Waking up early, Urist, Rork, and Rat headed out together with the traps in tow to the game trails. The squirrel traps were pretty easy to set up; setting the logs on the side of trees with some bait was as hassle-free as it would be for the squirrels to be caught.

The hare traps were placed near burrows set with carrots pulled up from the ground. For the deer, they traveled a bit to where Urist had spotted the beast and found some fresh deer droppings. They found a deer trail nearby not long after. Doing a little search around the area, Urist found a good branch to set up a snare for their first round of trapping.

Now it was time to head home and make preparations to make a smoke stand in case they did catch something.

The only thing Urist lamented on was the fact that they didn’t have the proper supplies to tan the hides with their lack of salt. If they wanted to do it ‘Indian’ style, they were also lacking the eggs so they couldn’t use the brain meat in processing it. Another hurdle was that they didn’t have anything large enough to store the leather in for the brain method. Though it didn’t matter as they didn’t have the supplies in the first place.

The best method he could think of to use the hide effectively would be to turn it into hide glue which is like the elder brother of duct tape. Although it wouldn’t be good when the weather’s wet, any wood projects they had such as arrows or anything that comprises of wood that needed to be held together would be immensely helpful.

With every part playing a role in his formulated plan, it was time to start making the smoke stand.

Entering the camp, Urist gathered the cut-down bamboo and sliced them into quarter strips. He gathered next some of the rope and three large bamboo pieces. Making a teepee-like structure and making sure the rope holding it together was stable, he then made three stacked platforms in the middle, a half-foot away from each other.

The smoke stand will serve as the venue where the meat would sit on the stacked platforms, which would be an easy way to smoke any meat they got. Even without salt, they could still store meat inside the cave with ease, allowing them to have at least some emergency rations besides the shrinking pre-packaged food mound.

He got some help from Uria who was bored watching the fire boil water. By now with their system in place, they weren't hurting for water anymore and stored a good amount away in the back of the cave sitting on a stand made of bamboo that dwarfs on guard duty made to pass the time.

After all of that, Urist started digging a pit and asked for the dwarfs that were idle to gather some fist-sized stones. If they truly caught some big game like a deer, he wanted to eat some steamed legs. Just thinking about savoring those large legs of meat made his mouth water. It took him a few hours to get everything done. Though he can’t be bothered to stay put; He figured getting some bowls done would be more productive than lazing around.

At home, only the Survival, Bamboo, and Rope making team stayed behind. The Fishing team made sure to keep fishing and gather any nearby clams under Urist’s request. While the Medicine team headed out to explore the north of their home base, on the opposite way where they headed the other day.

Gathering

Uroa and Briana, equipped with straw baskets over their shoulders held by some rope, walked through the forest with their books on their hands. For weapons, Uroa carried the bronze sword and for Briana, a pair of stone knives.

They walked through the forest with ease with their small stature but not without caution. They were in a foreign environment after all. Despite being unfamiliar thanks to their previous trips through the forest, they moved somewhat quickly now. They were collecting herbs along the way and trying to spot new food sources they could eat.

Remembering their boss mutter about how bland the tasty foods was bewildered them. How could these magical ‘corn dogs’ taste like crap? And what were these things called lemon and how it could make the fish taste even better? They truly didn’t understand. Although it was familiar in a sense.

Nonetheless, they wished to find these things called ‘spices’ that the boss passionately talked about with such exuberance around the fire. Therefore, they read through the books while resting back at home and happened to chance upon the spice section.

It talked about things called ‘Sweet Onions’, ‘Woozoo Flowers’ that is said to give off a tangy flavor, and last, something called ‘Black Pepper’. When they told their boss about their discovery, his eyes instantly went bloodshot and grabbed them by the arms and stared them in the eyes shocking them.

He spoke in the most flustered voice they ever heard, “Tomorrow you two must go out and search for these plants and mark where they grow and bring me some of them to see! These items are very important for our taste buds to live on!” He gabled maddeningly.

The two could only nod their heads seriously and take on this mission their leader had given them. If it was really important as he said then they must carry it out at all costs and with haste! They walked along the forest for hours, they made sure to mark the path back on the bark of trees’ pointing in the direction of the river in case they got lost.

Unfortunately, they only managed to find the Woozoo flowers in their time searching through the forest. They would keep searching for the other two but they ran out of water in their bamboo water bottles and they were getting tired. They knew how those were important but they also knew their worth back in the camp. It wouldn’t do good for the tribe to suddenly lose members, so they came upon the decision of heading back.

“Come on Uroa. Let’s head back to camp. My feet are sore from all the walking we’ve been doing. Let's just mark this tree nearby for the Woozoo Flowers and head to the beach and make another mark.”

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Uria nodded her head in agreement, “Alright, let’s head back. We got enough herbs and Woozoo to say it was a good harvest!”

With both girls in agreement, the two headed off home to show off the spoils they earned.