Here we are with the official early access launch of Goblin Girls Do It Better II!
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I hope you enjoy!
Lucas Mead-Slayer sat on a stump in the Blackstone Forest and contemplated his life.
The view he had was a great one.
Ellasandra had told him about it, pointed out the trail that led to the hill with the hidden copse tucked away about halfway up its side. And several times over the past ten days, as he had approached the northern edge of the encampment that they were building, he had seen it. The little copse, framed so nicely by a collection of trees.
It always looked inviting.
Finally, today, he’d chosen to walk that path and see it from the other side.
The walk had been strange, and it was not until he had reached the top and sat down on the old stump and looked out over all there was to see that Lucas finally pieced together why it was so strange a walk.
He had taken it alone.
For some two weeks now, he’d more or less done nothing by himself. There was always a goblin woman at his side, and usually it was one of his wives.
Now there was a thought he’d never assumed he’d actually be able to think.
Wives.
Few settlements and most deities probably wouldn’t accept his marriage to Ellasandra, Izzy, and Talia, but he didn’t care about that at all. They were his wives and he was their husband. They loved each other and were building a life together.
That’s what mattered.
They had been going everywhere with him ever since he’d arrived. He hadn’t had a moment to himself and what he was finding was that he didn’t mind. If anything, finally being alone up here on this hill just felt bizarre and vaguely uncomfortable.
He wanted to be chatting with Ella about the village and trying to settle on a name for their first child. (She had assured him there would be more).
He wanted to be arguing with Izzy.
He wanted to be enjoying the serene peace with Talia.
Really, he would be happy with any of them. Even Nysa. Maybe especially Nysa. Though she was clearly getting more comfortable, both with him and with her life in the Vrix Tribe, they had yet to move their relationship forward in any real capacity. She was getting a little more handsy with him, flirting with him just a little, but nothing beyond that.
And he was fine with her taking her time.
They shared a kind of kinship that the others did not, and he was still parsing out why exactly that was or what it meant.
Lucas heard Ella coming long before she actually arrived on the hillside with him. He waited for her to say something when he heard her arrive, but she didn’t, hanging back.
“Everything okay, Ella?” he asked without turning around.
“...how’d you know I was here? How’d you know it was me?” she replied, approaching.
He laughed softly. “I’m an adventurer who survived in the wilderness for over a decade, Ella. If I couldn’t hear you coming I’d be dead a hundred times over by now. And by now, I know how you walk, all of you.”
“Hmm,” she said, and came to stand next to him. “Are you okay?”
“I think so,” Lucas replied, looking over at her. “How about you?”
“I’m fine. We’re worried about you,” she said, staring at him now.
“We as in…”
“Everyone, pretty much.” He frowned. “You’re our chieftain and husband to three of us. And all of us but Nysa are now likely pregnant with your children. We can tell when something’s bothering you, Lucas.”
“That’s a good point,” he said. “As for bothering me...I don’t know if it’s really bothering me. I don’t think that’s the right word.”
“Concerning you?” she hazarded.
“No, it’s more like...wondering if I should be concerned rather than actually being concerned.”
“What do you think you should be concerned about?”
He didn’t respond right away, instead staring out over the village again.
It was coming along nicely. There was a wall built over the cave’s entrance now, with a pair of openings for windows and a big doorway. There was also the beginnings of two huts. Nysa had begun working on hers almost immediately and Nikita knew that she’d want one for herself. It was a small operation right now, but they were only a village of nine.
Since Danica, they hadn’t managed to find anyone else still alive out there.
But given the fact that eight of them were goblins, who he had learned were every bit as prone to arguing with each other as he had been led to believe, he was impressed with what they’d managed to get done so far.
Although a disproportionate amount of that work had come from Nysa.
She had a work ethic and an endurance far surpassing any of the others.
“I guess,” he said after he’d pondered it for a while longer, “I’m wondering exactly how I feel about the fact that my life is, for sure, transitioning into something very different from what I’m used to. And I can’t just walk away from this.”
“You could,” she murmured, and sat down in his lap suddenly. “Do you want to?”
“Of course not, Ella,” he replied, hugging her. “I love you. I love Izzy. I care greatly about everyone else in the tribe. I love what we’re doing here.”
“I noticed you didn’t say that you loved your third wife,” Ella murmured.
“Talia and I are...figuring things out, still. Certainly we like and respect each other, we’re attracted to each other, but Talia...mmm. She’s not like you or Izzy, or even Nysa. She’s not like anyone else in the tribe. She’s not like most of the people I’ve met. I think she’s still adjusting to being in a tribe, and being in a relationship. We’re getting there, don’t worry.”
“That makes sense,” Ella said. “So I guess I’m still not sure what the problem is? I mean it sounds like you’ve decided how to feel about it.”
Lucas shook his head. “No, it’s more complicated than that. There are two selves within us, all of us, and they are not always united. Just because I’m happy here and I choose to stay here with you doesn’t mean my...second self is going to be happy with it.”
“I still don’t fully understand,” she murmured.
“Well…” He thought about it for a moment. “Okay, did you choose to fall in love with me? Or was it a thing that just happened to you?”
Ella began to respond, then stopped, closed her mouth. After a moment, her expression becoming more and more thoughtful, she finally turned and looked out over the village and the clearing and the forest. He waited as she thought.
Finally, she turned back. “I understand now. I didn’t choose to fall in love with you, but I chose a relationship with you. You chose to become chieftain and settle down here in this village, but your feelings about that choice might not be good, no matter how much you want them to be.”
“That’s about it, yeah,” he said. “But, to be clear Ella, I’m not pondering whether or not to leave. I’ve made up my mind: I’m staying. I’m committed. To you. To Izzy. To Talia. To this village. To our children. I know that. I’m just going through a massive change and I need...to let the dust settle, I suppose.”
She smiled and hugged him tightly. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Ellasandra.”
They sat there together for a time, basking in each other’s presence, enjoying that simple pleasure of sitting beneath a calm blue sky on a crisp fall’s day with your lover.
That ran out, however, as Lucas began to feel the pull of responsibility.
It was never far, not anymore.
Interestingly, he found that this didn’t bother him too much.
Ella got to her feet as he shifted in such way to indicate he wanted to stand. He got up once she did, lingered for just a moment to enjoy the view a little bit longer, then began walking back down the hillside with Ella.
“What’s going on today?” she asked.
“I’m going to the coast,” he replied. “I want to make another real trek through the woods, get a better feel for it, and I want to get purple bay berries for Nikita’s potion. I’m convinced that’s the final adjustment that needs to be made for it to work.”
“She’s definitely falling in love with you,” Ella murmured.
“Yeah…”
“Does it bother you?”
“No. It’s nice, to be sure. I really like her, as...rough around the edges as she is. Obviously I liked her enough to get her pregnant. I guess I just wonder if I’m going to have the time for as many relationships as seem to be forming.”
“Is it such a bad problem to have?” she asked with a grin.
He chuckled. “I mean, yes if it results in some of you getting hurt. I don’t want to be neglectful.”
“Lucas, we all understand. You are the chieftain. The new chieftain, and it is a time of war and rebuilding. You’re going to be busy. We all are, but you especially. I know we seem impatient and unreasonable a lot of the time, but most of that is just on the surface. Just how we are. Deeper down, though, we understand. For the most part.”
“So you’re saying I should dive headlong into love with everyone in the tribe?” he asked.
“Maybe,” Ella replied. “I think your second self is going to make that choice for you. You can’t say no to any of us.”
He sighed and she laughed. “You all are getting too good at manipulating me.”
“We wouldn’t be if you weren’t so obsessed with rolling around in the hay with goblin girls.”
“I can’t help that! Izzy seriously tried to tell me when we first met: goblin pussy is the best pussy. And having experienced pretty much all the other races we share the planet with, after the past two weeks, I’m now fully inclined to agree.”
“Exactly, so do it. Dive headlong into a life of horny, loving goblin wives and don’t look back,” Ella said.
He laughed as they reached the bottom of the trail and headed back towards their burgeoning village. “It’s that easy, huh?”
“I promise, we won’t make it easy.”
Lucas laughed louder. “I guess I don’t have much choice either way. You’ve all ensnared me pretty effectively.”
“Good.”
As they approached their cave, he caught sight of Talia. She was making her way out of the forest, coming back from her private residence she now spent about half her time at. The blue/green-skinned goblin woman raised something over her head when she saw them.
“I’ve got them!” she called.
“Oh finally,” Ella muttered.
“Talia’s back!” he heard Izzy cry from the cave.
There was a buzz of activity and excitement as everyone in the village gathered in the open space in front of the cave. Lucas found himself doing a quick headcount. Everyone was there. Nysa held back, looking at once both amused and a little awkward as she leaned against the natural wall with her arms crossed.
“Gather around, ladies,” Talia said as she loosened the drawstring on the small pouch she carried. “Hands out. As soon as I put it in your hand, close your fist around it.”
“I bet every last one of us is pregnant,” Izzy murmured.
“Given how much Lucas has been putting us through our paces, I’d agree,” Nikita said.
“He can’t stay away,” Kora murmured, which caused several of the others to giggle.
“I definitely can’t,” he agreed, watching Talia pass out a small, round gray stone to each goblin woman.
They all took one, save for himself and Nysa, given they hadn’t had sex. Initially, Talia said that her magical stones would be best used after two weeks, but the others had all grown too impatient. Ultimately, Talia had given in and gone back to her house this morning when she woke up to yet another litany of questions, begging to know if they were pregnant or not.
Lucas had to admit, he really wanted to know.
An intense silence fell over everyone as they waited, all of them holding their fist out in front of them, staring at it intently.
“How long?” Izzy asked finally.
“Shh,” Ella replied.
“Fuck you!”
“You’re messing it up!” Nikita snapped.
“Calm down, everyone,” Talia said. “Put your fists here, into a circle, and get ready.”
They all stepped closer and put their fists up together. Talia gave them a countdown and on zero, they all opened up their fists, palms up.
Every last one of them had a stone with a strong green glow.
“Holy shit,” Nysa muttered.
“Told you!” Izzy cried.
“All of us are pregnant?” Danica asked.
“Yes. Everyone is pregnant,” Talia replied with a small but satisfied smile on her face. She began collecting the stones back up.
“Why do you look sad about that, Kora?” Nikita asked.
“I...liked it. When Lucas was trying to get me pregnant,” she murmured.
“It’s not like we have to stop having sex,” Lucas replied.
She smiled awkwardly and blushed. “I know, it’s just...it was different when I knew we were actually...breeding. Not just doing it for fun, but actually trying to have a baby...I don’t know. There was something about it.”
“I promise that if you want to do it again, I will absolutely get you pregnant,” Lucas said. He then paused for a long moment. “Gods, all seven of you are pregnant.”
“That was the idea,” Ella replied.
“Yeah, just...in one season, you’re all going to be giving birth.”
“Right when winter should hit,” Talia said.
“Guess you’d better get your shit together before then,” Izzy said, grinning.
He sighed. “Yeah. All right, I’m going for a long walk down to the coast. I want to explore the region some more and pick some rare berries. Nikita, you told me earlier you wanted to come with me, does anyone else? Only one other person can come.”
“Aw come on, why?” Izzy complained.
“Because I need enough of you here to properly guard the place while I’m gone,” Lucas replied.
“That’s a fair point,” Ella murmured.
“Then I’m pulling rank as one of your wives,” Izzy said, stepping forward. “I want to go.”
Lucas looked around. No one else seemed to want to argue with her. He nodded.
“All right, let’s grab our stuff and get to walking.”
