"Oh?" A coy grin played across Kishi's face as he watched Redd's attempt to sneak up on him. A shallow laugh left him, his head shaking slightly. "Admirable effort, child, but a word of advice: trying to approach a Bugbear with stealth is seldom a good idea. If any of you manage to Evolve into one, you'll understand why firsthand." He remarked, seeming thoroughly amused by the little one's fall. Well, he'd be fine, a couple scrapes and bruises never hurt in the long-term. Built character.

Ah, good. They seemed to have some questions for him, which was a good sign if nothing else. If they had just stayed silent then that would have been an indication that they wouldn't be the kind to take action on their own. Then again...thinking of his own son, Kichi could only wonder how bad that could really be.

At Kluuto's words, Kichi's eyes turned to her, an eyebrow quirking up at her question. "Hm...I'm not sure. Your circumstances are special, after all, and an entire group of Goblins all being born with souls strong enough to have Gifts is unheard of. You all are aware of what Gifts, Evolution, and such are, correct? If it's not that then any such feelings are likely related to your Gift or your soul. Ha, maybe you lot were given a bit of divine providence; that would certainly explain things. Hopefully by Knoth, though, I'd be a bit worried if Anekanta was responsible." He explained, listing off two unfamiliar names in the process as he gave a slight shrug.

Following that, his eyes flitted over to Lyminia. Digging tools, really? An oddly specific request, but her Gift seemed to have some traces of Earth affinity to it even if those hadn't manifested yet, so it made sense that she'd be drawn to it he supposed. "This is the Ironwood Forest. We Goblins make our home here, along with a handful of other monster species and the ruler of the forest, Lord Yggdrasil. There are a handful of caverns about, though some of them are what the humans call 'dungeons', areas of magic that command their own monsters. While you are young, you should keep away from those places. As for other settlements...well, some of the other monsters have their own territories, but you shouldn't concern yourself with those. The most important thing to know of is the human city just outside of our forest. Humans are...think of them as similar to you, but usually taller. Some of them are even as tall as myself. Their skin is usually a sort of pink color, and their bodies appear frail, but do not underestimate them. Their race can easily be called the rulers of this world. We cooperate with them rather frequently through trade and such, and many of us have friends among the humans, so do not be hostile with them. My son, Sabu, is currently in their town and should be back in a few hours. If you'd like to know more about them, I'm sure he'd be happy to speak with you." He explained, even as Aya rolled her eyes a bit from the side. "As for digging tools, that's rather specific. We don't have any such tools here since we have no use of them, but I'm certain the humans would."

Lastly, the Bugbear glanced over to Iris, another chuckle leaving him at the innocence of her questions. "You were given knowledge of what Evolution is by the world, correct? Aya here was once a Goblin like you, but her magical talents gave her the ability to evolve into a Goblin Druid." He explained, leaving Aya to puff up a bit in pride. "As for me, I began as a Goblin, then evolved into a mutated form of Hobgoblin thanks to my affinity for darkness. That in addition to some lucky encounters and practice allowed me to become a Bugbear. I'd be happy to explain what that entails, but for now let's not get too into detail." He said, though a bit of pride in himself did nonetheless show through in his tone. "That appearance of mine was a bit of a parlor trick. It's a rather simple invisibility spell done by mixing darkness elemental essence and air elemental essence. Stealth is something of a talent for Bugbears, despite our size. As for your parents, they are all Hobgoblins, though some of them are elite ones. You shouldn't accord them much special privilege, though. While the humans handle the matter differently, for our kind once a child is born, they are a member of the tribe like any other. You shouldn't expect special treatment from them, but that's simply because everyone in this tribe is your family as much as they are."

"...hmph, says the one who coddles his son more than anyone else in the tribe."

"Aya, not in front of the newborns."

Redd considered reattempting sneaking up on the bugbear, however, he realized that there was a much larger world outside of this cave. This bugbear was small potatoes, besides how tasty could something with "bug" in its name be.

A devious smile spread across his face when the bugbear described humans. If they are lords of his world, it must be because they have the best blood. And they was nearby. He started to consider how he was going to extract some of this precious fluid from these dangerous beast. The word "trade" made sense in his mind, he knew what that word meant. He looked around, and realized he didn't have anything to trade though. There was a rock, but he had an understanding that a rock was not as valuable as the material he sought after.

It seemed as his best lead was this "Sebu" fellow. Perhaps he knew how to get blood from these bigger people without much fuss.

"Woah, calm down, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. We can be friends, everything will be-."

Kresh had been attempting to calm down Eek when the so-called "Chief" Kichi showed up suddenly. It admittedly had been a surprise, but Kresh wasn't the kind of goblin to let this guy steal the show so soon. However, everyone (even Kresk, though you'd never get him to say so) seemed pretty intimidated this guy, who they'd never even spoken to before.

"Come on, guys, really? Sure, that was a neat trick, but doesn't look so tough! What's the matter?"

Kresh was genuinely a little scared of the chief, like the others, but his response to fear was always going to be bravado rather than cowardice. He, personally, would prefer to stand up to something bigger and scarier than himself even if he had no reason to expect victory. It was a little reckless, he knew, but it was far better than running and showing weakness.

When the chief began answering questions, Kresh decided to turn his attention back to Eek. No matter how stubbon she might prove, he would do his best to ensure she had someone she could trust.

---

---

Rekzild hadn’t even noticed when one of the other goblins crept up on him too engrossed on the work he was doing. While the first paragraph had been dedicated to detailing the current scene within the cavern, he had paused as he considered how to start the next section. The humdrum noise created all around him by his fellow newborns slowly faded away to little more than white noise as he focused in on the wall.

’For any who care to read this, my name is Rekzild. I would say it is a pleasure but honestly the likelihood of us actually meeting is slim to none. At the time of writing this I am the same as you, nothing more than a newborn goblin beginning the journey of finding a place in this new world I have been born into. There are some differences between us, at least from what the older one was saying. Aya is her name, in case she is still the one in this position upon your birth. My entire group took longer than usual to awaken, I do not know the cause of this but it is a strange occurrence according to her.’

The only voice that managed to cut through the rabble of the others was that of Aya, and thanks to her speaking the Chief’s voice was heard as well since he appeared just a moment after her words fell. Rekzild did not turn to face the new arrival, instead he simply paused in his writing to listen to him. Curious, apparently they all possessed unique gifts which in itself wasn’t surprising but rather the fact that they all had them was. He hadn’t given it any thought at first, his mind had been on getting away from the rest of the group, but he knew what gifts were along with several other concepts that as a newborn one would think he wouldn’t have access to.

While his thoughts shifted to this “new” information he vaguely heard the others begin asking questions. Naturally he had questions of his own, but he pushed them aside to continue following his current train of thought. As he delved into the innate knowledge that rested within his head he came to realize that it made sense that they had all of this information, it was key to their survival that they have them. Satisfied by this he turned his head around to finally take in the appearance of their Chief. He looked nothing like the rest of them, though this was explained by the Chief himself. Apparently he had evolved a few times from the time he was a newborn like them and was now a Bugbear. Evolution was one of those concepts already known, though the exact process was not firmly in his mind.

With his attention once more given to Kishi, Rekzild thought carefully about the questions he most needed answers to.

”Where can I find some books? From your response to her question about digging supplies would I have to acquire writing materials from the humans as well?” Rekzild’s head tilted to the side as he spoke.

Soon the chief had blessed them all with his non-divine presence, yet an intimidating presence nonetheless with his towering stature, strange skin, and claws that seemed to be as sharp as daggers to the cowering female. He answered their questions, explained to them how things would work for them once they met the tribe and such, interesting Eek and earning a slight gaze. She allowed her curious mind to begin to wander once more, wondering which of the hobgoblins would have been her parents and what they would be like. It was a strange topic to be wrapped around considering her situation, but it was one that seemed to be priority in that mind of her’s.

However, that concentration would be broken when already began to speak to her once again, attempting to coax her out of her comfortable corner. Though, he would learn that she would not budge, even if he earned a small gaze from the paranoid Eek. ”Please go away. Leave me alone,” she requested with a soft voice, tightening her grip around her knees before her eyes went back to the chief. Eek wanted to ask a question, so she opened her mouth and the words failed to come out, only strained sounds as if she were trying to formulate the words. Quickly did she shut her mouth, sighing at herself for her timidity.

After a few moments of thinking to herself on how to properly ask her question, she looked over to the chief and called out to him, ”Are there any quiet spaces within the village that I might have for myself?” Her head cocked to the side in a rather inquisitive manner. Eek felt the need that she needed an area to have to herself so that she may think and clear her head should she need to, a place where she could be left to her own devices, a place where she wouldn't feel this timidity. If there wasn't then she would make her own area, that she was set upon.

---

@Holy Grail
Before Kluuto could hear her answer, the attractive female goblin suddenly talked to her, praising her for having common sense in telling off the goblin who tried to go out.

"W-well, you're welcome," she replied, a little bit flustered since the praise just came out of nowhere. Still, she appreciated the fact that at least someone here had any sense.

She then watched the goblin asking her own question to the chief. The layout of this place, hmm? It certainly would be quite useful to know. She didn't know why she would want digging tools however. She couldn't imagine herself digging dirt like a roadside worker. Perhaps it was related to her gift?

@DracoLunaris
Another goblin asked how the chief and Aya became the way they looked. Hmph, it was quite the useless question. It was obvious they had evolved away from an ordinary goblin. Well, it couldn't hurt to ask, she supposed. She also asked where their parents were. So goblins had parents, huh? For some reason, she was under the impression that goblins just laid eggs, new goblins would pop out, and no one would care who laid those eggs as they were all goblins after all. Monsters shouldn't really differentiate between their individuals that much. Guess she thought wrong. And their parents were hobgoblins, with some of them being elite ones, so at least they got that advantage over the common goblins, though the chief warned they wouldn't get any special treatment just because they were children of hobgoblins. Well, she was okay with that. She didn't need special treatment herself. She believed in the value of shining over the masses with her own strength and efforts.

@Malchivo

The goblin who wrote on the cavern walls asked next. He asked for some books and writing materials. She could get behind his question. She had an itch to read books all of a sudden. She didn't expect goblins to be writing books though, so she wished to get some human books instead. The goblins seemed to have an established trade with the humans, so she could tag along when they sent their emissary, the chief's son named Sabu, to trade and asked for some books. That sounded like a good plan to her.

@Moonlit Sonata
"I wish to go to the human city and get some human books for myself," she told the chief, "My gift is language comprehension and I believe I can read their language, even if just a little. Don't you think it will be a good idea for me to do so as I can hone my gift to an even greater level? So if you would give your permission, I will go with your son Sabu in his next expedition to the city. O-of course, I will also ask for his permission beforehand."

She waited for his response. She hoped he would be a reasonable chief and grant her request.

@Lauder
As she waited, she heard the timid goblin asking for a quiet space within the village where she could be on her own. Even though she was nowhere as timid as her, she also would like her own room or house. She couldn't imagine being in the presence of another for every hour of her life. Her instinct demanded that she also had a downtime where she could be alone.

@Moonlit Sonata
"I would also be glad if I could get my own room also," she added to the timid goblin's question. "Reading takes silence after all," she argued.

"Books? Hm, well we have some who like to write, such as Aya here, but if you want them en masse you'll need to go to the humans. They have this structure called a library, grants public access to more books than I'd say anyone in the city's read. Sabu should again be the one to go to on that, most of us stick to oral tradition." The chief explained to Rekzild, shrugging slightly. Part of him felt a bit bad about pushing so much of the burden onto his son, but the boy would have to get used to this sort of thing in due time, even though it was painfully obvious that he had no intention of vying for the position of chief when Kichi himself retired.

"When Sabu gets back, those among you who are willing to are welcome to accompany him when he heads to the human city next. Going on your own without knowing how to speak to the humans is inadvisable, and if you went with one of the others, myself included, we wouldn't be able to show you around as well as he could, so it's for the best that you go with him." He admitted, a hand going behind his head. Try as he might, the chief was still a monster separate from human civilization through and through; while leading a tribe of monsters was well within his capabilities, dealing with the messy web that was human culture was a headache for him, despite how much his son seemed to relish in it.

"As for a private room, well, if you're able to make one for yourself then feel free." The Bugbear remarked with a slight chuckle. "There's not much in the way of privacy out here, but you're free to either mark out a place for your own or even do your reading in the human city, whatever suits your fanc-" Kichi cut himself off, his brows furrowing slightly before he let out a sharp exhale. "...well then. According to Lord Yggdrasil, Sabu's back a bit early and is up to something at the forest's edge. As chief, I'll need to make sure he doesn't get out of hand. Those of you who would like to head to the human city, feel free to accompany me. Those who would rather get the lay of the land here in our forest, Aya can show you the ropes." He explained, shaking his head in light dismay before turning on his heel and moving to set out from the cave, gesturing for the interested parties to follow.

---

---

While the answer provided by the chieftain was what he had expected it did not brighten Rekzild’s mood in the slightest. From the accounts he had been given it was clear that this human city would be even more populous than their little village in the woods. The amount of goblins in the cavern alone was more than enough to set him on edge, though the one with a stick shoved up her rear intrigued him due to her own pursuit of books, he had little doubt that the noise level of the city would be many times louder than anything he had yet experienced in his short life.

With his question answered and the chief moving on to the next batch he returned his focus to the wall he had been carving. Tapping his chin thoughtfully with his free hand he began to scratch against the cavern, though it only for a few moments.

’It has been made clear to me that there is a severe lack of written material within our humble home. I will seek to remedy this so that hopefully by the time you are reading this there will be an abundance of books awaiting you, even if it means I must copy them myself. Good luck in your new lives, and may the ground quake beneath your feet one day.’ His work finished, at least here, he placed the rock once more upon the ground.

With his full attention freed he turned it full force upon the chief, just as he was announcing that his son had returned earlier than intended. Rekzild rose off of the ground and made a beeline to the entrance of the cave, following a few steps behind the Bugbear.

”Chieftain, if I may I have a follow up question. How do we acquire the means of barter? It is clear that your son does so on behalf of the entire tribe, so he has access to the resources he needs. But what of those that will be following him?”

Her first question got more of a “I can tell you later” kind of answer but considering she had effectively asked about their life history she supposed that was fair when there were so many other questions to be answered. The question about parents got some much more useful info, that apparently the goblins went for the whole “it takes a village to raise a child” strategy of parenthood. Well apart from the chief who, considering how much he talked about his son, probably had a much more personal familial relationship with him. She wasn’t sure if that was sweet or hypocritical. She perked up a little because if the village was her family and the chief seems to like her and the rest then that was going to reflect well on the rest of the villagers and then everyone would like her and that was good. She smiled to herself as result of coming up with that wonderful line of logic.

The information about the surroundings had been very useful although she was probably more interested in the fact they were in a forest than most of the other goblins, because a forest meant lots of plants to stick in her mouth. Speaking of which, after a few questions about books and private spaces it became clear that there was going to be a little expedition out through the woods too the town of these human things for books, which she wasn’t that interested in, and tools, which might be useful for harvesting plants. She decided she would go with the chief because going to the forests edge also met going through the forest which had plants which she could collect data on. She was also buzzing with energy and wanted to be out and about, learning how to navigate the woods rather than stuck with Aya the grump in the camp. If the town didn’t look interesting she could always go back with the chief. She jog/skipped after the chief, excited to get outside into the sunshine.

"I’ll come to town for the tools and to find some plants to use my gift on."

As she tried to keep up with his longer strides she realized that during answering knife ear's first question he had mentioned two names without much additional explanation who might have had something to do with their gifts.

"So boss, you mentioned these Knoth and Anekanta divine people. Who are they and what makes one bad and one good?"

---

@Moonlit Sonata
Kluuto brightened up once she heard that Sabu had arrived back from the city. Of course, she accepted the Chief's offer right away. No sense of just wandering around here with nothing to do, she thought. She had this urge to use her gift right away, and with nothing else to do in her mind, might as well obey said urge. The more she used the gift, she more she would master it after all.

And as for the matter of her own private room, it seemed she had to build it herself. This didn't really please her that much. She couldn't imagine herself digging a cave for her own goblin cavern after all. She wondered if she could find an unoccupied cavern somewhere in the forest, though that meant she had to wander around an area filled with dangerous beasts and monsters. She was a newborn so she couldn't be cocky about her combat abilities. Instinctively, she knew how to punch, kick, perhaps bite the enemy with these decently sharp teeth of hers, but she knew it wouldn't be enough against other monsters who might have more extraordinary capabilities. She knew that ordinary goblins weren't that strong. That was why they lived together as a tribe after all.

She put that problem for later. For now, she wanted to see just how the human city looked. The chief even said she could do her reading in their dwelling, but she quite doubted it would be a truly pleasant experience as she was a goblin and they were humans after all.

@Malchivo
As they departed, the scribbling goblin asked the chief whether or not they could get the goods that the goblins were bartering with the humans. That was a fair question, she had to admit. She didn't expect the humans to just give their books for free after all. She had thought she could just ask a book as an extra from them when Sabu traded with them next time.

@DracoLunaris
Another goblin who came along with them told she would get her tools in the city. She could agree with that line of though. There would be all sorts of things there after all and some tools shouldn't be that hard to find. She also asked about Knoth and Anekanta. Now that she mentioned them again, they started to pique her curiosity. Thus, she looked at the chief expectantly, waiting for his explanation.

The somewhat blunt speaking Goblin gave a small smile at seeing the other female blush over her compliment. Eh, it was nothing much to her, but she hoped that the other female would continue to show the same kind of sense Lyminia herself had just complimented. Though as for the others, she did not feel good about some and was uncertain about others. They had just awoken, she supposed, but even so it did not take a lot of effort to show a tad bit of common sense and caution among other things. Unless there were other Goblins like the red-looking one that stumbled around like an idiot and seemed to act like more of a beast than the rest of them. Seriously, to her it would be best to keep an eye on that one.

Listening to the Chief speak once again, the female Goblin payed sincere attention to his words, taking them to both mind and heart in order to help internalize the information he was giving them. Though when it came to his communication with "Lord Yggdrasil", perhaps it was through some kind of mental means considering how things went down before her eyes. Then again, as the Chief spoke about his son and going to meet him, it brought up an important question for Lyminia. Go to get tools first possibly, or stay and learn the layout of the land? It was a real question, and though learning the layout of the land was a good idea as a whole, getting tools first would allow her to come back and ask about the land's layout later on from Aya or one of the other Goblins who would be staying at the cave. Besides, she had a few more questions for the chief in the meantime.

"I'm coming along with the trip as well. Might get to find some digging tools or something, and i can ask about the layout of things once we get back," the female Goblin said, giving a light shrug before moving to follow along with the chief as well.

Though as they began to move towards their destination, and Sabu, two of the other Goblins who came with the little group following the chief began to ask questions. Considering at least the question that sounded like it was about the two names the chief had mentioned before was interesting to her, it would perhaps then be good to just listen at first. Then again, as she pondered simply listening another question for the Chief came to her mind as well. Mentally shrugging to herself, Lyminia decided that while she had the time to ask she had might as well use it as best as she could.

"Chief," Lyminia said after the other had finished asking their questions before her, "How did you manage to achieve your current evolution as a 'Bugbear' and such, if you don't mind my asking? Did you learn certain skills? Did you eat certain foods? Something else entirely?"

She understood Gifts and Evolution naturally, but the path to an evolution seemed an interesting topic to bring up as well, if the Chief was willing to answer.

---

@Moonlit Sonata

The Goblin tribe chief gave a slight nod at Rekzild’s question. Certainly a fair one, given that the current prospect was of going to a village in which only one of the group had even slight comprehension of the language spoken. "The name of this forest, Ironwood, isn't simply a title. Each of the trees within the forest is infused with the spiritual energy of Lord Yggdrasil, and save for the weaker ones on the outmost fringes of the forest, their wood has a strength on par with metals." He explained, gesturing around himself as he led the group forwards.

"Lord Yggdrasil allows the humans to harvest some trees, but they always need more than they can personally take, and for that they come to us. Outside of that, you can acquire human currency through appropriate goods or services. Instead of using a Horned Rabbit's pelt for clothing, for instance, you can sell it to the humans, or you could agree to work in a human establishment. Sabu will also likely show you what the humans call an 'Adventurer's Guild', as he is a member, which is another way of earning human currency." The Bugbear finished. At Iris's question, though, Kichi couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle. Right, he'd forgotten that information on the gods wasn't included in the knowledge that the world gave them. He'd always wondered why that was the case, really.

"Knoth and Anekanta are the chief gods of this world. Knoth is the god of creation, he who is said to have created the world. In this land, he is the most worshipped by humans and monsters alike. His priests are essentially researchers, those who strive to learn more about the world and create things which have never been created before, though...if you were to ask my view, I would say that to the average being, Knoth's faith has become so broadspread that it has become generic and largely meaningless. That's not a bad thing by any means, though. Among the humans, he has chosen a champion who holds the title of the 'greatest inventor' in this world. I'm sure you'll learn about him very soon, many of mankind's creations originated in his mind."

"As for Anekanta, she is not evil, but she is undoubtedly more...troublesome. The sacred goddess and the sinful goddess, twin ruler of purity and corruption. She is extremism made manifest. A righteous paladin may follow her, as may a serial murderer, but one who walks the middle road may not. Her center of worship is the landmass across the sea to the north, a place of eternal war between order and chaos. You can obviously see why her granting you all a blessing would have slightly more worrying implications than it would with Knoth. Her chosen champion among the humans is the great demon-slayer, a paragon of morality, though it's also been rumored that she has a second champion for the half of sin."

"The other gods are lesser than those two, but still notable. Esid, the god of the natural world and elements. Shaiv, god of the soul. Vaish, goddess of doorways. And...En, goddess of taking. En has been sealed away by the others for her transgressions, though; you would do well to avoid mentioning her name in public. The story might be one from eons ago, but it is still one that has left scars." He explained, his face tightening slightly towards the end of the exposition. His head then turned to Lyminia, mouth opening to answer her question, only to stop himself as he realized that they had reached the edge of the forest.

"...ah, I'll explain the matter of my Evolution later. For now, it looks like we're here."

---

The Bugbear came to a halt as the foliage faded out into the open air. A small field of dense grass spread out from where the forest had ended, and not far in the distance was some sort of stone structure, what looked to be walls; no doubt, that was the entrance to the human city.

However, more noticeable than this were the two presences who stood in the grass outside the forest.

One, a Goblin who stood over a foot above the newborns, dense musculature lining his form. Fitted over his body was a finely-crafted set of leather armor, a far cry from the furs that Aya had been wearing, and gripped in his hands was a crimson spear. Most noticeable, though, were the scales that were visible along some parts of his body that were not covered by the armor, something that would seem more at home on a reptile than a Goblin. His body seemed to crackle with power, a buzz filling the air around him and a broad grin splitting his face.

Standing opposite him was a form unfamiliar to the newborn Goblins, a human woman, dressed in what humans would call business attire, who was only a hair shorter than the Goblin she faced. Neck-length black hair and dark blue eyes gave her a chilling visage, but this was more than offset by the manic glint in her eyes and what looked like a black fog that was emanating from her body. Around her was the same sort of presence that the Goblin had, the same crackling of power that filled the air. Equally notable was the fact that, unlike the Goblin, she seemed to lack any sort of weapon.

"<Well, seems like we're both capping out at three hundred and seventy-seven pulses, huh>?"

"<Seems like it. Let's see if your bloodline's still on top, or my Align and Factor have overtaken you. Hurry up and activate it before I get bored and attack you anyway.>"

"<Heh, so impatient, Miss General.>"

Conversing in a language that, among the newborns, only Kluuto would be able to roughly understand, the two laughed under their breath before their expressions firmed back up. The Goblin's eyes glinted as something within him ignited, his muscles tensing up as a deep red fog, similar to the black one around the woman but with a different sort of "presence", manifested.

Redd had followed silently behind the bugbear, quietly, lost in fantasies of human blood while also making sure he did not trip. He listened to the answers the elder gave, and briefly thought of what the blood of gods would taste like, however while he was ambitious, he realized that many more steps had to be taken before considering that reward, however the idea of their champions seemed like a necessary stepping stone along that path.

He did not know what they was saying, however he found the glow of magic both ominous and tantalizing. He was already at the back of the group, so he took this time to separate himself from the group and hide in a bush. While his red skin betrayed him, sneaking is a lot easier when no one is looking for you.

It seemed like they was about to do something, probably violent, however what are they was about to do would be the prefect time to strike. He took a twig from the ground, and began to use his claws to file it into a small, make-shift spear. If all went as planned, he would not need to barter for the valuable human blood, he could just take it.

So such gods and goddesses existed in this world? Knoth sounded interesting for the sake of knowledge, whilst Anekanta sounded like a being to avoid for the sake of keeping safe from what sounded like the chaos her very nature could cause in the first place. Though perhaps she could pray to one of these god, or one of the lesser ones such as Esid, Vaish, or Shaiv. Esid in particular seemed interesting with her own interest in digging to some extent, but at the same time attempting to make contact with the goddess of doorways or a god of the soul could have interesting implications as well if she tried. The female Goblins was not sure these deities responded to attempts to "pray" to them somehow, but perhaps she could attempt it at some point if nothing else to see if it was possible. Then again, what if prayer managed to contact a deity, and what would she say or do then? That was the rub, though perhaps that part could come after....

Upon walking up to and seeing the situation and hearing the foreign language being spoken between this human and a strange looking Goblin she took as being Sabu, the female Goblin let out a mental sigh to herself as her body steeled instinctively at the situation. It was obvious to the eyes that a fight was about to break out, one that possibly involved magic at that when looking at those auras the two combatants had. As much as her gut told her to "flee as swiftly as you can", Lyminia held strong and stood near the chief, picking up a decently long and somewhat sharp branch from the ground. Perhaps one that had been broken off by a creature earlier? Whatever the case, it was a makeshift and impromptu weapon if she needed to fight.

"Seems Sabu is getting into a fight here...," Lyminia mulled aloud where the other Goblins around her could hear, mentally cursing her lack of evolution and power to really seem effective in the situation, her eyes flitting about between the situation, the combatants, and the members of the small group that had come with the chief (sans the red-skinned one who had moved away), "Any ideas on what we need to do here, Chief?"

She would at least ask the figure of power next to her that had evolved into a blasted Bugbear what to do. Seemed like the wise decision, if nothing else. Then again, the chances they could die if this situation went badly enough were also possibly there. Lovely. Whatever the case, she was getting herself ready for whatever in the name of the gods was happening here, just in case.

---

@Moonlit Sonata

There was a lot to take in as they made their way through the woods, about Lord Yggdrasil who lived inside the trees, of the human currencies that you could get by swapping things for, doing jobs or for adventuring. The first sounded like something she could do if she found some good plants, the last sounded fun because who wouldn't want to go go exploring and get paid to do so. There was probably more too it than that however.

Then there were the gods, and there were apparently quite a few of them. The two he had mentioned earlier where apparently the gods of creation and god of extremes. She understood why it might be worrying that the were given gifts by the seconds, as she seemed like quite the self destructive goddess with embodying two opposite things that fought against each other constantly. The other smaller gods were also interesting, she wondered what a goddess of doorways was supposed to do though.

Golden eyes tried to get information about the Chief's accomplishments that led to his evolution but it was at that point they arrived and that line of questioning was dismissed like it had when she asked it.

While she had been listening intently to the explanation of the world's pantheon and other topics she had also been doing a bit of foraging and the young goblin was as a result now sporting quite the colorful set of additions to the outfit she had woken up in. Mostly this consisted of smattering of mundane if colorful flowers but it also contained some blueberries, doc leaves and some hemp, which she was aware had lots of use but wasn’t sure what any of them were yet. Finally there was the oddest thing she had learned with her power from chowing on a rather abundant small white flower, and that was that you could make rings out of them. So she did.

The now proud wearer of a daisy crown exited the woods with the others and was rather confused by the sight of the scaled goblin and the pink skinned thing that might be a human squaring off and then casting some kind of magic. It looked like they were about to fight but they were also talking as if they knew each other. Was it a sparring match? She hoped it was because the newborns did not have any way of defending themselves if it wasn’t. She carefully placed herself behind the chief, hoping he could protect them.

Whilst the others shuffled after the chieftain, Eek, instead, would follow after the Goblin Druid known as Aya, wanting to know how the tribe operated and some of the outlying area over dealing with another species altogether. She watched some of the others leave before getting to her feet and moving after the Goblin Druid, albeit slowly and timidly. Eventually, she reached Aya and inspected her with a keen eye, not wanting to be caught off guard by any surprises that the Druid may throw at her. The only thing justifying her paranoia was the whole situation of waking up in a strange, foreign place.

”Miss Aya, would you mind showing me the ropes?,” the timid Goblin questioned, her head angled downwards and she avoided eye contact. Eek wanted nothing more than to get started on her own devices but first she would need to know the lay of the land and that would require some form of guidance by Aya. Granted, she would probably do just fine exploring by herself, but there could be hidden dangers around every corner. Dangers meant a potential for being harmed, being harmed might mean death, and death was never a good thing, or so she thought. Aya could help ward off any dangers, possibly.

Eek crossed her arms, her hands rubbing themselves against her green skin, preoccupying herself out of pure nervousness. ”That is unless you have better things to do. I don't wanna be a bother,” she continued, still not looking at the shaman. Her hands stopped for a moment as she thought to herself about what she needs to do, making a mental checklist of what needs to be done. Once that was done her hands began rubbing her arms again, fingers now slowly wrapping against her arms.

---

@Moonlit Sonata
As Kluuto walked beside the chief, she listened attentively to the explanations he was giving. First of all, he explained how the trees in this forest were special, far stronger than your usual ordinary trees. They were the commodity the goblins were trading with the humans, who really wanted the strong wood the trees produced. He also explained that there were other ways you could make money in the human world. like selling pelts or furs, working in a human establishment, or even taking odd jobs from the adventurers' guilds. And apparently, Sabu belonged the said guild. Well, Kluuto thought, if Sabu could work there, then she could work there too. She made a mental note to check it out later.

After that, he explained about Knoth and Anekanta, and the other, lesser gods. Interesting information to be sure, but nothing really relevant to her for now. She was curious though about the goddess named En. What happened back then that made her become sealed away, she wondered?

The pretty goblin then asked about how the chief had evolved. Kluuto's ears perked up. She was certainly interested in this evolution thing. If she could transform to a better, stronger monster, then she certainly would take the option. She had no plans on staying a goblin forever after all. She just had to know the easiest way she could do it.

Unfortunately, the chief cut their conversation short as they had arrived at their destination.

There were two figures standing facing each other in front of them. One of them Kluuto knew was Sabu, just by the way he looked. The other one however was a human woman in a business attire. This was the first time Kluuto saw a human, but for some reason, she was already familiar with the way she looked. The two stood there facing each other with an ominous atmosphere around them. Kluuto could sense the power emanating from them. She knew she wouldn't want to get involved in whatever was going to happen.

Kluuto then heard them spoke. Even though she could make out the words, she didn't understand what they meant. Pulses, aligns, factors; all those terms were alien to her. So she could only stand there watching cautiously at the two. The other goblins noticed the tension too, and the pretty goblin announced that the two would probably fight each other real soon as she took a branch from the ground, most likely as a makeshift weapon. Seeing that, Kluuto snapped out of her daze as she took her own sharp-looking branch before slowly backing off near where the chief was standing.

@Holy Grail

"Oh, don't worry. I was concerned it was something important, but it's just these two being at it again." Kichi murmured aloud, letting out a sizable chuckle. "Watch closely, though. If nothing else, it should be an entertaining bout."

No sooner than had the red fog formed than did Sabu dart forwards towards the woman, his opponent doing the same at a speed that the newborns could barely even call a blur. Spear thrust and fist swung out to meet their respective targets.

There was no sound of collision. In its place, a harsh thrumming noise filled the air, as though space itself was vibrating. The woman's fists were practically impossible to make out as they darted through the air, each of them striking out at the Goblin while his spear flashed like red light, blocking each strike and occasionally launching one of his own, only to be parried in turn.

"<Second stage, Pierce the Shell.>"

"<Ignite, Potential Release.>"

The thick reek of power around the woman only grew denser. Her right fist swung out, its form seeming indistinct, almost hazy as if the air in its way wasn't being moved, but was instead compressing itself against the force of her blow. The red fog around the Goblin shined to an almost blinding extent, his eyes glinting with a tyrannical light as the silhouette of "something" appeared behind him.

Spear and fist both cut through the air, the forces behind them clashing. A second thrumming sound rang out as the spear in Sabu's hands vibrated wildly, but nonetheless he kept his grip on it, his muscles flaring as the silhouette behind him let out a roar. The woman gritted her teeth, her second fist swinging out to strike the Goblin whilst he dealt with the first, but before it could meet its mark the spear's thrust completed. At the moment of contact between Sabu's spear and the woman's fist, the latter was knocked backwards, skidding against the grass as she leveled a glare forwards. Inexplicably, though, not a scratch could be seen on her body.

"<...damn, you're at that point already? Get to Devil's Peak damn it, the sooner you get some actual dragon blood in you the better.>"

"<Same goes for you. I thought you were still at the second stage's bottleneck? You've gotta hurry and get the scriptures for the next stage.>"

"<Yeah, yeah, like I can set foot in that desert without the Angels blasting me to death on sight. 'Unclean, unclean, she smells like a demon'. God, fuck them.>"

Neither of them seemed to have noticed their spectators. Well, that or they simply didn't care.

---

Oh.

Oh.

One of them had actually stayed behind instead of going off to listen to that idiot Sabu rant about how great humans were. Fantastic, looks like there was some hope for this group yet before they all got tainted by him.

"Just call me Aya. And don't worry about being a bother, the chief said to help you all out, so that's what I'll be doing. As long as I don't have to deal with that idiot." She replied, hefting her staff up off of the ground. "Just follow me. The tribe itself is a bit of a walk away, since we wanted to keep all of you in a different location in case the tribe wound up getting attacked somehow. The south region of the forest is pretty much entirely ours, though. North is a bit more of a wildland, that's where you've got the Horned Rabbits and their Evolutions around, and the Water Drakes are usually more in the section of the river that's in the north too, since they've learned we'll hunt them a lot more if they're closer to us. Lord Yggdrasil's main body is in the center, you can tell when you're getting there pretty easily; trees look hardier, air feels thicker, plus the Elves are there. Oh, don't tell the humans about the Elves though. Little secret among the forest denizens."

As she led Eek forwards, Aya's tone started to shift a bit from the previously-terse attitude she'd adopted when dealing with the newborns. Some of the tension seemed to leave her face, sentences practically streaming out of her without time to breathe. After a moment's pause, this only continued.

"Let's see...that covers it for the basics. There are the dungeons too, but you really shouldn't think about those until you've Evolved at least once. Even the weakest dungeon in the forest is something I can't casually go into, and the strongest...according to Lord Yggdrasil, the dungeon core of that one is even stronger than he is. So, you know, keep far away from that one."

She was relieved to find out that it was indeed a sparring match and so stepped back out from behind the chief. She was a both confused and impressed by the two other female goblins grasping of twigs to defend themselves. Impressed because it was a much more proactiv thing to do than hide behind the chief like she had and confusing because how the heck did they think sticks we're going to protect them against all the ridiculous techniques the human woman was pulling off.

The fight was both impressive and terrifying, as Iris had underestimated just how much power difference there was between themselves and their evolved elders. The chief was big and imposing but from the looks of him maybe a whole bunch of goblins like them could fight him with the right tools and planning. His son’s lightning fast sparing and the ability of his unarmed opponent to keep up with him while they both held something close to a casual conversation showed just how weak she and the others where. How dangerous something was was apparently not very clear in this world had been born into. Though it might be possible to judge power based on the words they spoke, the short phrases they spoke when their power perhaps a tell of their capabilities.

"The ‘Second stage’ and ‘potential release’ things they said were spells right? Or are they more like abilities inherent to their evolution and class that need to be activated?" her retelling of the words spoken when they activated additional power where a crude mimicry of sounds without any understanding of what they actually meant.

She asked as she sat in the grass and spectated the conflict, occasionally popping one of the plants she had collected into her mouth for analysis and offering blueberries to anyone who joined her. There was a lots more little tit bits to be picked up from their conversation, about places and perhaps pilgrimages to them to gain power. Where touchstones in evolution sometimes rather literal? That would be interesting, touching an evolution stone and suddenly becoming something entirely new.

Kresh decided to stay with Aya, leaving Kichi and the others to visit the humans. He was interested in magic and how it might work, though as far as he could tell he didn't have any inherent ability in it himself. The timid goblin he'd been speaking to earlier had stayed as well. He joined the other two on their walk to the tribe itself.

"So, south good, middle good, north bad, dungeons bad, don't mention the elves. Got it. Wait, how come? Why can't the humans know about the Elves? Is there something wrong with them?"

Kresh found one thing he had been told quite worrying, and it was clear when he said it. Would the humans have some sort of problem with the Elves, if they knew they existed? Kresh couldn't help wondering if the humans weren't all they had been made out to be so far. If Elves had to remain hidden from them, it might not be safe for goblins to be either. Kresh made a mental note not to trust any humans until they showed him a good reason to.