Chapter 27

Divine surveyed his cavern and noticed something at the entrance.

Stepping past the humans, the well and Venus, Divine saw five goblin corpses on the one side, and two dead rabbits next to a skull filled with berries on the other side of the cavern's entrance.

The tribute of the new Chief Mouth had arrived.

Divine inspected the offerings.

The two rabbits and the berries seemed alright.

There were two goblin corpses with stab wounds, a one legged goblin with a laceration on the back of the head, an old one with all of his limbs broken and a young gobling that was only skin and bones, propably starved to death.

[+1 Blood Qi Essence]

[+1 Blood Qi Essence]

[+1 Blood Qi Essence]

[+1 Blood Qi Essence]

[+1 Blood Qi Essence]

Divine let Venus swallow the little gobling first, so he wouldn't have to look at it anymore.

His appetite had taken a pretty hard hit, but he gave Scarface the food to prepare right away anyway.

Divine could see Fourth Disciple snacking on some garbage left-overs again.

And the others were propably getting hungry too.

While he was keeping one eye on Scarface and the food preparation, Divine observed the others.

Except for the two woodcutter minions, who were out, the other three were idling around.

Hooknose, the other guy-minion and the second female one were comfortably sitting on some pelts.

Divine had to find something for them to do again or who knew what these goblins would get up to, with too much time on their hands.

Was Divine seeing things or had the second female minion adopted Fourth Disciple's habit of pilfering and hoarding food, because she was snacking something from a dirty leather bag now too.

Looking more closely, she had gained some kilos.

Divine wanted his minions to live well, but not that they would grow fat and lazy.

There would definitely be much more work for the minions in the future.

The meal was well on its way and a delicious smell was spreading.

Scarface had everything well in hand.

*sigh*

Divine got up, grumbling annoyed.

Second Disciple was drawing pictures on the wall and scratching over Divine's drawings.

Second Disciple was drawing something that looked vaguely like small squiggly people, and that around and on a tree Divine had drawn.

The gobling had even made the "t" of the word "tree" next to the drawing into an etching of one bigger person.

"What are you doing?" Divine asked in a calm tone of voice.

"Master?!" Second Disciple almost jumped out of his skin in surprise.

"I'm drawi us around tree. There is Senior Sister and Junior Sister." Second Disciple answered in a squeaky voice and pointed at his drawings. "This is Junior... Geagh... Junior Junior, this is me, and this is Master Divine."

The gobling looked up at Divine shyly and a little proudly.

"It's 'drawing us around the tree'. And you call him 'Junior Brother' or just 'Fourth Disciple'." Divine corrected his disciple.

"It's a nice drawing. You should draw more often." Divine complimented his disciple first. "But don't draw over my drawings. It's best if you don't draw on this wall at all and only draw on the other walls. These drawings have meaning. Later, when you are ready, they will help teach you reading and writing."

Second Disciple nodded. The gobling wanted to say or ask something, but there was a distraction.

"Meal is ready!" Minion Scarface called out in Gobble.

Second Disciple got excited and his stomach grumbled in anticipation.

That was the only phrase in Gobble every disciple recognised without fail.

Second Disciple looked at Divine with expectant eyes.

"Go on." Divine chuckled and watched as Second Disciple ran over, arriving only a little later than Fourth Disciple, who was already standing behind Scarface, with his personal bowl in hand and tugging impatiently at her robes.

Minion Scarface brought Divine his meal, but he didn't eat much, even though it tasted good, especially with the salt they had now.

He just didn't have much of an appetite.

While the goblins were still happily eating, Divine took three bowls to the humans.

The older man was walking up and down.

The young man was sitting near the demonic venus flytrap. Not surprising since the movement radius the vine around his leg allowed him was pretty short.

Divine noticed the young man had a new black eye, that he hadn't gotten during the big washing.

Divine's gaze wandered to the woman, sitting outside of the young man's radius with her back against the wall, staring at nothing in her indifferent resignation.

Divine handed the food over.

The older man took his without hesitation and nodded at Divine.

The young man flinched back from Divine at first and groaned from the pain it caused his injured body.

Hesitantly, the young man took his bowl.

When Divine stepped in front of the woman, she just looked at him, not making any move to take the food.

Even after Divine held the bowl closer and gestured at it, she still made no move to receive it.

Divine fanned some of the aroma of the warm food in her face and her stomach growled with hunger, but she was still only staring with that empty look.

"You want me feed you?" Divine asked in exasperation in Gobble, knowing she wouldn't understand.

Divine picked up a rabbit leg from the bowl and held it at her lips.

Startled, she tried to get away, flinching back and bumping against the wall with the back of head.

She held her head down in pain.

Divine chuckled.

She raised her head and gave him an angry look.

He held the rabbit leg out to her again.

To not let him feed her, she took the bone from his hand and started nibbling at the meat.

Divine put her bowl next to her and sat down not far away.

He watched the humans eat.

That obviously made all three very uncomfortable, but Divine didn't care.

After they finally caught on that he wouldn't leave, they ate quickly.

All three of them seemed to enjoy the taste of the food.

It didn't take long for them to finish their portions.

They expected him to collect the empty bowls and leave, but when he didn't, they gave him their undivided attention.

Divine pointed at himself and told them his name. "Divine."

Then he pointed at them, one after another, trying to make a questioning expression.

He wasn't sure if he managed it with his goblin face.

They looked at him in incomprehension.

Divine pointed at himself again. "Divine."

The older man understood first and pointed at himself. "Beorn."

Beorn looked at his companions, waiting for them to introduce themselves, but when they didn't, he hastily did it for them.

Beorn pointed at the young man first. "Torm."

Torm gave Beorn a dark look, when the older man told Divine his name.

And then Beorn gestured to the woman. "Nola."

Nola didn't react at all and only continued watching them, disinterested.

Divine nodded, picked up a stone and pointed at it, looking inquiringly at Beorn.

Beorn said a word Divine hoped meant stone in these human's language.

Divine repeated it "Stone, stone, stone,...", all the while pointing at the stone until Beorn nodded.

Next Divine pointed at a bowl.

Beorn told him the word and Divine repeated it back to him again.

When Beorn nodded in confirmation, Divine commited it to memory.

For a while Divine kept pointing at things and Beorn diligently kept telling him the corresponding words.

When Divine went out of things to point to, he let Beorn loose from the vine and went with him to the wall with his drawings.

The two of them went through every drawing and Divine scratched the words Beorn told him in phonetic spelling next to the English words in smaller letters.

After Divine was satisfied for the day, he led the helpful man back to Venus and bound him.

Divine withdrew to the new room, sat down to meditate.

He went through all the words he had learned just now, again.

He noticed his memory was fitter than ever and remembering the words was much easier for him than the last time he had learned a new language.

It seemed he would have to draw more pictures in the near future until he knew enough words of the new language to make and understand descriptions in that language.