8 Prologue (8)

My panting was audible in the small clearing I found myself in, the stinging of a small cut on my arm making me grit my teeth for a moment as I applied some pressure to it before using a leaf to stop the bleeding, a burst of my mana cleansing it of germs and keeping it in place as I looked back at the small mound of corpses.

Some more Goblins and come to attack me, and the three Feral Goblins that had hidden amongst the weaker monsters surprised me, resulting in the small cut from one of their steel blades.

It would seem that one of the monster layers nearby was a Goblin Den, since these little bastards were roaming far too freely and were too common to be natural spawns.

The cut was entirely my fault as well since I got overexcited and cocky, thinking I could blast through the Goblins and farm some easy experience, which let those three Feral Goblins apply so much pressure to me.

My fate if they caught me would be terrible - if I remained in game for it, anyways - so I made sure to dispatch them with prejudice, putting them down swiftly on the edge of my Falchion and swearing to not take this game lightly anymore.

It was still a realistic Fantasy RPG at the end of the day, and letting my guard down could be a horrifying experience...

There were some horror stories of players who got caught unawares and experienced some things that no one should ever have to experience, which had been a source of distress for the player base until the devs reminded everyone that there was a feature to auto logout whenever something like that happened, though it meant your character would be penalized before it was teleported back to a safe zone.

Many still boycotted the game for that reason, and it was understandable, but the devs never apologized or made changes, just double downing on the 21+ rating on the game and bringing the various agreements to bear as they reminded everyone that this was something that was in said agreements, and everyone had signed and acknowledged that this was a possibility; it was even a warning on the cartridge and on the startup page.

I shuddered as I wondered what I would have done in those situations, which had fueled my hatred for these little bastards just as much as anyone else's, so I made sure to dispatch any and all Goblin monster that I saw.

The trees around me had begun to thin out too, which made me doubly certain that there was a Goblin Den nearby as well, since monsters grew scarcer near the borders of the Forests, especially when there was a settlement nearby; settlements were high risk, high reward locations, and while some monsters took that risk, most didn't.

Smarter than most animals but still not sentient like mortals, monsters were dangerous but cautious, and Goblins were doubly so thanks to their usual cowardice.

Rubbing at my wound, I continued through the beautiful crimson and purple forest as I made my way out, stepping out onto a sea of long green grass that swayed in the soft breeze, covering the expanse of rolling hills and relatively flat ground. 

In the distance I could see the walls of the town looming over fields of golden wheat and orchards of luscious trees, a relieved sigh escaping my lips as I left Yngrave Forest behind and stepped out into the surrounding plains, wondering what that town held for me.

It wasn't far either, and after a minute or so of walking I found myself a path that led towards its stone walls, which I began to follow as I sheathed my Falchion and instead enjoyed the slight chill in the winds, making me wonder if Autumn was around the corner.

Idle thoughts of seasons and different monster variants filled my head as I ventured towards the stone walls of the town, its towers and defenses visible even from here, making it seem more like a fortress instead of a normal town...

My fingers drummed on the pommel of my Falchion, and I took a deep breath as I approached the gates, my eyes landing on the NPC's of this game for the first time ever.

Around me, a collection of humanoid races milled around, going about their days on routes and schedules that even the devs had no true idea of, their AI programming making them autonomous from everything besides World Events, Regional Events, and Player Interaction.

They weren't human - I could tell that thanks to the various animal features they had, like Dog and Cat ears and tails, tusks, hooves, fur, fangs, scales and so much more.

Standing in front of the gate were two men wearing simple metal armor, their heavy war spears resting against their shoulders as they guarded the gate, and their eyes landed on me as I approached, resulting in one moving towards me, his spear still lax but ready to be wielded.

"Halt! I don't recognize you..."

His fluffy, floppy Dog ears twitched, and his nostrils flared as he took a whiff of the air, resulting in his eyes narrowing as he stared at me, obviously wary of the scent of blood surrounding me.

Making sure my hands were up and empty, I said "You wouldn't; I'm a traveler looking for work. Took a detour through the Forest and... well, found out it wasn't a detour."

Snorting, he nodded and relaxed, saying "Ran into the Lumber Wolves then?"

"No, Goblins actually. Nasty things..."

The Dogkin man smirked at me, his eyes flashing with appreciation as he replied "That's great, since Lumber Wolves don't mill around these parts. Guessing you want to go into Qingrad? If so, sadly there isn't a cha-"

Mid sentence, the gates were flung open and a squad of armed soldiers marched out, resulting in the guard and I taking a few steps to the side as the men and women began to filter out of the tow, nearly two dozen strong.

At the front of their squad were two people in polished armor; two women were side by side atop horses, their serious features as they looked back matched by their squad.

"Let's get those bastards! A silver per ear according to our Lord! Let's earn our coin!"

The one to speak was a tall, thin blonde haired Dogkin woman, her face riddled in scars and displaying all sorts of experience on the field, while her simple claymore that was strapped to her back was either due to lack of money or an attachment to her weapon, which she likely used very well.

Beside her, the other woman was of average height with quite the bust, her metal armor only emphasizing those curves as it was forged to fit, and along the edges someone had lovingly carved in scripture.

Two fluffy black ears stood atop her head, matching the ebony hair that was pulled into a ponytail, which also matched the long actual tail that swished side to side randomly.

Twin short swords were strapped to her waist, and her green and blue eyes made it clear she was a Catkin.

As if sensing my gaze, her head turned towards me, looking me over as I stood beside the guard, those different colored orbs narrowing slightly as she stared me in the eyes.

Meeting her gaze, I watched as she nudged her horse over towards me, attracting the attention of her blonde companion, though she continued to rile the soldiers up.

"Hemli, correct? Who is this?"

The Catkin's voice was raspy, and I only now noticed the thick scar that ran across her throat as she stared straight at me, her collar and half gorget not covering it from the front.

"Ma'am..! Um, Trania Ma'am! She's a traveler who was hoping to get inside the town! I was informing her that she couldn't wh-"

Trania just ignored Hemli after that first part and looked me over again, asking "You want in to Qingrad?"

"Yes Ma'am."

Those eyes narrowed as she heard my response, and they fell towards my waist - specifically my Falchion - as she then asked "You're a warrior. Why should we let you in?"

I looked towards the collection of soldiers and back at her as I answered "It would seem the Goblins in the Forest are growing in number. I killed a few on my way here, and I was hoping to find some work. Would you like me to prove my worth to get in?"

Trania pursed her lips, glancing back at her companion before looking back at me, replying "If you die, it isn't my fault. I normally would tell you to piss off, but... you're right. The Goblins have been multiplying this year, and we need to cull their population. So... your payment for aiding us would be entrance to Qingrad, as well as any ears you collect. Do you accept?"

[Quest received : Aid the soldiers of Qingrad raid the Goblin Den inside Yngrave Forest]