The next few weeks were dedicated to strengthening the base further. The progress of the infrastructure didn't move much after it hit 90%. Turns out, the higher we got, the more it became a game of "let's add this thing… oh no, wait, that's not going to work!" thing. (-_-)
"You know, Boss," Gorn said, standing on top of the wall that was almost finished, "I thought walls were supposed to be straight."
I squinted up at the wall, which had a noticeable curve to it, like a half-done circle drawn by a goblin who'd had one too many Glowshroom snacks. "That's not a curve. It's… character. Yeah, character!" I lied to myself while looking at it.
The goblins stared at the wall, unsure whether to agree or question my sanity. But hey, if they didn't ask questions, we could at least pretend it was a unique design choice, right?
Tink was up on a rickety scaffold, hammering away at the roof of a hut that was starting to lean suspiciously to the left. "Boss! This is going to be the best roof ever!"
I stared at it for a moment. "Best roof? Tink, that's going to fall down if someone sneezes too hard!"
"Just need more nails!" Tink called back.
I rubbed my forehead. "You've been using nails that are too short. You need longer nails!"
Tink nodded. "Yeah, but then the nails would fall through and we'd need even longer nails! It's like a puzzle, Boss!"
I sighed deeply. It was hard to argue with that logic. The goblins didn't exactly have the best craftsmanship skills, but they had a unique way of solving problems—most of the time, it involved slapping something together with whatever was on hand and hoping for the best.
Boulder was busy with his project, which, from the looks of it, was an attempt to turn a giant rock into a makeshift watchtower. Why? Remember the watchtower those lizardmen were arguing about before? Well let's just say their argument was set ablazed and as such, the watchtower they built using wood literally went ablazed after they accidentally hit a nearby torch which them led to it falling on the watchtower. Dumb, I know, they're so infuriating, I swear to god ლ(́◉◞౪◟◉‵ლ)
He'd just finished rolling the thing into place when it promptly rolled back toward him. "Ugh! Stupid rock!"
The rock gave an indignant clunk as if it was offended. I couldn't blame it, honestly. It was probably tired of being turned into a questionable architectural feature.
"Hey, Boulder, maybe we don't need a giant rock for a watchtower. How about we try a… normal tower?"
Boulder glared at me. "Normal towers are for normal people. This rock is a statement."
"Yeah, a statement about 'we gave up halfway through,'" I muttered under my breath.
Despite the setbacks, I couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of pride. At least we weren't just sitting around waiting to be overrun. Well, technically, we were sitting around, but it was more in a "let's work on our infrastructure" kind of way.
Then, just as I thought things couldn't get more chaotic, Squeak came running up to me, holding a glowing mushroom the size of his torso.
"Boss! Look what I found! Is this… good for anything?"
I stared at the mushroom. It was pulsating like some kind of alien creature. "What is that, Squeak? A Glowshroom?"
"I think it's a Super Glowshroom," he said, his voice filled with an unearned sense of pride.
"Super Glowshroom?" I asked, my eyebrow raising. "Is it radioactive or something?"
"Well, it glows more than normal," Squeak explained, as though that was the only detail that mattered. "I thought we could use it to light the camp! Maybe put it on the watch tower too, to make it look like a proper place!"
I rubbed my eyes. "Squeak, we don't need a glowing mushroom to light up the camp. We need a solid base, with walls that don't curve and roofs that don't fall apart, right now"
"Oh," Squeak said, looking slightly deflated. "So, no Super Glowshroom lightshow, then?"
"No," I said, already regretting how fun that idea sounded. "Maybe later. But for now, please just—"
At that moment, there was an unsettling noise from behind me. I turned just in time to see a massive pile of Glowshrooms erupt out of a nearby tent like a fountain.
"Oops," Tink said, grinning sheepishly as he stepped out from the wreckage, covered head-to-toe in shrooms. "I may have added too many Glowshrooms to the mix, hahaha...."
I facepalmed. "Well, at least we'll have enough light for the next week… if we don't suffocate on fumes first." These guys are hazardous, sheeshಠ_ಠ
The goblins scattered around us, trying to clear up the mess. As always, nothing ever went according to plan—but in a way, that was exactly how I expected it to be.
I turned back to the wall. "Alright, everyone, let's try to get something done today without extra mushrooms, falling rocks, or disasters, okay?"
A chorus of uncertain cheers followed. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I was leading an army or a circus, but at least we were getting somewhere. Atleast.