First things first. I need a place to live. The walls of the valley were quite steep but I managed to climb up and find a good location. It was right next to where the stream ran down along the mountainside.

I began digging and managed to create a tunnel that was over eighty feet long as well as being tall enough and wide enough to fit me. Digging this new home took me over two days and by the time I was done I was starving. So after drinking some water and lounging around for a bit I set out to locate the goblins. Dumb name. Sounds like a type of dirt.

They had tasted pretty good so maybe I could set up a livestock farm? I shrugged and sniffed around for any sign of them. It would be nice if I could find their camp but I had never really tracked anything with my nose before. I have a good sense of smell though.

It took me four hours to find the camp of the goblins. The Valley was a mile wide and around twenty miles long with some variation throughout. I had made my den near the entrance of the valley as I was planning on hunting the zorkids. No reason to waste a good food source. Plus they also taste good.

The goblin camp was near the opposite entrance of the valley. It was built on a small plateau and had over two hundred of the little buggers. They seemed to have set up a rudimentary tribe and were doing well. Unfortunately for them I was hungry. I was sitting above them on a cliff overlooking the little camp.

It was a thirty foot fall and would probably hurt. But I wanted to make a cool entrance. And I don’t think I can get back down very easily. It was difficult climbing up here. I’m not exactly used to this environment.

I decided to stop second guessing my decision and leaped off the cliff. I landed on one of the goblins huts and completely smashed it, including the goblins inside. The goblins started screaming the second they saw me.

Almost fifty of them sprinted towards me with spears in hand but I casually swatted them and began stabbing them in the face with my tail. After killing around twenty I continued ignoring their attacks as I stacked their corpses on my tail like a macabre kebab.

I then walked away from the screams and wails of horror as I began to plan out of the interior design of my home. The very back would be where I kept my eggs. I would make sure to gather as much soft material for them as I could. Area in front of the hatchery would be where my kids slept. I would gather bedding for them as well.

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I would sleep in the entrance, as I would block anything from entering. The hatchery and sleep area wouldn’t take up the entire tunnel but I want my kids to have enough room to play as well.

I dismissed the notifications without even glancing at them. I don’t think that was enough to push me through to the next level. I snacked on the goblins while I walked back home and by the time I got back only three of the corpses were left. I quickly scarfed them down and tossed the bones outside. No reason to leave them in my base.

After chilling for a bit and expanding the tunnel to make it wider I got back to work. I began grass, moss and fur from the surrounding area. I then set to work making a large sleeping area and hatchery. The next few days passed in the blink of an eye as I continued expanding the den, gathering bedding and snacking on goblins.

Finally the say arrived. I felt a familiar pressure of mourning and with not a small amount of trepidation I walked over to the hatchery. After ten minutes of pain and pushing eight eggs, I stared back at myself. I smiled constantly as I stared at them. I wrapped my body around them and closed my eyes. Images of little hatchlings growing nearby filled me with vigor. It’s nice to be a dad again.

I happily walked over to the entrance of the cave and planted myself. Nothing would be able to get past me unless it killed me. I had grabbed a few zorkid and goblin corpses in preparation for this. Nothing was moving me away from this cave.

I sat there for a few hours, slowly digging a hole with my tail as I vigilantly yelled at anything that walked by. However, other than scaring a few rabbits nothing walked by. This was definitely preferred but it was still boring though.

What should I name my kids? Should I name them? Of course I do! Maybe I’ll name them after my cousins. Most of them were good chaps. They were a bit snobbish though. But I bet my kids will wear the names better.

I smiled and imagined it. My kids and I, just hanging out in the cave, lounging around. We can sunbathe in the evenings when the sun hits our little cave just right. There's a few flat rocks outside that absorb the heat from the sun perfectly.

We can drink from the stream, the waters clean and there's even an occasional fish swimming through. I’ll make sure the kids don’t have to grow up as fast. They won’t have to fight. I’ll make sure they get to spend their childhood having fun and learning about the world around them.

“Oh! I need to teach them! I have to teach them their numbers, letters and geopolitical stuff. I’ve been going to Hanno’s classes for almost half a year. I bet I have a bunch of stuff to teach them. I teach them about the surrounding area. I should probably patrol the valley a few times with them when they’re older.

I sighed contently and smiled. I was going to have a nice calm life. No more dealing with hordes of rats, no more fighting armies of humans and no more politics. I began drawing pictures of castles in the dusty rock outside as I prepared myself for a perfect life. My day dreaming was interrupted by a dozen horse sized ants rushing towards me.