Chapter Nineteen – In which Ark considers remodeling his cave-hole, and the other goblins take care of important business with each other.

Chapter Nineteen – In which Ark considers remodeling his cave-hole, and the other goblins take care of important business with each other.

Ivory was kind enough to give me a fresh torch and see me back to my room seeing as Truffle was too lazy to do it herself. A small pit-stop was made so I could use the shit-pit to take a leak, and another to drop in and see Berry and Diana who stayed in the cave-hole right past it for a very short while, but it made her happy that I did. Diana was looking healthy, and still wanted to bite off my finger. I promised I’d come see Berry for a longer time tomorrow and she promised to have some more berries for me to eat, even though it wasn’t necessary. I still had most of the bowl of berries she had given me in my room, having only been eating them sparingly.

With the remainder of the fresh torchlight, I went back to sweeping up the remnants of the large pile of dirt that was once a throne created at the whim of that insanely powerful being known as the Great Protector, and worked on sweeping it towards the walls with my handheld rope-tied straw broom. I had decided on three room improvements I’d like to have, and maybe I could convince Jewel to waste her important time with me to let me make it happen with magic using the topaz stone.

The first was a raised bed. I just wanted something that felt like this is a bed more so than just the small amount of straw spread out on the floor in a small pile. I would make it big enough for three goblins and myself to sleep on comfortably.

The second was a table. I wanted to be able to sit at a table properly and eat in the morning with Prima and the others. Whether this life or the previous life, I enjoyed eating in a designated eating spot with the people I cared about. Certain family values like that I just feel missing when they aren’t there.

The third was born from making the bedroom in Berry’s cave-hole, and I wanted to make the breeding cavern a bit more human-like in design. Proper flat walls, square architecture, and maybe some shelves or cubby-holes. I’d also flatten the entire floor properly so I could walk safely in the dark. Maybe some raised bumps like blind people used at crosswalks so I could know the direct path from my bed to the room’s entrance for when I need to go and use the shit-pit would be nice, but perhaps also too much. Until I began living in this cave, I’ve never really had compassion for the struggle blind people endure every day of their life. I also have no clue how those bumpy things work, or braille, for that matter... I should probably give up on that last one.

Really, these were mostly just quality-of-life things I wanted done. The room was huge and it would take me a considerable amount of time to do any of them. So numbers one and two were the priority right now. Also, forget anything to do with the cavern roof. It was easily twice my height and I would only bother with it if I somehow had free-access to my wand or focus orb, which were best forgotten about for now.

I knew for sure where my guild card was, alchemy set was, my wand was, and my canteen was. I was almost certain Jewel had my focus orb. I had acquired my underwear which was a gift in trade for me choosing that one cinnamon-haired goblin I met earlier when I was exercising outside, and that just left a bunch of piddly things remaining. The rest of my clothes, my cookware, my magic lantern, an observational tome I used to write things down in along with black chalk, my dismantling knife, and my herb pouch which was actually enchanted with an extra-dimensional pocket inside of it. There were other things, yes, but they weren’t as remotely important as the ones I just mentioned.

Without much else to do after sweeping my room, I laid down on my bed and simply wondered if I would ever get tired of fucking goblins...

~~** Interlude | Jewel **~~

“Jewel, we want to trade.”

Jewel was lying down in her bed, rubbing herself with one hand as she held a round white stone above her face with her other, staring at it enamored while she did. She had thought about going to visit Husband, wanting to have her fuckhole stuffed with his seed-stick again. She only decided against it when seeing Prima leaving Husband’s cave-hole early in the morning.

She decided she wouldn’t do anything today but enjoy looking at her colored stones. Husband could wait until tomorrow. She had a feeling that those two needed time to sort out some things.

Two goblins had come to her cave-hole in order to trade with her, and Jewel was fine with listening to what they had to say.

“We want Husband to use magic on our cave-holes.”

“Yeah, Husband gave us both big seed and names. We will have strong ones soon!”

Jewel sat up, and looked at the two goblins. If there was any such thing as co-dependence in the goblin tribe, not that she knew what that was by definition, those two were it.

“Names? What names did Husband give you?”

“Husband called me Truffle. It means tastiest mushroom.”

“Husband called me Ivory. It means pretty bones.”

It seems that Husband was at it as usual. Well, if they are coming to trade directly instead of having Husband come beg her, that is just fine with Jewel.

“So? What do you want to trade?”

“I can trade seven tasty mushrooms, and some color-spin-think powder.”

“I will make bone charms for your strong ones with the nicest bones I have.”

Those were both very tempting offers for Jewel. The mushrooms were worthless to her, but the color-spin-think powder was a great way to stave off boredom, and Ivory’s bone charms were always very well made.

“Okay. We trade.” Jewel quickly agreed. “I will come with Husband so he can use magic on your cave-holes. But tomorrow, and only if he wants to do it.”

“Deal!” The two newly named and freshly fucked goblins agreed before leaving Jewel’s cave-hole.

Prima understood Ark cared. She didn’t doubt it. She never doubted it... but she had another feeling in her heart now. She wondered if Ark cared more for Berry or Diana than her. She wanted all these things for her own strong ones, and wanted Ark to make them. It was a feeling that made her angry and sick at the same time.

“See, that was all Husband wanted to do. He didn’t want to use bad human magic. Only good magic so Berry’s strong one has room to become a big strong one like the Old One and Great Protector said she would be, and to stay healthy.”

Prima was utterly defeated, she knew. She knew it when Ark took her body yesterday. She knew it when she cried in front of him and he still cared for her, even though he talked little. She was still the one the Guardian trusted to not let him do many things, including magic, which the Great Protector now put Jewel alone in charge of.

Prima had ignored Lily, and pushed past her out of the expanded cave-hole only to squat down on the floor in front of the strong one. Placing her hand down in front of her, letting Diana see there was a new challenger.

Diana tried to catch Prima’s hand but the goblin Guardian wouldn’t let her. She always moved just a bit too fast for the strong one to cover it with her claw.

“At least you have a strong one, Berry. Mine is rotting inside.” She started a conversation with Berry, the matter of Ark’s curse presently on her mind and on her lips.

“There’s no way that will happen. Husband would not make your strong ones rot.”

“But he used wicked grand human magic! He cursed me directly!”

“Maybe, but Husband will not let your strong ones rot. Husband wanted Prima to understand that caring for the goblin tribe, especially our strong ones, is the thing he thinks is the most important. More important than himself. Except for the time when you kept Husband away in his cave-hole, he comes to visit every day. To see Diana Artemis growing.”

“She’s big.”

“And hungry. She eats so much. A whole rabbit worth of meat every day, berries too. My milkies are also sore from how much she drinks.”

“...how does it feel?”

“For Diana Artemis to drink from my milkies?”

“No... for the strong one to come out. Old One helped you, didn’t she?”

“All she did was tell me to breathe and push. Mushroom-picker and Bone-taker held me up until she crawled out from my body. My fuckhole hurt and bled so much then and still hurts now. Hurts almost as bad as my scar did back then. I’m also upset right now because I want Husband to give me big seed again. Even Husband said he was sorry when he gave big seed to Jewel and Lily while I sat next to him and put my head on his arm after everyone came to see the wall he dug yesterday.”

“That sounds like something he would do.”

“He’s stupid, but he cares. We could have a worse Husband. One that really hates us and doesn’t want to give us big seed. Remember, the Great Protector said many humans were like that, hating us like we hate the Black-claws. That’s why she found us a special Husband to make strong ones with.”

Prima was distracted with Berry’s platitude just long enough for her strong one to capture the end-finger on her hand.

“GWAAAH!” The strong one squealed triumphantly before Berry plucked her up and praised her.

Prima looked at Diana Artemis for a moment and couldn’t help but wonder how different her own strong one would be. Would it also be as strong as Berry’s, or would it be some kind of rotten goblin after all?

“Need meat tomorrow? I’m going hunting in the morning.”

Berry shook her head.

“No. I already take Diana Artemis hunting with me. Show her how to use poisons. Let her rip and eat the white bird and the horned rabbit we catch on our own. More important than giving meat, would you like to hold her for a little bit, Prima?”

Prima stared at Diana for a moment before taking the strong one from Berry, bringing it to her chest, feeling the warmth of the newest member of the goblin tribe.

It was ugly, brown, just like Berry’s ugly scar. But it was strong. Prima could not deny it was a strong one, and would only get stronger as it continued to get older.

“Actually, Prima... I’d rather ask you instead of meat now, you take her on a hunt later. A big hunt. Black-claw or redboar, or spotted many-horns. There's no one better in our tribe who can teach her what I don't know about being a huntress.”

Prima agreed only to think about it, but that was enough to appease Berry. And enough to shave off a fraction of the sour feelings Prima held on to as to whether or not Ark had more feelings for Berry than he did for her...