Surprising no one, I wrote another goblin story! This one features a male adventurer transforming into a cute goblin girl (and fucking a lot of other cute goblins girls). If that's not your jam, might not want to read this.
Content Warning thought! The transformation is involuntary (but fun!) so heads up if you're not into people turning into cuties against their will, or people developing horny goblin personalities.
Enjoy! <3
***
The Cave of No Return looked a lot less terrifying than Zander had pictured in his head.
There were no hissing snakemen waiting to strike. No colossal spiderwebs in the corners with the skeletons of dead adventurers still ensnared in their grasp. No bodies at all, in fact. Perhaps whatever gave the cave its name was intelligent, careful to hide its tracks. It was still dark, the only light coming from the burning arcane fire ensnared in his grasp. Zander's steps were cautious, weighing the ground with every footstep looking for pressure plates, swiping the blue flame in his hand to look for tripwires or hidden foes. Shadows danced away from the magical light, but no troglodytes or cave ogres lurked behind the tapering rocky pillars that stretched above his head toward the ceiling. Far from it, aside from the steady drip of water, the cave was eerily silent.
Which only made his heart pound harder. Something had to be killing the people who entered this cave. Villagers had been disappearing for years, plus another dozen adventurers sent to figure out what was going on. After the first three, you'd think people would have taken the hint. Zander didn't, of course, so he could hardly begrudge people for doing the foolish thing he himself was doing. But...he was Zander. Sorcerers, the colloquial name for a person of innate magical power, were often prone to fits of narcissistic confidence.
Motion in the corner of his eye. With a twitch, he sent a fireball scorching through the air where it erupted into a series of smaller flames, some of them clinging to the wall like Hellasic Fire. He approached, looking for sign of his target. Nothing. He closed his eyes, withdrawing the fire's energy. It sputtered to a halt, with no sight of having it the target.
"Hiya!"
He jumped, startled at the voice. After a moment's petrification, he settled on the balls of his feet and tried to make it look like a hand-to-hand combat stance rather than a moment of terror. Fire burst into his fingers once more, both hands this time. Only years of control kept it from igniting him or his clothes from sheer proximity.
"Present yourself, villain! I, Zander of the Secret Fires, demand to see you!"
A pause. "You have to promise not to light me on fire, though."
He scoffed. "How can I promise that? Fire's my only defence." Zander didn't feel the need to mention the dirk in the hidden scabbard around his lower leg. A sorcerer never knew when he would become too tired to cast, and it never hurt to have a little cold steel when all else failed. "But I will say that, without provocation, I will not attack you."
A chubby green hand peeked out from a tiny alcove that he'd totally overlooked. "Hello! Don't roast me! Over here!"
He squinted. Her arm couldn't have been higher than his hip off the ground. Whoever it was, they weren't very tall. Maybe not a threat...or maybe that's what the adventurers who had come before him had thought.
"Alright," he dropped the fire in his fingers back to a gentle sizzle, "I won't hurt you."
She crept out, hands raised over her head. She was indeed a tiny one, standing maybe just over three feet off the floor with glorious flowing red locks that touched her shoulders. Clearly a fully grown woman for her species, as shown by the extraordinary curves she was blessed with. Barely contained in a one-piece dress that someone had fashioned out of a larger outfit were a pair of enormous breasts and some expansive hips. Short, green skin, stout. A goblin?
This didn't look like any goblin he'd ever seen before.
"Well, hi stranger! Thank you for not blowing me up on sight. We're about to have a party back at our place further in...would you like to come?"
Zander raised an eyebrow. "A party? Surely not on my account."
She waved that off. "Oh no, no silly. We just like parties, so we throw them a lot! We got wine and meats and a selection of fine cheeses, c'mon I'll show you!" The goblin beckoned him forward, deeper into the cave. His natural suspicions kicked in.
"Where are all the others who came in here before? The adventurers and villagers?"
"They're at the party, silly!" She laughed, then put a hand over her mouth. "Oh, gee, I've been so rude. My name is Kiki!" She held out the same hand for him to shake. He did, though reluctantly.
"They're all...in the cave? With you? How are you getting food?"
She shook her head. "That's all for later! Plenty of explanations later, I promise!"
Zander didn't find that answer acceptable, but he wasn't about to end his search here. He motioned for her to continue, and he followed her further into the cave.
Through winding passageways, hopping across the stones fording an underground river, they strove further into the dark unknown. Occasionally she'd look back at him reassuringly, which did not allay his fears. This felt for all the world like a trap. But...how dangerous could a goblin be?
Finally, the serpentine, claustrophobic path opened into a much larger space. Light spilled in from a tremendous crack that bisected the dome-shaped roof. That, in addition to several fires, lit the grotto surprisingly well. Scattered around in a loose circle were half a dozen huts made of wood and thatch, crude but effective dwellings. In and out of these little abodes, goblins of a similar variety to Kiki rushed back and forth. All of them were women it looked like, which is another departure from his preconception of their society. Most of the goblins he'd heard about were males. Had he finally stumbled onto a cache of their female stock? Breeders, perhaps.
"We got company girls! Gini! Get some refreshments for our guest!" Kiki said in as authoritative a tone as she could manage, which still sounded rather cute. One of the gobs with bright blue hair changed direction and tottered off into one of the huts. She returned with a mug and a cooked turkey leg, which he graciously took after snuffing out the fire in his fingers.
"Where is all this coming from?" he repeated, eyeing the meat warily. It smelled like cooked turkey, as in, it smelled delicious. He saw goblins all around him snacking on fruits, cheeses, and little bits of meat. It couldn't all be poisoned, he reasoned, and traded the meat with a short lady for a slightly smaller chunk of turkey breast. He bit into it and remembered how much he missed civilization. Before he knew it, the meat was gone, and he was washing it down with a refreshing mouthful of wine.
"It's pretty incredible, right? Well, lemme show you," she lead him into the centre of the ring of huts. He followed, carefully, not to bump into any of the excitable little shorties. A glance inside the huts through their little roofs provoked a blush. One gob had her head between another's legs, causing the latter to wriggle and moan. Another hut held a pair of goblins penetrating a third with ornate strapped sextoys. They weren't just enjoying food and drink at this little party of theirs, they were enjoying each other. He continued on, ignoring the chorus of wet noises and squeals of delight.
A large stone obelisk dominated the centre of their little village. One of the goblins stood next to it, peering into a notch the size of an oven cut into the side.
"More carrot soup!" she said. Seconds later, sure enough, a wooden bowl filled to the brim with an orange liquid materialized like smoke from a fire. It was even hot! He gawked at the amount of energy required for the task of not just transmuting but the wholecloth creation and assembly of matter. And these goblins were using it for...soup?
"Do you know how powerful this object is?" he asked rhetorically, knowing for sure they didn't. His magically-inclined mind could feel it humming with unimaginable energies. Writing in ancient Elvish adorned the outside, and his fingers traced along the stone pillar as he read the ancient script. "This is...this is a moment to Synt...no, not Synt. Her sister, Xylie, the Elven Goddess of Revelry."
"Yup! It's a party rock! And we've made our home around it! It's quite wonderful, and it provides us with everything we need! Well, not clothes, unfortunately. Xylie seems to not like clothes, but it's just so dang chilly in here sometimes!"
He turned back to Kiki, who still beamed. "How can you be so frivolous? This rock could solve hunger!" His sudden mood swing took him by surprise. "Where are the others. The villagers, you said they'd be here."
She held out her hands. "They are here. All around you silly!"
"All I see are..." He blinked. The goblins around him all wore clothes that looked like they'd been much larger items before. They all lived around a large rock devoted to a Goddess who praised indulging in appetites and enjoying life. And who enjoyed life more than a goblin? The villagers and adventurers HADN'T been killed, they'd been..."Fuck. I need to get out of here."