A goblin scout, separated from his group, is running in the forest. He doesn't know what or who struck his group, but he only knows that to survive, he must run. Usually, the enemy is on sight, and numbers are on your back, so not many things are scary for them. They can win any battle with just these two. But this isn't one of these battles. He has no one to cover his back or an enemy on sight to attack.

 

While running, he decided to think about the scene of the attack. Town's shaman sent him and four other goblins to look around since wolfs were getting pretty aggressive about their territory expansion. Scouting jobs were always boring but safer than most assignments, so he was okay with it. He was less unlikely to fight against a wolf than a random bastard currently waiting in the town. After all, their job wasn't to attack the enemy but alert the tribe. 

 

He began hitting his head in frustration and self-anger. It is supposed to be safe, just a little scouting mission. Mess around a bit, slack and nap if everyone agrees, then turn back before dawn, until that moment.

 

A painful scream pierced through his eardrums. He turned towards the source and saw one of his friends pinned to the ground with a large spear stuck on his back. He opened his mouth to shout and alert his friends, but his efforts got suppressed by another scream coming from his back, and before he even managed to understand what was happening, another one followed it, much louder.

 

Then, he heard something hitting the ground. Something heavy and probably dangerous, so he began running. He didn't know the exact reason, but his instincts told him to run. Without looking at his back, he began escaping from there fast as he could. He even dropped the dagger he was carrying.

 

Yet he managed to look at what dropped from the above, even if it was for a split second. A silhouette, similar to one of a Draugr, this was no good news. Those were much more dangerous than skeletons since they were almost all armored and equipped with weapons, but they usually didn't come to their territory.

 

"Chief must know." He said to himself in a language that sounded like gibberish to other creatures while running. "But must survive first." He added.

 

But before he managed to run any further, something tackled him to the ground then a painful shock followed it. He looked down. Something pierced through its throat. He is getting drowned in his blood, but thankfully, it isn't hurting much as he thought it would. Seconds later, he closed his eyes for eternal sleep.

                                            *****

 

It has been a week since I cleared that dungeon, and meanwhile, I grew confidence in myself thanks to my new toys. These gauntlets with skeleton gravings are fantastic. The amount of lethality it gives to my bare hands on one side, these things have endless possibilities. With the increased grip strength, I began testing what I could do.

 

My first experiment was with skeletons. I let them attack me for minutes while I just blocked the incoming attacks, and hear that, let alone make me drop my sword, they didn't even manage to shake my grip.

 

Then I tried lifting stuff and. I think I broke my record. Maybe with more training and monster hunting, I can get stronger and lift entire tree trunks one day, huh?

 

After that, I decided to climb a tree to see what would happen, and I must admit, I am still shocked by it. I can move between trees like a monkey. I can sneak past any danger lurking below or follow my targets without them knowing. 

 

Of course, trees here are massive, and having thick and sturdy branches is one factor helping me, but being able to ambush or avoid the enemy is a gift from the gods.

 

So, I trained my ability for the last week, next to my study in magic, and read books to understand this world before my first human interaction. Each day, I got better and better. Now, I can move between trees with ease.

 

So, I decided to ask this question to the Voice. "Who are my targets." And weirdly, it answered instead of telling. "Library error." Or some other bullshit.

 

"Goblin Shaman, Draugr Warboss, Great Graywolf, and Unknown." Well told me for the most part.

 

Among the books in the pile, I found one named monster manual for adventurers. It isn't a big book but contains some information about monsters of this world.

 

It only talks about common monsters and says this on the first page. "For most beginners, those monsters are deadly enough, don't even think about going against anything not presented in the book, of course, if you value your life." What harsh words, but one must be cruel to stop stupidity.

 

But warnings aside, I learned a thing or two about goblins. Creatures have an intelligence of a four-year kid and a language that sounds gibberish to us, which they use to communicate. They are not dangerous when alone if you avoid ambushes. Their teeth carry lots of diseases since they consume anything they can eat and never wash it. Getting bitten by one might cause problems later. The larger ones, as I guessed from the words of that dying man, are called hobgoblins, and they are a little stronger than an average man, but for every hundred and fifty goblins, there are one or two hobos at one tribe.

 

And yes, tribes. They live in large cave systems, or if the tribe is large enough, they settle in invaded villages or towns they built. They lack the ability to communicate with other creatures, so trade with such towns is impossible, but they can copy others. And do it quite well.

 

Shamans are things that use magic on a more primal level and, at least according to the guidebook, lack physical protection. My object is to get into this town, kill the shaman, then use my new climbing gloves to get the fuck out of there. I assassinated better-protected officers in my time.

 

And to do that, what I must do. This.

 

I kicked the goblin I stabbed out of my sword and cleaned the blood over it using the clothing goblin was wearing.

 

Since morning, I've been following and killing goblin scouts all over the forest. It started with one party near my shelter, and after that, I killed a group fighting with a lone wolf. Now it is these guys.

 

I brought lots of spears with me, and since I have the high ground, why not throw a thing or two to the enemy? It works most of the time. I mean, guns work that way. The only difference is chemical reactions do the throwing part. Well, I talked enough.

 

I moved to a tree and grabbed its trunks. Thanks to my increased grip strength and protection by gauntlets, my fingers pierce through the wood and hold me strong, which helps me to climb any tree.

 

After a short climb, I began jumping between branches and moving inside the forest. I can see some smoke trails, a little far from here. Maybe my target is probably there. It doesn't matter if I miss my mark. I brought enough supplies this time, and I am ready for some adventure.

 

                                    *****

 

The night almost fell over the forest, but I reached my target. It is a small settlement surrounded by wooden walls and some tower-like wooden structures. There are several small shelters and one big circular hut in the middle.

 

I can see many goblins moving around, carrying things, or staying on the lookout. I sometimes even see more than ten of them entering the same shelter. I suppose those places have underground segments with lots of monsters inside.

 

The whole place is burnable, and I can see a massive bonfire surrounded by a water source with buckets. Make a wooden castle but not make it fire-protected. What a shame I have time and a lighter in my pocket. Oh, I almost forget about this little toy I found while moving around.

 

A white flower with black dots, this thing smells like gasoline. That's how I found it near a flow three days ago.

 

I was shocked by this familiar smell and changed my route fast as I could, with a hope for help or other humans. Instead, I found this flower with lots of highly flammable oil. I discovered that fact with a not very funny incident. I picked many as I could and brought them back to the shelter. After it, I crushed it and put its oil to a flash, which I was going to use as an incendiary grenade, but now I will use it for arson.

 

                                          *****

 

After waiting for some time, I have enough darkness to blanket me. 

 

I carefully climbed down the tree I was scouting the area and used a clear path to sneak to a wall.

 

There isn't any moon today, so scouts and watchers are limited to what they can see with their torches. That means I managed to do what I must.

 

Near the wall, I opened the flask and carefully poured it on the walls. One mistake and a little oil on my clothes, and I burn myself too.

 

And finally, I grabbed a piece of money from my wallet, wrapped it around a change, lit it with my lighter, and threw it into the oil. Suddenly, a massive fire roared and began spreading faster than mobile phone addiction through the walls.

 

Using the chaos, I snuck to another part of the wall and started listening inside. All goblins are screaming and running around to stop this mess. A piece of the wall got knocked down and spread the fire even more.

 

I climbed up to the walls and peeked inside. Fire is spreading more than I assumed, and it is coming here fast. I don't have much time. I jumped in and landed over a goblin carrying a bucket. I immediately cut its throat to stop it from alerting others and began moving towards the hut at the center, using smaller shelters as covers. "Plan goes perfectly. With this heat of the moment, there won't even be wet blood on the floor by tomorrow."