It wasn’t a lot of water, and it wasn’t the cleanest water either, but she wasn’t exactly doing things in a very clean manner either. The cloudiness must come from the minerals that the spring had picked up from its underground path. Esfir approached the reservoir, using her hand to scoop up some water to taste regardless.

There was definitely a grittiness to it. Unfiltered, it tasted [i]hard[/i].

Shouldn’t kill her though, probably. Worst case scenario, she’ll make herself throw up. And tomorrow, she’d find time to head up the mountains again to mine for the ores and get her pot. If she could trace the blockage of the spring and solve that, that was two birds in one stone.

But first?

Esfir emptied out the contents of her stomach-bag nearby, before using it to scoop up some water herself. Bringing the dripping sack away from the pool, the orc grunt looked over what remained of her kill. It was all organs, blood, and intestines, and it was the intestines that she went over first. Pinching at the organs, she tugged at them to check for how durable they were, before promptly sectioning off only the parts that did not tear. Next, she emptied out the contents of the intestines best she could, sliding her fingers against the length of the organ, before squeezing some water from her bag down them to wash out what she could. Inverting the intestines came next, a process that involved sticking one of her Tungem branches against the outside, before threading it through the hole. It took a bit longer due to the thickness of the branch itself, but the intestines, fresh as they were, stretched well enough to accommodate it. With it turned inside out, the vestigial contents were fully exposed, and Esfir scraped away at it with the ‘handle’ of her sharp rock while emptying out the remaining water in her bag to clean up the intestines.

A primitive job, all things considered, but it was a process that would give her sausage casings. And as for the filling?

Placing the remaining organs and blood of the Tatzelwurm and Harpy upon a flat rock, Esfir sat down cross-legged as she took out the Flint Hatchet she got from Bowbh. She alternated between the edge and the back while she struck away, keeping each individual blow gentle enough that there wasn’t too much of a splatter. It was a rhythmic, skill-less process, one that could almost be considered ‘rest’. Old habits did not disappear with new environments. Perhaps she would never be able to shake off her need to cook every part of the animals she catches. She gave away the harpy’s meat for a tool, but if she could help it, Esfir never intended to go hungry again.
Organs and blood mashed together into something that could serve as filling, Esfir finished things off by using the screech valve she had collected from the Harpy as a funnel to push it into the casings she had made. Aiming for sausage links the length of her hand, she twisted them where necessary until there was no more filling left. It was unseasoned, and lord knew how tasty the organs even were, and she wasn’t even going to have a pot to boil them in, but…

Sausage was sausage.

Esfir stood up, sausage links wrapped around one arm, and returned to the communal fire, where she intended to cook them.


[hider=Skills][list]
[*][b]Ingestion[/b] - [i]After consuming a required amount of biomass from a particular Creature, 1 of that Creature's Skills can be copied at its lowest Rank.[/i]
[*][b]Frost Arc[/b] - Rank I - [i]An expanding spray of icy cold, over 10 feet in one direction and 5 feet wide at its furthest edge. The cold is more intense the closer the target is to the origin, reaching its lowest temperature within a span of about 2 feet. It constantly expends Magic Power the longer the cone is maintained.[/i]
[*][b]Murderous Intent[/b] - Rank II - [i]Focus hatred and the desire to kill through the subtle senses. A creature that is weaker than you must exert its willpower or be Intimidated (Intimidated creatures suffer reduced speed). A creature that is already Intimidated, Shocked, or Unaware may instead become Fearful and be unable to act for 5 seconds. Creatures that are stronger than you can only be Intimidated by this Skill if they are already Shocked or Unaware, but their willpower threshold is higher. [b]At Rank II[/b], creatures weaker than you will be made Fearful instead of Intimidated. If they are already Intimidated, Shocked, or Unaware, the effect of Fearful will be extended to 10 seconds. Creatures that are equal to you will suffer Rank I effects.[/i]
[*]Empty Skill Slot[/list][/hider]
[hider=Equipment and Inventory][list]
[*][b]Swaddling Pelts[/b] - Equip, Clothes - [i]Old animal skins used to keep an Orc baby warm as they sleep. Once the Runt is old enough to start hunting, these are usually just enough to cover the parts that need the most covering.[/i]
[*][b]Antler Bracers[/b] - Equip, Armor - [i]A type of bone armor used to protect the arms. Materials such as fangs, teeth, horn, antler, etc can be quite tough, but typically aren't as hard as metals. They are somewhat resistant to physical damage, though less so against Blunt impacts. [b]Light Defense Boost![/b][/i]
[*][b]Sharp Rock[/b] - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - [i]A rock with a slightly sharp edge. Useful as a primitive knife or chisel. Can be thrown.[/i]
[*][b]Flint Hatchet[/b] - Equip, Weapon/Tool - [i]A sharper edge than a Stone Hatchet of equivalent size, but lighter and more brittle. Requires more strength and proper alignment to get a good chop, but most wood will be cut faster.[/i]
[*][b]Borrowed Antler Pickaxe[/b] - Equip, Weapon/Tool - [i]A pickaxe made with a sturdy piece of wood and a sharpened antler. Can harvest softer stones and some ores! It can be used as a piercing weapon, even on hard shelled creatures, but it wasn't designed for that. [b]High Quality. On Loan from Bowbh.[/b][/i]
[*][b]Jackalope Spear[/b] - 2H Weapon - [i]A decent, if primitive spear. Not suitable as a throwing weapon due to its weight, but made of tough, sturdy materials. Jackalope horn is surprisingly sharp, almost as much so as metal.[/i]
[*][b]Stomach-Bag[/b] - Small bag, improved from an Elwet's stomach.
[*][b]Rotleaves x5[/b]
[*][b]Rotleaf Seedpods x6[/b]
[*][b]Gizzard Sparkstone[/b]
[*][b]Elwet Feathers[/b]
[*][b]Raw Chalcopyrite Ore x3[/b]
[*][b]Bufonite x3[/b]
[*][b]Tungem Branch x3[/b]
[*][b]Jackalope Point x3[/b]
[*][b]Broken Jackalope Point x2[/b]
[*][b]Pimplestool Mushroom x2[/b]
[*][b]Crushed Pimplestool[/b]
[*][b]Mushroom Shreds x3[/b]
[*][b]Mycellium Lash x2[/b]
[*][b]Frayed Mycellium Lash x2[/b]
[*][b]Cracked Tatzelwurm Fang x1[/b]
[*][b]Tatzelwurm Fang x2[/b]
[*][b]Tatzelwurm Claws x3[/b]
[*][b]Cracked Tatzelwurm Claws x2[/b]
[*][b]Tatzelwurm Coilbone x1[/b]
[*][b]Crushed Tatzelwurm Eye x2[/b]
[*][b]Harpy Tooth x1[/b]
[*][b]Harpy Talon x3[/b]
[*][b]Broken Harpy Talon x1[/b]
[*][b]Harpy Wing Membrane x2[/b]
[*][b]Harpy Screech Valve x1[/b]
[/list]
[/hider]
[@Zeroth]