Galiana's shop

"Let's just go to the weapons one, Galiana's shop. It's closer to us, anyway," Kazex proposed with a shrug and Talanah nodded.

"Very well," was her simple answer before she started making her way to the aforementioned shop and Kazex had to refrain from sighing noticeably. It seemed that Talanah wasn't going to put the butcher girl's attitude out of her mind anytime soon, which was too bad because he'd admit Letha was something of a kindred spirit to him.

Anyone who was able to appreciate Helga's body and beauty so openly was okay in his book. It was a shame that the girl lived in the capital, otherwise he'd have seriously considered adding her to his future harem sooner or later.

'Oh well, there will be other options,' he thought, weaving through the throngs of people milling about in the market.

By this point, most of the people's suspicions of him had decreased to a few badly concealed mistrustful looks and subtle redirection of their paths. It was annoying, but more for the fact it wasn't exactly all that subtle to Kazex rather than the fact they did it.

In amy case, they reached the front of Galiana's shop in less than a minute and the goblin could finally take a good look at the woman behind the counter.

This is merely the closest approximation that I could find of what Galiana looks like in my mind. She obviously has clothes and all.

Galiana was a large woman, heavily built with broad shoulders and thick muscles. Though she wore a rather plain brown tunic, the sleeves had been ripped off at some point, showing off the impressive musculature of her tattooed arms while she worked to sharpen a sword with a whetstone. Her blonde hair, pulled into a loose ponytail, swayed to the breeze and several scars marred the features of her face, but they contrasted sharply against the deep green eyes the woman had.

'Huh, wonder if the legs are as big as the arms...' It was the first time Kazex saw an obviously muscular woman and while he was pretty certain he preferred other types of women, he'd be lying if he said the thought of breeding with Galiana didn't hold a certain appeal to him.

The large breasts straining the admittedly tight tunic definitely helped, too.

"I was wondering if you'd drop by, she-elf. It's unusual to see an elf so far away from your lands," the woman said by way of greeting. Small sparks jumped up from the blade in her hands as she kept passing the sharpening stone over it.

"Oh? You've had first hand interactions with some of my people, then?" Talanah questioned with a curious look.

Galiana grunted in affirmative. "The elven people are a rare sight around these lands, but they're more common up north, past the capital. I've seen more than my fair share of elves whenever I raided old ruins - even worked with some of them," she told her.

"It clearly did you a lot of good," Kazex said, giving her a small compliment in an attempt to make her more amenable to answer their questions.

However, the woman turned to look at him for the first time after he spoke and seeing the look of utter disgust in her eyes, as if he was a mere bug to step on, Kazex knew he'd likely wouldn't make any friends in here.

"I'd heard there were goblin clans in the forests of Sinlädris, but I never really bothered to check - too out of my usual spots. Perhaps I should have checked said rumors," she said as she gave him a dark look and when shifted none too subtly in her stool, the goblin was able to see a glimpse of a massive war-hammer behind her.

Kazex stayed silent. Really, what could he say to that obvious show of hostility? Anything he said would no doubt make matters worse.

Good thing Talanah came to the rescue.

"I would appreciate if you didn't threaten my friend," she said tersely, body tensing. It was obvious that she was ready to pounce on Galiana if the woman did any sudden threatening move; however, the blonde was unbothered, staring frostily at Kazex for a few more moments before she turned back to the elf.

"Just keep your little pet on a short leash and we'll have no problems," she declared before quickly changing topics. "To business, then. I can see that you're well armed, do you need a spare sword or more arrows?"

Pet? He was no one's pet, Kazex thought as he narrowed his eyes in annoyance. If it weren't for the fact that they needed to find whatever clues they could on Helga's whereabouts... Thankfully, he still retained enough presence of mind to fume in silence while Talanah spoke.

"I need neither. We're looking for a friend and the butcher girl over there told us she went to your shop to chat for a bit yesterday," the elf explained.

Examining the edge of her sword with a critical eye, Galiana shrugged. "You'll have to be more specific - lots of people going around. That friend of yours got a name or a description?"

"Her name is Helga, she's about this tall and a-" Talanah started but was quickly cut off when Galiana interrupted her.

"Your friend is Helga? Helga the witch? Likes dresses and has a mane of red hair and a large hat?" she asked with a harsh frown on her face as she put down the sword onto the counter.

"Yes! You know her?!"

"Yes, we - you could say we're... acquaintances. We used to be in the same group before she came to settle down here," the blonde explained but said nothing else, preferring to look at them with a suspicious look. "Has something happened to her?"

"That's what we're trying to find out. She was supposed to return to her tower yesterday evening but she didn't. We think someone may have gotten the better of her," Kazex said, earning himself an irritated glare from Galiana for his troubles.

Yesh, maybe he really should let Talanah take the reigns of the conversation.

"I find hard to believe. Helga always had a knack for magic - she could dish out a world of pain if she wanted to."

"Be that as it may, we're still looking for her. She came to you to talk for a bit - is there anything you could tell us about where she went next?"

"Hard to say. She wandered over to speak of the good old days, as she said, but she left after a while since she still needed to make some more purchases," Galiana said.

"And there's nothing else that you can remember, anything that could help us?" Talanah pressed.

"Well... some time later one of the locals browsing in my shop mentioned that someone had asked Helga for help. I think someone was sick or something, I don't quite remember. The man didn't know much, either, he'd just heard about it."

Well, that was something. It certainly was more than what they had just a few moments ago. If they could find those mysterious people, they'd be one step closer to finding Helga. At least going through the different shops had been a good idea, instead of wasting time trying to find Helga's tracks.

"That's... that's good, now we know she's around and we can narrow down the search. If whoever asked Helga to heal someone came to her yesterday, that means they probably live in this same town! It's just a matter of finding people who saw it and could recognize them!" Talanah quickly deduced.

"Indeed. I think we should go and check out that herbs shop now. It's further into the market, perhaps they say something as well," Kazex proposed, trying to ignore the icy feeling forming in his gut from having Geliana's dark eyes on him.

"Yes, we were planning on going there anyway."

In that moment, the buff blonde behind the counter decided to speak up. "It seems like you have all planned out. Well then, I believe I should help out."

'Oh shit! Spirits, tell me she's joking!' Kazex screamed in his head, but the Spirits remained silent as they always did and he could only stare in shock at the woman as she stood. Wow, those arms were certainly buff... 'Not the time, brain!'

"Uh, what?" He managed to get out, but Galiana preferred to address Talanah for her answer.

"Helga is my... friend, too. If something really has happened to her, I would be a lousy comrade-in-arms if I stayed put and did nothing to help find her. So I will help you, elf. And your pet goblin, I suppose," she finally added with obvious ****.

"Are you sure? You can stay here with your shop if you wish..." Talanah tried to change her mind, but Galiana wouldn't budge.

"Nonsense. Very few people ever bother buying anything whenever I come down to this boring little town anyway. Keeping the stall closed for a bit won't hurt anyone. Just let me close this down and we can go," she replied while taking down the weapons from their racks stacking them all in one corner of the stall.

Staying back behind Talanah, Kazex had the strange feeling Galiana insisted in coming due to his presence. Given her less than warm reception, he wouldn't be surprised if she didn't trust him around Helga... which, in hindsight, wasn't a ridiculous nation, given that he pretty much wanted to turn Helga into his goblin baby factory. And lover.

But mostly, goblin baby factory.

Still, despite the cautiousness he felt around the blonde, the goblin would admit he was curious about Galiana's obvious dislike of goblins. It was too focused to be a mere opinion, it looked like Galiana had first hand experience with goblins - maybe she ran across a pack of goblins at some point? Well, whatever it was, he really wanted to find out what it was exactly.

'Some day, my curiosity is going to be the **** of me.'

"You go on Talanah, I'll help her with closing the store and then we can meet up with you at the herbs shop," he said and he could see how the blonde woman visibly stiffened.

"Kazex, are you... sure?" the elf asked, looking as if she was questioning his sanity in that moment. If he was completely honest with himself, he felt the same way.

"Yes. Come on, you go on ahead. We'll catch up in no time."

Talanah looked like she wanted to argue, but after a moment, she shook her head and disappeared among the multitude after giving Galiana a warning look.

"Not smart at all to send your protector ahead, little goblin," the blonde growled, thick muscled arms bulging as if preparing to attack.

Kazex held his ground, eyes shining with defiance; no one needed to know that he was very close to panicking. Those huge arms looked like they could burst his head like a grape so he'd rather not get close to her as long as he wasn't sure of her intentions, but... well, he really wanted to know what was her issue with goblins.

"I don't need anyone to protect me, I just sent her ahead so we could speak with some honesty. Now, it's obvious you have a problem with my people. Care to share?"

Galiana snorted, turning back to her work. "Get lost, pest. The less we talk to each other, the better for all involved."

"Now, I can't do that. We both know you have a bone to pick with goblins and I need to know you're not going to pop my head open at the first comment I make," he said and he immediately regretted giving her ideas when she sent him a dark smile. "It's obvious something's bothering you, so spit it out, woman."

Turning slowly, the large woman regarded him in silence with scowling face. When Kazex thought she wasn't going to give anything away, she suddenly spoke. "You want to know my problem with you goblins? Let me tell you a story, then, and perhaps you'll understand."

"A couple of years ago, a band of adventurers were active in the area west of the capital, near the ancient ruins that litter the forests and plains there. I say adventurers because that's the fancy name some use, but they were little more than a ragtag bunch of thieves, raiders and other unsavory people. They were scum, but scum that looked after each other nonetheless and they were very good at what they did."

"Which had nothing to do with the pillaging and looting of ruins, I'm sure," Kazex dryly replied, only to shut up when he found himself on the receiving end of Galiana's hateful eyes.

"Don't interrupt me! So, as I was saying, this group of adventurers had just finished one of their "jobs" and were camping inside the forest to spend the night and rest for a bit. They thought that it was secure, seeing as very few monsters or animals that prowled those woods were dangerous enough to pose a threat so they went to sleep. Unfortunately, they hadn't noticed the clan of goblins that had been observing them for quite some time. It was a new clan, one that had just moved into the forest and so no one really knew about it."

'Uh oh.'

"Very few sentries were posted, you see? Why would they need them? They'd just finished one of their hardest jobs and there was nothing in the forest that could challenge them, they'd earned a good night of rest," Galiana angrily said, gripping the wooden counter of her stall with a hand. "So it came as no surprise that when the goblins attacked, the fuckers managed to sneak up on the few the group had posted and kill them all. And then it was a matter of not making much noise as everyone was rounded up. After all, you blighters can be very determined to do something if you really want to."

"And so, the group was captured. They had no mages, so no fancy tricks to get out of the binding ropes and the goblins were intelligent enough to tie their arms and legs like some trussed up pigs and carry us to their camp. But of course, they didn't want anything of what we had, only what we were," Galiana said with a glare.

Kazex wondered what she'd do to him if he pointed out how the woman had shifted from speaking in third to first person. It probably wouldn't earn him any points; he could only keep listening.

"The squealing bastards only wanted the girls for breeding and with no use for the males, they were going to kill them all. But a girl had caught the eye of the scum goblin chieftain. He told her that if she agreed to become his bitch and give him more goblins they'd let the guys go. They were her friends, so of course the stupid fool of a woman agreed, even if she was terrified."

'Damn, this isn't going to end well,' the goblin thought with a faint grimace.

"So there she was, turned into a fucking breeding bitch for a fat lard of a goblin, **** to pleasure him day and night so her friends would live. But of course, those were a lot of mouths to feed and he had no intention to keep his promise. So one day, he brought them all out to the center of the camp and killed them, executed them. He probably expected that to break us, the girls and women in the group... but those were my friends," Galiana revealed with a bitter chuckle. "Some I hated, others I was indifferent towards, but all of them were my comrades. The scumbag would pay."

"So, I kept fucking him. I hated it, but I had to do it, I had to fool him and wait for my chance. And you know what I did? When he finally thought I was a little obedient fucktoy for him, I started riding him so hard one day it looked like he'd break in half. I wanted him to enjoy it to the fullest so the moment I reached for his neck and started **** him, he'd realize his favorite little slut was killing him as she fucked him. Irony at its finest," the woman said, finishing her tale with a dark grin.

Okay, that was fucked up. Swallowing, Kazex could sense the state of his parched throat; whether that was from the prospect of what she could do to him or the slight arousal from her tale building up, he couldn't tell. Perhaps deciding to find out what was her problem with goblins hadn't been the best idea, after all...

Awkwardly clearing his throat, Kazex spoke up. "I suppose you killed him and then rescued your female friends?"

"Oh, definitely. I kept riding that fat fuck until I killed him because I wanted him to realize his sick infatuation with me was the reason he was going to die, but once that was done, then, I grabbed my war-hammer, because obviously he wanted to show it off as a trophy, and proceeded to bash some heads with it. Once I rescued some of the other girls, we made sure to not leave any goblin alive," she said, looking directly into Kazex's eyes.

"That is - nice to know?" he muttered but Galiana simply laughed. It wasn't a pleasant laugh.

"Let us speak plainly, goblin. I don't know how you came to be 'friends' with an elf," she said with a scoff, as if the mere idea was laughable. In all fairness, Kazex would agree it probably was, "but you're not going to do anything to Helga if I have a say in it. Step out of line just once and..." she trailed off, gripping the hilt of her large war-hammer.

"And-?"

"And I'll burst your head open like a ripe watermelon."

Kazex winced. At the very least, the woman was direct, he could appreciate that and it was obvious she could carry out her threat with no problem.

"Understood, but I'll have you know that I'm different from other goblins."

Galiana snorted. "Yes, and pigs fly through the sky. I'll believe that when I see it."

"Let's just go to the herbs shop," he said with an aggravated sigh.

Notes: Sooo... yo! Been a long time!

Thank god rolz gave me a 1 for the weapons shop, because I really didn't have as much of an idea for it as I had for the weapons shop.

Galiana's backstory is kinda dark, but I certainly wasn't going to write about sunshines and rainbows.

A note about Galiana's picture. I tried to find one with a chick obviously buff but not completely ridiculous and it's really hard to find a halfway decent one. However, an alternative version could be this one, which is Brooke Ence playing Penthesilea in both the Justice League and Wonder Woman movies. I didn't use that one, because the clothing/armor doesn't really fit for what I had in mind, but it's a good alternative either way.

Anyway, question time! If you got to choose, would you like Letha (the butcher girl) or Galiana (the mercenary-slash-shop vendor) to become one of Kazex's conquests for his future breeding harem? Or perhaps both? Let me know.