Spirit Game

"The clay bricks need to be fired so they bond and get stronger," Druger suggested to Rain as they surveyed their rudimentary setup.

"Could they just be baked under the sun?" Rain asked, familiar with the concept but concerned about their lack of resources. "We don't have an oven for that, nor a kiln, or even a large enough fire to bake them. We don't even have enough wood."

"It's fine. If we wait for the sun, it might take forever," Druger dismissed Rain's concern with a wave of his hand. "Baking them would hasten the construction time tremendously, and we don't need wood to burn them."

"R-really?" Rain was skeptical but hopeful.

Druger opened one eye wide from under his bushy brow and smirked. "How do you think we built the port town from scratch, huh?"

Rain's eyes sparkled with curiosity and excitement. "So, you have an idea?" His excitement waned slightly as a thought occurred to him. "Wait . . . this doesn't involve magic, right?"

They didn't have any magic users with them!

Druger rolled his eyes and shook his head. "No. No magic. Though you have an ingenious way of collecting water from the rain, we used mountain water from the south to make the clay and bricks."

"So there really is water up there." Rain had considered the possibility. Mountains often meant water . . . one way or another.

"Aye. But don't get your hopes up too much, lad. The water's long gone, only enough to construct the town. Then magic users showed up and really saved our hides. And let's not forget those pesky seadwellers."

Druger sighed heavily and took another swig from his bottle of booze.

Rain couldn't help but wonder where Druger got that booze from. It made him speculate if there was some kind of dimensional item hidden within his tool pouch, a secret stash perhaps.

"I guess one of the reasons those Seadwellers quickly ruled over the port is because of their mastery of water magic. They could easily provide water for the entire town every single day with their numbers, that's for sure."

"I see . . ." Rain said, feeling a pang of disappointment that the water in the mountains were depleted. "And what about the fire for the bricks? What will we do about it?"

"We can dig a pit and use it as a makeshift kiln. As for the fuel, we don't need charcoal or wood. We'll use [Dry Beasts Dungs]."

". . . Dry what?" Rain didn't like the sound of that one bit.

"Dry beast dung. It's plentiful around here, especially from Raklings — they're the size of boulders. See those hills over there? The sand and dirt have covered them, but they're actually dung," Druger explained with a nod. "It's a natural fuel source that burns hot enough for our needs. We can harvest it from there."

Rain's mind raced back to the past. He remembered touching that mound of dirt — no wonder it felt sticky and had a foul smell.

Rain shook his head, trying to shake off the disgusting thought. "So, we dig a pit, line it with the bricks, and cover it to retain the heat?"

"Exactly," Druger affirmed. "Once we've dug the pit, we'll lay the bricks inside and cover them with more dung. We can light it up and let it burn. The heat will fire the bricks just as well as any kiln. But first we have to make sure to dry the dung under the sun until they hardened like wood."

Rain nodded slowly, visualizing the process. "How long will it take to gather enough dry dung and set up the pit?"

"Not long," Druger assured him. "With a few hands to help, we can have the pit ready by the end of the day. Then we can start firing the bricks tomorrow."

Rain felt a surge of optimism. "Alright, let's do it. I'll gather the others to help with the digging and collecting the err . . . beast poop."

As they set off to gather their supplies and round up help, Rain couldn't help but feel his senses tingling. Despite the village coming together and all the creatures pitching in, he sensed something was amiss.

Rain couldn't shake the feeling that something was brewing somewhere.

Rain slapped his cheeks and shook his head. "I have been in this place for almost a month now, and I fear that the constant alertness is getting to me."

Taking deep breaths, Rain looked over at the village that was beginning to take shape. Fences were erected around the shelter, and traps were being set up once more. They had food, salt, water, and a roof over their heads.

Tomorrow, they would start building some houses, and . . .

Rain crossed his hands, thinking. It would be amazing if they could start planting vegetables, and herd livestock, or something, but . . .

Rain stared at the desolate land where only the thorny bushes thrived.

What could possibly survive in this soil and condition? Maybe some potatoes? He'd heard they were resilient and could survive almost any weather.

But could they survive this place?

In the first place, Rain didn't have any knowledge about planting. Heck, his cactus had even died back at home because he loved it so much that he watered it every day!

What's more, he didn't even have the slightest idea about the plants in this place.

Rain stared hard at the thorny bushes. There was an idea in his head that he couldn't grasp.

~Wiggle!~

~Wiggle!~

Huh?

Rain's thoughts were disturbed when a notification appeared in front of him.

[The (Egg?) is about to hatch!]

Egg?

Rain pulled up his inventory and saw the egg wiggling on his screen.

"Oh. I almost forgot about you," Rain said with a laugh. This was the egg that the old guy with the goatee in the player's market had given him in exchange for money.

Is it about to hatch? Rain was excited. I really hope that it's not a goblin.

But then it stopped moving, and Rain bobbed his head to the side in confusion.

"Why did it stop?" Rain wondered aloud. "Does it mean that it won't hatch this time but soon? It could have been more specific of the time. I got excited for nothing."

Just then, Hana called out, "Hey everyone! It's almost lunchtime!"

"Perfect timing! I'm starving!"

"Everyone its lunch time."

Everyone let go of what they were doing and gathered around the fire to share a hearty meal. The smell of cooked meat filled the air, mingling with the laughter and chatter of everyone.

Unbeknownst to Rain and the others, storms were brewing in all directions. He was caught at the center and wouldn't be able to escape what was coming.

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