#14
Angle
Release Candidate Enby
- Location
- Colorado, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them/Theirs/Comrade
I sat beneath my pavilion, saproling corpses stacked like firewood on one side of me, and triffid corpses piled on the other. In front of my was a single saproling corpse, which I was slowly dissecting with my kitchen knife. It was rather strange on the inside - it didn't have blood, per se, instead it had a very viscous sap. If I'd had a bottle I would have tried to collect it, but as things were I simply did my best to keep it from making a mess. I'd already slit the saprolig lengthwise, and was busy slowly cutting loose it's various organs. I'd learnt a fair deal already - It didn't actually seem to have a stomach or disgestive tract. It's mouth seemed to be there merely for biting chunks out of things and breathing, not for chewing and swallowing them. It's internal space was taken up mostly by lungs and a series of dense tubers which also seemed to serve as it's skeleton. Near the front, above the mouth, there was a strange structure that I suspected would be the creatures brain - though it was difficult to be certain. The rest of it was mostly muscles - and a series of seeds, seeming to belong to several different species.
From what I could gather, the creature seemed like it was basically a giant mobile seed. It wasn't expected to live very long - rather, it was intended to go and find a good place to die, where it's seeds would take root. Ideally, this would probably mean chewing something death and taking root in it's corpse. The mushrooms on it's back seemed to be well integrated into the rest of the creature, but I could still not determine their purpose - perhaps waste disposal? Or perhaps they were just another of the species that made up the creature, like the seeds it carried. Regardless, I could probably make use of several parts of it - the seeds should perfectly edible once cooked, and the muscles were perfectly good plant fiber, if a little coarse. The dense tuber skeleton was more uncertain - it should have plenty of energy locked in it, but whether I'd be able to digest it, even once cooked, was uncertain. I could probably burn it either way, though.
Shrugging, I set to work butchering the dissected saproling, and then repeated the process on the triffids. The triffids were not quite as strange, but interesting in their own right. They were much more conventional, in that they seemed to only be composed of one species. They displayed traits of both plants and animals. Fro the top, the first piece of anatomy would be the sting - and it's attached reservoir of poison. This was attached to a long stem, which led back down to a large cup-like growth - the triffids equivalent of a mouth. It was here that the triffid would cut of strips of meat to digest, and also here that several smaller growth could be found - the creatures clatter sticks. This was how they communicated with each other. Beneath that, it had its various internal organs, including a network of thick nerves that functioned as it's brain. Also here was one of the creatures more useful components - a store of thick vegetable oil. According to the books, this stuff had been both edible and nutritious. If so, it should be quite useful to me.
Now if only I had something to store it in. With a sigh, I got back up to my feet. Maybe I'd get lucky searching the area?
'Eh. It's worth an effort.' With that, I climb to my feet and begin nosing around. It's still early in the day, just creeping up towards noon. On my left, the path stretches back the way I came, likely right into a ambush by who knows what. yeah, that wouldn't do. The other direction... The path lead off, much deeper into the forest. Not sure what I'd find over there, but I wasn't sure I wanted to move that far from my shelter. So that left the area off the path. Luckily, that area looked benign. I was pretty sure I could search there without running into anything worse than I'd already fought. Wasn't sure I'd find anything interesting, but I could try.
'That way looks interesting. I think I see some sort of clearing...' I set off, my weapons readied. I had to carve my way through a few saprolings, but that was hardly an effort at all, at this point. Soon enough, I climbed a low hill, and there was a clearing. Or more accurately, a creek, breaking off from the real one on the other side of the barbed wire and thorns.
'Hmm. Well, that's something.' I scanned it carefully. No enemies, so far as I could see. Maybe I'd find something useful in it? I could try.
So I did. I went down to the creek, carefully watching my surroundings, and took a look.
Unsurprisingly, it mostly just looked like a creek. Lots of water, lots of rocks, bit of dirt. A couple glass beer bottles and some other miscellaneous trash. Nothing to get excited about.
Or maybe it was? Pulling the bottles from the creek, I was pleased to see that they were mostly intact - even if one of the was broken around the mouth. Now these could be useful. I went ahead and stuffed the both of them into my inventory, my eyebrows rising in surprise when they both took up the same slot, with a little "x2" in the corner. Now that was convenient.
Looking along, I could see another item that might prove useful on the other side of the creek - a mass of twisted rusting metal. I had no idea what it had originally been, but it was metal. If I could put together some kind of forge, I could make a pot out of it or something. Wading through the creek, I climbed up next to it and pried it out of the ground with my bat. Probably best to avoid touching dirty rusting metal, even with Gamer's Body. Though I could probably sleep it off...
Eh. Lets not screw with that. I used a couple rocks to put pressure on the thing, and shoved it into my inventory. 'That should be enough for one trip.'
From what I could gather, the creature seemed like it was basically a giant mobile seed. It wasn't expected to live very long - rather, it was intended to go and find a good place to die, where it's seeds would take root. Ideally, this would probably mean chewing something death and taking root in it's corpse. The mushrooms on it's back seemed to be well integrated into the rest of the creature, but I could still not determine their purpose - perhaps waste disposal? Or perhaps they were just another of the species that made up the creature, like the seeds it carried. Regardless, I could probably make use of several parts of it - the seeds should perfectly edible once cooked, and the muscles were perfectly good plant fiber, if a little coarse. The dense tuber skeleton was more uncertain - it should have plenty of energy locked in it, but whether I'd be able to digest it, even once cooked, was uncertain. I could probably burn it either way, though.
Through dedicated effort, a skill has been created: Butchery!
Shrugging, I set to work butchering the dissected saproling, and then repeated the process on the triffids. The triffids were not quite as strange, but interesting in their own right. They were much more conventional, in that they seemed to only be composed of one species. They displayed traits of both plants and animals. Fro the top, the first piece of anatomy would be the sting - and it's attached reservoir of poison. This was attached to a long stem, which led back down to a large cup-like growth - the triffids equivalent of a mouth. It was here that the triffid would cut of strips of meat to digest, and also here that several smaller growth could be found - the creatures clatter sticks. This was how they communicated with each other. Beneath that, it had its various internal organs, including a network of thick nerves that functioned as it's brain. Also here was one of the creatures more useful components - a store of thick vegetable oil. According to the books, this stuff had been both edible and nutritious. If so, it should be quite useful to me.
Now if only I had something to store it in. With a sigh, I got back up to my feet. Maybe I'd get lucky searching the area?
'Eh. It's worth an effort.' With that, I climb to my feet and begin nosing around. It's still early in the day, just creeping up towards noon. On my left, the path stretches back the way I came, likely right into a ambush by who knows what. yeah, that wouldn't do. The other direction... The path lead off, much deeper into the forest. Not sure what I'd find over there, but I wasn't sure I wanted to move that far from my shelter. So that left the area off the path. Luckily, that area looked benign. I was pretty sure I could search there without running into anything worse than I'd already fought. Wasn't sure I'd find anything interesting, but I could try.
'That way looks interesting. I think I see some sort of clearing...' I set off, my weapons readied. I had to carve my way through a few saprolings, but that was hardly an effort at all, at this point. Soon enough, I climbed a low hill, and there was a clearing. Or more accurately, a creek, breaking off from the real one on the other side of the barbed wire and thorns.
'Hmm. Well, that's something.' I scanned it carefully. No enemies, so far as I could see. Maybe I'd find something useful in it? I could try.
So I did. I went down to the creek, carefully watching my surroundings, and took a look.
Unsurprisingly, it mostly just looked like a creek. Lots of water, lots of rocks, bit of dirt. A couple glass beer bottles and some other miscellaneous trash. Nothing to get excited about.
Or maybe it was? Pulling the bottles from the creek, I was pleased to see that they were mostly intact - even if one of the was broken around the mouth. Now these could be useful. I went ahead and stuffed the both of them into my inventory, my eyebrows rising in surprise when they both took up the same slot, with a little "x2" in the corner. Now that was convenient.
Looking along, I could see another item that might prove useful on the other side of the creek - a mass of twisted rusting metal. I had no idea what it had originally been, but it was metal. If I could put together some kind of forge, I could make a pot out of it or something. Wading through the creek, I climbed up next to it and pried it out of the ground with my bat. Probably best to avoid touching dirty rusting metal, even with Gamer's Body. Though I could probably sleep it off...
Eh. Lets not screw with that. I used a couple rocks to put pressure on the thing, and shoved it into my inventory. 'That should be enough for one trip.'
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