The group arrived at Barkwen during the early morning. Goblins were rising from beds to get to work. They slinked out of their huts and cabins, armed with tools like fishing rods, lumber axes, and spears. As a primarily hunter-gatherer race, they were entirely self-sufficient without the need to trade with others.
When Kanae had come here last, it was in the midst of the Ortesian invasion. She rescued Terra, the goblin broodmother of Barkwen from captivity.
In the years that passed, the village had grown larger. Watchtowers were manned with lookouts keeping an eye out for danger. Large longhouses that served as the community's common areas. An increasing population that must have been the result of an influx of newcomers and births.
If there was any place a goblin simulacrum could hide, this was definitely it.
"What do you think, Mitty? See the tracks?" Kanae asked.
"Not anymore, sorry." Mitty shook his head. "In populated areas, tracks overlap too much and fade out. If Barkwen was still a small village, I might have been able to see it."
"Don't worry about it, honey. You saved us a lot of time. We would've been searching for years before realizing the simulacrum came here," she explained, tilting his chin up to kiss him.
A passing peanut gallery whistled sharply.
"Hey, me next!"
"Give me a smooch between my legs, toots!"
As always, horny goblins and their penchant for sexual harassment had to say their piece.
"Move along, because I'm his mate." Kanae cupped a handful of Mitty's balls.
They clicked their tongues jealously and sidled on.
"Instead of taunting them, you could have asked where this Terra is." Eliza rolled her eyes.
"Oh, oops. I didn't think of that." Kanae shrunk.
Several pans flew out of a nearby longhouse log cabin. A goblin holding a fishing rod ran out and ducked from a knife zipping over his head.
"Terra, calm down the hells down! I'm going to work, alright? I promise to catch something!" he cried.
"Yo fucking better! Y'ain't putting another baby in me otherwise. I want to see ten catches when you get back!" Terra growled as she emerged into view shaking her fist.
The goblin fled towards the lake without so much as looking back.
"Ah. I presume that woman is Terra?" Eliza laughed into the back of her hand.
"Who's asking?" Terra glanced their way and her eyes snapped open. "Well if it ain't Queen Kanae and Mitty!"
"Long time no see." Kanae smiled.
The broodmother of Barkwen didn't look pregnant this time. Well, chances were she could be very early along. Terra instead had two infant goblins swaddled in a sling around her chest where they nursed quietly. Her bright orange hair was done in a wiry bun, and she wasn't donning body paint like before.
"Dunno why you're here, but it must be important. Come on in. We'll fix ya something to gnaw on while we talk— Hey!" Terra turned to snap at three passing goblins that jumped a foot into the air. "Take Queen Kanae's beasts to the stables and feed them!"
"Th-They're looking at us like we're the feed…" one stammered.
Too bad for them, there was no telling Terra 'no'. The goblin pair led Titan and the devil mutts away. When Terra spun around inviting Kanae and the others into the longhouse, it turned out she had two more babies swaddled against her back.
"If you were ever curious why goblins are matriarchal," Eliza leaned in and began in a low voice, "female goblins are able to exert some control over opening and closing their cervix. If males want to produce offspring, they can't do it by force. The female must be appeased. Incredible how ensuring the survival of a lineage can dictate rule and culture."
"It's too bad male goblins are always so perverted. Except for you, Mitty!" Kanae added hastily.
"No offense taken." Mitty shrugged.
They didn't hear the commotion that had been going on inside while standing out in the open. Under the longhouse roof, however, the wail of many babies assailed them. Goblin infants laid swaddled in small wooden cribs arranged in rows. There wasn't so much as a name tag on any of them.
It seemed Terra wasn't the only female goblin in Barkwen anymore. Four other women in various states of pregnancy went around tending to the babies. They rocked cribs, rattled toys, and fed them from their teats. Toddlers crawled around all over the place, and one came up to Eliza's feet and reached up to her.
"Boobies!" the goblin tot demanded.
"Unfortunately for you, child, I am not lactating." Eliza chuckled.
"I thought goblin settlements only have one female?" Kanae asked.
"And who'd you hear that from? Yeah, it's usually true. But only for tribes. When we get big enough to form a clan, there's more than one chick. Make no mistake though. I'm the prime broodmother of this shindig." Terra thumbed to herself.
After putting the babies into a crib, Barkwen's broodmother brought some bacon jerky and moonshine for Kanae and her companions. They sat down around a somewhat oval table that was knee high for goblins. Eliza lifted the moonshine up to her nose, took one sip, and recoiled in disgust. When Kanae and Mitty saw, they opted for water instead.
"Thanks for the hospitality, Terra. We aren't actually planning to stay long. We're looking for a goblin, and Mitty tracked them to here in Barkwen," Kanae explained.
"Okay. Except, you got one problem. We're all goblins here," Terra said.
"A goblin that came from… Ehmvier?"
"We've got loads of 'em. Where d'ya think we get them from?" She threw her hands up.
"They will have come here recently," Eliza chimed in impatiently. "The goblin we're looking for is male. Likely won't know their own name. It is imperative we find them, because they aren't a goblin, but a dangerous simulacrum that may cause harm to you and your village."
The threat of danger shaped Terra right up. Her gaze looked anywhere other than at them. She was hiding something.
"I'm guessing you did meet someone like that?" Kanae asked.
"Yeah, you can say that. Listen, Kanae. I know you're a queen, and you've got people to look after. I've got people to look after, too. Goblins that come here are usually dolts without direction. They're still my goblins. You say dangerous, but this guy doesn't tick that box," Terra explained almost pleadingly.
"You do know the simulacrum then. It is imperative that you hand them over," Eliza demanded.
Terra kept her lips sealed. Eliza's forcefulness made her more hesitant to reveal more.
"Eliza let me handle this. Terra, the simulacrum is able to tap into some powerful magic. Think about your children. Having it around puts them in danger," Kanae said.
"What do you plan to do with him?" Terra asked.
Eliza opened her mouth to speak, but Kanae knew the answer before and lifted a hand to stop her.
"Bring him back to Ehmvier for the time being where he can't hurt anyone," Kanae explained.
"Damn it." Terra took one look at the infants and sighed. "Fine. Check the lake. He wanted to contribute after I gave him a place to stay. We put a rod in his hand and told him to bring back some fish."
"Thank you. You did the right thing by telling us." She nodded.
They rose to hurry to the lake, Eliza on her broom and Kanae carrying Mitty. It was a short flight away. The glistening waters could be seen from the sky. There were ten goblins, paired up on small fishing boats. Judging by the few catches, the fishermen weren't off to a great start.
"Mitty and I will check the shore. You ask the ones in the water," Kanae told the sorceress.
Eliza flew off, the broom creating wakes in the lake as she headed to confront the closest goblins. Meanwhile, Kanae and Mitty ran up to a pair that was just pushing their boat into the water.
"We're looking for a goblin who was tasked to join you all fishing today," Kanae said.
"Forget fishing. What do you say about sailing out to the lake for some romantic sex?" a goblin suggested.
"We won't rock the boat too hard. Promise!" the other said.
Kanae slapped a hand to her face and groaned. At least she knew they were definitely not the simulacrum. Mitty came running back after talking to the rest.
"No dice?" Kanae asked.
Mitty shook his head. "Everyone seems more confused than anything. They also asked me to ask if you're interested in a gangbang."
Of course, they did.
Eliza returned with the same news. None of them turned out to be the simulacrum.
"You don't think…" Mitty hesitated to finish his sentence.
"Terra lied to us!" Eliza growled, completing it for him.
"Eliza, wait!" Kanae couldn't stop the sorceress from bolting off on her broom.
Where did that burst of anger even come from?
"Mitty, let's go!" Kanae exclaimed and picked him up.
They hurried back to Barkwen, hot on Eliza's tail. But her broom was faster. By the time Kanae and Mitty returned, the sorceress was already confronting Terra at the eastern end of the village. She had her staff pointed at the goblin.
"Tell us the truth. Where is the simulacrum?" Eliza asked.
"Threatening a citizen of the Commonwealth is going too far!" Kanae put herself between Eliza and Terra.
"The simulacrum's existence threatens your citizens, Amethyst. Terra let it escape when she sent us to the lake," she explained.
Kanae glanced over her shoulder. Terra was suspiciously tight-lipped and didn't so much as deny it. Then it was true. Even so…
"Eliza, we're friends. Talk to me. What's got you so riled up over the simulacrum? It can't just be because one is on the loose," Kanae reasoned.
"Not just a simulacrum. A simulacrum with a soul. It was a mistake that you never came under my tutelage. I could have taught you much. If you will not stand aside, Amethyst… I will have to go through you," Eliza said, her robes flaring out to let loose a flock of ravens.
"Wait! Stop!" someone shouted.
A lone goblin emerged from the forest.
"Ya idiot! Why'd you come back?" Terra cried.
Kanae recognized him as among the simulacra created to serve Arenade's goblin kink. After all, she had sex with him, too. Only this time, he wasn't naked and was instead wearing a simple tunic and leather pants. Other than that, there was nothing extraordinary about him. Even after he threw that powerful fireball at Kanae, she didn't see him as anything more than just an ordinary goblin.
"Terra and Barkwen have been very kind to me. It would be wrong if I let them suffer trying to protect me," the simulacrum said.
"You're a better person than I." Eliza darted ahead on her flying broom.
"Eliza, no!" Kanae shouted.
Mitty threw himself forward and grabbed the broom. The extra weight made Eliza's ride wobble and teeter. They crashed hard to the ground, where the dazed sorceress rubbed her head.
"Good work, Mitty!" Kanae caught up, drew the Blade of the First Temptress, and casted an empowered Sleep on Eliza.
"Amethyst… you said we were… friends…" Eliza couldn't resist the spell and passed out on the dirt.
Kanae sheathed her sword and sighed. Hopefully, Eliza didn't hold this against her later. The last thing she needed was a powerful sorceress holding a grudge. As Kanae helped Mitty up, Terra had run up to the simulacrum.
"I told you to run away. What gives?" Terra slapped him.
"I didn't want you to get hurt!" He hung his head, then turned to Kanae. "You're the one who chased me out of Ehmvier, right? I don't suppose you're willing to let me escape…?"
"No. Not yet at least. I want to hear you out, and I want Eliza to give me an explanation. It's obvious she's hiding more from me than she lets on. But first, I don't want to keep calling you a simulacrum. Do you have a name?" Kanae asked.
The simulacrum thought for a moment and seemed to wince in pain before saying, "I think my name was Art. And before you ask, no. I wasn't a goblin."