6.0

August, along with everyone else inside of the [A-Frame Hut], snapped awake as a chilling shriek rent the air, echoing down from the ridge, across the lake, and then washing over them and into the forest beyond.

“What was that?” Haiko said, shaken.

Ladybug responded with an excited trill of her own, incapable of reaching the same volume as the unknown monster. A chorus of distant trills rang out from the forest, barely making it as far as the hut before fading away.

“Ladybug,” August said quietly. “Stop.”

Ladybug quietened down, plopping herself down by the door once more. Kalter had already risen to her feet before Ladybug had even responded, pulling the shade back just enough to see through the gap. August pushed himself to his knees, aligning his own eye with the gap directly below her.

“On the cliff,” Kalter said quietly.

August followed her directions, and there was just enough early morning light to make out a large angular shape disrupting the otherwise steady ridgeline directly west. The creature was large, but the scale was indecipherable because of the distance involved, and the way it moved seemed almost disjointed—it rose up, jolted forward slightly, and then sunk down once more, passing in and out of sight as the ridgeline blocked it from view.

“I’ve heard that noise before,” August murmured, “There were at least three of them near where I first woke up.”

The shadow shrieked once more before slipping out of sight again, but this time it didn’t return.

“So they’re on both sides of the crater?” Kalter murmured.

“Maybe,” August said slowly. “They aren’t exactly quiet, and we’ve been here for a while now; I would have expected to hear them at least once if they actually lived up there.”

Between the lack of good light, the distance, and it being mostly covered by the ridge, he hadn’t been able to catch it with [Analysis]—it would have been a relief to find out the large thing was vegetarian, but somehow he doubted it.

“Could it be the same one you heard before?” Rittan said, “Perhaps they are nomadic or simply prone to moving around the island.”

Kalter let the shade fall closed once more, cutting them off from the outside world, and August leaned back into his chosen corner as she sat down opposite him.

“We can’t discount it,” August admitted.

“Either way, we have no weapons that would be effective against something that big,” Kalter said. “Best to leave it alone for now.”

“Well, that was terrifying,” Haiko managed, hair still messy from her abrupt awakening. “I—don’t think I’ll be getting back to sleep any time soon.”

“Yes,” Rittan said, attempting a quiet laugh. “I think that ship has sailed.”

There was enough light to move around, and August didn’t think that hiding away inside a house made of sticks would do much to keep away any shrieking wolves that came knocking, so he resolved to go about business as usual—as much as anything on this island could be termed in such away. August set about removing a dozen Sadapples from his inventory, stacking them in a rough pile beside the remnants of the fire, before taking one for himself.

“Help yourselves,” August said, climbing to his feet. “Haiko—sorry in advance.”

August slipped out of the door, ducking low to scratch Ladybug on the way past, the monster waddling on after him

“He ran away,” Rittan said, amused, but August couldn’t hear the reply.

August took a hesitant bite out of the torture device in his hand and surveyed the Lakeside Hovel through squinted eyes, considering where he should place the Kiln. Given that its job involved fire, it would need its own undercover area to protect it from potential rain. He could almost feel the [Wooden Shovel] inside of his inventory, radiating a future filled with sweat—four uprights and a flat roof should be enough to cover it, but he could do that after he’d established the actual Kiln itself. He settled on a space between the [Summon Pit] and the first [A-Frame Hut], using a branch to draw a circle with a circumference roughly the width of his shoulders.

August thought about the way Haiko had held her six hands around the shape she had outlined. The ghost of a small cylinder, buried under her fingers as they wriggled about around it—August paused as he felt something twitch below his newly made [Leafy Pants]. Acting quickly, he took a huge bite out of the Sadapple, the overwhelming taste of the fruit chasing away the dangerous and distracting thoughts.

“Get a grip—no, wait,” August insisted, eyes watering. “Get it together, idiot.”

He tried to visualise the actual structure, glancing over at the half-wall he’d made out of stones and mud. He could use the same type of method, placing a loose ring of stones and then compacting it together with the abundant clay he’d collected.

August knelt down, removing a series of rocks from his inventory and planting each roughly on the line he’d drawn. Once he had the base outlined, he began depositing handfuls of clay in the gaps, pushing down until it was pretty well compacted—he stopped, realising that he wouldn’t be able to light the fire without a gap in the ring.

He removed two of the rocks, leaving a foot-wide gap at the front of the circle, before moving on to the next layer. The rocks had to be pushed down into the clay before they were roughly level, and this time he made sure to leave the entrance free.

By the time he’d made it to the fourth layer, he had begun considering the entire shelf problem they’d discussed the day before. August took a larger, much heavier rock, struggling to set it in the middle of the ring, and forced to use clay around the base to keep it from toppling over. It was just tall enough to peek over the top of the third layer. August took notice of someone exiting the hut before the sounds of footsteps approached him.

“I’m not sure what you were apologising for, August,” Haiko said as she reached him. “I quite enjoyed the taste.”

August opened his mouth to retort that her tastebuds were clearly inhuman—then winced as he realised how that would sound. He groped for a synonym, struck on Monstrous and then winced a second time.

“Are you alright?” Haiko said, bemused. “You look like you’re struggling with something.”

He stripped the sentence down to its base components in an attempt to avoid saying anything stupid and then cleared his throat.

“I was confused how anyone could enjoy the taste of them,” August managed. “It’s a mystery greater than Devil’s Nest.”

Haiko hummed out an acknowledgement at the comment, tapping a finger against her chin. August took the pause to gesture towards the thing he hoped resembled a Kiln.

“Does this look like a pottery assembly line, or am I way off?” August wondered.

“A budding resemblance certainly exists,” Haiko said, bending forward to get a closer look. “Closing the top in order to trap the heat would be the next step, I believe.”

August nodded at the advice, but he was getting pretty low on rocks—he considered making a rough lid out of thicker branches. It probably wouldn’t last more than a single-use, but it might be enough to unlock the blueprint.

“I’ll use some branches for now,” August said, making his decision. “Making the fire itself should be easy—feel like giving me a lesson on making something out of clay?”

“Certainly,” Haiko said brightly. “I don’t think I’ve ever had the chance to actually teach anyone before—well, in the realm of pottery at least, this should be a novel experience.”

All of the Voithos probably had some kind of skill that they could share, and if he spent one of his skill points on the Blueprint sharing talent, then he could return the favour.

“You’ve got other skills you can teach?” August wondered, removing a branch from his inventory.

August laid it across the top of the rocks before using a small amount of dirt to secure it in place before taking out another.

“Not one that would have any bearing on our immediate circumstance,” Haiko said, clearly amused. “But I would be happy to share them with you at a more opportune time.”

“Thank you,” August said, “Kalter told you about my weird mana stuff, didn’t she? The roles and the abilities?”

“Yes, she seems quite torn about agreeing to receive them,” Haiko said curiously, “It was rather confusing—one of the requirements was to join some kind of cult?”

“Oh my god,” August sighed.