@Searat@Aristocles

Koglan looked at the Owlbear and was just running forward, or as well as the old Goblin can run. He gripped the hafts of his hammers. He ducked low and made his way around behind the powerful beast. As Brendan laid into the beast and Rom swept his club up and into the beasts beak. Koglan unleashed his first attacks. His forge strengthened arms bulge and with two even sweeps his warhammers slam into the Owlbears flank. A synced pair of whumps as the heads of the hammer sink through feather and fur. And into muscle. He jumped back as the beast kicked back with it's pained leg.

He turned only slight to see Gurs and Griz rejoin the fray. Seeing the beast rise he thundered his hammers into it's leg again, "Bring it down! Bring it down! Fell it, then lay into it. Weak belly! Chest and neck!" He laid into the beasts flank and leg again, working to wear away it's balance, "For the Clan! For the Ancestors! Strength in your arms! Trust in your iron!" He swung both hammers again and felt something give this time under this third swing. Something snap as the beast howled above him.

@BigPapaBelial@Searat

Seeing an opening, Breden charged at the owlbear and stabbed it in the stomach, as he had been told. He had expected the creature to be tough, unyielding, like going through a side of beef. Instead, he found very little resistance as his blade cut right through it. The beast howled in pain as blood spurted out, and from that angle, he got a good view of the beast's undersides. While he wasn't an expert, he could tell based on the mammalian anatomy that the owlbear was female, easily smaller and weaker than the males of the species, and lighter by at least a hundred kilograms.

Feeling somewhat guilty at slaying a female- albeit a female monster who had attacked them unprovoked- he pushed his sword deeper into her, doing his best to not let her dying howls disturb him. She fell to the ground, a sad carcass of a beast.

"I-I think its dead. It's not moving, at least. M-my iron did it. Is everyone alright? Griz? Rom? Kog?" His head whipped around as he checked on the patrol. Everyone was still alive, but all of them had been injured at least a little bit. Still, none of those injuries appeared to be life-threatening or even serious.

"Good thing this was a lady bear. I've heard the males are way bigger." While they hadn't intended to turn this into a hunting trip, Breden realized that this was easily the biggest and most deadly prey he had brought down, even with a ton of help. It wouldn't do to waste the remains. "So, are we gonna divvy her up? Does anyone want feathers? Claws? The beak? And the meat, how are we gonna divide it?"

The goblins cheered and howled to express their sense of achievement. Even Gurs, bruised as his ego may be, was taking part in the celebration. They approached the beast with wonder and awe as Breden talked. Griz had approached the fallen beast to confirm if Breden's decisive blow had done its job properly, but this beast was more tenacious than most of its kind. In one final act of defiance, it lurched forward to take a swing against the approaching group.

Griz's eyes widened in shock. As the claw careened towards an unaware Gurs.

Risking his own life and limbs, Griz lunged toward the younger warrior and managed to knock the goblin down; just as the claw was just about to meet flesh. Griz, however, was not as lucky. In the process of saving the younger goblin, he had gained a fresh set of shallow cuts on his shoulder blade, his warm blood beginning to drip down his back...but it was far better than the alternative of Gurs dying or getting his arm ripped clean off.

Gurs laid prone on the ground but looked up to his savior. "Y-you saved me...but why?" Gurs said in confusion. Not only was he acting arrogant and overtly rude to him and his friends, but he also was a liability to the group during the fight. Only becoming helpful when he was brought back to his senses by Griz. By all means, he would have let a goblin like him die if he were in Griz's place. Which begs the question nagging his mind: 'Why did he risk his life to save my own?'

"It's my job." Griz answered simply. Turning to face the rest of the patrol group, he speaks once again. "It may be a little early for us to end our patrol. But I suppose it is justified considering we just fought a monstrosity four times our size. So I propose that we haul the owlbear corpse back and divide it among us there. Agreed?" They may not have found any traces of the Blue Feet Tribe but they at least had managed to snag the haul of the entire season. Not only would it raise the tribe's morale and supplies, but it would also almost surely make the ancestors proud. What more if the Shaman offers up the skull to them?

Today may have ended their patrol early by force of nature, but perhaps the next patrol the Chief would send them would be more fruitful in regard to gathering intel against their foe?

Koglan relaxed finally, looking around and he turns to make sure nothing else is trying to sneak up on them. He's turning back to the group when the Owlbear in a last attempt to kill someone lunges, again at Gurs. Koglan sadly is not nearly as fast as Griz. The cantakerous Gurs saved in the closing moments.

Koglan nods, "A good plan." He then turns to Gurs, and strides up to him. The smith hums, grabbing the front of his chest plate, looking it over then grabbing Gurs by the forearm lifting it so the Smith can look at his weapon, "When we return to the village. Come by the smithy. These will need repairs." He turns to the rest, "That goes for you all. Bring your gear to me so I can look at it properly. I have spoken on this." He says as he raises a powerful arm, motioning with his fingers, "And as payment I wish only one of the paws. Claws, and bones and fur. Nothing more. The rest can be divided up between you and the village."

The Old Smith nods, "Such a small price don't you think?" He casts a smile to the younger goblins, "Come! This is a large load and it will be quite a trip back with it." He bent and lifted an arm of the great Owlbear.

@Searat@BigPapaBelial

(I just discovered hero forge. It's a website which lets you make characters with the option to buy the rendered character as a miniature. Here's what I got for Breden. There's a few inaccuracies with his hands and feet, but that's the best the site could do. It's still very close.)



"A-alright. I'll grab a paw. We'd better move fast. The sooner we get this meat cured, the better. It'd be a shame to let this much food go to waste." The goblin patrol slowly dragged the huge beast carcass back to the village, moving her body with great effort. "And thanks for looking at our... equipment" he added, straining under the weight. "Anyone know what bear tastes like? I've had owl. It's kinda tough."

By the time the group had returned to the village, it was already getting dark. The time spent moving the owlbear back to the village had taken them longer than the remainder of the patrol would have been. Not that it mattered much. This haul was easily the biggest the village had seen all week, and the additional food was much welcome in this uncertain time.

"Understood, Koglan. That seems a fair deal for your help and service." Griz said in reply before helping his companions with the monumental task of bringing a full-grown owlbear to their village before dark.

Gurs had been humbled by the situation and events that occurred. He was wrong to look down on the older goblin smithy and the hunter. But the time for regret was long past, all he could do now was learn from his mistakes. "It...it may not mean much to anyone...but I apologize to everyone for my attitude." Gurs didn't wait for a response before wordlessly helping the others.

---

On the way back, Breden asked if anybody had eaten bear before. Griz shrugged. "I have but only a little bit. Tasted a lot like fish...though, if the older hunters are correct, they say bear meat tastes like whatever the bear eats." Rom piped up. "If that is true, then let's hope this owlbear didn't have anything nasty before we slew it." The warrior goblin finished with a chortle.

Even before the group had managed to get inside the village when a swarm of goblins ran out of the gates to see the massive haul. Younglings were especially intrigued by the monstrous amalgamation of avian and ursine. The males nodded in recognition and respect to the martial prowess of the patrol group. And a good number of the females who were present nearly climbed over themselves to scout out their prospective mates.

Overall, morale was sky-high in the village.

@Searat

Breden didn't try to draw much attention to himself, even with a number of females looking at the patrol-turned-hunting team with great interest. Several of the goblin ladies whispered to each other, giggling in response to the words which were said. The chatter was about who'd end up with who in the next few hours or days, along with some rather risque comments about the physique of the males who had brought down hundreds of kilograms of meat, to say nothing of the fur, feathers, claws, bones, beak, and useful organs.

The danger of war was still present, but slaying a beast such as this was a good omen, particularly without any losses on their side. Responding to the commotion, the chief of the tribe had been alerted by several of the tribe's warriors. Eager to make the best of it and to see the spectacle for himself, he left his hut, donned his formal feathered headdress, and took up his sword, one of only a few iron blades in the tribe. Word was that Breden had another iron sword himself and that he had used it to slay the owlbear. Some of the more traditional goblins in the tribe wanted to go back to stone weapons, and a few even insisted that they should return to living in caves as their ancestors had done. Some even questioned the need for farming or keeping herds of animals, as about half of the tribe's food came from hunting and fishing.

Case in point, the owlbear brought in more food in a day than all the meat harvested from the tribe's few livestock had brought in during the past two weeks. Like the fields, the tribe itself owned the sheep, goats, and chickens. Like farming, maintaining those animals was a voluntary job, one taken up by females, the infirm, or by the very old. No self-respecting male goblin of any physical capability wanted to farm or herd animals, knowing that the food would just have to go to the tribe's stores. Meat from a hunt could go to the hunter entirely, even as it was seen as a good deed to donate extra meat or fish to the tribe's granaries.

It was in that spirit of what might be called charity that Breden spoke. "I'm just going to take enough meat from it to last me a couple of days." This was perhaps half a kilogram, given that he was a goblin and didn't need to eat as much as a human. "The rest of my share goes to the tribe!" The reaction to his announcement was mixed. On one hand, there were a number of cheers from the crowd and a gesture of approval from the chief as news of his donation got around. On the other hand, several females who had hoped to get some food from him could only muster a look of disappointment from his proclamation; they'd have to settle on another male who'd help feed them instead.

This had the effect of weeding out the females who were only or mostly looking for food and weren't interested in Breden himself. Those females who were interested in the up-and-coming young male quickly weighed their options. His generosity was nice, but it wouldn't get him into bed with any of them. His goal wasn't to win their attentions by acting charitably, but to reduce the number of females who would go for him, as he didn't want to sleep with a female who'd stop paying attention to him if he didn't bring in a steady supply of meat from the hunt. He had won today, but tomorrow could be a different story. Much better to pursue a female who wanted to bear his younglings than to have his food.

As much as goblins could get romantic from time to time, their relationships came down to food, pleasure, and offspring. In their minds, hunting, fighting, and mating were all part of one system; those males who did well in either or both of the former were sure to have many prospects for the latter. While a pretty female could have any number of male suitors, no one save the chief had as many prospects as a great hunter or warrior, the latter of which would could become chief once the current one passed away or was overthrown.

Keeping this in mind, Breden stuck with the group of males for just a few minutes more as he gently told the females around him to delay their advances for a few minutes more. He also had to remind himself that these particular females were likely to stay interested in him as long as he was strong and not whether or not he brought in food, so even if his words put some of them off today, they'd likely be back tomorrow.

"Good job out there, handsome!"

"You must be so strong to bring that monster down"

"Hey, honey! Remember me? I'm sorry about the time I said you needed more muscle on those arms. I hope you can forgive me."

"How about we meet in the woods? I know a special little place that-"

"Ladies, please! We still have to cut this thing up, make some offerings, and see who gets what parts. Koglan's called a few, and Griz is getting his share, and while I'm giving up most of my part of the meat, I'd still like to get some other bits of the beast. Just be patient for a little longer, okay?" His momentary fear of losing all the females he had just attracted changed to relief when none of them so much as looked away after he told them to wait. Although none of them would know if they'd bear his children for sure, all of them hope that at least one of their litter would carry his blood. It was a good feeling, to be wanted. Breden only hoped that he wasn't risking it in any way. Of course, he wasn't the only one with his admirers; most of the females in the crowd were busy looking at the rest of the patrol, especially after Breden had made it clear that he wasn't going to feed any of them.

As the scout party had returned with their kill, and begun to celebrate as it was split up. Koglan had vanished into his forge for a time. But shortly returned. Hefting a huge cleaver blade. And before all with a large mad grin on his face he'd brought it down with a hard grunt of effort. The blade crashing through flesh, bone and meat with crazy ease. The paw just up to the joint falling free. He'd grinned, "Yes fine indeed. A simple price."

He'd looked at the scout party, "When you are ready come see me and I will repair your gear. No other price but this." He grins, "Yes this will do fine." He'd of course accepted a little of the meat, as it was passed out, but he'd not taken more then he was offered. Within hours of returning he'd removed the robe, and hung up the paired warhammers among the armory in the forge. Ready to be used again by anyone who came to ask. But no he'd donned his smiths apron again. And the forge had blazed back into heat. Heat haze rising from the top.

Powerful arms, gained from his work, those same arms that had swung those hammers so well not all that long ago had swung a different hammer. A look of glee on his face, "Yes this will be a new masterwork for me!" Had been heard many times as the old Smith had worked.

Griz had his fair share of wannabe suitors vying for a mate that could provide during the winter but, to be honest, he was all set for the cold months and planned to donate his share to the community granary. A handful of the girls picked up on the lack of interest and moved on to goblins like Rom; who was grinning ear to ear with two of the prettiest goblinesses on each arm that solicited his attention and the rest following him. "Griz, my friend, loosen up. We've done a great feat and didn't even find any traces of those Blue Feet. Do the tribe a favor and take a mate or two." Rom finishes with a hearty chortle and pulling the goblinesses closer to him and wandering away deeper into the village.

The comment caused the hooded goblin to let out a sigh. "That's what's putting me on edge. We didn't find any traces." He said while carving out his share of the owlbear. A sizable shank of the hind leg. Koglan took his share and gave the rest instructions on what to do after this. Griz gave the elder goblin a nod and saw him off wandering back to his forge likely.

With more and more of the females taking the hint and dispersing, only a few remained. A gatherer he had bred a few moon cycles ago with a sizable bump beginning to emerge, a warrior sizing him up and eyeing him as if he were a piece of prime cut meat, and eldest daughter of the shaman. "You do realize that I'm donating all my share, right? I understand the gatherer as it is her right and my duty to feed her whenever she wants, but what about the rest of you?"

The gatherer was first to speak. "We-well yes but I-I just wanted to see if you were oka-."

She was then interrupted by the warrior. "YOU WILL BE A SUITABLE MATE. OUR OFFSPRING SHALL BE QUICK AND POWERFUL. I WILL COME BY YOUR HUT LATER THIS EVENING. IT IS SETTLED." The saying was off but he could assume that this female warrior was somewhat related to the elderly smith. Maybe a daughter of his? A daughter's daughter?

His thoughts were ceased when he felt the sensation of a salve being applied to his wound. The daughter of the shaman had approached him and began applying a healing salve to his wound. "Peculiar...peculiar...indeed." She muttered to herself as Griz just stared at the strange gobliness. "Uhh..." "Your peculiar behavior has earned my attention...strange hunter." She said while finishing dressing his wound.

Griz slowly backed away from the gobliness and gave her a wide berth as he walked around her. He was thankful for the treatment and the attention, but this was simply too strange for him....then who was he to say? He was the goblin that willingly clothed himself more than necessary and chose a dagger over a sword, axe, club, or spear.

Eccentrics attracted other eccentrics, he supposed.

Breden's ears perked up for a moment when he heard the loud gobliness shout at Griz. A few months ago, this would have startled him. Now, he took one look at the gobliness and felt pity for her. She was a self-styled warrior and he didn't doubt that she had some skill with the stone knives she had on a belt around her waist. Her loud manner and average looks told him that her "brave warrior" routine was a way of getting attention from the stronger males, who would normally pass over a plain-looking gobliness in favor of the more attractive females. The poor lady had probably gone a while without a mate, and even if her looks didn't turn off her desired mates, her eccentric behavior certainly would. As it was, females were too important as mothers to send off to a battle, and the tribe would have to be very desperate indeed to risk them in combat. One male and several females would work just as well as an equal number of each after taking serious losses in a war, but the reverse wouldn't do anything to help replace losses as fast.

The younger hunter and newly-minted warrior cut off a part of the owlbear and delivered it to the granary, as he had promised. He took his share of the meat in a sack the granary guard had been nice enough to give him. It was no wonder why the guard had been kind; she was the only female on duty protecting the granary. It was a volunteer position and a rather boring one at that, assigned only to goblins trusted by the chief. Older goblins and females who wanted to take up arms often had that role, and Breden suspected that the ladies assigned to the easiest job in the tribe were the same who the chief took a fancy to. Were Breden a human, he might have thought that it was a rather questionable thing to do, handing out tasks based on favors in bed. Goblins didn't see it that way, though. It wasn't a favor for the chief, nor was it a favor for the females; it was just something they did when they were relaxed, well-fed, and safe. Only hunger, age, or illness would dull that flame in an adult of their species, mostly.

That said, there were exceptions, Breden had heard tales of goblins taking up the lives of a druid, living in the wilderness apart from a tribe and operating on a different set of norms, as if they were an entire tribe of shamans. Before anyone could consider any of that, they had one more issue to resolve.

"Griz, you don't think there's a connection between the Blue Foot... Blue Feet...? Th-the tribe who's causing us trouble and the owlbear we just killed, do you? And- excuse me, I don't need any of that salve, please. How about we meet tomorrow? I've got to deal with this for now. I-I don't mean to sound rude, but it is important." The shaman's daughter backed off from Breden, giving him a naughty look. She hadn't been laying hands on him to help his wounds.

"So, Griz. Blue Feet tribe. You think they're gonna cause trouble this winter?" Winters in this land tended to be mild, but there were exceptions, and this season was shaping up to be one of them. There might even be snow this time around, something the goblins of the Forest Tribe hadn't prepared for.

In his opinion the social orders of other goblin tribes seemed strange, well at least strange for Twig that is. Greslarch had tracked the scouting party to the tribe after stumbling upon them as they transported their quarry. In retrospect neither Twig nor his battle-scarred companion were in a hurry to catch up to the hunters and scouts. Curiosity is what drove Twig to follow them, and he found the tribe strange because they seemed extremely organized and seemed to also follow a different philosophy or so he guessed.

Greslarch sniffed the ground and not paying attention bumped Twig through the underbrush and into view with a thump, from where they spied the goblins carrying the owlbear carcass. Swearing under his breath Twig tried to get up slowly, cursing his companions ignorance because he had blown their cover.

@Blackmist16

Several members of the Forest Tribe on the fringes of the village saw an unfamiliar goblin poke through the bushes. In this tense atmosphere, the sudden arrival of a strange goblin caused much alarm, especially one with such strange eyes. He clearly wasn't a member of their tribe, but he also wasn't a member of any of their known enemies. Within a few minutes, scared farmers began racing back into the village with news about a stranger showing up.

"Griz, I'm gonna see who that is. You can come along if you like. And ladies, just- just visit me at my hut tomorrow. This is important." He ran off to the outskirts of town, happy to be away from the crowd. It wasn't that he didn't want attention from the females, but there was such a thing as too much at once, and it wasn't like his reputation as a good fighter and hunter was going to vanish in by the next morning. Without looking to see if anyone had followed him, Breden stopped to find a second crowd- much smaller than the one had just left- standing near a weird goblin and a large wolf. The crowd was only equipped with farm tools made of stone and wood, not much of a threat, but they numbered at least a dozen. The entire crowd was made up of older males and a couple of females. Given that males generally didn't farm if they could still hunt, this was to be expected.

"One side, please! Warrior with a metal sword coming through!" He kept the blade Koglan had forged for him sheathed, but he was ready to draw it at a moment's notice. The exotic goblin looked nothing like a Blue Foot. "Who are you, and why have you come?"

Having pitchforks leveled at you doesn't exactly make for great introductions, Twig tentatively got up and noticed Greslarch step closer and being smart Twig glared at his companion "Down old friend I will call you when I need you!" Twig muttered so only Greslarch heard.

"Hmmph whatever brother" The wolf simply snorted and vanished into the trees, but Twig was distracted by a disturbance in the crowd as a voice called out. The goblin was male and had a metal sword sheathed at his side and after seeing Twig the goblin asked who he was and why he had come.

"I am Twig," he stated his eyes passing their gaze over the crowd "And I am the last Green-Eye and I have come in search of a new home" Twig gazed intently at the warrior.

"But I would also ask who you are?" Twig asked the goblin who addressed him.

"A Green-Eye?! I-I'm Breden." He looked at Twig, seeing the reason why he was obviously called that. "That's- it's- it's very unusual to have a member of another tribe here. I heard that your tribe was either wiped out or were all druids or something. No one around here really knows what happened to your people, we only heard rumors. We didn't know you were real, even. Maybe it would help if you explained who the Green-Eyes are? Or were? And was it just me, or is that wolf yours? It doesn't look like it was acting like a normal wolf."

If he was a druid, this could be helpful for the Forest Tribe. That said, no group of druids ever took sides in a war without good cause, and it was rare that they interfered with the daily lives of the average goblins. He wasn't even sure if Twig was a druid or not, but his strange appearance certainly lent him a mystical air.

"If we hadn't seen their scouts in our territory, I would have just thought the owlbear had just reached a bit out of her territory in search for better sources of food. But, unfortunately, this wasn't the case. The area we encountered her was a good distance away from where the latest sighting of a large predator was reported and was starving." Griz said as he deposited his entire share to the village granary. "Owlbears are one of the apex predators of the forest, they won't go out of their territory that far. Something pushed that owlbear out." Griz furrowed his brow and frowned at the thought. "A simple raiding party could probably scare off one...but not for long. I think we'll be facing a warband."

Breden was then distracted by a commotion outside.

"You go on ahead. I have to feed the gatherer before I go to Koglan. Do stay safe." Griz said while turning to the pregnant gobliness and gesturing her to follow. She follows him but grumbles under her breath about Griz not remembering her name.

@Aristocles

"I am a druid," said Twig "But the wolf is normal I just have the ability to communicate with wolves." Twig continued fidgeting with his totem. "Greslarch is my companion" Twig proudly stated then peered quizzically at Breden and asked "Would you like to know anything else?" asked Twig still fidgeting with the snarling face of the wolf "I am without a home and all I have to offer is my and my companions protection." he offered.

@Searat@Blackmist16

Earlier...

"Sure thing, Griz. I'll meet you at Koglan's place if I have time." He looked back at the pregnant gobliness. She was clearly hungry and impatient. Strictly speaking, Griz was under no actual obligation to feed her, but if he had mated with her in the past few months, it was possible that she was carrying some of his children, along with those of at least one other male. While he couldn't be totally sure, if he got a good look at her younglings and one of them looked like him, it would be a sign that she had indeed helped him continue his line.

Presently...

"I'm sure the chief and many of my fellow goblins will have more questions for you, but you're welcome to come inside the village walls." He looked around, wary of the wolf. When there was no sign that it was going to return, he started to walk into the village walls, gesturing for Twig to follow close behind.

"You may want to know a bit more about us. We're called the Forest Tribe, and we just call our village, well, the village. Others call it the Forest Tribe village. The shaman says there are goblins in other places who also call themselves a "Forest Tribe", but they don't live anywhere near here. If you are indeed a druid, the shaman will want to see you. We'd be happy to have a druid on our side, but you may be called on to help us fight off other tribes, like the Blue Feet. If you don't want to get involved in that, I understand, but if you're gonna be one of us, you'd have to fight alongside the rest of us."

@Aristocles

"I see," Twig glanced warily at the other goblins, still staring at him then skittered after Breden "If I do find a place within your village I will need Greslarch by my side" Twig said glancing into the trees then looked back at Breden, clearing his throat Twig motioned around them "Anyways I would be interested with speaking to your shaman and chief but what about you? You seem like the type to have a tale to tell" Twig asked inquisitively whilst keeping pace withe Breden.

@Blackmist16

"If you explain that you need to have the wolf- Greslarch, was it? I'm sure the chief will let you keep him in the village. Until you have permission, it's best to keep him outside. As for where you'd live, you'd have to build a hut or we can see if there are any spares. Not sure where we'd put your wolf, but if he causes any trouble, we'd hold you responsible. And as for me, I just took part in a patrol where we killed an owlbear. It's the first great deed I've ever really been a part of."

@Aristocles

"I would like that very much," scowling Twig thoughtfully paused before speaking "Although I don't require much in the way of a home since I haven't had one in quite some time. If your chief welcomes me to stay I will build the hut with only what I need since I cannot take too much from the forest, we must take what it gives and return what it's owed" Twig recited.