What ti is it? While I sit beside Kasz’s throne like a good tad beast, I try asking Dag, who finally answers . But, just my luck, he doesn’t know ti.
[Clock.] I’m desperate. [Thing on wall that ticks.]
[Don’t know that. Only know eating ti. Sleep.]
Now I’m making progress, [When is eating ti?]
[When Bykt has foods. When chief gets foods.]
I have to ask. [When is that? How long until then? Is it light or dark out?]
Silence from Dag. I can practically hear the wheels spinning in his mind. He never leaves this cave, so how would he know when it’s light or dark? When we walked to the throne room, I didn’t see any openings or windows. My internal clock is no help, either.
[It is good, Dag. Maybe we both get foods soon.]
Dag sounds upbeat. [Soon.]
Kasz flicks my chain, getting my attention. I turn and look at him. "Raar."
I suspect I am going to get tired of saying that, but for right now, it’s my lifeline. "Raar" is who I am. I am Raar. At least Kasz doesn’t know my real na. He doesn’t know I am called Blaze. And he REALLY doesn’t know that I’m a transmigrated reincarnated human from W City.
With a contented noise, Kasz pulls my chain so that I’m flush against the throne. He does not want even potentially out of his sight.
One of the other goblins, a serving goblin, sets down a plate of at in front of . It is at, no question. It even slls fresh.
Kasz growls at him and utters sothing in Goblinese. Chastened, the goblin whisks the at out from within my grasp and presents it to his chief. With a grunt of acknowledgnt, Kasz takes the plate and balances it on his legs. Selecting a chunk of at, he dangles it in front of . The sll is overwhelmingly good. Anxiety has burned away my sumptuous al from last night or maybe days ago, I’m hungry.
Obediently, I open my mouth. I have to play along. Play the ga. I have to survive long enough to escape, or for Kaline and the others to rescue .
Mmmm. The at tastes good, even though the flavor of goblin and caves spoils it a little. I take my ti chewing and swallowing, and offer a little "mrrrrp" of pleasure. Satisfied, Kasz offers another morsel.
Wait. What am I doing, System?
[Surviving until you can free yourself or Kaline and her family rescue you. Or both.]
But taking at from his hand? Like a trained animal? A tad beast is one thing, but a slave animal? This goblin chief doesn’t know a tad beast from a circus animal!
[Be grateful that he doesn’t. Otherwise, he might take you from Kaline.]
anwhile, I’m chewing and enjoying the morsel of at, making what I hope are little happy noises, just so I soothe Kasz’s ego. After all, he’s got to know that his newest collectible is staying put, right? That it’s all happy and shiny and looking good.
With a satisfied belly laugh that would curl my fur, Kasz pats and utters a string of Goblinese, then says, "My beast is good!"
Okay, he must have advanced language skills, because he strung together an entire sentence in Common. I’ve been here for hours since I woke up, and in all that ti observing goblins, i’ve learned a few things.
One: They’re hardly stupid, but their language skills outside of Goblinese are limited.
Two: The higher you are in goblin society, the more articulate you are in Common.
Three: Goblins are territorial. A goblin’s cave is his castle.
Four: It’s impossible to tell female goblins from male goblins, except by sll. Females sll earthier than males.
Five: The goblins love their chief, Kasz.
I have to keep all these notes in my head.
[I have stored them in your Notebook.]
Oh! I forgot about my notebook in the ga. I can read that, right?
[Anywhere you are, anyti, unless you are unconscious like you were.]
System has a dry sense of humor that erges the more I interact with it.
I want to read the journal, but it will have to wait. Kasz keeps feeding , commanding my attention. Also, he talks to , mostly in Goblinese.
System? Can you translate?
[He is outlining his expectations for you.]
And? Give the talking points.
[He wants you to sit by his side so all the goblins know what a powerful chief he is. If you behave, you will be well treated. You will want for nothing.]
Except my freedom. Do I get the chain off?
[Oh no. You are his beast, and he wants everyone to know it. Where he goes, you go. He will keep you close at all tis.]
Doesn’t he know that beasts need to run around? Pounce? Chase things?
[He’s afraid you will escape or soone will steal you from him.]
Well, he’s not wrong on either count. I’m already counting down the minutes until I can get out of here. What else does he expect?
[For you to show off your magic. Your Shooting Stars, and whatever other powers you have.]
Now?
[On command. Whenever he desires.]
Well, no pressure, then. I guess I can do magic tricks just so he gains status in the eyes of his goblin clan.
Kasz continues to feed until I’m pleasantly full. Truthfully, I feel a little bloated. But I’ll probably burn off all that protein when I start fighting to escape.
A goblin takes the empty plate from Kasz and puts it down in front of for to lick it, which i do, lapping up every flavorful speck of food.
Bowing, the goblin servant whisks away the plate and scurries out of sight.
Suddenly, a slow, stealthy languor sneaks up on , and I can barely keep my eyes open. I’ve got to stay awake.
[Kaline?]
She answers in a terse voice. [We’re looking for you. We’re on your trail. Just stay put. Don’t try to be a hero.]
[But I’ve got to escape.]
I can feel her pure love and devotion through the bond. [You sound tired. Rest. You’ll need it.]
[But I don’t want to be sleeping on the job.]
Kaline won’t let up. [I’ll wake you. Take a nap.]
This is bizarre. I’m a captive and I’m waiting to be rescued, and my quest objective is to escape. But maybe there is more than one way to do that. Maybe I should trust Kaline. Trust my tar.
{I’ll wait for you.]
Kaline’s relief lts my heart. [Good! Do you know how far into the cave network you are?]
System?
[You are six caves into the lair of the Grimrock Goblins. You are beyond the Food Storage area and the Armory.]
Thank you, System, I needed that.
I speak to Kaline. [I’m in the Throne Room, six caves in, beyond the Food Storage cave and the Armory. I’m with the goblin chief, Kasz.]
Kaline is thrilled. [You’re so clever, Blaze! We’re coming.]
My energy ebbing, I close my eyes, and feel myself being hoisted into a warm, leathery lap. Kasz’s throne is not the most comfortable seat in the world, but I can live with it. Happily, Kasz’s lap is semi-comfortable.
I shut my eyes, and feel Kasz’s hand stroking my head, scratching behind my ears. A little rough, and he’s no Kaline. He murmurs words that are ant to sound soothing but, instead, sound more like a command to "go to sleep or else."
I’m just going to sleep for a little while. That’s all. I’ll close my eyes, and when I wake up, Kaline and the others will be here to pick up and take ho.
Yes. I just need a little shut-eye so I have the energy to bust out of here. I need to have my wits about when I escape with Kaline.
Kasz continues to scratch my ears, treating as more of a pet than a fierce beast who can shoot stars from my paws. I suppose I’m small and cute enough for him to be soft towards . Or at least as soft as a goblin gets.
"Raar," I mumble sleepily.
"Good pet," Kasz rumbles.
Just because he is being nice, for a goblin, doesn’t ant he’s won over. He can touch my ears, but never my heart. It’s already spoken for. My heart belongs to my tar and friend Kaline.
I’ve got to get so sleep. So tired. I shouldn’t have eaten so much. Can’t sleep for too long. Maybe I shouldn’t sleep after all. Who can sleep with all this racket ? These goblins aren’t exactly sitting around reading books and ditating. I’ve got to remain alert for my chance.
Despite my attempts to stay awake, my eyes grow heavy, and everything slowly fades to black. Finally, I fall into a troubled sleep.
User Comments
0 comments from readers