I made my way down from the tower of boxes I'd made my home. I had to reach the opposite side of the ship—the hole was hidden well—and as my feet touched the ground, I ran for cover when I heard footsteps. I stayed and listened. When the steps grew distant, I moved again, climbing over and between boxes where I could. As I rounded the last pile, I saw the hole where I first entered had been sealed up with wooden boxes and planks.
Shit, isn't that just helpful.
That's when I heard loud snoring. A green foot poked out from between the boxes—a goblin. Well, look at that, stress relief. I gripped my dagger. I guess this won't be a total waste of time after all. Standing over the sleeping goblin, I hesitated. I kinda felt bad doing this while it was asleep… oh, what the hell. I put my hand over its mouth and stabbed down. That should make nine, I think, as I watched its body disappear in that all-too-familiar blue light.
I stayed there, staring at the spot, deep in thought. This left me with only one option: I'd have to get past the three stooges. But how? Distraction, maybe? If I could start a fire, that might do the trick. My problem now was—how do I start one? I don't make it a habit to carry gasoline and matches, but you don't get teleported to another dimension every other day either. I guess that's just my life now.
Hey, system, any chance you want to help me out? … Yeah, didn't think so.
What am I going to do? Think, dumbass, think. Wait—I got it. I remember some survival show where they rubbed a piece of wood on another, and the friction sparked a fire. I could use my dagger to get wood shavings. For the most impact, the fire needed to be somewhere high, but hidden enough for me to start it without being seen. That eliminated the pile in the middle. And it couldn't be near my sleeping spot—I don't know how long I'll be stuck here. It had to be close to the door. And I knew the perfect pile. Not the biggest, but the smoke should do the trick.
I made my way toward it, picking up loose pieces of wood along the way and tossing them into my inventory. I slipped down narrow paths between boxes to avoid goblin patrols, then started the climb. When I found a small space between the boxes, I squeezed in, pulled out a piece of wood, and began carving off shavings. I piled them to the side. When I had enough, I grabbed a flat piece of wood and set the shavings on it. With the broken end of a spear, I started rubbing the two pieces together.
Come on, give me fire. Please, please, please…
Smoke began to drift up. A tiny spark leapt onto the shavings, and a small flame caught. I had to muffle the joyous shout that wanted to escape, then leaned in to fan the fire.