Survival Life as a Goblin Chapter 12 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! I got another Tier Reward asking for more Goblins! My Original Writing has fans and it makes me happy to know that! Hmm, maybe if I get far enough with this story I can look into publishing? Could be cool to get an Illustrator to draw up some pictures for it; could make it a Light Novel type of book.

Time to start fully securing the Koh Tribe’s new territory for the long haul!

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-Day 95-

Gobkoh was using Earth Magic through his ‘Spirit Unification’ Skill again. The Tribe was all working hard to harvest bamboo to use as the framework for the wall that would protect their home. They were making a simple lattice frame design with the bamboo. The frame was then covered in clay, dirt, and rock by Gobkoh’s magic before being compressed into a solid wall. Thanks to the many hands, cooperation, and magic, the wall was coming along nicely. Gobkoh had specified a height of roughly twenty feet for the wall. With Earth Magic he was also keeping the thickness of the wall uniform at about five feet thick. It should be durable enough for most any predator that came around.

‘Maybe not something like a Crown Tiger or anything equivalent, but Shade Lynx shouldn’t be able to scale this wall very easily.’ Gobkoh mused as he compressed another section of the wall into solidity. They’d been working all day on this, with breaks for lunch and to rest every now and then. So far they’d built the entire lattice frame while the earthen parts were about a third of the way done. The gate would be bamboo frame covered in a thinner layer of earth. It would be heavy enough to protect the Tribe, but also light enough for them to raise and lower it.

It was the most massive project the Koh Tribe had undertaken so far; but everyone agreed that it was a good idea. The protection of the wall would make their home feel truly safe and allow them to relax. The watch towers Gobkoh wanted to build were tripod style and would require a good amount of bamboo as well as Earth Magic to secure. But they’d take less time and material to make overall, so it would be for the best. On top of that, being able to see over the trees would be advantageous to spotting potential trouble before it got to them.

“Work’s going well, isn’t it?” Rialin smiled at him. She offered him water from a bamboo canteen and Gobkoh drank deeply.

“It is,” Gobkoh agreed with her. “Another few days and we’ll have the wall complete. Then it’s just a matter of finishing the gate and we’ll be pretty secure here for the foreseeable future.”

“Then we can safely work on the lookout towers.” Rialin nodded thoughtfully. She still wondered how they were going to make such tall things.

“That’s the plan,” Gobkoh chuckled as he formulated ideas in his head. “Then we should start making preparations for winter too. I want to be well ahead for that.”

“We’ll get it done.” Rialin smiled as she looked over the work that had already been completed.

-Day 98-

The wall was done! The twenty foot high structure was sturdy and solid! The gate had taken an extra day, but the pulley and winch system that Gobkoh had made for it, while simple, let two Goblins raise the gate alone. They only left it open partially during the day. It was open just enough for Goblins to get inside by ducking down a bit. Anything larger than a Goblin would have to crawl to get under the gate.

Another good thing that had happened over the construction of the wall was Gobkoh getting to test out his Shaman Staff! It really did let him use Magic much more efficiently. He was able to use Magic for much longer, with no backlash from the Spirit Magic portion, as long as he was using his Medium. Currently Gobkoh was overseeing his tribesmen as they brought in bundles of the long stalks of bamboo. He’d made sure to go with the whole group to show them the thickest of the bamboo stalks. He instructed them that these were the ones to collect, because they’d need the strength of the thickest ones to support their lookout towers.

“Now let’s get to work.” Gobkoh smiled as he took up his staff and made his way over to the first marked area. With ‘Spirit Guide’ and ‘Spirit Unification’ he gathered Earth Spirits and used their Alignment to work Earth Magic.

Three deep holes were quickly formed and the first bundle of tall bamboo, each made of seven, twenty foot long stalks bound together with cordage, was placed into the first hole. The holes were at an angle so that when all three bundle posts were placed they’d form a tripod. Two of the bundles would have dirt-packed bamboo stalks lashed to them with cordage to form a ladder and the top point where they met would also be lashed together. Gobkoh would cover the base of each of the posts with earth and compress it into solid form. This would strengthen and brace their tower. From there they carefully lifted stalk after stalk up to the top of the tripod. The stalks were bundled together and then attached to the first three posts. This made a sort of hourglass shape for the tower over all. Another ladder of dirt-packed bamboo stalks was lashed into place between two of the posts.

“Wait…” Gobwren looked at the tower. “How are we supposed to keep watch? Do we just stand on the ladder? That doesn’t seem like the best way.”

“No, we’ll make a floor and a roof for the top of the tower.” Gobkoh smiled at his friend. “For that we need to cut some of these stalks shorter. After that, we need to split some of them down the middle, vertically, and break the inner nodes.” Gobkoh demonstrated for his tribesmen, showing them what he meant as he chopped the stalks shorter. He then showed them how to split the bamboo vertically.

Climbing the tower was easy with the built-in ladders. Gobkoh easily carried up a few stalks of shortened bamboo. Taking out cordage he started lashing them together. One by one, each stalk was tied to the next. Each of these stalks was tied to the frame they’d made near the top of the tower. Leaving enough space to climb up with the ladder still gave them a decent sized floor of bamboo to work with. Gobkoh estimated it to be about nine feet on all three sides with the floor only taking up seven to seven and a half feet. Hearing the amazed comments from his tribesmen made the young Chief chuckle. From there they made railing from bamboo, to prevent anyone from falling forty feet off the tower and dying. Then it was time to build the roof.

“The first layer is set with the inside facing up.” Gobkoh showed the other Goblins. As he attached the split stalks to the simple roof frame they’d made. “The second layer goes on top with the inside facing down. You lay them in an interconnecting pattern like this.” Gobkoh placed a split stalk down so that the inside straddled the point where two of the first layer stalks’ edges met. Unsurprisingly, at least to Gobkoh, it was Rialin who caught on first.

“I get it!” Rialin clapped with a wide smile on her face. “When rain falls it hits the back of the top layer and that channels the water down into the bottom layer. Since we busted out all of the inner nodes, the water will just flow out! The roof is waterproof that way!”

“Yep, you got it.” Gobkoh smiled brightly at his female. Rialin smile happily while the rest of the Goblins blinked at the ingenuity and how easy it was to make a rainproof roof!

The first tower was completed that day. It was built next to the gate so that those on lookout could see who was at the gate if they ever had visitors. It also let them lookout over the forest well, especially since their flat ground was slightly elevated from the majority of this part of the forest. From on top of the tower one could see a good section of the forest. Probably a day’s walk or more through the forest could be seen easily. Signs of intelligent species, like smoke from fires, would be easily noticeable several hours before the ones that made them could possibly get to the Tribe’s home.

-Day 100-

The last lookout tower was finished! It had taken almost a full day for each tower, but they now had good vantage points to keep watch over the section of the forest they lived in. With the mountain at their backs and the wall between them and the forest, the Koh Tribe was fortified and secured! The tower on the far right of the flat area let them look out over the mountain range that cut through this part of the forest. The one on the far left looked over the pond and the forest area beyond it. With the one by the gate, the Tribe had the whole of the area covered and in their sight!

Now it was time to teach his tribesmen about a filling, easy to make food that could last two days or so on a single cooking. Gobkoh grinned as he prepared to teach his fellow Goblins about soup! Looking up at the clear sky, only a few small clouds floating by, he made a mental note to put a roof over the cooking area so they could cook even if it rained.

“Gather around everyone!” Gobkoh called out to his subordinates. “I’m going to show you a new recipe today!” The rest of the Tribe came over and stood around the cooking area to watch their Chief. Many of them noticed he had the bones of a Jackalope laid out along with some herbs and a few of the wild edible plants they’d found around the forest. “First we take this pot full of water and drop the bones of a Jackalope inside! We add the herbs and cut down the edible plants into sections. He demonstrated by using a stone knife to chop up a few wild onions and a root vegetable that was white and crunchy. Gobkoh’s ‘Analyze’ called it a Tarch Root. Apparently it was edible raw, but was easier to eat if cooked. Once the root was cut up he added it to the pot. “Now we let it simmer for six or so hours and we’ll have the basis for a tasty soup!”

“You mean that isn’t the soup?” Amalin cocked her head while looking at the large cooking pot.

“Nope, we’re making this stock first by simmering the Jackalope’s bones. Then we’ll pour the resulting liquid into a second cook pot, making sure not to let anything solid get into it. Once the stock is ready, we’ll add fresh meat and edible plants to it and then boil it for a while. A single pot of this size will be able to feed the Tribe for two full days!” Gobkoh explained before chuckling when he got looks of amazement from the rest of the Goblins. They were amazed that the bones of their prey could be used to make so many extra meals!

The next few hours, while waiting on the stock, was spent in the normal ways for the Tribe. Some hunted, some fished, while others worked on different tasks. Gobkoh was working with Earth Magic to try and make a large hearth in the cave. When winter came he wanted to be able to heat up their home and make it nice and cozy. Trying to shape solid rock was much harder than dirt and clay. It took more mana too, so the work was slow going. He’d only gotten the shape outlined so far. He still had to make the chimney flue and start a firewood collection so that they’d be ready to ride out the winter.

Rialin was making simple, primitive oil lamps from cordage, clay bowls, and used Varettayl oil from cooking. She’d had the idea herself and Gobkoh was happy to see her inquisitive mind continuing to develop. Rialin was happy that her first lamp had worked. It was in their bed chamber and lit up the area decently. Goblins could see very well in the darkness. It wasn’t much of a surprise given that Goblins were more often than not cave dwellers. To their eyes the small lamp might as well have been a light bulb! Now she was making more to help light up their cave home at night.

Dinner that night was Jackalope soup. It was a big hit with the Tribe and Gobkoh enjoyed the warm meal with gusto. The flavors could’ve been balanced a little better, but they had time to experiment and work it out. Rialin had two bowls full before dragging him off to the baths to bathe together again.

-Day 101-

“Is this right?” Gobyog questioned as he placed the bamboo post into the hole in the ground.

“Yeah, we’re using four posts to hold up the roof.” Gobkoh replied as he placed his own post into the hole in front of him.

“It does make sense to cover the cooking area.” Gobwren placed his post into the ground. “We don’t have to worry about rain this way.”

“Yeah, the clouds have been light recently, but that won’t last forever.” Gobtay mentioned as he held his post steady. “Better to get this done now. I’d rather not miss out on a hot meal because it was raining.”

“Well, the next step is framing the roof. We did the same thing with the lookout towers, so you guys know what to do.” Gobkoh chuckled as the four of them got out their knives and began to split bamboo stalks. They’d need a good number of split stalks to make the roof over the cooking area. Once this was done, Gobkoh couldn’t think of any other building projects that would be left. He was still slowly forming the large hearth inside the cave, but that was a project only he could work on.

Soup was the meal of the day since they still had plenty of leftovers. By the end of dinner the large pot was completely empty though. There was talk among the Tribe about what type of bones to use next time and Gobkoh was happy that they were all thinking and suggesting new ideas. He wanted the Koh Tribe to be smart, intelligent, and not fall into any stereotypical ‘Goblin’ roles. That would be the key to a long and happy life here. In time, Gobkoh was hoping to expand their range and really explore this part of the Silua Forest. There was no telling what they could find out here, far from civilization. Maybe there were other Goblin Tribes? Perhaps other Demi-Humans entirely? It was a mystery at the moment, one that Gobkoh would love to uncover. Right now though, this was the time for the Koh Tribe to establish themselves here, in this place. They needed to be secure and strong before they went off to explore.

‘We can’t even increase our Tribe’s population yet.’The Chief mused to himself as the four Goblins continued to split bamboo stalks. ‘None of the girls are even close to hitting level one hundred yet. Hell, I’m only level nineteen right now. We’ll all have to step up our training and hunting if we want to become Hobgoblins before we hit stagnation in a year or so.’

The roof over the cooking area was finished just before nightfall. The four were sweaty from the work and enjoyed a nice long soak in the baths that night. Gobkoh and Rialin were both happy to snuggle into each other’s embrace again that night. Both slept well and enjoyed their closeness.

-Day 102-

“Feels good to be going hunting again.” Gobkoh rolled his shoulders as he and Rialin made their way out of the gate together. The two wore their Scale Armor, had their Stone Swords, Stone Knives, Scale Shields, Bows, Quivers of Arrows, and Gobkoh had his Shaman Staff. The two were ready to hunt.

“It does, but we’ve been busy lately.” Rialin smiled as she stretched. “I mean we built the wall and the gate, three lookout towers, the baths, we’ve been working hard.”

“We have,” Gobkoh agreed with a chuckle. “Ready to hunt?”

“Yep!” Rialin chirped back and the two headed off into the forest together.

The couple spent almost an hour moving through the forest. In that time they’d seen a few small birds but no real game. They made it to the edge of the forest, near the river the pond emptied into, before spotting something new. A small herd of goats, if goats had four horns, were drinking from the river. Using ‘Analyze’ on the closest of the goats revealed a name and level for the creature.

[Capra Horn – Level 21]

The Goblins noticed a single goat farther from the herd than the others. This one appeared to be a lookout for the small herd as it perked up and scanned the edge of the forest when they got near. Gobkoh grimaced at the alertness of the lookout goat. If it warned the herd, then they’d all bolt and there would be no hunting the fleeing animals. With a silent nod to each other Rialin readied her bow, withdrew an arrow from her quiver and nocked it. Gobkoh readied his Shaman Staff instead while activating his ‘Spirit Guide’ and Spirit Unification’ Skills.

“It’s too alert,” Rialin whispered as she took aim. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to hit it from this distance.”

“I’m going to try something,” Gobkoh replied softly. “Get ready to let your arrow fly. If this works, it won’t be able to escape.”

“Got it.” Rialin nodded and the two quickly focused on their target.

Gobkoh reached out with his mana. The Earth Magic he’d gotten so familiar with over the last few days responding to his call. The lookout goat bleated loudly in warning as the dirt beneath its feet suddenly lurched upwards and locked its front legs in place. The herd bolted back into the forest, but the two Goblins had their target. Rialin’s arrow flew through the air and lodged into the panicking goat’s side. The goat kicked out its back legs, trying to free itself from the Earth Magic. Rialin knocked another arrow and let it fly into the goat as it struggled.

“Go down already!” Rialin growled as she let a third arrows fly into the goat’s chest.

“One more thing…” Gobkoh was clearly focusing on maintaining his spell. With a look of concentration he let loose another burst of Earth Magic. This time a long spike of rock burst from the ground and stabbed through the trapped goat’s neck. The beast’s struggles weakened considerably and it stopped kicking around. Rialin’s next arrow punctured its chest again and the goat stilled completely.

“Finally…” Rialin exhaled as the two Goblins approached their kill. “It was so tough! It was able to take four arrows and a spike through its neck!”

“Yeah, I thought the stone spike would stop it cold.” Gobkoh shook his head at the resilience of the goat.

“So, do you think we clean this just like a Stripe Deer?” Rialin wondered as she rolled the dead goat onto its side.”

“I think so,’ Gobkoh checked the area to make sure there weren’t any predators attracted by the sound of the trapped goat. “Shouldn’t be too much difference.”

“Right then.” Rialin nodded as she pulled out her Stone Knife and opened the goat’s stomach to start cleaning the animal out. They’d take their new prey back home and have something new to eat! It didn’t take long to clean the goat. The two Goblins tied the legs to a long stick that Gobkoh found and then placed each end over their shoulders. The two made their way back through the forest with the goat hanging from the stick they were carrying.

“Not a bad day for our first day hunting in a while.” Gobkoh mentioned with a chuckle.

“Your Earth Magic made it possible,” Rialin praised her male with a smile. “It would have run off before my arrows could have taken it down if you hadn’t pinned it.”

“I couldn’t have taken it down while focusing on keeping it trapped.” Gobkoh shook his head. “This hunt was only successful because we worked together.”

“We are a good team, huh?” Rialin laughed as they walked through the forest with their kill.

“The best.” Gobkoh agreed with a laugh of his own.

The two Goblins were warmly welcomed back home an hour later. The goat was new to everyone and many were hoping to have a taste of it. Gobkoh could only chuckle at his curious tribesmen. But he liked that about them. Now, he just had to remember the best way to cook a goat.

-End Chapter-

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Alright! We got the wall, gate, and lookout towers built! Now we’re set for the long haul! The Koh Tribe ain’t moving! We have everything we need here!

Gobkoh used Magic to hunt for the first time! It worked pretty well! They got decent, fairly high level, prey out of it too! That should help their leveling a bit, right?

Now the Tribe is going to taste goat for the first time! Woohoo!

Can goat bones be used to make stock for soup? Goat soup? The Goblins will try, that’s for sure!

They can use the goat skull for decoration too!

Now that they’re secured well, what attention might that attract from within the forest?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I can update this again, later!