Approach the Camp
After the healers have removed all of the arrow-heads, you tilt Petze’s head back and uncork the vial. The crimson liquid inside stirs warmly, as if it is living blood. The goblins around you watch with bated breath, scarcely understanding any of what is going on except for the fact that you are about to use a precious divine artifact on their kin. “Here goes,” you mutter, and you pour the liquid down Petze’s throat. Her blood-matted calico fur trembles as the potion begins to take effect. Her wounds knit and heal swiftly; the flesh mends and the fur regrows. The rapid regeneration is every bit as miraculous as if you had used it on a human. And that is suspicious. The priests had been very clear that their spells and their potions were blessings of the Goddesses, reserved only for the faithful. Why would it work just as well on a goblin?
It is too much of a hassle to ponder right now. You let out a sigh. All these questions, and you are stuck in some backwater with a bunch of overgrown cats, and the only woman for miles around would likely kill you if you so much as touched her.
“M…my god?” You look down. Petze’s eyes are open, and practically shining as she stares at you. “Did you… save me?” she says weakly. You nod, and lay her back down on the mat of woven leaves. There is a rustle as she curls her tail slightly, still looking at you in a daze. When you stand up, the entire hall breaks into a yowling of worshipful joy.
“The Shining One has plucked her back from Death’s Door!”
“Truly he is our Demon God, come to bring us to paradise!”
“All hail the Shining One!”
“Sh-Shining One…” Robust comes up to you, moving on his knees. “I am eternally grateful for your help in saving Petze!” He bows deeply and genuinely. From the way he looks at her… you glance at him, and then at Petze, and then at Runde, who is looking at her, and then back at Petze, who is still looking at you worshipfully…
“Anyway!” You raise your voice and your hand, silencing the crowd of goblins. “I will investigate these intruders personally.”
They cheer again, forcing you to raise your hand again to silence them. “Until I return, Runde will keep an eye on things.”
“M-Me? I couldn’t…” Runde stammers, showing a distinct lack of confidence. The other goblins also look uncertain, although none of them would dare voice anything that goes against your word.
“You have been in my presence for the past two weeks. You will be heard,” you say flatly, making it clear that you will brook no disobedience. “Do not worry. It will be quick. Rinnefiela, Robust, you will come with me.”
“That’s good. I haven’t smashed some humans in a long time,” grins Rin ferally. “I was worried that you would take the cowardly way out and not bring me along. Glad to see you still have some balls.”
“I hear and obey!” shouts Robust, giving you a strong salute. “My life is yours, Shining One!”
****
As you are now distinctly non-human, you wonder if you should cover up those traits as best as you can...
A. You disguise yourself, trying to tuck your wing under your clothes and hiding your halo under a thick shawl. You would still look strange, like a misshapen hunchback with a lumpy head, but not obviously non-human.
B. You do not disguise yourself at all. Why should you be ashamed of your looks?
***
You observe the human camp from a safe distance. Twenty… thirty… there are thirty five of them milling about. There could be more, but from Petze’s report, you think that this is likely all of them, or at least their main force. The humans are alert but nervous. There are three patrols of five soldiers each regularly circling the area; three spearmen and two bowmen in each patrol. Six mages are at the edge of the large crater created by your spell, poring over the ground for clues. There are another ten soldiers guarding their backs: five swords, three spears and two bows. Then, there are three knights in full armour, and a tall man wearing an expensive-looking cloak who looks to be the commander of the group. None of them have rune-inscribed armour or spell-warded clothing, as far as you can tell, but that might not mean anything: it is possible that they have far more advanced enchantments that you are unable to identify. The knights and their commander are in the center of the camp, and they are standing around a makeshift table looking at something.
Of the goblins you can see Boss strung up by his ankles, two spears running through his gut. Goblins are hardy, but you are not sure if he is still alive. There are also two or three goblins in manacles. The rest of the goblins have been dumped in a pile that is oozing dark red blood from the bottom. The corpses would probably be burnt and disposed of later. There are also four human soldiers laid out and unmoving, a cloth covering their faces: the goblins had not gone down without inflicting casualties of their own. Judging from the number of horses that they have brought, and what looks to be a tent of supplies, you do not think that they plan to stay here for more than a few days.
You close your eyes and try to feel for any strong flow of magic that could indicate wards of detection. There are none. Could they really be that careless? The lack of wards aside, their camp is full of other openings any smart raider could exploit. You begin to wonder if it is not actually some sort of trap designed to lure you in. The demons had tried that tactic once, pretending to be full of vulnerabilities. Easy pickings. Or so they wanted you to think. Talley, brash and overconfident that he was, had fallen for that trap and lost his life to it.
“Invisibility,” you murmur. You cloak yourself, Rin, and Robust in a veil of invisibility. Any self-respecting mage would be able to see through it should they use Detect Invisibility, but you would have to get closer to the camp for them to do so. You do not plan on doing that; not yet, at least. It is not yet certain that they have not laid out a trap, and you do not want to spring it early. Spying on the patrols, however, should be relatively safe.
“Why aren’t we just jumping in and smashing them? They are weak,” whispers Rin. "Also, they are bullying my cute little goblins. That is more than deserving of death."
“That might be more troublesome than it seems. Let’s try to find out what is going on first. There might be an easier way of solving matters.”
Rin sighs, rolling her eyes. “It will all end in violence, I tell you this. That is what you humans are like.”
“We’ll see, princess. Robust, do not say a word when we are moving.”
Robust says nothing and nods. He is breathing heavily, nervous and excited at the fact that he is getting to adventure with his deity.
As the three of you creep closer to one of the patrols, you use Universal Translation.
“…you think they’ll find anything?”
“Six High Mages can do anything. I just wonder what the Confessor-Princess is hoping to find all the way out here.”
“Must be something important. I heard rumours that it involved some relic of the Demon God.”
“I heard rumours that a star had been sent to earth as a blessing by the Five Gods and as a reward for our faith. That’s what we’re supposed to retrieve.”
“A star? How’d we carry a star? They’re… like… little pricks of light!”
“By the way, we’re not actually allowed in Methussian territory, are we? What if they find us?”
“That’s what that Galbaldian flag is for, dumbass…”
The patrol moves away, none the wiser as to your presence. It looks like if you want to find out more, you will have to capture them or talk to them. You recall Runde’s brief report on the countries surrounding your village. The ruins are in Methussian land, which is a kingdom bordered by Galbaldy, Dijeh, and the Holy Barzam Ecclesiocracy. This could be risky: if it turns out that it is a trap, you would be revealing your presence for a poor reason - especially if some of them get away - and it might also embroil you in complicated geopolitics that you have little knowledge about. On the other hand, you are now certain that these humans are definitely unrelated to the Seven Kingdoms.
Should you take the camp?
Rin and Robust are eager to do so. In particular, you can see Rin's tail swishing happily, something you've noticed she does from time to time.
But you wonder if they might not be open to a casual conversation instead…
***
A. You take the initiative and launch a pre-emptive attack on the camp before they realize you are there. With a violent strike, you could destroy their morale and have any survivors give up. You have Rin and Robust circle around the camp, with instructions to ensure that no one gets away from the fight.
1. You utilize low level spells, not wanting to give too much away. Even if it may be turn out to be a hard fight, you would rather stick to throwing around Magic Arrows or Fireballs than give away any of your more powerful abilities.
2. You use your summons to attack from a distance. You create a single Electric Wolf for every one of the enemy, to test their capabilities. You can always up the ante if they prove insufficient.
3. You start off with a bang. A more controlled Gigadyne should be able to destroy the enemies that you want, while still keeping some of the more valuable targets alive: the commander, the knights and the mages.
B. You attempt to talk to the humans, using Universal Translation to ensure that your words are understood. To be on the safe side, you have Rin and Robust stay a fair distance away: not too far to come to your aid, but not so close that they would be detected either.
1. You bring Rin along with you, though not Robust. The goblin champion is better off keeping an eye out at a distance as the sight of his mug might immediately trigger hostilities from the humans.
2. You go alone. It might be more of a comfort to have Rin by your side, but she is too volatile and might jeopardize the talks.
3. You send a Doppleganger. However, to ensure that you can control it fully for a conversation, you will need to subsume your mind into the clone.
C. You watch them for a bit longer to make sure they have no further plans to scout for your village, and once you are certain, you leave. It is too bad about Boss and the other goblins, but you do not want to reveal yourself or the village if at all possible.
