Dissonance 10 – Ugo

The goblin female looked at his hand for several seconds. Her eyes then roamed towards the rest of him, taking in who, or rather what, he actually was. There was a clear intelligence in those yellow eyes, a spark that made her a person where her kin had been beasts.

“Can you not understand me?” Eldred wondered. Just because the goblin was intelligent did not mean she spoke his language. It had been surprising enough that Iridescian had come from the shaman.

“I… I can…” the greenskin muttered. Her voice was tiny and adorable, every bit fitting her demure and withdrawn body language. “Y-you’re from… the Glorious Place?”

“That is a way to refer to Iridescia, I suppose.” Eldred’s arm did a little bob. “I will protect you,” he repeated.”

“A-about that… you… are here to take the s-s-supplies back… right?” The goblin proved quite fluid in Iridescian, even if she kept nervously stuttering. “You… k-killed them all, didn’t you?”

‘No use in denying it,’ Eldred thought. “I did. They were beasts. You strike me as intelligent.” His back was starting to protest the hunched posture. “I mean you no harm. If I wanted to do anything, I would have done it already.”

“Y-yeah… but… you don’t have to… concern yourself with… ugly me…”

“Wait… you’re Ugo?”

Eldred had not connected the two dots yet, for the simple reason that the idea that this green cinnamon bun could be called ‘ugly’ by anyone was preposterous. Once again, Nyx spoke to his thoughts, “Wild goblins are a crime against all understandings of beauty.”

“W-w-who else is there?!” the goblin stammered, her posture turning even more defensive.

“My beloved and personal secretary,” Eldred responded, half-joking to the fully approving hum of his banshee. “Now, if you would come out of there before my back breaks, please? I would like to take you along with me.”

“Uhm, uh… why?”

“I’ve decided to help you.”

“I… m-must be repeating myself… uhm… w-why?”

“Because you’re hot.”

The straightforward answer had the goblin’s eyes widen in something other than pure shock. Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, not producing a single sound for a while. “Awawawawa-whaaaaaaat?” she eventually managed. The muscles in her (almost ludicrously) thick thighs tensed. Eldred knew what was about to happen. He was also fast enough to stop it.

The goblin (who he refused to call Ugo) shot upwards. She would have banged her head on the rock ceiling with concerning force had it not been for Eldred’s hand in the way. He kept her from hurting herself, then gently pushed her back down.

“I have a very simple creed in life.” The goblin now listened intently, the near injury seeming to have cleared her head a little bit. “I go after what I want. I either die or I thrive. You are hot. I want to help you.”

“A-a-and make me your… ugly-“

“Call yourself ugly one more time and I am spanking you.” No longer willing to hold the pose, Eldred dropped down into a squat. He gestured for Nyx to hover down next to him. “See this? This is attractive,” he pointed at his banshee, who managed half a smug smile. “You are also attractive. Everyone who would have told you otherwise is now dead and for good reason.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe they would have bullied someone as adorable as you.”

“A-a-a-adorable?!” the goblin squeaked.

Eldred laughed at her reactions. They only made him want her more. “Anyway, you were saying? What was I going to make you?”

“Your… uhm… cog handler?”

“I mean, if we get there. I only accept consensual sex slaves.”

“What?!”

“What?”

“I believe she meant cog, like those behind us,” Nyx helped her man out.

“Oh… well, you clearly have talent when it comes to logic and construction. I am sure I can find some work for you.” Eldred put his hand out again. “Look, I am not letting up on this. At a minimum, I am going to get you situated elsewhere. Yes, it is entirely because I find you attractive. No, I am not asking for anything in return. Now come out of there. I have a gremlin at home that I have to pay back for my weaponry.”

Though still appearing uncertain, the goblin shifted forwards. She took Eldred’s hand, letting him pull her out of her alcove.

She was tiny, but that was expected. Goblins were basically the most famous species of shortstack around. Eldred had known a lot of them to be bustier, but less endowed greenskins were hardly rare. She had the hips to make up for it. Eldred couldn’t believe that there was someone shorter but somehow even thicker than Avari around.

His dick was very happy with that discovery though.

‘Avari is the overall better fit for my preferences though,’ Eldred thought, taking a long look at the small set of breasts on the goblin’s chest. ‘Ah well, I am not picky… and I am getting ahead of myself.’

Stunned, the goblin looked up at him. There was a new kind of awe on her face. It occurred to Eldred that, now that he had completed his journey to being well-dressed and powerful, he actually was innately attractive to new women he met. A powerful thing and yet another ego trip he had to shove back down.

“Here’s my plan,” Eldred said, making it up as he described it. “We’re getting out of here and putting up camp in the forest. Tomorrow, we’re returning to the kingdom. I can get you situated there or I can take you along to Iridescia.”

“Y-y-you would t-t-t-take me t-t-t-t-to th-th-theeeeeeee-“ The sheer excitement robbed her of what little remained of her coherent speech.

Nyx interrupted the stammering of the woman with her presence. Flying a little twirl around the goblin, the ghost lady inspected Eldred’s new target of interest from all angles. “We offer you a stay at the Glorious Place,” she confirmed. “It is by my Master’s generosity that it is so.”

“Only if you want to, of course.” Eldred stated. “I’ll tell you more about Iridescia later. First, let’s get out of here.”

_________________________________________________________________________

Eldred held a stick in his right hand. It was just a random piece of wood he had grabbed off the floor. An exertion of his Core manifested in a flame at the tip. Interestingly, it did not consume the wood – not until Eldred changed the nature of the fire. He changed it from an empowerment to an actual fire. What usually would have required kindling turned into a bright flame within moments.

He tossed the branch into the ring of stones. The old camping spot had been marked on Eldred’s map. It must have also been known to the savage goblins, but he trusted in their craven nature to scatter them to the winds.

“Let’s introduce ourselves properly,” Eldred said and grabbed another branch. He ignited it the same way as the first, a process he repeated as he talked. It was practical and training. “I am Eldred, I am a new Cultivator. This is Nyx, my soul-bound banshee.” The ghost lady waved lethargically. “You are not Ugo, I refuse that. Anything else they called you?”

The goblin contemplated the question. She was at peace now, in large part because Eldred had proverbially stuffed her into his sleeping bag. The warm, confined place gave her some reassurance, though Eldred would not use it afterwards.

Though the goblin had objectively great genes, her upbringing had caused several issues. Nyx had done the inspection for Eldred, reporting to him crooked teeth, lice, and something that either was a worrisome skin condition or just freckles. All of that was ignoring any hidden parasites and the very obvious smell. She had tried to keep a minimum of hygiene, but there was only so much to be done when living in a cave that reeked of piss and gore.

All of these were matters that Iridescia could fix with various degrees of ease, so all they really did was put a check on any overenthusiastic desires Eldred had. Not that he needed the extra reason to keep to his word and principles. If he got too horny, he always had Nyx with him anyway.

“Uhm… no… it was just Ugo,” the goblin finally responded.

“You will not be disgraced by that name.” As per usual, Nyx was draped over Eldred’s shoulders, her breasts on his back and her left hand combing his hair. “I suggest… Ellie.”

“El…lie?” she muttered to herself. Only her face was visible at the moment, framed by the almost entirely closed opening of the sleeping bag. Yellow eyes darted from Nyx to Eldred and then back. She lightly tilted her head. He felt Nyx lightly nod. The unspoken exchange was beyond him. He was putting more branches to the flame. “E-Eld- Ellie is… okay…”

“Just ‘okay’?” Nyx asked, disapproval swinging in her voice.

“N-no! It’s great! It’s great!” The goblin was quick to reassure. “I am Ellie!”

Nyx’s approval translated into the motions of her fingers. “Splendid,” she cooed.

“So, Ellie…” Eldred tossed the last of the branches into the now crackling fireplace. “…you do not seem terribly upset that I killed your entire tribe. Actually, let me rephrase that: what manner of hostage situation were you in?”

His direct tone had Nyx chuckle, which was worth using it alone. Mostly, he wanted to get to the point though. It was beyond clear that the savage goblins had been barbarically evil. Eldred rather enjoyed it when things were this black and white.

“I was no hostage…” Ellie muttered. “They did… raise me… the shaman was my… mother, I suppose.”

‘She was rather quick to sell you out,’ Eldred thought. “I am not an expert in genealogy, but I can tell you that you do not have the same DNA, magical or biological.”

“DNA?” The term caused the goblin to blink in confusion. “Genealogy? Biological?”

“Right… let’s skip that for now, I am a poor explainer at the best of times.” Keeping the conversation on topic, he continued. “Any mentions that you were found, perhaps? Did they let you leave the cave?”

“Only in… company…” Ellie muttered. “And…a-and… there were mentions of me b-being taken here a-and there but… few t-talked to me anyway.”

“How did you get fluent in Iridescian?” Nyx wondered.

“T-there was a man t-that stayed with us f-for a bit. H-he needed a translator and… I-I was the only one who picked up quick enough.” Her stammer never quite went away, but it was getting better the more they talked. “He’s the one w-who… who told us how to get into the supplies.”

‘Rival corporation messing with things? No, this feels too small scale for that. Probably someone from another local kingdom, using Iridescian as a cover language.’ Eldred formulated the theory, then kicked it to the curb. ‘Not my problem either way.’

“W-w-would you really take me to… t-the… Glorious Place?” Ellie asked. “F-far away from here?”

“Sure,” Eldred assured. The absolute worst case was that this adorable thing turned out to have a rotten personality and he would drop her off at a charity to take care of her. The best case was that he was looking at employee number three at his harem company. A bit of an objectifying way to look at a woman he had just saved, he had to admit, but he wasn’t going to lie about what he wanted.

Plus, just because he helped her because she was cute didn’t mean he didn’t see her as a person. What man could truly say his help for a woman was entirely selfless? If those saints existed, none of them were named Eldred Noiris.

Nyx whispered into the night, “You will have opportunities to show your proper thanks.”

Well… it wasn’t just men who could be deviants.