TRIGGER WARNING: There's a non-consensual scene up ahead in this chapter. I've marked them with 'Trigger Warning: Non-Consent' and 'Trigger Warning End' in case you guys wanna skip it.
There was nary a sound, save for the occasional sound of migrating bats and other night time critters as a light kiss of wind danced through the trees, nowhere near strong enough to send leaves rustling through the forest. We'd been marching nonstop for the most part since leaving camp, subsisting off of candies in order to keep ourselves going. Admittedly, I don't know about the side effects of using them constantly, but as it stands we were working on crunch time. I suppose I should be grateful that these guys were willing to pull double-shifts, as bad as I feel for asking it of them. But if there's any way we're gonna pull the numbers we need, it'll have to be now. Moreso now that I actually have plans for iron mining in the swamp.
Of course, that all depends on how soon we can expect to find any deposits. I've never worked with the stuff, so I don't really even know what to look for, or how deep to dig. It'll all be a matter of experimentation on my end. Still, progress is progress, and having a certifiable source of steel for us to use will make for quite the boon in the future. Mortar, steel… all we need is glass, and I'd say that we'd have the perfect building blocks for the next tier of building construction when we get back. Minus a few other minor things that would make it better, but we'll burn that bridge when we get there. All of this won't quite matter though if I can't bag some goblins to free up some lizardmen for those jobs.
"Y'know, if I'd have known I was going to be somewhere so cold this week, I wouldn't have shaved as much of my fur off as I did" Rose whispered as we all quietly stepped through the forest brush under a new moon.
"We are south of a swampland and in a valley. That tends to have an effect on the weather"
"Couldn't have picked a better spot to wander off to? Maybe somewhere that would be nice and warm for me to frolic around?"
"Look, I'm sorry, I'll bring you along the next time I stop by the Caribbean. Now hush, we're close. Keep chatter to a minimum" I muttered quietly, crouching down as we slowly came closer to the sounds of goblin noises and cheers, firelight flickering faintly in the distance.
"Sounds like someone's having fun," Rose muttered back, making me tap her shoulder and look her in the eyes as I held a lip to my mouth.
She nodded back, her face growing serious for the job. There was… seven of us. Technically eleven, but the paladins needed to lay back due to being giant, shiny, and clattering targets. They were really only along for the sake of helping us escort these guys back.
"How many signatures does Sobriquet have?" I asked.
One unique thing about Sobriquet was a passive life sensing ability he had in particular as a shade, mostly for prey detection but it worked all the same. As an assassin build, that was pretty useful, but helping us find out what kind of force we were facing? Game changer.
"Roughly… fifty signatures? There's more, but they're further in and too faint to read. If we had to guess, somewhere around seventy total. There is something to note, however"
"That being?" I asked, admittedly curious as to what caught her attention.
"Two of the life signs are larger, much larger. Can't really say for certain what they are though"
The Small Fang on my left tasted the air, before his muzzle contorted into disgust. "There's the scent of an ogre on the air"
Ogres. Great. Fucking great.
"Are you sure it's only the two? Nothing else?"
"Positive," She stated firmly. "Sobriquet can tell that much"
Dumb and strong, as well as man-eaters. Smell like fresh dogshit too. Out of the things I'd talked with lizardman over the months, there was one thing I knew for certain about them. As dumb and violent as they were, they were surprisingly friendly with goblins, barring the occasional 'snack'. Enough so that they'll likely follow along if we can get the goblins underfoot.
"We stick to the plan. As long as we can get the matriarchs under control, we'll be able to keep things flowing smoothly. Move it people"
We all slid our own separate ways, operating in pairs with Rose, Sobriquet and I as the odd number group. It was the easiest way to do things, but even with the numbers against us I'm concerned about just how difficult it's going to be to get these guys marching with us with minimal issues. The ideas are there, and there's historical events proving it can be done, but theory and practice can often switch on a dime.
Still, at least we all had our parts. Our group in particular was going to be the one responsible for slipping in while the other groups either moved with us or played the part of distractors, pulling attention in subtle ways to buy us breathing room. Their part was sure as hell the hardest part, and something I was glad I didn't have to do. Of course, that's not to say I loved my part. My job was to hold the goblins hostage. Something I really didn't want to do after what happened back at… back at the other goblin camp. But as it stands, I needed to do this. Strike while the iron's hot and steel myself, because if I want to go back home I'm gonna have to do a lot of things I'm not proud of.
Speaking of, we bring ourselves close to the goblins. Close enough that it makes my heart beat. If it weren't for Sobriquet's {Muffling Presence} passive ability I gave him, we'd likely have spotted by now, our only saving grace being our proximity to it. Him. Whatever, he's technically genderless due to his unique undead nature, but it feels more fitting. 'It' feels so impersonal.
The goblins seemed to be on their own for the most part, thankfully a bit further from the camp than some of the others. Far enough that we could take them out. I motion with my two fingers in a double swirl motion, and follow up with a grab to my throat. Rose nods, and Sobriquet flicks a rock out, making it bounce against a tree next to my position.
They both look toward my direction, before one nods my way to the other. He sighs, whining as he steps out to me. Just as the goblin gets close to the bush I'm hiding in, Sobriquet jumps from the other goblin's shadow and strangles him in his smoky grasp. I take this opportunity to tackle the remaining goblin from the side, knocking the weapon out of his hand as I grapple him and squeeze my hand around his neck. The greenskin struggles and makes fishlike gasps, before slowly slumping into sweet unconsciousness.
One… two… three… four… five…
I let go, and immediately move to gag the shortstack. Sobriquet himself quietly drags the other goblin into the underbrush with a silence that quite frankly feels creepy. Downsides to working with an undead I suppose, they give you the heebie jeebies. We drag them away and tie them to a nearby tree, and turn our attention back to the camp. Two down, however many more it takes to go.
We creep up to the camp, now with two less goblins to worry about. As we do so, I find a strange scent of meat on the air. I call it strange, because it seems to smell almost like pork, but something was… off about it. It seemed to get to Rose to, because I could see a confused look on her face. I simply nod in acknowledgement, before motioning us forward. We crept up in the shadows of tents, slipping from point A to point B only when we could afford to. Thankfully, with all that dancing the goblins were getting up to, the long shadows they were casting afforded us moments where we could slip across gaps that we really shouldn't have been able to cross. As grateful as I am for it, it begs the question of just what the hell they were celebrating.
"Oh my God…" I heard Rose whisper in horror, something that made me pause. Seeing the ghostly face on her, I turn to look towards what caught her attention.
I immediately regret it, as I catch sight of one of the ogres digging into the stomach spitroasted corpse. A human corpse, with its intestines hanging out of its mouth and cheeks soaked in blood like a toddler poorly eating spaghetti. I fight the urge to heave my bowels, my need to not blow our cover winning out over my personal horror with the situation. I tap her shoulder to get her to look away, trying to show my sympathy as best as I could for the situation. She lingers for a moment, but turns away. At least my NPC understands just what we're up against now.
I'm starting to wonder whether or not this whole operation was a mistake. I'd heard that the goblins resorted to a more savage diet, but hearing about it and seeing it are two completely different things. If they're willing to eat people… damn it, really regretting how I told Yulg about forgiveness. If I don't practice what I preach, that's going to cause issues down the line. These demi-humans have enough issues trusting humans as is with how we've treated them in these lands. Considering what I just witnessed though, I have doubts about vindication for them regardless though. Fuck… at least I don't feel all that bad about what I'm going to do, but that doesn't mean holding their women hostage will be any better.
We briefly catch sight of one of the lizardmen pairs and I grimace. Fuck, if I saw them then the goblins might have seen them. Thankfully, the ogre makes a particularly loud belch, the likes of which gets laughs out of the man eaters. Still, they need to be more careful, one wrong move and it's game over for everyone involved. We're getting closer to the creche, just need to creep a few more meters and-
"No! Stop! Please!"
My blood turned to ice at the sound of a woman's cries. Why was this week such a living hell?
"She'll be safe, we just need to hurry up, grab the mothers, and-"
Rose was already sprinting towards the plea, shrouded in Sobriquet's wisps like some smoky black wraith as she moved quickly through the darkness
God fucking damn it. At least I had a contingency for going loud. I'm just hoping the lizards will help pull the slack.
Trigger Warning: Non-Consent
"P-please, anything but that!" The woman shouted, writhing in vain in her bindings.
"Heeheeheehee! She squirm! She feisty!"
She writhed again, desperately trying to keep the goblins from tearing open her blouse with a loud rip.
'No, no no no no no! Please, by the Gods, someone save me! I can't let these b-beasts ravage me! Not like this! Not like Eria! I'll do anything!'
Another pair of goblins was well already in the process of breaking her friend in, sounds of wet thwacks and soft, pained whimpering the only thing coming from her as the green-skinned devils used her. Like the other girls in the tent that were unlucky enough to be reached first.
Things weren't going right, not since their caravan was hit. They should have listened to the warnings, waited for the adventurers guild to clear the area. But they were in desperate need of moving their goods, they needed the payday just to keep themselves afloat now that the nobles were growing bold enough to be greedy. Well, greedier than usual.
Cherie was her name, and she considered herself lucky that at least she was good with numbers at a young age, good enough to pique a traveling merchant's interests.
'If I knew that this would have led to this, I would've stayed in the city as a peasant. At least there I wouldn't have to worry about goblins'
"Anyone! Help!"
"Hnrgh, she louder than me likes," One of the goblins. "Stuff her mouth Kun"
The named goblin complied with a sinister grin, dropping his kilt and brandishing a dagger as his member throbbed to action. He then grabbed her by the hair and pulled roughly.
"No funny stuff, human"
Cherie's eyes turned to pinpricks. A small part of her wanted to bite it off the moment he stuck it into her mouth. At least that way they'd kill her before raping her. It would be easier that way.
Of course, that never happened.
The sound of a blade slicing through flesh suddenly silenced the jeers of the tent, followed by a thud.
"Who- Glrk!"
Another slash, sending a spray of blood out that coated everyone in the tent and landing in the small fire in the center.
"Huj, get-" Another goblin was silenced, and this was when the goblins holding her down let go to fight the unknown interloper. It was at this point that she could finally move somewhat freely in her bindings, and the sight she witnessed in front of her was… she had no words for the emotions that spewed forth.
It moved like a leaf on the wind, surrounded by wisps of shadow surrounding a flowing red cloak as it swiftly sliced its blade through goblins. It was cold, and it was methodical. It had clearly moved towards the ones that weren't balls deep in some poor girl from the caravan, focusing on the ones that were most at the ready. Just as a goblin tried to stab at the mysterious stranger from behind with a spear, the shadows enveloping it pounced out in the shape of formless and jagged jaws, clamping down around its body before shaking it around like a dog's chew toy. It threw the corpse towards another pair of goblins and knocked them over, before shifting into the shape of a prowling predator, its tail stretched out like a rope tethered to the strange warrior from under the cloak.
Before she knew it, the entire room was soaked in blood, now lit with a dim light as the campfire had become drenched in the viscera, sizzling and suffocating. The goblins laid dead or dying, incapable of getting up on account of choking on their own blood. The warrior turned around- she turned around, as the chest became apparent, and from under the hood stared a visage she never thought she'd ever see, nor one she'd heard of for that matter. Though it did look like the descriptions of the bafolk almost, if somewhat different.
She stepped gracefully towards Cherie, despite her flinching.
"It's alright," She cood in a soft, melodious voice, deep for a woman yet still surprisingly feminine. The strange demihuman bent down and cut her wrist bindings with a simple slice, giving Cherie free use of her hands once more. She rubbed at the reddened marks on them as she looked up to the cloaked stranger. "We're here to rescue you"
'We?'
"Damnit Rose," A hushed masculine voice spoke as it stomped into the tent, a drawl she recognized as the kind you heard from a farmer bumpkin. In strange, tattered clothes barely sewn together with sinew and patched with scraps of cloth was a tall, bearded man in a bent and tattered hat, an equally strange blade in hand. "Do y'all realize what kinda trouble this is gunna-"
The man trailed off, his eyes wandering over the girls in the room before looking away as though he were ashamed of something.
"Toss some damn clothes on 'em. Won't do no good havin' these girls catchin' a cold out there"
"S-sir?" The demihuman muttered, seemingly in deferrence to him.
"Ah ain't mad Rose, you did what ya need ta, but… listen, we'll talk about this later," The man's strange accent compressed back into a slightly more sophisticated form as he tugged at his coat. "Right now these girls need help, and in order for us to help them we're going to need them to help themselves as well"
The man turned back around once the sobbing girls pulled shrouds of cloth over themselves, hot tears streaming down their faces after what had just transpired. He turned to look at the doorflap before looking back to the girls.
"Now look, we don't have much time, so I need to keep this short and simple. Any of you ever handle a weapon? Even something that wasn't, like a woodcutting axe or a cooking knife?"
Silence. The man sighed, shaking his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "God damn it. No one?"
"E-Eria used to be a farmhand, she knows how to use a pitchfork," Cherie sputtered weakly, trying to answer helpfully. "A-and I've had to learn how to use a dagger in the city!"
"Now we're getting somewhere," The burly man breathed in relief this time.
He picked up the same dagger that was held up to her throat not too long ago, making her flinch again. The detestable thing was rusty, dirty, and the handle had some wood chipped out of it and missing it's leather fittings… but it was still sharp.
The man seemed to realize that she was staring in fear at the knife rather than taking it. He sighed, this time much softer as his features seemed to change from grumpy and gruff to tired and empathetic.
"Listen… I know this situation is a mess, but if we're going to get out of this in one piece I need you lot to arm yourselves"
"W-we won't make it…" The other girl, Itria if Cherie recalled, sobbed out from under her black bangs. "The ogres out there…"
"Won't be a problem once my colleagues reach the childrens creche," He responded with conviction. "We don't need to fight all or nothing, we just need to buy ourselves a little bit of time. The time for sneaking is done, sadly, as I'm sure we're going to have someone investigating the commotion we just made. That's why I… need you to be armed. I'm only one man, I'll try my best but I can't protect you at every step as much as I want to. Find the strength to stand on your own two legs and fight, find the courage to fight regardless of fear, and lets get back at these motherfuckers and show 'em where they went wrong"
He opened my hand, and placed the dagger in it. Cherie stared at the blade, seemingly at a loss for words. Though she had none to speak, she felt a spark of something well up within. It burn bright and fast, hotter than anything she had felt before.
Rage. Rage at the goblins for attacking them, rage at the caravan guards for being to lax to pay attention to their surroundings, rage at the gods for leaving her at her hour of need only for a demihuman, a ghost, and a wildman to save her. Rage at everything around her, everything that's happened to her, everything the goblins did to her friends. The man held a hand out to her, and she grasped it with all of the rage in her heart, pulling herself up to her feet.
"Atta girl, that fight in you… I can see it, you ain't ready to give up. How about your friends?" The man turned away and towards the other girls, whom at this point were slowly standing on their own two feet. "You gonna pick up a weapon and fight? Or are y'all gonna let yourselves be some shrimpy, green as grass pointy eared fucks use you like some kinda toys?"
The girls in the tent looked around, varying degrees of fear and distrust in the air. However, there was one thing that pushed them forward regardless of what just happened. That same rage that set Cherie's heart alight blazed in their chests as well.
"What going on? Huj- Glrk!"
The demihuman had already prepared to move, but Eria was surprisingly quicker. In a flur of speed, she rolled forward with a goblin spear and thrust the sharpened piece of wood into the goblin's throat. Though the thrust wasn't deep due to her lack of strength compared to the goblins, it was still a vital area, and did enough to send the beast rolling back and choking on its own blood.
The damage was done however, and another pair of goblins came following through to aid their fallen comrade.
"{Frostbite}" The man called out, magic weaving through his arm and toward the goblin on the left, sending it down in a shuddering frozen mess. The goblin on the right barely had time to even react as the wildman charged him and clasped him by the throat, tearing the tent flap off in the process. He roared as he crushed the goblin's windpipe in his hand, it's head snapping at an odd angle.
"Grab your weapons! Grab your armor! And whatever you do, do not go gentle into this good night!" He bellowed out loud, his breath steaming from his mouth like the smoke of a dragon.
And with that, all hell broke loose in the form of the girls charging out after him with scavenged weapons and armor at the ready. Ready to release their wrath unto those that delivered such an unjust fate on them.
Trigger Warning End
One of the lizardmen in the shadows tsked, staring as the goblins hurriedly grabbed their weapons to investigate the commotion.
"It sounds as though Nolan has found trouble," One of them grumbled, eyeing the ogres as they slowly lumbered up from their 'meals' to join in the fighting. The sounds of more humans yelling other than Nolan, screaming and crying havoc brought them to understand the situation more clearly without the need to share words.
"It can't be helped, we were warned this might happen," The other spoke. "At least this way, we'll be able to slip by far more quickly. As the human says, 'in the midst of chaos' and all that. At least we're not the ones getting attention drawn to us. Hurry up, we have to meet the others to wrap this mess up"
Things would continue as planned. Even though they were few, they were still strong enough to handle a few goblins on their own if it came to it. Enough to close the distance.
I grimaced as the goblins came out to us. This really was a shitshow. Here I was, supposed to grab some more goblins, and I'm very likely going to have to kill more than a few more to get that done. A dead hand is a useless one, now how… ah, right. Here's hoping this works easily enough. I tongue one of the very few mana candies we had on hand, courtesy of the slime hive incident, and crunched down on it, boosting my pools only to drain them.
"{Widen Magic: Sleetstorm}!" I shouted, sending the tier three spell out with my open hand. I briefly felt a wave of fatigue and nausea from depleting my mana pool so rapidly, but the cast was a success. A large, gloomy cloud swelled overhead us, far larger than anything I'd ever casted up to this point. It was… yeah, it was a little daunting that I managed to do that actually, but I needed to in order to slow down the goblins coming our way. Every second counted.
Even the ogres paused in their movements, and the few goblins that weren't caught in the radius of my storm were now appraising me in a more cautious. Those that were caught however suddenly found themselves getting pelted in sleet and slowly getting caked with ice. This was something of a double edged sword, as I hadn't anticipated us being well within the spell's radius. However, that hardly seemed a deterrent for the women, bloodlust clear on their minds.
I even saw one of them sliding and skating on the ice with a surprising amount of grace, almost like an ice skater… though with the way she was wielding that broken poleaxe she was more like a hockey player. She slid by goblins while they struggled to get to their feet, slicing at the throats of the goblins. The cuts seemed… shallow, almost, but they still seemed to do the job.
Enough of that though. Focus.
"Rose, you and Sobriquet will handle crowd control, help keep these girls alive and have them hold their position! I'll focus on the ogres, got it?"
"Understood my Lord!" She shouted back, seemingly unaware of her slip-up. I wanted to admonish her for that, but as it stood there was too much going on for that to matter.
Now, as for the ogres… I run out and slide, at least somewhat familiar with moving on ice. I've got nothing on the skater's motions, but it's enough that I slide from one target to another, using my slices and slashes to help direct my movements to the lumbering beasts.
"{Slow}!" I cast on the first ogre, attempting to balance itself only to suddenly find its reflexes at a crawl just as it was starting to slide over.
"{Ensnaring Strike}!" I shouted as I slid past the ogre and hacked at it's shoulder, hooking in and tugging myself onto his prone form. Vines wrapped around the wound and over the chest, binding both arms down to the ground. I funnel just enough magic into the spell to keep it going for a good moment, and turn my attention to the other ogre.
Of course, that matters little when it swings its club out and whollops me in the stomach. I briefly lose my breath as I'm sent sliding back, knocking over a goblin in the process. As it scrambles onto my sliding form and tries to claw at me I grab it's head and twist with a pop. Damn it, another one dead.
Oddly, despite being sent flying and getting hit by a giant lumbering beast, I'm not… hurting as much as I should be? I touch my ribs and pat the area where I was struck with a slight wince. Definitely bruised, and my stomach isn't pleased with me, but… surprisingly didn't hurt as much as I thought it should have. I glance over at the other ogre and make an {Insight Check}.
{Male Grassland Ogre (Adolescent: Level 10)}
Fuck, that thing's just a kid? Sure as hell don't look it. It looks pretty pissed though, I can say much. I make an insight check on the other ogre on the ground, writhing in it's bindings.
{Female Grassland Ogre (Adult: Level 15)}
… That thing's a woman? Where's the- nah, not going down that route. If the age indicator is anything to go off of, that's probably his mom. That might explain a thing or two, and really doesn't make me feel better about what I'm going to do.
"Go long!" I shout, tossing one of the few clay bottles I packed for this trip. It explodes on his face in a yellow cloud that immediately soaks down onto his body with the freezing rain. The ice forming around the ogre yellows, and slowly he finds himself spasming before dropping to one knee, fighting against the uncontrollable and no doubt painful muscle spasms shooting through his body.
"Luuuugg!" The ogress shouted, surging forward from under the vines and ice keeping her snared and caked down.
Shit.
She stomps back up, lumbering and roaring, now facing me. Her stomps crash into the icy terrain, completely mitigating the slip factor through sheer force of muscle. I lob another bottle her way, to which she smacks out of the air and sends flying into the back of some hapless goblin's head.
Shit.
The ogress roars, picking a goblin up from the battlefield and flinging him towards me in an attempt to strike back while she closes the distance. I duck under the poor bastard and raise my hand, ready to work some magic.
"{Widen Magic: Ice Knife}!" I yell, several shards of ice forming in the air before blasting out like a shotgun.
The shards go every which way, catching goblins unlucky enough to be in the cone of fire. The ogress takes the worst of it, several ice shards burrowing into her. And yet she stormed forward, seemingly oblivious to the pain she was under. I came to the sudden and painful realization that she was a berserker capable of barreling through whatever I spells I might have had in mind. Combined with her being well aware that my bottles likely had some nasty tricks, and this wasn't a situation I could get out of with both sides alive, not easily at least. And yet…
I felt numb, staring at the name on that tombstone. It'd been months, and it hadn't gone away. Not even remotely. It felt like some kind of hazy dream, to have one of the few people that gave me enough strength to dust myself off in his own rugged way.
'Here lies Marshall Potts, XXXX-XXXX'
I sigh, cracking my knuckles as I clenched my fists.
"I really hate myself some days," I mutter, realizing I was probably going to get another scolding from old lady Marscha for what I was about to do. I pat my pockets to confirm that my clay bottles were still in order, lined with a special resin to help them keep their shape under pressure. Really glad I sprung for that now.
"Alright you big bitch!" I yell out at the ogress. "You wanna brawl?! I'll fuckin' brawl! I got the cure for your son's poisoning tucked away in my coat! You can pry it right off my fuckin' body!"
She paused briefly at the mention of a cure, no doubt sending her mind into a whirl. Impressive considering an ogre's intelligence. That immediately boiled into seething hatred, followed by another roar. Oh this was gonna suck. She stomped through the frozen ice and towered over me, looking to kill.
"Atta girl," I hiss, reaching back for a bottle on my belt loop. "Grab me by the throat and take it from me"
As much as I genuinely didn't expect this to work, I suppose I should be grateful that ogres are in fact as stupid as the rumors whispered among the warriors made them out to be. The ogress reach down and does exactly that, grabbing me by the throat and blocking my wind pipe. She lifts me by the throat and into the air, an incredibly painful experience, and holds me at eye level.
"Where?" She hisses.
I pull the bottle off the belt and hold it in the air. As I flexed my neck to let just enough air in, I gave a raggedy whisper. "Right here"
I throw the bottle into her face and she yowls, letting me go and scratching at her eyes. Ah, Hucklenut Briar, the thistle of Tob. I grabbed another bottle and flung it against her face. Though covered, the yellow powder still did it's work at paralyzing her. Berserker or no, unless you got them levels hun you ain't got the ability to resist poison.
"{Entangle}!" I shout, pulling the ogres down to her knees with vines, keeping her from trying to scratch at her face any more with the paralysis.
A goblin tries to slice at me, but I boot him down just as I wrap the spell up. With enough mana exerted, I fuel the magic to hopefully keep her down for good this time, at least until the mission's done.
"Surrender now! We have your females!" A lizardman shouted.
Speak of the devil.
The goblins look up in panic, clearly not anticipating the sight of lizardmen this far out into the forest. The girls are caught off guard by this as well, but one of them in particular doesn't seem to care, swollen with blood lust and frenzy attempting to slice away at the panicking goblins.
"Shit, shit, Rose!"
"On it!" She shouted out.
Sobriquet grappled the woman as she screamed and cried, howling like a wild animal. Her thrashing became less about trying to kill more goblins and more about trying to get away, her cries of anger turning to cries of woe as she broke down. She collapsed, her weapon clattering as the other girls looked between her and the goblins, and then to the lizardmen, looking pained and confused.
I hold back another sigh for the day, instead looking on in pity.
"What the hell's going on here?" The fiery blonde I'd handed the dagger asked, looking between myself and the lizardmen warily with thinly veiled anger.
"We're…" I began, trying to find the right words through the throbbing soreness in my throat, before realizing there was no sugar coating it. "We were here to conquer the goblins and bring them under us. The fact that you're here… was nothing more than a coincidence to us. Look, I understand that what happened here tonight wasn't… right, so I understand your concerns about letting these goblins live. Needs must and we need the labor in order to complete some projects we have"
I pause for a moment, waiting for any words to come my way. When none came, I continued. "I… know that the path back to the north would be a dangerous one, so I'll only ask this of you. There's no demands of any sort, and should you choose to I would personally pull some favors to have you supplied and on your way back out after a few day's rest. But as it stands, the way back isn't something that's… safe for you lot, weapons or no. So I'd like to offer you a choice"
I step forward, extending a hand cautiously. I roll my shoulders back in an attempt to look as meek as a man of the brush like myself could. I soften my voice, and arch my brows in sympathy.
"Come with us. We can keep you safe, warm, and fed. It's not… bad out here, despite what most folks think. Not if you know what to look for. You don't have to answer right away, you can think on it, while we get you ladies some proper rest. We'll even keep the goblins as far away from you as possible if that's what you'd prefer, but we'd also appreciate your help in… keeping them in line"
She stares at my hand, then at me, and at the lizardmen behind me. Her eyes turn to the goblins, the ogres, and then her sisters in arms. She chews her cheek, clearly racing through a thousand thoughts a second. Her teeth grit, as if fighting against some inner thoughts. Understandable. However, the thought of safety out here in Tob, as well as the idea of playing slave driver to her former tormentors no doubt brought it's own level of appeal.
"I… can't speak for everyone," She muttered, avoiding eye contact. "We'll need to talk about it"
I maintain my facade of serious concern, while internally cheering at the subtle increase of manpower. "I understand. Take all the time you need. Now come on, we've got some goblins to work into the ground"
One of the goblins gulped at that, and I held back a snort. I hated to admit it, but these guys really had this shit coming. I rouse myself into a more aggressive stance, raising my brush-hook clear overhead.
"Alright you shrimp-dicked fucks!" I shouted. "After everyone you just did, I'd say it's high time you worked your fucking debts off! Now pack your shit and get ready to march!"
Nolan Potts, Human (Karma: 70 [Neutral]) [22/27 Spell slots used]
Classes: Brawler (6), Ranger (3), Druid (6), Clothier (3), Translucer (1). Total Level (20), Unspent Levels (1).
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, Torchlight, Slow
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: 0 [True 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)
Member Three: Rose of House Merino, Ewefolk (Karma: 100 (Neutral Good)
Classes: Ewefolk Bard (1), Warrior (12), Ranger (7)
Member Four: Sobriquet, Shade (Karma: -100 [Neutral Evil])
Classes: Shade (10), Assassin (10)
AN: Wow, uh, yeah. The words kinda just flowed out of me for this one. Sorry if that was a little... rugged, I'm not used to writing that kind of thing. But my muse has been taking a macabre turn of things lately admittedly, hopefully that ain't too much of a bother. Anyway, review time.
PatchyPenguin: I know the feeling bro, I've easily gone 20-30 hours binging some of the bigger stories on here, and even then I have to leave them unfinished for the next day. I feel really proud that I've driven someone else into the same situation in a sick sort of way XD
KENSHI42: Technically? Five hundred. But keep in mind that's because he can allocate up to five hundred NPC levels at maximum, gaining one hundred NPC levels for every twenty levels he personally goes up in strength. In actuality though, Nolan only plans to have five level one-hundred NPCs for the sake of quality over quantity. Of course, that's only if he even gets that high...
Aicka: Yuppers, hadn't forgotten about that yet. At least I can knock that one off the to-do list
Rios: League of Legends? I don't follow, never really played the game so I don't know what I did there
Anyways, that's it for now folks. Considering I'm starting to feel a lot more confident in my writing skills, maybe we'll start to see bigger chapters down the line? I won't even know myself, but I'll always try to maintain the usual 3k word minimum per chapter. I'll see y'all in a few, ciao
