Alastair snuck through the door into the warm well-lit room, Ash followed, the smell of cooking meat emanating from inside. The room was cast from stone bricks aged with damp, mossy lichen adorning the walls and hanging from the roof which was bare in the middle. Charred mostly black owing to the smoke rising in the centre above a great black dirty cauldron before being spirited away by a gaping hole.

  All of a sudden his TOOL system popped up.

  Quest – Where there’s smoke!

  Objective - Investigate the source of the smoke.

  Quest complete you have found the source of the smoke.

  Rewards

  Smoke Stone

  One Skill point.

  Ash hurriedly hid the TOOL system and readied himself for action once again, luckily Alastair was too preoccupied to note that Ash had drifted off into a stupor.

  Ash looked at the cauldron noting that usually, black is a great colour for covering stains however there is only so much it can do, the bubbling reddish brown liquid gurgled and hissed in the pot while a figure stood hunched over it stirring with a large wooden spoon.

  Looking around this was definitely some sort of makeshift kitchen, chopping boards complete with piles of meat, hooks displaying three of the white rabbits dangling. To his surprise three children were running around with funny gaits almost a mixture of hobbling and skipping. The taller figure by the pot shouting instructions to the others in a language that sounded more like an amalgamation of standing on shards of broken glass and nails being drawn down a chalkboard.

  ‘More meat’ crackled a deep voice like treading on gravel.

  Screeches in the affirmative rand out and one of the rabbits was torn off the wall.

  The larger figure took the body of the rabbit and with a practiced hand held the head, twisted and tore the skin from the carcass. They then threw the skin back to the little ones who fought over it like excited puppies playing with a new chew toy.

  As Ash made his way into the ‘kitchen’ the wooden table leg caught against the door causing it to swing open slowly, as the door was reaching the end of its journey a figure stood behind the door turned slowly coming face to face, The face that met him was in fact, not a child at all but a squat green faced little man with an over hooked nose.

  The word goblin sprung to mind and no other, it was around two feet tall, its oversized ears sheared to a point at their top. Wearing what looked like a burlap sack and in its hand it wielded a meat hammer with chunks of flesh still attached.

  TOOL SYSTEM BESTIARY

  Hostile enemy

  Name Goblin

  Level 2

  Description Small green and angry best describe the goblin, Their strength come from numbers and are often found in ruins taken over by the clans. Size and shape largely depend on the lineage of the goblin.

  Its expression slowly changed from one of confusion into one of rage, its yellowing teeth bared and it let out a scream that rung in Ash’s ears. Alastair whirled around jumping into action swinging the iron bar brought it across the little imp’s face with a wet crunch silencing the yell but unfortunately the others attention had already been raised. Ash and Alastair readied themselves table leg and iron poker steady at their sides poised to attack.

  Alastair took the initiative as well as the small hammer from the green skinned foe still holding onto its shattered nose and threw it clean across the room into another goblin who was springing into action. Ash watched in fascination and awe as Alastair deftly bobbed and weaved strikes, parried swings and rained blows upon the little tyrants like some sort of action hero in a movie.

  He was of course completely unaware that the first goblin had come around from his iron bar related stupor and was readying to rejoin the melee. He became instantly and painfully aware of this as the goblin sank its teeth into his calf and shin, he could feel the monsters teeth grinding against the bone in his shin.

  ‘AGHHH’ he screamed

  Reflexively he brought the table leg round in a swing catching it squarely across the face, mistakes were made he thought as teeth were driven across his leg. Ash had paid for his ineptitude with yet more pain and agony.

  Not one for repeating his mistakes this time he aimed blows at the goblins podgy body, as it tore at him with sharp nails at the end of its cruel hands.

  Continuing the assault the goblins body it finally released its jaw and not giving it a moments respite Ash brought the table leg down upon the goblins head. Very much like dropping a watermelon, dark green skin gave way to the red flesh inside, he stood there in horror fixated at the gore on display before him.

  Frozen in place, his mind racing, he was completely caught unaware as a large wooden spoon caught him on the side of his face knocking him to the cold stone floor, he lifted up his hands now soaked in a mixture his previous opponents blood and various scraps of flesh, turned and over him stood the fattest goblin he had ever seen.

  True that up until this point his experience of goblins consisted of the last few minutes and the occupants of this room however this one stood a good two foot taller than the others and around three foot wider around the middle.

  Hostile enemy

  Name Hob-Goblin

  Level 2

  Description Hob Goblins can vary in size and shape dependant on their parentage, taking on particular genetic markers of the other species.

  Its face looked down at Ash with either a snarl or a smile, its honestly quite hard to differentiate with goblins, it raised its hefty spoon and brought it down upon Ash’s raised forearm with a thud.

  ‘Die meat’ It said

  With an agonised cry, his arm now numb he tried to scuttle backwards as best he could when he came into contact with the mossy stone wall, there was nowhere else to run.

  The monstrous beast smiled a toothy grin down upon him raised its weaponised cutlery high above its head and swung down with all the force it could muster accompanied by a deafening roar..

  Ash raised up his good arm in defence but closed his eyes and looked away awaiting the blistering pain that was no doubt moments away.

  There was no crack, no agony, no darkness, just a high pitched rattling, a dull thud then an agonised scream.

  Ash looked up as the Goblin shrieked, gripping a bloody stump where its arm once was, Alastair jumping forward brough a cleaver down across the creatures torso leaving a train of parted flesh, exposed bone and of course what the floor needed, more blood.

  It howled in a mixture of rage, pain and fear falling to the ground trailing away as it tried to grasp its stump and keep its innards in, blood trailing after it as it made its desperate escape.

  Alastair proffered a hand to Ash who gladly accepted, gripping each other by the forearm again he was hoisted to his feet.

  ‘Good fight, well done’ said Alastair

  ‘Err thanks’ replied Ash ‘Although I think you did most of the heavy lifting’

  He looked around at the carnage that surrounded the pair, meat and bodies splayed everywhere his eyes roamed.

  Alastair murmured something looking down at Ash’s damaged arm, held his hand outstretch fingers and patted the air down lightly.

  ‘You stay here, I look ahead, rest’ Alastair said sitting Ash down pulling to them a relatively clean stool.

  Ash nodded watching the man carefully follow the bloody trail out of the doorway. In this moment of respite everything that had transpired flashed in his forethoughts.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Killer bunnies, floating screens, glowing stones, goblins and so, so much gore, it was at this moment that it sunk in, he had just kind of mentally switched off and accepted what was happening to him. Now the weight of it all came tumbling down like a ton of rocks, he leant back against a table palms down to support himself his head becoming heavy and spinning.

  He then came to and tried to take stock the room, the smell of the pot mixed with the coppery taste of blood in the air was quite disagreeable, in the fire under the pot was a metallic poker similar to the one Alastair had found, he got closer and held his breathe pulling at the heavy bar with hushed grunts, it finally came loose in a roar of flame and ash, his grip slipped and it fell to the floor colliding with the stone again filling it with a ringing that echoed around the room. He froze, eyes fixed on the door waiting for either a disapproving Alastair or worse angry green goblins, after a few moments he relaxed looked down at his sodden hands.

  Slick with blood, the crimson fluid was oily with a few lumps that had started to dry around the outside of his fingers, he looked back at the worktop to see meat and bones either in roughly chopped chunks or long stringy sections. Blood ran down almost every surface and joined in many scarlet tributaries ending at the mouth of a drain that is best left undescribed.

  Looking at the rabbits hanging from the hooks then back at the bones lay before him it suddenly dawned on him that the bones he was looking at were too large for a rabbit. What he looked at was the most macabre jigsaw, Ash arranged them from smallest to largest and only recognised the limb when he found a dismembered human hand among the scraps. A line drew away from the dissected appendage and read

  Non-Hostile

  Ethel Margate

  Level 3

  The remains of Ethel Margate – Apprentice seamstress.

  As it dawned on Ash that this was someone’s arm he dropped the pieces he had in his hands, this was from a person who at some point was living, who at some point was using this arm completely unaware that parting and sorrow was not so sweet. His stomach turned over and he retched when his brain helpfully pointed out an even grimmer detail, it wasn’t an adult arm. Waves of revelation and revulsion swept over him, doubled over he just managed to stop himself from wiping his face with his already mottled hands.

  Hyperventilating he whirled around to face away from the grotesquery and his eyes lingered on the pot bubbling away. All of a sudden a strange feeling emanated from his chest, to be more precise it was more a lack of feeling flooding over his body. He took a deep breath and a wave of strange energy started out from the nape of his neck and swept forwards over his brain and down his body, his vision burred. He stopped trembling and for a long moment gazed off into space, the only sensation he was aware of was a high pitched continuous tone like his ears were ringing from shell shock like in the first person shooter games he played based on world wars.

  ‘CALM DOWN LITTLE ONE’ came a voice

  ‘Who’s there?’ Asked Ash

  ‘ALL IN GOOD TIME, FOR NOW YOU NEED TO CALM YOURSELF’

  Ash looked around but all he could see was black, he was sitting on a large sheet of Onyx as black as can be.

  ‘Where am i?’

  ‘YOU ARE WITHIN YOURSELF’

  ‘How?’

  ‘MAGIC, YOU USED TO RETREAT INWARDS DURING STRESSFUL TIMES, THIS IS SIMPLY WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DO SO IN A LAND FILLED WITH MAGIC’

  ‘Are you my conscience?’

  ‘ARE YOU PINOCHIO?, OF COURSE NOT, LETS JUST SAY I WAS WITH YOU BEFORE YOU CAME TO THIS NEW WORLD’

  ‘so what are you?’ Ash asked

  ‘HAHA AS I SAID ALL IN GOOD TIME, JUST KNOW I AM HERE FOR YOU TO DRAW UPON ME’

  He suddenly came back to and shook his head from his torpor, no awareness of how much time had passed but now in a more tranquil mood he wiped his hands on a sack cloth to one side of the room.

  Now in a calmer sombre state a glow in the bottom of his peripheral became obvious.

  With a thought the TOOL screen opened up showing the skills tab.

  Skill Increases as follows,

  Blunt Weapons – Lvl 2

  Climbing – Lvl 1

  Linguistics – Lvl 3

  Mana Manipulation – Lvl 1

  Night Vision – Lvl 1

  Poison resistance – Lvl 1

  Identify – Lvl 1

  ??? – Lvl ?

  You have 1 skill point to spend

  Congratulations,

  You have gained a total of 5 skill levels please pick a skill to increase by an additional level.

  You have one skill point to spend

  He looked at the question marks in puzzlement ‘Oh great, I don’t know where I am, what I’m doing, and the only thing that was bloody helping me has a bug’

  On a positive note he wasn’t going to drop his bonus points into it so that was one less skill to choose from.

  ‘There's no choice like no choice’ he chuckled to himself.

  As before he dropped them into Linguistics as communication seemed more key to his survival right now. He’d noticed that with every level Alastair began to talk a lot clearer and his vocabulary seemed to increase. In fact he was even able to understand some of the goblins words.

  I wonder if there is an upwards cap or how it works.

  TOOL SYSTEM HELP

  The screen appeared

  SKILLS – Help

  Skills are available from level 1 to 25 as you progress through the levels your proficiency in the skill increases also.

  Levels can be increased by the addition of skill points or through practiced use.

  Ash dismissed the screen as he heard a shuffling coming from the corridor, he took up the metal poker and held it aloft ready to bring it down when Alastair appeared in the doorway looking at Ash in a brief moments shock.

  Just above a whisper he said ‘Ash, come’ and gestured him to follow.

  Ash’s mind began to wander as he followed Alastair about a tribe he had heard about that struggles to talk at night as a portion of their language requires gestures. ‘Okay Ash, not the time’ he said to himself and shook his head.

  Once into the hallway Alastair seemed to be standing a little taller than before, he had in his right hand a sword and its scabbard at his waist, a bow slung over his shoulder and a quiver hung loosely next to it.

  A thin line led away from the sword much like what had happened in the…kitchen, ash shook his head (Better to forget that place).

  A small screen opened displaying information.

  Guardsman’s Sword - Rarity - Common

  He allowed his eyes to wonder to the other armaments

  Guardsman’s Bow - Rarity - Common

  Guardsman’s Quiver - Rarity - Common

  Alastair saw Ash staring at the sword and then looked down at the poker he held in his hand, He smiled at Ash and once again signalled for him to follow.

  They crept along the corridor as stealthily as possible, careful of any fixtures or fittings that jutted out waiting to snag an oblivious or careless passer-by.

  They reached a door and Alastair held the door open for Ash and stalwartly took up sentry in the doorway .

  ‘Ok, we are back in the dark’ Ash sighed

  ‘Patience’ replied Alastair, reaching into a satchel from behind his back, his hand came round glowing with a crystal the same as he had destroyed in the cells below the kitchen.

  He was in basically a big closet around 2 metres wide and long, strewn around were clothes and various items left he guessed, from previous guests/meals of the goblins.

  Alastair was talking to himself glancing back and forth down the hallway ’Quickly, not much time’.