For those that can't get enough of the grimdark around here because teaching horrible lessons is fun!
Setting the Example
You’re not distracting anyone from their own ordeals and they could just get shot in the process. You’ve dealt with a lot worse, you can get through this too.
You raise your shield high and stumble as quick as you’re able behind one of the goblin dwellings. Sounds of another bolt thuds into your shield and you feel the scraping of the thankfully shoddy spears hit your armor, but nothing gets through.
Your vision is blurry, but you see a couple of the young ones running off in the distance with their nets slung over their backs. At least some of them seem to have gotten the task done.
You fend off the goblin warriors, though you’re relying more on your shield rather than counter attacking with your axe, which is feeling heavier in your hand. You need to retreat, but that fucker with the crossbow is probably still out there. You’re going to just have to risk it otherwise you’re going to get surrounded eventually and only get weaker from whatever that bolt was dipped in.
Looking to the side of you that has less goblins, you muster up all your energy and get ready to charge through like a battering ram, but then help surprisingly arrives as you see a couple of goblins getting cut down from the back.
“Come on! The way is clear now!” a familiar voice shouts. Still can’t make out the figure, but sounds like the female you spoke with earlier.
You follow her lead as goblin warriors throw their spears at you. She returns fire by throwing some axes at them. You see a couple of other dero running past you. The goblins give less of a chase when several of their number fall to throwing axes, which is good since you’re not exactly running all that fast. You think the effects are wearing off though, so if it was poison, it’s not going to kill you.
Eventually you get far enough away and you feel like your strength is returning. The female dero that helped you has stayed with you the entire time.
“You still feeling woozy?” she asks.
“Not as much now….y’know you can go up ahead to the lake. You don’t need to hang around.” You say.
“I know, but I think it’s better if I stay just in case the goblins do decide to regroup and come after us anyway.”
“Hm. You came out of nowhere when you helped, I know you weren’t with the group of six I sent and the others were on the far side of the settlement. Did you even stay with them?”
“At first, but after I saw a couple of them get killed and the rest run off with captives, I figured I’d at least try to help elsewhere, you specifically since you look overwhelmed. When I saw the cave spinner drop down and scoop up the goblin with that crossbow, I figured I’d take my chance.”
“Oh, so that’s what happened. Guess I didn’t see Twenty Eyes do that when I was staying out of sight. Guess she did come in useful.”
“Indeed. It’s really interesting how you’ve trained them like that.”
“So…what’s your name anyway?”
“Stalja. I actually told you before a long time ago when you used to train us.”
“Well you’ve obviously grown since then so you look a little different. Not to mention I have so many other things to keep track of. Anyway we can walk and talk to the lake. Let’s get moving.”
Stalja catches you up on who she saw die and who she knows survived from her group. At least two, one male and one female. She also mentions that at least two of them managed to capture goblins.
“Well that’s one less male to deal with in the future at least. Remember, you don’t want these welps surviving much longer. In fact, you need to hurry your ass up to the lake before one of them get the idea to stick his dick into goblin pussy.”
Eventually you get to the lake and see what remains of the young ones. Looks like there’s nine of them which makes ten if you include Stalja.
“Another male dead and it looks like the entire group got four goblins between them. Not bad.”
“Hey! Stop torturing that gob! We need these little green bitches and I’m not going to have you risking killing one because you have to indulge in your inherent sadism.” You shout at one of them stabbing at a captive goblin through the net.
“Aw I know what I’m doing. Besides, they don’t need to be in one piece right? Probably would be better to cut their fingers off so they can’t claw at your eyes.”
“There’s no need to mutilate when a punch or two will do.”
“Oh fine, well someone open the net, let’s get to the fun part…”
The young dero is about to pull out his dick and then you quickly stop him with a punch to his face. He goes flying to the ground and the rest just sort of step away from you and him.
“What the fuck did you do that for?!” the young dero says holding his bloody nose.
“This isn’t fun. This is serious fucking business and until you…ALL of you learn that fact, you don’t get the responsibility or the honor of propagating the race!”
“What?! We risked our lives and you’re not letting us fuck?”
“You can fuck all you want, you’re just not doing it with anything that can give birth. So have at it with your siblings if you haven’t already, I don’t care.”
The young dero finally stands up and still insists on being defiant. Seems that the breeding desire is strong enough to challenge your authority. This might be an issue.
“Fuck you, if it wasn’t for us, you’d still be at the goblin village with spears in your ass. You need us more than we need you! You…”
And that point you get tired of this teenage display of rebellion and cleave his head in two. The wet sound of brain matter falling to the ground along with his body aren’t far behind.
“Hah! Bet he wishes he stuck to shutting the fuck up and jerking off!”
You turn around putting your bloody axe over your shoulder and calm yourself as everyone looks on.
“Now then, I don’t remember calling ANY of you lot to help me and the ONLY one who actually did of her own free will was Stalja over here, so yeah if she were capable of impregnating one of these gobs, then I’d allow that, but as far as the rest of you, you’re doing the bare minimum and I’m not fucking impressed yet. Anyone else want to debate this?”
Naturally your display of violence has cowed everyone into proper submission.
“Pfft. Cowards. That’s how you know their vile svelk blood is dominant. If they were real dero, they would have mobbed up and tried to kill you. Of course they’re probably still going to, but they’re going to be scheming about it. Get you when you’re most vulnerable. Best watch your back nephew.”
The rest of the journey back home is uneventful. You tell the young ones with the goblin captives to take them to the breeding area and you’ll get to work on them a little later. They don’t argue or say anything and just do what you tell them.
You return to your own living space and find that Twenty Eyes is already there and nearby is a crossbow. You pick it up and smile.
“Well now, I heard about your part in all this. Good girl. Hope it was a tasty goblin.” You say.
After a brief bit of resting and pulling a bolt out of your side, you head over to the breeding area, but you’re stopped by Dakzat.
“What’s all this about you not letting the boys fuck the goblins? When I thought they were going to get down to business, they told me you said they weren’t allowed. Isn’t that sort of point of all this? And they said you even KILLED one of them!”
“He challenged my authority and we don’t have time for that shit. The main point was to create more dero and we can’t get that if we’re letting those fucking half-breeds spread their seed. You said it yourself they’re more disobedient than proper dero.”
“Yeah, but don’t we sort of need them right now?”
“For now, but that’s going to change eventually.”
“So you’re going to impregnate all of the female captives?”
“Who else? Not like this wasn’t going to be a possibility.”
“But…what are we going to do with a bunch of horny males until they can be replaced?”
“I don’t fucking know. I told them to go fuck their sisters or each other. Hell, you and Glastilda could pitch in and help. Suck their dicks, I don’t fucking care! This is ALL on me and I don’t need to be distracted right now! Outta my way!”
You push Dakzat aside and head to the goblin captives. You find that they’ve already been stripped naked and tied down so resistance is minimal. Three of the four are hissing and screaming at you in their language. You haven’t bothered to learn much of their language, but you definitely recognized some of the swears.
The last one is silent. She looks over at you and then away. She’s resigned to her fate, though obviously not happy about it. Understandable, this is a horrible situation she’s in.
And you’re about to make it a whole lot worse…
Later...
Having done your part, you start heading back to your living area and that’s when you notice Stalja trying to interact with Twenty Eyes who you can tell is getting agitated.
“What the hell…Stalja! You trying to get a face full of poison? Leave her alone, she’s not one of those pathetic human pets, she’s a predator!”
Stalja immediately steps away and turns to you as Twenty Eyes scurries away into the darkness.
“Apologies I just thought since she’s so tame…um…what’s a human?” Stalja asks in all honesty given that she’s never even seen or heard of them before.
“Nevermind, look don’t fuck with my cave spinners again! You’re lucky it was Twenty Eyes, the others I have aren’t nearly as friendly. What are you doing around here anyway?”
“Well…”
“Fucking hell, this one may not know what a human is, but sure the hell acts like one! Why is this one hanging around you all the time, like one of those human pets you mentioned earlier?”
“Come on girl out with it!”
“Can you teach me how to train the cave spinners too?”
“Can I…what?”
“Train the cave spinners! I really think I could help you greatly with the process! Eventually we could have more like Twenty Eyes and even use them in future raids cutting down on risking dero we can’t afford to lose.”
“Truly?”
“Yes! Also have you considered breeding them for specific traits? You could breed bigger ones for example. Maybe even big enough to ride them!”
You can’t help but smirk a little at the idea of riding some overgrown spinner. The funny thing is Stalja actually isn’t bringing up ideas you haven’t pondered in the past. You just really haven’t had time to focus on some of these ideas since you’re also busy with a lot of other things, not to mention spinners aren’t the easiest to train, let alone domesticate. Twenty Eyes you think is a bit of anomaly. Hopefully her babies when she has them inherit her traits.
In any case, this all brings you back to Stalja and you really don’t know what to make of her and her eagerness to assist you all the time. This isn’t really a “duty” thing either, there’s almost too much emotion behind it. Probably just more svelk gene weakness, they did tend to be an overly emotional lot.
“It’s a svelk trick. Don’t you see? She’s trying to get in your good graces while she plots like the rest of her mongrel kin. They’re probably all in on it.”
Just because you’re half mad, doesn’t mean your dead uncle isn’t wrong however.
Let her help
Turn her away