Dirk, Eiske, and Marlene worded on the tiljeekik a long time. The meat was white like an alligator's and they took a chunk to roast on a spit while they sliced up meat.

"Who gets the skin?" Marlien asked.

"Jal's the one who saved our skins. Let's save the eyes, teeth and claws for Jal," Eiske answered.

Marlien said, “Thanks for all the meat, Eiske. You should take half of the clams.” They argued over how many each family really needed.

“You keep them all,” Eiske pushed. “We have the frogs. Thanks for going with us, Dirk. Hopefully, the next time that we go camping it won’t be so exciting.”

At the breakfast table the following morning, Eiske looked at Jal. “You’re supposed to go home today.”

“I know. I’m still really tired.”

“You drained all your energy using those spells. Fire arrow is a level two spell. You didn’t say your lessons had moved you up a level.”

“I didn’t know. I had to take the chance. Does it always take two days to recover from a level two spell?”

“No. But you used every ounce of energy you had. You tied that thing into a knot before you fired those flaming arrows,” Eiske told it as they clean up the dishes. “I have a bunch of stuff outside laying in the sun for you. And stuff sitting inside that I’ve gathered.”

“Oh?”

“Should we fill your speeder as I show you what I’m sending back with you?”

Jal nodded. It really didn’t want to leave; it wanted to sleep.

They carried out two boxes of magic and potions books and a huge box of bottles for potions and medicinal concoctions. Eiske presented Jal with a box of charms he had bought but never used and glues for assembling them so that they could be strung on a necklace or bracelets. The skin of the tiljeekik, the teeth, claws and eyes were laying in the shade.

They stood looking at the stomach of the animal. It filled the air with a putrid smell that made both want to vomit. “Dirk, Marlien, and I decided that this would be your part of processing this animal. When its clean, the stomach will make a great bag for carrying water, if you go camping.”

Jal almost puked at the thought. “Drink water that’s been put in there? That sounds awful.”

“Maybe you’ll think of a different way to use it. I’ll hook up the hose and we'll stretch it as far as we can. You get to dig the hole.” They dragged the stomach over to it. Eiske rinsed it off and put the hose at the opening of the esophagus. Jal cut the intestine far enough from the stomach so that eventually it could be tied in a knot. The stomach filled with water. It was huge and had several huge protrusions.

“If you’ll hold the hose to that opening, I’ll try to get the contents out by pushing on these odd spots,” Jal suggested. Eiske obliged. Eventually gunk slid out. It had held big chunks of leaves, reeds, and mud. Finally, the stomach lay flat on the ground. “I’ll take the hose again, thanks.” It shoveled a bunch of guts into the hole it had dug but couldn’t pick up the biggest chunks. It was frustrated and asked Eiske to help it lift the chunks and throw them into the pit.

“I’m not going to touch that crap!”

Jal moved closer to the biggest pieces. “Do you have a knife, or an old axe so I can cut the mud into chunks so I can lift it?” Eiske retrieved a knife. Jal cut chunks off and threw them into the hole. Suddenly the sun reflected off the object. “Hey, there’s something metal in here!” It kept scraping gunk away, then Eiske turned the hose on again.

“It’s a sword,” Jal was flabbergasted. “This animal swallowed a sword? That’s crazy! Hey! Maybe the other three chunks have stuff inside the mud.”

Eiske couldn’t stand the stench any longer and vomited in the bushes. He went inside to have some fresh air and clean up.

Jal worked for a long time on one of the chunks. Eventually, Jal stripped and went into the house. “I need to call Sage Elvan. There’s no way that I’ll be able to finish this before I need to leave.”

“You could take it with you,” Eiske suggested.

“I’d stink up the speeder.”

“You’re right.”

Soon Jal was talking to Sage Elvan. Jal explained what had happened at the lake and that it was trying to get the gunk into the hole at the ground at the edge of Eiske’s property. “You did what? You killed one of those things! You could have been killed!”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“You’re telling me!”

“Why would you take such a risk?”

“I was at the edge, trying to catch frogs.”

“Jal!”

“I was going to bring them to Taryn to cook for dinner.”

Sage Elvan sighed. “You can stay there tonight and finish cleaning up your mess. Come straight back. No stopping to kill monsters!”

“I didn’t see-”

“Just because you didn’t see anything doesn’t mean they’re not out there! Be careful, for goodness' sake!”

“I will.”

After the noon meal, Jal spent several hours trying to cut chunks of stinky gunk into smaller ones that it could handle. Nearly out of patience, it began to hack with the axe. This proved to be more effective. Eventually, Jal held another sword. This one was longer and lighter than the first one. A square chunk of crud turned out to be a backpack. Jal rinsed it off and set it aside to dry. A second backpack became visible after more cutting and scrubbing. Finally, the filth was all in the hole. Jal placed the second pack in the sun and filled the hole with the dirt it had removed. After packing it down, Jal went to the door of the house and called to Eiske, “Do you have some sort of marker to put on this spot?”

Eiske went to a storage shed and returned to the filled-in hole. Jal tramped it down and stuck the pole in the center. “What’s in those?” Eiske was looking at the backpacks.

“I have no idea. Let’s look.” The outsides appeared to be some sort of waterproof material, and Jal unbuckled one. It shook out clothes, an old pair of boots and a cloak of an odd material. Smaller pockets held two small bottles, a leather case of what appeared to be jerked meat, and cooking gear. A few coins were in one pocket and three small charms were in the last one. The other backpack looked like it was the same size but seemed to hold twice as many clothes.

“It’s all yours, Jal,” Eiske said thoughtfully.

“It shouldn’t be. You and Dirk cut up all the meat.”

“You killed that crazy thing. You keep it. Maybe you’ll use those eventually.”

Jal put the collection in the speeder by the books. It left the coins, bottles, cloak and charms in one backpack. It carried the old clothes and boots to Eiske’s firepit. Eiske filled a cooling box with tiljeekik meat and fish while Jal gave its clothes and boots a good scrubbing. Even after soaping up several times in the shower, and putting on clean clothes, the odor lingered.

The following morning, Jal told Eiske good-bye and headed for home. In the distance, Jal saw that the bokan were migrating north. It knew that the bokan weren’t a threat, but other animals who hunted them were. There weren’t any predators around and the trip was uneventful. Jan was relieved when Jal walked in. “I’m glad you’re back safely. The bokan are on the move, and there are always predators with them.”

“I know. I stayed clear of them. I’m sorry I ruined your schedule.”

“I was concerned you were injured.”

“I was, but I seem to be okay.”

“Your boot is damaged. Did it get cut all the way through?”

“Yes.”

“Is your wound healing?”

“Eiske said he couldn’t tell. I’m sure it will be fine. I need to unload the speeder. I have a bunch of stuff to take care of.” Jal told Jan of the skin, the swords, and the backpacks.

“I’d like to see that skin. I’ve heard they are very unusual.” Jal spread the load out on the ground in the sun. “Good. You were very fortunate, Jal. I know that you’re only using the level one spells.”

“I was able to use a flaming arrow to defeat it.” Sage Elvan raised its eyebrows. “I had to take the chance. It took three hits, not to mention the gunshots from Eiske and Dirk.”

“What’s this bag?”

“That’s some clay that I took from Eiske’s. We were digging a root cellar and were in a pocket of clay.”

“You’re going to take up pottery as a craft?”

“Maybe. I have some questions about crafting.” Jal went on, “How do you know which craft to choose?”

“Most people don’t consider it a choice. It’s an ability and information that’s typically passed from generation to generation.”

“Could a person have two crafts?” Jal asked as Taryn joined them under the tree."

"Maybe. It depends whether you can manage a balance between the two.”

“I’ve thought a lot about this. I’d like to be an herbalist, but I’d also like to try being a potter.”

“You have advanced knowledge of herbs and plants?”

“Jan, Jal’s knowledge of herbs and plants is remarkable," Tarryn said quietly.

“How did you get this knowledge, Jal?”

“My grandma, Eaglestje Bron, began teaching me just after I turned one year old. My mother often sent me home with her. Mom said she was tired of looking at me.”

Jan was quick to respond. “You must mean tired of looking after you.” Jal turned away. “Seriously? Your mother said that to you?”

“I didn’t look like the boys. They wanted to wrestle and fight and blamed me for things that got broken. I wasn’t as strong as them.”

“You seem to be well taken care of.”

Jal changed the subject, “What do I need to do to prove I can balance two crafts?”

Jan and Taryn looked at each other. “I have no idea,” they said in unison. “Let’s try it for a while,” Jan proposed. “Let’s set up the crafting room for both things. Do you have a list of supplies you need?”

“Yes. It’s on my tablet.”

Tarryn looked at Jan. “I’ve talked to Master Potter Jasper Neve in Nik. He says he’ll work with Jal on an as-needed basis. He said that Jal should try to make a few basic things and call to set up a time to talk about the steps it would need to take to master the craft.” She paused. “Master Herbalist Avina is also in Nik. She has a journeyman working with her. They are both willing to help Jal. I started moving the weaving supplies out of the crafting room. I’ll need help to move the looms out and the potting wheel in.” She added, “And the kiln.”

“Kiln? You have a kiln, too?” Jal was surprised at this.

“It’s all been there for quite a while. I hope it all works. There was an apprentice who did pottery in its spare time, when I was a child," Jan said.

“Yes, there was. Wen Dulug.”

Jal looked at her. “How would you possibly know that?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Taryn stood with her hand on her hip.

“Um, ah, well, it’s a compliment. You’re not nearly as old as Jan.”

Tarryn howled with laughter. “I’m from Sobi on Nobela. It’s in the MU-38 Cluster. I have lived several more decades than Jan.”

“You seem like a young person.”

“Thanks, Jal.”

“I don’t know what supplies I would need to become an herbalist,” Jal admitted.

“Don’t worry,” Tarryn responded. “I think I found everything you need.”