Damecus was right about the baby coming quickly. By the time Carter had finished digging my foot out from under all the rocks, the shrieks of the newborn could be heard in my ears. My foot… well… it did not look good. Crushing injuries rarely do.
Clive made a point of starting to heal my foot the second it was freed. He says that body parts that have been crushed for more than fifteen minutes need to either be cut off or magically healed immediately… although he was unsure exactly why.
Damecus then berated him, and basically all magic using culture, for the fact that since they just heal things with magic, they never bother to look into the science behind anything to work out why things happen the way that they do.
He then pointed out that it is because releasing the crushed body part can release a whole host of unpleasant fluids into the circulatory system which can cause toxic shock, kidney failure, and cardiac arrest. I don’t know what toxic shock is… but I know that kidney failure is bad… and cardiac arrest is when your heart stops, I think. So yeah… none of them are ideal.
As for the baby… Damecus was definitely right about the nails… his hands were cut to ribbons. After cradling the baby to calm it down, Damecus cut the nails down to a less offensive degree. He attempted to hand it back to its mother… but the mother wanted it kept away from her. Which is understandable. That baby will be a constant reminder of the hell that she has been through in this cave.
Smutisha did not want the baby harmed in any way. She said that she will raise it as her own. She has named him Tarquin. I know that I was all for the eradication of all Grim before. But technically, Smutisha does have a point here. The baby hasn’t been contaminated by them yet. It is a fresh, new being, yet to be moulded by the world around it. He may have been born into this gods-awful place… but he hasn’t formed any memories here yet. I do wonder if he will have any of the same issues that I had growing up. I spent two years in a nest, forming memories and learning how to be a Grim. He won’t have that… but he will still have the biology.
He also won’t grow up in secret. I know Smutisha… she will brandish him in the public eye… I wonder whether that will have a positive or negative impact on him. I would have loved to have friends and see other people growing up. But at the same time… I know that attitudes towards me would not have been favourable and I would likely have been shunned and ostracised… or outright killed… people weren’t quite so open-minded about goblins back then. I guess we shall see whether society has come forward enough for him to grow up without being treated as an outcast. This society seems to have mostly accepted me… and the Bracken… and the Lizardmen… so surely it can accept an innocent Grim child.
We returned to our camp at the old ruins nearby. Smutisha’s entourage had made it quite pleasant. Keith and Agaroth’s bodies were placed in a room towards the back, and some of Smutisha’s people started to preserve the bodies as best they could. Damecus was looking after the baby for now, since Smutisha was trying to organise… well… pretty much everything. Her alliance attempt has ended in disaster… so I have no idea how she is going to save face here.
Our party is currently sat around the campfire. Damecus has made a stew… but I don’t feel like eating anything. Kiyui is still groggy and not fully with it… but at least he’s conscious. I’ve been trying to feed him. Carter and Clive are sitting with us. Smutisha ordered Clive to stay and act as our healer until everyone is sufficiently recovered… and he certainly didn’t have enough mana to fully heal everyone in one evening. Carter stayed because I think they’ve been partying together for a while… I could be wrong, but they seem familiar with each other, so that is my assumption.
Asmodeus stormed off as soon as we were done in the cave. He was disgusted that the baby had been allowed to live. His hatred of goblins really runs deep. At this point, I don’t think anything will ever change his mind.
With the exception of the occasional cries from the baby, everyone is pretty quiet around the campfire. I don’t think anyone knows what to say… I mean… what do you say in this situation? Two of our group are dead… they are dead and they shouldn’t be… none of this should have happened… and none of us want to talk about that.
Smutisha bounded over… smiling and jovial as always. I know she is well-versed in masking her emotions and putting on a brave face… but it still unnerves me when she does. She was like this when she had that miscarriage all those years ago… all smiles and laughter… if it wasn’t for Thomas telling me what she was like behind closed doors I would have thought her heartless.
I mean… it would be easy to write her off as a self-serving upper-class nutter. But she does care… what she does is sometimes misguided… but she has the best intentions. This expedition… she hoped to end all of the Grim raids… put a stop to the kidnapping and raping of women… end the murdering and eating of men and children. It was an honourable aim… but she underestimated how vile some creatures can be… sometimes there is no reasoning… no negotiating… sometimes your only hope is to wipe something from the face of this earth.
Smutisha placed her hand on Damecus’ shoulder and gazed down at the baby who was in a little sling that held him close to Damecus’ chest. Damecus says that feeling your heartbeat is good for babies.
Smutisha: “How is the little one, darling?”
Damecus: “He fairs well. Although, I fear he will need feeding soon. And in the absence of a wet nurse, his mother is the only one nearby who will be able to do so.”
Smutisha: “I shall speak with her, darling. If that fails, then I shall dispatch somebody to fort Bracken to bring us back a wet nurse.”
Damecus: “If that is needed, I shall simply take the child there myself. I will be faster than any of your messengers and this way he will not have to wait for anybody to return.”
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Smutisha: “Good idea. Thank you, Damecus.”
Smutisha turned to the rest of us and clapped her hands to gain everybody’s attention.
Smutisha: “Sorry to interrupt your meal, darlings. I simply wish to fill you all in on what is to occur moving forwards. As I am sure you are all aware, this excursion has not accomplished what it intended to. The fault for that lies entirely with me. However, I do not wish for this to sour the public’s opinion of the Grim that are going to be living within our community.”
I understand me and the baby… but people definitely need to be weary of that goblin that she brought back tied up. He can’t be trusted at all. He’s tied to a pillar over at the other side of the room. He’s been grunting and hissing at everybody that walks past him. What the hell is she thinking? Bringing him back is insane.
Smutisha: “Therefore, when we return, darlings. The public will simply be informed that we put a stop to a Grim nest and that we rescued various survivors… including a Grim baby. They do not need to be informed that this was an attempt to form an alliance and that they met our kindness with conflict.”
Phoenix: “What of Keith? What will you tell the Bracken?”
Smutisha: “The Bracken did not know the full extent of this plan. They will be told he died heroically, fighting the Grim and saving the lives of others. Which he did. I shall provide for his next of kin, should he have any.”
I know that she needs to save face in the eyes of the public here… but lying through omission is still lying.
Phoenix: “And Agaroth?”
Smutisha: “He has a son… does he not, darling?”
Phoenix: “He does.”
Smutisha: “I shall make sure that the little darling is taken care of.”
Phoenix: “He is a grown man now, not a child. Do not remove him from Madame Laurent’s. That place is his home. To move him would confuse him… he does not cope well with change.”
Smutisha: “What would you have me do, darling?”
Phoenix: “Agaroth told us to keep paying for him to stay there. Those prostitutes care for him, they have done so since he was little. They know what he needs and how he likes things to be. But they are not a charity, they will need monetary compensation.”
Ah… so that’s what he meant. His final words did throw me a little.
Smutisha: “Then they shall be well compensated, darling.”
Carter: “My lady. What of Asmodeus. He won’t keep silent. He’ll spread word about this attempted alliance of yours.”
Smutisha: “Do not fear, darling. People stopped listening to his paranoid ramblings a long time ago. The majority will dismiss his claims simply because they come from him. He destroyed his public image a long time ago with all his ranting against dear sweet Dwynfel here.”
Dwynfel: “This is wrong.”
Smutisha: “Excuse me?”
I stopped attempting to feed Kiyui, stood up and stepped forward.
Dwynfel: “This is wrong. Keith and Agaroth are dead… they’re dead and we are here discussing public image.”
Smutisha: “I know, darling. It is morbid and distasteful… but when one is in the public eye, one must always consider these things.”
Dwynfel: “Can we not just have one night… one night to just…”
Phoenix: “Dwynfel…”
Dwynfel: “Don’t… just don’t. How can you sit there and calmly talk about his affairs… he’s dead… his son is never going to see him again…”
Phoenix: “He requested we do this as he was…”
Dwynfel: “But how can you be so calm?! I know you two didn’t like each other… but how are you not fazed by this?!”
Phoenix: “Agaroth and I may not have agreed about certain things…”
Dwynfel: “All you two ever did was argue! For the entire time we have known each other! It has just been constant arguing! And now he’s dead… he’s dead and all I can think about is how much he pissed me off!”
Phoenix attempted to put her hand on my shoulder but I batted it away.
Dwynfel: “He’s been part of my life for so long… and all I can think about is how uncomfortable he used to make me… how the things he would say would disgust and irritate me. How the only reason he ended up in our party in the first place is because he had been kicked out of every other party that he had been in, specifically for being an arsehole. We only let him join because we were desperate.”
Smutisha: “Everybody has their downsides, darling.”
Dwynfel: “I know that… of course I know that. But why is that stuff all that is in my head right now? Why?!”
Phoenix: “You are trying to limit your emotions.”
Dwynfel: “What?”
Phoenix: “If you convince yourself that he was nothing more than a vulgar arsehole, then the loss will not feel as significant.”
He was a vulgar arsehole… I don’t need to convince myself of that.
Damecus: “That is not helpful in the long term. You need to process the good as well as the bad. So that you can mourn properly.”
Dwynfel: “Oh, that’s rich coming from you two! Damecus… you always talk about how important it is to let your emotions out, but you are the most stoic person that I know. And Phoenix… you keep everything in to the point that I didn’t even know that you were married for years… you keep everything to yourself… you’re always so cold and distant!
Dietrich: “Kid, I think you need to calm yourself down before you say something that you’ll regret.”
Dwynfel: “No… no! I’m so tired of bottling everything… overthinking everything. You all seem too well put together… you all seem to know who you want to be and what you want to do… well my head is a fucking minefield and I am sick of it!”
Dietrich: “We all doubt ourselves, Dwynfel.”
Dwynfel: “Oh, please. I’ve seen the way you carry yourself. You’re confidence incarnate. You just dive into everything head first and never think of the consequences. Well, you know what… violence is not the solution to everything. Not everything can be resolved with wrestling or a fight to the death!”
Kiyui stood up and walked towards me.
Kiyui: “Dwynfel, calm down, this isn’t like you.”
Dwynfel: “Don’t you start… you’re just as bad! You cannot suck and fuck your way out of everything!”
Kiyui: “Maybe not, but it can certainly be fun to try.”
Dwynfel: “This isn’t a joke, Kiyui! Your arsehole is not the magical solution that you think it is! Agaroth is dead and… and…”
Kiyui: “I know, Dwynfel.”
Dwynfel: “He’s looked out for me for years… he was vulgar and offensive and he made me beyond uncomfortable… but he had my back… he protected me from so much… he gave me so much help and advice… even if it was phrased in the most vile and disgusting ways. He helped me become who I am… and… and now he’s gone… he’s gone and I don’t know how to deal with it!”
