Novels2Search
The Tale of Vistria
Ch 5: The Forest

Ch 5: The Forest

Del (the main guy):

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Having acquired the guild assessment quest, the group departed on their first adventure, Del in the lead, with Orryn and Yak'rin at his sides, tailed by Weller and Yanric; they left the guild and started their way to the forest. After half an hour of walking, we saw the fight pits; a short woman stood at the entrance, "Calara, that you?" Father said, "Who else would it be," Calara said, "So who are these three," She said while gesturing to us, "They are my son, his friend.." Father said, "And my apprentice," Weller finished, "Neat, so where ya headed," Calara asked Father, "To the forest," Father said, "They have an admission quest from the guild," He continued, "Neato, what's the quest," Calara asked, "Just kill five goblins," Father said, Calara looked at Father with confusion, "Like kill five each, or in total?" Calara asked, "I assume each, because how else would ya know how someone fought if they did nothing to contribute," Father said, "True," Calara agreed, "Well, I shouldn't keep ya waiting much longer, you get those goblins," Calara said, "Sure thing, good to see you again," Father said, when the conversation ended, we started walking off, "Oh, I almost forgot, be careful, Raven went to the forest as well," Calara warned us, "Thanks for the warning, we'll be careful," Father said, as we continued our way to the forest. After walking for some time, I spotted a wall of trees, "There it is, ya excited?" Father asked, "A little, but also nervous," I said, "I'll finally start my path as an adventurer, yet also killing something for the first time. It's a bit much for a start," I continued, "Similar thing for me," Orryn chimed in, "Understandable things to feel; some people need to ease into this sort of thing," Weller said. "I felt the same when I started; after a few jobs, I found I enjoyed the work," Father said. "It will be an easy way to consolidate power," Yak'rin commented, "Kinda cold way to put it, but accurate," Father commented, "I concur," Weller agreed, "Well, if the three of you think the same; who are we to argue," I said. After that, we entered the embrace of the forest. We walked for half an hour before Father stopped us, "Hold up, think we got some tracks ahead," Father then gestured with his head forward before looking at Weller, who nodded before preparing a spell. "I can secure our privacy while you investigate," Weller said; Father nodded at that before looking over at us, "Time for some life skill training, boys," Father told us, "So, tracking is something you boys will be glad to have learned, and you always have to start somewhere, starting with the shape of the feat, a Goblins foot, have a similar shape as humans, just smaller, and with four toes instead of five, as we do," Father said. "So knowing that, look at the tracks and tell me what they look like," He asked, "They are small, look like they have four toes, and there is a lot of 'em," I answered, "And that means that there are a group of goblins nearby," Father said, "Tracks of this number typically mean the presence of a patrol, possibly to survey a territory expansion of some kind," Weller explained, "Of course, it could also mean, that they are searching for something, either specifically; or in general," Father said, "That is possible, highly unlikely however, there are not many ways for a goblin to become aware of a treasure unless directed by a higher power, or finding some clues off of someone who bit off more than they could chew," Weller argued, "I guess, still worth; thinking, "what if," about," Father said, Weller nodded at that, "Anyway, we got a little off topic, let's go find those goblins huh, we got the trail," Father continued. After that, we looked at the tracks and which direction the tracks were leading and traveled in that direction. For some time, it was just a repeat of finding footprints, seeing where they went, and going that way, but after the fourth set of prints, we found something new, "Looks like we found our patrol," Father exclaimed, "Could say that again," Orryn said. There were signs of a battle, blood, broken weapons, a tooth of two; on the ground, oddly though, there were no corpses, "Did they win and take the bodies with them?" I asked, "Maybe. Goblins aren't liked by anyone, and they likewise don't like others, even other goblins; they're always fighting over resources and borders to be the top dog in the area," Father said, "Because of their stature, physical capabilities, and inherent greed, they are jealous of everyone. When you're constantly fighting, you tend to become more resourceful." Weller explained, "I think instinctually, they are also creatures of paranoia," Yak'rin said, "I doubt it; none of the gods are that cruel. In reality, we don't really know; they're always aggressive, so we can't really find a good answer, short of asking the gods, and they don't have the time to answer that question," Weller said, "Enough about Goblins themselves, we got a battle here, to investigate, after all, they were our quest target, and something just took it from us, I propose, we hunt down whatever killed them, or any surviving goblins, and we kill that for our quest," Father said, "Agreed," Weller responded, "If it was stronger than the goblins, it should be valid all the same," Orryn agreed, "If it is one creature strong enough to defeat a patrol, it could be too difficult for us," Yak'rin argued, "Maybe, it could either be harder to kill, thus bringing better rewards, or it could be too difficult for us, nulling the quest altogether," I debated, "True, however, Weller and me, are here, so it doesn't really matter," Father reasoned. "What if there were several creatures that attacked the goblins. Are we sure it was one thing or several things that attacked the goblins?" Yak'rin asked, " Yes, we... haven't, we have not checked," Father said, "I'll check," Weller volunteered, "I can't believe it slipped my mind," Father said, to himself more so than to us, "You always did forget important details sometimes," Weller said, "Wah, you forgot about it too!" Father exclaimed, "Shut up," Weller said quickly. Since I did not want to be standing around doing nothing, I decided to help Weller find any different footprints; in the opening, looking around, I noticed a set of prints past the trees, leading deeper into the forest, "Hey, I think I found more tracks," I tell the group, this got Weller and Father's attention, interrupting their conversation, "Where," Father asked, "This way," I say, "Those don't look like normal tracks," Father said, "They lead deeper in the forest, stay cautious, we don't know what we may find," Weller advised, we all nodded, "Good, take the lead, Del," Father ordered, I accepted, and lead them deeper, in the woods. We tracked the footprints for some time before we saw signs of another battle; this time, it was grisly: There were actual corpses here, goblins torn apart and mutilated, left and right, and there were wolf corpses as well, dismembered, also like the goblins. "Yikes, what the hell, did this?" Father said, "I don't know, but whatever it is, must've rage' in its heart," Weller stated, "Either that or it's psycho," Orryn said. After getting over our first glimpse at the massacre in front of us, we walked toward the center of the carnage, "Strange, it's only goblin and wolf corpses," Weller said, "How's that," Orryn asked. I looked at Weller curiously as I also had the same question, "You see, Goblin tribes tame wolves and use them as we do dogs. So they know how wolves act for the most part," He stated, "And if you look at the wolves," Weller pauses while we look at the corpses. They have lines and patterns, all with the same color, "Tamed wolves have those markings, and those markings are very primitive runes that offer minor warding. The goblins also have these wards, along with their primitive hide armor," Weller explained. "And there aren't any wolves without the wards?" Yak'rin asked, "Correct, all of the corpses have these wards, so where is the opposing party," Weller said, "Could it have been another tribe?" I asked, "Good question, but unlikely; for one, goblin tribes differentiate each other with colors and emblems, their wards are colored their corresponding color, and the emblems are used on banners. All these corpses use the same color, and there are no banner bearers. And two, the two closest tribes, are both in the same direction. The closest of the two, the Heartless Bark tribe, the ones whose bodies we see before us, would fight viciously to defend their territory, and there are only goblins of the same tribe here, so the culprit can't be another tribe." Weller explained, "Civil war?" Father asked, "Maybe; it can't be ruled out as easily as the other possibilities," Weller said, "Let's keep searching for the kill thief," Father said. After that, we continued our search. We searched for a minute or two until I found more footprints, the same shape as the prints I found earlier, which we followed; we only stopped when we saw the tracks lead to some old ruins. "Ruins? Shouldn't they be further out than here," Father asked, "Yes, shouldn't they?" Yak'rin asked, "Yes, they should," Weller agreed, "Is it possible that we went farther than we thought?" I asked, "No, the closest mountains are further..." Weller stopped himself when he looked above the trees; we could see a mountain not far away from us, "Impossible," Weller said in shock. "Not impossible," A muffled, familiar voice said behind us.

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