ALL NOVEL Chapter 2 : Scouting with Steeve
After the flawless recruitment of the goblin group, he guided them to the outskirt of the camp to a more private and secluded place and instructed them on how to make weapons by creating some himself, before concluding in his mind.
’Those goblins look and sound stupid but are surprisingly dexterous. What’s more they are fast learners, well I already know that they aren’t that stupid since they understand everything I say in common tongue, but those faces … Anyway, I can let them craft their own atlatl and javelins. All that’s left to do is find a prey. Hopefully, it should not be too difficult nor too dangerous since, from my goblin memory, all the strong predators have been pushed further into the forest by the tribe warriors. Unfortunately, I don’t know yet what they look like. I just know that they are all at the next evolution after hobgoblin, and that hobgoblins shouldn’t even dream of winning against one … Anyhow ’
« _ Continue to make more javelins while I go scout the forest for a prey … One of you will have to come with me, some volunteer ?
_ Me ! Come with you ! »
« _ Good » Said Nathan before walking away with the goblin while deep in thoughts.
‘That’s the first goblin I talked to when I came back after regaining my memories … Probably, I can’t differentiate those goblins but this one looks oddly familiar. Maybe I should give it a name, at least in my head. ‘
« _ Steeve should do it » Said Nathan looking seriously at Steeve, while the goblin stared at him in return with dubious eyes.
_ What is stive ?
_ Don’t mind me, it’s nothing important for now »
After walking deeper in the forest for a good ten minutes, he found a large burrow, as he was scavenging for berries. He immediately stopped with Steeve behind a bush to watch if there was any beast inside.
‘ Fortunately, it looks empty I don’t know what would live inside, but this burrow is large enough to house an average doggo … Maybe I could make a collet and place it at the entrance of the hole.’
« _Wait here and watch the hole, if a beast shows up, warn me
_ Yes, I watch the hole, you come back ! » Said Steeve with an uncertain voice.
Nathan was gone instantly in search of materials to make his trap. Sometime later he came back to the nervous Steeve, with a young and flexible shrub stripped of any branches and leaves and a long, rigid rod. He then spoke to Steeve.
« _ Nothing happened while i was away ?
_ No, but I scared alone
_ yeeeaaah … Anyway, watch around if you see any danger you yell at me I’ll be back in a jiffy. Ok ?
_ Ok ?
_ It means you understand.
_Ok ! »
Nathan walked carefully, to not make a sound, in the direction of the burrow. As he approached the burrow, he took out the sharpened stone he used to make javelins with, from his loincloth. As he arrives, he quickly realizes that the burrow was empty. He relaxed his tensed muscles before sticking the rigid rod uphill of the hole and tying an extremity of the shrub to it. He then bends the other end of the shrub before making a knot, tying it in the middle of the shrub to make a circle.
‘Not a masterpiece … But it should do the trick, probably … maybe ? It’s not really my forte. If i have one whatsoever’
He then walked back to Steve and said.
« _ Come we still need to find another prey since we don’t know if the trap will catch anything.
_ OK … »
‘I hope he will not transform in a pok*mon unable to say anything other than, OK ! An okemon ?’ Nathan thought idly as he walked on.
An hour later they finally found some animals trails.
‘It looks like the steps of a boar, an excessively big one judging by the size’
Thought Nathan as he followed it to a deep recess in a large boulder, there he saw a bull sized boar laying down, in front of it’s his younglings.
He immediately signalled Steeve to slowly step back, before doing the same.
When they were far enough, he started to run followed by Steeve, and only stopped when he was totally out of breath . As he was resting, he thought grimly.
‘Shit, this thing is huge as hell. It could probably kill me without even noticing … we can’t hunt it with just some wooden javelins thrown by some weak ass goblins. It would be a sure-fire way to die … Unless, maybe, if we make a trap ? With a large enough pitfall, we could restrain its movements, then we can try to kill it. I really don’t want to uselessly risk my life, but I need to kill it, if I want to evolve. I can’t stay a goblin any longer, too weak to fight or live meaningfully, only managing to scavenge enough food for today not knowing when I will die of hunger.’
Nathan looked at Steeve who was grasping for breath as the goblin exclaimed while shivering, fear apparent on his face.
« _ We can’t hunt … this … too strong ! We die !
_ No ! We will not die … Listen I have a plan ! We can trap it; it will never be able to reach us. We will use our weapons to kill it, we will not even have to directly touch it before it dies. Believe in me ! Okay ? »
Said Nathan anxiously as he grabbed Steeve’s shoulders while on his knees. Surprisingly the goblin quickly calmed down as he took Nathans hands in return before whispering.
« _ Ok … I believe. »
Nathan looked at Steeve with a dumbstruck face as he thought
‘Dude … You should really cherish your life instead of trusting a random goblin when he says that you can take on a fucking goliath’
« _ Well now we need to go back and prepare … When the hunt start don’t go too far from me okay ?
_ Okay ! I stay with you ! »
Nathan then stood back up and held out his hand to help Steeve get back up on his feet, As Steeve grabbed his hand Nathan moved his other hand to wipe a small tear from his eye and thought
‘What a good mate you are Steeve … I will make sure you don’t die !’
They then walked back to where they left the other three goblins.