AN: I know I promised to tell you what TG stood for in the tenth chapter, but~

I don't think the time is right. Maybe at chappy 20.

(hah! Now that I've set an unreachable goal, this muse is sure to become so despondent that it dies of sorrow! mwhahaha!)

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*Sigh*

I got to chapter 43, in a story I had such high hopes for. The characters were all awesome, the writing style was enjoyable, there was humor...

...but then it took everything I loved about the story, and burnt it into ash in my face. I was tempted to keep reading, to hold out hope that it would get better, but I know from my own experience of writing something...

Once you start down a path, you often find there's an incline. And that cliff leads to a bottomless pit of disappointment. Basically, what I'm saying is...

You must be quite the M to be reading this, huh? Oh well. Let's tickle those pain nerves in your brain, to see how much we can make you twitch. :3

(I finally found a pretty good translation. It isn't perfect 'intelligent' but I can pretend very well.)

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"<>"

Under the horde of green-skinned imps, a many-horned dear was quickly suppressed. When it attempted to escape, it found it had lessened in speed, and was quickly netted and slaughtered. I gave out concise orders, and four goblins who had contributed the least were given the task of dragging the carcass.

Pokey/Unnamed led the goblins back to camp, while I remained mounted on Ghost and left. For beasts such as these, a little mystery was required to maintain loyalty.

Well, I say loyalty, but all I really need is for them to stay terrified of me.

We had gained nothing from the carriage. Many goblins still wondered why it was that I had gone to all the trouble, but they had not dared to question me yet. This was good. The intelligence of goblins has surely deteriorated since my days, when they were stealing the beards off wizards.

How far goblin kind has fallen...

From several meters away from the camp, deep in the dark and lengthening shadows, I could still clearly make out the sound of howls and cheers, and see the smoke, if not the fire itself. Goblins sure liked bonfires...at least that fact had remained the same.

I was walking, looking at the plants placed underneath several trees. Minute changes, but nothing too serious...

"Ow!"

I fell over, and looked up at the object I'd rebounded off. Sleepy, the blue-tattooed goblin, was crouching in the bushes. I rubbed my shoulder, and sighed. My red bar was half-gone from falling over...

Sleepy, being a goblin, had a very hard-to-discern expression. I sat up, and gave a greeting-smile.

"Hey there, it seems I've run into you. I was not looking."

Sleepy nodded, then kept looking at me. After several minutes of intensely looking into green-eyes, my gaze slid away. I walked a short distance away, and sat down on a log. Ghost trotted over to stand beside me, and licked my hand. Taking the hint that it wasn't only dinner time for the goblins, I got out a bag of berries. One good thing about the carriage was that among the ladies luggage, there was no end of fabric. I'd gotten quite a few sacks.

Sleepy stepped out of the shadows' tree, and approached me. I did my best to smile, but it probably looked more like a grimace. Patting the patch of log next to me, I waved at Sleepy. "Have a seat."

It came over and plopped down next to me. Even next to the relatively short me, Sleepy was practically fun-sized. Three feet was just too little for me to take seriously. Even though it could probably kill me if it punched me hard enough...ah, god has truly blessed me with many opportunities for humility, huh?

Feeling the awkward silence acutely, I fidgeted slightly. After several minutes of awkward shifting, I asked the first question that came to mind.

"So...where'd you get the tats?"

Sleepy looked at me, and for a moment I thought we were going to have another staring contest. But Sleepy turned away and started to speak, rough as goblin speech was.

"Plague...half dead...middle of night...runes appear."

I nodded. That would explain why no one had buried the bodies left by their fellow goblins, or even eaten them. Not even predators had dared to partake. But if that was the case...

"Then, if you're from here, why did I find you in a cave?"

Sleepy paused, and continued haltingly.

"Scared...curse...fear...other one infected too..."

"So you healed the other goblin?"

Sleepy nodded. I patted its' head.

"Very good...I think I'll find quite some use for you. So, are you alright with me calling you 'Sleepy?'

"...I'd prefer something else."

"Hmm...well, how about Blue?"

"No."

"Tattoo?"

"No."

I sat there, stumped, for a long time. Finally, Sleepy poked me. I jolted a little in surprise.

"Hmm?"

Sleepy tugged on my sleeve, and bowed its' head before muttering something.

"...Thra."

"What was that?"

"Selanthra. If that's okay..."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I patted its' head. "That's kinda girly sounding...what if you're a guy?"

It shook its' head. "...I think I know what gender I am. Unless I have genitalia mixed up."

I nodded. "Well, I'll believe you. I've always had a problem telling a boy from a girl. It caused many problems for me in my younger days..."

Selanthra kept looking at me, then pinched my hand. When I quickly withdrew, she tilted her head.

"You...are strong."

I laughed out loud at that. "I wonder what I ever did that deceived you so."

It-she shook her head. "Took carriage. Easy."

I squint at her.

"You realize that that was just a show? For the goblins? To make them fear me, you know?"

She nodded. "Yes. They're scared. You're strong."

I shook my head. "Listen, I deceived you. I almost died from tripping just now!"

She shook her head. "You're strong."

I sigh, getting slightly frustrated. Then, I happen upon a good metaphor. Or simile. Or whatever it's called.

"If a human were to tell you it was a king, would you believe it?"

"...I don't understand."

I turned to face Selanthra. "Imagine this. A human tells you, with a straight face, that it's a king. Would you believe it?"

"...no."

I nodded several times. "Alright. So, what if another human showed up wearing rich clothes and with a crown on its' head, and told you it was a king. Would you believe it?"

"...no."

I nodded. "Then, what if the human were to show you its' castle. What then?"

"...yes."

I smiled. "But, you only saw something from far off. If you were to walk up, and touch it, it would collapse, since it's made from paper. Do you understand?"

"...no."

I sighed again. "I'm like that human. I dress like a strong person. I look mysterious. I showed you a hint of power, and promised you that it was only a tiny bit of what I could do. You believed me. But...in reality, I'm trying my hardest here. This is my limit, don't you see?"

She nodded. Then she poked me. "You're strong."

I almost collapsed. Then she waved at my torso. "Weak here, yes." she pointed at my head. "Strong there. More than all goblin. Even me."

After which, she got up and walked away. I remained sitting, and pondered.

"If what she says is true, I don't have to flee..."

"...maybe I should settle down. I feel kinda affectionate to those green little terrors..."

"Since when did kids say such deep stuff...I'm starting to feel ashamed of myself..."

"But, I'll have to kill most of them off. Thirty is just too many...let's say...five. Ah...

Poor goblins. They truly ran out of luck when I ran into them."

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Olivia Bonfried Jealstroms' POV

I kicked open the door. The hinge splintered, and the door was left hanging drunkenly on its' on remaining hinge. Even if I hadn't invested many points into strength, I was still a level 40 noble. I could crush a peasants throat if they displeased me. Sadly, nobles of the court such as I had no combat-related skills, just manipulative ones. If they had any ability at all, or a weapon, I would be at a disadvantage.

To be out-thought and manipulated myself...

Oh, I'm going to make certain my shame dies along with that prick. And if I can set it on fire as it leaves...all the better.

"Who here is the cruelest?!"

All eyes in the room turned toward a scarred man seated at a table in the corner. I strode forward quickly to seat myself. The scarred man blew out a cloud of smoke, and grunted.

"Little lady...hiring an assassin to deal with your boyfriend is too drastic."

I plunked a medium-sized sack on the table. Gold plunked out.

"Does it matter what they were before?"

The man looked from the coins back to me, then back to the coins, before swallowing saliva and grinning. "Need someone killed?"

I smiled as well.

Normally, the uplifted line of my mouth would accentuate the delicate lines of my cheekbones, which in turn drew attention to my crystal-like eyes. This time, however, the smile drew attention to the very-sharp canines, and the whiteness of the teeth, as if picked often with the ribs of dead men who displeased her.

As the assassin heard the details from her, he got up to make arrangments. Soon after, the girl was helpless with uncontrollable giggles.

"Hehehe...I hope your skin is peeled off, strip by strip, and your fingernails are torn off, and your shins are ground up for dogs, and your fingers are snapped one-by-one, and..."

Her fantasies became increasingly gruesome as time went on, and even the hardened members of the assassins' guild were a little green-faced. A few quickly left to vomit.

"Oh~I can practically taste the vengeance~"

{hr}

Jacksons' POV

I looked up.

I felt as if a kindred spirit had been born somewhere...

The thought left me giggling.

But now I have this rat problem to deal with...