The morning of the fourth day was misty; there was no sun, no clouds, no sky. Only a thick white blanket of vapor. Roy stood outside his tent, he wasn’t sure for how long he slept but he had awoken after the sounds of activity drifted into his tent. The goblins were out and about, constantly moving from place to place just a he had seen yesterday after entering the camp. One brushed by him, heading towards the gate he had entered through, the goblin was carrying a stack of wooden planks in his arms.

Roy meandered around his tent for a while, unsure of what to do. He needed to find Epipollus and ask about his perks, it would also be polite for him to inform the goblin he was leaving. Except he didn’t know how to get ahold of the chief, it wasn’t as if he could just saunter into the big orange tent unannounced. Roy tapped his feet in frustration, his soggy running shoes pattered against the wood boards.

“Morning,” a rough but distinctly goblin voice shouted from behind, their sounds were more guttural but at the same time higher pitched than what he was used to.

Roy turned around and greeted the guardsmen that had escorted him yesterday; he couldn’t recall his name so he settled for a simple, “Good Morning.”

“You leave, eh. I take to see chief, eh,” the goblin seemed to be asking him a question as it fanned his hands in an in and out motion.

“Yeah, that would be helpful,” Roy replied, his conundrum had been resolved and all he had to do was wait around and space out.

“Good, follow,” the goblin began to march away after grunting out the simple instructions. It didn’t seem like this individual was a fan of idle chatter.

Soon enough Roy found himself outside the orange tent again, waiting for the guard to fetch Epipollus. Roy was somewhat disappointed when he couldn’t see Tig in sight, performing as he had done yesterday. He settled for looking over the goods the goblins had laid out on the several mats scattered around the makeshift plaza. Roy watched as one goblin handed a small stone slab to a goblin sitting on a mat, in return the mat-goblin dug through the pile of goods scattered around him and passed the standing-goblin a large metal cup. The mat-goblin was dressed like Tig, loose garbs adorned with a plethora of straps and pockets. On the ground beside him was a bag easily as large as the owner himself, when all the objects that were tied to it were factored in.

The other goblins who sat around were dressed similarly and carried around the same cumbersome bags, the occasional goblin even had multiple, all in various colors and states of use. From what he had seen these appeared to be merchants, their traveler’s attire and stockpile of items were good indicators. Roy walked up to the goblin that had traded away the metal cup and eyed the spread of goods. Most were metallic, cups, bowls, utensils, and other common durables, though none of them had recognizable labels or brands etched onto their surfaces.

“You lookin’ for something,” the goblins face split with a smile and his eyes glinted even in the dull light.

“Not really,” he didn’t have anything to barter with like the other goblin and he was even more hopeless when it came to actual currency, “Just looking.”

“Well, look good then. Gad-Pog here’s got a wide selection of metal goods, just been back from the Dominion and I gotta say, their metal craft is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. You look at this quality,” the goblin picked out a cup almost identical to the one he had sold before, it was a solid hunk of metal, finely polished and made with machine like precision. Based on what Pog had said, this was probably something made in the ‘Dominion’, “Here hold it, you feel that, you know what it’s made of?”

Roy weighted the cups in his hands it was surprisingly light despite its solid appearance, a small wing was engraved on the cup, “Uh, aluminum?”

“Good guess, but this here cup’s made out of nothing but steel, you could probably beat one of those Hastaos to death with it and it won’t show a dent,” Pog took back the cup and mimicked clobbering something with it.

“That’s cool, but I don’t need a cup,” he couldn’t afford one besides.

Pog eyed him to head to toe, eyes lingering on the pitchfork at his side and his simple guest tunic, “You’re a traveler then, an adventurer out to see the world.”

He did want to see the world, but he had yet to even step feet outside the town. It did sound cool though and it wouldn’t hurt to say that he was an adventurer, “Sure...”

“Ahh, you should’ve said that earlier,” the goblin open up his bag and pulled out several trinkets, there were several rings, a few necklaces, and a small medallion, all were centered around a wing, “Normal folks don’t need this sort of thing, and adventurers already got some from the big cities. But you’re lucky kid, I packed some just in case.”

“Rings for fireball and mana bolt, necklaces for shock and push, the medallion’s for barrier. How’s that, pretty good selection, eh,” Pog pointed to each in turn and then looked at Roy, “And get this, 2nd grade ancite cores, popular nowadays cause of their reliability and efficiency.”

“That’s nice,” he wasn’t sure how they worked at all, did they give him the ability to cast the spell, or did the item cast the spell, were they single use or rechargeable, he didn’t know, “But I gotta go, maybe I’ll come back some other day.”

“You sure kid? This stuff might sell with all the fighting we’ve been seeing lately,”

“Yeah, well I gotta go,” he had no idea what the goblin was selling, and he didn’t have anything to trade for anyways.

“If you’re coming back make sure to do it within the week, I’ll be gone if you come any later!” the goblin shouted after him.

Roy retraced his way back to the front of the tent, his timing was impeccable as Epipollus followed the guard out not a minute later.

“Ah, good to see you Mr. Roy, I heard you’ll be heading on your way,” Epipollus made no move to enter the tent, so the two shuffled to the side so as not to block the entrance.

“Yeah, but before I go, I have a question,” Roy brought out the lists of perks, “I just got some skills to level 5 and I’m wondering how to choose a ‘minor perk’,”

“I see, this being new to you and all. I’m no expert when it comes to that field, normally we consult someone more knowledgeable, but I’ll try my best to assist you on this matter,” Epipollus rubbed his chin in though before continuing, “Which skills are we discussing?”

“Heat Affinity and Mana Sense.”

“At novice 5 correct?” Roy nodded, “That’s a fairly simple decision, minor perks for rudimentary skills have a fairly small impact, it’s the major perks that require great contemplation, so which perks are available to you?”

Roy quickly listed off the perks, as he did so Epipollus seemed to space out and stare at something to his side, the way his eyes scanned through the air alerted Roy to the fact that the goblin was looking over his own blue screens.

“I see, thankfully those perks are well known, in fact I myself have Acute Sensing, Obtuse Sensing, and Affinity of Being. Heat sensing and the remaining for Heat Affinity are much too specialized, correct me if I am wrong, but you are still unsure of which path to pursue?” Epipollus turned away from his screen and regarded Roy with both eyes raised in question.

“I think magic?” nothing else appealed to him more.

“That’s a fairly broad field, before you decide on which line of magic to delve deeper into I suggest picking generally useful perks. Acute and Obtuse sensing were generally recommended where I studied, and Affinity of Being is a fairly considerate choice.”

“What about Mana Attuned?” it seemed to provide a sensing bonus like acute and obtuse.

“From what the texts say, the bonus for Mana Attuned accumulates quite slowly. Unless you plan to stay in a place for months or years the bonus is negligible,” Roy was planning to travel so that made sense, “I would personally recommend Obtuse due to the circumstances; it helps to pick up large concentrations of mana given off by the fungal swarms and the vineborns.”

“That makes sense,” looking through the list again, Roy selected Obtuse Sensing and Affinity of Body, the confirmation mentally appeared and he solidified his decisions.

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“Is that all Mr. Roy?”

“Yeah... and thanks, I was really worrying over these choices,” the lists disappeared and Roy felt a weight lift, it was exciting getting all these cool abilities, but stressful because of the effect they would have on his future wellbeing.

“Not a problem. Oh, and before you leave I have a few more things to say,” Epipollus pulled out a small folding map from his pocket, “I believe this is a map of the area.”

Then he passed the state map to Roy, “Our scouts recently returned with some information regarding the surroundings, we’ve decided on how far we plan to relocate. Danger is marked with a circle and our future camp with a star, this is in case you we don’t meet by the end of the week.”

Roy accepted the map and unfolded it, its glossy surface was marked with black ink, circles adorned the roads and fields, many had small illustrations beside them and squiggly text to boot, “Wow, thanks, it’s too bad I can’t read it...

“Truly a shame, perhaps in the future,” Epipollus’s eyes took on a glassy appearance as they gazed into the mist, “Oh, and before you leave take this.”

The goblin pulled out another object from his vest, it was a ring, unlike the ones Pog had tried to sell him it had no wing motif and was bright sienna. A small metal square was attached to the band, “Enchanted Ring, 4th grade burstrium core loaded with incinerating beam...” Epipollus paused, realizing his own blunder, “If you give the ring a pint of mana it fires a stream of fire, it’s single use so good judgement is key. Good Luck Roy.”

Roy tucked the ring onto his left index finger, if he reccaled correctly that was a fairly neutral and symbol free choice. The small band of metal was plain and simple so Roy doubted it would attract much attention, "Thanks."

With that Epipollus patted his shoulder and left, now it was all up to him to help the survivors in the grocery store. With that thought weighing on his mind Roy packed up his belonging in the tent and headed towards the gate he had entered through. The young goblins were still running around, joy written on their faces and oversized ears flapping about. Their parents watched from the sides as they chatted variously; any newly arrived familiar faces, any luck picking up the new trade. This was not just new to Roy.

As Roy walked across the wooden bridges set above the water, shuffling aside occasionally to allow the hurrying goblins passage, he recalled his conversation with the merchant. The goblin had spoken to him as if he were a human from their world, even calling him an adventurer. It seemed that apart from a few individuals, the goblins thought they had simply been shifted around by some cosmic force, a purely lateral migration. It didn’t help that he could understand their language, and they had been gathered in the small camp for the last few days.

Roy walked up to the goblin guarding the gate, the wooden panel from last time had been improved, now it was attached to twin ropes, which in turn were connected to a pair of crudely made pulleys. It seemed the goblins moved quickly, all that hustling was not for nothing.

“Hey, uh, can I get out?” Roy waved his hand as a gesture of greeting.

“You Roy, eh” the goblin briefly glanced over his gray tunic and then rapped his spear against a car door that was embedded into the wall, enclosed on all side by various bits of junk. Three strikes and short pause followed by a shout from a goblin above the wall, and teh pulleys began to turn on their own.

“Chief say we help you go,” then the goblin pointed to two others who were leaned against the wall chatting, they were both dressed in furs and armed similarly to Hog, ”We of Six Claw Clan here.”

That name sounded familiar to Roy, as he scrutinized the features of the three goblins he realized that one of the ‘hunters’, as Roy began to term them was oddly familiar.

“Hog, Mig, we go now,” the guard shouted back towards the two hunters before checking over his own equipment.

The familiar goblin hunter turned towards Roy and his mouth opened up wide, releasing that disquieting gurgling sound, “Roy, good to see again!”

“Yeah,” Roy responded, slight amazed at the goblin’s level of enthusiasm, “good to see you too.”

With a few more words of greeting the party of four exited the camp and Roy found himself washed up in a sense of deja-vu. It was only yesterday that he had walked the same path from the convenience store but with all the events and surprises that had occurred it felt like a week or a month. It made sense in a twisted way too, his life spent indoors had been uneventful and fewer things happened within a year than what had happened within the last four days.

The hunters walked a few paces ahead of Roy and the guard, they were crouched over, half of their body submerged in water. Their path only deviated after reaching the north-south running street he had taken with Hog on their way to the camp. One of the goblins raised his hand and the group paused. The stasis lasted for a few seconds, and then the hunters turned off the road and entered what used to be a backyard.

Their nimble forms hurdled over the wooden fences, even the guard, clothed in chainmail, had no difficult climbing over what used to divide the yard of one house from its neighbor. Roy had to throw his weapons over the fence to free up his arms before attempting the maneuver. As he placed his hands on the wood he realized that a sickly green substance was already beginning to accumulate in the crevices of the wood, it was slick to the touch and Roy avoided it, preferring to cling on to the rough, if slightly damp wood.

A bit of effort go him over the fence and the group proceeded onwards, it felt wrong intruding on other’s backyards, but the residents were probably already gone. The houses they passed were uniformly decrepit in the low light conditions. The windows looked in on abandoned rooms, populated only by pieces of furniture that seemed to lack the homeliness they normally exuded.

As Roy tried to make out the details in the dark interiors of the rooms, looking for some sign of life,  he caught movement, a slight shuffling that normally would be dismissed as a product of sleeplessness. It was as if a wind had blown through the closed window and ruffled the curtains, casting squiggly patterns of light on the white plaster. But the other goblins caught it too.

“Swampmen," the guard muttered under his breath, the hunters only stared at the windows, legs tensed, “Get going, no mage.”

With that they passed the small two story house with the drab red roof. They passed another house before the hunter led them back towards the road. As they walked between the houses Roy’s gaze lingered at the hose hung on the wall, and the bed of flowers submerged to its side. Some of the wilted bulbs poked above the water, rotten petals intact from the rain because of the cover provided by the eves. Roy’s eyes skimmed over the flowers, he had never been much of a florist. Then a sight caught his attention.

There, standing daintily over the water surface was a blooming flower, the goblins trod past, eyes alert for any danger. Roy bent down and observed the bright petals, their color caught between yellow and orange. Unlike the paint on the houses, the flower seemed to lose none of its vibrancy, it bloomed brightly where its companions and wilted away into off brown clusters.

“Roy, we go, road good,” the guard spoke, eyes glued on his two companions and a note of fear in his voice.

“Yeah,” Roy looked at the flower and made to touch it, as if its spark of life would rub off on him. The moment his finger touched a petal the entire flower fell into the water, its cut stem now visible. Not wasting a moment Roy grabbed the severed top, stunned at what had happened. What had he done, was this the result of his touch? He had wanted to take the flower along, it seemed to make great company in the grey surroundings, but even he knew that a flower plucked was a flower not long for this world.

Now it was as if his own desire had been made manifest and the flower had plucked itself, moving mushrooms, goblins, and now suicidal flowers. What was his world becoming? Roy looked at the flower in his hands, unsure of what to do with it. It was pleasant holding onto the spot of color in his surrounding, so he settled for that, he was hesitant about sticking it in his bag. Not wasting another moment Roy trekked after the group.

The rest of the short walk was uneventful; they passed by a few more houses before reaching Main Street, once there they said a few hasty goodbyes and the goblins withdrew into the mist. Roy looked toward the North-West, where the grocery store had only a hint of substance. The survivors had taken in the group at the convenience store, despite shooting the goblins on sight. There was no reason for them to be hostile towards him.

He would give a good first impression if he walked right up to the doors in his somewhat tidy form. He would need to look good, look respectable, he was trying to convince people with way more experience and much better credentials why they ought to listen to a high schooler and abandon a rich supply of food. His chances looked fairly bleak.

Pushing aside his pessimism, Roy walked forwards, he needed to do this, without this goal he would be trackless, meandering around without a path to follow. Besides, he couldn’t leave these people here, even if his efforts amounted to nothing he still needed to make that effort, or it was tantamount to leaving them to their doom. Now that was really pessimistic.

Before Roy could consider any further, a gruff voice with an air of command to it blasted through the silence, “Hey, you there, stop! You a friend or a foe?”

Roy’s eyes looked through the mist and he spotted the probable speaker, it appeared to be a man on the roof of the building, his figure was quite imposing positioned so high up, the rifle he held in his arms added to the effect.

“I’m a friend,” the fact that he could speak would probably amount to enough of an indication, though he felt the need to add a bit more, “Roy Stone, I’m a student from Anamosa High, I uh...”

“Alright, that’s enough,” the voice seemed to quiet a notch as the man turned his head away from Roy, lowered his gun, and shouted to someone on the ground below, where the entrance was situated.

“We have a teenager seeking shelter, you deal with it Greyson,” there was a pause, then he added, “get him set up and all, no funny business, got it?”

“Got it, I got it,” the second man, Greyson shouted back. Roy’s eyes landed on the front doors, where another man, decked in a police uniform sat on a plastic chair. The space between the pillars which held up the awning in front of the store was blocked up; tables, carts and even a car had been maneuvered into place, granting some form of cover. Bits of mushroom clung to the makeshift barrier.

Greyson made no move to stand and shouted from where he lounged, "You waiting for some kind of invitation? Get over here."

Shocked by the man's outward hostility, Roy stumbled his way towards a easily traversible section of the wall and climbed over, carefully avoiding the scraps of mushroom gore. 

“Surprised yet kid? World ain’t such a nice place now is it? We’ll go settle you down in some little corner of the store and you can hide with all the other wimps while we risk our hide out here, yeah? Pretend none of this is your business and follow me kiddo,” the distaste was so palpable Roy could feel it crash into him. He had just introduced himself and already he was being dismissed, this was going to be impossible, “And put that fucking flower away, you’re giving me a headache just looking at that thing.”

Roy carefully tucked the flower into his bag.