Adventures of a Scribe

by Michael Deyhim

  I lay down for the night with my sword at my side. This was the first time I was in the wilderness, without any civilization around. I went to sleep meditating. It only felt like a moment before I was shaken awake by George.

  “Nothing interesting.” He whispered. I felt like I hadn’t gotten any rest at all. Meditating was definitely not the same as sleeping. That was really annoying.

  “Sleep well.” He then lay down. I got up and tossed more wood on the fire since it was dying. I spent my watch by slowly walking around the edge of camp, sword in hand. If I sat down I knew I would fall asleep. I counted out 14,000 seconds, which I estimated to be my length to keep watch.

  With that done I went over to Bran. “Bran wake up.” I hissed at him, he wiggled a bit but was deep asleep. “Bran wake up.” I nudged him with my boot. He stirred a bit. “Bran wake up or I am kicking you hard.” I said and nudged him some more. He opened his eyes.

  “Already?”

  “Yeah. Nothing happening, have fun.” I lay down on my blankets as he got up. I immediately fell asleep.

  ***

  It was our third day in the wilderness that something interesting happened just after midday. I held up my hand and stopped. The other two stopped as well. A couple pre-planned hand signals could go a long way. We could all hear grunting and movement ahead of us. I waved my sword a bit and they got the message. Bran moved next to me while George strung his bow.

  We advanced past a small rise and saw five goblins and a warg traveling perpendicular to us. “Warg first, let them rush up to us I whispered.” They both nodded. George nocked an arrow and stood up. He fired an arrow and it hit the shoulder of the warg and it went in. The animal let out a yelp and the goblins spun towards us. They were small green creature with big ears.

  The warg, which was a large vicious wolf that was used by other monsters as a pack animal or cavalry rushed towards us. The main difference from a wolf was that its teeth were much larger and it had dark black fur. It was a good forty feet up the hill from their position to our group. Two goblins had bows but they were charging forward as well to get a better shot.

  “Slow.” I whispered and gestured at the warg. My hand glowed blue briefly as did the warg, but in the bright day it was barely noticeable despite the shade of the surrounding forest. The next arrow George shot went into the creature’s eye and it collapsed on the ground.

  “George focus on their archers. With me Bran. For Azalon!” I yelled out. The goblins closed the last bit of distance. They had crude swords, and one of them had a plank shield. “Slow.” I whispered and gestured at the goblin I was fighting with my left hand. With that done I easily moved past its guard and cut open its neck. I looked around and managed to dodge an arrow that one of the archers loosed in my direction.

  Bran was holding his own against two of them and George had wounded an archer. I rushed the other archer down the hill. He loosed an arrow that went wide. “Slow.” I said again. I was on him quick enough and he was easily dispatched. The other one was trying to limp away but I stabbed it through its head.

  With that done I turned to head back up the hill and saw George put an arrow into the back of one goblin’s head. Bran slammed his shield into the other one and stabbed it a couple of times. “Gods.” George whispered.

  “Hah, we did it.” Bran said.

  “Any injuries?” They both shook their heads. “Good. We need to search them and recover George’s arrows.” With that we got to work. Their weapons were shit, barely worth more than scrap metal if anything. They were basically strips of metal with sharpened edges and some cloth on the end. They weren’t even properly forged. The arrows and bows were also complete shit as well. George gave them one look before throwing them aside in disgust.

  We removed all the ears, which put us at eight copper for their bounty. The remains were put in a burlap bag that Bran would keep hold of. We all went up a level which was nice as well. I looked at my points and dumped all twenty five of them into wisdom to bring my max mana up to two hundred and seventy five. Slow was just too powerful and I wanted to be able to cast it more than three times in one battle.

  “Five goblins and a warg. Definitely real adventurers now.” George said.

  “We weren’t before?” Bran asked.

  “We were, but now it really feels like it.”

  “We definitely kicked ass, but that is probably our limit.” They both looked at me. “If there were any more goblins or wargs we would have had big trouble. Bran was able to hold off two but it was all defensive.”

  “Yeah, it was hard keeping up with them and got getting stabbed.” We left the scene of battle.

  That evening we stopped a bit earlier than usual and set up camp. Bran got to work gutting a hare his snare had caught the previous night. Both George and I watched as he got to work. It was a learning experience for us city boys. “Not much meat, but you said you had a pot?” Bran asked me.

  “Yeah.” I pulled out a pot and set it to the side. I also dug out a small package of spices I had. It had cost fifteen copper, but what was life without enjoying the small things. “If we fill the pot up with a tiny bit of water I can toss some spices in and we can marinate the meat.” They both looked at me.

  “I learned how to cook before coming. Though I will defer all fish related cooking to Bran.” He stuck his tongue out at me. He really didn’t like fish.

  “Sure, master chef.” Bran said. Soon enough the hare meat was cut up and tossed in the pot. I added a small bit of seasoning all over and then activated the heat rune at the bottom. The rune was cast in the metal and was one of the more popular runic items that sold in Azalon. “Going to put it on the fire?” Bran asked.

  “Runes. I put a bit of mana in and the pot heats up.”

  “Really?” He looked at the pot with wide eyes.

  “It is cast into the metal at the bottom. Looking at the workmanship it should last about two hundred charges and then the pot would need to be recast at a forge. Wood is really expensive in the city, so it is cheaper to buy a rune pot than it is to buy wood. They cost about a silver and you can resell them for fifty copper, so it isn’t that bad.”

  “Nothing like that in Fish Guts.” Bran said. George looked away a bit embarrassed. Apparently he never was involved in the cooking at his home.

  “Well you know how to skin a hare, so you definitely have me beat there. George is good at firewood.”

  “I resent that. I will have you know I am very good.” He huffed out as he dropped more wood by the fire. “I also start an awesome fire.”

  “I wonder what happened to the large group that left before us.” I said as we waited for the meat to cook.

  “Probably heading straight into goblin land and to the Gilleth Ruins. What were there sixteen of them?” Bran said.

  “Yeah I think so, but can you imagine a fight with that many people and monsters. It would chaos.” George said. “Even with just us you can’t shoot over people easily.”

  “Probably flank around.” I said.

  “Flanking?” Bran asked. I charged the heat rune again and shook the pot. I then grabbed a stick and drew two circles in the dirt next to the fire.

  “Imagine two groups they come at each other. Now flanking is when one group goes to the side and attacks the other group.” I drew smaller blob next to one of the larger ones. “So here at the corner you have two people fighting one person. It helps wins the fight more quickly.”

  “Huh, that is clever.” It was common sense. I checked the meat and it was done. We each used bread to scoop out chunks of meat covered in the seasoned water that had simmered to become thicker. “This is amazing.” Bran said.

  “Yeah, definitely keeping you as cook.” George added. I didn’t even have a cooking skill, but I was pleased they approved of my efforts.

  ***

  The following day we heard a lot of movement from the other side of a stream we were following. We got our weapons ready and saw sixteen goblins and three wargs mov
ing on the far bank. We let them pass and looked at each other. “We almost died there.” George whispered out.

  “No shit.” Bran said. My heart was slowly calming down from where it had been pounding in my chest.

  “They are heading away from the ruins if I am guessing. I suggest we turn back and ambush them at night.” I said.

  “The wargs are the big issue. They have a decent sense of smell.” George said. “What? I remembered some of the stories Yonson was telling.” I was doubtful of those stories. The wargs never even glanced at us as they passed by.

  “We are dead if we screw up.” Bran added. I had about a hundred and seventy five mana, only enough for three casts. I would be up to 200 by tonight so four if we ambushed them. I racked my brain for anything that could be used to even the odds. I had done some experiments with runes back home and that did provide an option.

  “I can write up a light rune, one shot, will purge almost instantly. We hit them late at night and kill what we can. If they all get up I call out the rune, we close our eyes and then they should be blind for at least fifteen seconds. I tried this before, you can’t look at this or you will be seeing spots.”

  “Could work. The wargs are still the issue.” George said.

  “We need to set up a place to retreat to.” Bran added.

  “If you follow this stream it should take you north of Jopel at least out of the forest.” I said.

  “Alright, let’s do this.” Bran said. We crossed the stream where there were some large rocks and began to quietly follow the goblin party.

  Once we were on the trail it was easy enough to follow. Night began to fall and we stopped when we saw the glow of a campfire in the distance. We retreated a bit and I got to work on the flash rune. It was a simple light rune, but the trick was to make it defective to let off all the light at once. It had been something I had come up with when trying to experiment with the mana flow in runes.

  The rune itself would only last a single charge as it would quickly decay. George decided to sneak off slightly to the side with Bran while I would go in and try to ambush as many as possible. Once they woke up I would shout out to get their attention and activate the rune and the other two would attack.

  Once the rune was done we all got up and laid down on top of a nearby hill to watch their camp. I kept watch while the other two dozed. Two goblins and a warg stayed awake to keep guard. One of the goblins had a tent while the rest slept around the fire pit. The other two wargs were by the tent.

  The problem was that the sentries sat near the fire looking out. Finally one of the sentries stood up and looked around. After a moment he began walking off into the woods, the problem was he was heading off to the side of the clearing and not towards us.

  “Wake up.” The other two quickly came awake. “One of the goblins is going to take a piss. I am going around to ambush him. Get ready.” They both gave affirmatives and I was off.

  I made it just as the goblin was finishing up. He was facing back towards the camp and I came up behind him and to the side. I swung with all my strength and decapitated him. His body collapsed and his head rolled away. The other goblin that was awake was facing away while the warg was laying down next to him shaking its head from time to time.

  I made my way out in the open rushing to cover the distance. I passed the sleeping bodies by and came up on the goblin and the warg. “Slow.” I gestured at the warg hoping the fire would cover my actions and swung my blade to decapitate the second goblin. The goblin died and the warg tried to stand up when an arrow went into its neck. I drove my blade into the top of its skull, finishing the job.

  I made my way to one of the wargs by the tent and killed it without alarm. The problem came with the third warg. It managed to let out a yelp right as I stabbed and everything began to stir. After I was finished drawing out my blade out of the corpse, I kicked over the nearby tent. The goblins by the fire were already making noise about their dead companion and the one in the tent was shouting.

  “Over here!” I shouted to get the monsters’ attention. “Three, two, one!” I pulled out the rune parchment with my free hand and looked away while also covering my eyes. I could almost feel the flash through my skin it was so bright. I tossed the crumbling parchment away and saw that all the goblins were staggered. Bran was rushing out of the tree line as another arrow flew by and into a goblin.

  Between us we managed to kill five goblins before they recovered, leaving nine for us to face. “Over here!” I shouted again and held up a second piece of parchment. It was blank but the goblins didn’t realize this. Most of the goblins looked away and Bran and I managed to kill another one each before they wised up that it was a decoy.

  I used slow three more times to kill off the goblins I was facing quickly while Bran and George finished off the remainder. We were sweaty, tired, but completely exhilarated at our flawless victory. “We did it!” Said George as he let out a manic laugh.

  “Yeah, by the Gods, we did it.” Bran said.

  “Let’s get to work, also once you are done getting the ears. Toss the bodies in a pile so we don’t check them again.” It was slow going and we piled up all the blades off to the side. One goblin had a pouch of fifteen coppers which was a nice find. None of us wanted to touch their food or clothing so that all got tossed in the fire.

  When dawn finally came around I finished cutting off the ears of the goblin in the forest and returned to the camp. “So that makes thirty three copper in bounty, fifteen in coin, and by the looks of that metal another twenty five or so.” Bran said. He sounded tired and looked tired. I probably wasn’t much better.

  “Yeah, I am done for this expedition also.” I added.

  “Two levels for us and one for you, I can’t believe it.” George said. “We kick some serious ass.” We bundled up the weapons in our packs spread out between us while Bran hauled the bounties. With that done we set off for Jopel.

  ***

  Five days later we made it back to Jopel late in the evening. “Alright, first let’s find the black smith and sell the loot.” I said. There was no disagreement so it was easy enough to find the man in his forge.

  “What do you want?” He asked.

  “Selling weapons for scrap or whatever.” He gestured at an empty work bench and we began to lay them out.

  “Almost raw iron with other crap in it. These two look better, but still crappier than what I can make. Twenty copper.” He said.

  “Thirty two, you probably don’t get much around here to work with.”

  “Even less to sell to and even less money around here, twenty two.”

  “You wouldn’t take advantage of innocent children would you? Twenty five.”

  “If you are innocent children then I am a goblin. Yeah I know where this kind of crap comes from. Twenty four, just because you are cute.” I gave a glare back but nodded. “Good.” He reached under the counter for a bit and then laid out the copper. After a quick count I scooped them up and we left.

  “You haggle worse than an old fish wife.” Bran said. I shot him a glare.

  “If you don’t like it I am more than happy to keep the extra copper I got us.”

  “No, no, oh wise master Ed. Your power knows no bounds, why I shall let you haggle for everything in the future.” Bran said.

  “Still shitty. We spent thrity copper each for food and we only made…how much?” George asked. I couldn’t tell if their behavior was based on a low wisdom score, poor upbringing, or both. How anyone could not keep track of money was beyond me.

  “Seventy two.” I said. “The big thing are the levels and maybe we can pick up one or two more people at the guild hall.”

  “True, just was hoping to have a lot more. Only got about eighty copper left.” George said with a sigh.

  “Fifty copper here not counting what we made.” Bran added.

  “A hundred and fifteen. So you want to stay for two nights in town or one?” I asked.

  “One.” George said.

/>   “Two.” Bran said at the same time. They looked at each other, then at me.

  “Why two?” I asked Bran.

  “I need a break and some real food.” I looked at George.

  “Two days sure.” George said. We set off for the guild hall and came in. The crowd was fairly large, with six people sitting around. I didn’t see Yonson as we all made our way to Boron.

  “All alive and returned. Now did you run away or do you have anything interesting?” Boron asked.

  Bran set the sack off to the side. “Bounties worth thirty three copper. Four wargs, rest goblins. I want the sack back.” Boron walked over and looked in.

  “Alright, not bad at all. Be right back.” Boron took the sack into the back room and returned with it empty and handed it back to Bran. “So you want that on a tab for rooms and meals?” He asked.

  “One room for the three of us. I can sleep on the floor.” I said the last part in response to the others stares. “Two nights and meals for tonight and tomorrow.”

  “Twenty nine copper then.” Boron pulled out four copper and handed it over to me along with a key. “Room two. Meals will be out in a bit, grab a table. Oh, almost forgot.” He began to fill up three mugs. “First drink is on the house for ones. Got to have something to look forward to for living and making it back.” We took our drinks and thanked him.

  We found a table near the fire place and sat down. “A toast, to friends and victories.” George said and raised his mug.

  Both Bran and I repeated the cheer and raised our mugs and then all drank. “That is just what I needed.” Bran said as we all relaxed.

  “Just get back?” A slightly older teen came over and asked. He had the beginning of a beard and a sword at his waist.

  “Yeah, so many goblins. It was touch and go but we did it.” Bran said.

  “I am Talon.” I looked at his medallion, silver and a two engraved on it.

  “You are welcome to join us.” I said. He sat down on a nearby chair.

  “Thank you. So goblins. I just traveled here from Azalon.” Talon said.

  “We grew up there, not a half bad city.” George said.