“I’ll get started on the tools,” August said, turning to get a better view of the two fires. “It shouldn’t take too long—just the two axes, right?”

They would continue to burn on their own for a while, but he’d have to throw more wood on both before they left.

“Yes—my own axe is still in relatively good condition,” Rittan nodded, eyes on the treeline. “I will begin work on cutting down those trees you pointed out.”

“Thanks, Rittan,” August said, ducking his head. “I’ll try to be quick—don’t drop a tree on yourself.”

“I’ll make sure to avoid such a thing,” Rittan said, tossing him an easy smile over his shoulder as he left.

August knelt down next to the fires and removed a few branches from his inventory, sorting through them until he had two of them that were roughly the correct size for an axe handle. He was quickly running out of large pieces of flint—he’d need to make an effort to collect some more while they were in the forest.

“Kalter?” Haiko said, drawing her attention.

“Sorry I dragged you away,” Kalter said, “Go finish what you were doing; I’ll come to get you when it’s time.”

Haiko patted the shorter Voithos on the shoulder in thanks before breaking away from them and leaving him alone with Kalter.

“August,” Kalter said once Rittan had broken off from them.

“Kalter,” August said in response. “Do you need something?”

“I’m not going to stand around and do nothing while the rest of you are working,” Kalter said quietly, “Teach me how to make an axe.”

August took one of the handles and slid it a few feet away from him—Kalter dropped down beside him, taking hold of the proffered object. He located the discarded [Flint Chisel] that he’d let Haiko use earlier and held it out to her. The two of them worked quietly, and he showed her how to best carve out a hole in the handle to best seat the large piece of flint.

Once again, he was left envious of the casual strength each of the Voithos held, a strength that allowed them to apply far more concentrated force and to do so without damaging their own hands in the process. The only thing holding her back was a caution, born from inexperience with the process.

August set his own piece of flint into the handle, tapping it a few times to make sure it was seated before further strapping it down with some vine. Kalter mirrored him, and once they were done, there were two new [Flint Axe] laying before them.

“It’s a simpler process than I thought,” Kalter admitted, turning her own axe over in her hands.

“Sure,” August agreed, rubbing at his aching hands. “Just be careful how hard you hit with it—it’s only as strong as the handle compressing the flint.”

“Which isn’t very much,” Kalter said in understanding. “Half an inch of wood isn’t going to stand up to too much pressure.”

“Yeah,” August nodded before pushing himself to his feet. “We’re getting closer to metal tools, so it won’t be a problem for much longer.”

Kalter followed his example, standing up and leaving her towering over him. August handed her the second [Flint Axe] for her to give to Haiko.

“That simple, huh?” Kalter murmured. “You spend a lot of time looking forwards.”

“I never used to,” August said, shaking his head. “I suppose this place has a way of forcing you to change.”

“Maybe it does,” Kalter said, turning away. “Let’s put this expedition behind us—I’ll get Haiko.”

“Right,” August nodded, watching her go.

He spent a moment refuelling both the [Kiln] and the first layer of the furnace before a drawn-out rustling of leaves sounded out. He glanced over at the treeline, catching sight of Rittan, all six arms pressing against the back of a mostly severed tree, as it slowly fell forwards into the no-mans-land and crashed onto the ground with a thud—one down. August made his way over, tightening one of the strings in his vest along the way from where it had come loose.

“You make this look easy,” August said as he reached the Voithos. “That would have taken me all day.”

Rittan finished using his axe to clean up the jagged base of the tree before turning to face him.

“Each of us has our individual strengths, August,” Rittan said kindly, “Perhaps my strength is to be a strong individual?”

“Uhuh,” August said, amused.

“Is it now time for us to venture into the forest once more?” Rittan said, patting himself down.

“Unfortunately,” August said, looking past the treeline for any signs of red. “I’m holding out hope that we won’t run into any more Efkini.”

“Yes,” Rittan said, ducking down to scratch Ladybug’s fur. “We will be counting on you, Ladybug.”

Ladybug trilled at the attention—she’d started growing far more animated this close to the treeline. Clearly, she had some kind of expectation of going inside. August scanned the trees for a minute, hoping to catch sight of something so they could call it off—but there was nothing of note.

“Ladybug?” August said, “Can you scout the forest out for us? Make sure there’s nothing in our immediate area—don’t take too long; we’ll be waiting for you.”

Ladybug is no longer guarding August Marlow.

Ladybug kicked off the ground before a flicker of white lanced out between the trees—and then she was gone.

“You sent the little creature away?” Haiko said upon her arrival, the two new [Flint Axe] in her grip.

Kalter stood behind her, three thick branches held in her hands, the tips all sharpened to a dangerous-looking point.

“Ladybug is scouting ahead,” August answered, “If there are any of the wild ones near us, then we’ll have to find a less populated section of forest.”

“Let’s keep this simple; Stay together and avoid making unnecessary noise,” Kalter said, glancing between them. “If we are attacked, we need to immediately move back towards camp—they are less mobile in areas without things to grapple to.”

Kalter glanced around before setting her gaze on August.

“Ladybug can only cover us all if we stick together,” August said, speaking up, “They can punch through trees—but if you can get a hold on their chains, you can do a lot to restrict their mobility.”

“Seek open ground, break line of sight, and do not scatter,” Haiko summarised, “Seems straightforward enough.”

“Certainly,” Rittan said, nodding.

Ladybug broke through the treeline, spinning in the air before landing on August’s shoulder with a trill—given that they weren’t immediately besieged by wild Efkini, he took that to mean that they were in the clear—August took a deep breath before letting it out.

“Time to go,” August said.