Leaning his head back against a tree, sweat dripping from his hair and forehead, mud caking both his arms, his knees and blood pooling beneath him from a number of nicks and cuts across his arms and the back of his legs. At least he was safe now, looking around he could see no more pursuers, he must have finally lost them.

Really how did it all go so wrong. I was weeding the bloody veggie patch three hours ago! THREE HOURS!? All it took was one wrong turn in the forest and I manage to stumble on a bloody Goblin hunting party? What kind of sick joke was that?

Everyone knew goblins individually were the favourite of new wood tier Awakened. Individually they were fantastic sources of experience for levelling as well as practicing skills on, however when you stumble on an entire hunting pack as a Level 1, there really was only one option and that was fleeing! He thought he might have been able to take on two or possibly even three at once, after all the local dungeon was Goblin themed and the final fight would consist of three of the blighters!

“Chaos” he swore softly to himself, he hadn’t even managed to unsheathe his new longsword, but he knew, just knew instinctively that the leather armour had saved his life. He had felt the first barrage of stone arrows clatter against his back, and thankfully the toughened leather backplate managed to stop any from piercing! All his myriad wounds really were across the back of his arms and legs which were totally unarmoured, the gauntlets and greaves only covered the front of their respective body parts. Still, he was beating himself up mentally. How, how the Hells did I manage to get turned around. There is literally a singular track, a singular path that leads to the bloody dungeon.

As his breathing slowed to a somewhat more normal pace, he started to take stock, he had lost no equipment, he had not even attacked any of the little blighters! Pulling up his Status everything read the same apart from his HP, which was currently sat at 46/70. Sure, the little stone-tipped arrows might only have done a couple of points of damage each, but they sure stung as harsh as bee stings, and there were after all over a dozen of the little green bastards. It was an important note to make mentally though, often a dungeon would take on the characteristics of the local biome and be based on the creatures that dwelled within. Not always, but it was a good rule of thumb. Take Woodend’s local dungeon, the village existed literally to ensure there was no overflow from the dungeon into the local area. Overflows he remembered occurred when the dungeon wasn’t swept, or cleared regularly, the denizen’s within could spill out and start to cause a menace to local populations. Sure, an overflow from a wood tier dungeon wasn’t anything special, but the iron tier dungeon that existed near the Shard’s capital? If that overflowed, it would be capable of wiping out every single human currently on this shard that wasn’t at least at Steel tier.

Standing, straightening his armour and the jerkin beneath whilst brushing off his knee’s Jarrod took a moment to double check his two main pieces of equipment, take a drink from his waterskin and re-orientated himself to make sure he could accurately get to the dungeon this time.

Simple Leather Armour [Common]

A simple set of leather armour, made from stiffened boiled leather plates along with a layer of quilting beneath. It comes complete with all required ties, buckles and bracings. It will provide adequate but minimal protection against most weak attacks, covering the most vital areas during combat. It is exceptionally flexible allowing for a full range of motion.

Reduces most attacks that hit by between 1 and 3 damage. Attacks that deal magical damage, or that cause more than 15 damage in a single blow are not reduced. Critical Hits are never reduced.

Simple Longsword [Common+]

A well-made and well-balanced blade of strong steel. It weights around 1.5 kg (3lbs) and is 110 cm (43 inches) in length. This blade can be used in one-hand with the requisite skills, but most would find it easier to use with both hands.

This blade will add between 5 and 8 damage upon a successful hit.

Critical hits will deal 4 times as much damage.

Well that all seemed to be in order, his canteen was full, and he had a pack with a sleeping bag, enough food for 48 hours, and the ability to forage for more if needed. Another half hours’ worth of rest had his wounds starting to scab over, a quick check on his status showed him at 63/70 HP, with no time like the present he set out for the dungeon.

Following the path, he found markers that all locals knew and used to traverse these woods and wondered again how he had managed to get so lost last time. Striding along at a good pace, with a piece of jerky being worked in his jaw, he cast his eyes around just looking at everything nature had to offer. He was soaking in the sounds of the forest, the calls of small animals and birds, the whistling of the wind, when he noticed something. Something unusual, his boot lace had become untied, and he was sure he had put his best double knot in that this morning! Bending down to re-affix the offending lace in place, his eyes caught a glint, something golden was half hidden about 50 yards off the beaten path, underneath and to the side of a scrubby little bush. It was a near miracle he had even spotted it, if he hadn’t been bending down at that exact point on the path, with the sunlight hitting the whatever it was, exactly as it was it would never have glinted for him to see!

Caution forgotten, goblin attack at the back of his mind, he scrambled towards it as fast as he possibly could. Treasure! I’ve found treasure already less than 24 hours after Awakening! I’m going to be a great treasure-hunter, a man or renown! People will know my name from here to the jewel shard, all will want to know the exploits of Jarrod Shatterstone!

Picking it up, and scrubbing the dirt from it, he could see it was a locket of some description with the chain long since broken or corroded away. It was old, he could tell that, really really old it looked like. He couldn’t get it open, he tried prising at the clasp, running a fingernail in between the split of the two halves, but it wouldn’t budge. Whether time, or man, or nature had sealed it shut he couldn’t tell – but he could see there was space for a tiny little key underneath the primary clasp. Not for lack of trying, but casting around for over 25 minutes, he came up with nothing, apart from a fresh bathing of dust all over both him and his clothes. Sighing and grumbling to himself, of course. Just my luck, first piece of anything with any real potential value I could find, and I can’t even get into it to see what it is. That’s just so bloody typical. Nothing ever goes quite right does it.

Returning to the path, he failed to notice something that would worry most new villages or woodsmen, let alone anyone seasoned who had spent literally their entire lives around these woods and travelling these tracks, probably due to the fact he did feel so safe in this area. All the birdsongs had quieted, there was not a rustle of a small creature, and he was oblivious to all of this, strolling down the path still continuing to try and gain access to the locket.

A sudden stinging sensation in his left calf, accompanied by a flash of red text scrolling past his eyes, alerted Jarrod to the fact that all may not actually be well.

-3 HP

Looking back and down he saw around 30 feet away a pair of goblins, standing 4 foot tall, they looked like large children. If children had turned various shades of mossy green, had their teeth filed to nasty sharp serrated points and were carrying rough-shod bows with quivers full of stone-tipped arrows. As he was processing what had just happened, the second goblin also let fly with its arrow, this one thankfully bouncing off of his armoured chest. There’s only two, two of them, that I can handle. I can take two of them on surely!

Drawing his longsword, he charged as quickly as he could at the one on the right before it could nock another arrow to let fly, it was the one who had drawn first blood after all. As he reached prime swinging distance, he placed both hands on his newly acquired sword, swung back and as he brought his shoulders round, lost his footing and ended up sprawled on the floor, somehow still holding his sword, but being unable to bring it up in-front of him. This was unfortunately followed by a very new sensation, as something bit into the back of his left calf, and it bit deep. Rolling over onto his back a pair of messages flashed across his view, as he saw one goblin with a longsword sticking out of its chest, a surprised, dazed look on its face, and the other screaming in rage, spittle flying from its mouth, drawing back a wickedly sharp looking if rough, black stone dagger.

Critical Hit! You have dealt 56 damage to Goblin Neophyte. Goblin Neophyte has been slain.

-14HP, movement speed decreased by 15%

Jarrod spent precious moments trying to free his sword from the grasp of the goblin’s chest cavity, all the while the other goblin was letting out this same horrible keening screeching sound as it started to slash at him with pure rage. He blocked the first upon his left bracer, the second slipping in between the plates on his right arm, and the third strike hit him square in the chest, whilst drawing no blood would most definitely leave a bruise.

-3HP

-7HP

Finally! The blade came free with a sucking noise, and he swung in a clumsy arc, trying to create some distance between him and the second goblin. This unfortunately for Jarrod did not have the desired effect, and the goblin simply waited for the swords arc to pass him by, stepped well inside Jarrod’s guard and slashed at his throat. Stumbling back, he swung again and again trying to stop this little green death monster from taking his life. He had to regain his feet, he had to get the full distance of his blade into play, and this would be simple! Risking taking another blow he lurched to his feet, and as he did the goblin chose that moment to dance forward and slide a strike into Jarrod’s gut. Or at least it tried to, in standing up Jarrod had overbalanced slightly again, and the sword had wavered from its resting guard position. Fortunately for the human, and less so for the goblin, that sword was now resting in the goblins throat, and poking slightly out of the other side.

Weak spot hit! You have dealt 24 damage to Goblin Berserker. Goblin Berserker has been incapacitated.

The goblin now writhing on the floor was clutching at its throat, clearly out of the fight and no longer a threat, Jarrod took a moment and feeling a small sliver of pity, tinged with doubt, ended the goblins life. Now he knew the rules as much as anyone, but the only thing that looked like it would be worth taking was that black stone blade, which would be a dagger in his hands. Ah well, always handy to have a backup blade! Oh my, that was a tough fight. Far tougher than I had anticipated but they did have the element of surprise, I’m sure if I got the drop on them, it would easily have been the other way around.

36/70 HP.

DING! You have received three achievements.

Lucky Strike Slayer of Monsters [1] One-shot [Longsword]