A crackling fire cast dancing shadows in the cave as Callum worked on his latest project. He was currently trying to see if he could create some traps. He had spotted several tracks of smaller animals during his impromptu tour.
In theory he knew traps as Murray farm had frequently used them to keep the rodent population down. He gained some small skill in trapping by setting or resetting various traps. A couple of times he also repaired some damaged traps.
Or least he had tried to before carefully putting the broken traps back and pretending that an animal did all that damage. Present day Callum was not having much more success. A growing pile of broken branches was a testament to his failures.
He gamely kept at it though. Trying to create new traps was difficult due to his low skill. And unfortunately, grinding his trap skill up was impossible because of his quest.
It didn't help matters that he was working with less than ideal materials. He had gone back to his fridge before the sun set to cut off a small bit of his rope. Carefully unbraiding it had resulted in almost a dozen 1ft (300cm) strands of rope.
A sigh echoed lightly in the small cave just as more debris was thrown onto the refuse pile. Callum could be seen hunched over a log he had repurposed as a stool. He massaged his temples in a vain attempt to drive away the frustration.
"Gods damned stupid quest! I should have at least doubled my skill score by now!"
'Skill: Traps | Rank: Amatuer Level: 3 (41%)
Effects:
- (+15% to setting or resetting traps)
- (6% chance to build a new trap. Trash tier trap creation - 99%; higher tier trap creation - 1%)'
"I'm going to be at this all night. Genius idea Callum, let's make some traps!"
"Gurgle," chimed in his stomach.
Callum suddenly felt pressure in his bowels that had him racing out the door. Callum did what most would not do. He dropped his trousers and squatted in 3ft (1m) snow.
Luckily Callum had the foresight to go lower than needed before lifting himself up slightly. This created some space for his vile evacuation to go without subjecting himself to friendly fire.
It seemed like the lynx meat hadn't agreed with him. The lynx had one last revenge on poor Callum. And so Callum had to expose himself in the cold air.
Suddenly, he felt even more exposed when he realized he was weaponless. In his haste, he hadn't grabbed a weapon. His hatchet and knife were the two tools Callum was using for his trap making session.
Twenty minutes later a pale and sweating Callum made his way back into the cave. His mana was bottomed out after casting
_________
Dawn broke early in the valley. Callum was loaded up with the four traps he had been able to cobble together last night. And he had some idea of where the best spots to set them were.
But first, he would visit his pantry for some more of that lynx meat. It had caused him some issues, but he was out of options. Hopefully he could find another source of food soon. Because he was dangerously low.
He involuntarily shuddered as he walked past some suspiciously clean snow, outward facing footprints, and some half globe indentations. He resolved to never mention that incident in any tales to anyone. Ever.
Callum paused as he reached the edge of the clearing his fridge tree was in. Even from here he could make out animal tracks around the tree. He quickly dropped his bag and readied his spear just in case something was near.
He had picked this tree for a specific reason. It was a tall tree that stood alone in the middle of a clearing. A single strong branch jutted out on one side. Animals would be unable to use the other branches as a springboard.
Lastly, that clearing gave him good visibility of the nearby area. He didn't have keen smelling or hearing, so he counted on his vision to spot threats. And the wide open space gave him the best chance of success.
Nothing was visible and so Callum cautiously approached the tree. He relaxed slightly as all he could see were smaller animal prints. Satisfied, he retrieved his bag before lowering the lynx down.
He was just about to cut it up when from behind him, he heard a deep insidious growl. Callum quickly whirled about to face the threat. His spear was leveled, ready for quick use. The sight before him froze him in fear.
'Dire Wolf (Lvl 9)
HP:(270/270)'
Those who never faced a Dire Wolf before might see the low level and low HP and think it wasn't a dangerous foe. But Callum had heard enough of his uncle's stories to know better.
They had powerful abilities that could swing a fight in their favor. Their stamina regeneration was a thing of legends. And thick fur not only insulated them from the harsh colds, but also provided armor against attacks.
Callum wasn't thinking of any of that though. He was struck by the sheer size of the beast. He estimated it was 4ft (1.2m) tall and easily over 200 lbs (91kg). His practiced eye provided the details he didn't want to know.
"Good doggy . . . nice doggy. Here your bestest buddy Callum will give you a treat," Callum tried to talk soothingly.
He slowly placed the lynx on top of the snow and ever so slowly he started to back up. He knew his limits and the wolf before him was way beyond that. He just hoped the wolf took the offering and left.
"See, yummy lynx meat. Mmmm, very tasty. Definitely won't cause you intestinal issues. Uncle Callum is very stringy. I've been under a lot of stress, you wouldn't enjoy my taste."
Callum's knuckles were white from gripping his spear. He was prepared to at least put up some token resistance should the wolf come after him. He continued to say whatever he could think of in a very soothing tone.
"See, a treat . . . a treat for a good doggie. That's all for you big guy . . . take it, you deserve it. Yes, yes you do."
_________
The Dire Wolf was very confused at the sight in front of it. It had never seen a human before and didn't know what to make of the bipedal animal in front of it.
It had stalked the meat in the air for some time once it arrived. This was a new experience for the young wolf. It had never seen meat that floated in the air. Caution forced it to keep its distance as it tried to figure it out.
Instincts deep inside of it warned that unusual could sometimes mean danger. First floating meat and now a strange creature. Very unusual. It needed to determine if this was unusual danger or unusual tasty food.
It carefully studied the creature before it, the sharp thing did look mildly dangerous. And it puzzled over the noise it was making. Was it a warning to the wolf? A warning for its packmates? Or possibly a call for aid?
The Dire Wolf paused and focused on the sounds and smells around it. It didn't smell or hear any other strange creatures in the area. So maybe the mouth noises were a warning?
The meat was just right there. It wasn't floating in the air anymore. And the strange creature was withdrawing. A creature that made weird mouth noises, could bring down floating meat, and walked on two legs. Very strange.
The wolf decided that there was too much weirdness about this situation. Better to take the easy meat now. It could observe this creature and try to figure it out later. Decision made, it grabbed the meat and darted off.
_________
Callum collapsed in the snow once the wolf was out of sight. His uncle had undersold how scary those things could be up close.
"My uncle fought a whole pack of those things and survived? I could go my whole life without seeing that thing again, much less fighting it!"
Callum was giddy after surviving the experience. But he was already trying to figure out how to survive the next encounter. He set about making his way to where he'd set the traps as he talked his ideas out loud.
"Would it be better to always keep a hunk of meat on me to use as an offering? Or would that just attract too much attention?"