Black dots were slowly approaching. I had been sitting for about ten minutes already. I was curious who was coming out of the desert.
Either way, I had no idea what to do now. Build a dungeon? Where? Go to people? What if they kill me?
Some more time passed and I began to see not dots but a large group. I still could not make out who they were. When they came within half a kilometer it was already possible to see them clearly.
Scum. Bastards. I could come up with many more synonyms for goblins.
The scraping of bones against stones. Making a split second decision I ran back down the mountain toward the forest.
I ran with all my strength in this fragile slow weak body even compared to my past one. I did not even feel fear when I stumbled a couple of times and nearly rolled down the mountain. I could have broken my bones.
Running into the forest I pushed on for a few hundred meters and slowed down. I did this at the very last moment.
"Did you hear that?" I peeked out and saw the speaker. A guy in a tattered dark blue hood and cloak about my height. He was speaking to a member of his group of the same height in leather armor and an iron helmet with the hilt of a sword sticking out behind his back.
The warrior raised his hand to the sword and drew it. The sword was about a meter long. Although it was meant for one hand the guy held it with both. A show off. To draw even such a short sword from the back he would waste even fractions of a second more and those fractions could be the line between life and death. For example when an arrow flies at you if you see it you can manage to block it with your sword but while this guy raises his arm and draws it he would already be finished. Of course I mean people with the reflexes of a fantasy world.
So they had noticed me anyway. I was a weak skeleton and could not run from them. The conclusion was obvious.
I did not try to hide and came out from behind the tree since I had run here to warn them anyway. The warrior seeing me immediately took a stance.
"Undead. Looks weak we will kill him."
Shi... do not swear do not swear...
My dreams of a good attitude toward the undead were crushed in an instant. But at the same time from the shards grew a sprout of hope that this guy was just a meathead who thought only about fighting.
I waved my arms a couple of times in front of me then turned sideways and started pointing in the direction I had come from.
The warrior froze in shock. I calmed down a bit and looked over the group.
There were four people in it.
The guy who had heard me was probably a scout. His face was hidden under the hood.
The warrior who thanks to his great wisdom and divine thinking immediately decided to attack me. Through the horizontal slit of his helmet which looked a lot like a welder's mask I could see his brown eyes.
Behind him was a girl in a cloak with sleepy green eyes that widened after she saw my behavior. She had light brown hair a small nose and thin lips. A travel backpack hung from her shoulders.
The last was a child. At least I judged by his height. He was two and a half heads shorter than me. With gray hair and eyes the same color. He also had a small backpack. A little crossbow was strapped to his belt. Oh boys. I get it you are the vanguard. But when two guys travel light while the girl and the child behind them carry the backpacks it does not look very heroic.
I did not know about now but in my past world my height was one meter eighty four.
The warrior straightened slightly but did not relax only stopped preparing to charge.
They were watching with curiosity as I pointed with both hands toward the mountain where those damned goblins were probably already climbing. Though maybe there were many worlds and in some goblins were not villains. Even though I understood you cannot judge a whole race by a few individuals I still found it hard to believe.
The memories of my death were still very vivid.
They just stood there staring. They did not even ask questions. Was I straining their brains that much?
I stopped waving my arms and began to think. I would have to play charades. And when I realized that we were from different worlds and they might interpret my gestures completely differently my skull started to ache.
I sighed. My ribcage expanded as if I were really breathing but that was all. I tried to calm myself. Then I placed my palm at my waist level and drew a line in the air as if showing height. After that I grabbed the first stick I saw and started walking back and forth. I hunched over swung the stick jumped around and in general did everything I could to act like an idiot. Thank god bones cannot blush... I hope... because I was quite embarrassed but I had no choice.
The girl who with her tired eyes and dark circles looked like a mad scientist immediately understood that I was trying to show someone.
"Kryzun?"
I stopped and shook my head. Whoever that was. Hopefully she named a monster. Believing that I tried to clarify. I looked around and noticed the leaves of the trees. They were green. Just what I needed.
I tore one off and showed it to them. The warrior finally lowered his sword and frowned.
"An ent? Only I have never seen such tiny ones acting like idiots." I was about to shake my head again when suddenly he shouted. "A drunk dwarf?!"
I froze for a second.
Actually that fit perfectly with my pathetic attempts to mimic. Ugh. If I ever open a tavern I will call it Drunk Dwarf. Really cool name. I hope dwarves would not be offended.
Shaking my head I tried to think of a way to explain I meant goblins. When he said ent I was trying to specify I only meant the color. But after the dwarf I was lost.
***
The shortest in the group was watching every move of the skeleton. He realized the skeleton was showing someone short someone vile. When Rild said ent the skeleton shook his head. But when Rild said dwarf the skeleton froze. He did not nod he just froze.
The boy began to think. Short vile... what did the skeleton mean with the leaf. Thinking of a drunk dwarf the boy could not imagine anything. He had never seen a truly drunk dwarf. But he had seen Rild. He had seen his green face yesterday when he collapsed on the table after a drinking contest with a dwarf. GREEN!
That meant a third attribute was added to the first two. The boy immediately remembered the creatures that had attacked the wagon carrying him and his family. That day the boy lost his father and older brother. The survivors were him his mother two sisters and his second older brother who had just become an adventurer and decided to travel a little with his family. If not for him no one would have survived that day.
Because of his brother's example the boy had decided to become an adventurer so that he would never again be helpless against monsters.
Those hideous vile small stupid disgusting creatures... Goblins.
***
Several dozen seconds passed and I still could not figure it out. How to show them? The short boy in whom I had the least hope spoke.
"Goblins." Hearing the name of the creatures I hated so much I instantly pointed at the boy and snapped my fingers. I also snapped my jaw as if to say Bingo.
The scout tilted his head slightly and I saw his dark blue eyes and the half mask covering his nose and mouth. He squinted when he looked at me and asked.
"How many?" I showed three fingers then shrugged my shoulders and arms showing uncertainty then showed four fingers. After that I made the gesture for zero with both hands. I hoped numbers here were the same as in my world.
Good grief! If I had skin on my face I would have broken the world record for most surprised expression. What the violet-brown-crimson hell do I even understand their language for?
I instantly calmed myself because the most likely theory came to mind. The owner of the voice I had heard between my death and reincarnation had given me knowledge of the language.
Immediately my bones grew cold. Was I even really Light? Maybe I only had his memories. Maybe Light had never even existed. No that was nonsense.
Reassuring myself I realized that this storm of thoughts had taken only a couple of seconds.
The scout asked again.
"Three to four hundred?" I nodded to confirm.The scout instantly turned on the spot.
"We must return and report this immediately. Goblins may be weak but among them there could be strong ones. If that happens even twenty like us could lose someone against such a horde. You" he said turning his head to me. "We will not force you but I advise you either leave this place or come with us. Most likely you will not be as lucky with the next adventurers you meet."
He stood waiting for my answer.
I instantly weighed two options.
One was the chance to secure myself so that people knew me and would not attack on sight. There was a risk they might lock me up and study me until I died. But if they wanted to they would probably find me sooner or later anyway. Besides I could create a dungeon anywhere and as long as I had that option it would be impossible to imprison me completely.
The other option was to leave. No pros no cons.
Naturally I chose the first. It was unlikely they would kill me. If they had wanted to they already would have. And I did not think these people who had invited me would abandon me as soon as someone took an interest.