Chương 5: Human Shield Strategy

Recap: You ate Grib and healed up. Chief Grumble freed his sword and ordered torches. You voted to USE THE SHIELD GOBLIN as a meat shield. Fire was my natural enemy. Wood burns. I burn. I become charcoal. Charcoal doesn't vote on Royal Road. The two warriors were turning toward the wall sconces, reaching for torches. Their backs were partially turned. Chief Grumble was stepping forward, sword raised for the killing blow. Now or never, I thought. Commit to the bit. I saved 2 Stamina. I needed the burst.

I launched myself at the goblin on the left. He was holding a wooden shield and an unlit torch. He wasn't expecting a chest to tackle him. SYSTEM NOTIFICATIONSkill Used: Slam (Improvised)Cost: 2 StaminaCurrent SP: 12/20 I hit him at knee height. Eighty pounds of angry oak met fifty pounds of malnourished goblin. CRACK. His legs buckled. He fell backward. Unfortunately, "backward" was directly into Chief Grumble. Grumble tried to stop his swing. He couldn't.

His sword clipped the falling goblin's shoulder instead of my lid.

"Ow! Chief!" the goblin yelled.

"Get off me!" Grumble roared. They were a tangle of limbs and leather. I didn't stick around to watch the pile-up. I slid. I pushed my muscles to the limit, scraping past them toward the open doorway. Scrrrrape. I cleared the threshold. I was in the corridor. The air out here was colder. Dampier. The vibrations were different too. Less crowded. More… scuttling. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Behind me, Grumble untangled himself.

I could feel his stomp vibrating through the stone floor.

"It escapes!" Grumble shouted.

"Light the torches! Burn it out!" I was in the hallway now. Floor 3: The Rust Warrens. To my left, a dark corridor leading to the Storage Rooms. To my right, the path toward the Chief's Throne Room. Straight ahead, a junction leading deeper into the mine shafts. I was slow. They were fast. If they lit those torches, they'd catch me before I made it ten feet. I needed cover. I needed a barrier. I looked at the doorframe I just exited. It was wood. Old, rotting wood. I looked at my own body. Old, rotting wood.

Ideas, I thought. I have ideas. I stopped moving. I turned around. I faced the doorway. If I could jam myself into the frame… if I could expand my lid slightly… maybe I could block the passage. Like a cork in a bottle. But that meant staying put. That meant fighting them in the doorway. Alternatively, I could run for the junction. There was a dripping sound ahead. Water? A trap? Or maybe the Rat King's territory? My tremorsense picked up small, fast vibrations ahead. Rats. Lots of them.

Grumble's footsteps were getting louder. The flicker of light from a lit torch danced on the wall behind me.

"There!" a goblin yelled. I had seconds. Current Stats: HP: 13/15 (Took a glancing scratch during escape) Mana: 6/10 (Tremorsense upkeep) Stamina: 12/20 (Slam cost) Inventory: Old Bone, Spider Web, 3 Pebbles. Grib (Digesting - 3. 5 hours left). Status: Escaped Room, Corridor, Pursued, Fire Threat. What do you do? A) BLOCK THE DOORWAY Wedge yourself into the door frame. Expand your lid slightly to jam the lock. Force them to break you to pass. Buy time to regenerate stamina. (Cost: 0 SP. Defense Check. Risk: They burn you while you're stuck.) B) RUN FOR THE JUNCTION (RATS) Slide toward the scuttling vibrations ahead. Use the rats as a distraction. If the goblins chase you, they might run into the Rat King's pack. (Cost: 3 SP. Movement. Risk: Rats might attack you too.) C) HIDE IN THE SHADOWS Pull into a niche in the wall nearby. Close your lid. Activate Camouflage. Hope they run past you in the dark. (Cost: 0 MP. Camouflage Check. Risk: Tremorsense must be turned off to save MP, reducing awareness.) D) REGURGITATE GRIB'S GEARS Grib had a loincloth and a rock. Regurgitate them now to create a slippery mess on the floor. Trip the pursuers. (Cost: 1 SP. Lose Items. Distraction.) VOTING CLOSES IN 24 HOURS. Reply with A, B, C, or D. Most votes wins. [Author Note] Thanks for voting on Chapter 4! Option D (Shield Goblin) worked perfectly. Chaos ensued, and you escaped the room, but Grumble is still hunting you with fire.