Husband of the Goblin Tribe

[v2] Chapter Thirty-two – In which Magpie secretly leaves the Goblin Tribe in her ongoing quest to become an Adult Goblin.

~~** Interlude | Magpie **~~

“I’m leaving.” I said with finality.

Along with myself, Button, Glace, Figurine, and Nova were also gathered. Everyone was aware of what happened between me, my Lord, and Diana. I had been emboldened by what Nova said to me during the outdoor celebration the other day, but was not only rejected by my Lord, but also thoroughly beaten by Diana, who is, even among us goblins, an almost godly entity.

It’s true.

While some of us are aware that Button could most likely defeat her if she was serious, Button wholeheartedly refuses to do so on account of not wanting to shake the current balance of the tribe. Button also would prefer to be lazy over being a leader. Button believes in her mushroom way and the swirly-whirly—some kind of spiritual belief that originates from my Lord.

With exception to Figurine, who along with Button had been integral in my training as a shinobi, no one else present here has been embraced by my Lord. Button and Glace are surely adult goblins. I also recognize Nova as being an adult as well from her wisdom, but she is younger than me and has told me that she has no wish to be embraced by my Lord.

My decision to leave is not only because of that, but also because of what happened to my maker, Crow.

Her leg is destroyed. Lumi did not make light of it to me when explaining the reality of it.

Though she is our tribe’s Saintess—the divine magic she has access too from the Goddess she worships, Elara, the effectiveness of it on us who are goblins… is limited. When bringing up the matter of how she healed my Lord’s arm after Berry snapped his bones, she refuses to speak even a single word about it. A price had to be paid for it to be restored, and even then, my Lord’s arm was not made human again—but goblin.

Crow is already a goblin, so likely whatever price was necessary, Lumi was aware that Crow would be unable to pay it.

A disabled goblin is a liability. Crow is now unable to move, let alone hunt. With her leg unable to be restored, there is nothing left for her to do other than to lay in her cave-hole for the rest of her life depending on others. It is no way for a goblin to live. So, it is only a matter of time before death courts her.

Rather than see her fall into misery and despair, eventually seeking her own death, I want to escape. I told everyone how I felt. I expected that they might try and stop me, but much to my surprise, not a single one of them did.

Glace, speaking through Button, felt that it would be a good thing if one of us Bloodmaw Goblins went out into the world. As my Lord has told all of us, the outside world sees goblinkind as some kind of uncivilized plague to the rest of the so-called civilized races. My Lord has also said that though we are goblin in appearance, through his big-seed, we are at least in some part Human. Therefore, it is not wrong to say that I am a half-goblin, and as such have the ability to change the otherwise indelible notion that our kind is entirely uncivilized which the outside world thinks of us.

Button and Figurine were also in agreement. Nova… didn’t disagree, but instead offered some insight into what I should expect and what I might encounter once I left the Bloodmaw’s domain.

“That shitty old man is an outlier. His magic might be strong, but the rest of him is soft. The world is a cruel place, and those who might trust anyone with the blood of a goblin in their veins are at best, non-existent. You will be in for a hard and difficult time, but it’s not hopeless. We are stronger than we have any right to be. Use that strength as a shield—always. People are stupid, up to a point. The weak instinctively know to fear the strong. Even if you are strong, it doesn’t mean you will be left alone. There will always be someone aiming for you. Just prioritize your own safety, and you’ll make it. Never be afraid to run away from a mismatched fight, and always try to fight at an advantage.”

I kept Nova’s words in my heart.

What happened next was for all of us to go see the Human adventurer named Cobi and discuss a few things. In this, Nova was once again crucial to the success of seeing me escape Goblinhome safely.

“So, you want me to smuggle your kin outside of the Night Forest?”

“It’s not forbidden… but it’s easier to ask forgiveness should it come to it than permission.”

“Girls, what do you think?”

Cobi had consulted with the six Kobolds, each of them stating that they had no problems with it if Cobi wished to help. I did know how to speak my Lord’s tongue, so I would be able to communicate with others without needing too much assistance. I also planned on following my Lord’s path and becoming an Adventurer as he and Stella once had been.

Cobi and the Kobolds, their Breath of Fire party welcomed me in as a member, temporarily, and with the knowledge that they would be leaving around mid-day, I quickly went about securing everything that I wished to bring with me, including the full set of my kunoichi clothing. I also left behind a letter to be given to Crow, informing her of my decision to leave. Glace promised that she would deliver it to Crow three days later.

It’s not like I would never come back…

Only for now, I felt my destiny lay elsewhere.

When it came time to leave, Cobi told me that I would be disoriented for a while once I entered his large pack. Considering some of the training I’ve done with Button and Figurine, I didn’t think much of it. Once I entered his backpack, I fell into some kind of lightless void. While I could breathe and think, I had no access to any of my other senses. I had no way of escaping whatever kind of place I was in.

It was quite frightening.

I had no idea of how much time had passed until suddenly there was light again and I was made to move towards it by some unknown force. Then, I was half-sticking out of his backpack and tumbled out onto some hard ground, heaving up my guts for a short while.

It turns out I had been in the pack until nearly nightfall.

It wouldn’t be long until we reached the exit from the forest and could travel on the road towards the town full of Humans, Dwarves, and other races I have only heard about that Cobi and the Kobolds lived in.

The journey would take many days. Along the way, a few of the Kobolds and I would hunt for our food, since we preferred it raw, even though we all could eat it cooked without much issue. Cobi was very similar to my Lord in his entire unwillingness to eat raw meat.

When it came time to rest and sleep, from within that terrifying backpack, Cobi had pulled out a large piece of complex cloth called a tent. I had been invited to sleep inside, which was nice when one night it rained rather heavily. There was of course the matter of Cobi being similar to my Lord with his Kobolds… they too enjoy being adults and… I may have pretended to be sleeping with my back turned to them while I quietly rubbed myself.

Among the six Kobolds, I had the easiest time getting along with Trixie during my journey. We had many similar skills, and she taught me many of the things I didn’t know about scouting when it came to adventuring. I also learned a new skill from her called lockpicking. It was an important skill to know for a scout since it went hand-in-hand with trap disarming. Traps and treasure chests could often be found in dungeons which were scattered around the world, and a scout who knew how to navigate them was always in high demand in the adventurer’s guild.

Occasionally we would come across other people. Some would be walking like we were and some would be sitting on top of some kind of wooden thing being pulled by a big strange beast or two. I always found those things to be interesting to look at. Trixie called them wagons. Said they were used for moving people or things to other places in a lazy but efficient way.

The more I learned and saw, the more I realized how small and isolated Goblinhome was. Eventually we reached our destination, the human settlement known as a town called Thorn. By now, news of my leaving Goblinhome would have reached the ears of my maker, Crow. Would my Lord be upset that I left him no parting words?

Before we went anywhere, Cobi and the Kobolds walked through a strange forest made of cut wood until we found one that looked like it might collapse at any moment. Turns out, this strange structure was called a House. Cobi and the girls all entered after he put some kind of metal stick inside of the wood and it swung open.

Inside, I couldn’t see it as anything other than a cave-hole without a cave.

The Kobolds all immediately collapsed into a pile as they often did. Then began to complain to Cobi about taking out their hoards. Cobi was quick to do so, with many shiny and interesting things being removed from his backpack and placed meticulously near each of the Kobolds who all curled around them protectively, either just staring or using a claw to poke at an interesting thing here or there, bringing it closer to inspect before just as quickly putting it back in the pile it was plucked from.

“Girls, I’ll be back in a little bit, okay? I’m going to the guild to make a report. I’ll be back after to prepare you a meal.”

None replied. They all just laid there motionless like Truffle after making a fresh batch of color-spin-think powder.

“Don’t mind them, Magpie. The girls are just tired. After a nap and a meal, they’ll be energetic again.”

He didn’t need to explain. I understood the importance of being lazy after working hard. It was very much a reward to a goblin to do so.

“Magpie, are you tired?”

“No.”

“Good. How about you join me, and I’ll show you around Thorn? I think your… I think Ark would appreciate it if I at least took some responsibility to teach you a little bit about your new home. You might not know it, but he and Stella were both adventurers who lived in this town for a while…”

I nodded. One thing my Lord always taught me was to gain as much awareness and information about my surroundings as possible so that I could make smart decisions.

Cobi took me to many places before we reached the Adventurer’s Guild. There were many houses of various sizes that all served different purposes. Houses with smoke coming out of them that made metal weapons, houses that one could enter and trade flat metal circles with the people inside in order to get fruits, vegetables, and other things like ropes and jars.

There were small wooden wagons that people stood near and used small fire-pits to make cooked-meat and other things that reminded me of Melon.

There was even a statue in the center of town that looked similar to the one in Lumi’s chapel but many-many times bigger.

“Is that… the Goddess Elara?” I asked Cobi. “Lumi has a similar statue in her chapel.”

“It is. It’s said that having a statue of her helps to ward off invasions of monsters and evil creatures. I don’t know if it’s true, but it does feel good to see one…”

“Do you believe in Elara?”

Cobi shrugged.

“I’ll believe in any God or Goddess who is willing to save my ass when things go sideways.” He said with a short laugh. “Would you like to stop for a moment and pray?”

As a Bloodmaw, I believe in the stories of the Creator. Old One didn’t say we couldn’t pray to others, but that only the Creator would care enough to listen to a goblin. But Lumi believed very deeply in Elara, so I decided to offer up a small prayer, asking Elara to watch over our tribe, if she had nothing better to do...

After that, the next stop was the Adventurer’s Guild.

Inside was a room that looked similar to the Goblin’s Guild.

I pointed out various places and Cobi let me know what I got right, what was different, and what was unknown to me. The part that came next… was tricky.

“Cobi!”

“Hello Viola.”

“So, how was your trip to the Night Forest?”

“Got caught up in a small battle with a pack of Shadow Wolves. Nothing we couldn’t handle.”

Cobi handed over two familiar metal squares to the woman who looked like a tall horned rabbit without the horn.

“These two…”

“Yeah.”

“It matches with what their party member said. Months ago, that young boy said they were ambushed by a group of goblins, and only he survived… We sent a recovery party to investigate, but they said there were no bodies to be found. The Lord of the Night Forest didn’t appreciate the intrusion and restricted quests. Do you have any intel on the situation within?”

“Yes. An abundance of Shadow Wolves in the Southern reaches. I did encounter some female Orcs who were willing to talk rather than fight. They said they escaped a new chieftain that recently came into power who lords over the Eastern area.”

“What about that strange creature we’ve received reports of?”

“Whitefeathers? Saw no sign of it. Glad for it, too.”

Whitefeathers? Was Cobi talking about Big Bessie the GUU’Z?

“What about goblins?”

“Ah. About that…”

Cobi gestured to me.

“Can we move to a private room real quick? The matter is sensitive.”

“Understood. Please follow me.”

Cobi signaled for me to follow and the three of us entered a smaller house-hole Inside the big house called the Adventurer’s Guild.

There was some kind of long bed that rose up which Cobi told me to sit on. Then he asked me to lower my hood and take off my mask. When I did so, the tall rabbit woman stared at me for a moment with a curious look.

“Cobi… that is a goblin.”

“Yes, I know. Care to introduce yourself to Miss Viola?” He asked me.

I had thought to introduce myself as a Bloodmaw goblin but decided that might not be a good idea. I didn’t know yet who I could trust aside from Cobi and the Kobolds.

“I am Mags.” I said, borrowing the name my Lord often called me. “I am also half human.”

“Half-human?”

“Yes. My human father provided the big-seed to make me.”

She came closer and inspected me.

“Hrm. You do speak the common tongue well enough.”

“The girls and I picked her up in the Night Forest. She… wanted to leave. Obviously, I had similar concerns, but you can see that she’s intelligent. She hasn’t been hostile to us at all and… rather than leave her in that dangerous place, I thought maybe she should have a chance to experience what the outside world has to offer. That’s why both I and the Breath of Fire party wish to vouch for her.”

“Certainly, that is within your rights to do so, Cobi… But...”

“Viola. She came from the Night Forest. At the very least, shouldn’t we treat her in a way that the Lord won’t take offense to?”

The woman’s long ears drooped slightly.

“Just tell me she’s not a child, Cobi.”

I stood up on the soft bed I had been sitting on.

“Mags is an adult goblin!”

“It’s okay… Mags. Viola is just following the rules of the Adventurer’s Guild. It’s common to not let those who are too young join, due to the risk of being injured or killed. Viola, I know she looks young, but you should know that some races mature faster than others.”

Viola stared at me for a while before sighing.

“Alright. But she’s your responsibility until she ranks up.”

“Thank you, Viola.”

“Will you be helping her with her registration?”

“Naturally.”

What followed was the rabbit beastwoman named Viola asking me a series of questions, some of which I did need to rely on Cobi to help me answer. It seems that no one here knew what a shinobi was, so my job type was informally listed as a hybrid scout.

I was given a metal square and asked to drop some blood on it. The result was… interesting to say the least.

Job: Shinobi

Name: Mags

Physical Ability: A

Mental Ability: A

Magical Ability: B

I showed Cobi the card and he nodded. I then had to show Viola who looked at it with her eyes widening as she did.

“There’s not usually a problem with the guild cards…”

Cobi laughed.

“Viola, it’s accurate. This is part of the reason why I brought her out with me.”

“Still… to be at this level while just starting out… Cobi, I won’t let her jump ranks.”

“I’m not asking you to. I think she should start from the bottom, same as anyone else.”

Viola thought for a moment and then nodded.

“Very well. But I am going out on a limb here trusting you, Cobi.”

“I know. And I appreciate it, Viola.”

I was handed back the metal square and told to keep it safe. So, I stored it in a safe place in my clothes.

“What now, Cobi?” I asked him.

“Now… we rest. I’ll bring you by the guild again tomorrow and help you pick out your first job request. Once you get the hang of things, then you’ll be able to come and go as you please.”

I nodded.

We left the Adventurer’s guild, with Cobi asking me if I wanted anything cooked or if I would prefer my meat raw. Seeing as how kind he was to me, I decided to humor him by trying some of the same fire-meat he was eyeing at one of the fire-pit wagons. It was a wooden stick with meat covered in something that looked like sticky mud. As well as some vegetables. As far as meat went, it tasted like fire-meat usually does, but the flavor of the mud was delicious.

Cobi seemed happy that I was eating it with him.

We got back to the house the Kobolds lived in and Cobi went right to work pulling out one of the Black-claws, skinned it with a knife quickly, and cut off pieces which he gave to each of the Kobolds.

I admit to eyeing it.

While I’ve never had the chance to eat it, I have heard that Black-claw meat is some of the tastiest…

My ears heard a snapping sound, my eyes following the source instantly. Trixie had snapped part of the Black-claw leg she had been given and lobbed it over to me. I snatched it out of the air and saw her wink at me. I grinned in reply and lowered my mask enough to chomp into it.

It tasted just as good as rubbing myself felt. Being stored in Cobi’s backpack, it was like the Black-claw didn’t age at all. It tasted fresh from the hunt!

After a night spent lazily.

Lazily for me, anyway…

Cobi kept his promise, and together with the Kobolds, we all went to the Adventurer’s Guild where, with advice from everyone, I chose a simple quest as my first to establish myself.

“Mushrooms?”

I happened to know quite a bit about mushrooms.

It was a quest to pick certain kinds of mushrooms. Some are used in alchemy to create magical potions. I was given a piece of paper and on it were drawings of the mushrooms I needed to locate and pick. The general area they could be found in, and the time I had to accomplish this task.

Easy enough.

Nymfi picked her own piece of paper from the wall.

“We do this one.”

It was a subjugation request for some animals, located in the same area the mushrooms I was to pick could be found. I see… they were looking out for me.

Viola was standing behind the counter like Vera often would be in the Goblin’s Guild. She approved the quests for us, and we made our way out of the town of Thorn and into a nearby area that wasn’t quite as forested as the Bloodmaw domain was.

Trixie and Silky stayed close by to me while I foraged. The other four and Cobi went off to hunt. It seems Silky was looking for the kind of berries that Berry used to make blue water, as she had been taught the recipe. There were plenty of bushes around, and not only that, there were also many tall trees with fruits growing plentifully on them.

Being an agile goblin, I quickly scaled the trees and picked a whole mess of them.

By the time Cobi and the others came back to pick us up, we had a huge pile of things for him to put in his backpack. It would have been more, but we decided to be considerate and eat some of it, so he didn’t have to carry so much back.

Like this, I was able to complete my first job with the Adventurer’s guild and get some of those round flat metal things called coins.

According to Cobi, these were necessary to trade for things like food, clothes, and if needed, a house to stay in temporarily. Many many coins would be needed to own a house-hole to live in. The coins I had were called copper coins and they were worth the least. What I needed were gold coins. When I ranked up, I would eventually be allowed to take jobs that would pay in gold coins, but that wouldn’t be for a while.

For seven suns, the Breath of Fire party and Cobi helped me out.

After that, Cobi handed me a small metal stick.

“Mags. Nymfi and the girls decided to take a quest a bit far away. You seem to have a good understanding of how the guild works, so we’d like you to stay behind and keep an eye on our place while you work on ranking up… if that’s alright.”

I looked up at the tall human and furrowed my eyes.

“Does Cobi not think I would be useful?”

“Not at all. You would definitely be useful, but there is an order to things.”

“Is it because my rank is low?”

Cobi smiled softly, placing his huge hand on my shoulder.

“How do I put this…”

“Is it because Cobi doesn’t think Magpie is an adult goblin?”

Cobi shook his head.

“No. If you say you are an adult goblin, I have no reason to think otherwise. But… Nymfi and the others… my situation is similar to Ark’s…”

“Ah. They want to do Adult Kobold things and I’m in the way?”

“Mm… yes and no. The girls like going on adventures, but they are worried that they might need to protect you too. When you reach steel-rank, they said they will no longer feel that way, but they also… yes… want some time alone with me to do adult things.”

“Magpie understands. Cobi doesn’t think Magpie is a strong-one still?”

“You are without a doubt a goblin adult to me. But I’m… to me the girls…”

“Cobi is their Husband.”

“Something like that.”

“Not sure how it is for Humans and the other ones, but Magpie knows Kobolds also want to make strong-ones with Cobi.”

Cobi pursed his lips for a moment.

“See, only an adult goblin would understand what’s going on here.”

I nodded my head.

“Magpie will keep Kobold’s house-hole safe.”

Cobi reached up and placed his big hand on my head softly.

“I’m glad I can count on you, Magpie. I’ll… do my best to make strong-ones with them.”

I gave him a thumbs up.

“Have many-many!”

Silky had managed to make something close to the blue water that Berry often made. We all drank some later that evening and when I woke up the next morning, everyone was gone.

I was now on my own in the town of Thorn.

I gathered my important things, doublechecked most of my arsenal, and then locked the door as I headed out to the Adventurer’s Guild.

My new life as Mags Wyze the Shinobi Adventurer had finally begun!