NOVEL NEXT [Vol-2] Ch.12 Home Sweet Home
Everything had been going pretty well for the last 19 days, right up until two goblins got killed by another lizard. Just earlier today, two of the hunter goblins returned covered in blood. Apparently, while hunting, they found a nest with some large eggs in it, but when they went to steal the eggs, they were attacked by the lizard. Two of the four goblins perished while the others managed to bring it down. Honestly, I'm impressed that they were able to kill it themselves. That said, this means that Zaka is going to want to return to the cave to summon imps to make new goblins.
A large group of goblins was gathered to retrieve the dead lizard as food. I've yet to see how the goblins deal with their dead, but considering they haven't brought them back, I wonder if they've just been leaving them where they died. I'm almost finished with the smokehouse now, and given the second round of trees have been felled, I suppose now is probably going to be the best time to tell Zaka I want to move back up to the cave. I feel like I've provided the goblins plenty in terms of survival means. Plus, I myself will be prestiging soon, so I'd honestly prefer to be back in my home for that.
<LESSER EARTH DEMON>
Level: 97
HP: 1831/1831
MP: 708/708
Magic: Stone Shaping, Tectonic Sense, Earth Spike
As I probably should have expected, Zaka was reluctant to let me just move away back to the cave. According to Zeb, I'm seen as something of a protector to most of the goblins, so Zaka is worried about morale if I leave, as well as what will happen to the weapons and tools I've made for them. I've countered with an offer to him. I'll make plenty of spare tools, and when the snow would settle on the mountain, I'll come join them again during that time. They're also welcome to come get me if they need me for something.
Zaka reluctantly agreed to this arrangement, until we suddenly needed to go through even more negotiations because Zeb wanted to join me up on the mountain. Zeb's English has been coming along quite well, to the point where I'm not sure if goblins are just naturally good with language, or Zeb is a natural genius. Zaka eventually agreed to let Zeb also stay on the mountain, but he's counting it as a loss of another goblin, so they're down five, and will probably need to re-visit the mountain twice to replace their numbers.
I asked him why they don't just summon a few imps down here, and raise them until they turn into goblins, but apparently, Zaka's mana pool isn't quite large enough to summon one independently, so he needs the crystals to have a large enough pool. How he got the ability to summon imps when he doesn't have the mana, I don't know, but I suppose it means I should keep my eyes out for magic or traits that sound too good to be true. Also, apparently, imps are naturally quite wild and hard to contain in an area, so it works out to summon them in the cave, and then just prevent them from leaving. Then, to prevent any random demons from basically becoming feral competition, he kills the remaining imps before they return down the mountain just before the eclipse.
With negotiations reaching completion, I get to work finishing the smokehouse and building plenty of spare spears and axes for the goblins. Word seems to have spread a little through the day, and it seems a lot of the goblins are disappointed that I won't be making them any new decorations and furniture. I hadn't been paying that close attention, but the goblins seem to have widened most of their huts to keep their new furnishings.
The weather has actually cooled off slightly from where it was a few weeks ago, but the near constant rain has subsided, which is nice. I've also noticed that the eclipses really are very regular, every thirty days, give or take a few hours. They've been inching closer and closer into the evening, so I presume we probably won't see many eclipses soon, since they'll take place at night on our part of the planet. I asked Zaka about this, and he said it gets warmer through the year once the eclipses happen at night. You can apparently tell they are happening still because you get significantly less mana when they're happening. During night, mana is already slower to recover, but during an eclipse, it slows to a crawl at day or night.
Having discussed all the matters at hand, we split up to go work on tasks that needed done before traveling up the mountain. For me, that means finishing the smokehouse and making plenty of tools for the goblins. Plus, I want to carry my tablets of information I've been writing in my house down here back up the mountain, so I'll probably make some crude crate that I can stuff plant matter between the tablets so they don't break.
The day of travel arrived pretty quickly. The smokehouse was finished a few days before, and I showed the goblins how to use it. It doesn't take a lot of effort, but one of them will need to know what meat inside is done, and what meat is still in the process of being preserved. It'll take a few weeks in the smoke house before any of the meat is done, so they're skeptical at first, but when I explain that it'll keep for a long time, they seem receptive to it. Plus they have plenty of excess wood from their palisade project.
Speaking of the palisade project, most of the goblins that were working on it have prestiged once now. A few became strong like Kaga, so I think that they're probably going to pick up the pace of logging soon. I've informed Zaka about the need for other goblins to assist in the tree cutting, so that a power imbalance doesn't occur. To which he seems excited that the goblins are becoming stronger faster than before. I suppose I could have told him that cutting the trees down was giving them levels sooner, but they're not that far into the project yet, so it shouldn't be too bad. It might even end up being a way to get some of the new goblins stronger fast.
I ended up making dozens, if not hundreds of spare spears and axes for the goblins as well. Surely it'll be enough to last them a few months. They go through a few a week currently, due to either chipping or breaking of the stone implements. I don't know how many months it is until winter, but I've been in the goblin village for almost six months now, so I honestly think it might be sooner than later, in which case, Zaka might be getting the better half of our arrangement. Although there isn't any reason I can't go back up the mountain after the snow melts next year.
With all our preparations made, Zeb, Zaka, myself, and a pair of other goblins set off back up towards the cave up on the mountain.
I honestly didn't recall this journey being this difficult before, but I suppose we were going downhill, and it has been months since anyone followed this trail up the mountain. Honestly, I should have been trying to figure out just how long this trail is. I imagine the time it would take to get up here would be much shorter if I could actually map it out and build a path. Although actually, as I think about it, the idea of building a path like this by myself is kind of outrageous. I'm quite a fast digger, and stone shaping would really help the process, but a good path through the jungle like this would require more than just me working, or at the very least, a near infinite source of mana at all times.
By the time we reach the cave, everyone is exhausted, so a small fire is made near the entryway to the cave, which I had renovated all those months ago. It seems scavengers came and ate what was left of the goblins that were killed last time, and there are just scattered bones in the area now. Even though I'm tired, I go to clean the bones out. This is my house after all, or at least, my first house that isn't just a hole in the wall of a cave.
Actually, despite the fact I'm exhausted, I want to go take care of some things before tomorrow when Zaka plans to summon imps. Namely, I want to go put the new tablets with my old ones, and close the sub-cave off, so imps don't go in and break things tomorrow.
After I've assured the goblins I'll be right back, I make my way back down the cave. It feels quite nostalgic if I'm honest. I mean, I lived here for a long time already, so I guess it's more like coming home than anything else. Looking about the familiar cave, I'm reminded of all my various projects I was working on before the whole goblin village situation. If I'm honest, I'm probably not going to get through many of them before the snow returns, but at the very least, I'll be able to get started on some of them, and who knows, with Zeb's help, I might be able to get through more of it than I think.