Akari managed to sleep right up until Lauren and Dana knocked on their door, just after 6pm. Once she did wake up, though, she got right back into the swing of things. She made a five-point token for the healing supply, trading with Cassy so they were each donating five points but Heather got a ten-point token to put in her first aid kit again. Then she ate her mana tomatoes for the day and made a token for her own stash. Then she got the ‘beaver rat’ spitted, and Sadie used Purify Food on it. They hauled it out to the fire together, with Cassy and Danielle bringing along the forked sticks they’d been using to hold the long skewers they were using for a spit.

  Considering the relatively large size of their catch, they were happy to see that the Lemonade party’s fire was built on the spot out on the walkway, and not in the corner brazier. The SHAD party climbed the retaining wall, handing up the meat from one to another so it didn’t touch the ground, and walked over to join the larger hunting party.

  “Good evening!” Akari greeted them. “Hey Marc, you want to see what Identify Food says about this thing?”

  Mark did a double-take at their spit. “What on earth?”

  “That’s what I want to know!” Akari said with a grin.

  “Yeah, OK. Let’s see,” Mark said, flicking through his System Interface. “Raw nutria meat. That, um. That doesn’t actually tell me much.”

  “Me either,” Heather said. “What’s a nutria?”

  “It sounds like one of those lame nutrition shakes they sell old people,” Cynthia said with a giggle.

  “Well, let’s get it cooked and see what it tastes like,” Danielle said, pressing her forked stick into the ground near the fire.

  The Lemonade party had their own spit set up, as well as some leaf-wrapped somethings set down near the base of the fire, but they’d left room for the SHAD girls to get their food over the fire too. It didn’t take long to get set up, and find seats around the circle. Heather ended up next to Nathan again. Sadie sat between Marc and the Reggies, and Akari sat on their other side, between the Reggies and Dana. Danielle sat between Dana and Lauren. Cassy set next to Cynthia, which put Gonzo on her other side, between her and Nathan.

  “All right, Lauren,” Danielle said once they were settled. “Most of us have had a good nap, so we’re a little more ‘systems active’ now. Tell us again about this hunting thing?”

  “OK, here’s the deal. Nathan and Marc both spent Sunday night reading that book, but Gonzo and Reggie said they’d rested enough and went scouting. Monday morning, the party gathers, and I have two of the guys telling me we have to go to the Access Point right away, and the other two telling me they found deer and we should go deer hunting,” Lauren began.

  “Now my understanding is that deer is a lot of meat, and while there are eight of us, it’s bound to be a lot of work dealing with all that. They’re bigger animals, too, and they’re Outside animals, so this could be a really good opportunity for people who need a leg up on level 2 – buuut, not for me, for obvious reasons,” she continued.

  “Or me, but our parties still are looking to level, and I can see how having meat for the trip is a good idea,” Danielle said. “We think we found the trailhead, but that’s not the same as knowing the whole trail. It could easily take four hours just to get there, and another four to get back; more if the trail goes faint and we get lost.”

  “You know where the trail is?!” Cynthia exclaimed from Lauren’s other side. “Are you kidding? Everyone that’s looked says there’s no trail visible from anywhere that makes sense with how their guides described it! How did you find it?”

  “Well, we found it by crossing it while we were exploring for edible plants,” Danielle said, “but it’s not that hard to find from the ruins either. You just follow the Rooms road north, and then keep going north.”

  “But that’s what people have already tried, and they keep saying there’s no trail, it’s a building,” Marc objected. “The Wolves are madder than wet cats, they keep saying the guides lied to them.”

  “You have to go around the building, but it’s still due north of the intersection,” Danielle said.

  “You have to – that’s it? Just go around the building?” Marc asked. He looked absolutely delighted for some reason.

  “It’s past two blocks of ruins,” Akari said, “but it’s in a straight line north from the end of the road. If you just go north from the road to the tree line, there it is.”

  Marc broke out in a massive grin. “If I wasn’t committed to not doing anything to help the Wolves, I would really enjoy rubbing their stupid noses in the fact that they ‘can’t’ find it because they just haven’t done the obvious,” he said. Most of the group got a chuckle out of that.

  “Well, OK then, so we all want to go, we all want to go together, and the SHAD party conveniently already knows the way – at least, the start of the way,” Lauren summarized. “This brings us back to food, though; we knew we wanted to go, and we knew where some large game was. Monday, we tried going out to hunt a deer, but we learned some things. First of all, we learned that deer move around as a herd; we wasted a couple hours just trying to find them. Second, we learned that they have good hearing and don’t like hanging around noisy people.”

  “Typical prey species,” Marc put in. “They run at the drop of a leaf, like 100-pound rabbits.”

  “Right. So needless to say, we didn’t take a deer on Monday,” Lauren continued. “We managed to shoot some squirrels and stuff on the way back, so we didn’t go hungry, but it was frustrating. So! We came home, set some overnight snares a little closer to the Rooms (not too close, don’t worry) and scoured the room libraries for info on deer.

  “We’re pretty sure we’ve got a solid plan now: we’ll leave early in the morning – right at dawn, ideally – and head for the spot our guys first spotted them. Then we’ll set up a camp and start building fire circles while Gonzo and Marc go scouting – Marc has relevant Skills. Then they’ll position most of the hunters downwind of the deer, and Marc will bring you and me in closer and point out the best targets, again using his Skill. We each shoot a deer in the rump; the herd will start running towards everyone else, and they all shoot for the deer with the arrows in the rump. We help, but we’re guaranteed not to get the kill shots. Each party takes a deer back to the fires, we light it all up and start making jerky. Sounds good?” Lauren asked.

  “Sounds good so far,” Danielle said. “I kind of got the idea that more than just our two parties might be involved now, though.”

  “Yeah, well, the thing is that male deer have horns,” Lauren said.

  “Antlers,” Marc corrected. “It’s different.”

  “Sure, antlers, but technicalities aside, Gonzo’s original description was ‘big Y-shaped horns covered in weird fuzz.’ From the books, that means they’re not fully grown-in yet, but they’re already pretty big,” Lauren explained. “Since you weren’t here this morning – thanks for the note, by the way – but since you weren’t here, we tried to convince a second Healer to come with us, because we figured you guys are usually pretty on the ball with hunting and you’d probably be able to get something tomorrow if we invited you today. Well, we thought we had a group set to go, maybe not quite as early as we wanted but early enough; but then someone mentioned the horns and the other Healer’s party got all nervous.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “By which she means, Angela’s roommate had a panic party,” Gonzo said.

  “That’s one way of putting it,” Lauren said. “So then some other people overheard things, and it took some diplomacy to work out who really wanted to come and who was just gossiping, and it turned out Angela’s room really needs the food. They wanted to come (at least three of the four did), but they also pointed out that the group was getting big and we might need a third Healer. Well, by that time it was getting a little late in the day, so I started telling everyone to go to bed early and meet at the end of the road in the morning (this end, to be clear, between buildings five and seven). I said we’d get you back in on it, and that would bring in another Healer and a medic.”

  “Do I need to lecture you on making promises for other people?” Danielle asked sourly.

  “Please don’t? I wasn’t really promising on your behalf,” Lauren said. “I was more betting that I knew you guys well enough to guess what you’d say. I know we haven’t actually known you that long, but you seem like a real practical survivor type. We’re offering to let you take advantage of Marc and Gonzo’s Skills to level up your party and get a bunch of meat; are you really going to say no?”

  “Nope, we’re going,” Sadie said.

  Heather sighed. “I really should try to get a killing shot, I’m so behind now.”

  “It’s not that you’re wrong, but it was still kind of rude,” Akari said. “Not to mention we almost ended up too hurt to go – if we hadn’t ended up having to call the Rangers in, we would’ve had several days of downtime while Heather healed us up a bit at a time.”

  “What happened?” Nathan asked, concerned.

  “We tangled with something called a thorn thrasher. The name is kind of on the nose. It’s got four thorny vines and it thrashes them around,” Heather told him. “I think it kind of goes for the neck, but it starts by trying to sneak a vine or two into a good spot to grab. Sadie caught it sneaking, and Danielle ran for Akari and her axe and work gloves. The gloves protected their hands while they fought, and Akari chopped Sadie free, and Danielle kept the two far vines busy while the other two took on the near vines, but Akari and Sadie kind of got, um – ”

  “Thrashed,” Sadie said.

  “I got the killing blow by sneaking around the fight while those three were distracting it and smashing the thing’s core. It wouldn’t have worked if Akari hadn’t weakened it a lot first, though,” Cassy said.

  “It turns out, thorn thrashers get their thorns into dead stuff a lot, so when they cut you, they leave behind tons of nasty bacteria or something,” Danielle said. “Heather and I thought we’d come up with a plan to bandage everyone up enough to last a while, then actually heal everyone over a couple of days. Turned out we didn’t disinfect well enough, though – the Rangers weren’t surprised once they heard it was a thorn thrasher. I guess you pretty much need the System Disinfect to be sure you get it all.”

  “Why didn’t you come find me?” Nathan asked. “You know I have it.”

  “We didn’t get back to the Rooms before we decided we needed higher level help,” Heather told him.

  “You are OK, thought, right?” Lauren asked. “I mean, the Rangers fixed you up and everything?”

  “It’s all over but the nightmares,” Danielle told her. “Made for a pretty rough first experience with camping out on our own, though. Speaking of which, are you figuring on a campout at the Access Point, or were you thinking of trying to make it back on the same day? We were imagining another overnight (hopefully with less monsters) but you sounded like you were thinking of a one-day trip.”

  “I was, especially now that we know we won’t have to waste the whole morning just finding the trailhead. Why were you not?” Lauren asked.

  “I figure we need to practice the whole camping thing while it’s warm, like our room guide said,” Danielle answered. “It’s less that I don’t think we could make it, and more that I think it’d be a good exercise.”

  “I like the idea that we’ll start our third week by walking to the Rooms with new Skills, same as the first week, only so much further along,” Akari said.

  “We’ll have time to see if there’s good foraging or materials or anything up north, too,” Sadie added.

  “I see. Would you be doing that even if some other people were tagging along?” Lauren asked.

  “Like who?” Heather asked back.

  “Well, like Angela’s room and the hunting party Marc’s friend is part of. That’s who else is going hunting with us tomorrow,” Lauren explained. “They want to do the trip to the Access Point too.”

  Danielle whistled. “You’re talking at least – ” she paused to calculate – “at least 20 people here!”

  “Eight from our party, four with Angela makes twelve, six with the other mixed party makes, uh, eighteen, and five of you guys,” Lauren tallied them up. “Thats, um, twenty-three total, right?”

  “Big group for big game,” Reggie (the boy) said.

  “Sounds like actually we need to take four deer, then?” Danielle asked.

  “Yeah, we might have to do it two parties at a time,” Lauren said. “Let the other two parties do the noise and flailing thing to make the herd run the right direction, then give the herd a little time to settle down, then swap places and hit them again.”

  “How big is this herd?” Akari asked.

  “Big. More than 20 of them, too, and that’s only counting full-sized ones,” Gonzo said.

  “Most of them don’t even have horns,” Reggie added.

  “Considering none of us are jerky-making experts, two or three might still be enough,” Dana said. “We don’t even know how long we’ll really have to use it up, there’s no point overdoing it.”

  “It might be more about the mana, but it’ll also depend on Marc’s Skill. We don’t want to let the babies die before they get big enough to eat, so most of the females are off-limits until fall,” Lauren said. “Anyway, what about the hike to the Access Point? Big group? Yes? No?”

  “The more the merrier, honestly,” Akari said. “If lots of people come out all at once, then we won’t be weird for having done it.”

  “I’m a little concerned about people with not much mana spending it on the Career thing, though, to tell you the truth,” Danielle said. “I feel like there was a reason the Ranger didn’t mention that option to me.”

  “What, it’s OK for me and Nathan, but not for strangers?” Marc asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Well, um.” Danielle looked at Cassy, but she also looked confused. She activated Sense Mana Source and glanced around, but seeing no one nearby plunged ahead. “Nathan, are you the same Nathan someone was telling me about a while ago, who can sense when someone uses a Skill nearby?”

  Nathan looked nervous, but answered, “Well, maybe? That is a thing I can do, I guess.”

  “Then I’m not worried about you,” Danielle said. “As for you, Marc – well, I know you’ve got reasons. How much mana do you have saved up though?”

  Marc frowned. “That’s too personal of a question for how well we know each other, no offense. Enough. What does sensing Skills have to do with it, anyway?”

  Danielle shrugged. “No comment.”

  “Would it still be no comment if you had a privacy Skill up?” Nathan asked, looking troubled.

  “Considering I’d be speculating about your System, I think it would have to be you commenting in a privacy Skill,” Danielle said, “but if you know the relationship and want to explain it to Marc in private, I’ll provide the Skill activation.”

  Nathan gave Marc a considering look.

  “Is there some particular reason you can’t tell anyone else?” Gonzo asked suspiciously.

  “Personal privacy considerations,” Danielle said. “A person’s System is part of them, it’s like speculating on their medical history. I can draw my own half-supported conclusions, but I’m not sharing them around without permission.”

  Gonzo squinted at Nathan. “Suspicious,” he repeated.

  “Well, would you like to tell the combined parties all about how you unlocked the unusual class of Basic Scout?” Danielle asked cheerfully.

  “What? Why are you picking on me all of a sudden?” Gonzo demanded.

  “I’m offering you the opportunity to earn some trust by trusting us first,” Danielle told him.

  “Uh. That’s too personal of a question for how well we know each other,” Gonzo said awkwardly.

  “Aah, so it’s suspicious when someone else doesn’t want to share, but perfectly understandable if you don’t?” Danielle prodded.

  “Fine, I get the point, shut up,” Gonzo said sulkily.

  “I, um. Might be willing to share with the group if everyone agrees to keep it secret,” Nathan said hesitantly.

  “Cynthia? Why don’t you go get something from the room?” Lauren asked promptly.

  “Aw, really?” Cynthia complained. “You’re not even going to pretend you need something specific?”

  “Cynthia, you’re a good friend and I’m glad to have you in the party, but I’m not sure you could keep a secret to save your actual life,” Lauren said levelly.

  “Tsch. Fine. Gosh and golly, I seem to have forgotten my Class manual, how will I endure this nerdy conversation without something to – uh, read – dang it, I’m a terrible liar, too. Be right back,” Cynthia said and jogged off toward her room.

  good for the local environment!

  https://discord.gg/u5dtzpShv2