My first thought is that something bad has happened and that's why I'm being shaken awake, again. Then I realize that the hand shaking me is green and small, unlined by age like most of the adults. When I realize that, I startle awake and sit up in alarm.
"Shh, shh. Malachai, it's just me. I need you to do something for me, but you can't tell anyone." Layna's standing there looking very much like the child she is, instead of the high elder she was last night, and she's looking very embarrassed.
Groggy, and stifling a yawn, I nod and stretch, checking the time. "Yeah, sure. What do you need me to do, Miss Layna? Seems important, whatever it is." I give in to the yawn and stretch again, forgetting to ask if I can go into town.
"I want you to go into the human town and get me a list of items. Don't be worried though, I have the money for it..." She adds, seeing my incredulous face.
"It's not the money I'm worried about, miss, it's the fact that you want me to go into the human town, for human things, and you're a goblin... First of all, how do you know what humans sell? Did you sneak into the town when no one was looking? That's very dangerous for human children, let alone goblin children..." My words fail me at that point and I just sit there, confused and staring at her. She blushes a darker green and looks down, unable to meet my eyes.
"Alright." I sigh finally. "Let me see the list. I was planning on asking you if I could buy some things for the village in the first place, so I guess I can add a few specialty items..." I smile at her and hold out my hand for her list, watching as she pulls out a scrap of paper about as big as the palm of my hand and hands it to me.
The list is written very carefully and the paper is worn in spots around the edges, and it's filled with all the things a little human girl would want. Sweets and candies, some frilly bits of cloth, a small doll. Very much a list for a little girl. Rubbing the last of the sleep from my face, I check the time again and turn off my alarm. It had been set to go off in an hour and a half, but an early start is good as well.
"Will you gather the everyone in the village center please? I'd like to know what everyone else needs as well. Also, this will give you a chance to up your standing with the village. Take your time, though, I'm not headed out for another few hours. I've got a bit of training to do before I go." I fold her list neatly and place it on the pillow, pulling out the clothes I arrived in and exchanging them, once she leaves, for the goblin wear. I secure my hair in the hair tie and pull my weapons from under the bed, equipping them with a little reluctance.
"Ugh... let's see... First town dislikes my knowledge of the underbelly, I don't want to go there, and second town may be too far away. I don't exactly know where I am since I was brought here unconscious, but it must be near a town since the raiding party looked fresh... I'll need to get a map along with the lists."
Once I'm done getting ready, I head out to the training field and pull out one of the swords from my inventory, swinging it experimentally through the air. A slight humming fills the air, even when the sword stops moving, and it starts to heat up in my hand, making me yelp and drop it. It singes the ground and I hastily put it away, checking its name. The Dragon's Flame. Huh... no wonder it burned. It was meant to be weilded by a dragon. I should check the names of these things before I equip them.
Equipping, instead, the bow and arrows, I aim at one of the trees ringing the clearing, sighting and releasing quickly and moving in the blink of an eye to a new position, an arrow already knocked. I switch between positions like lightning, my arrows flying and thudding into the trunks with great speed. Once I've built up a nice sweat, I move to a standing position and follow up with cool down exercises, my breathing regulating and my heartbeat slowing down. It all takes maybe two hours before I'm done, and by that time the village center has become a swarm of activity, Layna writing down supplies and the villagers handing forward what money they can spare.
Everyone quiets down and turns toward me as I enter the village center and a little girl comes up to me, handing me a copper crescent and looking up at me with wide eyes.
"Will you get me a small candy? I saved up for it all year since my momma said that a crescent under my pillow would bring me a candy." She widens her eyes even more, somehow, and I crouch down, smiling gently. I curl her hand around the coin and whisper.
"I'll get you three if you behave and listen to your momma, but keep your money sweetie. Between you and me, I've got a sweet tooth myself and I was already getting some candies. Deal?" I wink as she nods and send her back to her mom, walking over to Layna.
"Seems like a bit much for one trip, yes?" I ask, looking at the several pages worth of items. "Maybe I could do this over a few days? I don't want the humans getting suspicious, you know..." She sighs and rubs her face trying to think. It suddenly dawns on me, however, that I can easily transfer all the things I need to with the help of a Sustained Portal Crystal, one of the interesting things that makes this game different from most rpgs.
Rooting through my inventory, I find a small one and hand it to Layna. "Take this and put it somewhere with a lot of room that isn't frequently used. I'll transfer the small stuff that can fit through, and I'll bring the rest tonight. I do need a map of the surrounding area, though. I wasn't exactly lucid when Krisht brought me here." I smile to take the sting out of my words and hand her the Crystal, patting her hand.
Okay, I'm lost. Utterly and completely lost.
Taking an arrow from my quiver, I shoot it into the sky, watching as it explodes into bright blue sparks. I sit with my back against a tree, my head resting against it, my eyes closed, my weapons in my lap, and the rest of my items tucked safely in my inventory. If I couldn't find my own way out, I'd wait for someone to find me. Sure enough, it only takes about fifteen minutes before I hear a crashing through the trees and a knight, or at least someone dressed as a knight, falls into the tiny clearing I'm resting in.
"Hello. My name is Malachai and I seem to be list. Any idea where the second town is?" He stands up and I smile, holding out my hands away from my bow, and showing that I have no intention of hurting him. "I seem to have gotten lost while trying to level up, and I'm low on health potions. If you help me though, I have a few royals I can spare."
He glares at me suspiciously, a hand resting on his sword hilt. "How do I know you won't kill me once my back is turned? I've met archers before and they're almost as bad as thieves."
I grin and chuckle, moving slowly and dequipping my weapons. "Wow... Jumpy lot, you knights. What is this, just the natural attitude required for knighthood? A total mistrust of someone who's a distance attacker or a sneak? Glad I'm not one of you."
I stand and hold out my hand for him to take, introducing myself again. "My name is Malachai Vaux, and I mean you no harm. I'm use trying to do some errands and I got lost on the way. I was camping in these woods, I can't remember where, and everything seemed to change overnight."
He finally takes my hand, albeit reluctantly, and introduces himself. "My name is Redhawk, knight of the ninth order, member of the Golden Legion. My commanding officer saw your distress signal and sent me to find out if it was a trap. Come with me, I'll take you to the camp on the outskirts of the woods." We walk for about a minute before he starts talking again, fidgeting nervously.
"You know, it's no wonder you got lost. I'm surprised you're even still alive and not at some revive point. These woods are dangerous; they're called the Formless Woods. You could walk in a perfectly straight path and never leave, or you could exit where you entered after five minutes. We've only been able to successfully map it because of the Theseus Yarn, and even then, the paths change after we leave."
At this point, we finally arrive at the outskirts of the woods and a bit to the side of the camp. It's a fairly large campsite, white tents filling up a good acre of land outside the forest; banners, gleaming gold in the sunshine, flying from the tops of each tent; insignias of different types decorating the sides of the tents on all sides so that, no matter which way you approached, you faced them knowing who was there. Redhawk, the clumsy knight who found me, leads me to the biggest tent in the center of the group, a golden Hydra head plastered gaudily on each side of the tent. He pokes his head into the tent, his voice soft even with barely a foot between us, and next thing I know, I'm shoved into the tent to face a knight wearing gleaming gold burnished armor.
"Well, well. Looks like it was a distress signal after all." He turns to Redhawk and waves dismissively. "You may go. I have business to discuss with this young man, and I need it to remain confidential." Redhawk bows his head and leaves, not noticing the absence of the rope cord that was tied around his neck.
The knight in charge, or at least, I'm assuming he is, stands about three inches shorter than my six feet, his hair cut close to his scalp, his body hidden from the shoulders down in his armor. His face is placid, but I can feel him assessing me with his shrewd little eyes, his hands steepled under his chin as he looks me over.
"Why were you out in the woods? If you don't tell the truth, I shall know, and I shall be very vexed." He narrows his eyes slightly and I can tell her means every word of what he says, so I opt for half truths, trying to keep the goblins village, and my being able to communicate with them, a secret.
"A few days ago, I was knocked out. When I came to, I was in the company of goblins. They were on their way somewhere, I'm assuming some kind of camp, and I noticed a raiding party attacking something. When the goblins saw what they were attacking, I slipped away at the first opportunity. I still had some stuff with me, enough to camp out, and I stayed in the woods, trying to find my way out. The distress arrow I fired off was expensive, so I didn't really want to use it, but I had no choice. I used it, and now here I am." I shrug and lean against one of the tent poles holding it up from the inside, my arms folded over my chest, and my feet crossed. It wasn't the hole truth, and it wasn't technically a lie, either. Just the truth bent a bit far.
"Hm. Fine. There are a few holes in that story, but I forsee nothing that could harm my men or myself. What business do you have to attend to, then? It is a knights forsworn duty to uphold the law and to help those in need, and I intend to uphold my oath." He leans back in his chair and rests his arms on the arms of the chair, weariness crossing his features in a fleeting moment.
"I was on my way to the second town, which they really need to rename, before I got ambushed. I'm a currier, at the moment, and I have quite a large order to fill before I get paid, and my deadline is in a couple of days. One of my employers gave me access to an SPC so that I didn't have to overload my inventory and I could just send the items directly to her. If I don't find and buy all the items by sundown today, I lose access, and pay." I equip my bow and arrows again, idly, and use one of my daggers to clean my filthy nails.
"Alright then. I'll send you with young Redhawk. He can take you to second town safely. I will, however, require recompense for my knights services." He holds out his hand expectantly and I chuckle mirthlessly.
"And there it is. I'm afraid I cannot give you any money. All I have is what's needed for the order, and if I don't etc everything on her list, yet I come back with less money than I'm supposed to, it will be on your head, since I will have to alert her to the person who cost me her money. She is a very high standing noble, as well, so I wouldn't push my luck, if I were you." I add, seeing him about to comment further. He closes his mouth and grimaces at me, his armor clinking every time he moves.
"Cocky bastard. Think you're all that, just because you work for a noble in the game..." I cut him off there and grin wickedly at him.
"Ah, ah, ah... I never said she was just a noble in game, did I? Now, either I can get robbed in broad daylight by you and you never play this game again, or you can let me walk out of here free." I can feel my charisma rising with every second I spend in this mans presence. He's so gullible, it's almost no fun at all.
Finally, he growls softly and waves me away, and calls in Redhawk, talking softly. Redhawk comes out and motions for me to follow him, leading me out of the camp grounds and towards a town barely seen in the distance. He is unusually quiet, seeing as he was a chatterbox earlier, but I preferred silence to babble, and I enjoyed the walk, my senses alert for any trace of treachery or malignant intentions.
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