Survival Life as a Goblin Chapter 13 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! I got another Tier Reward asking for more Goblins! My Original Writing still has fans and that makes me happy! I wonder; how many chapters ahead I’d need to be to look into publishing this? 20 or 30? Maybe as many as 50? Questions for later, I guess.

Now that the Koh Tribe is secured and fortified, how is life going for them? Will they run into either of their mysterious neighbors? Maybe a new group entirely? Let’s find out!

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-Day 110-

With just over a week since finishing their construction projects, Gobkoh was happy with his Tribe’s progress. They led a simple life, but it was a good one. Hunting, Fishing, and Foraging were all going well and the Tribe did not lack for food. Their cave home only got better as Rialin’s simple oil lamps lit up the interior. The large hearth that Gobkoh had been working on was almost finished too. All in all, things were looking good for the Koh Tribe.

“There we go.” Gobkoh smiled at his work as he looked at his newly upgraded Shaman Staff. He’d swapped out the Striped Deer antler on the curved top end for the skull of the Capra Horn he and Rialin had hunted. The four-horned goat skull gave his Shaman Staff a more powerful attunement to both Dark Spirits and Earth Spirits.

“Looks intimidating.” Rialin chuckled at the new Shaman Staff. “Is it stronger than before?”

“By a good amount actually.” Gobkoh confirmed for her with a nod. “With this helping out my Earth Magic I should be able to finish the hearth in the cave.”

“That’ll be another project done.” Rialin hummed in approval. “It’ll be great being warm all winter.”

“That’s the plan, staying warm and cozy inside while we wait for spring.” Gobkoh grinned at his female warmly. She returned the look as they watched over the Tribe from where they sat next to the cave entrance.

-Day 119-

Days had passed in relative quiet for the Koh Tribe. The normal training every morning was followed by tribesmen going out to hunt or forage, some fished, and others crafted. Breelin and Hylalin had shown some aptitude for sewing over the Koh Tribe’s formation and both had not only acquired the Leatherworking Skill, they had even managed to level it up twice. The two were now capable of treating pelts and making good leather. Gobkoh had naturally set them the task of upgrading the Tribe’s clothing. Furs and pelts were great, but treated leather would last longer and be more durable. All they needed was dried pelts, some Varettayl oil and the brains of the Stripe Deer.

The Skill apparently gave them the knowledge of the process, but Gobkoh had them do it near the pond since it was the furthest they could get from their cave home. The process reeked! The smell was unpleasant to put it mildly but after feeling the first leather item the two had produced -a simple vest- he’d been sold. By the time autumn hit the forest, the Koh Tribe would be decked out in leather wear and furs!

-Day 120-

Gobkoh, Rialin, Neylin, Gobwren, Gobmyr, Gobtay, and Gobyog were out hunting together. A few of the other goblins had noticed a large paw print in the forest yesterday and were worried about it. Having been shown the print this morning, Gobkoh could agree that this needed to be handled. The print was large, not anything close to the Emperor Tiger’s, but it was familiar to Gobkoh from ‘before’. He could still recognize a bear print.

“Found another one.” Neylin pointed her Antler Spear at a print in the dirt and leaves.

“We’re heading in the right direction then.” Gobyog nodded as he gripped his own spear tight.

“There’s another one over here.” Gobtay remarked as he stood next to a print further ahead of the group.

The hunting party trekked onwards through the forest in pursuit of the bear. Gobkoh was reluctant to put his tribesmen in danger like this, but a bear was a danger to the Tribe itself. If they could scare it away then that would be more than enough for him. But if it came down to it, he’d kill the bear to keep his Tribe safe.

‘Speak of the devil.’ Gobkoh’s eyes widened as their group came to stop at the edge of a small clearing. There in the center of the clearing -gnawing on what looked to be a scavenged kill- was a large brown-furred bear. Given the size of the average Goblin, this bear must’ve be the size of a full-grown grizzly!

[Brown Bear – Level 48]

Gobkoh grimaced at what his ‘Analyze’ told him about the beast. It was higher-leveled than any of them and by a large amount at that.

“What should we do, Chief?” Gobwren questioned with his bow out and an arrow ready to be knocked.

“We scare it, give it a reason to run away and not come back.” Gobkoh informed the group.

“Will that work?” Rialin looked uncertain. “That’s a large bear, and it’s a higher level than us.”

“If it doesn’t work, then we have to take it down and kill it.” Gobkoh gave the other Goblins a serious look. “Letting this thing wander around our territory will inevitably lead to one of our tribesmen dying in the future.”

“Let’s do it.” Neylin looked determined as she gripped her spear.

“It’s looking at us!” Gobtay warned and sure enough the Brown Bear was looking at the Goblins. It was letting out a threatening sound as it stood up on its four legs and faced them.

“Make noises, yell, smack the trees, and be as loud as possible!” Gobkoh instructed and the hunting party did as told. The forest was filled with yelling and beating sounds as the hunting party made a massive racket. The bear let out bellows at the noise and tried to keep all seven of the Goblins in sight.

“Over here!” Gobmyr yelled from the right as he beat a tree with the back side of his Stone Battle Axe.

“Get outta here! Out!” Gobyog yelled at the bear while smacking a tree next to him with the butt end of his spear.

The noise seemed to aggravate the large bear as it stood up onto it hind legs. The height was a bit intimidating, but what happened next was only noticed by Gobkoh and Rialin as they both had their ‘Analyze’ Skills activated.

[Brown Bear has used Skill: ‘Intimidating Roar’]

A blaringly loud roar that shook the air was released from the bear’s maw. All of the Goblins felt their bodies lock up and tremble from the Skill’s effect. The resonating sound of the roar was the only sound in the forest as everything else had stopped moving or fled in panicked terror. Gobkoh’s eyes were wide as he tried to force himself to move. The Brown Bear was still on its hind legs, still in an intimidation stance. It was trying to scare them away. That meant it didn’t care to fight right now.

‘Which makes this the perfect chance to attack!’ Gobkoh yelled internally as he snapped out of the Skill effect. He reached over and smacked Rialin on her armor-covered back, just hard enough to make her jolt. It seemed to do the trick as she snapped out of her paralyzed state.

“What the?” Rialin blinked at having her mind cleared of the fear that the Skill had caused.

“Hit the others, snap them out it!” Gobkoh ordered as he moved over to Gobtay and Gobwren, he kept the bear in his sight at all times as he smacked both of the Goblins on the back and knocked them out of the Skill’s hold. Looking over he saw Rialin snap Neylin, Gobmyr and Gobyog out of it with swift strikes to their backs.

“Chief, what do we do?” Gobwren questioned as he knocked an arrow and took aim at the Brown Bear.

“Spread out, try and keep a tree between you and the bear! I’m going to use Magic!” Gobkoh called out and was pleased to see his tribesmen do as he said. Using ‘Spirit Guide’ the Goblin Shaman gathered together Earth Spirits. With ‘Spirit Unification’ he aligned their Magic with his own to empower his casting. “Earth Spikes!”

The spell was cast and from the ground beneath the bear a multitude of earthen spikes shot upwards. The spikes pierced the Brown Bear’s feet and sent it stumbling with a roar of pain. It collapsed forward onto more spikes, injuring it further. Unfortunately, the bear’s fur was thick and most of the spikes only made small stabs into the beast before they broke under its weight.

“Arrows!” Rialin was the one to call the next attack as she, Neylin, and Gobwren all let an arrow fly into the bear. The arrows struck the beast, making it growl in pain, but the three arrows sticking out of it didn’t seem to bother it much. “Again!” Another trio of arrows found their mark into the bear even as it stumbled its way off the remaining spikes and limped towards the closest Goblins with an aggressive growl.

[Brown Bear has used Skill: ‘Hearty’]

‘The hell is that?’ Gobkoh questioned his Skill and got a quick response.

[Skill ‘Hearty’ – Increases Durability and speeds up Healing over time]

“No you don’t!” Gobkoh wasn’t about to let the Brown Bear buff itself and start healing the damage they’d managed to do. Combining Fire Spirits together with his own mana and then activating his Goblin Flame created a new spell for the Shaman. “Fireball!” A large ball of flame –easily the size of a beach ball- formed just above the Capra Horn skull on the top of his Shaman Staff. With a jab at the bear, the yellow-orange ball of flames was launched. The blast that rocked the bear sent it stumbling to the forest floor. Flames licked at the brown fur, setting it alight before burning out as the fur held too much moisture to fully ignite.

“Yarrgh!” Gobtay and Gobyog rushed the Brown Bear’s flanks with their spears and drove them deep into the bear’s hind legs. The spears had been well-aimed by the experienced spearmen and were now lodged into the thick muscle surrounding the joints.

“Raaaaarrrrggghhh!” The Brown Bear roared out at the new injuries making it much harder for it to walk. Three more arrows lodged themselves into the bear’s side from Rialin, Neylin, and Gobwren.

“Die already!” Gobmyr roared as he rushed the injured bear and swung his Stone Battle Axe. The blade bit into the bear’s hide, leaving a nasty cut. The bear forced itself to its feet with another bellowing roar.

[Brown Bear is using Skill: ‘Intimidating Roar’]

“No!” Rialin was heard shouting just before an arrow lodged itself into the bear’s left eye.

The bear bellowed out a pain-filled roar as it aborted its Skill use and reeled from the loss of its eye. Two more arrows struck the bear’s neck, nearly muting its roaring and growling. With the time to weave his Skills together, Gobkoh ended the battle with an empowered spell.

“Earth Spear!” Gobkoh cast the modified spell by slamming the butt of his staff onto the ground in front of him. A large spire of hardened earth, similar to the Earth Spikes but much larger and thicker, tore itself from the ground and flew at the reeling Brown Bear at speed. The spear of earth pierced through the bear’s chest and sent it collapsing backwards onto the forest floor with a loud crash.

“Is…is it dead?” Gobtay asked as he and Gobyog slowly approached the downed bear.

“Yeah, it’s dead.” Gobkoh informed the hunting party. His ‘Spirit Sight’ Skill allowed him to see the small Dark Spirits that naturally formed around dead things appearing. They’d won, the Brown Bear was dead.

“How do we process this thing?” Neylin questioned the group, looking at the impaled bear and taking into account its sheer size.

“We get the Tribe to help, of course.” Gobkoh chuckled as he sent Neylin, Gobtay, and Gobyog to go back to their home and fetch as much help as possible.

“Can we eat this?” Gobmyr poked the dead bear a few times.

“We can, but it’s a hard meat to cook.” Gobkoh sighed as he sat back against a tree and rested. He’d put a lot of his mana into his spells and he was feeling the lethargy that came with a sharp drop in mana.

“We’ll figure it out,” Rialin sat next to him with a smile. “I’m more interested in the fur. Just think of what we could use that much fur for.”

“Getting our arrows back is kinda hard.” Gobwren complained as he worked one of the many arrows they’d hit the bear with out of its thick muscles. “It’s probably going to ruin some of them.”

“We’ll make more.” Gobkoh waved off the concern as Gobwren continued his work. ‘That was a strong beast. I should have levelled up from that. I was at level twenty-four yesterday.’

[Gobkoh, Level 29]

Gobkoh nearly sputtered at the five level increase. He hadn’t had such drastic growth since he almost got killed by the Rafikdrill back at the Rull Tribe’s cave. It was good news to be sure, if he kept up this pace he’d probably hit level one-hundred before winter. He could spend the three months of cold inside their home going through his Growth Phase.

‘Do I have to fight more of these bears to get there though?’ Gobkoh lamented as he looked over the large beast. If he hadn’t had his hunting party with him, then he most definitely wouldn’t have stood a chance. ‘Speaking of the hunting party.’ He glanced at Rialin and used ‘Analyze’ to see her information.

[Rialin, Goblin, Level 28]

[Skills: Analyze Lv. 2, Fire Making Lv. 3, Leatherwork Lv. 2, Martial Arts Lv. 3, Swordsmanship, Bow Lv. 2, Spear Lv. 3, Shield, Cooking]

‘She’s come a long way from when we first met.’ Gobkoh couldn’t help but be pleased. Skills came easier to intelligent species. Goblins weren’t too high up on the intelligence ranking normally. But with some help from his memories of ‘before’, he’d helped his Tribe gain Skills that they might not have gotten for many months or even years. He continued his checks of the remaining hunting party members.

[Gobmyr, Goblin, Level 24]

[Skills: Fire Making Lv. 2, Leatherwork, Martial Arts Lv. 3, Axe Lv. 4, Shield]

‘I wonder if he’ll earn a Class if his Axe Skill hits level five?’ Gobkoh wondered as he noted the level of the Skill.

[Gobwren, Goblin, Level 25]

[Skills: Fire Making Lv. 3, Leatherwork Lv. 2, Martial Arts Lv. 3, Bow Lv. 4, Shield, Weapon Crafting]

‘Huh, so he got the Weapon Crafting Skill? That’ll be helpful. I’ve seen him make his own bows when the old one gets too worn. He’s also at level four for Bow. We’ll he get an Archer Class, maybe?’ Gobkoh could only ponder on what may come.

“We’re back!” Neylin called out as over a dozen Goblins followed behind her.

“Looks like break time is over.” Gobkoh joked as he and Rialin stood up and headed over to lead the process of cleaning the bear and dragging it back to their home for processing.

That night they dined on seasoned bear meat. With herbs the gamey taste was mellowed out a fair amount, but it still left a slightly odd aftertaste on the tongue. There was chatter going around as the Tribe ate together. Many wondered if stewing the bear meat would make it better to eat. Some suggested smoking it would be better and using it as dried meat would eliminate the aftertaste. They had plenty of meat to experiment with, so it wasn’t as if they couldn’t try out each method.

“I’m definitely putting the skull over the hearth.” Gobkoh grinned as he thought about it. Once the insects finished stripping the head of all meat and viscera, he’d have a nice clean skull to commemorate this hunt.

“Sounds good to me.” Rialin giggled as she leaned into his side.

Sleep came easily to the Koh Tribe that night.

-Day 126-

“Chief!” The Goblin that was in the lookout tower on the right side of their walled-off home called down to Gobkoh. “We have incoming, multiple it looks like!”

“Multiple what?” Gobkoh yelled back to the lookout.

“I…I think they’re Goblins, Chief!” The lookout reported and a buzz arouse through the Tribe.

“Is everyone here, right now?” Gobkoh asked the Tribe at large. “They’re not our own?”

“Everyone is here.” Rialin confirmed with a quick head count. “Saelin and Yualin are inside working on medicines. But everyone else is inside the wall right now.”

“How long until they get here?” Gobkoh questioned the lookout.

“Not too much longer, Chief! Maybe ten minutes? I only caught a glimpse of them passing through the trees a ways off.” The lookout informed.

“Close the gate until we determine their intentions.” Gobkoh ordered and the gate was quickly closed. “I’ll speak with them myself.”

“I’m coming with you.” Rialin followed after her male as he made his way to the gate lookout tower and started climbing the built-in ladder.

Just as the lookout had said, a band of Goblins -twelve in total- emerged from the forest just over ten minutes later. They gazed up at the wall in awe. Gobkoh supposed that was reasonable, given that such structures were probably rare in the Silua Forest. It didn’t take even a moment for Gobkoh to pick out the leader of this band of Goblins. He was large, far larger than the other Goblins. He had a heavy club, studded with stones in his right hand and wore furs over his body. Around his neck was a necklace made of various animal teeth and fangs. By comparison to him, the rest of the Goblins looked weak, hungry, and miserable.

[Gobmak, Goblin, Level 26]

[Skills: Club Lv. 6, Martial Arts Lv. 3]

[Class - Brute]

[Requirement – Club Lv. 5 and Martial Arts Lv. 2]

[Increases bonuses from ‘Martial Arts’ Skill and ‘Club’ Skill by 20%, increases Power, Durability, and Speed by 10%]

“Who are you?” Gobkoh called down to the Goblin after using ‘Analyze’ on him.

“We are the Mak Tribe!” Gobmak looked up at the lookout tower. “We followed your Tribe’s markings through the forest! You claim a lot of land!”

“We are the Koh Tribe. We settled this land ourselves and built everything you see. This is our land!” Gobkoh replied to the other Chieftain.

“We of the Mak Tribe have been on the move since the War Orc sent his progeny out to form their own Tribes.” Gobmak declared making Gobkoh raise an eyebrow at the new term.

‘War Orc?’ Gobkoh tried to ‘Analyze’ the term. The results were informative, if a bit minimal.

[War Orc – The third Stage of the Orc Species development, preceded by Battle Orc and regular Orc]

“I fail to see how that affects the Koh Tribe.” Gobkoh responded as he leaned against the railing of the lookout tower.

“You’ll know when one of them comes this way!” Gobmak barked up at Gobkoh. “Your Tribe will fall without a strong leader to defend them! You need a strong leader like me to save you! Become part of the Mak Tribe and you will be safe!”

“What Tribe?” Rialin spoke up from her place beside Gobkoh. “All I see is one Goblin forcing others to listen to him. That’s not a Tribe.”

“You speak to me like that?!” Gobmak raged at Rialin. “You should respect a Chief!”

“What if we don’t?” Gobkoh questioned as his claws dug into the bamboo railing slightly from how Gobmak was practically spitting at Rialin.

“I challenge you, one Chieftain to another!” Gobmak pointed his club upwards. “I win and your Tribe joins mine! I get everything your Tribe has!”

“Your challenge is denied.” Gobkoh shrugged off the annoying Goblin. “You have nothing I want, so why should I risk anything?”

“Coward!” Gobmak cried out with mocking venom. “You are afraid of Gobmak! You know you’ll lose! Your Tribe is weak and will fall when the War Orc’s progeny find their way here!”

“Can I kill him?” Rialin growled lowly at the idiotic Chief that was still ranting up at them.

“They might have information we could use.” Gobkoh was looking at the miserable-looking Goblins behind Gobmak. “I’ll deal with him, help me get ready.”

“Alright.” Rialin gave him a fanged-grin as they turned back to address the still ranting Goblin.

“Will you shut up?” Gobkoh interrupted Gobmak’s diatribe. “If you want your challenge so badly, you’ll get it. Bring your Tribe inside when the gate opens and we’ll do battle.”

“Agreed!” Gobmak looked viciously at the pair.

Gobkoh and Rialin descended the lookout tower and made their way into the cave. Explaining to the Tribe about the so-called challenge had most of them wanting to just kill Gobmak outside the gate. Gobkoh forbid that and told them they may take in the remains of the Mak Tribe once he was done, depending on their attitude.

Inside the cave, within Gobkoh and Rialin’s bedchamber, Gobkoh donned his Scale Armor, draped his Shade Lynx cloak over his shoulders, he pulled the hood made from the lynx’s head up to cast his eyes in shadow. He placed his Stone Sword on his hip and grabbed his Scale Shield in his left hand. Finally he picked up his Shaman Staff with his right hand.

“Intimidating enough?” Gobkoh questioned his female.

“You look like the Chief of the Koh Tribe should.” Rialin grinned at him before they pecked each other’s lips and headed out.

“Open the gate!” Gobkoh ordered as he got to the center of the flat ground that made up the interior of their home. The Tribe stood at his back, ready to watch this other Goblin fall to their Chief.

“About time!” Gobmak declared as the gate was raised up and he and the weak-looking Goblins behind him entered. “I will kill you swiftly.” He brandished his club at Gobkoh.

‘I’m starting to think he’s too stupid to recognize that I’m not just a melee fighter.’ Gobkoh mused to himself. With his Shade Lynx cloak and the Shaman Staff in his right hand, it should have been obvious to anyone that Gobkoh could use some type of Magic.

“Come at me.” Gobkoh beckoned Gobmak and the other Chieftain let out a war cry as raised his club high while closing the distance at an impressive speed. Gobkoh was no fool, he’d already had ‘Spirit Guide’ and ‘Spirit Unification’ active before the fight had even started. A strike of his staff on the ground and an earth spike stabbed into the charging Gobmak’s stomach, pinning the Brute Goblin in place as he went silent from the devastating injury.

“Y-you… M-magic?” Gobmak had blood running down his chin as he tried to speak.

“I’m a Shaman,” Gobkoh informed the dying Goblin.

“M-mer-mercy…” Gobmak tried to beg, but there was no regret in his dark eyes, only fear and anger.

“Fireball.” Gobkoh intoned and a large fireball swirled into existence above his skull-topped staff. The spell engulfed the nearly dead Gobmak and ended his suffering. Gobkoh kept the Fire Spirits swirling around the flames for almost ten full minutes. By the time he let the flames fade, all that was left of Gobmak was a charred husk of a corpse.

“Serves him right.” Rialin huffed at seeing her male easily defeat the idiot Goblin that dared to challenge him.

“So…” Gobkoh turned his attention on the eleven remaining Goblins from the now defunct Mak Tribe. All of them looked to be trembling, as if they expected to suffer the same fate as Gobmak. “Are you hungry?”

All eleven Goblins blinked at his words for a moment. They didn’t have to speak as the simultaneous growls of all their stomachs spoke for them.

“I have some questions for you after you’ve eaten,” Gobkoh informed the hungry Goblins. “If you answer them truthfully, and to the best of your ability, then you’ll be welcomed into the Koh Tribe.” The looks of shock and hope on the faces of the weak, hungry, and miserable Goblins was almost heartbreaking. “However,” The Goblins now looked apprehensive. “If we detect any hint of deceit, any ill-intentions at all, then you’ll end up just like Gobmak, understand?”

The eleven Goblins nodded in agreement so rapidly their heads looked like blurs.

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A lot happened this chapter!

Gobkoh upgraded his Shaman Staff. They hunted a bear and gained levels. Had some bear meat and then decided to try different ways of preparing it. The Koh Tribe met their first other Goblin Tribe, though they weren’t much of one. Then Gobkoh demonstrated why challenging him is not advisable.

Now they have eleven potential new members for their Tribe. That should help when it comes time to expand their population.

But what is this War Orc exactly? What do his progeny have to do with anything?

There are definitely questions that need to be answered!

Until I can update this again, later!