I ate my bread quickly, looking around the inn at the wide array of people. There were all kinds of them, this place was such a far cry from the dark, foreboding hole it'd been the last time I'd been out here, it felt alive and thriving. An inn and a brothel wouldn't really make this place that much of a destination for travelers, would it?
I passed a bit of cheese up to Eralia under the scarf and waved at a waitress to come over. She was missing her ear on the left side and had covered it with a tilted bowler hat. Her eyes were a deep gray color like her skin, and her straight black hair was almost to her chin, an impressive length for a cave goblin. She had on a preppy barmaid's dress, but there were enough faded bloodstains on it to let me know she was just as full of pep and vigor as I was. There was a dagger strapped to her thigh, peeking under her skirt, but she made no attempts to hide it.
"Yea miss?" she said, her hip jutted out to one side to hold the tray of beers she was carrying.
I blushed, the herbs must really be working after all if even other goblins could tell I was a girl now...
"Uh, I'd like a tall glass of the strongest ale you have, and I wanted to ask, why is this place so busy? I come from the first town up north, and we don't see any travelers come past us..."
"Ah, tha's because we're along the Royal Highway!" she said, "Go west out o' 'ere out 'o th' south exit, you got th' capital, go east, is' the rest 'o th' kingdom. We're between two towns each a day's walk away from us, e'ryone who goes to th' capital stops 'ere now!"
"They detour into the mountain?" I frowned. "I guess if there's no other inns around, it makes sense..."
"Aye, now sit tight lass, I'll have yer firedraft out soon!"
I waved to her as she headed off and turned back to my food. The stew was ok, nothing special, but it was the meat free kind, I assumed they put more effort into the meaty kind. The bread wasn't fresh, and a little hard, but the cheese was fantastic, sharp and slightly nutty, with just a hint of sweetness to it. I half wanted to see if I could get a wheel of it to bring home, it was far better than what was made in our town, but I didn't know how I'd get it home, much less pay for a whole wheel. If I just bought a few extra wedges it might go bad. Did they sell wax covered wedges?
It wasn't important, this meal had already cost me a whole gold and two coppers, which was outrageous for a single meal. Fath usually charged people a silver for a meal, and two silvers for a bed. To charge a whole gold for anything at an inn... It was very busy though, and there was a good atmosphere, maybe that was the trick? There was a bear beastman on stage telling jokes too. They didn't make sense to me, but the people were laughing, the show must be included in the price of the meal. There were fliers on the wall for bards and musicians that I wish I'd gotten to see instead, including one for a little half goblin with what looked like a spiked helmet on. I was a little curious about that, I'd never seen a goblin bard, but with the treaties in place, we could be anything now, even performers.
"Here ye' go!" the waitress said, clunking a large red mug on the table, "Tha's a local brew, an orc an a dwarf made it with th' combined skill o' both tek-neeks."
"Oh, wow." I said, raising my eyebrows. Dwarven brew was known to be heavily spiced and strong, and orcish drinks were almost always energizing and strikingly overwhelming, this could be dangerous...
I took a careful sip, and the name made sense at once. Firedraft, not like heat, but like biting into a hot pepper, tempered with a mix of... what was that, caramel? It mixed weirdly well, and the strong alcohol flavor was covered up almost entirely, making it hard to tell how much booze was actually in the drink. It was everything I'd thought it'd be from the description, but weirdly enough, I didn't mind.
"So?" the waitress asked, "Ye like it?"
"I do, yeah! It's pretty good, I've never had an ale like this before."
"Ha! Jus' don't 'ave too many." she laughed, "Ye'll lose the lil one in yer scarf ifn' ya do."
My hand instinctively went up to my shoulder, feeling Eralia's form under my fingers. "Is she that obvious?"
"She keeps wigglin'." the woman nodded. "Little 'uns are selling for a high price, no matter what they are, so jus' be real careful ye don't lose her."
"I'll be careful." I said, "Actually, do you know who's buying them? One of my friends was sold by a group that sells fairies as food, and I'm trying to figure out what happened."
"Aw, sorry t' hear that lass..." the waitress gave me a sympathetic look. "Kin't say I know, I stay outa that mess m'self, but I hope ye find what yer lookin' for, eh?"
"Thanks anyway, and thanks for talking to me, I know you're busy." I said apologetically.
"Heh, I work over yonder at th' sex 'ouse too, I'll talk up any pretty girl I kin ifn it's a chance of 'er coming t' bed with me! Especially ifn she's a gobbo!"
"O-oh, uh, m-my special someone will be here soon, and, uh..." I flushed dark green. "I'll have to talk to her about it? We've never- not with- I mean, you're pretty, and she likes gobbos, b-but, uh..."
"Let me know, I'll be o're there in an hour, jes' don't wait too long or I'll be booked." she winked. "I'm countin' on ye to save me from havin' t' sleep with a non-goblin, or worse, a man."
"Oh..." I said, slumping. I hadn't really been considering it, but now that it was off the table, I felt disappointed.
"Hm?" the waitress leaned in. "Ye sad abou' that?"
"M-my- uh, Altina is an ogress..." I said.
She whistled and wrinkled her nose. "Good thing yer both girls..." she said, "That could be a mite painful otherwise."
"Uh, yeah, uh, about being a girl, uh, I was born wrong? I've been taking herbs to fix stuff for years, but it doesn't change my actual b-body parts, and uh, I w-wouldn't want y-you to be disappointed."
"Ahh, I heard o' that." she nodded slowly. "Well, ye smell like a girl, and ye look like a girl, so I'm not picky. An I don't min' non gobbos too much, is' jes harder t' have fun. They don't unnerstand th' claws and teeth are important."
I laughed nervously. "Well Altina likes that, so maybe? I- I really need to talk it over with her though."
"I'll wait two hours before I take a client." she put another ale on the table. "Tha's for yer mate, on me. Name's Patsy."
"M-my name is Vervex, thank you, Patsy."
"Oh, we're givin' our gobbo given names then?" she grinned cheekily. "In that case, I'm Riphack!"
I laughed, a little more easily this time. "It's nice to meet you, Maybe I'll see you later, ok?"
She shoulder bumped me and chuckled, walking away with her claws flared on her hands and feet, letting me see how sharp they were. I swallowed and shivered, I'd never gotten to play around with another goblin before, I was alone most of my life after what happened with my parents, I hoped Altina would at least hear me out about this...
"Hey, 'Vex!" a familiar voice cut through the room noise and I turned to see Ward grinning at me from across the room. I waved at him, and he waved back and held up one finger before ducking out of the building again.
Well, at least my friends and Etheran were here now. I felt a nervousness worm through my stomach as I wondered how I'd bring up the question to Altina. She was pretty chill, but we'd never even considered something like that before. Not that there was anyone in the town we were interested in- although we had bonded over how hot Penna the blacksmith was after she'd been in the forge for a while. Both literally and figuratively, her hair and beard and chain mail all glowing red hot, the steam pouring off her muscles... This was different though, it wasn't just idle admiration, it was tangible and a real possibility.
The rest of the group entered the building, Ward pointing at me at my table, and Altina frowned, looking around. She had Lichen strapped to her back, and this place was crawling with adventurers who would just love to kill or steal a rare monster like her. We needed a private room, but this inn didn't have any that I could see. Altina walked over to the bar, and jutted a thumb back at Lichen, talking to the innkeeper. He nodded and waved her at a set of stairs in one corner, and she nodded and tapped Brax on the shoulder, and pointed at me. Looks like we were going downstairs then, I didn't know that was an option. I bundled my bread and cheese together in my napkin and gulped the rest of my soup. I had about half of my ale left, and Altina's was still full, so I'd have to be careful going over there.
"'Lo 'Vex!" Brax said, beaming at me as she got to my table, "Altina said we're going to eat in our rooms downstairs!"
"Yeah, no prob, just let me... Can you hold this?" I handed her the cheese and bread.
"Sure!" she took the food and I checked to make sure Eralia was still on my shoulder, and pushed her closer so I could rest my jaw on her. I wasn't about to risk her getting plucked away as we moved through the crowd...
"Are we sharing a room? Or..?" I asked nervously.
"I dunno, why?" Brax glanced at me as we got to the stairs.
"No reason..." I said, the butterflies coming back.
We got downstairs, and the basement opened up into a row of rooms along each side, with more stairs leading further down at the end. Etheran was standing at the top of those stairs, arms crossed.
"We're down two more floors." she said. "It was the only place where we could get four rooms side by side."
"Four rooms?" I said, feeling relief wash over me.
"Me, Ward and Lichen, Brax and Thistle, and you and Altina." she said.
"It's not fair you get your own room..." Brax said to Etheran, pouting.
"Well I wouldn't want to room with her." I said, rolling my eyes.
"Hm..." Brax furrowed her brow.
We got to the very bottom floor and I smiled as I saw Altina shoving Lichen into one of the doors, her arms straining with the effort and looking quite lovely in the pale blue mushroom light.
"H-hey, uh, I got you an ale?" I said as I walked up.
She looked at me and laughed. "I ordered us both ales already, we're going to be drunk at this rate!"
"Haha, yeah, maybe hopefully not?" I said, if we got drunk the brothel was off the table for sure.
"How was the trip, 'Vex?" Ward asked, poking his head out of the room Lichen had been pushed into.
"It was pretty good." I said, "I met some fun people, and I got us a good deal on the passage. Lowered it by two days rations. I was hoping they'd count Lichen as luggage."
"I noticed that!" Altina said, "I was impressed!"
Thistle stepped out of a closer room and gave me a small hug, patting my back and giving me a thumbs up and a smile.
"Aw, just doing my job..." I said sheepishly. “Uh, hey though, um. Altina, which room is ours?"
"The one you walked past, right there. You ok? You're acting a little off." she replied with a worried look.
"No, yeah, totally fine, nothing wrong, I just- I'd like to- if we could... Yeah, I just wanna talk about something real quick, me and you, ok?" I laughed, but my heart was going as fast as it ever had.
Altina's expression turned serious in an instant and she grabbed her pack off the floor and guided me into the room, taking the food Brax was holding from her with a nod. The room was small, a bed, a table, a little closet with a chamber pot in the corner, a mirror on one wall. I put the ales down on the table and sat on the bed, biting my lip as Altina knelt in front of me and looked straight into my eyes, making me even more flustered.
"What's wrong, 'Vex?" she said urgently, "Did you not pack enough of your medicine herbs? Did you get hurt? Is it Eralia?"
"No, I- she's fine, she's here." I pulled the scarf off and Eralia poked her head up, yawned, then lay back down and closed her eyes. "It's, uh, ok. So I was eating dinner, and I started talking to the waitress, and she like, she was really cool, right? She was very nice, uh..."
"Ok, just now?" Altina clarified.
"Mm, just before you came in." I nodded. "Anyway... She's like, she also works across the street?"
"The only thing across the street was the-" Altina's eyes widened. "Ooooh...."
"Yeah, uh, she wanted me and you to like, uh, I don't know... it's not that much money, and she's really cool and like..."
"Hm..." Altina relaxed, but her face rested into an expression of deep thought. "You and me both?"
"Y-yeah, and like, she's a goblin, so she does the clawing and biting thing I do..." I said, my face burning, "I just, like, yeah."
"I... I don't know." Altina said, "I have all I need with you, you know?"
"Oh, no! No, it's- no, gods, I'm not saying I need anything but you, I'm so sorry!" I blurted out, "I just- I thought it'd be fun? Fuck, gods, I'm so sorry..."
"No no, it's ok." Altina said, rubbing my arm gently, "It does sound... interesting."
"We can drop it, I just was thinking, like, if we were here, and we thought it sounded cool, and like, I don't know..." I felt torn up inside, I didn't know what I wanted.
"How much does she charge?" Altina asked.
"Uh, I guess about seven gold if the guy at the gate is accurate?" I said, "I don't know, I didn't ask exact numbers."
Altina whistled. "That's over a day's pay, 'Vex."
"Yeah..." I hung my head. "I'm sorry, I was just- I was just getting ahead of myself."
"No, it's-" Altina stood up. "Tell you what, let's try this slow, ok? We go over there, she comes back, we hang out, just... talk or something, and see where things go once we know her better."
"Y-yeah, ok." I said. "She got you the ale for free, by the way."
Altina glanced at it and picked it up, taking a sip. Her eyes widened and she hummed to herself. "Finally, an ale that makes my toes curl!"
"Yeah, it's a local brew, an orcish-dwarven blend or something." I said, my insides settling finally.
"Fantastic." she nodded, and took a big gulp. "Alright, I'll let the others know we're heading out, and we'll be back soon. Can you ask Lia to stay with someone else tonight?"
I nodded, and as Altina left, I shook her awake. "Hey, we need the room tonight for private stuff, do you mind staying with someone else?"
"Can I stay with Thistle..?" she asked, blinking slowly.
"Sure, let me go explain what's up."
I knocked on the door to her and Brax's room, and Brax opened it up almost instantly. "Aw, you're not food!" she complained.
"I gotta talk to Thistle, move." I told her bluntly, pushing past her. "Hey, Thistle, me and Altina need the room for the night, Eralia stowed away on the journey, can she stay with you tonight? Just tonight."
Thistle looked up from where she was on the bed, and her eyes locked onto Lia in my hand. She sat up straighter and saluted, crossing her arms over her chest, then throwing a few fake punches, her fists lightly glowing with elven magic.
"Thanks, and hopefully it won't come to that." I said.
"I just want to be with someone who can understand me..." Eralia said, "I like talking to people..."
Thistle smiled at her and pointed to her elven ears with a nod. Eralia floated up and landed on Thistle's shoulder, patting her gently.
"Aw, I get a sleepover with a fairy, and the only longears here can't even translate what she's saying to me..." Brax pouted.
"Lia is smart, she'll figure out how to communicate." I said, stepping towards the hallway, "Now, uh, I gotta go find Altina."
"Have fun at your sleepover!" Brax said, "We'll have fun over here too, I'm sure."
Thistle hugged herself and made kissy noises, sticking her tongue out at me.
"I will not confirm or deny that." I told her, rolling my eyes, and closed the door.
~~~
We stood in front of the entrance to the brothel, powdered mushrooms in glass tubes made lights that spelled words out on the side of the building: "Goblins, goblins, goblins!". It was... to the point, I guessed. I took a shaky breath and shook my arms out, swallowing.
"Ok, you ready, 'Tina?" I asked.
"Yyyyup." she said, popping the 'p'.
"Cool, cool, ok, yeah." I said. "Let's... head in then, no problem."
"Lead the way, sure." she waved at the double doors in front of us.
I braced myself and walked forward, pushing into the dark, dingy area with a false confidence. The lady behind the counter looked up and smiled at us. I took a second look and my eyes widened. She was a human with fake ears on, and her skin painted to look like a goblin. That was... just wrong, it made me uncomfortable in a way I couldn't even pinpoint. We slowly walked up to the counter.
"Hi?" Altina asked, "I'm- uh, I'm here to be a customer."
"Hello!" she said in a perky voice, "We'd be happy to meet your needs! We've got goblins of all shapes and sizes, all genders, or without gender, we've got-"
"N-no, uh, I'm here for Riphack." Altina said, blanching. Was this really just a goblin fetish brothel? It seemed to be made for people who liked the idea of goblins, but not actual goblins...
The woman's eyes widened. "Oh, you want her? She's... well..." the woman leaned in and confirmed my suspicions. "She's a real goblin, she gets violent, are you ok with that?"
"I'm a real goblin, lady." I snapped. "You don't have to make it sound like such a bad thing."
"No, of course not!" she said, her gaze falling on me, "I just know some of our less adventurous clients tend to ask for refunds the next day after they hire her or Klank."
"How much is it to get the night with her?" Altina asked.
"She's a very budget friendly option, she comes in at four gold for the whole night!" the lady said.
"Just... here's the gold." Altina said, "Tell her we're in room 12, floor three across the street."
"Oh, you're ok with her coming to you?" the woman asked, "We have rooms here for a discrete experience too."
"Tell her we're waiting for her, and we'll have ale if she wants it." I grumbled.
"Ok, she'll be right over!" the lady shrugged. "If you change your mind, we do offer discounts for multiple orders in one night!"
I turned and stomped out of the building, the doors banging on the way out. Tears stung my eyes as the bad feelings welled up in me. It felt like the lady couldn't fathom us wanting to hire someone like me. I felt unwanted, hated, gross, scary. I was still a monster after all, even in a place founded and ran by my people I was still seen as something that needed a warning stated before anyone got close. It was forever, even if the laws had changed and I was allowed to be in public places now, I still didn't feel safe there, not really.
Altina scooped me up and hugged me to her chest, my face buried in the spot where her shoulder met her chest and I gripped her hard, my claws digging into her. She understood, she had the same issues, even now that she was a respected member of our community, she was still the only ogress this far north and was considered a 'scary' monster. I just wanted us to be able to be, to love each other without worrying about if a new law or neighbor would try to ruin it all for us. Part of why I wanted to play around with another goblin was... just so I'd feel normal, like I was a regular person, because I was, I just didn't feel like it sometimes.
Altina stepped up to the counter in the bar and quietly ordered three more ales to the room downstairs. The barkeeper said something... rude about me, I didn't process what it was, but I didn't care. Altina was huge and strong, and I didn't mind if people saw her carry me, let them see, I shouldn't have to feel like I was breaking rules just because I was feeling fragile.
We made our way downstairs, and before long, I felt myself being put on the bed. It wasn't as comfortable as mine back home, it was some kind of grass mattress from the feel of it. Mine at the sanctuary was a mossy bed, carefully dried and fluffed to hold me close. I opened my eyes to see Altina standing over me, her face grim. I sat up and took a moment for myself before I was ready.
"Sorry about that..." I said, "I just- I got so angry, and then it hurt so bad to be thought of that way..."
"People are dicks." she agreed, "I'd have thought a goblin town wouldn't have such bigoted people in it."
"It was a brothel, goblins are, like, not good for that, so like, I get it." I mumbled, "The rest of the town is fine, I'm sure."
"Goblins are just fine at that, 'Vex." Altina said, "Just because you do things differently and have different needs doesn't mean you're bad at it."
"If the standard of measurement is a human, and you know it is, then yeah, goblins are bad at it."
"But who cares what the standard of measurement is?" she said, running her hands through my hair, "I'm not a human, you're not a human, so fuck 'em and their stupid ideas."
"I can't fuck them, they wouldn't like it." I snarked wryly.
Altina snorted and pulled me into a hug. "I get it, I'm at least big and strong enough to demand respect, but assholes feel the same about me too, you know."
"Yeah, I know." I said, "That's why we work so well together, you get me. When I first moved into town, you were the reason everyone accepted me."
"They just needed to get to know you." she said, "Now come one, let's have some ale before the night starts, ok? My food should be here soon, and I wanna have a buzz before I eat."
"Mm, yeah." I nodded. "When do you think Riphack will get here?"
"Soon enough, I'm sure." Altina said, "Now dry those eyes, we have a fun night ahead of us no matter what ends up happening!"