Upon donning a new and somewhat larger silky cloth shirt looted from the human mercenary group and left-over boot of the Ebongrave caravan, I followed the now beaming petite drow girl and goofy draugr champion. Although when under Mia's shy demeanor she would usually hide away her more carnal desires, but having been away from her for so long had definitely taken a toll on her ability to control it.

 

This was very apparent with the way she stared at me with a hungry glint in her eyes. To corral the thirsty drow from literally jumping my bones once I let down my guard, I promised her a proper 'reunion' once I got everything in order. Some pouting and embarrassment later, she followed along into the newly expanded tribe.

 

From high above, I had seen that the tribe had undergone a massive change. Both in size and quality. Although I hadn't managed to properly take in all the new developments due to the distracting nature of finally seeing Mia again, I was now finally marveling at the changes that were like day and night from how it once looked to now.

 

Moving along a paved road demarcated by gravel, I swiveled my head in all directions to take in the sight. Gone were the many ramshackle tents in questionable states of repair, now replaced with proper wooden shacks and buildings of all sizes. It was to my astonishment that I could easily recognize that the quality of the structures wasn't anything to scoff at either. A testament to hobgoblin ingenuity and craftsmanship.

 

After a query that was promptly answered by a flustered Darkan that had intercepted the precession of Mia, Bob, and I, I learned that the tribe had managed to acquire a hobgoblin extremely well-versed in the art of building. The mention of somebody having a high affinity for building made me ponder about if it was possible to raise the hobgoblin's level or tier to increase the quality of its work.

 

Putting the thought in the back of my mind as a mental note to be reviewed later, I continued onto the next subject that also caused me a lot of intrigue. Everywhere I looked, crowds of greenskins milling about could be seen. The number had severely increased since last time. Now growing to over a thousand greenskins compared to the handful of hundreds there had been when I originally left with Mia to explore the rocky hills.

 

However, the quantity of the greenskins wasn't really what had caught my intention. Rather, it was the fact that many of the hobgoblins had reddish skin instead of the tell-tale dark-toned green skin natural to that of hobgoblins. Other than that, the ratio of goblins to hobgoblins had been skewed to the point where hobs were the majority now.

 

If I had to estimate, there were about four-hundred goblins and close to six-hundred hobs. Most of these hobs all shared this same reddish skin color so I pulled up one of their statuses.

 

-Appraisal!-

 

Glancing over the status sheet of one of these red-skinned hobgoblins, it became readily apparent what had happened. Many of the goblins that had been afflicted with the Sanguine Plague had apparently evolved into their blood thrall counterparts of the ordinary hobgoblins.

 

It seemed that Mia definitely hadn't slacked off in distributing the Sanguine Plague around the tribe, and now that I spread my senses out, I could sense each greenskin with my blood and essence inside them like radiant beacons in the dark.

 

But as I reveled in the odd feeling of having my authority and dominion spread so wide in each of these living individuals, I quickly picked up on an anomaly in the sea of crimson beacons. In a fortified shack, I could feel the distinct presence of humans. My expression going stern and eyes cold at the possibility of humans having infiltrated my tribe, I barked at Darkan.

 

"Why - the fuck - do I sense humans!?" - Me

 

With a scared expression at the sudden outburst from me, Darkan couldn't get the words out to explain. But luckily, Mia came to his rescue by laying a calming hand on my arm.

 

"Master, calm. Don't worry, they're just captives we've found." - Mia

 

Getting confirmation that it wasn't some unknown humans that had secretly infiltrated my territory, my tension deflated like a popped balloon and I calmed down, giving Mia a soft smile and Darkan an apologizing expression for frightening him.

 

"How come you've imprisoned them instead of killing them?" - Me

 

I was rather confused as to the reasoning for this since I knew greenskins were more than happy to kill humans on sight.

 

-Or at least until they were done with them...

 

"This is due to the odd circumstance of their capture... Well, you see. We found them escaping from a pair of giant wolves. We haven't been able to communicate with them that well since none of us speak their human language, however, we do know that they came from the direction of the swamps." - Darkan

 

Hearing the mention of a pair of giant wolves and the swamp, I let out a chuckle of nostalgia. It wasn't hard to guess that those 'giant wolves' were the pair of Ebonwood Dire Wolves that I had once encountered back in my brief trek to the swamps back when I was just a mere mosquito. But done reminiscing, I redirected my gaze back at Darkan again.

 

"I'm guessing there's more to it than that. I'm having a hard time believing that was enough for you to spare their lives. But how did you even manage to capture them? I'm sensing their presence, and I can feel they're not too weak, but too strong for most hobs here." - Me

 

"We have recently merged with some new tribes that all possessed a few orcs. With the assistance of Rena, Grul, and the new orcs, we subdued the humans. But before any further action had been taken, we discovered a peculiar item in their possession that we've been unable to identify. The only reason we hadn't just thrown it away and killed the humans was because of Mia's instructions." - Darkan

 

Giving Mia a curious glance to inquire further about what Darkan was talking about, I realized that she was now staring at my muscles once again, an absentmindedly expression on her face. Heated eyes giving way to her obvious desire.

 

"Ahem- Mia?" - Me

 

Snapping out of her daze, she was confused by the gazes looking at her, and first realized what she had done after a long moment or two. Darkan was awkwardly looking on at the scene while Bob was quietly snickering at the now furiously blushing Mia.

 

"A-ah..." - Mia

 

Visibly taking a moment to take in a deep breath and calm herself, she shyly looked at me. She spoke in a very low voice, obviously very embarrassed.

 

"I-it's weird. It's this small, slightly uneven, and round earthy ball. But when I first saw it, I-I somehow felt like it very faintly resonated with my nature and magic. I'm not sure, but it feels... alive." - Mia

 

Interest now peaked, I asked for them to lead me to those prisoners. On our way, I allowed myself to continue taking in the new surroundings of the tribe as we strolled about. After moving past a cluster of buildings that gave way to what laid beyond, I was met with a very large field filled with numerous greenskins moving through all kinds of exercises and sparing.

 

Directing them all, were Rena and Grul. Holding true to the one instruction I had given them to do before I left. When they caught the eye of our precession moving towards the fortified holding cells, they at first had very confused expressions due to the unrecognizable appearance of me. However, after tugging slightly upon the influence inside them that was my power, they instantly realized who I really was. Dropping whatever they were doing, they started to run excitedly towards us.

 

But I just gestured to them to continue their work as I wanted to care of this human situation before I did anything else. Understanding my meaning, they returned to bark a few orders at some of the more lazy goblins and hobs.

 

We arrived at the large and wide building that was made of wood and stone, passing by some hobgoblin guards that respectfully opened the doors for us. Walking inside, I realized with the doors, furniture, and items inside, that they used metal hinges and other contraptions using forged metal.

 

I was surprised at seeing such things since I knew for sure that the tribe didn't have the resources or the capability to produce such things. It definitely also wasn't so that these were just scavenged things, so I could only wonder how they had managed to accomplish it. Making another mental note to check up on later, I discarded the thoughts and turned to the four haggard figures inside one of the wooden and metal-framed cells.

 

It was one mature woman and three middle-aged men that all only donned a few articles of clothing, the type you would typically wear underneath your armor. As if to confirm that observation, I looked over at one of the corners of the room where a small stash of armor and weaponry could be seen. The pile obviously being their stripped gear.

 

The woman wasn't all that beautiful, only having a slight mature charm. Something only intelligent women that had passed their youths could possess. The three middle-aged men, while not identical, shared a lot of the same features. Most likely all brothers or all at least sharing a single parent.

 

While their stern expressions told of vast experience and mental fortitude, the hidden fear in their eyes was wholly unable to escape my observant eyes. They were at first extremely surprised to see someone that looked like a human enter with a bunch of monsters following just behind, but when they realized the inhuman looks of my appearance and the pointy ears, they realized I was anything but human.

 

"Elf? What is an elf doing with filthy monsters?" - ???

 

Scoffing at the man who just spoke in Mordrian, I locked eyes with him. The natural power difference between him and me making his body tremble with inexplicable fear. Looking over each of their statuses, I saw that they were all E-ranked humans. Rather strong for Mordrian humans of this area.

 

Placing myself directly in front of their cell, I adopted an indifferent gaze.

 

"I'm no elf." - Me