Rick and his cohort of Goblins took a pause as the voice of the Serpent boomed around the forest for all to hear.
And not only did they hear…they felt.
Not just them, but all beings in the forest.
The power of the Serpent was ingrained in the words it spoke and it washed over beast and Goblin alike.
For those towards the weaker Tiers, and even some of the stronger ones, it caused a trace of fear to unconsciously enter into their hearts.
None of the Goblins said anything, but for a few seconds this trace of fear rooted them to where they stood.
Until Rick spoke that is.
“Keep moving.”
That was all he said, but it was more than enough for the Goblins with him. He was currently in front of the group with Loruk still unconscious on his back, and he resumed his light jog after talking.
Not even bothering to look back.
And he had no need to. Ra and the others regained their bearings quickly and made sure to follow.
Loruk woke up towards the end of the first day and after taking a moment to come to terms with everything that transpired and verifying that he was alright, he fell in line with the rest of the group.
This is how they would travel for the next few days. Mainly in silence and with only a few stops for rest and food.
There was only one semi major event in their journey to leave the forest.
A massive Tier Three Bear was slain solely for its hide. Surgsha would be responsible for turning it into something that would cover Rick’s tattoos.
Time passed and eventually, the forest was behind them, and before Rick laid an open grassland. In the distance beyond the grassland another small forest laid and it would be the first of many rest stops taken as Rick and the others journeyed through wilds that followed.
For the next couple of months their journey didn’t have many significant happenings. With the only thing of note being the all the new sights Rick got to see.
Sights he didn’t have the feeling and current emotional capacity to enjoy like he would have before the tragedy that took place.
There weren’t any big fights to be had either. Tier Five and above beasts or people weren’t just sitting around all over the place.
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It was hard to reach that high of a Tier for most, and it just goes to show how special of a place the Nameless Forest was. Such a large forest with such a vast array of beasts and Tiers that dwelled within.
From little unevolved Tier Zero Goblins to the obvious might and strength the Serpent and the Fox.
Tier Zero to Tier Seven.
Yet on this journey that Rick began, he could barely find something that was above Tier Three let alone find something that was Tier Five.
So there was very little fighting apart from what was necessary for food stores, or the rare chance one of those weaker creatures decided it was in their best interest to attack.
All the required fighting for left to Loruk and Ra for the most part. It wasn’t even like Rick didn’t try to help, but they wouldn’t let him.
Felt it was beneath him.
Anyway, eventually they finally reached a point in their travels where they had to take a pause not for rest, but for safety and planning.
There wasn’t any direct threat approaching them or technically near them to their knowledge, but according to Loruk and the others, from this point they would have to enter the territory of established powers.
In front of them stretched another wide expanse of a forest, except it was slightly different than the one Rick called home for more than a year.
It was still vast, but it appeared more tempered. The trees didn’t seem to be all that dense, the beasts not all that loud.
There was even a pathway that Rick could see in this distance that likely led somewhere he wanted to avoid.
So they needed to reaffirm their plan of action before proceeding further.
POV Rick
“You all mentioned these were demi-human lands. Is it just one large nation of these demi-humans?”
“No My Lord, or at least we don’t think so. We only know general knowledge of the area and don’t really get a chance to gather more information, but it is believed that a few different demi-human races call these lands home in separate nations.”
“And Loruk, do you know of the races that live here?”
“My Lord, we have only confirmed two. Wood Elves, and Treelings. There are likely more than that, but we are not sure.”
“Do you know what a Treeling is?”
“No My Lord. Just that they exist in these lands as one of the Demi Humans.”
“I see…then of course the plan is to avoid them as much as possible. Do any of you remember the route you took to reach this point?”
“I do my Lord.”
‘Just Ra huh.’
“Then you will be in charge of leading us Ra. Safety is the most important thing, but the fastest we exit these lands the better.”
‘So Wood Elves and Treelings. I think I can kind of imagine what a Wood Elve is, but a Treeling. What do you think Velora? What do you think a Treeling is?’
[The only reference point we half is word ‘Tree’ in the name. That infers it is a creature related to trees in some way. Perhaps some form of humanoid tree, with maybe bark for skin. Reminiscent of a Barclaw.]
‘A humanoid Barclaw huh. Well, let’s really hope we don’t run into them.’
??
From there Rick and co continued forward with Ra leading from the front. They still tried to move quickly but it was at a much slower pace than before. This was potentially enemy territory.
Goblins weren’t necessarily at war with the Demi Humans, but there was no telling how’d they’d be treated at their respective Tiers. A Tier Five Goblins strolling through your lands? It wouldn’t be surprised if kill on sight orders were given if Rick was found out.
But…that’s unfortunately what happened to the three Hobgoblins who were moving as fast as they could towards Rick.
They weren’t far from Rick’s current location, which of course cause the Blood Stone in their possession to react, bringing undue attention to their positions…
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