The four goblins got dressed. It wasn’t appropriate for conscious mammals to walk around naked, so Arvena and her guests were expected to wear clothes, as it was a mere, basic requirement that any civilized society would demand. It was so basic, that even this civilization of goblins insisted to uphold this social standard, even though they weren’t the spiffiest of creatures to begin with. They insisted for the better!
Anyway, the team walked over to the guard’s barracks in order to get dressed, and this part was a bit annoying, because this building was about one-hundred meters away from them, or from the sea shores! They were very capable of walking a hundred meters, yes, but it took them about ten minutes to do so, because they were all pretty short-statured, and this was mainly what annoyed them. The team took their time, they didn’t rush, all for the sake of their sanity.
They did get dressed up eventually, and that was what mattered the most. The guards within these barracks were pretty friendly too, as they happily welcomed any fellow, unproblematic goblins, so they helped the team dress accordingly. The social principles that these goblins had, kept them from harassing either Arvena, or her guests, sexually, which was impressive because the four of them were butt-naked, and this would invite trouble under other circumstances, yet it didn’t endanger the team here. One could learn a lot from these goblins, and the principles that they withheld so proudly!
Regarding armor, Skendus and Arvena got dressed with iron armor, because they could carry it, they were big enough to do so. However, Ortana and Timothy were smaller in comparison, so they were suited with leather armor instead. There were metallic plates embedded on the leather, yes, but the plates were located on important places only, such as on their shoulders and on their knees, so these plates were few by number! They weren't so heavy either.
“This looks pretty smart, cuz I don’t want to get stabbed on my fucking knees!” Tim mumbled, and he could imagine the crippling pain of such a knee injury. Though he was scared of the idea, he was still happy to worry about his knees again, because such specific worries were human traits, above all.
Anyway, this leather coating left the two of them more exposed in comparison to their friends, but it was for the best, because they weren’t strong enough to carry around eight kilos of iron, no, even the two kilos of this lighter material felt like a lot to them. Tim only weighed twenty-two kilos while in this goblin form, so much wasn’t expected of him in terms of physical strength. The brown leather was suitable enough for him.
Anyway, after they suited up, they were given the opportunity to pick a weapon of their choosing. These weapons weren’t as heavy, because they were designed to serve the average, three-foot tall goblin, so even Timothy could choose a good, dependable weapon for himself. He was ready to carry a decent-sized sword.
“Let’s see…” He pondered.
Now it didn’t seem so natural for magic-bearing creatures to be equipped with cold, iron swords, but in this universe it was seemingly necessary. Goblins were the dominant creatures around here, there were several species of them, and a lot of them were armed to the teeth too, so it wasn’t so smart to walk around without a solid weapon. Shields would be very useful here as well, because as it would happen, there weren’t many spells that could deflect a warhammer's bone-breaking blow!
Anyway, Tim picked up a sword that was a whole foot long, and he fell in love with it. It was made out of iron, and it didn’t bear the greatest quality, no, but by all accounts, a man was always the happiest while behind a sword! He took a few swings with it, and the whistling sounds that came from his swings, made him happier than the sea ever did!
He was happy, but then he also had an important question, so he asked. “Not that I’m complaining, but why is iron so important here? This universe is supposed to be a haven of free mana and shit like that.”
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The question that he asked was solid, and in-depth. This goblin body has made him smarter, by thirty whole IQ points because he had a bigger head now, so he couldn’t help being analytical about a lot of things. Civilization-oriented questions like this one, were especially easy for him to formulate.
Arvena was first surprised by this question, because she simply couldn’t picture a goblin without a weapon, it was unheard of! But then, she remembered that these guests were initially fish, so they didn’t see the importance of iron as much as a goblin did. It took her a moment to collect her thoughts, but then she tried to answer from a neutral stand-point, for the sake of clarity.
“I’m no historian, but weapons have been used here since forever.” She answered, and then she followed along. “For example, we use our swords here to channel our destructive powers, and that method is really effective, because a fireball that’s backed by hot iron will always burn a little bit more! So yes, we’ve been using swords and stuff like that since forever, regardless of what magical realm we were in. Iron is as old as magic here, it’s cultural to wield both of them.”
Tim appreciated that answer, because it really helped him paint a picture of what to expect from the civilizations, and or smaller communities of this micro-universe. By being able to picture it, he also started plotting ways to protect himself better, in the occasion where they get attacked. He was sure that they were going to get attacked across this land, very often, so it was best to be prepared.
Anyway, Ortana listened in to their conversation, and came up with a simpler, and yet more practical way to appreciate these weapons. She was really expressive about her understanding too!
She said, “You forgot to mention that this sharp stuff can be more dependable than magic. Mana can run out pretty quickly, but it isn’t as expensive to swing a sword around, it’s basically free. Also, cutting through bastards is really effective, trust me, I’ve seen a lot of tribal wars back in the day, and the blood they spilled could paint a whole lake red! Of course, I was just a messenger bird back then, so I never swung a sword up until now, but I’d be happy to behead a bunch of goblins here on your land, haha. A sword, and a good arm will keep our enemies below the ground, dead and for good!”
The input that she added was both practical, and terrifying. She was the shortest here, as she only stood two-feet tall, and yet she managed to terrify everyone within the vicinity, effortlessly. The guy who was handling the armory’s inventory here, seemed especially terrified.
He subtly added, “We’ll have to keep an eye on you… but hey, as long as you don’t cut our men down, you can have as many swords as you can carry. Feel free to pick!”
“You’re sweet,” She answered.
Then, she just grabbed a small, five-inch long dagger, rather than anything huge, and she also grabbed a tinny leather scabbard, to sheathe her dagger. This felt like the best weapon for her to carry around, so now, she felt completed, protection-wise!
Skendus chose a two-handed warhammer. He was a huge goblin, even when compared to the guards in the vicinity, so a heavy warhammer befitted him the best. He was a huge beast, and was eager to deal damage accordingly if the future circumstances demanded it so!
Arvena carried a short-handled, but heavy battleaxe. It was the weapon of her choosing, and it seemed to fit her well.
Anyway, after the four of them got dressed and armed, they were ready to hit the road. The barracks here were made of stone, it was a huge, and comforting place, but they had to leave it behind. Barracks, and the collection of guards and or soldiers that it housed, weren’t ideal if one wanted to expand their magical arsenal. These buildings were just placed strategically, to protect the land, and that was all there was to them. In order to progress, the team had to be on the move.
Arvena spoke of a place where mana was really dense, it was oozing freely, for anyone to grab and manipulate. The place was called Aqumus (and or the Aqumus Ruins), and it was far away from here! However, if they were to reach it throughout their journeys, then the progress that was to follow regarding the improvement of their mana quality, was swift and vigorous!