again. My heart pounded after that. I let my spear lean against my shoulder and felt at my stomach. Even though he wasn’t real, I was amazed I wasn’t bleeding out after that attack. I had never seen anything so savage in my life.

“I made him slightly more aggressive,” Silvy called out from the next room. “I figured you needed to step things up.”

“Gee, thanks,” I said back to her.

I kept my eyes on Greg, watching for even the tiniest movement. At least now I knew what to expect from him. My shield stayed in front of me, my grip on it firm. With the difference in reach, there was no reason he should get the better of me.

Keeping my stance low, I thrust forward with my spear, aiming for the center of his chest. My attack was fast and well-aimed, and nearly hit him. I knew he was a quick bastard though, so when he deflected my attack with his knife, I was ready.

Greg rushed forward, ready to perforate my sternum again. I slammed my shield into him, putting the strength of my legs into the motion. It knocked him back three feet, and he stumbled and fell on his ass. I immediately rammed the point of my spear beneath his jaw. A killing blow if there ever was one.

Once I pulled back, Greg pushed himself to his feet, once again ready. We practice the same movements over and over, and I got better at keeping my spear between us. On several occasions, when he tried to attack me I simply put my spear in the way so that he impaled himself.

Althidon was right about one thing: I was a fast learner. In fact, I progressed so quickly with the spear and shield I surprised myself. Perhaps Silvy’s gods really had chosen me as some sort of goblin savior.

I certainly hoped so. I needed all the help I could get.

37

After an hour of training, I decided that was enough for the day. I was tired, and wanted to relax. I had Silvy turn Greg off, then I set my shield and spear against the wall.

“That certainly smells good,” I said, referring to the stew.

“I hope so, I’ve spent three hours cooking it,” Silvy replied.

The four of us sat down to bowls of stew around the table. It was, of course, fantastic. It was interesting to see how each of my future wives ate. Silvy ate quickly, a woman used to living on her own and not caring what anyone thought. Both Zia and Tressi seemed a bit shy, eating carefully and neatly. That actually made me a bit self-conscious, but I tried to put those feelings aside and just enjoy the stew.

Once we were done, I helped Silvy clear the table and we all relaxed for a bit.

“So, I assume your training is going well?” Silvy asked.

“It’s going great,” I said, leaning back in my chair. Silvy raised an eyebrow at me so I sat normally in it. No use breaking her chair, after all. “Taranath is going to be joining us. He’s an elven man, the first one I met, actually. He’s the guy that took me to Althidon, their Sword-Master. He’s apparently damn good with a bow.”

“That’ll be a big help,” Silvy said, her face growing serious. “He can help keep soldiers away from you. The three of us will help with magic.” She took a deep breath. “You know, I’m really starting to feel optimistic about this. It’s crazy, but I really think it’s going to work.”

“It is going to work,” Zia said firmly. “Aaron will be king in four days.” She suddenly smiled. “And apparently, we’ll be queens.”

“Queen Tressi,” Tressi said. “I do like how that sounds.”

“So do I,” Zia said with a big smile.

“Well, let’s get there first before our dreams outgrow reality,” Silvy said.

“Don’t be such a grump,” I told her. “We’re going to be fine. Our plan is working great, so far. With the four of us knowing magic, we have a huge advantage against Ralcor’s soldiers. They won’t stand a chance.”

“Don’t forget about Ralcor himself, though,” Silvy warned.

“Yes, I have some ideas about that,” I replied. “He should be pretty easy to handle, really. We can’t attack him directly with magic, but you could make the floor open up and hold his feet in place. I could finish him off with the spear that way, once all his soldiers were dealt with.”

“Speaking of soldiers, how did you get by them today?” Silvy asked.

Next to me, Zia chuckled.

“Well,” I began. “I used blood magic to make them both fall on their faces. When I walked between them, I told them I was the spirit of someone Ralcor had killed, and that I was coming for him.”

Silvy threw her hands in the air, although her face didn’t look overly agitated. “You’re really determined to make things more difficult, aren’t you? Can you go just one day without increasing the danger we’re facing?”

“Actually no, I can’t,” I said. “Unless you’ve forgotten, the shadow stone only works in low light conditions. When the sun is bright and overhead, I’m extremely vulnerable for that thirty or so feet right in front of the tunnel entrance. The only way I can slip by them is if I do something where they can’t see me.”

Silvy frowned. “I hate that you’re right. I feel like this is leading to disaster, though. It’s this sinking feeling in my gut that things are going to go wrong.”

I reached out and took her hand in mine. “Don’t worry. Everything is going to be fine. I’m here, and I will protect you. All of you.”

“Sometimes I admire your confidence, even if I don’t always feel the same way,” Silvy said. “Just be careful, okay?”

“I promise,” I said.

“We’ll keep an eye on him,” Tressi said, although the smile she shot me spoke volumes about what she wanted to do.

Silvy laughed. “That’s what I’m afraid of. He’s going to have a taste of you young beauties and realize he won’t have any need for an old crone like me.” Her eyes suddenly widened, as if she hadn’t intended to speak those thoughts aloud.

I suddenly felt for her, but I didn’t want to make the situation awkward. Reaching beneath the table, I took her hand in mine and squeezed it tightly.

“Lucky for you, I have a thing for old crones,” I said.

“Well, he’s already had a taste of us,” Zia said, then pursed her lips. “Or I guess technically, it’s us that tasted him. Either way, you’ve had him more than we have, Silvy.”

Silvy blushed. “I make no apologies for that.”

“And you don’t have to!” Zia exclaimed. “Once all this is done, we can all enjoy him together, every night! It’s going to be great.” The slightly predatory look in Zia’s eyes suggested she wanted a bit of Silvy for herself.

I didn’t know how common bisexualism was among goblin women, but Silvy picked up on the look in Zia’s eyes as well and seemed more flattered than embarrassed.

“Well, enough of that,” Silvy said, abruptly changing the subject.

She stood and gathered her bowl, then took it to her counter. I grabbed mine, as well as Tressi and Zia’s bowls, and helped her clean up.

“I suppose we should get back to our homes,” Tressi said. She and Zia left, hand-in-hand. I watched them go and continued staring in that direction for a bit.

“Deep thoughts?” Silvy asked as she cleaned up.

“How common is that in goblin society?” I asked. “Women with other women.”

Silvy shrugged. “I would say it’s not uncommon. Especially among younger women, before they find a man. But very few continue it into adulthood.” Her voice turned overly serious. “Goblin women are supposed to have children. That’s our primary purpose, didn’t you know?”

“I won’t make you have any of mine if you don’t want to,” I said, although my mind immediately went to her rear end. Ah, sweet birth control.

Silvy smiled over her shoulder at me. “That’s very kind of you, Aaron. I’ve already said though, I do not plan on having any additional children.” Her voice grew quiet. “I’ve already experienced that. I don’t want to go through it again.”

I suddenly remembered that Ralcor killed her son. I needed to change the subject, and fast.

“Hey, can I try something?” I asked, trying to make my voice sound lively.

“Maybe,” Silvy replied. “Depends on what you want to try.”

I took her hand and gently pulled her towards the bedroom. She watched me, her eyes slightly suspicious.

“What are you doing?” Silvy asked.

“Asking you to trust me,” I said with a grin.

I took her face in both hands and bent down, placing a gentle kiss on her full lips. She was initially a bit hesitant, but soon wrapped her arms around me and eagerly kissed me back.

I needed to go slowly with this, to bring her into the mood, but I had a great idea. It was going to be a real hit.

While we kissed, I carefully pulled at the laces on the front of her dress. With minimal fumbling, I managed to untie them, then slowly pushed the dress down off her shoulders.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Silvy asked, sounding a bit playful. Perhaps coy was a better word.

“You’ll see,” I replied. I bent down and kissed the side of her neck, then made my way down her shoulder as I pushed her dress down further.

When her dress was low enough, it exposed her massive breasts. She was so short I had to get on my knees, but with those huge knockers in my face I certainly wasn’t complaining.

Using blood magic, I increased her blood flow to her breasts. Women’s breasts often swelled a bit when they were aroused, but I was just helping it along. Silvy smiled and made little happy noises as I toyed with her nipples.

As much as I wanted to just throw her on the bed and pump a round into her, it was important to take things slow. In general, but especially today. I wanted her to really enjoy what I had planned, and I needed to make sure she was as aroused as possible.

She pulled both of her arms out of her sleeves, then reached out and started tugging at my clothes. I pulled my shirt off over my head, then unlaced my pants and took them off while Silvy pushed her dress down over her wide hips.

She went to the bed and climbed up on it, pausing for a moment with one knee up and her ass sticking out. I grinned and leaned forward, placing a kiss on one of those perfectly round cheeks, then followed her onto the bed.

“No offense, but I know you’re a bit sweaty so I don’t plan on going down on you,” she said as she laid on her back and spread her thighs.

“No offense taken,” I said as I moved on top of her, then resumed kissing her breasts.

I was still controlling her blood flow and slowly began altering it as I kissed my way down her stomach. Now, when a woman was aroused certain parts of her body received extra circulation. All I was doing was helping that along. Just giving it a friendly push.

So, when I got down between her legs, her clitoris was swollen, which meant it would also be extra sensitive. I flattened my tongue and ran it up her labia, then got as comfortable as possible—her bed was not particularly large—and began massaging her clit with my tongue.

I focused on a side-to-side motion, which was a guaranteed way to properly stimulate her. My plan was working great; with the enhanced blood flow and sensitivity, she began softly moaning practically the moment I touched her. I wrapped my arms around her thick thighs and held on tightly, and in no time she was bucking against my face as she orgasmed.

I gave her a few seconds to catch her breath, then went right back at it. It took some work, but not as long as her reaching the first orgasm had. When she reached her second orgasm I kept at it, holding my tongue tightly against her, attacking her clit like a boxer on a speed bag. Her moans crescendoed as her orgasm quickly turned into a third, more powerful one.

After that I spent some time just kissing her inner thighs and gently running my tongue up and down her pussy. I didn’t want to overdo it, but bringing Silvy this much pleasure was a bit addicting. She was a special woman and deserved all the orgasms. Plus, her hairless, tight pussy was a real delight to be around.

Once she had caught her breath I went back to it, licking her clitoris a bit more slowly than before, gradually bringing her pleasure levels up. I moved my tongue in gentle circles, enjoying how easy it was to bring her to orgasm since I had increased circulation to that area so much. With most women it took a good bit of work. This was an absolute joy.

After one more orgasm I let her catch her breath while I got up and washed my face in a nearby bowl of water. No use kissing her when my face was practically covered in her juices.

When I went back to her, she practically begged me to get inside her. She spread her thick thighs and reached out for me with both hands, pulling me to her.

I took hold of my erection and rubbed the tip against her, ensuring it was good and slick, then pushed it inside. She was soaking wet, so it took me all of two thrusts to be buried to the hilt inside her. She let out a full-throated moan, which increased in volume when I began sucking on her nipples and pumping myself in and out of her.

Silvy went absolutely nuts, her entire body trembling with pleasure as I thrust inside her again and again. She reached down and grabbed onto my hips, pulling me inside her. Her excitement spread to me, and I knew I wouldn’t last long.

Silvy recognized it as well, She slipped her hands behind her knees and pulled her legs as far back as they would go. My cock was already soaking wet from her pussy, but I spat on my fingertips and gently rubbed the saliva on her ass for good measure. She was eager for it, and as I pushed the head of my cock inside her tight backdoor she began moaning anew.

As soon as I pushed myself inside her ass she wrapped her legs around me, using them to pull me deep into her. She pulled me down on top of her with her hands and we kissed deeply, our tongues practically fighting as I thrust into her ass with long, steady strokes.

It only took me a few minutes and I was there. Silvy felt my body tense up and she grabbed onto me again, pressing her ass against me as I came. I squirted five or six times inside that perfect ass of hers, and she worked her hips in a circle with me fully buried inside her, ensuring she got every drop.

I collapsed on top of her and we kissed for some time, with her practically trying to suck my face off. Hey, I certainly wasn’t complaining. I loved it when she kissed like that.

With me still inside her, she squeezed her legs around my waist and turned, rolling us both over so I was lying on my back with her sitting on my lap.

“I love how that feels,” she said, smiling with her eyes closed. She reached an arm behind herself, gently massaging my balls as she wiggled her butt on my lap.

At that moment I would have given just about anything to be able to go again, but sadly I was just a mortal man. I needed to rest after such an intense orgasm.

Silvy leaned down, stretching her neck up so she could kiss me. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly, my knees bent so that her ass rested against my thighs. She felt wonderful in my arms.

“Whatever you did, that was amazing,” she said. “Everything was so sensitive. That felt incredible.”

I opened my mouth to tell her I had simply increased the blood flow to her genitalia when it dawned on me that I could do the same thing to myself.

I looked into her eyes and smiled as my body suddenly pumped blood into my limp cock, which was still buried in her big, round ass. Her eyes widened as I became erect again, and I mean fully erect. The kind of boner that felt like it could drill through a wall.

“Oh my goodness,” Silvy said. She smiled and began working her hips slightly.

I reached down and grabbed onto that big ass of hers, squeezing her cheeks tightly as I thrust between them. Since I had just orgasmed, I knew it would take me a while before I could pop a second time. But, looking at her voluptuous body on top of mine, I was perfectly fine with that.

38

We went to bed early that night, both of us exhausted and Silvy happily filled with my cum. She fell asleep with her head on my shoulder and one arm and a leg thrown across me. Her small body was lightweight, so it was quite awesome. For a moment my eyes drank in the beauty of her curves, but exhaustion set in and we both quickly fell asleep.

Silvy woke up before me, but her crawling across my naked body was enough to wake me up. Of course when I opened my eyes her ass was right there, so it’s safe to say I woke in one of the best ways possible.

“Just thought I’d give you a nice view,” Silvy said, smiling over her shoulder at me as she straddled my chest. She wiggled her butt at me one more time, then climbed down from the bed and fetched her dress.

I had a busy day ahead of me so I wanted to get right to it. I fetched my things while Silvy spread some of her homemade jam on thick slices of dark bread for me.

Once I had pulled a fresh shirt over my head I went into the kitchen and set my shield on the table, then leaned my practice spear against the wall. Silvy set my breakfast on a plate in front of me. I smiled as I noticed the front of her dress was still unlaced. It gave me an unparalleled view of those massive breasts of hers moving around while she cleaned up.

I scarfed down the bread and jam, then kissed Silvy on top of the head and pulled her in for a tight hug once I was done.

“You smell like sex,” Silvy said with a laugh.

“I know. I’m going to the hot springs first, then to Caelora,” I replied.

“Good thinking,” Silvy said, and leaned up on her toes to kiss me. “I’ll head there shortly myself. The springs, that is. See you in a few hours.”

I slipped the shadow stone in my mouth, grabbed my spear and shield, and left her house.

Even though it was just a practice spear, carrying it around made me feel a lot different. It was still a six or seven foot long staff, and I could really hurt someone with it. Walking around a city with a weapon felt…. I don’t know, strange. Powerful. Dangerous. The shield seemed to amplify that feeling.

It didn’t take me long to get to the hot springs, although as usual they were plenty busy. I carefully moved around the sides of the massive room, staying out of sight and out of hearing range, until I was at the pools at the very back, which no one really used.

Once I felt safely out of sight, I set my spear and shield behind a large rock where no one could see them, then quickly undressed. My clothes went behind the rock as well, although I made sure to keep the shadow stone in my mouth. I briefly wondered what would happen if I accidentally swallowed it. I guess I’d be invisible until it came out the other end.

I resisted the urge to soak in the hot water and instead hurriedly scrubbed myself down. I was used to not having a towel by now, so I simply stood there for ten or fifteen minutes until I was dry enough to pull my clothes back on.

“At least these running shoes are quiet,” I muttered to myself as I crept across the stone floor of the giant cave.

Dozens of bathing goblin women made for a pleasant stroll through the springs. I tried not to stare too much but I was absolutely surrounded by voluptuous beauties. With a broad grin, I made my way out of the springs and back into tunnel city.

I was getting used to sneaking by the guards by this point. It usually just took a bit of patience. Sure enough, I waited for about five minutes while watching a soldier at the tunnel exit and eventually he turned so that I could slip behind him. I moved as quickly as possible while staying quiet.

At least I had a spear and shield if they tried to attack me. Of course this was a practice spear so the tip was a padded ball of leather, but I could still crack someone over the top of the head with it if I needed to.

That thought stayed with me all the way to the mouth of the tunnel, where as usual, two guards stood vigilant. I crouched down behind them for a few minutes, trying to think of how I was going to get by. Only a few days until I launched my attack, so I felt slightly reckless, although I knew I needed to keep those feelings in check.

I could pretend to be a spirit again, although Silvy hadn’t been a fan of that. Using blood magic was probably my best bet, although I had to be careful with that. Using too much magic would just lead them right to Silvy’s place.

With that in mind, I did something stupid. I drew my arm back and rammed the padded tip of my spear right into the back of the guard’s head. The guard on the left fell forwards as if his bones had turned to water. The guard on the right noticed this and drew his club, looking around as he approached his partner.

Perhaps it wasn’t the nicest thing to do, but as I ran across the patch of grass between the mouth of the tunnel and the forest, I reminded myself that those guards would kill me on the spot if they actually caught me. They could deal with a few bruises over the next few days.

As I hurried towards the tree I used to enter Caelora, that thought stuck in my mind as well. Only a few days left before the fight of my life. I had never been much of a fighter, so the thought of what was coming tightened my chest. I reminded myself that the gods of this world had chosen me and that I was incredibly strong with blood magic. I also had people helping me. I was going to be fine.

I got to the tree and took my time climbing. Eventually, I’d get used to all those damn stairs, but for the time being I just went slowly.

Once at the top, I made my way through the elven city with the shield on one arm and my practice spear leaned against my shoulder. I suppose that gave me a certain look that some of the women liked, for I definitely received a few interested smiles. It made me once again wonder what a skinny, almost waif-like elven woman would be like after spending my time with the short and ridiculously voluptuous goblin women.

“Good to see you this morning,” Althidon said when I arrived there.

I gave him a slight bow, hand over heart. “Are you joining me today?” I asked Taranath, who stood next to Althidon.

“I am,” the tall elven man said. “I wanted to try a few things, considering some of the situations we’ll probably find ourselves in. It’s best to practice.”

“Glad to see you carrying both the spear and shield today, instead of relying on me to provide the spear each time,” Althidon said. “You’re getting more accustomed to carrying them around. I can see it in you. That’s a good thing.”

I hefted the spear for a moment. “Yeah, I guess it does feel a lot better than it did a few days ago,” I said.

We began our training like normal, with me running through basic movements to warm up. After that, he had me spar first against one, then two of his students at the same time. Three was simply too much, and I failed every time. But against two, I was just fast enough to keep them at bay while Taranath looked over my shoulder and said he could get a shot off.

That was basically his plan: to stay behind me and launch arrows into anyone that got close. At one point he pulled out a bow and sent three arrows in rapid succession into the center of a nearby target, thoroughly firming my trust in his abilities.

“Have you given a lot of thought to a specific plan?” Taranath asked after a while. “I certainly hope so. I don’t feel like charging in there, no matter how strong in magic you are.”

“Yes,” I said. “The women will be with me, doing everything they can to kill or at least slow any soldiers that approach us. I’ll be joining in as well, of course, but I have to make sure I save my strength for Ralcor. I have a feeling he’ll be particularly difficult. Even with magic.”

I avoided mentioning his pendant that made him resistant to magic. I didn’t want to tell Althidon or Taranath about that yet. I had a plan that would deal with him, but it required my women.

“I’d say you should gather some of our wizards up, but I’m not sure that would send the right message,” he said. He looked over at Althidon, who nodded.

“You don’t want people to think of it as an elven invasion,” Althidon said.

“Good point,” I said, frowning in thought. “It’s bad enough that I’m not a goblin. But at least I’m taking goblin wives, so that should help. And I have the goblin people’s best interest in mind.”

“I wonder how a political marriage would do,” Althidon said as if thinking out loud. “To secure our two nations. Ah, we’ll concern ourselves with that later.”

“So, do you really think one man can do all this?” Taranath asked Althidon. “Sure, he has excellent help, but in the end it’s up to Aaron.”

Althidon frowned and rubbed his chin. “I’ve been in a lot of fights over the last several hundred years. With that in mind…yes, I do think he can do it. He’s already a capable fighter with the spear, but that doesn’t really matter. He’s strong in blood magic, which is absolutely devastating. Plus, he has the help of three more women that will be using magic. And one of those has been using it for many, many years. I think the attack will go smoothly and be surprisingly easy.”

“Now, if we had no magic, that would be a different story,” Taranath continued. “Goblins are fierce fighters, and their small stature makes them smaller targets. Add in the confines of their cave cities, and you have a recipe for a disaster. Fortunately, though, we have magic. All of us. Even Althidon and me, to an extent.” He smiled after that last bit.

“Whoever thought a coup would be easy,” I said with a chuckle. I leaned on the spear for a moment while I thought about this. “I won’t lie, I’m nervous. It’s happening in only a few days.”

“You should be nervous,” Althidon said. “Men will die on that day, and not all of them bad. Some will just be doing their job.”

“Well, that doesn’t make me feel any better,” I said.

Taranath stepped in. “You have to understand, this is the price of saving the goblin kingdom. And while some of those soldiers might not be bad men, they serve a truly horrible king. Sometimes when one apple is bad, you have to throw the whole bunch out to stop the rot.”

I didn’t really care for that train of thought, but I understood him. When the soldiers started trying to kill me with spears and clubs, I wouldn’t really have the opportunity to stop them and ask if they were good people or not. Hopefully some of them would simply surrender and stand aside.

I made a mental note of that. Surrender. Most people obeyed Ralcor out of fear, not respect. If I gave some of the soldiers a chance to surrender, perhaps I could save some lives. Perhaps I could avoid a bloodbath.

39

After that, I hefted my spear, ready to train more. I was ready to train until my hands were blistered, heal them with my magic, and fight some more. I needed all the training I could get.

“Taranath, why don’t you pick up a sword and have a go?” Althidon said with a grin. “Show Aaron what it’s like fighting a complete amateur.”

Taranath rolled his eyes. “Oh, sure. You know I prefer the bow for a reason.” He walked over to the weapons rack and selected a wooden practice sword.

When he came back towards me, I noticed he didn’t hold it the same familiar way Althidon usually did. He held it slightly to the side, almost awkwardly. I began to wonder if Althidon’s joke hadn’t been a joke after all.

“Don’t hurt me, now,” I said, raising my spear and shield.

“From what Althidon has told me, I doubt I will,” Taranath said. “Should I spar as though we’re wearing armor?” he asked Althidon.

“Do the goblin soldiers wear armor?” Althidon asked me.

I nodded. “Yeah, some sort of gambeson. Hardened leather, I think.”

Taranath nodded. “Then we train as we fight.”

Althidon clapped his hands once and Taranath rushed forwards. He moved in a blur, but I focused hard and was able to keep the tip of my spear between us. He tried parrying and pushing my spear to the side, but I always brought it back in time. While not as skilled as Althidon, Taranath was quite good with a blade, that much was immediately clear.

Taranath slid forwards gracefully and I thrust my spear into him. He took the strike on the chest with a grin, then turned to one side and let the spear slide right past him. He followed that up by spinning and striking me in the shoulder with the practice sword. Hard.

“Sorry, I got a bit caught up in the moment,” Taranath said, seeing the look on my face. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” I said, my voice slightly strained. “Just need a moment.”

Using blood magic, I felt my way through my shoulder. Without healing, there would be a vicious bruise later. I forced my body to heal, and in moments there was only the memory of pain.

“Incredible,” Taranath said, watching me. “And you’ve only been using blood magic for a few days?”

“Yeah,” I said, working my arm in a circle to ensure my shoulder wasn’t stiff. “Uhhh…. To be honest I’m not sure how many days I’ve been here. It’s all kind of a blur. Four days, maybe?”

It was then that I noticed a woman watching us.

To call her beautiful would be like calling Lake Superior a puddle. She had pale blonde hair, nearly to her waist, that was worn in several small braids to keep it from her flawless face. And flawless it was; never before had I seen such a beautiful woman. Everything about her was just right: her bone structure was perfect, her skin as clear as could be, her lips just the right thickness for her slender face. Her eyes were bright green, like gemstones. Just like….

“So, is this him, father?” the woman asked Althidon. Her voice was high-pitched and pleasant.

Her dress was mostly white, with accents of various shades of green, and cut rather low in the front. It was sleeveless as well, something I had only seen on a handful of elven women. The woman’s breasts were small and perky, in a way that fit her slender frame.

I immediately tore my eyes away. If she was Althidon’s daughter, the last thing I needed was for him to see me eye-fucking her.

“What are you doing here, Leena?” Althidon asked, placing his hands on his hips. His voice was gruff as usual, but there was a softer edge to it when he spoke to his daughter.

“We’ve all heard about this outworlder that you’ve been teaching. I wanted to see what he looked like.” She looked over at me and smiled, not in a flirtatious way but more like fascination. “He looks kind of like us. Just…thicker.”

I resisted the urge to reach up and touch my ear. Those pointed elven ears were just plain strange. I assumed that they had evolved larger ears to hear better, but it was just odd to me.

“Well, are you ready for an audience?” Althidon said to me. A hint of a grin lit up his weathered face. He knew I’d be nervous with her watching.

“Do I have a choice?” I asked.

“No,” Althidon said with a smile.

I moved back to face Taranath and raised my spear. “Ready?”

“I suppose so,” he replied, giving the practice sword a few test swings. “I must say, I don’t care for the balance of this thing.”

Althidon clapped his hands and we began. I decided to go on the offensive, instead of waiting for Taranath to attack. Althidon had once told me that the man that strikes first and strikes hardest usually wins the fight. I wanted to put that into practice.

I used the length of the spear to great advantage, thrusting immediately into Taranath. He ignored a strike to the chest, which made sense if he was pretending to be an armored goblin. The attack was enough to move him though, and I followed up by striking downwards against his wrist. That sent his sword arm to the side, and I thrust my spear right in his face. Not too hard, as I didn’t want to hurt my friend, but he toppled backwards.

Before he had even hit the ground I reached out with blood magic and healed his face. I dropped the spear and moved forwards, offering him my hand.

Taranath blinked a few times, then accepted my hand and used it to pull himself up. “Well, that was decidedly unpleasant,” he said.

“Sorry about that,” I replied. “If I’m fighting people with armor, though, I need to hit them in the face. Train as we fight, after all.”

“No, you’re right,” he said. “I’ve never been healed with magic before. That was an…interesting feeling.”

Behind him, Leena clapped her hands and smiled at us. “Most impressive! And what was that magic I felt you use, stranger?”

“Blood magic,” I said without thinking.

Her eyes widened and her already pale face turned a shade paler. “Blood magic? Father…” She looked at Althidon, who waved a hand as if waving away her concerns.

“It’s okay, Leena. He needs it for what he’s planning on doing.”

“What is he planning on doing?” she asked.

Althidon looked at me. “You’ll see. Everyone will see in a few days. Right, Aaron?”

“Damn right,” I said, trying my best to sound confident. It definitely took some effort; two weeks ago I was sitting at a desk and writing reports for a living. Now I could kill with magic and fight with a spear. Things had really changed, and me with them.

“Aaron,” Leena said, as if tasting my name. “That’s a strange name. It sounds like a kind of plant.” She watched me for a moment, head leaned slightly to one side.

The way she looked at me reminded me of how a person stared at a new pet. It was slightly unnerving, but I reminded myself that I was a completely different race that she had never before seen.

“Alright, enough of that,” Althidon said, back to his usual gruff self. He took the practice sword from Taranath and gave it a few swings to warm up his arms. “You seem to be progressing quickly, so let’s give you a real test.”

“Sounds good,” I said casually.

Althidon noticed my lack of concern. He was a far superior fighter and probably expected me to be nervous, like usual. I just hoped he didn’t think I was trying to show off for his hot daughter.

“Ready?” Althidon asked, raising the sword in both hands.

“Train as we fight?” I asked in reply.

“Yes. Train as we fight,” he said, his eyes narrowing as they focused on me.

I crouched down, holding the shield in front of me and my spear ready to thrust. It was Taranath that clapped his hands this time, and the moment he did I reached out with magic and stopped the blood flow in Althidon’s legs. In fact, I did more than just stop it; I reversed the blood flow, effectively draining his legs of blood.

He would still have a few seconds, so I had to move quickly. Althidon’s eyes widened when he realized what I had done, but he rushed forwards anyway. My spear was there, keeping him back. He managed to slip past my spear but at that moment his legs gave out.

Althidon slashed downwards, a cut that would take an arm off had it been with a real sword. I caught it on my shield and grinned as he fell to the ground. My spear point immediately found his jaw and I held it there.

“You bastard,” Althidon growled. After a moment the anger seeped out of him and he laughed, good and hard. “Oh, I should have expected that. Well done, Aaron. Now, if you could stop that, I’d appreciate it.”

I pushed blood back into his legs, then reached down and helped Althidon to his feet.

“Train as we fight,” I said with a shrug.

“Yes, yes, you’re right,” Althidon said. “I’ve had you spar without magic so much I almost forgot how powerful you are with it. I think if you fight like that, you’ll have no troubles, even against—” he glanced over his shoulder at his daughter. “Well, you know who I’m talking about.”

Ralcor. Althidon was saying I could beat Ralcor in a fight if I used magic. My chest swelled with pride at that, until I remember Silvy telling me magic wouldn’t really work against Ralcor.

“Father?” Leena said, rushing forwards to grab Althidon’s arm. “Are you alright? How did he beat you? And why did you fall?”

“Blood magic,” Althidon said. His pride was clearly a bit bruised at having lost to a novice like me, but the fact that I used blood magic to do it helped. We both knew he would wipe the floor with me in a fight without magic.

“I don’t understand,” Leena said, looking from me to her father.

“I drained the blood from his legs,” I said. “That made it so he could only use them for a few seconds before he collapsed.”

She looked at me in shock, as if suddenly seeing a dangerous animal. “What else can you do?” she asked, her voice quiet, as if she feared the answer.

“I can stop your heart from beating,” I said. “But I can also heal wounds. Bruises are easy to heal. I haven’t tried any broken bones yet, although I assume those would be more difficult and would take longer.”

Leena took a step away from me as if subconsciously wanting to put her father between us. “Fascinating,” she said, although she still eyed me warily. “Are you alright?” she asked Althidon.

“Oh, I’m fine,” he replied. He turned to his daughter, and upon seeing the look on her face, made his voice more gentle. “Aaron is a good man, Leena. You don’t need to fear him.”

Before this was done, though, many people would fear me. And I had to learn to use that fear to keep my throne.

40

Having proven myself in training, Althidon declared our sparring done for the day. Being able to use magic gave me an enormous advantage; I just had to remember there was one person I couldn’t use it on. I still had a plan for that, but it was risky. But then again, this whole thing was risky.

I untucked my shirt and flapped it a few times, cooling myself. Leena still watched me, although with more curiosity than anything else. I tried to remember that my shoulders were much larger than the slender elven men’s, so maybe she was into that.

After a moment she got up from where she was leaning against a wooden railing and approached me. Althidon kept a close eye on her as she walked up to me, but he didn’t look overly concerned. It was me, after all, and he trusted me.

Leena crossed her arms and studied my face. She was tall, only an inch shorter than me, and this close she smelled faintly of lavender or some other type of flower.

“I’m told you come from a different world,” she said softly, studying my reaction. “Tell me about it.”

“He doesn’t have time for that, Leena,” Althidon said.

“It’s okay,” I said, holding a hand up. “Yes, I come from a different world,” I began. “A world much more advanced than yours, but without magic. However, some of our technology was so impressive you’d probably think it was magic. Well, there was an…accident.”

“Accident?” she asked, raising a slender eyebrow.

“Yeah, I can’t think of a better word for it,” I said, continuing my story. “We pushed the limits of scientific discovery, and pushed them a bit too hard. My entire world was destroyed.”

Leena gasped and clutched a hand to her chest.

“Instead of dying, I was brought here,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “The gods of this world have work for me to do, it seems.”

“And so you practice the spear with my father to help please our gods?” she asked.

“That’s one way to put it,” I said. “I’m sorry that I have to be secretive about it for now. You’ll all understand in a few days.”

“An understatement,” Althidon grumbled.

“May I ask a question?” I asked Leena.

“You just did,” she replied.

Oh, so there was some wit hiding beneath that slightly haughty veneer. I laughed, and she nearly joined in.

“How old are you?” I asked.

“I turn sixty later this year,” she said, sounding a bit defensive.

My eyes widened at that. They were elves, after all. I guess they aged like the goblins. I looked over at Althidon and he cleared his throat and explained.

“Our children are generally considered adults in their early fifties. After that, they’ll usually spend a decade or two planning and building their lives and choosing a mate.”

“Interesting,” I said. Sixty? She looked barely a third of that.

“How old are you?” Leena asked me.

I grinned. “Twenty-six.”

“Twenty-six?” she exclaimed. “You’re barely out of swaddling clothes!”

I knew that would get a reaction out of her. “Back in my world, we become adults at eighteen. Well, legally at least.”

“And what of your future?” Leena asked, genuinely interested. “And your mate? I suppose she died when your world was destroyed. I am sorry, Aaron.”

“Eh, it’s fine,” I said. “My ex wasn’t a very nice person, to be honest. Although now I’m promised to three women.” I immediately pursed my lips. That probably was the wrong thing to say to a beautiful woman showing any kind of interest in me.

“Three?” Leena said. “You sound like you expect to be a king or something.”

I coughed. “Why would you say that? It’s just a situation I found myself in.”

“Well, that’s not entirely unheard of, especially for people higher up in society,” Leena said. The way she looked at me changed; it was subtle, but I noticed it. After learning I was promised to three women, that clearly gave me some form of value in her mind. She was trying to determine my worth. She was appraising me.

“How long do your people live?” Althidon asked. He seemed interested as well. He had never really asked about my home world. We had pretty much just jumped right into training.

“Around eighty,” I said. “I suppose compared to you guys our lives are fast and chaotic. I’ll be living longer, though. Silv—ah, someone used magic on me, so now my life has been extended to maybe three times that.”

Althidon nodded slowly. He knew who I was talking about. “That makes sense. Well, it’s good that you’ll be around longer. Alright, you,” he said, turning to his daughter. “Enough questions for the day. Go back home and tell your mother I’ll be there soon.”

Leena gave me one last look, then smiled and turned away. Much of her upper back was exposed and it took every bit of willpower I had not to follow the lines of her dress with my eyes. I immediately looked away and pretended to be interested in a nearby branch.

“Thank you,” Althidon said after a moment. I looked over at him and he nodded towards the branch I had been staring at. “Thank you for not being crude and staring at her. My daughter got her mother’s looks, so I appreciate you being a gentleman and not getting an eyeful. She does like to flaunt it at times.”

I ran my fingers through my hair. “Well, to be honest all elven women are beautiful. I haven’t seen an ugly one yet.”

Althidon scoffed. “Oh, there are some. Just…. Well, different standards, I suppose. You did well today, Aaron. Don’t get overconfident about it, but you’re doing well.”

“Thanks,” I said, and reached out and shook his hand. “I must confess I’m a bit concerned about the build-up to this. Every day I have to find a way to sneak past the guards in the tunnel, and I usually wind up having to use magic. I’m afraid they’re going to attack Silvy because of it. She’s the only known magic user in the city, after all.”

Althidon frowned. “Yes, I see your point. Surely there is a way you can make it past them. What was that device you carry with you?”

“The shadow stone,” I said, pulling it from my pocket. “It works well, but only in low light. In bright sunlight they can still see me.”

“You might just need to stay outside until the sun goes down and plunges the entrance to the goblin city into shadow,” he said.

“Yeah, but I’m used to spending time with the women in the evenings,” I replied. “It’s nice being around them. They’re good to me.”

Althidon surprised me by suddenly smiling. “Ah, the love of a good woman is quite a thing, is it not? I remember doing quite a few foolish things when I won Alenia over. It took me years to do it, but she was eventually mine. It was worth every moment. Enjoy the hours you spend with them. And three!”

“I certainly do,” I said. “I just need to make sure I keep the guards at bay for a few more days so this doesn’t all come crashing down on our heads.

“Yes, you are walking a fine line,” Althidon said. “That much is apparent even to me, and I believe I only know half of the story. You had best be careful, boy.” He sounded like a concerned father.

“I will,” I said. “I promise. It’s probably about time for me to head back and see Zia and Tressi. I usually meet up with them while they’re foraging in the woods below.”

“Be safe,” Althidon said.

I bowed to him, hand over heart, and he nodded in return.

After that I left. I kept the shield and practice spear to continue getting used to them. When the day of the attack came, I wanted them to feel like an extension of my body. Carrying them everywhere was really helping with that.

I found Zia and Tressi about an hour later, picking berries from a large bush. I took a moment to admire their stunning beauty before approaching them.

“Hello, my loves,” I said as I removed the shadow stone from my mouth.

“Oh, hi Aaron!” Tressi said, giving me a big smile. Zia did the same. “How did your training go?”

“It went really well, actually,” I said as I set the butt of my spear on the ground and leaned on it. “I think the gods really did do something to me when they brought me here. I’m learning a lot faster than I should be.”

“Well, that’s certainly a good thing,” Zia said, straightening up from where she had been picking berries. “And they have you sparring against people?”

“Oh, yeah,” I said. “I spar against Althidon’s students every day. Taranath—he’s an elven friend and archer that will be joining us—fought me today, and he won a match, then I won one. I even did well against the Sword-Master himself, once I used blood magic on him. His daughter came by to watch, so I had an audience.”

I winced after saying that last sentence. I just meant that having someone watch me would make me a bit nervous, so it was good practice. The last thing I wanted to deal with was jealousy, though.

“Oh, what did she look like?” Zia asked, suddenly interested.

I stopped for a moment, slightly taken aback. “Well, she looked like an elven woman.”

“I’ve heard they’re so beautiful,” Zia said to Tressi. “Tall and skinny, but beautiful. We’ve never seen elves before, but we’ve heard stories.”

Of course they hadn’t. Ralcor had ruined relations with the elves long ago, so there was no more trade between the two nations. It had probably been a hundred years since an elf had been in the underground goblin city.

“Well, once we take over I plan on restoring our relationship with the elves, so we’ll be visiting each other's cities again,” I said.

“Tell me more about what she looked like,” Zia said. “What was her name?” She seemed almost excited to hear about the elven woman.

“Uh, her name was Leena,” I said. “She was tall, nearly as tall as me. I think slender is a better word than skinny. Like how goblin women are so voluptuous—it’s just how you’re built. She’s like that, but the reverse. Tall, with a narrow bone structure. Her hair was blonde, kind of like mine but lighter.”

“Her eyes?” Zia asked. Tressi just listened with interest.

“Green,” I said.

“Well, at least her eyes are the right color,” she said. “What about….” she waved her hand over her chest.

Well, I hadn’t been expecting that. I cupped my hand slightly and held it out towards Zia. “Small and perky. Just enough to probably fill my hand.” That was the best way I could think of describing her breasts.

“What about her hips?” Zia asked.

I shrugged. “Look, I wasn’t checking her out or anything,” I said. “I mean, she was beautiful but I’m marrying you two and Silvy.”

“Oh, calm down,” Zia said. “I really want to see her. I can’t wait to meet the elves. I suppose I’ll have to practice their language a bit.”

“At least you’re not so sweaty today,” Tressi said.

I looked down at myself. “Yeah, I know you two don’t care for me being soaked in sweat. I trained a lot today but talked between sparring sessions so I didn’t get too worked up.”

“Good,” Tressi said, setting her foraging sack down. She approached me. “Because I’ve been wanting to do this for two days now.”

She reached out and took hold of the laces on the front of my pants and began undoing them. Zia excitedly set her foraging sack down and joined, and in a matter of seconds my pants were around my ankles.

Tressi went first, sucking on me until I was fully erect. Zia quickly took over, and I noticed she had pulled her skirts up to mid-thigh and had a hand between her legs, rubbing herself in small circles.

Like the previous time, they took turns sucking me, going back and forth and sometimes taking a moment to kiss each other. Tressi worked her small hand back and forth along the base of my shaft like she was eager for it. Zia’s hand kept moving between her legs.

Watching these large-breasted women suck on me like their lives depended on it was incredibly hot, and I didn’t last long. As fortune would have it, right as I felt myself reaching the point of no return Zia suddenly moaned as she orgasmed.

I fired my load into Tressi’s mouth while watching Zia’s thighs quiver in orgasmic bliss. Tressi sucked hard, and after a few seconds Zia was there, sucking on me and kissing Tressi, eager for a taste of my cum.

I had never before in my life experienced women desiring me this much, especially women so stunningly beautiful. I smiled as I watched Zia suck on me one last time, a big smile on her lips.

“I already can’t wait to do it again,” she said.

41

The downside of carrying the shield and spear around was that I couldn’t hold their hands. It was a small thing, but I really wanted to do that. Soon, I reminded myself.

I helped them forage for another hour, and they were grateful for my height. I was able to reach things that other goblins had passed by numerous times.

“I think Silvy will be happy with what we got today,” Tressi said, looking in her foraging sack. “Lots of berries. I hope she makes jam. That’s what I’m going to do with my share.”

“How does that work, by the way?” I asked.

“Jam? Well, first you take the berries and you—”

“No, I mean you foraging for Silvy,” I said to clarify.

“Oh. Well, after a few hours of training we come out here for food. Whatever we find, Silvy gets half. That’s her price for teaching us.” Tressi shrugged. “It’s a fair deal. She’s the only goblin right now that can even teach us, so we’re willing to do whatever it takes to learn. And magic is tiring, so we can only practice a few hours before we’re exhausted.”

Zia nodded in agreement. “We’re still just grateful she agreed to teach us at all.”

“Same,” I said. “I wouldn’t be able to do this without you.”

“What about your elven friend, though?” Zia asked.

“Taranath? I mean, he’s great with a bow, but I need more help than just that. I’ll probably have to cut my way through a hundred goblin soldiers just to get to Ralcor.” I winced after saying that. Overthrowing a king was not easy work, or peaceful. I reminded myself that their future would be peaceful. I just had to secure the throne for myself first.

“You know what I can’t wait for?” Tressi said, a big smile on her face.

“What?” I asked, looking down at her.

“Our wedding night,” she said. “I’m really excited to finally give myself to you.”

I wanted to hug her for that, but with the shield and spear in my hands that would be awkward. I favored her with a smile instead.

“What’s your plan to sneak inside today?” Zia asked.

“Well, my first thought is to wait a little bit,” I said. “I keep trying to enter the city when the sun is still overhead. If we just wait a couple hours, the sun will go behind the mountain, which should be enough for the shadow stone to work. Especially if you two just talk to the guards, maybe I can slip behind them.”

“At least that part is easy,” Tressi said. “Just ask them to describe how they’re protecting us all and they practically trip over themselves trying to impress us.”

“Although we’ve done that before, so we’ll have to think of something new to say to them,” Zia added.

We took our time in the forest, walking slowly and talking. Tressi and Zia told me about their families, which was nice. They both seemed to come from good, healthy households. That boded well for our future. All in all, they were very well-adjusted women.

As the sun began its downward journey, we slowly moved towards the entrance to the goblin city. After a time the sun went behind the mountain, plunging the mouth of the tunnel in shadow. It wasn’t late in the day—I guessed maybe around five in the afternoon—but the position of the mountain was perfect for this.

“I’ll be on that side,” I said, pointing to the right of the tunnel. “I won’t do anything weird, this time.”

“Like making the guard piss himself?” Zia asked, grinning broadly.

“Yeah, I’m going to play it safe today,” I said. “Once they move to talk to you two, I’ll slip behind them and enter the tunnel. I’ll be waiting for you in there.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Tressi said.

I slipped the shadow stone in my mouth and crouched behind a bush as Zia and Tressi casually approached the two guards. Thirty feet to the right of the tunnel, I hurried across the clearing between the face of the mountain and the forest. Fortunately, the guards had their eyes on the women, so I was safe.

I crept along the cliff-like wall, closer to the entrance to the tunnel. Zia and Tressi walked up to the guards and asked them something. The guard they spoke to rubbed his chin, then pointed off in the distance. I moved closer, until I was only about five feet away from the nearest guard.

“What about you?” Tressi asked the guard closest to me. “Where does everyone go? I feel like the land has been picked clean.”

“Hmmm,” the guard said, and took a few steps towards them. He put a hand on his hip and frowned at the forest in front of him. “Most go straight out into the woods, then fan out.”

At that moment, I slipped behind him and took a few steps into the tunnel, then slowly backed into the darkness. And just in time, for he turned and looked right where I had been standing.

“Some people go north,” he said, pointing in that direction. “Plenty of ‘em, actually. I don’t see many going south, so if you walked that way for an hour or so, you could probably find some fresh land.”

“Thanks,” Tressi said, flashing a smile.

“I feel like every day we have to go further and further to get food. This isn’t sustainable.” Zia shook her head. “I wish there was a way we could just grow our food inside our city. That would completely solve this problem.”

The guard closest to her barked a laugh. “Ha. That wouldn’t work. You’d have to use magic or something to do that, and we don’t like magic.”

“Why not?” Zia asked. “There’s nothing wrong with it if the person wielding it is good. I’ve read that the elves use magic to grow their food. We should do the same.”

The two guards exchanged an uneasy glance. They probably didn’t like to even talk about magic, considering how Ralcor felt about it.

“On with you now,” the guard said, waving them into the tunnel. “Be quick about it. There’s things out here lately that have been hurting people.”

“Oh, goodness,” Tressi said, and hurried into the tunnel. Zia followed quickly after.

I stayed in front of them, moving down the tunnel until I was certain I was out of earshot.

“Good job,” I said, placing a hand on Tressi’s shoulder.

“Plus, now we know a better place to forage,” Zia said. “Although I think once you take over, we need to really work on just growing it here. These idiot men and their stubbornness.”

“Ralcor fears magic, and rightly so,” I replied. “He knows a strong magic-user can kill him, which is why he wears that pendant and has all but outlawed magic.”

“And yet here we are,” Tressi said.

“And here we are,” I agreed. “And soon, things will be different. Better.”

We followed the tunnel to the end, then turned onto the path that led to Silvy’s house. Once we reached the door, I pushed it open and went inside, then removed the shadow stone from my mouth.

“You’re later than usual,” Silvy said. She was seated at her table, sipping on a cup of tea.

“Waiting for the sun to go behind the mountain gives me more shadows to stay in,” I said. “I’m trying to be safe about this, since there’s only a few days left. I don’t want to be irresponsible and blow our only chance.”

“We got a lot,” Zia said, moving towards a nearby counter and setting her forage sack on it. Tressi did the same.

“How are you doing?” I asked as I took a seat across the table from Silvy.

“Oh, I’m fine,” she replied, but I could tell something was on her mind.

“What is it?” I asked gently.

She looked at me, then at the other two women. “I’ve been used to solitude for so many years,” she finally said. “I guess I’m getting used to being around people again. If you must know, I was just a bit lonely, waiting here for you.”

“Oh, we missed you too, Silvy,” Zia said. She walked up to the older woman and hugged her tightly, then planted a big kiss on her cheek.

Silvy blushed and brought a hand up to touch her cheek where Zia had kissed her. She seemed open to Zia’s flirtation, but unused to such things from another woman.

Zia and Tressi sat at the table next to Silvy, across from me. Tressi gave me a beautiful smile while Zia reached out and placed her hand on top of Silvy’s.

“I’m glad you’re getting used to us being around,” she said. “You’ve been alone too long, Silvy. All of that is going to end soon. Our lives will be rich and peaceful once we finish this.”

Silvy nodded and smiled at Zia. “You’re very sweet, you know that? I’m glad you stumbled into Aaron’s life. I think you’ll make a good wife for him.”

“We all will,” Tressi said.

After that, we sat and talked for a while. Silvy brewed another pot of tea for us while Tressi told jokes. Zia helped tidy up around the room, and Tressi kept shooting me smiles. I assumed it was due to her excitement at what was going to happen over the next few days.

“So, how did you get past the guards today?” Silvy asked after finishing her second cup of tea. “Did you make them fight? Did you knock one of them out again?”

“Actually, nothing like that,” I replied. “You’d be quite proud of me. Zia and Tressi just asked them questions about where the best places to forage were and I slipped in behind them. That’s why we waited until the entrance was in shadows.”

Silvy smiled. “Good. I don’t necessarily mind you mistreating them—those soldiers are bastards, every one of them—but I don’t want you to bring them all down on my head. We’ve already almost had that happen once.”

“And then Aaron killed them,” Zia said.

“And then I killed them,” I agreed.

“And then you killed them,” Silvy said, though the tone of her voice sounded faintly displeased. “I’m amazed they haven’t kicked my door down yet.”

“Only a few more days and we’ll be there,” I said, reaching across the table and taking Silvy’s hand in mine. “All this will be over, and the four of us can start our lives together.”

“Maybe five,” Zia said with a chuckle. “Aaron was telling us about a beautiful elven woman that watched him practice today.”

“Is that so?” Silvy asked, pulling her hand out of mine. She raised an eyebrow in that way women often did when they were ready to throw something at me.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” I said. “Althidon’s daughter stopped by to watch. Her watching helps a bit, as having an audience makes me nervous. I need to be able to do this whether I’m nervous or calm or angry or anything else.”

“Mmmhmm,” Silvy said, and crossed her arms beneath her breasts.

“She’s an elf so I’ll bet she’s beautiful,” Zia said. “I can’t wait to meet the elves. I’ve heard so much about them.”

“Most of them are nice,” Silvy said, still eyeing me. “Some of them get a bit…haughty, but overall they’re nice. Their language is similar to ours, so it’s easy for us to learn.”

“I want our people to trade again,” I said. “The elves and the goblins. That’s one of the first changes I’m going to make. That, and using magic to grow our food instead of foraging.”

“Good changes,” Silvy said. Some of her frown disappeared as she spoke. “We should have done both of those long ago, but Ralcor’s pride got in the way. Plus, his fear of magic.”

“Speaking of which, I had some ideas about how to deal with him,” I said. “Since you can use elemental magic, can you move stone?”

Silvy looked over at Zia and Tressi. “They should be able to, although they’ll be limited this early on in their training.”

“Can you open a hole in the floor?” I asked.

In reply, Silvy looked at me for a few minutes, then held her hand out to the side. Next to the table, a hole opened up in the floor, just big enough to fit a soda can in it.

“Does that answer your question?” she asked.

“How quickly can you do it?” I asked. “I was wondering if you could do that to trap Ralcor’s feet, then close it around him to pin him in place.”

Silvy nodded slowly. “I see what you mean. Well, it’s a good idea, but stone is difficult to work with. One of them might be able to do it more quickly one day, but for now we’re limited. Stone doesn’t like to move. It resists, just as much as you would expect. I can’t really do it much faster than what you just saw.”

“Maybe if I drew him into a fight and kept his attention on me, then you opened a hole beneath him,” I said, thinking out loud. “If all three of you worked at once, surely you could get a large hole in the ground, and quickly.”

“Probably,” Silvy said. “What about your archer friend? He would probably be the best help, to be honest.”

She was right. No matter how fast he was, Ralcor couldn’t dodge an arrow to the face. Especially when the bow was wielded by Taranath. If I could get Ralcor to focus on me, Taranath could pincushion him with arrows. Problem solved.

And as a backup, the ladies could use magic to somehow trap him. I refused to abandon that idea.

“You said that necklace of his makes him resistant to magic,” I said. “How much? Is it a full negation, or does some still get through?”

“A little bit gets through,” Silvy said. “It was one of the first things he forced me to make him, many years ago after I made him sterile. That necklace bought me my life. I wasn’t quite as strong then as I am now, but it’s still fairly powerful. To give you an answer that makes more sense, you cannot kill him with blood magic, but you might be able to slow him a little bit.”

“I’ll take what I can get,” I said. If he was as good with a sword as everyone said, I needed every advantage possible. “What are some other limitations on magic? I want to be as prepared as possible.”

Silvy frowned and tapped her lip with a fingertip. “I’m not exactly sure what you mean. Most people can’t use any magic if they can’t see. You have to be able to see your target to affect it with magic, after all. The other senses don’t really matter, at least in that manner.”

“What about if I get knocked in the head?” I asked. “Will I still be able to use magic?”

“Well, it’ll be much more difficult, but you can simply heal yourself unless the knock you take is too hard and breaks your head open.”

“We have some interesting ways we can help,” Tressi said, clearly excited to join the conversation. “Silvy’s been working hard with us.”

Zia held her hand out and a small flame appeared above her upturned palm. “It’ll be hard for them to fight us if they’re on fire.”

I winced. That was a hard way to die, but it certainly would be effective. It would destroy morale, too.

“What else can you do?” I asked.

“They’re limited by our environment,” Silvy said. “There isn’t much down here other than stone. They can move and shape stone, but as you saw it’s a slow process. Fire is their best weapon.”

“What about pulling water from their bodies?” I asked.

“Not as easy as you would think,” Silvy said. “Also, fairly slow. If they were able to use blood magic as well, it would probably go more smoothly.”

“Lightning?” I asked.

“If you want to go completely deaf, sure,” Silvy replied. “But that’s not really something that’s easy to do indoors. Even I would struggle.”

“What will you be doing?” I asked.

Silvy gave me a small smile. “Oh, don’t worry. I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve.”

I thought about her table covered with magical items. She probably had quite a few nasty tricks up her sleeve, indeed.

The women divided up the produce after that. Silvy was excited about all that Zia and Tressi found, and declared she would be making jam. Tressi shot me a grin when Silvy said that. Then, the two younger women took their share and left Silvy’s place after taking turns kissing me.

Silvy sat at her table and sighed. I went to her and sat next to her.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

She looked at me for a moment before answering. “I suppose. There’s just a lot going on in my mind right now.”

“Care to share any of it?”

“Well, we’re getting ready to overthrow the king,” Silvy began. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we’re doing it. But even with magic, it’s not going to be easy, and it’ll take months for my people to recover from it. They won’t trust you, at least initially. You’ll have to earn that.”

“I’m expecting it,” I said. “I’m hoping that growing food with magic will show them I intend on being a peaceful king.”

“We’ll see,” Silvy said. “And then there’s us.” She made a hand gesture that took in both of us, and where Zia and Tressi had been sitting. “I was perfectly content just being by myself, especially after what happened. After all that I lost. And now, I’m going to be part of a family.” She looked up at me. “And I’m going to have a husband again.”

“A husband that will care for you and treat you right,” I emphasized, taking her small hand in mine.

She smiled at me. “Thank you, Aaron. I’ll warn you, it might take some time for me to accept your love. My heart isn’t young and fresh like Zia and Tressi. It’s old and scarred and filled with thorns.”

“Bullshit,” I said. Silvy’s eyebrows raised and I laughed. “I’ve caught a glimpse of you when you let your guard down. You’re a wonderful, beautiful woman, Silvy, and I can’t wait to marry you and make you one of my queens. We’re going to have a great future together.”

“Let’s go to bed,” Silvy said.

It was still early, but that was fine. I helped Silvy clean up, and then we both went into the bedroom and undressed. We climbed into bed and held each other tightly. Being next to her nude form had a predictable response, and she laughed at my immediate erection, but we didn’t have sex. That night we were just two people that cared for each other.

42

The next morning, however, Silvy was ready to go. She woke up before me and, upon seeing my morning wood, straddled my chest and began sucking on me.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was her round ass right in front of me. With our differences in height we couldn’t really sixty-nine, but I certainly got an eyeful.

After a few minutes Silvy turned around and threw a leg over my waist. She took hold of my cock by the base and lined it up with her, then sank down on it with a big smile.

“I will never get tired of how that feels,” she said, closing her eyes and sliding up and down slowly.

I put my hands behind my head for a moment and just watched her, with her flawless figure. Her large breasts swayed slightly as she worked her hips up and down, savoring every inch. After a while she leaned forwards and I wrapped my arms around her, holding her tightly to my chest while I thrust in and out of her.

I kept my pace slow so we could make love that way for a while. Silvy sighed happily and I let my hands slide down her back until I reached her ass. I held tightly to her cheeks and used them to work her pussy up and down my full length.

Silvy straightened up some, then licked her fingertips and reached behind her. She winked at me and did it again.

“My favorite part,” she said. “Time for you to finish.”

She raised her hips off of me, then reached behind her and took hold of my cock and lined it up with her ass. After a deep breath, she slid down, slowly taking it an inch at a time.

I left my hands on her ass, squeezing it and spreading her cheeks as I entered her backdoor. With a moan, Silvy straightened up and sat back, taking me all the way to the base. The tightness of her ass was simply incredible, especially when coupled with the passion of our lovemaking.

She leaned forward and placed her hands on my chest for support, then began working her hips up and down again, slamming her ass down against me. She rode me hard and fast, and within minutes I was there.

My fingers dug into her ass cheeks and I practically shouted as I came. Silvy smiled and urged me on, pushing her ass down and taking me all the way. She kept riding me even after I finished, laughing as I twitched due to my postcoital sensitivity.

“That is a wonderful way to start the day,” she said, smiling down at me.

While I agreed, part of me wanted to cum in her pussy. I had experienced that before, when she was using sex as part of a spell. Well, maybe I’d get a chance to again one day.

She clenched her ass and straightened up, lifting herself off of me, then rolled off the bed. I laughed at the handprints on her ass; even with her green skin the marks were still there. I hopped off the bed and joined her.

We kissed and held each other after that. I knew she was fragile in many ways, though she would never admit to it. I always wanted to ensure I took care of her heart and showed her the right treatment.

I decided to wear a vest on that day. Dark green, to go with my brown pants and linen-colored shirt. It would make me look properly like an elf.

“Are you not getting dressed?” Silvy asked when I moved into the next room.

“There’s no real need,” I said. “I’ll have the shadow stone in my mouth so I might as well just go to the hot springs naked so I don’t get cum on the inside of my pants.”

“Good point,” Silvy said. She went into the kitchen and began preparing a simple breakfast for me.

Her dark, thick bread covered with jam was my new favorite thing, especially with a side of fresh fruit—most of it completely foreign to me, to be honest—and a cup of hot tea. Silvy sat next to me, sipping on tea while watching me eat. She kept smiling at me.

“What?” I asked.

“I just want to make sure you’re properly fed,” she said. “I can tell you’ve put in real effort to treat me right. I want to make sure I do the same to you.”

“Oh, Silvy,” I said with a chuckle. “I love you, you know that?”

Perhaps that was just my heart speaking out loud. Maybe it was because we just had sex. But while I didn’t regret telling her that, I wasn’t exactly expecting it. The words were a surprise to both of us.

Silvy smiled, but seemed tense. “Be careful with those words, Aaron. I can’t handle someone hurting me again.”

“I think I’d rather suck vomit through a straw than hurt you, Silvy,” I said.

“What? Ugh, that’s disgusting,” she said, standing up. “I don’t even know what a straw is and that’s gross.”

She walked over to the counter, still naked. I immediately got up and hurried to her, grabbing her and lifting her in the air. She shrieked and I spun her around so that she was facing me, then sat her on the counter. That put her face just above mine, so I laughed and covered her neck and chest with kisses.

Her protests eventually faded and she ran her fingers through my hair, holding my face tightly to her while I licked at one of her nipples. I let my hands trail down to her hips and gave them a squeeze. I was tempted to eat her pussy right there, but I needed to get to training.

So instead, I lifted her from the table and set her back on the floor. She immediately threw her arms around my waist and I held her tightly. I bent down and kissed the top of her head, noting the few gray hairs. While Silvy appeared no older than thirty or so, she was closer to two hundred years old. Goblins lived a long time, so I would get to enjoy her for decades, centuries perhaps.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked.

“One day we’ll celebrate our hundredth anniversary,” I said. It sounded crazy to speak those words out loud. Hundredth anniversary? It helped put into perspective how long I was going to live.

Silvy just held me tightly for a while after that. She was good at those silent, passion-filled moments. In her arms, I was content.

“I suppose I should let you go so you can figure out which end of the spear to use,” she said, finally pulling away from me.

“Ugh. Leaving you this morning isn’t easy,” I said. I went back into the bedroom and fetched my spear and shield, then tucked my clothes beneath an arm and kissed Silvy on the cheek on my way out.

I saw Zia and Tressi in the distance, walking hand-in-hand towards Silvy’s house. I was tempted to say something to them, but they were too close to a group of houses. I needed to keep my existence secret until this was done.

Instead, I hurried away, moving down the narrow path along the side of Tunnel City. When I got to the tunnel itself, a group of four guards were talking. Arguing was probably a better word for it. I didn’t catch what they were talking about, but I used that as a distraction and hurried past them.

At the hot springs I faced the same issue I always did; all the springs at the front were taken. It wasn’t really a problem, though. I smiled at all the beautiful, naked goblin women as I walked by, skirting the edge of the area until I came to the rearmost pools.

As usual, I set my things behind a rock, then hopped into the pool to scrub off. The hot water felt amazing, especially after a morning of great sex and a tasty breakfast. So far, today was turning out to be a great day.

When I was done I got out and drip-dried for a bit, until I was finally ready for my clothes. Once dressed, I grabbed the shield and spear and left.

I was careful to be silent as I walked through the goblin city, but as I walked to the tunnel I noticed the group of soldiers was gone, leaving that part of the tunnel unguarded. I found that strange, but figured I had simply caught them in the middle of a shift change. I took advantage of the situation and hurried down the tunnel, as always keeping my eyes and ears open for any soldiers.

But the tunnel was empty. In fact, when I reached the end, there was only one guard posted there, which made it easy to sneak out. I made a mental note to ask Silvy what she thought was going on. Maybe Zia and Tressi would know something. I’d ask them in the afternoon when I met up with them.

Helping Zia and Tressi had made me better at determining which plants were edible, so I enjoyed a snack of some fresh berries on my way to the elven city of Caelora. I made sure to remove the shadow stone from my mouth so I didn’t accidentally swallow it. My snack made my morning trip up those god awful stairs a bit less shitty.

At the top I strolled through the elven city with a big smile on my face. I felt great. I took a few minutes to admire the city itself; they really had used magic to create an entire city out of these enormous trees. The branches wove together and joined in a manner that created a flat floor for walking, with small islands around each tree connected by wooden bridges. The floor was almost completely solid, with only small holes to let water drain through. It was the most fascinating thing I had ever seen.

The houses themselves seemed to grow out of the wooden floors. Everything had an organic look to it; the windows were round, flowers and bunches of leaves decorated nearly everything, and even the furniture looked to have been grown instead of shaped and built with tools.

Looking up, I saw more levels above, although the floors of the islands looked slightly smaller. As a result, the bridges that connected them were a bit longer, although not so much that they looked weak or unsafe.

Several elven women smiled at me as I strolled by. Perhaps it was because I was wearing the vest, in the elven style. I couldn’t say why, but they were definitely interested in me. There was no mistaking those looks.

“Good morning, Sword-Master,” I said to Althidon as I bowed to him.

“Someone seems happy this morning,” he replied.

“I’m in a great mood,” I said.

He stared at me for a moment. “This wouldn’t happen to involve women, would it?”

I just smiled.

Althidon laughed hard at that, even slapping his thigh. “Ah, I knew it! Yes, I remember those days. Tend to women well and you can still enjoy that in old age, my boy.”

“What are you two laughing about?” Leena asked as she walked towards us, her arm looped through Taranath’s.

“Ah, nothing,” I said, smoothly switching topics. “Taranath, good to see you, my friend.” I bowed to him the same way I did to Althidon.

“And you,” he said with a nod. “No need to bow like that, though. I’m not royalty.” He looked me up and down and smiled; his dark green vest and linen-colored shirt matched mine almost perfectly. “I must compliment you on your choice of clothing today. Are you ready to get to training?”

“He’s always ready,” Althidon said before I could open my mouth. “He’s been eager since day one, and I have to say, I appreciate that. I have never really had to motivate you.”

“Well, I’ve got a lot riding on my shoulders,” I said. “I can’t let anyone down.”

“That’s the spirit,” Althidon said. He turned to his daughter. “Are you here to watch again today?”

“I am,” she said, raising her chin slightly.

Althidon frowned at her. Most men would have looked away when faced with his hard, green-eyed stare, but she met it without flinching. But then again, I reminded myself, she was his daughter. She was used to his gruffness.

“I’ll permit it,” Althidon said finally.

Leena nodded as if she had expected nothing less and went to the nearby railing, which she leaned against, next to Taranath. Her gaze immediately went to me, which of course made me nervous. Althidon probably wanted that.

“How many days, now?” he asked. “Two?”

“Yeah, two days,” I said. “I want to try a few new things today. Using blood magic, if possible.”

“You just make sure you’re careful,” Althidon warned. “That stuff is dangerous.”

“I promise I’ll be careful,” I said. “I want to try the same thing I did with you, just on a group of people. I need to get faster with magic, especially when working with multiple targets.”

He nodded. “Good idea.”

“After all,” I said. “We train as we fight.”

43

Althidon called over some of his students, who lined up in front of me. Each of them held a wooden practice sword in hand and looked to Althidon for instruction.

“Now, look,” the Sword-Master said in his gruff voice. “Aaron here is going to use magic on you. Don’t worry, he’s not going to hurt any of you. But it might be difficult to move your legs, or your arms. I only say this so you’ll know what to expect and won’t panic when he does it.”

“Thanks,” I said.

Three of them lined up in front of me, swords held ready. I thought for a moment, then backed up another twenty paces. I wanted to treat this as if I were coming across them in a tunnel or in one of the cave cities. I nodded at Althidon to let him know I was ready.

The moment he clapped his hands I reached out with magic, immediately connecting with their blood. The three soldiers rushed towards me, swords held in front of them.

Splitting my focus three ways was incredibly difficult. To be honest, it was above my skill level at that moment. I struggled to stop the flow of blood in their legs and failed, so I immediately switched gears and worked one at a time.

The man on the far right suddenly staggered and fell to his knees. Even after being warned, his eyes widened in shock and he slapped at his leg as if trying to get it to work. He let out a stream of choice words and glared at me.

Faced with only two, I held my shield and spear ready and took on the next man. I did the same to him, and he tripped and fell, cursing loudly.

With only one man left, it was sword versus spear. While he was a much more skilled fighter than I was, I had the advantage of a longer reach. I kept my spear point aimed at his face, enough to keep him from getting close. Then I pulled all the blood out of his arms.

His sword fell from suddenly numb hands and both arms dropped limply to his sides. I continued, pulling blood from his legs and he stumbled, then fell as I struck him in the chest with my spear. Yes, the goblin soldiers would be wearing armor, but I didn’t want to hit this man in the face and break his nose like I had accidentally done with Taranath.

I quickly moved towards the other two soldiers, who were both trying to crawl away, and tagged them both with my spear. As soon as I was done, I released my hold on their blood and let it return to normal.

“Ahhh!” one of them said, rubbing his legs. “It’s like needles.”

When he said that, I realized it probably felt like his legs had gone to sleep. Not the most pleasant thing, for sure.

“Well done,” Althidon said, crossing his arms and giving me a frown of approval. “I noticed you went one at a time. Are you not able to handle two or three men at once? Surely you can do two men at the same time.”

I somehow avoided making a joke about his phrasing. “Not yet, no,” I said. “It’s just too difficult to split my focus that much. Hey, thanks,” I said, clapping one of the elven students on the back as he walked back to the training grounds. He grunted something in reply and kept moving.

I heard clapping and looked over and saw Leena applauding me. She favored me with a smile. Next to her, Taranath nodded, clearly impressed.

“So, first you beat both Taranath and my father, and now three men at once,” she said. “What other secrets do you have?”

I laughed. “You probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” I took a deep breath and turned back to Althidon. It was time to get this over with. “I have some bad news, Althidon, although we can work around it.”

“What is it?” he asked, his eyes narrowing. “I don’t like bad news.”

“Same,” I said, then waved Taranath over. When he came closer, I lowered my voice a bit. “Silvy told me that Ralcor wears a necklace, a pendant. It doesn’t make him fully immune to magic, but it makes him strongly resistant to it.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Althidon asked in a flat voice. He did not sound happy at all.

“That certainly changes things,” Taranath said, looking concerned.

“Now, hold on,” I said, raising a hand. “I can still affect him somewhat. I can’t kill him with my magic, but I can slow him a bit. And the others can use magic on the environment around him, enough to slow or stop him. Plus, I’ve got Taranath. I don’t see it being a problem.”

“Who are ‘the others?’” Leena asked, suddenly interested.

“The women I’m marrying in a few days,” I said without thinking.

“Ah, yes,” Leena said, giving me that appraising look again. “Three women, correct? What kind of man marries three women?”

“Aaron is no ordinary man,” Althidon said, crossing his arms and frowning at me. “This is concerning, Aaron. We need to plan for it.”

“If you can slow him, I can get a few arrows in him,” Taranath said. “I have no problems hitting a moving target, as long as it’s not too fast.”

“We’re going to be okay,” I assured them. “I had Silvy practice something last night. She can open up a big hole in the stone floor. It’s not the fastest movement, but if all three of the women do it right beneath Ralcor’s feet, it’ll be a huge inconvenience for him.”

“And then I fill him with arrows,” Taranath said.

“Exactly,” I said. “So, it’s not that much of a problem. It just changes things slightly. We still have the upper hand, and remember, Ralcor is the only one with this issue. Everyone else will go down easily.”

“Wait a minute,” Leena said, taking a step closer. “Did I hear you mention—”

“This is not for you,” Althidon said firmly. “I apologize for keeping secrets from you, my daughter, but you will understand in a few days’ time.”

She frowned, first at him, then at me, and then at Taranath for good measure. “Fine,” she said, and went back to leaning on the railing.

“So, in the end, this really boils down to one single fight,” I continued. “Getting to the throne room will be relatively easy. Once we’re there, I have a feeling Ralcor will try to bait me into a fight. If all of us work together, we can take him down, no problem.”

Taranath nodded. “As I said, I should easily be able to fill him with arrows.”

Althidon frowned, but nodded. “I don’t like it, but you’re right. This seems like a large problem on the surface, but with Taranath there, you’re going to be fine. Just make sure you protect him at all costs.”

“Yeah, what he said,” Taranath said with a grin.

“I’ll do my best,” I said dryly.

“Alright, I’m going to get something to eat, then continue training the others,” Althidon said. “You’d best head back to Silvy and work with that goblin automaton.”

“I plan on it,” I said, offering Althidon my hand. He shook it firmly.

“Are you still up for this?” I asked Taranath.

“Of course,” Taranath replied. “I gave you my word. I will be there, right by your side. Well, slightly behind you.” He laughed.

When she realized I was leaving, Leena approached me. She stood in front of me, examining me from head to toe for a moment.

“You’re handsome for a human,” she said, although somehow the words held not a mote of flirtation.

“Thanks,” I said. “You’re okay for an elf.”

Her eyes widened in surprised outrage, and I took that moment to wink at her, then hurry away.

I laughed as I made my way through the elven city of Caelora. I had a strong feeling that Leena was interested in me, at least in some way. Well, I was already promised to three goblin beauties, so I wasn’t available. Although Zia definitely seemed interested in her.

I was used to it taking a while for me to find Zia and Tressi, but after spending an hour searching the forest, I saw no sign of them. With the shadow stone in my mouth I walked in every direction and saw other goblin women, but not mine. The forest was large, so I had probably just missed them.

I walked back to the entrance of the goblin tunnel and waited for them there. Another hour went by. Two hours. Three. Four, and the sun moved behind the top edge of the mountain, enough to cast shadows on the mouth of the tunnel.

Figuring I had probably just missed them, I decided to go ahead and make my way to Silvy’s house. I’d catch up with them there.

However, when I got close enough to see the entrance to the goblin city, I found only one guard standing there. After so many days of there being two guards, I found this strange.

A cold feeling grew in my gut. Something was clearly wrong. I thought back to that group of goblin soldiers I had passed that morning. Had they gone to Silvy’s house?

Panic suddenly filled me. I had to get there.

The lone soldier guarding the entrance stood right in the center of the tunnel, not at one side, so slipping by him simply wasn’t possible. I frowned, as I knew what I had to do.

“Well, I guess the killing starts a day early,” I said, and reached out with magic.

He never stood a chance. I pulled all the blood from his brain, then stopped his heart. The goblin soldier collapsed to the ground, dead in a matter of seconds.

Just in case I was overreacting about this whole thing, I decided I still needed to hide his body. Especially this close to our attack, I couldn’t be too safe.

I rushed forward and picked him up, then threw him over my shoulder. He was a solidly built man, but fortunately only about five feet tall, so he didn’t weigh that much. With him on my shoulder I hurried through the forest, alternating a fast walk and an awkward jog for a solid ten minutes, where I stuffed him beneath some bushes that I recognized. They had berries, but they were poisonous, so no one would come close.

After that I ran back to the tunnel. I hurried down it, keeping my eyes open for any additional guards, but didn’t see any. That cold knot in my stomach grew.

I turned onto the path that led to Silvy’s place and jogged the entire way there. As soon as I arrived, I threw open the door, and my fears were confirmed.

The kitchen table had been knocked on its side, as had two chairs. A pot of stew had been thrown across the room and splattered against the wall. The pot itself was upside down on the floor.

Of Silvy, Zia, and Tressi there was no sign. At that moment, I knew they had been taken.

44

The cold knot in my gut slowly warmed up until it was a ball of fire. I stood there for a moment, glaring at the room, letting my anger give me strength. My forehead broke out in a cold sweat.

Still with the spear and shield in my hands, I turned and left Silvy’s place. I kept my grip tight on my weapon to keep my hand from shaking, but my anger threatened to overwhelm me.

Good. Let it.

Knowing they had taken my women made me blind with rage, and I reveled in it. I let those feelings flow through me. I needed that for what I was planning on doing.

I hurried down the narrow path from Silvy’s place and approached the tunnel right as a soldier entered the area. No one else came in with him; he looked to be alone.

I pulled the shadow stone from my mouth and walked towards him. He noticed me immediately.

“So, you’re the one that’s been doing this,” he growled as he drew his iron-banded club. “We’ve got your women, you know. Came and got the bitches this morning. Oh, they put up such a fight, but we managed to calm them. Shame, King Ralcor wouldn’t let us have any real fun with them.” He slapped the club on his palm a few times. “But after I beat you senseless, I’m gonna enjoy the looks on their faces when the king skins you in front of them.”

“Are they in Royal City?” I asked, hefting my spear.

“Where else would they be? Are you a fucking idiot or something?” He squinted his eyes, looking at my spear. “Is that a fucking training spear? Ah ha ha ha!” He laughed quite hard at that. “What do you think you’re going to do, give me a little bruise? Gods be damned, you’re a stupid bastard!”

I reached out with blood magic and stopped his heart. His laughing stopped immediately, and he clutched at his chest.

As he sank to his knees, gasping for breath, I calmly set my shield down, then got a two-handed grip on my spear. I looked him right in the eye, then swung it like a baseball bat, striking him right in the face. In the end it was still a six-foot pole, so leverage was on my side. His jaw shattered and he fell to his side, choking on blood as he died.

“Thanks for the info,” I said, and stepped over him.

I put the shadow stone back in my mouth and continued. Time was of the essence, so I jogged through the rest of Tunnel City and made my way to the hot springs. A quick dip in there would calm my nerves, but at that moment I didn’t want to be calm. I wanted to rage-kill everyone in my way until I got to Ralcor. I wanted to save my future wives.

The tunnel was filled with goblins of all ages, and some of them blinked in confusion as a human-sized blur moved by them, but I didn’t care. It looked like this whole thing was going to happen right now, which meant I’d be their king in a day.

Still, I was careful not to interact with anyone as I rushed by them. The springs were busy that evening with goblins wanting to wash the day from their skin, so I skirted around them. I didn’t even take a moment to admire the beauty of the goblin women. I did, however, notice a tunnel far to my right that I hadn’t seen before, as I had always been focused on the springs themselves, which were all on one side of this city-cave.

“The cemetery,” I muttered to myself. I didn’t have time for that, though. I had to save my women.

I rushed through the crowd of people coming from one of the other cities and finally found myself at the entrance to the tunnel that led to Royal City. Two guards stood there, wearing steel armor instead of the leather gambesons like the other soldiers. These men held shields and long spears, too. Ralcor had clearly stepped up his security in light of what had happened.

But they died like the rest. I took a knee and concentrated on them, reaching out with magic. I could feel through their bodies at the same time, but when it came to affecting them, it was like trying to make my eyes move in different directions.

One of the guards looked at the other, clearly feeling something was wrong. A few words passed between them, and they lowered their spears and began scanning the area in front of them. If they found me, they’d make short work of me.

I reminded myself that my future wives had been kidnapped and probably beaten. The anger I felt helped me concentrate, and I managed to touch both of their hearts. Not only did I stop them, but I was pretty sure I tore one of them nearly in half.

The soldiers gasped and dropped their weapons, clutching at their chests. One of them cursed loudly through clenched teeth, growling that I’d be dead soon and the women with me.

Well, that did it. I walked up to him and swung my spear like a club, taking him in the side of his head. He wore a steel helmet, but I still rang his bell. His heart had already stopped, but at least I added some pain to his death.

Several goblins walking by noticed the dying soldiers, and two women screamed. That created a bit of panic, and they hurried away from the entrance to the Royal City.

I turned back to the tunnel and made my way through it. After I had gone only thirty feet and the tunnel started to curve upwards and to the left, another heavily armored guard came walking towards me.

While I didn’t have the time to dwell on it, I tried to think of the quickest and most efficient way to kill someone with blood magic. Stopping their hearts worked well, but they still had a few seconds, and if I let up too soon they could recover. Pulling the blood from their arms or legs would incapacitate them, allowing me to kill them if I had a real weapon.

I attacked him in the same manner I had lashed out at the guard in the tunnel earlier: I pulled all the blood from his brain. It only took a matter of seconds for him to collapse, and I stopped his heart for good measure.

Once he was dead I continued up the tunnel. It gently continued curving upwards and to my left, until we were on top of the cave where the hot springs were located.

Two guards stood at the end of the tunnel, just as I expected. Now that I knew I could attack two people at once, I reached out and took hold of their brains. I had to grit my teeth with the amount of effort it took, but they soon dropped to the ground. Stopping their hearts ensured they wouldn’t rise again, just in case they managed to survive the stroke I had given each of them.

I could already feel fatigue setting in. Never before had I used this much magic in such a short period of time. At that moment I knew I couldn’t fight my way to Ralcor. I needed to save my strength for him.

A wide path began right at the exit of the tunnel and went straight to the stairs that led to the royal palace. Or throne room, or whatever the hell it was called. The place where Ralcor was most likely waiting for me.

Soldiers patrolled that path in groups of two and three. I knew that wasn’t an option. I kept myself low and hurried from the end of the tunnel, then immediately moved to my right. I skirted around the outside of a large building—I still hadn’t figured out what it was—and peered around the back.

That area was only patrolled by a lone soldier. I guess they assumed I would go straight down that path. As much as I wanted to, that couldn’t happen. Once he got closer I used blood magic to stop his heart—that seemed to take less strength than cutting off the blood to his brain, and it was important for me to save my strength.

He grunted, then collapsed to his knees. Realizing my practice spear was basically useless, I cast it aside. His eyes jerked to the spear as it suddenly appeared and clanged against the stone floor, and he tried to call out, but his voice was weak.

I walked up to him, still invisible, and examined him. Here, close to the throne room, some of the soldiers had swords instead of those iron-banded clubs. I reached down and grabbed the hilt of his sword and pulled it from the scabbard. He glared and tried to reach out for me, but I clumsily swung the blade and lopped off two of his fingers. He grunted in pain and I set the tip of the blade right between his collarbones, then pushed hard until it sank into the base of his neck.

“Some of you bastards don’t like to die,” I muttered as I pulled the sword free. Usually, that would make me sick, but my mind was only on my women. I didn’t even bother wiping the blood from the end of the blade. Not that anyone could see it; since I was using the shadow stone, the sword was just as invisible as me.

Of course the big downside was that I had almost no idea how to use a sword. I was tempted to go back and grab a spear from one of the earlier soldiers, but instead I pressed forward. I needed to stay focused in order to make it out of this mess alive.

I stayed behind the buildings until I got to the last one, then turned left and followed the side of it. In front of me loomed the royal palace. Light spilled from the open windows on both sides. I found it a little strange that it would have so many windows, but I assumed it helped with airflow. But then again, they were underground. Well, the arched window openings certainly looked nice, so that was enough for me.

As I moved closer, I saw a rank of soldiers standing at the base of the stairs. There was no way I would get by them, so I avoided that entirely. I moved slightly to my right, a few feet behind them. Placing a hand on the stairs in front of me, I hopped up on them, thankful for the silence my running shoes offered. The guards never even heard me climb onto the stairs, and I was only about five feet away.

I inched my way up the stairs, my eyes searching for anything and everything. I took them one step at a time, until my line of sight crested the top stair. From there, I looked inside the throne room.

As I had seen before, Ralcor sat on the throne. This time he wore armor, a leather gambeson like some of the other soldiers, but trimmed with gold. A sword leaned against the arm of the throne, right within reach. He leaned on an elbow, talking with a robed man next to him. I couldn’t make out their words, but I didn’t care, for I saw the women.

Behind the throne and to the left sat Silvy, Tressi, and Zia. All three of them had their hands tied behind their backs, and dark cloths covered the top halves of their heads, ensuring they couldn’t see. A rope was tied to each of their ankles, as well.

Even from that distance, I saw the discoloration on Tressi’s face. A nasty bruise marred her otherwise flawless face. My already fiery rage turned white-hot.

I stayed low and walked into the entrance of the throne room. Fortunately, Ralcor’s attention was on the man he spoke with. As soon as I got inside I saw two guards flanking the door. They were probably waiting for me.

I reached out with magic, then took a step back to stay out of their line of sight. After a few seconds they collapsed to the floor, their steel armor clanging loudly as they twitched in their final moments.

“It’s about time you showed up!” Ralcor called out, still sitting casually on his throne. “I was beginning to think you were going to abandon these lovely women.”

I darted through the door opening and quickly moved to the side. Enough candles and mirrored sconces kept this room brightly lit, so I knew he would be able to at least an outline of me if he looked hard enough. Sure enough, Ralcor’s eyebrows lowered and he scanned the front of the room, trying to find me.

I slipped further to the right, until I was in the corner of the room. It was a tiny bit darker there, so I stayed there for a moment and reached out with magic, trying to feel Tressi. While I wasn’t used to working from that distance, I was still able to feel the bruise in her face. I increased the blood flow to the injured area and forced her body to heal the bruise. I wasn’t sure, but I thought I saw a faint smile on her face after I healed her.

“Where are you, stranger?” Ralcor called out, pushing himself to his feet. He bent over and snatched his sword from its scabbard, then held it by his side. “You’ve killed so many of my soldiers. I was hoping you’d grace me with a fight. Gods know it’s been decades since I’ve had a real fight.”

He twirled the sword in a few lazy circles as he glanced around the room, still trying to find me. When he was looking to my left, I used that moment to hurry down the side of the throne room. When I passed him, he looked back at the corner where I had just been and took a few steps towards it.

“Are you glad I kept the women alive?” Ralcor called out as he took another few slow steps forward. “I want them to watch as I kill you. I can’t wait to stick my blade in you, stranger. I want to look in your eyes and see what happens when I twist it.”

I wanted to tell him he was a sick bastard, but I couldn’t give my position away. Instead, I reached out with magic, using all my strength, and tried to touch Ralcor.

All of my magic except the slightest thread evaporated the moment I touched him. I used that tiny amount that reached him and tried to affect his blood flow. I went right for his brain, the most vulnerable target.

Ralcor shook his head, then turned in a circle, looking for me. “I can feel you in my head, stranger. You know your magic can’t affect me, right?” He slowly walked towards Silvy and I felt my pulse quicken. “Tell me, are you still here? Can you see this?” And with that, he drew back his boot and kicked Silvy, right in the stomach.

“You fucking bastard!” I shouted, immediately realizing my mistake.

Ralcor rushed to the sound of my voice, moving impossibly fast. I quickly dashed to the side, narrowly avoiding a swipe from his sword.

Holy shit, I was damn near invisible and this guy could still kick my ass.

“That was a close one, stranger. Why don’t you show yourself?” He suddenly lowered his sword. “Oh, this is no use. You’re too much of a coward to fight me.”

And with that, he walked right back to his throne as if nothing were out of the ordinary and slipped the sword back into its scabbard. Once he was settled on the throne, he pulled out a long dagger and began picking at his fingernails with it.

“I was really looking forward to this,” he said, speaking idly. “Silvy has been praying for a hundred years for revenge. It seems the gods answered her prayers and sent you. But they clearly underestimated me.” He sighed. “Even the gods fuck up at times. Well, if you’re afraid of fighting me, I understand. Everyone is. But, if that’s the case, then I’ll just have to kill them. I’ll make sure to have my fun with them first.”

I had to do something, to protect the women. I couldn’t take this guy in a fight, but I couldn’t just hide here. As angry as I was, I was likely to make fatal mistakes. Ralcor was probably counting on that. I moved closer to him and took a slow, calming breath.

“Tomorrow,” I said.

Before I was even done speaking the word, Ralcor twisted on his throne, fast as lighting, and threw the dagger towards the sound of my voice. I managed to keep quiet as the blade scored a deep line across the side of my face, then continued its flight and struck the stone wall.

Ralcor was on his feet again, sword in hand. I hadn’t even seen him grab it. Holy shit, how could someone be so fast? He paced around, his narrowed eyes scanning for me. I had to move quickly to put the throne between us to help block his view of me.

“Tomorrow, you say?” he asked in a loud voice that echoed off the stone walls. “If that’s you challenging me, then I accept. I hope you’re ready. If you disappoint me, I’m going to take it out on the brown-haired one.” He chuckled, a low, raspy growl. “Oh, stranger. The past few decades have been so dull, just ruling from this throne. You have brought excitement back into my life. I must thank you.”

I kept silent. This guy could practically find me by the sound of my voice. I moved back, closer to the entrance to the throne room, putting some distance between us.

“I’ll be waiting,” Ralcor said, still looking for me.

“I’ll be here,” I said, anger seething in my voice.

Ralcor slowly turned and faced my general direction. His eyes finally found me, and he focused on me. My heart pounded as he took a few steps towards me, but he lowered his sword.

“You had better be here,” Ralcor said, his voice quietly threatening. “I enjoy skinning people, you know. Make a little cut, then grab the skin with tongs and just puuulllll.” He made a pulling motion with his off hand. “Oh, the screams people make. I don’t do it to innocents, of course. Only those that deserve it. I mean, I’m not a monster.”

He took another step towards me and his voice grew iron-hard.

“If you don’t show up tomorrow, I will have my way with each of them for a week, then pull the skin from their flesh while they still live. That is not a threat, stranger. That is a promise.”

From the back of the room, I heard Zia whimper.

I reached up and took the shadow stone from my mouth. Let him see that I wasn’t afraid of him, even though the honest truth was that I was absolutely fucking terrified. It was like facing down the devil himself.

“Tomorrow,” I said again, meeting his hard gaze. It wasn’t easy. He had the eyes of a serial killer. “I’ll be here tomorrow, and I’ll kill you.” I used blood magic to heal the cut on my face, so he could get an idea of my capabilities.

“I look forward to it,” Ralcor said, his face slowly twisting into a cruel smile.

I slipped the shadow stone back into my mouth and moved towards the entrance to the palace. Ralcor walked behind me, although he didn’t seem interested in attacking me.

I moved halfway down the stairs, then got ready to jump over the edge. Ralcor stopped at the top step.

“Let him pass!” he called out.

The soldiers at the base of the stairs turned, clearly confused.

“I said let him fucking pass!” Ralcor shouted.

The soldiers scrambled to obey their king and moved out of the way. I glanced back at Ralcor, who just stood there, still with the cruel smile on his face. I shook with anger, but I turned and ran between the gap in the soldiers.

My thoughts raced as I continued running down the wide path. Ralcor’s shouted orders passed quickly, and all the soldiers moved to the sides of the path. I left Royal City, completely unhindered.

What the fuck had I gotten myself into? My entire plan centered on having three additional magic users helping me. What was I going to do now?

45

Ikept running down the tunnel that left the Royal City. Several goblin citizens surrounded the dead soldiers, checking them for any wounds and trying to figure out what had happened.

I ignored them and kept moving. By the time I made my way through the hot springs, I finally realized I still had the goblin sword in my hand. Well, it was time to use it. My future was at stake. Silvy, Tressi, and Zia were going to be tortured if I failed.

When I reached the tunnel that led out of the city, I turned and continued running. I ran halfway down the hallway before I came across a guard.

“I hear you!” he shouted, his eyes scanning the dimly lit tunnel for me.

Since I was still running, I used my momentum and put it all into a double-handed swing, right at the soldier’s neck. His head toppled to the ground. I barely even slowed.

I was breathing hard by the time I reached the end of the tunnel, but I ignored it. Adrenaline gave me strength. A single guard was posted at the mouth of the tunnel, and I removed his head just as I had the other goblin.

I walked for a few minutes to catch my breath and gather my thoughts. My options were bad and worse: I had no choice but to fight Ralcor or he would kill my future wives. But, there was no way I could take him in a fight. Not even with a spear. Probably not even with Taranath shooting arrows over my shoulder. I had never seen anyone move nearly as quickly as Ralcor. He almost seemed to defy the laws of physics.

Magic didn’t work against him, and my plan of the ladies using magic to make the stone grab him or create a hole beneath him was now moot. I was basically out of options, with the exception of actually facing Ralcor, which was an option that guaranteed death.

I turned and started walking towards the tree I used to access the elven city of Caelora. It was getting late, but certainly Althidon would be able to give me some advice. I had no one else to turn to. His brain was my only hope.

I continued walking until my heart rate went down to something near normal. Stress still made my heart pound, but at least I wasn’t out of breath.

There was always a way around things. I just needed to think. Taranath was a skilled archer, which would be a huge help. In a short amount of time I had reached the throne room by myself. With Taranath aiding me, it would be even easier.

But Taranath couldn’t turn himself invisible like I could. He would be a target, and if five goblin soldiers decided to rush us, I wouldn’t be able to defend him.

I refused to accept the truth; that I was absolutely fucked. No, there was a way to do this. I did my best to stay positive.

All that positive thought lasted until I heard an odd grunting noise from just behind me and to my right. I turned and was immediately grateful I was invisible.

When I had first arrived here, several people had described the other races that sometimes roamed these woods. Things like harpies, orcs, uhhh gnolls I think? And of course, trolls.

The creature that stood dangerously close to me could only be described as terrifying. Standing more than ten feet tall, it was covered with stringy muscle and gray-green skin that reminded me of a frog’s. Shoulder muscles thick enough to conceal its neck held a vaguely humanoid head with a main of matted hair growing from the top. Its ribcage almost seemed too big, giving it a blocky appearance.

I was looking at a troll. A fucking troll.

Thankful for my shadow stone, I carefully moved back, trying to put some distance between me and the monster.

Of course the worst thing possible happened and it suddenly stopped, sniffing loudly. With another grunt, it turned towards me, still smelling for me.

“Shit,” I muttered. That turned out to be a mistake.

Moving surprisingly fast for something so large, it reached out for me. It would have gotten me had I not clumsily raised the sword. I managed an overhead swipe right as the troll reached in my general direction. The sword carved a deep line across the troll’s palm and it recoiled, growling in pain. The troll, that is. Swords don’t growl.

I wasted no time and ran. I hurried north, towards the elven city. If I could just get there, I’d be fine, I told myself. Only a matter of seconds later, I heard the troll crashing through bushes as it followed me, its lumbering stride easily catching up to me.

The only advantage I had was that it couldn’t see me. As soon as I reached a tree of decent size, I dashed to the side and hid behind it. It felt like an amateur move, but it was all I had at that moment.

The troll ran a dozen steps past the tree before stopping. It sniffed at the air again, looking in front of it. An overwhelming sense of relief filled me as the troll took a few careful steps forward, away from me. It still searched for me, but in the wrong direction. I remained behind the tree, peeking out every few seconds, until the troll was far enough away that I felt relatively safe.

Well, as safe as I could feel with a troll nearby.

The sun was setting and the shadows long, but there was little I could do to speed up my journey to Caelora. I had to wait on the stupid troll to get the hell out of the way, and he certainly took his time. After perhaps twenty minutes, he finally gave up and kept walking through the forest.

He walked in the same direction I was moving, but at least his long stride meant he easily outpaced me. After another few minutes, I felt safe to walk normally.

When I finally reached the tree I used to access the elven city, I took a moment to just breathe and relax. My heart felt like it was going to beat its way out of my chest. Climbing those wooden stairs didn’t help, but eventually I was in Caelora.

I removed the shadow stone when I reached the top of the stairs. It took me a moment to remember I was holding a shield and a blood sword. The last thing I needed to do was make anyone panic. I held the sword and shield together in a way that showed I clearly wasn’t planning on using them, and set off for Althidon.

Truth be told, I didn’t know where to go. I just knew the training area was where I usually found him. I set off for that part of the city, hoping I could find him. Several people gasped when they saw me, most likely due to the bloody sword in my grip.

It didn’t take me long to reach that training area, but as I feared, when I got there it was empty. A sudden wave of helplessness washed over me, but I forced it down and simply walked to the nearest house. I knocked on the door, and a moment later it opened.

An elven man opened the door, eyeing me suspiciously. That look deepened when he saw my sword and shield.

“What do you want?” he asked, closing the door halfway.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” I said. “I need to find Althidon, the Sword-Master. It’s an emergency.”

“I can’t help you much,” the man said, his eyes going to my bloody sword again. “All I know is he lives that way.” He pointed to his left, my right.

“Thank you. That’s a big help,” I said, and hurried away.

Instead of knocking on every door, I walked until I crossed a wooden bridge and reached the next island. There, I selected a house at random and asked the same question. It took me a dozen houses, everyone looking at me with fear or suspicion or both, but I finally found Althidon’s house.

It was larger than most, from being a Sword-Master, I suppose, but still small by Earth standards. Of course, elves didn’t have to worry about man caves and big-screen TVs, so that made sense. I couldn’t tell how many rooms it had from a glance. I knocked on the door and waited.

A moment later, Althidon opened the door. He looked shocked to see me. “Aaron?” he asked, looking me up and down. Over his shoulder, I saw Leena glance at me. She looked surprised as well. “What are you doing here? What’s wrong?” His eyes focused on the bloody sword in my hand.

“Everything,” I said.

46

“Please, come in,” he said, stepping aside so I could enter.

His house was small, but beautifully made. Everything was wooden, of course, having been magically grown from the same trees that made up the city itself. A thick rug in bold colors covered the floor, and several paintings hung on the walls.

“A guest?” a woman asked.

“Aaron, this is my wife, Alenia,” Althidon said.

“Pleased to meet you,” I said, offering her a small bow. Well, my best attempt at one.

Althidon had told me that Leena had her mother’s beauty, and now I saw what he meant. She was a stunningly beautiful woman, and her beauty was not even remotely lessened by the streaks of gray in her hair. She had the same slender build and facial structure as her daughter, though her hair was more of a strawberry blonde. Her eyes were blue, like a clear summer sky.

“I’ve been training him for about a week now,” Althidon explained. “He’s…helping a friend.”

“Oh,” Alenia said. “Well, in that case, he’s just in time for dinner.”

“Do you have time for dinner?” Althidon asked me quietly.

“No. Yes,” I said. “I don’t know. There’s a lot going on. I really need your help.”

“Wine, please,” Althidon said to his wife, who nodded. “We need to talk about a serious matter, my dear.”

Althidon led me to the side of the room, where two chairs sat with a small table between. A moment later, Alenia brought two silver cups filled with honey-colored wine. I could tell Leena wanted to better hear our conversation, but at a stern look from her father, she went into the kitchen with her mother. She kept glancing at us the entire time.

“Now, tell me what’s going on,” Althidon said.

I took a deep breath. “Ralcor’s guards have kidnapped Silvy, Tressi, and Zia. He’s holding them in the throne room. I just went there and saw them for myself.”

“You went all the way to the throne room?” Althidon asked, sounding impressed.

“Yeah,” I said, continuing. “With the shadow stone, it’s not that hard for me. I only had to kill, I don’t know, half a dozen of them. But he’s got the women. I spoke with Ralcor and he challenged me to a fight. I agreed and told him I’d be there tomorrow. He said if I don’t show up, he’ll skin the women alive.”

Althidon took a long sip from his wine and leaned back in his chair. “Well,” he said after a moment. “I don’t see how things could get much worse.”

“Ralcor is the only problem,” I said. “I can kill the rest of the guards myself, or with Taranath’s help. I was able to kill two men at once today. I did it twice, in fact. But I can’t fight Ralcor by myself. Even with Taranath, I don’t think I’d make it.” I took a deep breath. “I don’t know what to do, so I came to you for advice.”

Althidon drank from his wine cup again and sat there, brows knit in thought. He glanced over at me a few times, almost seeming to argue with himself.

As for me, I was a mess of emotions. Fear that something was going to happen to the women, anxiety and stress and regret for all the men I would have to kill. And of course, absolute terror at the thought of facing Ralcor. I knew a death at his hands wouldn’t be a quick one.

“There are very few men alive that could face Ralcor with a sword and survive,” Althidon said. “His skill with a blade is legendary. I’ve often wondered how I would fare against him.” He took a deep breath. “I suppose it’s time to find out.”

“What?” I asked flatly.

“I’m going with you,” Althidon said, downing the last of his wine. “Drink your wine, that’s not cheap.”

I looked down into my silver cup and took a sip. It was a light wine with just the faintest trace of sweetness. While I wasn’t a huge wine drinker, this was just as good as I expected from elves.

“I’m already risking Taranath’s life. I don’t want to add yours to the mix,” I said, feeling some measure of guilt.

“Nonsense,” Althidon replied, waving it away. “As I understand, I probably won’t even get close to any soldiers until we reach Ralcor. You and Taranath will take care of them. You’ll sleep here tonight. For obvious reasons, there is nowhere in the goblin city that would be safe for you.”

I nodded, feeling numb. “Thank you. I will forever be in your debt.”

“Eh, forget about it,” Althidon said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a good fight.”

I winced at the similarity to Ralcor’s words.

“Are you two ready?” Alenia called out.

“Yes, honey,” Althidon said. “Come on, Aaron. Right now, stressing yourself won’t help anything. Try to relax a bit.”

I followed him into the small kitchen, where we sat around a round table. The food Alenia served was colorful and smelled incredible. It looked like some kind of flatbread, filled with…. Well, I didn’t know what. Some kind of bean, with a thick, rich red sauce. Colorful vegetables circled the edge of each plate. I didn’t recognize most of them, but they were well-spiced.

It dawned on me that there was no meat in the food. That made sense, from what I understood about elves. They probably weren’t too big on killing animals and eating them. For that matter, goblins weren’t huge on it either. Well, as good as this tasted, I didn’t mind one bit.

“Some more wine?” Alenia asked.

“Please,” I said, trying not to sound overly grateful.

“Leena,” Alenia said.

Leena got up from her chair and grabbed a small pitcher of wine, then topped off everyone’s cups. She set the pitcher in the center of the table and we continued.

“So, is there anything you need to tell me?” Alenia asked, taking a delicate bite of her food.

“I’m going with Aaron tomorrow,” Althidon said after a brief pause. His normally gruff voice was suddenly calm, almost tender as he spoke to his wife. “You know I love you, Alenia, and I don’t like keeping things from you.” He paused again, taking a deep breath. “We’re going to overthrow Ralcor and put Aaron on the goblin throne.”

Alenia swallowed her bite of food, then carefully cut another one. She stuck that in her mouth, chewed, then swallowed it. The whole time, Leena stared at both of us, her mouth open.

“Oh, close your mouth before you catch flies,” Alenia said. “Althidon, my dear, I’m not sure if that’s one of your bad jokes or not.”

“He’s not joking,” I said. After a sigh, I continued. “Everyone would know in a couple days regardless, so I suppose there’s no point in keeping things secret anymore. Alenia, my world was destroyed. The gods brought me here as an answer to Silvy’s prayers.”

“I know that name,” Alenia said, shaking her head slightly. “Awful, what Ralcor did to her.”

“Yes, well I was planning on overthrowing Ralcor and taking his place on the throne. I would bring about an era of peace and prosperity to the goblin people, and restore relations with the elves.”

“And you’re not even a goblin,” Alenia said without looking up. She took another bite of her food, not bothered at all by our conversation. Leena still looked like her eyes were going to pop out of her head.

“No, but I’m here because of them so I owe them that. Well…Ralcor’s soldiers kidnapped Silvy and two other women earlier today. All three of them are strong with magic. They were going to help me. I’m actually planning on marrying them once I become king.”

Alenia finally set her fork down, although it was just to grab her cup of wine. “So, you’re going to rescue them?”

I nodded. “And to kill Ralcor. But it’s going to be much more difficult without them. Taranath has agreed to join me.”

“Oh, the man with the bow? He is rather good.” Alenia gently set her cup down and looked from me to her husband. “Well, if anyone is going to help you, I suppose my Al would be the best man. I don’t think anyone out there can best him with a sword.”

“You’re just—but wait,” Leena said, trying to find the right words to say.

“Oh, your father is fine,” Alenia said. “He’s the best swordsman out of our entire people and has been for more than a hundred years, if not two hundred. If anyone is going to be okay, it’s him. No, the one person I would worry about is you, Aaron.”

I shrugged. “I know blood magic, and I’m very strong with it.”

That finally broke through her calm facade. The fork dropped from Alenia’s hand and clanged against her plate.

“Blood magic?” Alenia said, a hint of dread in her voice. “You know blood magic?” She looked over at Althidon. “You trained a man that knows blood magic, and brought him into my house?” Her voice was filled with displeasure.

Althidon held up a hand. “Peace be on you, wife. It’s okay. Aaron is a good man, and blood magic is the only way he is able to do this. He was brought here by the gods, remember. They gave him the tools he needs to complete his task.”

“What is the deal with you guys and blood magic?” I asked.

Alenia gave me a hard look. “Three hundred years ago, a man named Thalanil tried to conquer our people. He knew blood magic, just like you. He used it to slaughter hundreds, thousands of innocent people, in order to set himself on the throne.”

“How was he beaten?” I asked.

It was Leena that answered. “My grandfather,” she said with a smile of pride.

I looked at Althidon, who nodded. “My father was twice the swordsman I’ll ever be,” he said. “May his memory never fade. He saved us from living under the boot of a madman, although he died in the process. After that moment, blood magic has been forbidden in the elven kingdom.”

“Thanks for clearing that up,” I said. “Now I understand why some people react the way they do.”

“Will you be eating in the morning, my love?” Alenia asked.

Althidon shook his head. “No, just some water. Maybe a dash of wine,” he said. “Now please, let us talk of more pleasant things.”

After that, we talked of, well, elven stuff. I asked about the trees and how they were grown into cities. That was a point of pride among the elven people, Althidon explained. Great amounts of magic were used to shape the trees into the islands and bridges far above the ground, and to maintain them. We all relaxed a bit as he explained.

Long ago, the elves used to live on the ground, in buildings of stone, wood, and brick. After too many fights with orcs and other neighbors, they finally took to the trees, to live lives of relative peace. They still trained for war in case anyone were to attack them, but otherwise lived calm lives.

The whole time, Leena kept shooting me small glances and smiles. Learning the truth about me seemed to amplify her interest in me. At least she was cautious enough that neither of her parents saw, for which I was grateful. If she suspected her daughter of wanting to do anything with me, Alenia would probably drown me with that pitcher of wine, keeping a calm demeanor the whole time.

When we were done, we went to the living room, where we all sat and Althidon and Alenia took turns telling stories from elven history. I found it fascinating, and more importantly, it helped to pass time without me tearing my hair out from stress.

“You will sleep in the guest room,” Althidon announced later that evening. “I hope you will find everything comfortable.”

He showed me to a small room that held a simple bed and a nightstand, and nothing else. When I sat on the bed, I felt an immediate difference from Silvy’s mattress. I suppose I had just gotten used to hers, but this was far better. I made a note to have the elves make a mattress for me after I became king.

Althidon bade me goodnight, then left the room. A faint bit of starlight beaming through the small window was enough light for me to get undressed, and I slipped beneath the sheets. They were soft, made out of that same material as my clothes. Softer than wool, stronger than cotton. I briefly wondered what kind of plant they came from.

I tried not to think about the next day, although it was hard. Eventually, exhaustion set in and I fell asleep.

I slept lightly, and woke with a jerk when I heard the door hinge creak. My hand shot out for the goblin sword but stopped on the hilt.

It was Leena.

She stood in the doorway, wearing nothing but a thin shift. A very thin shift, in fact. Even in the starlight, I was able to make out her nipples behind the translucent fabric.

“Is everything alright?” I asked sleepily. I pulled my hand away from the sword hilt.

“Yes,” she said quietly, and came into the room.

I wanted to ask her what she was doing, but she simply came to the bed and pulled the sheets back. I was fully nude, but that didn’t seem to bother her. She climbed in bed with me, backing against me so that we were spooning, then grabbed my arm and pulled it over her.

I held her tightly to me. Her hair was the softest thing I’d ever felt, and she smelled wonderful. Her small, perky butt was pressed right against my crotch, so there was no way for me to avoid getting an erection. She didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she moved her hips a few times, making the situation even worse.

“You’re really going to be the new goblin king?” she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

“Yes,” I replied. “I want to start a new era of peace among the goblins and improve their lives. They’re good people and they deserve better than what they have now. The elves are important to me as well, and I want to repair relations between our two people. I want to be the best king I can.”

“What do you value in a partner?” she asked after a pause.

I thought carefully before answering. “I have to be able to trust her. Someone that makes me feel loved, and appreciated. Good communication skills.”

When I didn’t say anything else, she answered. “Is that all?”

“Those are probably the most important things, yeah,” I said.

“In stories, I’ve read about political marriages,” she said. “To solidify the bond between two nations.” She paused for a moment, then continued. “You know, I respect what you’re doing. Risking your life to help the goblin people, when you aren’t even a goblin yourself. Facing Ralcor, even though you know how dangerous he is. That shows honor, courage, and strength. Those are things I value in a partner.”

She suddenly rolled over so that she was facing me. Her nose was nearly touching mine. Her emerald eyes looked into mine for some time. I thought she was going to kiss me, and some part hoped she would, but she didn’t. She just looked at me.

After some time, she took my hand and put it on her hip, then moved it around, signalling for me to feel her in a way that showed she was still rather innocent and vulnerable. I let my hand move around a bit, respectfully, enjoying her slender body. Her hips were small, especially compared to the goblin women, but they were perfect for her frame.

“Is this okay?” she asked. “I know what you’re used to. Could you be happy with this?”

And now it made sense. Everyone knew how ridiculously beautiful and voluptuous goblin women were. Leena was beautiful, but curvy she was not. Not even remotely. She was self-conscious about her waiflike figure.

“Absolutely,” I said. I avoided letting my hand slide back to grab her ass, but let me tell you, it wasn’t easy.

That answer seemed to satisfy her. She turned back around, pressing her back to me, and told me to hold her. I did, enjoying her soft skin against mine, but I didn’t close my eyes and made no effort to fall asleep. The last thing I wanted was for Althidon to find his daughter in my bed.

Fortunately, after about half an hour, she got up. Without a word, she sat on the side of the bed, toying with the narrow shoulder straps of her shift. With a flick of her hand, it slid down, and the shift with it. She stood and let it fall to the floor, then slowly turned back to me.

I didn’t know what to say. Even as slender as she was, her body was absolutely flawless. I had never seen anything like it. Her small yet round, perky butt. Her small breasts. Her tiny waist and long legs.

She bent over and kissed me on the cheek, then held my gaze for a moment. With a faint smile, she grabbed her shift and straightened up, then turned and walked slowly to the door. She paused in the doorway, turning to look at me over her shoulder. With a rock of her hips, she finally walked away.

“Holy shit,” I whispered to myself. What was going on?

If only Zia could have seen her.

47

Morning came, and with it my stress and fear were amplified. My hands shook as I pulled on my clothes. In a matter of hours, I would have to fight one of the best swordsmen alive. If I failed, the women I loved would be tortured and killed.

So, needless to say, the stakes were high.

Once I got dressed, I sat on the edge of the bed for a moment with my eyes closed. I tried to think of peaceful things. Of what my life would be like once I became king. Of my wives, Tressi, Zia, and Silvy. And now, possibly Leena. Of the children we would have, and the nation I would rule over.

And then I tried to picture all of us—Leena included—in a field in the spring, surrounded by wildflowers. We talked, we laughed, we kissed, we made love. It was a beautiful, happy moment, and I held tightly to that daydream. That was what I wanted. That was what I was fighting for.

I opened my eyes, feeling some measure of calmness. After grabbing my shield and the goblin sword—damn thing had dried blood on the blade still—I pulled the door open and walked into the living room.

Leena was the first person I saw. The kitchen was open to the living room, and she was in there preparing something to eat with her mother. At the sound of the door opening, she looked to the side and our eyes met. She smiled at me, not a flirtatious smile, but one that solidified what she had hinted at last night.

Leena wanted me.

“If that’s really what you want, you know I’ll support you,” her mother said as she kneaded a blob of dough on a wooden table. “You’ll have to convince your father, though.”

Leena whispered something, and her mother looked over at me.

“Oh, good morning, Aaron. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said. “Thank you for the hospitality, Alenia. This has been very nice.”

“A bit of calmness before the storm,” she said, turning back to her dough. “I do wish I could make you two breakfast, but Al refuses.”

“No eating before a fight,” Althidon said as he walked in from the bedroom. He wore simple clothes, nothing elaborate at all, and in his hands he carried armor and a sword. He set them on the nearest chair, then began sorting through them.

“Why not?” I asked.

“That was a lesson I learned long ago, back when a few scoundrels still tried to attack us,” Althidon explained. “I saw it happen so many times. Men would eat a hearty breakfast, then go off to fight. Once the heat of battle set in, they’d puke their guts out. Hard to fight when you’re vomiting.”

“Wow. I never thought of that,” I said. But then again, war back in my world involved shooting people. Here, we were going to be swinging swords and thrusting spears into men, tearing their bodies open. Blood and guts would be everywhere. People would scream as they died, right next to me. It was going to be gruesome.

“Help me with this, will you?” Althidon said. His voice went back to its usual, that gruff quality that reminded me of an older, high-ranking military man. The kind of voice used to barking orders and being obeyed without question.

I went over to him as he set a gambeson over his shoulders. It looked to be made of sturdy cloth with hundreds of small plates of hardened leather attached. So, flexible, reasonably lightweight, but it would still stop a slicing blade from doing damage. He adjusted it while I helped buckle the sides.

Althidon grabbed a helmet and set it on his head, checking the fit, then nodded and removed it. I stared at it for a moment, trying to figure out what it was. It almost looked like hardened leather, just like on his armor, but it had a strange texture. Almost like veins. Almost like….

“Why does that look like it’s made out of giant leaves?” I asked, pointing at his helmet.

“Because it is,” Althidon said, holding to the side so I could look more closely. “Obviously, the leaves have been strengthened with magic, but this helmet came from the same trees that our city was built from.” He tapped himself on the chest. “My armor, as well.”

“Father, I have a question,” Leena said, walking towards us. She wiped her hands clean on a small towel.

“What is it, my dear?” Althidon asked, turning to face her.

Leena looked briefly at me, then back to her father. Her chin raised slightly in that way that I now recognized. She was going to get her way, no matter what it took.

“When you are done with this and Aaron is king, he has stated that he intends to reestablish trade and cooperation between our nations,” she began. “We haven’t traded with the goblin people in what, a hundred years now?”

“About that, yes,” Althidon said cautiously.

“Neighboring nations sometimes arrange political marriages to solidify a peaceful alliance.”

“Leena,” Althidon warned.

“I believe a marriage would help repair the bond between our two nations,” Leena said, ignoring her father’s warning. “It would tie our people together, ensuring peace for decades, centuries, even.”

“Do you know what you’re asking?” Althidon said.

“Of course I do,” Leena said, giving one foot a little stomp. “Aaron has courage, integrity, and honor! Half of the men around here couldn’t even beat me in a sword fight. For that matter, Aaron probably couldn’t either, but at least I know he would try. And he is selfless, saving a people that aren’t even his. He’s risking his life to do what’s right.”

I blinked at that. I had never really thought about what I was doing, not in that manner at least. It just felt like the right thing to do.

“I cannot disagree with you there,” Althidon muttered. “But you’re still so young, Leena.”

“I’m fifty-nine!” she insisted. “And you’re the Sword-Master, only a few steps below the king himself. I would be an appropriate bride for a king.”

Althidon opened his mouth to argue and Leena cut him off.

“This is what I want, father. I want an honorable man. A man with courage, like you. I want Aaron. I want to be his queen.”

Althidon frowned at her for some time, then transferred that frown to me. I met his gaze and tried not to shift. His hard stares could be unsettling.

“You don’t know him that well,” Althidon said.

“And yet you trust him,” Leena said. “You, who trusts very, very few people. That tells me a lot.” She turned to me. “Aaron, would you accept me as a bride once you become king? Would you treat me with honor and respect?”

I looked at her for a moment, in shock. She was waiting expectantly for my reply. Althidon was giving me that hard look that said he’d bury my remains if I ever mistreated his daughter. I looked over at Alenia, who frowned at me with her hands on her hips as if to say if I refused her daughter she’d beat me with a frying pan.

“I would be honored to have you as one of my queens,” I said carefully. “And I would work hard to treat you right, every day, for the rest of our lives.” I somehow managed to avoid stating that she was way out of my league.

That answer seemed to satisfy everyone. Alenia nodded in approval. Leena walked up to me and hugged me, which was slightly awkward since I had the wooden practice shield in one hand and a bloody goblin short sword in the other. Althidon’s face had cautious approval, but he had clearly been caught off guard.

“What a way to start the morning,” I said.

“You remember this when you’re fighting today,” Alenia said, still giving me that stern look. “You had better be successful. I won’t stand for you letting my daughter down after she just offered you her heart and her love..”

I almost laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. After kissing Leena’s forehead—that felt like a safe gesture—I turned to Althidon. “What’s this about you being a few steps below the king?”

Althidon frowned as if he didn’t care to talk about it. “Technically, I’m second in line, behind the king’s sons.” He looked down at the sword leaning against the chair. “It appears being good with a sword has treated me well.”

“I have a feeling you haven’t shared your full title with me,” I said. He shot me a hard look and I laughed. “Hey, if I am to be king, I need to know how to properly address you.”

“Grand Duke Althidon, Sword-Master,” he grumbled. “Which makes my wife Grand Duchess Alenia. And of course, Duchess Leena.”

“I’m a duchess,” Leena said with a satisfied nod. “Royalty belongs with royalty.”

“How did a Sword-Master get such a lofty title?” I asked. “Forgive me, I don’t understand these things. I thought you were a soldier.”

“I was,” Althidon began.

“He saved the king’s life many years ago,” Leena added. “Defended him against an assassination attempt that left ten royal guards dead. Only the king and my father survived, so the king made him a grand duke after that as a reward.” She turned to her father. “You have set the bar rather high, father. I need a man with the same kind of honor and selflessness that you have.” She shot me a proud look as if to say she already expected me to live up to her father’s standard.

Althidon sighed. “I can beat any man with a sword, but I can’t win against my daughter.” He barked a sudden laugh.

Alenia walked up to him and helped him fasten his sword belt. “Be careful, my love,” she said quietly, then kissed him. “Come back to me alive and in one piece.” It sounded like an order.

“That goes for you as well,” Leena said. She took a step closer to me, hesitated, then pecked me on the mouth. Her lips were incredibly soft and smooth, even if the kiss was a bit awkward.

“I promise,” I said.

My head was spinning. A political marriage did make perfect sense, when I thought about it. And Zia seemed excited at the thought of elven women, so perhaps I had nothing to worry about. But I wasn’t looking forward to having that conversation.

48

“Acup of wine for our way out, please,” Althidon said, and Alenia nodded and went back into the kitchen.

Leena moved so she stood next to me and kept smiling at me. I smiled back, but inside I was a tornado of emotions.

“Ah, shit,” I said. “I completely forgot about Taranath, with all that’s going on.”

“I already told him last night,” Althidon said, waving his hand.

“How?” I asked. “You didn’t even leave the house.”

He gave me a wry look. “It seems you have a lot to learn about magic, Aaron. I sent him a message, which he received. It’s one of the few things I can do with my limited magical abilities. He should be here any moment.”

Alenia returned a moment later with two silver cups of wine in her hands, and gave one to me and one to her husband.

“A dash of liquid courage to calm the nerves,” Althidon said when he saw the question in my eyes.

Just then, a knock came at the door. Leena left my side and pulled the door open, revealing Taranath. She hugged him and pulled him inside.

“Aaron, I am sorry for what happened,” Taranath said as Leena pulled him into the room by his hand.

“I’m going to be one of his queens,” Leena said proudly. She shot me a smile.

“Uh, what?” Taranath said.

“Once this is done and Aaron sits on the throne, he has agreed to take me as a wife,” Leena said. “He agreed just before you got here.”

At that moment, Alenia brought a third cup of wine and gave it to Taranath. He accepted it with a nod of thanks.

“So human Aaron will be a goblin king, and elven Leena will be a goblin queen? In that case, may you have many years of happiness,” he said, raising his cup and giving a good-natured chuckle.

We all drank to that.

“Sounds like you’ve had an eventful morning,” Taranath said with a grin.

“To put it mildly,” I said.

“I’m ready when you two are,” Althidon said, then downed the last of his wine. “We need to stop by the armory to get you a proper spear and shield, Aaron.” He frowned at the goblin sword I held. “Well, at least it looks like you finally got some experience with a sword.”

“My bow is just outside your front door,” Taranath said, although I noticed he had a large quiver on his back, with the fletched ends of the arrows peeking over his shoulder. “I didn’t want to accidentally knock anything over with it.”

Althidon nodded. “Good. We should get moving.”

“Thank you for everything,” I said, not sure who I meant it for.

“Of course,” Althidon said, taking it in stride.

I went to the front door and opened it, then set the sword and shield on the ground. After that, I went back inside and gave Alenia a hug. Her eyebrows rose slightly at that, but I hugged her the way I would my mother. Then, I kissed Leena on the cheek and hugged her as well.

“This time tomorrow, we’ll be celebrating,” I said.

“And cleaning up,” Althidon said with a grunted laugh.

“That’s dark,” Taranath added.

I grabbed the sword and shield on the way out and followed the other two men. Taranath’s bow was nearly as tall as he was, so I understood why he left it outside. I noticed neither man wearing a cloak—I hadn’t worn one for a few days either, but just because it got in the way sometimes. Then, I realized that was exactly why they weren’t wearing cloaks.

We walked towards the training grounds, but kept going when we got there. On the other end of the same island, a large building grew from the wooden floor.

“A moment, please,” Althidon said, and entered the building while Taranath and I waited.

“So, marrying Leena?” Taranath asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “Kinda caught me by surprise this morning.”

He chuckled. “That sounds like her. I’ve known her since she was little. When she gets an idea into her head, nothing will budge it. So you’re stuck with her for the rest of your life.”

I gave him a wary look and he laughed.

“I don’t mean that in a bad way, don’t worry. She gets a bit haughty at times, perhaps due to who her father is, but she has a heart of gold. You should count yourself lucky she chose you. I think nearly every man in the elven kingdom has had their eyes on her since she was forty, but none of them have been up to her standards. Also, due to her father. No one wants to risk Althidon’s wrath.”

“What about you?” I asked.

Taranath smiled. “We’re only friends. I have yet to find a mate for myself. I’m in no rush, even if it takes another fifty years.”

“Wait a minute. How old are you?”

“One hundred fifteen,” Taranath said. “A little old to be getting married, but I’m picky.”

I blinked at that. My earlier thoughts with Silvy about celebrating a hundredth anniversary looked to be true. Hell, I might even celebrate a two hundredth anniversary one day.

Althidon returned a moment later with a shield and spear in hand. We traded, and he set mine inside the armory.

The shield he gave me was made of hardened leather, and notably lighter than the thick wooden practice shield I had been using. It was roughly an oval in shape, and large enough to shield a good section of my body. After a closer look, I realized the shield was actually made from the leaves of the great trees, same as Althidon’s armor.

The spear was similar to the practice spear I had been using, but this one was topped with a foot-long steel point that gleamed in the morning sun. I noticed a few barbs further down the blade, and the base of the spear point had wicked hooks meant for catching on clothing or tearing flesh. Jesus, these guys meant business.

“Ready?” Taranath asked. From the light tone in his voice, you’d never guess he was ready to overthrow a king.

“Let’s get this done,” I said, my voice much calmer than I felt inside.

We walked through the city, drawing a number of stares. Several people shouted out greetings to Althidon, especially after seeing him in armor with a sword belted on. I assumed that was a rare thing.

We took a different tree down to the ground, which only left me slightly confused about our location. They told me we were closer to the entrance to the goblin city, though.

“So, how does this change our plan?” Taranath asked.

“Not by much,” I said. “I’ll do my share of freezing people or killing them, you hit them with arrows, Althidon can take care of anyone that gets close.” I looked down at my spear. “I suppose I can, as well.”

“And Ralcor?” Taranath asked.

“I can slow him, just slightly,” I said. “At least, I think. The best path to defeating Ralcor will likely involve Althidon fighting him while I try to stick him from behind, and you can pepper him with arrows.”

“Not a very honorable way to fight,” Taranath said.

“Yeah, but I don’t care,” I replied. “Fighting honorably would just result in me getting killed.”

“Good point,” he said.

“I saw a troll through here yesterday, so be careful,” I said after a few minutes. “Damn ugly thing. Huge.”

“Trolls are dangerous, but often stupid,” Althidon said. “You need a group of men with very long spears to even attempt to fight one. Or better yet, magic. Best bet is to just avoid them.” He looked around for a moment. “I don’t hear anything, but if one comes around, we need to run for the stairs on that tree. Aaron, you can slow him with magic.”

“Done,” I said, and nodded.

I switched the spear over to my shield hand and reached into my pocket, feeling for the shadow stone. Once my fingers touched it, I stopped. I wouldn’t need that, today. Everyone would know I was there. Besides, if I went invisible, that would just make my two companions more obvious targets.

“It’s just up here,” Althidon said. He placed a hand on his sword hilt and eased the blade in its scabbard.

Taranath still held his bow by his side, but reached up and grabbed an arrow. I gripped my spear and tried not to let fear overwhelm me.

When the entrance to the goblin city came into view, we stopped. Althidon took a moment to check both of us, ensuring our weapons were ready and nothing was out of place. Taranath and I did the same. We were as ready as could be.

As we walked closer, I saw two goblin soldiers standing in front of the mouth of the tunnel. While both of them had the customary iron-banded clubs hanging from their belts, these men also had long spears leaning against their shoulders.

We entered the clearing between the forest and the mountain, and the goblin soldiers noticed us. They lowered their spears, almost casually. Next to me, Althidon unsheathed his sword.

“There’s the fucker,” one of the goblins said.

“We’re supposed to take you alive,” the other soldier said. “Doesn’t mean we can put a few holes in you first.” He hefted his spear as if he couldn’t wait to strike me with it.

“This is it,” I said as I reached out and filled my body with magic. “Let the killing begin.”

49

The goblin soldiers each took a few steps forward, not at all intimidated by my elven friends. On the contrary, they shouted a few curses, mocking the elves for being “fairies” and “weak girly-men.”

Althidon just ignored that, but Taranath immediately nocked an arrow and sent it into the soldier on the left. The arrow struck him in the center of the face, right through his nose. He screamed as he fell to the ground, making sucking noises as his sinuses filled with blood.

The other soldier lowered his eyebrows and rushed us. I reached out with magic and pulled the blood from his legs to stop him. He only made it four steps before falling to the ground. He shouted curses at us and tried crawling closer, still with the spear in his hand.

“Bastards are persistent, I’ll give them that much,” Althidon muttered.

I had to get used to killing with a spear, so I decided it was best to get it over with. I walked up to the soldier, kicking his spear aside when he tried to thrust it at me. I stomped on the haft of his spear so he couldn’t use it anymore, then rammed the point of mine right into the base of his neck.

It wasn’t a clean kill. My spear went along the side of his neck, certainly severing a bunch of arteries in the process, but he laid there crying out in pain for quite some time. I finally couldn’t take it any longer and simply stopped his heart with blood magic. The other soldier died around the same time. He drowned in his own blood.

“What a way to start,” I said, suddenly grateful I hadn’t eaten any breakfast that morning. Althidon really knew what he was talking about.

“Keep it moving,” Althidon said. His voice was all business now. He kept his sword in front of him as we walked down the tunnel.

I kept my eyes sharp, but I didn’t see any more goblins until we were almost at the end of the tunnel. A group of three women were suddenly in front of us, looking shocked when they finally saw us.

“It’s okay, we’re not here to hurt you!” I called out. They looked like they were about to scream. “Today is Ralcor’s last day as king. You won’t have to deal with his tyranny any longer.”

The women looked at each other, clearly terrified but trying to process what I was telling them.

“Wow,” Taranath said, lowering his bow. “So that’s what goblin women look like? Impressive.” His face was a mask of pure amazement. Was he smitten with goblin women after a single glance? I couldn’t blame him.

“Oh, you have no idea,” I said, then raised my voice again. “Please, pass by us. We mean you no harm. I come for Ralcor, that is all.”

We moved to one side of the tunnel and after a moment the women came closer. They were afraid of us, but I assured them again that they had nothing to fear from us. I also warned them about the two bodies at the end of the tunnel.

“My goodness, the back is just as amazing as the front,” Taranath said, watching the three women walk away. One of them looked over her shoulder and met his eyes. He flashed her a charming smile, but that was not the best time to be flirting. She hurried away with her friends.

“Thinking of taking a goblin mate, now?” I asked.

Taranath just kept watching them as they walked away. “Wow,” he said again, quietly. “I’m glad I know a bit of the goblin language.”

“They’d probably like you,” I said. “Come on, let’s keep moving. They’ll be here tomorrow. And plenty of goblin women would be eager for a guy like you to just treat them right.”

“Is that so?” Taranath asked, but at least he grabbed another arrow from his quiver.

“This place is fascinating,” Althidon said as we walked down the tunnel. “I’m glad there aren’t more soldiers here. Assaulting this place would be a nightmare.”

“I would almost believe Ralcor would tell them all to stand down,” I said. “Just to make it easier for me to get to him. I think he’s eager to fight me.”

“Hate to disappoint him, but he’ll have to fight me instead,” Althidon said.

When we came near the end of the tunnel, I saw one soldier in the distance. I didn’t want to cause a panic, and Taranath shooting them in the face could lead to screams. Instead, I reached out with magic and stopped his heart. The soldier staggered to his knees, clutching at his chest and tugging at the neck of his armor, then fell facedown on the stone floor.

Next to me, Althidon shook his head. “Absolutely devastating, blood magic.”

We reached the end of the tunnel and it opened up into Tunnel City. I let Althidon and Taranath marvel at the large underground cave, with all the beautiful houses in the center. A hundred feet tall, five hundred feet in diameter, it really was a sight to behold.

“That moss in the ceiling,” Althidon said, pointing up. “The stuff that lights this place. It’s magical. I thought goblins didn’t trust magic.”

“Ralcor has spread a distrust of magic, but he will still use it when it benefits him,” I said. “The lights are a perfect example, although they were created a long time ago.”

Several goblins noticed us and gasped in shock. There wasn’t much I could do to calm them down. I tried calling out to them, explaining that we meant no harm, but I didn’t think that did any good.

“Might as well just push forward,” I said. As we walked to the tunnel that led to the hot springs, I caught a glimpse down one of the streets—I didn’t know if they were called streets here, but that’s what it looked like—and saw a patrol of four goblin soldiers.

“Let’s get moving,” I said. “Soldiers back there, I’d rather they not see us.”

Together, we hurried along the side of Tunnel City and towards the next room. Each time we came across a group of goblins, I assured them we were not there to hurt them. I think they were so surprised at seeing a foreign race speak their language that they forgot to be terrified. As it was, most of them were still scared and ran away. Taranath had a habit of turning and watching the women run.

“I think Tressi has an older sister,” I said to him. “I can introduce you two after this.”

“Please,” Taranath said.

I chuckled to myself. After a century of slender elven women, he was surrounded by more tits and ass than he probably thought existed.

We exited the tunnel and came to the cave where the hot springs were located. It was busy in there, but most people were too focused on their own tasks to notice us.

“Look to your left,” I said to Taranath.

All three of us looked to the left, right as a pair of young goblin women were stepping into one of the pools. They were fully nude, of course.

“Wow,” Taranath said again. “I don’t even have words for that.”

“Well, let’s get moving before you wind up wielding a boner along with your bow.”

The three of us laughed and we continued. I tried smiling at every goblin I passed, but they were still frightened of us, and for good reason. I made sure to look over my shoulder every few seconds to make sure no soldiers were following us, so when I saw that party of four enter the cave, I wasn’t surprised.

“We have soldiers behind us,” I said. “It’s only four, but killing them in front of everyone would cause a panic. Let’s keep moving.”

“Good thinking,” Althidon said.

They were far enough behind us that they weren’t a concern, at least at the moment. I knew they saw us though, considering we were much taller than any of the goblins. It was impossible to hide in that crowd.

“Does that lead to the throne room?” Althidon said, pointing in front of us.

I had been scanning the sides of the room, so I turned and followed where Althidon was pointing. Sure enough, he had found the tunnel that led to Royal City.

I was used to there being two guards posted there at all times. Now there were six, and each of them was wearing plate armor and wielding a long spear. Not only that, each one had a shield on their other arm. That was a problem.

“I don’t think there’s any way around it,” I said. “I’m going to have to kill them. At least if I do it, that probably won’t cause as much chaos as if either of you do.”

“Good point,” Taranath said. He turned and looked behind us, then frowned. “There are more of them.”

I glanced over my shoulder and bit off a curse. I didn’t have the time to count them, but the group of four guards was now twice that size. When I looked back in front, the guards had also noticed us, and leveled their spears.

“Take them alive, boys,” one of them said. He had several golden braids hanging from one shoulder, so I assumed he had superior rank to the others.

“Shit,” I said, looking back and forth. There were nearly a dozen guards coming behind us, now. When I turned again, the four armored guards were still there, but another group of four had come down the tunnel and joined them. We needed to get out of this situation, and fast.

Taranath nocked an arrow, then raised his bow halfway but I stopped him. “No, let me start it,” I said. “Remember, I’m trying to avoid a panic. I don’t want to get crushed by the crowd.”

“There will be more soldiers up that tunnel, if that’s the way to the king,” Althidon said, pointing with his sword.

He was right. I needed to clear the way behind us so we wouldn’t get surrounded. Easier said than done.

“Come on,” I said, moving to my right. There were a handful of buildings in there, things that reminded me of utility companies back home. Public service buildings of some sort. I tried to keep us between them and watched as the dozen guards behind us turned and approached.

They swaggered as they walked towards us, for they knew they had us surrounded. We couldn’t get out without a fight.

“Well, I guess it’s time to start the slaughter,” I said.

There was no way I could take that many men at once; even attacking two at the same time was a struggle. I had to work quickly. Plus, I couldn’t do something simple like stop their hearts; I had to maintain that, and while I could do it for one or two, I couldn’t maintain that for a dozen men. I had to kill them, and quickly.

Using my blood magic, I reached out to the nearest soldier. I felt my way through his veins until I got to his brain, then increased his blood pressure until several blood vessels exploded. He screamed and clutched at his head with wobbly arms, then fell to his knees. Wasting no time, I reached out to the next soldier and did the same.

They knew their time was limited, so at that point they rushed us. I worked as quickly as I could, but it wasn’t enough.

Next to me, Taranath fired arrows almost as quickly as he could nock them, barely taking the time to aim. Each one struck true though, and four soldiers dropped dead with arrows through their faces. Althidon stepped up, his sword ready. I raised my spear, in case I had to join the melee.

At that point, only three soldiers remained. They rushed us, waving their iron-banded clubs overhead, ready to break our bones and smash our heads. I kept my shield in front of me and gripped my spear tightly. Now was my first real test.

Taranath nocked another arrow, but the soldiers were close to us now and it was risky. Althidon moved forward, flowing like water. His sword easily redirected a club strike from one of the soldiers, then removed his head from his neck. Before that soldier’s head had even fallen to the ground, Althidon sliced through another man’s arm, removing his hand at the wrist.

I thrust forward with my spear, aiming for his face, but my aim was slightly off. Instead, the point of my spear took him in the throat, which was probably a better target, to be honest. I twisted the blade and yanked my spear out right as Taranath fired an arrow point-blank into the side of the last soldier’s head.

And just like that, nearly a dozen men were dead. It took a few seconds for my heart to stop pounding, and I tried my best not to look at the gaping wounds in their bodies. Blood was already gathering in pools on the stone floor. At least when I killed with magic it didn’t leave bloody heads and hands on the ground.

“More coming,” Althidon said, his voice grim. He raised his sword again.

I turned and saw two dozen soldiers marching towards us in a tight formation, shields up and spears out.

“My sword isn’t much good against that many spears,” Althidon said. “And the bit of magic I know wouldn’t do much either. I know my limitations.”

“With that armor and their helmets, only a lucky shot would do much,” Taranath said. He suddenly laughed. “Well, this took a turn for the worse.”

“I don’t want to have to explain to your wife why you got hurt,” I said to Althidon.

We all backed up a few steps and my mind raced, searching for a way out or something I could use to fight these soldiers. The truth was, we were overwhelmed.

There was a time to fight and a time to flee. This was the latter.

I turned in a circle as I thought, hoping something would give me an idea. It was then that my eyes caught the entrance to a tunnel on what I thought was the northern side of the cave. It was dark, darker than most of the tunnels were.

“I have an idea,” I said.

“Is it a good idea?” Taranath asked.

“Not really,” I replied. “But if it works, this will be done before you know it.”

50

Itold them to follow me and I ran towards the dark tunnel, hoping my assumption was right. If I was wrong, we’d all be dead. But then again, without a miracle, we’d be dead anyways.

“Good thinking,” Althidon said. “Their numbers won’t matter as much in the tunnel. We can face them a few at a time.”

“Yeah,” I said, not really hearing him. My mind was elsewhere.

We entered the tunnel and I struggled to see. There was just enough light that we didn’t bump into anything. We kept running, easily outpacing the heavily armored goblin soldiers, and followed the tunnel as it gently sloped down and to the left. It was longer than I expected, but that made sense.

“Oh wow,” Taranath said when we finally reached the end.

We entered a massive cave, a thousand feet wide and a hundred feet tall. While the others often had smooth walls, this one kept the rough-hewn look, although glowing moss still decorated the ceiling, providing enough light to see.

What was most surprising was the ground. It wasn’t stone, but instead was covered with dirt. I didn’t know how deep, but I assumed at least six or seven feet.

Small markers dotted the ground, surprisingly close together. Every once in a while, a small stone obelisk rose from the ground, like an important marker.

“Is this a cemetery?” Taranath asked.

“Yes, it is,” I said.

“I’ve heard they bury their people standing up,” Althidon said. “That would explain why these are so close together. Those must have been someone important,” he said, pointing to several small stone statues. “So the question is, why would you bring us here?”

Now was the real gamble. Because ultimately, I had no clue what I was doing.

I filled myself with as much magical power as I could hold. I didn’t know if that was a part of it, but I figured it couldn’t hurt.

“Why do I feel a breeze when we’re underground?” Taranath asked.

“I hope you’re not doing what I think you are,” Althidon said, his eyebrows drawing down. He looked back over his shoulder to keep an eye on the tunnel.

Silvy had mentioned this a few times, although she didn’t like talking about it. The breeze meant they were nearby, and probably getting ready to attack us.

What were their names? She had mentioned them a few times. Truk! I remembered that one, because while it was a normal name for a goblin boy, it sounded like an automobile in English. Oh, and what was that other woman? Elioz. That had been one of Silvy’s friends.

“Truk!” I shouted. “Elioz! I need you, all of you! The time for vengeance against Ralcor has come!”

“By the gods, Aaron, this is a bad idea,” Althidon said, taking a step back. Taranath also moved back.

I took a step forward.

“I call upon the spirits of the fallen!” I shouted. “Today is the day for revenge!”

The breeze increased until it ruffled my clothes and blew my hair back. The smell of death and stale air were strong, almost overpowering. I struggled not to choke and continued calling out to the spirits, specifically Truk and Elioz.

“Who are you that calls me by name?” asked the voice of a young goblin man.

“Truk? Your mother needs your help. I am a friend of hers.” I took a deep breath. “I love her.”

“Silvy?” a woman’s voice asked, off to my right.

The breeze died down, although didn’t fully go away. In front of me, a slight fog came out of nowhere and formed into the shapes of people. Of goblins, dozens of them, perhaps even a hundred. They all walked towards me, none of them looking pleased to see me.

“You are not of us,” one of them said.

“Invader!” shouted another one, raising his hands.

“Wait!” I called out. To my surprise, some of them stopped. Some of them. “I am here to kill Ralcor. I know what he did to you. Truk, listen to me. Ralcor has kidnapped your mother. He is going to kill her today if I don’t get there. Help me defeat him!”

A young goblin man in front of me held up a hand and the other spirits seemed to obey. Most of them still looked at me like they wanted to kill me, but they didn’t move any closer.

“We’ve got company,” Althidon said.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw the group of Ralcor’s soldiers, standing in the mouth of the tunnel. They clearly saw the spirits, and refused to come any closer.

I turned back to Truk. “Listen to me, Truk. I’m in love with your mother. I need your help to save her. I need all of your help,” I said, raising my voice so they could all hear me. “Follow me and help me kill Ralcor and put an end to his tyranny! Follow me and taste revenge!”

“Nice speech,” Taranath said.

“Thanks,” I replied.

“You say you love my mother?” Truk said, taking a step closer.

“I do,” I replied. “And when I become king, I will marry her and make her queen.”

“Goblins don’t have queens,” one of the other spirits said.

“They will now,” I replied.

“You’re not even a goblin!”

“What are you?”

“Your skin is the wrong color!”

“Imposter!”

“Listen to me!” I snapped. “Silvy has prayed for more than a hundred years for the gods to deliver revenge to her. They finally answered her prayers and sent me. Yes, I’m different from you. I’m not a goblin. But that doesn’t matter. I am here to put an end to Ralcor’s rule, and bring about peace to the goblin people.” I took a deep breath. “To my people.”

That drew several angry grumbles from them, but at least they didn’t kill me.

“Boy, you had better make this plan work a bit faster,” Althidon said, facing down two dozen armored soldiers.

“How long has it been?” Truk asked me. “We have no concept of time. Only the torment of being dead, but not allowed to rest. We only experience our anger and our lust for vengeance. It is all-consuming.”

“I think about two hundred years,” I replied. “Why haven’t you just left the cemetery and done this yourself?”

“We can’t,” Truk replied. He pointed and I turned and followed his finger.

Posted ten feet inside the cave, an iron pole had been driven into the ground. At the top was a complex symbol.

“That prevents us from leaving,” Truk said. “And we would only follow someone we deemed worthy. So far, all have failed. All have died.”

“Would you follow your mother?” I asked.

“Without question,” Truk said.

“We all would,” another spirit said. Several more agreed.

“Your mother has agreed to marry me,” I said. “Her prayers convinced your gods to bring me to this world. Please, all of you. Help me. Claim your vengeance and experience final peace.”

I walked over to the iron pole and examined it for a moment. It was as thick as my thumb, so not really something I could bend. Fortunately, the symbol on top looked to be made of a different substance. It almost looked as if it had been carved from stone.

“Come with us, traitor,” one of the goblin soldiers said. “Lay down your weapons and come with us, or we’ll cut your legs off and drag you.”

“Oh, go fuck yourself,” I said.

“Step away from that!” another goblin soldier ordered. I ignored him as well.

One of the soldiers changed his grip on his spear so he could throw it. Taranath immediately drew his bowstring back to his cheek.

“Go right ahead, elf,” The goblin soldier growled. He drew his arm back and launched his spear at me.

Even though I knew it was coming, the spear was surprisingly difficult to dodge. It flew through the air, fast as a bullet, narrowly missing my chest.

Taranath released his arrow, which struck that soldier right in the faceguard of his helmet. The goblin staggered back as the arrow lodged in the steel of his helmet. Not far enough to do harm, but now he had an arrow sticking out of it.

“You fucking bastard!” he growled.

Taranath ignored him and launched another arrow.

“Forward!” one of the goblins shouted.

They all took a step closer to us, shields held in front and spears leveled. Most of them looked ready to run Althidon down. Two columns broke off and faced me.

Some of the spirits moved closer, but they couldn’t move past the symbol. The soldiers knew that, and apparently planned to use the length of their spears to attack us from safety.

I had to act. It was now, or never.

I took my spear and swung it in an overhead arc with all my might. It struck the stone symbol and my hands shook from the impact, but it did no damage. I swung it again, shouting with the effort, and a tiny piece broke off the side.

“Thank you,” Truk said.

Right as the goblin soldiers got uncomfortably close to me, four spirits rushed them. They ran like regular goblins, but their translucent forms ignored the armor. They reached out and touched the goblins, and where they touched, the goblins froze and died screaming.

That caught the attention of the rest of the soldiers, who immediately stopped their advance on Althidon. They stumbled as they hurriedly backed up, eager to be away from the ghosts.

One soldier tripped, and a spirit reached out and touched his foot. His leg seemed frozen in place and he screamed, a sound from the depths of his very soul. He beat at the ground, trying to pull away, but the touch of the spirit froze him in place. The rest of his body stiffened and his scream abruptly cut off, and then he was dead.

The rest of the soldiers died only seconds later. Althidon and Taranath looked ready to shit themselves.

“And who are these two?” Truk asked, stepping closer to Taranath. The elf kept his composure, but I saw the tension in his jaw.

“They are helping me,” I replied. “They are friends. They have helped me from the beginning, and when Silvy and the others were kidnapped, they agreed to come with me. They are risking their lives for the future of the goblin people.”

“Strange, to have two elves and a…whatever you are, conquer my people,” Truk said. “No, I understand your story, but it is still strange.”

“Elioz!” I called out. I had an idea. “Elioz!”

“She is gone,” Truk said. “She now knows peace.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“If we kill someone, it is painful for us as well, but it puts us at rest,” Truk explained.

“So you can only kill one person each?” I asked.

“That is correct,” Truk said.

I took a deep breath. “Spirits of the fallen, I humbly ask for your help. I have removed the barrier that bound you to this place. Help me kill the man that put you all here, and know peace. Help me become your king, and know that your grandchildren will live better lives.”

“I accept,” said an elderly goblin spirit.

“I accept,” said another.

The same words were uttered dozens of times. I turned to Althidon and Taranath, who watched me with wonder.

“Well, I definitely didn’t expect that,” Althidon said.

I turned and walked towards the tunnel, an army of spirits behind me.

“Come on, guys,” I said to my elven companions. “Let’s go kill Ralcor.”

51

Althidon and Taranath walked on my left. Truk was on my right. I strode down the tunnel, filled with confidence. The fight was as good as done, and Ralcor would be dead soon. I’d be king, and have three beautiful wives. Wait, four.

“I know just enough of the goblin tongue to follow what’s going on,” Althidon said. “With every other word, I’m questioning myself. Did they really say that? Did I remember that phrase correctly?”

“It’s hard for me to believe and I’m the one doing it,” I replied.

I looked over and caught Taranath staring at several spirits of goblin women. At least he was smart enough not to flirt with these.

When we exited the tunnel, I paused for a moment to look around. The cave seemed mostly empty; people had probably fled when we killed those soldiers.

I saw a lone soldier ahead and to my right. He noticed us, and his eyes widened when he saw the spirits behind me. He turned to flee, but I reached out with blood magic and stopped his heart.

“You kill as easily as we do,” Truk said. He didn’t sound particularly pleased.

“I don’t like it, but I have no choice,” I said. “These men serve Ralcor, and they would gladly kill me and my companions to keep Ralcor on the throne. Your gods gave me the ability to kill, and I’m using it to fight tyranny.”

That seemed a good enough explanation for Truk. He simply nodded and we continued moving forward.

We turned and made our way to the tunnel that led to the Royal City. A group of a dozen soldiers stood there, although they didn’t look particularly concerned. They probably expected me to be dead or incapacitated at the hands of that other group of soldiers.

So, imagine their shock when I stepped in front of them along with my elven friends. The spirits? They just disappeared. I panicked for a moment, until one of the guards suddenly clutched at his face and screamed. That spread, all of the guards holding their face or a limb, screaming as they died.

We stood there for a moment, waiting for the screams to stop echoing across the stone walls. It was, to be honest, horrifying.

“I’m glad they’re on our side,” Taranath said quietly. Althidon merely grunted in agreement.

“Truk?” I called out.

“I am here,” his voice said.

“Good. I was hoping you didn’t go out too soon,” I said.

“No,” he replied. “I have spoken with the others about this. Since you called for me by name, many of them defer to me now. And we agreed that it should be me that kills Ralcor. I have promised them that I will do it, which helps them be at peace, even though they won’t be able to see it.”

I nodded. “Perfect. I was thinking the same thing. Let’s keep moving.”

The spirits faded back into view as we ascended the wide tunnel. On two more occasions goblin soldiers rushed us, but the spirits took care of them before Taranath could even get an arrow off. They were, in a word, absolutely fucking devastating. Okay, so that was three words, but you get the point.

“Hey Truk,” I asked. “Can you touch one of us without killing us?”

“Yes,” he said after a moment. “But it won’t be pleasant. It will leave a scar.”

“Damn,” I said. “You guys are just weapons, through and through.”

“We are death, and we long for death. Anyone we touch will join us in the endless sleep of the afterlife.”

I shivered. I had never before thought about how awful it would be to be touched by a ghost, but then again, ghosts didn’t exist on Earth. Sure, there were some dumb TV shows, but none of that shit was even remotely real.

“Let me take the first ones, then you guys kill the rest,” I said. “I know you have limited numbers. I want to make sure as many of you as possible at least make it far enough to see that we’re going into the throne room.”

Truk just nodded. Taranath nocked another arrow.

As we slowly continued up the curving path, I began to feel hope. I had a small army of deadly spirits behind me, and the best archer and swordsman around. Everything was going to be okay, and I’d be with my women soon.

It was at that moment that two archers stepped around the corner. We all reacted quickly, but not quickly enough.

The only thing that saved me was my shield. An arrow slammed into it, right over my chest, and splintered into fragments against the hardened surface of my shield. My heart pounded as I realized how quickly I had come to dying.

Taranath didn’t fare as well. An arrow took him in the upper stomach, piercing deep enough that the broadhead punched through his back. He screamed and fell to the floor.

Althidon rushed forwards, his blade a blur, but I had already reached out with magic. I did the fastest thing I could, which was to drain the blood from the goblin’s arms so they immediately dropped their bows. Althidon was there in a matter of seconds, and removed both of their heads with quick, calculated strikes.

“Ahh, that hurts,” Taranath said, somehow making it sound like a joke as he clutched at the arrow protruding from his stomach. “By the gods, I have never felt anything like this. Definitely not enjoyable. Do not recommend.”

I didn’t know anything about arrow wounds, other than the fact that it looked like a killing wound. I couldn’t even imagine an arrow punching straight through my gut.

Fortunately, Althidon was there, and he was clearly experienced with such things. He sheathed his sword and bent down, pulling Taranath’s hands away so he could examine the wound. He glanced around the back of the other man, noting that the arrow had gone through him.

“This isn’t so bad,” he said, looking up at me. “I’m going to pull the arrow through, and then you’re going to heal him.”

“I’m ready,” I said as I reached out with blood magic, feeling my way through Taranath’s body.

“Hold on, what are you going to do?” Taranath said, sitting up with the help of the older elven man.

“I have to remove the arrow so you can be healed,” Althidon explained. “If I were to grab it by this end and pull it out, that broadhead would tear you up as it passed back through you. Best to just pull it out the back.”

“I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this,” Taranath said, shaking his head. His face looked slightly pale. “I suppose I don’t have a choice.”

“You do have a choice,” Althidon said, grabbing onto the end of the arrow sticking out of Taranath’s back. “We can do this, or you die.”

“Introduce me to that woman’s sister,” Taranath said, looking up at me.

“I promise,” I said. I could tell he was masking his pain by joking. He must have been in absolute agony.

“Good, because—” Taranath was interrupted by Althidon pulling the arrow out of his back. Althidon was not gentle about it, and pulled hard. The arrow was out in less than two bloody seconds, leaving Taranath screaming in pain. I immediately directed his body to heal itself, closing up the wounds as quickly as I could.

Taranath laid on the floor of the tunnel for a moment, his breath coming in gasps. He looked at Althidon, then at me, then finally spoke.

“Aaron, when you introduce me to her, make sure you tell her what I went through,” Taranath said.

I laughed, then reached down and offered him a hand. I pulled him to his feet and he immediately hugged me tightly.

“Thank you, my friend. I owe you a life debt,” he said.

The way he said those words made them sound much more serious than just words. I tucked it away in the back of my mind, mostly so I could tell him no if he ever tried to risk his life for mine in the future to make up for this.

“We need to keep moving,” I said.

“I can’t believe I just took an arrow to the chest,” Taranath muttered as he picked up his bow. He fitted an arrow to the string and held it ready. “I need to be more careful, I suppose.”

“Just stay behind me,” I said.

We slowly progressed up the tunnel as it turned sharply to the left. Ralcor was waiting for me, that much I knew, but there was still a pile of soldiers to work through. I just hoped some of them would surrender. Killing them all and starting fresh was probably the safest idea—there was no need for me to have soldiers in my employment that were loyal to Ralcor, after all—but I wanted to minimize the amount of death, if possible.

I stayed in front since I had the shield. I peeked around the edge of the corner so that I was able to see the end of the tunnel.

“Well,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Looks like they’re taking our attack seriously.”

“How many?” Althidon asked.

“Probably three dozen,” I said. “Ready to fight. I can probably take two or three. Truk, you guys will have to take the rest. They have too much armor for you, Taranath.”

I peeked my head around the corner again, just enough to see them, and reached out with blood magic. I selected a man in the front rank and drained his legs of blood, causing him to collapse. After that, I stopped his heart.

The benefit of that was that he was right in the way of the others. I did the same to the man next to him before they had time to react.

“I have never seen or even heard of anyone learning magic as quickly as you,” Althidon said, looking at me in wonder. “The gods truly must have sent you.”

I just shrugged. It felt easy, I assumed because I had a more modern understanding of basic anatomy.

The goblin soldiers shouted and lowered their spears, then began advancing. It was clear they intended on killing the elves, although I heard one of them shout a reminder to take me alive.

I reached out and killed another soldier, forcing others to move around him, and suddenly the spirits were there.

The screams of the dying echoed off the walls, and they were something that would haunt my nightmares for weeks to come. Never before had I heard such horrifying sounds, not even moments earlier when Taranath had been shot with an arrow, and he had been close to ugly crying. I was grateful the spirits were on our side.

And then, as quickly as we started our attack, a pile of dead goblin soldiers littered the path in front of us. We advanced to the mouth of the tunnel and I saw dozens more goblin soldiers standing in front of us. They had heard the screams as well, and they looked shaken to their cores.

Truk was suddenly next to me. “We only have a couple left,” he said quietly. “You will have to handle the majority of the killing. I must save myself for Ralcor.”

“Noted,” I said. “Taranath, time to make use of that bow of yours.”

We stepped over the pile of bodies—not the easiest thing, I tell you—and I faced down the dozens of soldiers in front of us. I gave them all my hardest glare, which probably wasn’t too impressive.

“Truk, just work with me here,” I said quietly.

“Okay,” he replied.

I raised my voice so all the goblin soldiers could hear me. “You, who serve the tyrant Ralcor. I come for his head, and I bring with me the spirits of the fallen. You have heard the dying screams of those who have tried to stop us. Lay down your arms, work with me to establish a peaceful monarchy, or die in pain.”

The remaining spirits faded into view, faded out, then reappeared a few feet away, making it look like there were more of them than there actually were. I saw the truth, though. There were only two spirits left.

“You’re getting better at speeches,” Taranath said.

“Thanks,” I replied.

It didn’t take long for the soldiers to make their decisions. First one, then a few, then all of them threw their weapons to the ground and stepped back, giving us a clear path to the royal palace.

“Well, shit,” I said. “That was easier than I thought. I probably should have tried that a while ago.”

“At least it’s done, now,” Althidon said. “Although I wouldn’t trust any of them.”

“Good point,” I said. “Truk, watch our backs, please.”

“Don’t worry, you’re safe,” he said.

We walked down the arrow-straight path that led from the mouth of the tunnel to the stairs at the front of the royal palace. I kept my eyes straight in front, showing no fear, my back straight as an iron bar. I trusted that Truk and the other remaining spirits would keep us safe.

My trust was well placed. Halfway there, a goblin soldier suddenly pulled a knife and rushed at us. He was damn fast, and would have stabbed Taranath if a spirit hadn’t caught him first. Being in the center of Royal City, his screams echoed loud and strong for some time. I looked around and saw the other soldiers shiver in fear. I didn’t blame them. It was a horrible way to die.

But now we only had one spirit left. Truk. Well, we only needed one to kill Ralcor, so that was fine.

The goblin soldiers watched us with terror in their eyes as we passed by. Word had certainly spread of an invisible person able to kill with magic over the past few days. Now they had a face to put to that. Now they had something to fear. For at that moment I realized that if I was to ever rule over these men, they absolutely, undoubtedly would have to fear me.

Four soldiers stood at the base of the stairs that led into the royal palace and into the throne room. Even through their helmets, I could see their nervousness and hesitation.

“Let them pass,” a voice called out.

Ralcor.

The soldiers all moved to the left, clearly grateful they didn’t have to sacrifice their lives on that day. I walked up the stairs with Taranath, Althidon, and Truk behind me.

When I reached the top of the stairs, I stood there for a moment, glaring at the man I had to kill.

52

Ralcor lounged on his throne in a manner that said he didn’t consider us a threat. He looked at us lazily, a sword resting against the arm of the throne as if forgotten. He wasn’t even wearing armor.

The three women were off to his right, my left. They were still blindfolded with their arms tied behind their back. Anger boiled in my gut as I saw a fresh bruise on Zia’s face. Ralcor would pay for that, with blood and pain, no matter what it took.

“It’s about time,” Ralcor said, tapping his fingers on his knee. “You certainly know how to make an entrance.” He clapped a few times, then laughed.

“This ends now,” I said, and stepped forward.

“Oh, does it?” Ralcor asked, and leaped to his feet. In the same motion he snatched his sword up and held it at his side. He took a few steps towards us, eyeing each of us as if he were appraising us and deeming us not up to par.

“Your time ends now,” I said. “No more will you—”

“Oh, shut the fuck up with your speeches,” Ralcor said.

“He’s getting better at them,” Taranath added.

“Shut your hole, elf,” Ralcor said.

Taranath responded by nocking an arrow and loosing it. I watched as the arrow flew through the air…. And Ralcor twisted to the side. The arrow passed through nothing but air, and struck the stone wall far behind it.

“Maybe that will help you understand what you’re up against,” Ralcor said. “No one can defeat me. I have trained for more than two hundred years with the sword. There is not a man alive that can defeat me.” He sneered at us. “Or an elf, or whatever the fuck you are.”

I reached out with blood magic and tried to affect his body, but it was like trying to hold onto a greased up weasel. Only the tiniest bit of my magic made it through; not enough to change his blood flow, but I had to put enough effort into it that it would tire me.

Ralcor spun his sword in lazy circles as he watched me. “Yes, such a shame you can’t use magic on me. You have to fight me like a man. Well, are you ready to die, stranger?”

“Honestly? Not really,” I said.

Truk moved forward, approaching the goblin king. Ralcor watched him with a disdainful sneer, uncaring that the spirit moved closer and closer to him.

“You killed me and violated my mother,” Truk said in a hard voice. “I have waited more than a century for my vengeance, but now is the time. Prepare to die in pain, you bastard.”

With that, Truk rushed forward, his hand outstretched. When he touched Ralcor, his hand passed right through him. Truk stumbled, clearly expecting to have touched the goblin king and not understanding what had happened.

“No!” he shouted. “This cannot be!” He reached out and tried to grab onto Ralcor, but his hand merely passed through him again.

I couldn’t help but notice the pendant around Ralcor’s neck. The stone in it glinted every time Truk tried to touch him. That was preventing him from being killed by the spirit.

“Oh, so sad,” Ralcor said in mock sympathy. “Not only did I kill you and beat your whore of a mother, but I took away your vengeance!” He leaned forward, almost nose to nose with the ghost of Truk. “You poor thing! Are you sad? Are you going to cry?”

“You bastard!” Truk shouted, swinging his arms at Ralcor but never connecting.

Ralcor straightened up and his mock sympathy faded into a cruel glare. “Pathetic,” he said, his voice as cold as the heart of winter. “Now get the fuck out of my way so I can finish this. You,” he said, pointing his sword at me. “Come here, now.”

“No,” Althidon said before I could answer. He stepped between us, his sword held ready.

“Who the fuck are you?” Ralcor asked, not even bothering to raise his own sword.

“Grand Duke Althidon, Sword-Master of Caelora,” Althidon replied.

Wow. That title was a mouthful. I made a mental note to keep mine simple. Maybe even do away with my last name since goblins didn’t seem to use them. King Aaron, that was enough for me. Even King Aaron of the Goblins was pushing it.

“I’ve heard of you,” Ralcor said, his eyes narrowing. “They say you’re the best in the elven kingdom. I’ve often wondered how I would fare against you. Don’t even fucking think about it,” he said, glaring at Taranath, who had another arrow nocked. “If that arrow misses its mark by even the slightest bit, I will open you from crotch to throat.”

I shivered at the sheer malevolence in Ralcor’s voice. Althidon stayed in front of him, his sword held ready.

“I’ve got this, Taranath,” Althidon said.

Taranath threw a hand in the air in frustration. “Well, I guess I’ll just stand here and enjoy the scenery since suddenly no one needs me.”

Before I could even reply to him, Ralcor launched himself at Althidon.

It was honestly hard for my eyes to even follow. Ralcor moved faster than I thought it was possible to move. His blade was a blur, striking, slicing, parrying, all too quickly for me to track.

What was also immediately apparent was that Althidon, as good as he was, was the lesser swordsman in the fight. I had sparred against him many times and knew just how good he was with a blade, and he had the advantage of being a foot taller than Ralcor. But Ralcor’s speed was simply unbelievable.

Althidon grunted as Ralcor sliced horizontally, opening up a red line on the elven man’s arm. His blade struck Althidon’s armor and bounced off, but Ralcor didn’t slow a bit.

Truk shouted in frustration, unable to do anything. I wasn’t much better; I didn’t dare try to stick anyone with my spear. The risk of accidentally hitting Althidon was too great.

“Dammit man, make yourself useful and help the women!” I snapped at Truk. I didn’t know if he could even do anything, but it was better than standing there cursing at Ralcor. “Taranath, go help them,” I added.

Truk, being a spirit, moved quickly. The moment Taranath took a step towards the women, Ralcor suddenly launched himself backwards, dashed two steps towards Taranath, and sliced him across the thigh, deep enough that the elven man fell to the floor. Before I could even react, Ralcor had already returned to the fight with Althidon.

Fuck. I was in a bad situation. Ralcor had just shown us that he could kick all of our asses at the same time if need be. I ran to Taranath and used magic to heal the gash on his thigh. It was deep, severing the muscles, and took all my strength to pull it together.

“Do goblin women like scars?” he asked, forcing a laugh. “Ah, what a day. What a day. Here, let me get behind him. There’s got to be something we can do.”

Except there wasn’t. Ralcor and Althidon were very active in their fight, especially Ralcor. He stepped all over the place, probably on purpose so no one else could try to join in.

I firmed my resolve at that moment. I had to act, or all was lost. If I took a sword to the gut, I could always heal myself, but no longer could I just let Althidon do the fighting. I had to do something.

I raised my spear and shield and took a step towards Althidon and Ralcor. I tried to circle around so that I was behind the goblin king, but he saw me and turned, keeping Althidon between us.

“Try again, maggot,” Ralcor said, talking through gritted teeth. “You can’t win. Accept your defeat. Lie down and die.”

Just then I heard a scream, the kind that men let out when killed by the spirits. I turned and saw Tressi sagging against her restraints. A moment later her hands were freed and she clutched at her face, weeping in pain.

Truk rushed towards Silvy and said something. I couldn’t hear it, but she immediately started sobbing, the sort of crying only a mother can do when concerned about her child. Her entire heart was in it.

Tressi crawled towards Silvy, both of their ankles still held by chains. She said something to Silvy, who choked out a reply that I couldn’t hear over the clatter of swordplay.

I raised my spear again and turned back to Ralcor, hoping to find an opening so I could stick that bastard in the back or the leg or something. I wasn’t above fighting a bit dirty. When the stakes were this high, you won at any cost. I took a deep breath and decided I would just rush him. I would get wounded in the process, but that would be enough for Althidon to get the upper hand. I just hoped I would be able to heal myself. As long as he didn’t take my head, I could heal myself.

But they were too fast. Adrenaline had given Althidon speed, and he managed to keep Ralcor at bay, although I saw the sweat on his brow from the effort. A dozen gashes leaked blood into his clothing. He knew he was outmatched, and he was doing everything possible to stay alive. There had to be something I could do. I wanted to scream in frustration.

The golden necklace around Ralcor’s neck suddenly split at the back and fell down his chest. His eyes widened as he immediately realized what had happened.

“No!” he shouted, and launched himself at Althidon, trying to end the fight as quickly as possible. He opened up a deep slash across Althidon’s arm and sliced him across the face, right on the mouth. I winced as blood sprayed from Althidon’s lips.

Except now Ralcor was vulnerable. I immediately reached out and pulled the blood from his arms. It only took a second or two for him to drop his sword and shriek in frustration as his arms went limp. Althidon followed up with an upward stroke of his sword, lopping off Ralcor’s right hand at the wrist.

Ralcor fell to the ground, screaming more in frustration than in pain. His arms were largely useless, but he wasn’t giving up yet. He rolled away, then staggered to his feet and ran straight for me, baring his teeth.

Was this guy really planning on biting me to death? It wouldn’t surprise me. I drained the blood from his legs and he collapsed to the floor after three steps.

Ralcor lay there, both arms and legs refusing to move, growling curses at us. He looked ready to commit the most horrific of crimes without a second thought.

“Truk!” I called out. “Now is your time.”

Truk materialized in front of Ralcor. He took a step towards him, then knelt down so that he was face to face with the goblin king.

“You killed me more than a hundred years ago, just for the crime of being in your way,” Truk said. “You killed so many people, innocent people to get this throne. What have you done since?”

“Who are you, even?” Ralcor asked. “No matter. Just another peasant, another—”

“I am Truk, son of Silvy,” he said proudly. “I know what you did to her as well. I have roamed the cemetery, longing for death for more than a hundred years, with my only thoughts being revenge. This has been a long time coming, Ralcor.”

“Fuck you and your mother,” Ralcor spat. “I would do it all over again if I could. I would—”

He cut off as Truk touched him. Nothing more than that; he simply touched Ralcor on the cheek.

Ralcor’s green skin immediately became pallid and turned almost white beneath Truk’s fingertips. The sickly whiteness spread across his face and down his neck. Ralcor screamed, then bit it off and reduced it to a growl, as if refusing us the right of hearing him scream. His growls and curses continued as the whiteness spread across his body, paralyzing him, seeping into his very flesh. Killing him.

“Tell my mother I love her, and I’m at peace now,” Truk said. After that, he vanished.

53

The first thing I did was heal Althidon. He was wary with exhaustion, but none of the dozen-odd wounds seemed to really slow him, not even the deep gash across his face that made me wince. I was amazed he had been able to fight as well as he had with that kind of blood loss. It put the old man’s toughness in a whole new light.

As soon as I was done with that, I ran across the room to the women. Silvy was crying, her tears soaking her blindfold. Tressi wasn’t in much better shape, and I noticed a white streak in her hair, just above her right eye. A wicked burn went from her hairline to her cheek, and her eye was solid white and leaked fluids onto her cheek. I reached out with the last of my magical strength and healed her face. Her eye repaired itself, but there was still a faint scar on her forehead and the white streak in her hair remained.

Taranath and Althidon were there a moment later, helping me untie the women and remove their blindfolds. I immediately went to Silvy and pulled her to me. She wept against my shoulder for some time, the full-throated sobs of a woman that had just been reminded of her son’s murder.

“Truk wanted me to tell you that he loves you and he’s at peace now,” I said to her, gently stroking her hair.

She tried to say something but all that came out were sobs. I couldn’t imagine the pain she felt at having her son murdered, and then knowing his ghost lived in pain for a century or more.

“I don’t know if this helps at all, but Truk was the one that killed Ralcor. I made sure of that. He got his revenge.” I continued stroking the back of her head, and just let her cry.

After a moment, Silvy managed to contain her tears. She pulled back, looking up at me with red eyes.

“Thank you, Aaron,” she managed to say, then leaned her head on my shoulder again.

Tressi and Zia were there a moment later, both of them hugging Silvy tightly. They tried to whisper calming words to her, but she was a mess of emotions at that moment.

“My baby went through so many years of torment because of that bastard,” Silvy said, sobs breaking up her words. She tried to say something else but just broke down again. I held her tightly, just letting her cry it out.

I kept one arm around Silvy and tried to hug Zia and Tressi with my other arm. They were grateful to see me. All of us, really.

“What happened?” I asked Tressi, looking at the white streak in her hair.

“It was Silvy’s son,” she said. “His spirit. He apologized to me, then suddenly I felt the most searing pain ever, right here,” she said as she pointed at her eye. “But my blindfold was gone. He managed to pull it off, which meant I was able to use my magic again.”

“So it was you that removed his necklace?” I asked.

“Yes,” Tressi said. “I asked Silvy and she told me that there was a weak link on the back. I was just strong enough to soften the metal so that it broke. Ralcor was resistant to magic, and the pendant itself was immune, but the necklace was vulnerable.”

“You saved everyone’s lives,” I told her. “You and Silvy’s son.” I squeezed Silvy tightly again, who finally was able to contain her tears.

“How was he?” Silvy asked, looking up at me.

I didn’t have the heart to tell her that he had roamed the cemetery for more than a hundred years, wishing for death. “He was strong,” I said finally. “The other spirits deferred to him and agreed he should be the one to kill Ralcor.”

Silvy sniffed a few times, then nodded. “My boy was always strong.”

“Just like his mother,” I said, hugging her again.

“We should move,” Althidon said, looking around the room. “There are an awful lot of soldiers out there that aren’t sure what’s going on.”

“You’re right,” I said, pulling away from Silvy. I kept her hand in mine, and checked Zia. Her cheek was slightly swollen, but otherwise she seemed okay. We started towards the wide doorway. “Do you think they’ll follow me, or will I need to prove myself somehow?”

Althidon frowned. “One moment.”

“I’d like to be of some use if I can,” Taranath said.

I looked over at Tressi. “You have an older sister, right?”

“Yes,” she said cautiously. “Why do you ask?”

“Think you can introduce her to Taranath?”

Tressi looked at me for a moment in disbelief, then broke out into laughter. “Sure. At this point, I’m just glad to be alive. Come here, Taranath was it?”

The elven man bowed and went to Tressi, offering her his arm. She took it and immediately began asking him questions about himself, clearly seeing if he was good enough for her sister.

Althidon went up to Ralcor’s corpse and stood there for a moment, rubbing his chin in thought. He reached down and grabbed onto the corpse, pulling him into a seated position, then took a step back. He drew his sword and in a single quick motion, removed Ralcor’s head.

“Ugh,” I said as I watched him. I knew exactly what I was doing, but I still didn’t like it.

Althidon reached down and picked up Ralcor’s head by his hair and carried it to me. He handed it to me, and I gripped it gingerly by his black hair.

“This is disgusting,” I said.

“Fortunately, dead bodies don’t bleed that much,” Althidon replied. “Just make sure you tell them you did it. Do you know what to do with that thing?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Stay close,” I said to Silvy. “I’d like all of you right behind me. Make sure they can see I have the support of goblin women.”

Still clutching Ralcor’s head, I stepped into the doorway of the throne room and stood at the top of the stairs. Royal City was filled with soldiers, who slowly approached to see what I was going to do.

I raised Ralcor’s head and held it high in front of me. A collective gasp ran through the crowd of soldiers as they recognized their former king.

“I have taken Ralcor’s head,” I called out. “He may have been strong with a sword, but he was a weak leader. No longer will the goblin people live under his boot. No longer will you suffer his tyranny. I am your king now.”

A stunned silence filled the room, so dense you could practically cut it with a knife. One brave soldier took a step towards me.

“But, um, my king, you are not a goblin.” He ducked his head respectfully.

“I know,” I replied. “And I know it will take time for you to trust me as one of your own. But I am taking goblin women as my wives.” I gestured behind me at Silvy, Tressi, and Zia. Zia took a step forward and placed a hand on me.

The soldiers looked at me, then at each other as if asking if this were real.

“Ralcor’s ego was greater than his desire to see his own people prosper,” I said. “I am not that way. Although I am not a goblin, you are my people now. I will restore trade with the other races. We will grow our own food. I will lead you to an age of peace, and prosperity. I will dedicate my life to you, and if necessary, I will die for you.”

Several of the soldiers nodded in approval at that.

“I know there is a mess to clean up. The men that died may have served an evil king, but they served him loyally, with their final breaths. Give them an honored position in the cemetery.” I lowered the head of the former king. “Ralcor’s body will be burned and his memory forgotten.”

I wasn’t sure how they felt about that, but there was no way I was going to show any amount of respect to a monster like Ralcor. I decided to wrap up my speech.

“I was sent here by the gods, for this very purpose. If any of you think to challenge me, know that I defeated Ralcor. I ask that you put down your weapons and spend the rest of the day remembering your fallen comrades. Tomorrow we will start building a new, stronger kingdom.”

“I’ve heard better,” Taranath said. “But not bad.”

“Thanks,” I said over my shoulder. I dropped the head of Ralcor. A moment later, flames consumed it. I took a step back in shock, then remembered that right behind me were three women that were able to use magic.

“The first step is the hardest,” Althidon said. “If you have anyone you can trust, I would keep them close for a while. Have someone taste your food for you. Ralcor was feared, not loved, but there will often be someone that wants to try their luck.”

“Good idea,” I said, looking at the soldiers. They still looked bewildered, and I couldn’t blame them. They had just seen their king killed, and a guy that wasn’t even of their race was their new ruler. Difficult times for all.

“I’m proud of you,” Silvy said.

She and Tressi stepped up to me, and all three women hugged me tightly. I figured it was good for the soldiers to see that I have the love of goblin women. At that moment I needed all the help I could get in order to gain their trust.

I mean, even though Ralcor had been an asshole, I had just taken the throne by force. Trust would be a long time coming.

“I’m just glad I don’t have to answer to your wife,” I said to Althidon.

“No,” he mused, “But now you have to deal with my daughter.”

“What’s this?” Silvy asked.

Zia perked up. “Oh, is this the one you told me about? Do I get to meet her?” She sounded rather excited, considering the situation we had just been in five minutes ago.

Fortunately, Althidon stepped in and saved the day.

“It’s a political marriage,” he explained. “Now that he is king, he will be married to my daughter to solidify the bond between the goblins and the elves.”

“I can’t wait to finally meet her,” Zia said.

Silvy eyed me warily. “Well, as king you do get to choose your wives. At least it’s not an orc woman.” She laughed suddenly. “I shouldn’t give you any ideas.”

“I wouldn’t like an orc woman,” Zia said. “I like the elves, though. Tressi, are you going to set this young man up with your sister?”

Tressi looked up at Taranath, who gave her his movie star smile. “Yeah, I suppose I will.”

Silvy looked at me, then at Taranath. “Half elf, half human…. Things are going to change.” She looked out at the soldiers, many of whom were removing their armor and walking away. “A lot of things are going to change.”

“Yes, they will,” I said. “And the changes will be for the better.”

54

That night was stressful, to say the least.

Althidon and Taranath returned to Caelora, although they promised to come back the next day to see me. We spent hours cleaning up and throwing out most of Ralcor’s things. They didn’t have dumpsters in this world, so I had to rely on a steady stream of servants. Fortunately, they were glad to serve a new king that treated them with respect and didn’t shout at them or hit them.

Althidon had been right about one thing, though: one soldier tried to avenge Ralcor.

I was on full alert that evening, just in case someone felt ballsy. Well, this soldier came in to personally congratulate me, then pulled a knife when he got close. Fortunately I was expecting the attack, so the moment his hand closed around the hilt of his dagger, I drained his arm of blood. He had just enough time to realize how badly he had fucked up before I stopped his heart. That sent a message to the rest of the soldiers. I was not a king to be messed with.

My wives settled rather quickly into the royal palace and began decorating immediately. When I asked them about our upcoming wedding ceremony, they just laughed.

“You’re the king,” Silvy explained as if it were obvious. “There is no ceremony. You just declare that we are your wives, and that’s it.”

“Well, that’s not very romantic now, is it?” I replied.

I spent an hour outside the city, searching through the forest for flowers. When I had enough for four bouquets, I brought them back and with the help of two serving girls, wrapped the handles in lace and gave it to each of my new brides. Servants gathered Tressi and Zia’s families and a messenger went to the elven city—for the first time in many decades, I might add—to fetch Taranath, Althidon, and his family.

I expected it, so when Leena showed up in an elaborate dress I was ready. Zia finally met her, and gushed over how beautiful she was. Leena hugged her so tightly I didn’t think they were going to release each other.

She practically worshipped Silvy and asked her question after question about goblin history and magic, fighting through their language barrier to learn everything she could. It took Silvy a moment to warm up to her, but soon they were chatting with their heads together and smiling and laughing. They were best friends from the moment they found each other. I gave Leena the fourth flower bouquet and we were ready.

And so on that day, I married three goblin women and an elf. Not many men get to say that.

It was a simple ceremony, as goblins weren’t really used to such things and I was clueless when it came to thinking of vows. Fortunately, Althidon stepped in and saved the day. It also helped that he was, technically, royalty.

He gave a lengthy speech about loyalty, steadfastness, and mutual respect, and wished us all long, happy lives together. When he gave a blessing for many children I almost choked. To be honest I hadn’t really done the math on how many kids I would have with four wives.

Leena’s slight haughtiness melted into a sweet, gentle personality pretty much the moment she joined our family. That was something I expected as well, but it was nice to see.

“So, how’s it feel being queen?” I asked the next day as we relaxed in the palace.

“Strange,” Silvy replied. “In general, but especially for me. Remember, I’ve been shunned for more than a hundred years, and now I’m not only the wife of the king—again, I might add—but people must defer to me the way they do to you. The respect is nice, but it will take some getting used to.”

“My mother said she’s already seen a difference in some of the men,” Tressi added. “Once word spread that you wouldn’t put up with any men mistreating women, and that you could stop a person’s heart with a thought, that shaped them right up.”

“Good,” I said. “What did your sister think of Taranath?”

Tressi smiled. “They’re on a picnic right now, actually. From what I can tell she likes him so far, and he’s completely besotted with her. She asked him to teach her the elven language the moment they met and he happily obliged.”

I chuckled. “Sounds about right.” I reached over and took Leena’s hand in mine. “Leena, my love. You’re going to be the emissary between our two kingdoms. You know elven culture better than I do, obviously, and I’d rather not mess it up.”

She nodded. “My mother and father are helping with that. They selected a group of two dozen people to come visit tomorrow. We’ll want to show them around, give them a tour of the city—something that I haven’t even received yet, I might add—and then have a discussion about trade, and how our two nations can help each other and build strong bonds.”

“Perfect,” I said, then held my hand out to her. “Come on. All of you.”

“What for?” Leena asked.

“You’re right. I need to show you the city. For that matter, I’m the king and I haven’t even seen the whole place yet.”

“Better late than never,” Zia said with a smile.

The five of us got up and left the royal palace, then slowly walked through Royal City. I walked with Leena’s arm through mine, and Silvy on my other side, her small hand gripping the inside of mine. Zia and Tressi walked next to us, hand in hand.

Silvy knew this area well, having been married to a king in the past. She pointed out the military buildings, the barracks, a bank, and a place for treating the sick and injured. Leena immediately saw a few ways to improve that last one.

We took our time walking down the long ramp that exited Royal City, and I tried not to think of all the men I had killed on that very path to get to where I was.

Leena absolutely loved the hot springs. First, she loved that the massive room was filled with dozens, maybe even a hundred small pools of hot water that continually flowed, gently spilling out and eventually disappearing down in one corner somewhere far underground. And second, her face turned scarlet when she saw all the bathing goblins, completely unashamed of their nakedness.

Zia took a moment to explain that goblins believed beauty should be celebrated, especially the beauty of women. They were bred that way for hundreds, thousands of years, so the beautiful goblin women were sort of a national treasure. Leena found that fascinating. Zia tried to get her to take off her dress and hop in one of the pools of water, and Leena somehow blushed even deeper.

We continued through several cities below the springs, ones that I hadn’t been to yet. There was nothing of note about them; they looked just like Tunnel City to me.

It suddenly dawned on me that they called each individual cave a city, but didn’t seem to have a word for the entire place. I asked them about it.

“I suppose I’ve never thought about that before,” Silvy said. “It’s never been an issue. Why would we need to name the whole place?”

“Well, what do you call it then?” I asked. “Like if you were to say ‘hey, I’m going….’ What would you call it?”

“Home,” Silvy replied with a shrug.

“Well, we’ll have to think of something better than that,” I replied. I thought briefly of my family, of my parents that had died when the black hole consumed the Earth. Perhaps I could honor them by somehow naming the goblin city after them.

When we got to Tunnel City, we stopped by Silvy’s house so she could fetch a few things. Mostly magical objects; she didn’t trust servants enough to get those for her.

I watched as she filled a cloth sack with stones, wands, daggers, and all sorts of things. She was adamant that she needed them all.

“When are you going to teach us how to use those things?” Tressi asked, referring to all the magical items.

“I could help,” Leena said.

“Yes, I should,” Silvy replied, looking down at all of her colorful stones. “This is much different than the magic that is within you. It works like something different entirely. You’ll have to learn the language of magic, and a bunch of other things.” She looked over at Leena and smiled. “Yes, I would love your help.”

That made Leena happy. I could tell she really looked up to Silvy, so earning her approval was important.

We took our time walking back to the royal palace. People stopped to talk to us, to congratulate our first queens, to ask questions of our first elven queen, and especially to talk to their first human king. Many goblins—especially the women—had suggestions on how to improve things. I listened as best as I could and tried to remember them all.

“Looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you,” Zia said as we entered Royal City.

“I’m grateful for it,” I said. “There’s so much to do, it can get overwhelming. They gave me a lot of ideas. And fortunately, I have four wonderful queens to help me with the work.” I gave them all a grin.

“Oh, great,” Tressi said with mock frustration.

“I have an idea, too,” Zia said. “A great way to end a wonderful day.”

“Should we trust you?” Tressi asked.

“Probably not,” Zia said with a wink. “Come on, follow me.”

As round as her bottom was, following Zia was a joy. I even caught Leena checking her out at one point in time. She seemed almost as fascinated with goblin women as Taranath.

She led us up the stairs, through the throne room, and into the royal palace. I began to wonder what she had in mind when she suddenly turned and went into the bedroom. Not very subtle, but then again Zia wasn’t really one for subtleties when it came to this sort of thing.

“So, what was your idea?” Leena asked, looking around the room as if she expected something to be hidden.

Zia pulled on the laces of her dress, then grabbed it and pulled it over her head. She tossed it to the floor and stood there, naked, hands on her hips. “Do I really need to spell it out for you?” she said to the tall elven woman.

“Well, I think it’s a great idea,” Tressi said and quickly pulled her clothes off.

“I guess it’s time we finally did this,” Silvy said with a chuckle. She joined the rest.

Leena stood there, blushing. I had already pulled my shirt off, but I went to her to check on her.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

“I’m fine,” she said. “I’m just not used to being this…open. Especially not with multiple people.” She looked at me as if she could feel me thinking about the one time she climbed into my bed. “That was different. I was trying to win you over.”

“Well, I can assure you you’re in good hands,” I said, giving her my best smile. I honestly wasn’t sure what to say to the woman, but fortunately Zia saved the day.

“Come here,” she said, pulled the elven woman towards her. It was almost comical, seeing as Leena was nearly two feet taller than Zia, but Zia took her by the hand and pulled her down, then whispered in her ear.

“Are you serious?” Leena asked, gasping as she straightened up. If the woman blushed any more, I thought it might turn permanent.

“Of course!” Zia replied. “I really want to try it with you. Of course you can say no if you aren’t comfortable.”

I unlaced my pants and kicked them off, then stood there naked for a moment while Leena tried to figure out what to do. She looked down at me, her eyes widening slightly at the sight of me fully nude next to the goblin women.

“Well, it makes sense,” she said. “I mean, it’s going to be this for the rest of our lives, right?”

“Exactly,” Zia said, giggling excitedly.

The three goblin women rushed to Leena and helped her undress, complimenting her beauty the entire time. I found it interesting that for a woman so confident in her looks and ready to rub her ass on me to convince me to marry her, she was incredibly shy once it came time to do the deed. But hey, sometimes people were that way. Excited for the race, but scared to actually run.

Her body was breathtaking, even though it was very different from the goblin women’s. Whereas they had thick, muscular thighs, bubble butts, and double-D boobs on their four-foot-tall frames, Leena was nearly as tall as me and probably only a bit over a hundred pounds. She wasn’t overly skinny or anything; her ribs and hipbones weren’t sticking out. Her elven build was just small and slight.

So while I absolutely loved the big, round butts on my short beauties, there was also something wonderful about the small yet perky bottom on the back side of Leena. Her waist was tiny, and her breasts were small and topped with light pink nipples just made for sucking on. She was the polar opposite of the goblin women but no less beautiful for it.

Once I sat on the edge of the bed, Silvy came over to me and straddled my lap. The heat of her pussy against my erection was mesmerizing, and she leaned forward, pressing her large breasts against me as she kissed me. I held her by her small waist, then let my hands trail down to that large bottom of her, which I gripped tightly.

Next to us, a nervous Leena laid back on the bed while Zia kissed her way from Leena’s breasts, down her stomach, and finally settled down between her milky-white thighs. Leena gasped when Zia got to her clitoris, then her eyes closed and she focused on breathing steadily. It appeared Zia was quite good at pleasing another woman.

Tressi wasn’t as into women as Zia was, so she eventually shuffled over to Silvy and I. Silvy pulled away for a moment so Tressi could kiss me. The three of us all leaned forward, trying to kiss at the same time, then laughed.

“I guess there’s no way to do this without being slightly awkward,” Silvy said.

“You’re right,” I replied as I reached down between her thighs.

Silvy’s full lips curved into a smile as I grabbed onto my manhood and lined it up with her pussy. She raised up a few inches and I slid it inside as she sank down on my lap. The feeling of her hot, wet pussy was almost too good to describe, especially when she immediately began sliding her hips up and down.

After kissing her for a moment, Tressi wanted to get in on the action. She knelt next to us so I could kiss my way from her breasts, up her neck, and finally her lips. Behind her, Leena’s moans grew in volume as Zia brought her closer and closer to orgasm.

The heat of the moment overtook Tressi, and she bent down and began sucking on one of Silvy’s nipples. I decided to join in, and sucked on the other one, although I really had to bend my neck down to reach it. Silvy let out happy moans which grew even louder when I slapped my palm on her ass.

“Can I have a turn now?” Tressi asked, kissing up Silvy’s breast and along her neck.

“Oh, I suppose,” Silvy said. She raised herself up off me and stared longingly at my cock for a moment, then crawled onto the bed.

With a big smile, Tressi laid on her back right next to me. She spread her thick thighs nice and wide as I crawled on top of her. She was soaking wet, so entering her was easy, although the moment I pushed myself inside I realized she was still a virgin, at least vaginally. Tight was an understatement.

I held myself there for a moment, then slowly worked my cock in and out of her. After a few seconds I had to pull out and take a deep breath.

“Is everything okay?” Tressi asked, looking concerned.

“Better than okay,” I said. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything as good as that.”

After another deep breath, I slipped back inside her. She closed her eyes and smiled, her massive breasts bouncing with each of my thrusts. I leaned over her, kissing her deeply.

Next to us, Leena’s moans suddenly grew sharp as she finally orgasmed. Zia was ruthless with her tongue and didn’t let up at all, bringing a second orgasm from the elven woman immediately after. Zia finally relaxed after that, a big smile on her face.

“I really like how you taste,” Zia said, delicately wiping her lip.

Leena breathed heavily, almost whimpering, her eyes closed. She sat up and immediately reached out for Zia, but her eyes were still closed and she missed. By accident she tackled Silvy and immediately began kissing her. And by kissing I mean the kind of aggressive tongue-punching Silvy was particularly good at.

Silvy was caught off guard but fell quickly into the role. After a few seconds, Leena opened her eyes, then gasped in shock when she realized she had the wrong woman.

“I’m so sorry!” she said, blushing once again.

“It’s okay, dear,” Silvy said, pulling the elven woman back down on top of her. “You’re a great kisser. I didn’t mind at all.” The two began kissing again, lost in their own moment.

“Okay, my turn,” Zia said, shuffling over to us.

I pulled out of Tressi—I wouldn’t have lasted much longer inside her, to be honest—and flopped over onto my back. With a big smile, Zia straddled my waist, then reached behind her and grabbed onto my cock. She lined it up with herself and sank down on it, her smile growing as she took all of me.

I bent my knees and reached forward, both hands squeezing tightly on her large bottom. Zia felt much like Tressi, but she immediately began riding me fast and hard. I thrust up into her several times, our skin making loud slapping noises as my pelvis collided with the soft skin of her ass, before slowing down.

She picked up on it and sat on me for a moment, working her hips in small circles. She laid her head on my chest and I held her tightly, thrusting deep inside her while she made little happy noises.

Right next to us, Leena and Silvy were still making out. I was surprised to see them going at it so passionately; Silvy’s fingers were between Leena’s thighs even. Good for them.

“I hope this isn’t an awkward question, but who am I going to cum inside?” I asked suddenly.

Zia stopped riding me for a moment and looked at me. “No, that’s a fair question.” She wiggled her hips on me and sat back, taking every inch of me until the head of my cock pressed against her cervix. “As much as I want it, I think it’s fairest if Silvy gets it.”

“Me?” she asked, momentarily pulling her lips away from Leena.

“We’re all here because of you,” Zia said, lifting herself off of me.

I was sad to see Zia get up, as her curvy body was simply the stuff of dreams. She moved over to Leena and Silvy and slapped her hand onto Leena’s ass. The elven woman yelped, looking conflicted for a moment, then raised her butt in the air slightly. She looked a bit bashful, but smiled as Zia spanked her again.

I almost commented on Leena’s apparent enjoyment from being spanked, but decided against it. She was a bit shy, so no need to make her feel uncomfortable. Instead, Zia moved aside so I could get between Leena’s slender thighs. She was still lying on top of Silvy, who’s green fingers were rubbing in a circle on Leena’s clitoris.

Zia reached forward and slid her hands along Leena’s bottom, then spread her pussy lips open as I rubbed the tip of my cock against her. When I began pushing myself inside her I felt her tense up, so I gently caressed her leg for a moment until she relaxed. Soon, she lost herself in the heat of the moment with my cock buried inside her, Zia playing with her butt, and Silvy kissing her.

For a moment, Tressi looked like she was trying to figure out what to do. With a shrug, she shuffled up to Zia, threw her arms around her, and began kissing her deeply.

I let my hands slide up to Leena’s small, perky bottom and gave it a good squeeze as I pushed myself all the way inside. I felt Silvy’s fingers, and for a moment she reached down and gently caressed my balls. Honestly I couldn’t decide what felt better, goblin pussy or elven pussy. They were both better than human pussy, and quite frankly the best things I had ever experienced.

It was all just so much stimulation from so many angles. It was hard to focus with so many beautiful women all eager for me and each other.

After thrusting into Leena for a while—thankfully, my attention being split in so many ways helped me to last longer, but I had been on the edge for some time now—I pulled out and told Silvy to come over.

She slid out from beneath Leena and spread her thigh, beautiful thighs for me. The smile on her face was absolutely radiant; I had never seen her so happy. I had the feeling she hadn’t been that happy in decades, probably more than a century.

I slid my hands beneath her knees and pushed them back to her shoulders, so I could more easily enter her ass to finish. Silvy bit her lip for a moment, then pushed her legs back down some.

“No. I want you in my pussy,” she said, looking up at me.

I didn’t want to ruin the moment, but I wanted to make sure she knew what she was doing. “You know what that means,” I said.

“Yes,” she replied, pulling her thighs a bit wider. “After hearing the voice of my son, and then being here with all of you…. I want to do it again. Cum in my pussy, Aaron.”

The rest of the women were ecstatic for her when they heard her say that. I pushed my cock inside Silvy’s wet pussy and Zia and Tressi rushed to her, covering her with kisses, everywhere from her lips to her neck to her large breasts.

Leena came to me and wrapped her arms around me, practically choking me with her tongue. I kept one hand on Silvy’s thigh and slid the other one around to Leena’s tight backside and gave it a squeeze as I began thrusting.

With all that was going on, it didn’t take me long at all to cum. My entire body shook and I erupted inside her, squirting six, seven, eight times, more than I had ever cum in my life. Leena smiled and took my face in both of her hands as she kissed me. The goblin women all kissed and showered Silvy with love.

“I can’t wait for my turn,” Tressi said, then bent down and sucked on Silvy’s erect nipple.

“Same,” Leena said, looking into my eyes.

Zia shrugged. “Honestly, I want to take it in the ass for a few years first. I’m in no rush.

We all laughed. Life was good as king.

About the author

Micky Carre is a best-selling author of fantasy and science fiction. Micky lives in Denver, Colorado and writes books when time permits. A lover of heavy metal, cats, and car racing, Micky plans on writing until they nail his coffin shut.

Also, hey. Thanks for reading my stuff. I really appreciate it.

Table of Contents

- Links
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- About the author