"Zero two slash zero six slash zero ten. After lots of training with group hunting and normal workouts over years I'm finally ready to hunt solo. Five years ahead of what's normal for the Aradae broods. Finally I can go further outside the nest and see what's beyond our hunting area." Racknar had been preparing for this day for all of his new life. The anticipation was immeasurable. He'd keep the nest as a base to return to when needed but it was now time to explore the world.
Racknar headed to the exit of the nest cave to the woods just outside where his kin hunted, being sure to let mother Alitha know he was on his way out. He also notified his favorite siblings. Hop, Gurtrude, Bertha, Tarrance, Reginald, Barnaby, Natasha, and Achilles. Racknar named them himself after his pets or in the case of Hop an attribute that set her apart from the rest.
Racknar approached the exit of the cave when he heard something that made him slow. "Someone is entering the cave? They'll either kill my family or die trying. I have to do something but if a normal person sees me they'll probably freak out. I have to play this carefully." Racknar did his best to hide in the darkness and moved till he could see who or what was trying to enter the caves. To Racknar's surprise it was a group of hunters, humans. They were in outfits that looked like something from a medieval fantasy series. One in leather had a bow, another had half plate and a sword, yet another in robes had a quarterstaff, and lastly one in more decorated robes looked like a mage. From the darkness Racknar would warn them away.
"Leave this place." Racknar's voice came out harsh and gravely but still had a higher pitch like that of a kid's to an extent. Would these adults take him seriously? "Is that… a kid?" Asks the female monk. "If it's a kid it must be an Orc with a voice like that." the male fighter responded. "What would an Orc kid even be doing in this area all alone? We aren't anywhere near an orc village." Added the female archer. Racknar called out again "You should turn around, you'll find nothing of value here." He tried his best to convey seriousness. The mage then pitched in with "Clearly this isn't the cave we are looking for, if there were razor locusts here they'd have torn him apart before we even got here. Hey kid, you wouldn't happen to know anything about a razor locust nest near here would you?"
"Razer locusts? Seems the Black Iron Spiders aren't the only thing here named after a Creatures and Catacombs monster. The use of the term 'Orc' suggests there are non-human races that one would expect from a fantasy setting." Racknar thought to himself before saying "I know nothing of a locust nest. There's nothing around here for miles other than forest.” The small group talked among themselves for a while before the monk spoke up "Do you live near here? If you want, we can take you home, to your family." Racknar replied with "This cave is my home, family inside." though he wasn't sure he should have said that the archer then said to the fighter just loud enough for Racknar to hear "I'm starting to think it might not be an Orc kid. Maybe a troll, though I've never heard of one smart enough to talk this well."
"Who cares," said the fighter, "we were hired to find the locust nest and take them out. The reduction of wild game here could just be poachers or maybe there's a big family of whatever that kid is overhunting. Either way it's not our problem or our place. Let's head out." With that the group left, the archer stopped and looked back at least once before they vanished out of sight into the woods.
Racknar gave it some time before slowly walking outside the cave and into the woods, bolting straight into a run. He chose the direction the hunters came from, figuring that there must be a road just a bit outside the area he and his family hunt in that direction. Although he figured anyone spotting him would likely attack him on sight, Racknar was eager to learn about this new world he found himself in. So far it seemed like something straight out of a medieval fantasy series, but even then he could not be sure what kind of governments existed here.
Racknar eventually reached the end of the forest and could see a modest dirt road just up ahead. Other than the road there wasn't anything out here of note. Grass on one side of the road and trees on the other, no sign of any landmarks, no road signs to tell him what towns were nearby and in what direction. There wasn't even a small farm or outpost that could be seen. Racknar looked up and down the road, and spotted a spot just off it where the grass looked disturbed. Based on the angle he guessed that the group he met came from what was the left side of Racknar going down the road. Based on the time of day and where the sun was, this direction was west.
The road had been empty and Racknar walked for a while before he spotted an outpost of sorts. It was a stone tower with an attached building, somewhat dilapidated and abandoned. Part of one of the walls on the building had collapsed and there was a hole in the tower big enough for an adult to climb into. "Doubt I'll find anything of value, but I might find something useful." Racknar thought to himself as he rummaged through the remains of the building. After checking several rooms he finds a tattered cloth, like a thin blanket or widow curtain. He improvises it into a hooded cowl to hide his features so he could hopefully enter a town without getting shot on sight.
After rummaging through the ruins he continued west down the road. Eventually he spotted a small, modest little village. A sign above a wooden entry gate read "Riverside". As he walked through he got a few looks from the locals but no one attacked him outright. Everyone in this small town was human, based on the architecture, European. The buildings were simple wood and or stone. Racknar did spot what looked like the Mayor of the town, he had a sash on him. A Roman aesthetic? This town was a bit small to learn much, and questioning people would draw unnecessary attention to him, but it might be necessary to learn whatever he can.
Racknar walked to the center of the town. The way it was set up was simple. The mayor's office and home was smack in the center and surrounded by shops with the homes and some small farms around that, all encased by a wooden wall with a walkway and watchtowers placed every few feet or so on the wall. It was close to noon so everyone in the town was out and about doing shopping and talking.
"This makes things easier. I don't even have to talk, just stand in the background and listen." Racknar thought to himself. He walked over to a small group of people at a small stand in the market area selling fruit and veggies.
"... and even with the entire royal navy of Bramble at their throat those barbaric Skald refuse to accept the teachings of the church. They would rather die worshiping their backwards polytheistic pantheon. The Empire is at a standstill at both sides." States one man, with the other responding "Well although the Skald navy does not have as many ships or match us in fire power they can take more of a beating and consistently are able to go farther than anything the Empire has. Combine that with the Dragon Lancer Cavalry giving them superior air power to any kingdom in the Empire. I also hear they made an alliance with Ljósálfar and Nidavellir. An outright military attack would mean war with the Light Elves and the Dwarves. On the east you have Ruksandria that is mostly too cold, the desert wastes are mostly too hot, and Orienkhan has positive trade with us. The Beastmen south east or Orcs to the south might be more manageable but that would mean crossing the sea or ocean and the royal navy is both too far and occupied. Jenkai to the far east is completely out of reach, more so than Alfhiem and Nidavellir. Our ships can't even consistently get that far. We lost two or three of the five ships we sent last time."
Racknar listened and thought about the info he's gotten. "Elves, Dwarves, the Empire and nearby human lands. I've made a rough map in my head of this world, its continents, and the races that lived on them. If you lumped together the various animal-like races from the expanded books this world has most of the same races as what's playable Creatures and Catacombs. Only exceptions being the Demonblood, the crystalline Splinterkin, and maybe the psionic Mosifar Elves. Although these kingdom names are mostly new, so this isn't a setting from one of the books. It's like someone took monsters and races from Creatures and Catacombs and plopped them into a world similar but not quite like what one would expect. Things are off in a way I can't place. Maybe there is something I forgot that would cover this. It has all the makings of a homebrewed setting, but something is still off. Wait… Arachne. The official books always went out of the way to use its own Pantheon that was consistent. They didn't reuse names that existed in mythology. They reused the figures with new names sometimes but that's that. They intentionally wanted to avoid issues with misrepresentation of mythological figures. Mother Alitha specifically used the name Arachne for the spider goddess."
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Having an idea of what's going on with the state and shape of the world Racknar starts to head out. On his way to the town gate he passes by another group of adventurers, one saying "Oh, you poor street urchin. Don't have enough coins to eat? Here, take this." She then tosses Racknar a single gold coin. He nods, says "many thanks" and exits the town to go down the trail back in the direction of his cave home. On the way back he passed the group of adventurers from by the cave earlier, outfits tattered and wounds patched. They give him a look but pay him no mind.
When passing the ruined outpost a second time he heard rustling around in it. He hears voices, speaking in a language he doesn't recognize. It's gruff, with lots of harsh consonants. It sounds simplistic, only having three syllables max for any one word. Naturally curious about the commotion, Racknar decides to check it out. He looks through a hole in the wall to see what Racknar could assume to be goblins.
Twelve small green creatures with jagged pointy ears. Some had pointed noses and others were more like button noses, not long like he expected but short like a normal nose. Some had hair, dark brown to black, with one rusty brown. Many were bald. From what Racknar could tell, they were all male, dressed in simple leather and hide outfits that could barely count as armor. All armed with primitive spears made of wood with stone tips or swords made of carved wood. One however had a rusty short sword and a tattered shield made of animal hide. He had what looked like a deer skull on his head, decorated with colorful feathers.
Racknar moved in closer to get a better look at the ears, to see if the jagged look of the pointed ears was due to injury or was simply a natural development passed on genetically. As he tried to get closer he must have rolled a natural one on stealth because he snapped a twig on his way over, then when startled by the sound knocked a rock from the hole in the wall over to clamor onto the floor. The goblins immediately come to attention and point their weapons at Racknar who naturally brings two of his hands up. "Whoa there, I'm not here to hurt you or anything." He spoke in English hoping at least one of the goblins knew the language.
"Uman lie, uman oft do harm to gobs on sight. Rek no trust uman word." The leader with the skull hat spoke in a harsh and shrill voice. "I spotted you a while before you spotted me, and I've yet to attack. I'm unarmed. No weapons, see? Also, if it matters for anything, I'm not human." Racknar responded plainly. The goblins murmured amongst themselves for a bit before the leader issues a command to a goblin in their native tongue before saying "No move, gobs check for sharps in cloth to see if truth is spoken." Racknar did as asked, but felt nervous about this. The goblin would definitely get a nice good look at Racknar.
The goblin gave Racknar a pat down, checking for weapons. Only thing on him is a single coin in a handmade coin pouch. The goblin then speaks up while looking at his leader. "No sharps, only have single gold to name. No uman, strange bug beast-kin. This kid is like Kor-koom." The leader repeats "Kor-koom" but states it as a question before finishing with "Rek never hear of Kor-koom Beast-kin before. Rek no trust Kor-koom, but Rek no try kill Kor-koom. Free to go as long as no harm comes to Gobs." Racknar was getting a bit frustrated at the repeated use of 'Kor-koom' so he says "I have a name. I'm Racknar, Racknar Aradae."
After a pause the goblin leader asks "Relation to Alitha Aradae?" Racknar should have expected that someone would make the connection, his mother is a named monster and she did indicate it was not exactly common. "Yes." He stated simply and continued "I was born of one of her brood batches, came out special." The goblin leader seems to think this over for a bit before issuing a new order to his fellow goblins. "If bags are full of wood and stone, then go back to camp." The group then lift their bags of scraps and start to head out. With nothing else to do here, Racknar also starts to head out.
Not long after exiting the building the group finds themselves looking at a giant badger that was eating food scraps left at an abandoned campsite left by some adventurers. This thing was almost the size of a brown bear, and was definitely still hungry. It moved its way to Racknar and the Goblins. It was obvious to Racknar that they would have to fight their way out. Remembering the stat blocks from Creatures and Catacombs, Racknar knew that an adult Black Iron Spider was a tougher encounter then a giant badger. However he was still an adolescent, and this wasn't a game. Even if it was, this would be a tough encounter.
The Goblins ready their spears, the goblin leader Rek raises his sword and shield. Racknar readies his four fists, having nothing else to fight with. Racknar can't help but think about the rules for unarmed combat in Creatures and Catacombs. Unless you have a class with bonuses, the damage you can do unarmed is minimal. With extra arms and his more human-like body, maybe he'd have an advantage. This wasn't the game, but it was hard not to compare. "Try and surround it, use the full length of your spears. Wait until after it strikes, then move in. We can use our numbers and our extended reach with spears to our advantage. While the spearmen draw its attention, Rek and I can attack from the side or back and strike while it's open. If we play it smart we can win this. The creature will likely attack whoever hit it last so be careful."
Rek nods to his fellow goblins and issues orders in goblin. A group in the front uses spears to keep it from advancing as the rest move around it, jabbing at it from a distance. The giant badger makes swipes but the goblins are quick enough to evade. Rek uses an opening to hit it from the right with two well placed cuts while Racknar gives it a solid punch to the ribs. It tries to claw Rek who uses his shield and is pushed back. The rough shield looks even rougher now and likely won't last much longer. The other goblins get a few good jabs at it while it claws at the commander, resulting in the badger responding with a second swipe that claws into a goblin leaving it badly wounded. The others pull him away quickly then put the pressure back on as Racknar punches it a few more times in the ribs.
The large animal then swipes at Racknar who manages to duck under it. He moves to its other side with Rek and it swipes at them again. Rek uses his shield once more leaving it in tatters giving Racknar an opening to jump on its back. As he starts punching and kicking at it from on top it starts to swipe more wildly, wounding two more goblins and killing a third. Rek then gives it a nice deep cut to its belly causing it to howl in pain and raise its front claws into the air. "Spear the belly, now!" Yells Racknar, and the ones at its front do so. Its claw quickly swipes, breaking the spears as it comes down, three speartips still stuck in its belly and side. Its claws come down crushing two more goblins underneath its might and throwing Racknar off. Three wounded, three dead. Only half a dozen goblins left standing, and out of those one had his spear broken and Rek's shield was basically useless.
It took a bit for Racknar to get up, the goblins had not given up. Still spearing it and slashing it. Rek getting in a few good blows draws its attention but Racknar throws a rock at it to draw it away. Then a goblin gets a lucky hit and jams his spear into its eye. “Nat 20” Racknar thinks to himself. Unfortunately the spear didn't go deep enough for the kill and the goblin got a bit too close to get the hit in.
The badger snatches him up in its jaws and practically eats him in front of the rest. Violently devouring the poor bastard and breaking the spear in the process. The remaining goblins don't let up their attack as Racknar runs in and starts punching it's face. "Just fucking die already you oversized wheazel!" He screams as he rapidly punches at the thing. It drops its partially masticated meal and tries to bite Racknar but misses as he takes a step back but takes a good swipe leaving a small cut in his carapace. Just deep enough to hit flesh, but not fatal.
Four goblins dead, three wounded, and five left in the fight. One with a broken spear, Rek with his broken shield. This wasn't going well. They didn't have enough to surround the thing anymore. Rek got in a good cut to its backside drawing its attention leaving it open for Racknar to run in one more time and punch the thing in the face. Punching right into the spear left broken in its face driving it into the things skull and the brain. This was finally enough to bring it down. It took a few steps back and made a few blind strikes before landing on its side, finally dead. They had won, but at the cost of nearly half the goblins. Racknar helped patch the wounded and helped them carry the wounded back to their humble camp where others were gathered. There must have been around three hundred goblins, but only a third were armed combatants.
After helping them, the lead elder sent some goblins to get the body of the badger to use its meat and body the best they could. After taking a short rest with the goblins and even picking up some of their language, the elder offered Racknar a simple armband made with the fangs, claws, and fur of the badger. As long as he had it, all goblins would know him as a friend. Before leaving, Rek felt the need to offer a farewell. "Goodbye Rak'nar of Aradae, Rek wish Rak'nar well in future. Wish Rak'nar luck in all hunts and gatherings. Rek hope see again someday. Help learn more of gob talk." Racknar nodded "I'll visit from time to time to learn. Also to help you hunt and maybe teach you to make better use of traps." With goodbyes said and done, Racknar finally heads home.