My brush-hook clattered against the blade of a goblin's rusting sword, attempting to thrust at my stomach. It was easy enough, the goblin moving too slow compared to some of the beatings I've been on the receiving end of in sparring fights. I simply sweep my blade around and wedge the beak of my blade in his skull, before kicking him off to catch a leaping goblin attempting to aim for my face with his spear. I slide under, striking my fist up in tandem with a spell.

"{Ensnaring Strike}!" I called out, striking the goblin in the chest and sending him back, wrapped up in a sudden bundle of wines.

He rolled out as we continued to make our push through the horde of goblins, tumbling under the foot of another goblins that would have made it to me if one of the paladins didn't slam the fucker back with an armored tail swish.

The battlefield itself was getting bloody quickly. The more we prolonged it, the more that people were going to die. We needed to enact the second part of the plan now. Thankfully, this part was easily cooked up in the labs back home. Highly experimental and it required me to reach the gates and operate without interruption, but it was another test to see how well this would fair.

"Paladins! To me!" I shouted, the followers of Vota re-organizing themselves to better surround myself. "Forward march! Diamond formation!"

There was something to be said about religious fervor. Though I doubt that some of them fully believed in it, it was enough to see us through. They swung their maces and bashed with their shields, throwing off any goblins coming towards us just long enough for other lizardmen to sweep in and handle them. We needed to move fast, and fast we moved. The goblins seemed to sense we were up to something, but by then it was too late.

I charged forward to the gate and cast {Frostbite} on a goblin, my strengthened magic casting doing a fair bit more damage than the last time I'd had to cast it on a goblin. I couldn't focus on that however, I needed to do my part while the lizardmen guarded me from behind.

I reached into my satchel and pulled out the package. A cloth wrapped bundle, tightly packed and soaked, smelling of swamp oil and fertilizer. As it turns out, ammonium nitrate was easy to get your hands on when you live in marshlands. Not necessarily easy to produce, I had to thump my head against the wall and remember some of my chemistry courses from high school. The oil that proved a little difficult to get my hands on too. It was doable, but the volatility of the substance was something we needed to practice caution. For some reason, it was a fair bit more… flammable. Overall, it wasn't something we could readily produce yet, mostly because we hadn't gotten the process down to a T. I give the package a fifty-fifty shot of actually blowing the gates off their hinges.

I padded the package down against the gate, and palmed the package.

"{Ensnaring Strike}!"

Prickly brambles wrapped around the package and embedded themselves into the gate, fastening the explosive to the wood. I gotta admit, this could go wrong in so many ways, but that was explosives for you. At least I know a thing or two, my hillbilly blood on my dad's side sure loved their gunpowder.

"Alright everyone! Make distance!" I shouted, motioning for us to move out and away from the gate. We made our distance from the gate, careful to prevent any goblins from getting close enough to the package to figure out what it was about.

"Hit the deck!" I shouted, following it up with the spark. After all, lightning and fire are both just air superheated into plasma. "{Lightning Arrow}!"

A bolt of bluish-white burst forth from my hand, arcing as it flew. I didn't pay attention after that, as I was rolling to the soil in order to avoid what came next.

BOOM!

I heard the sound of splinters and chunks of wood flying out and away, followed by the crumbling sound. With the immediate part of the explosion gone, I got back up and turned around, greeted by a glorious side. Scraps and embers still fluttered downward, but the job was done. The gate had been blown wide open, both doors completely shattered and broken inward. One of the towers text to the gate crumbled, landing on the palisade next to the gate with a crash. Even the goblins seem to freeze in shock at the moment, in awe of the might that was a fertilizer bomb.

"Breeeeeach!" I bellowed, swinging my brush-hook wildly through the air.

The side of the palisade finally collapsed alongside the gate as well, the impromptu construction work failing the goblins in light of the explosive blast as the guardtower finished collapsing it. We poured in through the gate as well as the newly formed hole, and rather than focus on every goblin in the village that was still armed and dangerous, we focused our efforts on the money shot. The creche, if Yulg's descriptions were anything to go by, was usually the largest hut in the center of any tribe. Easy enough to find.

That of course led to another change in tactics. Despite the numbers we'd face outside, it seems as though they still had plenty left to go, facing us with a meat wall inside. Thankfully, there was a reason we had magic casters with us.

"{Entangle}!"

"{Entangle}!"

"{Entangle}!"

Several voices called out, each one attempting to hunker down a portion of the forces while our warriors made their way to the children's creche. I myself assisted, more preferring to stay away from that immediate mess in lieu of making use of my own skills.

{Widen Magic: Entangle}!"

My casting set a large swath of vines outward, almost matching the others in size combined. Was it a little excessive? Perhaps. Was it a waste of mana? Absolutely. However, it also carried with it some shock factor.

"{Move Earth}!" A goblinoid voice shouted, followed by a large pillar of earth nearly skewering through me if I didn't shift to the side. Instead, it put a hole through my jacket and snagged, forcing me to tear away. Great… that does explain the holes being difficult to find though.

I focused on the sight of a much taller goblin, possibly a hobgoblin holding a staff upward, swirling magic circles around it's wooden shape. He then angled the staff at us again, aiming instead for one of my comrades.

"{Magic Arrow}!"

"{Ice Knife}!" I blurting, sending the spear of frost out to intercept the magic bolt with shattering success, ice shrapnel flying in a colorful light show. I could see the grimace of the hobgoblin as I did so, but that didn't stop me.

I felt my hold of {Entagle} waver, the mana usage already somewhat taxing. Thankfully, I didn't need to do much else, only distract the caster long enough.

"{Blessed Strike}!" That familiar voice called out, with a slash of light. It slashed across the battlefield of vines, slashing across the caster's chest and sending him back.

"Good to join us Yulg!" I shouted, regaining my grasp on the vines. "Think you can talk these guys down while the others do their thing?"

"Yulg?!" One of the entangled goblins shouted. "The marked one?! You bring ruin to us all!"

The shortstack paladin stomped forward with a growl, moving to within inches of the goblin that shouted it. The goblin faltered in his stance, and suddenly found the collar of his tattered and stolen tunic grappled by Yulg.

"I don't care what you think!" He shouted in his face. "Our ways are wrong, and as much as I hate you all for casting me out I don't regret it! You say I'm going to ruin you, and yet you never seem to realize that ruin is your own doing?!"

The goblin stammered, off put by Yulg. "Y-you… talk different… you not Yulg"

The paladin roared, yanking his head off. "Then whose face is this?!"

Thwumpk!

That lapse was all it took. Yulg's head whipped back, the side of a crude knife buried in his eye socket before he slumped to the ground. I could scarcely believe it. He was there, and then… gone.

"Yulg!" I shouted, feeling mist around my eyes. Reflexively, the vines and grass surrounding the goblins squeezed in my anger. Crushing.

"Nolan! Not now!" One of the paladins shouted as he came up to the still body of Yulg.

I could scarcely pay attention though, everything suddenly felt… foggy… empty almost. As if it was a dream. The vines slackened slightly, and I spotted the one that threw the knife. He seemed to suddenly shudder, as my mana flexed out and formed the same aura as it did before the fight. Except this time it was on purpose.

"An eye…" I mumbled, one vine whipping out much further than it had any right to, catch the goblin by the arm holding another knife. "For an eye"

The goblin screamed and pleaded, holding back and fighting against the vine, struggling with everything it had. It screamed even more, as the crude flint blade dug into the flesh of his cheek at first, missing from his head jerking back. It was inevitable, he was unable to let go as the vines had clamped down as firmly around the blade as it did his wrist.

"He's still alive! Stop it Nolan!" The paladin shouted. "He's breathing! Yulg's breathing"

I gasped, feeling a wave of emotions briefly peak through. That was all that was needed for the vine grabbing that goblin to slacken, releasing it as it fell to the ground in a sobbing mess, trying to back away from us. The same happened all around, the goblins around me slowly tugging their own way out of their vines. They were far too scared to properly moved, fearful of me.

I… why the fuck did I do that? I felt myself feel… not sick but… I know I should be feeling something? The sound of the call had pulled me out of my thoughts. I was suddenly more keenly aware of my surroundings again. Goblins were dying, lizardmen were clutching their wounds, and I saw the main creche being breached.

"No! The Ma-Gobs!" One goblin shouted, trying to struggle out of the vines still holding his other clansmen.

"It's over goblins!" One of ours shouted from the tent, holding up one of the struggling mothers as a meat shield. "Throw down your weapons! More of us are well within the tents at the ready"

The goblins did as demanded, dropping the sticks and rusting tools they wielded. I wasn't paying attention to them now, however. Now that the fight was won, I needed to focus on something else. I slowly waddled to Yulg, before dropping to my knees and holding a hand on his torso.

{Notice: This specimen is suffering from the status effects (Shock), Blood Loss (Moderate)}

Alright Nolan… focus. I carefully inspected the knife buried in his skull. I know I couldn't just yank it out, this was the sort of thing you needed an actual doctor for, not medicine men waving sticks and casting juju. I- fuck but if I don't do anything he's dead anyways.

"Nolan…" One lizardman whispered.

"It's not over…" I mumbled, grabbing the flap of my jacket that had been torn loose by damage and tearing it, giving me a strip of canvas cloth. "Get me our strongest alcohol and some bulrush cotton now. There's a reason I brewed that booze to be flammable"

I looked up and pointed at one of the goblins we now had at our whims. "You! Find any medicine for treating wounds you can provide, but be careful what you pick! We can't afford any contaminants getting behind his eye when I start the healing process!"

I could probably use {Cure Wounds} without much of an issue, but I needed a fall back plan in case the damage was too severe to heal. I addressed what I could. I avoided jostling his head unnecessarily, only doing the bare minimum to prepare it for healing.

"H-here!" One of the paladins offered up, and I grabbed the bottle with has, soaking the cotton as well as the canvas bandage I'd made impromptu. I put it to the size briefly while it sanitized the cloth and padding before sanitizing my own hands.

A circle was forming, almost as if everyone had forgotten we were fighting to finish not a few moments prior. Their faces were a blur, I couldn't read them, I couldn't focus, I couldn't feel, I couldn't do anything if I didn't try to save him.

"Hah… hey, Yulg, I don't know if you can hear me…" I whispered softly, only loud enough for him to listen to me if he even could. "But uh… I really need you to survive this. I suck when it comes to people dying man. So uh, just hang in there, the fight ain't over yet"

"Goop bring leafy stuff!" The goblin shouted as he stumbled back. "Chew and spit in eye!"

"That'll infect his eye. I have a different plan," I mumbled. I took the leaves into my hands and crushed them tightly in my hand, not bothering to even inspect them.

{Extracting…)

C'mon, work you motherfucker, work…

{Extraction failed!}

The leaves merely crumbled in my hands, dustily blowing off into the wind.

"More," I demanded. The goblin sputtered, but I roared. "Fucking damn it! Do it!"

He placed more leaves in my hand, and I repeated the process.

{Extracting…)

Work. Work. Please work.

{Extraction failed!}

"Damn it!" I yelled. "One more time!"

There was no hesitation this time, one last bundle finding it's way to my hand.

{Extracting…}

Please… God, if you really are listening you mystical bastard, please let this work…

{Extraction Successful! New recipe unlocked! Would you like to learn 'Healing cream'?}

A slop of pinkish green pudding was now puddled in my hand, replacing the leaves that once occupied it.

"Yes!" I shouted, immediately going to work. "{Guidance}!"

My quivering hands steadied, the effects of casting the spell on myself taking place. I couldn't afford to try and breathe myself into a calm state, not now. So I had to artificially induce steady hands. Now slow, they methodically planted themselves on the knife and tugged lightly, testing the blade's resistance.

"Wedged…" I muttered. It would have to come out the hard way.

No tweezers or forceps were ever made, so we couldn't practice any sort of precision in removing the blade. For fuck's sake we just got alcohol for disinfectant. I really hoped his eye would heal up but I doubted it. The knife came out with a sharp yank, splurts of blood and jelly splashing my face.

"{Cure Wounds}!"

The eye slowly stopped its bleeding, but it wasn't enough. The wound was too deep and jagged, too sensitive and complicated of an area to heal. I immediately set to work on the area, applying the cream to the cotton and planting in place, finishing by holding it all in place as I wrapped the bandage around the goblin's eye.

"{Cure Wounds}!" I cast again the moment I felt that I could do so. His eye glowed briefly under the bandage, but there was no other indication that it was cast. He laid there, still breathing. Fuck, there had to be something else I could do at this point, right? A spell, a medicine, maybe a potion candy-

"Nolan…" Another lizardman stated, much more firmly.

And that's when it hit me. I let myself collapse on the battlefield. What are the lizardmen going to think of me? The goblins? I was supposed to come off as a wise man as best as I could. Not perfect, and I did want to be genuine with the ones I considered friends, but…

"Round every goblin in the village up," I stated. "We need to prepare everyone for-"

There was a warning call from the north, in the area that the Will-O'-Wisps were holed up. My eyes widened as I realized what this particular call meant.

"Round the goblins up now," I demanded. "There's a third party coming our way, and they aren't friendly. Get one of the Ma-Gobs to come too, they're leaders of the village after all. We'll need their input depending on what it is we're about to face"

I needed to make up for my lapse of judgement, for letting myself falter in my motions. I cursed at myself for that. I needed to grow stronger than this. I cracked my knuckles and rolled my neck, motioning for the warriors to come to me.

"Rally the troops and any able goblins that won't be busy putting out fires, and sound the call to have all troops fall back to the village if they can! We need to greet our guests! Move move move!"

The platinum ranked adventurers broke the tree line, eager to spill blood at the sound of combat and horns. They were greet by the sight of a palisade wall, with smoke billowing out that was far larger than expected of a village unless it was under attack. Though from the sounds of it, they came at an opportune time. Rather than the shouts of panic and screams of death, they heard goblins inside scurrying to put out fires and help the wounded. In other words, they came at a time just after an attack. No small amount of luck on their part. Still, they needed to make their entrance.

"Gomer, if you would be so kind as to open the door for us?" The scrawny bard asked with a flourished bow, motioning to the crude wooden gate.

"Aye pretty boy, that I can do," The gruff hammer wielder said with a chuckle, before activating his Martial Arts. "{Bull Rush}!"

The burly man charged forward, and with a loud and thundering crack, the gate flew off it's hinges. Surprisingly however, the goblins seemed to be expecting someone to come through any moment now. As well as others in their company.

"Halt!" Several lizards shouted, and the party of four suddenly found themselves reassessing the situation.

"By the Four…" The wizard murmured.

There was a large group of goblins and lizardmen, as well as the occasional hobgoblin interspersed in the tribe. In a shocking turn of events, they seemed to be side by side with one another, weapons pointed at the party that just broke down the gate. And yet still, the lizardmen wore metal armor, the kind that was contoured to their shape, which meant that they were now capable of smithing. That shouldn't have been possible. The clean and strange metallic equipment wasn't what surprised them the most, however. In front of them all, with hands raised in a placating measure, was a man in tattered clothes and battered, equally strange armor.

"Hold… steady…" He spoke slowly, attempting to soften them. "We don't want a fight. There's been enough fighting for one day. What do you folks want?"

The four adventurers weren't sure what to suddenly make of things. A human this deep into the forest, standing side by side with demi-humans as if there was nothing wrong whatsoever? It baffled their minds, and right away they had doubts as to whether or not the human might have been a race traitor.

"Bah, we came here to kill! What else?!" The barbarian shouted, not reading the room.

"Aheheheh, what uh- what our friend here means is we came here on a mission!" The bard interjected, keenly aware that the lizardmen were armed with some dangerous looking equipment. It had to be, if they couldn't tell what it was made of. "You see, we've uh… been told that there was a band of goblins in the area that were responsible for sacking some caravans as of late! You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

"What are you doing?" The wizard hissed.

"Saving our asses," The bard hissed back.

"I see…" The strange man spoke, crossing his arms and taking a more serious posture. "Would any of you happen to know about that?"

One of the goblins stepped up, a female one that was dressed in a tattered, flowing blouse one normally saw on a peasant girl. "Wiki do, Wiki's fault! We already punish Wiki! He stupid, we sorry about that!"

The bard smiled sheepishly, though it didn't quite reach his eyes and inner thoughts. "Ah, er yes, well unfortunately we still need to take at least something to prove that there won't be any more problems, you know?"

The goblin was about to speak again, but the human held his hands up and received silence.

'So the human commands the demihumans. Or at least the goblins' The bard mused internally. 'That doesn't seem right. What kind of game is he playing out here?'

"I see, and believe me, I understand your… predicament," The man spoke slowly. "Ma-Gob, are there any goods that were brought back from the… unsanctioned plundering?"

She snorted. "Few things, mostly useless. Was why we call Wiki stupid. Humans can have them"

The wizard, having been spending the time silently appraising the foes up to this point, leaned in and nudged the bard. He chuckled and waved at the band of misfits. "Ah, excuse us for a moment, please?"

The four of them huddled together, leaning in and whispering as to not let the group know their intentions.

"We can take them," The wizard mumbled. "I know we can"

"Have you seen what they're wearing?" The bard hissed. "What even is that?"

"Copper," The wizard bluntly replied.

"I- what?" He replied in befuddlement.

"Granted, what they're using is an ancient method, but it is just a form of smithing. Not used anymore because of how inefficient it was. I remember reading up on it by chance in some old magic crafting tomes. That stuff they're wearing is mostly show. We can take them. Our only concern should be the human. He's a wild card"

The bard shot a look towards the knight and the barbarian, the former taking a moment to stare him in the eyes before sighing, nodding his head tentatively. The barbarian grinned and shook his head wildly, eager for battle. The group broke off, and the bards grin went from sheepish to wolfish.

"Er, about that…" The bard slyly spoke, readying his lute. "You see, we're being paid by the ear. Business, y'know?"

The human seemed hesitant. "Then maybe we can come to a compromise? There are corpses from the fight, if you just took those then would that help?"

"Sorry, stranger. I haven't even gotten your name, but something tells me that won't matter now," The bard lulled sadistically. "After all, why settle for scraps when it's obvious we can take the whole pot?"

WARNING! BOSS APPROACHING! ADVENTURER TEAM BLAZING BULLS!

Nolan Potts, Human (Karma: 70 [Neutral]) [21/24 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, Torchlight

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)

AN: Wow, two hundred loves! Never thought I'd get that much on my story. I've never really thought it would get to that much, especially considering I haven't even been putting half of my effort into this. Glad to see you guys love it so much!