I awoke buried under the trio again but today Viess was firmly seated on my chest intensely staring down at me. Noticing I was awake she focused in on my eyes before asking “why human make good goblin chief?”

“I don’t know that me being human helps much outside of me being a wizard, any of you could have done what I've done other than the dome out front.”

“How become wizard?” she asked, still staring intently.

I leaned up catching her before she could tumble off me, I roused Sazz and Ultai I didn’t much want to have to repeat this story too often. Once I had seated myself with my legs crossed and the trio had awkwardly found a way for all three of them to sit on my lap watching me, I began the tale of how humans gained access to the aether.

“Originally only the dragons wielded aether, they see it differently than other races. For dragons the aether doesn't so much have side effects it's more like obvious outcomes, a push will set something moving and they can tell this chain of events through the aether. Dragons channel less for an initial change and more for a desired outcome. This makes them mighty shapers of our world, but it's also set them apart from the other races”

“Humans on the other hand are unpredictable and irrational, but we can be very passionate, curious creatures. Eventually a human came along determined to get to know these mighty dragons sitting above all other races. When this human finally found an ever so reclusive dragon, they found that dragons weren't unknowable gods but strange people who found it hard to communicate with those of us who can't see how the aether moves.”

“For many years this human kept the dragon company and with time something of a spark grew between them, but human lives are short and fickle compared to an immortal dragon. The dragon saw the human’s end growing ever closer, and the dragon decided it wanted something to mark the love they had shared for eternity.”

“The two of them began working on a plan, the dragon struggling to show and explain the aether in a way the human could understand. Eventually they found a way that is still used today, after much teaching and a final wish filled pouring of aether into human nature itself the first wizard came to be.”

“This is a story of two first though, they still had their plan after all. The human’s aether was as unpredictable as humans themselves are, and this was the final thing they needed for the plan. They poured their aether together in an awe-inspiring channeling, the human gave their hopes, dreams, passions and curiosity free reign, while the dragon gave a truly never-ending love along with small, controlled tweaks here and there to keep the channeling strong.”

“Over time eggs were laid, and soon after the world's first dragon-kins were born. A permanent mark on the world from an all to fleeting love between a dragon and a wizard.”

Viess, Sazz and Ultai all were now intensely staring at me, their pupils having expanded to take up the majority of their large yellow eyes. Feeling a chill run down my spine I started trying to think of a way to distract them without taking my eyes off them. I'm not at all opposed to what they are planning but not without some damn thistle tea, I'm not the daddy, nu uh, nope, not yet anyway. Finally I see my way out, a goblin wearing what appears to be new furs has just come into the cavern.

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“The new furs are done go get changed and then we need to eat breakfast.” I said slowly and cautiously. They smiled a toothy smile and seemed ready to pounce anyway but my stomach choosing that moment to grumble distracted them long enough for me to stand and send the trio tumbling off of me. I half ran to the fire pit as I heard them getting up and growling behind me.

I waited by the fire for what felt like quite a long time but that may have just been my growing hunger. When the trio returned it was clear why I had to wait as they had furs that stood out from the rest of the tribes' more utilitarian usage. The first thing I noticed was the skirts, little more than knee length loin cloths that accentuated the curves of their hips and posteriors to great effect. The tops were little more than a strip of fur worn in a cross halter pattern, proving beyond a doubt that goblins may be small but proportion is everything. Everywhere else was just bare, toned, taut, bright green goblin.

The trio joined me at the fire and Sazz passed me a cut of meat making a point to accentuate every angle she could at the same time. As we started cooking our breakfast they would take turns snickering at my visible frustration now being in the same situation they had just been in.

I immediately rallied the tribe and set out after breakfast. We needed to forage vegetables and, damn it, I was beginning to think gathering thistle was turning into more of a necessity than a want. Luckily gathering the thistle proved to be the easy part but gathering vegetables and berries was a slow process and it didn’t take long before a goblin reported back the reason for the shortage.

An ursaper had been spotted in the forest, nasty awful creatures somewhere between a bear and a boar. Ursapers are massive creatures with thick hides, thicker skulls, and they eat just about everything. I told the goblins to relay the message that everyone was to come back to my location so we could deal with this. While the goblins began gathering up, I started putting my new body through its paces. I needed to know how fast I was, how far I could jump and how long I could run.

When all the goblins returned I explained my plan, the goblins would dig a pit and feel it with makeshift spears then head home. I'd get the ursaper good and angry with me before running for all I was worth and leading it into the trap. The goblins were ecstatic about the trap part, less so about me being bait.

“Why not use aether make it go boom?” was Ultai’s question

“Aether is only really predictable in one way for a wizard. If it's used to directly harm its side effect will always be directly harmful. Using the aether to kill is basically the same as suicide.”

“No boom!” Sazz was quick to emphasize. I gave her a quick hug and reassured her I had no intention of getting myself killed. I shouldn’t be much slower than an ursaper and running through thicker parts of the forest should slow it down, meaning I should be able to stay out of reach.

The goblins got to work on the pit reminding me how industrious these little green bastards were. Using sticks to break up the ground, and stripped panels of bark to shovel the dirt out of the way. They were like beautiful clockwork all dancing around each other in perfect timing. In no time the pit was dug and they were planting the spears then using each other like ladders to get out. As they started to begrudgingly head back to the cavern Viess ran up and forcibly climbed me before planting the most aggressive kiss of my life on me.

“Come home.” she said through an ear to wiggling ear smile before hoping off and running to catch up with the others. Sazz and Ultai looked like they couldn’t decide if they were jealous or proud of Viess, I on the other hand was thinking home sounded like a much better time right now.