Tau is sitting around in his bright red command tent. To one side a few gobo's are going about the business of scenting the tent with food. This is Reku's hand at it again. Impi is learning that she is a formidable gobo who is hard to move. She has expanded the command tent to include an audience mound. She has also added the insignia flags of each banner. The expanded tent is imposing and has a formal air about it. It reminds Tau of how quickly things are changing in the Horde.
Most of the other leaders are busy with their magnificent preparations. Tau is most excited about to results of his own Emerald Dawn that has been doing training to catch up with Impi. Impi outside of leadership is probably the strongest and most talented. Where other gobo's potential ends around the thousand white levels before it must be upgraded. Impi is still going strong having to reach white four thousand. Tau himself is in the nine thousand.
Tau knows that staying at the white is crippling because even a blue one thousand can give a white five thousand a run for their money. Tau believes that by expanding his base he will be able to grow more than any other goblin. Gcina has taken to using monster cores to expand her potential. She has the worst potential of all the leaders but each of them has found their own to keep.
The prime problem Tau has is that the martial eagle. The one he needs to clear the secret mission is the leader a Blue six thousand. Even thinking about makes his butt crack sweat and that produces a terrible odour. Palesa said it smelled worse than cowardice and that is a foul smell indeed. He moves towards the mud bath. In all his time here the Eagle is the only monster to beat over and over again.
Soaking his thoughts drift to the other danger that is now actively interfering with his goblins. The forty goblins arrived last night and have already injured a few goblins in the follower camp. At the moment he doesn't need to step but it is going there. The scout reports say that they and their Jackals are all around the blue two thousand. He has also found signs of elves even after they started a wider patrol in response to the arrival of the forty.
Leaning back he knows he can the capture of the martial eagles will save them. It's just that he has no idea how to do it. So far his failure has been spectacular. Fighting the leader once a week has helped Tau grow stronger. He as a nine thousand white is as strong as a one thousand blue. Coupled with his leadership rings bonus the plus one random stat for every gobo in the horde makes him stand on equal footing. Goblins like Oda and Diana cannot only be measured by normal power levels their skills are like cheats. The problem is that the Martial Eagle leader is so strong that he overwhelmed them when Tau brought them in the third week.
Since he gutted both the Emerald Legion and the Emerald Peak of their gobos to form his banner almost a month ago now. They have been unable to grow as much as he would like. The Emerald Dawn itself is still the biggest banner having a full complement of one hundred. this is also why they have yet to grow into an effective fighting force. He has had for the past three weeks shadow each of the banners except The Emerald Nights. Odas' fifty hyena riding goblins are all undergoing blood rituals with him and Jade. This means that his gobo's are not levelling at all they are pretty much doing this all night and recover during the day. The Nights help around the Horde during the day.
Tau is waiting on a report from another hill goblin that came across them. Their Get was raided and Gcina has sent one of her Hippogryph scouts to check it out. Reku walks into the tent she has made his third suit it is pure emerald in colour. Tau likes it because it's a simple rob that if he wears a belt. He can fold in it half and it is like an Egyptian half-pleated kilt. He waves her away since she prefers formality over all else. He can't directly command her anymore. This is because of the with Black-Bloods. IF any other goblin becomes possessed especially if it's one of the leaders. It would stop chaos from spreading since that goblin can only command member of the banner. In order for him to command the Horde he only needs two other leaders present.
He drops further into the tub. This is supposed to be an adventure. He even told Gcina as much. HIs days for the past weeks have been filled with training, managing daily mission from the system and general bullshit from the world at large. He rubs his forehead again its not a headache but by fuck it's close enough. The Unified mission is also on his mind even if the hidden criteria is hidden. He can make an educated guess. The daily mission show one of three rewards that they can provide getting the other two is part luck and part guessing. He is just glad that he hasn't gotten a death mission yet from the system. Reku always threatens him with it. At the moment he is tied to the system. Once they get to the lake and perfected the blood rituals they will have a means but that is still far away.
Tau says, to a young Troic goblin with many warts and a huge humpback, " Can you bring sit over there and listen to me." She panics again. This is the seventh he has done this but it helps Tau to think if he can bounce his ideas off another goblin. The problem is that Trini gets scolded by Reku each time it happens.
Trini says, "Right away my Leader." even thou not any banner she is part of the. She is very happy too. The Goblin totem outside the camp which any goblin can use to swear fealty to the horde is wonderful. When she did it she felt a wash of power over her. Her friends have told her that being part of one of the banners makes a gobo even stronger. She managed to get this post because Reku is super strict about mannerisms and traditions. Trini made sure to master them in three days to Reku standard. Unlike some gobo's in the Follower camp. Who told her to, 'quit while she is behind.' Because of her deformities, she has always been treated badly but none of the leaders seems to care about it. Diana is the most friendly in fact but Trini wants to work in the Heart of the Horde and that is with Tau and his banner. Trini is proud of her station. Even if she has to suffer Reku. Tau doesn't speak to just any gobo outside of leadership. She is not sure what she has done to earn his trust but Trini will do her best not to lose it. Bringing out her stool that she keeps close she sits and listens to Tau.
Tau says, "The Emerald Legion is growing stronger every day and Palesa is a force not to be messed with. If I could buy them a few months they could take those forty jackals without a sweat." Tau looks at Trini his mouth dipping under the mud while he thinks about his solvable problems first.
Trini job is not to talk but to listen and she is more than happy to do that but she thinks she might have an idea. She rubs her thighs afraid to say it.
So Tau continues, " If I can find a way to know what they." He knows they have an ulterior motive. FI they just wanted a fight they could have attacked a week ago. They are just following them for time being and being a nuisance. Tau wouldn't mind if he didn't know they are from Dimitris' Get. according to goblin history, the most dangerous enemy of the goblin outside of humans is other goblins.
A shy voice comes from Trini, she has gathered her courage and arranged her thoughts and says, " Maybe just ask them?" She feels she should have said it better but she is too nervous. Tau sits up as if hit by a rock. Eh, then scent for to continue the hint of his so subtle only because of the mud. She looks up to expectant eyes from tau.
Trini says, " if you ask them they have to tell you something so even if its a lie as long as you give it to them you can ask them to leave."
Tau sinks back into the bath.. His words bubble out from under the mud, "Good, Good."