“Great. Just… great. The one weapon I actually have is cursed and may drive me insane if I use it. Gee, thanks.” Lanek muttered while staring at Sanguineus. Also, was the name just translated by the System into something he would understand or was Latin actually a thing here? Maybe it is in a local language and means something entirely different here?
The longer he stared at the weapon, the more he felt something tugging at the edge of his perception. [Etheric Presence] seemed to be resonating with the weapon, but didn’t seem strong enough to provide a clear picture or enough information to be useful.
Lanek munched on the cooked rabbit while stroking Kazuma. What should I do next? I need tools, but I don’t want to go back to Caelis until I’m a bit stronger or I can actually use this damn whip. He wished he knew how to make the tools he needed, but that was well outside his experience and expertise.
Shaking his head, Lanek decided that now that he had a full stomach and shelter, it was time for sleep. Maybe he would have a better plan of action in the morning after having a restful night where he wasn’t hearing horrendous sounds in the night. It helped immensely that he knew Kazuma would be able to detect a threat quickly even if the big cat was passed out.
Inside the cave, Lanek unpacked his bedroll and blanket from the guild leader’s pack and settled down. Just before he drifted off, he felt a comforting weight pressed up against his leg.
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In the morning, Lanek found Kazuma watching him from the mouth of the cave, exuding expectation. Was he asking for permission to head out or was he just wanting to hear my plan for the day?
“Good morning, furball. So, I think I’m going to explore the forest a bit today.” The cat chuffed approvingly at this statement.
“I’m glad you approve,” Lanek laughed, “I think we need to look for signs of people out here somewhere. What do you say?” The cat nodded at him.
“Great, so you go that way and I’ll go” Kazuma growled at him mid-sentence. “Uh, you don’t think we should split up?” Kazuma chuffed at him. “Fine, I guess we should go north together then.”
The cat patiently waited for Lanek to sling the guild leader’s pack, now devoid of bedding, onto his back before heading out. Hopefully, the pack would be coming back full.
While traversing the forest, Kazuma would range ahead, presumably to scout and hunt for himself while Lanek foraged. So far, [Identify] had not warned him away from the occasional berry bushes he found, allowing Lanek to have a light breakfast.
That’s not to say that the forest was completely safe, [Identify] had pointed out numerous poisonous mushrooms and a few bushes that would trigger painful rashes. The skill had even cautioned against approaching a creature den. Unfortunately, [Identify] wouldn’t tell him what creature the den belonged to, probably because the skill needed to be used on the creature itself to provide more information.
Regardless, Caelis had been correct. [Identify] was an amazingly useful skill to have as an otherworlder. He wasn’t sure if he would have survived his first day out here without it. The risk was insidious as the plant life looked similar enough to what he had learned about back home from his grandfather to make him complacent. For example, a mushroom he found that looked almost identical to an edible one back home was apparently fatal to ingest here.
Lanek set aside some berries from every bush for a later meal and followed the cat further north. He spotted a few game trails, but nothing that would signify a path or road. To be fair, he hadn’t expected much in the way of civilization with the dungeon being so close by and the city itself having been abandoned long ago.
He was mostly hoping for signs of travel, such as campsites. Possibly adventurers on the way to the dungeon. Caelis mentioned the Ashen Depths was responsible for the city’s wealth, so it would make sense for adventurers to still want to exploit it.
He was also hoping to find an abandoned structure in the forest, such as a woodcutter’s home or small village. There must have been some in the area at what point to help support the city and for those people who couldn’t afford the city or had no desire to live in close proximity to so many people.
Lanek was starting to zone out and enjoy the scenery when Kazuma came darting back to him. The big cat seemed excited about something and kept nudging Lanek forward. Shrugging, Lanek complied and went deeper into the forest. They were already a few hours from their camp, what was a bit further at this point?
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
After another thirty minutes of walking, Lanek began to hear noises from the forest. It sounded like gibbering and nonsense to him, but it was enough to tell that this wasn’t coming from regular animals. He crouched and crept forward, sticking behind trees as much as possible.
Lanek came to a stop as one of the sounds grew closer. A moment later, a small green figure emerged from ahead of him, yelling something back behind it. It paused briefly, before a response in the distance set it to work collecting branches.
It was no higher than Lanek’s waist, with extremely long, pointed ears. Ears that extended to the side more than they extended upwards. It also had a very long nose placed in the center of a rather grotesque, leathery face. Beady little eyes combined with a mouth of jagged, sharp teeth was most definitely not an appealing combination.
It was also had leather armor on most of its body. Though the armor and clothing the creature wore was crudely made, it warned him away from underestimating the intelligence of the creatures. The armor was the appropriate size for the creature, so it was clearly not looted.
It was also armed, although the armaments looked a bit cobbled together. That didn’t matter overly much to Lanek as one of the armaments was an axe. To a normal person’s stature, it wouldn’t be more than a slightly large hatchet, but it was exactly what Lanek needed. From his hiding spot, Lanek used [Identify].
Forest Goblin
lvl 3
Goblins are intelligent creatures that are driven by the need to expand their territories. This need to expand will often bring them into conflict with other races and even rival goblin clans. Goblins are ingenious creatures that will craft and utilize tools and weapons. They have even been shown to be capable of rudimentary strategy and tactics. During battles with a goblin warband, it is not uncommon to see the goblins act according to a basic chain of command.
Goblins settlements are often found near the settlements of more civilized races where their numbers will grow rapidly if they are not eliminated. While a single goblin is not much of a danger to a prepared individual, goblins prefer to overwhelm their foes with numbers. Many are the stories of goblin hordes spilling from the wilderness to overwhelm everything from small villages to entire cities.
Note: Contrary to popular belief, goblins do not procreate with the other sentient races. Not only is this not possible on a biological level, goblins appear to find humans and the other sentient races quite hideous.
Nowhere near the strength of the crypt stalker. I should be able to take the thing out and get that axe. I need to be quiet about it though, if it alerts its kin I’m screwed.
Pulling back a few meters, he pulled Kazuma close and whispered to him. “Kazuma, I need to make sure nothing catches me sneaking up on the goblin. Can you help me with that?” The cat rolled its eyes at him before trotting into the forest.
I’m going to take that as a yes.
He crept back to the goblin and observed it for a few moments to make sure it was alone when he heard shouts coming from the distance. Whirling around, the goblin cocked its head to the side.
That must be Kazuma. Lanek thought as he emerged silently from his hiding spot. He almost faltered as he neared the goblin, his proximity revealing a small light that he now recognized as a soul pulsing in the goblin’s chest.
No! he snarled internally at the whispers that began to creep in as soon as he saw the soul. It was hard to ignore, however. He wasn’t going to lie to himself, he was curious what would happen if he chose to assimilate a soul, but it still felt evil. Like he would be crossing a point of no return.
The goblin took a step toward the commotion in the distance before it felt a hand clamp down on its throat and a blade plunge into its back. Lanek had aimed for a lung to keep it from shouting out. As it gurgled, drowning in its own blood, Lanek stabbed again. The goblin collapsed to the ground.
You have defeated Forest Goblin (lvl 3). Less experience has been awarded for defeating an enemy below your level.
Lanek tried to pull the blade from the goblin, but found it stuck in place. It would not come free. For the first time in centuries, Sanguineus was feeding. Within moments the goblin was a desiccated husk and the whip felt like it was vibrating in his hand.
Not willing to waste time, Lanek grabbed the goblin’s axe and the knife he found in its belt and fled to away from the corpse and the distant shouting. As he ran, Kazuma appeared behind him, very clearly feeling pleased with himself.
Lanek would have smiled at the cat if he hadn’t been so shaken by the whip’s actions. He had felt its hunger, had felt its greed for more when it tasted the goblin’s blood. He had also felt its refusal to be withdrawn from the body until there was nothing left.
This left Lanek with one very disturbing thought.
Was the damn thing alive?