Home Beneath #7

Author's Note: This whole scene was supposed to be one installment, but it didn't turn out that way. By the time I'd gotten everyone where they needed to go and introduced some of the new concepts and characters, my word count was up. But hey! There's always next time!

Character sheet, circa level 3
- Var'veha 

[story] [brief oral]

________________________

With the Elder visited and your unexpected token received,‭ ‬there was only one thing left for you to do before word about the new crop of beast-pups began to spread‭ ‬--‭ ‬you’d have to visit the kennels.‭ ‬Tucking the bone coin away into your belt,‭ ‬you start heading off out of the Den of Wisdom before you even realize it,‭ ‬and far before explaining what you’re doing.

It isn’t until you’re jarred by the sound of Maskki’s call that you come to a halt,‭ ‬your bare,‭ ‬silvery-green feet flat against the cold clay and stone beneath them.‭ “‬Var,‭ ‬Var‭! ‬Where you goin‭’?”

Blinking,‭ ‬you turn to see Maskki and Ixxa some distance behind you,‭ ‬the former looking confused and a little lost,‭ ‬while the latter simply chuckles.‭ “‬Umm...‭ ‬go see pups.‭ ‬Remember‭?”

“Well,‭ ‬the least you could do is invite us to come.‭” ‬Ixxa scolds gently,‭ ‬still grinning.‭ “‬We may not be aspiring Raiders,‭ ‬but....‭”

“--We still like puppies‭!” ‬Maskki finishes.‭ “‬I coming too‭!” ‬The priestess catches up quickly,‭ ‬with the hobgoblin looming just behind.‭ ‬She has a point,‭ ‬you figure.‭ ‬Everyone likes puppies,‭ ‬especially when they were so rare a sight.‭ ‬In addition to the infrequency of their birth,‭ ‬the little things tended to enter training before adulthood,‭ ‬so the window of time when one could play with them was often incredibly small.

‭“‬Alright then‭! ‬Try to keep up,‭ ‬yah‭?”

“Yah‭!”

“Like you could outpace me,‭” ‬Ixxa smirked.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

While goblin warrens were not the‭ ‬best organized,‭ ‬there was a certain structure to the chaotic maze of tunnels and rooms.‭ ‬They may have seemed to intersect at random,‭ ‬but were often formed by the creation of new routes to get from place to place as quickly as possible.‭ ‬As such,‭ ‬no matter where in Ghostbite Warren you needed to go,‭ ‬it was almost certain you could get there in a straight line.‭ ‬The question was what kind of adventure you’d get into along the way as you scamper through living quarters,‭ ‬training rooms,‭ ‬storage areas,‭ ‬feasting troughs,‭ ‬and even bathhouses.

Fortunately for the immediacy of your goal,‭ ‬the journey from the Den of Wisdom to the kennels is a fairly short and uneventful one,‭ ‬aside from an unexpected glimpse of a visiting bugbear warlord getting her enormous cock sucked and lapped at by no less than three goblins,‭ ‬all of which appeared to be required to handle the size of the greater goblinoid’s womanhood.‭ ‬Ordinarily you might stick around and take a longer peek,‭ ‬but you have places to go.‭ ‬You do try to make a mental note of where the cavern was,‭ ‬though‭ ‬--‭ ‬maybe they’ll need more volunteers later.

Finally you arrive at the kennels,‭ ‬a place normally used to store adult hyenas,‭ ‬though with the arrival of the puppies the place is much busier than usual.‭ ‬New stocks of fresh food are being brought in by swarms of goblin laborers,‭ ‬while smaller,‭ ‬shallower drinking trays are dragged in from storage,‭ ‬to ensure the pups didn’t accidentally drown themselves.

In the middle of all of it,‭ ‬of course,‭ ‬was the Beastmistress,‭ ‬riding back and forth across the kennels on a monstrous albino hyena.‭ “‬You‭! ‬Faster‭! ‬Ay‭!‬ You‭! ‬You gotta clean those before you put‭ ‘‬em down‭! ‬Ya want sick pups‭? ‬This how ya get sick pups‭!” ‬She barks,‭ ‬her voice massively loud and touched with an accent you can’t perfectly place‭ ‬--‭ ‬her dialect is clear,‭ ‬but her words are a bit clipped and lilting,‭ ‬quite the undertaking considering how the goblin tongue ordinarily sounded.‭ “‬Ey‭! ‬Them are potions,‭ ‬not ya mother‭! ‬Can’t just smash anywhere and anyhow ya want‭! ‬Treat‭ ‘‬em real careful‭!”

“She sound fun,‭” ‬you murmur under your breath,‭ ‬though you haven’t gotten a good look yet.

‭“‬Kwella.‭ ‬She’s from one of the old warrens I used to run for,‭” ‬Ixxa says lowly,‭ ‬crouching so that she can whisper into your ear.‭ “‬They say she’s got hob blood in her.‭ ‬Bit of a big temper,‭ ‬but if she takes a liking to you,‭ ‬well...‭” ‬the thief goes quiet for a moment,‭ ‬then shrugs.‭ “‬I guess we’ll see how she takes to you.‭”

Glancing sidelong to Maskki shows that the skinny priestess is chomping at the bit,‭ ‬maybe even more than you are‭ ‬--‭ ‬if that’s even possible.‭ ‬Though the thought of dealing with the Beastmistress is a little intimidating,‭ ‬hopefully the token will help you.

Scampering forward through the swarm of other working goblins,‭ ‬you finally get a better look at Kwella from atop her massive white beast...‭ ‬and she looks a lot more fun than she sounds.‭ ‬Scarcely dressed in strips of leather and fur,‭ ‬she’s an incredibly impressive specimen.‭ ‬Tall for a goblin‭ ‬--‭ ‬even taller than Tato‭ ‬--‭ ‬her skin is a smooth,‭ ‬deep tan,‭ ‬her reddish-black hair forming a messy mane of tails and braids around her shoulders and down her upper back.‭ ‬Faded white scars etch along her muscular body,‭ ‬much of which is exposed.‭ ‬You find your eyes drawing up along her full,‭ ‬dark thighs and shapely hips,‭ ‬up to her rippling,‭ ‬powerful stomach.‭ ‬Strapped and cinched under an off-white leather harness,‭ ‬her sizable breasts provide a considerable glimpse at her cleavage,‭ ‬and streaks of dull red warpaint mark her station upon her face and exposed shoulders.

‭“‬Hey hey,‭” ‬you say casually,‭ ‬arms folded behind your back as the Beastmistress’s deep red-brown eyes snap over to you.‭ “‬I,‭ ‬uh...‭ ‬wanted to....‭”

“What want,‭ ‬luv‭?” ‬The big goblin woman says with an arched brow,‭ ‬looking down at you from her mount.‭ ‬The white hyena itself turns to follow its master’s gaze,‭ ‬its blazing pink eyes focused eerily on you,‭ ‬though it doesn’t make a sound.‭ “‬Come lookin‭’ ‬for work‭? ‬Could use more gobs to carry and tend to things.‭ ‘‬Specially gobs so...‭ ‬fun to look at.‭” ‬She grins widely,‭ ‬running her tongue over strong,‭ ‬clean fangs.‭ “‬Or...‭ ‬maybe you here to keep Kwella some company.‭”