Workdidi didn’t acknowledge Capra’s words, but the silence and the grim expression on his face told Capra everything he needed to know.

“What was that thing?”

Instead of responding Workdidi crossed his hands behind his back and stared up at the ceiling, for a moment Capra thought he was being ignored but as he followed Workdidi's gaze he noticed that there was a drawing on the ceiling. Four wings, red eyes, a leg instead of a tail, and a head similar to a pterodactyl. The drawing was crude, but terrifying.

“Muk’thulu.” Workdidi whispered.

Capra looked back down, “What?”

“It called... Muk’thulu!” Baba answered, trembling.

Capra hadn’t known Baba for long, but he had seen the fierce goblin berserker charge through hordes of razor terrors with a smile on his face. Baba was a goblin that revelled in battle, who feared nothing... or at least that’s what Capra had believed, but now he knew that wasn’t true.

“Muk’thulu.” Capra whispered, comitting the name to memory.

He wanted to take a moment to ask Workdidi what happened after the flashback cut off, but Workdidi was already making his way out of the tunnel and Baba followed.

“Wait!” Capra called out, and they turned to stare back at him. The two goblins seemed a lot less simple now, and a lot more intimidating, but he had questions to ask.

“What happened afterwards?”

Workdidi and Baba faced each other for a moment, as if confirming something, then Workdidi turned back to Capra and spoke.

“The elder... died.”

The answer didn’t shock Capra... he had seen the giant ent burning up in flames. Capra would have been surprised if it lived, but if the elder ent died...

“...what happened to Muk’thulu?”

For a second the darkness of the tunnel seemed to thicken. Capra noticed that Workdidi was releasing tendrils of darkness, and Baba was gripping the [Stone Axe (rare)] so hard that it began to crack. Capra thought maybe he had asked too much, but eventually the two goblins calmed down and continued their journey out of the tunnel.

...

The trip back to the surface was quiet, eerily quiet, so once they made it out Capra welcomed the light of the flames on the surface like a cup of water in the desert. He waited for Workdidi to part the flames, but he didn't. A few seconds passed and Workdidi spoke.

“Hooman... ” He said, “You know why we share history?” he asked solemnly.

Capra had an inkling that he had stepped on the beginnings of a quest, but he didn’t know what was required of him, so in the end he said,

“No.”

Workdidi stared at the flames of the bonfire before chanting a few words that parted the flames and revealed the pathway, then he continued.

“We show...” He said, “ Because... Muk’thulu... still live.”

The declaration hit Capra like a lightning bolt, he had expected Muk’thulu to have survived the encounter with the elder ent, but... it still lived? The battle had happened in a time fargone from modern times, a time when blue moon rabbits were giants... It must have been centuries ago. How did Muk’thulu survive its wounds, and if it lived how was blue moon forest still intact?

“We know... you has questions.” Workdidi continued as if reading Capra's mind. “But we not have... all answers.”

Baba stepped forward, and despite his savage frame Capra felt that for a moment Baba looked dignified.

“But Human...” He spoke, “We... fight." He stared at the flames. "Will you... walk. Fire. With us?”

All of a sudden the last scene of the flashback entered Capra’s mind, and he understood why the goblin gate was hidden under a bonfire. He understood why they walked through flames... it wasn’t just a way to hide the tunnel, it was also a ceremony. One that showed determination their determination to face the flames and overcome Muk'thulu.

Quest Notification: Muk’thulu lives, and the goblins of the lowlands continue a centuries old battle. The goblins have seen your value. Your acts of selflessness and contributions in battle have earned you their respect and admiration, now they request your continued assistance.

System Warning: This is a regional quest and your level is far below the regional average, you are ill-equipped to complete it.

System Warning: Declining this quest after witnessing the history of the [Hard Foot] tribe may result in negative consequences.

Rewards: N/A

Accept Y/N?

The image of green flames enveloping the forest entered Capra’s mind. The green people perished, the forest’s creatures died... it was as if the world caught fire, an unpleasant image, but one that made his decision easier. He walked past Baba, briefly placing his hand on Baba’s shoulder,

“I will.”

...

Quests weren’t level locked in Chaos and Fame, but it was exceptionally rare for a player to gain access to a quest he wasn’t qualified for. Regional quests for example normally required a player to build considerable influence in a region before it could be undertaken. The player would need to be able to not only influence regional npcs to aid in the completion of the quest, but also the rest of the player base. It was statistically improbable for a solo player to complete a regional quest, especially a low level player like Capra, let alone receive one.

However, there was a second reason Capra accepted the quest other than highly dislking Muk'thulu.

“I don’t need others...” He thought.

He wasn’t being cocky, he just understood the reality of his situation. Enchanting barricades had drastically turned the tide of battle the day before, but Capra knew he could do much more than that. Goblin npcs might not be as powerful as players, but what if he equipped them with powerfully enchanted weapons, or armor? How would the tide of battle change then?

Capra had a three month limit, and nobody made money in CAF by avoiding risks.

The goblins liked him enough to possibly lend him a bat to use to return to the surface, so he wasn’t afraid of not being able to get back to trade items for real world currency; however, he was still far too weak to guard his secrets.

“This is an opportunity.”

He could gain levels and resources, learn skills, and develop his influence over an entire region. Staying seemed like the best thing he could do. After all, what was the worst that could happen?

...

After making his way back to the goblin village the first thing Capra decided to do was look for class trainers. He wanted to go to the battlefield to essence siphon corpses and gather loot, but that could wait, he desperately needed to get skills he could use to maximize his gains on the battlefield. Luckily the skill trainers were actually all pretty close to the village’s main bonfire, and they each had signs to help spot them.

The places for the warrior trainer and the shaman trainer were empty, but Capra figured those spots belonged to Workdidi and Baba, so he would have to find them later.

It was surprising to see so many class trainers in the goblin village. Capra had expected the goblins to have pretty narrow class selections, but apparently that wasn’t the case. He saw a thief trainer, a spearman trainer, and a mage trainer, just to name a few.

Capra wasn’t interested in learning thief skills so he quickly ignored that option, and he also wasn’t interested in learning spearman skills, so in the end he walked up to the mage trainer.

The mage trainer was an elderly looking goblin with bushy gray eyebrows that hid his eyes, and thick nose hair. He wore a crudely stitched [Razor Terror Hide Robe], and sat on a mat that rested in front of his shack. When Capra arrived before him the mage trainer looked up— or at least Capra thought he looked up, and after a few seconds he spoke.

“You want learn... or you want stand there?”

Immediately a short list of spells appeared before Capra.

Fire Ball (Goblin Variant): A fire mage’s go to spell. This version has been heavily modified for goblin usage, its damage is much higher than the traditional [Fireball], but there is a high chance of misfire.

Skill Damage: 20-25 (+ Int *0.75 + Wis *0.15) fire damage.

Skill Cost: 30 Mana

Skill cast time: 2 seconds.

Cooldown: none.

Chance of misfire: 15%

Learning Requirement(s): [Friend of the goblins].

Cost: 250 Contribution points. (Friend of the Goblins: 200 Contribution Points)

Ice Arrow (Goblin Variant): An ice mage’s go to spell. This version has been heavily modified for goblin usage, its damage is much higher than the traditional [Ice Arrow], but there is a high chance of misfire.

Skill Damage: 10-12.5 (+ Int *0.37.5 + Wis *0.075) ice damage.

Skill Cost: 15 Mana

Skill cast time: 1 second(s)

Cooldown: none.

Chance of misfire: 7.5%

Learning Requirement(s): [Friend of the goblins].

Cost: 250 Contribution points. (Friend of the Goblins: 200 Contribution Points)

Boulder Toss (Goblin Variant): An earth mage’s go to spell. This version has been heavily modified for goblin usage, its damage is much higher than the traditional [Boulder Toss], but there is a high chance of misfire.

Skill Damage: 22 (+ Int *0.5 + Wis *0.12) earth damage.

Skill Cost: 25 Mana

Skill cast time: 1.75 seconds.

Cooldown: none.

Chance of misfire: 15%

Learning Requirement(s): [Friend of the goblins].

Cost: 250 Contribution points. (Friend of the Goblins: 200 Contribution Points)

Zap! (Goblin Variant): A lightning mage’s go to spell. This version has been heavily modified for goblin usage, its damage is much higher than the traditional [Zap!], but there is a high chance of misfire.

Skill Damage: 5 – 6.25 (+ Int *0.1875 + Wis *0.0375) Electric damage.

Skill Cost: 7 Mana

Skill cast time: 0.5 seconds.

Cooldown: none.

Chance of misfire: 3.75%

Learning Requirement(s): [Friend of the goblins].

Cost: 250 Contribution points. (Friend of the Goblins: 200 Contribution Points)

-----

Available Contribution points: 2500

Capra hadn’t expected the spells to cost contribution points. He didn’t even realize he had gained any, but in the end it made sense that he had, after all it was a common occurrence to gain contribution points in a war zone, he just never expected that he’d get any for helping the goblins. The good news was that he had gained an absurd amount of them, and the spells were cheap.

The spells were exceptional in comparison to the normal versions, but the misfire rates were incredibly high. Capra knew misfires could happen with the standard versions of the spells as well, however, those were due to actual human error. The goblin variants could fail randomly even if Capa casted with perfect control and timing, and that was a deadly risk.

The mage trainer also had defensive spells, but after seeing that the defensive spells had the same misfire issue Capra decided to not buy any. There were a few other magic class trainers in the square so Capra decided that he’d check out their options as well, but soon he started to see a pattern. The warlock trainer offered contracts with powerful demons that were unequivocably unfavorable for the player making it. The illusionist trainer offered powerful illusion spells that could misfire silently, and the druid trainer offered shapeshifting spells that had extraordinarily long cooldowns.

Basically every class had more powerful spell versions than the standard variants, but higher risks, and Capra was already taking enough risks by staying in the Lowlands.

“Ugh... thief trainer it is then.”

The thief trainer was the only trainer Capra hadn't visited yet because he thought the thief skills wouldn't be worth wasting contribution points on, but when he saw the list his mind changed.

Steal (Goblin Variant): A standard thief skill. This skill has been refined by goblins.

Skill cast time: 0.5 seconds.

Cooldown: none.

Skill Cost: 30 mana.

Effect(s):

* Ownership of an item belonging to another can be gained.

Usage Restrictions: Same level (+10) targets or lower. Items that can be stolen will depend on the level of [Steal]. Bound items cannot be stolen under any circumstances. The item being stolen must be visible.

Warning: If caught by an NPC the npc will immediately become hostile and you may be chased by the corresponding authorities.

Learning Requirement(s): [Friend of the goblins].

Cost: 250 Contribution points. (Friend of the Goblins: 200 Contribution Points)

Flee! (Goblin Variant): A standard thief skill. This skill has been refined by goblins.

Skill cast time: none.

Cooldown: 120 seconds.

Skill Cost: 30 mana.

Skill duration: 20 seconds.

Effect(s):

* Increases evasion by 30%.

* Increases movement speed by 40%.

Usage Restrictions: Attacking will immediately end the effect(s) of [Flee!]

Learning Requirement(s): [Friend of the goblins].

Cost: 250 Contribution points. (Friend of the Goblins: 200 Contribution Points)

Hide! (Goblin Variant): A goblin variant of the thief skill [Stealth].

Skill cast time: none.

Cooldown: 90 seconds.

Skill Cost: 30 mana.

Skill duration: Till caught.

Effect(s):

* Decreases user presence by 75%

* Decreases user movement speed by 30%

* Increases reaction rate by 10%.

Usage Restrictions: Attacking will immediately end the effect(s) of [Hide!]

Learning Requirement(s): [Friend of the goblins].

Cost: 250 Contribution points. (Friend of the Goblins: 200 Contribution Points)

--------

Available Contribution points: 1900

The basic [Steal] could only steal from targets five levels higher at most, but the goblin variant could actually be used with a ten level difference. The goblin variant of [Flee!] was also roughly 30% more effective than the standard version, and [Hide!] decreased the user’s presence by 10% more than [Stealth]. Capra had no plans to become some sort of enchanter-thief class hybrid, but he wasn’t going to pass up on good skills.

The thief skills made Capra realize that goblin variant abilities and spells weren’t necessarily worse than the standard, they were just tailored to suit goblins. In the case of the thief class, the skills were actually improved, and that left Capra with high hopes for the skills available for goblin shamans. In fact his expectations were so high that Capra immediately used [Flee!] as he excitedly ran to find Workdidi.

...

Not too far from the village center, Workdidi was inspecting the northern battlefield. Corpses were everywhere and the battlefield was a mess, but Workdidi’s mood was unprecedently good.

So few goblins had died this time around, and the new barricades the human had made were still working. It made his impression of humans change.

“Hoomans... Good Workers.” He thought.

He’d have to find more ways to exploit the human, but just as he thought that...

"Speak of the Muk'thulu." He muttered.

Off in the distance Workdidi saw a blurry figure running towards him.

"Workdidi! Workdidi!" The figure called.

The figure was excited, and it grew closer and closer by the second until Workdidi could make it out clearly. It was the human. Workdidi had planned to go looking for it, but now things were easier. Workdidi had work for it and he was about to say something to the human when a sudden realization struck him, forcing him silent. He made a mental note.

“Should probably learn hooman’s name.”

...

[Flee!] might increase a user’s movement speed, but a full on sprint wouldn’t become any less tiring because of it. Capra was too excited as he skidded to a stop, so he didn't take any time to catch his breath, instead he immediately got to the point— or he tried to anyways.

“Workdidi! hah... hah....” He panted. "T...Tea!" He continued, causing Workdidi to become confused.

Unbeknownst to Capra, drinking tea was one of Workdidi's secret passtimes. He grew the tea leaves himself, and hid them from the other shaman so they wouldn't use them all up, but every year they would find his hiding place somehow and he'd have to grow a new batch all over again. Workdidi didn't know who told the human about the tea, but he wasn't about to let him have any.

“We not have tea.” Workdidi bluffed.

“No... hah.. wai...” Capra continued.

No way? The human knew! Workdidi snapped.

"Who told you bout tea!?"

Tea? What tea? The outburst startled Capra for a second, but it calmed him down enough to catch his breath.

“Hah.. teach." He corrected, as he stared at Workdidi with an eyebrow raised. "Not tea."

Startled, Workdidi calmed down immediately, and decided to pretend his outburst hadn't happened, if his tea was safe then there was nothing to worry about.

"Teach what?" He asked, to which Capra stood straight and puffed out his chest.

“Teach me... shaman skills!” He requested, a clear determination on his face.

...