Liegelord

The trip back to camp was largely uneventful, though it was far from unenjoyable. Marie proved to be a good source of entertainment for both the reaper and the nearby goblins. They soon had a game going to see what would get the most vocal response from her. Interestingly, the one thing that got to her more than anything else was a leaf landing on her exposed ass. It seemed she was a jumpy one. The regular groping had diminishing returns, but every light, unexpected sensation made her shiver like the first time.

Half an hour later they arrived back at the goblin camp, although it only felt like a few minutes. The place was a bit messier than the reaper remembered it, with some of the resource piles looking dug through. The goblins didn’t seem to notice anything wrong though, so he assumed they must have made the mess while leaving. He had something more important to deal with at the moment anyway. Charms was expecting him to try claiming the place, and he wouldn’t disappoint, at least not in that way.

So, he took on his Grim Visage and nodded towards Charms. “Let’s hope this works.”

He tried inspecting the Claimant Crystal in his inventory, wondering why he hadn’t thought to check it earlier. The description was brief, but it seemed to indicate the user was supposed to crush it to claim the immediate surroundings, and that competing claims would somehow reshape the boundaries of the claimed area. There were no specifics beyond that.

He floated to the ground in front of what was presumably the leader’s resource pile and took on his semi-tangible form. Holding the crystal in the air, he attempted to say that he was claiming this land for the goblins, all for show of course. It didn’t have quite the impact he intended, however, when he realized he couldn’t talk in shadow form. So he was just holding the crystal in the air and gesturing meaningfully. Not too surprisingly, nothing happened, so he switched back to Grim Visage to enact the next step of his plan.

“This land appears to be unclaimable.” He announced in a measured tone.

Charms looked at him with what he could only assume was caution, and a slight grimace. She might be the only other one to fully understand the position the tribe was in. If the reaper left with the crystal, that was it, no more buildings. Only one of the two adventurers had crystals this time, but future adventurers would almost certainly be better prepared or not be carrying such a valuable item around. They were on the precipice wether they realized it or not, but that was why she was leader, she thought things through.

“Then, we try different place?” She asked him slowly, crossing her arms beneath her chest to lift and squeeze it. “Must be some place to build.” She added, winking without really dropping the grimace.

Okay, the reaper thought, he was definitely staying with them now, though he hadn’t really been planning to leave.

“Let’s try closer to the mountain.” He was grinning while he said it, but his voice didn’t crack. Thanks Grim Visage.

Now to deal with Marie. He didn’t want to risk her knowing their exact location when she respawned, which meant she needed to be dealt with now. He tried casting Grant Release on her, hopeful her health was still low enough now that his mana had regened. It wasn’t low enough, even with the teasing she had apparently gotten some rest while tied up.

“I need her weakened, so I can deal with her before we continue on.” He told Charms.

Charms looked at him quizzically, so he specified that Marie needed to be at low health for his spell to affect her. She seemed to understand as she contemplated it for a moment, then walked over to Marie and stabbed her in the side.

He was surprised by the suddenness of it and by Marie’s shocked cry. He knew that adventurers didn’t feel pain the same way as most others, but Charms was scarily cold as she did it, holding the dagger in for a full second to guarantee the bleeding status effect. Maybe she was venting her anger at the situation or something else he hadn’t noticed.

When she turned back around, she was genuinely smiling, crossing her arms beneath her breasts again. Okay...

Oh shit, he almost forgot to cast Grant Release in time. He did remember though, and the pained groan immediately turned into a sigh of relief as Marie’s eyes closed and she went limp in her bindings. Ten seconds later, she vanished along with the bindings. Oh, what he wouldn’t give to see her respawn like that, but he had more pressing business.

“Follow me.” He spoke to charms. “All of you carry what resources you can.” He continued to the rest of the goblins.

A few minutes later, they were walking again, towards the mountain this time. More specifically, they were heading to the cliff beneath the reaper’s spawn cave. He had only seen it once in recent memory, but that was 5 to 6 hours ago at most, so he knew he could find it.

It did take longer for him to lead the group at floating speed, but sure enough, with only a few wasted minutes they reached the cliff. He had them wait while he floated up the 200 feet to his old cave. It was indeed there, so he was sure that this was the right place. He didn’t want to claim space that might already be lived in. Floating back down, he mentally prepared himself for whatever might come.

The goblins had already set down what they had in their hands and were gathering in a semicircle around the spot he had ascended. Luckily that was directly below his cave, so he took up his position in the center and proceeded to crush the Claimant Crystal in his shadowy hands.

Would you like to claim this spot?

The moment the message popped up, the goblins got quiet.

Yes, he tapped on the message.

Error: Unnamed characters cannot claim land.
Please name your character:

A name? He was just a reaper, or really, he was the reaper. He couldn’t remember ever seeing another one. Then he remembered the description of his Grim Visage feat, it said he could take on the form of a true grim reaper. Grim, that was the closest thing to a unique name that he could think of at the moment. It stuck and resonated in his mind, he could think of a few other names, but none of them felt right. Grim was good.

Grim
Name accepted.
Land claimed.
Fame menu unlocked.
Allies detected.
Allies invited to become minions.

That was a lot to take in, and looking around, all of the goblins were either glancing around or staring at something invisible in front of them. Time to make or break.

“Press the green button to join my new tribe and join me in my rise to glory.” He told them, trying to project a confidence that was really just desperation. He couldn’t build much of anything on his own, so he had to hope the goblins would join him and do it for him. Or with him if that’s what it took to become something more than a spectator.

Charms gave him a searching look, trying to see past the impassive visage he was permanently stuck with. She then set her jaw and pressed something in front of her.

New minion:
Charms, Level 4 Goblin Cleric
Monster, Goblin, Explicit

“Hurry up! Work to do!” She shouted to the rest of them. Block followed, as did the others.

New minion:
Block, Level 4 Goblin Brute
Monster, Goblin, Explicit

Less than a minute later, and 24 more notifications later, every last goblin had joined Charms and Block as a minion.

It took another few minutes for Grim to regain his bearings and figure out how to create structures within his claimed land. The goblins’ approach of hitting a resource pile only sort of worked, because the options available that way appeared to be limited to copying existing structures. Considering there were no existing structures, that option was out. Eventually he found he could call up a building menu/overlay where he could browse options for everything he or his minions could build, limited to those that he had most or all of the resources for.

Through the building overlay, he placed six goblin huts around the center of the claimed area, like three sides of a square with the two nearest the cliff actually touching it. All of the six huts’ entrances would be inward facing and the two corners had 5’ tall, half-walled wooden platforms instead of huts. A few trees would have to be cut down, but since the buildings only required wood and a little stone, it should be possible to build them all without any extra gathering.

Viewing the plan as a whole, the theoretical square would be 36’ across with 8’ diameter huts, 8’ square sentry platforms on the two corners, and three 4’ wide entrances between the huts. It wouldn’t be the most defensible place, but the goal right now was to have roofs by nightfall.

With the basic planning done, Grim confirmed the buildings and told Charms to manage their construction. She readily accepted the position of power and started ordering the other goblins around, gathering the necessary resources for one building at a time. Seeing that was hopefully handled, he turned toward something that had been at the back of his mind since claiming this land: his fame menu.

Fame: 45
Defeated an adventurer +4
Killed (+4)
Shamed (+2)
No name (-1)
No lair (-1)
Defeated an adventurer +15
Killed (+5)
Shamed (+5) + Naked (+5) + Bound (+2)
No name (-1)
No lair (-1)
Diplomacy/recruitment +26
Perks: 45
Liegelord (1/10) - Cost: 10

That was interesting, he didn’t know fame was a thing, but he had a decent amount of it now. Might as well buy that Liegelord perk for 10 fame. Strangely, there was no description for it, even after buying it. The cost of the next upgrade to Liegelord was 20 fame, so he bought that as well.

Fame: 45
Perks: 15
Liegelord (3/10) - Cost: 40

Nothing more to do with fame, at least for the moment. Considering Liegelord, it could be on his character sheet.

Grim, Level 2 Lesser Reaper
Monster, Shadow, Explicit, Micro-Boss
Experience to level up - 40
Attributes:
Strength 5
Dexterity 11
Stamina 6
Charisma 18
Intelligence 18
Wisdom 12
Skills:
Feats:
Incorporeal -
Possession (character) -
Grim Visage -
Liegelord 2/10 - Commands a very minor domain. May occasionally receive gifts or offers based on reputation. Others may occasionally seek favor or a position within the domain.
Spells:
Grant Release -

That was interesting. Liegelord was basically a measure of how important his new “domain” was. So at this level, it was probably similar to the goblins’ old camp, a place that is known by some, but generally unimportant. The mention of reputation indicated there was more to it though, so having a higher level probably wouldn’t make people like him more.

Looking up from his rumination, Grim could see that one of the huts had already been completed. It was on the left side, next to the cliff. Standing only 5 feet tall at its peak, the rugged dome looked like a drunken carpenter’s design, with all the holes filled in by stone and dirt. The mottled brown, grey, and green hut was far from pretty, but it actually looked functional and maybe sturdy enough for a goblin to climb on.

Around the rest of the small clearing, 3 goblins were carrying resources from a central pile out to individual hut spots, arranging them in relatively careful piles to keep track of the quantities. Another 6 were all pounding away at hut 2, the next one on the left. There were only two stone tools among them, with the other four using various makeshift hammers. Block was among this group, and he had one of the stone hammers. Charms and the other 16 were nowhere to be seen.

Checking inside the one finished hut, he saw Charms laying on her back staring at the uneven ceiling. He appeared next to her and asked, “Where are the others?”

“Oh! Eight hunting and eight getting old camp stuff.” She answered quickly, sitting up and bouncing her tits in the process. He really hadn’t spent enough time appreciating those things with all the leading-a-tribe stuff. Speaking of which, why was Charms in here instead of helping more directly?

“And what are you doing in here?” He asked more pointedly.

“Managing. You say manage, so I give orders. Then I wait for problem.” She explained matter-of-factly. Well, that did kind of make sense. He was basically doing the same thing.

“Hmmm...” He could order her to help the others, but was that really necessary? Besides, he had just realized he probably had the power to order her to do quite a few things she wouldn’t otherwise do. He could probably see those tits bare if he just had the nerve to demand it. If she didn’t want to help the others, then she could give something to him instead. He couldn’t let the goblins see one of their own doing nothing after all, it would set a bad precedent. That was it, she would have to do something for the tribe, and for him.

“Remove your, um... release your breasts.” He almost stuttered, suddenly realizing how far he had come in one day. From a pointless specter to a leader of a goblin tribe, and Charms in that same day had fallen from leader to second. He really didn’t want to lose this, so he didn’t want to alienate any goblin too badly, especially Charms.

During Grim’s internal deliberation, Charms had already stood up and undone the strips of cloth clinging to her breasts. Her expression remained largely neutral as she bared those glorious, green tits to him, staring straight into his shadowy hood. He remained frozen there, staring back at her tits, imagining their feel and wondering what he should do next.

“May I touch them?” Is what he finally settled on. He couldn’t bring himself to push his luck any further after finally gaining some real power.

“Yes.” She responded, finally showing some emotion and giving him a smile.

He almost jumped for joy, but instead switched to shadow form as quickly as possible. After another moment of uncertainty, he reached out with his own hands to touch her tits.

He immediately lost himself in feeling them. It was different to feel something in his own body, and these sensations were the best in his entire memory. Both their soft shape and the thought that he could probably do this whenever he wanted now started a rising need in him that he hadn’t truly felt outside of possession. He wanted to squeeze them, lift them, caress them. The sensations were ones he hadn’t really felt before, and he wished he could continue as long as possible. At one point he saw her nipples harden, and he moved to feeling them as well, rolling them between his fingers like hard little beads.

She was breathing harder by the time he began to feel tired. His stamina remained abysmal, and now he felt actual irritation as his movements began to slow involuntarily. He couldn’t continue much longer, but as a final gesture he tried to suck on her nipples, once for each, feeling them in his mouth and rolling them around with his tongue. Then he surrendered to the physical and mental exhaustion, losing his physical form.

A few seconds later, he mustered the will to take on Grim Visage again. “As my second, you may take the lightest jobs. However, breaks and sleep for all of you must be only when needed until we are most basically established.” He gave the orders in a tired voice, as if offering surrender.

Charms took a bit longer to regain her breath than him, but with a slight smile she acknowledged his command and began to retie/reequip her cloth chest covering, rolling her tits a good deal more than seemed necessary.

“Also, make sure there is a watch at all times. I really don’t want a wolf raid tonight.” Grim added before she left the hut.

Her expression turning more serious, she nodded her head in acknowledgment and stepped out into the slightly busy clearing. He could hear her asking questions and giving more direction to the other goblins. Looking outside to spot the sun, he noticed it was already slightly passed the cliff face above them, leaving the nearby forest in twilight. It was only the early afternoon, but this close to the east side of the mountain it would get dark very early.

Goblins had some degree of night vision, but nothing like the wolves that might soon begin to prowl. Looking around at the growing camp, the second hut was almost complete, and the resources for one or two more were ready. He realized then, that they had no campfires. Campfires were a staple of goblin camps, as they helped to keep wolves and other night creatures away, not to mention cooking. Opening his building overlay, he quickly found and set up a 4’ diameter fire pit in the center of the square, then made sure Charms knew it was a priority.

Glancing around one more time and seeing nothing that needed his attention, Grim finally settled down to rest and close his incorporeal eyes for an hour or two.