I awoke with a start in the pitch darkness, cupping my nose. The terrible smell roaming through the air would have roused anyone out of their sleep. My breath was ragged and I realized I had no clue where I was. I remembered talks about deferment but I was still skeptical about that. Unable to see or hear anything, I pawed around to gain some kind of bearing. To my horror I grabbed onto something spongy and immediately retracted my arm. Did I touch a leg? Maybe an arm? Whatever it was, I wasn’t eager to find out. It was pitch dark and eerily quiet. Maybe it was better to wait until things became more clear before I made any movements? No, I couldn’t leave these things up to chance.

Shaking my head free of any defeatist thoughts I rose to my feet. The deferment had probably worked because I still had my memories. All I had to do right now was survive. I couldn’t sit around and wait for something to happen to me, I needed to get a good idea of my situation as soon as possible. At least that was the plan until a giant hand gripped my jaw. I froze up, wondering if it was the end for me already. The sheer size of the hand had scared me senseless. In my small moment of bewilderment the hand lifted my head and squeezed my jaw open. I didn’t even have enough time to struggle before wet slop slinked into my mouth.

I tensed up and tried to wiggle away. Whatever had its grip on me must have been six times my size so my attempts proved useless. I only calmed down when I remembered my current circumstances. I had reincarnated and was probably nothing but a newborn. It was possible I was being fed right now. It could be poison too but I wasn’t strong enough for them to require that to kill me. Either way I wasn’t in a position to fight so I resolved to eat whatever I was given.

As soon as the hand let go I began to get a real taste of the food and quickly changed my mind. The liquid was frothy and thick. Small lumps of unidentified food were mixed in as well. The broth was disgusting and the meaty chunks in it tasted even worse. I spat it out immediately, something tasting that vile could not have been made to be eaten.

I would have professed to god himself I would never let that shit near my mouth again if the hand wasn’t already back on my jaw, forcing another helping of the slop down my throat. This time the hand didn’t let go. I begrudgingly swallowed what I was given, chunks and all. I was surprised at how easy it went down but the lingering smell kept me aware of how nasty what I ate was. I prepared myself for more but once the hand let go of me it never returned.

Questions about who and what surfaced but I was forced to save them for later. I had tried to call out for someone but I couldn’t find my voice. Instead I continued my exploration and inched my way forward. It wasn’t long before something my size bumped into me and knocked me down. The moment I fell to the ground a realization hit me; it wasn’t quiet, I was deaf! There was absolutely no sound when I hit the ground. I figured I was probably blind too, the person who fed me didn’t seem to have any problem seeing.

My new life wasn’t starting off on the track foot but I would deal—I had to. I stayed on the ground for a while contemplating my next action. Being blind and deaf was definitely a major problem. Any probing I did would prove useless unless I decided I was going to feel, smell and taste my way around. I went back to the plan of waiting, this time with reason. It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep, I hadn’t noticed it before but I didn’t have much energy even though I had just woken up.

Every time I slept and woke I stumbled about in my impaired state while being fed the same broth every so often. My sense of time wasn’t even remotely accurate so I could only count my time here using my sleep cycle. From the time I got up till the time I fell asleep counted as one cycle. Five cycles had gone by and I made no headway in finding out where I was. Though I did find out I wasn’t the only one here, there were plenty of others in the same predicament. People had tripped over me as much as I tripped over them. It wasn’t until my tenth cycle I was able to hear and see. What I saw left me wondering if it was better to be blind.

A few candles resting on their sconces sparsely littered across the walls provided me with enough light to see my surroundings, but just barely. Light brown cave walls stained with black and white filth surrounded me on every side. Even the ceiling was rotten shape, I was surprised the stalactites hanging from it hadn’t fallen off already. Even so, somehow the disgusting shape the large cave-like room was in wasn’t the most pressing issue at hand.

I knew I had reincarnated into a fantasy world but I wasn’t ready to confirm it with my own eyes yet. I still didn’t believe all of this was real. However there was no denying it now. The sight in front of me was only something you’d read in stories. I was in a disgusting, dimly lit cave room filled to the brim with imps! My mind was overloaded with thoughts. Were they fattening me up with the broth so I could be used as imp fodder?

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Dozens of one foot green and brown bipedal creatures were scuttling around right in front of me. The creepy, almost robotic way they moved unnerved me but their eyes freaked me out the most. Almost all of them had eyes with no pupils or irises, they were completely white. Only a few of them seemed to have developed pupils and I liked them better that way as long as they weren’t looking at me.

My heartbeat raced as chilling thoughts entered my mind, reminding me for the first time I was truly alive again. My gaze met my hand as it instinctively covered my chest. Thats when I was greeted by another surprise. My body’s appearance left me completely dazed. I wasn’t going to be fed to the imps-I was one. I had it all, from the small, brown and lanky body to the sharp pointed nails on the ends of my fingers.

From the information I had it should have been obvious but the sight of the imps scared any rational thought out of me. I took another look at my surrounding, this time surveying the area closely. I didn’t know how I missed it before but there weren’t just imps inside the room. There were a few actual human looking people here as well. That didn’t surprise me as much as what they were doing though; I watched as they fed each and everyone of the imps with small bowls filled with broth.

For some reason my first instinct was to start sniffing the air unashamedly. When no incongruous smell hit my nose I calmed considerably. There were bad smells still traveling through the air but I knew they weren’t hostile and if anything, they were familiar. That didn’t mean I had nothing to worry about as my blatant sniffing didn’t go unnoticed and attracted the attention of a couple humans. They began talking amongst themselves while periodically glancing back at me. I couldn’t understand anything they were saying but it was obvious they were talking about me.

I watched as they continued to chatter between themselves and before long they exited the room. I waited to see if they would return but they never did. That was good, if I was going to explore with my new senses it was better if none of them were around. Each of the humans, I called them imp caretakers, finished their duties and promptly left the room as well. I waited until the last one left before I made my move. As soon as I was sure they were long gone I ran over towards the exit.

Most of the other imps didn’t notice me but the few who had pupils watched me carefully. That scared me a little but not enough to deter me. Whatever was outside could not be worse than room full of imps. I peaked out the cave room and glanced down the corridor. The hallway was wide but dark, I could barely see a few feet from the cave room I was exiting. Still, I was determined to move forward. The imps all freaked me out in more than one way, staying inside there was no longer an option.

However the second I stepped outside a foreign scent assaulted my nose. It wasn’t nauseating, it was something I could only describe as distressing. I shuddered as a cold chill crawled up my spine. My body froze with my eyes locked onto the concealing darkness of the hallway. I was growing more distraught by the second. In my mind the untamed darkness shaped into unspeakable horrors. I couldn’t tell what lurked further into the cave but I understood well the smell terrified me.

I wasn’t even outside for ten seconds before the feeling of fear overwhelmed me. I yelped noisily like a dog as I ran back as deep into the room as I could. I hadn’t planned to scream out like that. Yet as soon as I opened my mouth for air a sound accordant to my feeling of terror rang out. I cupped my nose and cowered in the corner. For a quick second I wondered if the caretakers noticed my yelling. I knew some of the imps did though, they couldn’t have missed my performance even if they wanted to.

But I didn’t care about them and it seemed like they didn’t care about me either. It only took a few seconds for them to resume their menial tasks such as self grooming or sleeping. The only difference was I noticed they had been positioned pretty far from the door. I wondered if they learned from my experience or someone else had tried it while I still didn’t have my sight or hearing. With that thought the imps seemed more personable to me. They even began to smell more calming, lowering my guard around them.

I had learned my first life lesson as a goblinoid. My sense of smell was just as important as my sight or hearing. It let me know what was dangerous and what was posed no threat to me. Of course I hadn’t tested the theory out yet but I wasn’t going to go back outside to do so.