After collecting bark and twigs for about an hour, Urist and Uroa, the newly named dwarf girl, headed back to the cave.

Urist was surprised when he saw everyone had finished the jobs he assigned to them and were now lazing around. He thought that at least a few wouldn’t listen to him and do their own thing. Their chances of survival were going up because of the dwarfs' willingness to follow orders. 

Meanwhile, he looked at the cave floor and was pleased with how much bumpy ground had been flattened. With this much space, it should be enough for them to sleep on. 

Swiveling his head back at the idle group, he spotted some lazy dwarfs sitting on the winter leaves. ‘With this, we won’t freeze our asses off tonight.’

There was a pile of stacked bamboo near the cave entrance on the left-hand side when looking into the cave. Urist walked over to inspect the pile closely. The two hardy dwarves had filled his requirements nicely. Having this much, they could work these into water bottles in addition to making a makeshift door for tonight. 

Although they didn’t have any rope, they could still stick the bamboo into the ground to keep larger rodents away if they couldn’t get a fire going. Urist thought that eating something before starting a new task would be good for the morale of the dwarfs.

Seeing everyone's tired expression Urist thought to himself, ’I bet everyone’s hungry for some food and water after working up all that sweat.’

Urist headed over to the back of the cave, catching the attention of the relaxing dwarfs. Soon, Urist brought back a shirt full of water bottles and food and sat in the middle of the group. He then set up the bundle next to him and motioned for everyone to come.

“Come on guys, I bet you’re all hungry. Let’s eat first before we get a move on!”

One by one, the dwarfs went up to Urist and grabbed a package of food and a water bottle. Sitting down in a circle, Urist started opening the meal. Inside, there was a plastic assortment of tools: a fork, a spoon, and a knife. 

The food was hot corn dogs, some mac and cheese, and a bag of sliced apples. The amount of food was plenty for a dwarf his size. Seeing that Urist opened his package, the others followed suit with some trepidation. Apparently, they had no idea what was in store. They stared bewildered at the food. 

Picking up a corndog by the stick, Urist ate a bite and the rest followed his movements. Seeing this, he laughed at how childish they were acting. He took it slow using his fork, spoon, and knife to great effect displaying their uses. All the other dwarfs tried to eat the same way. Urist, feeling parched, grabbed a bottle of water that looked like something from a convenience store.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Just as he thought of such a place, his memories started to haze over as if someone was covering it up.

It annoyed him that he couldn’t remember something so simple, but there was nothing he could do about it. Such a memory wasn’t going to help him survive. 

“Everyone, make sure to keep these bottles and caps. We’ll be using them later to store the water. Also, make sure you keep plasticware and plates since we can wash them.”

Most of the dwarfs had confused expressions on their faces trying to understand what Urist meant. With a sigh, he and Uria had to explain what each item was and their uses for some time until everyone got it. Urist was surprised that Uria knew as much as he did. He made a mental note to ask her later where her information had come from.

“Now, back to the subject at hand. I want to ask before we get to work, what is everyone’s name? For starters my name is Urist.”

“Rork.”

“Lun.”

“Rat.”

“Uria!”

“Uroa…”

“Ariel?”

“Briana!”

“Ormila.”

“Urmom.”

Hearing their names, Urist felt an incoming headache. ‘Why were some of their names so close to mine? When did Ur names become so popular? Whatever at least it isn’t everyone. Still, who names themselves Rat and Urmom? Do… Do they want people to bully them?’ 

The only dwarf name that made him feel better was Urmom. It was a name that reminded him of playing games while chugging down coffee. What games were they again? And what was coffee?

Urist threw these useless thoughts away and got back to business. He needed to make sure these ducklings followed his leadership. They were bound to die with their current amount of supplies. After all, no one was willing to play the leader and seeing them act like cubs in need of guidance spurred him to act as their bellwether.

Standing up in front of the dwarfs, he began his speech to win them over. “Listen, my fellow dwarfs, with how few supplies we have to live off, we must forage for food at the strike of dawn tomorrow. 

“To that end, I want to at least try getting a fire going by tonight. If we can, we’ll be able to keep warm. If we can’t get it going, we’ll huddle for warmth. Use the hairy leaves as bedding and the bamboo in the entranceway to cover the opening so nothing gets in.”

He paused to survey their reactions, taking in their expressions to deduce what they were thinking. For the most part, they didn’t seem to mind and were content to sit on their lazy asses.

‘This is going to be a challenge.’

“For the rest of the day, instead of doing more things that expended physical energy, I want everyone to start reading the books we have and gain that knowledge. On that point, who here knows how to read? Raise your hand if you know how to.”

Much to his relief, everyone raised their hands. ‘Thank goodness I’m not the only one.’

“Ok then. We’ll split off into five teams of two and learn the information inside the books. Uria, you’re with me in trying to make a fire before night comes. The rest of you, choose between yourselves; team up and pick a book that looks interesting to you. Understood?”

Urmom stood up. “Got it, boss.”