The inside of the medicine hut shimmered magically in my sight, {Darkvision} currently in effect to allow me sight of the mess in here. The moans and groans of wounded echoed throughout as 'doctors' and 'nurses' moved about to ease their pains. Really, it was mostly a ragtag group from both goblins and lizardmen helping with proper patient care now that we weren't on the march.

"{Cure Wounds}," I cast softly, healing the wounds on another goblin for the umpteenth time. His grimacing features settled, taking on a much more restful expression fitting of a bedridden patient. "Rest. You've yet to leave this world…"

Things were… not as good as we'd planned. Now that things finally settled and I've cleared my emotions from my judgment, I realize that things were far too hasty as of late. Rose and Sobriquet, the goblins, those girls… I needed to settle myself down before anything else happened.

I move over to the next patient, grimacing at his wounds starting to fester. I kneel next to him, placing a hand behind his head to prop him up. He was still conscious, albeit barely, glaring at me from his bedroll. I pulled the bottle from my pocket and thumbed the cap off, bringing it close.

"Alcohol. Should help ease the pain," I explained, the goblin softening from that hate to a simmering disgruntlement at the mention of booze.

Administering some quack care to the goblin, I couldn't help but think back to what I've been doing lately. Starting with the NPCs, I can safely say that maybe I should have held off on that for a while longer. I've fleshed Rose out properly, to the point where she behaves leagues different from how NPCs born of Yggdrasil would act. And yet, she acts as a newborn babe almost, surprisingly reactive and instinctive with her actions. Was this a side-effect of being a 'new-born', or was there something more?

It's not as though she acts like a newborn, she walks and talks like any other person her 'age'. It's just a… lack of impulse control? She was quick to react at the mention of enslaving goblins, quick to react to come to the girl's aid, and she barely held her tongue when trying to avoid calling me 'Lord'. Creating her and Sobriquet as I did and immediately throwing them both into the fire was, well, it was a dick move on my part to put it lightly. I should've considered whether or not they might need time to acclimate to existing.

"Nolan, can you help me with this one?" Marscha called out from her side of the hut.

"Yes ma'am," I respond, letting the goblin be to rest in his drunken stupor. I almost envy his body mass for letting him get sloshed off a couple sips.

The next patient was a lizardman this time. I wince at the sight, understanding why she needed me. Poison festering, the kind that couldn't be treated with traditional medicine easily. His breaths were ragged as his body tried to fight against it, small flakes of scale shedding off around the wound.

"This one was trying to hide it," Marscha spoke with a sour tone that belied her worry. "Honestly, I don't get why you warriors always try to make my job difficult,"

"It keeps you on your toes at least," I mutter with a weak chuckle, before lifting my hands up to cast. "{Lesser Restoration}".

Light and mist flowed from the wound as the poison simmered away beneath his skin. His breathing gained a more pleasant sound, not rattling with each gasp.

"Thank you, dearie," Marscha spoke with a tired voice. "It seems my years are finally catching up to me. Six or seven years ago and I could have easily kept pace with these numbers. Ah, I think I need to take a moment to rest"

I nodded to her. "Take a breather then, ma'am. Won't do the tribe no good if you overwork yourself"

She mutters to herself in a somber tone just quiet enough for me to not catch, before shaking her head at me. "Sorry dearie, but a medicine woman's work is never over. We're almost done though, just a few more"

I nod, and go my separate way to keep helping with the workload. The next patient, another goblin, seems to need a change in bandages. As I carefully unwrap the bloody strips, I think back to the original matter at hand. This chaos.

The goblins were… something I should have tackled more carefully. For fucks sake, they nearly got the drop on me back in the first battle with that stray arrow that zipped by my head. A couple inches to their right and it would've been curtains for me. There was clearly not enough caution taken with that, especially with… what happened to Yulg.

I don't know if I should blame him for that, quite frankly I don't think I should. I should have considering how… stressful that situation might have been, turning on his former family. For them to react in such a way as to try and go in for the kill with him though, that was something I don't think anyone expected. Or maybe I should have. It's becoming apparently obvious that there's so much I still don't know, the average sociological patterns of a goblin being an example. Is Yulg the norm, misguided but willing to change when given a chance, or is he an outlier forged by circumstance?

Actually, that second part might make a lot of sense. He seemed so lost when he first came to the village. Fuck, that actually might explain why he took to my superstitions so quickly. God damn it. That is one hundred percent my fault for not reading the cues. I'd considered the cult shit as a passing fancy, not to be legitimately serious.

Old bandages gone, new bandages on. As I moved to the next patient, I realized there was a lot of shit I'd have to clean up today, and not just the bedpans. Eugh, speaking of which, I reach by this one's bedroll to handle his 'care package'. I gagged compulsively at the stench, but powered through and brought it to a proper urn that would be emptied in a key location later. I ignore the splash and wave of odor, immediately prioritizing anything hygiene related in my to-do list, be it incense or plumbing.

Huh. I just reached an odd thought. I'm… leaving the village in a couple months. After winter sets in and once the war is set into pace… That's when Todone will bring up his end of the deal. Their warriors will escort me out of the forest in the coming spring, if all goes as planned. I probably could have gotten that from the lizardmen at any point now, but it didn't feel right leaving the boy hanging.

Still, I've actually grown to like it here, the slight hostilities aside from some members. And the fact that I haven't even met this 'Kukri' dude aside from seeing him at a distance during functions. Not like I could approach him for a few reasons, I'd have to wait for him to come to me. Still, aside from that, I liked it here. Felt like… well not like home, but something I could call mine.

I wonder, I know I've told them I had plans to leave, but that was more of a temporary thing that I hadn't thought through. Not really, now that I gave it introspection. I wanted to give them at least some semblance of civilization before I did so, building them up so they wouldn't crumple as easily when the time came, but that contradicted my goals of growing in level to handle Ainz and Co in a way that would flip the killswitch on this mess for good. I wouldn't be able to do both, no matter how much I wanted. Maybe make a push here and there, but dedicating myself to it would subtract from necessary grinding.

Hell, speaking on that front, I was drawing well to the max of what Tob could offer me level wise. Sure, I could probably go toe to toe with some of the heavy weights outside the forest if those adventurers were to go by, but that was also one part sheer luck and three parts dumb luck. And without any other means to level up now that the forest would become such a grind, I might as well actually double down on city building. Would be a little awkward to ask if I could stay with them instead and keep helping out, but I'd rather do it nonetheless since I'll be pretty cornered on that front. Maybe get some scouts to prioritize finding some of the dangerous shit out here, fill me up to level thirty before things start to really plateau. That's even if that works out.

I suppose that's that then. Unless my Patron drops me another bone, which I'm fairly certain they've already done plenty of, I'm not really going to get much stronger. I distinctly recall there being a significantly short supply of strong foes in Overlord, at least on this continent. Anything past level thirty is becoming more and more of a pipe dream. If things do change in the future, then I guess I can adjust accordingly, but for now I'll settle for what's most important. And what's most important is uniting the lake into something resembling a… confederation? Yeah, something federated would probably be the best choice, make sure that everyone has a say.

Fuck, I guess I'll have to iron out those details too. Already starting a trial run with the goblins, but I'm definitely going to have to bounce some ideas off of Todone and Crusch to get their run of things. Maybe bring Zaru in on it so we can actually do more than talk about it in passing fancy.

I blinked as I realized I stepped in something. I lifted my boot to realize I hadn't been paying full attention and landed in a bedpan, the realization making me jolt and slosh a portion of the bedpan in my hand's contents over my coat. I took a moment to stare in shock before realizing what I'd done while drowning in my own thoughts.

"... Oh motherfu-"

Kukri huffed aggressively, staring into the firelight with a flickering fury that matched the red of his eyes. The human had done it. Again. He was practically certain this was some cruel joke brought on by the outcasts of his ancestors, playing their pranks at the expense of his own dwindling insanity.

The ageing lizard sighed, brushing his claw along the amulet around his neck. Yet another reminder of the human's meddling control, of just how much he was starting to grab them by the tails. Kukri knew it was of the human's make, and had originally taken it for the sake of proving it was wrong in what it advertised. And yet… it did as such. He spent less time sleeping as a result, something that brought him peace, loath he was to admit. Time away from the cries.

A shuffle behind him shook him out of his memories and into the future, catching sight of one of his 'shadows' to the warm-blood. One that he recognized as being particularly close to him.

"Hashi. Report"

The lizardman nodded, only showing a faint sign of hesitation. "Upon gathering significant information from Zuko as well as the plants… the human may be more than what we initially thought of him"

"How so?" The chieftain asked with trepidation.

"First and foremost, his… companions," Hashi began carefully. "A human working with a demihuman is highly unusual on its own, but the undead makes this situation most suspect. At the very least, we can easily confirm he is not aligned with the Theocracy to have such companions so loyal and… amicable with him"

"So a third party after all then…" Kukri grunted. "What else?"

"Though he has clearly been attempting to restrain it, the 'ewefolk' has been overheard calling the human 'My Lord' on at least one occasion, suggesting some degree of subservience perhaps?"

Kukri's mind shifted gears at that, turning his body from the fire to face Hashi more properly.

"Could you repeat that?"

Hashi squirmed slightly under the newfound pressure, but nodded. "It… seems as though that both the demihuman and the undead owe him some form of debt. To what degree, we are still unsure, but it would explain both their cooperation and submissiveness"

"The other part… about being a… 'Lord'?" The chieftain asked with such coldness that it could certainly match the bite of the human's frost.

Hashi blanched as he realized the error in his words.

'Never mind letting the human run off and make himself useful, I'm going to kill it slowly. Not now though, too much has happened. I will need a purpose without receiving backlash. Framing? Possibly necessary. That thing has enough pull with even some of the elder of the village, even if it's most recent escapade has people questioning things. Actually, that might make this the most opportune time. After the festival at the very least. Would be in poor taste no matter how much I wish to see that monster dead'

"Er, chieftain…" Hashi muttered weakly, in an attempt to shake him out of his thoughts. "Another thing to note, the other humans that came with him…"

Kukri paused, refocusing his eyes on the young shadow. "There's more?"

He nodded. "As a matter of fact, yes. It seems as though these ones were captured as 'spoils' for the goblins. All females. They're weak, and they would die the moment we released them into the forest. What should we do?"

Kukri took a moment to compose himself, churning back into that still hateful but very much thoughtful pose. "The… first one has only stayed because of his sheer value up to this point. Though I do not see anything valuable yet, the situation with the goblins has made me realize certain… merits, to using them as labor. It is only fair, considering how they use us in their own kingdoms. Remind them as such, should they struggle"

"Understood, chieftain. One more thing to note," He spoke, handing over chained tags caked in dry blood. "These came from more outsiders. Humans that were attempting to put a stop to the goblins came by chance, and tried to take as much as their greedy hands could"

"Hah! About time those damned humans got something coming to them! I recognize those tags too, platinum! Not just any warrior could take them down, who was it? I bet it was Zuko, or maybe Rekushio? Whoever it was, I want to give them my praise!"

"It was… three out of four of them were killed personally by… Nolan"

Were the lizardmen knowledgeable of the phrase, 'So quiet you could hear a pin drop' would have most aptly been used by either party. Instead, they settled on contemplating the sudden air of confusion and dissonance. So powerful was the split in conscience, that Kukri felt his headache and his rage returning.

"... How?"

Kukri was trembling, only keeping his voice even for the sake of conversation. Something that Hashi was all too aware of. Though despite common sense deigning it reasonable, his panic could not permit him to do anything other than speak the truth.

"Slowly and methodically. Aside from some assistance in keeping the others distracted the kills were made by himself. Rather personally too, Rekushio spoke… surprisingly highly of his actions, even Zuko gave his… begrudging agreement"

Kukri's arms stilled, his eyes pinpricks. "They… no… would…"

Though it was senseless mumbling to the shadow, Kukri's mind was racing.

'There's no way that those two would speak in such high regards of the human. Even if it went and killed it's fellow… no, is that the game that demon is playing? Would it really go that far just to ensure it had complete control, even to attain the respect of my more trusted comrades?'

Hashi recognized the maddening glint flaring in the lizard chieftain's red eyes, like embers dancing in the ruins of a sacked village. He was having his own thoughts about his chieftain, as heretical as they may have been deemed.

"They've… they've been compromised," Kukri spoke with sadness. "Keep them under observation for now, I don't… don't want them interfering should it come down to a fight with the human. I can't lose… them"

'He truly has lost it,' The young shadow thought to himself. 'There's nothing left in there that could be considered sane, not with those eyes or words. I'm starting to wonder where we'd be if it weren't for the… if it weren't for Nolan changing the status quo. Not as though I could warn the human, I'd be noticed immediately. Crazy as he is, Kukri's thorough'

"Understood, chieftain," Hashi spoke in a tone betraying his thoughts, though the chieftain didn't seem to notice or care. "That was the extent of my after-action report. Was there anything else you requested of me?"

"... Go…" The chieftain mumbled, thumbing the feathered amulet around his neck. "I… need time to meditate"

The shadow nodded, glad to be away from his chieftain now. A thought that made him feel shame, but something he couldn't cast away nonetheless. Now alone, the chieftain was left to stew in his thoughts, staring at the amulet. The dissonance tore at his mind, bringing him close to the edge of the Abyss. He could practically hear the voices of the outcasts at this point, beckoning and calling at him with their own brand of madness.

Still, it did not drive him to rise, as he thumbed at one particular feather as though it were something very precious to him. It seemed to be something that slowly brought energy back to his suddenly sapped state, however little.

"No…" The chieftain mumbled to himself. "No, that can't be it, I know my comrades, even they wouldn't… hah, they wouldn't… I can't even finish the sentence…"

He stared long and hard at the tip of a feather on his amulet, that of what appeared to be a raven's.

"Am I really so useless of a chieftain that I can't even save a single one of them…?" He muttered again, uncaring of the potential of anyone hearing him.

'The creature may be utterly hopeless, but perhaps the human was onto something if the reports were to go by. Speaking one's thoughts out loud feels… oddly cathartic'

"Perhaps… perhaps…" The chieftain spoke, almost as if in response to his own thoughts. "Even the trolls have their uses, by keeping the hunting barghests in the valley stifled most of the year"

'But no matter how great that use, it's far too overgrown by the signs of the danger the human proved to be. And a Lord, no less'

"No, no, especially not a Lord," Kukri reaffirmed with newfound zeal, his hateful fire reignited once more. "A Lord has never proven to be trustworthy even once, among the humans"

'So we need to bide our time. Though it may take some time, we cannot take too long, else it will have dug in too far…'

"Can't have that… can't lose my people to a human… not again…" His words were barely spoken, nearly overshadowed by his growing wrath. "Not again"

That cunning human wouldn't ever know what was coming. Few faced Kukri in combat and lived to tell the tale. He could only imagine what evil thoughts that creature was having now, indulging himself in the fantasy of bringing that demon low.

"God fucking damn it, God fucking damn it, God fucking damn it! Why won't this shit scrub out?!" I cursed, naked and standing over a faintly steaming cauldron as I scrubbed at the stain on my coat as hard as I could. The sun bleaching it's taken over the years made the newly brown splotch all the more apparent.

Rose looked over my shoulder, pointing at a part of my coat. "You missed a spot, boss"

"Rose, not now!" I shouted, before breaking down into an exaggerated sob. "Oh god damn it I feel so dirty, I don't care what it takes I'm reinventing bleach!"

"You even know how to do that boss?"

"Can it, before I make a new jacket out of you!"

The heathen merely giggled at my suffering, something that made me redouble in my efforts to scrub the shit out of my old canvas jacket. Both metaphorically and literally.

AN: I'm sure, for starters, that you've noticed the 'character sheets' are gone. They aren't necessarily, I'll still be updating them behind the scenes for the sake of logistics and power measurement, and I'll post them every few chapters or so, but I feel like they shouldn't be taking up space any more. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have started that to begin with, but what's done is done and I won't bother to remove them as a sort of reminder to myself. I didn't really expect this story to get any significant traction to begin with in all honesty, but as I draw closer to three-hundred follows I'm realizing I need to up my game a little more to make it better, even if this is all for the sake of fun. Additionally, I'd like to at least somewhat apologize for the last chapter. Thought I did fully publish it, I did so under the influence of a lack of sleep. I usually write and publish in one go after a brief spot of rough draft editing, and since I was writing to try and burn off some energy to begin with... yeah. Anyways, on to reviews.

Reaper200851: Aye, thanks for the congrats stranger, much appreciated. As for the NPC thing... eh, yes. Just yes.

Mr. Odd: Wowsers, it seems I've attracted another long burner. I'll just go ahead and answer any questions I can/will in order of the chapter they were posted in, sorry if I miss a couple. Now that the story's getting bigger, I have to actually do some proper filing of my reviews to organize them, something I'm not used to. First off, completely understandable about the tech thing, but that's going to peter off shortly due to most of Nolan's knowledge going from practiced to theoretical now that they're at a point technologically similar to his 'wildman' phase. It will slow down, though there's still a plan for glass-making and basic gunpowder application alongside unorthodox usage of magic to fill in some niches here and there. Already had to do that just to make worthwile weapons and armor after all.

Secondly, glad you noticed. A lot of these creatures are actually my personal home-brews, wanted to give them a chance to see the light of day since I seldom get to use them.

Thirdly, he didn't even do it with the intent of it actually happening, more as a means of deflection and wishful thinking that he didn't take seriously at the time. Though in hindsight, that might be my fault for not writing that in. I make notes of things, but I can't garner every little detail of my story as I make it. This is all mostly improvised after all.

Fourth and fifth, agreed on both fronts for their respective reasons.

And finally... thanks for the kudos. And to answer those concerns... yeah, they were kinda shoehorned, but they were shoehorned by Nolan. He took the opportunity first chance he got not thinking about the consequences, in part due to clouded judgement as we've seen. And uh, sorry about the atmosphere burst, but I did genuinely plan for things to take a darker turn sooner or later. I mean, for Christ's sake, dude got shot up by his own mother. Edgy as fuck, shoulda gone nowhere but down from there. Not to say he isn't trying to make things better with a hopeful point of view, but there's hope and there's reality, and that's something I wanted to touch up on with this story.

Past that, I can't say much because as you've anticipated, I do have plans. Shoddy and bare-bones they may be, there's at least a skeleton I've planned out. Everything else is grown along it organically as I mosey on through. Part of my personal creative process and all that, each writer has their own vibe when it comes to this sort of thing. Kinda like snowflakes, I guess. And don't sweat it, I actually enjoy that you chose to be honest and constructive with your opinions instead of just taking a shit on my carpet.

Raltsnake: Man, maybe I should just start dedicating one-off 'chapters' to the reviews. To answer your question, Nolan isn't really thinking in the long term. He only needs to shine bright for just long enough that he can finish his job and get the fuck out. May or may not bite him in the ass though... but ah, I said too much. Who knows what happens from here.