Into the Goblin Den
"If it's a demi-human affinity, then we're looking at goblins."
"That's correct, my lord. Goblins are the lowest-ranking of the demi-human races."
Ask ten people whether goblins are powerful monsters, and all ten will tell you they aren't. And yet goblins remain, without question, a creature people fear. Their true strength only reveals itself when they move as a horde. The numbers their prodigious fertility produces are more than enough to sack a small village in a single raid.
That was precisely why they gave adventurer's guilds and garrison patrols such headaches. Raising a force large enough to match a goblin horde took time — and by the time adventurers or soldiers finally arrived, the village was usually already in ashes, with not a living soul left to find.
"Ugh, why did it have to be goblins... I'm scared..."
Lily gnawed at her fingernails — something she almost never did. The reaction wasn't strange. Goblins numbered among the cruelest of monsters. The men of a raided village were slaughtered without mercy; the women were abducted, raped, and bred until their wombs gave out. They were, without question, the kind of creature any ordinary person had every right to fear.
"Egon, but goblins take humans as seedbeds even without the blessing, don't they? It doesn't have to be me..."
"No. It's completely different. A human a goblin abducts and turns into a seedbed is nothing more than a tool for the species to reproduce — nothing more, nothing less. They'll even let the goblin cubs those women give birth to grow up and mate with their own mothers."
"Ugh, saying it like that just makes it worse, Egon..."
"But with the blessing, everything changes. The blessing isn't some simple spell that lets you carry a monster's young. It forges a genuine bond with your partner — an emotional connection — and grants you command over the monster you mate with, and over every cub you bear them."
"That's right. Any monster that bonds with Lily won't harm her."
"Ugh... so I should take that as good news, then..."
The assurance that they wouldn't hurt her seemed to settle Lily somewhat, at least compared to a moment ago. Still, the prospect of becoming a goblin's seedbed itself must have come as a shock. The image the world held of goblins was about as bad as it got.
"All right. Shall we head out of the castle?"
"Outside the castle?"
"Yeah. We need to bring the goblins in."
The truth was, the monster ecology of the Querencia region was a carefully ordered one. Each species held a clearly defined territory. Skirmishes over borders happened, but one race never wiped another out entirely.
The reason was none other than House Bestiel itself. It would be no exaggeration to say the monster ecology of Querencia rested entirely in the family's hands. Whichever species matched the current head's affinity would inevitably rise to prominence — but that created a problem. The species suited to the next head's affinity might go extinct in the meantime.
And so House Bestiel deliberately maintained the balance among the monsters. It was a very different approach from other regions, which tried to hunt every monster they saw down to the last cub. The result was that no small number of humans still suffered monster raids — but in exchange, not a single human died at another human's hands. No neighboring lord had ever been foolish enough to declare war on a duchy that could command monsters.
"My lord, there are no fewer than ten goblin factions in Querencia alone. Where shall we go?"
"Same as always — a faction that needs us. They'll have to leave their habitat and settle at Nest, after all. Which is the weakest?"
Choosing which monsters to approach took considerable care. A faction that was too powerful wouldn't even entertain the offer. Approach one that was too weak, and the monsters' capabilities would almost always fall short.
"Recently, a new band split off from the Torkum horde — the largest goblin faction in Tief Forest. They seem to have carved out a den of their own in the southern woods, but with so few of them, they haven't been able to grow quickly."
"The south, so relatively close to Nest."
Tief Forest lay northwest of Nest. The southern edge of the woods, then, was no more than a two-hour ride away.
"That's right. Whether they wanted distance from their old horde or simply a better position for raiding, I couldn't say — but they'll be a genuine threat to the nearby villages."
"Can't grow quickly, but they've settled near a village... Sounds like they haven't secured a proper seedbed yet. That's when they start getting desperate. Leave them alone and they'll raid eventually — better to make contact first and have them settle at Nest altogether."
We crossed the plains on horseback and reached Tief Forest, where the signs of goblins grew abruptly thicker. Patches of brush trampled flat, saplings snapped and bent — that was goblin country.
"From here we go on foot and follow the tracks. The den should be close."
"Yes, my lord."
They were a small band, true enough — no ambush, no attempt to surround us. But I was certain they were watching from somewhere, waiting for an opening. After all, our party included two women who could serve as seedbeds on the spot.
"Kigigigik!"
"There they are."
Goblins burst from the undergrowth all at once, charging straight at us. Ella, as if she'd expected it, drew the dagger at her hip and dropped them with the flat of the blade. There was no point making enemies of a struggling, undersized faction by killing their soldiers.
"My lord, there aren't many of them. Roughly six, I'd say."
"I'll try talking to them. Ella, ease off a little. Lily — stay right behind me."
I'd been holding Lily's wrist since we entered the woods, in case she panicked. Human fear, as it happened, filled monsters with a sense of superiority and conquest — and aroused them sexually. If she bolted or screamed, she would only provoke those instincts. And if she strayed too far from Ella and me, protecting her properly would become all but impossible.
"Kigigik!"
They were conferring in their own tongue about what to do. I needed to make our intentions clear before the situation deteriorated any further.
"We've come with a proposal for your chieftain," I called out in their language. "Take us to him."
"How do you speak our tongue?"
"I am of House Bestiel."
The bloodline blessing, at its foundation, granted the ability to understand and communicate in a monster's language. In my case, being male, that gift manifested only faintly. I could grasp the gist of what was being said by instinct, but I couldn't make the language system itself fully my own — that was the limitation. I filled the gap left by that innate shortcoming with study. I learned the tongues of all manner of monsters from books and from my sister's instruction, and by the time I came of age, I had mastered every monster language there was.
"Follow, human! We take you to King."
They were low-ranking creatures, but they had a decent grasp of the surrounding terrain — likely knowledge passed down from previous generations of goblins who'd raided and hunted these woods.
"My lord, how did it go?"
"They seemed to understand well enough. Stay alert and follow them."
The goblin den was, as expected, not particularly large. The faction currently numbered around thirty goblins, and aside from the scouts we'd already encountered, most of them were concentrated on excavating the cave. They clearly didn't have the numbers to spare for a raiding party. Compared to the great hordes that lived in dungeon complexes large enough to be mistaken for ancient ruined cities, it was a pitiful operation.
After about five minutes of descending into the den, a chamber decorated with the remains of all manner of beasts came into view. A room this ostentatiously appointed could only belong to the chieftain. It was one of the ways a lesser monster displayed its authority — exhibiting the trophies taken from beasts it had hunted and killed, or from humans it had plundered.
They haven't killed or abducted any humans yet.
There were no hides, bones, or belongings that looked human. Whether that was a good sign remained to be seen, but it at least meant there was a high chance he still had an interest in — and an appetite for — humans.
"Your Majesty! Humans have come asking to meet you — and they spoke to us in our own language!"
"Grrruh. What? Humans come to see me?"
The goblin chieftain shoved aside the wolf-hide that served as his chamber door and stepped into view. He was a black-skinned variant, large enough that anyone unfamiliar with monsters might have mistaken him for an orc.
With genetic traits like these, he wouldn't be out of place as chieftain of a much larger horde. Why is he operating at such a small scale?
You could roughly gauge a monster's grade just by looking at it. The goblin chieftain standing before me was A-rank at the very least. If it came down to a fight with ordinary cold weapons, Ella and I would need to take him on together to have any chance of winning.
"Human. I am King. Why you come?"
King, was it. Naming himself after a human title of royalty means he understands the human class system. His intelligence is clearly a cut above other goblins.
"I've come with a proposal. From the looks of things, you don't have a proper seedbed yet."
The words must have sounded like a provocation, because the goblin chieftain threw back his head and roared at the empty air. Lily cried out at the sound, and Ella's hand went to her sword.
"Not worry. You bring proper seedbeds?"
"I am Egon, Duke of House Bestiel. We're in the process of building our power. Would you like to be wiped out?"
The ordinary goblins had already known who I was, which meant the chieftain certainly did as well.
"Haha. How I believe?"
"You know of our house. Have you ever seen a human who could speak the goblin tongue?"
King seemed to accept that, more or less, and nodded. He had enough basic intelligence that conversation came easily. That said, he was nowhere near a human's level. The fact that he took my words at face value made that abundantly clear.
At times like this, lower intelligence is actually more convenient.
"Let me lay out the proposal. I'll provide you with a seedbed. In exchange, you join our forces. We'll let you live in the castle."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Old chieftain try kill me. I run away with my soldiers. Human different?"
That explained the situation well enough. The previous chieftain had seen a powerful mutant as a threat to his position, tried to kill him, and this one had fled with his followers.
"I am different. We protect you, and your people help us. It's that simple. If you stay on this path, your tribe will fall."
That was simply the objective truth. A band that hadn't even finished carving out a proper den would have a hard time securing seedbeds through raids and expanding from there. Thirty goblins weren't enough to plunder a decent village, and even if they succeeded, the casualties would be devastating.
The goblin chieftain scratched at his crooked jaw, turning something over in his mind. He seemed to need a considerable amount of time to think. Watching him, I couldn't tell whether it was taking so long because he was genuinely deliberating, or because his intellect simply wasn't up to the task.
"Good! But have condition."
"What is it?"
"Seedbed breed in den first. Birth young, then go castle."
"How long?"
The goblin spread all ten fingers. Ten days.
"Fine. I'll come for you in ten days."
It was one of the conditions most monsters stipulated. Suspicion toward a human who volunteered as a seedbed was inevitable — and for the breeding to proceed quickly, the seedbed needed to be obedient to the goblins. She would have to be tamed. From the seedbed's side, too, her body needed to adapt to the goblins if she was going to take in their seed. A body designed to bear human children instinctively rejected goblin sperm. To overcome that resistance, she would need to live among them and mate often enough for her body to acclimate to goblin biology.
"But if you harm the seedbed, the deal is off."
"Won't. Seedbed precious. Then both females?"
With the power of the blessing in Lily, that would never happen — but I still needed him to understand that this was different from abducting a woman, raping her, and forcing her to carry young. Of course, the more the blessing allowed them to bond, the more they would come to accept Lily as a partner rather than a mere seedbed.
"No. Just this woman."
I gave Lily a reassuring pat and steered her forward to stand before the goblin chieftain. Her face was more tense than I had ever seen it, but she seemed to understand that she needed to make a good impression, and she stood before him in a faintly coquettish pose.
The goblin chieftain snorted, his mouth twitching. His first seedbed since establishing his own faction, and she was plainly a young woman — he had every reason to be satisfied.
"All right, Lily. We've talked it over. The goblin chieftain has agreed."
"So... we're going back now?"
"No. You'll live here in the den for about ten days, then we'll move everyone to the castle. I need you to understand."
"Here...?"
Living in a goblin den was a grim prospect by anyone's measure, but a seedbed didn't get to choose. Even my sister the Duchess had begun by seeking out a direwolf habitat, living among them and mating with them. Forming a bond of trust with the monsters was that essential.
"You'll be all right. I'm giving you a communication necklace. You can contact me if anything happens, and I'll be able to tell how you're doing."
I took the necklace with the blue gem from around my own neck and fastened it around Lily's. I knew where the den was now. If the signal ever cut out, I could storm the place immediately.
"That... makes me feel a little better. I trust you, Egon..."
"Then I'll see you in ten days. Stay healthy."
With those worried words, I gave Lily a firm, unsentimental shove toward the goblin chieftain. It was deliberate. No male looks kindly on a female being treated tenderly by another.
And so began Lily's life as a goblin seedbed.