"A stretcher? Wuzzthat? You mean one of thems thing that the hunters would sometimes put animals on when they kill em? Yeah that makes sense, better than dragging em all through the forest and stuff. Could damage the skin and meat. I'll keep an eye out fer stuff like that. Anyways you seem ta know what you're doin, so I'll just follow you."

Thanks to Vola's better survival skills, she seemed to be able to find north way better than Gren could. Sure he found moss on a tree, but the moss was going all around the tree, so he had no idea which way was north just by moss presence alone. Maybe if he finds freshly grown moss he'll be able to tell which way is north, but most of the trees he found had moss growing all around them or none at all. But while he was looking for moss on trees, and trees in general, he found a nice tree that he could try and cut down. And even better, it had some vines and such on it!

Of course Gren wasn't so cocky that he would just go up to the tree and start grabbing at it. It could be poison ivy, or a coiled snake. And so Gren looks to Vola and motions for the axe. "Hey Vola, lemme use tha axe for a bit. I see a tree that'll make a good spear, and some vines, but in case it's a snake I wanna chop it first." Once the axe was obtained, Gren would hack into the vine, trying to harvest some for the sake of having something he could use to make into some rope. Since he didn't really know how to harvest tree sap for glue and duct tape probably doesn't exist, he would need to rely on more conventional means to keep stuff together. Like rope.

Assuming that the vine doesn't bite him, Gren would also work on trying to harvest a large branch. While he ideally could make some throwing spears, he and Vola would need a weapon. He felt confident that he could handle the axe if he really needs to, so Vola is going to need a weapon. Unless they can find a nice rock they could make another stone axe out of, the next best thing would be a spear. With some extra rope they could make a nice stone-tipped spear along enough for Vola to stab stuff from a safe distance, or failing that they could just sharpen a long branch into a wooden spear. It'll probably be just as effective.

They'd need the extra weapon if they would be going into those caves. Who knows what sort of monsters are in there. Though they'd also need something that could be used to dig up those ores too. Probably some sort of stone pick, since they'd be breaking rocks instead of digging through dirt, probably. Maybe they could use the axe? How does one identify what metal ores look like compared to normal rocks anyways? Rocks were rocks to him.... Hopefully Vola's got the smarts to identify what's good metal ore and what's just regular stone, or else this whole operation is a bust. Either way, it was time to continue their journey north bound.

---

Current Location: Forests
Current Activity: Working with Gren @Lucius Cypher to forage for supplies and find the North Cave (and maybe fight a snake XD).

---

As Vola looked towards where her deductions has led her to assume North is located, she felt a little more assured in her abilities as she saw the rocky mountainside. Mountains tend to have caves, so there was a good chance that the North Cave will be in that direction, as long as she’s not hopelessly off base here.

The mountains were also very beautiful with their snow-topped peaks. Maybe one day – if she becomes strong enough – she’ll be able to climb one? She might not have been the most outdoorsy person, but she’s never seen snow before, so it might be nice to experience it in this new life…

As she was contemplating that, though, she saw a rodent-like creature emerge not far from them. Watching with wide eyes, she saw as it scampered over a ridge, opening her mouth to alert Gren, she saw the other orc looking at a tree. Just then he turned to her and asked to borrow the axe. Putting the rodent out of her mind for now, in favour of concentrating on gathering supplies. Gren had the right idea, there were only two of them and as Runts they weren’t exactly powerhouses, so they need to prepare themselves as much as possible before rushing off on any hunts. So she handed over the hatchet with a smile. "Alright, here you go Gren. Just be careful in case it tries to bite back."

After the hatchet left her hands though, Vola had a brief moment to wonder about how she’d be able to help if a large snake really did fall out of the tree. She’s never been in a fight before, and things could become deadly really quickly, so she might as well test out her new skill. Pulling out her sharp rock, she quickly scratched a symbol of a lightning bolt into her wooden stick, doing her best to visualise a taser electrocuting someone as she strikes them with it. She would have preferred writing actual words, but hopefully her meaning would carry through. Feeling something shift inside of her, she took a breath and pointed her stick at the snake/vine just as Gren made contact with the hatchet.

They can do this. There are two of them, and – hopefully – only one of it, and they make a good team if the hatchet-heist was any indication. There is a solid chance of survival as long as they work together.

Assuming that they didn’t just wake a sleeping snake, Vola would try to help gather some supplies by picking some of the nuts – assuming that they’re edible, they could make a good lunch if they roast them, or they could be used as bait when they go hunting? Or maybe just as a bribe for any orcs that might find them tasty? If nothing else, they can use them as ammo. Their shells look hard enough, a hit from them could definitely sting.

---

---

---

As Gren went to chop the vine, the moment he brought the stone hatchet down the thing twitched! His blow falling off center as it moved, the hatchet didn’t cleave the thing in half but sank deep into the wood beneath it while tearing through scale and flesh. There was sharp hiss as the axe left behind a shallow wound, and with a noise like angry leather a Tatzelwurm whipped its head out from behind the tree! Digging its claws into the bark it flew, quick as a squirrel, up the trunk—but this tree wasn’t all that tall to begin with, and it was still within reach of the Orc Runts. From a perch above their heads it bristled with fangs and rage-filled eyes, its wounded tail curling up behind it in an attempt to make it look larger.

A moment later, it spat green, sizzling bile right at Gren’s face!

Vola had prepared for this moment, by scratching a “rune” into her weapon! But as she raised it, a dull throb in her head made her wince.

[Rune Scribe] has failed. Error: No [Magic] Skills Available for inscription yet.

---

---

Lazash and Grunthor would find no shortage of kindling materials on the forest floor. Though often hidden by scrubby brush, dead leaves from the recent winter seasons and branches brought down by winds and storms over the years covered the ground in a thick layer of detritus. Some particularly dry specimens could be reduced to dusty splinters just by breaking it up with one’s hands, or the leaves could be easily shredded. Both would produce soft starter materials.

However, just fuel and kindling did not a fire make. They needed some way to light their tinder. The sharp rocks they carried weren’t hard enough to produce sparks by striking them—though if they attempted it, they might be able to hone the edges of their impromptu weapons a bit more. Did either of them know how to do the ol’ “rub two sticks together” trick, or some other survival method? A piece of glass to use as a lens? Or…

The Elwets had been able to spit fire somehow, hadn’t they? Did magical skills have anything to do with biology? Should they risk eating one of their captures to attempt to learn such a Skill for themselves? Or further mangling their kills by trying to dissect it for examination?

Meanwhile, Esfir and Akeno pressed through the brush in pursuit of the one bird that had fled the fight. Even though the Elwets had often been described by other Orcs as “aggressive,” it seemed that like any wild creature it would put its own survival over any kind of pride in the face of a clearly insurmountable threat—four Orc Runts with weapons would be more than a match, as they had just proven for themselves.

They heard squawking and rustling up ahead not long after leaving the battleground, however, and as they emerged they saw another Runt from their tribe—the one called Rik, if they happened to have heard the name—facing off with the very same Elwet they were after! The bird had ruffled up its feathers and was spewing smoke from its nostrils. Rik had weapons in hand. Would he prove an ally? A competitor? No doubt Rik was thinking the very same thing about them—

“[Miasma Bolt!]”

But before this three way stand-off could go any further, a fourth intervened. From off to one side, a projectile made from black, hissing smoke so dark it seemed to eat its way through the air flew like a javelin! The solid vapor struck the Elwet in its meaty chest, spearing it all the way through! But in the same moment the three Runts turned to look for the magic’s source, or froze to process what they’d just seen, clawed feet pounded the dirt and a dark blur charged between them to seize the fallen bird.

It was another Runt. A male. But his skin was a darker, duller shade of green with what seemed like a mottled pattern to it, and his eyes were a fiery, ember orange. Black, almost blue hair with a greased sheen fell around his unusually mature face.

He grinned at them. Swinging the Elwet by its neck over his shoulder like a large sack of potatoes, he let out a cackle.

“Smell ya later, losers!” And he was off like a shot, quickly disappearing into the shadows of the trees, in the direction of the camp.

---

---

While Agar and Duram took in everything they’d observed—the life signs Agar had detected with his [Field Scan], the different sounds coming from the environment all around them, and, perhaps most notably, the double earthquake that had occurred in a ten foot circle in the exact same place—they would see Ushnekh hurrying away as if he had nothing to do with any of it.

As Ushnekh scurried, he would of course recognize the other two Runts from the Brood Pit. But as he cleared the forest and headed for the camp in the distance, mangled Tatzelwurm clutched in hand, he would also see another Runt emerge from the brush perhaps a hundred yards or so away from him. It was another male. But his skin was a darker, duller shade of green with what seemed like a mottled pattern to it, and his eyes were a fiery, ember orange. Black, almost blue hair with a greased sheen fell around his unusually mature face. This other Runt had a gleeful grin on his face, showing off a mouthful of sharp teeth, as he carried a large dead bird over his shoulder—one of those creatures called an Elwet, perhaps?

If Ushnekh continued back to camp, he and the other Runt would likely make it back around the same time. Would they be the first ones to report their kills? Also, while he got his breath back after a few moments in a seemingly normal fashion, he still felt "empty," somehow. It was like feeling hungry...in his soul? But he got the feeling that, with proper rest, he might regain what he had spent thus far.

Just as he suspects, the vine was actually a snake! Pretty sure he's heard of the older orcs talk about these things, dangerous even for an experienced hunter. However their advantage came with surprise, and Gren had the foresight to get the first strike! Granted it wasn't the best hack since the thing was able to dodge his blow, but just as well Gren was ready for it's counter attack and put some distance from the tree when it tries to spit poison at him. Gren didn't want to risk getting burnt if it's bile was more acidic than venomous, so Gren focused his attention on dodging it entirely. He wasn't really sure what Vola was doing but presumably she was helping.

"Get the axe and get ready to chop it!"

It was a good thing this tree was short, Gren could easily reach the thing and try to go for another blow against it. However he was also aware that trying to climb a tree while holding onto the somewhat unwieldy stone axe would put him in a precarious position against an animal specifically evolved to climb trees with ease. So Gren dropped the axe for Vola to grab as he goes empty-handed to climb the tree and try to grapple the snake. Memories of a past life began to flash before his eyes: while he's never had to grapple a snake before, he knew enough about the general tactic of what he was about to do next.

Once he climbed the tree close enough to grab the snake, Gren makes sure to hold his hand out towards it, fingers tight together so it couldn't try to wrap it's teeth around an exposed digit. He would try to reach behind it and pull it out, throwing his full body weight off the tree to force it to the ground. Ideally head first, because Gren was going to bash it's head against the ground like he's done to so many people before.

"Hold a moment, when did I do this? I ain't never fought no one before..." Gren thinks to himself as he still would attempt to slam the snake's head into the ground as hard as he can, subconsciously activating his Breakthrough ability to ensure the most amount of damage he can against this wily beast. He hopes he kills it with this attack, if they bring this back without wrecking it too badly, surely the boss would be happy! Assuming they survive of course.

"It's good to meet you, Grunthor, despite the circumstances we're in.

I'm Lazash."

An individual wanting to focus on the task ahead, eh? Tough, strong, and took a beating on his part, but still was in good spirits and polite enough to give his name. A good impression in her mind, at least for the circumstances they were in.

She and Grunthor had managed to gather a fair amount of fire supplies, which she had arranged in proper order to make a fire, though without any lingering embers or such to light the thing it was certianly a rough situation. It was also a situation that had a potentially unique solution to it as well.

Given their capabilities as orcs, the temptation to just grab the nearest raw bird and chew it down to get something out of it was certianly there potentially. Could start her own fires forever after that. Albeit it would also waste the birds and see them maybe gain ire from those who had assisted in the hunt. Hmm. Not good then, at least in the social sense if either of them were going to weather orc society. But this all was a rough situation she'd been in before, and even now could feel the memories begin to bubble up again in the back of her mind and in her arm muscles when it came to fire.

Ah. That would perhaps work. She still knew how to do it, after all, and had practiced a bit consistently in turn with a bit of training since her return from that island years ago. What had once been simply nostalgia for something so simple, and a slight hobby in that sense she supposed, would pay off now at least.

"I'll get to work on a quick fire plow to get a fire going, Grunthor, and this stone of mine and the material we've gathered should be enough for that. Then I'll start draining the blood out of these things as well so we can carve up and cook them better."

Grabbing some extra visually-gagued-for-use pieces of wood to start, she would arrange her wood and use her stone to work out a basic fire plow to get their fire started. It would be that simple in the general sense, unless a deluge came down on their heads suddenly. She knew enough to do that much, though any dead Elwets sitting around (unless anyone tried to or stopped her from doing so to their particular dead Elwets) would be dagged over closer to where she was going to light the fire before she got started on her fire plow proper.

"Too much would be bad in the long-term but I'll take a sip of the draining blood to get a good drink in until we find water. Want a sip?"

If some herdsmen in Africa back on Earth could do it to some extent, she certainly could in a pinch this one time at least. Not sure if it counted for the "Ingestion" skill, but she was getting a little thirsty and wanted to ensure she was hydrated for the road ahead at least. Properly hydrated, that is, not just getting some small sip to wet the mouth or anything paltry like that. If Grunthor was game to participate, then she'd gladly let him too. Otherwise she'd just be drinking a good proper drinking of Elwet blood for herself (not enough to fill up her stomach before the meal mind, she wanted to not get sick on the further hunting) unless it did something like burn her mouth with literal fire.

In the meantime, however, whenever she got fire started she'd also curiously activate her "Creature Analysis" skill on Grunthor, and then on each of the dead Elswets to boot. Just to get a quick read on things in the moments in-between tasks, or at least try to. She'd prioritize bleeding the corpses and drinking that if it was too slow a process in the end.

@Zeroth@Kazemitsu

The tension of a standoff was broken by a fourth contender, and at the runt's sudden attack and escape, Esfir couldn't help but let out a rasping chuckle.

She didn't mind runts that acted like brats, even if that Miasma Bolt clued her in on the possibility that a much greater number of the runts were turning out to have been given the favour of that strange phantom. A little aggression was charming for a boy, after all. Showed the vim and vigor that others didn't. Others, like the scamp in front of her.

"Well," Esfir said. "Next time."

And with that, she turned, striding back the way she came.

...

While she thought about this decision, the smell of smoke reached her nostrils---the dry stick she'd been using as a drill on the fire plow had produced a thick sprinkling of black ash by this point, and a single glowing ember was producing a thin, curling trail of vapor even as she stopped moving the drill. With some tinder and a few careful breaths, a small fire was soon born!

Smoke tickled Esfir's nostrils as she neared the clearing, the tell-tale signs of a sputtering fire. More kindling could be used to stoke it to a higher heat, but for now, this was enough. Making fire without a match or a lighter was a miserable experience, after all. Even a fire-drill was annoying to use, regardless of know-how or practice, and despite her decades of experience, those early, early days of being a youth out in the woods were faded away now. Dried stains where water once rested.

She had simply never let the embers die out, once she reached her old age.

"Good," the runt nodded. "Keep the fire going, and watch."

The fire was taken care of. Now, it was simply a matter of seeing just how sharp these small stones were.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Esfir pulled one of the Elwets towards her. The horns protruding from its head would make for difficult maneuvering, but they made for good handlebars. Made for greater leverage. Like popping out a drumstick or a wing, she twisted the bird's neck around until she heard the pop of neck bones separating. There was a point now, where she could cut through with such a small knife, and she took full advantage of it, sliding her stone knife underneath the scales in order to sever the skin, then the flesh, then the sinew that connected head to neck.

The rest of it was smoother sailing, if only based off of familiarity. Whistling a little tune about free range eggs and twenty lemons, the runt pulled and cut in a rhythmic fashion, pull skin and feathers back while slicing off the connective tissue that kept it clinging to the muscles beneath. The torso of the bird was cleared out in that manner, while Esfir took a quicker approach for its wings, legs, and tail: hacking them off from their joints and leaving them for later. The small size of the knife, despite making the progress slow overall, meant that she ran less risk of slicing into the organs of the Elwet and could subsequently work faster when skinning the monster's back.

Soon enough, it definitely resembled a chicken. A large chicken, limbs quartered off.

She rubbed her cheek with her shoulder, then let out a sigh. Now, it was the difficult part. Pulling the innards and internal membrane out, all without any real knowledge of what the creature was. And the stone knife, a blunt instrument compared to proper steel, was now such a clumsy thing.

If Esfir had sleeves, she'd be rolling them up right now, but she didn't, so she simply plunged her hands up the monster's widened cavity and began to feel around, one hand caressing and teasing the slippery organs, the other hand wielding a stone blade to separate those organs from the surrounding flesh-walls.
_{@Kazemitsu@King Cosmos@Crusader Lord}

Grunthor nodded in response to Lazash giving her name before she went about making fire. He watched her for a bit, so that's how it was done huh? Not like in cartoons where they just furiously rubbed sticks together. She mentioned draining the blood of the Elwets, which made sense. Blood had a coppery and irony taste and that probably tainted the meats flavor. So while she had the fire going he used the sharp stone he had to cut off the Elwets head.

Blood never bothered him and he had handled raw meat quite a lot given his previous life's bulked body. He had never beheaded a chicken though, so he was going in blind. Cutting meat, sinew, hey there was a spine in here! Cutting through between two vertebrae had the head off and to the side. Going to a sapling he wedged the feet in to let the blood drain with gravity while Lazash mentioned drinking it. "Nah, I've tasted enough blood in my past life. Not thirsty enough to go for it yet. He replied before the previous companions returned empty handed.

The old sounding one got to work with one Elwet, given her practiced movements he'd let her do the butchery. He decided a little training was in order. He had seen Akeno practice martial arts, but his own thing was much simpler and it had been ingrained heavily into his mind. Instead of practicing movements he went to a young tree, a tree with smoother bark than the older ones, and got into a classic boxing stance. His hands up, nearly tucked to his chin, before his right came out in a light jab. Having such smol baby hands sucked, the punch hurt, but he needed to deaden the nerves, toughen the skin, and harden the bones.

His jaw clenched as he struck the tree with another jab before his left came in with a straight. He was keeping the blows light so he didn't bust his knuckles, but hard enough to hurt his hands a little to begin the process of hardening his hands. "If you need a hand with something just lemme know. Assuming I even can help..." He said to the others while his fists impacted the tree. He'd work like he did in the old world, boxing first then kick boxing. If he fucked up his legs alongside his fists he'd be useless and he wouldn't even be able to run if he had to flee!

A thought and he tried to do Rapid Strikes to the tree. It was rank one, which meant there was a rank two and more. Did he have to use it on an enemy or could he use it on anything? His fists came faster in a three hit combo on the wood. Could he spam it or did it cost anything beyond a normal set of punches? The other skills he could have picked said they took stamina specifically, but what about this one?

@King Cosmos@Crusader Lord@ERode@Zeroth

"Nah, I've tasted enough blood in my past life. Not thirsty enough to go for it yet."

"Fair enough."

She wouldn't judge. It was, after all, gross even by human standards. But they were orcs, and when it came to survival...well, this would also be a bit of protein and such to boot. Not something she'd do a bunch of, but she would do it in this case for a proper drink during her first hunt and quest. A reminder of her past experiences until they came across proper water to drink.

As Lazash sipped the fresh Elwet blood, she would find it none too pleasant. Metallic on her tongue, bitter on the way down, and overall possessing a pungent smell and a strange black-pepper taste that burned the sinuses, it was also warm and thick without a living heart to keep it flowing. However, it did cause a rather interesting urge to bubble up deep in her guts...

Activate [Ingestion: Elwet] (Y/N)? Approximate Ingestion: 0 > 1%
Current Ingestion: Elwet - 0%
Ingested Skill(s): Elwet - [Skill(s) Unknown]. Further progress required.

Curious. Any biomatter, as it were, would work? Even simply blood? Most curious indeed.

...Yes. She would choose yes to activate the Ingestion skill as she drank more of the Elwet blood beyond the first sip, and would just drink enough blood from her fresh kill to get herself properly hydrated for the moment being. Perhaps she'd manage to get a certain amount of Elwet Ingestion percentage in this case at least, of course without going all in and health-hurtingly overboard doing so based on this incident alone. What idiot runs around drinking animal blood all the time, unless they were some kind of vampire? Would make them ill and cause disease, among other things.

While she thought about this decision, the smell of smoke reached her nostrils---the dry stick she'd been using as a drill on the fire plow had produced a thick sprinkling of black ash by this point, and a single glowing ember was producing a thin, curling trail of vapor even as she stopped moving the drill. With some tinder and a few careful breaths, a small fire was soon born! While she thought about this decision, the smell of smoke reached her nostrils---the dry stick she'd been using as a drill on the fire plow had produced a thick sprinkling of black ash by this point, and a single glowing ember was producing a thin, curling trail of vapor even as she stopped moving the drill. With some tinder and a few careful breaths, a small fire was soon born!

Perfect! Certianly a pain in the arms and hands to make, but they now had access to fire at the very least. Proper fire. Certainly a morale booster of sorts as well to have finally make her first fire in this new life. Yet as she and Grunthor moved to carefully add fuel to the flickering sparks, she used her [Creature Analysis] on her ally and their fallen prey-

Analyzing Creatures...

Orc Runt (Grunthor) - Orc newborns mature quite quickly. A baby orc will generally begin crawling after about 10 weeks, and within four months are fully mobile. By the time human infants are just learning to toddle, Orc Runts are capable of beginning to train and hunt. FAMILIARITY BOOST: Grunthor is small, stringy, and seems grumpy. He's currently injured but seems to be toughing it out.

Elwet (Dead, x3) - A chicken-like creature with antlers. It also has scales instead of feathers. However, it is said that their wings are of little use. Their breast meat is quite fatty, and their eggs have incredibly hard shells. REPEAT BOOST (x2): Elwets can breathe fire using a low-rank elemental skill. They keep their eggs warm by setting fires beneath their nests. Males of this species have more pronounced draconic features and longer tails, though their antlers are somewhat smaller than those of females. They fiercely maintain their territorial boundaries by driving out other small predators, and will expand it by acquiring a harem.

Fascinating. For only the first rank of this skill, it certainly allowed her to gain some basic analysis of the living things in this new world. A useful tool for one born into a brutish system as those the orcs seemed to live in, living in the wild and such like this. Hence her choice of it from among those skills she'd been presented with by the spirits. Likewise it seemed to boost the provision of information based on factors like familiarity with a subject as well as the number of subjects analyzed...hmm. Yes, once she got back to camp, she would start using this skill of hers on each and every orc she could over time. No major rush, but perhaps it would prove to grant more insight into the orcish race biologically after so many subjects would be analyzed overall as well.

Of course as the other two returned, empty-handed in this case, Lazash would simply nod to each of them as the old-sounding one got to work on her Elwet and Grunthor got to work on his personal training to boot. She would also take the time to use her Creature Aalysis skill on Akeno, attempt to use it on herself, and then use it on the old-sounding one quickly before she returned to the tasks she had at hand.

She would gather the removed Elwet heads from Grunthor's and Esfir's kills, bringing them close to the fire and taking the time to remove the antlers and place them in a pile next to her but away from the fire. Then she woould use a couple of smaller but proper-sized sticks to get the heads roasting just next to the fire (and add some more wood from what they'd gathered to the fire to keep it as well). She would carefully remove her own Elwet's head with her stone, then, to place on its own stick as well to roast next to the fire. She wouldn't go about placing them too close to burn, or too far away to cook, but angled in close enough to rotate safely on her end as they cooked at least.

Disgusting as it would look, meat on the cheeks or such could still be nice and edible at the very least. Etc.

She would then go to take the removed limbs from Esfir's Elwet, likewise taking them over to the fire and usings sticks to impale thm and get them starting to cook in turn. Lazash would even return for the removed skin of the other female's Elwet, taking it over near the fire and her antler pile to remove remaining feathers before cutting the skin into manageable segments. She would then take the segments and, after sharpening about four smaller sticks with her stone, skewer the skin on the sticks, wipe off any dirt, and get the skin likewise roasting around the small fire.

From there she would generally try to manage and watch the fire, as well as the cooking food about it, as she began to butcher her own Elwet after looking to how Esfir was doing so. Her hands were admittedly not as practiced as those of Esfir, as she could see for herself, but she had the general idea...but would of course exersize an amount of caution in doing so just in case. Of course this would include removing the limbs, to also cook over the fire once she got or made room to do so around it, and eventually adding most of her own Elwet's skin to the cooking as well.

She would then take a piece of scaly skin left behind from her Elwet, chewing on it some to kill time as she worked on her bird before calling out to the others around her in particular without looking up:

"By the way, everyone, eating any part of these creatures will grant progress for the Ingestion skill if you wish."

Seemed fair to tell them that, even if it was perhaps able to be intuited from whatever they knew about themselves thus far. Maybe.

Yet whenever she would get to the organs of her own Elwet, however, the female orc runt would try to use her Creature Analysis skill on the individual organs as she tried to examine them carefully. If that even worked that is. But it was worth a shot, wasn't it? Worst it could do was not work, best case she could identify the organs and try to separate them out carefully. Overall she'd simply keep working at her tasks regardless to get the stuff processed and cooking...even roasting herself a few familiar-enough organs of the 'safer' sort that they couldn't clean right now (if she got the chance).

@Zeroth@Kazemitsu@ERode@King Cosmos

Akeno

Walking around with an antler in her hand felt awkward. It was… sort of a weapon; sharp wasn’t the right word for it, since it just kind of tapered to a sort of slightly blunted tip, but with enough force it would probably still pierce flesh. There was also a second prong which branched off from the main part half way down, creating something that would work as a kind of blade-catch if she ended up in a knife fight with somebody. As makeshift weapons went it was okay, better than the sharp rock she’d been handed earlier, but just that.

The problem was that it had no handle or grip, so if she did stab something with it, it was likely to just slip out of her hand. It was also fragile, or at least fragile enough for her to be able to break it off in her hand, so whether or not it would last through a fight was up in the air. And lastly it was an awkward shape; sharp, sure, but also curved, meaning she would have to stab at an angle to avoid it just grazing off of stuff.

But the main issue was the fact that just holding it in the first place was enough to turn off her one and only skill. Her Goju-Ryu buff only worked if she was unarmed and while that didn’t prevent her from knowing how to fight, until she had time to really prep this body to work with her instead of against her, her skill was the only way she could fight and win. it was why she had opted not to use the rock she had been given before; the measly offence it provided was worth less than the skill she would be giving up and since said skill had stopped her from having her face burned off, she figured she’d made the right choice.

However, the antler was better than the rock, if only slightly. Good enough that it was worth holding onto, for now at least, and if she needed to use her skill she could easily just drop it. It was better than killing stuff with her bare hands at least.

Not that she would need to kill anything just yet, seeing as how the last remaining chicken had been poached out from under them by another orc. An orc who was either older than them or one who had already managed to kill and eat something, judging by the fact that he had just used magic to burn a hole straight through that thing.

Akeno tightened her grip on the antler in her hand as the more developed, more powerful orc jumped into the clearing. She was half expecting a fight of some kind, for the other orc to want to make sure they wouldn’t challenge them for their kill even though she had no intention of doing so, but luckily they just took the bird and ran.

That still left the other, other orc however, who was also armed and had yet to say or do anything. Akeno was wondering what to do about that, but decided to let their self-appointed leader do the talking; she figured the old orc next to her was either going to make them the same offer to join their group as she had the rest of them, or say something to warn the other orc away. So it came as a surprise when she instead just turned and walked away with barely any acknowledgment that the stranger existed at all.

Raising an eyebrow, Akeno looked across at the remaining orc for a few seconds before she too shrugged and turned to walk back to camp.

“Sure.”

----

When she made it back, everyone else was already occupied. One orc was sat tending to the fire, their leader was beginning to carve into the bird with a rock and the last was stood away from the rest, punching a tree.

That last one might have sounded weird, but Akeno knew her martial arts and could tell that this was more than just mindless aggression. She could recognise boxing when she saw it and had done some conditioning training herself in the past, though never on her hands; her sensei had never advocated for punching a makiwara until your hands bled like you sometimes saw in movies, oddly enough.

Akeno stood and watched Grunthor hit the bark for a while, noting more than anything else just how fast he was moving his hands when he did so. Very fast. Not so fast as to be unnatural, but probably a little fast for a young orc with wimpy arms and no athleticism.

A skill?

“Hey, what skills did you guys pick?”

@Zeroth@Crusader Lord@Kazemitsu@ERode

---

Current Location: Forests
Current Activity: Stopping Gren’s @Lucius Cypher bleeding.

---

Just as Vola pointed her stick at the vine and Gren swung with the axe, a throb in her head made her wince and fumble with her stick momentarily as a SYSTEM notification popped up. Rune Scribe didn’t work. Oh no… Looks like she need to actually have a magic skill to be able to activate it. Well damn, it’s still a useful skill, but a lot of her strategies will need some rethinking now, but that can wait for later. Right now Vola needed to focus on what they could now see was definitely a Tatzelwurm, that was spitting a stream of poison right at Gren!

“Gren, look out!”

Thankfully, Gren had been prepared and managed to easily dodge the poison, allowing Vola to release the breath that she was holding. Thank goodness. That relief was short-lived however, as Gren then proceeded to drop the axe, yelling at her to grab it, before scaling the tree. Well…frick! Was he planning on grappling that thing?! Okay, calm down, Vola. Freak out later, help Gren now.

Jumping forward, Vola grabbed the axe with both hands, raising it above her head. Eyeing the foliage above, she waited until she saw the tangled forms of Gren and the Tatzelwurm plummeting down. That was her que!

“Goongala!”

Jumping towards the bodies with her best 'Casey Jones' impression (She thought it would help bolster her courage, okay?! Shut up!!!) Vola started bringing the axe down towards the Tatzelwurm’s head, only to pause at the last second, using it to give the creature that now resembled a limp noodle a poke instead. Was it already dead? Lowerig the axe in favour of helping Gren stand up and untangle from that mess, Vola immediately began inspecting the damage done.

“You killed it Gren, that was so amazing! The snake-cat-vine never saw it coming! But, oh my stars. You’re hurt! It’s not too bad though, just come over here and sit down by this tree and we’ll just put a little pressure on it to get the bleeding to stop quicker. You’re doing so well Gren, I’m really impressed! Any other Runt might have fainted by now, but not you. You’re really strong.”

Having seen the blood, Vola’s big sister instincts immediately took over and she wasted no time in manoeuvring Gren until he was sitting down with his back pressed against the trunk of the tree and gently guided his uninjured hand to help put pressure on the largest of the gashes all while keeping up a steady stream of words and praises to help keep him calm. Inside though, she was freaking out a little. They didn’t have any medical supplies, so if they wanted any they’d have to go back to camp, but whether any of the older orcs would even bother helping an injured Runt is a coin toss. If they made a fire, she could cauterize the wound? But that could just make things worse and lead to a nasty infection…damn it! Okay Vola, think, Gren’s hurt, you have no supplies and you’re just surrounded by trees. Thin- wait a minute…the trees!

Glancing up at the tree they were under with a critical eye, Vola was pleased to find that it greatly resembled an oak tree back in her world, large leaves and all. She remembers thoroughly researching the healing properties of different plants for a school paper and out of curiosity a few years ago and she remembers that apart from making tea that reduces blood pressure and help with fever, the leaves can also be used as bandages if you don’t have any! Of course, that’s usually for superficial wounds and there is no garauntee that this other-world tree will share the same healing properties, but its better than nothing!

“I’ll be right back, alright Gren? I’m just going up the tree to get something to help, but it’ll only be for a minute, just keep putting the pressure there like I showed you. That’s it, you’re doing such a good job!”

Climbing up the tree quickly – but carefully, they can’t afford any fractures right now. Vola picked several large leaves that was within reach and that looked decently clean, before climbing back down and heading back towards her injured friend. She then began the process of straightening Gren’s arm and methodically covering every inch of the scratches on the back of his palm and the rest of his arm with the leaves, doing her best to shoosh and comfort him throughout the process. When that was done, all that was left was for her to rub a little spit on the cut on Gren’s cheek – just like she did for her twin brother’s various little cuts and scrapes through the years – before pressing the smallest leaf to that cut as well.

Smiling at Gren, Vola then guided his other hand to once again put pressure on the wound, joined by her two hands as together they covered his entire arm.

“There you go, Gren. The worst part is over, so now we’ll just sit here like this for a little bit until the bleeding stops. You were so brave and did really well! How are you holding up, big guy?”

Please let this work...

---

Agar

// Into the forest >> Get The ball //

Agar stopped when he felt the presence of the things around him. Watching the dire rat scamper off towards the forest, then to the two forms in front of him and the large sphere in the trees above them. The feeling he got from this ability was strange and foreign to him. What kind of thing could this be? How does it work? All things that caught his attention as he even tried to reach out towards some of the strange signatures he was seeing. Nothing from his old world was like this.

He could see another larger flame at the edge of this new sight and was confused by the way they moved. They didn’t have the same shape or glow as the others, it was if they were tangled together. still he found himself not deciding to move. Clearly the two were entangled in some kind of fight but this feeling was overwhelming him. By the time he decided to move he heard and somewhat felt another large snap and the large glowing signature diminished to a shape similar to the other Runt that was with him.

Seeing the other runt make a break for it from out of the brush startled him for a moment as he could see the overlap of his ability and his physical sight once more. This power was strange and the rat seemed to have scurried out of his range now. All that was left was the glowing fruit above them. Agar tried to reach out further with his sight meeting only a headache and what he described as feedback. He felt something similar when he tried to focus more on the only two signatures left around him for a moment longer before finally deciding.

“Sorry, got distracted. There’s something big dat tree up theres and I’m going for it.”

He pointed towards the large round thing in the near by tree, moving to the tree to begin to attempt to climb the tree. Keeping a good eye out for places to grab and places to put his feet. If that didn’t work he would simply try to wrap his limbs around the tree the best he could in order to shimmy up the thing.

---

@Zeroth@Such A Birch((sorry for the wait))

<< Current Quest: Find Something to Eat and Bring it Back Whole.
Hunt Selected: Random
Location: just outside the camp examining the area -- Into the forest <<

Mostly Intact Elwet has been dismantled!
Some components have been damaged or are unusable.

Usable Items Acquired:
Elwet Feathers x9
Elwet Tail x1
Elwet Beak x1
Elwet Antler x2
Elwet Meat, 13 lbs (20 lbs w/bones, organs, blood, misc)
Gizzard Sparkstone
Elwet Talons x2

She wiped her hands of the blood and gristle by scrubbing away at it with dirt. It wasn’t a fine job, by any means, but it was an informative one. Next time, she would do it better. Faster. Cleaner. For now, however? The meat would have to cook. It smelled pungent already, largely owing to the lack of a stream to drain the blood away in, but Esfir was accustomed to survival food.

So long as it didn’t poison her, she could stomach it.

And thus, with that, she worked her wooden stick through the Elwet’s meat, using it as a rudimentary spit roast that she held at an angle against the fire. The strange stone that she extracted from it was interesting, but the antlers were more immediately useful. She could sharpen them with her stone knife, make a longer weapon out of them. The tail she tossed into the flames directly, trusting the scales to shield the outer layers from immediately burning while the ambient heat cooked the insides. Perhaps the beak could be affixed to her wooden stick as well, and she could grind an edge on those talons to have an extra set of blades.

Still, there wasn’t much to do while the cooking was to be done, so Esfir finally decided.

They had done a decent enough job here. Their next hunt will likely be smoother. The Firestarter had a good head on her shoulders, while the other two were tough enough even without weapons. “It’s a good time to introduce,” she spoke, as fats rendered into oil, and oil crackled and spat in the flames. “Call me Esfir. The spirit that brought me here granted me the…gift of calling a blizzard. You.” Lazash. “What did you learn from the Head Warrior?”

_{@Kazemitsu@King Cosmos@Crusader Lord}

Victory was painfully sweet for Gren. He looked down at his hands, bloodied and cut, and down at the cat-snake, mangled and dead. The thrill of the fight flowed through him. And then it stopped. All at once the pain hit him all over, from the scratches on his arms to the welt across his face. He was lucky the thing didn't get him in the eye, but it did leave a nasty scar that disfigured his nose. Immediately after Gren began to sob in pain. Despite being an orc, he was still a runt, and while he's had plenty of bumps and bruises this was the first time he had suffered any real injury, and it hurt. He let out a loud, painful wail as his injuries caused him to sit down and grip his face, attempting to somehow staunch the bleeding everywhere.

Fortunately, Vola was there. While she didn't help with the killing of the snake she was vital in Gren's recovery. Frankly, without any immediate access to any medical supplies or anything as basic as clean water and cloth, Gren had no idea how to treat his wounds beyond whatever he could think of in his panicked moment, so he was grateful that someone seemed to know what they were doing, or at least was willing to take care of him. Her positive affirmations helped Gren forget his pain and stop his crying, as he wanted to look tough in front of her. "... Okay. Glad you're here Vola."

After repositioning to a tree, Gren tries to stifle the bleeding with his hands. It wasn't really working. So Vola went to the tree and got some leaves, pressing them against his wounds. He supposed in the absence of proper medical equipment, leaves would have to do. Strangely enough it seemed to be working. A few minutes after Vola pressed the leaves to his arm, the bleeding stopped. His arm was numb, but otherwise his wounds were.... Probably not healed, but not getting worse at least. He tried not to pick at the leaves though a few did fall off as he stood up. "Danke again... As much as I wanna sit and relax now, we still got work ta do. I dun think the snake's gunna be good for what the boss wants, so we should just eat it. Maybe we can eat it raw? Just uh, try not to eat any poison. If it's like a normal snake, poison's probably in it's head. Can you try ta maybe get some meat an stuff off of it, while I cut tha wood?"

Trying to strengthen through his injuries, Gren intends to continue where he had left off and cut through the wood. Assuming there was no further interruption, he would take the stone axe and look at his arm. He had vaguely recalled evoking some sort of power to kill that snake, so he intends to use it again to try and hurry and harvest this tree. He does a bit of a stretch to get some feeling back into his arm as well as trying to stall for time so his ability is off cooldown, assuming that's how it works, before using his Breakthrough ability with the stone axe to cut some wood down from the tree, aiming for some of the larger branches that they could try sharpening down into a spear or something.

---

Current Location: Forests
Current Activity: Working with Gren @Lucius Cypher to clean a Tatzelwurm.

---

It was a tense few minutes as they waited for the bleeding to stop – a thousand different worst-case scenarios playing out in Vola’s mind. Did she apply the leaves properly? Is she doing this right? Are these leaves actually poisonous? Is she inadvertently responsible for causing Gren’s arm to fall off? Thankfully, before Vola’s thoughts could take too dark of a turn, Gren’s bleeding stopped. The relief was immense.

The worry wasn’t completely gone though, and she had to bite her tongue to keep from ordering Gren to sit back down. He should know the limits of his own body, so if he thinks that he was alright to keep chopping, then he probably was. Besides, it wasn’t like they could just sit here and twiddle their thumbs the entire day either…there are only so many hours in the day after all and they still had a lot of things to accomplish. So instead, she just widened her smile slightly and gave Gren a nod. It was my pleasure, Gren. Just be careful while you chop alright? Let me know if the bleeding starts again, or if your arm hurts or feels funny, okay? I’ll get started on the snake then, it might not be pretty, but I should be able to get the job done!

And while every atom of her body was rebelling at the thought of raw food, it wasn’t like she knew anything about starting a fire apart from rubbing two sticks together like in cartoons. This was her own fault for refusing to join the girl-scouts when her parents suggested it. She has nobody to blame but herself. Besides…maybe it won’t be so bad? People eat sushi after all, and that is just raw fish! This is also a new body, with a new sense of taste, maybe it’s normal for orcs to eat raw meat if they can’t cook it?

The thought still makes her shudder, though.

Okay, she’ll cross that bridge when she comet to it! Right now, she just needs to focus on cleaning and skinning this thing to the best of her abilities. Looking at the corpse in front of her and at her sharp stone, Vola tried to conjure up everything that she knew about biology, anatomy and cooking that might be able to help her in this situation. First things first, she should probably drain the blood, and since she agrees with Gren that the head is most likely full of poison…

Taking a bracing breath, Vola stabbed the stone into the flesh, doing her best to neatly cut off the head from where its neck met the shoulders. It was a bit of a hassle to get through the spine, but she managed eventually. Next, she worked on removing its front paws, also at the shoulders. The first one didn’t exactly come off easily, but the second one went slightly better since she knew what to expect. She then looked at the rest of the body, now just resembling a large snake without the top half. It was still bleeding a lot, so Vola held up the tip of the tail, her hands slowly moving down the length of the body, raising as much of it as possible before lowering that area and moving on to the next as she attempted to get the blood to flow down faster. Once it looked like the flow more or less stopped, Vola straightened out the corpse, positioning it so that it was belly up.

Now came the hard part. Making a long cut straight down through the middle of its belly, vola worked to try to neatly separate the skin from the flesh, removing any organs as she came across them ass well as large bones. She separated the piles as best as she could, organs in one part, bones in the other and any meat that looked safe to eat was placed on a neat heap on top of an area of the skin she finished. All the while, she did her best to keep the skin as intact as possible, if they find a way to have it properly treated, the leather could be valuable.

The process was then repeated with the Snake-cat’s arms, with her paying close attention to the bones and claws of the limbs. Maybe those could be used in crafting? Then all that was left was the head…Vola didn’t really trust the meat from this part, knowing that her meat-cleaning skills weren’t nearly efficient enough to remove all the poison from it, but the teeth might be useful, and it could help her know what to look out for with future Snake-cats. If she can find the poison sack or whatever it was, they might even be able to tip their weapons with poison to give themselves an advantage with other creatures? Which is why, gross as it was, Vola started to skin the head very carefully, the meat from that part going into its own small ‘Eat if you dare’ pile.

---

While he was practicing, Grunthor was listening to the others talk amongst themselves. Well, less practice and more drilling the movements into his new body while toughening the knuckles. Akeno asked what they all got for skills from the god who brought them to this world. Esfir, who was the older sounding orc, mentioned cold magic. A blizzard specifically, but he had serious doubts on such weather changing magic given outright. They were to young and inexperienced to have something like that.

"To you two returning, I'm Grunthor. I have Rapid Strikes." He stated as he blitzed his three strikes. The effect was immediate once it was over, a tiredness set in that he hadn't felt in ages. So it did take something to activate, and judging by how tired he was he might be able to do it twice more. Good to know, so wear down the enemy first then blitz them with Rapid Strikes. But still he kept swinging away, his hands were aching, the pain growing sharp on his skin. His head burned a bit from sweat stinging his wounds from the Elwet pecks.

Giving the tree a final thump he stepped back, shaking his hands out. "Does anyone know how to make stuff? We could use a bit more...armor I guess, than these rags we have." He asked, he was just a fighter. He didn't know how to do any of this stuff, but he could trade protection for stuff. Or just help about wherever he could like with the kindling for the fire.

@King Cosmos@Crusader Lord@ERode@Zeroth

---

---

As Gren collected himself after being tenderly doctored up by his fellow Runt, he took the hefty stone axe in hand and tried to use the same power he'd activated to kill the Tatzelwurm. The "magic," or whatever it was, had apparently made his strike against the creature stronger somehow, so would it do the same when chopping a tree?

Tungem Tree's defenses are too high! [Breakthrough]'s effectiveness decreases!

Again, that crackling red energy seemed to spread through Gren's arms, and as he brought the axe's stone head down it bit deeply into the wood---deeper than it would have normally, even given the Orc Runt's larger size and strength compared to his same generation. But now he was starting to feel extra tired, and his already numbed arm had more pins and needles as the shock from his own swing rattled his hands and wrists. He might be able to do that one more time before the strain was too much. This first blow sped up the process considerably, though, and it only took a few more swings to cut the branch off. It was around three feet long, and about four inches in diameter across the thickest part of its base.

While Gren continued looking for suitably sized branches, Vola began the drawn out process of attempting to field dress a creature she'd never encountered before with nothing more than a sharp rock and a bit of ingenuity. The end results were...mostly as expected? Probably a great deal messier than they had to be, but at least she hadn't ruptured anything that looked too important when cutting the beast open...

Mangled Tatzelwurm has been dismantled!
Some items have been damaged or are unusable.

Usable Items Acquired:
Tungem Branch x4 (Gren)
Tatzelwurm Fangs x2
Tatzelwurm Claws x2
Tatzelwurm Coilbone x1
Tatzelwurm Meat 10 lbs (16 lbs w/ blood, bones, organs, etc)
Tatzelwurm Eye x1

If Vola or Gren could start a fire somehow, they could try cooking and eating their catch with what seemed to be a decent chance of not poisoning themselves...unless they wanted to try it raw. Even without poison, who knew what procedures orcs might follow, if any, to clean or disinfect their food?

Also, if the two of them looked up at any point, they might notice a thin trail of smoke coming from somewhere else in the forest...had someone else already started a campfire, somewhere?

---

---

Lazash continued to use her [Creature Analysis] skill on the Elwet parts and her companions, finding out a little bit more each time since it seemed like the Skill itself built upon previous data over time. However, like with Grunthor, the additional information for each Runt was a little bit sparse, only giving her a vague description based on their physical attributes and state of their health. Considering that everyone except Grunthor had basically made it out of the fight unscathed, there wasn't much else for the skill to contribute. The information on the Elwets' organs was more confirmation that (save for the fact their flesh was extremely gamey and their livers apparently so high in concentrated iron that it ruined the taste) these creatures were, more or less, giant angry chickens. Although, given another tidbit of information about the males of the species...could it be possible that all of the Elwet they'd encountered thus far had been female?

While Akeno, Esfir, and Grunthor discussed what skills they'd obtained and what to do next, Lazash also took on the task of setting the dissected Elwet over the fire and breaking down her own bird--though she also took the head off of Grunthor's as well. Although she had fended for herself in several survival scenarios back home, the female Runt found that Esfir made the whole process look much easier and cleaner than it really was--if she were as old as she seemed to sound, that would imply the other ex-human had probably lived quite the self-sufficient lifestyle back on Earth.

Damaged Elwet has been partially dismantled (Head)!
Lightly Bloodied Elwet has been dismantled!
Some components have been damaged or are unusable.

Usable Items Acquired:
Elwet Feathers x4
Elwet Beak x1
Elwet Antlers x4
Elwet Talons x3
Cracked Gizzard Sparkstone x1
Gizzard Sparkstone x1
Elwet Meat, 15 lbs (24 lbs w/ bones, blood, organs, etc)

Esfir wanted to know what Lazash had learned from Auguz in their short-lived talk, while Grunthor wanted to make armor somehow. Could they even do that, given their current resources? Wood and cordage might be plentiful in the forest, but other than that they currently only really had access to feathers and...maybe bones? Would overgrown chicken bones make suitable armor? If any of them looked around, they would find that aside from the tall hardwoods and coniferous trees (which didn't have many branches within reach of Runty arms) the only other plantlife of note beyond scrubby grasses was a foul smelling bush that produced dark seed pods that looked like...well, like what the adult orcs would call grukh, or in plain language...feces.

It would take about an hour for the Elwets to cook thoroughly, given their large size. Though cutting them into pieces had helped, the fact that their small fire could only be fueled by already fallen and dry wood meant that its coals did not get very hot, and it was in the open air rather than some form of stove or on top of some kind of grill to contain the heat. The Runts might run out of things to do or talk about during that time...but maybe the wait would be worth it? By the time the juices bubbling up out of the Elwet pieces ran clear and the flesh had begun to brown and even char a little around the edges, the trail of smoke from their fire carried a pleasant scent like spicy barbeque...

Consumed: Elwet Blood
Consumed: Crackling Elwet Skin
Consumed: Elwet Scales

Current Ingestion: Elwet - 20%
Ingested Skill(s): Elwet - Further Progress Required.
You've discovered compatible Skill(s)!
Elwet:

• [Skewer]
• [???]
• [???]

Ingest Skill?
OR
Continue Biomass Accumulation?

---

---

Agar headed for the tree he'd sensed instead of the other Runt. They acted as if they didn't want to be discovered anyway, and had probably just killed some type of creature, so maybe this would prove the wiser choice in any case. Eager to find out just what it was his Skill had picked up, he clumsily, but effectively, started climbing the tree...

Then something big and blue came rolling down the trunk towards him!



A single goey, translucent sphere with eyespots tumbled into Agar, knocking them both off the tree! Luckily the runt didn't have too far to fall, and so aside from a painful thud he was okay---but the round thing bounced off his chest, before producing pseudopods like some kind of giant amoeba. It seemed to realize it was outnumbered and outmatched as it noticed Duram standing nearby, and started shuffling as fast as its slimey body could manage towards the nearest clump of bushes. However, thanks to whatever had caused those crackling and snapping sounds, the earth nearby had become as loose and uneven as freshly ploughed farmland. The creature was hindered as it tried to pick its way over the broken up patch, and it blurbled something unintelligible as Agar rose to his feet...

---

---

[[Character Action via PM, let me know if edits are needed]]

Ushnekh paid little heed to the other Runt headed towards the camp with a dead bird in tow. But upon reaching the camp's entrance, both were suddenly stopped by the broad palms of the two guards.

"Runts can't come back til they finish the hunt! Both of ya have a kill, from the looks of it, but it's gotta be good enough to pass!" they said, before roughly taking the two's prey from them. The other Runt alongside Ushnekh seemed like he was going to protest, but the guards just pushed him onto his skinny rear end. He grumbled as they looked the corpses over, and turned to smirk at Ushnekh.

"You tryin' to speedrun, too? Or didja just get lucky?" he asked, before giggling as those fiery eyes of his twinkled. As if he knew something Ushnekh didn't.

"Roit! Getcher bums over t' Auguz, Runts!" Their prizes were practically thrown back into their arms---which sent the dark haired Runt rolling backwards down the slope as an entire scaly chicken was hurled at him like a medicine ball.

When Ushnekh re-entered the camp proper, it wasn't hard to find the Head Warrior. He stood on a small platform right in the middle of the thoroughfare, made from a couple of barrels that propped up a few planks of wood. The hastily put together dais seemed to be solely for the purpose of making him stand out, as none of the other orcs seemed to be paying him much mind and he wasn't waving his arms or shouting or anything.

"Well well, ain't you a quick one! Good!" The dark-tinted orc hopped down and held out his hand for Ushnekh's kill. Then he lifted it close to his face and examined it with a long, drawn out hum. He looked at it, first with both eyes, then just his right as the left high squinted closed. Then he sniffed it, up and down the Tatzelwurm's length. Then he opened its mouth and peered inside. Then he turned the creature upside down and licked it somewhere that didn't seem sanitary. Finally, he nodded, and held the corpse aloft before grabbing Ushnekh by the nape of the neck and doing the same to him.

"ALL O' YOUSE, LISTEN UP! THIS HERE RUNT--" he turned his head and whispered "What's yer name?" and then upon receiving answer he turned back to the camp--"THIS HERE RUNT, USHNEKH, IS THE FIRST TO RETURN FROM THE HUNT!" He then set the smaller orc down, and turned in a slow circle so that the entire camp could see the body of Ushnekh's prey. "HE KILLED A TATZELWURM! THIS DAY, HE LEAVES THE BROOD PIT!" Several of the adult orcs cheered or pumped their fists, and many more gave the youngster an approving half-smile or a nod of respect. A few even looked contemplative, as if they were quite impressed with either the speed of his hunt or the beast he'd managed to bring down.

Auguz draped the Tatzelwurm around Ushnekh's shoulders, then clapped him on the back hard enough it almost knocked him down.

"Ya barely brought the thing back in one piece, Runt, but against a Tatzelwurm it's you or it! Now, for the rest o' the day ya can do whatever the hell ya feel like...but tomorrer mornin', you be at the Trainin' Circle before first light! And after that, we'll figure out some more duties for ya!" Auguz crossed his arms as he nodded. "But no more babyin'! Don't be goin' back to the Brood Pit---from now on, you find yer own food, yer own shelter, and whatever else! If somebody will trade ya for it, or ya take it in a fight, then more power to ya! Just be willin' to work if somebody's willin' t' give ya somethin' for it!"

With that, the Head Warrior hopped back up on the dais. It wasn't long until he noticed the other Runt huffing and puffing his way towards them, Elwet held high over his head. He wasn't grinning this time when he shot Ushnekh a look.

QUEST COMPLETED!
Quest: Find Something to Eat and Bring it Back Whole

• Kill a Creature
• Keep the Target in High Quality Condition
• Return to Camp Uninjured

LEVEL UP!
Choose ONE:

• Increase HP (Health)
• Increase MP (Magic)
• Increase SP (Stamina)
• Gain 1 Skill Rank Point

A New Quest is Available:

Quest Giver: Head Warrior Auguz
Quest Details: Fulfill Duties within the Tribe (0/2 Minimum)

• Be at the Training Circle before sunrise tomorrow morning
• Find your own food (1/3 meals provided for)
• Find your own shelter
• Accept an optional Quest from another Tribe Member

Akeno

Calling a blizzard. Rapid strikes. The latter explained what Grunthor had been doing to the tree; the skill probably worked like her own, substituting muscle memory and letting him punch faster and harder than he could otherwise. Though unlike her own, his seemed like it was just a single move and not a full martial art. It was also, if Akeno remembered correctly, one of the skills she could have learned instead of what she’d picked.

The former was not one she was familiar with. Nor was it something she had seen Esfir do during the fight; something magical like that thing the other orc had speared the chicken with? Actual magic. Summoning a blizzard, or at least a snow storm, out of thin air. Crazy, if it was true.

At least now she had names to call the others by; two of them at least. Better than giving them nicknames in her head and accidentally blurting one out at some point. “Akeno. My skill is just… karate. I get some bonus stuff when I’m using it.”

It almost felt like a waste, picking something she already had for her skill instead of something new or even something magical like the others apparently did. Akeno didn’t regret the decision, even if at the time it had been made more out of emotion than out of logic; the fear that if she didn’t pick it then she wouldn’t be allowed to keep it at all. That she would lose the skills and knowledge she had worked for. It was an unfounded fear, as it turned out, but even though she had passed up some other interesting skills in doing so it still felt like the right choice.

It was, after all, the only skill offered to her that she couldn’t get in this world by other means.

She could learn rapid strikes from eating an animal that could hit hard and fast. She could even learn magic from eating something that could use magic. But there wasn’t anything she could eat here that would let her learn Goju-Ryu as a skill; not unless there was a dojo somewhere around her that somehow knew traditional Okinawan karate.

“I can’t make anything; all I can do is fight and cook a little bit. Pretty sure we’d need better materials to make armour though; leather or metal. Might be able to make a shield out of wood though.”

@Zeroth@Crusader Lord@Kazemitsu@ERode

“Hey, what skills did you guys pick?”

“It’s a good time to introduce.

“Call me Esfir. The spirit that brought me here granted me the…gift of calling a blizzard."

"To you two returning, I'm Grunthor. I have Rapid Strikes."

“Akeno. My skill is just… karate. I get some bonus stuff when I’m using it.”

Curious choices, but also perhaps a bit telling of what they had been before all of this as well. Some of those options hadn't been among the ones she'd been presented with by the spirits herself, at least, so that seemed to indicate something of a potential influence toward what list they'd all been given to choose something from in the end. Certainly something to mull over if she got bored enough in the future, but right now they were in the middle of getting a bite to eat before heading off to do more.

Lazash thought over it as she kept an eye on the cooking Elwet meat around the fire. In the meantime, she would head to where Esfir had cleaned up her own Elwet, picking up any of the removed scales or such to wipe off and chew on as they waited. She then went to quickly grab her stick again, and then back to her spot by the fire to keep an eye on the food as she sharpened said stick with her wiped-off stone and started to chew a few of the picked-up scales in the meantime. Made for something to do to keep herself busy, at least, and it apparently was gaining her ingestion progress to boot.

Perhaps they could find those creatures the Head Warrior had told her about, or at least get ahold of a Slime along the way to see if-

"You.

What did you learn from the Head Warrior?”

Mmm. Seems she could answer more than one question right now then. Fair enough. She would keep sharpening her stick and chewing on scales in the meantime, since it was smoething to do to pass the time. It all was 'tedious' to cook indeed, based on the information her skill had given her about them. The smell wasn't very good either, but when in the wild food was also food. So long as it was edible and fueled their bodies with nutrition and calories it was good enough in her eyes.

"I'm Lazash, and I chose a skill that allows me to get information of some sort on the living things of this world: Creature Analysis.

For example, the stones in these creatures' gizzards are like dense coals or flint. Probably are good for helping start fires in the future in that sense. Their livers are also extremely high in iron to boot, and their feathers and outer skin are esistant to heat and flame."

Damaged Elwet has been partially dismantled (Head)!
Lightly Bloodied Elwet has been dismantled!
Some components have been damaged or are unusable.

Usable Items Acquired:
Elwet Feathers x4
Elwet Beak x1
Elwet Antlers x4
Elwet Talons x3
Cracked Gizzard Sparkstone x1
Gizzard Sparkstone x1
Elwet Meat, 15 lbs (24 lbs w/ bones, blood, organs, etc)

Good. She had acquired some useful supplies indeed, if the information on the 'Sparkstones' were of any indication. Not that the cracked one would be of much use, so she'd have to try it out first with an air of caution...just in case. Meanwhile she'd find some vine or plant fibers to strap the Antlers, Talons, Beak, and so forth to herself to carry them more easily when they'd eventually move on. Keep it simple in that respect.

Of course they'd be eating the meat though, and on that note she'd try to get the best-looking Elswet liver of the three to try to get roasting over the fire before it was too late. If no one else wanted it, she'd certianly try a few bites of it to see if it was palatable once it was done. Better to learn these things for the near future rather than sit around piddling about otherwise.

Consumed: Elwet Blood
Consumed: Crackling Elwet Skin
Consumed: Elwet Scales

Current Ingestion: Elwet - 20%
Ingested Skill(s): Elwet - Further Progress Required.

You've discovered compatible Skill(s)!

Elwet:

• [Skewer]
• [???]
• [???]

Ingest Skill?
OR
Continue Biomass Accumulation?

Continue Biomass Accumulation. She felt it was the obvious choice in this instance, rather than simply jumping up on the first skill to pop in front of her. [Skewer] felt spear-oritented, or perhaps it would cause her to develop horns to charge enemies with or something. Hmm. She wanted to see what else popped up, especially after seeing how much biomass it took to consume to see the other compatible skills in this case. Plus she wanted to make sure the additional scales she was chewing on now, and the bones she'd also be trying to suck marrow from when they finally got to eat the meat and flesh of the cooking Elwets, would all be of greater use to her as well.

Her eyes cast their gaze back over at where Esfir was, however, as she continued speaking.

"As for what the Head Warrior told me, he pointed me in the direction of some nocturnal creatures that would be sleeping during the day. He gave me the direction where cave-dwelling creatures called Camazots make their nests, and said that there are Nooki that make their dens down here in the woods as well.

He also implied that there's a reason they only skulk about 'for a reason' and seemed to get a kick out of it. So likely there's some larger daytime predators going around these parts that we need to be careful about as well."

"Does anyone know how to make stuff? We could use a bit more...armor I guess, than these rags we have."

Lazash's head came up as she looked over at where Grunthor was standing, seemingly having been practicing a bit on the tree in front of him. Hmm. He really was the fighter-type he sounded like to her. Also a good question to boot.

“I can’t make anything; all I can do is fight and cook a little bit. Pretty sure we’d need better materials to make armour though; leather or metal. Might be able to make a shield out of wood though.”

"As for myself, I can make some basic things for survival. As for making shelter or structures or constructions? Even better at that on my end, I'd want to say, given the right materials.

Probably have some who can make things like armor back in camp as well, once we finally get the Head Warrior's quest completed. But with how fire-resistant the outer skin and feathers of these Elswets are, it seems, that might be something to keep in mind for later."

@Zeroth@Kazemitsu@ERode@King Cosmos

There was something remarkably stubborn about someone who’d risk fracturing their hands upon a tree with such forceful punches. It was that sort of bravado that sent young men to their graves, the sort of silliness that would see people toss everything away for a beautiful, but empty, promise.

His other injuries weren’t even taken care of either. What was the point of adding on further injury?

…oh dear.

Was that how it was?

Esfir side-eyed Akeno, allowed the others to come to the obvious conclusion that nothing passively protective could be made out of what they were fundamentally turning into food. Lazash seemed to have some experience, but simply put, the armor that they made would be little better than rags if they didn’t have the privileges of tools and time. And while the information that the runt shared was useful, at the same time, she wasn’t wholly blind to how Lazash was quietly, casually, eating all the least edible parts of the Elwets’ body. Certainly, there was nothing to be done with scales mangled by teeth, nothing to be done with bones cracked to bits for the marrow inside. Wouldn’t even make for soup stock now.

It was intentional then, that when the Elwets cooked fully, the gamey stench of a violent death giving way to a pungent, hot aroma, Esfir divvied up the meat in a curious way.

Equal parts between herself, Grunthor, and Akeno. Less for Lazash, accounting for what she ate prior.

“We equally eat, until we form an idea of how much it takes to digest,” she said. “After that, gather up what useful stuff there is, and we’ll head to the caves to do our jobs.”

There were antlers to sharp, stones to be tested. Even those foul-smelling berries may have some promise. She would dry them out by the fire, maybe crush them into powder afterwards. Her nose was sharper than she last remembered, but predators’ senses were sharper still.

For now though?

“Enjoy your meal.”

She would eat.

_{@Kazemitsu@King Cosmos@Crusader Lord}

Somehow, chopping through wood was harder than fighting that cat-snake. Or maybe it's just because Gren is still recovering from that fight and he wasn't at his full strength anyways. Either way Gren managed to get a nice sized stick for him and Vola. They could easily shave it down a bit into a spear, or maybe a new axe. Though Gren couldn't really be bothered to work on it anymore right now, his arms hurt from both his injuries and the strain of chopping that tree. He looked over to Vola to see how she was doing and it looks like she had managed to butcher up that beast pretty good! Now if only they knew how to start a fire. Gren knew how to get a spark from copper wires, but they were lacking wires right about now, and Gren only vaguely remembers what a copper wire even was. Either way he was willing to try things raw but he wasn't sure if that was the smartest thing to do, considering his current state.

Looking up into the sky Gren tried to get a gauge of how long they've been out. He would guess at least an hour, they did spend a bit of time in the village, but the sun was still up so he guessed it's still daytime. While trying to figure out how long they had until nightfall he noticed some smoke in the distance. He's pretty sure that's not the village and if it was, there ought to have been even more smoke, so maybe it's one of the other runts? He wasn't sure how willing they were to work with him and Vola, but surely even they would understand strength in numbers. Plus if they bring the tatzelwurm with them, that'll prove their strength. And if any had some funny ideas of taking their kill, Gren will have to show em that his axe ain't for show.

So figuring out something of a plan Gren looks to Vola. "Aye Vola, see that smoke? Bet it's one of da other runts! Maybe we can use dere fire ta cook da meat, and if they still around maybe they'll be willing ta help us." Of course the smoke could also have come from another orc, or maybe even an enemy. It was hard to say, but Gren felt it was still worth investigating. If nothing else, maybe they could light one of their sticks on fire and have a torch. Thinking in advance Gren does go ahead and take one of his own sticks and stab some leaves with it, so that if they had to make a run for it he can at least make sure his stick catches flame quickly and they can start their own fire elsewhere. "Let's go! Time's a wastin!" Picking up the axe, his sticks, and his make-shift torch, Gren heads in the direction of the smoke.