Master Of None

Chapter 323 - 323. Goblin Facts

We should be able to get a lot out of this spider. It looks like it has developed well past adulthood and grown a very large spider silk gland. The spider silk is great for bow stings and even used in some clothing. "Your sister might like it." Gil had already learned the value of such spiders because the first bow he had ever owned used the grey haired spider silk as a bow string. It was a very basic bow but he still learned about it as any good archer would. 

"Brilliant idea, I wonder what could be made with spider silk from such a huge spider." Walker went to work storing the spider away while the two chatted about what could be made with the silk. 

"It looks like it used a bunch of young moss stuck to some of its thread to hide under. If these spiders hunted like this out in the rocks on the outskirts they would be much more formidable." Su was picking up the mossy cover that had been made by the spider. "Leader, please save this for me. I think we can use this if we need to hide some thing.' Walker did not hesitate to store it away, Su always had logical ideas and this was yet another one. 

Midnight was sniffing around and seemed to have the scent of more spiders. "Sister says that there are many spiders in that direction." Onyx had come out of his tattoo form after so much commotion. He realized that he should be out assisting as much as he could during a dangerous situation. 

"Then we will not be going that way. First, it will be a pain to deal with all of them. Second, if there are a lot of spiders, then there are sure not any purple slimes over there." Walker turned his head to the left looking in the opposite direction of the possible spiders' nest. 

"Does Midnight smell any from over there?" Remey was very interested in taking the path without the massive spiders. If she had the choice she would rather scrub every single cauldron in the alchemy building than head to a spider's nest. 

"Sister says that there are not any spider scents that way." Onyx was already wide awake and translating like he had been there the entire time doing so. 

"Leader, come this way." Su took the lead surprising Walker and Gil. However, Remey looked fairly happy having her backup in this. 

The party let Midnight take the lead since she had the grey haired spider scent memorized. She was helping them avoid the traps and small silk threads left behind to trap prey. This also was a good way for them to avoid running in to a large nest of them which would be able to out number the party. 

"The trees are definitely getting larger around here and there are bigger tree roots." Gil had noticed that as they walked the scenery was starting to morph. The tree tops were now well above their heads and the rain that fell was mostly just mist falling off the leaves. The water proof gear they had on was making them as dry as possible. 

We haven't seen any signs of monsters or even regular animals for a while. It actually feels like the forest is too quiet. And when the forest is quiet it usually means there is a predator around." Gil had been hunting in the woods enough times to know that when it was too quiet then that means danger. The tweeting of the birds should never be lost from a hunter's ears. 

With Gil dropping in a crouch low to the ground the rest of the party was also on high alert. Su and Gil were to two that had the best eye sight and were taking the lead in trying to spot an enemy. Midnight was sniffing the air trying to catch a scent of anything out of the ordinary. Yet as they stopped the sound of tweeting birds started to resume. "Whatever it was that passed by is gone now." Gil relaxed a little and moved back in to the normal walking stance. 

"We should keep an eye out for any tracks or evidence of what is prowling around. I would prefer to know what we might bump in to." Walker could only imagine what monster was strong enough of a predator to make all the sounds of the forest go silent. 

"You don't think we moved in to a goblin territory already, do you?" Remey had paid attention to the briefing Walker gave the party. The predator in the first was numerous, however, one that stuck in her mind was the goblins. The simple reason was that they detested humans or any other sentient race. They had very strong instincts and could use basic tools. This made them tougher to beat when they were in groups. Especially for smaller parties.

"Gil walked a few steps ahead and turned back to look at Remey, "I hate to tell you this, but it looks like we are about to pass through their territory." In front of the path, the party wished to travel were numerous small foot prints. 

"Ugh, why did I need to jinx myself like that. I really don't want to fight smelly green monsters." Remey looking at her gloves in fear that she would ruin them in one adventure. 

"Leader, you said that as long as we avoid the goblin's nest we should be fine to battle against them right?" Su was a little worried to be fighting more human like monsters. She had some fear that it would be harder to defeat them for that reason. 

"Yes, I read a book all about them in the library. They are apparently strange even when it comes to monsters. Unlike the other monsters goblins aren't born from eggs, instead, they are a total mystery. No researcher has even been able to figure out how they breed. They also can't be tamed by any form of tamer yet to exist to human knowledge. The only thing we do know is that they smell, really bad." Walker was joking on the last part since he could see the party needed a little humor. However, Gil picked up the subject. 

"They have very poor hygiene and are known to let their food rot. This makes their bite poisonous. They also can use crude tools so watch out for sharpened rocks or sticks. I remember you said that they are known to hunt in groups too. So the least that are usually seen together in two and most ever seen is twenty." Gil had tried to remember these details the most since he was worried about their numbers. 

"Oh, I remember too. They have almost no use as monster materials and often end up becoming a nuisance to small villages. The adventurers that are sent to deal with them are often paid by the kingdom or by villagers who saved up." Remey remembered this as the other two had talked. 

Walker just laughed to himself since their fear of the goblins a moment ago fell away and turned in to a study session. "Let's move carefully and focus on ay tracks we see. They usually can't set traps but had been known to ambush prey. If you see something say something and we will jump in to action." Walker made these last words before taking the lead with Gil. Since Gil was the tracking expert in the party he would be making sure that they were not accidentally following the goblins to their nest. 

The careful forward movement lead the party deeper i to the forest. The trees seemed to tower over them more with every passing step. Walker had started to notice the amount of movement above them and become a little worried, enough to tell his party. "Keep an eye up above us too. There are a lot of animals in the tree tops and I am sure there are some  monsters hunting them." As he said this he saw a small bird fly branch to branch before suddenly disappearing between them. He was sure he had just witnessed such an instance. 

"Great, look on the ground for green goblin monster grossness and look up for anything that might be in the trees." Remey could only imagine another giant grey haired spider descending from the trees trying to grasp one of them as they passed by. It was not a pleasant day dream to have at all, let alone the fact that it could easily be a reality if they did not take enough care in where they walked.

"Grrrrr" Midnight scrunched her nose up and started to softly growl while looking ahead of them. She had not seen something but smelled something very off. 

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