That old Elder waking us up is so annoying… I was sleeping so well on Neithro and Kira.

But sleeping all day isn’t an option, and I don’t want it to be.

It looks like Kira is leaving with Turo, so today is a working day. With a stretch, I listen to the now-familiar creaking and cracking of my bones as they settle into place properly. Whatever is going on with them has started happening more lately.

I love most of the things happening, but it’s becoming easier to understand why Kira can be so aggressive toward anyone standing in her way. I’m feeling it too. The idea that there are dumb adventurers out there wanting to take what’s ours makes me want to go out and hunt them down.

Neithro is the only one I’ve told, and he has helped me manage it. He told me that hunting something else would take the edge off, and he was right, but it takes longer and longer to find the beasts in the forest. I think I might have hunted too many.

It feels so odd to tell Kira that I used to struggle to survive and now I’m doing so well. A few days of hunting wolves, and I make more coin than I did in a season of collecting herbs. It feels like a dream.

Getting ready for the day, I let Neithro know that he can ask Jeannie to tell him where Turo is if he wants to share any knowledge about all that clay stuff he was talking about. The dumb human tousles my hair in response and gives me a hug. If this is what Kira left behind when she died as a human, I don’t think I can blame her for being sad sometimes. It feels really good.

I’m not gonna linger around here anymore, though. I want to get out and join the scouts heading east. If they get into trouble, it’ll be good to have my dagger nearby.

Before leaving, I’ll just ask Lauren to cast one of those healing spells on me to take care of any cuts I may have gotten throughout the night. If I wanted to, I could call on Kira’s magic to heal me, but I don’t think I should do that for small stuff like this, not when I can bother Lauren with it.

Looking at my hands, I can’t help but admire these sharp nails. They’re great for killing beasts, but terrible for sleeping uninjured. And that’s not even bringing up my even sharper teeth. I’ve bitten my tongue so many times, it’s silly.

With everything all healed up and her thanked, I leave Kira’s den behind and head for the eastern gate. Judging by the sun’s position, the scouts shouldn’t have left too long ago, so I have plenty of time to catch up, and if I get exhausted, then I can touch Kira’s magic to feel full of energy again.

Rushing through the square, I leap for a building and collide with the wall as my nails sink into the structure. It’s so amazing that I can just climb buildings now if I want to, and I do want to! With one hand in front of the other, I pull myself up to the roof and start running across rooftops. It’s so much faster than having to run through the street.

Reaching the final building, I push off and jump onto the guarding wall and continue out into the plains. Raya the Dragonbringer can do anything!

Bending down, I sniff the ground a bit and I can tell that the last scouting team to leave were headed for the east through the mountain road. So now I have a direction to follow!

Taking off into a sprint, I run through the plains as I keep my nose peeled, ready for any odd smells. I wonder if Kira does that as well, she is the source of my great nose after all. She probably does. She’s a weirdo, but she’s not dumb.

It takes a while before I reach the scouts, they've got a small camp set up with a basic setup of rocks for placing food on. They keep it simple so passing threats don't think anything of it. As I greet them, they’re quick to invite me to join as they let me know what’s going on. It turns out one of the other scouting parties was supposed to have come this way, but the marker hadn’t been touched. That’s a problem.

The scouts fuss a little as they draw a map of their route and look it over a few times, I commit it to memory. I’ll just have to follow it backwards until I find the previous scouting team’s scent. I’ve always been a good tracker, but ever since this pact of friendship with Kira, I’ve become so much better. Tracking footprints and broken branches is baby stuff compared to following a scent trail and hearing. And doing both is better than either!

Leaving the scouts behind as I head southwest, I wish them luck and safe passage, as I run at a brisk pace to avoid kicking up too much dust.

Instead of following the usual animal paths, I’ll take the merchant’s route by the mountain. It intersects with the route I need to follow, so it’s just faster.

I wish I could fly like Kira. It’s so much more fun than running, and it’s so much faster.

I can’t, though, so that’s fine! I’m still so fast!

Taking a moment to check the time, I look into the sky as I hold up my fingers to count. I’ve got plenty of time until midday. The creaking noise of a wagon interrupts my timekeeping, though.

“Hey Leon, there’s a goblin on the road.”

“Just kill it before more show up.”

Turning to face the dumb, I spot two dumb guards or adventurers or whatever they are, it doesn’t matter, they’re dumb. One of the guards advances toward me as he pulls out his sword with a dumb grin on his face… This could be fun.

“Don’t you dare touch that goblin! Not around here, you fools!”

Huh, I didn’t expect the merchant to be less dumb than the guards, but it seems he is.

Drawing my dagger, I throw it at the advancing guard, he easily knocks it away and laughs at me. The merchant is still yelling about leaving me alone, but the second dumb guard, Leon, unsheathes his sword as well and starts advancing too. I’m not sure why they would need two to attack me if they think I’m a normal goblin.

“Can’t you see that she isn’t afraid of you idiots?! Put away your swords and let’s leave!”

“Goblins are too stupid to be afraid. We’ll just kill it and get moving.”

I knew they were dumb… Well, they’ve chosen death, so I’ll happily deliver it!

Charging at the first dumb guard, I kick off the ground, sending me flying toward his face. He tries to evade, but with a clawed hand, I reach out as I fly over him. My nails dig into his shoulder, and I pull myself onto him. Landing on his back, I start ripping apart his chain mail and gambeson, broken materials scattering around us.

Soon his flesh is revealed, and I dig my fingers into him, curling them around his ribs and pulling. The snapping bones make me feel powerful as the blood of my prey falls to the ground. I’m not quite feeling done yet, though. Taking hold of his shoulder blades, I force them upward until they pop. That should keep him steady for now.

With the dumb guard taken care of, mostly, I notice a smell of piss, which reminds me of the other dumb guard. As soon as I turn my head toward him, he drops his sword and flees, abandoning the merchant.

I’m gonna let the other dumb guard run, he’ll be easy to track when I’m done here.

“Hey, less dumb merchant. Tuiran is that direction, it’s safe and you can buy some great stuff there!”

Watching him drive off with his wagon lets me focus on the first dumb guard, he’s still alive, and I find myself enjoying that. Walking over to the fallen dumb guard, the delicious smell Kira won’t shut up about sometimes hits me. Fear. And I get it, it smells so fantastic, and I want more.

“Hey Dumb Guard, you must be much smarter than me because you smell very afraid.”

With a hard kick, I turn him over so he’s lying on his back and his eyes fixate on me as I bring a hand to his throat and dig my fingers into his neck. With a firm pull, I rip out his throat and watch the blood pool on the ground. Humans sure have a lot of blood.

Time to find the other dumb guard. After I pick up my dagger again, I don’t want to leave it behind. It was a present from Joras, after all.

Taking off down the road, I pick up the scent of the running dummy without much difficulty. All I have to do is follow the scent of fear, piss, and sweat. It won’t be a problem at all.

He hasn’t really gotten that far, but he might not be as dumb as the first dumb guard. Using bushes and stuff to hide, he’s trying his best to remain hidden. If I couldn’t smell him, he might have had a chance. I guess this is an opportunity, and I should use it.

“Hey, dumb guard, have you seen any other goblins around here?”

He’s not replying… I’m looking right at him and he’s crying. It’s less fun when they cry.

“Dumb guard, how about a bargain? If you answer my questions, I might not hurt you.”

“We didn’t find any goblins! I swear on Terragaraem and my blessing! We haven’t found any goblins!”

“You found me, does that mean you’re lying? Tsk, leave it to a blessed dummy to lie when they swear on their dumb gods…”

“We found one goblin! You! We didn’t find any others! Please believe me! Please!”

He’s still watching the road, but I’m behind him now. Sneaking up on him, I move as close as I can without him noticing, which turns out to be really close. With my head right behind him, I ask him a simple question to tease him.

“Why would I believe you when you’ve already lied to me?"

All he does is scream and run away toward where they came from, leaving me to wonder whether to let him live or kill him for being the one to tell the first dumb guard to kill me. If he stumbles on any other goblins, he might hurt them, so it would be irresponsible to let him live, and being irresponsible is Kira’s job.

Giving chase, I charge the fleeing dummy. With claws extended, I slice across the back of his heels, just like the wolves do when they attack.

As he falls, he hits the ground hard and looks quite distraught when he twists around to look at me.

“You promised you wouldn’t hurt me!”

As he shouts at me, I climb on top of him and take a seat on his chest as he lashes out trying to throw me off, but Kira puts up more of a fight than this when we go flying. And she’s not even trying.

“And you swore you hadn’t seen any goblins, so really, I’m not even here.”

His struggle continues with punch after punch aimed at my head, but he’s exhausted and weak, making it very easy to knock his hands aside. It’s fun to play with him, but I really should get moving. Grabbing his wrists, I force them to his chest. His fear deepens as he starts to realize just how much stronger than him I am.

Looking at him being so helpless and weak makes me curious… I wonder what he tastes like. Bringing one of his arms up, I take a bite and he’s so tasty! As his blood fills my mouth, I can’t help but wonder how Kira can hold herself back with all of those snacks walking around.

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Taking another bite of the tasty dummy, he screams again, reminding me that I should probably kill him. Releasing the arm I’ve eaten from, I bring my free hand to his throat and dig my fingers in before ripping it out. The gurgles let me know that he’ll die soon.

His eyes stare up at me in his final moments, fear and despair shining brightly.

“Not so fun hunting goblins when they fight back, is it?”

With that taken care of, it’s time to get back to finding that scouting party. I should make sure I’m prepared, and for that, I need some food. A few bites for the road won’t hurt. Maybe I should do what Kira does and try the inside stuff first.

Stomping on the second dummy’s chest a few times, I hear the ribs snap and I get to work pulling his rib cage open, revealing the treasure trove of treats. I don’t think I should be as greedy as Kira today, so I’ll settle for his heart and liver.

Taking a bite of the heart, blood squirts all over me. The rush of flavor is overpowering and I find myself wanting more. Finishing off the heart far too fast, I look down at myself and I should have realized how dirty I’d get, but that’s okay. I’ll just wash up when I get back.

With liver in hand, it’s time to head back to tracking. Following the scouting route further south, it takes me closer to the mountain’s foot and into our forest. I should be able to find a checkpoint around here, but I’m not entirely sure what I’m looking for. All the checkpoints are carved into something, and they’re easier to spot as a goblin than those dumb tall blessed people.

Looking around, I don’t smell or see anything that stands out, but I’ll just need to keep trying. Searching the area is easy enough, and I have a good enough memory to remember where I’ve already searched, but I’m still not finding the markers.

My search is interrupted by voices in the distance. I guess I’ll need to deal with that because those sound like human voices and they’re speaking in the blessed dummy language, so I’ll probably find trouble again. And this is far too close to one of our scouting trails, that information should have been brought back.

There are two voices and they’re headed in my direction. Climbing into a tree, I get ready for them to pass by as I snack on the liver. It takes a little effort to not get distracted by the flavor, but I’m good, so I can do it.

The two humans pass by a few trees away and they’re very easy to keep an eye on. One of them is wearing a robe long enough to cover his knees, along with a large staff, and the other has leather armor and a bow.

“They were sneaking around over here. I don’t know where they ran off to, but we should be careful. Goblins are weak, but they’re sneaky.”

They’re right about us being sneaky. Though it sounds like they’re looking for the scouts, so it appears I won’t have a choice but to fight these guys too. I can’t fight back the smile forming on my face as the prospect of fighting these stronger opponents excites me.

“Are you sure we should be doing this? I know the boss told us to hunt for goblins, but don’t you think we should worry more about the Dragon? If it finds us, we’re fucked. We should head back to Arrenfret.”

I have no idea who Arrenfret is, but I agree with that dummy, leaving our forest would be a good idea.

“We can’t! Arrenfret is to the east and we don’t have the supplies for the southern route, so we would have to go northeast into the plains! Don’t you think that monster would find us if we’re out in the open?!”

“Did you guys kill any goblins yet?”

There’s that intoxicating fear again. I want to give them a chance to clear themselves of suspicion, but I also want to just attack and kill them. But then I’d be no better than them, and I don’t want to be like them.

“Are you a forest spirit?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever. Answer my question, dummy.”

They seem unsure of how to answer as they start whispering to each other. The mage mutters some words and then looks around the area until his gaze stops right on me. He knows exactly where I am. I should be hidden well enough here, especially with my dark green skin and the tree’s leaves.

“That’s not a forest spirit. I have no idea what it is..."

The mage is pointing to me and the archer is getting a shot ready, so I think it might be time to relocate. It seems they’ve made up their minds and this is a fight now.

If the mage can track me, then he’s the one I need to kill first. Rushing through the woods, I can see his eyes following me every time I get a line of sight, but the archer isn’t having as much luck.

The archer seems to be watching the mage instead of me, and then I hear a snap of someone’s fingers. Just as I leave the safety of a tree’s shadow, an arrow whizzes by me, just barely scratching my stomach and leaving a line of fresh blood. How in the hells did the archer manage that?!

Peeking out from my tree’s shadow, I hear another snap and an arrow embeds itself right next to my face. That was so close!

“We’ve got it pinned, what do you want to do, Kanen?”

“Flee, if I’m honest. I have no idea what that thing is, and I don’t want to fight something unknown without a front line.”

Well, I don’t think I have much of a choice… I prefer fighting with my hands, but if he keeps shooting those arrows, getting close is too dangerous.

Pulling on Kira’s power, I form a fire bolt in my hand, ready to be fired at them, but first I need the archer to fire at me. Using my other hand, I wave it out of the tree’s shadow, and the archer shoots an arrow, nailing me right in the palm. That freakin’ hurts!

I can’t focus on that, though. Jumping out from the safety of the tree's trunk, I throw a fire bolt at them before ducking back out of their line of sight.

“Get down!”

Looks like the mage pushed the archer to the side as he threw himself onto the ground.

“What in the hells was that, Kanen?!”

“I think we’re facing a demon… That was primordial fire. Demon! Let us leave in peace and we won’t return again!”

That sounds like more lies, and I’m not a demon. I also don’t like how willing these dummies were to attack me. It makes me think that they’d also attack my people as soon as they saw them. I’ll need to deal with them for sure, so I need a plan.

“One of you can leave.”

“Both or neither. If one of us leaves, the other is as good as dead.”

He’s not wrong about that, so maybe the mage isn’t dumb. First, I need to get this arrow out of my hand, so I bite off the fletching part and pull the rest of the arrow through my hand.

Twirling the arrowhead in my fingers, I inspect the arrowhead, and I think it might be worth a few coins, I should pocket the ones I can find.

“If I let you go, you’ll just kill my people, and I still don’t know whether you have killed any so far.”

“What if we promise we won’t? We're not heartless killers.”

Peeking out, I notice that the archer doesn’t have his bow all the way ready to shoot, so I watch the two for a bit before shouting back.

“You tried to kill me as soon as you saw me. That doesn’t make me very interested in trusting you. Besides, if you’re here, you're part of those jerks' group who were attacking us. Would you be willing to talk peace if you were on the side with the Dragon, or would you just slaughter us?”

The mage puts a hand on the dumb archer’s shoulder and they sit down in the foliage for some reason. I’m not sure what they’re doing, but I’m not gonna be deceived by their tricks.

“If you come out and join us in this clearing, we can talk. With the power I’ve seen, you would win a battle of magic, so we would either get lucky or die.”

“What in the hells are you talking about, Kanen?! We can kill that thing! Two of my arrows made contact!”

The dumb archer gets up again, and the mage tells him to sit down and be quiet, but the archer doesn’t like that at all.

“I understand how you might think that, Roward, but please be calm before you act. Demon, Roward says you’re wounded, would you mind telling us how bad your injuries are?”

“I don’t have any injuries.”

Kira’s magic is so good for healing, and after I removed the arrow, my hand just healed in a moment. I barely notice it happening anymore.

“That’s a fucking lie! I shot you! I hit your hand!”

“That’s faster than I expected… I surrender, demon. Please allow us to trade for our lives so that we may leave here alive.”

“You’re a fucking coward, Kanen!”

The dumb archer seems quite angry as he readies his bow and shoots another arrow in my direction. It doesn’t hit me this time, but I can hear him rushing toward me. I’ll need to make sure to keep an ear out for that mage, so I run further into the forest with the archer trailing me. Weaving through the woods keeps his arrows from being able to hit me.

Turning into the shadow of a tree, I climb it, making as little noise as I can as I listen for the archer’s approach. He’s still running at a steady pace, and he’ll be here shortly. Without the mage, he won’t be able to find me, though.

Before he gets to my tree, he slows down as he looks around with frantic jerks. For a moment, I expect him to call out for me, but instead, he starts creeping through the underbrush. It’s surprising how quiet he is. Any noise I make will be heard by him.

All I hear is the rustling of the wind, his steady breathing, and the pounding of his heart.

“You abandoned your friend, dumb archer. My friend killed him. Your friend is dead because of you.”

“I don’t believe you, demon! Kanen can take care of himself.”

“Are you so sure about that? He doesn’t have your quick reflexes.”

I’m lying, of course, but it does make the archer more nervous. He doesn’t want to believe me, but the doubt is hard to fight. Having heard my voice, he starts walking in a circle around my tree, no doubt trying to get a clear shot, but I won’t allow that.

Jumping down from my tree, I run in a line away from him, making sure to dart behind trees. Hearing my noise, he’s quick to follow, and it doesn’t take long for an arrow to whiz by me as I take a turn.

“Ready the ambush! He’s coming!”

Hearing my shout makes him hesitate, allowing me to gain ground and find a hiding spot. He’s a dummy, alright. If I didn’t want him to understand me, I’d just use the godless word.

Climbing into a tree again, I run through the canopy toward the archer. He knows where I am, but all the branches and leaves make it hard for him to pinpoint my location.

I can see a tree up ahead with fewer leaves and branches than the others, and I’m gonna use that. The archer keeps staying in one location to track me, so he could be an easy target. Approaching the clear tree, I pull on Kira’s magic and shape it into a fire bolt just as I jump into the archer’s line of sight.

Shielding my stomach with my legs, I throw the fire bolt as an arrow flies toward me. It embeds itself in my left leg, and I fall out of the tree, tumbling to the ground. He’s a dummy, but he’s a great shot.

He’s also on fire. Being so focused on shooting me, he didn’t expect a fire bolt coming at him, so he was too late to dodge.

Snapping the arrow stuck in my leg, I pull out the rest of it and draw on Kira’s magic to heal it. Before the wounds close, I start running toward the archer. I can’t let him get up again. Reaching him in moments, I jump on him and use everything I can to kill him. Clawing and biting at him, I inflict so many wounds.

Screams fill the forest as blood soaks the ground. Flesh tears from his arms as he tries to block my nails. Biting down on one of his hands, I hear the bones crunch under the force of my jaws as I tear his hand to pieces with my teeth. With a bloody stump, he continues his attempts to fight me off. His wails of pain and terror fill the forest as I continue ripping him to shreds.

None of his armor is any match for the gifts Kira has given me.

His efforts wane until he passes out, there will be no recovery for him. Pushing his mangled arms away, I take hold of his throat, forcing my fingers deep as I rip out his throat. Before leaving, I rummage through his pockets and find a few coins and a healing potion.

Pocketing the items, it's time to find out whether that mage stayed around or not. I might hear him out if he didn’t run.

Sprinting through the woods, I can feel the archer’s blood dry and flake off. I must look quite gruesome by now. That will help to make sure the mage takes me seriously.

Reaching the clearing, I find the mage lying in a grassy patch, watching the sky. I’m not sure what he’s up to, but this feels like a trap.

“I take it my buddy has met his end, then?”

“Why are you still here?”

“Come lie down for a minute, the clouds are quite beautiful today.”

This dummy is weird… I’m not approaching, though. Him telling me to lie down makes it feel even more like a trap.

“What do you want, mage?”

“I want to know more. A character flaw of those who seek out the magical arts, I must admit. We tend to find danger and explore it to learn, often dying in the process. But that last part is more in your hands than mine, I would wager.”

He’s right about that. I’m very willing to kill him and get moving so I can find those scouts.

“I don’t care about that, mage. You said you wanted to trade, what do you have to trade that has as much value as your life?”

“Huh… I wonder… Does anything have more value than a life? All I can think of is another life. But to a mugger, my life would have less value than what he can steal. A topic worth much discussion, but I would imagine you have other things to concern yourself with. How about knowledge for knowledge? I must know why the goblins mean so much to you.”

“I’m a goblin, dummy. Of course, my people mean a lot to me. You humans might be different, but goblins stick together. That’s how we survive.”

Pushing himself from the ground, he sits up and looks right at me. He’s got weird eyes and a serious expression.

“You might have been a goblin once, but that is no longer the case, although I don’t know what you are. So, how about that trade? I could teach you a few things if you teach me a few things. I’ll even start by teaching you how to use your magic in a less primitive way."

Keeping his word, he starts telling me how to stretch and form magic inside me, what to feel for to know when I’ve done it right. I try to follow along, but he sometimes starts talking about a bunch of gibberish that I have no idea what it means. I’ve been studying the language a lot, but this guy is making it obvious that I need to study more.

“Now, once you’ve stretched the magic, pulling it into strings, you’ll want to make sure the strings feel like they could hold up the world. When you learn to do that, you can start weaving powerful magic with it.”

“If you know how to do this, then why didn’t you help your friend more? It doesn’t make sense to not use everything you have in a fight.”

He takes a moment to answer, so I just keep practicing the magic stuff with Kira’s magic, and it’s so slow to work. I’ve only got four strings so far. If I’m supposed to weave something, I’ll need a lot more than that.

“Ah, I fear that I must admit I have a rather unfortunate weakness. I don’t have much talent for controlling magic myself. My skills lie in teaching the next generations, and I was in Plainshold for that exact purpose. Though when it came to the exodus, I found myself unable to leave as my pupils felt the call of duty as adventurers. How is your string progressing?”

It’s a little annoying to work with magic like this, so I just let him know that I have seven so far. Weaving things like baskets takes a lot more than that, so I’ll just have to keep going.

“Oh! You can stop then. Next, you should weave the strings into a mesh. It’ll be difficult, but once you succeed, move that mesh to the back of your mind, and you should find somewhere suited for it. That will be how you cast Mage Sight. Although it takes quite some time to learn, once you do, you will be able to cast it with ease and a small chant. The specifics of the chant are affected by the individual. So my chant would be different from yours, but the meaning would be the same.”

Keeping the strings in place while I move the others is quite difficult. They want to move away from each other… I keep trying, but the dumb strings just won’t stay still!

“Why do the strings move away from each other?! They’re so annoying!”

“They shouldn’t… I don’t know why they would do that.”