Re: Goblin Slayer

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***

The border town welcomed us with the usual noise. I didn't know whether to be amazed by their recklessness or admire it. There were no checks, no guards - you could pass whoever you wanted and you would not be stopped, there were not even customs. It wasn't what I had expected when I came to this world, but hell knows, it's not for me to judge, and it was even better, at least for me. Though about the same guards, I'm not completely sure, it's like with gophers, you don't see them, but they are there. So it's best to keep your eyes open and your ears open.

But enough discussing the locals, I didn't come here for that, and first of all I went to the clothing shop, where I bought two dark, waterproof, according to the saleswoman, cloaks with deep hoods to completely conceal myself and small belt bags with fasteners for different, but necessary in the future, consumables. When we left the building, our armour was less conspicuous and we became indistinguishable from the crowd of townspeople passing by.

Those, though they threw slanted glances at us, did not keep them for long and went back to their business.

The next stop was a stall with herbs and potions, where I bought everything I needed for travelling outside the city. Although I didn't need various potions and antidotes, I took a few bottles for the future, so to speak - for possible 'beauties', which I would 'heroically' save from the clutches of monsters, if I didn't fall before, of course... Hehe - self-criticism doesn't hurt. And they were not so expensive, and I didn't need much, besides, I learnt a little about local rates.

Passing and avoiding passers-by and carts, the next step was the guild, which I decided to look into with the ringing of a bell above my head and a small rumble behind me. Not for nothing, I have a couple of options for the future 'canon', maybe even take a quest, and if I'm lucky, I'll get something better.

Surprisingly, there were far fewer people inside the guild than there were the first time, and on the cork board, there were terribly few quests and most of them were for goblins. Though there were a couple on bandits near the tract that runs nearby, just what I needed.

My sword needs people's souls, and who better than bandits for that? Unless it's local thieves, but they'd have to be found and that could take more than a day, so I ticked that off my 'to-do' list and headed for the smiling receptionist, who looked up as we approached her.

Noting to myself that she was always smiling, though her eyes were glittering with suspicious caution as she tried to drill a hole in me, I mentally slapped myself on the forehead; deep cloaks conceal us completely and we might look suspicious from the outside.

Throwing my hood back, I smiled welcomingly. The receptionist quickly recognised us and greeted us:

- Welcome, would you like to take the quest? - With a squint and a duty smile she nodded.

- Perhaps, do you have goblin quests in... in... difficulty?

- Excuse me? - She tilted her head to the side and picked up a stack of papers from under the desk, immediately pulling out a couple of sheets. - Here, take a look, but are you sure you want to take on a quest like this? Even though goblins are the lowest monsters for low-level beginners, it would be dangerous for the two of you to go in there...' she suggested a bit worriedly, still smiling.

It was a nice gesture on her part, but I'm sure that's how she warns every newcomer. In passing, and it was yesterday, I heard her warn the newcomers about the failure of one of the porcelain groups, and many other things from the category of 'rumours', but that's not the point.

In my hands were three sheets, so to speak, on my order. Three difficult quests for newcomers of my rank and having passed on them in passing, to my surprise I came across goblins in a mountain fortress.

I have a plan to take advantage of the knowledge of the future and not using it in my favour would be the height of waste. And it would be a sin not to take advantage of the opportunity and get acquainted with people who will owe you their LIFE! And I will endeavour to make them very grateful to me.....

'A mental villainous laugh!' - and the little sister's strange look was ignored.

- This one,' with a wide smile, I handed the sheet to the receptionist, trying not to betray my excitement. She glanced at the selection and nodded.

- A mountain fortress in the northern mountains. There is a small village nearby. There is a victim - the daughter of a customer disappeared a week ago, also according to the villagers there may be a nest of goblins in the fortress. Please show your badge to confirm your identity.

After demonstrating everything necessary, she nodded and scribbled something on her sheet.

- After mopping up and completing the quest you must make a written or verbal report, upon verification a reward will be handed to you. In the future, when you have a track record, you will be able to receive rewards in any guild. I will stop your question - reputation must be earned and if you cheat and fail to fulfil the order and take the reward, you will be fined five times the amount of the reward depending on the difficulty of the task. Are you sure you want to take this quest? - She said with a smile and mundane tone, almost hovering over me, but she was not tall enough and had to raise her head to meet my gaze.

She was trying to scare the newcomers into abandoning their crazy decisions, to cool their heads a little, but I was unlikely to pull that trick on her, so I held her gaze for as long as I could. But her gesture, her attempt to dissuade me, was a good one. If I had been a young man, I doubt I would have wanted to have this kind of trouble at the beginning of my journey.

After listening to her with a thoughtful look, I nodded quietly, to which the receptionist had to back off, not letting on that my choice didn't please her.

- Okay, the deadline for the goblin assignment is a week. In case of delay, some part of the total reward will be deducted. Have a good journey...' she nodded her head with a strained smile.

I nodded, but remained standing still and thought. I don't know where north is, and I haven't learnt how to navigate without a compass yet. Hmm, I'd better go and find a replacement.

All the while, the receptionist waited patiently, occasionally glancing at the second cloaked figure.

- Okay, um, can I see the map? - I finally asked the question, figuring I could memorise it, if not fully, then partially, and after I bought a compass or its substitute I could get down to business.

- I'm sorry, what? - she asked in bewilderment, but it was as if it dawned on her and she nodded. - We offer all newcomers a compass for a small amount of money, would you like to buy one?

- I'd be happy to...

In the end, the small and wooden compass cost me two gold pieces. And I had the map of the neighbourhood memorised. Not everything, of course, but a lot of it. Thanks to that, while trying to memorise it, I found out that the fog of the nearest surroundings disappeared on my mini-map, and also appeared... the compass, which took and simply turned into ashes in my hands, additionally opening a new possibility to notes - a very convenient possibility, I even wept from such happiness than puzzled Alice... Nice girl, I would have kissed her on the spot, but you can't... and it's a pity.

Also, I asked if anyone had taken this quest before me, but after receiving a negative answer, I thanked her and turned the transparency settings of the notes to maximum.

Already mentally rubbing my hands together at the new features, being able to keep my mind off the annoying factors and record my thoughts and ideas, - with excitement, I stopped in the centre of the building, looking around at the local guests that were scurrying around, busy with their business. It didn't take long though, it still looked strange from the outside, so I led Arine behind me to the now familiar blacksmith.

'Sis, do you think we'll need chainmail?'

'Sorry bro, I have no experience in that, I don't know,' she shook her head excitedly.

'That's okay, but we'll take some just in case.'

The blacksmith greeted me with a twinkle in his eye, immediately enquiring if I needed a shield or something 'special'.

First note: to the omnipotence... no, to the salvation of future warriors is necessary....

* * *

The village that gave us the quest was definitely not having the best of times. The people who met us looked scared and tired, and the rare local cattle were guarded like bars of gold by local men with pitchforks and other tools that could be used as weapons.

The only thing that spoilt our mood was that nobody tried to rob us on the way, and there were no monsters near the road at all, only rare beasts that ran away, tucking their tails, as soon as they smelled us.

It took us about an hour of continuous running to reach the village.

But despite the oppressive atmosphere around us, we were greeted almost as heroes and quickly escorted to the local elder, who kept bowing and twisting words, slandering goblins.

- Oh, my adventurous friends, we tried to chase these oupyrs away, and all to no avail, we burned their fields, we beat them as if they were on their way, and we went to our grandmother, but all our labour is fruitless, so kill them, for when the oupyri came, we had no life at all, our cattle and women were stolen, and last week they stole them...

I stopped listening to him already at the second round - I couldn't understand a part of what he said and just nodded, rudely shutting him up and asking him where the fortress was and how many goblins they had seen.

- There were also a lot of goblins, and yesterday they slaughtered our calf....

Having found out everything we needed, we left the village and went into the forest, looking round the green plain and meadows on the way - a peaceful picture of the day. The cold wind blew against our backs, fluttering our cloaks. Slowly we approached our destination, under the sun's rays, and the closer we got to the forest, the more I could see the distant crowns of trees.

'Be careful Arine, we'll use camouflage,' I warned my sister and transformed the helmet on my head.

'Understood,' the girl nodded and stood beside me, becoming covered in a familiar, black mist.

Whereupon, I summoned my familiar and under a flash of darkness and a little smoke, a squeaking bat appeared in front of us; immediately taking full possession of Arinée's attention, who had already pulled her raking hands towards the object of her lust, but....

'Master! Yuko replied. Yuko wants a caress!' - She deftly swooped down on my shoulder and began rubbing her head like a cat against my helmet, which I had to remove, giving the squealing Yuko time to caress. The soft fur was pleasant to the touch and soon, under Arine's envious gaze, the girl reached out to her pathetically, completely dispelling the darkness and the helmet.

Yuko, who had no time to squeak, was grabbed by my nod of approval and petted by Arinée, who was getting high off of it. The girl herself was bursting with positive emotions and long-awaited joy, slightly overshadowing my head with the 'emotional intoxication' of such a drug spike.

'Sorry bro,' Arine quenched her needs after an indeterminate amount of time, then let go of Yuko, and she spread her wings and gingerly glanced at the raggedly breathing girl, staring at me expectantly.

'Yuko, your goal is to find and scout the mountain fortress, once you find it, let me know... and good luck there,' I petted the familiar one last time and nodded.

'Yuko will do! Yuko won't let you down!' - enthusiastically, she flapped her wings and flew upwards, disappearing behind the branches of the trees.

Arine, looking at the furry favourite, reflexively reached for Yuko's hands and was saddened by the impossibility of petting her again: her ears drooped, her gaze followed the poufystick, her emotions were a jumble of sadness and desire.

Sighing at the touching picture, I rubbed my little sister's head; she looked up at me with a tortured smile and put her head up for a caress.

'Don't worry sis, once we do the deed, you can squeeze her all you want! I promise.'

'S-thank you, little brother,' the huge wave of gratitude knocked me off balance again, as did the joyful squeal of my sister throwing herself into a hug. With feeling, she snuggled into my chest, and my bones rattled pitifully at the happy squeak. I didn't expect her to be so strong... oh shit... my bones.

Except there was a downside to my plan - time. I didn't know when the targets would arrive, or if they would arrive at all, but the reward had to be totally worth the risk.