After a quick breakfast from the food stall nearest the Guild, Orrin and Daniel met Sir DeGuis by the first gate.

The Western Wall was separated into three actual walls with a few hundred yards of space between each. Supposedly if the westernmost gate fell, the defenders would have two more walls to defend before a massacre ensued.

Sir DeGuis stood to the side as guards traveled through the gate. His armor was similar to Sir Bennett’s garb, with half plate and the Catanzano colors of green and golden yellow underneath. He kept his head clear of a helmet, though. He had a sword strapped to his side but also carried an oversized warhammer. He held the shaft set on the ground and the hammerhead rested above his head. It was the size of a large watermelon and completely squared.

“Sir DeGuis,” Daniel waved as they approached.

The man smiled from beneath his beard and rested the hammer on his shoulder as he strode forward, “None of that Sir shit while we’re out of the house. I’m Jude.”

Daniel smiled and began to ask questions about the man’s hammer as they walked through the gate. Jude nodded at guards and they passed without trouble.

Orrin stopped listening to the two men talking about different attacks and scouted the large plains inside the first gate. The dirt road led about three hundred yards to the next wall and gate. Scattered across the greenery were small spiked fences, meant to slow any monsters that made it this far.

I can’t even make out the mountains on the sides, Orrin squinted trying to make out the growing hazy blur in the distance.

“You won’t be able to make out the mountains from here,” Jude knocked Orrin from his scanning. “This is the northernmost gate and the mountains are still about five miles away that way. From the top of the wall, you can see them a bit.”

“How large is The Pass?” Orrin queried.

“It varies, but its about fifty miles wide at the widest,” Jude hiked his hammer further back on his shoulder. “Here at the gates, its only about fifteen miles wide.”

“And how far to get out of The Pass?” Daniel asked.

“Probably about eighty miles,” Jude shrugged. “It takes most adventurers a week or more to get through. But we’ll be staying within the first few miles today. There are reports of some Sproits by the tree line, which should be enough for you two to level a bit. As long as they stay low level and haven’t evolved.”

“Is that common?” Orrin asked as they made their way through the second gate.

Jude waved at a guard who saluted, “Nah. Sproits are an annoyance. Actually, the Guild usually has a standing quest to eradicate a few dozen but most people who can get through the gates don’t waste their time...not that you’ll be wasting your time.”

Orrin reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the bestiaries. The index didn’t include Sproits. He replaced it and pulled the next. Bingo.

Sproits, or grass goblins, are the lowest form of the goblin evolution scale. These monsters attack with their fingernails, which they have sharpened to razor sharpness. Sproits attack only in numbers but a single adventurer can handle a dozen, as they are the size of toddlers. With bad eyesight and slow movement, Sproits are only a one star danger (*)

However, if Sproits are gathered in numbers exceeding fifty, a goblin is likely present. See Goblin (***) for more.

Orrin marked the page and handed it to Daniel. Daniel looked at the proffered book and raised an eyebrow, “What’s the highlights?”

“Goblin toddlers who scratch. Bad eyesight and slow movement.” Orrin rattled off.

Jude peered over his shoulder, “Bringing books to a battle? Can’t say whether that’s the smartest thing I’ve seen or...”

“Being prepared never hurts,” Daniel cut in.

Jude shrugged and walked towards the third gate. Orrin’s quick glance confirmed the second field was just like the first.

Unlike the first two gates, the third gate was closed. While Jude walked ahead to announce their little party and get the gate open, Orrin pulled Daniel aside.

“He’s definitely working at identifying our abilities for Silas,” Orrin started. “You gave him three different skills you have during his friendly questioning.”

Daniel raised an eyebrow, “O. I volunteered the information about what I can do so he could help us get more experience. I only told him about [Power Strike] and [Double Strike].”

“And [Stone Skin],” Orrin interrupted.

“Yes. And [Stone Skin],” Daniel played with the strap on his leather bracer. “I don’t really care if he knows my skills though, Orrin.”

Orrin grit his teeth, “Daniel. The more information they have, the more likely someone figures out your class. According to all the books, [Hide Status] changes your class on an [Identify] to Fighter, Mage, or Healer. That doesn’t mean they can’t piece together your class with reverse engineering and checking classes off one at a time based on your skills.”

Daniel shrugged.

“Do you want people to find out you’re the hero before you have the levels to control your own fate?”

Daniel sighed, “I get it, Orrin. I do. But I think you’re being too careful. Madi would help us, I’m sure of it. You should have heard her talk about protecting her people last night while you and Silas played that game. She was so passionate.”

Damn it, Orrin was struck dumb. He’s falling for a princess...or the equivalent anyways.

Orrin tried again, “Promise me you’ll be careful and not tell her until we are at least level ten. We need some buffer.”

Daniel put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. When did he get taller. He definitely got taller, right?

“I promise Orrin.”

“Don’t make promises before going into the Pass,” Jude appeared with his hammer resting in both hands. “Be swift, be smart, and leave everyone behind if it means survival.”

“That is not what I want to hear from our guide,” Daniel joked as his hand fell from Orrin’s shoulder. “Shouldn’t you say something like ‘I’ll protect you to my last breath’?”

“Nah,” Jude hefted the hammer a few times, testing the weight. “You level quick in the Pass or you die. I’m just here to make the former more likely than the latter.”

Orrin had a bad feeling.

After leaving the gate, Jude led them north, following the Wall. After half an hour, Orrin could just make out a forest beginning to creep into sight at a distance.

“Does the forest go all the way to the Wall?” he asked.

“Nope. We keep it culled back,” Jude smirked. “Can’t have the beasties getting too close. Lots of [Archers] and [Marksman] up there taking out things before they become a problem. Speaking of which...”

Jude veered to the side and picked a few arrows from the tall grass. “Collect any arrows you find that aren’t broken. The guard will buy them back but it’s mostly a civil service.”

Finding the arrows in the grass was a literal needle in the haystack search. It also slowed them down, which Orrin was thankful for. He was scared out of his mind, especially after nearly dying the night before.

“Orrin, we don’t need to find every arrow,” Daniel complained. “We should focus on hitting the trees.”

Orrin stood from where he had been sweeping the stalks of grass and sighed.

The plan was for Daniel to tank the Sproits while Orrin used [Camouflage] and took out any stragglers. He had the spare shortsword from the bandits that had attacked Madi and Brant on his hip. It was cheap and not worth much. But then again, my melee skills aren’t worth much more than this.

Jude would be there in case the plan went sideways.

After two hours, they reached the tree line. They could see the Wall behind them rising up against the sky. The sun peeked over the top of the Wall, blinding Orrin when he looked back.

“Sun at our backs will slow the Sproits down even more,” Jude commented.

Orrin and Daniel drew their weapons. Jude kept his hammer resting on his shoulder. He must have a skill that makes it lighter. That thing has to weight sixty pounds or more.

As they began to creep into the forest, Orrin boosted Daniel’s stats, as well as his own. He also camouflaged himself.

“Hey, where’d Orrin go?” Jude whispered to Daniel.

“He’s scouting,” Daniel used the agreed upon excuse. Hopefully, one less skill would be picked up by the House Catanzano.

Five minutes after entering the forest, Orrin spotted the first Sproit. Three feet tall and a sickly yellow, the small goblinoid was sitting over a rabbit and cutting the skin over and over. From the dried blood all around, it had been doing this for some time.

According to everything they’d read, forming a party would split any resulting experience across everyone who did damage. Otherwise, only the person delivering the final blow would gain experience. Orrin and Daniel were still in a party together. That meant that Orrin had to actually do damage to gain experience.

Daniel had spotted the Sproit too. He stopped and looked around. His eyes flared with a skill and he peered in Orrin’s general direction.

“Do it,” he mouthed.

Orrin crept closer. He avoided dried leaves and sticks when he could and stood still at any rustle he made. The last twenty feet were an agony of waiting but the Sproit didn’t look up once.

So far, so good,Orrin thought. He pulled his sword back like a baseball bat and took two quick steps, swinging with all he had.

His sword whistled through the air and struck the Sproit in the head. Unlike the books and movies, his sword didn’t go right through bone but stuck tight about two inches in the Sproit’s skull.

It screamed.

The sound was a mix of a child screaming in pain and a cat being stepped on. Orrin’s hair stood up and as he tried to pull the sword back, the sweat on his hands almost made him lose his grip. He held on as the Sproit tugged his head to the side, trying to escape the pain.

Daniel burst from the trees and swung his sword. His motions flowed like a professional. Orrin saw the telltale ghost swing of [Double Strike] pierce the goblin’s body and it fell.

Experience Gained: 10 XP

“Thanks Daniel,” Orrin yanked his sword from the Sproit’s head with a sucking sound. “The sword isn’t as tough as-“

Daniel put a finger to his lips and eyed to their right. Orrin set up [Camouflage] again.

Three Sproits jogged into sight. The front Sproit let out a scream that clawed at Orrin’s ears and then dropped into a sprint at the sight of Daniel standing over the monster’s body. The other two followed closely.

Orrin froze for only a moment before getting in front of Daniel. He stood to the side and let the first Sproit pass him. He went to one knee and swung at the second. This time he aimed lower.

His sword took off the Sproit’s leg and it skidded along the forest floor, adding its own scream to the echoing cacophony now surrounding them.

I did it! Orrin took his sword back to swing again. The third monster changed direction and eyed him. Damn. [Camouflage] drops after an attack.

Orrin took another wild swing and clipped the chest of the Sproit. It dropped back and tried to circle. It’s actually pretty slow.

Orrin tried to swing again, but the Sproit simply ducked and then clawed up. The nails on its hands grated as it struck his sword.

Orrin glanced back and saw Daniel had already dispatched the first one and was running through the second.

Experience Gained: 10 XP

I didn’t do any damage to the first one, so no gains there,Orrin kicked himself and then lunged. He pierced the Sproit’s arm.

Daniel appeared at his side, “Want me to finish it?”

Orrin nodded and Daniel struck the goblin down.

Experience Gained: 10 XP Level 3 (30/300)

Orrin breathed hard and leaned on a tree. “This is going to take awhile isn’t it.”

They found another twenty Sproits in groups of twos and threes, over the next four hours. Orrin and Daniel worked out a system, too. Orrin would strike first and Daniel would finish a monster. Or if Daniel got to one first, he’d nearly finish it but leave it crawling along for Orrin to stab.

Orrin was getting better at stabbing crawling monsters.

Level 3 (230/300)

They stopped for a quick lunch. Jude tried to ask Orrin about his buffs but Orrin only gave terse responses.

“It’s fine Jude,” Daniel cut in. “Orrin just doesn’t like bragging about himself.”

Orrin opened the bestiary back up and turned to the Sproit section again.

However, if Sproits are gathered in numbers exceeding fifty, a goblin is likely present. See Goblin (***) for more.

He leafed to Goblin.

Goblins evolve when enough Sproit are present. While Sproits attack with natural weapons, Goblins use tools. Some also use low level Rage spells to whip Sproits into a fury. A furied Sproit can overcome fatal injuries to continue fighting. However, the Goblin itself is a three star danger (***). Its fighting prowess is formidable and it can cast a plethora of low level spells, including [Vine Tangle], [Whispers], and [Power Strike].

So run if we see a Goblin, got it.

They went back to it. They traveled a little further into the forest and hadn’t encountered a Sproit for half an hour.

“This might be a good time to turn back,” Jude suggested. He had stood to the side during the fights, only killing one Sproit that had tried to approach from a different angle. It had ended up behind Jude. A splatter of red was all that was left behind.

Daniel muttered and seemed about to argue.

“We can take a different route on the way back,” Orrin suggested. “Maybe find some more?”

Daniel shrugged and they headed back at a different angle.

“So, have you guys leveled?” Jude asked.

“I have,” Daniel whispered.

“Not yet,” Orrin added.

“I know it seems like it’s slow, but trust me, you guys got lucky today,” Jude said softly. “It took three years of regular scouting for me to get where I am now.”

“And what level are you,” Orrin asked.

“I’m a level 15 Bruiser,” he said with pride.

Orrin used Identify

Jude DeGuis

Bruiser

Level 15

HP 130

MP: 100

Strength: 19

Constitution: 13

Dexterity: 14

Will 10

Intelligence: 10

Abilities:

[Hammer Proficiency] Level 3

[Sword Proficiency] Level 1

[Identify]

[Power Strike]

[Fallen Star]

[Offensive Fighting]

[Light Weapon]

Orrin pulled up his own Store and checked [Fallen Star].

[Fallen Star]- Requires [Hammer Proficiency] Level 2 and [Offensive Fighting]. Raise your hammer on high. Let if fall with the weight of a star on your enemies. Deals variable damage based on Strength. 10 AP

They found another group of four Sproits, which Orrin and Daniel quickly took down.

Level 3 (270/300)

I guess I won’t be hitting level four today, Orrin thought as he glimpsed the wall through the trees.

The screams of dozens of Sproits rang through the air. Echoing under the high-pitched shrieks, another deeper voice pierced the forest.

“That’s a fucking Goblin,” Jude paled. “Run for the Wall.”