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The Trial of Stargazy-Pie St.James
🕑 Added 2021-07-31 13:24:37 +0000 UTCWholly unexceptional. Tall and gangly for a goblin, with a sour default expression. Sheba potential: negligible. Piebald.
Stargazy-Pie was a low ranking goblin in her den, chiefly tasked with moving loot and valuable from low parts of the den to lower parts of the den. A hauler. A runner.
As such when her den launched a thoroughly inept attack on the fortified city of Kassut and got soundly thrashed before retreating - they did not think to make sure Stargazy had escaped along with them.
Fact was, Stargazy has been trapped under rubble from a destroyed building, collapsed from misaimed cannon fire about 2 minutes into the conflict. Technically she wasn't even a combatant. She was simply standing by with hand cart, designed to be loaded with loot and absconded with.
She did, however, have the distinction of being the only goblin that had not either been killed in the conflict or managed to escape. She was captured and brought to the criminal caught. It was not a sensationalised trial but ultimately an important one.
While the goblin's attack of Kassut was ultimately unsuccessful, it still resulted in 9 civilian deaths , 87 injuries and considerable amounts of property damage. It is relevant to note that StJames herself, though technically a member of the raiding party, was responsible for exactly none of these regrettable incidents.
However, any historian or student of the ternion condition will tell you that an enraged mob cares less about the facts and more about finding an outlet for their umbridge. Some duly appointed representative of their species that they can take revenge on.
Many citizens, for a time, sought to see Stargazy brutalised and broken, left in a dangling gibbet at the entrance of a town to serve as a warning to other goblins. Perhaps imprisoned publicly as some sort of exhibit or example.
As it happened though - Kassut, in an effort to remain progressive ( and to keep up with rival cities in this regard) had on its council a representative of Goblin affairs. A strong, well spoken and morally peerless Goblin named Konyaku Gibson.
Konyaku had hired thanomagi to speak with those who had died in the attack, all of whom were able to confirm that Stargazy was not their killer. This only went so far, with many citizens still demanding recompense from any goblin in any way involved with what had occurred.
Konyaku openly condemned the bloodlust of the townspeople, questioning how far the Greater Ternion Unity could claimed to have advanced if the third largest city on the central band sought to have flayed goblins hanging at their gate. She requested that Stargazy-Pie, not a dustout or a stray ,but a den goblin, could prove the quality of her character, and repay her debt to society by being granted work within the city. It would show the world that a goblin, a criminal goblin could integrate. be rehabilitated.
Truthfully, Stargazy was by her nature quite calm, if lazy - and standard 18 year old goblin and had no real need for rehabilitation. Her curiosity about the big city vastly outstripped her loyalty to her den. What little was left evaporating when she was left for dead.
All the same, Stargazy was supportive of the idea of working to earn money to pay for the damages to the city. Compared to being flayed and beaten.
Ultimately the council agreed to the idea.
But they set several of their own conditions.
Stargazy-Pie St.James was to work whenever required. In no less than 4 jobs depending on the day of the week. All work was to be casualised. No sick days, no annual leave, no unions. So long as she was not already at one job, she had to work when called.
55% of all money earned would be taken from each cumulative weekly payment and put towards repairing the city and compensating the injured, bereaved or robbed.
Damages to the city included anything claimed by personal or business properties, up to and including anything unconfirmed by relevant insurance companies and damages and fatigue that could have occurred as a long term consequence of the initial damage.
Put simply, large sections of the town could now get massive non vital repairs done and give Stargazy the bill.
Assuming no further damages are claimed on top of what have been claimed already (which is a big assumption), and assuming Stargazy works a 55-60 hour week on average, she will have paid off her debt somewhere around the time of her 76th birthday.
This contract was not up for negotiation.
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Stargazy-Pie St.James is a reflection on the worker of today. Debt everlasting.
Somehow the total perspective knowledge that our situation could be much much worse doesn't always grant us the comfort it is supposed to.
Things could be worse. Things could also be a lot better.
Be nice to your convenience store or fast food employee, won't you?
Comments
Mister Coolexus
It would be incredibly painful.
David Paglia
β Put simply, large sections of the town could now get massive non vital repairs done and give Stargazy the bill. β Has anyone figured out yet that a large portion of the cityβs economy now depends on one overworked gobchick waking up in the morning and going to work? If builders are building and contractors are contracting for payments based on the Minimum Wage Goblin Future standard, what would happen if (hypothetically speaking) someone were to get the young lady disastrously drunk, stuff her in a sack, and book it through the town gate for parts unknown?
Mister Coolexus
Everything is possible in Trust a Goblin, but it would be exceptionally difficult.
NCJ
Very good shit, dude. As someone who never got off the bottom rung of the job ladder it really strikes a chord, that constant feeling of Sisyphean pointlessness. I've always enjoyed the world building stories you'd include every now and then in the deviantart days, though obviously it has to come out more short form on twitter and so on. That extra depth to all your characters and the worlds they inhabit is really one of the things that sets you apart. She's cute as a button too, I wanna give her a hug. :)
Sam Batsford
I dunno, maybe it's the perspective but it kind of has 'It's like she was looking at walking garbage.' energy π
Trevor Bond
Having spent 25 years of my life (techically more since I grew up in a convenience store) in customer service, I can agree this 'it could be worse' mentality is by and far zero comfort when you can't afford to own anything, take a day off, or get a break, and your bills STILL increase.
Brad Kirkwood
can we save her someday in trust a goblin? cause that story makes me sad and angry
HerrKatze
The face of someone staring down the barrel of the rest of their life and not liking what they see. Massive fan of this one, and it's also great to have the Stargazy origin story in full.
