[h3][center]Ash & Orchid[/center][/h3]
[@Zeroth][@Lucius Cypher]
[hr]
After the fanged lizard had her fill, Orchid gathered up what was left. A bit of meat she can use as bait, and the dire rat’s guts still bloody and oily. She gave them a tung and they were somewhat taut; she could use it as string, probably. She put that into her pouch and put the rest underneath a rock. [color=firebrick]”Alright, let’s go.”[/color] Orchid turned to continue the hunt. They moved further down the cave, going at a fast pace but careful of their surroundings. Soon there was voices up ahead and the two could come to a stop. What they’d see would give even Orchid pause; three goblins. They didn’t look like the same goblins that Orchid was with before, and she was mostly certain that the goblins were not all unified. If nothing else, she doubts that they’d have any issues killing the fanged lizard and attacking Orchid.

From their vantage point Orchid could see that they weren’t much better equipped than she was. They too had pointed sticks, with crude clothing in the form of loincloths made of vines, fur clumps, and leaves. They had small pouches on them that might have something useful or maybe nothing at all. The real issue of course was not only did they outnumber the two, but that they were goblins; Orchid wasn’t sure if she could eat them.

[color=firebrick][i]”Remember, video game. They’re not humans. You’re human. And… And maybe they have food. Maybe goblin meat is okay to eat. Either way… Kill them.”[/i][/color] Orchid had to hype herself up, but she also wasn’t just going to go charging in. They needed a plan. Fortunately it didn’t seem like the goblins saw them yet so Orchid had a plan. She took the bones out from her fur pouch, gathering them up in some rat stomach. [color=firebrick]”I have an idea. I think I can trick those goblins into helping me, but lead them into an ambush. Take these bones and try to plant the pointy bits up, hide them with a bit of dirt so they’re hard to see. When the goblins step on them it should hurt their feet and give you a chance to shoot them down. I’ll sneak up behind them and take them out too. If possibly, spread some of your poison on the bones too so that’ll make it even harder for them to survive. I… I’ll see if they have any food on them afterwards. I’m more interested in collecting their things than eating, really.”[/color]

Well, this was certainly not a good sign. Not moments after they resumed hunting, they ran into three goblins. Ash was already formulating her own plan, staying low to the ground and hiding slightly behind Orchid's feet. If the goblins did see her, no doubt they'd only think of her as food. As much as she'd like to avoid fighting and persuade the goblins to do her work for her, she doubted she was skillful enough for that yet.

[color=598527]"…huh, not a bad plan."[/color] Ash mused quietly. [color=598527]"It'd be easier if I well, had hands instead of these ugly claws. I can't really carry very many of these."[/color] It shouldn't be too hard though. Maybe two sharp bones in either claw, and a few in her mouth? [color=598527]"We'll try it - but I won't waste my poison. It only remains acidic for a short time after exposed to air. If I inject it into their bloodstream it can paralyze the victim, so you can land a finishing blow on them. Biting their ankles will be easy enough."[/color] She had been using it a lot today after all, and while she wasn't a biologist she was certain there was a limit to how much her body could make in a day.

Acting quickly, Ash grabbed two bones in either claw, scooping up a few more in her mouth before scurrying off back the way they had came. A few yards back had been a good choke point, one might say. She could set up the bones there. As easy as this plan sounded, she doubted it'd go as such - to say she was a little nervous, was an understatement.

[color=firebrick]”I trust you. Just trust me.”[/color] Orchid watched the lizard scurry off as she peeked back towards the goblins. They seem to be hunting too, but not nearly as watchful as they were. Perhaps they were cocky with their numbers. Taking a deep breath it was time to work her magic. Orchid took the bloody meat from the rat hunt and squeezed the juice around her arm to make it look like she was injured. Just for good measure she hide the poisoned piece of meat underneath her armpit too, just long enough for the smell of poison to get stronger. Once it looked good enough Orchid approached the goblins.

They were immediately on guard until they saw Orchid’s face and body. Unlike theirs, she was definitely female. A mix of confusion and bravado appeared on their face. Just what Orchid had expected. She spoke frantically. [color=firebrick]”Please, help me! I was hunting a dire rat, but it wasn’t alone. One of them bit me, and they’re right behind me! Help me kill them and you can have anything you want!”[/color] This caused one of the goblins to puff up, a lurid smile on his face. Orchid grimaced and gulped. She knew what she said; this was an expected response. “Anything?” The goblin asked. Orchid made herself look meek. Innocent. Weak. [color=firebrick]”A-Anything…”[/color]

The goblins chuckled as the biggest of the one (By an inch or two) raised his stick. “Let’s get huntin boys!” The goblins pushed past Orchid and ran up ahead, eager to kill some dire rats. But there wasn’t any rats up there. Nothing but the fanged lizard and the trap. Taking a deep breath Orchid took out her rock and followed up the rear. The goblins moved fast, but it wasn’t long before the two racing to be first hit the trap; two bones stabbed through their foot, causing one to immediately kneel in pain and the other to start hopping. The one in the back stopped and looked confused as Orchid was coming up behind him with the rock. She looked like she was going to bash his head open.

She only had a few seconds to work, pointing the bones upright and spaced out enough that they would step on them. Covering them with a bit of dirt was the hardest bit, and it didn't go as well as she had wanted. She'd just have to hope that the Goblins were too focused on Orchid or whatever else the female goblin was doing to distract them. Once done, she set herself up off to the side in a dark crevasse near the wall, and waited, ready to strike. As soon as Ash saw the first two Goblins step on the makeshift caltrop trap, she made her move.

Target priority…go for the one still standing while it was focused on Orchid. Ash rushed out as swiftly as she could, baring fangs and clamping her teeth down into the Goblin that Orchid was aiming for just long enough to hopefully deliver a dose that would paralyze him. That was all she could do. Immediately, she pulled away, biting away a chunk of skin in the process. Immediately she turned to the goblin still hopping in a rather comical fashion, taking another bite out of his ankle.

Before she could really get a good dosage of venom in him though - something slammed into her side, [i]hard[/i]. The impact sent her rolling across the ground, reeling from the impact and seeing more than a few stars.

"Ey! Whatiz'this?!" He snarled, looking back to Orchid who was attacking the hopefully paralyzed Lizard. "Lizard try and make a fool of us! You, female! This a trap!?" The Goblin had a gnarled wooden stick in his possession that looked like an old tree branch. At least the second one seemed to be having trouble moving after biting him, even if he didn't get a full dosage, having tripped and gotten a sharp bone to the face.

Orchid gave no response to him. Well, aside from smashing one of the goblin’s eye with the sharp stone she had. She aimed right for his eyes, hoping to slice them out. He wouldn’t be able to fight if he was blind after all. With the lizard biting and poisoning one followed by Orchid slashing his eyes out, hopefully he was out of commission. Orchid wouldn’t have time to finish him off as the other two turned towards her. Perhaps out of anger or out of foolishness, they turned their backs on the fanged lizard and hobbled towards Orchid. Their movement was notably difficult for them as the bones still jutted from their feet, making it hard for them to take steps. Orchid stepped back, grabbing the hopefully blinded goblin’s gnarled stick while her own sharp stick was still on her back.

[color=firebrick]”Idiots. Just die already!”[/color] She taunted the goblins to come towards her, but she was intentionally keeping her distance, baiting them away from the fanged lizard so she could recover and come back to the fight. Once she did, Orchid would also attack by hurling her rock at whichever goblin wasn’t attacked by the lizard.

Ash rolled over onto her stomach, using a claw to grab her head. Urgh, that really hurt. Goblins were a lot stronger than they looked…or maybe she was just a lot weaker than she thought. They were pretty fast, too. Fast enough to react to her biting and paralyzing one, and then knocking her off the other before she had a chance to really sink her fangs in him.

Urgh, maybe this was a good idea to try out that other skill of hers. She had never used it before…she was a little afraid too. She didn't want to die again, but she'd need ever advantage she can get, even if it meant a little self-harm. She was no stranger to that, really…always shoving people away and focusing entirely on her work. This wasn't any different. If this worked as she had hoped, then this would be easy.

She closed her eyes, focusing for a moment as she shook the stars from her vision from the blunt weapon. When she opened them again, she felt so focused. Clearer. Like she could do anything. Aside from the throbbing pain in her side, she felt great. These Goblins likely wouldn't be much of a problem, then!

Hissing, the Lizard dashed forward with newfound strength from the skill. The goblin in the back that had been given a small dose of poison barely had time to react as the Lizard leaped from the ground, latching her claws into his lower leg, teeth tearing into his flesh as he was distracted by Orchid's taunt. Surprised by the attack, the goblin attempted to shake the Lizard off, but only succeeded in slowing himself down and getting another dosage of the paralyzing venom as Ash jumped off, firing several globs of poison at the goblins head once she had landed.

As the lizard attacked Orchid hurled her stone at the other goblin. To her surprise however he simply dodged it and charged, ignoring the pain in his leg to try and stab Orchid. She too went immediately on the defensive, panic quickly seizing her mind. Hunting rats was one thing; she was used to that. But fighting a goblin? She never even fought anyone when she was a human, not seriously anyways. The closest she’s ever been to fighting was watching action movies and they weren’t on her mind right now. She swung her stick around haphazardly hoping to keep him at bay, but the goblin seemed more experienced than she was. He was easily able to dodge her swings and soon was upon her before she could run, stabbing his stick right into her shoulder.

[color=firebrick]”Argh!”[/color] Orchid cried out in pain. Before she could try anything the goblin punched her right in the face, stunning her long enough for him to raise his stick and stab her again, though this one he only managed to cut her shoulder instead of stabbing into her flesh. He tried to stab her again in the face but Orchid grabbed his hand holding the stick, struggling against him. He tried to punch Orchid again, but she grabbed his other hand before he could strike her.

The goblin Ash had been fighting now had been completely neutralized by the acid. He fell to the ground, thrashing as Ash finished him off by tearing into his neck. This had gone well. Extremely well. Better than she could have hoped, but if this overwork skill worked like she assumed…well, she was already feeling the fatigue, but she was trying to ignore the pain. Just…the third one left.

Ash turned to Orchid who was fighting with the third one, wincing slightly as she was stabbed by the goblins sharp stick. She had to finish this fast, but she wasn't sure her stamina was going to keep up. Well, just one thing to try.

She rushed towards the Goblin, climbing up his legs to his back, using her claws to hang tightly to his flesh and hopefully causing some damage. In the next instant, she sank her fangs right into his neck, hopefully giving Orchid an opening to do something, deactivating the Overwork skill in the process. The paralytic should hopefully take effect quickly enough. 

As the two goblins struggled against each other the lizard crawled up the back of one of the goblins and bit him in the back of the neck. He let out a guttural scream and for a moment was weakened. And in that moment of weakness Orchid also struck. [color=firebrick]”Grrr! WAAAAARGH!”[/color] With both hands busy grappling the goblin Orchid raised her neck and also bit into the goblin’s neck, on the other side of the fanged lizard. But while she bit to poison, Orchid tire and gnashes at his neck and caused blood to spill all over her head and shoulders. 

The goblin died quickly but not before Orchid tossed him aside, picking up a stone nearby and bashing his head in again, and again, and again. She kept smashing his face until his skull was nothing but blood and pulp. All the while Orchid had tear last streaming down her face, her breath heavy as her face was twisted in a furious yet horrified grimace.

Ash fell off the back of the Goblin, falling to the ground and weakly struggling to her feet. All she could do was watch as Orchid repeatedly beat the other goblins face repeatedly, too tired to say anything as she caught her breath, air tasting of blood filling her lungs. Still…

[color=598527]"Oof…"[/color] Ash limped over, her side hurting more than a little where she had been hit with that blunt stick. Maybe this would be good enough for another level up? Her body certainly felt like it deserved one, hah. [color=598527]"Hey, hey. He's dead."[/color] Ash grumbled, fatigue quickly setting in. [color=598527]"We're safe…for now."[/color] Couldn't be too comfortable. She needed to find somewhere to sleep for the night, and quickly.

Hmm…maybe…eating that rat restored her stamina a bit. It was a morbid thought, but…Ash tore into the goblins arm, tearing off flesh from his bone and quickly swallowing.

[color=598527]"Tastes terrible, but food is food."[/color] She mused hoping it'd restore her strength a bit. [color=598527]"Urgh, I don't think I can help you find anything else. That took all I had."[/color]

It took a few minutes but eventually Orchid calmed down. Her arm was sore and her shoulder felt even worse. The first thing she did was stand up, grab her sharpened stick, and stab the first goblin she attacked through the heart. Just to make sure. The. She looted their bodies. Unfortunately no food; it was mostly rocks and herbs. She rubbed the herbs around her wounds hoping that would help them heal. She took what little clothing they had, mostly loincloths. She took the cleanest looking one and made it into a makeshift bandage, pressing the herbs against her wound. She also used one as a bra to cover her chest, and finally used the last one as a bigger pouch to carry all the rocks and herbs.

There was also a few sticks too. One sharpen stick that still had her blood on it and two gnarled sticks she could use to beat things with. The gnarled sticks were bigger and thicker than the sharpens one too, making them a bit sturdier. Now all she had left was corpses. With a stony expression Orchid took out her sharp knife and began the grim but meticulous process of butchering and skinning the goblins. [color=firebrick]”Take whatever meat you want. Just leave the organs to me. I might need them.”[/color]

Orchid took what she thought might be useful. Intestine and long hair for rope and strings, bones and teeth for weapons, stomachs and lungs to make into bags. Between the butchering, she also ate some of the goblin flesh, raw. She tried not to think too much about it. Orchid reeked of gore by the time she had finished butchering the goblins, not even leaving a corpse so much as piles of meat and bits of bones. The little green girl looked more red as she turned to the lizard, presenting her a sort of satchel made of a goblin’s lung, guts, and bones. It had small loops that could make it fit on a belt, or for the lizard, worn around the shoulders like a visceral backpack.

Ash simply watched Orchid's meticulous work, silently dining on parts of the goblins arms and legs. She had just eaten, but she wanted to keep her stamina up since that Overwork skill likely did a number on her body. The female Goblin certainly had some knowledge of what she was doing. Perhaps it was instinct? Well, she didn't care too much about that. Just the pain her entire body was feeling. What did she need, though? She didn't care too much about hearts or other organs…but there were things that she might be able to use in alchemy perhaps, if she had a way to preserve or immediately use them, but considering she didn't, then they were useless.

She was pleasantly surprised when Orchid offered her something, though.

[color=598527]"…a gift?"[/color] Ash implied quizzically, lizard head tilting slightly to the side. In her previously life, she hadn't ever received such things. Mildly confusing…but a welcome gesture, likely nothing more than an ally giving thanks. She could probably wear it around her front shoulders. It was small enough, and as long as she didn't pack it too heavily she could reasonably maneuver with it. [color=598527]"Hmm…I am unsure why you are giving me this gesture, but far be it from me to look a gift horse in the mouth."[/color] She mused. 

[color=598527]"…Ahem, if I may make a suggestion…it is getting late and in my condition I'm not likely going to be able to fight anything else without rest. After killing these goblins, I don't think it'd be too much of a stretch to say that the big goblins are going to have questions for you. Perhaps it'd be best to find somewhere the both of us can rest for the night without being disturbed?"[/color]

Orchid nodded her head silently. Her body was exhausted, yet she wasn't tired. More like she was just… Emotionally drained. She certainly didn’t want to think about that big goblin and his cronies right now. Frankly, she’d be perfectly fine if she never saw a goblin again. Unlikely, but that would be nice. [color=firebrick]”Agreed… Know anything safe? With some light? I still have some work to do.”[/color]  Orchid had a large sack made of goblin flesh over her shoulder that she intended to make something out of. She already had an idea too. She just needed a safe place to work on it.

[color=598527]"Hmm, not for one of your size."[/color] Ash frowned, fumbling with the small satchel. This would take some getting used too. Lizard arms weren't great with the whole grabby and rotating things. A lizard could easily slip into small cracks and crevasses that a Goblin couldn’t easily get into. [color=598527]"Head to the opposite side of the cave of the Bonfire would be best. Should be able to use the Mana crystals as a light source…providing they aren't all gone."[/color]

Well, there was one place maybe. The place she had been staying at until now, if her fuzzy memory served. It was pretty far in the opposite direction of the Bonfire, and there had been a few crystals that she hadn't been too interested in until today. If they hadn't been used, then they could at least use it to recover for the night.

Motioning for Orchid to follow, Ash quietly led the Goblin away from the bonfire, cautiously avoiding any main paths and keeping her eyes, ears, and other lizard senses open for anything that could be amiss or be an indication of danger. She really didn't want to run into anything else nasty. Thankfully, they made it to the other side of the cave with relative peace.

The area wasn't exactly well hidden. Just a small hill within the cave surrounded by large rock formations and stalagmites with a few crystals growing higher in the ceiling and along the walls and just enough light to see. A few other fanged lizards scurried about, but they didn't seem too interested in them for various reasons.

As soon as she arrived, Ash nearly collapsed from exhaustion, breathing heavily and curling up against one of the walls. She'd mess with the menus and see if she could get any use out of the crystals tomorrow. For now, she just wanted to sleep.

Oh, and find Ryuu, Rain and the slimes…and that Pixie. Ardur? That sounded right…but for now, sleep. Unless Orchid woke her for whatever reason, the Lizard was out quickly.

There was light here at least. Orchid could work in peace. She stayed relatively close to the Ash, close enough to call for her if something happened. Once she settled down Orchid took a moment to close her eyes and rest. [color=firebrick]”It’s all just a game… All just a game…”[/color] Orchid had to keep telling herself that to regain some semblance of sanity. She quickly put the violent scene with the goblins out of her mind, for her own good. She laid out the supplies before her. It was already starting to smell but she’d have to ignore it for now; it was time to work.

First Orchid took account of all the things she has. Four sticks, two sharpened and two gnarled. She had her sharp stone and two hard rocks. She also had her herbs, about five or six good leaves that she had collected over the past week. Then the bones. All those bones. She had given Ashe all the dire rat teeth and bones to make the trap. Then she had a bunch of teeth from the goblins. In fact, all their teeth; she had knocked their teeth out or shattered their skulls to collect their teeth and skull fragments into sharp bone blades. And of course she had collected their other bones, mostly from the ribs, but also their forearms and leg bones since they were the longest. She left the spine and smaller bones from the hands and feet since she didn’t really know what to do with those. And of course, guts. So many guts. She still had some of the rat intestines for string, plus the goblin intestines and their bigger organs like the stomach and lungs. She had also collected the liver and kidneys since she knew they had a lot of essential vitamins and nutrients, though she wasn’t too keen on eating raw goblins yet. 

Cracking her knuckles Orchid felt a bit of pain in her shoulder where she had been stabbed. It hurts, but there was little she could do but let the herbs do their work. She wished she had a pot or something she could collect and boil water with but for now she’ll just have to deal with what she had on hand; a bunch of body parts and her wit. First she took one of the sticks she collected from the goblins, carefully examining each one. She needed a sturdy stick that could withstand a beating; the sharp sticks were good for stabbing but too narrow, too fragile. So she took the gnarled sticks which were mostly straight and could be used for what she needed. She looked at the various bits of teeth and bones she had, carefully arranging them around the gnarled club so she knew how she needed to carve the wood. Then she picked up her sharp stone and got to work.

First she needed a fire. She knew one way, honestly only because she saw it on the survival channel back in her human life. She had pulled it off successfully a few times but never easily, and certainly not under such stressful conditions as now. Frankly, Orchid wasn’t sure if what she had now would even suffice. But she’ll make it work. She grabbed the two sharp sticks and took her sharp stone, slowly and smoothly carving the sticks even further to gather tinder. When the two sharp sticks had become somewhat thinner but still solid, Orchid carved a small hole into the slightly bigger shaved stick, not completely through, but just enough to fit the smaller shaved stick. Gathering her tinder together Orchid then took her sharp stone and the remaining gnarled club and started splitting the branch to make kindling. She wished she had more sticks to make a bigger fire, but for now this would have to do.

Now came the hard part: creating a flame. [color=firebrick]”Speed, not strength. Do it fast, be steady, be patient…”[/color] Orchid chanted to herself so she would remember and calm her nerves. Putting the smaller shaved stick into the notch of the bigger shaved stick, Orchid spun the stick in her hand rapidly, moving her hands down like she saw on the television. For the first few minutes, there didn’t seem to be much. Orchid’s hands were hurting and she was sore. But a few minutes more and she smelled smoke. [color=firebrick]”Steady now.”[/color] She kept going until she could see a small ember form. Then she removed both her fire sticks and lightly blew on the embers to get it to spread. When it glowed a healthy orange, she tossed some tinder onto it and blew again, spreading the heat to the tinder and creating more smoke. [color=firebrick]”Yes!”[/color]

Moving the fire away from Orchid she stacked some kindling onto it and soon it would catch flame. She had a small fire going now. It wasn’t much, but it was warm. It made Orchid happy, happier than seeing that bonfire. This was [i]her[/i] fire. Letting herself warm up by the flame she looked back to her gnarled stick and the bones arranged around it. She still had some work to do. So picking up the sharpstone again, she took one of the hard stones and sharpened it some more. It was getting dull after repeated use.

Orchid carefully carved out about sixteen notches up the side of the gnarled club, aftering using her sharp stone to shave it down into a more straight form and tossing the shavings into the fire. This process was most meticulous since Orchid didn’t want to make the holes too big, nor split the gnarled stick. If she did than it would be all over. But thanks to her patience she was able to carve our sixteen holes on the side, just slightly smaller than the teeth she intends to put in them. But before she did, she also cut a small notch at the top and bottom of the stick. She had ideas for those. Once she had all the notches she needed Orchid placed the stick on top of her fire to dry and harden. She watched it carefully, using one of the long goblin bones to move it around.

As her stick was hardening Orchid began to carve two of the goblin bones, one which was a large skull fragment and another which was a femur. First she took the sharp stone and shaped the skull fragment into a four-pointed star shape, though one point on the star was longer with the opposite side very short, and the whole thing wasn’t very strait. But that was fine. When it looked right she put it aside to work on the femur. Using one hard rock for leverage and the other hard rock as a hammer, she smashed the tip off the femur to give it a sharp point. Then she began to sharpen the bone with the hard rock until it had an edge. Orchid kept doing this until she had a blade made of bone.

After that she checked on her stick. Because her fire was pretty small she figured it would take longer for it to really harden, and by now her flame was dying. She didn’t want to lose her gnarled stick to the fire so she took it out, letting it sit to cool down. Despite being near the fire it wasn’t brittle but harden; it looked like Orchid took it out at a good time. [color=firebrick]”Good. Good… Time to put it all together.”[/color] Orchid went to retrieve the goblin guts, stretching them around and even wrapping it around her arm until they were taut and relatively dry. They were still sticky with fat and blood, so Orchid washed them in a nearby pond, but otherwise they were still flexible.

Orchid began to fit the various bits of goblin teeth and skull shards up the side of the stick. The fire hardening made the initial notches slightly bigger, big enough for the teeth to fit snuggly. Those that didn’t Orchid simply shifted around or used a smaller bit of bone for. Soon she had sixteen assorted bones and teeth lining both edges of her stick, with two big goblin teeth near the handle to serve as a makeshift hilt. She then took the goblin guts to wrap around the wood and tighten it, ensuring that the teeth don’t fall out so easily. She tighten it as much as she could, checking the teeth so that they only wiggled a little. Then she moved onto the tip of her blade where she inserted the goblin femur blade, sliding it into the notch and using the rat gut to tighten the wood. The rat gut was much thinner, but Orchid had less wood that needed binding, so she used all of it to make sure the wood clamped tightly around the bone blade. If she had the tools she’d bolt it in too, but she did not. Lastly was the hilt. She fitted the four pointed skull shard into the hilt to give the weapon some counter weight, then used the remaining goblin gut to not only bind the skull shard to the wood, but also wrap the handle and tighten the hilt.

Orchid didn’t know how long it took her to make it. Frankly she wasn’t even sure if it would work well. It smelled something awful. But she made it. It was her beautiful mess. It was a [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/elderscrolls/images/9/95/ForswornSword.png/revision/latest?cb=20121104151049]sword[/url]. The teeth wasn’t meant to cut flesh so much as it was meant to help Orchid saw through things like wood, should she manage to come across a large enough tree or root in this cave system. The pommel was sharpened and slightly curved so she could use it for precision cutting, such as wood carving or skinning. The real business end of her weapon was the sharpen bone blade at the tip, meant to slice and dice whatever monster or beast she needs to kill. While it looked like a sword, she was going to handle it more akin as a spear, with a lot of thrusting motions and the occasional slice. Also, it’ll look intimidating.

Orchid admired her blade, taking it to the pond to wash before drying it over her now dying flame. She sighed and moved closer to the fanged lizard she had befriended, hiding her sword behind her as she curled up next to the lizard. It had been a very tiring day and she’d like nothing more than to rest.