The entrance to the cave is being covered by a mud wall taken from inside it. A small part of it is hollowed out big enough for the transporters to come and go. Then just cover that part with branches tied together for a make shift door.
The walls inside the cave are filled with luminous rocks that can only be obtained from the bottom part of the cave. Traversing the cave has been easier ever since. And being familiar with most of the terrain, Bob was able to get to the bottom immediately where the other golems are. With a loud thud from jumping such height the golems became aware of his presence.
“Emi, Obi, Zuli”
The golems which first appeared hostile began to settle down upon hearing those words.
The crystal, along with the other luminous rocks serves as the source of light. But they scattered it across the place that now it is cleanly lit.
“Where’s Agta and Atga?”
The golems point towards across the place. A slope with frame of a staircase stretches as it spirals upward. He followed the path and at the end of it is another mouth of the cave.
On the other side of it is small patch of land and a willow tree at the middle. Stream runs across its side and beneath the tree are the two wolves resting.
“There you are.”
The wolves recognize the voice and hurried towards him. They lung towards slamming their bodies towards him, almost suffocating from how big they are.
“You’re almost as big as your mother!” Bob mentions then added “But she killed Susan.” A sour expression emerges from him before becoming gentle again from petting the wolves.
“I’m going to set up some traps near the lookouts, want to come?” He asks the wolves.
They made a rigid tail wag and looks at him. Bob smiles before riding Atga. Holding to her fur tightly. She then leaps out of the cave through the crater above them. In the air, Bob looks to his side and saw the vast ocean stretching towards the horizon. Beyond it are mountain range. He took a deep breath in satisfaction as he is very used to the sight from the farm.
“…Ahh Mt. Maga. As big as ever.” He said softly when his eyes caught the attention of the mountain in the far distance. The same mountain that he can see even from the farm.
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Atga then rushes to one of the lookouts while Agta on the other hand hides in her shadows. Arriving at a lookout it’s not very eye catching. It is placed almost at the peak of the hill. Hidden atop of the trees surrounding it. Bob leaps off from Atga and climbs one of the trees. From the lookout he can see the other ones he set up from hill to hill.
After seeing that nothing looks out of the ordinary, he climbs down then went to the bottom of the hill. He had paved a path that looks like it’s leading towards the top of the hill and even a fork that would lead to the farm. But there is nothing at the end of it, and loops back to the same fork.
He then set up the traps. The most common one is a snare trap. A noose big enough for both feet to fit is on the ground which he covered with leaves. It is then attached to wooden peg that has a mortise and tenon notched together on the other side. Another rope is attached to the where the tenon is, to a sturdy branch of a nearby tree that serves as its spring.
‘Tomorrow I’ll add a pitfall.’
Finishing the trap, he went to the other locations and did the same things. Setting them up in different locations near all the look outs. Some parts of the peninsula are filled with animal life. Critters can be heard from most of the time. Sometimes just roaming around and setting off traps laid for adventurers that will inevitably come.
Bob looks up and saw that it is almost sundown. The moon is already visible, in a crescent shape as if smiling over him. He notices the fireflies surrounding the place. They were rather early for today but he thought that maybe it’s just him. Before his encounters with the adventurers he never really took the time to go around the peninsula. Spending dawn to dusk just working on a farm. That is not meant to say that he never took a time off to enjoy the view and bask in the cold wind under the starry night.
He gathers his things that he left by a stump before working on the traps, then went back to the cave. But instead of going to the main entrance, they went back to where they came. Atga jumped in with Bob over her back and got him off by the willow tree. Bob gave her a small pat on the head before she jumps out again.
The cave is giving off a beautiful glow from above. On the walls and ceiling from the inside this part of the cave are filled with glow worms, giving off a gentle blue glow. Making the willow a little visible in the darkening night. A cold breeze rushes from above making the trimmed grass surrounding the tree move with it. The same breeze howled inside the cave through where the golems are.
He made his made his way towards them before noticing something wrong with his shadows. Moving abruptly and bigger than it should’ve been inside.
“Agta?” He whispered.
Out from the shadow emerges a wolf with a fluid tail wagging like a snake walks up to him.
“You didn’t go with Atga?”
The wolf let out a small whine while sniffing his hands as if wanting to be pet by him. He smiles then pet the crouching wolf. Its scar caught his eyes and was reminded again of what led to it.
‘I won’t let that happen again.’
After a short while he then went to the brighter part of the cave, where the golems are. The golems had just finished defeating one of the crystal golems that are hostile. Taking its core from its part and setting it aside near the stairs that zigzags outside the main entrance. With them is the sophisticated scarecrow.
“Jack” He called. “What brings you here?”
“Ah, milord. There is something different from todays’ export. We found something new.”