You hold the sides of your helmet as if it would help alleviate the stress of your current situation. The life of a paladin was fraught with many dangers and pressures that would break any lesser man. A manticore left your right arm hanging at your side by a few stripes of flesh thanks to a desperate swipe of its claws. The steel pauldron crunched like parchment inside an angry hand. The effort was repaid in kind with a sword embedded deep in its eye.
Your shoulder pulses with a phantom pain from the long ago memory. Blessed be the healing magics of the church that your arm is set back in place; though it can't completely alleviate every injury.
Your mother was a high inquisitor of immense mental will, yet even she would strain with the burden of your current assignment that make even your season handling the complaints and disputes of the bartering clans seem like a well deserved vacation to an old friend's manor. The deafening silence of the Deep Forest and the isolation of your trudges almost makes you keen for the noisy, rancid atmosphere of the Lodge of Resolution.
"Hooman, seggs, now!" Goobie whines in broken speech, shaking your armored gauntlet with her tiny hands.
Why did you have to be so chivalrous?
Everyone deserves a helping hand, you think to yourself. Even your enemies.
"Not now, my little friend." you lean against the walls of the lone outpost, the goblin pouting and crossing her arms over her stout chest. The distant trees sway with a breeze as you take in the scene before you.
Goobie is one of your recent and only captures here. During a nightly patrol, you spotted the green monster stumbling through the underbrush in a sloppy display of stealth. She didn't even resist when you apprehended her. It's almost as if she wanted to be captured, an ominous sign of what came after. She started to make outlandish and crude requests you didn't quite understand, such as 'fugg me' or 'turn me into your hoomin toy'. She's loud, feisty, and just unbearable to listen to. Even when you offered her freedom, she opted to stick to your hip. But there's something about her that made you take pity on her.
"Now? You not do nothin' now but waste sun!" the goblin retorts.
You erect your posture into a straight line before you sigh. "No, I am merely resting from my duties."
Goobie snorts at your words. "Nah, ya'z a lazy bone."
You look back down at the short beast, who gazes back with puppy dog eyes. You have to admit, she's cute. There's a fire in her red eyes that makes them practically glow. Like rubies set in a golden crown. For a moment, you feel like you're knighted again, staring at the glistening eyes of a princess from afar.
Shaking your head to dispel the feeling, you trail down to the rest of her body. A thin strip of worn leather wraps around her torso, creating a valley of cleavage in its vain attempt to cover her bosom. A grimy loincloth barely gives some modicum of modesty for her lower half, allowing her wide hips to jut out.
Noticing your stare, she waggles her thick black eyebrows suggestively.
"Ya like?" she questions with a sly smirk.
That breaks you out of your trance, and you quickly turn away. Being raised in the church left you with very little exposure to the opposite sex, and having this little goblin prance around almost naked isn't helping matters.