Survival Life as a Goblin Chapter 8 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! I got another Tier Reward asking for more Goblins! My Original Writing has fans and it makes me happy to know that! Maybe I’ll eventually make this into a Web Novel; that could be interesting.

Now it’s time to start a New Tribe! Just got to get to the new Cave Area and get settled in. Then it’ll be time to fully take stock of what their new home has to offer!

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-Day 80-

“Alright, everyone ready?” Gobkoh asked his followers as their group prepared to leave the Cave. It was time to head for their new home near the base of the mountains.

“Yeah!” The group exclaimed and Gobkoh nodded at the response. He estimated the trip would take four, maybe five, days with such a large group. Yualin, the elderly Goblin that was coming with them, couldn’t be pushed too hard physically. That might slow their pace, but they’d manage.

“Let’s head out then!” Gobkoh ordered before he turned and bowed to the rest of the Rull Tribe. “Thank you for everything.”

“Thank you for everything!” The rest of the group also bowed to the Rull Tribe. Rull and En stood at the front of the remaining members and gave nods to their progeny. The female Hobgoblins waved at the youngsters, wishing them luck. The older Goblins gave nods and grins to the fledgling Tribe as well. With the ‘goodbyes’ said, Gobkoh started walking along the same route his scouting party had taken two days ago. The other nineteen Goblins of his group fell into step behind him and began to follow.

“Now we prepare for the Tiger.” Rull rumbled to the remainder of the Rull Tribe.

“Of course, Chief.” En nodded and the Hobgoblin females along with the elder Goblins started preparing for the inevitable battle. They knew it was very unlikely they’d survive. But the Rull Tribe would give the approaching Tiger everything they had! It would bear the scars of this battle until the end of its days!

-Day 84-

“Finally back!” Gobwren exclaimed happily as the new Tribe emerged into the area they had scouted previously.

“No time to celebrate yet.” Gobkoh informed him as they started walking towards the cave. “We have to get settled and really claim this territory as ours.”

“Right!” Rialin agreed with her male. The group continued to walk over to the cave. Just like last time Gobkoh had to scare off a few small gatherings of bats with his ‘Goblin Flame’. Other than that it didn’t appear that anyone or anything had been inside the cave since they left.

“Start getting settled everyone.” Gobkoh instructed his followers. “We can figure out the exact sleeping arrangements later. For now we’ll just decide on a sleeping area.” The Goblins started looking around the cave to determine where the best sleeping area would be. There was a decently sized chamber off to the left of the main cave that sat higher than the rest of the area. As there didn’t appear to be any water leaking into the cave this was decided to be the sleeping area. Gobkoh watched as his followers all started setting down their things and most quickly unrolled their primitive mattresses. Today would be spent gathering grasses to stuff all the emptied ‘mattresses’ with again.

“Gobkoh, look, up there.” Rialin got her male’s attention as she pointed out a smaller cavern further back in the cave. It was at a higher elevation than even the new ‘sleeping’ cavern. “Why don’t we make our sleeping area up there? Like Chief Rull did with his women?”

“That’s not a bad idea.” Gobkoh muttered as the two of them walked over. Inspecting the cavern showed it had a high ceiling. It was also more than big enough for them to set up their bedding. Even if they were both the size of Rull there would be enough space.

“What do you think?” Rialin questioned and Gobkoh smiled at her.

“I like it. Let’s set up here.” Gobkoh agreed and the two quickly claimed the smaller cavern as their bed chambers. Fetching grasses to stuff the mattress with took a while. By nightfall everyone had simple meals of dried meat and fruit before heading to bed on the re-stuffed mattresses. Rialin and Gobkoh snuggled close together under their Pelt Blanket, as usual, and drifted off for the night.

-Higher up the Mountain-

“Hmm, it seems we have new neighbors.” An elderly voice mused lightly. “I do hope these neighbors are the friendly sort. Time will tell, time will tell. I should inform the others about our new Goblin neighbors.” With that the owner of the elderly voice stroked his long beard before turning. He put his hands behind his back and strolled along the mountain paths, calm as you please, as if nothing dangerous was lurking in the dark of night.

-Day 85-

“Morning, Rialin.” Gobkoh yawned as he sat up and stretched.

“Morning, Gobkoh.” Rialin smiled as she also sat up from their bed.

“We should check around the area and familiarize ourselves with our new home.” Gobkoh laid out the overall plan for the day.

“Sounds like a good idea to me.” Rialin nodded as they headed out of their bed chamber and greeted the Goblins that were already awake. Several minutes later and the whole Tribe was awake. Gobkoh explained that they were going to scout the area around their new home as a group.

“Why everyone?” Gobyog questioned curiously.

“Safety, we don’t know what lives here already.” Gobkoh replied. “Better to have all of us learning the area together. That way if we come across something dangerous we’ll most likely have the numbers advantage.”

“Makes sense.” Gobyog nodded in agreement.

With that all of the Tribe put on their equipment and headed out in short order. The open area around the cave was mostly flat. That made it easy to walk around and inspect the general area.

“Hey, berries!” Neylin chimed out as they got close to a group of bushes. Curious, Gobkoh used ‘Analyze’ on the little fruits.

[Brynt Berry – Non-Toxic, slightly sweet, can be used to make dye.]

“Oh, that’s useful.” Gobkoh grinned as he plucked one of the purplish berries and popped it into his mouth. “A bit sweet…little sour…not bad.” At the Chief’s call the rest of the Tribe each picked one or two and tried the berries. Most of the Goblins liked them well enough. The Tribe moved on and kept scouting their new home. The forest was mostly the same, except here there were many large rocks and boulders around. That was of course due to the fact they were now living in the foothills of the large mountains. They spotted familiar fruit-bearing trees and Gobwren noticed a Jackalope hopping away into the underbrush. So food wouldn’t be much of an issue here, which was reassuring.

When the Tribe arrived at the large pond that was fed by a spring from the mountain Gobtay had been excited. The young Goblin loved to fish and was hopeful that this pond would allow that. Walking along the bank of the pond for a time revealed cattails and evidence of aquatic life. A large frog, resting on the bank, was noticed. A quick use of ‘Analyze’ and Gobkoh got new information.

[Moss Frog, Level 4]

[Non-Toxic, Aquatic]

“Wonder if they taste the same?” Gobkoh mused as he had vague memories of eating frog from ‘before’. The Moss Frog didn’t give him the chance to capture it though, as it jumped into the pond and swam away.

“Hmm, I wonder what else lives in the pond.” Amalin wondered as they looked out across the expanse of water.

“We’ll find out soon enough.” Gobkoh replied before the Tribe moved on. Climbing up the hills and rocky cliffs a bit didn’t reveal much. The view let them see a good section of the treetops of the forest, but that was about it. Clambering back down the Tribe started to spread back out. With a quick warning to not enter the forest alone, Gobkoh left his followers to their own devices.

“Fishing time!” Gobtay exclaimed as he rushed into the cave to get his fishing pole.

“Wait for me!” Gobyog called after his friend as he chased after him.

“We’ll go too.” One of the four Female Goblins, Maelin if he remembered correctly, that liked to fish announced. She was followed by her three female fishing buddies into the cave.

“What should we do?” Rialin asked her male with a smile.

“Hmm, we have most of the day, want to try hunting?” Gobkoh asked with a grin.

“Sure thing.” Rialin nodded and the two quickly retrieved their bows and quivers. With that they had their armor, shields, swords, knives, spears, and bows. They should be able to hunt at every range without much trouble. The two Goblins slowly made their way through the new section of forest. Both were careful to keep their guards up and their senses sharp.

The couple spent almost an hour moving through the forest. In that time they’d seen a few birds but no significant prey. They made it to the edge of a glen before spotting something worthwhile. A larger than normal Stripe Deer was grazing in the glen, eating the longer grasses. The Goblins noticed a few more deer at the farther edge of the glen and noted the distance. The number of points on this particular deer’s antlers was eight. Gobkoh grabbed his bow and notice Rialin doing the same. With a silent nod to each other they withdrew an arrow from their quivers and nocked it.

“It’s too big to take down with our arrows from this distance.” Rialin whispered as they both took aim.

“I know,” Gobkoh mused softly. “Aim for its legs. You get the back leg I’ll hit the front. As long as we can injure both legs on one side it shouldn’t be able to run away fast enough to escape.”

“Got it.” Rialin nodded and the two quickly focused on their target. Both arrows were released near simultaneously. They flew through the air and lodged into the front and back legs of the larger than average deer. The Stripe Deer let out a shriek-like sound at the attack and stumbled slightly. The deer further away bolted and disappeared into the forest. The injured deer started to hobble away in the same direction, but Gobkoh and Rialin weren’t going to give it the chance.

“Get closer and aim for the vitals!” Gobkoh instructed as they ran to either side of the injured deer. Gobkoh stopped when he had the deer’s flank and nocked another arrow. Seeing Rialin outside of his line of fire, he released the arrow. The second of his arrows lodged deeper into the deer, into the chest cavity this time. Rialin nocked her own arrow and fired shortly afterwards. Her second arrow landed but not in the area she aimed for. The Stripe Deer was still able to move and it made it much harder to aim. “Again!” Gobkoh yelled and pulled another arrow from his quiver. The two Goblins made sure to stay out of each other’s line of fire; though they were also making sure that the Strip Deer continuously saw them on each of its sides. The Deer could only try and hobble forwards knowing that it couldn’t escape to either side. Three more arrows from each of them and the Stripe Deer collapsed to the ground. Gobkoh and Rialin switched to their spears and approached the downed animal.

“It’s still breathing.” Rialin stated as they approached from either side.

“You know where to aim. Let’s finish it off.” Gobkoh responded as they slowly approached the Deer. Two quick, but strong, spear thrusts and the Deer stopped moving as its heart and lungs were pierced.

“We did it!” Rialin cheered as she looked over their large kill.

“Yeah we did!” Gobkoh exclaimed as he hugged her. Rialin laughed as she hugged back.

“We should clean it and see if we can haul it back.” Rialin nodded as she examined the large animal.

“Let’s get started.” Gobkoh agreed as they both pulled out their Stone Knives and proceeded to open the Stripe Deer’s stomach. A few minutes later the large Stripe Deer was cleaned and both Goblins were looking over their work. “I think we’re going to need a sled.”

“I agree, there’s no way we’re carrying this back ourselves.” Rialin hummed. The two quickly collected sticks and pulled out cordage from their small packs. With two of them it only took several minutes to construct a hauling sled for the Deer. Struggling to get the larger than average Deer onto the sled took longer than making it, but with two of them they were able to manage.

“Ready, for the long part?” Gobkoh playfully teased his female as they both grabbed one of the long branches that acted as a handle for the sled.

“This is going to be a pain.” Rialin huffed as they started to pull the sled behind them. Once they got some momentum going it wasn’t as bad. But any little thing that interrupted their walking meant having to restart their momentum. This led to more heaving and struggling with the large weight behind them. It took them almost two hours to drag the Stripe Deer back to their new home. When the two Goblins emerged from the tree line though they were inundated with help. The Tribe happily came together to haul the meat up the slight hill that their new home sat upon.

Fires were quickly started and the rest of the butchering began. The hide was skinned and Gobkoh with Rialin’s help set out to stretch and dry it. It would always be good to have extra hide on hand after all. The Deer’s head was removed and Gobkoh scraped as much of the meat off as possible. He wanted to keep the skull as a sort of trophy. It was their first successful hunt at their new home. Why not commemorate it with a trophy? When he couldn’t get any more of the meat off with his knife, Gobkoh dragged the skull away from the cave. The Goblin used a stick to dig a hole and dropped the skull into it. With some help from Gobtay, Gobyog, Gobmyr, and Gobwren, they placed a large rock over the hole, leaving only a small space for air.

“Why did we move this heavy rock?” Gobmyr asked confused.

“Yeah, didn’t you want to keep the skull? Why are we burying it?” Gobwren questioned.

“I can’t get all the meat and viscera off the skull, or out of it, without breaking it.” Gobkoh explained to the other males. “Leaving this little gap will let in bugs and flies. They’ll strip every bit of meat and viscera off the skull until only bone is left, as long as we leave it alone for long enough.”

“Oh, so you’re using the bugs to do the work for you.” Gobyog nodded in understanding, holding his chin with his right hand.

“Well if you can’t do it without breaking it, this makes sense.” Gobtay agreed and the males left the large rock to get to the food. It smelled great and it would keep the Tribe fed for at least a few days. The Stripe Deer tasted good fresh, but drying the meat would make it last longer too. Fruits were collected and good cheer was in the air. Gobkoh held Rialin close as he looked on at his Tribe. They were all in high spirits and he sipped his water with a smile.

“Young Chief,” Yualin spoke up loud enough to get the rest of the Tribe’s attention. “I believe that we have properly settled this area. It would be appropriate to name our Tribe now.”

“Name the Tribe?” Gobkoh blinked for a moment. “Right, I guess we do need to do that.”

“A nameless Tribe is no Tribe at all.” Yualin shook her head. The rest of the Goblins looked on in anticipation, each of them wondering what their new Tribe would be called.

“What should we call it?” Gobkoh inquired, he’d never had to name a Tribe or any group before, not even in his ‘other’ memories.

“Most often the Tribe is named after the Chieftain.” Yualin informed and all of the other Goblins smiled or nodded in acceptance.

“So that would make us the ‘Gobkoh’ Tribe?” Gobkoh questioned and Yualin chuckled at the younger Goblin.

“I have no doubt that you’ll be a Hobgoblin before the end of your first year, young Chief.” Yualin smiled at him. “I suggest using the name you’ll have after your Growth Phase.”

“Oh, I see what you mean.” Gobkoh smiled slightly as Rialin hugged him and pressed herself closer. “Alright then, let’s go with that.”

“As Chief you should pronounce your new Tribe.” Yualin smiled at Gobkoh. The young Chieftain nodded and pulled himself away from his female. Standing up he picked up his Antler Spear and held it pointing straight up.

“As Chieftain I hereby proclaim, that from this day forth, we are the Koh Tribe!” Gobkoh announced loudly as he struck the ground with the butt of his spear. A cheer rang out from his followers and Gobkoh smiled at all of them. The feast turned into a bit of a party after that. All of the Goblins making merry and enjoying the food. Sunset came and the Goblins doused the fires and headed into the cave. Several minutes later and all of the newly formed Tribe had settled in for the night. Gobkoh snuggled close to Rialin and the two were quickly asleep.

~Gobkoh has fulfilled the Requirements~ The odd voice intoned.

~Kill, eat, and then wear the remains of a beast: Fulfilled~

~Have a Magic Skill/Ability: Fulfilled~

~Live in Nature Completely: Fulfilled~

~Have both Knowledge and Wisdom: Fulfilled~

~Be a Guide to others: Fulfilled~

~Return from the brink of Death: Fulfilled~

~All Requirements have been met~

~Gobkoh has earned the Class: ‘Shaman’~

~Class Skills acquired: ‘Spirit Sight’, ‘Spirit Communication’, ‘Spirit Guide’, ‘Spirit Unification’, ‘Medium Creation’.

‘What?’ Gobkoh blearily questioned in his sleep. The voice didn’t answer and Gobkoh immediately dozed off again. The Chieftain wouldn’t understand what had happened until he fully awoke again.

-Day 86-

“Morning, Gobkoh.” Rialin nuzzled against her male as she woke up.

“Good morning.” Gobkoh returned before he yawned slightly. The two stood up and stretched, ready to get the day started when he heard Rialin gasp. Turning to face her, and seeing her staring at him in shock, he spoke up. “Rialin? What’s wrong?”

“Gobkoh, you have new Skills, a lot of them!” Rialin exclaimed while pointing at him.

“I do?” Gobkoh asked as he realized that Rialin must have used ‘Analyze’ on him. Deciding to figure out what new Skills he’d acquired he used ‘Analyze’ on himself.

[Gobkoh, Level 16]

[Skills: Analyze Lv. 3, Weapon Crafting, Leatherwork, Fire Making, Martial Arts, Armor Crafting, Spirit Sight, Spirit Communication, Spirit Guide, Spirit Unification, Medium Crafting]

[Race Specific Ability – Goblin Flame]

[Class – Shaman]

“What in the heck? I got a Class too?!” Gobkoh was puzzled at this new development and quickly set about using ‘Analyze’ on his new information.

[Shaman – The guide of spirits and souls, one who communes with the spirits of Nature, a leader to others]

‘Okay, I’ve heard the term ‘before’ so that makes a little bit of sense, I guess.’ Gobkoh thought to himself before looking at the requirements of the Class.

[Requirements – Kill, eat, and then wear the remains of a beast, Have a Magic Skill/Ability, Live in Nature Completely, Have both Knowledge and Wisdom, Be a Guide to others, Return from the brink of Death]

‘That’s a good number of requirements.’ Gobkoh mused as he thought about them all. ‘I have killed, eaten, and worn almost every animal I’ve hunted. So that checks out. I do have a Magical Ability in Goblin Flame. I’ve lived in this forest my whole Goblin life. That seems to qualify. I have Knowledge and Memories from my former life, guess that met this criteria. I did just officially become Chieftain, maybe that’s what fulfilled the Guide to others part? Return from the brink of Death? The only thing I can think of is the Rafikdrill…it came really close to killing me. Huh, I guess I do meet all of these requirements. Let’s check my new Skills.’

[Spirit Sight – The ability to see Spirits and determine their alignment]

‘I can see Spirits now? What does determine their alignment mean?’ Gobkoh pondered curiously.

[Spirit Communication – The ability to commune with Spirits and understand them]

‘So that’s exactly what it says, just a way to understand Spirits. I wonder if it’s like talking.’ Gobkoh moved on to his next new Skill.

[Spirit Guide – The ability to use mana to directly interact with Spirits and Souls]

‘That sounds useful, if I meet Spirits anyway.’ Gobkoh nodded.

[Spirit Unification – The ability to unify the user’s mana with that of a Spirit, Allows for Spirit Magic to be used or Magic of the unified Spirit’s alignment]

‘Spirit Magic? What the hell is that?’ Gobkoh was becoming very confused by the new terms.

[Medium Crafting – Allows the user to craft Items to use as Magical Mediums and Foci, Items of this Type increase mana efficiency when using them to cast Spells or use Magical Abilities, higher Tier Mediums and Foci can also increase the Power and Effects of Magical Abilities and Spells]

‘Wait, does this mean I can make things like wands, staves, and magic rings?’ Gobkoh mentally questioned in shock. ‘That’s insanely useful! Especially if any of the others develop any Magical Skills!’

“Gobkoh? Are you okay? You got really quiet.” Rialin asked her male worriedly.

“I’m fine Rialin! Great even!” Gobkoh laughed as he pulled her into a hug and kissed her. Rialin’s eyes widened at the sudden change in mood but she happily kissed him back. When they pulled away Gobkoh smiled brightly at her.

“Your new Skills made you happy then?” Rialin asked with a smile of her own.

“Yep!” Gobkoh nodded to her. “They came with my new Class.”

“You have a Class too? My Analyze doesn’t show me that yet.” Rialin tilted her head curiously.

“Apparently I’m a Shaman, it’s a pretty handy Class if we meet or run into any Spirits.” Gobkoh explained what he knew from his Self-Analysis.

“Are Spirits common or rare?” Rialin asked as they dressed and made their way into the main section of the cave.

“No idea.” Gobkoh shook his head. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.” The two greeted the Goblins that were awake and noticed that it was almost everyone already. With a few words the last few Goblins were woken up and made to start the day.

“Good morning, Chieftain.” Yualin smiled and offered a nod to the new Leader.

“Good morning, Yualin.” Gobkoh greeted the elder Goblin back. “Did you spot any plants that can be used to make medicines yesterday?”

“Several.” Yualin grinned. “I also found an interested student as well.”

“Who is it?” Gobkoh asked. He was definitely curious which one of the youngsters that he led was interested in learning from Yualin.

“That would be me, Chief.” A female Goblin spoke up as she walked to Yualin’s side.

“Saelin? I didn’t know you were interested in medicines?” Rialin commented to the other female.

“Yeah, I want to be useful to the Tribe! I’m not the best hunter, but I’m okay at fishing, if I learn medicines too then that’ll be helpful, right?” Saelin smiled brightly.

“I won’t ever say no to having more Healers in the Tribe.” Gobkoh smiled back at the up and coming Healer. “Learn well, alright, Saelin?”

“Yes, Chief!” Saelin nodded back with a smile. The young Goblin left with Yualin as the two headed out to collect medicinal plants.

“Huh, you learn something new all the time.” Rialin smiled. “I’m sure Saelin will be a big help once she learns enough.

“I’m sure she will be.” Gobkoh agreed. The two headed outside into the morning sunlight and breathed in the fresh air of a new day together. When he opened his eyes again, Gobkoh was met with a surprising sight.

“Rialin, I think I have an answer to your question.” Gobkoh chuckled and Rialin tilted her head curiously.

“Which question?” Rialin asked her male.

“I’m fairly certain Spirits are commonplace, if you have the Skill to see them.” Gobkoh smiled as he watched little balls of light, all of them one color or another, move around the area. They were small, easy to miss if he wasn’t focusing on them for a few seconds. But they were everywhere! Little white ones and grey ones floating through the air. Blue ones floating in the water of the pond and the air just above it. Green ones on almost every plant and brown ones on the rocks and dirt. He even saw small orange and red ones around the fires that were being started by his tribesmen. Looking closer he noticed small black ones moving slowly in the shade and turning around he noticed both black and brown ones inside their cave home. However the moment he stopped using his ‘Spirit Sight’ Skill they all seemed to vanish before his eyes.

“Are there Spirits here?” Rialin asked looking around.

“Yes, but they’re very small, I don’t think they can communicate in the way we’re used to.” Gobkoh mused while Rialin looked at him. “I doubt they have what we would consider intelligence. I’ll have to try out this ‘Spirit Communication’ Skill with them and see what happens.”

“Can I watch?” Rialin questioned, though the smile on her face told him she’d do it even if he told her ‘No’.

“Of course.” Gobkoh smiled as he pulled her into a side hug. With his new Class and the Skills it brought with it, Gobkoh would be busy testing out things for the next few days. But that just made life more interesting! He had a new Tribe, a new home, good friends, and his female. Gobkoh didn’t have any other wants than this. Now the Koh Tribe would focus on getting stronger and firmly establishing themselves in their new territory.

“What do you want for breakfast?” Rialin inquired of her male as they made their way over to one of the newly started fires.

“Deer meat sounds good, and some fruit would be nice too.” Gobkoh mentioned with a chuckle as they sat down. It was simply what the Tribe had at the moment, so of course they’d be eating it for breakfast.

“Life’s pretty good right now.” Rialin smiled as she leaned against him.

“I don’t want anything other than what I have here.” Gobkoh smiled as he had his arm around her waist. “But I’m sure we’ll find more interesting things in the future.”

“Sounds fun.” Rialin grinned.

“It does, doesn’t it?” Gobkoh grinned back.

-End Chapter-

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Koh Tribe formed! Class Gained! Our little Gob is a Shaman! This opens up quite the ‘Magical’ Path for his growth and development in future. Will more of the Koh Tribe develop Magic abilities? How will Gobkoh fair as a Chieftain? Who the heck was watching them from up on the mountain?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I can update this again, later!