Author's note*

A bit of a shorter chapter today. Sorry!

14

Ar-Tashk's dark, oppressive presence enough to keep Vezhir's goblin underlings of the fortress at a distance, whether out of fear he would eat them, or simply crush them for trespassing on his domain. Yet, the weasly little green-skins would take turns to sneak a glance into the kitchen every once in a while to monitor the human slave at their master's and the witch's bidding. From the distance of the shadows beyond the kitchen walls, they noted with relief, that the olog was at least feeding her. The revelation came as a relief as it alleviated the need to draw lots to determine which of the goblins would have to try sneaking in to feed the pinkskin, under the olog's nose once he fell asleep later.

One goblin in particular, by the name of Granyk, wasn't quite as relieved as his compatriots. He was the aggressive goblin who had been guarding the keep gate upon the olog bringing the human back to the keep; the same one who had attempted to take a bite at the human upon her arrival.

He had been reassigned to the witch's entourage soon afterwards, a severe demotion. Granyk was now counted among the company of goblins lurking in the halls of the fort, who even in his own eyes, were lowly servants, unworthy of a position as serious as a guard.

He eyed the olog within the kitchens with contempt; the blow by which the Reaper had knocked Granyk away from the human slave had broken half his jaw, which was only just healing at a crooked angle. His cheekbone still bore a sizable welt, swollen around his eye socket, making it hard to see clearly from that side. He watched the human and olog through the kitchen doorway, with his good eye, wanting nothing more than to interrupt the domestic scene with a blade between the olog's shoulders. After all, why should one tiny infraction cost Granyk all he had worked so hard to earn?

It was exceptionally rare for a goblin, being so much smaller than orcs and ologs, to fight its way up the ranks to even be considered guard material. Granyk wasn't particularly large or anything notable for a goblin, he had just been so much more aggressive, that he made it impossible for the orcs of the keep to ignore him.

Like a vicious dog, he never took anything lying down, and those that crossed him would often meet an unfortunate, painful end; though Granyk was careful to ensure his most egregious actions were thoroughly calculated to avoid too strong a punishment. His guile had served him well, until the day the olog brought back a slave.

After his innocuous encounter with the Reaper, his orc captain had quickly demoted the goblin to serve the witch to avoid any repercussions for the offense given to the overlord's right hand. A wiser goblin would have considered himself lucky to even be kept alive after such an incident, but not Granyk. He may have been cunning, but he was by no means wise.

It was because of his punishment, lenient or otherwise, that Granyk loathed them all. He loathed Ar-Tashk the Reaper for his position of privilege, he loathed the human slave that had tempted him, he loathed his captain for tossing him aside, the witch for being placed in a rank higer than his own, and even the overlord for failing to acknowledge Granyk's potential. The whole lot of them deserved a painful end for wronging him.

Granyk checked the poisoned blade he had hidden in his boot. He was no longer permitted to carry weapons, but his idiot captain had failed to confiscate all the knives the goblin had hidden. While his fellow goblins were concerning themselves with trying to keep the overlord's precious ghash-dorozga alive behind the Reaper's back, Granyk was picturing exactly how he would deliver judgment upon his enemies.

With the overlord and witch away from the keep for the time being, he figured he would have better chances to start whittling down the list of targets starting as soon as possible. When the overlord had come down to the lower halls to summon the witch earlier that day, they had left the goblins with the impression they would not return for some time. Though no specific timetable had been given, Granyk was eager to take advantage of their absence as soon as he possibly could.

The Reaper would not be an easy kill, his hide was too thick. Granyk knew offing the olog would require a more potent poison that was in his current possession or something even stronger to do the majority of the work for him, so he could just finish off the olog. And as long as the olog lived, the goblin couldn't think of a way he could slip by the brute, to the slave woman, and slit her throat. Perhaps if the olog was asleep, Granyk could sneak into the kitchens by nightfall, but only if the other goblin underlings weren't around to report his misdeeds to the overlord and witch.

That left only his captain on Granyk's list of targets: a boisterous, cocky orc, Qol'dra the Slow, who frequented the fight pits. Granyk grinned to himself; it would be such a shame if someone volunteered the orc to compete in back to back fights. The prideful orc could never turn down a fight, no matter how exhausted he was. It was the perfect plan.

Granyk thought for a moment, perhaps he ought to volunteer the Reaper for the fight pits as well. He rubbed his hands with glee, after all, the stupid olog wouldn't turn down a challenge either, especially if he didn't want the overlord to replace him with a new bodyguard. And while the fights were taking place, the human woman would be left completely at Granyk's mercy. It was a brilliant plan! The crook-jawed goblin dismissed himself from his compatriots to sneak off to find the pitmaster.

Translations*

Ghash-Dorozga - Test subject