《The Monster We Are》Chapter 7

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Following Tonka we end up in a room, well more of a cavern.

There are fires around the perimeter of the place and the glowing fungus on the ceiling.

Right in the centre of the room there is a hole in the roof with weak sunlight drifting through the smoke from the fire as it rises out the hole, on the ground under the smoke hole is another with a small stick and string fence.

Dotted around the fires are more goblins doing various activities and towards the end we are heading the fires have goblins of different sizes being supervised by older goblins of both sexes. I’m guessing the younger generations of gobs.

Tonka leads us to a fire with a few other younger gobs and a male gob.

“ Sit.” She tells us.

There are piles of material with the other gobs sat in front of. All the other young ones are naked like we are.

I sit in front of a pile and gesture for the others to do so as well.

“ That the freak that not need kicking.” Tonka tells the male gob.

“ Why they have cloth.” He inquires.

“ The freak made. He not right he talk like elder. And need no kick to learn, not right, not right.” She replies.

*growl*

“ Strange.” He turn to us. “ You all here learn to make loincloth.” He glares at my group. “ To make prop, you stay here till done. After we tell ‘bout tribe.” He instructs us.

He sits in front of a pile and proceeds to show us how to make a loincloth. As the others start including my sibling as they want to learn. I decide to make myself a bandoleer.

I pull out my stone, and get the bigger piece and then cut roughly the shape and then carefully rip it apart. I make it wider at the shoulder so it sit more comfortably. The I put holes in it like the cloth. I get another piece of material and treadle it through. There are a lot more holes this time, I’m making it like a molle system. I then make around 8 more drawstring pouches, I add 6 to the bandoleer and the other 2 to my belt.

On the bandoleer I put 4 on the front and two on the lower back portion. After putting it on I tie the lowest point on to the belt to secure it better. I notice a few bones lying on the floor and the I see the perfect one it looks like a small rib bone. I pick it up and add it to a pouch.

*……..*

I throw myself to the side, a foot flies past where my head was.

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“ See, see he freak, he know kick come.” Tonka shouts.

*growl*

“ How do young one know, huh.” The male gobs asks me.

“ I can sense it. Instincts.” I tell him.

*growl*

“ what you do, what you make.” He asks.

“ I’ve made myself what Tonka has but I have made it with extras to hold stuff.” I reply.

“ Why.” He questions.

“ Because I have a loin cloth and it would be a waste of material just to make another so I made these instead.” I respond.

*growl*

With that he stalks off with Tonka in tow. With them leaving I search around for a few more rib bones to practice on before I make the final product. Using the ground and my stone a practice on the few bones I just picked up. After a while it looks like the others will be finished soon, I’m happy with my practice attempts, but I start grinding the edge of my stone to give it a better sharp edge for carving, after doing it on all four sides my stone looks like a spear head.

I hear shuffling and see an elder female goblin leaning on a staff making her way over. Tonka and the male gob also headed this way.

“ Old Mag here to teach ‘bout tribe.” Tonka tells us. She and the gob then wonder off.

“ Make room around the fire young ones. Mush mush.” *sigh* And she sits down.

Making use off this time I start to grind the final rib bone on the floor to make a leather style needle, I’ll use the stone to make the eye hole.

“ Now listen young ones.” Old Mag starts. “ We have been residents in this cave for hundreds of years now. Our old tribe was all but wiped out by rival tribes, we were forced out into the wilds and eventual found this cave. We did not know at the time but it was infested with spiders."

*Cough cough*

"Fearsome spiders that where the size of us gobs. We fought for many days and drove them deeper into the caves. We found out after driving them deeper and deeper there was even more bigger and fearsome spiders that dwelt below, because of this and the presence of the light stones that the ancestors came to the knowledge, that this is a dungeon that we now inhabit.”

WAIT, WHAT.

A dungeon like in the old fantasy novels and games from before the wars, they exist. Humm maybe that’s where the stories come from for them from other worlds from the otherworlders. Hummm, mind you I’m an otherworlders now as well. I should continue to listen, I’ve nearly finished the needle I’ve just got to do the eye now.

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“ When the elders of the ancestors found this information they rejoiced, and had the gobs sealed the tunnels to the lower levels, and live in the dwellings made above that had long been abandoned for many years. The elder knew that with in the dungeon that they could grow stronger, and we took the name spider tribe."

She pauses to let that sink in... I think.

She continues. "These are what the histories tell us they may have some truth with all the cobwebs here and the stones that light places and the rooms that us elders live in made from stone not the rough rocks of these caves.”

On quiet nights you can hear.” She points with the end of her staff towards the hole in the centre of the room. “ strange noises, chirps and hiss the sound of spiders from below. And in the lower caves you can on occasion find spiders that come up to the knees, so the stories may be true but we do not know.”

Hummm maybe it's true, actually that could explain the presence I felt and the energy that I still feel in the air.

” We gobs only live 20 years if we don’t evolve and rank up in to hobgoblins or other creature once we do we leave or move to other caves around the so called dungeon, as we are only one part of the spider tribe as cave ins and disputes have splintered us over the years, but all under theses cave are still the spider tribe.” As she is finishing Tonka comes back over with a bowl and cup and gives it Old Mag.

“ Thank you.” She tell her.

*grunt*

How rude. I really don’t like Tonka.

“ All follow eat time.” She growls at us.

“ You.” Old Mag says, all of us freeze. “ The grey one come here.” Tonka smirks.

“ It food time.” Tonka spouts.

“ You know the way young one, yes.” Old Mag responds. I nod my accent. Tonka scowls again.

“ Then take the others.” Mag tells. Lily looks conflicted I shoo her on, as I can see she is hungry.

They all head off.

“ So young one, what was you doing during my teaching.” She asks.

“ I was making a sewing needle….Elder.” I tell her I think a bit of modesty and placating is in order.

“ Show me.” With her hand held out. I reach into the pouch I had store it in after I finished it and place it in the outstretched palm. She inspects the bone needle.

“ Umm, not bad work, not bad.” She muses to herself, looking up. “ how did you learn this.”

I debate what I should tell her.

“ I didn’t learn it anywhere elder.” She raises her eyebrow. “ I just knew how to make it. I have knowledge in my head that appears when I do things, or I learn faster, I have found than the others.” I tell her. “ I…I think it's something to do with me not being green like everybody else.”

“ I understand young one, the older gobs do not like or trust you as you go about things much unlike other goblin even you siblings are advancing faster, the other elders find this interesting but are untrusting of you still.” She hands me back my needle.

“ I myself like you, you interest me like no other, but I was always a curious gob as a youngster.” She starts rummaging around in a bag she has. “ Here.”

She passes me a pouch, then continues to rummage.

I open the pouch and contains 5 reels made from bone that have thread on them. “ It’s spider silk made into a thread, I made them myself quite a while ago but I can’t use them any more as my hands are hard to move. None of the other gobs bother with the finer points of making things, but I can see you do we the needle making. Ahhhh here.”

She hands me another package it's wrapped in a piece of cloth. I unwrap it it’s a small shard of metal with bit of leather thong wrapped at one end to make a handle. There also a little leather sheath for it clearly hand made. The blade is no longer than an inch and a half.

“ I manly used it in crafting and sewing, its very sharp so be careful.” Mag’s informs. “ They are now yours young one. Now go and eat.” She makes the same shooing motions I did to Lily. I turn and head towards the grub room placing the knife in one of the larger pouches at my waist and tie the other to my belt.

“ You’ll need them soon young one…….such a waste, stupid elders.” I barely make out what she says, I’m not liking that not one bit. I better check my status.

Status Screen.

Status Screen NAME Gray Level1(locked) RaceEldrin Goblin BlessingsBlessing of what came before Titles Young one All physical stats locked at below 8. LV lock at 1. Strength:5Agility:6Vitality: 8 Charisma 7 Intelligence:20Wisdom:15Leadership:19Luck:6 Unlocked Stats Awareness79%

HUH my title changed it still locking stats and level. Now to get food and stock up a bit.

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