Fathering a Goblin Empire

The world reeked of damp earth and something else, something acrid and faintly metallic that clung to the back of my throat. My eyes flickered open to a blurry canvas of grey, the sky a bruised purple bleeding into the horizon. I was lying on rough-hewn stone, the cold seeping into my bones. Panic clawed at my chest, a primal fear born not of understanding, but of pure, instinctual wrongness. Where was I? How had I… gotten here?

My senses were heightened, sharper than any human I'd ever known. The air vibrated with a thousand unseen scents – the damp musk of the earth, the metallic tang of blood, long since dried, the pungent odor of decaying vegetation. And then, something else… something subtly different, something. The world reeked of damp earth and something else, something acrid and faintly metallic that clung to the back of my throat. My eyes flickered open to a blurry canvas of grey, the sky a bruised purple bleeding into the horizon. I was lying on rough-hewn stone, the cold seeping into my bones. Panic clawed at my chest, a primal fear born not of understanding, but of pure, instinctual wrongness. Where was I? How had I… gotten here?

Fragments of memory, shattered and incomplete, flickered like dying embers. A blinding light, a searing pain, then… nothing. And now this. This… place.

Slowly, painstakingly, I pushed myself upright. My body ached, every muscle protesting the movement. I was weak, thinner than I remembered, yet there was a strange resilience to my frame. My senses, however, were heightened, sharper than any human I'd ever known. The air vibrated with a thousand unseen scents – the damp musk of the earth, the metallic tang of blood, long since dried, the pungent odor of decaying vegetation. And then, something else… something subtly different, something. 

I started hearing a faint noise off in the distance, I wasn't sure whether or not to approach or live it be but curious got the better of me. I simply needed to know more about this world this place that i now find myself in. 

I followed the sounds listening as the noise started getting ever louder and ever closer. I stumbled through the uneven terrain. The landscape was harsh, unforgiving. Twisted trees clawed at the sky, their branches gnarled and skeletal. The ground was uneven, littered with rocks and broken branches. The light was dim, filtered through a canopy of perpetually overcast skies. 

And then i saw a clearing a cluster of crudely built huts huddled together, their walls fashioned from mud and wood, offering little protection from the elements. And there they were moving around the camp - goblins. 

They weren't the grotesque, brutish creatures of legend. These goblins were smaller, more agile, their skin a variety of greens and browns, blending seamlessly with the surrounding landscape. Their eyes, however, were startling – large, intelligent, and filled with a wary suspicion that mirrored my own. Their clothing, or rather, lack thereof, spoke of a brutal existence. the vast majority appeared to be men, their expressions were hard, etched with a grim determination that spoke volumes of hardship and resilience.

I found myself trying to hide my form among the shadows of the trees. Looking to merely observe them to see if the vague legends of my former life were true. Whether these were ghastly beasts that ravaged unsuspecting victims or were they something else entirely. I stayed and watched from the distance, trying to control my breathing a still my body as to not bring upon any notice.

They muttered amongst themselves in a guttural tongue I did not understand, yet somehow it seemed oddly familiar. It seemed like how i used to speak to my friends and family. They seemingly made small talk, divided up tasks, and even the little ones played with sounds of joyful noise. It almost reminded me of home.

Home... what was the that? Anyway memories slowly started to trickle back into my mind as I watched the goblins interactions. I was seated around the large maple dining table with my family. I watched through the picture frame window as my nieces and nephews played and were running around playing outside. My father at the head of the table sitting in anticipation of the holiday feast with the family.

"Kenneth dear, when are you gonna bring a woman home to meet us." my mother said emerging from the kitchen, " You know you're the last one I'm waiting on." 

"I know mother, my job just keeps me too busy to date and find a woman." I replied. 

"Oh, don't give me that line about being too busy, your father worked 80 hours and week at the garage when we meet. Everyone has the same amount of time in the day. We must choose how we spend and prioritize that time." 

" Give him a break woman he'll find someone eventually, just make sure it's before I pass on huh Ken." my father barked back not wanting to delve into another long-winded discussion from my mother.

Out of nowhere I heard a sound I was back to reality and found myself surrounded by the goblins. I simply started uttering prayers to myself. Oh, lord this was not the time to have drifted off into and memory but, now that I was back in the present I needed to figure a way out of this.