Removing the horn took some time, and was a bit awkward, but she felt like she was getting somewhere. And then – a crack! The head got a bit dented, fractures spread around the skull, and the horn broke off the skull. Phew. Lexie patted the rabbit’s mangled head, and stood with her prize in hand. She was holding the horn by its base, where a small part of the skull still clung to it, sort of like a handle.
She was done just in time to see another goblin produce a sword out of nothing by magic. She goggled at the goblin, the fake sword, and the original belonging to Luz. That such a thing was capable…It changed things. Since that miraculous sister of hers was gathering rabbits to skin and cut them up, Lexie grabbed the now hornless rabbit and dragged it to Kir.
“Hey, here’s the last rabbit. We should remove the horns from all of them, if we can,” she stated. She didn’t notice Luz’s disgruntlement at having removed the horn from the rabbit she had provided, nor did it occur to Lexie that the other hobgoblins might be similarly possessive. In her mind, these rabbits were given to them, and so all of them belonged to them, materials included. “Maybe we could tie the horns to the sticks with your sinew?” she suggested, though she was dubious about the idea. “Just the horns could be better though,” she concluded, firmly gripping her newly obtained possession – she wouldn’t let that one out of her hands any time soon.
Lexie stood by Kir’s side slightly awkwardly, observing her work, but also looking around at the other goings-on. She was sure she’d seen one of the gobs leave by themselves. She did want to see the outside world, but she was a bit hesitant to just wander outside on her own. She’d rather follow someone quietly and see how they did, but that departed goblin brother of hers was too far ahead already. And he surely wasn’t the type to appreciate someone shadowing him, given how he’d left without a word to anyone.
The hobgoblins were definitely independent though, so perhaps Lexie’s wish to cooperate with someone would go unfulfilled. One of them mentioned eating bats, which was somehow related to not being able to see in the dark – did that mean if they ate a creature, they’d gain its abilities? Or was it Gird’s special ability? Another – Arch – offered them healing, and prayed for their safety at the shrine, which was also intriguing. Luz, the sword user, mentioned evolving, which made sense, though Lexie did wonder how long it would take. Zats was a very silent one, and he’d only brought berries, but Lexie did spy him go read a few books.
She definitely wanted to approach at least one of her elder siblings, and by process of elimination, caught up to Gird, carefully getting his attention. “Older brother, if you eat bats you get to see at night?” she queried him.
Aya had just in the process of asking one of her sisters if they would be willing to go hunting with her when a hand had touched her shoulder and it’s owner, another one of her sisters from the looks of things, had asked for her to come with them. Did this sister mean to go hunting with her?
Aya was trying to formulate a reply when she was distracted by yet another one of her siblings, the same one who’d been complaining about food earlier, as they conjured a rusty sword from seemingly nowhere. Huh? Even ignoring, for now, the fact that conjuring up the blades from nothing seemed to violate her entire current understanding on how the world worked, that power seemed incredible, could it be used to create anything? Probably not, why would anyone create a rusty sword if they had the option of creating something better and now that she looked Aya would be willing to guess that the sword was a copy of the identical one in the hands of one of the older goblins. Still, even if it were limited to copying items seemed like a beyond amazing power, and that wasn't even considering whether there were any other properties to the ability. Could it be used to instantaneously set traps? Could the created items be destroyed at will? Did the items exhibit the same properties as their originals?
The sword summoning sister was now calling for her siblings to come and eat the horn rabbits she’d apperently been using the sword to process, something Aya had been too distracted to notice. “Er… we should maybe get some food before anything else,” Aya said turning back to the sister that had tapped her on the shoulder earlier. Moving to eat her fill of meat Aya planned to just have a little, not wanting to draw the ire of any of her siblings by eating too much, though the moment she bit into the rabbit that plan had been forgotten in favour of eating as greedily as any of her other siblings.
Finally full Aya realised that the elderly looking goblin had been giving a speech, one she’d been too preoccupied to pay attention to. “Go forth and get stronger,” she’d caught that much at least, so it seemed she and her siblings were in fact expected to fend for themselves from now on. On the upside, she'd learned her name and it didn’t appear as though fending for themselves currently included kicking them out of the building, so, for now at least, it seemed that they would merely need to source their own food and tools. That seemed simple enough, though for some reason it filled Aya with dread, there were so many things that could go wrong. They could get attacked by any number of unknown creatures in unfamiliar terrain. Actually, now that she thought about it why were her siblings all so preoccupied with gathering weapons, if even the rabbits, creatures Aya could only assume were herbivores, had horns like that, she could be pretty confident that the predators around here must be even scarier and it wasn’t like goblins seemed all that strong, quite the opposite in fact. Shouldn’t they be thinking of ways to avoid the fight instead? Berries were a possibility, but she wasn’t confident in her ability to identify safe from otherwise and she didn’t really want to annoy the older goblins by asking for help immediately after being told to fend for herself. Ambushes also seemed to be out of the picture, too much of a risk of it devolving into a normal fight if things went wrong and given the vast amount of unknown variables something going wrong seemed likely. That left traps as the best option Aya could think of, it didn't really help with the lack of information, but then again Aya couldn't think of a single thing that did.
“Sister Krisna,” Aya began turning back to the sibling that had tapped her earlier and somehow managing to immediately get her name wrong, “I think our siblings are trying to gather weapons to hunt, but- er, I think that might be a bad idea. We’re small and our food probably already has weapons.” Aya gestured towards horn rabbit, “Maybe it would be better if we set a trap to avoid fighting anything head-on? We could probably lure something into a pitfall if we tried, though I’m not sure how we’d bait it unless it was chasing us and that’s probably a bad idea… Or maybe we could use sister Ker’s ability to make a rope and devise a trap with that, using a branch or a rock or a net or something,” Aya suggested, her voice gradually growing in excitement as she thought up ways to deal with the issue at hand and got yet another sibling's name wrong.
Caught up in her thoughts Aya didn’t even wait for a reply from Krishna or stop to make sure she was following as she ran up to goblin Kir, intent on trying to recruit her to the cause. “...” Aya’s voice choked as soon as she opened her mouth to speak and realised she’d forgotten to properly think through a recruitment speech, incentive or anything else to get Kir on her side. That had been an important part of the plan.
Yzzi narrowed her eyes, giving a small grunt of surprise as Grandpa goblin bonked her. So. He made no preparation and no one else seemed particularly bothered by it either. Was that how...goblins simply operated? It seemed absurd. When training one should always be prepared, especially new recruits. Obviously make them work for it...but there was a difference between simply setting someone up to die and challenging them.
She didn't reply to Grandpa.
The world was unforgiving and cruel, to be sure...which is why you gave yourself and others the best possible chance for success. He was also certainly right. She would strike it out on her own, and she wouldn't give these fools the time of day...but first, she had to get strong. Strong enough to survive. If she had to put up with them until then, so be it. She was nothing, if not patient. Ignoring the others, Yzzi walked over to where Kir was carving up one of the rabbits. Perhaps she wasn't as dumb as the others.
"Hm...you complained, but you're not too bad." She said to Kir, taking a portion of the meat and berries for herself. "Let me have its skull." She wanted to try making something out of it, if possible, and if Kir let her she'd set to work on making a small weapon for herself. Nothing huge, and likely nothing amazingly damaging but it'd be better than using her bare hands. It was also likely to be a bit small for her purposes, but even an ill fitting makeshift weapon would be better than nothing.
"...hunting, always dangerous." Yzzi replied after Aya spoke up. "Probably going to get hurt, so I'll do any of the dangerous things if we go together." Best way to ensure success, was to do it yourself after all. That way at least, you're the only one you could blame too. "Can't get stronger without danger, either."
Kir silently noted as Argos just walked out, before redistributing his portion promptly to herself as a mid-work snack. Wiping the berry juice and blood from the far corners of her mouth, the first rusty sword she'd recreated shimmered away. Letting out a small sigh, the female goblin went right back to work after recreating up a new rusty sword to act as her tool. Of course at this point in her work, arms deep in horned rabbit corpses, one of her brothers walked over and asked what she was using. She didn't even have the time to toss a sarcastic remark back, much less say anything as the brother ate his portion of food, before Grandpa cleared his throat and Kir tuned into his words as she continued her work. She could multi-task this much at least, and frankly speaking Grandpa had a point. No world was nice, and they were being thrust into it without mercy and without warning. A couple of the Hobs were at least seeming to offer help, which she'd keep in mind, but otherwise she wasn't playing at things being easy or deluding herself to think it was all sunshine.
Still, the name 'Kir' wasn't bad at all in her mind. A good place to start, as were these rabbits once she would get done with them. She was butchering up the horned rabbit meat to evenly distribute out with the berries for her siblings and herself, and she'd already eaten her portion and then just now what would have been Argos' portion. She was as carefully as possible removing the sinews from the bodies for her use, and with the same level of care cutting off the pelts of these as best she could for her own use as well. Moving along with this, however, she was starting to keep the bones and skulls in a small pile next to her as well, horn attached and all. (@Jangel13).
As it were, her plan was simply to get a head start by taking advantage of 'assisting' with this last meal brought to them. With the sinews she would work with them to create a bowstring, and then find a good stick out there in the forest to turn into the bow to put the string on. Nothing less than the best wood for this! Nothing less than her best efforts to make the bowstring! Then all she'd need is a couple of the rabbit horns at most, maybe three just in case, to start work on arrow-making at that point. All she needed was one or two horns to practice with as arrow-tips, practice until she made the best arrows she could, and then make one really good arrow. She could see the mental image of such a weapon and arrows among those old hazy images and such, among what very little she had in that regard, to at least base things on in general shape. But this process would take time, and right now she just wanted to get the work on a bow going whilst she still had the means to hunt on the fly otherwise.
Even so, one of her sisters now brought her the final rabbit and handed it over, broken skull and lack of a horn and all. Kir simply gave a nod and a small grunt of acknowledgement before getting back to work. Ah, Lexie, wasn't it? Seemed to have an idea for things, but the suggestion of using her harvested sinews for that was another thing entirely. To that end Kir's attention was drawn right to Lexie as she looked her sister directly in the eyes and silently pulled the pile of sinews even closer to herself protectively.
"Look, I've got a plan for those sinews. So I won't be handing any over to make some spears. But maybe there's some plants out there you could use, like one of the Hobgoblins seems to have used? Or like, find a good thick bone here and tie the horn into the top of it with plants?"
Even so, her sister seemed to just stop there with the sinews suggestion anyways. Good. Though as she continued on with her own work, Kir otherwise ignored Lexie as she continued her work with the rabbits and portioning the meat out and keeping the pelts and sinews a bit closer to and more safely near herself. Another sister would then come over to eat, Aya, before then seemingly trying to chow down on a bit too much and getting bonked on the head thusly with the flat side of Kir's counterfeit sword.
"Ey, don't waste my work, and slow down or you'll choke."
Idiot. But then again the same idiot was turning away and moving over to talk to the others again, getting both her name and another one's name entirely wrong, before running back to her and clamming up. In response, Kir simply continued on with her own work without stopping, before glancing up at Aya again for a moment during the course of this awkward silence. Frankly the only reason she was so annoyed right now herself was the no less than three attempted interruptions, but more so just wanting to get her plans moving, get some information from Grandpa, and get out of the Church so she could get things moving for her own survival at least.
Once she got moving, then there would be time to chill and be a bit more social about all of this perhaps. But it was a stressful nonetheless right now.
"...Take your time, say the words when you can think of em' right," Kir said, before immediately resuming her work once more with renewed focus and care.
Beyond the sinews, she was planning to use those pelts for a rough cloak/armor garment. Of course that would take time and supplies harvesting to make, but again it was in her plans to kick things off for her survival at least. However...this was when again someone came over to where she was to talk. Her sister Yzzi would finally walk over with her own demand after taking her share of food, albeit a demand that was far more manageable in this case. Kir even let out a small sigh of relief. Sure this sister was a grump, but so was she right now to a certain extent and for her own reasons.
"Sure, you can have the skull of this one once I get done. Even the other bones if you want. I've got no use for em'." the female goblin said, gesturing with the recreated sword towards the bone pile next to her before getting back to work as she talked, "All I want out of that pile of bones is a couple of those skulls with horns for myself. Otherwise if you're going hunting with them count me in.
These sinews I'm keeping will make me a good bowstring, just gotta find and shape the right flexible but stiff enough stick for the job, and the pelts a nice cloak, but that'll take time. So might as well fill up some more and get some more sinews and pelts to work with so that work'll go better later."
// Day 3 // Morning → Afternoon // Nearby the Church → Woods //
It was pointless to wait around and do nothing, but the young goblin couldn't help but take a moment to watch the sky in awe and fascination as he felt the warmth of the sun on his face while a gentle wind blew. The trees rustling in the breeze and the calls of songbirds echoing from within the woodlands.
Curiosity filled Grik with the urge to follow the lilt of the birdsongs wafting out from beneath the canopies of leaves to the north of the church. Walking slowly over to edge of the clearing but hesitantly turned to look back at the church one last time. Goblin Grandpa was the only one who paid attention to him and it reinforced his attachment to the old goblin when he told Grik to get strong and prove himself by his actions.
He didn't care what happened to his siblings because they didn't acknowledge him and neither did he, but he hoped they would at least make good decisions. With a heavy sigh he took one last glance at the old church then turned disappearing into the woods without looking back.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
He hadn't gone far into the woods and stopped to closely inspect his surroundings, feeling the trees and searching the forest floor for anything useful like rocks for throwing because he surmised that rocks could be very useful for breaking or hitting stuff, so he spent a great deal of time searching for a large enough rock.
EXP: 0 Inventory: Medium Sized Rock. Acquired Skills: N/A Equipment:
a plan for the day >> Another adventure /// Day 0 // Morning
Gird watched and listened to the others especially the elder about growing stronger. Some of the others decided on getting an early start on things and already headed out. Some of the others looked like they were going to try team work. At least they looked like they would be ok for now. “ill be sure to bring back some food for you as well elder.” The hobgoblin looked down at the goblin that asked about seeing in the dark. “I have no idea, but they can see in the dark and if the spiders I ate gave me their web. Hopefully I’ll get their sight.” He was being honest he had no idea what he would get from the bats or if he could catch one in the first place.
The hobgoblin was still trying to piece together what he had witnessed earlier with the bright light and the sudden appearance of the strange sword in one of the little ones hands that they created. Was it a spell? Perhaps some kind of rare skill? He hadn’t seen anything like that before in this world so far and no mention of it in the books he was trying to read. Still Gird stepped up to the little one as she was cutting up the bunnies. “Your instincts are sharp, it took the rest of us at least a day to start figuring out how to use all of the parts of these animals. But I will give you two more things. One a warning, with that skill or spell you stand out and will be a target if others know. The second you will get when I return if we are still alive.”
With that he looked back to the others that were still around for a moment and nodded to them. “I’ll be off then. I’ll see you all soon.” Gird left the others to whatever else they had to do and stepped outside. As happy as he might be that they have new members he still felt crowded in that church. Gaining his bearings the hobgoblin only paused once to look at some small mounds of dirt where it looked like one of the others put some berries in the ground. Having a food source close to home was a good idea. If he found some more plants that looked useful or edible he would try to pick them up before coming back.
Quickly and with purpose gird set off towards the north and where he was told bats may reside in the trees.
Summery: Gird talked to the elder @Jangel13 and @SilverPaw, then he spoke to @Crusader Lord and gave her a warning and a promise of something else when they returned. Gird inspected briefly where berries where planted on his way out then headed north towards the bats.
Zats would have enough trouble already figuring out the meaning of the human's writing, even with pictures, if the church was completely silent but several of the goblins were talking to each other about them using rabbit sinew. While he didn't want to discourage them sharing ideas or even just getting to know each other it was still distracting. Part of him wanted to tell them to be quiet but instead he did his best to tune them them out.
Stil it was frustrating and eventually Zats gave up, putting the book on the shelf. "Gah! So much for that." As he wondered what else he could do he remembered that as a goblin he once unsuccessfully tried to sense of trees. He wondered if he failed if it was simply impossible but he doubted that. After all Gravekeepers spirit allowed him to buff himself by using the energy of dead creatures. So maybe plants simply didn't have enough or he was too weak to sense it.
"Well, it's worth a shot." Part of him wondered if the Goblins might still prove to be distracting while another part that them being so energetic might make it easier. Hoping that those two factors would even out Zats closed his eyes and tried to sense the Goblins' energy without interacting with it as he didn't want to accidentally harm them by draining it.
Tried to read something but was distracted by some of the (hob)goblins. Gave up and instead started trying to "feel" their energy with his eyes closed.
Success seemed to remain elusive. Skrik slipped past the last few clumps of brush and back into view of the church. He was a hobgoblin now, something should have changed... but it wasn't enough. He'd been gone for a day and a night but only had a little to show for it. He had one javelin left and he needed to make a new spear. His expression was frustrated and grim as he walked across the cleared space and pushed open the door. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the young ones at first and just tossed the bundle of loot wrapped in rabbit skin toward the feet of the old goblin.
The bundle that he tossed inside for grandpa gob wasn't as large as usual. There was meat from two horned rabbits, bones and skins from six others, and horns from four. One horn he had kept for himself. One thing was the same as always, the skulls were all missing. He still buried them as he went.
He didn't say anything at first. That old goblin knew by now that Skrik was trying to hunt something dangerous. He would know that this had been another failure as well. Skrik's talent for remaining uninjured after so many failed attempts was probably one of very few notable things about him. And he was starting to get depressed. After sharing a long look with grandpa gob, Skrik took a long breath and looked around. At last, he noticed the young ones.
"All ready to hunt?" He said at last. "Guess I almost missed it." His voice was soft and rough from disuse. He had little reason to talk when hunting alone.
Some of the young brood were showing initiative that was odd, smart, but odd. Butchering with tools before even hunting, forming alliances and talking about traps and strategies. Skrik's eerie smile slowly spread across his face. These would make the tribe stronger... or destroy it. Either way, he needed to keep getting stronger or they'd leave him behind like some of his own generation had. This was no time to be wallowing in self pity. Maybe... he had simply reached a place where he couldn't accomplish his goals alone.
Skrik looked around but quickly realized that the younger generation probably didn't have the strength to help him just yet. His goals were too ambitious for them to bridge the power gap. Maybe later, but not now. He'd need the help of another hobgoblin or two. So far, he hadn't told anyone about the crystal pool or the bear. Maybe it was time to find another hobgoblin interested in getting more power than just bigger muscles and weapons.
He waved at gramps and turned to walk back outside. He'd stop if gramps called him, but otherwise he had gear to replace. He needed more poison, and better ways of carrying it too. One thing at a time. Another spear. He needed a stout wooden shaft to attach his newly acquired rabbit horn to. He might ask later about where that young one got a sword, but for now, his own skills were focused around short blades and spears. Considering short blades, Skrik couldn't help but grimace at the loss of his stone knife. One thing at a time.
Provided supplies to gramps @Jangel13, Possible conversation lead with gramps. Still standing in or near the doorway, available for contact until next cycle.
-Poisoned Light Javelin (numbing) -Horned rabbit horn -Wrist and neck cloth wrapping and tight loincloth.
Aya had been too hasty with her planning and ended up making a fool of herself. Why hadn’t she just tried to take things a little slower? Part of Aya felt like crying from the shame she felt while the rest of her just wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear, or maybe just run away. Still, neither of those plans seemed like valid options right now or in the long term and with no better plan in mind, Aya realised she’d just have to try again.
Forcing the tears she felt beginning to well up back down Aya began to analyse the situation. For now, it appeared that Kir was interacting with the others rather than sneering at Aya in disgust, so that was probably good sign at least, though the thought did little to alleviate Aya’s worry. It seemed that in addition to her seemingly reality-defying power Kir was a rather crafty goblin. In that case, pitching her plan as the clever path was probably the smart way to go, not that that wasn’t already her plan to begin with. Then again was anyone likely to listen to a supposedly clever plan pitched from a goblin that had already proved herself an idiot? Well, Kir had already proven herself to be clever, certainly more so than Aya, so she should be able to see the plan for its merits regardless of who was pitching it. Right?
It appeared that there was a break in Kir’s conversation with Yzzi, a chance for Aya to butt in and present her own plans, properly this time. Then again on second thoughts, she didn’t want to bother anyone so maybe she should just leave and come up with something else… no that was just an excuse.
Attempting to calm her nerves, Aya took a deep breath, letting it back out in the form of a laugh, beginning at a shaky giggle but quickly rising in intensity to an almost cackle, before reapproaching her sisters. “I- I’m ready to talk now!” Aya realised she was speaking too loud so she hushed her voice to an almost whisper as she continued, “You’ve probably noticed that the rabbits here have some pretty scary looking weapons and I’m guessing that means that the actual predators out there are even scarier. Given that they’re probably better armed and more practised than us newly born goblins, wouldn’t it be smarter to minimise our chances of being killed by setting traps or something?” The too-wide smile Aya had maintained up until now gradually faded away as she got lost in explaining her ideas. “I was thinking that's what we could do. Maybe dig a hole or something, cover it in leaves and lure something inside to poke to death with weapons? We could try to compact the walls some to make it difficult for anything to escape while getting poked and I think that...” Aya’s voice trailed off. Was explaining in too much detail a bad idea? Probably. She wanted to show she’d thought things through, but the further she went the more likely that cracks would begin to show in her plans. Best to try and get her sisters on her side before delving into the details then.
Goblin grandpa smiled as he sat on the pew hearing the actions of his young wards nearby as they went about their business some of them being smart and taking apart the rabbits that their elder brothers and sister grabbed and some simply wanting to leave as soon as possible. He simply gave a nod as he heard the echo of goblin Grik said he would be the strongest goblin that ever lived. Then he was asked a question by one of the hobs @demonspade64 goblin Luz asked what would be next and said she would pay back the knowledge with interest and while he knew she was honest and would do as she said she would grandpa himself didn't know for sure what they would become. He then said "I do not know for sure young hob but I do know that the most likely step in your next stage from hobgoblin is ogres. They tower at 7 feet tall or even higher depending on how they lived. Most normal goblins will reach this point after hobgoblin. As for special hobs I truly don't know, that's what makes me want to see you all grow. I am always surprised" he said with a little laugh.
@Dark Cloud Goblin Grik went out into the world to explore it and soon enough he would find that outside the church were plants and animals living life. He would soon come across a horned rabbit as it was nibbling on the berries nearby. From his position he would see that the rabbit had its back turned to the goblin and if it heard any loud noises it would then run for it. The goblin needed to be careful or otherwise it would lose its prey.
@ReusableSword As Gird went northward towards the bats living area they would soon see the area darken not because it was turning into night but simply because the dense tree tops made natural darkness for the bats. It was noticeably harder to see around them even as they journeyed deeper into the thick forests. They would soon find what they were looking for and large bats (around the size of a small dog) were in the branches and tree tops eyes closed and their wings curled around themselves as they slumbered. Clearly they slept during the day and they were able to get the jump on them but if they weren't careful they would alert the flock and would quickly be killed by the sheer number of them clustered together to avoid hunters during the day time.
AS the goblins talked about weapons and traps they soon figured out how best to utilize what they had to complete them.
Goblins Aya, Kir, yzzi, Lexi: Have learned Primitive crafting Ancient civilizations used the very same methods as they harvested the base materials at their disposal to make weapons. Learned how to make primitive traps like spikepits, holes, and spike traps. Also learned to make bone/wood weapons such as clubs, bows, slings
Goblin Argos has journeyed into the wild searching for a fight. When he got close to a rabbit he would normally scare it away rather then get a fight out of it. These damn things were to skittish for his tastes and after a couple minutes searching and ignoring the normal horned rabbits he would find a spot where a red coated alpha horned rabbit lay. He was in his den in an hollowed out log and was already alerted to Argos' presence. However it didn't run away instead it pointed its horn towards Argos' direction making him grin as he got into a stance he felt the most comfortable with his hands at his sides legs spread and his body pointing forwards ready to have a proper fight...
Several young goblins were heading out to try their luck at hunting. Others were looking for weapons or materials first and still others, mostly girls, were talking up a storm as they planned their hunts and traps. Kids. How many of them would survive to be hobgoblins? Why hadn't more of the tribe gotten that far? What was so different about Skrik's own older siblings? What was different about him? He shook his head to clear it of confusion. The only part of those thoughts that was important right now was the unspoken question. "Does it matter?"
Right now, the answer was no. So, Skrik looked at the tribe again. His elder siblings were all busy. He'd slow them down if he tried to join them right now. That wouldn't get him to where he wanted to be either. He wanted them to... He shook his head again. That thought was for later.
If he couldn't work with his elders right now, that left the young ones. The girls were all banding together. Their planning session had been interesting to listen to. They probably would welcome him but his influence would not help them with their plans. Then there was that one that wandered off to hunt alone. That was the most likely of them, for now.
As much as Skrik was certain that they weren't strong enough to help him overcome his current obstacle, they were still capable of helping him prepare more easily. Maybe working together would also ease the gnawing hollow feeling that food and effort had never succeeded in touching. When he returned and spent a few moments among the rest of the tribe the hollow feeling turned sharper and more painful, but it was more bearable at the same time. Strange... and troublesome.
It was time to follow his young relative. Help wouldn't ask for itself. Skrik tried to track his younger kin silently. He didn't want to disturb any hunt or make himself the prey for something else. He also kept his eyes open for any stout branches or young saplings that would make good spear shafts, javelins, or clubs.
Eavesdropped on the young ones discussing traps while standing in the church doorway. Tried to track Grik @Dark Cloudwithout being detected. Also looking for wood suitable for spear, club, javelin crafting. @Jangel13
-Poisoned Light Javelin (numbing) -Horned rabbit horn -Wrist and neck cloth wrapping and tight loincloth.
The big, deathly white pale Hobgoblin seemed to take notice of her once more, however, walking over and addressing her specifically.
“Your instincts are sharp, it took the rest of us at least a day to start figuring out how to use all of the parts of these animals. But I will give you two more things. One a warning, with that skill or spell you stand out and will be a target if others know. The second you will get when I return if we are still alive.”
He did have somewhat of a point, as she thought on it. Didn't want to draw any ire, though all the same she was planning to minimize that by making a bow and arrows she could remake over and over to use. Just seemed to her to be the best idea to start with without having to think much about it. All the same it was advice, and these hobs had survived to become hobs themselves. So it was worth taking in, at least, and the promise of a second gift did make her eyes perk up in earnest interest for a moment.
"I'll take the advice. But I'm heading out to get supplies as well, with my sisters here if they want to come along for their own things. So I'll meet you back here later for the second thing, ok?"
Finishing up with her work and the latter of her two conversations, apparently just in time, the recreated rusty sword dissipated into nonexistence once more from the young goblin's hand. Kir wiped her forehead with a shoulder, before taking her bloodied hands and grabbing up a couple more portions of the unclaimed food and eating them with their servings of berries. If the goofs wouldn't come eat their shares, then the shares would get eaten or get rotten on the floor. She'd left only a couple of them on the floor, but whether the others are them or not wasn't her concern anymore. Either way, her work was done.
Still, she looked over and checked that her component parts were there. Pelts? Check. Sinews? Check. Couple of rabbit skulls with horns still attached? Check. Stomach? Properly filled for the time being at least.
Kir then looked down and over her hands and arms, bloodied and stained up to the elbows in crimson red. It was...something. Probably needed to go rinse it off or wipe it off or something. Or maybe lick it all off? What got stuck to her elbows was probably ok enough to eat. Hmm. That would be perhaps the best idea before she did any real hunting anyways.
Though before she left...yes, that would be something to do at least. Get an answer for a couple of questions on the way out. To that end, the female goblin gathered up her materials, draping them over her shoulders and holding the skulls on two of her fingers by way of their now-empty eye sockets. To her old self, this would be rather different, but at the same time she wasn't whoever that person was. Kir was herself, after all. But those hazy things from 'her' of before were being useful so far in giving her ideas and such, as far as they went in that regard anywho.
Still, it was like instinctually her ideas began to 'click' more. Among other ones that now popped into her head. Like she could just get them off the top of her head, or just kinda felt they were there like how she just knew how to recreate that sword before. Even so, it made more sense and enough so that she could go get to work better than before.
"If any of you want to go out to get stuff to make traps or things like that, though, I'm basically ready. I'm going to find the best sticks I can for making a bow and some arrows and a cloak, stuff like that, see if I can get something that works going. Just want to talk to Granpda really quick."
Kir simply wanted to get going as well, but she wasn't going to be rude about this. More that the rabbit carving up and harvesting was enough of an activity to vent her frustration to some extent. Still, she wasn't totally calm either. There were things to get done, stuff she wanted to make. All of that good stuff. All she needed was a good bow, and then to make the best single arrow she could. From there it would be all rather useable in theory.
Walking over, Kir approached Grandpa and looked up at him with a determined expression.
"If you've got a moment, Grandpa, I'm curious about something," she said, rubbing her chin with one blood-red hand as she spoke, a glint of curiosity flashing over her eyes as she distinctly gestured to the shrines around the chapel, "Who are these, ah, things around here for?"
What was the word? Blast. The old life bits were too hazy, but something was every so vaguely familiar as to say a 'who' rather than a 'what' in her question. Yet as she spoke, her mind returned to the prior night, the near-escape that Grandpa had drug her back from. The one thing she could recall most about then was a faint light under the doors in in through the cracks. Soft, like the outside of these pelts, but different somehow. Like a pale white and silver-ish light in color.
"And can you tell me anything about whatever made that pale white light that came in here from the outside last night? It's not like during the day. Softer, somehow, prettier...but I kinda like it. So I guess I wanted to know more about that as well. Like, what made that light and what it's like."
Once she got her answer proper from Grandpa, or at least whatever answers she could get that is, she'd wait for her sisters before setting out.
Summary: Kir responded to Gird (@ReusableSword) before he walked away from her and left, finished her work with the horned rabbits, ate more of the food portions left out (only two food portions are left on the floor now), gathered up her harvested supplies (now listed in her Inventory in the hider at the bottom of this post), talked to her sisters that had assembled around her (@TheMushroomLord,@Rune_Alchemist,@SilverPaw), and then went to ask Goblin Grandpa (@Jangel13) a couple of questions before she waits or goes to head outside with her sisters (if any are coming).
EXP: 0
Inventory:
- x5 Horned Rabbit Pelts
- x2 Horned Rabbit Skulls With Their Horns
- Sinews Harvested From 5 Horned Rabbits
-
Acquired Skills:
-Primitive Crafting: Ancient civilizations used the very same methods as they harvested the base materials at their disposal to make weapons. Learned how to make primitive traps like spike pits, holes, and spike traps. Also learned to make bone/wood weapons such as clubs, bows, slings.
Since he made no progress in energy sensing either as far as he could tell Zats gave up on that as well. He still had no idea if it was impossible or if he was just too distracted, one of the Goblins had briefly been rather loud, though and decided to try it again sometime while hunting.
Part of him kept saying that he should be able to manipulate some kinda outside energy and be able to use magic, but he could he manipulate something he couldn't neven sense. After thinking it over for a bit he came to the conclusion that maybe he was wrong about the outside energy.
Since he was indoors trying out a fire spell would be stupid but he alo wanted something he could show off a little given how long it had already taken him to learn even a simple spell. He looked around a bit and found a loose page lying on the ground. Getting an idea Zats focused on it and tried to make it come to him without touching it.
Gave up on energy sensing but will try again (despite me knowing he won't get it.) Is now trying to telekinetically move a loose page from a book to himself.
Kir reacted unexpectedly strongly to her off hand idea, and Lexie got the impression that this was one very possessive goblin. Still, her magic skill was incredibly useful, so it’d be better to cooperate. Besides, she could always just get more material, and hadn’t had much of a stake on those things her older siblings her brought anyway. “Yeah, ok. I’m alright with just the horn for now anyways,” she soothed the fellow gob. “And I’ll keep in mind to look at the plants; that’s a good idea,” she commented.
Her conversation with Gird went well, though he wasn’t sure about the skills. “I see...spiders for silk, and maybe the bats for night vision,” she muttered. “Thanks, older brother,” she nodded at him in farewell.
Lexie then migrated back closer to her sisters, just in time to hear Aya suggest setting traps. “You do have a good point; the predators are probably too much for us to handle right now. But if the rabbits can survive, so can we,” she assured. “I think setting some traps could be helpful, but we can’t rely just on that, because we don’t know if we’ll get anything. So, maybe hunt some with weapons – an ambush would work, I think. After we see what it’s like out there, we can find where the rabbits live, and set a trap or two near their homes. Add some good bait to that, and it’d be good to go,” she opined.
When Kir said she was ready, Lexie agreed. “I am too.” She glanced at her sisters; Kir had plenty of items, the taller Izzy had got a whole skull from Kir, then Aya and Krishna, neither of whom had anything yet.
“Hey, you should at least take up a stick or something,” she recommended to Aya and Kris, the weapon-less gobs.
Recently, another hobgoblin had brought a veritable treasure pile of stuff, though he’d dropped it all near grandpa. As such, Lexie went along with Kir to the elder, and waited while they conversed. When there was time to interject, she did so. “Elder, can we take some of that too?” she questioned, pointing to the pile of rabbit bones and pelts at his feet.
Reassures Kir that she won’t take the materials Kir had claimed for herself. Finished the conversation with Gird by thanking him. Goes to speak to Aya (and the other sisters) about hunting. Proclaims to be ready, suggests Aya and Krishna get a weapon. Goes to gramps with Kir; listens to their conversation about gods and asks if the things Skrik had laid next to grandpa are for the younger goblins as well.
Upon spotting the horned rabbit the young goblin stood very still and watched the animal closely, and began to notice how the rabbits ears shifted at even the slightest noise as it quietly nibbled on berries. It seemed constantly cautious and ever vigilant in listening for something, Grik took a second to think about why and guessed it was because creatures ate them so the horned rabbit needed to be aware of it's surroundings.
Deciding it would be better to catch his prey unaware the young goblin crept towards a higher vantage point, but made sure to avoid making unnecessary noise. Grik kept close to a tree nearby the rabbit and avoided walking upon the forest floor as he remembered how noisy his steps had been, so the goblin held his rock in one hand and used the other to hoist himself upon a thick low hanging branch.
It creaked a little causing the horned rabbit to stand and wiggle it's nose, and with his heart racing the young goblin sat very still upon the branch as he watched and waited for the rabbit to lower it's guard.
Thump-Thump
Grik felt his pulse racing and the anticipation was making his head rush with each heartbeat.
Thump-Thump Thump-Thump
The horned rabbit returned to nibbling at the berries after twitching it's ears and wiggling it's nose one last time. Grik was now above the animal his grip firmly resting upon the rock in his hands as he held it above the rabbit and silently waited counting his heartbeats.
Thumo-Thump Thump-Thump Thump-Thump
Grik quickly threw the rock down upon the horned rabbits head with all his might, and heard a squeak then a crunch. Jumping down the goblin made a thump as he set down upon the ground of the forest and looked at what he had accomplished proudly. Although Grik got the strangest feeling as he stood before the dead rabbit, but it was hard to understand the sensation of unase he felt and Grik tensed getting the distinct impression that something could be lurking in the shaded boughs of the forest in the same way that he had dispatched the horned rabbit.
The elder goblin laughed a bit as he saw the young goblin come over and try to ask what the pale light from last night was. It was cute seeing her fumble trying explain it. He was then surprised when the other young one came over to ask if they could use the remains of his own treat given to him by the hobs. Normally he would have let them have the bones and pelts as he had no use for them but he needed to remind them that nothing in this world is free anymore. What could he do, he then decided that their price would be to listen to him. He then said "Knowledge and items are not something to be given freely one must always exchange for things of equal worth. I said it to your elder brothers and sisters and said it to their elders before them. Nothing in this world is free. So if you want information or items you could give me something, but since your trying so hard to make useful things I will say that your price is to listen to a story. now sit" he ordered tapping on the pew he was on signaling for them to sit with him.
Once they did he said ""Back during my youth I was much like you, inquisitive and curious wanting to figure out everything. However my brothers and sisters were always stronger then me and no matter how hard I tried I could never surpass them but then I realized something when I saw the young babes just coming out of their mothers wombs. They were even weaker then me and couldn't protect themselves. As such while my brothers and sisters left to become stronger I alone stood vigil, and since then I haven't seen or even heard of the goblins that came from my generation. I dedicated my life, instead of seeking to take from others I would care for the next set of champions that were to be born. So long ago now, I am now so old its hard simply hunting the rabbits anymore." he said with a wistful sigh. He then turned to kir and said what you saw last night dear was the moon, its pale and beautiful it doesn't blind you if you stare at it like the sun, it is truly beautiful and something you can only appreciate at night" he explained before turning to Lexi and said "For listening to an old goblins story you can have the bones and furs. I have no need of them but like I said you needed to understand nothing is free. As for what those shrines are they represent the 3 main Gods of this world Ramos, shirila, and duelvena There are gods for everything from food to hunts even to keeping yourself clean but each of them isn't as powerful as the 3 main gods I am about to tell you about. First, there is the god of light Ramos he is the god of light and he gives us the very sun we see during the day he is purity itself and as such is mostly worshipped by most creatures in one form or another. Ramos is the exact opposite of the goddess known as Duvelna she is the goddess of death and night. She is death itself and must be respected if not feared for with a single touch of her finger you are dragged down into the netherworld. She gives us the very moon in the sky. Finally, there is Shirila the goddess of the earth as she is the embodiment of the earth and life itself, she is also known as the eternal mother. She gives us the very plants that grow everywhere around us and gives life to it. She in tune with everyone that loves the earth as it should be.
The hobgoblin proved to have difficulty trying to sense any living being around him. As he looked at the page that was simply on the ground near him he began to concentrate on a single thought "come" simply thinking for the page to move to him instead of he to it. It took a few moments but just as he was about to give up he felt something. He could feel something akin to a tether something like and invisible string reach out but not from him at least not initially. He felt his shield still firmly on his arm warm up and form invisible strings from his fingertips towards the paper before it slowly yet surely found its way to his leg.
Goblin zats learned Earth call (lesser): Ability given only to magically attuned creatures that follow the goddess of nature. The lesser form allows the movement of objects from the earth to come to the user. At higher forms allows the user to summon small creatures and items from the earth to the user. [progress required to enhance...Hidden]
The goblin was sneaky and was able to find purchase on the tree branch above the rabbit. It didn't notice its approach but that might be because it was worried about something else entirely in the area. It wasn't alert enough and soon felt a rock crunch its skull before it fell limp on the ground dead.
Goblin Grik gained 4xp: Goblin Grik learned acrobatic throw; The goblin had thrown an object at an odd angle and is now able to throw different items from odd positions like upside down or while hanging on something. At higher levels can throw things heavier then ones self or more deadly items.
The goblin Argos grinned before he noticed the Alpha wasn't making a move towards him so he figured he needed to coax it to attack he then decided to throw down a challenge he lifted his leg up and stomped the floor in front of him before he gave his best attempt at a roar though it was not going to intimidate anyone the sudden movement and noise was enough to be perceived as a threat. The goblin watched as the rabbit charged him with high speed. Argos grinned and dodged but not before getting a scratch on his arm making him bleed but that made him excited. Finally something to fight! He turned just in time to watch as the rabbit dashed towards him again with the idea to impale him but Argos was ready this time and instead spun to before bringing his fist down and striking the spine of the rabbit causing it pain. It couldn't turn around fast enough because then Argos charged in for the kill and beat the creature to death. Once it stopped moving he yelled out in cheer as if he won a match and started to dig into the rabbits body.
Goblin Argos gained 8xp for alpha variant and learned fighters challenge The goblin has learned by issuing a challenge to a stronger creature to do so in the future. He has learned how to aggravate an opponent to attacking him. At higher levels can learn to challenge creatures stronger then him to focus on Argos
When grandpa told them, that the most-likely step up from hobgoblin was that of an Orge, she could help but frown at such an idea, obviously displeased at that idea, but then she smiles. "I see, so ogre are not the only path?" she questioned before waiting for a response. "Very well, then i shall find a path that better suits me." She said proudly before doing another Keirei to him. "Thank you grandfather for sharing your knowledge with me, I will see to it that my debt to you is honored." She told him calmly. "I must be off now, take care everyone!" She told the group before stepping out with a farewell.
Honestly, Luz was looking forward to a more...agile evolution but an ogre doesn't seem all that agile being 7 fell tall in all, so she would rather try to evolve into something else. Perhaps the night vipers and the 7 color-bat may hold the answers she is looking for, and since Gird was also planning on hunting the bat she decided it was best to try to catch up with him to aid in his hunting. Through it may take some time to find him.
After moving far north she just sees a familiar-looking Aura in the distance. So she decided to quietly approach him. "Need help?" She asked him calmly while holding her sword behind her back. "Don't get me wrong i don't plan on shadowing you all the time. But as it just so happens i also became interested in the bats as of late." She tried to tell him calmly but end up brushing a little as she told him.
Having finished his prayers, Hobgoblin Arch sat a pew thoughtfully for a short while. He looked at his younger siblings who were still around preparing for their hunt and to goblin Grandpa who was about to given them a lesson. The information regarding their evolution was welcomed... but given how widely different some hobgoblins were from each other, he already thought that such differences would only grow.
Seeing Hob Luz leaving, Arch looked back at her and nodded. He went over to the books and began to look through them, looking for one that might be easier to understand. Once he found one that at least had images on them, he'd read better through it. He might not be able to read the characters (and likely couldn't learn them by himself), but he could at least still try to decipher these pieces of knowledge, bit by bit.
Arch quietly listens to the explanations of Goblin Grandpa and gives Luz a nod before she leaves. He spends the rest of his time trying to find and read a book that has pictures on it.
EXP: 90
Inventory: - Earthen Weave: This bracelet is a constant conduit to the Goddess Shirila, allowing him to be protected even when alone, so if need be, he could speak to Shirila should the situation call for it.
Acquired Skills: - Duelist's Stance: This stance has been passed down from soldier to soldier. It teaches the correct way to hold their weapon when faced with an equal opponent. - Gravekeepers Spirit: Arch is able to feel the strength of those that have long since passed. When near a dead body or a skeleton, he is able to draw strength without the requirement of being a necromancer. Even carrying a skull as an adornment allows the goblins to be stronger, faster, lighter as they draw strength. However, drawing all the strength of a certain dead body or their parts will cause it to disintegrate into dust. - Intense Strike: Intense strike is a move that brings the user the greatest power through a single strike with willpower alone. This strike can cause intense damage if aimed correctly and when upgraded can break bones to pieces - Knowledge of the Three: Knowledge of the Three Great Gods. Ability to properly worship. Ability to create shrines in honor of the Three Great Gods. - Primitive Medicine: The goblin now knows how to make primitive salves and bandages for fresh wounds. He can't make sophisticated medicine but can craft items that will ease pain and prevent infection. - Stalking Stance: Stalking stance allows the user to enter a sort of stealth mode when hunting. The user is harder to detect and see while in the stance allowing for easier surprise attacks.
Titles:Fire Dampener: Higher resistance to fire and fire magic.
As she continued to think up possibilities for traps in her mind there came a moment when Aya was suddenly struck with the strangest wave of inspiration, new ideas more complex and in-depth than any of those she'd managed moments before, including some she’d previously dismissed on the basis of not knowing how to pull them off. Even stranger was the sudden influx of realisations into how she could improve her previous designs, the kinds of insights someone with a little experience behind their belt might have upon laying eyes on the designs of a novice, though somehow Aya was both the expert and the novice in this scenario. Had this knowledge come from her past life? Didn’t seem to fit. Maybe her past life hadn’t actually happened and was instead a collection of sudden insights like this that her underdeveloped mind had misinterpreted as a former existence? That would certainly explain the lack of concrete memories.
As many questions as her new theory raised Aya didn’t have time to ponder them as already things were happening around her. Yet another one of her sisters had popped up and was providing her with feedback on the plans she'd laid out. Pointing out yet another stupid mistake Aya had made in assuming they would even be able to get something to their trap, let alone into it. It was entirely possible her plan could be defeated by the same issue she'd set out to circumvent, that is, their current lack of knowledge. Once again Aya found herself trying and failing to disappear by sheer force of will. Worse still was that the new sister felt it necessary to point out that she’d probably want a weapon, not that she hadn’t been planning to get one, but it went to show that she’d presented herself as such a fool that this needed to be commented on.
Still, as far as her knowledge of traps went, Aya wasn’t the same goblin she’d been five minutes ago and it appeared for now that the group had wandered over to their grandfather(?) and were now listening to a story in exchange for resources and information. That gave Aya time to revise her plan. The core of the issue lay in their prey being both unknown and probably better armed than they were. To counteract their enemies they’d need some way to avoid a direct head-on confrontation but one that was also adaptable depending on the specifics of what they encountered. A static pit trap as Aya had suggested earlier would be a good way to avoid direct confrontation but failed to account for any unknown variable they might reasonably expect, including the most obvious like the unknown location and behaviour of their targets. Ambushes also dealt with those issues and were more flexible to unknowns, but if they couldn’t dispatch or incapacitate their targets immediately they’d just end up in a normal confrontation and probably die. But all that was assuming that those plans were mutually exclusive and that traps had to be static. Who was to say they couldn’t ambush their targets with a trap?
While the rest of the old goblin's story hadn't really interested Aya, or rather she'd been too distracted to pay it much attention, the last part did pique her interest. It seemed the goblins had religion and not one she could recall from her hazy and possibly made-up memories. While Aya wasn't quite ready to come to a decision as to whether the gods the elder had mentioned were actually real or not, that would provide an explanation of the reality-bending weirdness she'd seen thus far. If the gods were, in fact, responsible for said weirdness it would seem they were more hands-on that whatever it was she'd learned to expect so finding proof couldn't be that hard. In any case, that would need to wait for now.
Once the goblin elder's story was complete Aya began explaining her revised plan to whichever sisters were still there. “New sister pointed out that hole digging plan was stupid. Too static. Sorry… But I’ve had a better plan this time,” Aya paused to gauge the reactions of her sisters thus far but decided against it at the last moment, she didn’t want to see the scepticism they mush surly be showing right now. “What if we were to make some kind of a net out of vines or whatever else we can get our hands-on. It shouldn’t be too hard to make, should be effective for most things I can think of and I think if a couple of us work together and ambush our target it shouldn’t be too hard to incapacitate something right off the bat provided we don't screw up too hard. Or maybe sister Ker could just summon a copy over the target? But I don't want to put you out!” Aya hastily added that last part before pausing again, this time pondering whether she should leave it at that before deciding to tack on one last note, “I also want to see if I can attach a rock to a length of cord or something, as long as I can build up momentum that should give some reach and damage and I don’t think the windup time is a problem if we’re incapacitating our target.”
Primitive Crafting: Ancient civilizations used the very same methods as they harvested the base materials at their disposal to make weapons. Learned how to make primitive traps like spike pits, holes, and spike traps. Also learned to make bone/wood weapons such as clubs, bows, slings.
Knowledge of the 3: Knowing the names of the god and goddesses of the world they live in they can now properly worship them. Ramos god of light and the sun, Duvelna goddess of death and the night, Shirila the goddess of the earth and nature.
Titles:
N/A
Blessings:
N/A
Curses:
N/A
Inventory:
N/A
Aya pondered her sudden influx of knowledge on building traps and hypothesised that she may not have actually had a past life but instead cooked the idea up to interpret similar such influxes in knowledge after her birth.
Aya suffered a mild internal meltdown after her original plan was critiqued and subsequently spent the duration of the elder's story breaking down the problem at hand and working out a revised plan for dealing with said problem. No doubt she utilised her Anxious Mind skill in doing so.
Aya came up with another theory as to how she could explain all the weirdness she'd seen after listening to the elder's story. That being that the gods did it. She isn't convinced yet but wants to look into it.
Once the goblin elder had finished his story Aya explained to her sisters her new plan, this one involving the creation and application of a net in an ambush so as to (hopefully) immediately incapacitate whatever they find so that they can safely beat it to death.
Aya is waiting for feedback to her plan otherwise she’ll head off to begin looking for materials for constructing the net.
Skrik's skills were effective, at least at concealing his presence from his young kin. The rabbit seemed to detect him, though only enough to be slightly nervous. Then it died. The goblin's victory proved that he had potential.
Skrik stepped out of the shadows, carrying both his javelin and the stout stick that he had found along the way. It would make a decent club with a little work but was far from being long enough for a spear or javelin.
"Well done." He said softly. "A fine first hunt."
Skrik watched the goblin's reaction carefully for a long moment. . It wouldn't be unreasonable for the strong to steal from the weak. That wasn't his intention but the thoughts of the living are frequently inaccurate. It's better to be prepared for any response. After a moment of silent consideration, Skrik spoke up again.
"I have some things that I need to gather and things to make. If you help, you can hunt with me."
