Whelp, as they always say, plans never survive first contact.
"Terrible day for rain," I muttered, listening to the spattering of droplets on the tent.
Was a wild storm blowing in from the south too, completely unexpected. The air itself has warmed up a bit at least, probably a thermal getting pushed in from the Bay of Roan if my geography checks out with my meteorology. Still, the rain itself would soak into the heat padding of the armor, something we could not afford. Would suck the heat right out of them and soak 'em too. So we all idled together, more or less just killing time until it cleared up.
"How long do you think it'll last?" A young lizardman asked his elder, rolling three six-sided dice carved from elk-bone.
Looks like they were playing that game 'Knucklebones' I introduced them to. A little proud I did, it seems to have taken up fine with the warriors thanks to how resilient and lightweight the dice are.
The scarred lizard across from him grunted, pulling a die out that was knocked out of play by his opponent's roll. "Shouldn't last too long, these small storms usually don't go for more than a day or two at this time of year. Three tops, and even then it should slow to a drizzle by then"
Wishful thinking in my opinion, but I digress. The weather warming up just a smidge was a bit of a disappointing curveball, meaning we won't be able to properly test the armor to it's fullest. Something I wish to do for the sake of testing just how far I can push my creative limits and get this shit over with. At the very least, with the weather like this the goblins are likely to have hunkered back down into their shelters themselves.
"So, what do you think about the mission we're on?" The more experienced of the two asked in return. Probably to get the young guy's mindset picked at.
"I mean, it should be easy enough right? They're just goblins, nothing too hard should come of things. I don't even know why we're bothering with all this planning stuff".
The old man sighed. A sentiment I quite frankly agreed with.
"Honestly, to think that toadman has more wisdom than some of our own youths," He spoke with a sigh, making the youngster bristle. Before he could speak however, the old man continued. "What did that toad say? 'In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity'? I must admit that I needed him to explain that to me at first, but it made sense. Simply going into the battle without plans nor the discipline to enact them will result in chaos among our own ranks, and in doing so provide opportunity to the enemy"
My heart swells at the knowledge that Todone was quoting Sun Tzu, filling me with pride in knowing he's been reading some of my notes on the eastern philosopher that I was able to jot down. Bonus points to being able to spend my nights writing more often now.
The youngster seemed to be mulling the words over as he rolled the dice again, and he grinned. "Knucklebones"
"Curses," The old warrior hissed, sweeping his die up. "You still have much to learn when it comes to warfare, but at least you have good fortunes keeping you safe. One more game?"
The youngster chuckled and nodded, pulling his own dice back. As they did so, I felt my thoughts drifting off to the future of the battle.
There's a little under a hundred strong… at least on the side of able warriors alone. The tribe itself is roughly scraping around one hundred and fifty in an estimate. Sadly, Yulg didn't really know how to count, so most of this is based on old memories. What we do know is while goblin females are fairly few, they're also fairly fertile and with quick gestation times at a little over half the amount of time it takes for a human child to gestate. And considering they're considered adults ready to fight and die at the age of eight and well… if it weren't for the fact they were damn near the bottom of the food chain just about anywhere they were, they would be a force to be reckoned with.
Of course, that's offset by the gender ratio in their species. For every one female born, there's another four or five males to come in. Despite their ravenous nature, they're surprisingly gentle and protective when it comes to the females of their own species. Of course, females of another species, say a human for example, are another story. After all, not every male gets to mate with a female, and some of them get rather… pent up. Yulg ashamedly admitted to having partaken in such 'festivities'. That was… a hard pill to swallow if I'm being honest. He genuinely seems penitent, but I'm not sure how to approach that situation. Fuck, I've had to deal with all kinds of curveballs out here lately.
Moving on from that for the time being, back to the female goblins. Due to their importance, goblin hierarchy is almost strictly matriarchal in nature it seems, deferring to the females for leadership. This seems to actually be an interesting little thing to compare to Enri's experience as a goblin general. When there's a lack of female goblins in a particular group, perhaps a small pod of goblins that were sent out and away from a clan for one reason or another, things usually tend to collapse into a discordant mess without their influence.
Of course, that seemed to be the exception with Jugem when he was summoned. He and his ilk all had a fair bit of intelligence when compared to most of the other goblins of the forest. Likely a result of the horn that was used to summon them.
With a matriarchal society though… hm, hopefully the females will be willing to listen to reason once we capture them. Depending on how well this goes, maybe we could even absorb another goblin tribe into our ranks. Maybe. We also gotta be back home in time for the fall festival too, which is coming up in about two weeks. I really wish I wasn't on such a crunched time table.
My thoughts wander over to the… paladins, in the corner. They polished and revered their armor and weapons, seemingly entranced in thought by the symbols they don. I'm… really not sure how to take that. Four people officially worship the Patron that dropped me in this death gauntlet, but at least it gives us holy magic? Though, from what I've seen, none of them can really use any 'religious' spells yet. That seems to be entirely on Yulg so far. It's a fruit we'll only enjoy readily in the future I suppose.
I can only imagine just how dangerous that our group would be with some proper steal though. If we ever get our hands on that, we'd be an absolute menace to the outside world. We just have to deal with what little copper runoff and blood iron we can get though, as much of a shame as that is.
Two figures trudge into the tent, soaked and dripping with long, flowing cloaks surrounding their forms. One pulls his hood back and sighs, enjoying the warmth of the tent. Taking his cloak off and unfastening his heated vest, he turns to me and nods.
"Nolan, it's yours and Jushi's turn to patrol"
Ah fuck.
"Alright, I'll toss my shit on"
And I do just that. I get off of my bed roll and stretch, before slipping my old boots on and tossing a cloak over my armored form. I loop my brush-hook to the hip and take a step outside, the sheet of cold rain immediately pelting me as I make my step outside. The other guy follows suit shortly, spear handled and at the ready.
I normally love the rain, but this shit is ridiculous.
"{Darkvision}," I murmur, my eyes adjusting to the darkening light of the forest surroundings.
There weren't really any fires outside due to the rain at the moment, but that was okay when almost your entire troop had night vision built into their skulls. God what I'd have given to not need that spell. Short of raiding an old player cache for a race change item though, that wouldn't be doable though. I joke, of course. I'd never actually want to change my race. Despite the fact that it would probably make things easier with bone daddy's goons, I really would like to avoid sacrificing my humanity. Also really not sure how that's going to work out if I get sent back to Earth.
Hmm, speaking of the races… my NPC slots. Depending on how this mission goes, I might get a level up, and that pushes me one level closer to having NPC's. And yet I haven't even begun to plan out how that's going to work out. On one end, additional humans would be welcomed, and give me flexibility outside of the forest when it came to operating in the human kingdoms. Useful when they consist of the vast majority of 'high tech' civilizations on this continent. However, a demihuman or even heteromorph NPC would be preferable both in their strengths as well as the fact that they would make getting buddy buddy with Nazarick a little bit easier considering they'd be leveling with me.
I nodded to one of the patrolling lizardmen, getting it back in kind as we passed each other. As we continue to trek towards the outskirts of the camp, my mind dribbles back to my meditations.
What kind of NPC should I be going for? If Nazarick's to go by, then I'll have to be extremely careful with writing any backstories if that's going to be a problem. Not to mention I need to consider their classes as well as the impacts they'll have on the world and peoples around them. It's not as though I can just pluck an undead at random and add it to my party. Er, right? Actually, I don't know what the main consensus is on undead with the tribes. Well, intelligent undead that is. I know that they were pretty fuckin' scared of Ainz and his summons, but past that and my memory is a little foggy.
I'll have to actually put that one on the backburner, because having an undead as a party member would actually provide me with several pros and cons I could take with me, depending on what kind of undead. I suppose that would also matter in my choice making. Other than that, there would just be demi-humans like goblins and lizardmen, or maybe a heteromorph like a slime. Eh, a slime as a party member would likely be difficult to explain, considering the only intelligent one we've really seen was the Hivemind Slime. Not really sure how I'd pencil that one in too.
Fuck, what are my limits actually? Could I do something as wild as a Deathvine or an Automaton, or is there a bottleneck on what I could make? And classes, how am I going to apply classes when that time comes?
{Notice: NPC creation menu currently locked}
Ope, ain't talked to you in a bit. Get out of here though, I don't need you right now. Not yet at least. Hmm, actually… maybe I could pick this guy's brain on the subject matter of NPC creation. Not directly, of course, I'll have to take a more subtle route.
I sniffed in, maintaining focus as we stepped into the brush to officially begin our part of the patrol. "So, considering we're going to be… integrating some goblins, I want to know what a lot of the lizardmen think about it. Your thoughts?"
The lizardman was quiet, and for a moment I feared he was going to be the silent type for patrols. Thankfully, I did get an answer as we slogged through the rain. "I'm not in agreement with it, but it makes sense. Having goblins doing most of our labor for us would mean freeing up spears for combat, and make it easier to accomplish our goals of winning the upcoming resource war"
"As for the goblins themselves?" I asked.
"Sniveling little runts," He grunted. "The only reason I'll put up with them is because they'll have their uses. Who knows, maybe with their help we can get back at the… well, who am I fooling? I've met Todone, sparred with him a few times. He's not bad. I was only a kid when that war happened. If Todone was willing to show us a hand, maybe there's at least one or two tribes among the toadmen that are just as willing"
Okay, so he's a little biased towards certain things, but he's also willing to put things aside. Not gonna use this guy as the medium for my plans, but at least it helps paint the picture for me.
"I see… what about the other races around the lake and the surrounding forest?"
The rain filled the gap in speech as we marched, giving the lizard ample time to think.
"Well… the Trolls are a major threat, but it's not as though we can push them out or absorb them either. At most we could probably only deal with them as they came. The naga are self conceited, always thinking themselves high and mighty above all other demi-humans. That won't likely happen. The snakemen are… difficult to say anything about. We haven't had much contact with them, and from the sounds of it neither has anyone else"
I nodded at that. "And as for any other demi-humans and heteromorphs? From outside of the forest?"
The lizardman hummed in concentration, seemingly uncertain on an answer. "There's too many races to say, the world is wide and plentiful. You would have to mention one in particular for me to make any feedback"
Alright, time for the heavy one.
"What about an undead?"
The warrior scoffed, his cloak hood flapping with the movement of his head as he turn to look down a section of the forest. "I feel like that should be a joke, but from what I've heard you seldom jest human"
"I'm speaking in hypotheticals here, alright? Mostly to kill time more than anything," I 'explain', as I do my part in studying our surroundings. "If an undead, saaay… a skeleton, were intelligent to the degree of being able to speak, and friendly enough that you would be able to work with it without the risk of danger, would you accept it?"
"Hmm, you really do know how to make someone think, human…" The lizardman mumbled. "Alright. Fine. In this hypothetical, I wouldn't have any problems with the undead. But the moment you actually find a friendly undead is the moment I'll gladly wed my sister off to you"
Oh brother, depending on how well the answers I get from some of the other lizardmen go? I'll make you eat your words. I mean, I won't take your sister or nothing, but still. Meanwhile, I'm left to smirking to myself. Thankfully he can't see my facial expression under the cloak and scarf.
"Fair enough, fair enough," I simply responded. "I won't take you up on that offer, but if I do happen to find a friendly undead I'll gladly take bragging rights and rubbing it in your face"
The lizardman chuckled softly. "That'll be the day…"
And a day it'll be. The more I think about it, the more I realize that an undead NPC just might be likely for my first one. And to be honest, I think I'm brewing up some ideas as to what classes would compliment it well. I just might have to make my own personal 'Ainz' for the sake of saying I have a skeleton sorcerer at my side. I wonder what kind of name would suit them…
Four humans huddled around a campfire, shivering slightly as they tried to stay warm under their tarp tent.
"I knew we should have taken a closer quest," A sleek bard moaned, rubbing his hands against his body to stay warm when they weren't on the campfire.
"The pay was probably the best we could've hoped for though," Another male of the group grunted, burly and rugged with a hammer to his side. "A job like this doesn't come often"
"A job like this also tends to be risky," The third man of the group commented, a caster robed in simple gray cloth. "We should be playing it safe in my opinion, especially after having to pass the Wise Kings territory like we did"
"Sucks it cost us some rations for 'tribute' though…" The bard moaned.
The barbarian grunted. "There's still plenty of meat in the forest, I see no issue"
"We need more than meat you know…" The wizard mumbled.
"No point in griping about it now," The fourth one finally said, using his shield to bounce some of the fire's heat onto himself. "We're out here for a reason, and that reason's goblin slaying"
"And treasure, don't forget about the treasure," The bard chimed in. "Those goblins plucked quite a bit from that trade caravan. There's bound to be a couple things that went… missing, after all. It's all a little difficult to keep track of things with goblins involved, you know?"
The barbarian laughed at that. "Hah! There is that! I'm sure a few trinkets in there would be certain to give me more than enough coin to buy more meat and ale!"
"Always with the meat…" The wizard grumbled. "Still, it's a pain that the goblins were at least smart enough to run when they realized someone might be on their tails. My money's on at least a few magic casters in the group if they're smart enough to keep their distance"
"Hmph, I'll take that bet. Not every day you see a Tob goblin slinging magic,' The bard replied, shaking on it with the wizard.
The group all laughed, enjoying their time around the campfire. Despite being four humans heading into territory filled with goblins easily outnumbering them fifteen to one at minimum, they weren't concerned. After all, they were the best that platinum rank has to offer.
Nolan Potts, Human (Karma: 70 [Neutral]) [20/24 Spell slots used]
Classes: Brawler (6), Ranger (3), Druid (5), Clothier (3), Translucer (1). Total Level (18).
Spells (Druid): Frostbite, Entangle, Create or Destroy Water, Guidance, Jump, Cure Wounds, Dust Devil, Protect from Poison, Hold Person, Spike Growth, Lesser Restoration, Water Breathing, Darkvision, Sleetstorm, Ice Knife, Lightning Arrow
Spells (Ranger): Animal Friendship, Speak to Animals, Ensnaring Strike, Conjure Animals
Items of Note: {Humble Beginnings}
Party Members are as follows…
Member One: Todone, Son of Kodrotti, Toadman (Karma: -10 [Neutral])
Classes: Toadman Warrior (9), Brawler (9), Martial Artist (1), Total Level (19).
Member Two: Yulg (Karma: 50 [Neutral])
Classes: Goblin Marauder (1), Brawler (8), Warrior (4), Cleric (1), Total Level (13)
AN: Ruh-roh raggy. Looks like Nolan may or may not cross paths with the first human he's seen in months. Lord knows how this is gonna end...