"I guess I'll have to hunt some real food," Eimear hung her head as she let out a tired exhale of breath.
"Only when you're ready." I put what I hoped was a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
We stood there for a moment as she took a few deep breaths.
"Were there any signs of the others when you found Gormán?" I asked.
"Torcán is..." She shook her head. I didn't push. I could see how much it hurt.
I slipped into an all too familiar dissociative state. I couldn't deal with this. He was dead. I knew I'd never really got to know him, so it wasn't personal. But somehow, it felt like we'd lost a part of ourselves in that clearing.
Silence. Neither of us knew what to say to that.
Eimear looked down the creek and away from me. "I found a bunch of tracks after the fight. It looked like the Boar-hemoth took after Gormán, but he managed to make his way up into a tree. He told me that the thing circled for a few hours before finally giving up. But he didn't dare leave it. I found him shortly after I found the clearing. I mentioned our setup here, and well... here we are."
"What about Sé, or Blánaid?" I bit my lower lip. The thought of the Boar-hemoth tearing my best friend to shreds felt like a void in my stomach deeper than anything I could imagine.
She shook her head in a bobble of half yes and half no. "I saw some tracks leading out of the camp, but I didn't have time to follow them. I wanted to make sure I got Gormán back here. He hasn't slept since the attack, and it's really affecting him."
I nodded.
"But, the Boar-hemoth didn't chase after them, and it looked like they ran off together."
"Can you go back out? Any chance you can find them?"
Eimear looked westward towards the mid afternoon sun. "Maybe..." She bit her lip. I could see the exhaustion taking its toll on her. "I could probably make it there and back before the sun goes down, but I don't think I'd be able to do a proper search."
The safe thing to do would be to delay until tomorrow. There was still work to be done around the new camp. We had a solid door, but there was only so much it could defend against. But Sé would be stuck without any protection. "We should try. I can use some magic to maybe help?"
She shook her head. "No. We can't leave Gormán alone."
He'd probably be safe in the room. Sé and Blánaid had each other, and Gormán only had us, and I doubted he would wake up anytime soon. "I suppose we can't." I squirrelled my face in annoyance. I still didn't want to give up on Sé. He was a bit of an ass, but he was still my best friend. Though, I had no idea if we could still be friends now that I was a girl. We weren't going to end in some awkward rom-com romance arc were we? I shuddered at the thought, but there was some part of me that felt a warm comfort.
I clapped my hands together as I had an idea. "Wait. If you go back, could you burn the destroyed lumber? A bonfire to signal them to a trail back to here. That way you don't have to search, but they could still find us?"
"Won't that attract monsters?"
"Maybe? Are monsters attracted to fire, or are they scared of it?"
She opened her mouth to say something, then stopped, and shrugged. "No clue. But I guess doing something is better than doing nothing. Are you sure you don't want any help here? What if more monsters attack?"
"Then we'll hide inside until you get back. I have a Repair spell, and it was able to keep up with the vinevargs. I promise I won't let my mana dip below half as I'm gathering and crafting."
She nodded. "Alright. I better head off if I'm going to be back by dark." She grinned. "And I'll try not to burn down the forest in the process."
My eyes went wide. I hadn't really thought of that. "Uhhhh... Maybe the bonfire isn't such a great idea?"
She waved me off. "It'll be fine."
I gulped as I watched her leave and I got back to my own work.
She waved at me as she sauntered off into the woods.
True to her word, Eimear returned right before sunset. I'd managed to fell two more trees, as well as gathered up a bunch of reeds along the waters edge. I had one scare from the ambiguous red haze of monsters, but they were on the other side of the wide river cutting its way through the forest and didn't bother to cross. Across several full cart loads of reeds, I retrieved enough to craft some makeshift bedding for everyone.
On the trip to the river that I met back up with Eimear, I saw a glint along the shore of something reflecting light from the setting sun. Upon closer inspection it looked like some kind of metal. Maybe copper, or gold? I wasn't sure. I tossed a few of the loose rocks in the cart and walked back to base with Eimear.
"Bonfire's made. Not as big as I would've liked it." She carried a tiny boar carcass on her shoulders. "But I found dinner." She beamed.
"Good job." I smiled at her. "I'll cook that right up. Shame we don't have any bread or veggies to go with it."
"Or coffee." She frowned.
I laughed and we walked back to base. Gormán was still asleep as we closed the door for the night. We had plenty of spare firewood. I took my time butchering the boar for dinner, trying to keep it quiet so as to not wake Gormа̀n up.
"Can we search for Sé and Blánaid in the morning?" I whispered as I pulled a bulbous hard mass from the spine of the boar and tossed it aside.
"Definitely. But we should be prepared for it." Eimear followed suit and kept her voice quiet.
"How?"
"Craft some gear?" She shrugged. "Maybe turn some of that into jerky?"
I looked from her to the boar, and nodded. "I can try."
"Good enough."
[ System Message: Daily status update.
Stat Increases:
Fortitude 1->2
Mana 2->3
Memory 2->3
Resolve 1->2
Strength 1->2
Skill Increases:
Athletics 1->2
Bargaining 0->1
Block 0->1
Conjuration 2->3
Crafting Precision 0->1
Creativity 0->1
Divination 2-3
Duelist 0->1
Deception 0->1
Flair 0->1
Herbalism 0->1
Mana Regeneration 2->3
Manipulation 2->3
Wood Mana Control 1->2
Wood Resistance 0->1
Woodworking 1->2
Derived Pool Increases:
HP 10->21
MP 21->32
Stamina 10->20
Focus: 11->21
Native Memory Update Progress: 46% ]
Just like yesterday, the pain knocked me to my knees. Somehow it was worse than before, as the complicated spell circles for a new tier of magic hit so much harder than learning basic skills.
[ Zone Message: Continued separation will be a mark against your community. Please work together for a higher evaluation.
Day 2 of 10 of the Native Trials complete.
Evaluation Rankings: Taur-Na-Tastaith Zone-47 is ranked 33/51. You are currently below the acceptable threshold. Finishing below the acceptable threshold will mean zone resources will be repurposed. ]
And once again, our overlord deigned to communicate with us.
[ Admin Message:
Good evening Elves of Erendria,
Congratulations on surviving the second day. It looks like we're starting to see our groups stabilizing in each of the--
No Eric, shut up. For the last time, I'm dictating the game day's message. Yes, it's going to be included. Ugh, now I don't have time to edit it. Same as the last time you asked, I'll get back to you after I'm done with this, okay?
Now, where was I?
Everyone's doing better. But too many zones are still fractured, the goal is to see if you can form a community, not just survive. For those of you who have split into groups, we would highly recommend that you reunite with the rest of your cell. Cells that are not unified by the end of the trial will be repurposed, regardless of standing.
As I was so helpfully reminded, you may be dealing with confusion as you become fully Native to Erendria. The process will take time, but rest assured, this is something that has been thoroughly tested. The transition may be painful and confusing, but we guarantee that by the end, you will be better served to survive in Erendria. The more you can separate yourself from who you were, the easier of a time you will have going forwards.
Through adversity and apocalypse, we triumph,
-Elven Native Admin, Cyril ]