It would take a very large ecosystem to support two predators, and that is not what I was expecting to find down here. If there are more than just a few tunnels then my mission becomes almost impossible. I might have to go back and recommend that Scott collapse the mine shaft that leads down here and avoid digging this deep again.

Although, I am not sure if he will be willing to, now that I have confirmed that there is Armatite down here. He may decide that any risk is worth it to be able to send miners down here. From their reactions I am fairly sure that Armatite is extremely rare and valuable.

Possibly valuable enough that people will risk their lives for a chance to get some. Sending miners down with adventurer escorts would be a possibility, if Ambrose had any adventurers that had experience with beasts. It will all depend on just what I find down here, I am not ready to give up just yet.

No way will my curiosity let me turn back now when there are so many unanswered questions. However, to continue I first need to do something about the turtle's body, which is blocking the tunnel. Since I don't think I have anything that will cut the shell I am going to have to leave it intact.

That in and of itself is going to be a problem since it is almost as wide as the tunnel. Before I worry about the shell I start cutting the body apart and removing it from inside the shell. The entire body is furred so I do my best to skin it in decent sections so the fur might be useful to Walter.

The fur on the head and legs is black but the fur on the main body which was always under the shell is white. It seems odd to me that it would have fur under the shell, but I am hardly an expert on turtles. When I find the core it doesn't give me the option to absorb it so it goes into the pouch.

The heart I set aside until I am done butchering the turtle, at this rate I might just fill my pouch again. I let Bones have the smaller bones again since they really aren't that useful in scrimshaw and he deserves a treat. Once everything else is done I pick up the heart and take a bite, it is tough and chewy and not all that tasty.

Devour activated! Physical resist +10, Endurance +10, Toughness +10!

A fairly unpleasant meal, but worth it thanks to devour, and I only had to eat a quarter of the heart. I will save the rest and see if Lizzy wants it, for now I need to figure out what to do with the shell. If I can get it out of the mine I'm sure Lizzy can pull it back to Illium like a sled.

Flipping it up on its side allows me to drag it back to where the tunnel meets the mine shaft. The problem now is that the hole between the two is only about half the size of the shell, but I am not giving up that easily. So using the pickaxe I start widening the hole, since I'm working on it anyway I decide to make it easier to use if Scott does decide to send miners down here.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Masonry has progressed to level 4!

Masonry

Level 4

Str +4 End +4

Able to build simple structures using brick or stone.

It is interesting that masonry went up instead of mining, maybe it is because I am shaping the stone instead of digging something out. After all this time I still don't completely understand how the skill system works. But the skills I have learned have saved my life more times than I can count.

It takes me over an hour to make the hole big enough that I can lift the shell and push it into the mine shaft. Lizzy hears the noise and is waiting in the first big chamber to see what is coming up, she seems disappointed when it turns out to be me. When I put the shell down she sticks her head in through one of the holes and I can't help but chuckle at her curiosity.

Since I am back up where there is airflow I decide I may as well take a break and cook some food. I already know how delicious the bird-things are so I start cooking up some of the turtle meat to see if it is any better than the heart. Once Lizzy stops poking around inside the shell I offer her what is left of the heart.

She takes it and lays down clutching it in her claws while she chews on it, just like a dog with a bone. She keeps at it so she must be enjoying it, I on the other hand do not like the turtle meat, even when cooked it is not very good. So I take all the turtle meat out of my pouch and dump it on the floor, no sense wasting any space on it.

Once Lizzy is finished with the heart she moves to the pile and starts eating chunks of turtle meat, I'm not sure if she actually likes it or is just that hungry. When I start cooking some bird meat she leaves the pile to come sit by the fire and watch the meat cook, seeing her interest I add several more chunks. I already know that she enjoys cooked food, and there is no way I am going to refuse to share with her.

"Lizzy, did you kill anything up here while I was gone?"

She nods and then taps the floor five times with a claw, meaning she killed five things. Once again I am amazed at her intelligence level, and I wish I knew a lot more about her species. I don't even know if she is young or old, her scales look perfect, I would expect graying or curling if she was extremely old.

My best guess is that she is equivalent to a teenager or young adult, it's not from anything concrete, just a feeling I get. When I get back I should ask Roddick if his guild has or can make an item that would let me communicate with her. Although, with her personality that could be a double edged sword, but I think it would be worth the risk to satisfy my curiosity.

Once Lizzy and I have eaten about an entire bird-thing between us I clean up and get ready to go back down. Lizzy has started playing with the shell, spinning it and pouncing on it. I find it interesting that even her teeth and claws can't scratch it. If Mitch can find a way to work with it maybe I should ask him to make armor for Lizzy from it.

The shell is extremely tough yet very light weight, it would be perfect as armor for her. It would protect her very well and it shouldn't slow her down noticeably, basically it would make her the perfect combat mount. Which she pretty much is already, but I still worry about her getting hurt.

Leaving her to her play I head back down the mine shaft and into the tunnel. When I get close to where I butchered the turtle I spot a bird-thing, it is bent over licking up a puddle of blood. I lunge forward at top speed drawing Blitz as I move, the thing barely has time to raise its head before it is separated from the body.

Bones runs forward but then stops and looks disappointed that the fight is over already. He watches over me as I deal with the body, I've gotten much faster with all the practice. Once I am done we move down the tunnel towards the light, but we stop when the tunnel ends.