The First Steps [Samaeth's Journey]

Samaeth exited the cave into the forest and took in a deep breath of air. Outside smelled like nature, what he assumed was the smell of trees and other plants, while the inside of the cave had smelled strictly of goblins. The forest was a remarkable improvement, so he didn't think he would be turning back to go in any time soon. He looked around to see if he could find any sticks he could possibly use as a weapon, before going to find some brush to inspect and stalk in. The most pragmatic thing to do would be to find some berries to eat, then some water. After that he would try his hand at finding some meat probably. He could probably get some fish from the right water source...

As GobuSamaeth exited the cave he would see a path, probably worn in by other goblins, off to the East. To the North, which the tunnel faced, was some thickets with the closest bushes the West of the cave was similar to the North though it had a small clearing before the forest thickened. To the South where the cave was, was a large mountain, a thin trail heading up it from the Southeast. As Samaeth headed for the nearest bushes to forage for food, he would find a decently sized stick that wasn't too rotten before entering the bushes. Almost right away he found a handful of black berries, obviously this bush had been foraged through from other goblins and creatures, but what luck for him to have found some berries still within.

New Skill Obtained.

Name: Forager
Effect: Forager is an ability that increases the chances of finding different edible plants. Those who possess this ability gain some knowledge toward identifying edible plants and have an increased chance of finding them. The higher the level of this skill, the easier it is to find edible plants and the more one can find.
Level: 1/100
Experience: 0/100

Experienced Gained: Samaeth has gained 50 Character Exp from Foraging

Sam struck out when he found both a stick and berries to eat. He picked up the stick and consumed the berries happily, savoring the flavor of the juice with happy abandon. It was so much better than bugs. So so much better. Once he had licked the flavor from his fingers as elegantly as he could manage, he looked around and took note of the directions he was capable of going. To the east was a road that was often traveled, he could tell, which meant there was something along that way that could do him some good. He looked back at the other directions and thought on it some more before heading east. This signaled the end of his cave life and the beginning of something...better for him. As he traveled, he kept his ears open for any sound of water nearby.

It took a good deal of walking along the path before he could hear the faint sound of lightly running water. The sound came from the Northeast, in the direction of the forest that seemed to bend and smother the trail that he was walking along. Occassionally Samaeth could hear the sound of something darting through the bushes, though nothing revealed itself to him. There were multiple things Samaeth could do, so what would his fate decide?

The living thrived near water, as all things required water to live. Running water could possibly lead to some form of civilization, so he decided that following the water would be the best way to get a more steady supply of food. He tightened his grip on his stick in the event that he needed to swing it at all, then headed in the direction of water. He was sure to keep his senses alert to any dangers, but there was little that could deter him from his current goal: survival.

As Samaeth made his way through the thick underbrush toward the sound of running water, the rustling of brush he would be able to hear on the road earlier became lessened due to his own noises through the underbrush. However, at some point the sound abruptly disappeared. Samaeth would come across a small clearing and would spot a rabbit-like creature standing on its hind legs, ears erect as it sniffed the air, clearly having been spooked by some noise, probably Samaeth. Though this creature looked like a rabbit, it actually had a horn growing from its forehead. The horn was nearly the same length as its body and looked deadly sharp in its point.

Samaeth stopped as he spotted the horned rabbit. It was sniffing the air, so he could tell that it had heard him moving about. He crouched low and tightened his hand on his stick once more. He began to move through the brush as silently as he possibly could, attempting to make his way to the rabbit's blindspot in order to spring an attack. He needed to take this thing out quickly, while he still had some semblance of the element of surprise.

Despite a few noises as he moved through the underbrush, he managed to not get spotted by the horned rabbit, though it was aware of his presence, it just couldn't pinpoint his location. Its hair stood on end as it prepared for a fight, knowing it was close to the bottom of the food chain. The Rabbit was tight as its ears jerked left and right trying to pinpoint Samaeth's location, unaware Samaeth had managed to maneuver through the brush to get behind the creature.

Keeping with his motif of staying as quite as goblinly possible, he moved from the bushes quickly in order to rush the rabbit, raising his stick as high as he possibly could in order to bring it down hard on the rabbit's head. He aimed to knock the creature out, because an attack aimed anywhere else would mean it could probably fight back and that was dangerous with that horn. It was also probably the only attack he could get from his current vantage, namely from behind the creature.

Spoiler:

Flanking + Blunt Weapon Proficiency

The horned rabbit was caught by surprise and gave out a cry as it was smacked by the club against its head. It's body lurched down and it's legs kicked like wild till it gained its feet, it was momentarily dazed looking around for its attacker. Its eyes were blurred with pain as it saw movement and then went to launch itself. However, the blow was more severe than it understood as it was not used to attacks like this. The rabbit attempted to launch itself forward but misjudged its aim and positioning, as well as the weak feeling in its body from the blow to the head and it ended up launching too short, tripping over itself and skidding along the ground toward the goblin.

Samaeth smirked at the effect his attack had on the rabbit. It hadn't done all that he hoped, but the creature was disoriented at least. That would make it even easier prey. He stepped back as the creature's legs flailed and watched as it lurched for him. When it came up short, he let out a cry of triumph as he circled around to flank it once more and aim another blow at the creature's left hind leg, again using all of his strength in an attempt to break the limb.

Though he aimed for its leg, the jerking of the horned rabbit actually seemed to help Samaeth as instead he hit it dead in its back. With a final squeal the body became still as he seemed to have dealt a fatal blow to the horned Rabbit. His first hunt was a success.

Character Exp Gained: 250
Blunt Weapon Proficiency Exp: 125
Flanking Exp: 50

His smirk widened as the creature perished at his hand...well his stick. He lofted the rock that he had brought from the cave, handily too, and brought it down at the base of the creature's horn, aiming to break it off. If his action had been a success, he would discard the stick and pick up the horn. If he had failed, he would keep trying and trying until the horn broke off. Once he had the horn in hand, he would attempt to use the sharpened appendage to cut apart and skin the rabbit, attempting to save the pelt in order to make a sack to keep some of the meat within.

The horn broke off after a couple of attempts, and as he attempted to skin the body his experience began to show. The horn wasn't exactly the perfect tool for skinning, as such it took a lot of time and sadly for Samaeth, the pelt came out ruined and he only managed to get a few pieces of raw meat that could last him for three hours of the day.

Obtained: Rabbit Horn, Horned Rabbit Meat (3 Hours)

Sam looked at the ruined pelt dejectedly, simply taking the pieces of meat he was capable of salvaging and the horn and preparing to leave the clearing. He stashed the meat in his loin cloth and picked up the stick he had. Looking at the pointed tip of the horn, then to the blunt end of the stick, he got an idea. As he began to walk along, he started whittling the end of the stick into a point in order to make another spear-like weapon for himself. He walked in the direction of running water still, hoping to find some fish so he could build up a good stock of food for his journey.

It didnt take too long for Samaeth to come across a small stream of water that ran through the forest. It didnt look but four feet deep, almost his entire height, and six feet wide. Though the first foot on either side of the stream was pretty shallow, enough to cover up to ones ankle. There wasn't much one could see as the thick foliage of the forest seemed to lessen ones line of sight, but there was fresh running water here, running north east, away from the mountain. It was clear this was a mountain stream, probably from rainwater running off from the mountain itself.

Samaeth moved to stand beside the stream and examine it to see if he could see any fish swimming within plain view. If he did see fish, he would wade into the water and attempt to spear the fish with his horn-spear. If not, he would move down stream in order to try to find his way...somewhere far from the goblin cave. He didn't want to go back unless he could help it, so he was hoping he could find a good place for him to stay.

There were a few fish in the water itself. As he waded in he would attempt to spear the fish, however, due to his inexperience with the spear and fishing all together, it would ultimately end as a failure as the fish would quickly dodge the attack and disappear from his view. If he decided to follow the river down he would either need to wade threw it or return to the shore and travel along the river. Either way, as he moved down the river he would spot more fish but not much else for quite awhile, though he was putting distance between him and the goblin cave.

Sam stopped and looked down the river. He wanted to get away from the cave, but it could offer quick safety if he needed it. Getting far away was probably not the best idea he had ever had in his lifetime. He considered this for a moment before turning around and heading upstream. He wouldn't go back to the cave immediately, but he would explore some of the other paths he had seen, maybe trek up the mountain a bit. To do that, he needed to at least get close to where the cave was.

As Gobusam headed upstream he would momentarily hear a scuffle in the forest before things went silent. He could investigate or continue forward. But before he really had the option his foot hit something partially in the water. It was a crudely crafted short bow with just five arrows scattered around the shore.

Obtained Crude Bow and Ranged Weapon Proficiency

Weapon Name: Crude Bow
Weapon Type: Short Bow
Weapon Rank: Basic
Effect: Bonus to attacks with bow

Name: Basic Ranged Weapon Proficiency
Effect: A bonus in attack is given when using basic ranged weapons such as bows or slings or thrown objects.
Level: 1/100
Experience: 0/100