Ruin

[Three already in the party]

[Party settings activated... non holder's detected... scanning... generating profiles... profiles generated]

[Non holder's please note that only you will see your own Vitality Value(VV), while others will be able to only see your HP value and statuses. Party settings also allow for non holder's to see the damage values that party members, or yourself causes. Party members have access to system logs that allows members to understand what damage or effect is caused by/to party members at any point and time. Understand that any information that shows within the system logs, are information gained from actions/effects caused by or to party members. Note that if party members leave line of sight of other party members for longer then 10 minutes without the other members knowing, or if party members exceed the distance of 2 miles, out of line of sight of other members without other members knowing, that party member will be automatically kicked from party. Party member will be able to return within range of party and see the join party message, allowing them to join once again if party members still want said member within party]

[Further settings... Locked... conditions not met]

There it was. The familiar system message that gave non holder's like me the closest it could be to having a system. Reading through it didn't take long. The last notification had stopped bothering me at this point.

The amount of party members for any single party is six, unless you have a system holder that is capable of doing more then that. No one really knows why, at least we didn't. If you were to try to go more then that, then you would need another system user to create and allow you to join the party. After creating another party, those two parties could connect to each other to show each other's statuses and such.

That is pretty much all the benefit you can get though from combining the parties. Not as if that isn't already powerful enough. To be able to see as much as the party settings allowed one to. That in itself is a life safer. Those logs could be viewed by anyone, allowing members to have an update of everyone's situation at all times. Not to mention the other benefits.

Why we didn't use this all the time? That would be because as nice as the party setting is, it doesn't do us much good if the rest of us non-holder's rely on it too much. Talia might not always be here, so the party setting itself is not something that we could just create and use anytime we want. It is better if we non holder's can grasp our own abilities, so we could survive and thrive with our capabilities.

If nothing else though, the party settings would be able to help us get a more exact measurement of what we already feel our abilities and skills are. With our own senses, non holder's should know themselves the best. An example is how when I use my abilities and skills. I am so familiar with them, when the party settings come up with the values/effects, there isn't much, if any, errors.

The party settings doesn't allow us to grow our attributes the way we want it, nor does it create any skills/abilities for us. We have to strengthen ourselves, so I make the rest of the non holders in our party get very use to that. Which we all have. What it is useful for though, which I will never not use the advantage of, is the ability to see the skills and abilities that other members use.

Using the party setting, it would allow us to better understand each others capabilities, and how to help each other. While it would do more for us if we were to do that without the party settings, as the party setting is not always around for us, situations such as this call for the need of us all being at top shape.

Only a few moments had passed for us to read the message of joining the party before I faced towards Ymar, "We need to move. Stick tight, and cover each other's blind spots." Everyone gave an affirmative nod.

We started moving at a steady pace. "Talia take lead, I'm going to need you to keep an eye out. Sun will set soon, and we need your eyes if we can't make it their before it." A slight nod was given before she jumped upwards. Without a noise, a slight glimmer of low green light, she disappeared into thin air.

[Talia used Skill: Stealth Step]

Looking to Ymar once more, "How many," I ask as I think to myself.

'Status.'

[Status: N/A]

[Name: Ryker L'radau]

[Race: Half-Elf]

[HP: 126/126]

Besides Talia, this would be all the party members could view of themselves. When observing each other, this would also be the extent of what one could view of each other. Among the Silver Claw mercenaries, we were only the first tier contractors, just closing in on to tier two. Lowest yes, but above any of the common man. Yet now, we have to face a goblin platoon and my mood got worse and worse as Ymar started speaking.

"Total of 28. One Hobgoblin Mage, six goblin archers with long bows, five crossbow users, and 16 goblin warriors. All armed with swords and small round shields…" Ymar paused and took a breath, "quite frankly, we could take them on… More worrisome is the type of goblin platoon we are facing."

He was right. We all knew. A red skin hobgoblin mage is bad enough as it is. The skin colors for the goblin race is indicative of its strength. Red skin goblins, much less hobgoblins are known to be top tier in their respective strengths.

Putting it into perspective, they would be one's similar in strength to I and my party members. That's not the concern however. Mage type goblinoids are never set to be leaders over a platoon.

It's just how goblinoids are in their hierarchy. They believe in the strength of body more so then brain. The mage types are always in strategy roles, never taking leadership as it is against their culture to allow "Arukagh" or "Weak Body," as translated from goblin language, to be a leader.

They will only take leadership roles over platoons if taking leadership over a platoon size element doesn't count as "leadership" in their eyes. Meaning, platoon leadership isn't the top of these goblinoids hierarchy. Something higher then that is.

Spitting at the ground, Axis states, "Gods be damned, there's tier two in this area."

That's the most likely answer for a goblin mage taking up a platoon size element. Whether that be a goblin, or not, that is just something we can't handle without serious damage.

"Due to the nature of goblins, we are most likely dealing with some type of monster/beast with tier two physical strength," I state seriously.

Talia at the front adds, "resistant to blunt, piercing, slashing, cutting, and any other type of physical damage from normal weapons like ours. Either some of those or all, are things they are resistant to, we won't know."

"That is if it only has tier two physical strength. It may have magic in its skill set," our furry friend added to the ever growing list of how bad the monster could be.

Shaking my head, as I look back towards the direction they were coming from, "We just need to get to the ruins." 'It'll be our only chance to hide in secure places,' I said to myself.

That's when we heard it. Howls… multiple of them. Coming from the same direction as the goblin platoon. "Wolves?" I asked, only to see Ymar tense up. "Those aren't the call of the wolves." He looked at me, "those are the call of worgs."

"It can't be." Axis states but Ymar is never wrong with animal callings. Ymar crouches down and makes the action to jump up, as he flashes upwards in a blur of motion into a nearby treetop.

[Ymar used Skill: Leaping Shadow]

After a few moments we hear, "they called for rides, and they are mounting!"

He looks down towards us and in a rare moment of panic for the eloquent Ratfolk, yells, "Run to the ruins!"

And that's what we did. We ran. Ran as the sunlight had started to turn orange against our skins. Ymar and Talia had both taken to the trees, as both me and Axis ran with all our might towards the closest wall of the ruins.

One that we noticed, as we were coming up, had smoke coming up. In hopes of finding some type of other reinforcements we had ran towards there. Hoping to the gods above that there was some semblance of people to help if they were strong. Or if they weren't, we would warn them of the attack to come, so we could usher them to safety.

Yet all that we saw in the end was a boy as we were running towards the, now in view, shoddy looking camp fire. One obviously not fit for battle with ragged clothing on him. Getting closer, it seemed he was a little bit too overweight to be out here on his own. He had been standing and eating something. We tried to yell to warn him to run.

But all we could see then was him start to fall.

Arriving just before the boy and the camp fire, we could now see the state of the boy, or should I say young man. Worse for wear, would be putting it lightly. He seems to be a teenager, but his body is in a very bad condition.

Ymar, kneeled next to the boy and checked on him. "He's alive, but only barely. Starved for, I do not know how long. Days maybe?" He assessed.

That would explain why his skin looked so unhealthy. From afar, you would think he was just a heavy set boy but looking closely you could see that he was starved for a while. Like most people with a little more fat on their body, starvation would effect their body just like this kid experienced.

"He's got blood on his hands and over his mouth. Seems like he just got this as a fresh kill," Ymar said as he points toward what was now apparent to me, some good sliced up meat.

Axis getting impatient, "it doesn't matter, we need to go." He leaned down and picked the boy up. Facing us, boy over one shoulder, one glaive out and ready on the other arm, he says, "secure place first, then we worry about everything else."

"Okay, let's move," I responded as I brought up the rest with Talia. Who had become strangely quiet, even for her.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"That boy…" she hesitated. "He's-"

The sun had just started to set when her words were cut off as we saw it. Emerging from the woods in a large leap, a large shadow burst forth, landing on all fours, skidding to a stop. As the dust cleared, there sat atop a white furred beast that had a large arch to its back, red eyes, and mouth foaming. Adorned in a shamble of leather and bones. Strange tattoos on its left arm. A tall long eared, red skin creature with a mouth that stretches from ear to ear.

It lifts its right arm up, as its mouth opened to reveal a set of yellow razor sharp and jagged teeth. The rest of it's group slowly emerging from the forest line as the teeth open wide to let out scream. Eliciting a response from its kind.

The goblins. They caught up.