[Cass]
The crops bought six days. Maybe seven if stretched thin. Cass watched the pale stalks sway under glowshroom light. They were alive, but weak. Like children with hollow cheeks.
It wasn't enough.
His eyes turned to the black ribbon of Rootwater. The eelbeast's lair. The place where even Warbles whispered and refused to tread.
But hunger didn't ask for safe answers.
The elders gathered. Steam rose from bowls of thin broth, little more than rootwater and salt.
Cass spread a rough slate map Rilka had drawn. Rootwater carved across it like a vein.
"We take from the river," Cass said simply.
The room stiffened.
"Take?" one elder rasped. "It takes us."
Eshna shook her head. "Cass, you saw what lives in that water. It killed three men before you. It nearly killed you."
"And it will kill us slower if we do nothing," Cass replied. His tone was flat, not cruel, just unyielding. "Fish feed families. Spawn can be trapped. We don't fight the beast. We starve it of its children."
The elders muttered, uncertain.
Karrek broke the silence. "We'll need nets stronger than fungus fiber. Resin and chitin. Heavy anchors."
Torv spoke too. "And spears, in case the spawn grow teeth."
Cass nodded once. "Then that's the plan."
[System Quest]
New Settlement Quest: Beasts of the Current
Objective: Harvest Rootwater spawn (0/10).
Reward: +20 food reserves, +Fishing unlocked (specialized profession).
Risk: Predator retaliation, drowning hazard.
The Warbles wove crude nets from resin-coated fibers, reinforcing them with the plates Torv hammered into shape. Spears were tipped with chipped chitin shards.
Rilka carved the tunnels into a pattern, showing where the current slowed — alcoves where spawn might gather.
Cass listened to them work. Each voice mattered. He wasn't building tools. He was building a people.
The first descent was tense. Lanterns swayed. The cavern air was heavy with moisture.
Karrek and two Warbles cast nets into a side pool. The water rippled. Bubbles rose.
Then the first spawn surfaced — pale, blind eels no longer than a forearm, their mouths lined with teeth too small to be fatal, but sharp enough to tear flesh.
One snapped at a Warble's hand. Cass speared it cleanly, lifting its thrashing body into the lantern light.
"Food," he said.
They hauled nets. Dozens writhed inside, teeth gnashing harmlessly against resin.
The Warbles cheered. Hope flickered.
[System Update]
Resource Acquired: Rootwater Spawn (18).
Settlement Food Reserves: +12 days.
But hope never came without cost.
The water stirred deeper. Ripples spread across the black surface.
Karrek cursed. "It smells us."
From below, a hiss rose. That boiling scream Cass would never forget. The eelbeast.
"Run!" Cass barked.
They hauled the nets, spawn thrashing, feet pounding against wet stone. Lantern light swung wild.
The eel didn't breach — not yet. It stayed below, circling, waiting.
Cass's heart hammered. The message was clear.
We take, it watches. We take again, it will strike.
[Forum – Global Noise]
[FishHook]: "Anyone else getting weird eel spawns in water biomes? Edible but creepy."
[FarmerJay]: "Surface famine still worse. Can't believe some say fishing's viable."
[Nocti]: "Rumor: underground lords are farming eels. Could that be true?"
[Skeptik]: "LOL. No one survives Rootwater. Stop bait threads."
[Cass]
Back in the hamlet, spawn roasted over stone fires. The smell was strong, oily, but it filled stomachs. Children laughed through grease-slick smiles.
Cass sat apart, spear across his knees. The eel was watching. He could feel it even from here.
"We'll need more traps," Karrek said. "And defenses on the banks."
Cass nodded. "And we'll need to learn how to kill it. Someday."
He looked into the dark tunnel that led back to Rootwater. Hunger had given them one victory.
But sooner or later, the river would take its price back.
Propervy Bastion
Food Reserves: 12 days (stable).
Morale: Improved (Cautious Optimism).
Threat: Predator Retaliation Event Pending.