Andrew woke up in bed. It was a comfortable, soft, warm bed, much larger than what he was accustom to. He could hear the crackle of flames, and the murmur of distant conversation. He only have a few moments to revel in the euphoric sensations of the bed before pain descended on him. His head ached, his side itched and burned, every bit of his body felt bruised and when he tried to take a deep breath a sharp pain poked into his ribs and cut him short. He forced his eyes open and painfully rolled himself up into a sitting position.

The bed was made for a giant with a rough canvas mattress and thick fur blankets over and around him. The wooden walls were adorned with colorful banners marked with unfamiliar script and a map was nailed to the wall just above a comically large desk and chair. A suit of massive polished armor stood in one corner, far more intricate than anything he had seen before. Thick rough spun curtains flowed with the breeze coming through the only window and through it Andrew heard those same snippets of distant conversation, laughter and the clink of bottles, the crackle and snap of bonfires.

Andrew pushed the furs off and did his best to shake the last of his sleep away. He was shirtless and the cool night air flowing in through the window sent a shiver down his body, which in turn made his bruises assert themselves once again. He stood with some difficulty and cautiously paced over to the window, conscious of his bare feet on the smooth planks beneath him and the familiar oversized trousers roughly tied around his waist. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the night but once he did the events of the day before came back in a rush.

There were several large bonfires built in the center of camp, and there were people crowded around each, chatting, drinking, laughing and shouting from fire to fire before being shushed down by their fellow revelers. The gates were pulled shut and some were wandering the camp outside the palisades, torches held high. There were several shuffling around the hole in the wall Andrew made earlier, much more subdued than the fireside crowd. Andrew couldn't make out any faces, but they were all definitely human, not a hobgoblin in sight. He let out a small sigh and a big smile before padding back to the bed and sitting down to rest his aching muscles.

We did it. We actually fucking did it. We won. I was pretty sure I was going to die there at the end, never though I would be so glad to be thrown into a wall like a wet paper towel, but I guess I owe that big guy my life in a twisted sort of way. What the hell are we going to do now? How many hobgoblins escaped? How far is it from here to the next hobgoblin base? I need to find whoever's in charge right now. Maybe find another one of those health potions too, if we have them to spare. I'm not sure if I could make anything useful with the shape my body is in at the moment.

Show log

[Hobgoblin Level 24 Defeated]

[Hobgoblin Level 31 Defeated]

[Hobgoblin Level 28 Defeated]

[Hobgoblin Level 33 Defeated]

[Hobgoblin Level 19 Defeated]

[Hobgoblin Level 26 Defeated]

[Hobgoblin Level 35 Defeated]

…

Seems like a lot of the guys we fought yesterday were kinda weak. They must send most of the higher level guys along with the caravans.

[Hobgoblin Level 32 Defeated]

[Dire Wolf Level 14 Defeated]

[Dire Wolf Level 12 Defeated]

[Dire Wolf level 15 Defeated]

[Hobgoblin Level 21 Defeated]

[Hobgoblin Level 24 Defeated]

…..

[Hobgoblin Level 38 Defeated]

[Hobgoblin Level 35 Defeated]

[Hobgoblin Enforcer (Weaved) Level 48 Defeated]

[Additional Experience granted for assisting Allies to defeat Enemies]

[Additional Experience granted for conquering occupied territory]

[Additional Experience granted for leading a successful attack against a superior force]

[Adaptive Weapon Mastery lvl 5-6]

[Mana Control lvl 9-10]

[Scavenger's Resilience lvl 3-4]

[Pain Resistance lvl 1-2]

[Perception lvl 6-7]

[Pain Resistance Lvl 2-3]

[+1 Intelligence for pushing the limits of your mana control]

[+1 Vitality for pushing the limits of your physical endurance]

[+1 Vitality for pushing the limits of your physical endurance]

[+1 Wisdom for consistently maintaining mana control under duress]

[+1 Intelligence for pushing the limits of your mana control while badly hurt]

[Scavenger Level up]

[Scavenger Level up]

[Scavenger Level up]

[Scavenger Level up]

[Scavenger Level up]

[Scavenger Level up]

[Title Earned: Martyr I]

[Title Earned: Raid Leader I]

[Title Earned: Savior I]

Title Description Martyr, Raid Leader, Savior

[Martyr I: You pushed yourself to the brink of death and beyond, throwing yourself into almost certain death in the name of a cause without consideration for your own wellbeing. It is more difficult to knock you unconscious. You think more clearly while severely injured. Those who witnessed your actions will not forget them easily. + 5 Vitality]

[Raid Leader I: You ambushed trade caravans, stole goods and disrupted production lines. You successfully destroyed a minor settlement and appropriated their belongings for yourself and your subordinates. You have an easier time finding concealed shelter for you and those you lead, when it is available. It is easier for you to pick out the leader of an opposing force. It is easier for the leader of an opposing force to pick you out. + 1 to all attributes]

[Savior I: You are responsible for freeing over thirty prisoners from captivity. You showed willingness to sacrifice yourself for the sake of others, and acted on that conviction when necessary. Those saved by you will not easily forget it. You have increased resistance to pain and mind altering effects when attempting to save someone. +2 to all attributes]

These are some serious bonuses. I'm not sure how I feel about being singled out as a leader by enemies, and I really hope no one finds out about the Savior title, it feels a little overdramatic, I really didn't do that much. The stat increases are pretty incredible though, and being harder to knock unconscious is a pretty significant buff in a fight. Sounds painful though. I'm not sure how much of this to take literally, it says people will not forget my actions easily. Does that mean these titles can affect people's memories of me, or is that just a descriptive choice? How would I even go about testing that? It’s a little disturbing to think that this system could be capable of altering memories, though I suppose the intuitive learning aspects are already doing that in a way.

Show Status.

Name: Andrew Neilson

Race: Human

Catalyst: None (4 Available)

Class: Scavenger lvl 45

Profession: None

Titles: Pioneer, Goblin Slayer I, Martyr I, Raid Leader I, Savior I

Status:

HP: 428/800

SP: 780/800

MP: 470/470

Attribute points: 220

Strength: 57

Dexterity: 86

Vitality: 83

Intelligence: 50

Wisdom: 79

Scavenger Skill Points: 1

Skills:

-Perception lvl 7

-Camouflage lvl 1

-Mana Control lvl 10

-Woodcarving lvl 4

-Rune Inscription lvl 9

-Adaptive Weapon Mastery lvl 6

-Empower Item lvl 8

-Rune Modification lvl 5

-Blood Infusion lvl 1

-Stone Carving lvl 2

-Mana Inscription lvl 9

-Mana Smelting lvl 3

-Blacksmithing lvl 9

-Scavenger's Resilience lvl 4

-Lumberjack lvl 3

-Carpenter lvl 1

-Butcher lvl 1

-Pain Resistance lvl 3

-Fire Resistance lvl 1

-Siphon Affinity lvl 4

-Minor Translation lvl 1

Okay. It might be time to start spending points. I'm almost the same level as that big fucker that chucked me into a wall now, and I'm nowhere near as strong, not even close. I was able to close the gap with grenades, but I'm all out now, and I can't keep counting on them as a crutch. If the hobs come back anytime in the next couple days, before I have a chance to make more, we're all in serious trouble.

I'm still going to hold off on picking a catalyst until I get a profession, I want the two to be able to synergize as much as possible. That means getting my Rune Inscription, Mana inscription and blacksmithing skills to 10 as soon as possible. That means healing up as quickly as possible. Maybe if I put some more points into Vitality I'll heal faster, or at least recover to a point where I can get some serious work done and improve those skills. Hmm, well here goes nothing.

[Strength 57-> 75]

[Dexterity 86 -> 100]

[Vitality 83 -> 100]

[Intelligence 50 -> 100]

[Wisdom 79 -> 100]

Attribute points: 100

Wow… Yeah, I feel quite a bit better already. Still bruised but- yeah I can take deep breaths again without everything hurting. 100 points left. That’s quite a lot. Speed, and mana next, maybe a little more health too, for good measure. My dreams of standing at the back of the battlefield and hurling fireballs still seem a ways off. Always good to be able to defend yourself alone as well.

[Dexterity 100 -> 120]

[Vitality 100 -> 120]

[Intelligence 100 -> 130]

[Wisdom 100 -> 130]

Attribute points: 0

HP: 798/1,170

SP: 1,150/1,170

MP: 1,270/1270

Okay wow, yeah that’s some good stuff. I can definitely get some work done tonight. Skills, first then find Kalan and find out what happened in the battle, then, crafting time.

Scavenger Skills

Available Skills:

[Material Sense: Expand your senses gaining information on the general quantity and quality of materials around you. Can be narrowed to increase range and precision.

Mana Sense: Expand your senses gaining information on the density and flow of mana around you. Can be narrowed to increase range and precision.

Delve Item: Saturate an item with your mana, examining it in its entirety. You gain knowledge on the intended use of this item and may learn the methods of its construction or operation.

Sense Weakness: You gain insight into the construction of items and structures. You area able to sense the weak points of items within your sight and sufficient observation may highlight additional weaknesses.

Identification: Your innate powers of identification grow in strength to better assess the value of items or quality of threats. You gain more information from creatures you identify and can identify some items and materials. ]

No new options this time huh, Material sense and sense weakness aren't very helpful in the current situation, though sense weakness might be useful if I find myself assaulting a camp with more advanced defenses. Identification and Delve Item are better and will definitely be helpful in expanding my understanding of metalworking. That suit of armor seems far beyond my current skill, but I might be able to figure a few things out just by looking it over without a skill. Doesn't matter anyways, the obvious choice here is Mana Sense. Grenades are the only reason we won this fight, and furthering my understanding of mana and how it reacts with the world can only make my creations stronger. It will also probably help quite a bit once I pick a catalyst.

[Mana Sense Skill Gained]

Time to go find out what happened to everyone else.

Andrew stood and stretched, then padded quietly across the room to the closet. There was a rank pile of clothing layered in a pile in the bottom of the closet and various other cleaner smelling clothes piled on a shelf above them, all much finer than what the Hobgoblins brought with them on the carts. They were all also absolutely massive, tailor made for a gargantuan hobgoblin. Andrew dug through the closet for something comfortable and clean, pulling one of the massive shirts up and over his head. It was comically large, the hem coming down to his calves and the short sleeves hanging loosely around his wrists. His shoulders were considered broad by most people, but they were nearly slipping through the neckline of the shirt.

It took some work, but Andrew eventually managed to roll and tie up the hem of the shirt until it roughly took the shape of a baggy misshapen tunic. A wonderfully warm, suprisingly soft, comfortably thick, baggy misshapen tunic. The babble of conversation outside was beginning to quiet down by the time Andrew finished assembling his outfit from silly to ill-fitting, and so he decided it was the perfect time to try an incognito wander of the camp.

Andrew made his way to the door and fumbled with the too-high handle before pushing the it open. The room beyond was softly lit by a couple of small candles sitting on a plain ceramic plate in the center of a modest table surrounded by stiff wooden chairs. Several cots were set up against the nearby walls, and he could faintly see sleeping shapes within two of them. A big man, shirtless and coated in bandages was sitting in one of the stiff chairs pushed up against the wall, head tilted upward and snoring softly. Another familiar snore joined him and Andrew was able to quickly identify Shelby's sleeping form in one of the cots. The other looked to be Bailey or Tyler, far too small to be Kalan, but too curled up within the cot to make out clearly.

Andrew tiptoed through the room to the door on the opposite side. They deserved their rest, they probably didn't have the luxury of being knocked out first thing in the morning. When he reached the door he worked to open it slowly, as quietly as possible. He was familiar with the latch now, as it was identical to the one on the door to his own sleeping area.

Andrew slipped through the door, closing it silently behind him and heading down the hall towards what he hoped was the center of the building. He continued to wander the halls until he found a set of stairs that took him down into a larger room that seemed to be a mix of war room, dining room and hallway. There was a large table with plates set out and remnants of a meal scattered about, chairs half pushed in along with maps lining the walls and a set of shelves nearby that seemed to contain little wooden figurines.

Andrew took a moment to examine the maps, which showed a stretch of coastline on the left and a series of mountains nearly filling the center from top to bottom with forest running along both sides of the mountains. Labeled dots were scattered along the right side of the map. Most were small, but there were three large dots near the furthest right side of the map, with roads connecting all of them. If he was reading the map right, this camp was one of many on the border of a much larger nation. His best guess put them on one of the outposts farthest from the center, near the edge of the mountain range. It would take any hobgoblin survivors weeks of travel on foot to reach the next closest outpost. They were safe, for now.

Andrew let out a sigh of relief and crossed the room to the front door. He pulled it open and was greeted by the night air and the familiar smell of burning wood. The bonfires were still going though the participants were more subdued, sitting on logs and scavenged chairs an dbenches, chatting softly and drinking from unfamiliar bottles. Andrew wandered out of the building, making his way casually to the closest bonfire, hoping to pick up on some of the conversation.

"-can't really believe it. I took a look at the cells when we were cleaning up, not even a days passed and I can't imagine having to crawl back in there to sleep. Hell the cots inside ain't much better, but man, took a nap earlier, first time I've passed out without some ugly fucker staring me down through the bars. Don't think I've ever slept better." said a young man, dressed in oversized hobgoblin cloths, leaning back against a log bottle in hand. His feet were nearly in the bonfire but he didn't seem to care, arm draped across the log leaning over to speak to another young man nodding along and making repeated, ignored gestures to pass the bottle.

There were others at this fire, speaking in quieter tones. "-Did you see Tara? It happened right in front of me. One of those monsters came right around the corner. Didn't stand a chance. I wish I could take a real shower, used three buckets but I swear I can still smell the blood." "I know what you mean, I was helping clean up most of the day and that was so gross. Can't imagine what it would be like to be right in the middle of all that. Tara was a fighter that's for sure, better than David, took off running the second his chains were off and got hit in the back with an arrow. She deserved better." The pair of women looked tired. They sat up, passing a water skin between them, staring into the flames of the bonfire.

Andrew heard raised voices at another bonfire and continued on past this one, staying quietly to the outskirts and trying not to draw attention. While the last fire was all huddled groups and quiet conversations, this one was raised voices and exaggerated boasts. Young men and women wandered from cluster to cluster, exchanging stories and making plans for the future. Andrew approached the fire quietly but his hopes of listening in were quickly dashed.

"-Should've seen the look on its face! Nearly had me, I'll admit, but then Bam! You got him right in the back!" "Nearly had you? You were on your ass screaming when I showed up." One of the two young men turned and saw Andrew just as he entered the firelight. "Hey man you want something to drink? Plenty of room round the fire here, take a seat we've all earned a night off." He turned back to his friend right after, "and I was not screaming, you'll give the new guy the wrong idea. I fought like, two of em just before that, third one just got the drop on me is all."

Well, I'm caught now. I did plan on asking around, just, not quite yet. Oh well, gotta start sometime, been spending too much time alone in the forest.

"Dang man you took on three of them by yourself? That’s crazy, you have a class or what?" Andrew said, sitting on a log near them and accepting the bottle they were drinking from. It was made from rough lumpy glass, completely unmarked and filled with a pulpy amber liquid.

The man who invited him over was in his late twenties early thirties, lean muscle with rough cut short black hair and a patchy beard. His friend was broad shouldered and muscular, messy curly red hair sloppily tied up into a bun with a thick beard he constantly scratched at as he spoke.

"No way he took on three, no way. The guy I saved him from was one of the first across the river, and by that time there were barely any left. Only guy who can claim to have taken on three is that Kalan guy, or maybe Carter, the two of them were really tearing shit up huh?" The red haired man said, clapping a friendly hand on his leaner friend. "You with the injured? Just wake up? We've had a couple people file through from the med barn. The drink doesn't seem to have hurt them any, not sure exactly what it is, but it's got some serious kick and it ain't half bad."

"Ah yeah, I was out all day I think. Took a couple hits to the head and passed out, I'm not really sure what's going on here honestly." Andrew said, taking an experimental sip from the bottle. It burned like hard liquor and tasted like wheat and dirt. He took another longer sip before passing the bottle back to the lean man.

"Oh dang, been out all day huh? Well, you're lucky a hit to the head didn't kill you, there's been enough of that today. Lets see…. Well, we won the fight, if you can't tell. Short story is some of those guys who were taken away on wagons by the hobgoblins before broke out, and were helped out by some other crazy dude living down the way out in the forest. They came back and just started fucking those assholes up, really impressive shit, I figure you saw some of that at least, apparently the forest guy, Alex or Andy or something like that, whatever, he was the dude who blew up half the buildings round here. Led the charge in getting the kitchen folks out too, and is, uh, supposed to be half dead for it. Anyways we won though, soon as the big guy in charge got blown to bits a bunch of em' scattered, rest crossed the river and just started killing people. We had em outnumbered though and I think they only got a few people before we managed to take them down." Lean man said, pausing his animated gesturing just long enough to pass the bottle over to the redhead who leaned back, seeming to let the story wash over him.

"Got most of the runners too." The redhead cut in, eyes still closed, savoring his last pull from the bottle. "Kalan and the gal that was with him, Shelby I think, they went after the runners. I think they got most of em. Sure as hell won't be coming back here any time soon. Oh yeah and the 'forest guy's' name is Andrew. I talked with Kalan a little bit, was on the same cleanup team." The redhead passed the bottle back to Lean man and Andrew took the opportunity.

"That’s fucking awesome, though I'm a lil worried those runners will go get help. Do you know where Kalan is staying, or if he's still up? I'd like to go talk to him." Andrew said, accepting the bottle the Lean man pushed into his hands.

"Yeah you and most of the other dudes wanting to learn to swing a flaming sword around and cut off hobgoblin heads. I'm sure he knows the runners might bring back more of the fuckers. The guy is pretty competent, used to see him around camp a lot. He's got all of the old kitchen staff organized and shit, got most of us going right after the fight, cleaning up and unlocking chains and things like that. Had the kitchen guys making ration lists and everything, hell of a professional. He's probably out for the count now though, dude was running around all day. Good to know we've got some strong leadership coming in, most of the people around here are too hungry and tired to think straight, even if he keeps insisting that Andrew guy is the real leader. Whoever he is, he's got Kalan and the whole staff convinced at least. They say he took that big guy on, one on one, it's how he got hurt. Seems more like he's found a clever way to skip out on all the hard work to me." The redhead said, his face flushed to match.

"Ah yeah" Andrew said taking a drink to mask his surprise and narrowly suppressing a cough as he was once again surprised by the strength of the beverage. "Guess I should talk to some of those kitchen guys in the morning then, see what I can do to help. Are any of them up?" Andrew turned to pass the bottle back, and saw that both of the men were looking at him quizzically.

"What did you say your name was again?" The lean man asked, accepting the bottle.

"Oh, well, uh, Andrew. Funny coincidence huh? Um. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh okay. Oh, wait, are you? You're younger than I thought you'd be." The lean man said, looking Andrew up and down again. "Uh, we're looking at you cuz if you were with the injured you should've talked to one of the staff soon as you got up. They're all over the place in the med barn, don't think they would've let you leave without talking to one of them. Where'd they end up stashing you away if it wasn't there?"

"Oh, just in one of the random rooms around, woke up with people I know, but they were all asleep so I decided to come see how things turned out. Glad it seems like everyone made it out okay. Not really sure if I'm going to be the leader or not, we'll need to talk about that tomorrow I guess. It's good to know Kalan has been on top of keeping everyone organized though." Andrew said, turning back to the fire and hoping the alcohol would kick in stronger. They were still staring at him.

"Dang, you're really that guy then. Were you really running around on the other side of that river, blowing those fuckers up left and right? Bet you took on way more than the three Kent here keeps pretending he fought." the redhead said. "My names Sam by the way, good to meet'cha"

"Wait wait! Yeah, and did you really take on that huge dude by yourself? I saw him chuck a rock straight through a building, then next thing I knew, BLAM! He was all legs and blood in the river. Only guys who saw it up close were the kitchen staff." Kent said, he was getting louder, and now several of the others around the campfire were gathering in to listen in.

"Yeah, yeah those were both me." Andrew said, resignedly looking into the fire.

Not much chance of staying incognito now, at least they all seem to be pretty impressed with me. That might be a first.

"I can make these like, magical grenades, it's something I picked up out in the forest. I was using those to fight most of the time. Most of it was just luck frankly, they way outnumbered me so I was just running my ass off and throwing explosives everywhere. I only really fought one guy when trying to free the prisoners, and he just about killed the shit out of me. The big guy really should've killed me, I just cut him up and shoved one of those grenades in, didn't really stand a chance in a fair fight." Andrew said, accepting the bottle without looking and taking another pull. The warmth was spreading pleasantly upwards now and he knew his face was reddening.

The rambunctious fireside crowd was quiet now, and Andrew pulled his gaze from the fire to look around for someone to pass the bottle to. They were all gathered around him now, watching him quietly.

"What? I'm not going to be mad about a little trash talk, I was knocked out all day, can't blame you guys for trusting Kalan more if he's been doing as good a job as you say."

At that the group broke, shifting and looking at one another, almost sheepishly. "Sorry, no we were just surprised, from what we've heard you were hurt really badly. The guys you broke out of the camp, the kitchen staff, they said you were barely standing when you found them, and like, you took one of those explosions nearly point blank right afterwards. I don't think I'm the only one who didn't think you would be making it. We've heard a lot about you from Kalan and Shelby already, so I guess we were just surprised to see you drinking with all us. Didn't really seem like your thing from what they said." Alex said. Accepting the bottle and instantly handing it off to one of the growing crowd from elsewhere around the fire.

"Ah, well, yep it's me-" Andrew was cut off as someone dressed in scavenged and refitted hobgoblin leathers came jogging over to the fire. "Hey! Andrew!" He faintly recognized the short stocky brown haired man, one of the prisoners from inside the keep. "You're up! I thought Carter and Shelby were keeping an eye on you! Kalan will want to talk to you, he's on the second floor of the main building, there's a bunch of maps and papers up there we've been looking at. You might be able to convince him to finally go to bed, he's the only one of us who hasn't slept at all since the fight. C'mon."

Ah well, and I was actually enjoying myself for a bit of that. I bet Kalan knows a good spot to set up a new forge though, suppose I'll have to start getting to work now if we don't have a set leader yet.

Andrew stood and started to gesture for the bottle, but one was already coming his way before he even had a chance to stick his hand out. He accepted it and took as long a drink as he could manage in the moment. "Well, looks like it's time for me to start actually helping out around here. I'll see you guys tomorrow I suspect, Don't stay up too late, there's plenty more to do." He handed the bottle off again and waved good bye to the fireside crowd.

"So, take me to Kalan then, let's see if we can get his stubborn ass in bed."