Его не звали, но он приперся / They never called, yet he is here: Глава 25

Chapter 25

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 17:39

Goblins are quite a fun creature, and a careful study of them leads one to make all sorts of assumptions. It is also possible that these little scum-suckers are a kind of biological weapon. A sort of very budget version of the well-known Zerg and Tyranids, which failed at the box office because of its budget. Despite the weakness of the individual goblin, their race has some very significant advantages. Allowing them not to prosper, but to confidently fight for a place under the sun.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 17:44

First of all, goblins are very fertile, just horribly so. For them, twins, triplets, or even five babies in a brood is not a miracle, but a harsh everyday occurrence - single births rarely happen. Little Goblins, in their turn, very quickly recover from the aftereffects of childbirth and become pregnant again. Such is their culture that a female has three uses: to bear children, to care for a tribal stand, and to boil in a pot. You always have to do at least two of the three things, and therefore the barren do not linger in their society.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 17:46

Secondly, goblins grow up very fast. At the age of three, the little green-skinned creature is already at full strength helping the women with their chores, gathering roots and berries, and checking the snares set by hunters. At five, a goblin takes up arms and goes on his first hunt, ceasing to be a child. At seven he is considered a mature man, allowed to find his own mate. At ten is not just a man, but a seasoned veteran, which the young people look up to. At fifteen, a gray-haired old man who either goes to the pot or has already reached the point where old age is not a vice but an achievement. The few shamans and others with unusual talents belong to this fraternity of old men.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 17:46

Goblins are nimble, tenacious, able to feed on tree bark and beetles, easygoing, and, most importantly, totally indifferent to death, while being unbelievably cowardly. It's a brain-deadening combination, but it allows the individual goblin, worthless apart from the tribe, to survive and wait, so that, upon sensing an advantage, immediately strikes again, and runs away.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 17:56

The only thing you can add to that is the ability to very strongly buff yourself with the flesh of sentient beings - only endowed ones. The addiction to that flesh. The unbelievably stable genome, which no incest or consanguinity is afraid of, because of which the tribe can recover from one single pair, and you get a real plague of the wild lands.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 18:13

Goblins are hated by everyone precisely because of their cowardly, vicious nature. They flee easily when threatened, but are adept at picking victims who cannot fend them off. Goblin horde can move forward as an unstoppable battering ram but encounter resistance, instantly scattered in dozens of separate groups, which will be an unimaginable pain in the ass for ordinary people. Orcs are scary and dangerous, no doubt, but after getting a repulse and losing most of their tribe, they quietly retreat back to their forests, steppes or mountains, very rarely bothering people in the nearest future. Even if they scatter, it's a lot easier to weed out their remnants than it is to hunt the goblins down.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 18:18

At the same time, even individual pairs of goblins can terrorize nearby villages for years, dragging cattle and poultry, ravaging fields, and then even uprooting individual travelers, or children who ran away too far. At the same time, as long as they are few, as long as they are afraid, even their addiction to human meat does not break through the barrier of cowardice, forcing them to constantly move, change lairs, and not stay in one place longer than three nights, and all in that vein. The average level of ordinary villagers, not engaged in adventurism at a professional level, rarely rises above the third or fifth. It's good if the goblins get slaughtered in the frontier - there every plowman is also a hunter, and the average level is much higher. And if the creeps infiltrate the settled land, then put out the light, because while the Baron scratches his ass, someone will be devoured.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 18:20

A final point about the danger of goblins is how easily they ally with stronger monster races, like orcs or even gnolls or giants. The creatures easily take on the role of grease for the blade and mobile groups-defenders, giving physically powerful units to break through the line of representatives of civilized races, fully implementing the advantage of monsters in their physical characteristics. This is the kind of fun that is not fun at all.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 18:23

But all the above is true only for ordinary peasants trying to survive in this crazy world that constantly throws new attacks on their heads. If we're talking about a group of high-level fighters, well-armed and acting with minimal cohesion, the goblin camp turns from a problem into a pile of green meat, not even fit for training.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 18:24

The biggest problem is that such high-level groups are too few to scour all the bear corners and carry out the goblins they encounter. But when they do, they often spend a little time cleaning up the mess - a good thing in Melareth, and in the world, too, along with washing your hands before eating and cleaning your weapons. If you see a goblin, kill it before it kills someone. I've seen an attitude like that somewhere before...

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 18:25

In any case, the presence of these creatures was useful to us, because some of us have only the first level, which would not hurt to increase the active pumping.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 18:25

The green-skinned camp resembled a mixture of a small dump and a primitive settlement - the number of goblins in the place had increased enough that they were beginning to let their guard down. The land was still uninhabited, though relatively safe, and the goblins lived here happily and comfortably - there was game and space, but no large groups of people. A couple of decades from now they would have to deal with the greenlings crawling out of the woods again, but for now, there were too few of them here.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 18:26

The clairvoyance was working properly, causing me to suppress my gagging, even with my heroic composure from the title. Surely the story of how the remnants of the small horde trickled through the frontier, gradually settling into the safe forests, how they miraculously managed to keep a few goblins alive who produced offspring, how they grew in numbers... it's quite an interesting story. But only from the encyclopedic point of view, for from the moral point of view - goblins are the purest, ruthless abomination, with absolutely no bright sides.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 18:32

They killed and betrayed their comrades, ate the old and the crippled, despised and humiliated all who were weaker, and fawned on the stronger, and all their dreams were of becoming stronger themselves and humiliating those who were weaker. Amazingly, they had an established society that was cruel and pragmatic but in some ways even beautiful in its ugliness. I do not doubt that there are worse races in the world than goblins, nastier and more dangerous, more alien and cruel, more prolific and hateful. There are many such creatures Alurei knows! What I can tell you is that there are few creatures more wretched than goblins.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 18:33

It is possible, only possible, that if they were taken out of society, out of the vicious circle of hatred, by starting to educate them from childhood, they would become different, more human. Not the smartest, not the most useful, not the most civilized, no doubt, but not living proof of the correctness of the idea of "killing all subhumans". Except that for these particular individuals, any show of pity for them is a sign of weakness. Back then, in my earliest days in the new world, I was very aware of their ruthlessness. Goblins don't care about morality or high ideals, they care only about a full belly and nothing more.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 18:35

The clairvoyance continued to work, asserting that in some places there were small communities, diasporas, or even micro-states of other goblin subspecies that had managed to civilize themselves, but mostly in a "relatively" way. They have not become kinder, but rather smarter, more civilized, and more agreeable, turning from pests into a kind of mix of Gypsies and Tajiks, if you will forgive my racism: cheap labor and just as cheap meat in the millstones of war.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 18:36

Ironically, their wild counterparts play exactly the same role in the society of the Wildlands as their civilized counterparts do for the endowed. And the occasional high-paying goblin craftsman, or even the very specific healers I learned about through that same clairvoyance, was a statistical error. What good would it do if one in a million could be a good jeweler or even a mechanic, thanks to their racial abilities and donkey's stubbornness if a million people wanted to eat you? Humans, too, have the title of Genius of the Generation, and a genius man often achieves far more than an equally genius goblin.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 18:37

It's a funny thing, though: just when I found out that there are "normal" individuals among goblins, I became even more convinced that goblins should be killed. Either my logic sucks, or I've become too local, or I just want to kill someone. The latter is probably the most likely of all.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 18:38

Going back to the goblin camp, it was relatively small: fifty or so warriors, if you apply that term to goblins, about the same number of females, children, and elders, and one chief with a small retinue of high-level holders for these undersized people. They've always had fewer females, which creates intraspecies competition, and few children and elders because of wild mortality, which somehow evens out the insane birthrate. Old people, in general, live only until the moment when they can not satisfactorily work and lead children, and then hello to the common table, bon appétit.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 18:48

I can't reproach the guys for their shoddy attitude toward security either, because the camp was not only located in a very good place, but it was also well guarded. And the patrols, surprisingly, were awake. Yes, it was felt that they were more afraid of beasts than of a real attack by evil men or goblins, and they lacked professionalism as well as levels of skill, but still there was order here, even if it was very peculiar.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.22 в 18:51

When I checked the patrols' positions and made sure there was no ambush, I glanced at the disgusted Hans, Losius, and Taria, and then nodded silently to Hestia hovering above us. The woman had already stopped maintaining her "beautiful" form, becoming once again a mere lump of very angry and dangerous fog, beginning to slowly and sadly expand, becoming less dense but covering more and more territory. Raimel instinctively knew exactly how she had to act to make her hunt a success, though her human side abhorred such instincts.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.22 в 13:13

The average level of the goblins in this place was not even a five, though the chieftain had a ninth, as did the shaman. Though the latter was more like a medicine man, curing what wouldn't send you to dinner right away, and keeping an eye on the tribal brew. Also an important role, I won't argue. The rest were level one through three, and only six of the hunters stood out in level five. The system even marked them as goblin hunters, not just goblins.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.22 в 13:14

It was late afternoon, and the weather was damp and cold, so none of the greenhorns were surprised by the mist. When the mist got thicker, they were surprised, but no more than that, for the location was far from dangerous. I'll bet the inhabitants of the wilderness would be howling with alarm, raising their weapons, even if it were just mist. But here the chief only twisted his nose a little, and went on screwing one of his wives. He's an asshole! Half the people here are dying virgins, and he's got four women at once! What a fucking sultan. I'll kill him on principle and out of solidarity with the rank and file goblins. I'll kill the goblins, too, but that's another matter. And I don't actually kill them, but I'm kind of in the middle of the process.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.22 в 13:16

Hestia didn't even think to apply her signature skill, simply not wanting to waste time and energy on mere goblins. And I was also wary of the trail leading to us, in case anyone stumbled upon a tribe altered by her Mist of Vice. I'm already regularly reflecting test impulses of clairvoyance, and there are only a couple of pieces of mirror shards left, so it's better not to. The intensity of the search has gone down, but it's better to experiment with new abilities in the wilderness.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.22 в 13:17

The sphere of shadows in Hestia's mist worked a little worse, but at my level it was barely noticeable - my concentration and Shadows class score allowed me to squeeze through such a disguise without even looking. And Hestia herself, as a monster, had no class characteristic yet. Maybe later on it will appear, but it's not yet known - Ygra is also an epic monster, but she never got a unique stat.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.22 в 13:25

A few minutes after Hestia had stretched her misty essence as far as she could, the goblins began to die one by one. No special magic, just bare physics: a rope of mist around the neck, palms woven from the mist to break vertebrae, a quick dagger stab that immediately disintegrated back into the mist, just blocking the breath and clogging the lungs. She acted calmly and methodically, as she was used to working with golems. A mere monster might not have held back, tried to bite off more than it could chew unnoticed, or screwed up somewhere else. Hestia was clever; she had learned the mechanism of greenhorn movement and patrols, preventing early detection, and sharply reducing the number of those who could raise the alarm.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.22 в 13:27

Here were those who slept in the tents gone. Here were the idle loners knocked out. The patrols and sentries were dead, and then there were too few goblins left. They might have suspected something, but no one had the time to share their suspicions with their neighbors. And there were no neighbors left. The last to die were the chief's wives, who, having finished his manly duty, went out to get some fresh air. The tentacles that had seeped into what was perhaps the only room in the camp, where ordinary fog had no path, cut off the lives of the monsters quickly and almost painlessly.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.22 в 13:29

Somewhere in the back of my mind I felt regret that I had just contributed to the genocide of a civilian population, but I saw all too well how peaceful that population was. No one in our company felt any regret for those killed by Hestia. Except that the woman herself was too unhappy with how much her new body was affecting her, making it harder and harder to remember that she was human. The ring's influence stabilized her consciousness, preventing her from turning into a monster entirely, but it didn't make her feel any better.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.22 в 13:53

"Mm-hmm." Taria draws thoughtfully. "Green Tits have a multiplier for strength and endurance, and our misty friend has a racial talent, too. I can't help but think about becoming a monster myself, if not a creature at once. I'll have one, too... Ow! It hurts, you fool!"

Camrad_RIP 11.10.22 в 13:54

The former townswoman did not have time to finish her thought, having received a painful and real smack from Hans, who suddenly went into a frenzy. And the pathfinder initially struck at full force and with his fist, clearly intending to punch her in the face as "man-to-man", without discounts, and only at the last moment he turned the blow into a slap to the face. I'd be surprised if I didn't feel like punching Taria in the face myself for saying that. Even Losius and Hestia, stoic though they were, were clearly holding back some very sonorous epithets right now. But Tariya had been a simple townswoman for most of her life, not a professional adventurer, and many things, while taboo, were not as unambiguous and strict for her as they were for us.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.22 в 14:00

"It's going to hurt, girl!" He almost growled and grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, and he grabbed her professionally so as not to stab her in the open liver. "You should think about what you're saying with your fucking tongue, if your mother taught you to babble! You stupid whoremonger goat, you know there's some things no one fuckin' jokes about? No joke at all?"

Camrad_RIP 11.10.22 в 17:26

He would have said more, but Taria pirouetted lightly out of his grip and raised her arms in a conciliatory gesture, giving him no time to continue.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.22 в 17:26

"Okay, okay, my bad, I said it without thinking." According to me, her remorse is about sixty-five percent sincere. "I didn't think about it, I said something stupid. That's it. Do not give me here arrange a chamber pressure, I'm good. Honestly, I won't make jokes like that again, but don't get mad."

Camrad_RIP 11.10.22 в 17:28

"Your words aren't really as superstitious as you might think, but more banal and disgusting." Hestia intervenes, flying slowly over to the frozen rabbit Taria and hovering directly in front of her. "Creatures have never been a joke, nor has their humanity. I suppose our comrade-in-arms has had rather unpleasant, if unpleasant, experiences with this group of creatures. As for the meaning of your words, believe me, as one who has been on both sides of a soaring coin, being human is far better than being even the most terrible and powerful creature in the world. I have lost too much of the talent I have been given that no one will ever give back to me. Don't say any more words like that, just please, without any threats or rudeness. Don't say it."

Camrad_RIP 15.10.22 в 15:05

Maybe it was just my imagination, but for a moment Taria did feel excruciatingly ashamed. Apparently, the utter pain and bitterness in Hestia's words, the unconcealed request from a pure-blooded aristocrat, had managed to touch something deep within the clump of blades that was my dancer's character.

Camrad_RIP 15.10.22 в 15:06

"Let's consider the incident settled." Hestia continued without waiting for a response. "If my question is not indelicate, what exactly were you confronted with, gentleman?'

Camrad_RIP 15.10.22 в 15:08

Hans grunted at the overly pompous manner in which he was addressed but accepted the change of subject, evidently ashamed of his justified but ungracious breakdown. But he was too offended by the words of Taria, who was almost seriously thinking of giving up her human essence, which for the natives was a kind of cube-raised Satanism.

Camrad_RIP 15.10.22 в 15:14

"The Devils." He just squeezed it out. "I don't fucking know which House, but it was obviously the Hunger and Deception Branches. The Converted were eating their own villagers, and it was the only way the main creature was pushing their brains around. The scum did little magic in the fray, but it was powerful. It went like this. I can't say more than that... I didn't have time to ask questions."

Camrad_RIP 15.10.22 в 15:15

"I can only confirm what Hans said, lady." The silent and thoughtful Losius, who had been running his hands over the hilt of his sword. "We didn't have time to ask anything at the time, because it was all for the battle."

Camrad_RIP 15.10.22 в 15:25

"And you were telling that story!" Taria, who had quickly recovered from the shock and shame, exclaimed. "That first night, around the campfire, when you and Tin met our caravan. I didn't think it was that bad, though."

Camrad_RIP 15.10.22 в 15:26

"Have you ever seen the distorted ones by the Devils themselves? In-person, so to speak, facing to ass? A bunch of scumbags who used to be people and aren't anymore? Аh?" Hans started puffing and puffing like a steamroller again. "And that thing that can turn people into what they've become, have you ever seen it?"

Camrad_RIP 15.10.22 в 15:32

"We had a cult in our Kraj, too!" Indignantly and angrily denied the girl, more out of a sense of contradiction than out of real disagreement. "And it's bigger than one village!"

Camrad_RIP 15.10.22 в 15:33

"It's not like I'm arguing." He agreed with her in a cheerful, good-natured way, but with the same frantic grin on his face. "But you've only looked at the corpses from afar because no one in town would let you near that kind of stuff. What's the big deal about that shit? That's not what I'm talking about, and you know what I just said. Don't play dumb, it doesn't suit you. And don't say that again, ever. Tin's the fucked up one, he can fuck with the Hell Lord, but he can kill a legendary fucktard without a scratch and nearly make the other one cry hysterical and get away with it, too. When you can do that, you can make all the jokes you want! That's it, let's close the discussion!"

Camrad_RIP 15.10.22 в 15:41

Taria clearly didn't know what to say, both ashamed of her too-long tongue, afraid of another slap, and really embarrassed by her mistakes. She didn't mind giving Hans a few more jokes, but she did know the balance between jokes and words that made friends enemies.

Camrad_RIP 15.10.22 в 15:42

"Okay. I'm sorry, mustachioed man, I won't do it again." Pitifully, but quite sincerely, she said.

Camrad_RIP 15.10.22 в 15:43

"Shut up already, you foolish girl!" This time the indignation is already a hundred percent played. "My mustache is my strength and my manhood!"

Camrad_RIP 15.10.22 в 06:01

"Don't shave, then, Hans." The dancer's sly squint at the swiftly returning to normal mode. "Or there won't be any power left in your pants!"

Camrad_RIP 15.10.22 в 06:02

Watching Hans swear as he caught Taria laughing and sending out his illusory copies, all I could do was grin. We were only a miserable kilometer away from a camp that had become a burial ground for an entire tribe, and they were already laughing and fooling around. The ability not to linger or dwell on the constant stream of horrors, nightmares, and crap that the world throws at you is a very important aspect of survival. It's a wild world, a scary world, but there's also something in it worth putting up with. At the very least, I have now.

Camrad_RIP 14.10.22 в 20:33

All the fuss came about because Taria was jealous of Hestia's racial talent, called Behemoth Balance. The talent itself wasn't rare - about as rare as epic creatures are. That is, it's not very common, but it's still almost standard. A Behemoth Balance gives one extra characteristic point every three levels... to each characteristic. Imbalanced, but that's the price you pay for not having classes and being a creature - this state has its charms, too.

Camrad_RIP 14.10.22 в 20:32