Despite being one of the more physically capable members of the nest, even if his strength was less than the hulking brute that served as their leader's right hand, it had still been some time since he had gotten to enjoy the simple privileges that had once been his by right.
Being one of the first members of the tribe to sample their breeders after their leader had chosen which captive to break in.
Getting too chose which parts of their former toys he would want to eat first.
Personally, his favorite was always the fatty plumpness that resided in the chests of their victims. Though sadly the chances of sampling that tended to be rare unless their captives had been obtained in a raid, for those who dared to enter the nest were either too young, or sinewy to have much in the way of chest fat.
And finally, spending the day napping instead of standing guard against intruders.
But since he had accidently killed the leader's favorite fuck toy, whose body had still been good for debasing despite having pushed out two runts, the Goblin was now forced to abstain from such activities until he managed to 'redeem himself.'
Which roughly translated to meaning bringing in enough food to last both the nest leader and his flunky an entire week. Or finding a nearby settlement that had enough 'romantic' partners to spawn a new army.
Unfortunately, his efforts in wiping out his debt had gotten nowhere due to his inability to get one of his nestmates to take over his sentry duties during the day.
Which meant that he was too tired during his infrequent lazy periods to put any real effort in finding a prize that could be deemed arousing enough, or tasty enough to settle his debt.
Which meant he was forced to waste most of his waking hours guarding the entrance to the nest, with the only company being one of less experienced runts. For as long as he remained on his chief's shit list, there would be no night time raids for him. Which meant that the pleasure of having a fuck toy whose mind wasn't broken would remain out of reach.
Still, he supposed there was one aspect of his job that could potentially lead to regaining his former station. Even if the chances of that happening were nearly as slim as a member of kind declaring a vow of celibacy when presented with a buxom bodied virgin.
For while the deliverer of bad news was always mistreated by those who possessed the power to get away with it, those who brought nothing but good news were eventually recognized as being a good luck charm, and thus were rewarded accordingly.
However, it appeared that today's message would carry news that, while not bad, was nevertheless somewhat disappointing when compared to the anticipation of sampling the meaty flesh of fertile human women.
Still, he supposed it could be worse.
For unlike most humans who stupidly tried to fight Goblins on their home turf, this one was alone, was doing nothing to conceal its presence, and actually had some equipment that appeared to be of high quality.
The nest leader would probably take the cape to replace the aged pelt that he had stolen six months ago from a particularly stringy farmer, but the rest of the equipment could probably be claimed without much protest.
The helmet and shoulder plate was obviously too large for Goblin to wear, though it might suit a hobgoblin, but the gauntlets and boots were more than enough to satisfy his interest.
Such a shame that this lumbering human wouldn't put up much of a challenge, for it was apparent that the human had sacrificed speed for protection.
But since an easy victory was something that he desperately needed to regain his former position, he wouldn't complain.
….
Though every step forward was a reminder of the shoddy design of his mobile prison, which was probably what Sidious had intended after his failure at Mustafar, Vader nevertheless continued to press on towards his destination with the same sort of determination that had cemented his position amongst ally and foe alike as an unstoppable force.
In truth, the parameters for his chosen quest were nearly mind-numbingly simple, though he had noticed with slight amusement that the members of the Guild, even those whose attitude was slightly less dismissive than that of that spear wielding fool, had all expressed looks of unease when they learned that he would be performing his first so-called quest without the support of others.
But considering the attitude, not to mention skill set, of those few adventurers who expressed a willingness to join him, the armoured Force user was grateful for the solitude. Even if it did force him to consider the nature of his current circumstances.
It still perplexed him that despite his actions against her companion, the hat-wearing woman, whose attire was perhaps more suited for a high-class concubine instead of a skilled warrior, had still extended an offer of help towards freeing him of his 'cursed' prison.
At the time, he had acted like he usually did whenever a competent individual correctly guessed the nature of his suit, silently stare at them while using his connection to Dark Side of the Force to give people the impression that they would soon die if they chose to continue that particular conversation.
The woman had wisely backed off at that point, but not before her companion's mutterings had revealed that there was an organization that was not only dedicated towards the healings of others but also possessed the ability to miraculously heal anyone who called on their services.
He had to admit that the idea was intriguing, even if it had been years since he had accepted that his body could never be healed to it's pre-Mustafar state.
For even with access to the best technology that the Empire could provide, as well as knowledge gleamed from the Jedi Temple, the most he could accomplish was either small adjustments to limbs to make their movements more efficient, or temporarily giving him the ability to breath without his respirator.
Numerous times during the course of his apprenticeship to Sidious, he had questioned why his master would use such obviously obsolete techniques to rebuild his savaged body. But after the one time he had dared to voice his frustration with his body's limitations, he had learned that his master would do nothing to help his crippled apprentice.
He had never said it outright, preferring to partially conceal his disappointment behind false words of sympathy. But the fact remained that Sidious enjoyed having an apprentice whose power would never surpass his own.
And while the old man had given him permission to adjust the suit as he saw fit, the horrid design of the suit ensured that any adjustments made to it could only be minor in nature.
Still, he supposed that his armour had its uses, even if he sorely missed the ability to eat normal foods, and breathe air that hadn't been contaminated by the trapped stench of his ruined body.
His mechanical limbs possessed the same sort of strength, though sadly not the agility, of another mechanically resurrected servant of his scheming master. Though in truth he had been able to do so when his limbs were still composed of flesh and blood, albeit only when he used the Force to enhance his abilities.
And perhaps more importantly, the size and overall appearance of his suit granted him the rather useful ability to easily intimidate an individual without the need for words.
The majority of those so-called adventurers had been a perfect example of this, but like his tenure as the Emperor's right hand, there had been a small number of individuals who managed to quickly recover from the shock of seeing him for the first time and act in a manner that ranged from amusing to tedious.
The spear-wielding youth was a perfect example of the latter, putting him in mind of a more intelligent and less conniving version of the officer who arrogantly boasted of the power of the First Death Star. Though the young adventurer's ability to recover his nerve after being placed in a Force choke was far more rapid than Motti's had ever been.
But aside from the brash youth's inappropriately dressed companion, and the young receptionist, only two individuals managed to muster the necessary courage, or idiocy, to stare at him with less than fearful expressions.
He was curious whether his actions would change the attitude of the large muscular warrior and the prideful looking female, but such thoughts could wait for another time as his senses informed him that not only was he close to his final destination, but that his quarry was aware of his approach.
Something that suited him just fine.
For like the monsters that stole his mother from him, these creatures arrogantly believed that they could defeat any opponent who dared to challenge them on their home territory.
And like the animals who had subjected Shmi Skywalker to a fate that she in no way deserved, her son would enjoy himself as he slaughtered those who quickly found that their confidence was gravely misplaced.
….
Though he had often been scolded for being blind to other people's emotional state, even if that wasn't the case, the armored adventurer was fully aware of the turmoil his new companion was experiencing as the sound of the wagon faded into the distance.
Such a sound was common for those who endured either the hardships of the frontier, especially for those who chose to live the life of an adventurer. But for a girl who had spent her life growing up within the confines of a carefully structured abbey, the sound only served to reveal the more darker aspects of the world she wished to help.
He could sympathize to a degree, since he too once held the belief that those who were good would always triumph over evil. But the nature of his village's destruction, as well as the horrors his sister endured while he fearfully watched from underneath the floor, had ensured that he could offer little more than short statements as the young priestess struggled to come to terms with the results of their quest.
"Is…there nothing else we can do for them? I mean…to go through something so horrible…there must be something."
Slightly turning his helmet around to take in the sorrowful expression of the blond girl, Goblin Slayer returned his attention back to the road in front of him as he gave his reply.
"No. For those who experience the cruelty at the hands of Goblins, the best thing to do is to put them in the hands of those who will help them recover."
Of course he knew that there were only four ways in which a person could recover from experiencing such evil, but since he doubted that the girl would draw comfort from such words, the armored adventurer kept that piece of information to himself as Priestess decided to change the direction of their somewhat one sided conversation.
"Will…will we be…punished for fail…for failing to complete the quest?"
Frowning beneath his helmet, for her words made him believe that perhaps she wasn't the selfless girl he had originally thought she was, Goblin Slayer found himself surprised as the girl continued to talk.
"It's just, I know that what most people think of Goblins, and the quest said nothing about captives. But…if the Guild says I can't go out and help people then…it's like I failed the Earth Mother."
Choosing to conceal the fact that he didn't particularly care for the whims of the gods, for while he acknowledged that they were real he had long since given up on asking them for help, Goblin Slayer gave what comfort that he could.
"The quest wasn't a failure. The job was to destroy a goblin nest. And thanks to your help, it was destroyed."
Sensing that his words managed to surprise his young companion, the silver ranked specialist found himself slightly shocked as he was asked a question that he had long since dismissed of ever being asked.
"Would…would it be possible for me to keep doing quests with you? I know that I have a lot to learn, but I greatly wish to.."
"Ok."
Suspecting that he managed to catch the young girl off guard with the speed of his reply, and not bothering to explain how he would continue to benefit from having a companion whose healing and light miracle could enhance his ability to wipe out Goblin nests, Goblin Slayer resigned himself to spending the rest of their journey explaining what the priestess would have to do to get ready for their next quest.
It was to her advantage that he would spend the next two days recuperating since it would allow her the chance to acquire all the necessary equipment she would need, but it mattered little to him.
For at the end of those two days, he would be fully prepared to continue his mission, and if she wasn't ready by that time, then he would simply leave without her.
…
Though the nest leader had yet to inform him that his current status would be elevated to something approaching his former position, the Goblin sentry nevertheless suspected that such an outcome would be a forgone conclusion once they dealt with the approaching intruder.
It had taken some prodding on his part to convince his nestmates, let alone their leader, that they would soon have a new body to pick over. But once the other sentries had backed up his claim about the appearance of the armor wearing magic user, the obese goblin had grown curious enough to sneak a peek at their enemy, and that had been enough to convince the disgraced goblin that his days of being on sentry duty were about to end.
As expected, their leader had immediately laid claim to the human's imposing cape, but had also expressed an interest in acquiring the shiny black helmet to replace his bone crown.
The Goblin wasn't exactly sure how his leader would be able to properly wear it without heavy padding, but such a thing was not important right now.
What mattered at this very moment was that he, and eight other experienced warriors, were waiting to ambush the noisily breathing intruder. And should the soon-to-be dead meat manage to break free of it's tormentors, and flee deeper into the cave, it would find itself swamped by the fifteen remaining members of the nest.
And since the nest leader had seen fit to keep his muscled protector by his side while they waited in the depths of their lair, that increased his chances of being the one to snag the glory of being the intruder's killer.
Of course he would let the others go forward in order to help weaken it, but that didn't really matter.
For a kill, was a kill.
…
Though his connection to the Force ensured that it was all but impossible to catch him off guard, the former Jedi had to concede that his soon to be assailants had chosen their positions well, even if some of their selections were rather childish.
Hiding in covered secret passages, crouching behind the few good-sized rocks that lay near the entrance, and even in a fissure that only a child could fit through, it was clear that these Goblins, if not master tacticians, nevertheless possessed a greater degree of cunning than what was commonly believed by most so called adventurers.
However, with his strength in the Force, and the ability of his helmet to see in multiple spectrums of light, such efforts were grossly inadequate when it came to taking him by surprise.
But that did not mean that he would react any differently as he purposefully strode deeper into the cave.
Some of his most impressive victories, whether it had been in the service of Republic or its Imperial successor, had been against opponents who had been lured into believing that their plans to outmaneuver him had remained undiscovered.
He had always enjoyed their feelings of horror when they realized that they were hopelessly outmatched. And considering that these…creatures, were far more barbaric than the most destructive elements of the Rebel Alliance, he would enjoy this very much.
The trick of course was to wait for the enemy to make the first move.
Then, and only then, would he reveal that no matter how cleverly they planned their ambush, or how many combatants they had summoned, it was all pointless for a being like him.
"GWARRRHHHHH….ah?"
Though mildly surprised that the first of his opponents had chosen to perform a frontal assault, rather than a more cowardly attack from behind, Vader nevertheless was well prepared to deal with his first enemy. Which coincidentally would ease his ability to quickly deal with the following assault.
Keeping the understandably confused Goblin firmly in his telekinetic grip, all the while resisting the urge to crush it's windpipe since he knew that his following attack would be far more satisfying, the former Sith Lord waited until three more Goblins revealed themselves in yet another headlong attack before using the disgusting creature as a living projectile.
Such an attack was designed merely to throw his enemies off balance, and in that it succeeded beautifully.
For while the knocked-over Goblins, minus the one that had somehow managed to stab itself through the eye with a rather flimsy-looking blade, Vader was already dealing with the expected assault from behind.
Using his control of the Force to place another of the child-sized creatures in his telekinetic grip, the former Jedi, not bothering to turn around at the sight of his confused opponent, flicked his hand forward, and enjoyed the sight of a screaming goblin flying head first into a wall.
Judging by the loud snap, and the awkward angle in which the goblin's head rested on its neck, Vader accurately surmised that he had not only just reduced his opponents' number by one, but had also instilled a great degree of terror in those that remained.
Sensing that two more were about to try and attack him from both sides, and seeing that his previous assailant was the type to prefer wielding a weapon in each hand, the fallen Chosen One halted his would be attackers by using the Force to send their fallen comrade's daggers flying into their foreheads.
Pleased at having dealt with nearly half of his first set of opponents, though slightly disappointed that the challenge they posed was somewhat less than an equal number of Clone Wars era battle droids, Vader focused his attention towards the now recovered group of goblins, and was immensely pleased by what he saw.
While their anger was perfectly clear, especially the one who somehow managed to remain standing despite the fact that it's eye was still leaking optical fluid, the goblins were now showing a degree of caution that had been largely lacking during the first part of this skirmish.
And through the Force, Vader was able to ascertain the reason.
They thought him to be some sort of magic user who, as he had learned during his brief visit at the guild, could only cast a set number of spells before being forced to wait for their replenishment. Which meant that these child-sized creatures were likely assessing whether or not he had reached his limit before resuming their attack.
Though somewhat intrigued by the limitations of what this world called magic, Vader nevertheless felt the odd need to prove to them that just because he wielded a power that their foolish minds could never hope to comprehend, it did not mean that it was the sole weapon in his arsenal.
Using the Force to send his deactivated blade into his hand, the former Jedi allowed a small smirk to spread across his hidden features as the Goblins correctly guessed what he was about to do.
And as the red beam of his lightsaber bathed the tunnel with its glow, his four opponents were already rushing to meet their inglorious, and inevitable end.
Two were decapitated with a single strike of his blade.
Another found itself suffering a more lethal version of the fate that Kenobi had dealt to the first of Sidious's apprentices.
And the last one…the last one found it's end with a single gloved hand gripping its throat before its remaining eye was filled with burning red plasma.
But despite his victory, Vader knew that he was not yet finished.
For while the sole remaining goblin posed little threat to him, even if it did seem to possess an intelligence that was slightly higher than that of it's compatriots, Vader possessed two reasons to finish off the cowering creature.
The first reason stemmed from his experience in dealing with the terrorist cells that had later joined together to form the Rebel Alliance. For like any infestation, the only way to truly deal with them was to eradicate the entire nest. For unless this was accomplished, the survivors would not only become more competent in their efforts to destabilize the society they wished to destroy, but they could also be turned into tools to help the Rebellion replenish its ranks.
The second reason was that the Force had provided him glimpses of what would happen if any member of these creatures survived his wrath.
The sole survivor would absorb the lessons it had learned from watching the destruction of its nest. Which meant that it would possess the skills to grow and thrive until the threat it posed to the world was far greater than the threat posed by a solitary nest of it's brethren.
Decision made, the former Jedi returned his now deactivated weapon to his belt, and used the Force to rob his silent stalker of it's easily moved cover.
Wasting little time, Vader clenched his mechanical hand and watched as the loathsome creature tried to free itself from his telekinetic grip.
However, unlike the countless beings that had met their end through the use of a Force Choke, this creature possessed enough brains to realize that it's best efforts for escape lay not in trying to free its neck from invisible fingers, but in breaking the concentration of the man who could kill things without touching them.
Grasping the filth-covered knife with a weakening grip, the choking goblin summoned its last reserves of strength and threw its weapon at the being who for the last 24 years had been nothing less than an instrument of death for countless worlds.
But while the blade sunk into the leather-covered appendage of its target, causing a triumphant grin to appear on the face of the now blue-faced goblin, the result was still a failure.
For rather than sinking into the remaining bulbs of burnt flesh that were all that remained of Vader's previously organic arm, the goblin's poisoned covered dagger pierced the leather of his glove before hitting the hardened metal that comprised his hand.
Luckily, such a blow was too weak to even nick, let alone pierce the material that served as a replacement for the hand he had lost on Geonosis, but that didn't matter to Vader.
What mattered was that this loathsome creature had attempted to escape its well-deserved fate, which in turn ensured that it would meet its end much sooner.
Forgoing the usual practice of slowly tightening his grip until his victim died of either asphyxiation or a broken neck, Vader clenched his fist together and was rewarded with the satisfying crack that signified that his enemy was now dead.
But while he was the victor of this little skirmish, Vader did not dwell long on his victory.
For he could easily sense that there were more of these creatures to deal with, and he had no desire to leave a job that was only half done.
So with only his endless mechanical breathing to break the silence, the former Jedi proceeded into the darkness.
…
Another chapter rewritten XD
On to the next lol
