Chapter 7: Temple

The goblins were relentless for the last few days. Andy thought he had barely escaped the insane ceremony. When things took a strange turn. The goblins began to form some groups. The goblins, one chaotic now started to use their brain, started to build things like crude homes, stone pathways and even a few small, but surprisingly well-constructed traps.

Andy floated around the village, hovering in the air, seeing goblins rushing here and there, dragging logs, stacking rocks, and arguing in their gruff voices. He was very confused. Because of the sudden change. What the heck was going on?

"lira, what's happening?" he asked, floating towards her, who was lazily leaning against a tree, munching on something like a leaf-wrapped snack.

"looks like they are organizing," she said "Your great wisdom has worked, oh great wisp."

"Yeah, but …it just doesn't feel real. For them to change like this," Andy said, "this is a drastic change in a few days."

Lira looks at him. "well, you are their god, so they think whatever you say is absolute. And guess what? You did tell them to be more efficient. They are just following what you said."

Andy was beginning to understand that his few accidental words had changed the goblin's thoughts drastically. In their eyes he was the answer to their problems, the gob who will lead them towards prosperity. The thought was both terrifying and a little bit hilarious to him.

One particularly large goblin, who had grown fond of wearing a helmet made out of a hollowed-out pumpkin, came to Andy with a perplexed look on his face.

"Great wisp!" the goblin called. "where do we need to put these rocks for your great house?" he gestured towards a pile of heavy stones that had somehow appeared overnight.

Andy was puzzled. 'I didn't see those rocks yesterday when did they bring those rocks.' "uh. I don't need a house."

The goblin stared at him blankly, then suddenly roared. "great wisp needs a house! For living! For the future!"

"I….I don't need a house!" Andy protested, but the goblin was already scampering off, shouting instructions to others l. Soon a small construction crew of goblins was formed. And they started hauling the materials for what appeared to be an absurdly oversized 'wisp temple' of sorts.

Lira leans, whispering in Andy's ears. "your in too deep, buddy. It seems you can't even stop them now. Just try to roll with it."

Andy sighed, watching in disbelief as the goblins worked together hammering, stacking, and panting. "this is crazy. They are taking my words too seriously. Well, I think it's good that they are changing."

"Well, you did tell them you are their god they can't do much on their own so they are doing what they can and they like the idea of having someone to lead them," Lira explained, floating lazily beside him. " but hey, look at the bright side you are responsible for making them the most organized group of goblins I have ever seen. I might even be impressed."

Andy stared at the wisp temple being constructed in his 'honor'. It was a ridiculous structure, with mismatched pillars and windows with were all in the wrong places, but somehow it looked more efficient than all other things goblins built. The goblins are very serious about building the temple, they took my suggestion seriously, and now they were building something."

'well, I don't need home urgently, they can build their home first'. So Andy floated down to one of the goblins carrying a log, clearing his throat. "hey, uh … you don't have to build me a temple, you know. I don't need one."

The goblin paused, looked at Andy with side eyes, and shook his head. "great wisp needs a temple. Great wisp need a temple to guide us!" he declared with firm belief.

Andy felt a pang of guild. They were just trying to show respect in their way. "look, just….keep doing what you are doing. But maybe….I don't need a giant temple. Just….don't make it too big, play?"

The goblin nodded enthusiastically. "yes, great one! We will build the temple with pride."

"and no more weird mushrooms!" Andy added. " and….uh, don't make it any more bigger! We don't need a palace."

The goblin looked up at the rapidly growing structure, nodded, and then tab off to organize the others. Andy started at the temple and sighed.

"Maybe I should just let them finish it," he muttered. Slowly goes towards the tree to lie down.

"or maybe," Lira said, her tone a little teasing, "you should try to figure out how to use your wisp abilities to take control of you're getting the hang of it."

Andy glared at her. "if you're just so free why don't you tell me a way to get out of this."

"Well, the goblins think you are their leader now," Lira said "Might as well embrace it. You are powerless, you should stay here and get some stronger, in the meantime, you should try leading them properly."

"I am just trying to survive here, lira," Andy muttered. "not sign for a goblin army."

Lira snorted. "it is not an army. It's a very enthusiastic workforce. Which can be very useful."

Andy sighed again. It wasn't just the temple. The goblins were beginning to share their community, organizing their hunts, setting up a proper defense against wild animals, and even developing a rudimentary language for communication. It was starting to feel less like chaos and more like a real society. And it wasn't even because of anything Andy had done it was because they had taken his accidental words and made something of them.

But things are going in the right direction, for now.

As the day wore on, Andy found himself spending more time with the goblins, trying to offer some advice about organizing their homes. They even started to plant crops in neat rows, and they even began to experiment with making rudimentary tools and ideas that had come up when one particularly ambitious goblin stumbled upon a sharp rock.

The more Andy watched, the more he realized that maybe, this was something worth being a part of.

Lira floated next to him, watching goblins work. "you are doing a good job, you know," she said, with a smile. "maybe you are not such a bad leader after all."

Andy chuckled, his glow brightening slightly. "I don't know if I am leading anything. But u guess…I can't ignore what they have done. They are getting their act together."

"you might be surprised what a little guidance can do," Lira said eyes twinkling with amusement. "but hey, if you keep going like this, you will have them build an entire city in no time."

"Great," Andy said dryly, "a city of goblins, it sounds good. What could go wrong?"

Lira smirked. "let's find out."

And just like that, Andy knew that this strange, accidental leadership role was becoming something he couldn't escape. But maybe, he could make the best of it. He was a wisp, after all. How hard could leading a bunch of goblins be?