After Grinston got home from his second adventure, he was paid half a dozen silver coins for his work. Sure, he had received some side eyes when he told the guild that he took the village’s grain in lieu of Brickerton’s taxes, but they paid him all the same. With his new wealth, Grinston replaced his aged clothing and purchased some new gear: boots, a full set of leather armor, and some gloves to protect his hands. He looked like a real adventurer now, at least in his opinion. The price was affordable, but by the time he finished purchasing the last of his new equipment, he was right back to being broke with only enough copper for room and board.
For the next three weeks, Grinston took on more and more quests. Among other tasks, he cleared rats from a barber’s shop, and he fetched medicinal herbs from the forest. The days were turning monotonous when Grinston woke up one early afternoon.
The night prior, he had spent drinking and celebrating after successfully herding a few dozen goats to the other side of town. But now that he was awake, he went to the town square. As he walked through the town, he could sense a heavy tension in the air. When he walked into the guild, he saw Trista frantically searching a stack of papers as a crowd formed around her. Grinston watched from the back of the room, his curiosity flaring. He tapped on the person in front of him and the tan face of a farmer turned and greeted him.
“What’s all this commotion?” Grinston asked.
The man looked stressed. “Goblins raided the outskirts of town. They lit my farm on fire. Other nearby villages got struck too, I reckon.” The farmer wasted no time and immediately went back to heckling with the rest of the crowd.
“Enough!” The guild manager finally screamed. “If you are here for insurance, it will be paid next month as per our policies. We are currently sending adventurers to look for any missing persons, but our progress is being slowed by your commotion. Please come back at another time so we can properly assess the claim.” Slowly, at first, the raunchy crowd began to disperse, but soon it was just Grinston standing with the guild lady. Shockingly, she looked relieved to see him. “Why aren’t you with the other adventurers?” she asked.
“I don’t know where the other adventurers are, truthfully,” Grinston replied. “This was not a good day to sleep in.”
She nodded in agreement as she pulled out a map. “Last night, a tribe of goblins struck about an hours march from here,” she said as she gestured to a spot on the map. “The guild will be paying three silver for every goblin head you can pick up. We will pay five gold coins, if you can kill their tribe leader.”
“How will I know who the chief is?” Grinston asked.
She looked at him funnily. “I sometimes forget that you’ve only been an adventurer for a month. Goblin leaders will be much larger and typically wear a decorative headpiece to show their station.” Grinston nodded in understanding. As he walked through the door, he heard her for the first time ever wish him luck.
After an hour of walking with his map as a guide, Grinston saw the husks of burnt buildings in the distance.
As he got closer, he began to see the bodies. The first corpses he saw were the men who worked the fields. They were lying naked in pools of their own blood with their clothes already looted. However, they weren’t the only ones dead on the ground. Adventurers, soldiers, and headless goblins also joined the dead. Grinston thought about looting the bodies but decided that there was no time. As he continued walk, he felt a sharp pain on his shoulder.
Damage received: 20
When he looked down, he saw an arrow protruding from his body. When he looked back up, he saw a goblin hiding high in a tree, near the forest.
Grinston began to run towards the goblin, as it began to knock another arrow. As it pulled the arrow back, Grinston threw himself to the side as the arrow went whizzing past. The goblin tried to grab a stone dagger from one of its pockets, but Grinston’s spear was faster than his hand. The goblin shouted in pain while Grinston pushed his spear deeper into its body. When Grinston pulled his spear back to make another attack, the goblin fell out of the tree and helplessly grabbed the hole in its body.
Critical hit! Damage dealt: 90
Congratulations, you have slayed a level 3 Goblin Archer!
Level Up! Rank 3 reached!
Grinston grabbed its knife and began to sever its head for his reward. He then tossed it into a burlap sack that in a previous life had served to carry his clothes. With a scream of pain, he pulled the poorly made arrow out of his body
Damage received: 2.
This time, he did not rush forward so heedlessly. Grinston looked at the footsteps in the mud. He saw that there were three goblin’s tracks in the area. The one Grinston had slayed seemed to have separated from the others, but the other two looked to be still together. Grinston followed their path keeping his eyes ready for another ambush. He had only walked thirty or so footsteps, when they were upon him. These two goblins each had a crudely stone made dagger drawn. One of them rushed towards Grinston while the other slinked away into the trees to Grinston’s side.
Grinston thrusted his spear at the charging goblin, but it narrowly dodged out of the way. It was right next to him and his spear was still extended. The goblin quickly slashed the underside of Grinston’s scarcely protected arm.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Damage received: 25
Pain flared out and Grinston blindly shoved the goblin aside with his other uninjured arm. It fell on the ground and as Grinston moved to impale it, he felt something cold and sharp on his back. He realized with horror that the other goblin had snuck up on him.
Damage received: 50
He turned to retaliate, but he watched helplessly as it sprinted back into the trees safely.
When he turned back around, the other goblin had picked himself back up and begun to snicker wildly. Grinston began to fear for his life. Whenever he turned to face one, the other would just stab him in the back. He had to try and do something to stop it and soon. He could feel as blood began to pour out of the wound on his back. He pointed his spear menacingly towards the laughing goblin. This time, it was he who rushed forward. The goblin got poised once more to dodge, but Grinston had a different plan. Using his spear like a club, he swung his spear in an arc with all his might. As the goblin moved to the side, he got struck right in the head. Grinston continued the swing and he felt another satisfying smack from behind him. Both goblins were on the ground now, and Grinston made quick work of the one who had dodged his first attack.
Execution! Damage dealt: 120!
Congratulations! You have slain level 3 Goblin Raider!
Just as the other one began to regain focus, it felt as Grinston gently placed his spear on its exposed stomach.
“Tell me where the Goblin Leader is,” Grinston demanded. The treacherous goblin only spat in defiance. Grinston pushed the spear down slightly, and red blood leaked from its green skin.
“He… he…. isn’t here, you moron,” the goblin began to say frantically. His voice reminded Grinston of a dehydrated hiss.
‘Liar’, Grinston thought. He pushed the spear down even more. The goblin began to squirm even harder.
“Stop, please. No more, I beg you!” the goblin pleaded. His eyes filled with tears. “I will take you to him, I swear!” Grinston finally removed his spear. He kicked the goblins dagger away from him.
“Any betrayal, and you are dead as your friend.” Grinston ripped a piece of his shirt into a bandage to stop the bleeding that the goblin had inflicted on him. He then ripped another and gave it to the goblin to bandage his own.
“Weakling,” he heard the goblin whisper under his breath as he used Grinston’s gift.
Grinston took some perverse pleasure as he removed the dead goblin’s head and stuffed it into a sack. “Hold this for me,” he demanded. The goblin reluctantly took the bag and Grinston could hear him gulp. “Now, lead the way, my friend.
The goblin meekly began to lead Grinston through the forest. Grinston looked around, fearing that he could be walking into a trap. However, the goblin kept leading him and no ambush had come. It was after fifteen minutes of walking that the pair approached a cave. The goblin stopped on the outside but Grinston pushed him forward with the butt of his spear. Grinston knew that at any moment, the creature could scamper away into a dark corner to never be seen again so he kept his spear ready to prevent that. “Keep walking, or you will end up like your buddy!” he whispered loudly. The pair entered the dark cave.
After about a minute of walking and the cave became dark. Grinston could see the end of the cave and there was no goblin chief in sight. He was about to slay his goblin hostage when he heard a faint whine. As Grinston looked closer, he could see dozens of goblin children were crawling across the ground. Almost twenty goblin children and a single goblin guard.
The guard had rusted metal scraps for armor which was much more well-armored than the foes that Grinston had ever fought before. Grinston looked away from his prisoner for just a second when he felt something heavy thrown into his face. He turned and saw that his captive had thrown the sack of goblin heads at him and ran for the exit.
Grinston wanted to stop him and make good on his threats but knew he had to focus on the guard who was quickly approaching him with a metal short sword raised high. Grinston thrust his spear at the upcoming goblin, but it was parried with a well struck hit from the sword. At least, he stopped the goblins' charge, Grinston thought. He kept his spear pointed at the guard, but the goblin continued to use his sword to keep the spear at bay as he attempted to walk forward. The two were in a stalemate until the goblin smacked the spear away and lunged to get a stab in. Grinston just barely moved out of the way, but the goblin continued to swing at him as Grinston backed up each swing. Grinston managed to bring his spear close and blocked right as the goblin thrusted at his head. Their weapons clashed, but Grinston easily won the contest of strength and he shoved the goblin away from him. The goblin managed to stay on its feet, but Grinston successfully poked it in the leg with his spear.
Damage dealt: 20.
The two continued their dance but this time the goblin was careless with rage. Grinston was rewarded with another swift poke to his leg.
Damage dealt: 20
The goblin was limping now and each strike the goblin threw was less quick; Grinston easily managed to keep him away. It was a poke to the arm that was the next hit to go through, and then a poke to the goblin’s shoulder each dealing 20 damage. By the end of the fight, the goblin could barely keep his sword raised up. A swift strike to the head is what brought its doom.
Congratulations, you’ve slain Level 5 Goblin Captain!
Level Up! Rank 5 reached!
It was now that Grinston had to confront the scene before him. Multiple goblin youths were crawling on their fallen guardian as if they could wake him from the dead. Some looked at Grinston with curiosity, but most began to cry not understanding what this stranger was doing in their home. He heard a few words being called out to him, but he couldn’t understand them. Was that because they weren’t human, or because they were just babies? Grinston wondered if he would ever know. Grinston dragged the lifeless goblin’s body outside of the cave so that he could clear his head for just a moment. Could he live with himself if he murdered these innocent children, though? Would the guilt destroy him as easily as a blade?
Deep in Grinston’s mind, another voice whispered to him. ‘Another adventurer will find this place, and will do the vicious deed themselves. You would let that man steal your treasure?’ Grinston screamed in anguish. He rushed back into the cave, his mind made up. His spear moved quickly and he tried to prevent their suffering from lasting.
Congratulations, you've vanquished Goblin Cave!
When the crying had stopped, Grinston used the sword of their protector to separate their heads from the bodies. Against the advice of his oldest friend, he took the metal blade of his enemy as his loot as well. When the deed was done, he couldn’t help but wonder if he had made the right choice.
Hesitantly, Grinston looked at the notifications.
Status update! Personality change!
Note: Stoneshire is the only known town to have once belonged to Dwarves, Elves, and Humans at different points in time. This is believed to be due to its physical location at the center of Terroimpes.