[hr] [center][h2]The Forest[/h2] [hr] [@Lucius Cypher][@Unkown58][@King Cosmos][@Kazemitsu][@ERode][@Crusader Lord][/center] [hr] [hider=SYSTEM:GREN][quote=SYSTEM:Gren] You've Attempted to Craft! Tools Used: Stone Hatchet Process: Woodwork, Fire-Hardening Material: Tungem Branch x4 ... ...Result: You've crafted: Fire Hardened Short Spear! (x3) You've crafted: Spear Thrower! The quality of your items is undetermined. [b]Short Spear[/b] - Equip, Weapon [Fire Hardened, Tungem Wood] - [i]A haft roughly three to four feet long topped by a sharp point. Though lacking the range advantage inherent to most spears, it's easier to use in one hand and light enough to throw.[/i] [b]Spear Thrower[/b] - Equip, Weapon [Tungem Wood] - [i]A stick with a carved notch and handle. By placing a spear in the notch, it can be used as a lever to multiply the power of a throw. In the hands of a skilled practitioner, it may be as much as three times the force.[/i] You've Attempted to Craft! Tools Used: Sharp Rock Process: Woodwork Materials: Wooden Stick, Tatzelwurm Claws x2, Tatzelwurm Fangs x2 ... ...Result: You've crafted: Bone Spiked Club! The quality of your item is undetermined. [b]Spiked Club[/b] - Equip, Weapon [Horn/Bone, Wood] - [i]A club that's had spikes of some kind embedded into it. Basic, but gets the job done.[/i] Consumed: Tatzelwurm Eye Consumed: Cooked Tatzelwurm Meat Consumed: Partial Serving Cooked Tatzelwurm Viscera (Misc. Organs) Activate [Ingestion: Tatzelwurm] (Y/N)? Approximate Ingestion: 0 > 55% Current Ingestion: Tatzelwurm - 45% Ingestible Skills [Tatzelwurm]:[list] [*][Slash] [*][Poison Attack] [*][???] - Further Progress Required.[/list] Ingest Skill? OR Continue Biomass Accumulation? [/quote][/hider] Grunthor and Gren experimented with the materials they'd found while the others mostly discussed the creature they were going after next and how to bring it down. While putting together a few weapons either to share or solely for himself, Gren also helped himself to the fire as Esfir had "graciously" allowed. Lola, for her part, seemed content to observe for now. The female runt had been content to let Gren take the lead before, so maybe she was just the agreeable type. Although whether she'd risk traveling so much further from camp, and taking on a beast the Head Warrior had apparently given some cryptic warning about, was yet to be seen. Grunthor found he couldn't bend the scales, but perhaps it was less their toughness or resistance and more the fact that, being as small as they were, it was hard to get enough leverage with just his fingers. Like when a piece of paper has been folded too small to fold anymore. And these metallic bits of scale from a chicken sized creature were both harder and smaller than a folded square of paper. Esfir seemed in a hurry to get a move on, so regardless of how long Gren took to do his crafting and eating, or whether or not Lola spoke up, it seemed like the original four Runts would soon be on their way. The others had all pretty much passively accepted that they were following the "oldest" of the reincarnates, so when she struck out, they would too. [b]While traveling towards the North Cave, they would come across yet another Runt traveling in the opposite direction, keeping the camp to one side and the forest to the other. He was carrying what looked like...a deflated blue dodgeball?[/b] But of course, whether they ended up negotiating with this Runt too likely wouldn't change their end-point destination, even if he ended up coming with them as well...[b]So they would eventually arrive at the North Caves[/b]... [AREA CHANGE] [hr] [center][@Such A Birch][@ReusableSword][/center] [hr] [quote=SYSTEM] Punctured Slime was dismantled! Usable Items acquired:[list] [*]Slime Membrane [*]Slime Gel[/list] Consumed: Partial Slime Gel Consumed: Partial Slime Membrane Activate [Ingestion: Slime] (Y/N)? Approximate Ingestion: 0 > 50% Current Ingestion: Slime - 50% Ingestible Skills [Slime]:[list] [*][Blunt Damage Resistance] [*][Danger Scan] [*][???] - Further Progress Required.[/list] Ingest Skill? OR Continue Biomass Accumulation? [/quote] Cutting the Slime open and feasting on the jelly within was a fairly intuitive process---they seemed like incredibly simple creatures, and perhaps that was appropriate for something so similar to an amoeba. Once he'd taken the edge off his hunger (truth be told, there wasn't actually all that much to the slime to eat, for while it was filled with gel, its body was also inflated by air, which was, of course, inedible) Agar continued his journey along the treeline. He carefully kept the camp in sight, a sound strategy for a new environment where he hadn't yet learned his way. [b]But as he continued on, he would soon see another group coming from the opposite direction. And they were headed on a path that seemed it would take them into the mountains. There were at least four of these other Runts, and they had the remnants of vaguely recognizable odors around them: Smoke and ash, blood, and...was that...barbecue?[/b] If he wanted to speak to them, or maybe even join them, it looked like he might have to do it quick---they were all following a female who seemed very focused on getting to wherever this group had decided they were going. Were they all still on the hunt as well? [hr] [hr] [hr] [h2]North Caves[/h2] [hr] Roughly an hour’s walk from the camp, in a northerly direction along the scrubby, gravel-covered slopes between the trees and the mountainside proper, a valley opened up where a fast-moving stream came down a long slope and meandered off into the woods. Within this valley, there were several cracks and clefts in the rock walls to either side, and one of these was larger and darker than the others. It looked to be a talus cave of some sort, where the collapse of rocks who knew how many eons ago created a roof that was piled high with detritus and topsoil over the years. A short climb would allow one to see over the lip of the ground and down into a slanted, slippery passage...but this open chamber of the cave was still somewhat cramped, and a much narrower passageway further into the depths sat at its back, where the shadows hid what else might lie down that path. Yet, one could feel a cool draft coming out of the rock, which meant there had to be more to this cave than met the eyes... The climb here had been mostly uneventful, as the proximity of the Orc Camp had probably kept most of the more dangerous critters up on the mountain paths more subdued. Dire Rats could occasionally be seen darting here and there among the rocks, in a manner similar to squirrels in one's backyard, but without a concentrated effort these little critters would be quite difficult to catch. They could fit into such small spaces, and move so quickly, that if they wanted to hide---which they did, as even if they were predatory, Orc Runts as a rule were at least twice their size---they could do so before one could simply jump and grab them. However, up in the vast blue skies, every so often the shadows of birds could be seen. They didn't circle like vultures, but rather simply passed over from time to time, so it was hard to tell if it was the same creature each time, or different ones. It was also hard to tell how big they were, or whether they might be observing, tracking, or simply ignoring the Runts. Nonetheless, they were an indicative sign of life from the environment. Once, one of these flying shadows did let out a very hawk-like screech, and sped up as it arced over the valley's roof, disappearing in an instant beyond the edges of the rocky peaks above. Thus, did the questing Runts come to the next leg of their hunt...