Re: Monster - A Slightly Different Path
Chapter 2: Fury of the Beast
(Day 17, Goblin Cave)
Gob-Zerk had an amused look on his face which confused Gob-Rou to no end. They had just finished cremating the dead mothers of the tribe, and Gob-Rou had mentioned plans to stay at home today. "What is so funny, Gob-Zerk? I just think my time would be best used at the hearth today." Gob-Zerk laughed again.
"That's what's funny, Brother! Mi will need a new set of clothes, but you haven't noticed it yet!" Gob-Rou's confusion persisted for a few moments before it finally hit him, the look of realization on his face sending Gob-Zerk into a new fling of barking laughter. For indeed, as the duo saw when they returned to the cave, Gob-Mi had ranked up, evolving into a hobgoblin herself. Gob-Zerk had noticed that his tribe-sister had grown from a cute little girl into a cute young woman. Gob-Rou noticed that the female hobgoblin before him looked half-familiar, almost like a half-faded memory from his past life.
Gob-Zerk snickered as Gob-Mi borrowed some of his brother's clothing, before their leader sent the three off to hunt on their own, choosing to stay for crafting purposes. As the trio headed out, Gob-Zerk took a curtusy glance over his own new equipment. When he had ranked up into a hobgoblin, his brother had made him a new leather kilt from kobold hide, as well as a new set of claws which Gob-Rou had managed to 'forge' from the swords used by said kobolds, giving Gob-Zerk a set of iron claws, a major upgrade from his old obsidian ones.
The trio held a tight formation while they scavenged, with Gob-Kichi holding the rear, Gob-Mi in the middle, and Gob-Zerk up front. This allowed Gob-Zerk to rely on his super sharp sense of smell to track down any fauna or flora they could consume, while Gob-Mi gathered tree-fruits, and Gob-Kichi acting as the party's rear guard.
They managed to acquire thirteen horn-rabbits, nine armor-tanuki, four night vipers, seventeen rainbow bats, and about fifty assorted fruits. Which they returned to the cave with to share amongst the entire tribe, and allowing Gob-Rou to give Gob-Mi her new clothing.
(Day 21, Forest near Goblin Cave)
It had been a few days since the deaths of the tribe-mothers, and the evolution of Gob-Mi. In that time, the quartet had killed some more kobolds, one of whom had a bow, which was given to Gob-Mi. The following day, the quartet had gone through the treasure room, gathering a ton of useful gear from the junk pile.
On this particular day, however, the quartet had grown by three members, as the trio of goblin girls who had lead their generation in following Gob-Rou were now among them. The first was a white-haired and blue-eyed girl wearing a cloth headband, apparently named Gob-E. Earlier, when the quartet first decided to add to their party's number, Gob-Zerk had mentioned that the girl had an almost earthy smell to her, along with a hidden strong will.
The second and third girls Gob-Zerk was able to identify as twins from their scent. Furthermore, Gob-Zerk had noted a watery scent on the one twin, a blue-haired and -eyed girl named Gob-Sui, and a rather airy scent, like the forest breeze, from her rather plain but equally pretty green-haired and -eyed sister Gob-Fuu.
The three goblin-girls were slightly overwhelmed when the four hobgoblins asked of them to join in their group hunting. During said hunt, the new group of seven ran into no new monsters, but they quickly learned that Gob-E was more of a melee combatant, while Gob-Sui and Gob-Fuu were more proficient in ranged. Gob-Fuu, in particular, took an immense interest in Gob-Mi's crossbow, while Gob-Sui appeared to prefer the sling-staff. They ate well that day.
(Day 22, Forest [Goblin Territory])
The following day, the large group happened across a group of kobolds. One appeared to be a mage of some sort, and Gob-Zerk easily noted that Gob-Sui seemed ~very~ interested in the canine creature's craft. He moved closer to his leader.
"Brother," Gob-Zerk whispered into Gob-Rou's ear, "I think Gob-Sui may be interested in mage craft. I suggest collecting any tools of the craft that kobold mage may be carrying, for future reference." Gob-Rou nodded. He'd been thinking more-or-less on the same idea, as he himself was interested in mage craft. He'd also seen the blue-ette steal a quick peek through the book on mage craft he'd found in the treasure cave. The hunting party followed the kobold party for a spell, only striking after the mage revealed his skills. During that stalk, Gob-Rou mentioned his own interest in mage craft to Gob-Zerk, and stated that he'd be fine with helping Gob-Sui learn once the option was available, a fact which made Gob-Sui giddy when Gob-Zerk informed the blue-haired goblin-girl.
Sadly, the only tools of mage craft the kobolds had on them were a magic staff (which Gob-Rou ate), and a set of little magic stones (which were also consumed). Gob-Rou did, however, give Gob-Sui the mage's robes, which lifted the girl's mood.
That night, Gob-Zerk could smell his brother leave the cave. When the black goblin returned, the coccidian goblin smelled what he assumed was some form of dark magic coming off of the tribe leader. He thought nothing of it.
(Day 25, Forest)
The next few days were hectic. The day prior, the group had come across an orc camp. Although their numbers had improved, it had taken four well-practiced goblins to kill a single orc, and while now those four goblins were hobgoblins, with the back-up of three more goblins backing them up, there were at least seven orcs, all well armed soldiers, with the rest of the tribe nearby to boot. Gob-Rou didn't like the odds, and chose to wait.
Now, on day twenty-five since their birth, the hunting party had come across a pack of black-furred wolves. Gob-Zerk didn't know what, but something in him started growling when he saw the pack leader. In the blink of an eye, Gob-Zerk had leapt down on all fours in-front of the pack leader. The other six goblins and hobgoblins just stared in a mix of shock and worry as the feral hobgoblin started ~growling~ menacingly, causing several of the black wolves to back-off. Only the pack leader stood his ground, growling back at the odd humanoid. A moment later, the growls grew into barks and what almost sounded like ~roars~ as the two leapt at each other, causing blood, fur, and grass to fly.
The fight was over a minute later. Gob-Zerk was now covered head-to-toe in scratches and bite-marks, blood soaking his entire body, as the mad-goblin ripped the wolf's head off ~with his teeth~. As the other six goblinoids clambered out of the bushes, the black wolves reacted. More than half ran off into the woods, while the remainder tried to attack the blood-soaked hobgoblin. Those ones were all killed.
On the return trip, they happened across a few more kobolds, including another mage. This time, Gob-Zerk sat out, and Gob-Rou decided to let the mage live, just long enough to force it to tell him and Gob-Sui how to use magic. Gob-Sui got a magic staff out of the lesson, and her first magic kill as she pierced the kobold in the skull with a bolt of water.
Later that night, as Gob-Zerk was explaining what he could about his episode with the wolves when he sensed the three newest additions to their little party grow into hobgoblins.
"So basically," Gob-Rou replied, "One of the skills given to you by the God of Hunting makes you a sort of Beast-Master, forcing you to prove yourself as a pack leader." The caucasian goblin nodded. The two decided that, since it was only to do with animals, they would ignore it for now. Instead, they chose to focus on the coming battle.
(Day 26, Orc Quarry)
Blood. Gob-Zerk's mind was filled with fury and power as he ran around the quarry, burying his iron claws into orc after orc. He recalled maybe taking a few bites out of one or two, and maybe a few landing hits of their own on him, but all he felt was the thrill of the kill. As he ripped his arm out of what he later noticed was the orc leader's chest cavity, the madman howled while cackling madly. His adrenalin-drunk brain slightly registered Gob-Sui and Gob-Fuu, who'd become hobgoblins earlier the night before, peppering any orc which tried to get him from behind with magic and duel-wielded crossbow bolts respectively. He also noticed that there was a pile of dead orcs no closer than ten feet from the twin sisters, most courtesy of his claws. It seemed the three had a system going, he kept the orcs off the twins, they kept the orcs off ~him~.
After the battle ended and the tribe started eating the orcs, Gob-Zerk had sat with the other hobgoblins. He noticed that Gob-E and Gob-Kichi appeared to be closer than either of the two realized, while the same could be said about Gob-Rou and Gob-Mi. Nether pair could compare to Gob-Zerk's situation, however, as the feral hobgoblin had the twins sitting on each of his thighs, their arms wrapped around his neck as they simply sat there holding on to him.
He didn't mind, though. So the twins were feeling clingy. They'd saved each other's bacons countless times during the battle.
(Day 27)
The goblin tribe was doing their morning workout when it hit him. Gob-Zerk could smell a series of new smells approaching the cave. He turned to Gob-Rou.
"Brother!" Gob-Rou turned towards where he'd heard his personal ranger, and eyebrow rose. "Brother, I can smell a pack of goblins coming, as well as a few hobgoblins.
"And they have human women with them." Gob-Rou didn't need to think long on what to do. Obviously, these were the foragers. And he also knew what ~that~ meant, concerning his brother. "Alright, Gob-Zerk. Go wait up in the trees for now. I will try to talk with them. If we need to show them we mean business, pick out 'father' and rip him to pieces. Otherwise, wait until nightfall." Gob-Zerk grinned menacingly as he immediately leapt into the tree-tops, just as the foragers appeared. Just as his brother had said, some hobgoblins, some human women, and about two dozen goblins.
"Well, hello, ladies and gentlemen. Just put everything in the 'treasure cave', and we can go over some house rules." One of the hobgoblins, the male one, and most likely the leader, stepped up. "You aren't the boss here, brat." Gob-Rou smirked, raising his hand. "Actually, I think you'll find that I am." He then snapped his fingers, giving Gob-Zerk the signal to strike.
A moment later, the older male hobgoblin was headless, as Gob-Zerk flew down from the tree, roughly ripping his father's head off on the way to the ground. As the other foragers took a few steps back, Gob-Zerk growled like a rabid beast as he crushed the forager leader's head with one hand, tossing the remains to his brother and leader, who proceeded to devour it. The fear factor alone was enough to make all the foragers back down wordlessly. The two older hobgoblin females were the only ones left standing, looks of horror on their faces. The five human women were no better.
As the older goblins trickled into the cave with the rest of the tribe, preparing to hunt for the day, Gob-Rou collected the other hobgoblins - now numbering nine, including himself -, as well as the five human woman, and gathered in the old 'treasure cave', where the human's bonds were undone. As the other hobgoblins left the room, mostly to keep other goblins out, Gob-Rou, -Mi, and -Zerk stayed behind to talk to the human women. Gob-Rou noted that one of them, a little red-head, looked familiar, but couldn't quite recall where.
(Day 28)
That night, Gob-Rou declared the human women off-limits, and left Gob-Zerk to guard them.
In the morning, the older goblins from the raiding party learned just how loyal the younglings were to their new leader, when no fewer than five older goblins lay dead, carved to shreds and blood everywhere, near the entrance to the old treasure room, their hearts lying in a pile on a bed of leafs. All of which were then consumed by the young leader.
After that, an order was issued for the goblins to pack up. They were moving to a larger cave.
While Gob-Kichi went ahead with a small troop of goblins, Gob-Zerk and a handful of goblin-boys started constructing simple carts and rickshaws to help carry supplies. Gob-Zerk also constructed a nice little wagon for the human women and female hobgoblins. The berserker also convinced Gob-Rou to have the goblin-girls ride on the various carts and rickshaws, while the men pulled them. 'Character building' Gob-Zerk said, 'and practice for when we start trading with human settlements, as it is custom for the ladies to ride while the men drive'. Gob-Zerk and -Rou admitted it sounded a tad sexist, but the world they were in was admittedly male-dominated, and while the tribe had grown more co-ed under Gob-Rou's rule, human men were, by nature, very stubborn.
The clan arrived at the orcs mine less than a half-hour later. Gob-Kichi and the other advance scouts had already killed the remaining orcs, so all that was left was to tidy up the mine and settle in.
With some architectural design-based assistance from Gob-Zerk, whom appeared to be quite proficient at the art, Gob-Rou was able to re-shape the mine to their needs very easily. Rather than a strait path into the cave, they made a double-corner entrance, which would force one to walk one-way around a very easily defendable wall into the cave-proper. All the ceilings were raised to a height which would allow ogres passage, with all doorways and halls widened to accommodate the same two-way. A main cavern was re-sized slightly to fit everyone, with five branching tunnels (six including the entrance), with space for more if needed.
One tunnel led to a storage-space, another to a kitchen and pantry, the third to the mines-proper, the fourth being carved out into workshops for the human women, and the last one branching into three separate sleeping quarters. Gob-Rou originally wanted the human woman to have their own room, but Gobs -Mi, -E, -Sui, and -Fuu convinced their leader that it would be better, and safer, if the human women slept in the same room as the female goblins and hobgoblins. Many of the goblin-men from the raiders argued in this matter, but were quickly shot down by the younger generation, so they gave up, although Gob-Zerk could smell their intentions from a mile away. Gob-Rou was given the third room, right between the male and female dorms, as his own room and study. A small alcove was made for Gob-Zerk near the entrance to the female dorms, under orders to keep an eye out for rule-breakers.
(Day 29, New Cave, Midnight)
The entire clan was awoken in the dead middle of the night, when bestial roars and terrified male screams filled the caverns, coming from the entry-way to the female dorms. Gob-Rou was the first on the scene, followed by the female dorms, and then the male. -Rou was angry, not at his brother, but the owners of the screams that had woken everyone up, while the other men and boys were confused, as most of them could not see into the girl's dorms, while the bulk of the woman and girls were just angry, a few scared, among whom were the human woman, while -Mi looked ready to ~murder~.
There, splattered across the ground and walls, were the shredded remains of no fewer than ~ten~ older male goblins, leaving only six older male members of the clan, seven including -Jii. -Zerk just stood there, slouched over, soaked in blood as the stuff dripped from his hair, claws, and teeth, his eyes glowing like molten gold. -Zerk's entire body was twitching, his breath labored, and both -Rou and the twins were quick to figure out the caucasian hobgoblin was struggling to contain his rage.
-Sui and -Fuu, under silent order from their leader, as well as their own desire to help their pack mate, gently and carefully took the hobgoblin male's arms and lead him outside. The male goblins that didn't get a look at the scene were quick to flinch and back-off when they saw -Rou's personal assassin being escorted out drenched in blood. The sounds of trees being crushed and almost ursine roars filling the night did little to calm their nerves. Gob-Rou turned to face all of his clan mates.
"Remember, ~this~ is the fate of all who disobey. Now, go back to sleep."
Hello everyone. Wow, it's been quite a while since I've last updated… well, anything. I've actually had this one mostly done for a few years now, but plot bunnies and writers' block kept flittering in and out without control. I'm much better at creating ideas for others than using them for myself.
With that in mind, updates will be quite slow, not only for this story, but for all of my works. Furthermore, although I do not know when I will start, I will be posting some of my stories on my AO3 account (ScorpioFirerat). It is extremely likely that I will be doing so in the form of challenges, for others to pick up and make something from the clay of my imagination.
Thank you all for your pacience, and I hope to see you all next time.