The next few days passed in a blur for Lanek. When Ograch wasn’t training him how to use a bow and axe, the big hobgoblin would hand him off to other Night Arrows to proceed with his survival training. Throughout those days, his axe and bow proficiency had both reached level 5 and he had learned various techniques to preserve his food supply.
One of the methods taught to him created a food that looked remarkably like pemmican, which was great for Lanek as he knew that pemmican could last an insanely long time if kept free of moisture and in a cool place. He had never made or eaten it back on Earth, but he had a friend that was obsessed with going as primitive as possible whenever he went camping that swore by the stuff.
Lanek chuckled at the memory, remembering how odd it looked when they went camping together, he with his modern tent and other camping supplies and his friend who just showed up with a pack and made do with what he found out there. To be fair, it had proven to be a ridiculously lucrative lifestyle for his friend who had managed to leverage his knowledge and skills into a successful career as a primitive skills and survivalist content creator.
Man, I wish I had listened to him more often, it would have been a huge help. I wonder if he’s noticed I’m gone yet? His friend, Ben, had been one of the few people he talked to almost daily. They had been friends since high school and was the only friend he still had from those days. Despite living in different countries by this point, they still made it a priority to game together multiple times a week and go on several camping trips a year.
Lanek snapped out of his reverie and looked around the Night Arrows’ camp in the fading sunlight. The tribe had come a long way in just a few days, having made rapid progress on both a palisade and living space. However, the first thing the Night Arrows had managed to complete had been several well-camouflaged hunting blinds in the trees at the top of the hill where several members of the tribe were always on watch.
In these past few days, Lanek had noticed that the Night Arrows were very jumpy and paranoid. He supposed that made perfect sense as they had seen their numbers constantly thinned by attack after attack. Lanek hoped that he could help them out a bit with that since they had been nothing but hospitable and fair in their dealings with him. In fact, one of the goblins that had taught him food preservation had just dropped off several packs of food, assuring him that as long as they were kept from pests and direct light that they would keep for months.
The goblins in charge of hunting and food preparation had also grown very fond of Kazuma and Sanguineus due to the bored duo delivering fresh game multiple times a day. One of the goblins had even joked that Lanek should leave the animals behind when he returned to the city. Or, at least Lanek thought it had been a joke.
In the morning, Lanek would be heading back to the monastery to set up his new home. He had asked Talwarg to give him some time to get set up before sending the first batch of trainees, to which he had agreed on the condition that he take Ograch with him. The chieftain wanted to have Ograch scout out the path and identify any potential threats along the way before immediately returning to the new village.
Lanek had agreed, but secretly planned on having his companions shadow the hobgoblin on the way back to keep him safe. He had grown to think of Ograch as a friend and wasn’t about to risk losing his first non-animal friend to a gaunt or one of the other horrors in the city.
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The morning found Lanek and Ograch hefting their packs to begin the journey back into Caelis. The hulking hobgoblin, easily stronger than Lanek, was carrying the packs of food and a bag of tools that Lanek chose to take along. Lanek had decided to take all of this tools into the city, just in case. Lanek himself carried his normal gear and the pack with all of the maps.
He had not had a chance to inspect the maps quite yet, having spent every waking hour learning what he could from the Night Arrows. However, as soon as he was safely ensconced in the monastery, he would be studying the maps intently. He mentioned this to Ograch as they walked to the city, causing the hobgoblin to react in excitement.
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“Can I study them with you? The tribe could use all of the information we can get about the area as well.”
“I don’t mind, but will it really be useful to you? I thought your tribe would have explored this area thoroughly by now?” Lanek asked, a bit confused by the request.
“Not really, we’ve only been able to explore the forest and the outskirts of the city. The city was already empty when we arrived.” Ograch responded. Seeing Lanek’s surprise, he continued. “The mountains to the north are suicide, our scouts report huge lumbering creatures that attack pretty much everything on sight. The shamans say that our people came from those mountains, but were driven out long ago.”
“By the gaunts?” Lanek asked.
“We don’t know. If the shamans know what drove our people out, they aren’t sharing that knowledge with the rest of us. Personally, I don’t think they are hiding anything and that the knowledge was simply lost.” Ograch shrugged. “Since then, we have managed to build a village and thrive, but something always happened to destroy what we had built. Rival tribes, monster hordes, gaunts. You name it.”
“Well, I hope I can help out this time. Your people have been good to me and I want to repay the favor if I can.”
Ograch laughed, “Oh, you’ll repay us alright, Talwarg is going to get everything he can out of this deal!”
“Same.” Lanek said with a wink.
The lively conversation died down as they passed through the gates of the city. Lanek made a point to stop at the general store to show Ograch the store room. He wasn’t concerned about the Night Arrows cleaning the place out, he had everything he needed from there. Ograch took a quick inventory and nodded at the human, pleased at the resources on display.
Lanek considered letting the hobgoblin know about the clothing store and blacksmith, but decided against it. He wanted to help, but he needed to take care of himself as well. Besides, his deal with the tribe should be covered by the gear dropped by the dungeon monsters. Also, the blacksmith’s cellar would make a great hiding spot if he needed it.
The trip through the city went smoothly, with only a few goblins peeking out and who were abruptly massacred by his companions. Ograch seemed to be enjoying the experience, but kept glancing at Lanek questioningly.
“It makes no sense for me to join in, it would waste the experience. I have a class that won’t let me get any experience for enemies below my level. So, don’t worry about me and do what you need to do.” Lanek explained.
“Can I ask what class?” Ograch curiously asked.
“Shinobi. It evolved from Rogue.”
“Hmm, never heard of it. Sounds like a pain in the ass, to be honest.” Ograch snorted after considering the class for a moment.
“It boosts my experience gain from fighting enemies stronger than I am, so we’ll see how it goes. I haven’t had it very long.”
“That could lead you down a nasty path. Always hunting down stronger and stronger opponents could put you in over your head if you aren’t careful.” Ograch mulled. Lanek nodded in agreement.
As they came into view of the monastery, Lanek paused and motioned for the scout to hold back. Kazuma and Sanguineus each took off in a different direction, circling the plaza.
“Let them do some scouting, I’d rather not have something figure out I’m living in there for as long as possible.” Lanek explained. The two animal companions returned after roughly 10 minutes of scouting, both with their jaws dripping with blood. Clearly, they had found something, but they pulsed a reassuring emotion at him so he knew the coast was now clear.
Motioning for Ograch to follow, Lanek led the way into the monastery and into the tower stairway. As they climbed the stairs, Ograch kept pausing at each level, glancing at Lanek.
“I haven’t fully explored the place. I’ve only explored this tower and the fourth floor. The fourth floor is pretty safe, though. Once I get settled in, I’m going to see what else this place has to offer.”
Ograch nodded and followed Lanek to the fourth floor and into the open courtyard. If the hobgoblin heard the breathing of the beast as they neared the door, he didn’t mention it. Once they entered the courtyard, Ograch looked around, visibly confused by the sight of stables on the roof.
“Go ahead and look around while I stow the bags.” Lanek said, hiding his grin. A moment later he was rewarded with a swearing hobgoblin backing away from the far end of the courtyard. He could almost hear the panic in his friend’s voice, causing him to smile broadly.
“LANEK! WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!”