20 Of Course, Goblins!

Before he left for the guild, Liliana told Kalin that the house would be cleaned and renovated in about 2-3 days time, the majority of which would be spent waiting for the materials need for it. Kalin was excited to see how his new home would end up looking.

Almost as if it was designed by fate, Kalin ran into the twin spiritus girls about a block from the guild. Worried that they would keep him waiting, they had left early for the guild, just in case. When they arrived, the guild was still sparsely populated. Arriving at one of the terminals, the they searched through the list and ended up deciding on the quest they would work on.

Extermination Quest

Request: Procure 10 goblin spleens for the Alchemy Tower.

Duration: Indefinite

Reward: 100 pints, 10 QP

Details: Repeatable indefinitely, monetary reward may vary depending on the state of the alchemic reagent.

Kalin, after convincing Artemis that they should do the quest, walked over to the counter to formally accept the quest. Seeing Pauline manning one of them, he just bounded over happily with his two new partners in tow.

"Hi Pauline!" Kalin said filled with so much excitement that his cheeks turned rosy.

"Good morning, Kalin." She said with a happy smile. "How did your first quest go yesterday?"

In a fashion similar to Lili when she brags, Kalin puffed out his chest and said, "Perfect, they even gave me a bonus!"

"Is that so?" She asked, raising her eyebrows, "It's pretty rare to get a bonus on a job, especially your first. How much did they give you, if you don't mind me asking?"

Kalin responded, "I got 60 from the quest, and 60 as a bonus!"

His response shocked all three of the girls… well, not so much for Yami who was playing with one of her necklaces. Pauline took a deeper look at the young child in front of her, making sure to remember all the details. She had a hunch that this young adventurer may someday become extraordinary. While 120 pints wasn't much for a quest, it was unheard of for a level 0.

Collecting herself, she addressed the two sisters, "My name is Pauline, and I've been advising Kalin on adventuring."

"I'm Artemis, and this is my older sister Yami." Responded the sharp-eyed sister.

"Are the three of you going to be partying together?" She asked the three.

"Yep!" he responded, "We're going to accept the quest to get goblin spleens for the Alchemy Tower."

Towers were similar to guilds in the fact that people with similar objectives and skills can more easily use their skills to obtain benefit. They were different, however in purpose and execution. Towers were like schools of thought or sects, fighting for the membership of capable mages. They had a more sophisticated and bureaucratic structure. As the largest producer of potions in the city, the Alchemy or Alchemic Tower maintains a largely cooperative and amicable relationship with the various powers throughout the city.

Pauline nodded. This was a very reasonable request for level one and two adventurers. It wasn't too dangerous, relatively simple, and repeatable. It isn't uncommon for even more experienced adventurers to snag the quest if they run into a random goblin hunting party.

Goblins are an ugly race of demons that are generally the height of young children. They boast a strength lower than that of normal adults and an intelligence lower than that of toddlers, but they always form packs. Because of this, they are a nuisance to farmers and villages who are subject to their raids. Above all else, they love shiny objects, so encountering them can be considered as a lucky sign for powerful adventurers. Although they are demons, they have a low life expectancy and rarely live long enough to form a core and transcend to a higher race.

The trio exited the gate closest, which was on the southern side of Den. There were several goblin nests in the shallow of the Dark Iron Forest. As one of the weakest races inhabiting the forest, they were constantly driven toward the edges, while more powerful monsters and demons claimed the better living spots. After a 30-minute walk from the city, they reached the edge of the forest. As it is foolish to enter even the edges of the forest without being on full alert, Kalin took out his estoc, while Artemis her bow, and Yami continued to hold her staff. Though it wasn't great for the sake of sneaking, nearby goblins would be drawn to the sounds of clinking made from the jewelry the twins wore.

"I'll take the front. Artemis, you protect the rear. Yami, make sure you stay between me and Artemis." Said Kalin, as he assumed the position of leader.

Although Artemis and Yami had more experience as adventurers, it wasn't by but a couple weeks. Also, they knew from the conversations they had on the way here that Kalin had solo hunted monster much stronger than goblins. Though it would be nice to have a melee fighter to protect the rear, that position was filled by Artemis, allowing Yami, the support and casting member of the party, to be less vulnerable to surprise attacks.

They had all talked about their abilities on their journey from Den. Though it wasn't a long time, it always helped in a team situation to know what your allies are capable of. One of the most important pieces of information gleaned from this conversation is Yami's lopsided capabilities. While she wasn't very strong against grunts and swarms of weak monsters, she had many powerful single-target magics extremely helpful against stronger opponents. She was a prolific darkness and earth mage. While she didn't have the mental fortitude to constantly rain spells from the heavens, she did have the ability to defeat powerful opponents in a one-on-one battle.

Whilst also a caster, Artemis was also an adept ranger. Using magic mostly as a means of healing and enchanting, she specialized in nature and water magic. Unlike her sister, she excelled against mobs as she could easily take them down. The two of them also could use their channeling abilities, but Kalin could see that it wasn't as simple as Lili made it sound. They didn't want to talk about the reason, so Kalin took the hint and didn't ask.

Upon entering the forest, Kalin's fur scarf started to move as it unwrapped itself to reveal Alene in her fox form. Introducing her to the twins, Kalin said "This is my partner Alene, she's a pooka that hatched last year."

Though she spent the majority of her time motionless around Kalin's neck, Alene was actually quite mischievous. It wasn't only once in the past that she played pranks on the people close to him. Though, they no longer lived with the main target of her pranks, Kalin's younger sister, Rosalie. Yami, seeing the fluffiness of her fur, went up to pet her. After letting her get within centimeters of her, she dodged the approaching hand. This happened several times before Yami gave up with a pout on her face. With a cry of victory, Alene had successfully fount a new target of her torment… I mean pranks.

After the small game of tag, Alene changed into a small eagle and flew off before Kalin could reprimand her. Sighing at her antics, Kalin addressed Yami, "Sorry about her, she hasn't had much time to play recently." Kalin was about to continue speaking, but Alene had already come back after making a small circular flight above the tree line.

After she gestured to Kalin, he smiled and said, "It looks like we're in luck, there is a small goblin camp not far from here." After which, he started walking in the direction indicated by Alene, followed by his two companions.

Though they tried, the twins weren't that silent in their movements. Kalin took note of this, though there wasn't much he could do at the moment. Yami was strangely alert, however, as she was carefully paying attention to the surroundings. Upon reaching a small clearing, they were able to make out a small campsite. Though I say a campsite, it was more just a fire ring with a dozen goblins surrounding it and a pile of bags leaning against a large tree to the side. The absence of tents meant this was likely a raiding or hunting party. They were armed to the teeth, as in they were barely armed except for their teeth. The occasional goblin had a wooden stick or rock and the vast majority of them were naked.

The ones wearing clothing or wielding weapons were the larger threats, as they shewed signs of higher intelligence. They were likely the leaders of this party. Though their brains didn't amount to much, as they didn't even notice the clinging of jewelry as they approached, they weren't to be taken lightly either.

Signaling Artemis and Yami to lean closer, Kalin whispered, "We're going to ambush them. When I say, I want the two of you to attack the ones with rocks. While they won't be much of a problem, it would still hurt if they got a lucky throw in." After designating targets for the two of them, Kalin prepared his own spell before signaling them to attack.

While the three were preparing their assault, the goblins were in the middle of a heated discussion. Any goblin-speaking passerby would hear two factions debating whether feces or animal fur were better sources of food. Both were completely backed by evidences such as flavor, texture, and renewability as a resource. As the debate got heated and words sharp, one of the loudest goblins found a narrow stick with feathers attached to the end, piercing through his heart leaving a small trickle of blood. The force of the arrow was strong enough to knock the goblin off his feet, never to stand up again. Before any of his friends could react, another goblin found themselves bisected by a flash of light that ran across her neck, and another was hit by a large rock, collapsing her chest instantly. The light seemed to cook the flesh that it passed across, leaving the corpse relatively clean, but with an unpleasant smell similar to sweat and bacon fat. The last goblin, well, let's say its chest looked like the material that's turned into chicken nuggets.

The remaining 9 goblins traced the path of the projectiles back to their source. As they spotted the murderers of their friends, one of which stepped forward steadily, with his hands close to his core, ready to strike forth. Maybe had they decided to run instead of confronting their enemies, they would have survived, but that was not their fate. As they charged toward their aggressors, another arrow was unleashed by Artemis, finding it's mark, felling another goblin. As the closest goblin made its way within a 2-meter radius of Kalin, he made his first attack. After stepping in with his left foot, a powerful thrust pierced into the chest of the goblin. This thrust didn't completely run through the goblin, for fear of the sword getting stuck, but it was more than enough to kill the goblin almost instantly. With a final cry of despair and hatred, a stream of blood flowed forth from the wound as the estoc was removed from its body.

Kalin noticed another two goblins enter his range. To prevent being swarmed, he kicked one with his heeled boot, sending it and another tumbling to the ground, before swinging at the neck of the other. Upon the impact of the sword across its neck, an audible snap, similar to that of a breaking branch, resounded, as the goblin's body buckled to the ground. Another arrow soared true, reaping the life of the last goblin holding any weapons.

The goblins that tumbled to the ground, one atop the other, tried to stand to rejoin the fight. They were unable to make it to their feet, however, as a pillar of earth, about the width of a palm, emerged from the ground and pierced through both their chests. Leaving only 3 goblins left, two of which lunged at Kalin, while the last tried to flee.

After stabbing the unprotected chest of the goblin in front of him, Kalin didn't wait to remove it from his opponent before slashing at a goblin that lunged at him. Because of the lack of sharp edge on his blade, instead of cutting through the flesh, it tore through its chest, causing a few chunks of flesh, blood, and lungs to fly out before stepping toward the lunging goblin, running it trough from its collar bone, and out it's lower back. The last goblin, that had tried to run away found an arrow in its back. The goblin got up after this strike and started stumbling away. Missing her mark by the width of two fingers, the arrow struck the blade of the shoulder rather than the important organs hiding within the ribcage. Sending forth a final arrow, the last goblin met the ground, where it was embraced by eternal slumber.