Beastborne- Mark of the Founder

by James T Callum

  2,000 Experience Points

  Koblin Reputation (Variable).

  Item: [Goblinbane].

  Additional rewards available.

  500 Experience Points.

  [Spaulder of the Ravenblessed].

  [Brave Belt].

  Elora came up to Hal, two bowls of steaming purple rice with roasted vegetables on top in her hands. “You should eat something more than a piece of fruit.”

  Without waiting for his reply, she walked to a secluded section away from the campfires and sat down, crossing her legs beneath her lithe form in one smooth motion.

  Hal’s stomach growled again and he decided she was right.

  Buffrix would still be there in an hour.

  “Thanks,” Hal said, sitting beside her.

  He stared at the dull purple grains. It looked like something you’d make for a bratty kid who wouldn’t eat normal rice. Hal took a whiff of the bowl, it smelled just as bland as any normal bowl of rice with roasted vegetables would.

  Though he found himself missing the grits-like [Remonta].

  It was nothing outstanding but looked far heartier than the usual rations of cheese, flatbread, and dried meat he’d been given with the Rangers.

  The Ranger looked around. In the dim light, her eyes seemed more blue than gray. “We will not be able to move swiftly with so many.”

  “I’ve already considered that,” Hal replied, tasting the first spoonful. It was just as bland as it smelled but it was hot and there was something to be said about having a hot, filling meal. Even if it could really use some salt. “And there are a few solutions I think we can come up with that’ll work.”

  Elora turned toward him.

  The intensity with which she peered at him made Hal feel as if she were peeling away every inch of who he was until she could see into his very soul.

  When Elora didn’t say anything more, he pressed on, “There’s no doubt we’ll move slower but I figure that we’ve got the upper hand with such a large group. By my rough estimate, there’s at least two-hundred here.”

  “Two-hundred and forty-seven all told. Sixty-five children,” Elora cut in. “Nearly all malnourished, half-starved, or in even worse states. It will take us days merely to breach the outer reach of Fallwreath now. If we make it at all.”

  For all the harsh reality of her words, she wasn’t telling him they should sneak out the back as he had feared. Elora looked at Hal with something dangerously close to hope.

  “Then we go slower and move in a large force.” Hal chewed on a warm spoonful of rice and vegetables, thinking about the night they were ambushed. It seemed so long ago but even with being unconscious, it couldn’t have been more than a day ago. “Elora, how long was it since the attack?”

  “Not long, it should be midday of the following day. You haven’t been gone even a full day, yet.” Elora looked at the stone floor and swallowed hard past the lump in her throat. “Once Yesel told me she had lost sight of you… I left to find you.” The words came out in a strangled whisper.

  “Thank you,” Hal said, putting down the bowl and gently laying his hand on her shoulder. “I know I may not have seemed grateful when you came to rescue me, but I was. I am grateful still, Elora.”

  Elora gave him a soft smile and patted his hand with hers.

  “You don’t think they’re….” He left the question unsaid. Hal wasn’t sure how close Elora was with the Rangers but it seemed clear she felt torn over her decision to leave them in order to track and rescue Hal.

  “No.” Elora’s voice had taken on a hard edge. “They are all capable and strong in their own right, together they are a force to be reckoned with.” Her eyes found Hal’s, they burned bright with a fierce inner light. “They would have slain the force against them or driven them off. Of that I am sure.”

  Relief unfurled in Hal’s chest. He had spent a lot of time with the Rangers and they all seemed to know their craft. From the easy way they moved, it was clear that he had been slowing them down the entire time.

  Without him, they likely would never have been attacked in the first place. They would have been far away from any danger already. And they definitely would not have been captured.

  It was most likely that Hal’s blundering about in the dark to get firewood had alerted the creatures to their presence.

  He doubted the Rangers made so much as a whisper on their own.

  “How many do you think there were?” Hal asked, getting back on track.

  “Maybe a score at most.”

  “Twenty of those things attacked us?” he blurted out.

  “It’s a bit larger than typical patrols but not uncommon.” Elora had taken out one of her curved slender daggers and began to sharpen it with a whetstone the size of her palm. It made a pleasant ringing sound. Not at all like the harsh grating he had expected.

  “What would a group like that do if they saw a couple hundred?”

  Elora glanced at him, a brief quirk to her lips as she understood his meaning. “They would have wanted nothing to do with it. Goblins, even when partnered with the pack-less gnolls, are cowardly by nature. They would only attack if they thought they were assured of victory or were pressed by some darker force at their back.”

  “So then, perhaps the time for stealth and speed is over,” Hal suggested. After all, if they could keep everybody fed, there was safety in numbers. So many days away from Fallwreath, even if a group of fifty soldiers came upon them, they had more than three times that number in koblins.

  Of course, that would only work if the koblins agreed to come with them - and they were willing to fight. That last part he wasn’t too concerned about. After witnessing his fellow koblin party members in action, he was confident in their abilities.

  Nearly 200 koblins was a sizable force indeed.

  He didn’t like their chances of shepherding dozens of children with just himself and Elora. He made a note to go talk to Buffrix after he turned in the Quest about the various koblin clans and their plans for the future.

  If he could get the koblins to agree to come and Hal passed out all the goblin armaments that he had gotten, a full two-thirds of the koblins would be in some sort of fighting shape.

  That put any attacking force except a full detachment of well-trained soldiers at a severe disadvantage.

  And Hal doubted that such forces could make up the speed with which the Rangers had originally afforded them. That was if the Rangers left any discernible trail at all.

  “Perhaps,” was all Elora said.

  21

  They spoke for a while as Elora sharpened her considerable supply of blades and Hal finished his food. Hal explained his plan to enlist the koblin’s help by giving up almost all of the loot he’d found in the cavern.

  Not to mention that with all the weapons and gear they’d actually have a fighting chance should anything happen.

  With all the rags and clothes stolen from the nearby villages they could put something together for the kids and with a little more exploration might find a stash of clothes that Hal hadn’t come across in his brief search.

  By the time Hal had finished eating, earning himself another buff, they were well on the way to a full-fledged plan to get everybody geared up and able to move by nightfall.

  You eat [Rice & Roasted Vegetables].

  +10% HP Regeneration | +10% SP Regeneration | +10% MP Regeneration.

  +5 VIT.

  Duration: 8hrs.

  I could get used to a world where I got stat boosts for feeding myself.

  There was a big difference between snacking on a piece of fruit and a hearty - if bland - meal. While the [Persiskos] was tastier by far, the buffs only lasted 2 hours.

  The [Rice & Roasted Vegetables] on the other hand lasted a full 8 hours and gave superior buffs at that.

  Hal took out the chipped, weathered, and blood-stained [Deserter’s Falchion] after he was finished eating and set it in front of himself. Elora made a strangled sound in the back of her thro
at and Hal looked up sharply in alarm.

  Her face was precious. Elora’s eyes were widened in shock and revulsion as she registered what it was he had set down and then fury at the condition of it. “When we make camp, I am teaching you how to take care of your things. This.” She motioned angrily at the weapon. “It is a tragedy. A child knows how to keep better care of their things.”

  “Learning how to take care of weapons does seem like a good idea,” he agreed. “I was about to ask you if you could show me.”

  She eyed the weapon with obvious disdain and picked it up with a cloth, trying to wipe the dried purple blood off it.

  It seemed the remains of a goblin didn’t explode into nothingness like the majority of its body did sometimes.

  “Carelessness aside, I did not expect you to have any plan of how to deal with those you had freed.”

  Hal grinned. “Elora, was that a compliment?” He put a hand to his chest in mock surprise.

  Her face burned red-hot and Hal quickly hopped to his feet and took several prudent steps out of her immediate striking distance for good measure. Her eyes bore into his and she whispered through gritted teeth. “There is nowhere you can run that my arrow will not find its mark.”

  With that threat at his back, Hal decided it best to leave the fiery Ranger to cool off. Besides, he had work to do.

  He had to enlist the help of the koblins, kids needed to be grouped up, people needed clothing, and there was a laundry list of other managerial tasks that had to be done if he had any hope of joining up with the Rangers and… and Hal didn’t know what after that.

  One step at a time, he reminded himself. It didn’t matter where they were going as long as they were out of the cavern before any more goblins or gnolls showed up.

  He only hoped that the koblins would agree to come along.

  Though, as Hal looked at his inventory, he somewhat doubted that would be an issue. The amount of loot he’d gotten from the goblins was almost enough to fill up the thirty slots he had.

  Without the weird way the inventory system seemed to work, he would never have been able to hold all of it. How it managed to stack 75 [Goblin Masks] into one equivalent slot, Hal didn’t know. And in the end, he didn’t much care so long as it continued to work.

  One of the things he had always struggled with in every game was encumbrance and inventory space. Two minutes into most games and he was rooted to the spot because he was overweight from shoving everything that wasn’t nailed down into his digital pockets.

  The change of pace was nice.

  The first thing was to find Buffrix, complete the Quest, and enlist his help in persuading the rest of the koblins to stay together.

  If they agreed, he’d need at least one leader per fifty koblins. That would mean he’d only need to tell three koblins – give or take – their roles in getting people outfitted instead of every single person.

  If I’m going to be getting Leadership skill, I might as well delegate like one.

  He had seen firsthand how sloppy it was trying to order a retreat without any discernible chain of command. Not that Hal was a military strategist by any stretch of the imagination but he understood efficiency.

  It took him no time at all to find the green-lensed koblin.

  His unique mask among the wooden or sack-wearing koblins made him easy to spot. He had also seemed to have picked up a gnarled and twisted staff of pale wood somewhere and was using it to help heal the koblins and children that had formed an orderly queue.

  Are no other koblins capable of healing?

  “Have you eaten yet?” Hal asked the koblin.

  “Muchly!” Buffrix replied. “Need much airy-self to cast healy-spells.” The koblin finished casting and the koblin that knelt before him cradling an arm yelped out and experimentally moved around, amazed at the difference. The healed koblin did a little jig and danced away. Buffrix turned to Hal. “Savior come to complete Quest?”

  “I have, and I wanted to ask for some help in organizing our departure and joining back up with the Rangers I was traveling with.”

  The koblin tilted his head, green lenses in his koblin mask unreadable. A white-leather mitt extended and a long blade appeared there, perfectly balanced on his palm.

  “Is gift of kobbies to Savior-Hal. Goblinbane.”

  Hal took the blade by the hilt. It was wonderfully crafted. Fashioned in much the same curved falchion design as his previous weapon but of a much higher quality.

  Gold-red runes crawled up the length of the blade on either side. They flared to life when he tightened his grip on the blade and dimmed when he held it in a relaxed stance.

  The weight of it felt good in his hand and he gave it a few experimental swings off to the side. It sang through the air with an ethereal hum.

  When Hal looked back at Buffrix, the koblin also offered a belt with a sheath, and a piece of metal attached to long leather straps. “Thank you, Buffrix,” Hal said, taking the two items.

  The curved metal with the straps turned out to be a [Spaulder of the Ravenblessed], and the belt was simply called a [Brave Belt]. After some initial confusion, Hal strapped on both the belt and the spaulder. It was hard not to laugh at his lack of anything but bloodied, tattered rags beneath the shiny new equipment.

  His eyes bulged at the difference as he examined his new equipment.

  Goblinbane

  [Sword] (Epic)

  Item Level: 18

  DMG: 14

  +2 STR | +3 CHR

  +10% Damage vs. Goblins

  Additional Effect (Goblins): Fear

  DUR: 300/300

  Lv.9 All Classes

  Spaulder of the Ravenblessed

  [Shoulders] (Epic)

  Item Level: 25

  DEF: 10

  MDEF: 10

  +1 INT

  Restores 10 MP per kill.

  Insulation: 5

  DUR: 600/600

  Lv. 10 All Classes

  Brave Belt

  [Waist] (Epic)

  Item Level: 17

  DEF: 5

  +2 STR

  Insulation: 2

  DUR: 400/400

  Lv.5 All Classes

  The koblin wrung his little mitts and looked at his long, floppy boots. When he sighed, it sounded a lot like a radiator letting off steam. “Buffrix has confession, was greedalox. Asked Savior-Hal to save clan, not all koblin. But Savior-Hal did much quick-think hand-lending and saved all koblins from stink-goblins. For this, koblin’s call you koblin-Savior.”

  Koblin Reputation: +8,000 (Savior).

  The koblins now consider you their savior and will aid you in any way you deem necessary. While they will not go against their own ethics and moral codes to do so, they will consider your will before their own needs.

  “Thank you, Buffrix. I don’t know what to say.”

  The koblin patted him kindly on the knee. “No tongue-flaps needful.”

  “If you’ve got a second, I’d like to talk to you about something, Buffrix. I don’t know what the koblins have planned for with their freedom but we could use their help. If they’re willing to stay with us until the children are safe I will surrender all of the goblin and koblin equipment.”

  The koblin looked at him, slightly turning his head. His one ear flopped to the side. “Koblins go where Savior-Hal goes. Will hear no tongue-flaps otherwise! But will take gear. Naked koblin is useless koblin,” Buffrix said.

  Hal breathed a sigh of relief. Good. That was one thing settled.

  “I also need some help organizing the group into smaller units of fifty or so with a single, trustworthy koblin to watch over it and report to me. Could you find those koblins for me?”

  Buffrix clapped his hands excitedly. “Many good-kobbies for job! Will send them near-soon.”

  “I appreciate it.”

  Hal kept busy organizing the koblins as best he could while raiding what little clothing supplies the goblins had once possessed.

  Most of the prisoner’s old c
lothes were barely worthy of the word but between Hal, Sparkspox, and Slyrix Quickfingers, the resident weaver among the koblins, they managed to salvage enough to clothe the children and remaining koblins.

  Slyrix showed himself to be exceptionally skilled with a needle and thread once they were found and could take the various shredded lengths of cloth to make clothes so that everybody was dressed.

  Hal found his old clothes but the only salvageable items were his boots. Slyrix whipped him up a serviceable pair of pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Neither of which were quite as filthy as the rest and seemed to be made out of the same piece of cloth, while most other outfits looked like a patchwork nightmare.

  None of the refugees would be winning any fashion shows, but at least they had clothes that were warm and fit them. Suffering exhaustion out in the wilds from too little insulation was a very real concern.

  A quick glance at his equipment panel showed they made no discernible difference beyond a single point of insulation. Together with his newly re-acquired [Simple Cloak], he was ready to march.

  Though he didn’t need the insulation from Lootlox, he still missed that littlest of koblins and made it his mission to find her. From overhearing various koblins, it seemed she was safe but being so small made her uniquely difficult to find.

  The koblins had built up a large bonfire after the cauldrons were set aside and food was served.

  While Hal was wondering how they were going to feed over two hundred people each day of their travels, a koblin came up to his side and gently tugged on his pant leg.

  Hal looked down into the rough sack mask of a koblin with glowing yellow lamplight eyes peering out beneath the raggedly cut eye holes. “Prowlox Bandylegs at your service, Savior-Hal! Best kobbie-girl for telling what-do.”

  “Did Buffrix send you?”

  The koblin nodded so fiercely her large green ears flopped about.

  “Good, you can be my quartermaster, do you know what that is? No? Okay, it goes like this. I give you a bunch of items and you make sure they get distributed properly to all the people. Can you do that?”