NOVEL NEXT [Vol-1] Ch.14 Fireplace
When I get back out to the cavern, I spot one goblin coming out of a small side cave. I wonder if they naturally know to find someplace safe to evolve. I wish I did. Maybe it's something akin to animal instincts. The goblin looks about, and runs over to an imp nearby and quickly overpowers it. Despite the goblin's lack of claws, it's pretty brutal. It simply grabs the arm from the imp as it tries to attack, then swings the whole imp like a ragdoll, and smashes into the floor. Once the imp is dead, the goblin quickly begins eating it, and then makes its way over to the campfire that the previous goblins made, which I had co-opted. I watch expectantly, hoping to see how it starts a fire, but I'm a little surprised when it just stares for a bit, and sits down and keeps eating the raw imp.
The imps seem to understand that the goblin is out of their league. Maybe the trauma of their initial summoning is partly to blame for it. Either way, they steer clear of the goblin. Which actually gives me more opportunity. Another imp scampers close by, and after an hour, I've added a fourth imp's meat on my butcher rack, and go back to the cavern to watch.
As I watch, a second goblin emerges from a side cave, and similarly kills an imp and devours it. It somewhat apprehensively approaches the existing goblin, but after a few moments of tense staring, they both seem to reach some kind of agreement, and both sit down. One of the goblins points towards the cave exit, and they both get up and head out that way.
After a while, I see them come back down carrying a torch. What the heck. Are they just getting fire outside? Where? I didn't see anything there before. Either way, they make their way back to the campfire, and start it up. I watch in envy of the goblins now roasting imp over the fire. I think I could maybe kill a single goblin, but multiple would be hard. Plus, who knows how the fireball goblin would react. I think I'll keep to myself instead, and patiently wait for another imp, if I get the chance.
After a while, the two goblins go and kill an imp, and begin cooking it. I'm a little jealous. While they're cooking, another imp gets close enough, and I again kill and harvest it. At this point though, I'm feeling tired, but I also don't want to get killed in my sleep, so I close off the entryway with stone again, making a double layer. The first layer is a little further out, then I put the two buckets with refuse from the imps, and then a final wall to my room. Thankfully this is a pretty big room, so if I need oxygen, I shouldn't run out, although I'm not looking forward to the smell of the in between room. As I fall asleep, I check my status again.
<EPIC IMP>
Level: 58
HP: 341/341
MP: 86/86
Magic: Stone Shaping
Thankfully, I'm not awoken by an attack this time, and I can enjoy an easier morning. Although the meat isn't dried completely, there is at least meat and raw roots. I stomach my breakfast, and begin the process of opening my room out into the cavern again. I was right to seal off the refuse. It doesn't smell good in the closed space in between. I very carefully sneak towards the cavern, and peek out. Well, it looks like I missed out on it this time, but the fireball goblin must have been here. The other goblins are gone, and there are dead imps strewn about. Thankfully, the campfire is still going, if only just.
Before it goes out, I hurry back into my room and grab some firewood. After the fire is safe, I suppose it's that time again to get to butchering. I gather up what imps seem salvageable, and begin the butchery process. The ones killed by the goblins are a lot harder to harvest. They're either torched in a way that damaged a lot of them, or brutalized with shattered bone, but among the imps that have something to harvest, I double my meat supply, although I lost count in the mid teens when I was harvesting them, there were a lot. In fact, there was enough that I made a stone drying rack to complement my wooden one.
As for all the bodies, I know I slipped before due to char, and I'll need to be careful, but I think this time I'll burn all of them. The refuse from harvesting this time isn't nearly as large, and is frequently smaller chunks, so I pile it up using the buckets, back where I cracked the stones. I'll have to gather a bunch of wood again soon. I'll plan on going out tomorrow to do so. After having spent my whole day today butchering, I head back into my room, and again seal off the entrance before I sleep.
I know I shouldn't put my fireplace on the backburner, but I really want to get rid of all the butchered imps. It looks gross, and I fear what it will smell like in a few days. So I make my way up to the surface to gather wood. I bring both buckets up, and set them in my spot for collecting water. I also think I maybe know where the fire came from now. There is a semi-circle of burned material around the entrance to the cave. I wonder if the goblins set a fire there to keep any would-be escapees trapped. By the time I left the cave last time, rains had probably washed it away.
I go about my business, collecting wood, but being very cautious. Since the goblins have been here recently, I don't want to run into one. By the time I'm done, one of the suns is up, and right nearby is the massive moon. I wonder if there will be an eclipse soon? Maybe we're already technically in one? I can't see the second sun yet, it could be behind the moon. Either way, I'm already tired, so tomorrow, I'll be burning the refuse.
The process of burning the refuse generates a lot of bad smells and smoke, so I only go out to check on it occasionally, and instead focus my efforts throughout the day on completing the tunnel I need for my room fireplace. Unfortunately, I don't complete it today, but I'm almost certainly very close. Although I'm tired, the refuse fire isn't out yet, so I take the time to start cleaning up the stone marbles that have been spilling out of my new tunnel. Bucket load by bucket load I empty them out into the lowest part of the cavern. After six loads, although there are still plenty more, the fire has died down enough that I feel comfortable sleeping, so I seal off my room and do so.
After getting my rest, I check on the remnants of the fire. The big pile of charcoal reminds me of when I cracked the rocks the first time. This time though, there is bone meal and other organic waste mixed in. I'm sure the plants will love it, but I do not. I've got a few projects backed up, and about 9 days of roots left. Although I haven't found a new root source, so maybe I should plan on searching sooner for a new area with them. The first thing I want to do today though, is finish the fireplace in my room.
It only ends up taking a few hours before I break through to the cavern. Then I begin the process of working backwards, starting with putting a grate over the cavern side, and smoothing the way back. It takes half the day to finish the tunnel, and I spend the rest of the day designing and shaping the fireplace proper. Content, I make a fire in it, and test it out.
I keep an eye on it for an hour, and after I don't notice any smoke spilling into the room, I'm satisfied, and decide to go to sleep.
The fireplace is nice, and I'm happy to have it, but it's going to take all day to gather all the marbles scattered in the room. Well, although you saved my life once marbles, I'm afraid the time for us to part is now. I don't want any more accidents if I can prevent them.
As I haul the last load of marbles down the low point in the cavern, I think about what I should do next. I need to find a new source of roots, although I guess I could go back to an all imp meat diet if I needed to. It's nice to supplement when I can though. I also want to clean up the burned area, which means I should make some kind of shovel honestly. It would speed the process immensely. I've also noticed another issue. I've been using magic at whatever pace I want, thanks to the crystals, but I've actually already used up around 20% of my crystals. Although I know I can recharge them, I'd like to figure out a way to do so, and maybe do some more research on them.
With those things in mind, I etch into my todo list: 1. Clean the burned area. 2. Research crystals. 3. Find a new source of roots.
As I go to sleep, I check my status again.
<EPIC IMP>
Level: 68
HP: 376/376
MP: 94/94
Traits: Mana Affinity, Earth Manipulation
Magic: Stone Shaping