Chapter 296 – Re: Gret

Day 36 (Cont)

Meanwhile, In The Mine

"SEI, SATO! I NEED HELP!" Ee shouted, causing Sato to reflexively draw her sword before she realized that the other hobgoblin wasn't in danger. She was rushing towards them, carrying a very beat-up and bloody creature in her arms.

Sheathing her weapon, she took a few steps towards Ee, trying to get a better look at the thing. It was small, not much larger than a baby goblin, its clothing sandy in colour, and a feminine-looking body. If it wasn't for the large red gemstone embedded in the centre of its forehead, someone could be forgiven for thinking this thing might have been a human child.

On second thought, are those clothes or its actual body? 

"Where did you find it?" She asked, poking it with her finger. It was breathing, but not very well. And its injuries were well beyond what she had in her little medicine bag. She was going to need Rou's or Sui's magic to help.

"I was just following a branch of mithril ore, and she fell out of the wall."

"This is beyond Sei and me. Run to the village and look for Rou or Sui; one of them should be able to help."

 "Okay! I will!" She said, then dashed off towards the exit. 

"Good Luck!" She shouted after her, then looked down at the floor where Sei was still seated, the mage so engrossed in what she was doing that she didn't even look up when Ee came crashing into this part of the cave. "I'll never understand how you remain so focused." She murmured, resuming her vigil. 

Sei was intent on breaking this door down today, loving both the challenge the magic presented and the potential treasures that lay within. She had confided to her a few days ago that she could have broken it down already, but was studying matrices, signatures, and a bunch of other big words she didn't understand, trying to figure out how the spell worked as she dismantled it piece by piece. It was one of the things Sato loved about her, this big, beautiful brain, but hated it as well. Whenever Sei spoke about magic, she got lost in a matter of moments. 

If only she remembered we don't all have a brain as big as hers. Hunting, tactics, strategy, combat, these are things I understand.  I just wish she would finish up already; I'm sick of being down in this mine.

Sato knew she didn't need to be down here, but was worried that Sei would work until she collapsed from exhaustion, and one of the vampiric bats in here would try to make a meal of her yet again. She didn't want to explain to the chief that they lost the nest- the village's mage due to her taking a nap. Not that he would try and take his frustrations out on her; he didn't seem the type.

The chief was another enigma to her, one that she didn't think she would ever be able to solve. He was barely a month old, had already evolved into an ogre, had the mind of a human, and all these skills and magics that just didn't make any sense. Not to mention that giant castle and the massive house she was currently living in with most of the other goblins. Ee, Mi, and Sui were the only goblins living with him in the castle, apparently sharing the chief's bed every night. She was jealous of the girls, even though they insisted that he hadn't taken them yet.

I love Sei, but sometimes I want more than fingers and a tongue. Getting pinned down and made helpless by a powerful male was one of the most visceral experiences I've ever had, and I want to know that feeling again. Sei tries, but it's just not the same thing when a woman smaller than me tries to do it. I want to be helpless, to not be able to stop him from taking what he wants from me. 

With little else to do, she continued to daydream about rough sex while watching Sei sit in front of these massive doors, motes of magic sometimes shedding off of them, her lips turning down in a frown for a moment before smiling, and the glyph in the centre of the door would flash again. It seemed to be weakening as Sei fought it, tearing it down, forcing it to submit.

"Damn it, I need to get laid. You better be ready tonight, Sei. If you won't go hard on me, I'm going hard on you." She murmured, then tried to banish these sexual thoughts from her mind. They always had a fairly active sex life, but ever since meeting the Chief, it's like her hormones went into overdrive. It was like some magic was making her even hornier.  

It seemed to have that effect on the others in the house as well, and she could only take it as a good thing. Hobgoblins and goblins were actually having sex with each other now; the six males remaining were constantly being hounded by the ladies in the evenings, and they were responding. Sei thought it might be something magical, though she could find no trace of what caused the change. Sato just assumed it was the chiefs' doing. The threat of burning on a magical stake while he continued to heal you to keep you in agony longer was a great motivator not to rape one of the human women and forced the males to focus any lust they had elsewhere. 

Maybe it had something to do with that party thing he had us all join. That is something else I've never even heard of before, so who knows what it could actually be doing to us. Still, whatever is happening, I think it's doing nothing but good for our village. 

That wasn't to say that all the goblins weren't touching the human women. She walked into the house to a crazy sight the other evening. One of the human cooks was inside, sitting naked on Chi's lap, riding the very passive hobgoblin while feeding him food, telling him that he needed to grow up to be big and strong for her. The poor guy looked to have a potbelly from all the food she was stuffing into him, but he seemed happy. They both did. 

A human woman willingly having sex with a hobgoblin. I never thought I would see the day.

That was another of the chief's doings, this abundance of food. He had organized everyone, trained them to hunt, started making fields to grow food, and used magic to help accelerate the plants' growth. The goblins no longer had to spend all day scavenging for food; it was all right there. Even rabbit meat would be easily available. It wasn't all him; Sui and that Dorian Riana had a lot to do with it, but he planned it all out. 

It was no wonder Sei didn't want to add one of the other male goblins to their bed at night; she wanted the big brain who was in charge of turning their people's lives around. Sato couldn't help but agree; she loved smart people as much as she loved strong ones, but unlike Sei, had barely even talked with him. He was always busy, never seeming to just sit back and relax, at least not where people could see him. 

Maybe we can use this opportunity while exploring whatever is behind this door to get closer to him. A chief can't have too many women in his harem, right? 

She continued her musings for some time, watching as whatever magic was bound to the door slowly unravel. Suddenly, the glyph flashed brightly, spun around a few times, then faded.

"There, it's done," Sei said, speaking for the first time since she had sat down that morning. She stood up, but swayed unsteadily on her feet.  

"Are you okay?" Sato asked, embracing her lover and helping her steady herself.

"Just a little dizzy. There was more power remaining than I thought, and it took a bit out of me." She replied, leaning on her. "Thank you."

"You know I'm always here for you." She said, resting her head on the shorter woman's. They held the hug for some time before she spoke again. "Do you want to take a peek inside, or go get Rou first?"

"We should probably get him, but why don't you and I just take a peek at what is behind the door first. Have our own little adventure before we add him and everyone else into the mix." She replied, looking up at her with those beautiful green eyes.

"Just the two of us then?"

"Just the two of us." 

They kissed, and for a few moments, all thoughts of the door, the village, and their chief were forgotten. 

Even if he does turn us down, we will still have each other. It was enough before, and it will be enough again.  

Soon enough, they separated and stepped up to the door, pausing only for a moment before pushing it open. It held firm for a moment, then slowly opened with a low rumble, bathing the cave in a bright golden light.

Sato squinted as her eyes tried to adjust to the unexpected illumination. "What in the world is this?"

"Not sure. Maybe some sort of lamps like in the house?" Sei replied, stepping into the room. 

"Hey, wait!" She said, stumbling after her. 

She didn't have to go far, as Sei had stopped a couple of steps inside the entryway. The room was massive, with high walls and a vaulted ceiling, all painted a bright, glimmering yellow. There were a couple of arches at the end of the room, leading off to other passages. Several suits of armour stood on short pedestals along each wall, each holding a massive glaive as if standing at attention, every one of them polished enough that the light reflected off of it.

"Not even a speck of dust." She said, looking around, amazed that such a place was hidden next to their nest. 

"This is amazing. Everything is shimmering with magic." Sei said as she walked up to a suit of armour.

"Don't touch that!"

"Huh? Why?"

"What if it, I dunno, comes alive or something?"

"Why would a suit of armour become alive?"

"Like a golem or something. I don't know, you're the wizard."

"Relax. I just meant it has magical properties, not that it's some construct. See?" She said, rapping the suit with her knuckles. It sounded hollow. 

"Just… be careful. Please."

"I am. Like now, let's go tell Rou about-"

"Why are there a couple of Hobgoblins in here?" A male voice said.

"Who cares, they shouldn't be too much trouble." Another said.

Sato spun on her heels in the direction the sound was coming from. At the far end of the hall were six human males, all armed to the teeth. They were watching them warily, but still talking amongst themselves.

"It doesn't make any sense. We haven't seen any other Hobgoblins since we came in here."

"WHO ARE YOU! WHY ARE YOU IN OUR CAVES!" Sato shouted, but was ignored by the humans.

"Let's just get rid of them and move on. Taking the treasure from that little one is our top priority right now."

"Sei! We need to leave!" Sato said, drawing her sword. There were five adventurers now, one having disappeared from her view.

"All that work I just did, and the place is infested with humans?"

"Sei! Please! One just went invisible."

"Damn it! Watch my back. FIREBALL!" Sei said, ignoring her pleas and launching a ball of fire at the human party, causing several of them to start screaming as the flames burst at their feet. 

Sato raised her guard, frantically searching for the invisible person. It wasn't the first time she'd fought a human who could go invisible, but that was in the forest, where the dry leaves covering the ground gave away the man's position. 

She dodged to the side as the human mage returned fire with a fireball of his own, narrowly avoiding the licking flames. 

"INFERNO!"

"ARGH!!!!" One of them screamed, engulfed in a powerful blaze.

"CURE WOUNDS!" She heard one of the humans call out, and the man in the inferno stepped out of it, clothes smouldering but otherwise unharmed. 

Damn it! They have a healer! We need to leave. Now!

Another fireball shot out from the humans, forcing Sato to dive to the side, separating her from Sei. "SEI! RUN!" She shouted, but it was too late. The human dropped his invisibility beside her and ran her through the guts with his sword. 

She looked down at the blade, then smiled up at the man in front of her. "Retribution's...Flame!" She said, grabbing the man's neck and setting him ablaze. He danced backwards and fell, his scream cut off after a moment, his head turned to ash. 

Sei started to fall as well, the blade still inside of her, but Sato, moving faster than she thought possible, caught her and ran to the exit. Something hit her from behind, and pain blossomed in her shoulder, but she didn't slow down. She felt something burning through her veins as she rushed through the mines, like the venom from some of the nearby snakes. It would enfeeble its prey, allowing them to catch it and eat them alive. She knew if she stopped, they would both be dead, and Rou would come down here and walk into a trap.

She couldn't even spare a glance at Sei, needing to focus on her footing. She just prayed that she was still alive.