"Here's the plan. Give me five minutes. No, make it four. If I don't diffuse the situation, come rescue." Daggat said. He had spent several minutes mulling over what to do, and he had come to a solution.

"Are you insane? They'd kill you." Klaw said.

"Nah, I got this. Don't you worry that furry head of yours." Daggat told him. Klaw growled at him.

"Should I come with you? I have the peace aura." Hunter offered.

"That WOULD be too dangerous. This is a solo mission." Daggat twirled his spear. "I won't even kill any of them. Watch." Daggat smiled to himself as he walked away. Give them a big, friendly smile. Humans liked that. He would have to remember the smile.

"LEAVE IT!" Leofric roared. "The hut will have to burn. We can't let one hut cost us everything." Leofric was a human. A level 15 warrior. He was foolish as a child and rushed his class choice, but what he lost in specialization, he more than made up for in effort. He wasn't born into the village's leadership structure. He took it.

Fucking goblins. They had finally arrived, and from the wrong direction, too. Which only meant one thing. They had them surrounded on both sides. Whatever weapon they used to attack the village itself didn't manage to hit anything important. The fire was building fast, but it wouldn't spread too far. There was no wind. It's better to take the loss and focus on the defense.

"But that's MY hut!" Said an older man. William, or Old No Nose. Where he got that nickname, Leofric had no idea. The man did, indeed, have a nose. A quite large one.

"Nose, we'll build you a new hut. A bigger one, but we have to make it through this." Leofric said. "Get to the east wall."

He surveyed his men. This village was small, with only a population of around 300. Fairly standard for the villages and hamlets in the Elderviel. But only fifty of them were suited to fighting. The rest were focused on crafts, and production, and were too young, or too old. The average level, aside from himself, and a few others, was only eight. Higher than the towns. The civil folk didn't have to fight monsters nearly as often. His men were securing the east and west walls. Each had bows or slings, ready to cut down as many goblins as possible.

The goblins, reportedly, had hundreds of beasts of various levels. Some flew. Some had magic. Their only hope was to kill as many of the fuckers as possible before they fell and hoped the next village had time to prepare.

"Ketil, report. What did you see, exactly?" Leofric approached the Dwarf. He had a copper-colored beard that was as shiny as metal and wore simple armor. Various instruments were strung about his person. Tiny bear traps, small stone cups, tiny ropes, and other miniaturized traps. It had something to do with his class, but Leofric wasn't sure. Like him, the dwarf was stuck at 15th level.

"Three goblinoids. One goblin, a hobgoblin, and a bugbear. An ogre. Some sort of spider monster I have never seen." The dwarf said in his sharp, dwarven accent. "I shot the bugbear, he was in armor. But, I do not think it stuck."

"Is there more?"

"Likely. Goblins are nomadic scavengers. They always travel in a pack. Ogres have been reported to work with them too, turns out that wasn't a rumor. The spider is probably a merc."

"Traps?"

"Oh. Plenty. I've strewn the field with them."

"Good, now-" Leofric began.

"Hello, humans." A voice echoed. It was somehow soft, soothing, and melodic, yet it carried through the entire village. An unsettling stillness followed.

Leofric had his bow ready already, so he sprinted to the east wall. What was that?

"What's going on?" He asked as he neared the wooden palisades. It was a simple barrier designed to deter simple monsters, not a full-scale invasion. A ramp led to a platform where several men were standing, bows ready.

"It's um… a goblin, sire." Said a young man, barely level six, with a patchy beard. "He's just by himself."

Leofric stepped up the ramp and poked his head over the wall. He looked over the field that surrounded their main village square. A few huts dotted the land around the wall, but in the case of an attack, this is where the people would fall back to.

The goblin stood at the far end of the field. It casually rested a spear on one shoulder. The weapon was far too long for him. Curiously, it seemed to be wearing a fine coat. Its chest was exposed, revealing a white scar and an orange glow. One of its ears was pure white, like the scar on its chest.

"Somebody shoot it." He barked.

Someone fired an arrow. These men hunted for food, they had the accuracy to strike it from this far, easily.

With a thunk, the arrow hit it cleanly in the chest.

The goblin didn't react. It looked down at the arrow with casual interest. Then, it plucked it out. There was no whimper of pain, no flinch. There was hardly any blood. Leofric felt his blood run cold. What was this?

His men murmured and shifted uncomfortably. The goblin started walking forward, twirling the arrow in his hand. It began to smolder, then catch fire. The goblin continued to twirl it until it fell apart.

As it walked towards them, at a casual, unhurried pace, it grinned. That grin was the stuff of nightmares. Wide, inhumanly curved. Pristine, white, pointed teeth filled its may. The stark brightness of it seemed to accentuate the eyes.

The eyes were almost as terrifying as the grin. They glowed faintly. Swirling subtly with an endless depth. They were sunken and tired, yet had a predatory intelligence. These were eyes that had seen death from both sides.

"K- Kill it!" He yelled.

Arrow after arrow slammed into the goblin. Never did its grin slip. It plucked and tossed each arrow as if it were a simple nuisance. Faint trickles of blood were the only sign that the goblin was harmed.

"Relax, mortals. I am not what you fear." It said. It's voice washing over them. His men calmed down, the tension bleeding from them. Bows were lowered.

"What are you doing? Keep shooting!" Leofric hissed. His bow was at work, piercing the goblin with arrow after arrow.

Then the goblin stepped on the first of Ketill's traps. A burst of flame, like the belching of a drake, scoured the side of the goblin. It didn't seem to notice, even though its clothing was smoking. The goblin cursed and started patting out the flames.

"Do you know how hard it is to find nice clothes around here?" It complained. The tone was completely off from before. "You can't kill me. Stop trying."

A few of his men did. The goblin took another step and activated another trap. This time shrapnel exploded from beneath the earth. That had to do something.

Indeed it did. The goblin's other side was shredded. Pieces of metal stuck from its skin. Still, it didn't react in pain. Was it even alive?

"Put down your arrows. I only want to talk. Humans, you can trust me. Tell your boss it's okay." The goblin said. As it spoke, metal shrapnel was pushed from its skin. Wounds closed before Leofric's eyes. In moments, it was as if nothing happened, aside from the blood and the shredded sleeve.

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"Sire, I think he might be right." One of the men said. "We can't kill him. It ain't natural. Gotta be something special, right?"

"What? Are you insane, man?" Leofric said.

"Think about it, Leofric." Said another. "Something that can't die could probably wipe us out. But it isn't attacking. We should hear it out."

What was going on? This was a monster.

"It's affecting their minds." Said a voice. Oswine, a short-nosed, fat man. The effect gave him a pig-like face, but his sharp, serious eyes dissuaded all attempts to mock him for it.

"But, not ours." Leofric offered.

"I think it may be too weak. Many mind-effecting abilities are affected by level and will. This goblin is only smoke and mirrors. Not as powerful as it seems. Curious, that it is by itself. Maybe we SHOULD talk to it."

"Oh, come on, not you too. It's a monster!"

"He's right," said Ketil said, coming up to them. "At the very least, it's strange. We can bring him in, and I can tie him up well. Can't heal away a chain."

"WOULD YOU STOP SHOOTING ME!" Boomed the goblin. A few of his men had regained their nerves and continued to attack. "I ain't with the other goblins!"

Leofric grunted and solemnly stepped back to the palisades.

"Stop where you are, goblin." He ordered. The goblin did. He was only twenty feet or so from the main gate.

"You in charge?"

"Who are you? What are you doing here if not to attack."

"Hello, my name is Daggat. I am a goblin, yes, but I'm not a dick. Well, maybe, but at least I'm not an asshole." The goblin dipped his head in greeting. A few of the men chuckled. Leofric hushed them.

"Answer my questions or we will fill you with so many arrows, that you won't have time to heal."

The goblin swallowed nervously. "My party and I were simply passing by. I am the new lord of Titanfell manor, and I thought it was time to get to know our neighbors. Stop for a chat while on our way to Brinehaven."

"How many of you are there?"

"Six. Hey, can I come in now? This conversation would be much better over some wine."

"You planned to march up to the gates, and simply ask to come in?" Leofric laughed. "Are you a fool?"

"Well, isn't that how it works? You know, hospitality and such. A guest arrives, let their presence be known, and you let them in with a smile and a cup of your finest." Daggat said back. "You wouldn't want a goblin to outdo you in MANNERS would you?" Again, his men laughed. They were smiling. At the goblin.

"Turn off whatever mind magic you possess."

"Ah. Well, about that. I can't. I don't know how. I think I need another aura to unlock aura control. Sorry about that. But I promise I am here for decent reasons. We even have a paladin."

"A… what?" A monster with a paladin class?

"Paladin. Sworn warrior to fight evil, that sort of thing."

"Bring him forth," Oswine said as he stepped up beside Leofric. He withdrew a high-quality eyepiece.

"Alright, but don't shoot us. We might be monsters, but we also are good at killing monsters. Take, for example, an army of goblins. Mayhaps you could use a hand in that soon," Daggat turned to face the forest. "Klaw! Hunter! Get over here. I'm bringing our ogre too. Don't worry, he's harmless."

A young ogre and a bugbear stepped out of hiding. The bugbear wore some sort of dwarven armor, while the ogre had a torch. He summoned it as he came out of the dark. A torchbearer.

They moved to stand beside Daggat. Oswine held up the eyepiece and inspected each.

"The goblin is level nine. The ogre is a level eight hearth tender, and level one monster. The bugbear is a level eight monster and a level one paladin." He put the glass away. "He is telling the truth. Paladins cannot keep their class if they do not follow the oath."

"Bring out the others," Leofric told the goblin.

"Look, I'm not in the habit of putting all my morsels in one hole. If I bring out everyone here, you could attack us all. Let me in to talk to you first, then we can discuss how to move our relationship forward." The goblin smiled at him. Then his ear withered and fell off. "Ah, damn it. Ignore that, it's fine."

Leofric shared a glance between Oswine and Ketil. The three of them were their heroes. The highest level of the village. They could handle a few level nines.

"Alright. Let them in. Oswine, Ketil, stick with me. If things go bad, we can take them out, regeneration or not. Someone fetch Lisa!" Lisa was level twelve and on the fast track to joining the three of them at level fifteen. She was their current huntress and could use the experience.

Daggat

True Name: Daggat Soul: Monster Genseed: gremlin [ 3 Str, 4 Dex, 3 Con, 2 Int, 3 Wil, 3 Cha; Regenerating Teeth, Rot Resistance; Tiny Size] Genbloom: goblin [ +2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Con, +1 Int, +1 Wil; Scavenger; Small Size]

Monster Level: 9

Attributes (0/6): Strength: 11 Dexterity: 11 Constitution: 11 Intelligence: 20 Will: 10 Charm: 12

Feats: Encounter: True Angel Ability: Mighty Intellect Act: Fledgling Alchemist Knowledge: System Knowledge Act: Devotion [Layered feats] Act: Usurper Act: Touch of Death Act: Reborn by Fire

Skills(0/4): Alchemy: 1 [Source: Fledgling Alchemist] System Aptitude: 1 [Source: System Knowledge] System Assistant: 2 [Perk: Semi-sentience] Mind Codex: 1 [Synergy: Mental notes + Copy Tome] Party Leader: 1 [Source: Usurper]

Notable Natural Skills: Literacy: Apprentice

Biotraits (0/9): Base size: Small [Source: Goblin] Regenerating Teeth [Source: Gremlin] Enhanced Night Vision [Source: Gremlin] Disease Resistance [Mutations: Rot Resistance; Source: Gremlin] Temperature Resistant Skin [Synergy: Fire Resistant Skin + Cold Resistant Skin] Scavenger [Source: goblin] Death Sight [Source: Touch of Death] Increased Pain Tolerance Fire Core Beguiling Presence [Synergy: Hypnotic Gaze (Dominating Gaze, Mesmerizing Gaze) + Hypervocal Cords (Beguiling Voice) ]

Transformations: Drakeheart Form: +2 strength +2 charm Extreme Temperature Resistant Scales [Synergy: Fireproof scales + Temperature resistant Skin] Fire breath

Night Stalker form: +2 strength +2 dexterity Dark vision [Night Vision Enhanced] Deepen Shadow

Regenerator form: Advanced Regeneration

Other: Variant: +10 Intelligence Skill potions used: 1/5

Notable Gear: Strange pure-white sword shard Spear of Bracing 2 Mihr Contracts

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