Mosh woke to Silky crouching over him, snarling at something just outside the melded branches and roots that formed the wall of his impromptu shelter. He activated Mind Detect and found a group of four just beyond the walls. From the activity he detected from the minds, these were not dumb animals but seemed higher up on the sentience/sapience scale. He used his new knife to surreptitiously cut away part of the wall and look out at the gathered creatures.

They were small, the largest of them coming to his chest. They were very little, uncured leather vests as armor along with loincloths of the same uncured leather. Their faces were lizard-like, scales covering their elongated muzzles and the skin that disappeared beneath their jerkins. Their weapons were similarly primitive, wooden cudgels or sharpened bones, not looking to be very effective or of having much durability. They appeared to be watching his hideaway, and one exclaimed, pointed in his direction, and they disappeared into the surrounding forest. Mosh looked after them, wondering what they were.

‘You see them kid? One of the strangest and of the minor humanoid species around. They generally get called kobolds, though that term covers perhaps a hundred different sub-species. Extremely malleable genetic structure that seems capable of cross breeding with virtually anything. You have canine kobolds, feline kobolds, crocodilian kobolds, which these look like, and on the upper side of the Kobold strength ladder and with intelligent rivalling that of humanity and even the Kin, draconic Kobolds, angelic kobolds and demonic kobolds.’

Mosh listened, fascinated, ‘You say these are most likely crocodilian kobolds, why not draconic ones?’

‘I just told you; draconic ones would have intelligence at least the equal of a man. So proper armor and weaponry to start with. They also would not have been spying on you from the open. It takes an unevolved mine to be childish enough the think if they cannot see you, you cannot see them. It could be possible, but it seems unlikely.’

‘Thanks, so I am facing some kind of Kobold. Any odea of they are hostile or not?’

‘Not something I can tell. They may have just been watching to track you in case you turn into a threat, they may have been watching you as they prepare an attack.’

Mosh sighed, he would prefer peace, he was not looking for conflict though he needed it. If he could avoid killing sentients that would be best, but that meant they had to refrain from killing attempting to kill him. He looked out, into the trees that he knew held those that spied on him and knew that he had to track them, find them, and either ensure there would be peace, or kill them! He looked at Silky. Wondering if he still had the tunnelling ability that he had displayed when he was smaller. He looked at Silky, then at the ground, and he seemed to understand. He turned and faced into the ground, his small buttocks and tail facing Mosh, and dirt started spraying up behind him, displaced by his clawed hands. Mosh dodged out the way, marveling at the rapidly growing pile of sand. If anything, with his evolution and stronger claws and limbs, Silky was a better digger then before!

Silky dug fast, and Mosh followed behind, widening, compacting and reinforcing the tunnel as they moved deeper into the earth behind the forest. They could not go deep, they reached water level too quickly, bit with the compacting of the ground they could create a tunnel through which they could move while crawling and keeping their heads above the water. Silky seemed to have the senses to avoid the river, and they continue don, occasionally shifting their path as they reached a wall of stone, evidently the cliffs from which they had fallen. Eventually, Mosh tapped Silky and pointed upwards. Silky understood and changed the direction of his digging, angling upwards, and not long after they breached the forest floor, coming up neat the cliffs, surrounded by trees and plants capable if surviving in the water.

Mosh emerged from their tunnel, looking around as he did so. He knew the rough direction they had come from but could not see where his tree was. He would use the cliff to navigate and use that to find his way back. He examined his packs, surprised to find their contents dry even though they had been submerged at time. It seemed they were waterproof, a function not mentioned in their description.

Looking into the sky, the sun was not yet halfway, it may have taken them a few hours, but it had not been long enough for it to reach midday. He activated Mana Camouflage and started his way back. If he had been lucky, their tunnelling out had not been noticed and he could take the Kobolds by surprise. Silky blended into the shadows and out of his perception, one day he would perhaps develop senses sensitive enough to detect him, for now that was a feat beyond his capabilities.

He arrived back at his mangrove tree and investigated the area before it in which he had seen the kobolds. He remained hidden, but the kobolds were also out of sight, either they had left or had corrected their earlier error of remaining in view. He turned on mind detect and soon found the group of four kobolds. They had climbed one of the many trunked trees that grew alongside the river with their wide branches which made for good look out points that would not be visible from the ground. But the cover of the foliage did not cover their mental activity, and their minds remained exposed. He found his own secluded vantage point and watched them, allowing his mana camouflage to drop so he could recover his lost mana.

Skill Mana Camouflage advanced to Tier 3 Level 4

Mosh saw the advancement message and was glad at the increase, though unfortunately it did not come with any new features or a reduction in its mana cost. He siphoned chi into his senses, enhancing them, making it easier to spy on those who would spy on them, and detect if anyone was sneaking up on him.

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The day passed, and the was sun sinking when the kobolds rose, finally moving, No one replaced them, they just seemed to end their surveillance with nightfall as if the idea of him moving at night was not an idea they contemplated. He wondered at that but reactivated mana camouflage as he followed behind them. They moved with confidence through the forest, crossing the river at a point where rocks jutted out across it leaving only a small gap to jump. They did not look back as they crossed, and no sentries watched the crossing. Mosh just shook his head at their lack of security, he assumed they did not have many enemies for them to be this lax. Either that, or their enemies were so much weaker they could not imagine them attacking. That did not feel right to Mosh. The First Ring was meant to be harder to survive in than the Outer Ring, yet the Kobolds were weaker than him, so surely there must be stronger creatures around?

As the sky darkened, the kobold’s speed increased. From their body language they seemed anxious to get back, starting to nervously look around, gazing carefully into the shadows as they passed. Mosh revised his earlier judgement. They were not worried during the day, it was at night that they were fearful, whatever the stronger creatures were, they must be nocturnal. Thinking that, Mosh started to look for somewhere to hide. If the kobolds were fearful and wanted to get undercover, he should probably do the same, he could always look for their base in the morning. But there was nowhere to hide, the trees towered above him, the ground was soft, but there was no time to tunnel, and the bushes would block vision but not other forms of detection. Mosh grew more anxious as darkness fell and he continued to follow the kobolds. He watched as they approached a tree with multiple trunks, their relief obvious as they ducked within, it seemed very similar to where he had stayed the last few nights except no one had used mana to seal the roots and leaves into a wall.

He activated his mind sense, decided to leave it on for the moment, and was shocked at the number of minds he picked up. From the direction the kobolds had gone, there seemed to be hundreds, from obvious non-sentient creatures to ones that dwarfed the kobolds and were clearly sapient. He also detected some of those nearby, not watching him, bit close enough to be of concern. Near to where the kobolds had descended a group stood, most likely guards to the entrance of their settlement, and he didn’t want to trust mana camouflage to shield him from the site of so many. It just required one with a better detect skill than the others and he would be exposed.

Mosh looked up grimly, he could see no option but to climb into the boughs above and hide there. He would not get much sleep, not this close to the kobolds and with some other creatures nearby, creatures more intelligent than the kobolds below. He shimmied up the trunk, he high body stat improving both his strength and agility and found a comfortable spot where trunks from multiple trees met and formed a platform from their intermingled branches. As much as he wanted to, he refrained from using mana to harden and improve it, scared that it would be detected by those who watched the kobolds. As he settled down, Silky appeared from the branches above and settled down next to him. She had been shadowing him as he moved but remained concealed, ready to hunt any that thought to hunt him.

***

Chief Broli was not happy. Those sent to watch the stranger had come back late, almost remaining out past the time when the watchers punished those who disobeyed. They did make it back on time, but even that was not good news. They spoke of how the stranger had seen them but then had not reappeared at all. He worried, maybe the stranger did just hide because he feared their might as the scouts said, but he thought not. All agreed the stranger was bigger than him and bore a weapon like those of the watchers wore, he did not think the stranger cowered in fear.

He stepped out, dreading what must be done next. He was Chief, so he must do it, but as strong as he was, he always feared talking to the watchers. He took a deep breath and was surprised to find the Tribal Maker there, head bowed and waiting obediently but dressed in his beads and the leather headdress to show his status.

“Maker, why come?” Broli addressed him, he did not mind him coming, but his coming without being summoned was unusual.

“My Chief, the watchers have sent me a message to convey.” The Maker watched the Chief. He was not as volatile as previous chieftains had been, perhaps they had finally found the right mix to advance those that were suited for the role, but it never failed to remember that the chief was breed for war, for combat and for fertility to provide the next generation to serve. He was not breed for stability or intelligence, and it could be lethal to forget that. He watched Broli as he frowned and looked suspiciously out into the night.

“The watchers speak. They do not speak often. Always death when they speak, death for the tribe not them. Do not trust!”

The Maker was impressed with this one. He was degenerate, a lesser form, but he overcame those limitations and made connections it would be better for him not to. His role was to breed and protect the Tribe which provided the fodder for the upper tribe, it would be dangerous if he started to think of rebelling against them!

“Chief, watchers not bad. They watch and warn. And warn they do. They say stranger escape and they not know where. Be careful, protect tribe!” the Maker hated the pidgin speech of the lower tribe, but using high speech would fail and expose him, so he did what he had to. He watched the Chief, wondering if an accident was needed, perhaps this one grew too much.

Broli grunted, looking at the Maker, thinking, his mind clearly contemplating what he had been told, but his thought processes were slow, it would take a while for him to process his thoughts and express them. The Maker was surprised when not too long after the Chief spoke.

“We watch stranger. Not make war. Maybe he make war with watcher and we escape. Find new place without watcher.” He stopped mumbling to himself, though the Maker was able to make out the words from his enhanced senses. “Watcher steal brother, need place where no watcher.”

The Maker felt cold. He was of higher tier than the Chief, he made sure no chief advanced too far, but he was not his equal in battle. They had missed it, the dissatisfaction in this Chief. He had seen them operate and wanted to escape. Though at least it was escape on his mind and not war, whatever he had seen, he feared their might. It was not the worst-case scenario yet, but he would send the message, time for a new Chief!