A Thorough Study in Monstrous Biology and its Linkage to the Kraken - Valo Rehn (Excerpt from Chapter 1)
When no answers to my queries in childish count could be mustered I sought to dedicate my life to the uncovering of such dangerous secrets as these ORGANISMS must hold. (I bold such verbiage as to bring attention to this one of many assumptions we have held and could continue to hold for generations. We may, when the science comes to call, require a reclassification of the word itself, for such living breathing entities must not be brought to stable with the mundane likes of Gannar and Sika.) So I set to a path of understanding, the danger I would be in, and hopefully by it, what strange Workings were wrought in the craggy flesh of the crystal bearing demons.
Perhaps the oldest surviving document on Attovia still used in academics. As far as anyone knows only a single copy ever existed, and its author Valo Rehn is a historically unknown figure. Despite this, the book contains documented research on Monster Biology that to this day has yet to be repeated. Some experiments described within are exceedingly dangerous or require one to get their hands on live samples of very rare creatures. Those experiments that have been successfully recreated have consistently proven the books legitimacy.
A Thorough Study in Monstrous Biology and its Linkage to the Kraken - Valo Rehn (Excerpt from Chapter 4)
This chapter is dedicated in whole to the reorganized and edited notes which were taken during my experiment with Goblin tribes, their growth, and the change wrought therein.
23rd of Atya 2231 Age of Vala
I was gratefully informed by some of the still primitive locals who I encamped with last night in the Grask Forest that three Goblins were seen on the outskirts of the camp while I slept. After some brief inquiring and corroborating stories in regards to the direction they absconded after their visit I set off with my patrol in tow. There were twenty of us in total, 5 researchers myself included, 2 who paid to join the expedition and 2 who were my wards. Additionally 15 warriors of varying skillsets and sensibilities kept us well guarded within all hours. If we were wanting for anxieties perhaps we might have considered the end goal of mission with more forethought but we pressed on with new purpose to find the subjects of our presence here in the Kraken’s Forest.24th of Atya 2231 Age of Vala
The True Monsters had not gotten far and we caught up to them this very morning. Now we must set about the careful process of observing without drawing attention to ourselves. My previous observations of monstrous groupings has led me to develop a simple, but efficient solution to their strange capacity to “sniff out” sentient beings. By evenly spacing our troop around the creatures to be observed they appear to go about their business as usual. I hypothesize this is because we mimic the typically constant stimulus they must always feel being here on the continent away from their corrupt master.The five of us academically inclined have set about writing notes and journal entries as we observe the fundamentals. They appear to be rooting about in the underbrush and softer soil searching for and consuming grubs and other insectoid creatures they could find there. This went on the whole day until late in the evening they began to move from their current location and I realized that I had never heard of a Goblin being found asleep. We discovered quickly why this was the case and found ourselves frantically on the move as night fell around us.
25th of Atya 2231 Age of Vala
Thankfully and remarkably the three Goblins in question found a group of four who they combined with and have become much more localized. Our march through the night lasted nearly 2 Praks before the original three settled into the new clearing where they rapidly reorganized themselves into a proper tribe like structure.There are a host of Petra Bushes here who’s brittle, shale like leaves seem to attract the Goblins who crush them up and gouge different shapes into their faces.
28th of Atya 2231 Age of Vala
It took several days to properly recognize but we now observe that the different facial markings gorily carved into each Goblin’s face denotes a certain position within the tribal hierarchy which appears to have just three roles:
- Chief: Gives orders in the True Monster language which we currently do not understand
- Shaman: He has begun to draw, I think, Meyda-circles in the dirt. Perhaps there is some minor level of Inspired Working granted to this Goblin?
- Tribesmen: They go about harvesting the Petra leaves, and as of yesterday began constructing simple lean-to huts and houses where they do not sleep, but appear to gather at times to listen to the Chief or Shaman.
2nd of Nelui 2231 Age of Vala
Two days ago we were taken aback by the arrival of another group of three Goblins and our safety circle was disrupted for a small time. Thankfully it seems the tribal goings on hinder in some small part the innate sense for nearby Souls as the three new Goblins are subsumed by the seven other individuals for a tribe of ten.I’m still unsure as to why, but groups of Goblins below the 5 mark appear to be quite nomadic and transitive. Once the tribal elements kick in (rather suddenly I might add) they appear to settle. I also suggest that perhaps this grouping of Goblins has something with which to attract these smaller groups to it. I currently have two ideas:
First and most obvious are the Petra Bushes, it may in fact not have anything to do with the Tribe as an entity to itself and instead each smaller group is attracted towards the largest cluster of these strange plants. It therefore has nothing to do with the larger groups influence over the surrounding area and is instead some innate draw towards the usage of Petra Leaves that brings them to find one another.
Second and less observable is the Workings conducted by the Tribe’s shaman. If the shaman in question is granted Meyda Intercession through some sickly corrupt Tether to his sunken master then it is not an imbecilic assumption to believe the shaman is the responsible party.9th of Nelui 2231 Age of Vala
A week has gone by and no substantial change has risen. We have grown quite comfortable with our current setup and the two independent researchers requested a group of 7 fighting men to attempt an additional observation elsewhere in the forest so that we might compare notes and corroborate findings at a later date. Their impatience vexes me but I am not paying them to be here, quite the opposite actually, so I bid them farewell and continued watching.23rd of Nelui 2231 Age of Vala
Word has come back to us from a young runner boy that our 9 compatriots were successful and now watch their own Tribe of 8 Goblins. My wards have grown restless with the monotony of our watching. The Goblins spend an eternity digging for bugs, climbing trees to eat eggs from nests, and picking Petra leaves. Occasionally when healing begins they will spend some time recreating the deep gouges on their face representing their place in the Tribe. Everything has become quite easy, and thus boring except for the occasional Working successfully conducted by the shaman who has apparently improved over time.The Workings which do succeed are comical in nature but frightening in their effective simplicity. Manifestations of Water are used commonly by the Shaman to aid the Tribesmen in their search through the soil, or as a kind of upkeep on the bushes they care for so diligently. He has recently learned how to emit light from objects placed in a Circle allowing for the Tribesmen to work through the night much more efficiently than before. This alone is remarkable considering my own assumptions that they could see in the dark which appear to have existed thanks solely to baseless rumor.
24th of Nelui 2231 Age of Vala
The most incredible, but perhaps experiment altering event has just taken place as I write this. Another Tribe of some 6 individual Goblins entered the clearing of our current Tribe and the most verbalization I have ever witnessed from this traditionally stoic villains began in earnest. There appeared to be disagreement between the Chiefs, perhaps as to who should now be placed in charge? Each is backed by their tribe and after their disgusting, guttural voices raised to near unbearable levels a brawl took place. It was extremely short, and the moment the invading Chief was slain the 5 remaining newcomers immediately stood straight and faced the Chief we had been eyeing all this time as their new master. A rite of combat it seems wins the day? It is unsettling to watch such a sudden transformation from raw, unbridled violence to the serene quiet we had been so used to. Shortly after the group had now increased to 15 and the freshly indoctrinated Tribesmen has marked their own faces the entire host fell still and quiet. Then in truly disturbing unison left their home of many days in a kind of forced march.25th of Nelui 2231 Age of Vala
This time the group has not stopped. We are scrambling to maintain their own pace as the Prak’s wear on and we tire.It is midday now and they continue, one of my wards collapsed earlier, he has always been frail of body. Thankfully we were able to construct a makeshift, but sturdy stretcher before our subjects of observation escaped our periphery. Two of our guards carry him now, I do not know how much longer I or my remaining ward can last.
Praise the Hand of Hormus for they have stopped. They stand quietly now. It is not as if they discovered a new Tribal home, they are practically motionless but for the slightest contraction of musculature to remain upright.
5th of Canthui 2231 Age of Vala
It has been 15 days since they ceased motion, my wards believe they do not even breath. Not a single movement has been reported by us researchers or our warriors. We fear something has gone gravely wrong, many conspiracies have begun to plague our minds as to what this could mean. Are we being drawn into a trap? Do we remain outside of their view watching some sick Ashem prank made to drive us towards insanity? I have urged my wards and our guards to remain vigilant, we have plenty of supplies left and are nowhere near the end date of their paid contract.12th of Canthui 2231 Age of Vala
It is with mixture of great regret and relief that I bring to you the ending and summation of this observation. During the 11th upon which I did not write two Trolls of medium build stumbled into the camp. Thankfully those on watch were fully aware of the incoming threat and we had increased the diameter of our circle somewhat to accommodate safer hiding places. We were not in immediate danger and thus watched with a new hunger driven to extremes by an environment that was purely static in nature. What I describe next shook each of us to our core. It suggest a very different perspective in regards to the connections between the True Monster species than that which has been held for millennia.The Troll fellows entered the glad first in that raucous, destructive nature their kind are prone to. They grumbled to one another in tones our ears could barely parse for their depth. However, once their proximity to the still unmoving Goblin Tribe closed to only 3 Hass in estimation they suddenly mirrored their smaller brothers. Each stood erect in a way I thought previously against their very internal structure. Utterly baffled we stared in complete shock as the entire party, 15 Goblins and 2 Trolls strong now took off at a near jog. One of our party who was most inclined with geography and finding his way by the Day Star’s position told me with much dismay that they were currently heading towards Steerhold, the largest settlement in the area. If they did not intervene now or warn the to-be-raided a massacre would unfold before our very eyes.
I thought for but a moment and decided I could not expend such a cost of life for the sake of this continued experiment. It was called off, and two of our fittest warriors ran ahead, as the others began to harry the monsters from the trees and brush. We lost several of our men, but I and my wards survived, as did all but one of the fit adults of Steerhold. I felt a deep dishonesty in our welcome greeting in that small town. I know the fear they felt that day would not have been so great if I were more lacking in hubris.
I will not however, allow my disdain for my own lack of action to hinder intellectual thought any more than it already has. I shall put down here what I have been pondering the past 10 Praks. There is likely an Extramaterial force which we cannot observe that grows in strength as monstrous numbers in proximities no greater than 20 Hass congregate. It first gives rise to primitive civilization and simplistic Tribal hierarchy that I conclude is largely a sham, a kind of faux society in which nothing truly happens or changes that instead prepares and anchors a group for larger gatherings. Then when numbers grow in substantial amounts this Extramaterial force which I have come to call the “Corrupt Mind” can now exert immense control over the entire group. This control increases as numbers do, and thus with enough simple Goblins Trolls can be incorporated instantaneously to such an extent that they look like the marching regiment of a well organized military. I cannot fathom how our ancient ancestors fought these hordes in the numbers they so often report. We are a lucky few who live in this time, we must pray such an army does not form while we frolic away our time in experiments of thought or invention.