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Mire Core (A Nation Building Dungeon Core Story)
Chapter 11 - Santa Claus Came to Town

Chapter 11 - Santa Claus Came to Town

Before they awoke I placed the presents around my core equal distance apart from each other in order of I made them from left to right. I even made some substandard weed cloth to wrap them in to surprise them, even though I made the spindle, doesn't mean I can use it. I awaited for them to rise from their slumber.

Some time after sunrise but not for long with the fog still thick in the air, they stirred awake. Adam was the first to get up since he could no longer contain his excitement. I wouldn't be surprise if he did not slept at all but he some how found a way. Once he jumped out of his bed, well bedding in this case, he shocked the others awake too. Eve was upset to be woken up too early but changed her attitude once she was reminded about the upcoming events. For Lilith, she remained grumpy. A true miser if I would say so myself. At least the others were acting like it was Christmas morning, actually if you think about it, it was their version of Christmas. Should I make this a holiday? Meh, another thing to put off until later I guess.

When it looked like they were fully awake and settled down, I decided to begin. I summoned them to my core and presented their well presents. They bowed down when they got near me like always, I like the respect but it is something that you would need to get used to, and I called forth Adam first since he was the one who asked for his gift. I directed him to the longest one and then he tore it open without a second thought. He was amazed what was now in his hands.

Adam, you had the selfless desire to protect those you cared about so I give you this spear to use to defend the weak and harm all those who seek us harm but beware, do not let anyone besides your foes to get cut with the pointy end. Now once this ceremony is over, go practice so you can show your dedication to your promise.

I directed this message towards him to not just tell him the purpose of this tool and to give him some encouragement but also added the warning since the dangerous [ability] cannot discern between friend nor foe and I do not want him to hurt himself or anyone he cares about by accident. He held it upon his hands just staring in amazement for a solid minute until he snapped out of his trance.

He clutched the bone chaff and said, "Thank you Father, I won't let you down!" His faced filled with joy and determination with that declaration.

Done with this exchange, Adam went back to his spot and kneeled while still admiring his new weapon. I called upon Eve to come forward next. I directed her to the middle present, which to her looks like a her size lumpy mass so she had no idea what she would get. She gently peeled the cloth off and was more interested with it instead. Sheesh, spend all that effort with making her a gift and she liked the wrapping more. Once she was finished, it revealed a bleach white wheel attached to a table made out of the same material with a pedal and a rusty nail. I originally wanted to make a hand spindle but after learning some tricks with bone creation from making the spear, I decided to go all out. She was confused when she saw it and I could sense a little disappointment since her brother received a seemly much more amazing gift.

Eve, I have noticed your curiosity with the clothes I have made for you and your siblings and had attempted to recreate them. I wish to encourage this by gifting you this magical spinning wheel which will allow you to make thread to use to make even superior clothing then I would ever be able to make.

She was surprised by what I told her, then it turned to embarrassment and finally to astonishment to the last statement. I think the idea that someone could do something better than me never crossed their minds. Even the other two was bewildered. To try it out, Eve instantly grabbed the nearest bunch of weeds and brought it to the needle. At first nothing happened so I nudged the idea that she needed to spin it to work by pressing on the pedal. Once she gently pushed down, the wheel began to turn and the magic began its course. The majority of the mass of the weeds turned to ash in a second while the fibers were suspended in air until they weaved and bound themselves together before winding around the spool. She yelled with glee and tried to grab all the weeds around her to continue the thread but was interrupted by Lilith with a cough.

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Eve announced, "Thank you, Thank you very much Father, I will treasure it for the rest of my life!" Practically jumping in joy and grabbed the spindle which was more like a hug and brought it back to her spot.

Now the best for last. I asked Lilith to come accept her gift. She came and unwrapped it, not hast hazardously like Adam nor too infatuated with the wrapping but with respect. What she found was a square the size of a large chess board with ornate bone edges. Delicately carved to depicted the bog and various mushrooms. One side had an embellished illustration of moi and the opposite shows them in a state of happiness. The majority of the square, especially the surface is made of clay which I found quite recently. The clay is molded to have white circle in the very center with smaller blue dots next to it and an another wobbly circle outline surrounding them. Then there are more random shapes near the edges ultimately forming a more defined circle touching the sides of the square. Like Eve she was confused but still looked in fascination upon the ivory lining.

She immediately tried to thank me, "Father you are too kind and I will..." But I stopped her before she could continue.

Too rash to let your father to explain their gift?

"No Father, I beg for forgiveness for my insolence."

It's ok, I noticed that you always took charge compared to your siblings. Showed great leadership abilities and was vigilant when it came to our safety so this gift is for you. This board shares a limited form of my own senses so you will always know what's happens in my territory with this map. The white dot in the center is me while the blue ones are you three.

I then explained how it worked. First that the map will display significant entities that are on my land, red for hostiles, orange for dangerous neutrals, yellow for friendly neutrals, green for allies, and blue for our people and creatures under my command. The user can even place purple x marks on locations of interest. I also added,

Another use of this map is that you can choose any location on here too look closer.

I chose this very spot and made the map zoom in, yes I can use this item but not the others. The clay now shows an outline from aerial view above us of me and the three goblins. Then I changed the point of view too the side of Lilith's face which made her jump. This fascinated her as she moved her hand which moved her hand in the picture.

Lilith began to compute all what just happened and threw herself to the ground in the lowest bow one can performed and said, "Thank you Father, no words can express my gratitude for this marvelous gift. I will cherish it to the end of my days and ensure it will be used to bring prosperity to you and all that follows you."

The dramatized display she just performed made me jump, metaphorically, with how sudden it was. I know how good this gift was but I underestimated this reaction. I'm glad she was grateful and appreciated it but I had to ask her to calm down. Before she joined her brother and sister, I bound her to the device since she would not have been able to use it otherwise. Once settled down, the three of them decided to express their gratitude as one.

"We thank Father for all of what he have given to us and we will not forget to repay your kindness."

I told them I appreciate their thanks and to go enjoy your gifts. As I watched them use them, Adam training with thrusts and swipes and other basic forms of spearmanship, Eve spinning as much weeds she could get her hands on, and Lilith exploring the limits of her map, I began to wonder what would they become, what would they create and ultimately what would I become overall. Aren't I supposed to be a [dungeon] that suppose to kill intruders and have treasures to encourage them to take the risk. If I keep indulging my goblins, how will I accomplish this? Eventually the goblins will need better supplies like food and materials, better shelters, more space for the next generation, more supplies and shelters for them too. How will I find the time to create monsters, traps, and defenses if I focus on them too much. Anyways time will tell and I feel like betting on them would be the best choice, I don't know.