I woke up this morning before Carol did and got dressed in clothes that were suited for tromping through the dense undergrowth of the southern jungle known as The Green Hell. I scavenged the pantry area of our shared dome for something light for breakfast and found a pair of small tough biscuits that would be suitable for eating as I walked. I ate one biscuit and wrapped the other to use as a travel snack while I was exploring.

I quietly crept out in the hour just before sunrise and made my way south to the jungle gate. People were milling about in the street as they were heading off to their tasks for the day. I was passed by the Border Town Rangers as they jogged in the same direction I was going. I couldn't help but notice that they didn't make a sound as they passed while most of the residents seemed to make shuffling sounds as their feet scuffled along the worn cobblestones. I figure most of the people here have some adversity to waking up early and probably only do so out of necessity.

I observed the rangers carefully until their dark green cloaks left my range of visibility in the darkness. I tried to mimic their efficient movements as I picked up my pace, but I made much more noise than them. I stopped because I was drawing the attention of the drowsy workers. I didn't want them to be upset at me for being so noisy when they didn't seem to be morning people.

I tried some runic phrases that Carol had shown me while I was learning the letters. I carefully drew the runes for silence on top of my boots and tried running again. The other enchant that I tried was wolf senses, but I must have drawn it wrong because I didn't feel any different. I stepped through the space where I had just written the rune and I grasped my head in pain. The sensory fedback from suddenly being able to smell and hear everything gave me a massive migraine and I forced my eyes shut tightly against the sudden brightness of my surroundings.

I covered my ears and slowly tried to adjust to the smells of the city. I found that the most prominent smells were garbage and decay. The scent of decay was surprising at first, the town was fairly clean so I doubted there would be anything rotting nearby. I tried slowly opening my eyes to adjust to the enhanced sight that a wolf had. My eyes gradually adjusted until the monochromatic town was a bit less bright than it would be during the day. Seeing everything in shades of red and blue was slightly disorienting, but I kept looking around as I grew used to the change.

I avoided anything or anyone who smelled of decay as I was sure that it was a sign of illness or that they were involved in some sort of dark business that dealt in death. The number of people I had to avoid were many though. I just kept my head down and averted my eyes from them if I had to pass by them. Being able to point out a murderer in a lineup was not an ability I wanted.

I passed through the gate just as the sun was rising and looked back at the town to make sure I knew the tall landmark from every angle. I hadn't noticed it before, but there was a large square gem centered over the gate. My enchanted sight made it impossible to determine the material, but I had no doubt it was a crystal rather than an off color block of stone. Lines of a dark glass-like material spread out to either side, presumably connecting to a similar crystal at the other points. There were humanoid skulls embedded in the otherwise smooth walls, I would guess that these were an illusion meant to break the wills of sieging invaders.

Once I was sure I could identify the tall pentagonal column from any angle, I turned and trudged off into the encroaching jungle. It was time to learn to hunt a monster!

I traced a few more enchants into the air to make hunting in the dense undergrowth less difficult after I spent an hour to move forward two feet. Ape's agility and giant strength took effect after I passed through the words hovering in the air and I traded the strange eyes of a wolf for hawk eyes. I kept the sense of smell and hearing though because the wall of plants made seeing far less feasible for finding a target.

The musty scent of unwashed bodies from my left drew my attention as I was scampering from tree to tree over the vines that were strangling them. My mithril claws bit deep into the soft wood as I launched myself to nearby trees in that direction to see what I had picked up. I fell twice during my amatuer acrobatics and had to claw my way out of a carnivorous flytrap that snapped me up during my second fall.

I was covered in green pulpy plant matter as I arrived at a clearing in the canopy. I saw an earthen mound that reeked with the scent from earlier intermingling with the smell of scat and refuse that littered the border of the clearing. My eyes zoomed in on the area and focused as though I were using binoculars. I could see several wiry gray-green creatures of gnome height scurrying in and out of holes in the ground sporadically.

I recognied the creatures to be goblins, traditionally considered to be one of the lowest monsters in terms of power. Their heads were flat and round with large pointy ears pointed up and out from the sides of their heads. I doubted they would be a challenge and was going to leave when a larger creature crashed into the cearing from the other side. It was a tall, muscular humanoid wearing animal skins from the waist down. The scars on its mottled green and brown skin seemed intimidating, but its piggish face dampened the effect considerably.

It was holding a cudgel with a long handle that I wasn't sure I could deal with as I had no real armor other than my armguards and boots. The handle of the cudgel was wrapped in poorly tanned leather and a sparkling bit on the end of the handle caught my attention. I focused hard on the gem mounted at the end of the handle, but it was too small for me to determine what it was.

I slid down the trunk of the tree with my claws digging furrows in the bark to slow my descent. I walked lightly on the muddy floor of the jungle as I crept up on the unsuspecting crowd. The orc was sitting as the goblins rushed to carry out its grunted commands. I could no longer see my prey, but I could hear them more clearly as I approached. With all the goblins focused on the orc I was able to take out one that was standing over a hole in the ground. I strangled the wretched creature as my talons dug into its jugular.

I honestly felt bad for the creature as it feebly batted at me until it died. I really would have preferred to spare the weaklings, but surely that orc would have them attack me if I were spotted. I dropped into the hole and checked to see if there were tunnels. I didn't want to face goblins that could attack from all directions while trying to take out the orc that was commanding them. There wasn't so much a tunnel as there was a burrow leading into a system of natural caves. Glowing fungus provided a pale green light as it clung to the rough walls of the limestone cavern.

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The air in the cave seemed heavy and humid even compared to the jungle outside, if this wasn't a duneon I wasn't sure what was. I could smell the stench of goblin all around, but heard little more than the occasional drip of water landing in puddles forming on the uneven cave floor. The ceilings were equally rough, some were low enogh that I had to crawl despite my diminuitive height.

I reached a room with two not quite diagonal branches. I could hear snoring from one, while the other was silent as a tomb. I inched up to the corner of the room of snoring and brought my right eye just past the edge of the entryway. A rotund goblin was sleeping on a stack of animal hides. His scent was overpowering the smell of the rotting hides he made his bed from. I was somewhat pleased by that, his scent wasn't altogether unpleasant, just very strong.

I crept up on him and swiftly drove my taloned fingers into his throat, just above the Adam's apple. The obese goblin gurgled loudly through the hole in his windpipe as I covered his fang packed maw with my hand and shushed him quietly. His eyes rolled back and the pool of dark blood spread out across his filthy bed. I didn't feel so bad this time around, I may have come from a more advanced world, but the violence in media and in everyday news helps one become jaded to the fact that life ends. I wiped my claws on the grimy cloak of the deceased goblin, noting that once upon a time it was quite elegant.

I examined the quarters of the goblin I had just slain. It possessed some things that piqued my interest. There was a cauldron in one corner over a firepit that had been cold for some time. propped against the cauldron was a staff with a large uncut milky white opal strapped to its top. I searched the goblin for a crude cutting tool and a ring that had seen better days. the crystal in the ring was a simple cube of purple amethyst. I couldn't wear the ring over my claws so I stashed it in my belt pouch. I took the staff and cut the bindings holding its stone to pocket that as well.

I took the other tunne after finding nothing more of interest and systematically searched each branch I came across. I encountered one more goblin which spotted me first. It charged me with two knives made from a chipped black stone. The goblin stooped as it ran with the knives out to the side and ahead of it, I used my left guard to swat the poorly shaped weapons aside and threw a haymaker punch into its temple with my right driving along with my momentum.

My strength enchant must have been more potent than I thought as its left eye ruptured from the force of my punch. The creature shrieked in pain and grovelled on the rough floor while trying to put the dangling eyeball back in the crushed socket. I was worried about the sound reaching other goblins so I kicked it in the ribs, possibly rupturing a lung in the process. the beast was flat on the floor but still had motion, I caved the back of its skull in with a stomp before leaving the area.

Crouching in a dark corner, I waited for the sound of footsteps coming to investigate the sounds of the fight. It only took a few moments before I heard them coming. I adopted a sprinter's stance using the uneven floor as a starter block. Some goblins entered my view and I charged as though a gun had been fired and I was the bullet. I leapt over the corpse and thrust my feet forward to deliver a dropkick into the first goblin in sight. The grubby creature tried to block with a rough plank shield and was lauched off his feet into the small crowd behind him. My attacks were a series of pounces as I bound to and fro, aiming my claws for the eyes and throats of any that tried to recover.

Planky managed to struggle to his feet, but his shield hung limply at his side. He had a spear that was little more than a stick with a pointy end and he levelled it in my direction. I watched him cautiously as he grunted and growled, froth and spittle trailed from his eposed fangs as we circled each other. He thrust first with his stick. I slid at him on my knees and grappled with his good arm while placing a punch squarely in his family jewels.

Planky's spear hit the floor as I rose into an uppercut that bashed his head into the low ceiling. I made sure none of the goblins were still breathing as I left. nudging bodies with the toe of my boot for a response. I left the room and continued on to find another exit from the cave system. I clamored up the slick walls with my claws to peek out at the scenery.

The orc was unattended and on guard for an attack. I could tell now that I was closer that he was around two times my height, just over seven feet tall. His bulk also did not seem any less at the shorter distance. He could probably eat me and have room for dessert. I slid back down and sat on the floor with my legs crossed. I drew potential attack plans on the floor and checked my bags for potential weapons. I had the ring with the amethyst and the uncut opal... I'm not going to risk the opal, I couldn't remember off the top of my head what a purple gem would do, but I remembered that cubes were for creating walls or containing things.

Noting that either outcome would be better than trying to fight the big-ass orc in a frontal confrontation, I picked up the ring and carefully bent the setting with my claws. I pried the gem free and carried it back up the wall with me. I crawled out on my knees and elbows and lie prone while pointing the crystal at my target, the orc. I quickly forced mana into the gem as it noticed me and raised its cudgel during a charge.

The orc got within striking distance and was bringing down the strike in line to connect with my head when the gem activated and the weapon collided with a shimmering wall. The wall reflected the orc's attack and it took a strong blow to the shoulder as it staggered under the weight of its own weapon. I reached out and touched the wall, the wall reached back and touched me. I felt around and found that it was the containment type as the wall did the same to me. The orc continued to pound on the wall from the outside as my mime act resumed in the glittery box. Every hit the box took was weaker than the last as the orc was being broken under his own attacks.

The box dispelled after a minute and the tired, winded orc prepare for a final swing. I darted forward and jammed my talons into the back of his calves before he could lift his heavy weapon. The blood pumped hot and fast as I must have hit an artery. I was sprinkled with the red spurts as I tried to climb the orc's back. I dug into his spine and shredded his skin as I reached his shoulders. I left furrows all over the orc's shoulders as I severed every major blood vessel I could find before finally ripping out his throat.

Having gone through all that and defeating the original target, I checked the gem that I spotted from the canopy. It was colored glass, the gem in the handle was just regular glass with some pigment... I killed an entire burrow of goblins for a bit of glass. As much as I was upset over the lackluster end to all that effort, I did find one nice thing on the orc. it was his weapon. There were dirty studs driven into the business end of the cudgel that were made of obsidian.

I ate my remaining biscuit for lunch and gave the bodies a proper cremation before heading back to the southern gate. I got back just before sundown to get thoroughly chewed out by a panicking Carol. I also didn't get dinner as a result of my poor choice not to let her know of my plans.