Joe, Pix explains, "You are in the Forest of giant trees. Right in the middle too. The forest goes on for miles." You don't need Pix to explain best way to kill a deer. Your perk as a Sistelcrone let's you gain information from me. So the best way to kill a deer is to use a long range weapon. Deer rely on smell more than eyesight so they aren't going to smell an arrow or bullet come at them, but they will smell you coming at them.
Vordak, Knight beat you to the ax because she was right next to it.
Knight, you take a swing at the trunk. You can tell using the ax would cut the time in half if using anything else. Time estimated till tree cut down. 2 turns.
Kirra, Dribs explains, "The cave to the left was once open, but a small Giant camp to the east had sent three giants to seal it. I am not sure why they did seal it."
Rex, you grab the pickaxe, but it's stuck. You're afraid that if you pry it out, it'll break because it's made of wood thus halving the amount of time to mine.