In the back of Jack’s mind, he realized that even though this tiny dinosaur seemed harmless when it was sitting still, now that it was attacking him, it looked twice as big. Before Jack could make sense of the situation, he reflexively positioned the buckler between him and the lunging dinosaur.

Defensive Stance.

-12

The shield glowed a faint orange, and the compies’ attack was blocked with a dry thud. The skill he’d received from Piri was a life-saver. Despite all the bonuses it granted to block, some damage had gotten through. Had he not used it, he would probably have been dead meat. These compies could probably one-shot him.

Looking over at Amari, he saw that he had managed to fend off the two compies using a skill of his own. He dashed toward Jack and grabbed him by his arm. “Hurry. Back to the fire.”

“What?”

The compy had already recovered from Jack’s earlier block and was ready to attack again. Jack screamed, arms flailing, and followed Amari as they rushed back to the camp.

“What’s the plan?” Jack asked as they ran and saw his newly replenished stamina quickly depleting.

“Just run. Hopefully, it will still be there.”

Jack didn’t quite understand but did as he was told. One of the compies caught up to him and tried to bite Jack. He barely sidestepped the attack, and even though it only grazed him, he still took a massive hit to his health.

-65

“Darn it. I only have a little HP left.”

“Quick, we're almost there.”

Jack saw the flickering light shining through the trees and vines and smelled smoke. They broke through the vegetation and found a dying fire.

“Quick. More fuel. Don’t let the fire die.”

The compies arrived as Jack stoked the fire, and it regained its vigor. The small group of dinosaurs had grown to five at some point without Jack realizing, and they growled menacingly at them but still kept their distance. The number of compies kept increasing until there were eight of them. The creatures growled for a few moments, but afraid the fire, they finally disappeared.

“Uuf. Good job back there,” Amari complimented. “If you hadn't blocked that compy with [Defensive Stance], your buckler would have shattered. The dinosaur’s like ten levels above you. Those were good reflexes. Maybe you should consider becoming a swashbuckler, too. That or a knight.”

“Thanks. Running to the fire was a good call. I completely forgot how we had left it still burning.”

“I didn't want to use the bombs so soon. By the way, where did you get [Defensive Stance]? It isn’t cheap.”

“Got it from the pyramid.”

“Really? Lucky duck. That's a great drop. Was it for a party dungeon?”

“No, it was a maze run.”

“Even luckier.”

“I think we need to collect some more ingredients. We need to replenish our health and stamina. I’ll see what is nearby,” Jack offered.

“Thanks. I’ll take a moment to shoot a segment for my video.”

Jack nodded and started foraging. He spotted a red mushroom and, following Amari’s earlier advice, left it. A little away from the edge of their camp, he found a bush with dark berries. He looked left and right nervously. Seeing that the coast was clear and these bushes were in the opposite direction the compies had run off to, he approached and started picking them.

Blackberry (Common)

Description: A black glossy berry-like fruit formed by multiple small fruits. It is aromatic and somewhat acidic.

Effects:

+5 HP;

+5 stamina.

Durability: 5

He picked the bushes clean and headed back to the fire. Amari was off to the side, shooting his video. Jack threw all the freshly picked berries into the boiling water. It felt silly to him that as a bushcrafter, regardless of what three ingredients he used, the only thing he could make was the [Survival Stew] recipe, but shrugging, he kept cooking.

Congratulations! You’ve crafted [Survival Stew].

+120XP in [Bushcraft]

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Survival Stew (Common)

Crafting grade: D

Item description: A nutritious meal made from ingredients you’ve crafted in a while.

Item effects:

+1 stamina per second for four minutes.

+1 hp per second for four minutes.

Durability: 2

Maybe because of the lack of variety in the ingredients, he was only given a D. It was still good enough to heal them back up.

After a while, Amari returned and nodded approvingly. “Good job, Jack!”

Jack couldn’t help but smile. Jack wasn't calling him greeny anymore. and that made him happy for some reason. “So what’s our next step?”

“Did you see how aggressive those compies were? And how many of them there were? Given our coordinates and their behavior, we’re close to the ruins. Let’s tread carefully from here on out. Make sure you throw a few extra sticks into the fire in case we need to run back here.”

*

They had two more encounters with compies. Fortunately, they had caught lone compies and could scare them off with the spray guns before they called for backup. Walking in front of Jack, Amari raised his hand, signaling him to stop.

“Listen.”

There was the sound of different chirps and trills, sounds Jack had learned were made by the little, hateful dinosaurs. There were many of them, a little ahead.

“Quick. Start a fire,” whispered Amari as he took out his spear and watched for any stray compies.

Jack made a pile with the twigs he’d been collecting and started hitting the firesteel and flint. After a few tries, he still hadn’t made any sparks.

“Hurry up, Jack!”

Jack glanced over at Amari, who had two spray guns, one in each hand, and was squirting non-stop at four compies that approached him warily. Where did all these compies come from? Heart racing, Jack furiously hit the firesteel against the flint. He didn’t care about durability at this point.

“Hurry!” Amari said desperately. Another compy had joined the party.

Finally, a spray of sparks flew over the thin shavings, and the fire picked up. Jack blew the fire, trying to make it catch quicker, and after a few seconds, the flame was big enough to keep the compies at bay.

“Uuf. That was close. We are at the entrance of their nest. They showed up so quickly.”

Jack stared at the spent tinderbox. He had used up all its durability in the heat of the moment, essentially wasting money. Still, at least they had gotten the fire going and didn’t have to make the trip here all over again.

After they started the fire, the nearby compies didn’t retreat. They remained at the fringe of their campsite, growling menacingly. Maybe because there were more of them here, they dared to come closer to the fire than any other compies had before. They were dangerously bold.

“Shoo! Shoo!” Jack shouted, waving the pests off.

“They’re getting fearless. Thankfully, this is still barely enough to keep them away,” Amari said ominously.

Jack started making another survival stew. Hopefully, the smell of food wouldn’t make the compies even bolder. “So what’s our next move?”

“It's simple. The ruins are right over there. I can already see one of the walls. We're going to throw a bomb and retrieve as many ceramics as we can. If there are still shards in the area, we can throw another one to refresh the cooldown. If not, we just use another bomb to explore another location. But probably, we can harvest it from at least two sites.”

“And what’s our escape plan?” Jack probed. He had already died once in the pyramid, and the thought of losing a level scared him.

“I suggest we start two more fires, one at the end of our camp in both directions. That way, we create a barrier that buys us enough time to run from the compies. I'll keep one bomb, just in case. Each bomb lasts five minutes, so we should have 15 minutes to retrieve the ceramics. What do you say?”

Jack scratched his chin. “Why don’t we use the bombs to buy time to create a safe zone inside their nest? Five minutes is plenty to get a fire going.”

“See how bold they are? Once we’re inside their nest and close to their eggs, I think the fire won’t do it anymore.”

“Will the fires be enough to keep them from chasing us?”

“As long as we don’t build too much aggro and don’t attack any eggs while in the village, we should be alright. I’ll keep a bomb for the roundtrip, just in case.”

Jack nodded. “OK. Sounds good.”

“The ceramics are made of a yellowish clay with a black mark. Right?”

“You’re not a potter. Do you think you'll be able to retrieve them, too?” If only Jack picked them up, the success of their quest would be limited.

“Since they’re artifacts, I’m confident I can retrieve them. Shall we get ready?”

“Yes. Let me get the other fires going.” Jack canvassed the campsite for all the sticks and branches he could find. Plants, flowers, whatever burned, were collected and thrown into two piles at the edges of the camp, from where the compies watched curiously. He used a fresh tinderbox and kindled both.

Even though the compies had seemed unafraid of one lonely fire, the dinosaurs lost some of their fearlessness and retreated once Jack got three of them burning close to each other. Jack grabbed a few bigger logs he’d purchased from the city marketplace and added them to all three piles, greatly increasing their durability. “I reckon the fires will burn for 20 minutes,” Jack calculated.

“That’s good enough.” Amari grabbed a [Raptor Dung Bomb] and signaled Jack. “Ready?”

Jack’s lips were dry, and his heart was racing. Boy, was he having fun. “Yes!”

“Go!”

They took off running. They broke through the tree line and headed toward the wall covered in moss and vines. No longer hidden behind the bush, the ruins turned out to be a collection of houses, most without roofs, just crumbling walls. Wherever they looked, there were compies. The creatures were caught by surprise by Amari and Jack’s courageous run into their nest.

Before they attacked, Amari threw the bomb. As soon as it hit the ground, a puff of sickly, greenish smoke burst, and the compies scattered in all directions, terrified of the pungent, foul smell. Some smoke dispersed, but much remained, forming a smelly, lingering mist.

Seeing the area affected by the dung bomb, Jack couldn’t help but renew his admiration for Amari’s gaming experience. He’d managed to place the bomb masterfully so that its area of effect included their current location, shielding them from the angry compies. It also encompassed some nearby houses, probably filled with ceramic shards.

“I’ll take that one and that one,” Amari said, running toward the broken shell of what used to be a village home. Jack didn't like being told what to do, but he didn’t mind Amari’s commands in this life-or-death situation. Amari had proven his worth in this expedition multiple times. Jack was already running into one of the other houses filled with the greenish mist.

Inside, there were signs of compy activity everywhere. The jungle had littered the house floor with leaves, sticks, dirt, and sand filled with little paw prints. Off to a corner was a series of broken eggshells sitting under the remains of broken vases. The compies seemed to use what was left of the house as a refuge for raising their young.

Ignoring the eggs, Jack grabbed the first piece of ceramics he found. It was long and sharp, almost like a knife, and had the bold, black marks Professor Grant had shown him back in Embersgate Historical Society.