Once few weeks go by, and sure enough, a new group of monsters will come screaming out of the blue at them. This time it's a whole tribe of goblins, and they may not be strong and durable as mealots, they are every bit as vicious and dangerous as the mealtos. The goblins are a similar case as mealots, but rather than being trapped, they chose to remain here in this dimension. At least, that's what it seems like.

The creatures are strange enough, but it is the way they communicate that baffles Olaf. They squeal, chortle and cackle among other things. 

The goblins carry large stone clubs and hand axes. These make quick work of the wooden structures, so Hank and Omer retreat back inside the castle. The goblins  grunt and  push them, but they don't actually seem to be able to get inside the castle.  The monsters howl and scream in a seemingly unintelligible language yet their voices carry on the crisp winter air. 

The battle is hard fought, but in the end, like a great  ironclad mountain that  will not be moved, the castle's defenses hold strong. The goblins are forced to retreat back towards the deeper jungle. One thing is fantastic about goblins is that once their wave is defeated and pushed back, the remaining weapons that are leftover can be procured. 

Unfortunately, the castle defenses are not enough to stop the next threat. Four of them must scavenge for materials to build weapons and fortify the castle defense.  

 Fortunately, mealots usually don't attack at day time, but there are exceptions. Olaf assumes they're probably nocturnal beasts. So, they get enough time to scavenge during the day. But, as they are in short of men power, they are in search of allies and survivor men to help the team to fight against the horrors of monsters.

 They don't know much about this new world. Neither do they know if any survivors are alive or not.  But, they know that they have to defend the castle and survive. Olaf plans to build up a community here and make it into a new home until they find a way back to their world. How he plans to achieve this is up to him.

Writing ideas in a piece of parchment, Olaf is sitting in a wooden tool which they scavenged from the abandoned village,  trying to formulate a plan sitting in front of Hank's table while a large black man with a huge beard who is sitting next to him, is trying to draw models of the defense system in a paper, coming up with all sort of strategies to utilise the materials to its optimum. It’s Hank. He's drawing very cautiously.

Hank is wearing  a red tunic, a gift from his wife. And, goggle  spectacles, his favorite item which he brought when he was still in college.

 Suddenly, Olaf notices something. Despite how attentively Hank is working, tears  are welling up in his eyes. 

"I hope Raina is doing okay. She must be feeling so lonely and worried."  Getting a lump in his  throat; Hank's voice cracks as he mentions about his wife.

His face gets red and blotchy, eyes bloodshot, and  eyelids puffy, none of which Olaf finds attractive. Hank scrubs his nose so he doesn't end up with snot running down his face.

Various emotions dangle up in Olaf's mind, giving him a sense of utter loneliness. He feels like he is lost, craving to go back home.

He is missing his sister, who is the only family left of him. Other than Durge, Hank and Omer, she was the only one who supported him when his wife cheated on him during when he was busy in his military missions. Ever since then, he kept himself busy with works, camping with his friends and the caring company of his sister, Rosy. 

Olaf  recombobulates himself quickly, adjusting his emotions. A determined look on his face raging out. "Whatever the odds. Even if it takes to defeat a god, we will overcome it. We are definitely going back home! Mark my words. We will find a way out of this. We must."

Hank smiles, wiping away his tears. "You are a strong one, aren't you? I like that in a leader."

"You are cold, brother. Very logical and practical." Omer says, grinning.

 Durge stops hammering on the half-finished longsword that he is making so patiently, and

then raises a hand up, wiggling his fingers. "But, a man cannot live on logic alone. He needs something to... cheer  him up a bit."

Olaf rolls his eyes, shaking his head. "Let's get on with it, shall we? I'm sick of Hank's depressing stories. To get back home, we need to focus on work."

With a smirk, Hank nods. "Very well." 

He draws a parallel between a bow and some of the trees in the Gil-Tif Forest,  demonstrating several trees, their branches and their dexterous bows.

It's a fascinating demonstration.

Hank is a bit of a bookworm, as Olaf  often finds him reading. He is the only one among them that is able to  design, and make use of engines, machines, and structures, although Olaf is not convinced that he should always carry a book with him. However, he thinks Hank is a very kind soul and an excellent worker. It's just that he's a bit of an emotional guy.

Nevertheless, Olaf is quite aware of the fact that no matter how much effort Hank pours, his projects wouldn’t come to fruition  without the amazing craftsmanship and spectacular forging skills of Durge, who is also nicknamed as The Hammer man.

Durge is a blacksmith. He is the most senior among them. The muscles in his arms and legs are quite strong despite the fat in his bulky, chubby belly.  He wears a deformed helmet, an item from the village armory. It is quite comfortable and grants him a Neat appearance. His clothing includes a hardened leather apron and metal greaves on his legs.

 His massive hands are quite strong and allow him to craft weapons capable of slaying monsters. He is obsessed with metal, and will often be found engrossed in some sort of metal work.

 He has a huge mustache and  his facial appearance is ugly, but Olaf has come to adore the man. He is a friendly individual with a great sense of humor. He is very caring and will often give Olaf a fatherly hug when no one is looking. He is the best cook among the team, often making meals that have been popular in the old world. His cooking has saved their lives on several occasions. However, his cooking is terrible and only serves function of sustaining life. His self-confidence makes him less susceptible to mental attacks.

Olaf always gets a hard time dealing with the smell as Durge's  body odor is terrible, but it makes sense since he is a blacksmith.  He always carries a hammer, an anvil and some metal scraps. He has metal bands wrapped around both his thumbs. Olaf assumes it is to make the motions of striking a hammer more familiar, although it has the added effect of turning the tips of his thumbs into hard, steel claws.

He is a very strong individual, although his massive frame makes him slow. Despite this he has the endurance to run for long stretches.

On the other hand,  Omer, who is only good at making potions, and wears a beautiful leather duster, his physique appears like an arabian dancer. He is nimble and quite fast. He also has a great eye for details and is good at making fine, decorative potions  that don't directly help in combat, but it comes useful in many ways.

 However, he is a lousy fighter and Olaf already has a better idea of protecting him while he makes his potions. Unfortunately, he has the misfortune of suffering from all sort of smell. It's because he works with potions all day.

Omer's face appears like that of a confused little boy. It is classically handsome and would be very popular if not for  the fact that it looks extremely tired all the time. He often sleeps at the table, at his work or just wherever there is a nice, comfortable spot. 

 Due to his nature of making fine potions, he is incredibly picky about ingredients and the purity of them as well. He has longish black hair and brown eyes that can appear to shift from one color to another. This is common among people who mix potions, as the ingredients often display their own colors.

Olaf has been friends with  them since they were  babies, as the four of them grew up in a small village. Even at that age, Omer was always more interested in the practical uses of plants and roots, while Durge was more of a creative type, making things out of clay and such. And, Hank was the embodiment of cool. He was always stealing Omer's food, breaking Durge's toys and generally being a jerk. Later, he became more and more nerdy and nervous as he grew up.

But, all four of them formed a tight bond during those long, boring, laid back days of nothing to do. The four of them often got into scrapes with the local bully, who was always itching for a fight.

They would often sneak into the village, mainly just to steal drinks from the taverns. One night, Olaf ended up getting drunk and making a lot of noise in one of the houses. The owner of the house called the Sheriff, who whipped all four of them out of the village.  

Confused and drunk, they  wandered into the forest and decided to sleep there. From then, they developed a love for camping  and the great outdoors. This was around the time when Olaf's parents died in a caravan robbery, so the four became tight. 

The other three helped him out a lot in those days, finding a job, money and an owner who was willing to put up with his loud music and wild behavior.

When the military drafted Olaf, he decided to enroll in the army as a way of life. Adventure after adventure surrounded him. Four of them always kept communication. Their loyalty to each other is unshakable. 

Then, this one unfortunate day, not knowing what's waiting for them, they went for camping on the woods. There they discovered a cave near the forest. Exploring inside, they got accidentally sucked into it. And now, here they are. 

The castle is situated in a rocky hill, making it very hard for any would be attacker to approach.

To their left is a heavy jungle, full of hard wood and soft paths. 

In front of them, a swamp, infested with dangerous beasts and even more dangerous monsters. To their right  is a steep hill, leading up to a desert.

At least, this is as far as they have seen. What lies beyond that is yet to be explored.

The castle is in bad repair. They are scavenging parts from the ruins of what used to be a village right outside the castle gates.

The village was completely destroyed. Olaf can only assume that the monsters came through the area and did not distinguish between good people and bad, eating them all. The old, rotten hulks of half destroyed tanks lie around, hinting that the military force here had no chance.

The village was most likely  the last bastion for any survivors. The villagers probably hid in their homes for as long as they could. They either fled or were eaten. The half eaten corpses of some can be seen outside the broken homes.

The village smithy is a good source of materials to get weapons and tools up and running.

The village is situated at the crown of the hill, a good defensive position. This is where they made their castle, next to the  village. They scavenge the ruins of the village to get much needed resources.

There are only four of them. They  need manpower. Olaf decides to set out on an adventure to find out about any other human's existence. 

Olaf evaluates that as a mechanic, it is quite reasonable for Hank to be in the castle repair work from within the castle. Moreover he is of a very nervous nature. So he is not a good candidate for adventure. Durge's assistance is required for him as well. So, Olaf decides to go out looking for men with Omer. 

"Here, take this long sword. It’s one of the finest ones I have made so far. This will cut your enemies fleshes like butter." Durge hands-over the long sword as a gift to Olaf.

"Thank you, man. I'll do my best to make good use of it." Olaf replies with a broad happy smile. 

"Watch your step and protecr that fool, too." Durge says.

"Ha ha! Will do." Olaf chuckles. 

"Hey! I'm no baby! You better watch out while we are not here. Stay on your guard." Omer says. 

"Take care, mates. I'm getting a bad feeling about this. Do you really have to go?  Can't we stick together? " Hanks says as he is trembling.

"Don't worry, Hank. How many times do I have to explain you?  We talked about this already. There's no way out of it. We need to take risks. It’s a do or die situation." Olaf attempts to calm Hank down, although  calming people down is not something he is good at. 

"Right!  It's best thing to do now, Hank. You are safe here than outside. And, you know Olaf. He used to be a commando army. We ain't getting down that easily. Besides, I have my own tricks up my sleeve." Omer winks.

Hank seems to have somewhat cooled down. Durge grabs his shoulder and says "C'mon, mate. We've works to do. We can't beat the next wave of attack if the weapons are not repaired quickly, and they are not gonna repair themselves, are they now?"

While Hank and Durge remains in the castle to work on the defenses, Olaf starts his journey along with Omer to find more alive people who can join them.