The climb up through the hills was relatively easy, the slope gradual and mostly smooth. A few patches of boulders stood out here and there, but beyond that there was not much else to be seen. After coming up out of the thick forests below, the hills looked desolate, with no more that a few weeds and scraggly, thorn covered bushes clinging to the dry soil.

That once there had been more growing there was starkly evident, as numerous dead trees could still be seen, some fallen but most still standing, their bare, barren branches reaching out like dead limbs towards the sky.

A tightening of his chest came to Chance again, and his breath came short; he breathed hard as he continued along, chest heaving with the effort. That was an oddity given the weariless nature of his body.

Shags had been prowling out ahead of them, scouting the way. Despite the apparent lack of cover, he had still been able to disappear in a manner that Chance could not follow, only popping up now and then to keep an eye on the pair following him. As Chance struggled on, he reappeared again, making his way back down the slope to join them.

You appear discomforted.

I hope that those apples were fully edible. They seemed to have disagreed with me.

I do not think that is the cause. Place your hand on one of the trees.

Puzzled by the request, Chance still did as asked. Stopping at the closest of the dead trees, Chance set his calloused hand upon the smooth grey bark of it. The moment he did, the discomfort that he had experienced intensified, almost to a state of being painful. He could feel the tree, all of it; not a scrap of life remained in it, just pain and death.

He snatched his hand away from it, eyes widening.

“What…?” he started saying.

You are a Forest Walker; you feel the land, it’s pain and suffering. Here it is very strong for unknown reasons.

The unease had subsided since he had removed his hand but still remained as Chance took in the dead region around him. “Great, just what I need.” Every time he even looked towards the area he was going to be struck by the discomfort, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

Optional Quest received: The Dead Zone

Okay, there did appear that he could do something after all. It was optional, but they often had the best stories behind them. Plus if it would solve the discomfort, it would be good to deal with. He retrieved the parchment, opened it and sought out the details on the quest.

Optional Quest: The Dead Zone

The once verdant Hills of the Apple Blossom have succumbed to an unknown darkness, rendering them lifeless. Once noted for their apple orchards, the fear is that the blight afflicting it might spread further through the forests around Azval Stalvaq. The cause of the blight needs to be found and dealt with.

Reward: The Blessing of Qasari

A reward would not go amiss either, since so far he had received nothing to help him.

He focused in on the name; Qasari, to see what that was about.

Knowledge Check

Affinity: Lore

Religion; Dwarven

Qasari of the Abundant Earth; dwarven goddess who is the spouse of Crathag. She is responsible for the earth and the bounty that it provides, goddess of agriculture and crops, and also of cooking and brewing.

There wasn’t any indication as to what the blessing provided; at best he could speculate that it had to do with food and drink, or the production of the materials for it.

It certainly sounded useful, but first he had to deal with the goblins. No doubt he would have to search the hills to find the cause of the blight, and that ran the very risk of running into goblins from the nearby camp they had established. Best to deal with them first before returning to the problem in the hills.

The how, though, that had been troubling him, his concerns growing with each step that he had been taking up the hills. He had no weapons, only a few spells that he didn’t even know how to cast yet and were of unknown use, and a kobold who was likely of even more limited use than he was. Shags was a valued asset, but, really, how much could one wolf do if there were many goblins? He had to find a way to defeat them without risking themselves. Even if this was the tutorial zone that was meant to be easy.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Onwards and upwards,” he said, starting off up the slope again. Shags prowled off ahead and once more seemed to vanish into the earth.

“What do you know of the goblins?” he asked Yrip as the two walked, weaving through a small cluster of boulders.

“They smell.”

“I doubt their sense of hygiene is going to be of much use to us. Can they fight?”

Yrip shrugged. “They prefer not to. Smellies are lazy, always looking for the easy option.”

“Really? Interesting.”

“Master has a plan?”

“I’m working on it, Yrip.”

“Master had better come up with one soon. We don’t have much time left.”

Chance nodded, seeing what the kobold was alluding to. They were reaching the top of the hills, just beyond which was the goblin’s camp.

Shags was waiting for them at the top, the big grey wolf laying low to the ground so that he almost disappeared into it. It was only when he moved that Chance spotted him.

I can smell them.

Far away?

No.

Show us the way.

Shags rose up and loped off silently, headed across the tops of the hills. They moved over a series of low rises before they came to a point where the hills started to slope downwards again, and there they stopped, staring down.

At the base of the hills, in a sheltered alcove surrounded by more of the dead trees they could see the goblin camp, a half dozen crudely made lean-tos for shelter, with various barrels, crates and boxes scattered around. There appeared to be no real organisation, and the mounds of rubbish and refuse scattered around added to that perception.

He could see maybe ten or so of what he took to be the goblins in the camp, short in stature, though still taller and bulkier than Yrip. They appeared to be green skinned, with dark hair, though beyond that they were too far away to see more. Most of the lazed around, not doing much, but a couple appeared to be engaged in an altercation, pushing each other around.

They dropped down low, Chance laying on the ground as he observed the camp down below. If he was in a proper game, it would be a perfect place to snipe from, call in strikes if he had them available. The goblins were unaware that they were being observed and he could have picked them off at his leisure before they could have done anything about it. All that he had though was one power that could only be used up close.

He did have a couple of other powers, but they weren’t for attacking with. Taking out the parchment, he consulted it again.

Power: Iron Skin

Damage Reduction: Low

Required Stats: Body 2, Mind 1.

Required Affinities: Earth

Power Source: Primal.

Designed by dwarven members of the Druidic Conclave, practitioners of the primal arts are able to draw strength from the earth itself, to harden their skin to resist damage taken from a number of blows equal to their Mind stat.

So it would reduce damage for one blow, that was it, but if it worked as he suspected, any low damage blow, coming from say a goblin, would be totally soaked up.

Power: Nature’s Breeze

Range: Close

Heal: Low

Required Stats: Mind 1, Soul 2

Required Affinities: Nature.

Power Source: Primal.

Using the life energy of the world around them, a primal practitioner is able to mend damage to one friendly nearby target, healing low damage.

So one attack power, one defensive power and a heal. That was all he had to work with.

“I’m going to go down there,” he announced suddenly. The other two both looked at him, though while Yrip’s look was entirely trusting that his master knew what he was doing, Shag’s was a bit more questioning. “I’m not going to start anything; I plan to just talk.”

They may have other ideas.

I know. I do have a plan.

Good to hear.

“I’d like you to come down with me. Yrip, I need you to tell them who I am. Shags, I’m going to need you to look your menacing best, and to give your most unnerving howl when we get there."

Shags rolled back his lips to reveal his long, tearing fangs. It was a frightful look, even if Chance now knew that Shags was no danger to him. He wouldn’t want to be on the wrong end of the big wolf and he hoped that the goblins felt the same way.

That I can do.

Just one more thing; he had to figure out a way to actually use his powers. He settled in, let his mind go blank and tried to concentrate on that Craghand part of himself, the one that knew how all this worked. Two words came to him, Zhuri and Uthaq.

“Zhuri,” he whispered, and as he did he felt a flow of energy through him, a tingling through his skin. He could feel it toughen, hardening. His limbs did feel a bit stiffer, a little less mobile but he suspected that would be a worthwhile trade off.

“Hit me,” he ordered Yrip.

The kobold blinked, very obviously puzzled. “Sorry, master?”

“I want you to hit me as hard as you can.” He would rather Yrip do it that Shags, as he suspected the wolf could bite a lot harder, exceeding the damage reduction the power gave him and he would rather not take any actual damage.

“Are you certain?”

“Trust me, Yrip. I know what I am doing.” At least he hoped he knew; he was about to find out one way or the other.

Yrip didn’t hesitate, clenching a fist and hitting as hard as he could; it wasn’t a lot given the scrawny nature of the kobold. The blow landed and Chance felt it, a muted effect, though there was no pain. He did rock back slightly on his feet. It hadn’t stopped the force of the blow. He would have to brace himself against any future attacks. As the blow landed, he felt his skin soften again, the power having been depleted.

“Excellent,” he said, “That appears to be working. Time to go talk with some goblins.:

Standing up, he activated the Iron Skin power once more and began to walk down the slope towards Camp Brokentooth.