Chapter 1: The Will To Smurf
After 3 turns of the glass Miner was just about to loose his patience when he saw Handy running towards him in the distance carrying a considerable amount of smurfberries, bread, candles, lanterns, lantern oil, torches, goatskins filled to near bursting with water, blue prints, hammers, tacks and nails, and some pre-mature crops swiped from Farmer's field all in a wheel barrow that made the Smurf look like he was having a heart attack trying to move, but yet the heat of the moment brought forth a inner boost of strength that did not make it seem so bad to Handy. A warm smile appeared on Miner's face as he saw sloppy following close behind carrying a very molded and rusted trash can full of garbage that stunk so bad no doubt close contact with it would singe your eyebrows clean off your face. An arms distance above him was Fly, buzzing and carrying on as he happily followed his beloved owner, his abnormal size made him easy to spot out even at a distance. Sloppy ravaged threw his trashcan and pulled out a rather disgusting looking goatskin, covered with mold and garbage with a patch sewn onto the bottom, though well water was disgusting enough to disdainfully force down your throat it clearly was not foul enough to suit the liking of even Sloppy, fore Sloppy had filled his goatskins to the brim with a foul smelling putrid swamp water.
"Don't worry Smurfs… I have taken the liberty to bring along enough food for all of us to last a pretty long time!" Sloppy proudly said, as he emptied his trashcan into several surprisingly normal looking sacks and handed Miner and Handy each one.
"Oh… Uh… How resourceful Sloppy… Thank you." Handy says as he tries to resist the urge to plug his nose and immediately sets his sack down and steps away from it.
" That Sloppy be tough to the core he be." Miner says, as he looks threw the contents of the sack.
" Don't mention it guys!" Sloppy says with a smile.
Next came Painter, he was carrying his easel and a sack filled with brushes and paints slung over his back, holding his palette in the other, and had goatskins strapped to his coat and around the belt area of his pants. He joins the others at the entrance of the mines and sets down his easel.
" Bonjour Smurfs! This will be the chance of a lifetime! I will be creating masterpizzas like no Smurf has ever Smurfed before! I should find great inspiration down in those caverns." Painter said excitedly.
" Where are the others?" asked Handy.
" Oh they will be here in a moment.. It seems Scaredy is having second thoughts." Painter replied.
Handy responded by shaking his head as he heard what sounded like a scared little girl screaming and saw Sporty dash down the hill holding Scaredy under one arm who was kicking and screaming like he was about to be killed.
"Oh come on Scaredy! Get your Smurf in the game! Where is your sense of adventure!?" Sporty yelled as he came to a halt and set Scaredy down.
" That just leaves Hunter.." Handy said.
Just then the bushes to their right began to rumble as though someone had was in them. Every Smurf drew their attention to the bushes and Scaredy was scared stiff, a wet mark quickly growing bigger on his pants which trailed down to his feet. This rustling of leaves was heard and saw for a good couple of minutes before out of the brush came a couple of adult squirrels and a rabbit, all three dead, their limp bodies flying threw the air and landing with a thud just in front of Scaredy, that was enough for Scaredy, he screamed to the top of his lungs as his eyes rolled behind the back of his head, he fell backward hitting the ground with a thud in a puddle of his own piss out cold with his tongue lolling out of his mouth. The Smurfs look at the carcasses and then back at Scaredy and then at the brush as Hunter steps out of the bushes, his Smurfgun slung over his shoulder and covered from head to toe in camouflage.
" Woops sorry there Scaredy." Hunter said, as he gathered his game and put it into Handy's wheel barrel.
Scaredy laid there like a slug, out cold and silent. Handy and Sloppy each took one end of Scaredy and laid him in Sloppy's trashcan and then gathered their things and proceeded into the mines just as sunset began. As the last Smurf entered the creaky wooden door of the mines Miner closed it shut, locking every lock on the door and securing it finally with a wooden plank barred across it. The Smurfs entered from their peaceful, normal life filled with sunshine and the sweet sounds of nature into a realm of darkness, where a Smurf could scarce see his own hand in front of his face. It was an empty feeling of eternal silence and darkness, not a single sound was heard all around the tunnel save for Fly's buzzing. Handy quickly picked up the most unsettling scent of dust, mold, worms, and cold dirt as he reached for a candle and set it upon his visor. He assumed every other Smurf did the same as all 7 of them lit their candles around the same time, bringing a dim light to their surroundings and the constant feeling of a warm spot on their caps. Upon further examining his surroundings Handy came to notice that the section of the mine near the entrance was carved and chiseled most carefully in such a way that it resembled the inside of your average mushroom hut, bringing a comforting feeling of home to 6 earthbound Smurfs not yet use to life under the earths surface.
The section was crafted of the very same stone that made up the rest of the caverns. Upon walking in you would see a spot on the wall approximately 3 Smurf steps away from the door that would hold a torch or perhaps a candle holder complete with a candle of course. Then immediately turning to the right you would see what resembles a human living room except for the fire ring placed in the center where normally a coffee table would be and with the absence of the television of course. The furniture was finely crafted from a smooth stone, cold to the touch and smooth as marble, There were ironically 7 stone crafted chairs all made naturally embedded in the stone floor that was once apart of the same rock that made up the would be mines of the Smurf Village long before Miner first struck earth with a shovel for the very first time. Each chair was perfectly designed for Smurf use and formed a circle around the fire pit. To the left of the fire ring was a table, also crafted with stone and had the same smooth texture atop the table as the chairs had, it to was crafted from the very foundation of its existence as part of a huge rocky section of earth. Shelves and cupboards were also neatly chiseled into the very walls of the cave, each varying in size and shape and had tools and equipment laying on the majority of them. Handy stared in awe at this magnificent display of fine craftsmanship Handy had worked with all different kinds of wood for nearly a century, but he never dreamed of making such fine art of something as unforgiving and hard to work with as stone.
Handy was at a loss for words, for several moments he just stared at his surroundings in admiration and awe, mouth agape and stupefied by the site, a single tear formed in his left eye as he was overcome with wonder. Painter sat up his easel in the far corner to the right next to a furnace, also sitting right in the wall but was made of iron. Sloppy and Sporty each lift Scaredy out of the trashcan and sit him in one of the stone chairs where he can hopefully get some rest before waking up and no doubt screaming again. Sloppy sits his sack of "food" into his can and sets it next to the table, which after the protesting of 6 Smurfs about to loose their lunch was relocated to a place down the tunnel a ways under another torch holder on the wall. Sloppy just couldn't understand his fellow Smurfs for the life of him, to Sloppy the contents of those sacks were treasure, fine delicacy obtained threw waiting and placing food under certain conditions until over ripening led to molding and rot. Sloppy had a look of shame and betrayal on his face as he took the other 6 sacks of his precious garbage which he was so generous to share so suddenly with his friends and placed them back in his garbage can, the sound of Fly's buzzing accompany him as always.
" I just don't understand Fly… All I was doing was trying to help out my friends.. And to think I was so quick to give each of them a bag of my Smurfiest garbage so they wouldn't starve." Sloppy said, in an upset tone of voice to his oversized insect companion as he closes the lid of his garbage can and slowly makes way towards the main storage base that would serve as their home for Smurf knows when. Fly's wings grew tired and he glided down to rest his delicate little body on Sloppy's shoulder, rubbing his front legs together upon landing.
"Oh well.. More for us right Fly?" Sloppy said, his normal Smurf like cheerful grin returning to his dirty face.
The over sized fly responded by nodding its little head up and down a couple times which immediately brought a warm smile to Sloppy's face as he approached the fire ring and took his seat next to Scaredy and Sporty, who was sitting in his chair eagerly waiting for something exciting to happen, this cramped up living space and lack of fresh air was already starting to bug Sporty, whose life was full of exercise and activity, Sporty clearly strongly hopes that the time he will spend underground will be short-lived, He sits taping his foot against the ground and tossing his Smurf ball in the air and catching it, he repeats this process for quite some time. Sloppy opened a satchel strapped to his belt and removed from it a couple of rotten Smurfberries before sealing it once again and returning it to where it hangs from his belt, he pops one in his mouth while holding out the other in his palm for his insect friend as Fly crawls down his arm and begins to gorge in it's feast.
Painter made something of a studio mixed with a sleeping spot just like in his hut back at the village, he sets canvas in his personal shelves given to him by Miner and sets his paints on the ground, stacking a few palettes on one shelf not far from the paints and his brushes in another. The tunnel was designed something like a hallway with different rooms hollowed out with a pickaxe into the foundation of the rock, these rooms were mainly used for storage of dried fruit, goatskins, shovels, and other aught essential to survival underground for long periods of time. However despite that Miner aloud each Smurf to claim a room as his own personal quarters since it was clear they were at least going to be staying the night until the winds blow over. Painter set his supplies up and then returned to the main room and took his seat next to Sporty around the fire ring.
Handy and Miner had just finished mounting new torches on the mine walls and was returning to their spot around the fire ring just as Painter sat down. Miner removed the nearly fully melted candle off his cap and tossed it into the fire ring which immediately set fire to a patch of dry leaves, bringing almost instant warmth and even more light into the mines. The warmth was enough to awaken Scaredy from his fear induced slumber, he immediately sits up straight in his chair and glances around the section of the mines, he was scared of course but since there was enough light in the room and other Smurfs he didn't go into panic.
Hunter comes up and sits next to Scaredy still covered in camouflage he looks over at Scaredy not realizing that he looked like a living bush covered in sap and leaves still and Scaredy looks Hunter right in the eyes and almost screams when Miner's hand slapped up against his mouth and silenced him.
"There be none of that down ere' Scaredy, less you want to cave the entire mountain down on us." Miner explained.
Scaredy nodded, his eyes going smaller back to their normal size as he starts shaking, trying to conceal his fear.