Chapter 114: Queen Of Spiders (1)
Ignoring Marcus’s personal loss, the group had evaded a disaster only to encounter another problem. Their caravan was destroyed, making it difficult for the heroes to travel as a group.
Moreover, they were stranded in the forest. Sula had the map, but proceeding on foot after sunset would be suicidal. Ultimately, they agreed to camp for the night and figure things out in the morning.
The Heroes were not pleased with the decision, but they weren’t stubborn to argue otherwise. Having been on countless expeditions before, they were well acquainted with the dangers of the night and had no desire to provoke the forest dwellers.
"Good, we already have some food," Sula said, pointing towards the boar carcass. "We can use the broken cart as fuel wood to cook the meat and provide us some light."
"There’s a small stream nearby, and we can get the water from there," Taheton chimed in. "But we’d need to boil it first. Can’t trust what the monsters have been doing with the water."
"Hm... I agree," Vincent replied, scratching his chin. "Does anyone know how to prepare the boar? Its fur is hard as steel, so cooking it without prepping the meat first would be impossible."
One after another, the heroes shook their heads. Adrian was the one who did all the butchering and other things in their group. Whenever he was left behind, the heroes would take rations with themselves.
But since they hadn’t expected to go on an expedition in the wilderness, they had no food on them. What little they had had already been consumed by them as the tribe took care of their needs during their stay in the settlement.
"Do any of you...?" Vincent looked at the tribals, who shook their heads as well.
It was a plain lie. The Tulkas were taught ways to survive in the cruel forest from a young age. Preparing meat to cook was a child’s play for them. But Sula and Taheton refused because they saw an opportunity to weaken the heroes even more.
If the heroes had no food to eat, they’d have to go for raw boar meat, which would surely get them sick. After all, they didn’t have the same immunity as the tribals, so eating the meat could weaken them, making it easier for the tribe to enslave them.