We headed out, completely packed and armored for a journey that would likely take more than a single day. Despite planning to pick up my new weapon, I still brought my spear with me, just in case. I'd grown fairly proficient with it, I'd say.
More than I imagined I would, anyway.
After a quick stop at the tailor to get the money to pay off my helmet, we made our way to Dworag's shop, where I was currently waiting outside. I was eager to see what he'd done to the helmet to support my new eyes.
It didn't take long for Dworag to exit his shop with said helmet in his hands.
I observed it as he held it up in front of me.
"I hope this will help with those new eyes of yours."
It seemed he had taken a fair deal off the sides and created some form of grate structure with small steel bars. Over those smaller bars, he'd fitted chainmail with larger rings. I imagine the idea was for me to see through those rings.
I accepted the helm and put it on to try whether his craftsmanship had done the trick.
"That thread that you gave me is mighty strong. If you're right in that it will grow stronger, I'm looking forward to creating items for you with it. I used the strongest mail I had laying around for this and enchanted it with two block enchants to boot. I'm confident the structure will hold."
I could see so much more than before with the helm on. Sure, the chainmail obscured a fair deal of my vision, but I could easily see through it. It appeared my eyes had a way of filtering out obstructions to a certain degree. Moreover, it seemed Dworag had made it more comfortable too. A thin layer of cloth lined the inside of the helm.
I fastened the leather strap under my chin that made sure the helmet stayed in place. Even though it was far more comfortable and useful than earlier, I'd probably still leave it off, or loosened until battle.
Velariah handed him the last part of his payment, leaving us with just enough money to pay for my polearm.
"Thanks a lot, Dworag. I'll make sure to get you some after I've evolved it."
"Just stay safe. We're all eager to get rid of these goblins, but don't get yourself in trouble."
I nodded. "We'll be fine. Thanks again."
With that, Dworag walked back inside his shop and we started making our way over to the weaponsmith.
"Vel?" I asked while she walked next to me.
"Hm?"
"When exactly is that festival thingy you told me about?"
"It's hard to say. You will know when it's time when you look at the tree. When the magic around the tree grows as dense as it is right now, it's usually a day or four, give or take."
I looked around as we walked through the town center. Instead of the usual stalls being set up for food and wares, there were far more in the process of being set up. I imagined that had something to do with the festival.
Her comments got me quite curious about what was going on with this tree…
I couldn't see anything off with it, but the entire air around it felt… magical, dense. The tree was in full bloom, but it had been ever since I first laid eyes upon it.
I shrugged. I guessed I would find out soon.
We reached Coldanus's store, and Velariah entered once more, the rest of our coin in hand.
I smiled as I saw the others had their eyes fixed on the door. I could only assume they were eager to see what this weapon looked like. To be fair, so was I.
My anticipation only rose as it seemed Velariah was taking longer than I expected. I hoped nothing was wrong.
I was relieved when the door opened and she exited with a long pole in her hands, with, at the end, a curved scabbard of red-painted wood with strips of metal bound around it.
"This thing better be worth the money," Velariah said with a smile as she handed the pole to me.
I observed the weapon and concluded it was about two and a half meters in length, excluding the blade, which should be more than enough to reach beyond my legs' total span. The pole was made of solid wood that was painted black. Near the butt end of the pole were many red threads wrapped around the pole, for grip.
I saw Seralyn grin to my side as I eagerly took the bladed part before me and removed the scabbard.
The first thing that revealed itself was the three transparent gems embedded in the steel where the blade began. The steel itself caught my eyes. It wasn't silvery or even the slightly glowing red color that I was used to. Instead, the steel seemed to take on a yellowish hue.
The white-haired elf noticed me staring.
"It's lightning steel."
"From a lightning dragon, or?" I asked as I ran my fingers over the blade. I could feel some electricity connect to my skin. It was like static but less intense. It wasn't entirely unpleasant, I had to admit.
"Nope," Velariah continued. "Although, they do exist. This ore was mined from a Ruby-tier dungeon. It was expensive, but this was the best steel he had currently available. I hope it suits your style."
"I don't quite know how this lightning effect will work. Will it do damage or will it disable targets the way I was disabled earlier in the dungeon?" I said.
"This should do both," Velariah said. "Although the disabling effect may not be as effective as the one that was used on you."
She shrugged. "Every little bit helps, right?"
I nodded. "It's a beautiful weapon, Vel."
I ran my eyes and hand over the blade further. I wasn't an expert on weapons, but when I ran a finger over the cutting-edge, I saw a small cut appear on my finger without effort. This blade was extremely sharp. Not only was it sharp, but it also had a certain… allure. It wasn't fancy in any way, but the weapon itself… looked beautiful, at least in my opinion.
With the blade included, the total length of the polearm reached about three and a half meters, maybe a bit less.
"Wouldn't wanna be on the receiving end of that," Seralyn commented with a grin.
"Wasn't intending to have you be," I replied. "Unless you force my hand, of course." I grinned back.
"It's a beautiful weapon, indeed, Miss Elania," Draco observed the blade from next to me. "May it serve you well."
"I'm sure it will. Might just need to do a bit of training with it soon, though."
I re-sheathed the weapon and gripped it behind the blade, the pole resting against my midsection. I carried my spear in the same way in one of my hands on the other side.
I should ask Endomir what that part of a spider is actually called. I cursed at myself in my mind for forgetting the question.
"But I did figure it would be easy enough to just run the blade into goblins and possibly trolls."
I looked at the others. "Anything else we need to take care of?"
I saw Velariah counting as she listed several things. "Food, water, potions, weapons, armor, tents. I think we have all we need."
She looked over at Draco, who carried a fair deal of supplies with him. The lizardman nodded at her.
"Time to head out, then, I guess," Velariah said. "Do fill us in on the exact location please, Draco."
We started walking towards the village's eastern exit as Draco explained some information from before and added some new.
"So, as you may know, we're dealing with goblins and trolls that have banded together. It wouldn't surprise me if there were hobgoblins among them. From the information that the Lore keeper had, we're talking about a small village far out to the northeast. It's located in a large clearing and has huts made of hides, mud, and wood."
"I'll be able to spot it from afar, if it's a large clearing," Nira said.
"Good idea," Velariah spoke. "Just be careful and only do it when our surroundings are clear. We might draw them to us when you fly up and they spot you."
Nira nodded. "I'll be careful."
"Perfect," Seralyn added.
I smiled as I led the way with Velariah. Nira would certainly prove to be a valuable ally when it came to scouting and heading in the right direction.
The bad start to the day had come to an end, as I expected. I was feeling perfectly fine once more as we moved onward, from the gates to the forest edge, and then through the forest, in the same direction where the witch of the forest was housed.
I shuddered. I hoped we wouldn't run into her.
I walked through the forest for the first time with my side eyes open. I had to admit, despite the ground near the village being mostly dirt, it was still hard to keep track of everything in my vision. More than once had leaves rustling actually forced my attention to focus on them entirely.
I tried to get used to these new eyes, but it seemed I was going to need more time than I thought, especially in the forest.
Maybe it was just that I didn't know when goblins would come out of nowhere to ambush us. Then again, there wasn't a whole lot of vegetation around here where they could ambush from. I was certain I was overreacting at the moment.
"You okay, El?" Velariah asked me.
I nodded. "I'm fine. I'm just a bit on edge, I guess. I'm trying to get used to seeing too many things at once. I'm seeing enemies everywhere where there aren't."
"These areas are generally safe. Not always, but generally. It's okay to be vigilant, but don't exhaust your mind that way."
"I'll try."
I needed to relax a bit. If anything, we still had the elves' powerful hearing covering for us.
Nira seemed to have trouble keeping up the pace because of her claws. They sank away with each step through the mud, which had not fully dried yet after the downpour the day before.
I saw her walk up to me before asking me if she could get a ride.
I was surprised she actually asked me, but I nodded with a friendly smile.
Having her fly would be out of the question, at least for now.
I think we weren't going to make use of that ability until we knew we were close, or perhaps even after spending the night somewhere relatively safe.
What place would be safe in this forest infested with goblins, though? I imagined the best we could do was create a safe spot of our own, using my silk to span barriers around our camp while somebody kept watch for the night.
And for that, I was currently on the lookout for any animal we could hunt for me to feast upon so I'd be able to create such large amounts of silk.
No luck so far, but we still had a long way to go.
Our party remained quiet as we advanced through the endless forest. An hour or so after starting our journey through the woods, we reached denser vegetation. Plants and roots seemed to be slowing Velariah and Seralyn down, at least to a certain degree. Draco seemed to simply ignore the roots as his powerful legs just snapped them as he moved.
I decided to help them out a bit by forming the vanguard and using my new weapon to clear something resembling a path.
Why use a machete when you have a freaking naginata?
I had Nira hold my spear as I carved a way. This simple exercise also helped me to get more familiar with my new weapon and how it was handled. The pole was surprisingly light, despite being so big and then having a large blade at the end of it. I had honestly expected it to weigh a ton, but that was definitely not the case.
Come to think of it, we actually forgot to do my strength training last night.
A movement to my right caught my attention. Without turning my head I saw three of the pine cone-tailed squirrels rush up a tree. It didn't take long before one of them suddenly dropped out of the tree, an arrow stuck in its side.
Seralyn collected her prey and put it away in her pack. "I'll try to get some more for you guys tonight," She said.
"That reminds me of something," I said as I turned my attention to Velariah. "I remember you mentioning earlier that Unibeleas are poisonous and have to be cooked all the way through, yet Elly cooked steaks from it that were still slightly red on the inside and everyone ate those without drinking anti-venom. What's up with that?"
"Our local butcher makes sure to drain the blood and treat the meat with a special paste before he sells it. Unibelea meat isn't the cheapest because the herbs used in that paste aren't. It's nothing we can't easily afford, though. Of course, you can always get non-treated meat that you have to cook like, all the way through, but that kind of ruins the flavor."
"I see. That explains a few things, thank you."
We continued for a few minutes before another arrow shot through my vision. Again, a squirrel fell from a tree and disappeared into Seralyn's pack shortly afterward.
"And that's two," She exclaimed happily.
I was so going to try to find a Unibelea, just to shove it in her face.
It's on, Seralyn.
The next thing that showed up after half an hour of walking through the forest was neither a squirrel nor Unibelea.
I instantly halted and raised a hand, signaling to stop when I took notice of a goblin to my right. They quickly, and quietly drew their weapons in response, as did I.
It was already too late. He had spotted us and started running away. Nira hopped off my behind and I started the chase. Without uttering a word, I left my party members behind to make sure this one goblin wouldn't escape to warn any nearby allies.
I caught up to it within seconds and used my near polearm to strike. The goblin's head turned around at the same time my weapon sliced from the side, cutting off his head cleanly.
Yikes.
At least I'd given him a quick death.
I left his body behind as I quickly returned to my party members. They still stood at the ready with their weapons and Nira held my previously discarded scabbards in her hands.
"Are there any more?" I immediately asked.
"Haven't seen any," Draco replied.
"Neither have I," I concluded.
"We best stay alert from here. As you know, they are hardly ever alone. I don't think there will be many here. If our information is correct, most remaining goblins have grouped up together," Velariah added.
I nodded and gestured for Nira to jump back on my spider abdomen before we continued. I still had my weapons unsheathed in case any further attacks occurred.
Nothing noteworthy happened for hours after that. I wondered if that one goblin was just a deviation of the standard. I doubted it. We'd have to be careful on our return journey.
The vegetation made room for more dirt and a more sparse population of trees.
We decided to take a break here. We'd walked enough without breaks. If I were still human, I'd never have been able to keep going for this long. Velariah and Seralyn seemed only mildly uncomfortable. Draco showed no sign of exhaustion at all.
We sat down and drank some water. The others chewed on apples as I looked out for possible danger.
Swift movement to my left caught my attention. The others started finishing their quick lunch as I told them something was up.
"What did you see?" Velariah asked.
"I'm not sure. It seemed to move between trees. I'm trying to get a better image of what's going on. I suggest you pretend as if nothing happened, but be ready to fight."
The joys of not having to turn my head to observe what was going on to my left. I stealthily fastened the strap of my helm while looking.
The movement happened again, but this time I caught it clearly. There was no doubt there was a goblin that just ran from a tree to another tree, and then hid behind it.
"It's a goblin. Be ready."
Movements happened to my right as well, and I knew we were surrounded. They had tried creeping up to us using the trees as cover. Unfortunately for them, I saw a little too well what was going on here.
"Multiple goblins to the left and right," I said softly. "Seems we're surrounded."
"Excellent," Seralyn replied eagerly, but not overly loud. "That means I can shoot in any direction."
"What do we do?" I asked, hoping for some kind of plan. I wasn't too worried about myself getting out of this, but I couldn't simply leave them all to fend for themselves.
"It's simple," Velariah started explaining. "If we're surrounded, we simply punch through their lines in one direction and then work our way from there. These goblins rely on their numbers. Once out in the open and no longer with an advantage, these goblins are nothing, to you in particular."
"That's true," Draco added.
"Guess I'm leading the charge then, huh?" I chuckled.
"Whenever you're ready," Velariah said with her hand on her hilt.
I looked at the others who nodded.
I stood up slowly and observed exactly where I knew the goblins to be to one side. There were three of them hiding behind trees to my right. I imagined if I could take those out, I'd create an opening for the others to fight their way through. That didn't mean I was going to stop after killing them.
Draco rose after me and brushed the dirt off his armor.
I chuckled at his theatrics.
I planted my polearm's butt end in the dirt before taking hold of it with my two free arms. I quickly got it into a position from which I would be able to cleave it through enemies before I started my charge.