Early mornings, with the sun, just peeking over the horizon. Golden rays wash over the landscape and the branches flutter in the wind. The rustling of leaves and the crashing of water are nature's alarm clock.
I open my eyes to another beautiful morning. I walk out of the house and step down to the river. Kneeling by the river, splashing water on her face was Melody. Her black hair was slightly wet on the edges, eyes closed and a satisfied smile on her face. Slowly, I walk down the path glancing between her and the sunrise. I didn't know what was more beautiful.
She flicks her wet hair back over her shoulders and opens her eyes slowly as she turns behind her. Her cheeks were slightly pink in color as our eyes met.
I quickly glance away from her eyes focusing on the waterfall.
"Good morning Ian. How was your sleep?"
"Uhh...It was fine. Yours?"
"Well, my neck is slightly stiff want to help me by massaging it?"
I glance over in her direction to see her slide her shirt slightly off her shoulders. A playful smile on her face.
"Uhh...I…"
"Just for a bit okay? You just need to rub it until I say stop."
Losing all my reasons I walk over towards her. Pulling her hair to one side and slipping the shirt off her other shoulder to reveal her white skin, she turns her body forward waiting for me to massage her shoulders with her eyes closed.
I stand behind her for a minute, looking at her. Hiding behind her jet-black hair was her unblemished nape and shoulders. Her shirt just loosely hanging above her chest, and a clear valley could be seen between it.
Noticing my lack of movement she opens her eyes and tilts her head up. Her long black eyelashes bat at me and a cheeky smile welcomes me.
"Am I making you uncomfortable?"
"NO! No, no, no. Sorry...uhh...Turn back forward. I'll help massage your shoulders now."
Her smile reaches her ears as she closes her eyes once again returning back to her previous position.
I place my hands on her shoulders and they instantly sink into her skin. Soft like a marshmallow without a hint of stiffness. A slight moan escapes her lips and realizing her mistakes she moves a hand over her mouth and looks at me with slanted eyes. Turning back around after looking at me and slowly she nods her head signaling for me to continue.
For a while later, the river was filled with small gasps for breath.
"Thank you, Ian, for helping with my stiff shoulder!"
With beaming face Melody waves and thanks me while skipping away. Once she got to the top of the path, I kneel on the ground and cover my red face.
"Dangerous. Women are dangerous."
....
After an eventful morning, I gather 10 goblins at the river telling everyone else that I was going to follow the ring towards a tin deposit. I thought about gathering more forces however, most of my heavy hitters are resting up after the battle. It wouldn't be wise to push them anymore, plus it's best for them to recover so the next time they are needed they will be well-rested and ready for a fight.
Name: Ian
Race: Human
Faith: 71/100 ( Reach 100 to pick a Pantheon )
Happiness: 1 ( Happy )
Health Points (HP): 10/10
Mana Points (MP): 0/0
Strength: 5
Vitality: 5
Intelligence: 5
Dexterity: 5
Agility: 5
Luck: 10
Equipment: Lucky Goblin Totem Necklace, Improved Stone Spear, Stone Chest Plate, Stone Knife, Stone Shield
I equipped everything I had from the last time I went to the encampment and made sure the goblins were also properly equipped. 3 archer goblins, 3 spear/shield goblins and 4 knife/shield goblins were the party I took with me. I left Gobi at HavenFall to train the rest of the goblins. I needed the rest of the goblins to be able to cooperate with each other in an orderly manner so that when big battles occur they will be a unified force ready to wreak havoc on the battlefield.
It was the first time I was next to the goblins by myself as it was honestly pretty surreal. Not too long ago I was killing them but now there are some goblins who I consider extremely important to our survival, like Gobi. I spoke to them bit by bit as we travel closer to the encampment and learned that they too had many likes and dislikes with their current living standards.
They love the environment they are currently in, plenty of food and water and no tyrannical leader to boss them around. However, their dislikes were much the same as the other residents. With how little there is to do in HavenFall other than training, foraging or crafting they were bored. I had noticed and talked to some of the other residents and I found that they too were slightly bored.
Forms of entertainment were needed. A group of people/monsters cannot just work, eat and sleep every day, there need to be things they can do leisurely. Which got me thinking, what if I recreate some popular board games or even card games in this world for my NPCs. It would give them something to do now and potentially lead to a casino-like environment in the future for increased revenue and entertainment.
Eventually, there will be an outlet for alcohol as well and that in turn creates a new form of entertainment. Taverns, bars etc there are many different methods to incorporate 'fun' into people's lives and I want HavenFall to eventually be a place of fun and safety.
As I thought about things to potentially add to HavenFall we eventually got back to the encampment. I look at the arrow and it was pointing further down the river and since we have never gone past this point yet it was all uncharted territory.
"Everyone, stay alert. Who knows what we will see from here on. I want knives at the front, then spears and then archers. Walk at a steady pace and carefully observe your surroundings before you proceed and if there is anything potentially unusual, stop and say something...Good! Now then let's follow the arrow!"
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