Haeo

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

@Zeroth@Stabby

Femus studied the information he received. This was not likely to be a hobgoblin from the tribe that surrounded them. It was likely to be either a criminal or a member of a very different tribe. However, the first seemed far more likely. The further information about hobgoblins in general didn't seem terribly important for the moment. The herb, on the other hand, was quite significant. It had potential to be quite valuable. Pure healing energy condensed in a plant that doesn't need light had a great deal of potential.

He sighed before answering Nira's comment while she worked. "Doing alright. Visual signals need planning. But, these plants are good for healing." He said while picking one to take with him. "There's a lot of look-alikes but this is the real one. None good for water though."

He was going to keep talking and relay more of his guesses... but he found himself suddenly suppressing the urge to curse. It was a patch of herbs. Plant reproduction... most plants can't reproduce alone. Bringing one Blue Yill to that point was a waste of time unless there was another nearby to pollinate it. He still had one left but it would probably take more mana to restore and develop since he'd been carrying it that much longer.

"Forgot pollination, feeling stupid." He said quickly as he headed back to where the first Blue Yill was planted. "Let's go with green for safe, red for danger, and yellow for caution. We can develop more complex signals later. The faster I get this done, the faster we can leave... hopefully before we get attacked again... or have to eat him." He finished, clearly indicating the hobgoblin with some mild distaste. They really were filthy creatures.

Arriving at the Blue Yill, he took the other one that he had still been carrying and shifted the soil to make a shallow hole about six inches from where the yill stood. Into this he planted the broken end of the other Blue Yill's stem before raising his voice loud enough for Nira to hear. "Nira, if you can, could you please get some water to these two plants it might help speed this along. I didn't have any real luck finding any."

After he finished speaking, Femus concentrated on duplicating his previous performance. Using Growth and pouring mana into the weakened Blue Yill to help it take root and return to health. Again, he would meditate as deeply as he could to rapidly restore his mana when it ran low before resuming his work. After gaining the same level of ground, he would fill his mana and try something more complex.

His next experiment would be trying to use Growth in brief bursts on each plant to encourage them to reproduce with each other while also trying to use lesser force to carefully move pollen from each flower to the other and checking both with Plant Analysis every time he had to stop to meditate. If he succeeded in transferring pollen, he would resume his efforts to speed the internal processes of the flowers to produce viable seeds as soon as possible. Time was of the essence, as was efficiency. He had to get this done quickly so that he could simply bag up the resulting seeds along with a healing herb or two and be ready to go. Femus felt an impossible to define sense of urgency. They had to go. He would have time to do further herb cultivation once they had a better campsite.

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

@Stabby@Zeroth

Femus breathed a sigh of relief, but a quiet one. The attacker was dead, a hobgoblin. He stopped and took stock of his condition. Then, confirming that he hadn't been hurt at all, he made his body flash a harsh green like that of a traffic light to indicate to Nira that the area was clear without raising his voice. The noise of the fight should have frightened other threats away for the time being.

Now wasn't the time to be slow.

Femus examined the hobgoblin, using his own knowledge of anatomy as well as his Monster Analysis skill. Then, he moved to the herb patch and examined the plants in the same manner, first with his own limited ability to assess them and then with his Plant Analysis skill. He also looked around for any dew that might linger on the leaves from the morning. He didn't want to have to drink hobgoblin blood to sort out his thirst. He would drink any dew he found and decide after completing his analysis of the plants. They were so close, so very close to being able to leave this place. With thirst solved and the seeds of the Blue Yill collected it would be time to go.

Waiting here would only invite trouble to find them.

Goblin Quest

We have the fine makings of a fledgling order of Goblin Knights.

Fire Emblem: Ashes of Sacrifice [Fall of the Empire]

Trace Retloth
Inside the Fort

Trace's attack was far from the final blow but he had no problem holding the enemy in place for a better suited ally. He'd been doing the same for the archer girl, now he'd achieved the same effect with Artemisia by accident. But, with the southern part of the fort cleared out, there was no reason to hesitate or gloat. He simply took a brief moment to confirm that the rest of the southern foes were truly dead before turning to assess the northern part of the fort. He started moving even as he revised his knowledge of the situation, heading toward the north. The boss remained, along with one supporting pugilist, and there was one other unsecured space that needed to be dealt with. From their initial information, the remaining enemy in that room should be a pugilist as well. A close combat specialist in a small room would be a challenge for a lance fighter like Trace so he decided to keep his focus on the main room and assist in controlling the bandit leader. By the time he reached the northern engagement, his decision was made. Trace's lance pierced the pugilist through the neck from a blind angle before the man even realized that forces from the south were moving in on him. Then, the next step was to prepare to assist in controlling the bandit leader that was focusing on Trace's coin purse... the prince, that is. So Trace moved to make his second Heartstopper Lunge of this battle. Hopefully, he would distract the bandit boss enough for his allies to attend to the other remaining objectives.

_________________________ Status: Lightly Injured Class: Recruit Inventory: Iron Lance 1/3 Vulnerary 3/3 Exp:85

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

@Zeroth@Stabby

Femus was pleased by the fact that the Blue Yill was almost ready to produce seeds. He was also glad that there were a variety of interesting plants to examine, though none of them immediately struck him as being thirst quenching. He was especially glad of his Alert skill.

He was less glad of the sudden... company.

His first impression was simple and non-verbally processed. However, its essence can be summarized as the simultaneous realization that the target in question was either undead or wielding a long weapon made of bone. It was also shrouded from sight and would be difficult to analyze. Troublesome.

There was only a moment to decide what to do and get it done. So, Femus did what came naturally. He dove toward the ground at an angle toward his attacker and stopped his glow. He also cast Shock Round 2 with a target lock on the enemy's rear knee, knowing that its gait would reverse the leg's position too quickly for it to evade the strike. Then, he used Lesser Force to push off the ground and dart past the enemy's legs before casting Static Bolt 1 where the enemy stopped.

His next move, if the enemy was down but still alive, would be to attach himself to the middle of his enemy's back with Lesser Force and cast Shield 1 on himself before using Mana Drain on the enemy.

Goblin Quest

Tik

@demonspade64@RC3

---

Tik managed to catch up to Rena after a fairly hasty and crude effort at tracking her by finding partial tracks and freshly broken twigs. He had some hope that he would be able to simply greet her and continue hunting, this time with a better spear. But, that hopping... long-toothed... shiny-skinned...

Tik saw Rena successfully duck the attack from the frog. By the time the frog hit the ground, Tik had already started running. By the time Rena swung her club, Tik was only a couple strides from her back with his spear held in both hands. He kept Rena between him and the frog until the last moment to make sure that the frog would have trouble seeing him. He could also tell whether the frog dodged to the side or not. He was moving on reflex, too fast to think or plan. The frog would either dodge or die. If it dodged, then Tik would lunge around Rena and stab the frog as swiftly as his body would allow.

The only sound he uttered was a throaty hiss as he made his move.

---

Actions

- Tried to stay in the Fanged Tree Frog's blind spot while closing the distance.
- Lunge with Horn Spear, adjusting for any evasive actions by the frog

Inventory

-Loin cloth
-Small Rabbit Ear Pouch
-Horn Tipped Spear
----- In Pouch-----
-2 Battle-Scarred Horned Rabbit Collarbones

Goblin Quest

@RC3

I added the hiders you wanted into my last post. You didn't list what Tik absorbed from the rabbit yet. Also, if there's anything that is still unclear or lacking, just let me know what to do.

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

@Stabby@Zeroth

Femus smiled and rested for a few minutes, letting his stamina recover while he thought. He had achieved great success in a short time. He was actually very happy with his rate of progress. But, he felt like thrice used tripes. There was still food up on the branch but there was no water, unless Nira had found a solution to that problem. The river was sounding like a better idea all the time. If goblins could get there in less than a day to fish then it couldn't be too far. They just had to run the risk of a fight before getting there.

Well, Femus was pretty confident in his ability to handle most common threats at this point. So, he focused on how to use the points from his latest level. He willed his request to the system silently. 'System, please place five points into Growth and one into Monster Analysis.' He quickly meditated back up to full mana as well.

He had not failed to notice that he had gained a level from training his skills up himself. However, that only gave him a level this time because of how many were close to that line already. His preference for earning progress with his own work was rewarded but that kind of optimized training could only be done in certain situations. He was starting to get a subtle feeling... that he didn't like.

Femus had stayed here, in this fairly safe place, for awhile. Perhaps not long in days but it still was starting to feel like he didn't belong here anymore. It felt... like he was pushing things. So, he focused. It was time to go but they needed to solve their water problem a bit before they left or they might not have the strength to get to the river at all. Also, he really wanted Blue Yill seeds. But... forcibly cultivating with Growth was proving very intense and draining. So, he took a close look at the Blue Yill and sought to analyze it. Specifically, he wanted to tell if it was close to bearing seeds or not.

Either way, once he had his answer he headed back up to the branch to check on Nira and grab more food. Though, he made sure to eat no more than half of what he found left up there. Nira would need food too.

"I think we should probably head toward the East once you're ready. I think there's a river that way. But, I'm going to try and find something to quench our thirst over by that thicker herb patch first. There might be something growing there that stores more water inside." He said, wearily. He was pushing himself.

His head was pounding and he was exhausted but, while it looked like Nira was making good progress on a water spell, the thought of drinking from her hands made him... uneasy. A natural source of water would be easier and food was normally easier to find around one as well. So, he gathered his energy and headed to the farther herb patch. He took his time and didn't push himself to avoid adding unnecessary strain but he also kept his eyes open and his senses alert for any danger that could be hiding in the taller plants.

Goblin Quest

@RC3I changed my mind about a couple things relating to Tik's loot and where he's going next. I also hope that the change in tone and mentality is more to your liking. Tik will use two of his 8 uses to absorb the two passive skills, if you please.

On a related note, I'm back. And it is good.

Goblin Quest

Tik

@demonspade64@Shovel@RC3

---

Tik let the other two goblins take the lead in deciding how to split the rabbit. He was tired. The goblin that killed the rabbit got two of the four good hunks of meat while the other wanted one of them and the hide. But, getting the hide off was going to be a bit tough with teeth and fingers. So, Tik took a rock and bashed the base of the horn until it broke off. Then he used it to help cut the hide where it was still holding to the flesh. But, after that, he just waited till the other two finished.

Rena was a goblin he would remember. The other one hadn't given a name but was alright too, still leaving enough meat for everybody. Tik ate his portion. It wasn't great, but the animal was strong. Tough creature, tough meat. He'd have to remember that. But now, he was curious.

While Rena figured out how to wear the hide, Tik took the rest of the beast apart. The other gob had broken a lot of bones and now Tik could see how they had broken, how they came together normally, and how many bones looked like they would be useful. The horn was a weapon already. Tik would make a good spear with it later. Of the remaining bones, only a few ribs and the bones around the base of the neck were still unbroken and the ribs were too frail to use for weapons. They even felt like they could bend a tiny bit. But, maybe he could make something from them later. The collar bones of the horned rabbit were stronger but not strong enough for Tik to make a weapon from them either. Maybe if the beast was bigger the bones would be better. For now, he cut the ears off and put the collar bones and few intact ribs inside one before trying to use it to carry them. The ribs fell out.

Then he looked at the ribs again... and the horn. The ribs were curved. That gave him an idea. He poked holes along the edges of the ear that he hadn't bit during the fight and then folded the ear over so that some of the holes lined up with each other. Then he poked the ribs through the holes, pinning one side of the ear together. Finally, since they still looked a little wiggly, he grabbed some thin vine and wound it around and between the ribs to keep them from slipping, eventually tying an accidental knot that kept the vine from sliding.

He studied that too. Then he figured out how to do it again, on purpose. Then, he put the first and last rib through the waistband of his loincloth so that the ribs wouldn't poke him and the open side of the rabbit ear pouch was facing up. It worked! Though it wasn't great, he felt proud.

Then he looked around and found that he was all alone with a dead goblin and the few bits of rabbit that were left. Rena had finished and left. But, he could guess which way she had gone. He'd need to be quick if he was going to catch up.

He focused on turning his thicker pointy stick into a better spear by binding the rabbit's horn to the tip. He had to reshape the tip with the horn before he could get the vines to hold well enough and he had to use a few of those new knots as well. But, it worked. Then he took a small scrap of meat that had clung to a bone and carried it over to the dead goblin. He had never met this one but he had a feeling. He put the scrap of meat in the dead goblin's mouth and turned to leave in the same direction that Rena had gone.

"Don't die hungry." He said to himself as he headed off to find Rena.

---

Actions

- Studied and Dismantled Horned Rabbit corpse.
- Ate 1/4 of the meat and absorbed both passive skills.
- Got parts: 2 collarbones, 4 intact ribs, 1 intact ear, 1 Horn.
- Crafted Small Rabbit Ear Pouch: Used 4 intact ribs, 1 intact ear.
- Learned a basic knot.
- Wearing Small Rabbit Ear Pouch linked to loin cloth.
- Crafted Horn Spear: Used previous weapon + Horn + vines + newly learned knot.
- Gave small food offering for dead goblin "Gor" along with "prayer" = "Don't die hungry."
- Followed Rena.

Inventory

-Loin cloth
-Small Rabbit Ear Pouch
-Horn Tipped Spear
----- In Pouch-----
-2 Battle-Scarred Horned Rabbit Collarbones