Gube.
The fire blazed as Gube watched her shorter sister sprint from the mouth of the cave, diving almost headlong into the bushes, of which, Gube had explained she was to hide behind.
She wanted to rub at her temples as she observed the new girl tumble through the underbrush, rolling to an unceremonious stop, only to stick the landing on her haunches.
Well, if nothing else, she scored points for the finish.
Clearly, the girl was taking Swift-spear's lessons to heart.
That was good.
Thus far, her mistress hadn't elevated anyone who didn't seem to have at least some semblance of thought about them, a curiosity given half the girls weren't nearly as âquickâ as they'd been before their ascension.
Not an issue for Gube; she rather agreed that her kind tended to be a little dumb on averageâ¦
Sure, there were always outliers, but each of the five girls she'd added to her priesthood were clearly intelligent enough to understand the world in a way that they simply couldn't before. None were any longer upon the verge of what she might name animals.
Granted, they could still do silly things, just as she'd witnessed River-sniffer prove, but where goblins could universally be clever, not dissimilar to a skunk breaking into a pack filled with rations, they couldn't normally âretainâ information.
Take her plucky newest addition to her dark lady's chosen.
Gube had expressly explained that once lighting the flame, River-sniffer was to rush back to her hiding place as fast as she could.
Now, perhaps the lapse in communication had been partially her fault, however, Gube had earnestly not thought the poor girl would take her general orders as absolute gospel...
âSheâ knew that the fire would take time to root out their quarry, heck, given how many times they'd done this already, most of the others likely had a decent idea of how long things would take as well.
The smoke needed to build up in order to choke out the air inside the den and flush the prey. It wasn't justâinstantaneous⦠A notion that Gube thought was rather obvious.
Though, In retrospect, she should have seen the girl's mad dash coming.
Nervous energy, a despairing self-consciousness that she'd somehow screw things up and be âreturnedâ to the state she'd once beenâ¦
A desire to prove herself to her new sisters as being worthy of the dark lady's gift.
All things that, for the most part, she suspected most of the new initiates went through, and, to an extent, things that Gube herself had experienced.
It was why she was so gentle with her beloved âsistersâ of corruption. They had each and every one been chosen by her goddess, thus, they were above the dregs of filthy mongrels and beady red eyes.
Already, their time together was beginning to breed results. Each of her priestesses learning to hunt, to track, to wield the spear from a true talent of the age, to fight and forage and survive in the woodsâ¦
All were progressing wonderfully with their newly developing skills.
All basked in the adoration, deference, and jealousy their gift provided.
When her priestesses walked through the cave, all knelt to whisper prayers.
When they returned from the hunt, the only meaningful providers of meat, the uninitiated, scraped on their bellies with dreams that they too might be chosen to serve.
Her priestesses were larger, smarter, more robust and durable, their bones stronger, health indomitable!
To regular gobs, they were as Hobs, each and every one!
Those to look up to, those who led, those who provided.
The daily feasts were almost a ceremony now, with Gube offering a sermon while her sisters of the faith doled out the sacred flesh provided by their mistress. The clan all gathering to listen to her sing her goddess's praises while, near the end of the night, one lucky woman would be chosen to become more than goblin.
To become a newly anointed sister of the devout!
Now, Gube had a small and loyal gang of rapidly improving followers that further cemented her place with the clan's hierarchy.
Rell, already level five and so graceful as to hardly make a sound as she moved through the trees.
Itch, the oldest and wisest of her sisters, cautious and observant. Smart enough so that she, perhaps second to Gube herself, truly understood just how much she owed their goddess for her blessings.
Jill and Till, twins who, upon Jill's ascension and Gube's following earnest prayer to her lady, had been elevated one after another, Jill the first, Till the next. Neither girl had been particularly bright, both cautious and skittish of any beyond their sibling, but with their dark lady's grace, they had opened their eyes to the truth!
At her instruction, one in every three points received was to be put into intelligence; however, now breaking through their fourth level, Gube could clearly see where the twins' points had been allotted.
The pair of girls had muscles bulging like young hobs... Defined and chiseled, neither as strong as Gube herself, strangely, given the slight disparity in size, but the high-priestess had seen the pair bouncing children between them as though they weighed little more than air itself.
Then, there was River-sniffer.
The newest addition and yet unlevelled priestess that, if all went well, would be earning her stripes and her first attribute points later today.
Gube had worked out a semblance of a system.
Every day, she and her sisters would take out the newest member to their ranks and level her as much as they could by allowing them to take the finishing blow for any kills.
This, in effect, boosted whomever the dark lady deigned to bless. All the while, her new sisters of the faith imparted their wisdom upon her, teaching her skills and building her confidence. Explaining how the âgiftâ worked, what was expected of her, and ensuring they knew just how blessed they truly were to be chosen.
Thus far, Gube had managed to bump each of her girls by a level or two on their first day, giving them their basic panoply of now-shared education.
Spearwork, tracking, trapping, pathfinding, stealth, and wilderness survival all usually managed to manifest by the first or second evening. It was required of each young woman to understand that they were a team.
That they must help each other grow strong, for only together could they make their goddess pleased, only together could they spread her influence.
Gube was naturally their leader, of course. Who else but the greatest among them? Yet, while she often peered upon her lesser kin with disdain, all those who joined the priesthood were as family to her.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Thus, as the matriarch, Gube realized that she held, within her position, certain responsibilities.
This was why, even now when she could have delegated the job to Rell or Itch, Gube was walking yet another initiate through the process herself. Bringing all her girls along, who were perfectly pleased to share each other's company.
They were united, if not by immediate blood; even though all goblins in a clan were usually kin in one manner or another, but by devotion. If not by personality, then by prayer and thanks for their boons.
It wasn't lost upon a single one of the priesthood's ranks of what they had been before they'd been chosen. One merely had to observe the feral nature of their green and warted âkinâ to understand what had been given, what had been escaped.
Rightly so, none complained when Gube proclaimed the priesthood would all teach any who came after them. None spoke a word of disrespect to their goddess, nor her mortal avatar on this world.
And though Itch, in her evenings, chose to whittle new spears for her sisters; And the twins always chose to play with children or take the young foraging in their free time; While Rell sauntered about, teasing and indulging in her lust; Gube never demanded they do otherwise.
Her expectations were simple.
Spend the morning practicing the spear, the day in the woods hunting and training their skills, and, come evening, offer prayers to their goddess before you piss off and do whatever it was you felt like.
Honestly, Gube felt she had a pretty decent thing going, considering nobody questioned nor seemed upset about the now daily routine. Though that wasn't to say there weren't issuesâ¦
Gube watched from her perch in the tree as a rustling, snuffling, ruckus began emerging from the cave.
Her eyes peered about her, hiding sisters, who each tensed with anticipation. River-sniffer was practically vibrating with excitement, her wiggling ears betraying her otherwise flawless mask of concentration.
She smiled, letting out a small whistle, getting the timing just right as several boars came bounding from the cave!
They'd set up ramshackle barricades on either side of the trees from the entrance, not enough to actually stop any of the rampaging brutes, but rather, to give the beasts a clear path of escape they'd always thus far chosen.
This was a preferred tactic Gube had dreamt of in her slumbers⦠Along with the idea to smoke prey out of their homes and to use her sisters to hunt as would a pack of wolves.
She seemed to have a great many new ideas whenever she woke, a strange pattern emerging that she hadn't yet managed to really figure outâ¦
Nevertheless, the things she came up with were universally effective. Even now, she had designs upon actually capturing the overgrown pigs, building a sturdy surround, and breeding the creatures for easy nourishment.
She utterly adored the concept as a whole! However, wasn't quite ready to commit to something so permanent. Not where they currently lived, anyway. While the cave was fine in the interim, it was far from ideal.
The boars squealed as they ran through the thoroughfare, the entire family, nearly a dozen still remaining, stampeding in their panicked dash to escape the smoke, only for three of the creatures to be brutally speared through the flanks!
One twin, each holding a separate and frenzied beast through the strength of arm alone as their muscles bulged with the strain of locking down their rampaging targets, held them with thick and heavy spears.
The third was taken thrice, a rather large specimen finding three bone-tipped weapons plunged into its squirming body.
"Quick! River-sniffer! Stab through the ear with knife!" Gube commanded, leaping down from her tree and throwing her weight upon the most grievously wounded and largest of their quarry.
Using her strength, the high-priestess was able to easily press the wriggling hog into submission, glaring at the momentarily shell-shocked girl who, after a breath, tore the long, slender bone knife from her belt and plunged it deeply into the creature's brain. Panting with wild eyes as the adrenaline and energy of the moment pumped through her veins!
With soft and almost calming squeals that transitioned to a sigh, the big beast settled, its form relaxing into the earth as River-sniffer's trembling arm held the blade deep, looking to almost try and push it further as Gubeâs hand moved to gently rest on her shoulder.
"Good! Very good, sister. You get soul?"
The girl nodded, staring off into space with that telltale dissipation of awareness as she peered into her status window to observe it. "River-sniffer⦠almost have enoughâbarâ¦"
"Almost have enough experience," Gube corrected, gently patting the other woman's arm to gain her attention.
The girl flushed, not even realizing that her high priestess was touching her, quickly nodding her head as she tried again, attempting to regain control of her breathing. âAlmost have enough experience to level⦠very close⦠umm⦠t-ten p-percent away?â
"Perfect! Now, leave boar for sisters. You need to kill others quickly before they bleed too much."
River-sniffer nodded again, rising while savagely ripping the blade from the dead animal's head in a brief fountain of gore, moving with her high-priestess as she was led away, one hand on the smaller girl's back.
They came upon the grinning twins, each likely coming close to outweighing their only slightly smaller beasts as Gube oversaw their slaughter as well, just as the first.
She noticed how the girl's eyes shot wide after the second boar, but Gube urged her to quickly deal with the third before she delved into her newfound sliver of power.
"What should âputâ into?" The girl asked a time later, seeming to just venerate the achievement she'd managed while her sisters prepared the animals for transport.
"Intelligence probablyâ¦" Till muttered, earning herself an agreeing grunt from her twin. "Strength great, but, not let you learn things faster."
"I second Till's suggestion," Itch added, smiling warmly at the newly anointed while peeling the hide from a smaller boar. "Really depends what you want. But intelligence seems potent. Skills come quicker, world makes more sense."
"Next point going into that one for Rell, too," the lithe priestess murmured, sighing wistfully. "Never knew how much âthinkingâ helps. Rell was too stupid before, thought dirt and bugs were most important things to focus on."
Itch snorted, ears wiggling with mirth as she pointed her blade lazily in Rell's direction. "I remember you digging day after day in old home, sitting outside in rain to find worms."
"Tasted best," Rell shrugged, though grinned at the memory all the same. "Physique and finesse not so bad. Get bigger booba and thinner waist with first; second makes you really bendy!"
"Fun?" Jill asked, raising a silver brow at the other woman who smiled lasciviously at her bonded sister.
"Get lots of gifts, shinies, rocks, coins. Like attention," the girl chuckled, offering a charming little tilt and twist to her upper half.
"Lots of attention," Till noted, to which Rell unashamedly agreed.
"Intelligence best if not knowing what want right now," Gube offered, keeping her gaze steady with the younger girl who nodded fervently, watching her high priestess as though she were the goddess herself. "Not waste, lots of benefits. Faster skills, faster mind. Wisdom useful, too, makes you notice things around you. Not flashy like most of the others but, worth it."
"Gube, try out luck or charisma?" Itch asked, curious as she gazed at the younger goblin who'd been chosen as their goddess's first.
"Luckâweird⦠changes little things. Sometimes nudgings, like hunger or when have to poo but different⦠Hmph, hard to explain. Get feelings sometimes, little hints towards which way animal goes when the trail disappears. Maybe random urge to look into river as walking by to see shiny rock. Other than that, not great, I guess. Charisma just helps talk better. Bigger words, more goblins listen when speakingâ¦"
"Gube sometimes looks like she glows when talking about goddesses," Till noted, each of the women in their small circle seeming to agree.
"Feels like old chieftain did when talking," Itch sighed, looking towards the canopy above as she did so. "Before he got killed⦠Old chieftain was good talker, good leader too.â
"Strong-arm, new chief," Jill supplied, though her tone was less fact and more weary. "Getting madder and madder by day. Nobody listens to him unless he starts yelling."
"Swift-spear avoid him too," Rell chimed in, though she got a pointed âlookâ from the girls around her.
"Swift-spear follows Rell like horny pup! Avoids chief because Rell treats him like personal bouncing mushroom."
"Has benefits."
"Experienced?" Itch chuckled, smiling knowingly.
"Lots. Also, does what Rell says. And, Rell getting good with spear work."
The girls laughed, rising a time later, their skinned and gutted prey hanging from poles while tied at the feet.
They made their way back to the cave, but Gube stopped them to point out the various tracks she spotted, asking her sisters questions and giving them all a chance to think and consider which animal had made them.
Sometimes, theyâd stop to occasionally flinging stones at smaller critters that the group detected, allowing River-sniffer to snap the necks of those that survived.
By the time they reached the cavern, the day was already growing late. Their newest member had managed her third level, putting all her points into intelligence without having known what better to do with them.
Gube had cautioned the girl that a healthy distribution was key to equally healthy improvement, but admitted, if in her own situation, that she'd have done the sameâto an extent, of course.
One back at the cave, the night, as it had for several days that approached the routine, began to drift away around her as Gube, with her sisters, began preparing the evening's feast.