Stories Around the Campfire

Sitting up from his 'bed', Roy sat Inbellis down and stretched out with a big yawn.

'Guess I'll check on Nocturna.' Standing up, Roy walked over to a small stack of animal hide.

Laying peacefully in the middle of the stack, was the small fairy from the night before.

'Poor thing has been through a lot, glad she could get some well deserved rest.' Roy quietly backed away and went outside to do his morning exercises.

'Let's see... I have almost no agility, this won't be an easy time.' Roy looked around the clearing and found a nice spot to run laps. He started stretching out, before he began running.

...

Hours later, everyone was now awake, and preparing breakfast. Nocturna was sitting on Roy's head, as she looked down at the fire warming up the meat.

"Do you guys eat this every day? What about fruits or bread?" She asked, looking at them in confusion.

"Buhihi! Bread? How would we get bread, when we're trying to survive in the woods? Yeah we eat what we hunt. We haven't found any fruit trees, so it is just meat." Roy laughed, as he explained.

"Oh... Well, maybe I can help you guys find some fruit some time? When my wings worked, I was the best flyer out of all my friends!" A proud expression washed over her face as Nocturna lightly pounded her chest.

"That would be great, thank you Nocturna!" Terren said, with a big smile.

"So what are you guys doing here? Did your homes get destroyed by the goblins too?" Nocturna asked, a big frown crept up on her face.

"Solus and Terren, yes. I was abandoned right after I was born, I think, so I don't know the fate of my birthplace."

"Why would you be abandoned? Did your parents not want you?" Nocturna innocently asked, unintentionally insulting Roy.

"Buhi... Pretty direct, huh? I was born a lesser, so my best guess is that they got rid of me for that."

"Oh... No offense, but how in the heck did you not die? A baby, alone in the forest sounds so scary!" Nocturna, still sitting on Roy's head leaned over his forehead so that their eyes could meet.

"I'd say most of it was luck." Roy chuckled, sinking into nostalgia a bit.

"Luck, huh..? Well what about you guys, how did you all meet?! I've never heard of an orc travelling with kobolds before!" Nocturna shot her head back up, resting once again on the top of Roy's head.

"Roy saved me from some goblins that kidnapped me, after they had burned down my village." Solus spoke mostly in Koboldese, adding a few words in English that she didn't know. Roy translated them though, allowing the conversation to continue.

"For me, my pack was attacked while we slept. They killed a lot of us, trapping the rest of us in a cave with them. Roy and Solus, unbelievably managed to wipe out the goblins and save us!" Terren spoke gloomily at first, but her tone improved slowly as she continued her story.

"Woah... Are you like a hero or something, Roy?!" Nocturna asked, her bright white eyes sparkling.

"Buhihihi! No, I just do what I think is right. If I can help, I'll try to as long as it's within reason." Roy thought back to the couple near death experiences he's had helping people.

"I've gone too far a couple times and not only risked my life, but others as well, so I'm trying to learn from my mistakes."

*Rriip*

Roy took a bite of the meat, ripping it apart as he chewed. "Whew that hits the spot! I was starving after that morning run!"

"So Nocturna, what did your mommy do?" Solus asked, as she also took a big bite.

"My mommy was a teacher! Her and big brother know so many cool things!" Nocturna happily responded, as she took the meat Roy handed her.

"Oh what did she teach?" Roy asked.

"Magic! It's where I learned how to use debuffing magic! Mommy said it matches my color, but I didn't really understand the details..."

"Ah, you are a tier one, so that makes sense. So you only have one affinity?" Roy asked, stressing his eyes to look up as much as he could.

"Yup! It's super awesome too! Mommy said so!"

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Yet another one... This is unbelievably strange. Not a single wild animal anywhere. The effects of his majesty's bloodlust ended long ago, those creatures would surely have returned to their nests?" Ampharn walked forward with a puzzled expression.

Having visited nearly twenty goblin protected locations, he had found that all of them reported the same issue of no animals being in their vicinity.

"This couldn't have anything to do with the beast kings, right?" Ampharn asked himself quietly, as he looked up to the mid day sky.

"This is extremely unfortunate, if it's as I fear. I should let the king know of my thoughts, before I continue." After he finished his spoken thoughts, Ampharn called on one of the workers within this cave.

"You, come here."

"Yes sir!" The small goblin, who hadn't even formed a Mana Heart yet, ran over at his top speed.

Stumbling in front of him, the goblin presented himself, and Ampharn nodded.

"I plan to inform his majesty of some things, bring over the goblin with the best memory here." Ampharn then leaned against the cave wall, as he watched the goblin scamper off.

...

A few minutes later, a slightly taller tier one goblin approached, and saluted.

"I am the leader of this location, sir! I also happen to have the best memory. Whatever you say, I will make sure to relay it perfectly!"

"Good, tell the king that I think all the animals disappearing is related to the beast kings. I think we should prepare for the worst, and bolster our defenses. I'll head back immediately after killing the murderer, and will begin a full investigation on the matter." Looking at the goblin, Ampharn nodded in satisfaction and quickly left the cave.

"Change of plans, we will head straight to Ohm, and track the killer. I have a feeling the other protected zones will be just like the last ones." His subordinates, nodding in understanding, quickly followed behind. Slowly, the squad faded into the shaded woods.