Saun 9 720
The path that Goku followed was fairly beat down and worn over centuries of use. In some select few spots of the journey the trail did not exist at all because they were always altered by the weather. The trail also had offshoot paths that were made by animals that made the path truly confusing at times if one did not know where they were going. A stranger might end up following a path that led to a den of dangerous animals or ultimately find themselves back towards the start of the forest. Despite all the draw backs, the trail was the most reliable one for someone to follow because there were only so many times one had to walk in circles before finding their way out. Some said it was the quickest way to make their way through the forest. Others said that they had no choice but to follow the path because of all the traps that people tended to set in the area. Those who frequented the paths knew what to look out for though. The primary purpose of the traps tended to be to ward off others from claimed territory.
Traps. There was a time where traps were used purely to hunt for game in this forest. Over time the forest’s reputation grew as a safe haven for criminals who knew their way about the landscape. Traps that would’ve broken a leg at most were modified to be deadly to most races that might have wandered off the path. Animals were introduced to the forest as well that began to hunt humans and other humanoids alike if they travelled in small numbers whether or not they stuck to the path. See, the forest was one of the only places the government did not call its own despite being in their territory. There were many stories about how military forces of immense numbers dwindled to mere dozens after getting lost or surprised in the forest. The reputation of the forest spread for hundreds of years to a point that any force of good typically met its end right at the forest’s borders.
At the center of the forest was a towering volcano that posed another reason to avoid the area completely, as if there weren’t enough already. Magma oozed from the top of the volcano constantly and one never really could know when it would act up and start raining fireballs from the sky. The forest immediately around the volcano for miles didn’t have a single tall tree since trees only made it to the sapling phase before inevitably getting wiped from the face of the planet. Goku felt lucky enough to even make it that far without getting injured in some way. He always felt lucky in this forest.
As the hybrid stepped between the saplings and walked towards the volcano he had to remind himself why he was there. His wings helped push branches out of the way as he occupied his hands with a map that showed exactly where he needed to go. Some bandits had made their camp at the base of the volcano. These criminals had been known to smash up property of the government and run into hiding. They’d grown to a large enough problem that Goku was sent to destroy their base. He had to travel by foot for most of the way, unfortunately. There was a lot of trouble to be had by flying above the forest. Predators much larger and faster than he would be roaming the skies. He had scars on his wings that reminded him of exactly why he stayed out of these skies unless he knew the coast was clear.
This was a tall order but Goku was a little more special than most in this region. He was one the few with the ability to amplify his strength, fly, and possess the willingness to do what needed to be done. Even as he tripped over a rope that triggered a flurry of poison tipped darts to fly at him he merely used his wings to defend himself and chugged a potion to stop the poison in its tracks before it did any lasting damage. Though his wings did leave streaks of red in the trees after that.
The darts were not the first nor the last trap he would encounter on his journey. Pitfall traps were absurdly abundant but he was always able to flap like hell in time to avoid getting skewered on spikes. Most other traps were easy for him to spot having traveled in forests for nearly his entire life. He did not consider himself to be above nature or lucky in any way; he always thought his vigilant nature and quick thinking was what kept him alive. Knowing which plants to stay away from and when to take off into the sky were his main advantages after all these years.
Alas Goku’s journey came to a close when he arrived at the base of the volcano. An impressive series of huts had been constructed and the criminals had somehow found a way to avoid getting wiped out by the volcano’s erratic behavior. Rocks had been manipulated to divert the flow of magma and a series of complex netting and supports hung above the base which looked like it was able to stop hailing debris from doing any significant damage.
“Impressive,” was all Goku thought as he sauntered through the town. He stood out like a sore thumb though so it was not long before the bandits realized there was an intruder among them.
Oh the bandits fought hard but Goku had the strength to outmatch them coupled with his sword skills to match even their best combatants. Goku had scouted the bandit’s movements for the past few weeks so he knew their heavy hitters were several day’s journey away. The only thing he wasn’t prepared to deal with was a particularly witty archer that managed to embed two arrows in his calf and graze his shoulder. Goku felt a fool for saving him until last but took pleasure in finishing the archer off with a fell swoop of his blade. He had to give the guy some respect for having the ability to hit him and not his friends. It brought him sorrow to know that such talent was wasted on acts of evil. Silence fell on Goku’s ears then which told him that nobody was left that was willing to take him on.
A camp of two dozen had been put down by the valiant Goku in a matter of two hours. “A dozen an hour isn’t too shabby,” Goku thought as he sat against a hut and tried to figure out what he would do next. He was explicitly told he had to destroy the base but he was in no shape to destroy anything with only one leg at his disposal. The arrows that had lodged into his calf would stay put until he could make it back to a healer. He hadn’t the money to see one either until he finished this job so for now all he could do was apply a salve to his wounds which would give him about a day to wrap up and make it out of there. He smirked and thought “Why do I have a feeling that the healer will be happy to see this injury after telling me a hundred times to take it easy?”
With his injury situation temporarily resolved Goku had to figure out what he was going to do about the town. His determined gaze caught the netting in the sky that caught the rocks from the volcano. They were large rocks and the netting looked tough. Goku flew up into the air haphazardly and was able to cut the net with his sword though doing so was cumbersome to say the least. Using this strategy he was able to divert the rocks to fall onto the main buildings leaving only the huts standing.
“Now, if only I had a good way to burn all this down,” he said with a wince as he landed. This was a simple matter to deal with. Flint and tinder was abundant in the homes so he fetched those and fashioned a torch which he used to set the more flammable buildings on fire. When all was said and done there was nothing left of the camp but a pile of rubble and ash. For once the saplings around the volcano would burn for a manmade reason instead of the will of the volcano.
The hybrid covered in black ash crash landed in front of the healer’s home a couple hour’s flight away. The calf wound was still doing okay but all the wounds he neglected or did not even notice had propagated during his flight. The punctures from the poisoned darts were the worst of the lot and it did not help that he had flown and pushed them to open further. Despite Goku’s suspicions the healer did not enjoy seeing Goku in such pain. What she also did not enjoy was his lack of money. A piece of paper telling him that he would be paid for a job the healer could not verify completion status of would have resulted in her turning away most any customer except Goku.
“These herbs don’t grown on trees,” the healer said. “Make sure you bring the money by dawn tomorrow. I am travelling soon and I will need money to restock on my supplies.
“No, they grow from the ground I thought,” Goku said weakly. His comment earned him an extra painful slap to his newly bandaged body.
“Not funny. You know as well as I that the herbs you require for your level of recklessness needs a lot of coddling. They aren’t something I can just plant outside in my garden.”
“Yeah, yeah,” the hybrid said with a sigh. They had this conversation nearly every time he showed up. “How am I supposed to get to town anyway? Don’t suppose you’ll give me permission to fly in this state and it’ll be hard to walk on this leg.”
The healer showed him some crutches. “I guess you’re going to have a long journey. If you have any sense you’ll use some of your earnings to help buy a ride back here or you might not make it back in time.”
Goku ran the math in his head and realized that he would be left with a net profit of about nothing due to all these expenses. He’d little choice in the matter though and that was just how his life went. “oh the joys of being the lowest bidder,” he said as he started out of the healer’s home and out into the forest once more.
Traps. There was a time where traps were used purely to hunt for game in this forest. Over time the forest’s reputation grew as a safe haven for criminals who knew their way about the landscape. Traps that would’ve broken a leg at most were modified to be deadly to most races that might have wandered off the path. Animals were introduced to the forest as well that began to hunt humans and other humanoids alike if they travelled in small numbers whether or not they stuck to the path. See, the forest was one of the only places the government did not call its own despite being in their territory. There were many stories about how military forces of immense numbers dwindled to mere dozens after getting lost or surprised in the forest. The reputation of the forest spread for hundreds of years to a point that any force of good typically met its end right at the forest’s borders.
At the center of the forest was a towering volcano that posed another reason to avoid the area completely, as if there weren’t enough already. Magma oozed from the top of the volcano constantly and one never really could know when it would act up and start raining fireballs from the sky. The forest immediately around the volcano for miles didn’t have a single tall tree since trees only made it to the sapling phase before inevitably getting wiped from the face of the planet. Goku felt lucky enough to even make it that far without getting injured in some way. He always felt lucky in this forest.
As the hybrid stepped between the saplings and walked towards the volcano he had to remind himself why he was there. His wings helped push branches out of the way as he occupied his hands with a map that showed exactly where he needed to go. Some bandits had made their camp at the base of the volcano. These criminals had been known to smash up property of the government and run into hiding. They’d grown to a large enough problem that Goku was sent to destroy their base. He had to travel by foot for most of the way, unfortunately. There was a lot of trouble to be had by flying above the forest. Predators much larger and faster than he would be roaming the skies. He had scars on his wings that reminded him of exactly why he stayed out of these skies unless he knew the coast was clear.
This was a tall order but Goku was a little more special than most in this region. He was one the few with the ability to amplify his strength, fly, and possess the willingness to do what needed to be done. Even as he tripped over a rope that triggered a flurry of poison tipped darts to fly at him he merely used his wings to defend himself and chugged a potion to stop the poison in its tracks before it did any lasting damage. Though his wings did leave streaks of red in the trees after that.
The darts were not the first nor the last trap he would encounter on his journey. Pitfall traps were absurdly abundant but he was always able to flap like hell in time to avoid getting skewered on spikes. Most other traps were easy for him to spot having traveled in forests for nearly his entire life. He did not consider himself to be above nature or lucky in any way; he always thought his vigilant nature and quick thinking was what kept him alive. Knowing which plants to stay away from and when to take off into the sky were his main advantages after all these years.
Alas Goku’s journey came to a close when he arrived at the base of the volcano. An impressive series of huts had been constructed and the criminals had somehow found a way to avoid getting wiped out by the volcano’s erratic behavior. Rocks had been manipulated to divert the flow of magma and a series of complex netting and supports hung above the base which looked like it was able to stop hailing debris from doing any significant damage.
“Impressive,” was all Goku thought as he sauntered through the town. He stood out like a sore thumb though so it was not long before the bandits realized there was an intruder among them.
Oh the bandits fought hard but Goku had the strength to outmatch them coupled with his sword skills to match even their best combatants. Goku had scouted the bandit’s movements for the past few weeks so he knew their heavy hitters were several day’s journey away. The only thing he wasn’t prepared to deal with was a particularly witty archer that managed to embed two arrows in his calf and graze his shoulder. Goku felt a fool for saving him until last but took pleasure in finishing the archer off with a fell swoop of his blade. He had to give the guy some respect for having the ability to hit him and not his friends. It brought him sorrow to know that such talent was wasted on acts of evil. Silence fell on Goku’s ears then which told him that nobody was left that was willing to take him on.
A camp of two dozen had been put down by the valiant Goku in a matter of two hours. “A dozen an hour isn’t too shabby,” Goku thought as he sat against a hut and tried to figure out what he would do next. He was explicitly told he had to destroy the base but he was in no shape to destroy anything with only one leg at his disposal. The arrows that had lodged into his calf would stay put until he could make it back to a healer. He hadn’t the money to see one either until he finished this job so for now all he could do was apply a salve to his wounds which would give him about a day to wrap up and make it out of there. He smirked and thought “Why do I have a feeling that the healer will be happy to see this injury after telling me a hundred times to take it easy?”
With his injury situation temporarily resolved Goku had to figure out what he was going to do about the town. His determined gaze caught the netting in the sky that caught the rocks from the volcano. They were large rocks and the netting looked tough. Goku flew up into the air haphazardly and was able to cut the net with his sword though doing so was cumbersome to say the least. Using this strategy he was able to divert the rocks to fall onto the main buildings leaving only the huts standing.
“Now, if only I had a good way to burn all this down,” he said with a wince as he landed. This was a simple matter to deal with. Flint and tinder was abundant in the homes so he fetched those and fashioned a torch which he used to set the more flammable buildings on fire. When all was said and done there was nothing left of the camp but a pile of rubble and ash. For once the saplings around the volcano would burn for a manmade reason instead of the will of the volcano.
The hybrid covered in black ash crash landed in front of the healer’s home a couple hour’s flight away. The calf wound was still doing okay but all the wounds he neglected or did not even notice had propagated during his flight. The punctures from the poisoned darts were the worst of the lot and it did not help that he had flown and pushed them to open further. Despite Goku’s suspicions the healer did not enjoy seeing Goku in such pain. What she also did not enjoy was his lack of money. A piece of paper telling him that he would be paid for a job the healer could not verify completion status of would have resulted in her turning away most any customer except Goku.
“These herbs don’t grown on trees,” the healer said. “Make sure you bring the money by dawn tomorrow. I am travelling soon and I will need money to restock on my supplies.
“No, they grow from the ground I thought,” Goku said weakly. His comment earned him an extra painful slap to his newly bandaged body.
“Not funny. You know as well as I that the herbs you require for your level of recklessness needs a lot of coddling. They aren’t something I can just plant outside in my garden.”
“Yeah, yeah,” the hybrid said with a sigh. They had this conversation nearly every time he showed up. “How am I supposed to get to town anyway? Don’t suppose you’ll give me permission to fly in this state and it’ll be hard to walk on this leg.”
The healer showed him some crutches. “I guess you’re going to have a long journey. If you have any sense you’ll use some of your earnings to help buy a ride back here or you might not make it back in time.”
Goku ran the math in his head and realized that he would be left with a net profit of about nothing due to all these expenses. He’d little choice in the matter though and that was just how his life went. “oh the joys of being the lowest bidder,” he said as he started out of the healer’s home and out into the forest once more.
