1.3 Tricks of the Trade

Faragi

I was surprised when I got back to the cave and it was still not getting darker. The sky had shifted color slightly towards red, but this wasn't the usual day/night scenario I was used to. Perhaps I could get a fire going before nightfall? 

That sounded like a great idea, but there was a problem. The method that attracted me the most required some tools, like a hatchet or knife, or preferably, both. That method was known as the ''bow drill''. Basically, what it entailed was to create a bow, find a good straight, round stick. Wrap the string around in and use the bow like a tree saw, while using a rock to push the stick down from the top. This would create heat through friction that could then be used to make en ember to set a ''nest'' on fire. 

The main advantage of this method was that it was a lot less labor intensive than the dreaded stick rubbing way of basically doing the same. It didn't seem I had much choice without tools, so unfortunately, I had to resort to using the good ol' caveman method. 

Thus, I went out to look for anything that would help me start a fire. Dried leaves, branches, sticks and nest material were found along the edges of the clearance in abundance. It seemed opportunity was aplenty, shame I had to get everything done in such an inefficient manner. How nice it would be to just have a lighter. Or those magnesium sticks they used in those survival shows that were apparently insanely easy to start fires with. 

'Cheaters', I thought in spite.  

After gathering and setting up all that I needed it was time to see if I could beat my ancient ancestors. Surely, they had to have high expectations of me? I guessed four hands would make this easier than two? 

I had found a soft-wood tree trunk that had been stripped of its bark and split in multiple sections by what appeared to be tooth marks. This would be ideal if I could get one of the parts split in two, vertically. Once again, I brought out my sharp fangs, as creepy as they were, they were the closest thing to anything that could at least somewhat function like a knife. I hoped that using them to carve into wood wouldn't damage them. Alas, I could only carve so deep so I had to finish the job another way. I walked around the small cave to see if I could find anything that I had in mind. It took a while, but ultimately, I found a sharp rock pointing up to the sky.  

''Here is to hoping that this is not stone made in China'', I placed the edge of the rock into the carve that I had created, held it in place with my hands, and brought my front four legs down on it with force. 

That did the trick, the log was neatly split in half as I intended.  

'Yes, plus one point for', I started a mental cheer, 'Spider lady, I guess?  

Crap, I still don't remember my name.  

I got frustrated for a moment but dismissed the thoughts of it, I would get to that later, right now it was time to try to get a fire going. I uprooted some grass and placed the halved trunk down so that the flat surface was on top, then I made somewhat of a dent near the edge where I would be placing a stick I found. I rubbed the stick for a while to hollow it out further so that it would fit perfectly and would stay in position while trying to get an ember going. 

When I was satisfied with that part, I carved out a triangle to the dent. I also made sure to clear out a small area of grass to prevent actually starting a forest fire, wouldn't want the authorities to go after me, would I? Assuming there were any in the first place.  

Maybe this forest had some freaky spirits that would seek vengeance if I burnt down trees? I shuddered at the thought. It may actually turn out to be real, too.  

Preparations complete, it was time for the worst part to get underway. I kept the top of the stick in place with a nicely dented rock I found, it didn't matter that it was the porous kind for this purpose, I just needed it there to not drill a hole in my hand.  

I placed a slab of bark below the hole to scoop up the heated dust and got to work rubbing.  

This actually didn't go as bad as I had expected, whenever I felt my hands get sore, I could simply pull a good ol’ switcheroo to my other pair. I swore I would never have had any success otherwise.  

I started out slow and was elated what I saw some smoke rise up. Just in time too because it seemed evening was actually setting in now with the light slowly getting dimmer. More smoke started to rise up from the small pile of blackened sawdust under the hole at the edge, and I started to work faster in excitement.  

I knew I couldn't stop too early or the ember would die out. When a lot of smoke continually rose up and my hands started to hurt from rubbing so fast, I decided to give it a go. I grabbed my bundle of tinder and dropped the ember in it. I packed it together tightly and watched as the smoke increased in intensity. I blew in air to supply oxygen to the ember. After the third lung full of hot breath, my tinder caught fire! 

I had done it! I couldn't believe I had successfully started a fire! I quickly gathered all the dried-up materials I had collected to keep the fire going. It started with small twigs and leaves but soon I had a proper fire going. I collected some more wood from the outskirts of the clearing and started to move the fire to the inside of ''my cave'', not too deep though, or I would actually kill myself by draining all oxygen from the surrounding area.  

Soon, I had a nice stack of wood in the back of the cave and a cozy fire burning in front. After putting the coconuts that I collected earlier next to the stack of wood, I decided it was time to finally relax. I let myself drop down to the stone cave floor and simply enjoyed the warm radiance of the fire that contrasted to the now quickly darkening sky.  

With light now dispelling the darkness of the cave I could look around clearly. One of the walls had a large blood stain that trickled all the way down and covered parts of the floor as well. I guessed that was from my bashing my head against the wall? Now that I thought about it, how badly wounded was I?  

I had not noticed any of the symptoms that would normally be associated with blood loss. I pulled my long red hair to the side and felt around the back of my head, nape and shoulders but couldn't find any semblance of a scab or scar. Weird, how long had I been out for? It couldn't have healed fully in that time, right? 

I added some of the thicker logs I found to the fire and decided to call it a day, I didn't want to admit it but I was exhausted. I hoped it would keep the fire going until morning, or at least until I woke up again, I'd hate to go through the process of making one again. I leaned back against my abdomen which seemed to be the most comfortable I could get for lack of a proper bed.  

God, how I longed for a soft mattress. 

'How would I even sleep on one now', I wondered. 'And how is my butt so comfortable, the hell?'  

I took one last look at my body, still covered in blood. It was sad I didn't get to find any water; I could really have used a shower.  

I reflected back on the day and everything that had happened so far, I could only describe it as the worst day in my life. Waking up as nightmare fuel, having to go through the process of learning how to walk (again), walking miles to find water all while thinking you could get killed at any moment by predators. Okay, the food I got so far had been pretty damn good but still.  

Getting a fire going had also raised my morale, but there was still a whole load of issues that I had to take care of. One of those would be to find or make some kind of clothing. I guess I would have to find some more food, then start working on that.  

My kingdom for a good steak! I was actually dying for some meat, probably another side effect of being half spider. I cursed myself for somewhat looking forward to hunting. I didn't have any kind of weapon yet. I should not hunt unprepared, for all I knew whatever I was hunting could shoot laser beams from their eyes or spray acid that melted your skin.  

'Yikes', I reacted at the mental image of such creatures existing.  

Okay so, tools, weapons, clothes, then hunting? I actually didn't know what the most logical order would be. Maybe it would actually be better to find a steady supply of water first, these coconuts wouldn't last forever, or maybe they would? I shrugged, who knew? For all I knew, they grew back overnight, this world was seriously messed up.  

I laid back again and secretly hoped I would just wake up in my bed again tomorrow. 

----------------------------------- 

I must have fallen asleep, because the next moment I tried to untangle the mess of hair in front of my face as I was waking up to heap of coal and ash and the sky once again bright.  

''Oh shit, my fire, noooo!'' 

I quicky grabbed some dried leaves and twigs, put them into the smoldering coals and blew. Under the silver ash I was happy to see the coals were still glowing red. I moved the red coals together with a stick and continued blowing. Soon enough, I got a new fire burning.  

Relief flooded through me as rebuilt it. I put some bigger pieces of wood on the fire again and took note that I would have to find some more of those as I went, an axe would be great to have, I could get them myself instead of having to specifically find long dead trees.  

I went outside and noticed the distinct difference in the atmosphere today. It was still quite warm but far more humid, in the distance I could see clouds start to form, I hoped it wouldn't rain. Actually, thinking about it logically, rain would be a blessing. I changed my mind, I hoped it would rain.  

I gathered as much wood as I could find and brought it inside the cave if it was going to rain, I'd better have dry wood stocked up. I had to venture a bit into the forest to find some more. I didn't mark the trees this time as I was not planning to go far. 

About five minutes out from the cave I came across something... unusual. I found a fairly large tree judging from the radius of its trunk. It was chopped down and severed into several large logs, some seemed to have gone missing, as did the crown and branches. From a distance I watched and scanned the surroundings. This seemed to have been caused by humans after all. I could not risk being seen.  

When I saw no movement after a while of waiting, I decided I could not let this golden opportunity slip away. I came out of hiding and snatched four large logs. Whoever did this surely wouldn't mind? After all, they had the tools to get more anytime they wanted. I felt guilty, but I also felt I had no choice but to benefit from the situation. Maybe I could find whoever did this later on and repay them?  

Pressure started to build up in my lower human body and I knew I had to hurry back, I knew what it was but was confused as to how in the world that worked. I found out I could move at a decent pace now without being all wobbly and without focusing on it as much as before, which in this case was a huge boon.  

When I got back to the clearance, I made a beeline to the cave, dropped a log onto the fire and hurried outside behind the cave. My bladder was about to burst and I had no idea where I would have to release it, so before I just let it go and cause a stinky mess I searched (don’t ask).  

I found out that in between my fangs, hidden under black hairs that obscured it from vision I still possessed my lady parts. Embarrassment flooded through me,  

What kind of pervert came up with this shit, are you kidding me? 

I cursed at whatever cruel god forced me to put up with this mess. With no time to think, I brushed the hairs out of the way to not soak myself, lowered myself and just let go. 

After my ''toilet break'' I felt disgusted, I had no toilet paper to clean myself and no sink to wash my hands, my many hands.  

Yikes, at this rate I would have to dig a well and cook ground water in coconuts to wash myself to get some semblance of hygiene.  I started walking back around the cave. I halted just before I went around the bend as I saw movement in the clearance. I quickly dashed behind one of the rocks and hoped I wasn't noticed. I peeked from the side and saw a small green humanoid crossing the clearing.  

''Goblins, why does it always have to be goblins, goblins or slimes'', I whispered. 

I knew exactly how this played out. Slimes or goblins would always be first creatures one would have to fight after being transmigrated or reincarnated in another world. I was thankful that my new life so far at least followed that bit of ''logic'' from Earth's works of fiction.  

I didn't want to imagine what would happen if the very first thing I ran into would be ''Krxy'vrxxa the Supreme Overlord Gatekeeper Boss Dude of the Primary Realm of Demons'' or something like that. I would probably be swatted like a mosquito, yikes! 

I watched as it came closer, its green skin, pointy nose and pointy ears confirmed my suspicion, this was a stereotypical goblin. He wore a simple cloth around his waist and walked around in a bare torso. He had a large silver-colored ring through the middle of his right ear that also had a chip missing near the top, as if a rat nibbled on his ear and took a large bite. His small frame would give me an advantage in combat but the bad part was that he had a weapon.  

He had a spear drawn as he came to the cave entrance where it eyed my fire. He also had a metal hatchet and a knife strapped to a utility belt which caught my eye, I could surely use those, but would I resort to stealing? 

I climbed up above the entrance to the cave, I was not expecting things to go as easy as they did, it appeared the ends of my legs really did seem to stick to any surface. From here I would be in an excellent position to ambush when he came out, I'd hate to have a spear pierce my body after all. 

After a while I saw him exiting the cave with a log under his one arm, his spear still in hand. Guess I found out who I got those from, and... were those two of my coconuts under his other?  

My eyes shot with rage. And here I was thinking about not stealing. I mean, I technically stole his wood too but that was different! I had worked hard for those coconuts alright, I had to walk for miles and then climb some weird tree. Besides that, I needed them to not actually die of thirst or starvation, he could miss a few logs and it wouldn't affect him too much.  

He stood there for a while, just outside the cave. He seemed to be looking around, but he forgot to check one direction, up.  

'Hah, gotcha', I praised myself in my mind before I covered my breasts with two of my hands. Didn't want to look indecent while jumping on somebody from above after all. Wait, that sounded terribly wrong.  

I quickly regained my composure and took the leap.  

He quickly turned his head around as I was descending on him, but it was already too late. Before long I had him pinned under my legs as he dropped what he was carrying and his spear fell from his grasp. Victory. 

'That has to be a skill up in my eye-leg coordination', I mused as I rolled the spear away with one of my legs.  

His sudden movements caught me almost by surprise as he started reaching for his belt.  

''Oh no, you don't'', I quickly rolled his small frame over so his back was on the grass and pinned his hands down. 

Of course, I was no expert in goblin behavior but the way I felt him shaking beneath my legs as his eyes fixated upon my fangs (At least I hoped it was my fangs, I did cover everything else up properly again, right?) must have had him scared to death. I mean, for all he knew, I ate goblins for breakfast, maybe all this blood didn't help my case.  

Did goblins even have red blood? I actually was not keen on finding that out. It probably was not a good idea to start a fight with goblins, they always lived in tribes or groups in novels and I would very much not like an angry horde of goblins chasing me down.  

He muttered a lot of words way too fast in an incomprehensible language. Great, there was that as well. 

''Don't worry I have no intention to eat you'', I calmly said, retracting my fangs under my body.  

''How about a trade? Your hatchet and spear'', I pointed to his hatchet, then to his spear laying in the grass with one of the hands that I was not using to cover my decency, then back to me.  

''For my coconuts.'' I pointed to the coconuts at the side, then back to him.  

I knew full well I was ripping him off, but then again, I had the position of strength in this trade. Besides, I had one more thing up my sleeve that would even out the scales some more, and it wouldn't cost me any additional effort.  

His fear seemed to diminish slightly as he nodded wildly after swallowing. Who would have known that having your life on the line could be such an effective persuasion method? I gestured the hands down signal that would usually mean ''calm down'' and slowly let go of his limbs.  

I took up his spear and he slowly unstrapped his axe and threw it to the floor, picked up the coconuts and prepared to leave in a hurry.  

''Wait'', I called out in my new soothing voice, it did so not fit this monstrous body.  

He came to an abrupt halt and looked behind him, his eyes still wary. I smiled slightly and motioned for him to follow me back to the cave. He seemed to get the message and followed me slowly, I wondered why he didn't try to run off in a hurry. Did he think I would be able to catch up to him? To his credit, I probably could have, if I had had more time to acclimate to this body. Right now, I probably stood no chance of catching up. 

'Joke's on him', I quietly thought.  

I led him in my cave, dropped the spear, and handed him another of his own logs, which he happily accepted. I could always get more myself now, anyway. I then grabbed the last of my coconuts and walked outside, motioning him to follow me once more.  

I walked up to the closest tree that I had marked with a line and pointed at the coconut in one of my hands. I then pointed to the marking on the tree. He didn't seem to have any idea what I was trying to explain.  

I pointed to the marking, then the coconut, then to the marking again and then motioned him to follow me. I walked over to the next tree with a marker and pointed at it. I then pointed in the direction of the next tree with a marker and made a gesture with my hand that utilized my index and middle finger to indicate ''walking'', then pointed to the coconut again.  

I think I saw the metaphorical light bulb turn on in his head as he nodded. I hoped the information on where to find them would make me seem less of a monster when it came to trade deals, I was no monster after all.  

I sighed as he walked off and walked off on my own, back to my cave, picking up the hatchet that was still laying around.   

When I got to the entrance, I looked around to make sure the goblin was gone and finally let go of my hands that had been covering my chest all this time. I really needed to get some clothes...