Still Learning To Live As A Cultivator

Chapter Fifty Three - I begin to share my expertise

Prior to the rising of the second sun, Pike and Velana woke and made a tactic agreement before leaping down from the boughs of their camp-tree, leaving Troy in charge of the camp and the three still sleeping bodies within. The paper talisman's around them still fluttered in the wind, the fragile material holding on against the element, but they were joined by a couple of small wooden charms, simple pieces of cut wood about the size of a large copper coin with unusual markings carved into them. Roman's scholarly curiosity had been piqued and he discussed the runic symbols with Leon in some length before they finally succumbed to much needed sleep. Needless to say that this pair were last to wake.

Thanks to the conversion of dry vegetables into an aromatic soup, Leon had become responsible for their meals, so set up his stove to once more cook the same soup for breakfast. Only this time, meat appeared upon the table; Pike and Velana as well as her fox partner, had been hunting.

It was by luck that their venture had borne fruit. The guardian beast should still be lurking awake in his watery hole, thus no large groups of beasts came near and they might not for several hours yet. However, just as not all beasts lived naturally in packs, not all beasts would be able to remain within them either. Old, weak and injured beasts were often left behind in favour of the survival of the majority. But in the case of the Cockateal they killed, it was likely just stupid.

Cockateal's were lesser kin of the Cockatrice family, but their serpent fangs were not poisonous and their four feathered wings were too stubby to allow them much flight. These ground winged serpents tended to eat large beetles, larvae or eggs, which just happened to include their own when they were starved. However, Cockateals were covered in tiny brown feathers rather than scales so their serpent bodies were often hard to spot and they made even less sound during movement than other slithering serpents making them excellent spies and messengers especially while small and young, so they had their place amongst beast tamers. No helping this older specimen with a sparrow's brain however.

The beast had nestled beneath the roots of a tree with its eggs, deciding to lay them while its pit of brethren were migrating to other scavenging grounds, thus had been abandoned. The fact its eggs had yet been found by other scavengers was likely a miracle or as Velana suggested; just because they were laid only a short while ago. The silly serpent itself had decided to crawl from its nest to find a meal or be forced to devour its own offspring and the sharp eye of the tri-coloured fox had caught the tiniest of movement as well as its scent. It had died beneath the jaws of the vulpine and its eggs became spoils for the students.

The creature had laid ten eggs, but only three were fertilised. They placed these in the interdimensional bag after wrapping them in a piece of cloth with a protective talisman upon it, while giving the rest to Leon for cooking, along with the cockateal body. It tasted like chicken.

Ordinarily, the interdimensional bag cannot hold living things, however there were some ways to subvert this general rule. For instance, if the interdimensional bag was of the highest quality, usually made of Astral Spider Silk and with the clearest and purest of Mage crystals woven into its structure. The 'living' entity had to also be in some sort of stasis, such as an egg, but a whole uprooted plant could also exist unharmed within its timeless depths. Thus no harm would come to the cockateal eggs and these would definitely improve their overall score at the end of the challenge.

Leon wrapped some of the oily meat within some leaves, intending to use it as a snack later after finishing his soup as the next part of their venture was discussed.

The lake would soon be surrounded once more with life and facing this abundant amount of beasts would be suicide, so it was not wise to remain too close to the lake during this time. However, if they left the leafy boughs too soon, they would surely come across some travelling herds or packs which also could be dangerous to them. So it was planned that just Velana and Troy scout for the time being, as well as make a few traps a reasonable distance from the tree. Then, once they were certain of the surroundings, they could bring the rest of the team down to explore. After all, it would be good to have the expertise of Roman and Leon as well as the emergency firepower of Caelus in a pinch.