Chapter Text
Once upon a time there was a magical country called Solace where humans, elves, and halflings all lived together in peace. Unfortunately, it was only those three races that lived peacefully, as Solace had a serious xenophobia problem. Genasi and animal races were regarded with suspicion and were traded with reluctantly; “wild” races, such as orcs, goblins, or tieflings, were considered “nasty” and avoided; and the gnomes and fey – shape-shifting tricksters the lot of them – were never to be trusted.
In the heart of Solace was a town called Elmville, where a young, human boy named Riston Guckenheim lived. Riston was as typical as any boy could get, from his tousled hair to his glasses to the scrapes on his knees, except those scrapes weren’t from playing – no, Riston earned those by crawling around and looking for clues with his magnifying glass, for there was nothing he loved more than mysteries. Even at a young age Riston worked hard to find the truth in everything and to bring evil to justice, and considered his own parents to be his personal heroes: his mother, Rhonda, a hard-working police detective, and his father, Murdoch, a deceased international spy. By the age of ten, Riston was dressing up like the professional investigator he dreamed of becoming, donning smart suits like his father had worn, carrying around a briefcase instead of a backpack, and wearing an old flat cap like a grizzled noir detective. This led to the other children mocking Riston for not acting like them, calling him ‘weird’ and ‘briefcase kid.’ No one wanted to be associated with him, and although his fellow schoolmates ridiculed Riston over his passion, he would always smile, doing his best to help out other people and always hoping for a friend, even going so far as to buy a pair of matching ‘Best Friend’ necklaces in case he ever had someone he could give half to.
Within a short span of time, teenagerhood was upon Riston, along with high school. He made a name for himself as an investigator when, during his freshman year, he was able to solve a case involving over half a dozen girls disappearing from his school. With the flourish he always dreamed of performing, young Riston proudly pointed to his upperclassman and fellow AV Club member, Bertram Ivan Zimmerman. Riston had found logs tracing Bertram’s foul deeds back to the disappearance of all the girls, and proudly stood alongside the police officers to watch Betram get taken into custody. In a bold move, however, Bertram managed to wrest his wrists out of the handcuffs and raced towards Riston. Before anyone could react, Bertram shed his halfling disguise and revealed himself to be fey, and in an act of vengeance, he cursed young Riston.
“People already think you're a freak from the way you act, so you’ll look like one, too!” he screamed as officers attempted to tackle him.
“Pointy teeth, yellow eyes, green
Skin and always hobblin’
Curse this wretched human soul
to become a goblin!”
He chanted, and immediately thick, green smoke began to billow out of Riston’s body. It engulfed him, causing him to scream in anguish as his body burned and his bones shrank and cracked before collapsing to the ground in an unconscious heap. He awoke mere moments later, though barely lucid, and all he could hear was Bertram (now properly subdued) jeering at him from the other side of the police tape:
“You must find true love and consummate it by your 21st birthday, or you'll remain a goblin forever! Ah, but now that you're a goblin nobody will ever look your way again! Haaaaahahahahahaha!” he concluded, laughing hysterically. The police, familiar with Riston as he was the son of one of their greatest detectives, quickly tossed a blanket over him and whisked him away from the growing crowd of whispering onlookers and to his home.
Back home, Riston’s mother lamented at what her beloved son had become: a hunched, green goblin, no taller than three-and-a-half feet. His eyes were huge with yellow sclera and black slits for pupils, his ears long and pointy, but also ragged at the edges with sprouts of dark green hair growing from the ends. In fact, all of his hair was a dark green, darker than the soft, mossy hue of his skin. His nose had become wider and bulbous, nearly to the point that it could be called a snout; his teeth replaced with sharp fangs that jutted at many angles, some now poking out over his lips when he would close his mouth. Claws had burst forth from his fingers and toes and a long, whip-like tail with a large tuft of dark green fur sprouted at the end had erupted from the base of his spine. When Riston was finally able to see himself in a mirror, he stood aghast at what he had become.
At last he spoke.
“‘Riz,’” he said to his reflection. At the sound of his voice, his mother stopped weeping and looked at him, confused. He turned from the mirror and addressed her. “Call me Riz. It suits me better, now that I’m a goblin.” He hugged her tightly and told her not to fret, for surely he will pull through. His mother hugged him back and told him that while she was shocked by the change she is extremely proud of him for what he’s done.
“You will always be my precious son and I shall love you no matter what. I believe in you…Riz,” she told him, teary-eyed. Two days later (after a quick shopping trip for smaller clothes) Riz returned to school, hopeful for his future. Despite his schoolmates regarding him with suspicion and disgust and avoiding him even more than before, Riz kept his positive attitude.
Unfortunately for Riz, Fate was not done with him, for just a few months later, while solving the theft of an enchanted crown in a mirror dimension, he was faced with another tribulation. Within the mirror Riz had met a reflection of his self: a bone-white, expressionless puppet who whispered uncomfortable secrets to the young goblin. With his clever wits, Riz was able to defeat the reflection, but through the process also came to understand that the secrets were true; he was aromantic and asexual. Riz, as usual, still kept his optimism and decided to fully embrace what he had become. He was proud to be aro-ace and if that meant he would never be able to break his curse, he would then take pride in being a goblin as well. He decided to stop hiding in the shadows (when he wasn’t stalking someone for an investigation), and walked the hallways of his high school with his green head held high and a friendly greeting on his lips. He still dressed in his suit, tie, and cap, but now in a smaller size.
Riz used his new goblin stature to become the greatest private investigator Elmville had ever seen. He was able to sneak into more places and stay hidden among the shadows better thanks to his smaller stature. His large, yellow eyes and slitted pupils may be off-putting to the Solesians around him, but they also allowed him darkvision, making gathering intel at night even easier for him. And as for the claws and teeth, they were there in case he ever got into a scuffle, and the claws made picking locks a lot easier, too. Immediately upon graduating high school he opened his own detective office. Despite his open friendliness, the only work he received was consultant work from the police; no one wanted anything to do with a goblin. And so Riz continued his days, working on whatever case he could find before handing it off to the police to resolve and receiving a pittance for all his efforts. However, everything changed when one spring day a beautiful young man came to his office and asked for his help specifically.
He was a gorgeous half-elf not much older than Riz; nearly three feet taller than the goblin, high cheekbones, and a flawless russet complexion. His body was lithe yet muscular, with a few scars that added a sense of danger to the refined way he carried himself. His snow-white hair was tied back and tightly braided, a black eyepatch with rubies set in the middle covered his right eye, but the left was such a magnificent silver that Riz was certain that it was made of moonlight.
“You truly are a goblin,” the man murmured upon seeing Riz, but then he continued into the office, unafraid. He settled into a chair and put his feet up on the desk before continuing haughtily: “My name is Fabian Aramais Seacaster and I have come in search of your services; the greatest detective of this town – perhaps all of Solace – who is a goblin, to boot! You will be perfect !”
Skeptical of the man’s attitude, Riz hesitantly closed the door and then scurried over to sit opposite him at the desk. “And why would I be perfect?” he asked.
“Because you are a goblin and therefore unaffected by my curse!” Fabian said simply. “I have been cursed and I need to break it. I heard that you, too, were cursed and thought we could work together.” Fabian looked around the shabby office and sneered. “I see that you appear to be…poor. I can help with that. Get my curse removed and I’ll make you wealthier than you can imagine. Of course, you can also use my money and resources to work on removing your own curse, as I’m sure you’re already doing.”
Riz tried to interject, but Fabian was oblivious to his efforts and continued to speak.
“So come move in with me while you work everything out. I’ve got everything you could need; servants, food, money, space, solitude, a library…” Here Fabian looked directly at Riz and flashed a dazzling smile “And me! I am more resourceful than you’d think!
“All I ask,” Fabian said, “is that you remain with me in my mansion in Bastion City until the curse is broken; you will be free to go once the curse is broken, but once you move in with me, you may not leave. And please stay out of the West Wing; that is where my private quarters are.”
Riz eyed the young man as he processed the offer. He looked around his office and its sparse furnishings: a single desk, two chairs, a single bookcase with boxes of papers stacked alongside three worn books, a phone, a lamp, and a paper pad. He really could use some more funds to buy more research tools; it was only because of hand-outs from the police and doing active field research that Riz was able to solve cases. He also considered the near-empty pantry back home where he still lived with his mother, and his stomach growled. On the other hand, breaking a curse was new to Riz, but the young man had to know more than he was initially letting on and would perhaps reveal it if Riz took the case. This was something new, and it was a mystery.
Riz jumped onto his desk and squatted down to look the half-elf in the eye. “Just me?” he asked, and he noticed Fabian stiffen.
“You’re, um, thinking of your mamá, are you not? Uh, not that I wouldn’t love the extra company, but I have a feeling it won’t turn out well,” Fabian told Riz. “But sure, you can ask.”
Riz filed this response away as ‘curious’ and moved to the phone to call up his mother, eager to offer her a better life as well. Yet when he explained the arrangement and who they would be staying with, Riz’s mother went silent on the other end.
“Riz, I cannot stay in that man’s house,” she told him firmly. “I believe you may do so, but I personally want nothing to do with the man.”
Riz blustered at this revelation. “Why?” he asked her. “Has this Fabian wronged you somehow?”
“No, I do not know him at all, but all my soul is screaming at me that I cannot trust him. Please, Riz, consider carefully who you are working with.”
“I understand, mom,” Riz said solemnly. “Please keep believing in me! I will cure this man of his curse and see you again soon. I love you.”
“I love you too, Riz.”
Riz hung up the phone, returned in front of Fabian and held out his clawed hand. Fabian sat up from his lean and shook Riz’s hand without the hint of a flinch, impressing the goblin. “You’ve got a deal,” Riz said and that very day he moved his few belongings into Fabian’s gigantic mansion. He chose a first-floor room for his study and immediately began to write a list of everything he would need to begin his research into curse-breaking. Fabian promised the resources would be there the next day and then showed him upstairs to his bedroom.
Riz had never seen a finer bedroom in all his life: the size itself was nearly as big as the entire apartment that Riz lived in with his mother. Silken sheets covered a bed so soft and fluffy that as much as Riz later tried, he couldn’t feel a single spring poking through. The room even came with its own ensuite bathroom, where a jet-powered bath complete with candles, scented oils, and flowers had already been drawn for him.
“Please, relax to your heart’s content,” Fabian told Riz. “The servants will lay out some clothing for you for after your bath, and then please join me in the dining room once you are ready to eat.” With that, Fabian left Riz alone to get accustomed to his new quarters. Never one to turn down an opportunity, Riz eagerly soaked in the tub until his stomach cried out for food. He found warm, fluffy towels waiting for him beyond the privacy partition, and back in his room several different lounging outfits had been laid out for him, all in either silk or velvet. Completely unused to anything outside of his suits or nightwear, Riz selected a maroon-colored silk pajama set that included a button-up shirt complete with a front pocket. Hanging on the back of the door was a fine, quilted smoking jacket that Riz threw over the silk pajamas and he headed downstairs, following his nose to the dining room where a feast had been prepared. He sighed in relief when saw Fabian sitting at the head of the table in his own smoking jacket, and began to take a seat at the opposite end of the table when Fabian waved at him to come over.
“Please, sit near me! There’s no need to be strangers now that we are living together!” Riz smiled and obliged, and that night he feasted so well that his stomach was full for the first time in months. After eating, Fabian insisted on giving Riz a tour of the estate, showcasing several recreation rooms, vast gardens, the kitchens, library, wine cellar, barroom, and at last, the entrance to the West Wing. He reminded Riz once more that any further past were his own quarters and were off limits as he wanted to keep his privacy. Riz once more agreed and then Fabian bid him goodnight as he slipped through the door. Riz retired to his own room, and found that the spare wardrobes had been put back. He rummaged through his sparse belongings, pulling out his notepad and pencil, and wrote a letter to his mother before at last slipping under the covers of the massive bed. Almost as soon as Riz’s head hit the pillow, he was out for the night.
Riz awoke the next morning to the smell of breakfast from downstairs. He quickly ran to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth, and was astonished to find three sets of clothing laid out for him on the bed when he returned. He searched around the room for any sign of servants, but found nothing. Deciding to look into it further after he had eaten, Riz chose an outfit similar to the suits he always wore, but this one made with fine cotton and satin-lined pockets and delicate patterns woven into the tie and waistcoat.
When Riz went downstairs, however, he was surprised to find the dining room barren; no sign of Fabian or food. Riz concentrated, drawing on the power of scent from his beast-like goblin nose, and followed the captivating smell of bacon to what appeared to be a smaller dining room. There he found Fabian sitting behind heaps of food.
“Ah, I see you have found the breakfast nook!” Fabian said jovially, and once more beckoned Riz to sit beside him as they ate.
“I can’t believe you have different rooms for different meals,” Riz told Fabian as he helped himself to some syrup-laden french toast.
“Oh, there’s only four of them!” Fabian chuckled, and Riz stopped with his fork halfway to his mouth and stared at Fabian as if he had mushrooms sprouting from his ears.
“You… you’re kidding, right?” Riz stammered.
“What? Why would I?” Fabian responded. “We’ve got the breakfast nook, the normal dining room, the formal dining room, and lastly, the casual dining room!”
Riz pinched the bridge of his nose. “Wh-what on earth is the difference between a normal and casual dining room?”
“Oh, you know, it all depends on what you’re wearing and eating,” Fabian explained, waving his fork around as he made his point.
“Right…” Riz began, starting to wonder if his mother was right about not trusting the man, but then Fabian cut in on his thoughts.
“Everything you requested is here and ready for you in your new study, by the way. Once we’re done eating, why don’t we go check it out?”
Riz nearly choked on his toast. “ All of it?”
“Oh yes, absolutely. I told you: if you need it, I can get it for you!”
“Uh, o-okay, then. Let’s finish up and check it out,” Riz said, still bewildered by the statement.
It was true: Fabian had managed to acquire everything Riz had requested for his attempt at curse-breaking, including several rare books and artifacts. Everything was also set up as well, and Riz once more wondered how this was possible when so far Fabian was the only other living being in the house that Riz was able to sense. He made a mental note to ask Fabian about this later that afternoon. After verifying everything was accounted for, Riz climbed up into his new office chair, hunching himself over his knees, and pulled out his pencil and notepad. He motioned to Fabian to take a seat in the overstuffed sofa.
“Tell me all about this curse of yours,” Riz said to him.
“Did my name not ring any bells? Surely you know of the Seacasters?”
Riz looked blankly at Fabian.
“Hmph! Well, once again, I am Fabian Aramais Seacaster, son of the greatest pirate ever, the late Bill Seacaster! Just last summer I set out to make a name for myself among the pirates on the Celestine Sea. I was Captain of my very own ship and-”
“Wait, wait, hold on. I remember hearing stories of Bill Seacaster. He was a terrible, evil man!”
“Yes, that's right,” Fabian agreed without further elaboration.
“And you followed in his footsteps? I will not work for evil!”
“No, no, no! I don't pillage or plunder or invade innocent villages or towns! Unlike my papá, I only targeted other pirates and the occasional Fallinel Navy ship! I am more of a Robin Hood!”
“Hmm, I see…” Riz mulled over this information.
“... Who keeps it all for himself and his crew.”
Riz rolled his eyes at this. “Fine. Continue.”
“Well, that was the idea, you see, but the first thing I did as a new captain was to go to the floating pirate city, Leviathan – any new pirate would go there, you know – and there I met my papá's sworn enemy. Now, I have no intention of fighting my papá's fights but you must know that this man is pure evil. Captain Bill Seacaster was certainly a bad man but what he did pales in comparison to what Captain James Whitclaw has done. The man was going to declare himself the pirate king and I could not stand for that, especially not after my papá had put an end to that practice. And so I did the noble thing and fought him!”
Riz watched as Fabian explained all of this, and while he was sure Fabian was doing his best to put on a brave face, he could see the young half-elf tremble ever so slightly as he spoke of Captain Whitclaw. He remained silent as Fabian continued his tale.
“Well…I tried to fight him.” Riz watched as Fabian began to deflate. “He was too strong for me and my crew and after I received this memento-” Fabian pointed to his eyepatch. “I…I am ashamed to say that when it came down to it…” Fabian turned away from Riz’s gaze and he continued. “When it came down to my life or the others’... I-I abandoned my crew!” Fabian choked out, drawing his legs up against him, to become smaller, almost mirroring Riz’s own pose. “The experience still haunts me,” he said with a whisper before his shoulders began to shake.
Riz continued to say nothing, waiting for Fabian to continue. After a few ragged breaths, Fabian spoke.
“It was, It was when I fled that one of my crew men revealed himself to be a fey – a man I had known as Chungledown Bim. He cursed me for my cowardice and- and for abandoning those who would put their lives and trust into my hands. He cursed me to solitude and told me that I was fated to forever be abandoned in my greatest time of need by those closest to me. He also cursed me so that no human, elf, or halfling would ever trust me again.” Fabian sniffled. “That’s why your mamá wouldn’t come; it’s because of the curse. And of course, no one affected by the curse would believe in it, so it’s no use explaining it to others.
“Except you. I’d heard of a brilliant goblin detective, boldly living in Solace, and I knew that you would be the one to be my savior and break this curse! As a goblin you’re unaffected!” Fabian finally looked up at Riz as he said this, and RIz couldn't help but swallow loudly, both at the sight of the crying beauty and at the pressure of relieving him of his curse.
“Well. That, um, that’s quite the curse,” Riz managed. “Y-you couldn’t find anyone else to break it? I know for a fact that all manner of species hang out on Leviathan…”
“That’s…true,” Fabian admitted as he hung his head, “but alas, Whitclaw spread word of my cowardice far and wide and my name has forever been smeared by the pirate community. No one there would dare come to my aid after what I had done.’
“I see,” Riz said as he completed his notes. “Alright. I’m new to curse-breaking, but I’ll see what I can do.”
“What about you?” Fabian asked, looking back up.
“What about me?”
“You’ve been cursed, too. We can break our curses together, so tell me about yours.”
“Oh- right- of course,” Riz stammered. “Well… I was cursed into… becoming a goblin. It was years ago. See, I solved a case where a schoolmate of mine was kidnapping other high school girls and I busted him, so in his anger he cursed me. I used to be human, but, well, I’m sort of used to being a goblin now, so…”
“What? Nonsense! Surely there must be a way to break it!”
Riz shrunk down further into his chair and tried to hide himself with his notepad. “Oh, um, yeah, probably, but-”
“Then I will help you get back to your normal self! I’m sure your mamá would love to see you returned to human again!” Fabian said jovially, before his tone dropped an octave and he picked at imaginary lint on his shirt. “I can’t imagine her not wanting to see her child again…”
“What was that?” Riz asked.
“Oh, just…” Fabian stood up from the sofa, straightening himself up and walking around the room. “I can’t imagine your mamá not wanting to see you as you were meant to be!”
“Oh, yeah…” Riz thought about his mother, now all alone after he decided to move into Fabian’s mansion to help him and remembered the letter he had written his mother.
“Fabian, You insisted I don’t leave the mansion until the curse is broken, but you didn’t mention outside contact. Is it okay for me to still call and send letters to my mom?”
“Yes! Please! I’m sorry for my selfish request to keep you here, but I wouldn’t dream of keeping you from contacting your mamá! I will make sure that your room is stocked with stationary, and if you leave the letters by the front door, they will be delivered! I can even get a phone line installed in your room if you’d like.”
“Wow, Fabian. Thank you so much! H-How are you managing this, though? I understand you’re rich, but I’ve yet to see another soul in this place aside from you!”
Fabian suddenly grew very still and silent.
“Fabian?”
“I- I’d rather not talk about that, if that’s fine with you. Just, please understand that anything you want will be taken care of for you. It may take a day, depending on the ask – like the furniture – but you will have it. I’d just… rather not discuss the inner workings of my mansion, if that’s fine by you.”
“Uh, sure thing,” Riz said, studying Fabian, once more filing the response under ‘curious,’ but decided it best to leave it for another time; a different mystery was calling right now. He hopped out of his chair and scrambled over to a corkboard that had been set up against the wall. Slamming his palm excitedly against the board, he addressed Fabian; “Let’s get to work on this curse! Now, do you recall the precise wording that Chungledown Bim used when he cursed you?”