Chapter Text
“Book Goblin, what are you doing?" Corin asked the small green creature that was climbing up and down the bookshelves.
"Book Goblin cannot find it!" It wailed. "Book Goblin has lost book!"
Corin sighed as he leaned against the doorframe and folded his arms. "Which book?"
"Book Goblin's favorite book."
"That tells me nothing at all, what so ever." the enchanter said flatly. "Could you maybe be a little more specifically. Your first favorite, your new favorite your favorite romance, favorite historical, etc."
"Book Goblins Favorite favorite." It wailed again. "Book Goblin's first book in this house that Book Goblin always rereads."
Biting back a snarky comment about how Book Goblin had re-read literally all the books in the house, Corin pushed off the door frame and shrugged a shoulder. "Have you checked the stray book bin?"
"The what." Large dark eyes locked on to his, a manic look in them.
"The stray book bin," Corin repeated. "You know, the clear plastic tub in the living room that people put books into when they find them around the house with no one around?"
"You have been taking book Goblins books!" screamed book goblin before it lunged at Corin. He stepped aside easily and caught it by the back of its collar.
"I have been saving your books." He corrected. "The others wanted to throw them away, but I convinced them to put them in the bin. I then put them back on shelves when no one is around so that they think you noticed them missing and took them back. If I hadn't, they would have thrown them away."
Book Goblin froze at that, looking up at Corin with nearly tearful eyes. "They try to take Book Goblin's books?"
"I saved them," Corin repeated, needing the creature to understand that all the books, were in fact, still in the house. he did not want to have to deal with a rampage today.
"Book Goblin must see Bin of Books." the creature twisted and tried to bite Corin's wrist to be let go, but Corin saw it coming and simply dropped it. It scurried off in a huff and he sighed again as he trailed after it. He hoped the others appreciated that he dealt with it most of the time because he had saved them from meltdowns more times than any of them could count.
Of course, he was also the one who insisted that it could stay because it had seemed like it was a harmless creature that wasn't bothering anyone.
Oh how wrong he had been.
It was a terror to deal with, but now that it was here, getting rid of it was impossible. For several reasons, including but not limited to the fact that they were pretty sure Book Goblin had somehow bonded with the small room it lived in and could just appear there when it wanted. It would also likely try to take all of the books in the house with it if it was forced to leave. How successful it would be was questionable, but not impossible.
"Books!" Book goblin's voice rang through the hall. "Book Goblin has missed you!" Rounding the corner the enchanter saw that the creature had crawled into the bin and was holding as many books as it could to its chest. "Books!"
"Uh-huh. Are you going to take them back to your nook now?"
"Yes!" It jerked itself backward, causing the bin to scootch a small amount. The motion also caused a squeaking sound. It repeated the move over and over. It had, Corin realized feeling a headache building no intention of getting out of the book bin. Book Goblin had gotten the bin about halfway across the room before he couldn't take the squeaking anymore. Stepping into the path it was going he let it run into his legs. Large dark eyes glared at him, "Move."
"Get out of the bin." He said, voice neutral.
"Book Goblin must take books to proper place!"
"You do." The enchanter agreed with a nod. "So get out of the bin so you can do that."
"Was doing just fine before you got in the way!"
"And how, pray tell, are you going to get the Bin up the stairs without getting out of it?"
The scowl on the little creature's face deepened. "Will figure it out."
Folding his arms, Corin raised an eyebrow. They stayed there like that, locked in a silent staring contest. After several minutes Corin felt his eyes began to burn. The goblin seemed unfazed though, which given its history of reading for extensive periods of time and reading in not-great lighting, wasn't a surprise. It probably had some sort of magic that protected its eyes from strain. Lucky little demon.
But he was, however much he disliked it, only human. But he was also a Cadence, something he hated more than his mortal limitations. And that meant he knew that sometimes, you had to fight dirty. And while his father had never bothered to teach him how to fight dirty without causing unneeded injury or embarrassment, he had taught himself.
Leaning down a little to be almost level with the creature, he subtly moved to grip the handle of the bin. Then he yanked it up in a single quick motion. Book Goblin had barely a moment to shout before the bin had been completely overturned, trapping it inside. It hissed at him, banging on the tub. "Let me out! Let out!" it yelled.
"You are more than able to stand up." Corin pointed out. It hissed at him again. "Okay. Have fun being stuck in the box." He said. "The sealed box, where you may sweat or have your breath end up condensing and ruining the books.” That was a lie, as the house was magically kept at a temperature that would prevent it from happening. At least for quite some time. It did not need to know that though.
Book Goblin stared at him, eyes wide. Corin stared back, gaze level. A vital part of bluffing, Derek had told him, was confidence. Keras had agreed, though how little Keras needed to bluff seemed to make the advice a little odd coming from him. The pair stood there, unmoving, and gazes unwavering. Seconds ticked by, turning into minutes. It was beginning to strain the enchanter's eyes and he fought to keep any sign of that fact from his face.
The moment before it got too much and he gave into blinking, Book Goblin broke off its gaze. Pouting down at the floor, it missed how rapidly Corin blinked and rubbed at his eyes. "Fine," it uttered sulkily. It stood to its full height, which wasn't really much height at all, but it was enough to lift the box several inches off the ground. Grinning in victory, and eyes slightly burning, Corin didn't notice the creature hefting the bin and throwing it at him until it was already airborne. He didn't quite manage to dodge it and let out a hissed curse as it struck his shoulder. "No take Book Goblin's books, no more!"
"Fine." The enchanter rubbed his shoulder, glaring at the goblin. "But if they get thrown away because you didn't check the bin fast enough, it's your own fault."
Book Goblin hissed at him, making a half lunge towards him. Corin merely walked away. He'd tried, so if anything else happened, at least he could say a strong effort had been made. The others might be annoyed that he didn't fix the issue but he could only do so much. It wasn't like anyone had more success than he did.
Well, except for Jin, he thought ruefully. But they really didn’t need him bribing it more than he already did.
It picks on those tricks far too quickly.