Trip'nut and Trap'rat returned from scouting the passageway going deeper. They had to cut and burn their way through all the webbing I had used to block it off. Sorry spiders... your work was wasted.
Trap had an old rusty pickaxe sling over his shoulder that looked a bit too big for him. Probably made for a human.
As one of the smaller goblins, Trap'rat can reach 3 foot 7 inches when standing up straight, which is basically never. Most of my goblins prefer slinking around lightly hunched over, and squat down rather stand when stationary. Decreases their "presence" as Trip'nut has explained to me earlier, very conducive to sneaking.
According to the goblins' report, it Seems like the the passage way leads to what sounded like an old abandoned mine. The two scouts had explored a number of narrow interconnected passages until they reached another larger room.
Not sure if any minerals and ores remain to be found in those passages, but the mystery of my lost bunnyrats is solved when I hear about the creatures there.
The 2 goblins described several semi-transparent blobs of blue goop that roamed around in the dark. A couple of the amorphous creatures had rodent skeletons suspended inside them. Bingo.
Ah, a slime... classic. I give some instructions on how to deal with them. These are rather useful creatures to gain. Weak on their own, but excellent if used in combination with traps.
"Slicing and stabbing the slime won't do you much good. You need to deal with its core. Look for a small circular object inside the slime, destroy it or remove it using something made of wood. Avoid letting it touch your skin or you might get acid burns. Gather the remains in a bucket. Dismissed!"
Stewwie has made what I believe goblins consider a sumptuous feast so all the goblins that are not out hunting stop for a lunch break. The two sneaks join the others at the makeshift table.
Looking at the dishes served, I think the resident chef will always be a valued member of goblin society. Roast kingfisher with a blueberry meatshroom gravy, and a fresh mana-grass and glowshroom salad on the side. The goblins all chow down.
Ah! why does Batson also get to eat with them?
Lift and Chuck report they are making progress on acquiring some wood, their words barely intelligible as they speak between mouthfuls. They used some sharp rocks to fashion themselves primitive axes and are about ready to fell their first tree.
Berry'wart the runt has somehow made a connection with Batson the glutton and mascot of the dungeon, and has started hand feeding him part of his lunch. You're spoiling him!
A few mouthfuls in, I watch as Berry'wart slips Batson a pill-berry along with his food. Shocked at the sudden destruction of his taste buds, Batson gags and flops around on the ground in disgust.
It takes the goblin only a few Gem Berries to regain his favor after that obvious betrayal. Soon the bat is back to happily munching on whatever is passed to him. That bat's trust is too easily bought.
The goblins finish their meal and scurry off back to work.
The scouts make themselves some crude spears out in the forest then fashion a bucket using a woven grass basket covered in what looks like clay. Soon they head back to deal with the slimes.
Speaking of tools, I absorbed the pickaxe. Gave me a little DP and not much else. Hope I can get my hands on some ores, or raid someone's stash of weapons and tools. Until then, my gobs are stuck with Stone Age equipment. Thankfully, they seem to know how to make those with the pitiful resources available.
I saw the hunters make their weapons. Find sharp rock, use it to cut some branches, trim down to make long stick, make slot, insert pointy rock, secure in place with twisted grass fibers. Tadaa! A spear.
That's how Stron'kest won all the fights. He actually had a weapon. Not all brawn that guy, even if he is the tallest. Just of 4 foot. The two brutes are just as tall and possibly more muscular, but they can't match his brains.
I shift my focus back to the slime hunt.
Frustrated at how slow their buckets are taking to stiffen, Trip and Trap change the plan and leave their buckets in the kitchen.
I watch them head off down the tunnel and suddenly they are out of sight.
Ah! It's like someone cutting the power to your house, killing your TV just before the show you wanted to watch was on!
Unacceptable. I push my mana to expand. This time, down into the 2nd level.
I grow the dungeon steadily and push a good forward in before I see the goblins rushing back. Panting for breath, Trap'rat grabs a handful of glowshrooms while they rest. The next time they return, I understand what they plan to do.
I watch as a single slime turns the corner, slugging across the ground leaving a pale blue trail of mucus. Suspended in the center of the blue blob is a small manacore.
The goblins are systematically leading it back to the dungeon while maintaining a carefully calculated distance.
Sweet! They know how to pull mobs...
Trip'nut is holding the spear, In case the slime charges again. That's likely why they were so winded previously. Whenever the slime pauses, Trap'rat tosses part of a glowshroom in its direction before both gobs scurry further away.
As if somehow able to sense the movement or the presence of food, the slime blobs forward at a remarkable speed until it is close enough to throw a slimy pseudopod at the target. The mushroom is quickly pulled into the main body and promptly dissolved at visible speed.
Potent digestion! I keep watching. Thanks you 2 for bringing the action to the dungeon. Would have been sad to miss my gobs in action.
At some point, the gobs decide to give it a shot. Trap'rat carefully tosses glowrooms in several directions to confuse the slime. As 3 jellylike "arms" reach out greedily, Trip'nut lunges forward with his spear.
With a quick diagonal swipe, 2 of the slime's extensions are severed. Emboldened, Trip took another step forward and thrust his spear at the slime's core.
"Tok" a light sound muffled by blue goop could barely be heard. A tiny crack could be seen on the small core as it was bumped backwards by the spear's tip.
Enraged and threatened by the sudden attack, the blue slime became a flurry of "limbs" trying to grab its assailant. Like some sort of octopus, the slime's "tentacles" wrapped around the spear and yanked it.
Trip seems to be freaking out too, he drops the spear and runs for it. Throwing out the rest of the mushrooms as decoys, Trap follows right behind.
The slime is thankfully distracted enough by trying to grab the mushrooms.
Soon things calm down again, and the slime starts wandering randomly. It chooses to continue into my dungeon.
The goblins watch from a safe distance. After confirming the target's trajectory, they scurry off to prepare for round two.