Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Grand Mother

You have qualified for evolution! Would you like to evolve into a [Goblin Grand Mother]?

Risha stared at the words as her spiders finished the last of their burrows in the pit.

A goblin evolution! Risha had never heard of a goblin evolution before, and she didn’t know exactly what it meant. But whatever it meant, she knew that she wanted it.

“Risha want!” Risha said aloud. “Make Risha Goblin Grand Mother!”

Request accepted. Evolving into Goblin Grand Mother.

Name: Risha

Race: Goblin Grand Mother

Lvl:1

Skills:

[Council of Grandmas] Speak with the council for guidance and knowledge.

[Motherly Advice] Gift unique evolutionary path matching the qualities of the gifted

Calculating Feats

Feat: Kill Large Predator

Superior Feat: Kill Giant Predator

Superior Feat: Kill Higher Evolution [Orc]

Five levels gained! Skill [Brood Mother] Gained! Skill [Hunter] gained!

[Brood Mother] Grants the gift of communication for you and those you protect

[Hunter] Your body is designed to hunt. You will be harder to detect, and no one can escape your gaze once they become your prey.

Name: Risha

Race: Goblin Grand Mother

Lvl:6

Skills:

[Council of Grandmas]

[Motherly Advice]

[Brood Mother]

[Hunter]

Risha’s body changed with the evolution. She kept her purple skin, not changing into the red of the orc, but her size grew until she was slightly taller than an orc. Her body stayed lean, but her muscles felt stronger. Her eyes grew sharper, glowing a dark blue. The nails on her hands sharpened, losing their thickness. Her black hair gained a healthy sheen to it, almost like spider silk. Her once short ears grew longer, looking like pointed bat ears.

“Risha does not know how…” Risha paused. “Risha can talk… I can talk?”

“Mom?” A voice called out, followed by several more voices.

Risha looked around until her eyes landed on one of the spiders making a burrow.

“Risha is- I am alright.” Risha stood tall, noticing how all of the spiders around her looked smaller. While before they’d been about her height, they now reached her waist.

They accepted that for a second, continuing their work on their burrows before every spider froze. They looked at each other, talking in voices that Risha could now understand. Finally, one of them, the one who would ride on Risha the most when they were younger, spoke.

“We can understand you. Can you… can you understand us?”

“Yes! Yes I can!” Risha jumped up and down in excitement, then she hugged the furry spider, enjoying the feel of her little spiderling.

The spiders chitterred in excitement, and Risha enjoyed the moment. Then her mind wandered to the overseer and the orcs.

She didn’t know how they’d react to her new transformation, but she doubted it would be good. Orcs only accepted orcs as their equals, and goblins are only allowed to exist as servants to the orc tribes.

She didn’t want to be a servant. The spiders she was holding sensed her troubled thoughts, and placed one of its legs on her arm.

Risha patted the spider, then one of the other skills she’d gotten came to her mind.

“What is a council of grandmas?” Risha wondered out loud. She needed advice and guidance, and that is what the skill said it would give her.

She intuitively activated the skill, her eyes widening as some kind of strange energy moved in her body.

The world around her disappeared, falling away to be replaced by a black void lit only by stars.

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Risha looked around, but only the void greeted her.

“Oh!” a high pitched voice said from behind her. Risha turned around only to pause as she encountered one of the most stunningly beautiful women that she’d ever seen, not that she’d seen many non-goblin women.

The woman that greeted her was older, with smile lines around her mouth and eyes, but her light-blue skin was incredibly healthy, making it hard to place her exact age. But something about the woman gave Risha the feeling of someone ancient, like the old trees in the center of the forest.

“Oh hello there dear! So sorry, I don’t think any of us were expecting company any time soon.” The woman’s voice soothed Risha’s tense shoulders, every word relaxing her body in a way that hadn’t happened in a long time. “Give me a moment to call the others.”

Risha opened her mouth to ask a question, but the woman had already disappeared.

Suddenly, the space around Risha changed, and she appeared in a large room, the walls made of stone, a material that Risha had never seen before. A large fireplace brought warmth to the room, while lanterns lit up the many paintings and statues that decorated the space.

Another woman watched Risha, her presence instantly drawing Risha’s attention despite the many new and novel things that decorated the room.

This woman’s skin was different, reminding her of the one human she’d seen fed to a spider by the orcs when she was very young. The woman wore an ornate crown with many shining jewels in it, and wore large earrings that reflected the light in every direction. She sat on a large throne that caused her to look down on Risha despite her being smaller than the evolved goblin.

Risha had never felt a presence like hers before. It grabbed her attention, and would not let it go. Risha almost felt as if she should not be standing in the presence of the empress.

Then the woman smiled, and Risha’s breath caught. “Welcome. I hope this old grandma didn’t startle you too much. You’re the first goblin I’ve seen with the Grand Mother class. I didn’t even know that goblins could have classes.”

Risha’s mouth suddenly felt dry, and she had to swallow before she could speak. “Risha does not have a class. Risha evolved.” She was so nervous that she forgot to use the word I.

The woman leaned closer, her eyes widening. “Oh. Oh! Well that is unique.” The woman stepped off of her throne, her presence making Risha want to look up at the woman despite the empress being a head shorter.

Risha gasped in surprise as she was brought into a hug by the empress.

“Welcome dear. My name is Shyanne.”

“H-hello.” Risha squeaked, surprised by the strength the small woman had.

“Iris is gathering some of the others, but it’s hard to grab everyone on such short notice. You’ll have to be satisfied with just my presence for now.” Shyanne let Risha out of the hug and returned to her throne. “I’m sure you have many questions. I’ll do my best to answer them, although I can’t stay long.”

“Where is Rish- am I?”

Shyanne chuckled, “You are in the council of grandmas. Everyone here has or once had the Grand Mother class. Each generation is here to guide the next.”

Risha looked at her, still feeling very confused by the elegant woman. Then she looked around the room she was in, trying to absorb everything that was happening. Shyanne was content to let Risha explore as the silence lengthened. She knew that there was no rushing these things.

Eventually Risha’s gaze returned to the empress. “I need help.”

Shyanne inclined her head, indicating for Risha to continue.

Risha explained the situation of her village, and her fear of what would happen should the orcs find out about her evolution. Words still weren’t easy to Risha, but the more she talked, the easier they came.

Shyanne pondered for a moment, then turned her gaze to look in the corner. “What do you think, Maya?”

A woman stepped out of the shadows, startling Risha. The new woman’s skin was dark as night, contrasting the silky white of her hair. She had pointed ears similar to Risha’s, just less animalistic and more human. She was an old dark elf, as shown by her few wrinkles.

“You have two choices.” Maya’s voice carried an air of danger to it, like a knife in the dark. “You could fight against this overseer, or you could take your people and run.”

Shyanne nodded, then turned to Risha, “Tell us your skills young one. As a Grand Mother, I’m sure you have children you wish to protect. We can help you do so.”

Risha explained all four of her skills. As she did, two other women joined them, one she recognized as the woman she first saw when she arrived and the other had a scarf covering all of her features except for her eyes.

“The power of a Grand Mother,” Shyanne said once Risha had finished, “Lies in how she empowers those under her care. Whether you decide to run or fight, you will need to use your [Motherly Advice] skill well. But in the end the choice is yours, and we will support you in it.”

The three other women in the room nodded.

“I don’t want to run.” Risha said.

Shyanne smiled. “Good.”

***

Risha took a deep breath as her senses returned. She looked around to find herself surrounded by her spiderlings. Their body heat kept her warm in the lightly falling snow.

They shifted as she stood up, most of them returning to their burrows to start their hibernation.

Risha had some time. With the snow, the overseer’s visits would lessen, becoming more erratic. He’d just been here yesterday, which meant she had anywhere from a week to a month to ready herself… and hopefully her people.

She walked up to the edge of the pit, then using her newfound strength, she leapt up to the edge and easily pulled herself over.

Thankfully, night had approached, making it easier for her to hide herself as she made her way through her village.

She snuck into the tents, quickly finding Glo.

She covered his mouth as she gently shook him awake. Glo’s eyes opened slowly, then opened wide when he saw her.

He tried to cry out, but her hand over his mouth stopped him. “Shush! It’s Risha! Risha evolved!” She returned to the old way of speaking to make it easier for the poor startled goblin.

Glo calmed, his eyes studying her carefully. Finally he nodded.

“Follow Risha.” She said to him, then snuck out of the tent. Glo was significantly less sneaky as he made his way after her, but none of the other goblins woke up.

Eventually, they made their way to a quiet spot away from the village. Glo stumbled over a few things on their way, his vision not as sharp as Risha’s, but she hoped to fix that soon.

“Risha not orc?” Glo asked as they stopped.

Risha shook her head, “No. Risha not orc, Risha best goblin.” She paused, considering what she wanted to ask. “Glo… do you want to evolve like Risha?”

“Yes! Not stupid ugly orc!” Glo answered immediately.

Risha smiled at her friend, then activated her skill [Motherly Advice].

Analyzing Goblin Glo’s feats

Possible Evolutions:

High Goblin Laborer

High Goblin Commander

Orc

Risha easily made her choice. She started speaking, her words coming to her naturally as Glo listened closely. Her words wrapped around Glo, mixing with his spirit as his eyes brightened with understanding and newfound knowledge.