Chapter 48
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As the group continued to make their way through Lichfrost Forest, the number of goblins that fell before them continued to grow. Playing around with his new dart spell, Eric found that he preferred Wind Dart to Water Dart. And he also preferred the power of the single target Dart spell to the Area of effect Blade spell. While the blade spell was useful if the targets were all clumped up together, the mana cost required to make it big enough to hit several goblins in a loose formation was too high for continued use.
The dart spell on the other hand was a godsend for one on one combat. The Wind Dart had power similar to an arrow without any skills applied to it, which was pretty good for a spell he could use in the middle of melee combat, albeit after switching his sword to his left hand.
Sweeping up the loot from their most recent prey, the trio dashed back into the forest, panting softly as they made their way through the thick brush that clogged up the forest floor.
"Is it just me, or are we running into groups more and more often?" Eric panted, stopping to lean against a tree for a moment as his stamina regenerated.
"That was the seventh group we've encountered in the last half hour. They're becoming more common for sure," Turk panted, straightening up as he observed their surroundings, mindful of their position deep inside the forest.
"Do you think there's something nearby? Like a dungeon or base?" asked Aria, fiddling with her staff. Turk looked pensive, "It's possible. These groups are clearly patrols. We've already stopped a few from running off, and I'm not sure if you two noticed but they've all ran in the same direction. Clearly there's something in this forest. I'm just not sure if we want to know what while it's just the three of us."
Eric nodded in agreement, "The warning we got when we entered said that the recommended party size was ten people. We have 30% of that number. Even if we are stronger than the average party, I still don't want to attempt ten-man content with just the three of us."
"I agree with Kyp. Speaking of which, we should probably head back closer to the entrance to the forest. I don't want to get tangled up with whatever these goblins are guarding," said Turk.
"Couldn't we at least check out whatever it is they're guarding? We don't need to charge in, just find out what it is," pleaded Aria. Turk appeared conflicted.
"We can always turn back if we think it's too dangerous. Plus it's not like we'd die for real anyways. It's just a game," she continued. Grabbing Turk's hand and opening her eyes wide. She almost looked like Jeyna when she was begging for chicken, Eric thought, doing his best to suppress a laugh.
"I suppose we can check it out…" Turk said uncertainly, "You good with that Kyp? I don't want you to die if we mess up just because this one got curious," he said, pointing a thumb at Aria who rolled her eyes at him.
"I'm fine tagging along. I'm pretty confident in my ability to get away," said Eric confidently, winking at Aria who'd been giving him her best impression of a puppy dog's eyes from behind Turk's back.
Seeing that he was defeated, Turk sighed, "Alright. But we're going to go full stealth mode. We only attack a group if they see us or if they're barring our way forward. And if we see more than one group we turn back. Got it?" Eric and Aria nodded at this, neither of them really wanted to die after all. They were just curious about what lay ahead.
Making their way north, the group avoided combat, slipping past the patrols that were becoming increasingly common sights on the path through Lichfrost Forest. Several times the trio was forced to hide, pressing themselves against trees or under brush as patrols passed through the woods only a few meters from their positions.
As another patrol passed by their hiding spot, the three once again began to dart through the woods. They'd been forced to abandon true stealth, instead opting for frantic dashes through the woods, throwing themselves into cover whenever they discovered a patrol.
Scampering through the woods, Eric vaulted over a bush, ducking to avoid a low hanging branch. There had better be something pretty interesting at the end of this path, he thought with annoyance. The stealthy approach had been fun at first, but after twenty minutes of dodging patrols, diving into bush after bush, and whacking his head on low hanging branches, he was thoroughly irritated with Lichfrost Forest.
Lost in his thoughts, Eric slammed into Turk who'd come to an abrupt halt. Stumbling forward, Turk caught himself, turning to glare at Eric who raised his hands in apology. Shaking his head, Turk jerked his head towards a small gap in the trees, raising his finger to his lips to indicate that they should remain silent. Curiously, Eric and Aria crept towards the small gap, peering through the leaves to see what had made Turk so cautious.
[Quest Received: Goblin Encampment]
While investigating Lichfrost Forest, you've stumbled upon a goblin encampment. The goblins should not be this far south. Raze their camp to the ground before reinforcements arrive.
Rewards: Increased reputation with Novanalba Military groups. ???. ???.
Nestled in a recently deforested clearing in the forest lay a bustling encampment. Surrounded by wooden walls that had doubtlessly been made from the chopped down trees, the camp was fairly small, not even a quarter the size of Tonbura village. However, the level of activity around the camp showed the importance the goblins assigned to it. As they watched, a patrol came marching along the path, the wooden gates swinging open to admit them. Entering the encampment, a fresh patrol emerged from the camp, passing the returning patrol on their way past.
"I don't think we can take this on ourselves. This is clearly meant for at least ten players. We need to retreat. Now," said Turk, a sense of urgency in his voice. Eric nodded, observing the numerous sentries posted upon the walls.
"They seem to be in a state of unrest right now. Possibly because of us. I agree with Turk, let's retreat," said Eric, retreating away from the gap in the leaves. Aria offered no protest, simply following Turk as he lead the way back towards the entrance to the forest.
Dodging patrols, the group began to flee south, heading for Stillwood Forest. On more than a few separate occasions they were forced to lay low. Pressing themselves into the mossy earth as patrols searched the forest alongside the path.
"Why are they searching so seriously now? They weren't like this earlier," Aria whispered nervously as a patrol disappeared into the forest behind them, having narrowly missed the trio's hiding spot.
"Probably because of us. We've killed quite a few of their patrols, once they didn't return they probably went on alert. It's also possible another patrol discovered the corpses we hid in the forest," Eric replied softly. Peeking his head above the tips of the bush he was hiding behind to verify the patrol's disappearance. Confirming that they'd safely passed, he motioned to Turk who nodded and stood up, leading them once more southwards.
"But they're just NPCs aren't they? Why would their behaviour change so much just because we killed a few groups?" Aria argued, batting at a circling mosquito as she did, smushing the offending insect into paste.
"Fate's a next-gen MMO. NPCs are more than just cutouts with predetermined lines and actions. It's quite possible that these goblins are far smarter than even the best AI of older games," Turk explained.
"I get that it's realistic, but how are we supposed to grind when they're hunting us down?" asked Aria, puffing her cheeks out in dissatisfaction.
"Grinding doesn't seem as necessary in Fate as it did in other games. Plus we were warned that we should have ten players when we entered Lichfrost Forest. If we swept up the path with ten players then the five-goblin patrols would have posed no threat. We probably could have attempted to take on the camp if we had ten players. It's not the games fault that we came here with just the three of us," said Eric.
"Yeah. Well I still think that- KYAAAAAH!" Whatever Aria may have thought was going to have to be figured out later, Eric thought with a gulp as he looked at the surprised goblins that had appeared in front of them. Aria had collided with the foremost goblin, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. The remaining four goblins were still looking slightly shocked at the sudden appearance of the trio, but that wouldn't last long Eric thought grimly, reaching for his sword.
Leaping forward, Eric's leg shot out, slamming into a second goblin which crumpled as he finished drawing his sword. Turk charged forward as well, leaping over the tangled mess of limbs that was Aria and the goblin she'd collided with to place himself between their mage and the remaining goblins. Using his shield, he received the panicked blows of the three goblins, who'd foregone drawing their sabers in favour of swiping at the fighter with their claws.
Hunkering down, Turk looked backwards and kicked at the goblin wrestling with Aria, stunning it and buying time for her to jump to her feet, flying backwards to gain some distance so that she could cast her spells.
Bringing his sword down upon the back of the goblin he'd struck at earlier, Eric was rewarded by a large drop in its healthbar. Bringing his sword down in a second blow, his strike was unfortunately intercepted by another goblin that had managed to draw its saber.
Thrusting the saber at him, Eric was forced to jump backwards to avoid it, allowing his target the time to recover, drawing its saber and glaring at the half-elf. Preparing to use Dashing Cut, Eric suddenly stumbled forward, his healthbar dropping by a staggering thirty percent. Whirling around, he came face to face with the goblin that had collided with Aria, its saber dripping with his blood. Raising its saber high, the goblin charged towards him, intent on landing another hit. With a furious glint in his eye, Eric parried the strike, reaching forward to grab the goblin by the neck as he did so. With a furious roar, he lifted the goblin from its feet, slamming it neckfirst into the ground.
"Now Aria!" shouted Eric, leaping backwards away from the coughing goblin. Cold energies swirling around the head of her staff, Aria nodded, firing her water dart towards the helpless creature as it attempted to get up. With a pained chwiit sound, the goblin was thrown forward, only for its momentum to be suddenly halted by the sword that had just emerged from its back.
Withdrawing his blade from the goblin, Eric whirled around, Turk was struggling hard, doing his best to stay alive against the three remaining goblins. Activating Dashing Cut, Eric charged back into the fray, his sword lashing out to strike at a goblin about to stab Turk from the side. With a pained howl the goblin retreated, nursing the fresh wound on its arm as it transferred its saber to its other hand.
Parrying another attack meant for Turk, Eric's eyes were suddenly drawn to the fourth remaining goblin, standing back away from the others. A series of runes were embedded in the air above it and it held a fiery red crystal aloft in its outstreched hand. Seeing this, an ominous feeling arose inside Eric's chest.
"Stop it Aria!" he roared. Pointing her staff towards the goblin, Aria began to cast another water dart, but it was too late. With a vicious grin the goblin finished casting its spell, the runes glowing as a fiery orb burst from the crystal and into the air, soaring high above the trees where it exploded into a series of fireworks. At any other time, Eric would have stopped to admire the scene, the red and violet flames rolling through the air as an enormous flaming symbol resembling a closed eye filled the air.
Completing her own spell, Aria fired a water dart at the goblin, still watching the aftereffects of its spell. With a small grunt, the goblin flinched backwards, the spell having taken out a large portion of its healthbar.
"We have to hurry, reinforcements are probably on the way for these guys," Eric informed Turk grimly. Parrying another blow aimed at the warrior and returning it with a slash of his own as he did so.
"Trying," Turk grunted, slamming his shield into the face of a goblin and using his sword to stab at another.
As the party fought, the situation slowly began to stabilize. Turk and Eric held the frontline, ensuring that no goblins made it through to Aria as she cast spells whenever an opportunity arose. The goblin mage had rejoined the battle, seemingly no longer interested in magic as it drew its saber and pressured Eric, turning the battle into two different two-on-one fights with Aria in the background.
Dispatching one of his opponents, Eric turned his attention towards the second goblin. Turk was still holding steady, his healthbar flashing dangerously low but stable now that he only had to contend with two goblins. Seeing an opening, Eric lunged forward, his fist digging into the stomach of the goblin as its saber flashed uselessly over Eric's head. Coughing up a glob of blood, the goblin stumbled backwards. Refusing to let up, Eric chased it, his sword battering its saber away as he shaved off the last of its healthbar with a slash across the shoulder.
Looks like we might survive this after all, Eric thought as he forced one of Turk's opponents to start fighting him. His sword flashing as he used his crude swordsmanship to force the goblin onto the backfoot. Pressing forward, he used Guard to block another strike, raising his sword high, he brought his sword down, landing the finishing blow as a loud shriek filled the air.
"Gyaaaaaah!"
Looking around frantically, Eric's eyes widened as he saw the source of the scream. Her feet dangling almost a foot off the ground, Aria was currently skewered on the end of a large saber, doing her best impression of a kebab. As Eric and Turk watched, her healthbar drained to zero, her staff falling to the ground below.
[Quest Modified: Goblin Encampment]
Kill the hobgoblin before he can bring back news of your presence to the camp.
With a grunt, the owner of the saber tossed Aria's body aside, looking at the remaining fighters with a sadistic glint in his eyes. The newcomer was roughly six and a half feet tall, with dull brown skin. His appearance was similar to that of the goblins, in the same way that a wasps appearance was similar to a bee. Where the regular goblins were small, with skinny arms and legs, and giant heads in comparison to their small bodies, this figure was stacked like an NFL linebacker -with bulging muscles peeking out from underneath burnished metal armour. His face was set in a sadistic grin, with sharpened fangs visible behind his pale lips.
"So you're the rats who've been slaughtering my patrols. I'm going to have fun dispatching you," the figure uttered. His voice a guttural growl devoid of warmth. Eric felt a shiver go down his spine upon hearing it, this was a monster far beyond the level their party could handle, especially with Aria already dead. Tearing his eyes away from her broken body, Eric watched as the hobgoblin raised its saber, dashing towards Turk. The other two goblins had backed off, their eyes shining with a mixture of fear and respect for the new arrival.
Raising his shield high, Turk prepared to meet the hobgoblin's charge head on. With a loud roar, the hobgoblin brought its saber down upon Turk's shield. With a horrified look, Eric watched as the saber tore through the shield like driftwood, slicing deeply into Turk's body below. With a sigh Turk fell to his knees, his healthbar finally depleted.
With an annoyed look on his face, the hobgoblin yanked his blade from Turk's lifeless body, allowing the fighters corpse to collapse face first into the forest floor.
"That was rather unsatisfying, I trust that you will put up a better fight," said the hobgoblin to Eric, its guttural voice seeming to tear at the air as if even nature itself could not stand it. With a small gulp, Eric raised his sword, attempting to prepare a spell as he backpedaled away from the monster.
"No magic," growled the hobgoblin, covering the distance between the two in what felt like an instant. Raising his blade high, Eric received the hobgoblin's slash with his sword, his knees buckling as he did so. Collapsing to one knee, he threw himself to the side, allowing the hobgoblin's saber to slam into the forest floor where he'd been kneeling only a second ago.
Regaining his feet, Eric was alarmed to see a warning flash in front of his vision.
[Caution: Durability of Iron Sword decreased by 32%! Continued use of Iron Sword could result in its breaking]
Okay, so we're not blocking this guy's attacks, Eric thought, wracking his brain to come up with a way to deal with the foe in front of him. Despite all signs pointing to the contrary, Eric refused to simply give up and die. There had to be a way to defeat this monster.
Unfortunately, the hobgoblin refused to give Eric the room to kite and use his magic or archery skills. Every time Eric attempted to put distance between the two, the hobgoblin would charge forward like a freight train, its saber chopping through the air like a fishwive's cleaver, intent on decapitating the irritating insect dancing in front of it. Each time Eric barely managed to dodge, his ungainly rolls and tumbles buying him precious time to breathe.
As long as he didn't attempt to increase the distance to the point where he could get off a spell or fire an arrow, the hobgoblin was content to walk slowly towards him, a playful smile mocking the half-elf's situation etched upon its monstrous visage.
Without the ability to increase the distance separating them, Eric could only fight the hobgoblin at close range. Gritting his teeth, he raised his sword, activating Dashing Cut to close the distance between the two. Raising its saber slightly, the hobgoblin met his charge with a lazy block, shaking his saber slightly to throw Eric backwards. Before the half-elf could fully recover, the hobgoblin's saber was raised, descending towards him like a meteor.
Sliding to the side, Eric avoided the chop by the barest of margins, strands of his hair floating to the ground below. Not missing his chance, Eric rotated, slamming his fist into the hobgoblin's side.
Wincing, Eric withdrew his fist, throwing himself backwards to avoid the hobgoblin's follow up swipe. His left knuckles had burst open, blood streaming down his arm from where his fist had made contact with the hobgoblin's plate armour.
Ducking beneath another slash, Eric thrust his sword towards a chink in the armour. As the sword made contact, digging lightly into the hoboglin's side, the hobgoblin grinned, letting go of his saber and grasping Eric tightly with both arms. Struggling, Eric attempted to break free, but the hobgoblin was far too strong. Lifting the half-elf above his head, he threw him violently to the ground where he rolled briefly before coming to a stop, a stunned status preventing him from moving.
Picking up his saber, the hobgoblin walked slowly towards the still form of the half-elf. Lifting his saber high the hobgoblin grinned, the sharp fangs in his mouth creating a needlelike forest which moved as he spoke, "Goodbye, little rat."
With one last flash of light, the saber descended.
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As the group continued to make their way through Lichfrost Forest, the number of goblins that fell before them continued to grow. Playing around with his new dart spell, Eric found that he preferred Wind Dart to Water Dart. And he also preferred the power of the single target Dart spell to the Area of effect Blade spell. While the blade spell was useful if the targets were all clumped up together, the mana cost required to make it big enough to hit several goblins in a loose formation was too high for continued use.
The dart spell on the other hand was a godsend for one on one combat. The Wind Dart had power similar to an arrow without any skills applied to it, which was pretty good for a spell he could use in the middle of melee combat, albeit after switching his sword to his left hand.
Sweeping up the loot from their most recent prey, the trio dashed back into the forest, panting softly as they made their way through the thick brush that clogged up the forest floor.
"Is it just me, or are we running into groups more and more often?" Eric panted, stopping to lean against a tree for a moment as his stamina regenerated.
"That was the seventh group we've encountered in the last half hour. They're becoming more common for sure," Turk panted, straightening up as he observed their surroundings, mindful of their position deep inside the forest.
"Do you think there's something nearby? Like a dungeon or base?" asked Aria, fiddling with her staff. Turk looked pensive, "It's possible. These groups are clearly patrols. We've already stopped a few from running off, and I'm not sure if you two noticed but they've all ran in the same direction. Clearly there's something in this forest. I'm just not sure if we want to know what while it's just the three of us."
Eric nodded in agreement, "The warning we got when we entered said that the recommended party size was ten people. We have 30% of that number. Even if we are stronger than the average party, I still don't want to attempt ten-man content with just the three of us."
"I agree with Kyp. Speaking of which, we should probably head back closer to the entrance to the forest. I don't want to get tangled up with whatever these goblins are guarding," said Turk.
"Couldn't we at least check out whatever it is they're guarding? We don't need to charge in, just find out what it is," pleaded Aria. Turk appeared conflicted.
"We can always turn back if we think it's too dangerous. Plus it's not like we'd die for real anyways. It's just a game," she continued. Grabbing Turk's hand and opening her eyes wide. She almost looked like Jeyna when she was begging for chicken, Eric thought, doing his best to suppress a laugh.
"I suppose we can check it out…" Turk said uncertainly, "You good with that Kyp? I don't want you to die if we mess up just because this one got curious," he said, pointing a thumb at Aria who rolled her eyes at him.
"I'm fine tagging along. I'm pretty confident in my ability to get away," said Eric confidently, winking at Aria who'd been giving him her best impression of a puppy dog's eyes from behind Turk's back.
Seeing that he was defeated, Turk sighed, "Alright. But we're going to go full stealth mode. We only attack a group if they see us or if they're barring our way forward. And if we see more than one group we turn back. Got it?" Eric and Aria nodded at this, neither of them really wanted to die after all. They were just curious about what lay ahead.
Making their way north, the group avoided combat, slipping past the patrols that were becoming increasingly common sights on the path through Lichfrost Forest. Several times the trio was forced to hide, pressing themselves against trees or under brush as patrols passed through the woods only a few meters from their positions.
As another patrol passed by their hiding spot, the three once again began to dart through the woods. They'd been forced to abandon true stealth, instead opting for frantic dashes through the woods, throwing themselves into cover whenever they discovered a patrol.
Scampering through the woods, Eric vaulted over a bush, ducking to avoid a low hanging branch. There had better be something pretty interesting at the end of this path, he thought with annoyance. The stealthy approach had been fun at first, but after twenty minutes of dodging patrols, diving into bush after bush, and whacking his head on low hanging branches, he was thoroughly irritated with Lichfrost Forest.
Lost in his thoughts, Eric slammed into Turk who'd come to an abrupt halt. Stumbling forward, Turk caught himself, turning to glare at Eric who raised his hands in apology. Shaking his head, Turk jerked his head towards a small gap in the trees, raising his finger to his lips to indicate that they should remain silent. Curiously, Eric and Aria crept towards the small gap, peering through the leaves to see what had made Turk so cautious.
[Quest Received: Goblin Encampment]
While investigating Lichfrost Forest, you've stumbled upon a goblin encampment. The goblins should not be this far south. Raze their camp to the ground before reinforcements arrive.
Rewards: Increased reputation with Novanalba Military groups. ???. ???.
Nestled in a recently deforested clearing in the forest lay a bustling encampment. Surrounded by wooden walls that had doubtlessly been made from the chopped down trees, the camp was fairly small, not even a quarter the size of Tonbura village. However, the level of activity around the camp showed the importance the goblins assigned to it. As they watched, a patrol came marching along the path, the wooden gates swinging open to admit them. Entering the encampment, a fresh patrol emerged from the camp, passing the returning patrol on their way past.
"I don't think we can take this on ourselves. This is clearly meant for at least ten players. We need to retreat. Now," said Turk, a sense of urgency in his voice. Eric nodded, observing the numerous sentries posted upon the walls.
"They seem to be in a state of unrest right now. Possibly because of us. I agree with Turk, let's retreat," said Eric, retreating away from the gap in the leaves. Aria offered no protest, simply following Turk as he lead the way back towards the entrance to the forest.
Dodging patrols, the group began to flee south, heading for Stillwood Forest. On more than a few separate occasions they were forced to lay low. Pressing themselves into the mossy earth as patrols searched the forest alongside the path.
"Why are they searching so seriously now? They weren't like this earlier," Aria whispered nervously as a patrol disappeared into the forest behind them, having narrowly missed the trio's hiding spot.
"Probably because of us. We've killed quite a few of their patrols, once they didn't return they probably went on alert. It's also possible another patrol discovered the corpses we hid in the forest," Eric replied softly. Peeking his head above the tips of the bush he was hiding behind to verify the patrol's disappearance. Confirming that they'd safely passed, he motioned to Turk who nodded and stood up, leading them once more southwards.
"But they're just NPCs aren't they? Why would their behaviour change so much just because we killed a few groups?" Aria argued, batting at a circling mosquito as she did, smushing the offending insect into paste.
"Fate's a next-gen MMO. NPCs are more than just cutouts with predetermined lines and actions. It's quite possible that these goblins are far smarter than even the best AI of older games," Turk explained.
"I get that it's realistic, but how are we supposed to grind when they're hunting us down?" asked Aria, puffing her cheeks out in dissatisfaction.
"Grinding doesn't seem as necessary in Fate as it did in other games. Plus we were warned that we should have ten players when we entered Lichfrost Forest. If we swept up the path with ten players then the five-goblin patrols would have posed no threat. We probably could have attempted to take on the camp if we had ten players. It's not the games fault that we came here with just the three of us," said Eric.
"Yeah. Well I still think that- KYAAAAAH!" Whatever Aria may have thought was going to have to be figured out later, Eric thought with a gulp as he looked at the surprised goblins that had appeared in front of them. Aria had collided with the foremost goblin, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. The remaining four goblins were still looking slightly shocked at the sudden appearance of the trio, but that wouldn't last long Eric thought grimly, reaching for his sword.
Leaping forward, Eric's leg shot out, slamming into a second goblin which crumpled as he finished drawing his sword. Turk charged forward as well, leaping over the tangled mess of limbs that was Aria and the goblin she'd collided with to place himself between their mage and the remaining goblins. Using his shield, he received the panicked blows of the three goblins, who'd foregone drawing their sabers in favour of swiping at the fighter with their claws.
Hunkering down, Turk looked backwards and kicked at the goblin wrestling with Aria, stunning it and buying time for her to jump to her feet, flying backwards to gain some distance so that she could cast her spells.
Bringing his sword down upon the back of the goblin he'd struck at earlier, Eric was rewarded by a large drop in its healthbar. Bringing his sword down in a second blow, his strike was unfortunately intercepted by another goblin that had managed to draw its saber.
Thrusting the saber at him, Eric was forced to jump backwards to avoid it, allowing his target the time to recover, drawing its saber and glaring at the half-elf. Preparing to use Dashing Cut, Eric suddenly stumbled forward, his healthbar dropping by a staggering thirty percent. Whirling around, he came face to face with the goblin that had collided with Aria, its saber dripping with his blood. Raising its saber high, the goblin charged towards him, intent on landing another hit. With a furious glint in his eye, Eric parried the strike, reaching forward to grab the goblin by the neck as he did so. With a furious roar, he lifted the goblin from its feet, slamming it neckfirst into the ground.
"Now Aria!" shouted Eric, leaping backwards away from the coughing goblin. Cold energies swirling around the head of her staff, Aria nodded, firing her water dart towards the helpless creature as it attempted to get up. With a pained chwiit sound, the goblin was thrown forward, only for its momentum to be suddenly halted by the sword that had just emerged from its back.
Withdrawing his blade from the goblin, Eric whirled around, Turk was struggling hard, doing his best to stay alive against the three remaining goblins. Activating Dashing Cut, Eric charged back into the fray, his sword lashing out to strike at a goblin about to stab Turk from the side. With a pained howl the goblin retreated, nursing the fresh wound on its arm as it transferred its saber to its other hand.
Parrying another attack meant for Turk, Eric's eyes were suddenly drawn to the fourth remaining goblin, standing back away from the others. A series of runes were embedded in the air above it and it held a fiery red crystal aloft in its outstreched hand. Seeing this, an ominous feeling arose inside Eric's chest.
"Stop it Aria!" he roared. Pointing her staff towards the goblin, Aria began to cast another water dart, but it was too late. With a vicious grin the goblin finished casting its spell, the runes glowing as a fiery orb burst from the crystal and into the air, soaring high above the trees where it exploded into a series of fireworks. At any other time, Eric would have stopped to admire the scene, the red and violet flames rolling through the air as an enormous flaming symbol resembling a closed eye filled the air.
Completing her own spell, Aria fired a water dart at the goblin, still watching the aftereffects of its spell. With a small grunt, the goblin flinched backwards, the spell having taken out a large portion of its healthbar.
"We have to hurry, reinforcements are probably on the way for these guys," Eric informed Turk grimly. Parrying another blow aimed at the warrior and returning it with a slash of his own as he did so.
"Trying," Turk grunted, slamming his shield into the face of a goblin and using his sword to stab at another.
As the party fought, the situation slowly began to stabilize. Turk and Eric held the frontline, ensuring that no goblins made it through to Aria as she cast spells whenever an opportunity arose. The goblin mage had rejoined the battle, seemingly no longer interested in magic as it drew its saber and pressured Eric, turning the battle into two different two-on-one fights with Aria in the background.
Dispatching one of his opponents, Eric turned his attention towards the second goblin. Turk was still holding steady, his healthbar flashing dangerously low but stable now that he only had to contend with two goblins. Seeing an opening, Eric lunged forward, his fist digging into the stomach of the goblin as its saber flashed uselessly over Eric's head. Coughing up a glob of blood, the goblin stumbled backwards. Refusing to let up, Eric chased it, his sword battering its saber away as he shaved off the last of its healthbar with a slash across the shoulder.
Looks like we might survive this after all, Eric thought as he forced one of Turk's opponents to start fighting him. His sword flashing as he used his crude swordsmanship to force the goblin onto the backfoot. Pressing forward, he used Guard to block another strike, raising his sword high, he brought his sword down, landing the finishing blow as a loud shriek filled the air.
"Gyaaaaaah!"
Looking around frantically, Eric's eyes widened as he saw the source of the scream. Her feet dangling almost a foot off the ground, Aria was currently skewered on the end of a large saber, doing her best impression of a kebab. As Eric and Turk watched, her healthbar drained to zero, her staff falling to the ground below.
[Quest Modified: Goblin Encampment]
Kill the hobgoblin before he can bring back news of your presence to the camp.
With a grunt, the owner of the saber tossed Aria's body aside, looking at the remaining fighters with a sadistic glint in his eyes. The newcomer was roughly six and a half feet tall, with dull brown skin. His appearance was similar to that of the goblins, in the same way that a wasps appearance was similar to a bee. Where the regular goblins were small, with skinny arms and legs, and giant heads in comparison to their small bodies, this figure was stacked like an NFL linebacker -with bulging muscles peeking out from underneath burnished metal armour. His face was set in a sadistic grin, with sharpened fangs visible behind his pale lips.
"So you're the rats who've been slaughtering my patrols. I'm going to have fun dispatching you," the figure uttered. His voice a guttural growl devoid of warmth. Eric felt a shiver go down his spine upon hearing it, this was a monster far beyond the level their party could handle, especially with Aria already dead. Tearing his eyes away from her broken body, Eric watched as the hobgoblin raised its saber, dashing towards Turk. The other two goblins had backed off, their eyes shining with a mixture of fear and respect for the new arrival.
Raising his shield high, Turk prepared to meet the hobgoblin's charge head on. With a loud roar, the hobgoblin brought its saber down upon Turk's shield. With a horrified look, Eric watched as the saber tore through the shield like driftwood, slicing deeply into Turk's body below. With a sigh Turk fell to his knees, his healthbar finally depleted.
With an annoyed look on his face, the hobgoblin yanked his blade from Turk's lifeless body, allowing the fighters corpse to collapse face first into the forest floor.
"That was rather unsatisfying, I trust that you will put up a better fight," said the hobgoblin to Eric, its guttural voice seeming to tear at the air as if even nature itself could not stand it. With a small gulp, Eric raised his sword, attempting to prepare a spell as he backpedaled away from the monster.
"No magic," growled the hobgoblin, covering the distance between the two in what felt like an instant. Raising his blade high, Eric received the hobgoblin's slash with his sword, his knees buckling as he did so. Collapsing to one knee, he threw himself to the side, allowing the hobgoblin's saber to slam into the forest floor where he'd been kneeling only a second ago.
Regaining his feet, Eric was alarmed to see a warning flash in front of his vision.
[Caution: Durability of Iron Sword decreased by 32%! Continued use of Iron Sword could result in its breaking]
Okay, so we're not blocking this guy's attacks, Eric thought, wracking his brain to come up with a way to deal with the foe in front of him. Despite all signs pointing to the contrary, Eric refused to simply give up and die. There had to be a way to defeat this monster.
Unfortunately, the hobgoblin refused to give Eric the room to kite and use his magic or archery skills. Every time Eric attempted to put distance between the two, the hobgoblin would charge forward like a freight train, its saber chopping through the air like a fishwive's cleaver, intent on decapitating the irritating insect dancing in front of it. Each time Eric barely managed to dodge, his ungainly rolls and tumbles buying him precious time to breathe.
As long as he didn't attempt to increase the distance to the point where he could get off a spell or fire an arrow, the hobgoblin was content to walk slowly towards him, a playful smile mocking the half-elf's situation etched upon its monstrous visage.
Without the ability to increase the distance separating them, Eric could only fight the hobgoblin at close range. Gritting his teeth, he raised his sword, activating Dashing Cut to close the distance between the two. Raising its saber slightly, the hobgoblin met his charge with a lazy block, shaking his saber slightly to throw Eric backwards. Before the half-elf could fully recover, the hobgoblin's saber was raised, descending towards him like a meteor.
Sliding to the side, Eric avoided the chop by the barest of margins, strands of his hair floating to the ground below. Not missing his chance, Eric rotated, slamming his fist into the hobgoblin's side.
Wincing, Eric withdrew his fist, throwing himself backwards to avoid the hobgoblin's follow up swipe. His left knuckles had burst open, blood streaming down his arm from where his fist had made contact with the hobgoblin's plate armour.
Ducking beneath another slash, Eric thrust his sword towards a chink in the armour. As the sword made contact, digging lightly into the hoboglin's side, the hobgoblin grinned, letting go of his saber and grasping Eric tightly with both arms. Struggling, Eric attempted to break free, but the hobgoblin was far too strong. Lifting the half-elf above his head, he threw him violently to the ground where he rolled briefly before coming to a stop, a stunned status preventing him from moving.
Picking up his saber, the hobgoblin walked slowly towards the still form of the half-elf. Lifting his saber high the hobgoblin grinned, the sharp fangs in his mouth creating a needlelike forest which moved as he spoke, "Goodbye, little rat."
With one last flash of light, the saber descended.
As the group continued to make their way through Lichfrost Forest, the number of goblins that fell before them continued to grow. Playing around with his new dart spell, Eric found that he preferred Wind Dart to Water Dart. And he also preferred the power of the single target Dart spell to the Area of effect Blade spell. While the blade spell was useful if the targets were all clumped up together, the mana cost required to make it big enough to hit several goblins in a loose formation was too high for continued use.The dart spell on the other hand was a godsend for one on one combat. The Wind Dart had power similar to an arrow without any skills applied to it, which was pretty good for a spell he could use in the middle of melee combat, albeit after switching his sword to his left hand.Sweeping up the loot from their most recent prey, the trio dashed back into the forest, panting softly as they made their way through the thick brush that clogged up the forest floor."Is it just me, or are we running into groups more and more often?" Eric panted, stopping to lean against a tree for a moment as his stamina regenerated."That was the seventh group we've encountered in the last half hour. They're becoming more common for sure," Turk panted, straightening up as he observed their surroundings, mindful of their position deep inside the forest."Do you think there's something nearby? Like a dungeon or base?" asked Aria, fiddling with her staff. Turk looked pensive, "It's possible. These groups are clearly patrols. We've already stopped a few from running off, and I'm not sure if you two noticed but they've all ran in the same direction. Clearly there's something in this forest. I'm just not sure if we want to know what while it's just the three of us."Eric nodded in agreement, "The warning we got when we entered said that the recommended party size was ten people. We have 30% of that number. Even if we are stronger than the average party, I still don't want to attempt ten-man content with just the three of us.""I agree with Kyp. Speaking of which, we should probably head back closer to the entrance to the forest. I don't want to get tangled up with whatever these goblins are guarding," said Turk."Couldn't we at least check out whatever it is they're guarding? We don't need to charge in, just find out what it is," pleaded Aria. Turk appeared conflicted."We can always turn back if we think it's too dangerous. Plus it's not like we'd die for real anyways. It's just a game," she continued. Grabbing Turk's hand and opening her eyes wide. She almost looked like Jeyna when she was begging for chicken, Eric thought, doing his best to suppress a laugh."I suppose we can check it out" Turk said uncertainly, "You good with that Kyp? I don't want you to die if we mess up just because this one got curious," he said, pointing a thumb at Aria who rolled her eyes at him."I'm fine tagging along. I'm pretty confident in my ability to get away," said Eric confidently, winking at Aria who'd been giving him her best impression of a puppy dog's eyes from behind Turk's back.Seeing that he was defeated, Turk sighed, "Alright. But we're going to go full stealth mode. We only attack a group if they see us or if they're barring our way forward. And if we see more than one group we turn back. Got it?" Eric and Aria nodded at this, neither of them really wanted to die after all. They were just curious about what lay ahead.Making their way north, the group avoided combat, slipping past the patrols that were becoming increasingly common sights on the path through Lichfrost Forest. Several times the trio was forced to hide, pressing themselves against trees or under brush as patrols passed through the woods only a few meters from their positions.As another patrol passed by their hiding spot, the three once again began to dart through the woods. They'd been forced to abandon true stealth, instead opting for frantic dashes through the woods, throwing themselves into cover whenever they discovered a patrol.Scampering through the woods, Eric vaulted over a bush, ducking to avoid a low hanging branch. There had better be something pretty interesting at the end of this path, he thought with annoyance. The stealthy approach had been fun at first, but after twenty minutes of dodging patrols, diving into bush after bush, and whacking his head on low hanging branches, he was thoroughly irritated with Lichfrost Forest.Lost in his thoughts, Eric slammed into Turk who'd come to an abrupt halt. Stumbling forward, Turk caught himself, turning to glare at Eric who raised his hands in apology. Shaking his head, Turk jerked his head towards a small gap in the trees, raising his finger to his lips to indicate that they should remain silent. Curiously, Eric and Aria crept towards the small gap, peering through the leaves to see what had made Turk so cautious.Quest Received: Goblin EncampmentWhile investigating Lichfrost Forest, you've stumbled upon a goblin encampment. The goblins should not be this far south. Raze their camp to the ground before reinforcements arrive.Rewards: Increased reputation with Novanalba Military groups. ???. ???.Nestled in a recently deforested clearing in the forest lay a bustling encampment. Surrounded by wooden walls that had doubtlessly been made from the chopped down trees, the camp was fairly small, not even a quarter the size of Tonbura village. However, the level of activity around the camp showed the importance the goblins assigned to it. As they watched, a patrol came marching along the path, the wooden gates swinging open to admit them. Entering the encampment, a fresh patrol emerged from the camp, passing the returning patrol on their way past."I don't think we can take this on ourselves. This is clearly meant for at least ten players. We need to retreat. Now," said Turk, a sense of urgency in his voice. Eric nodded, observing the numerous sentries posted upon the walls."They seem to be in a state of unrest right now. Possibly because of us. I agree with Turk, let's retreat," said Eric, retreating away from the gap in the leaves. Aria offered no protest, simply following Turk as he lead the way back towards the entrance to the forest.Dodging patrols, the group began to flee south, heading for Stillwood Forest. On more than a few separate occasions they were forced to lay low. Pressing themselves into the mossy earth as patrols searched the forest alongside the path."Why are they searching so seriously now? They weren't like this earlier," Aria whispered nervously as a patrol disappeared into the forest behind them, having narrowly missed the trio's hiding spot."Probably because of us. We've killed quite a few of their patrols, once they didn't return they probably went on alert. It's also possible another patrol discovered the corpses we hid in the forest," Eric replied softly. Peeking his head above the tips of the bush he was hiding behind to verify the patrol's disappearance. Confirming that they'd safely passed, he motioned to Turk who nodded and stood up, leading them once more southwards."But they're just NPCs aren't they? Why would their behaviour change so much just because we killed a few groups?" Aria argued, batting at a circling mosquito as she did, smushing the offending insect into paste."Fate's a next-gen MMO. NPCs are more than just cutouts with predetermined lines and actions. It's quite possible that these goblins are far smarter than even the best AI of older games," Turk explained."I get that it's realistic, but how are we supposed to grind when they're hunting us down?" asked Aria, puffing her cheeks out in dissatisfaction."Grinding doesn't seem as necessary in Fate as it did in other games. Plus we were warned that we should have ten players when we entered Lichfrost Forest. If we swept up the path with ten players then the five-goblin patrols would have posed no threat. We probably could have attempted to take on the camp if we had ten players. It's not the games fault that we came here with just the three of us," said Eric."Yeah. Well I still think that- KYAAAAAH!" Whatever Aria may have thought was going to have to be figured out later, Eric thought with a gulp as he looked at the surprised goblins that had appeared in front of them. Aria had collided with the foremost goblin, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. The remaining four goblins were still looking slightly shocked at the sudden appearance of the trio, but that wouldn't last long Eric thought grimly, reaching for his sword.Leaping forward, Eric's leg shot out, slamming into a second goblin which crumpled as he finished drawing his sword. Turk charged forward as well, leaping over the tangled mess of limbs that was Aria and the goblin she'd collided with to place himself between their mage and the remaining goblins. Using his shield, he received the panicked blows of the three goblins, who'd foregone drawing their sabers in favour of swiping at the fighter with their claws.Hunkering down, Turk looked backwards and kicked at the goblin wrestling with Aria, stunning it and buying time for her to jump to her feet, flying backwards to gain some distance so that she could cast her spells.Bringing his sword down upon the back of the goblin he'd struck at earlier, Eric was rewarded by a large drop in its healthbar. Bringing his sword down in a second blow, his strike was unfortunately intercepted by another goblin that had managed to draw its saber.Thrusting the saber at him, Eric was forced to jump backwards to avoid it, allowing his target the time to recover, drawing its saber and glaring at the half-elf. Preparing to use Dashing Cut, Eric suddenly stumbled forward, his healthbar dropping by a staggering thirty percent. Whirling around, he came face to face with the goblin that had collided with Aria, its saber dripping with his blood. Raising its saber high, the goblin charged towards him, intent on landing another hit. With a furious glint in his eye, Eric parried the strike, reaching forward to grab the goblin by the neck as he did so. With a furious roar, he lifted the goblin from its feet, slamming it neckfirst into the ground."Now Aria!" shouted Eric, leaping backwards away from the coughing goblin. Cold energies swirling around the head of her staff, Aria nodded, firing her water dart towards the helpless creature as it attempted to get up. With a pained chwiit sound, the goblin was thrown forward, only for its momentum to be suddenly halted by the sword that had just emerged from its back.Withdrawing his blade from the goblin, Eric whirled around, Turk was struggling hard, doing his best to stay alive against the three remaining goblins. Activating Dashing Cut, Eric charged back into the fray, his sword lashing out to strike at a goblin about to stab Turk from the side. With a pained howl the goblin retreated, nursing the fresh wound on its arm as it transferred its saber to its other hand.Parrying another attack meant for Turk, Eric's eyes were suddenly drawn to the fourth remaining goblin, standing back away from the others. A series of runes were embedded in the air above it and it held a fiery red crystal aloft in its outstreched hand. Seeing this, an ominous feeling arose inside Eric's chest."Stop it Aria!" he roared. Pointing her staff towards the goblin, Aria began to cast another water dart, but it was too late. With a vicious grin the goblin finished casting its spell, the runes glowing as a fiery orb burst from the crystal and into the air, soaring high above the trees where it exploded into a series of fireworks. At any other time, Eric would have stopped to admire the scene, the red and violet flames rolling through the air as an enormous flaming symbol resembling a closed eye filled the air.Completing her own spell, Aria fired a water dart at the goblin, still watching the aftereffects of its spell. With a small grunt, the goblin flinched backwards, the spell having taken out a large portion of its healthbar."We have to hurry, reinforcements are probably on the way for these guys," Eric informed Turk grimly. Parrying another blow aimed at the warrior and returning it with a slash of his own as he did so."Trying," Turk grunted, slamming his shield into the face of a goblin and using his sword to stab at another.As the party fought, the situation slowly began to stabilize. Turk and Eric held the frontline, ensuring that no goblins made it through to Aria as she cast spells whenever an opportunity arose. The goblin mage had rejoined the battle, seemingly no longer interested in magic as it drew its saber and pressured Eric, turning the battle into two different two-on-one fights with Aria in the background.Dispatching one of his opponents, Eric turned his attention towards the second goblin. Turk was still holding steady, his healthbar flashing dangerously low but stable now that he only had to contend with two goblins. Seeing an opening, Eric lunged forward, his fist digging into the stomach of the goblin as its saber flashed uselessly over Eric's head. Coughing up a glob of blood, the goblin stumbled backwards. Refusing to let up, Eric chased it, his sword battering its saber away as he shaved off the last of its healthbar with a slash across the shoulder.Looks like we might survive this after all, Eric thought as he forced one of Turk's opponents to start fighting him. His sword flashing as he used his crude swordsmanship to force the goblin onto the backfoot. Pressing forward, he used Guard to block another strike, raising his sword high, he brought his sword down, landing the finishing blow as a loud shriek filled the air."Gyaaaaaah!"Looking around frantically, Eric's eyes widened as he saw the source of the scream. Her feet dangling almost a foot off the ground, Aria was currently skewered on the end of a large saber, doing her best impression of a kebab. As Eric and Turk watched, her healthbar drained to zero, her staff falling to the ground below.Quest Modified: Goblin EncampmentKill the hobgoblin before he can bring back news of your presence to the camp.With a grunt, the owner of the saber tossed Aria's body aside, looking at the remaining fighters with a sadistic glint in his eyes. The newcomer was roughly six and a half feet tall, with dull brown skin. His appearance was similar to that of the goblins, in the same way that a wasps appearance was similar to a bee. Where the regular goblins were small, with skinny arms and legs, and giant heads in comparison to their small bodies, this figure was stacked like an NFL linebacker -with bulging muscles peeking out from underneath burnished metal armour. His face was set in a sadistic grin, with sharpened fangs visible behind his pale lips."So you're the rats who've been slaughtering my patrols. I'm going to have fun dispatching you," the figure uttered. His voice a guttural growl devoid of warmth. Eric felt a shiver go down his spine upon hearing it, this was a monster far beyond the level their party could handle, especially with Aria already dead. Tearing his eyes away from her broken body, Eric watched as the hobgoblin raised its saber, dashing towards Turk. The other two goblins had backed off, their eyes shining with a mixture of fear and respect for the new arrival.Raising his shield high, Turk prepared to meet the hobgoblin's charge head on. With a loud roar, the hobgoblin brought its saber down upon Turk's shield. With a horrified look, Eric watched as the saber tore through the shield like driftwood, slicing deeply into Turk's body below. With a sigh Turk fell to his knees, his healthbar finally depleted.With an annoyed look on his face, the hobgoblin yanked his blade from Turk's lifeless body, allowing the fighters corpse to collapse face first into the forest floor."That was rather unsatisfying, I trust that you will put up a better fight," said the hobgoblin to Eric, its guttural voice seeming to tear at the air as if even nature itself could not stand it. With a small gulp, Eric raised his sword, attempting to prepare a spell as he backpedaled away from the monster."No magic," growled the hobgoblin, covering the distance between the two in what felt like an instant. Raising his blade high, Eric received the hobgoblin's slash with his sword, his knees buckling as he did so. Collapsing to one knee, he threw himself to the side, allowing the hobgoblin's saber to slam into the forest floor where he'd been kneeling only a second ago.Regaining his feet, Eric was alarmed to see a warning flash in front of his vision.Caution: Durability of Iron Sword decreased by 32%! Continued use of Iron Sword could result in its breakingOkay, so we're not blocking this guy's attacks, Eric thought, wracking his brain to come up with a way to deal with the foe in front of him. Despite all signs pointing to the contrary, Eric refused to simply give up and die. There had to be a way to defeat this monster.Unfortunately, the hobgoblin refused to give Eric the room to kite and use his magic or archery skills. Every time Eric attempted to put distance between the two, the hobgoblin would charge forward like a freight train, its saber chopping through the air like a fishwive's cleaver, intent on decapitating the irritating insect dancing in front of it. Each time Eric barely managed to dodge, his ungainly rolls and tumbles buying him precious time to breathe.As long as he didn't attempt to increase the distance to the point where he could get off a spell or fire an arrow, the hobgoblin was content to walk slowly towards him, a playful smile mocking the half-elf's situation etched upon its monstrous visage.Without the ability to increase the distance separating them, Eric could only fight the hobgoblin at close range. Gritting his teeth, he raised his sword, activating Dashing Cut to close the distance between the two. Raising its saber slightly, the hobgoblin met his charge with a lazy block, shaking his saber slightly to throw Eric backwards. Before the half-elf could fully recover, the hobgoblin's saber was raised, descending towards him like a meteor.Sliding to the side, Eric avoided the chop by the barest of margins, strands of his hair floating to the ground below. Not missing his chance, Eric rotated, slamming his fist into the hobgoblin's side.Wincing, Eric withdrew his fist, throwing himself backwards to avoid the hobgoblin's follow up swipe. His left knuckles had burst open, blood streaming down his arm from where his fist had made contact with the hobgoblin's plate armour.Ducking beneath another slash, Eric thrust his sword towards a chink in the armour. As the sword made contact, digging lightly into the hoboglin's side, the hobgoblin grinned, letting go of his saber and grasping Eric tightly with both arms. Struggling, Eric attempted to break free, but the hobgoblin was far too strong. Lifting the half-elf above his head, he threw him violently to the ground where he rolled briefly before coming to a stop, a stunned status preventing him from moving.Picking up his saber, the hobgoblin walked slowly towards the still form of the half-elf. Lifting his saber high the hobgoblin grinned, the sharp fangs in his mouth creating a needlelike forest which moved as he spoke, "Goodbye, little rat."With one last flash of light, the saber descended.
