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Fabian spent most of his time doing low-level quests for the adventurers guild, low level not because he was unskilled but because any of the higher level quests required a party and he tended to operate solo. The lower level quests didn't pay out particularly well but it was better than nothing and he sorely needed the money, especially after his home was burnt to the ground and he lost everything.
The lower level quests mostly involved searching the woods for ingredients or hunting small monsters for spell components. The woods could be dangerous for anyone who couldn't defend themselves but the half elf could handle himself just fine.
He didn't consider himself particularly stealthy but he always found it amusing when, whenever his jobs took him closer to the mountains, he would inevitably startle a goblin or two while gathering herbs in the forest and cause them to skitter away into the underbrush. He wasn't worried about them being around in this area, the local group seemed to be much less hostile than those found further afield though he still never really saw them up close.
The one occasion where he had seen one up close had been quite an odd set of circumstances. He'd been waist deep in water at the edge of a river, carefully harvesting the flowers of a plant a wizard in town had requested at the guild, when he heard a splash and panicked chittering from further upstream. The current wasn't too strong, certainly no trouble for someone his size, but evidently too much for a creature under a third of his height. He hadn't even really thought about it in the moment, simply reaching out to scoop the flailing creature out of the water as the current swept them past him and wading to the riverbank with them under his arm. It was only after he deposited them gently on dry land that he realised that it was a fairly young goblin child, the half elf retreating back into the reeds while they sat dazed at the side of the river when he heard the sound of running footsteps headed his way.
Thinking back on it that was probably the only reason he was still alive.
Fabian had gotten himself into a fairly dire situation only a few months later. In desperate need of a better paying job he'd partied up with a group that needed a new frontline fighter on their team. He probably should have asked what happened to their last fighter because the instant they were far enough out of danger, monsters slain and a hefty prize awaiting them at the guild, they'd turned on him and tried to kill him. He'd managed to run away before they landed a killing blow but he was injured badly.
Half-blinded, exhausted and bleeding he managed to run until he was in more familiar territory. Fabian ducking into a hollow beneath a tree to hide as they ran past still in pursuit. He must have passed out at some point because when he woke up he was in significantly less pain, though he had absolutely no idea where he was.
Fabian initially thought some other group of adventurers had found him but, when he opened his eye (only one, obviously whoever had healed him hadn't been able to save the other), he found himself surrounded by rock walls and animal hide. The half elf only just managing to stifle a yell of surprise when he turned his head and came face to face with some strangely concerned looking goblins.
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Honestly it was a little disconcerting being stared at so intently by what were, for all intents and purposes, a pack of monsters. They weren't trying to attack him though, and they'd clearly been the ones who treated his injuries, so he was more than a little bit confused.
Fabian made a move to sit up, flinching when one of the goblins darted a hand forwards to push him back down with a warning hiss. The creature shuffling forwards and giving him a little pat on the forehead when he laid back down properly. Good boy, stay still. They didn't have to speak the same language for that message to come across.
He only realised that he wasn't totally healed when the goblin started peeling back crude bandages to check on his wounds and the movement caused pain to bloom again in those spots, the creature carefully wiping free whatever poultice they'd applied underneath as they made sure infection hadn't set in. Fabian had been asleep for a while though, certainly long enough to refresh whatever spells he had, so he waved the goblin away. His own hands pressing against the worst of them as he cast cure wounds on himself and the cuts knit themselves closed with magic.
The goblin made a pleased noise at that, though they did frown when they noticed the half elf was still missing an eye. Fabian getting another quick pat on the head before they shuffled out of the tiny nest of furs and left the half elf alone for a while, only returning about ten minutes later with a crude stone cup full of water and a half dozen (thankfully edible) berries.
This whole thing was very weird, Fabian decided. Sure the local goblins were less violent than most but he'd certainly never heard of a hoard actually helping wounded adventurers.
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Things didn't get any less weird from there. They wouldnt let him out of the nest for days, not until they were sure he had recovered, and kept bringing him food and water as he languished on soft furs over sweet smelling grass.
He recognised a few of the goblins that came to drop off his meals as ones he'd seen out hunting in the area that had scampered away when he got too close. On one occasion the kid he'd scooped out of the river poked their head in (a little bit taller than he remembered but goblins grew like weeds) and gave a little wave before continuing on their way.
It wasn't until three days later that one of the goblins finally beckoned him to follow and lead him out of the twisting maze of caverns and tunnels and back to the surface. The light nearly dazzling him single remaining eye as he took in a deep breath of fresh air and finally got a good look at his guide.
They weren't an old goblin, not like most of the ones that had been fussing over him, but neither were they a small child. Head tilting to the side a bit as Fabian silently appraised them before shrugging and starting to make his way down the mountain.
The little guy chittered at him and followed quickly behind, doubling back after a second to grab Fabians sword from where it had been stashed behind some rocks before jogging to catch up and hand it back to the half-elf.
"Oh! Uh, thankyou. I could have sworn I dropped this trying to get away from that murderous lot." Fabian took the blade, tutting at the sand and grit in the hilt that he'd need to spend an age cleaning out later. Seems that he had dropped it at some point but one of his little friends had gone searching for it for him.
The little guy followed along beside him all the way down into the valley, only stopping once to use the little slingshot on his hip to kill a turkey almost as big as he was and stuff it into a leather bag on his back. That would be his dinner it looked like, and he looked a little pleased with himself as he hefted the bird by a leg to show it off to Fabian who made the appropriate noises indictating how impressed he was.
Funny little creatures.
It took them until nearly dusk to get back within sight of the town, his little guide bidding him goodbye with a little wave before disappearing into the underbrush and leaving him be.
Well, he'd survived spending several days in a den of monsters. Now he just had to survive reporting a pack of murderous adventurers to the guild.
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When all was said and done it had gone about as well as one could have hoped. His attackers were arrested or dead after he strode back into the guild hall and called them out, several other members who had been suspicious about how many party members they kept loosing helping him in the fight that finally took them down.
The bastards had already spent all the money from that quest though so Fabian was back to square one... though now with much shittier depth perception. Yippie.
Sure he could find a healer to fix his eye but that was expensive and he was damn near flat broke so once he'd had a good sulk about his terrible fortunes it was back to the same old daily grind.
Well, same old save for the fact that the goblins didn't run off when he got close anymore. Hells, the little guys were helpful most of the time since they knew the mountain better than anyone.
His little guide was the one he saw around the most, most likely because they were one of the few that was out hunting during the day. They were particularly helpful in finding herbs and spell components that he needed, especially if Fabian brought along a good enough sketch of the item in question.
They were also a crack shot with that slingshot of theirs which was very helpful whenever Fabian needed to take down a creature for the components on his list for that day. He'd usually harvest whatever he needed before letting the goblin cart the meat back to his clan. Fabian could let his rescuers go hungry after all.
An added and unexpected bonus to being friendly with the local goblin hoard was that he didn't really have to stress too much about packing out camping gear on his longer quests. He knew where the entrance to the caves were and they seemed to be happy to let him crash overnight.
He actually quite enjoyed this, especially on nights where they seemed to be having little parties out under the moonlight. Bonfires and cooking meat were always a good time but he especially enjoyed watching some of the older goblins teaching the tiny babies how to dance along to the music.
Fabian quite liked dancing and watched with quiet interest as the elders slowly showed the children the steps, the routine increasing in complexity over the numerous nights he found himself sipping on goblin mead and celebrating along with his new friends.
His hunter guide was more often than not right there at his side, chattering away in that strange goblin tongue about who knows what and repairing his hunting gear until the dawn sun started to chase away the inky black of night and the rest of the hoard turned in to sleep.
The half-elf continued in his routine like this for months, even as summer bled into autumn and the air started to get a little bit crisp. The older members of the little dance class around the bonfires seemingly having been taught everything they needed to know and now instead practicing their routines diligently under the watchful eyes of their instructor as if it was leading up to something important.
It was the last full moon before winter that Fabian finally got to witness what all of it was building towards. A bonfire party like none he'd seen before, the hunters hauling back massive amounts of meat as the entire tribe seemed to be trying to eat as much as possible.
Fabian was no freeloader either, the extra coins they'd helped him earn over the last few months going towards purchasing him a decently sized bag of holding so he could cart several barrels of good whiskey and spiced mead up into the wilderness and make it a real party.
The cheers he'd received when hauling them out of his bag one by one had made the expense worth it, Fabian getting pulled down to sit and feast with his small friends as they tucked into his gift with enthusiasm.
Even the little hunter indulged a little bit, particularly enjoying the whiskey as the night got later and the partying became more of a revelry.
At one point all of the students Fabian had been watching over the last few months appeared on the soft sand that made up a makeshift dance floor. All of them looking incredibly nervous in their fancy outfits as they went through their routines, a few of them managing to pull another goblin from the crowd into the dance which just made everyone cheer.
Now, perhaps it was the alcohol or the general party atmosphere that made Fabian jump to his feet and join in the dance but who could say. He certainly earned a lot of amused cheering and whoops of encouragement as he landed the fancy jumps and spins he'd been watching them practice for months (and he'd been practicing at home whenever the mood struck him).
When he got to the part that needed a partner he of course turned to his little hunter friend, the goblin blushing purple across his nose and right to the tips of his ears as his friends laughed and nudged his shoulders until he put down his cup and stepped into the ring to join Fabian.
He'd obviously practiced the dance himself at some point because he was quite good at it, even with the differences in their height, and helped lead Fabian through some of the steps he hadn't quite nailed until they were both exhausted and laughing and collapsed back into their spots around the fire.
The rest of that night was a bit of a blur thanks to the copious amounts of alcohol that kept getting pressed into their hands, the hunter staying tucked against his side the entire time as he got gently teased by his kin.
Needless to say when Fabian finally awoke mid-afternoon the next day, incredibly hungover and with the hunter snoozing cuddled up against his bare chest, he was very confused. Especially since the inside of the decently sized cave they were sleeping in seemed to be covered in some very indecent picture of goblin couples, he had a carved wooden bracelet on his wrist that matched one on the goblins tail, and his shoulder was absolutely covered in little bite marks.
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Fabian spends a very long time once he wakes up again staring at the ceiling (would the art up there be considered artistic nudes or just pornography?) and wondering what the hell happened last night.
Specifically, did he fuck the goblin? It didn't really feel like it, though he did get the absoloute shit bitten out of his shoulder and his lips were a little bruised. Maybe they just like... drunk made out? Sure, whatever, he'd for sure kissed things that were much worse. This tribe of goblins was nice, and clean, and wore cute little outfits so they were basically like... green halflings right?
His goblin was still snoring away tucked against his side, upside down and curled into a tight little ball with its face mooshed against Fabians palm. It made a grumpy noise when he tried to move but Fabian felt like he'd laid here long enough and really had to get up before a search party was sent out for him.
He gave the little guy a few head scratches by way of apology, apparently waking him up enough that he lifted his head to blink blearily at the half-elf as he put his shirt back on and gathered up his gear. The little green ball finally uncurling to stretch, yawn, and set about similarly putting clothes on.
This area of the clan caves was still very quiet since it was still the middle of the day, the occupants of the other little rooms still sleeping (oop, not that room apparently, they sounded like they were having fun).
Fabian was quick to vacate the area lest he disturb them, his hunter trotting along behind him as he made his way back out of the caves and into the daylight.
It looked like he'd get his normal escort down to the edge of town again today. The walk quiet save for the sounds of nature and his own footfalls (he could never hear the hunter) as he followed a well-worn path through the hills and forest.
Eventually he made it to their normal parting point, the hunter chirruping and chittering at him as it waved for him to get down closer.
Fabian blinked, bending his knee to get down more on eye-level with them and holding totally still as they bonked their foreheads together, pecked him on the lips and clinked their bracelet and tailcuff together before disappearing back into the brush.
Ah.... okay. Fabian had a sneaking suspicion that he was missing something but it was all starting to come together in his hangover muddled brain.
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Fabian only really started to get an understanding of what might have happened once he got back home and sobered up. He’s not sure if it was a marriage, per say, but he definitely asked his goblin friend to join him in some kind of intimate relationship. He couldn’t ask about it though, for multiple reasons.
One, there’s still that pesky language barrier. Fabian didn’t particularly consider himself a very clever man, certainly not clever enough to learn such a foreign language (he’s pretty sure he can’t even physically make half the sounds the little guys make when in conversation), and he also doesn’t even know where to begin to teach someone else Common.
Two, it’s kind of embarrassing to have to admit that he had no clue about his current situation. How does one delicately explain that he accidentally asked his friend out, had him agree to it, spent a whole night together with him, had him kiss him, and somehow not offend him.
And number three… When he came back to the cave a week or so later, after the first frost had come down from the mountains and left parts of the higher areas of the mountain dusted in snow, his goblin friend (boyfriend?) and his whole clan looked to be fast asleep.
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No no, Fabian totally wasn't panicking when he hiked his way up to the cave mouth further up the mountain and found it buried under the snow. He was just being helpful by frantically digging it out with his bare hands until he hit branches that had been placed across the hole to stop snow from falling in and wrenched them away so he could get inside.
It was cold and very quiet inside the caves but not as cold as it was outside, the snow piled against the entrance probably helping to keep some of the heat in as the temperature dipped with the changing season.
By now Fabian was well and truely used to navigating these corridors and made his way to the sleeping area as quickly as he could, noting that all the little private dens dug into the side of the tunnels were mostly blocked up by grass and animal pelts. His little friends (boyfriends?) was still unblocked though and he poked his head inside to check on him, chuckling when he blinked sleepily at him and beckoned him to join him inside.
"Are you lot alright? It's freezing out and there were no footprints outside." Fabian said quietly, shuffling into the small space and giving a fond smile when the goblin shifted over to make room for him before curling up against his side. Purring like crazy as it pulled Fabians arm across to cuddle and he clinked their bracelet and tail cuff together.
"Come to think of it, we don’t really see you lot around in winter do we? I'll try to put the entrance back how I found it on the way out." He rubbed the goblins head, increasing the volume of the purring as it cuddled in close.
The petting didn't last for long though, not when his thoughts completely stalled out as the goblin mumbled sleepily and said "Noooo, stay." in what sounded like perfect common.
…
Hold on.
Wait a second.
Because what do you mean his goblin friend could speak Common this whole time????
Could the whole ass clan speak Common??? Then why hadn't any of them said anything to him at any point over the months since he'd been first saved by him. No. No! It can't be one big conspiracy, it just has to be that this goblin in particular can speak Common so well that he could do it half asleep. Yeah!... Yeah...
But then... But then why has the person he considered a friend, someone who he may have accidentally asked on a date (maybe???)... Why didn't he ever say anything?
Only one way to find out if it was a fluke.
"I... I-I've really got to go though. Eventually. I'm sure I can stay for a little while longer."
The goblin tutted and made a vaguely disgruntiled noise at that, clambered into his lap to get comfy, and pulled one of the cozy looking soft furs over them both as he snuggled down.
"Noooo, stay. You're warm and its cold."
Yes that was common all right and Fabian just gave a nervous laugh at the whole situation, tucking the little guy in a bit better so none of the cold air could get under the blanket. He was right, it was cold out and Fabian had just spent an age digging through slush with his bare hands.
"Hah, I guess it is a bit chilly out.... your common is pretty good you know. How long have you spoken it?"
"Mrrrgh, not." His tail snaked out from under the warm fur, clinking against the buttons of Fabians coat as he batted him with it. "Speaking my tongue. Cuff enchanted."
Oh... well that made a lot more sense. Fabian caught the wiggly tail by the tuft, using his fingers to get rid of some of the knots in the fur as he usually did when the little thing smacked him with it. Force of habit, and he seemed to not mind the fussing.
"Fair enough. You know, I'm not sure you've ever given me your name you know. I've just been calling you 'the ball' this whole time since you keep curling up in my pack when we hunt together."
"Not a bad name." He yawned, teeth sharp and long visible for a few moments as his mouth opened wide before they were hidden again. "But it's Riz."
"Oh that's much shorter... Mine is Fabian Seacaster-" a snort from the goblin "-pleasure to make your proper acquaintance."
"Others call you River-wader, so that is.... funny."
"It is, a little bit, but it doesn’t sound quite as grand as Seacaster." Fabian agreed, picking at a particularly stubborn knot until it came loose and the fur was neat and tidy again.
It took him a while though, the pair of them sitting in silence in the darkness for a long while until Fabian was satisfied with the work he'd done and opened his mouth to speak again.
"So, since we can understand each other I've been meaning to ask... what was going on with that feast a few weeks back? Are we betrothed or something? Paired? Because that cave we were sleeping in was very suggestive." He gave another nervous laugh, glancing down at the goblin and frowning when he didn't get an answer.
Well shit.... He knew he was tired and all but that's really terrible timing. Riz was out like a light, hands tucked against his chest and comfortable while Fabian preened him.
Hopefully he'd be able to get an answer soon, or not so soon. He had a sneaking suspicion that they wouldn't be up and wandering around until things were much warmer outside.
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Over the course of the next season, Fabian made the trek up to Riz’s (Riz’s) clan's caves every two weeks or so, his questions burning a hole in his mind the entire time.
He didn't come empty handed every time, though. He didn’t know why but he just worried about how much food they had stored away, so he brought some of his own spare salted or smoked meats to add to the dwindling stockpile. He even left a small jar of honey with a bundle of jerky with Riz (did he have to get his friend in the local parish to go to the honey keeping giantkin to get him some? Yeah, and now he owed her a favour.).
Unfortunately for his burning question, as they got deeper into winter, the less likely Riz was awake enough to give him coherent answers. Extra unfortunate was that, when it began to get warmer as spring approached, he had to take quite a few jobs to get him set financially for the rest of the year after a slow winter.
Meaning that he didn't make it back to ask Riz those burning questions until only the barest and most stubborn bits of snow lingered on the ground and the days truly felt like they were getting longer again.
There was one last stroke of bad luck (or maybe it was good luck?) when he made a beeline to Riz’s private sleeping space without taking time to consider or notice what the other adult goblins were doing at the time and that no children seemed to be awake yet.
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Riz had been excited when he first woke up (yay, first spring rut with a partner to at least cuddle even if he had no interest in anything else) but oop, Fabian wasnt there.
He'd be okay though, he'd dealt with it many times by this point and it was all kind of gross and not to his taste... it was annoying though.
Every clan had one or two people like him though which was a good thing, it meant that there was at least someone awake and not so deleriously horny in case there was an attack or their food stores had dwindled too much.
Their food stores were pretty good this year though, and his half elf had even left him honey and jerky so he could get some calories in before heading out to do some hunting (fine, not in the dog house for being away but you're on thin ice sir).
It did mean Riz wasnt there when Fabian went looking for him, but Fabian could guess where he'd gone given his hunting gear was gone and all the winter bedding had been rolled up neatly and placed to one side.
Fabian got snatched at a few times as he made his way back outside into the fresh air but he was quick enough to dodge hands trying to pull him into other dens as he made a hasty retreat.
Now he just had more questions, especially since none of this was in the goblin section of the monster manual at all. To be fair though any other goblins he'd ever encountered had been feral, disgusting and more interested in trying to kill and eat you than engage in discussions about their culture. Something to do with the god they served having devoured the other goblin gods? It left them perpetually hungry and not quite right in the head (Kristen called them not-dead zombies), though this clan seemed fairly immune to that mad gods influence.
He was deep in his thoughts and staring off at nothing when he heard his name called with what he could only describe as delight. Riz visible further down the mountain path with a large goose half sticking out of his hunting pack and bobbing about as he sprinted up the path to meet him.
Fabian was thankful he didn’t weigh much when he slammed into his legs at speed and gave him a strong hug, face beaming up at him and flushed as his tail swayed backwards and forwards.
"Hi! Happy spring!"
"Whoa! Hello there. Hi." Fabian chuckled, crouching to give him a proper hug and holding still as he got that little forehead bonk again. He did stop Riz before he managed to kiss him again, taking a deep breath as he held the goblin by the shoulders so that he could ask the long overdue question before things went too far.
"Question, because I am very confused and I don’t want to.... well... are we married? Do you guys have an equivalent of that?"
"Oh uhh, like a permanent mate? Yeah we have that, and no?"
"Oh that's... good to know."
"You did ask to be my partner this spring though. You're a bit late coming back but that's okay."
Fabian had been nodding along, a huge weight lifting off of his shoulders as Riz explained that, no, they weren't actually permanently married or anything. (He didn't have to inform both of his mothers that he'd tied the knot with a goblin man of all people.) But! Then the subject of partners had come up and...
"Oh! Ummm... And by partners, I suppose you don't mean—" He looked over his shoulder, back into the caves and then dens of seemingly very horny goblins. "—hunting partners specifically... do you?"
It wouldn't be the *worst* thing in the world. Riz was certainly handsome by Fabian’s own standards and he wouldn't be the first man that Fabian would be intimate with let alone the first person in general. And if Riz had accepted his accidental offer, obviously he wasn't thinking about having kids like everyone else inside. So why not have some dumb fun? What's a bit of fooling around between friends?
That was a very fleeting thought though because Fabian was pretty sure that was a grimace that flashed over the goblins face for half a second before he went back to being all smiley (though it seemed fairly forced and the tail swishing had stopped completely).
"Oh, no, but we can if you like. I'll just go put this goose in the larder and I'll be right out. You're pretty popular with the others so it'll be safer for you to stay out here rather than... yeah I’ll be right back" Riz's ears were very swiftly turning purple as he put two-and-two together. They had hardly any contact with other species so of course he hadn't realized that their courtships would be different.
Fabian had the distinct impression that he'd just jammed his foot RIGHT in his mouth, even as Riz quickly ducked into the caves to put his own kill away (and from the scrape on his forehead, bash his head into the wall a few times) before coming back out to join him. The goblin chattering away about what he'd already scoped out that morning even as he was clearly still burning with embarrassment about the whole situation.
Hmmm, yeah, a whole ass Goliath foot in his mouth, for sure.
Once Riz came back, clearly dejected and embarrassed, Fabian did what he did best. Stammer and stutter his way into a way out of the mess he made. "Oh don't—I just—that's not what I was—come here."
Without thinking, he scooped Riz up and plopped him in his lap and nervously began to pick the dust, dirt, and debris out of Riz’s tail like he had mindlessly whenever he visited since the revelry. Pouring some healing into it to patch up those scrapes as he said, "That was me being polite, Riz. I don't mind being your partner in every sense of the word, okay? I just didn't want to come onto you so strong since I'm the clueless idiot here. I am your at your beck and call for, uh, however long you want me for."
And to put emphasis on his point, Fabian even clinked his bracelet against Riz’s tailcuff like Riz always did.
Riz made a sound that the cuff and bracelet did not translate but reminded Fabian somewhat of the time Gorgug had run a bunch of gravel through one of the little devices he made (what was it called? a blender?). The goblin was still very flushed around the back of his neck and ears and his big eyes darted about not wanting to really look at Fabians face.
"I don't really want to do uhh.... stuff. But I don't mind kisses and you're kinda cuddly and don't mind me biting a bit soooo I said yes when you asked me to be your partner." he muttered and pulled his legs up so he was a ball on Fabians lap, though he didn't pull his tail out of his hands since the preening was pretty soothing.
"I like being friends, and I kinda liked thinking that we were slightly more than friends... sorry if that's weird. Speaking of, how did you even learn that dance if you didn't know what it was for?"
"Oh I was watching the adolescents practice, I guess that the ones that danced this year have been recognized as adults now?"
"Yeah, not all of them were new adults though. Some were just single people looking for a partner."
"Ah, that makes sense..." He had to stop preening for a moment, digging in his hip bag for his little personal grooming kit to find his comb so he could get some of the more stubborn tangles out of the fluff.
Fabian swapped to brushing Riz's hair once the tuft was all orderly again, chuckling at how the goblins ears twitched and his eyes crinkled at the corners as he purred. "So.... you want to cuddle yes? I'm sure I can do that for a while, if it helps."
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Thus, began a new paradigm for Fabian and Riz’s relationship, partners (in more ways than one).
From there on out, the two of them moved through the seasons and the next year closer and more intimately than they had last year. Fabian visited the clan more often and was looped in on much more of the drama and tea than he'd been last year and he was loving it.
He kept earning and saving up money bit by bit, trying to be able to afford the deed back to the ship his Papa had given him as a gift for his twenty-first birthday. After his home had burned with his Papa in it, he had to sell the ship just to pay for his Mama's one way trip back to Falinel and to get by. Yeah, she'd offered for him to go with her, but at the time, he couldn’t bring himself to. It was better he lived on mainland Spyre and rebuilt the Seacaster fortune here.
And though he hadn't managed to do that yet, after meeting Riz and becoming friends and partners, he felt more hopeful about being able to reach that goal than he had in years.
Which is probably why he felt confident in taking on a more dangerous job that put him closer to Maglubiyet's territory. Yeah, he knew that the cannibalizing God's minions would be afoot while he searched for that lost bag of scrolls, but he's sure he could handle it.
He was wrong, of course. Something that he found out firsthand when camping overnight inside the area he needed to search for the lost bag of scrolls. The pack had been dropped during a mad scramble to get away from goblins far inside the frenzied monster’s territory thus he was also currently within that territory and definitely not being sneaky enough about it.
Perhaps lighting a fire to get warm once night set in had been what gave him away, or the smell of his dinner cooking in a little pan over the embers, but whatever it was he sure felt foolish about it.
Goblins were nocturnal. He knew this, even if Riz was most active during the day. Night time should be when he was trying to hide his presence the MOST but noo~ he was going to sit down in the open and be loud and smell delicious while ravenous critters skulked around the hills looking for food.
It was a good thing that their lack of intelligence made their stealth low enough for Fabian to notice, though it was a close thing when an arrow came whizzing past where his head had been only seconds before.
There were six, maybe seven of them. Emaciated, stinking and wearing only rudimentary cloth that they'd probably pillaged off of some village further away from the fortified city he hailed from. A feral goblin hoard may be made up of low-level creatures but enough of them swarming at once could be a real problem, something he was finding out right now.
He sprung to his feet, sword drawn and ready to fight back as they sized him up. One holding a club and chittering away in a way that his bracelet couldn’t translate stepping forwards in front of him as the others closed in.
Welp, first things first was to try and not be surrounded. He flicked the tip of his blade through the fire he'd foolishly lit, channeling just a little magic to cast pyrotechnics with the sparks he kicked up and blinding at least half of them with the bright lights before dashing for a gap between them. Slashing one across the throat and dropping it on the way through as he tried to beat a hasty retreat.
He almost missed the supersonic crack of a stone being loosed from a slingshot, ducking just for a moment when he thought it was coming for him but he heard one of the goblins yelp and fall to the ground with a thud behind him as he continued to dash as far away from them as quickly as possible.
There were two more cracks in quick succession, whatever was making them not too far behind Fabian and keeping pace as two more of his pursuers fell.
Maybe three left? That was odds he could handle, yes?
He skid to a stop, turning and catching the one with a club in the guts with his sword as they failed to come to a stop in time. His foot kicking out to push them off the tip of his blade as he made to swing towards another.
He didnt need to though as he got a front row seat to watching a stone the size of a walnut whip into the side of the creatures head at high speed. It was dead before it even hit the ground, Fabian not quite catching where it had come from since it had been flung from his blind side. He had a hunch though.
The final member of the group who had ambushed him didn’t continue the chase, diving into the underbrush and skuttling away now that it was clearly outnumbered. Fabian left slightly out of breath and bewildered now that he'd finally gotten a chance to take stock of what was going on.
"Riz? Are you hiding somewhere?" he asked to the now silent forest, Fabian catching just the tiniest bit of movement out of the corner of his eye as Riz's big yellow eyes became visible in a tree to his right.
"Yes?"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I like hiding and following you sometimes. Wouldn’t be the same if you knew i was there."
"It would be a little more comforting." Slumping against a tree, hand still griping his blade because he was not out of danger mode just yet, Fabian brushed some of his braids behind his ear as he caught his breath.
Riz just kind of shrugged in a 'eh, you'll live’ kind of way which told Fabian that from now on he'd just have to live with the fact that his goblin partner could be watching him at any given moment. Man! His life has gotten weird after the fire.
"Okay, fine, I'd understand checking in on me and what I'm doing on a usual day, but we're far from home. Why'd you keep following me all the way out here? What are you? My guardian angel or something?"
He wasn't upset or anything, of course. How could he be when Riz had just saved him from dying a very ironic death (certainly the jackasses in the Elmwoode tavern who called him vulgar names after they learned he consorted with goblins). But still! He deserved some answers, right?
Riz just made an amused noise, hopping along the branches until he could shimmy down to perch on Fabians shoulders. The fingers of one hand tangling in Fabians braids as the other one clutched his sling, a stone at the ready just in case as his ears twitched and flicked listening for any more attackers.
“Perhaps. I found you in that tree hollow too. Went to the effort of saving you once and don’t want my efforts to be in vain.” Riz gave the half elfs head a little half-hug with one arm, climbing down off his shoulders soon enough to stand at his side in the darkness of the forest.
“I saw you as you were headed along the path out of the people settlement, but you didn’t follow the same route as usual so I was curious... then I got a bit locked into following you because I wasn’t about to let you wander this far out of our territory without backup.” He explained plainly, nodding back towards where Fabian had left the fire smoldering in the clearing. Hopefully the rest of his gear would still be there since the feral goblins were so focused on chasing him down.
Fabian had to admit that was kind of sweet, if you ignored the whole ‘he’s been silently and secretly following me since I left town’ part. He hadn’t even noticed, not even when he’d stopped just inside ‘his’ goblins territory to have a quick lunch before heading further towards the last known location of the dropped bag.
Wait…
“How often do you do that? The following me secretly thing.”
“Oh hmm… how many times have you left town to hunt or gather on your own in the last month?”
“Not including times we organized to meet up? About nine or ten?”
“Ah… most of the time then.” Riz gave a hissy little laugh, heading off towards the campsite and hopping over the dead body of the feral goblin without even looking at it.
Fabian grimaced at the corpse and how nonchalantly Riz just skirted around it, glad that his little friend knew where he was going because after a mad dash for his life like that Fabian was very turned around.
“So… what’s the deal with your clan being… not feral monsters? I thought all goblins worshipped Maglubiyet.”
“Ugh, gods no. These feral clans, long loooong ago when we still had a place in the fae realm, worshipped the god devourer because he promised he could help overthrow the king and give them the power they desired.” Riz stopped a few times to pick up small, smooth stones and place them in his pouch as they walked. Going silent for a long time as he tried to think of the right way to explain it all.
“They were tricked though, Maglubiyet used their worship of him to become more powerful and devoured the rest of our gods and stripped his followers of their intelligence. Occasionally they’ll have children that are deaf to the words of the devouring god who will escape their clans and run away but my clan isn’t strictly descended from those traitors to the king. We escaped and ran here once our kingdom fell to them.”
Fabian simply nodded along, rolling that information around in his mind a bit as they finally got back to his pack and found it undisturbed (though his dinner was now full of ashes from his little spark-flicking move).
It certainly explained some things, like human settlements occasionally encountering ‘nice’ goblins who weren’t just mindlessly trying to eat them. His little goblin clan though… honestly it sounded like they were living in their own version of a post-apocalypse.