King of the Goblins 2—Chapter 8

Breakfast the next morning was a treat. After taking a dip in the hot springs—a small section had been cordoned off, for royal use only—I walked back to the royal palace, feeling light on my feet. Even though I had missed out on some fun with my wives the night before, I slept great and felt wonderful.

When I arrived in the dining room, my wives were already there, chatting with each other while servants brought food. I sat at the head of the table, something that Silvy insisted on, with two of my wives on each side. Freshly baked bread with jam was the traditional goblin breakfast—always light, lunch was usually a heartier meal—so I was surprised when a busty serving woman set a platter in front of me and lifted the lid.

“Here you are, Your Majesty,” she said with a warm smile. “Poached quail eggs over fresh wilted greens, deer sausage, and an assortment of fruit grown here in the Farming District.”

“Impressive,” I said. Of course there was still a thick slice of fresh bread on the side, with a healthy layer of jam on it. I expected that much. “Thank you,” I told the woman.

“You spoke about breakfast back in your world once, after too much wine,” Tressi said. “You blathered on about how satisfying bacon and eggs were, especially with an english muffin on the side. We thought we’d give you a little treat, since you missed out on the fun last night.” She giggled.

“Oh, shush,” Zia said. “This is just because we love you, not because you were busy. Tressi, you keep that up and I’ll have to spank you.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” she said.

“No matter what the reasoning is, I appreciate it,” I said, taking a bite. It was, as I expected, incredible. 

“So, what’s this I hear about a new city?” Silvy asked after swallowing a bite of deer bacon.

“Someone has done such a great job that our population is expected to grow rather substantially,” Zia said, smiling at me.

“Is that so?” Silvy asked. She gently rubbed her stomach. “Well, I guess I’m contributing to that.”

“We could dig a new district in the mountain, but it’s getting to be cumbersome,” I said. “So we decided to build a new one a few miles to the south. Kord is sending a team of goblins to investigate the next mountain in that direction. Some women are going to delve through the mountain with magic so we can determine if it’s appropriate for us.”

Silvy whistled softly. “A new city? I never thought I’d see the day. Things have always been quiet down here. We live quiet lives and don’t bother anyone if we can help it.” She took a deep breath. “And now we’re building a new city. And I’ve heard you want to connect with the elves as well?”

I nodded. “Yeah, we’re going to start a new tunnel that will spiral up and exit the side of the mountain about a hundred feet in the air. From that, we’ll build a bridge that will connect with the great trees of Caelora. Especially with the attacks recently, it makes sense to have a safer way for us to visit each other.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Leena said. “It does get a bit cramped here, underground.” She gave the goblin women an apologetic smile. “No offense, but it does. This will make it easier for me to visit my family as well.”

“I wonder if this will keep growing,” Zia wondered aloud. “If, one day, this will all be one huge city where goblins and elves live together.”

“That sounds like a dream to work towards,” I said. “We’ll have to grow out of the mountain, though. I know it’s safe, but it’s incredibly inconvenient.”

“We used to live on the ground,” Leena said. “The elves, that is. We grew tired of petty squabbles with other races, so took to the trees for some peace. Perhaps we could build a city on the ground again one day.”

“No rush,” I said. “Those are great, but they’re all major changes. It’ll probably take a hundred years for any of that to happen. For now, we’ll focus on the new city and the bridge to Caelora.”

“Any news on the attacks?” Tressi asked.

“An excellent conversation to have over breakfast,” Zia said. Tressi stuck her tongue out at her.

“A little,” I said. “Thanks to Silvy, I can speak pretty much any language. Our soldiers captured a gnoll yesterday and I was able to briefly speak to him before he passed out. We brought him back here to heal so I could talk to him later.”

“You brought a gnoll here?” Silvy asked.

“What did he say?” Tressi asked.

“Yes, and hold on,” I said to them. “I know no one likes gnolls around here, but he had first-hand knowledge on what’s coming for us. Keeping him alive is the best thing to do. Besides, if we show him a little kindness, maybe word will spread to the other gnolls and they’ll stop trying to eat you.”

“And?” Tressi asked, sounding a bit impatient.

I washed that last bite down with a sip of some light wine. “I’m not completely certain yet, but I believe trolls are the cause of all this. They’re doing something and driving the gnolls and harpies out of their settlements. This gnoll we captured said they’re coming for us.”

“Trolls?” Tressi asked with a gasp.

“He didn’t outright say it, but yeah, I believe so,” I said. “I’ll try talking to him again today to see if he can give me any more information.”

“My goodness, that sounds horrible,” she said, looking down at her food as if her appetite had suddenly gone.

“Well, the key thing to remember is that trolls are huge, and we live underground,” I said. “And the only way into our city is through a tunnel. So if trolls are coming to attack us, they aren’t going to have a good time.”

“Giving some second thoughts to living underground, are we?” Silvy asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It has its benefits,” I said.

“Have you thought of a name yet?” Leena asked.

“For what?”

“For the city,” she said. “You’ve been muttering about it for months.”

“Oh.” I frowned. “Not yet. I feel like I’m close to something, though. I just want it to be a good name.”

“More wine, Your Majesty?” the serving girl asked as she held a small pitcher ready.

I looked down in my wine cup, not realizing I had finished it. “No thanks. It’s too early for two cups.”

“Suit yourself,” Zia said, holding out her cup so the serving girl could refill it.

“I just have too much to do,” I said, wiping my mouth with a napkin.

“Leaving us already?” Leena asked.

“Be safe around that beast,” Silvy said.

“I will, I promise,” I said. “I’ll see you all soon.”

And with that, I got up and left the dining room. A servant approached me with a small bowl of water and a fresh towel, and I used those to wash my hands and face. Okay, sometimes it was nice being king.

Afterwards, I strolled through the palace and went to the throne room. No one was there except for an older servant, who was busy cleaning things. She looked up at me and I gave her a friendly smile. She quickly glanced around, ensuring no one else was in the room, then pulled down the neckline of her dress and exposed both of her large breasts.

I laughed. They were too much sometimes. I might have to talk to Zia about it.

“Thanks, I needed that,” I said.

“Just doing my part to help, Your Majesty,” she said with a wink as she tucked her breasts back into the top of her dress.

Still chuckling to myself, I crossed the throne room and went to the top of the stairs. I had an excellent view of the Royal District from there. It was quite beautiful in a rather monotonous way; everything being carved from the same rock tended to do that. 

I hurried down the stairs, greeting the soldiers standing there, then walked over to the jail where the gnoll was being held. A gray-haired goblin man was seated at a desk there, running a short sword across a sharpening stone.

“Good morning!” I said as I entered the room.

He looked up and immediately stood when he noticed it was me. “Good morning, Your Majesty,” he said, giving me a bow.

“How is our guest?” I asked.

The guard frowned. “He’s awake, and he’s been taking food and water. Vicious bastard tried to bite me. I almost handled him myself before I remembered you didn’t want him hurt.”

“I know you don’t like him or his kind, but we’re trying to get information,” I said. “Can I see him?”

The guard nodded. “Right this way, Your Majesty.”

He led me to the rear of the building, where a row of cells had been carved into the stone. Each cell had a bed, a sink, and a toilet, with thick iron bars across the front of the room. The gnoll was lying on his back, eyes open. Both of his hands were over his stomach.

“Hey, you awake in there?” I asked.

His head snapped up at the sound of my voice. “You,” he said, his eyes narrowing. “Why am I here? Am I a prisoner?”

“Go ahead and open the door,” I said to the guard.

He unlocked the cell door and pulled it open, then stood there with his short sword in hand, giving the gnoll a hard glare. I could tell he was eager to use it.

I walked into the cell with the gnoll as if I wasn’t bothered at all by the furry beast. “Well, you are a prisoner. Remember, your people like to eat goblins.”

“Such tasty flesh,” he said under his breath.

“You know eating them doesn’t give you magical powers, right?”

“Nonsense,” he replied. “Of course it does.”

“Have you ever eaten a goblin?” I asked. I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer.

“I have,” he said with pride. “A young one. The flesh was tender and sweet, and—”

“And do you have any magical powers?” I asked.

The gnoll frowned. “Well, no. I need more flesh. It takes more than a few bites to grant us magical powers.”

“Or, maybe whoever told you that was full of shit,” I said. “I was granted magical powers by the gods. I didn’t eat anyone to get them.”

His eyes narrowed and he glared at me, clearly not happy that I was telling him he was living a lie.

“I am called Orkec,” he said. 

“I’m Aaron,” I said in return.

“Aaron? What a strange name. At least the goblin names make sense.”

I threw my hands up. “Aaron is like the simplest, most common name out there, what are you talking about?” I shook my head. “No, nevermind. Okay, Orkec. What can you tell me about the trolls?”

“They’re coming,” he said.

“Yeah, I gathered that much,” I told him. “I need details. How many? When are they coming? Where are they now?”

I frowned. “I don’t know. They attacked our settlement just a few days gone. Half of my people are dead; the rest fled through the forest. The harpies live north of us and were attacked a day later.”

“Why did they attack you?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he said again. “They didn’t seem to be after anything in particular. Usually if trolls raid, it’s because they want something. Food, a water source, even good steel. Not that we have much.”

“They were just killing you?” I asked.

“I think,” Orkec said. He let out a heavy sigh. “So many of us dead, and we don’t even know why. The trolls have never been good neighbors, but they usually minded their own business as long as we kept our distance. Sometimes we even traded with them.”

“So, what happened? What changed?” 

He thought for a moment. “They got a new king recently. Well, not recently. A few months ago.” He looked up at me for a moment. “He’s around your size. Wears steel armor covered in spikes. A horrible monster.”

“Do you think this new king is pushing the trolls to attack?” I asked.

Orkec nodded. “I do. Ever since he came into power, things have changed with the trolls. No more trading. They’ll attack us on sight. And as I said, they burned our settlement to the ground just a few days ago, and the harpies as well.”

“Such wanton destruction,” I said. “There has to be a reason behind it.”

“If there is, I don’t know it,” Orkec said. “But I do know that some trolls are coming this way. Maybe a dozen of them. I don’t know, I don’t count so good. But they’ll be here soon. Two, maybe three days.”

“A dozen trolls are coming to attack us in two or three days?” I asked, clarifying.

“That’s what I said,” he replied irritably. “Look, I’ve given you all the information I have. I’m just asking for something in return.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“Do you have any deformed babies?” He spoke like a man describing his favorite pizza toppings. “Maybe some children that misbehave too much?”

“You’re not eating any goblins,” I said firmly.

He pouted. “Fine. But I should get something for all the information I gave you.”

“You get to keep your life,” I told him. Using blood magic, I reached into his body. The wound in his stomach was still ragged, but it was healing. I directed it to heal a bit more. 

He shivered at the feeling of his flesh crawling together. 

“I healed you more so you know I’m not out to hurt you,” I said. “Now, stop trying to eat goblins. They don’t give you any magical powers. Hell, the males can’t even use magic.”

His eyes widened. “So it’s the women I have to eat—”

“Don’t eat goblins!” I said firmly. “Jesus Christ, Orkec. I’ll have some food brought to you if you’re hungry.”

He sagged a bit. “Yes, that would be nice.”

“And thank you for your information. You may have saved many lives today.” I thought for a moment. “If I can help save your people, let me know. But no more eating them.”

“You drive a hard bargain,” he said. “When the trolls are done killing the goblins, they’ll go for the elves. After that, they’ll hunt us down and kill the last of us. If you kill the trolls and their king, you will be saving my people.”

I offered him my hand. “Deal.”

He stared at my hand for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth. 

“Don’t eat my fucking hand!” I snapped. I reached out and grabbed his hand with mine, then shook it. “Where I’m from, you do that when you agree to something. Or just as a sign of respect.”

“So you’ll kill the trolls?” he asked. There was a hint of hope in his voice.

“Yes,” I told him. “I’ll kill the trolls.” After all, I knew blood magic.

How hard could it be?”