Chapter 58 - Paying Back My Depths
Having survived the onslaught of enemies and finally having a chance to calm down and relax I quickly made my way towards the ferret while still in conversation with Blacky the Savage Black Terror.
"So… you're certain this white fluffy fellow isn't dead? Seeing as like he was desperately trying to protect something… Manly me!"
"I think so… I can't say for sure… But the moment you jumped into the fight and were able to calm me down before the other creatures ambushed us, it seemed like your big white and fluffy friend, although heavily bruised, "your friend" was still breathing."
Alarmed by the uncertainty I rushed to the white fluffy ferret's aid.
Once there it quickly became apparent that I had been worried over nothing realizing how the big fellow was vastly asleep.
Laying on its back without a care in the world, a bubble of snot formed on his nose.
Indicating that he truly was vast asleep. On the other hand, the bruises and wounds were also clearly visible now, seeing how the blood had been covering its white fur all over, almost making it give off the feeling of a pink fluff…
I knew it was probably best to try and clean it up before it would wake up.
Having decided what to do, now the most important part of the job had to be envisioned and found. A pure water source… So, I checked up on Blacky and her little Tasmanian baby's. Seeing how they were unharmed and safely sleeping against their mother's soft and fluffy fur I decided to head out as everyone needed a well-deserved moment to wash up.
You would think that in a rain forest or jungle of this size a water source could be found around almost any corner, but for some reason, this was not the case… So I sat out to find what I was looking for… Along the way I realized that I needed to find a way to take some water with me, seeing as how carrying the unconscious ferret and leaving myself open for attacks wouldn't seem like the wisest thing to do.
The thing was… That I needed to find a way in creating a contraption for me to easily carry enough water to both the ferret and the Blacky family. So… I started to look around, maybe find a way to put tree barks together with the sap of trees to try and create a cart that wouldn't leak water on the way back.
The sun rays shine brightly through the small windows of time that the leaves created by dancing in the wind. Thinking back I always understood the theory of carpeting. In most situations people combined their works with metal but seeing how I was unable to find any metal during my journey throughout the jungle, maybe I could find a counterpart using rocks, dirt, or ground? Who knows… I should try anything at this point, right?
So… Before heading deeper into the unknown depths of the jungle I decided to collect some bask of seemingly old dead trees. Breaking parts of these trees as they had fallen a long time ago seemed like the most useful thing to do.
After having collected several chunks of tree bask I thought to myself that this should be enough for the construction, so, as any other person would do I Went on my way to find materials to try and connect the pieces with. Along the way as I searched for fresh vines which could help in this process…
Vines usually grow and hang on trees which meant that I had to climb up after finally having found my way back down… Instantly getting flashbacks of what had transpired not too long ago… Getting ambushed by mantis and spiders alike… Man, better be on my guard if something similar could happen, right?
I slowly started to climb my way up the nearest tree with vines, when I finally reached them I noticed an opening in the side of the tree, but decided the vines were of more importance than my curiosities right now. I headed out towards the vines cleanly biting them off allowing them to fall to the ground, almost right next to the collected pieces of wood.
I think I had enough lengthy vines so I decided to head my way down when suddenly I had the feeling of being watched. Frozen with my back towards the tree I thought to myself that it might have been wiser to check my surroundings a bit more. What I heard I recognized in an instant seeing how back in the days some of my friends had them as pets…
I heard the subtle sound of peeping signaling that a rat or mouse was nearby,
I didn't know if this posed a threat to me or the others at this point…
But what I knew for certain was that if the creature would find a way down the tree,
that the little ones of Blacky could very well be in danger.
Seeing how what I needed so far was now on the bottom of the tree I had the means to protect those who helped me in the end. An opportunity to pay back the kindness of Blacky had presented itself to me.
There was no doubt in my mind, seeing how rats are known to eat anything they could get their hands at, that the little ones would be in danger. I now had the chance to either prevent this from happening or to lead the creature to the den… But, let's say I would do that? Wouldn't that make me an even worse person than I am right now?
As that wouldn't have anything to do with the survival of the fittest, right?
My insane strain of thought quickly found a way back to my sanity as I saw the creature move towards the inside of the tree. Eyes red as blood shined their dampened vision towards me… Like the ferret and Tasmanian devil Blacky this creature was incredibly fluffy, but what this creature had what did not was the fact that its spinal vertebrae were sticking out ever so slightly.
Actually… The moment our eyes met and the creature rushed down the tree from the inside, I could have sworn to see that it was partially missing skin on its claws and head… Not to mention that its tail wasn't like the normal rats I knew seeing how it flailed without any skin whatsoever… There was only one way to descend faster than the rat, I had to jump… But, would I be able to create some sort of bed of sand to create a cushion in time? We would just have to see and try I guess?
Thinking of Blacky her young I jumped down without a second thought on my mind. As I descended towards the ground, the air blew in my face and passed my body making me fall faster by the second…
This was the moment where I needed to focus most, creating an insanely dynamic entry while making sure to survive myself… This… Could pose to be quite the challenge…
Before the time to execute my skills was there I saw that the creature slowly began to leave the opening in the tree at the bottom of the tree.
But what it didn't know, was the fact that I was insane enough to jump down towards it.
The rat looked up allowing our eyes to meet once again… Shocked, it tried to get away.
Unaware of the trap that I had laid down before climbing the tree.
Learning from my past experiences I had created a quicksand pitfall which consisted of soft sand, and sharp spikes at the bottom. My descend had almost made me collide with the ground when I made the ground form a soft sand tomb for me to fall in allowing me to instantly cushion the impact of the fall completely.
As for the unwanted enemy? It was struggling to get out of the quicksand trap making it sink even deeper when finally I couldn't bear to watch the creature struggle any longer ending its life with a heavy bombardment of acid-coated flames. Unsure if what I had encountered was somewhat of an undead creature I made sure to melt its bones away knowing for a fact that it couldn't harm any of my newfound friends.
Now back on the prospering grounds of the woods I began tinkering away at the wood with the use of my
But I knew as I would eventually find water in these deep forests of the dungeon that the use of sand and water would strengthen the foundation of my creation allowing the container to easily take the needed amount of water with me back to my friends.
But first… I still needed to find the most crucial part of the plan to succeed, water…