Chapter 169
When Are You Going to Die?
Hawkin cooked squash in his wood oven stove. He had cut a blood red squash in half and neglected their bake. He, Abigail, and I sat around the table where I spread out as much cheese as I could.
I had eaten so much cheese lately that it wafted from my breath like steam on a wintry morning. Both humans had wet eyes like they’d been cooking onions. Hawkin propped the door open as far as he could.
Abigail and Hawkin ate far less than I did. How could I stop when that missing flavor seemed to have returned once more. It was there when I shared with the goblins, and it was there as I shared with the humans.
It was a rare moment where we didn’t share beer. Instead, Hawkin had made us chilled sumac tea. Against the lemony taste of the tea, the cheeses really came to life.
My feast began by carefully selecting small bites between a hard Shifra cow’s milk and a sharp Omya tome. Both were bronze-orange. One was as big around as a cushion, or like a really fat coin. The other was in crumbles, like pieces of it had been collected from the side of a gold mountain.
Those weren’t enough to satisfy me, so I quickly stuffed cylinders of Rafiq sheep’s milk down my throat. The cheese was soft and the rind split apart like dried mud upon the surface of a trail in the sun that had seen rain the night prior.
Obviously, those bestie sized columns of cheese weren’t enough to satisfy me either, so I began shoveling cheese indiscriminately onto my tongue. I piled everything into my mouth. I frenzied! It was an attack on cheese!
My reserve of cheese was surely depleting, but it deserved to be binged. At first I paired runny cheeses with smoked fish. I topped the fish and half chewed my food. Then I started to pull out monster bones to pile cheese on top of. I pulled out fabrics, pecan branches, a river rock that stunk of clay, oyster shells, and a bandits iron pot. I slathered cheese on everything!
Composition:
44% Dreambon
22% Cheese
16% Fish
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04% Wood
04% Beer
02% Warthog
08% World
Creamy whites bled into my spongy irises. Another one of my fangs crumbled like dried cheese. My skin drooped, and my fur slipped with it. My claws became so soft that they dented like pinched gold.
The humans stared at me in what I could only take as horror.
Hawkin was the first to say something. “So Thrush…exactly how much cheese have you been eating?”
“As much as my system allows.”
His line of sight fell to my belly. He must have noticed that I had to scoot back from the table, because as I ate, my belly slid the table away. “Looks like you’re nearing the edge,” he said.
“Not to worry Hawkin. I’ve had to take a few naps here and there because my Satiation has crept up on me. But I’ve saved room for our meal today.”
“This must be expensive,” said Abigail. She gestured to all the cheese that hid the tabletop beneath.
“I’m a merchant,” I said.
Barnacle-eyes bounded in through the door. Her nose twitched, and she tilted her head back. Her nostrils flared. “Thrush, could I have some cheese for Slime-tooth? And can he have more dreambons? He really liked the one you gave him.”
“Hmm. If you enjoy some cheese soup with me, I’ll give you double what Slime-tooth wants.”
She overturned a bailing bucket from her inventory and stood atop it. The humans used their Fire and Roast skill to melt a family's years worth of cheese in bowls. The cheese dripped like hot molasses, and Barnacle-eyes and I poured cheese over our teeth.
I had to share dreambons with everyone which cut the cheese with beautiful fragrance and sweet acid and tangy fruit. And while we ate, Barnacle-eyes talked non stop about her goblins.
Their voices fell to the background as I devoured whatever my paws brought me. Everything suddenly had so much more flavor! That had to be why I wanted to eat the whole world. Cheese was a wonder of the world. I wondered if humans realized what an accomplishment crafting cheese was.
The goblins knew. They adored cheese as much as I did. So while Barnacle-eyes and her goblins were still alive, I had to share with them as much as possible. Afterwards, I could share more and more with Hawkin until…
“When are you going to die?” I asked Hawkin.
The human seemed surprised. “Uh, not for a very long time, I hope.” He smiled, and it seemed somewhat mischievous. “Why? Are you going to pile some cheese on top of me?”
“No. I want to know how much more time I have to spend with you. I’ll have more time with Abigail than with you, so I’ll be able to spend time with her after you're dead.” To Abigail I said, “Do you know when that will be?”
Abigail did not smile. She placed her half eaten dreambon half on the table, and she rose. “Please excuse me,” she said.
Barnacle-eyes reached over the table, hooked a finger on the edge of Abigail’s bowl of cheese soup, and dragged it to her.
“I suppose it all depends on reaching diamond rank,” Hawkin said with his gaze out the door.
“Will you?” I said.
Hawkin leaned back and sipped his sumac tea.
Barnacle-eyes pointed at his untouched bowl of cheese soup and said, “Are you gonna eat that?”