Based on everything Rick learned from Dran, it seemed like TinkGoblins were the combined versions of various craftsmen-type jobs on earth. Whether it be metalwork, glasswork, or of course any type of woodworking, they did it all.
But the knowledge to do all those things came from both individual evolutions and passed down knowledge from much older TinkGoblins.
Dran himself had only gone through one evolution even though his status revealed he was already seven years old, which was much older than any other Goblin in Rick’s Tribe back at the cave.
It seemed that even though he is a different type of Goblin, the requirements to evolve are the same.
That requirement put a lot of strain on the TinkGoblins due to them not being suited for any form of combat. They still had to go out and hunt like the rest if they wanted to earn Essence and eventually evolve to gain more knowledge.
Dran also mentioned to Rick that his evolutions brought little change to their actual appearances. Their height stayed the same throughout.
The only real change happened mentally and inside their bodies, such as more defined and flexible muscles and even higher bone density. It was hard to notice these things if you just looked at any evolved TinkGoblin.
Though one of Rick’s most important questions was left unanswered, which was what evolution came after a Hobgoblin. Dran himself didn’t know, but he said ?one of the older members in any of the Tribes might know more about it.
But it would be hard to get in contact with them just for that, since those older Goblins didn’t leave the Tribe too much anymore. It was only the younger Goblins who hunted in the Nameless Forest.
So, Rick gave up on that knowledge for now. It wasn’t like it would change his conviction to continue to get stronger and evolve, anyway.
After that, Rick asked about the Maglins, but Dran didn’t know too much about them other than what he already told Rick regarding their frail bodies and ability to use mana from birth.
If Rick wanted to know more, he would have to ask an actual Maglin.
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Three days had to pass before Rick finally felt like he was at a hundred percent again. After moving around a bit and getting everything ready to go, Rick left on his two-month-long journey to the plains with Dran by his side.
Though, Dran wasn’t actually by his side…He found himself on Rick’s back, holding on for dear life, while Rick ran since he wouldn’t be able to keep pace on foot.
Of course, Rick wasn’t running at full speed, but almost any speed he ran at was still a lot faster than what Dran could do himself.
Rick did his best to avoid any needless fights or confrontations because of traveling with Dran, but he still fought when avoiding a beast would be too big of a detour. Or the beast itself made it impossible to avoid it.
Rick was also extremely wary of any more diving bird attacks in the night.
Fortunately, he never encountered them. Otherwise, they might not have survived.
Anyway, two months slowly went by with nothing significant happening, except for a few battles here and there. With Velora basically absorbing all of the gained Essence.
And after a full two months went by, they finally reached the edges of the Nameless Forest, where Rick could now see the Iris River Plains for the first time.
POV Rick
“Wow, it's truly beautiful. Vibrant green lush grass as far as my Goblin eyes can see. It’s truly a sight to behold. It's definitely a lot bigger than a couple of football fields, I thought it’d be completely flat, but there's a few small hills dotted around the place.
“Wait, Dran you said there’s a river? I can’t see it, though.”
“What's a football field? And the River is still way beyond that small hill you see in the distance. That's how far Goblins and the other weaker races are forced to live from the River.”
“Oh, a football field is just a type of field…Yeah, let's just go with that. Also, don’t worry about that anymore. Before you know it, Goblins will rule these entire plains, and our rule will stretch far past the plains before you.”
“That's…That's hard to imagine for me right now, but I’m sure every single Goblin around the world, or at least in the plains, would love to see that happen.”
“Don’t worry. It will. Anyway, I don’t see any Goblins around here. Point the way to the closest Tribe.”
“One should be close by. Let's just move along the edge of the forest so we don’t get spotted by any Orcs that might be on a patrol right now.”
- ??
Dran and Rick walked north from their current position along the edges of the forest for twenty minutes before finally seeing the outlines of what appeared to be some sort of camp.
It comprised a few small buildings made of wood, and around twenty Goblins of all three types, just like Dran said.
They also spotted a small squad of four Goblins coming out of the Tribe, heading straight for the forest.
The squad comprised three High Goblins like Geedi and the rest while the last member appeared to be a Maglin. It was quite tall. It stood just a few inches under Rick who himself was already six feet tall.
So, Rick and Dran made their way over to where they would enter the forest so they wouldn’t be spotted by anyone else.
This squad of four was going to be the group that spread the word that Rick was here to change things. It was also the start of a tale that would be told in many Goblin homes over the coming years of how one Goblin changed the fate of many.
While Rick had plans to change some lives indeed, he had no idea just how much of an impact he would soon have.