Chapter 4: Relax and Refill

The city of Ightwood was a bustling trade hub that, from the outside, looked like an uncoordinated explosion of civilization that had long ago outgrown its own foundations. From the inside denizens would use much more colorful vocabulary, words like ‘dangerous,’ and ‘smelly,’ and ‘the bloated corpse of a twice-dead ogre.’ The city was built into and out of a rocky cliff face that tumbled down to the shore, giving the multilayered structures a charming sawtooth look. At the bottom was the main trade connection of the docks at the shores of the Green Sea, although the sewage flowing out the lower levels gave the water an altogether different color.

After spending several days lost in the woods, it was the most beautiful place we had ever seen. We had been set back another day when Ziri had collapsed from exhaustion and we were forced to make camp, and despite our assurances the cleric was racked with guilt. At least she had gotten some rest and was no longer babbling quite so incoherently. Inyelw’n had kept mostly to herself, her nose in a book about magical theory that she had borrowed from Klivikx. The little goblin, meanwhile, had barely left my side and turned into a bashful, gibbering mess whenever either of our companions spoke to him. That, plus the wheeled chest of alchemist tools and books I wound up dragging, made me regret bringing him along. Still, with my eyes on a warm bed I couldn’t complain, and we practically fell over each other trying to get through the gates of Ightwood. If I was quick I might even get a bed with Ziri...

“Empty womb, we don’t have enough for even one good room,” Ziri cursed to herself. We had checked several inns at the upper and middle levels, but the general price was well outside what little we had left.

“We will be okay once I sell some of these heirlooms,” Inyelw’n consoled, indicating the bag of looted elven jewelry with a jingle. “But for tonight, two rooms with two beds and a shared bath should suffice.” That was mostly said to reassure herself, as the royal elf examined the lodgings with an extremely dissatisfied eye. The Salty Siren was an inn on the lower side within spitting distance of the docks, and as such we stuck out amongst the clientele like ... well, a fish out of water. Sailors and merchants glared at us from over their mugs, and the barkeep looked like an angry sea lion that wouldn’t look directly at us until we plinked down our remaining money for two rooms and four plates of food.

Seeing as how every shady corner was already occupied, we settled at a table under a window shaped like a port hole. The dining floor was dripping with nautical themes, complete with fish trophies on the walls and the entire establishment creaked like a ship at sea--although I doubted it was intentional. The food was trash fish with stale bread, but enough beer and hunger makes anything bearable and I wolfed the meal down.

“I ... guess I will eat in the room,” Klivikx said, looking forlornly at his plate. Goblins had a shaky acceptance in society at the best of times, so to be safe the rogue elected to wear a disguise as we neared the city: a plague doctor’s mask covered his face, he had pulled his hood up enough to hide his ears, and elbow-length leather gloves covered the majority of his remaining green skin. Effective enough that any passerby would just see a gnome with a taste for leather, and a female gnome at that--Klivikx had hips and a backside that would’ve been called breeding material on any woman, and even wore a corset just because he liked the feel. But the mask muffled his voice and made doing much of anything in public impossible, and I had almost gotten used to seeing his dark, violet eyes staring at me. Staring at his food like that must have been torture and I did feel a pang of guilt for him, I really did, but the looks Ziri and Inyelw’n were giving me clearly stated that I was expected to do something.

I groaned when I realized that everyone had come to an unspoken agreement on the room pairings. “C’mon Kliv, I’m done so let’s get this trunk up to our room and you can eat.”

Up in the room I laid out what little possessions I still had on my bed. I did my best to clean and repair my bow and chainmail, but I knew the latter would eventually need the attention of an expensive blacksmith. Klivikx, meanwhile, had thrown off his cloak and mask and was relishing in the exposure, airing out his big ears before he pounced on the food. It was almost cute, but when he finished the needy goblin was right back at my side and just would not give me any space, constantly asking if he could help me or give me a massage. Maybe I was just sour for not being able to spend the night with Ziri, but I had to wonder how Yolyu dealt with it.

With a creak the door to our shared bathroom opened and Inyelw’n poked her head inside. “I am going to sell these jewels and pick up some supplies. Come and help me, please.” I did so, not registering until it was too late that the duchess was talking to me like a servant, but before I could say anything Inyelw’n had already crossed our room and was walking out the door to the hallway.

Klivikx was, of course, right on my tail, but a sing-song voice from the other room said, “Oh Klivikx? Would you mind sticking around and helping me with something, please?” Klivikx looked like someone had gut-punched him, but with a stammer he stayed behind with Ziri while I was dragged along as Inyelw’n’s errand boy.

Okay, now I really was mad at the goblin.

...

After a moment’s hesitation, Klivikx entered the bathroom to find that Ziri had already drawn and settled herself into the tub. His face flushed red and deepened in time to his thudding chest, but he managed to not fidget by merely refusing to look directly at the naked woman. Instead he tried to focus on everything else all at once, taking in the steamed windows, various toiletries, and the clawed feet of the tub in the middle of the room. “Y-yes, Mistress Ziri? What can I do for you?”

Ziri smirked at the bashful little man and said, “Well for starters, you can relax a little and tell me about yourself. Haven’t had a chance to get to know you yet, and I just can’t be traveling with a stranger.” She meant it as a joke, but Klivikx seemed to recoil a little. Well, that was no fun. “Klivikx ... do you not like me?”

The shock of the question was enough to make the goblin forget his embarrassment, and he met Ziri’s eyes before blurting, “Of course not! M-master Cuthbert trusts you, so...”

“And what’s with this whole mistress, master nonsense? You do know that we don’t own you, right? Nobody owns you.” Ziri couldn’t deny that the title did actually warm her nethers slightly, but more so she wanted to make her new teammate feel at ease.

“It is, erm...” Klivikx’s hand grasped open air as he searched for the word. “Polite? Is how I treated Mistress Yolyu.”

Ziri shrugged and stuck one long leg out of the water to scrub it, causing Klivikx to remember his embarrassment and look away. “Well, if not me, is it just women? Nothing wrong with being gay.” The goblin blinked at the apparently foreign word. “I mean, you only wanting to be with other men.”

“I-I mean, it is not really what I want. I was just, um, not allowed to be near any of the mares. I could only service the soldiers.”

Ziri chose to ignore the insensitive term and asked, “What, they didn’t let you even talk to any female goblins besides Yolyu? That’s awful! But no wonder you seem to like Cuthbert so much, then.”

“Master Cuthbert is a hero, he did to my father what no one else could. And ... he is very strong man. I hope I can service him soon.” The little goblin’s shame had been replaced with an almost dreamy look, along with a noticeable bulge in his leather pants.

The cleric chuckled at the crush and said, “Focus back over here, sweetie. You keep saying ‘service,’ what do you actually WANT to do? For you?” Klivikx just looked genuinely confused, so with a sigh Ziri explained, “Have you ever slept with a woman? Of any species, ever?”

“No, mistress.”

“Do you want to?”

“Uh, i-if I’m asked to--”

~s~ “No no, do YOU want to be with a woman?” Ziri had folded her arms over the edge of the tub now, staring at the goblin with intensity. Maybe watching him squirm was a little fun, too. Eventually, Klivikx gulped and nodded. “Finally, some progress!” Ziri unplugged the tub with her foot and promptly stood up, causing Klivikx to stumble and quickly turn away. The cleric toweled off, put on a fluffy bath robe, and stepped behind her terrified teammate. “Klivikx? Turn around, ease.” He did, slowly, coming face-to-chest with the buxom woman. She had even leaned forward slightly, pushing her arms together so that her breasts were inches from his upturned nose. “Go ahead, touch ‘em.”

Klivikx flailed as if he had just been asked to hold a book of exploding runes, his blush deepening dangerously close to purple. “W-what!? But it’s not p-proper to--”

Gosh, she shouldn’t enjoy this so much. “Kliv honey, it’s okay. I’m giving you permission. Go ahead, a nice young man like you should enjoy feeling up a nice, full pair of breasts.” Klivikx had fully backed into a corner but Ziri never gave him any breathing room, and was now wiggling her chest enticingly at him. With shaking hands Klivikx slowly reached up and groped at her chest, not knowing how or where to grab but nevertheless eliciting a happy--if slightly exaggerated--moan from Ziri. “Oh my, aren’t you eager ... oop!” She squeaked when Klivikx’s fondling became more frantic, his eyes squeezed shut and his hips thrusting slightly as some long-repressed animal instinct fought its way to the surface. When it seemed like he was about to accidentally claw her bathrobe up in his enthusiasm, Ziri gently grabbed Klivikx by the wrists and he looked up at her with wild eyes. “Come on, this is where you lead me to your bed.”

Klivikx took Ziri’s hand and led her into the men’s bedroom--or rather, he tried to. The goblin’s movements were jerky and unsure from all the pent-up lust and anxiety, and the poor thing almost tripped over himself twice in the short walk between rooms. When they got to the foot of the bed Klivikx turned to Ziri and fidgeted, clearly unsure what to do next and in a visible amount of discomfort. “Go ahead, take those constricting clothes off,” Ziri instructed, eyeing Klivikx like an instructor while he tore at his leathers. Even with the cool façade she was trying to maintain, a gasp escaped Ziri’s lips when the pants came off and an absolute monster of a cock unfolded itself and slapped against his chest. She knew that goblins were extreme breeders, but this ... this manhood was nearly a third of the goblin’s height and thick as his wrist!