Calf replayed the speech multiple times in his mind till it felt like his brain could echo it back to him at a moments notice, word-for-word. He could feel the good intentions in the Hunter's advice and didn't miss the warning in those words. Seeing as the Hunter was one of the First, he could only guess he'd been referring to others of the same cloth when he mentioned the crossroads. The wily old Hare immediately came to mind, and he stopped himself mid-thought, dropping the issue as soon as he felt a slight pressure starting to build up at the back of his head. Now familiar with the force that repressed his train of thought every time he seemingly touched upon something he wasn't supposed to, he wasn't going to push it. For now.

He held the back of his head and noticed the Hunter looking at him knowingly. He knew the Hunter knew, and trusting his instincts and betting on vagueness to shield him from that force he asked,

"Does it ever get better?" to which the hunter smirked and answered,

"The stronger you get the easier it is to defend your right to know."

Clouds gathered after that response and the heavens above rumbled as if in opposition to what the Hunter had just told him. The Hunter pointed his spear to the angry skies in defiance and the rumbling died down. Calf couldn't help but marvel at the display. The more he saw, the more he questioned if the gap between them could ever be bridged, whether all who qualified to be called ‘First’ were so… godly. The Hunter snapped his fingers and Calf ceased thinking about it, turning to the Hunter instead for a few last-minute bargains.

He offered another breast chunk for information on the rooster's meat and the Hunter obliged. It turns out the effects of the meat were a one-off and thus wouldn't stack. Furthermore, the meat could not be affected by normal means, though it would keep naturally for over a year. Spoiling wouldn't be an issue, but its resistance to natural effects meant it couldn't be cooked over normal fires and was thus more suitable for stronger guts that could also process raw meat. Last and most importantly, he wasn't way off when he'd named it a Divine Black Bird, for its benefits were akin to a blessing, only to be received by the one who'd earned it. This meant there wouldn’t be any point in saving any for someone in the capital, but just as well, since the only person he deemed worthy of such a gift wouldn’t consume it. He did have another acquaintance he hoped would welcome the gift. So, with that in mind, he set aside the parts he intended for the River King and considered the rest expendable for the trades.

The Hunter initiated the next trade by offering up a huge melon he'd fished out of the pouch at his side. Calf had had his eye on the Hunter's pouch from the moment he saw it taking in objects much larger than its opening and carry-space, so this display only helped to endear him more to it. He would try for that after completing the trade for the chunky melon. He offered up an untouched drumstick, but the Hunter refused, providing him with an equitable counteroffer. The Hunter would accept the drumstick as a down payment of sorts, and as a show of good faith, he would give Calf a rundown of the melon's properties. He would then ask his own price after that, and Calf could either the charge or decline it, forfeiting the down payment. Calf was weary of unbound trades, given he could end up giving up his own freedom in engaging in them. The Hunter quelled these worries by outlining the bounds of the trade.

“I can only claim it once the hunt has been honored. The price will be limited to what remains of the rooster’s bounty, and it won’t be everything. By accepting my trade, you won’t have to bargain your freedom in claiming it.”

Calf read through what the Hunter had said several times, looking for clues on what the price might be. The first and second parts were great as they meant he would still have the payment for passage across the river. But beyond that, the last part was where the meat of the trade was. It initially read like an assurance, coming across as, ‘due to the trade being restricted to the rooster, there is no way for me to ask for your freedom in the trade,’ but by the fourth readthrough, he could see a different way to interpret it. If he interpreted that statement in isolation, it would sound like attempting to personally claim whatever the price was would’ve resulted in Calf losing his freedom. In this case, the Hunter would be doing him a favor by taking it off his hands. Still weary from his encounter with the wily old Hare, but wanting to trust the Hunter, he chose to temper that trust with a bit of polite verification.

Would the price of keeping the price for myself be a debt or servitude to another? he thought; with the intention of voicing the question. That intent immediately solicited reproach from whatever force chose to check him whenever his questions became over-ambitious. The pressure was just starting to build up, so it hadn’t been as overbearing as before, but the slight tremors still caught the eye of the Hunter. The Hunter gave him a contemplative look before beaming him a toothy grin and booming, “Well met!”.

Taking that as proof-positive, he verbally accepted the bargain and paid attention to the Hunter as he described the melon. It was very nutritious and filling, a slice being capable of supporting a grown man for 3 days without a need for further sustenance. The actual weight defied its hefty look, making for a portable food source capable of feeding masses. It bore a single seed of immeasurable potential and would continue replenishing itself for as long as the seed remained at its center. Calf was amazed such a fruit could exist, especially the ‘replenishing’ part. Does this mean it can… regenerate whatever portions of it are consumed? He questioned internally before vocalizing the question to the Hunter, who nodded affirmative. The Hunter turned the melon over to him for closer inspection and Calf confirmed its peculiar density. The rest would have to be tested at a later time.

Satisfied with the melon, he put the thoughts of the eventual price aside and turned to the next bargain. He went for broke and offered all of the harvested materials leftover from their meal and the previous trades. In exchange, Calf requested for a pouch similar to the Hunter's. The Hunter quirked a brow at this before shaking his head in regret. Calf was disheartened by this, but the man threw him a bone, offering him some worthwhile information about the sling bag he’d made and its potential, in exchange for a portion of the leftovers. It seemed the sling bag he'd made from the rooster's silver pouch had some special qualities of its own. He'd already noted it's resistance too shear and assumed it would retain some of the resistance to heat it had exhibited whilst still a part of the rooster. The Hunter confirmed that assumption and added to his first observation, letting him know the material it was made from would be resistant to most forces and substances, just like the crocodile hide he'd assimilated. Calf asked about the pouch's former contents and why the metallic liquid lacked the heat he'd expect from most molten liquids.

The Hunter explained the differences between divine silver and normal silver, as well as an additional property of the pouch. The pouch was in actuality an alchemic organ that defied common laws through compression and absorption. Whilst still a part of the rooster's living body it had had a primary function of digesting metals and other substances resistant to the normal digestive acids. Heat and gas were a biproduct of that, and the folds of the organ had the ability to compress and store them. The rooster had adopted the organ's properties for defense, releasing the stored gas and energy in the form of a blast. Unfortunately, the organ had lost some of its compressive abilities when the rooster had croaked. It retained the ability to compress and store energy but had lost the ability to manipulate mass and space, and these were the properties Calf had envied on the Hunter's pouch the most. No matter how big or heavy the contents of the pouch were, it had retained its shape and weight.

The Hunter offered up some secrets for the next trade, the source of a material that had the two properties he'd just mentioned, and he requested the rooster's heart in exchange. Calf was sorely tempted but regretfully declined. He explained why he couldn't use the heart in any trades and the Hunter relented, asking for all the other vital organs instead. Calf accepted this trade, and the Hunter gave him the information. In giving him the location of the material, the Hunter briefly touched upon the original lands of his heritage and the totem of the artisans tasked with crafting the pouches and carrying the secrets of their trade through the ages. Noting how long it would take to get to those lands, he resolved to tackle it another time.

Calf took his time thinking of what else he'd like to trade for, but the Hunter beat him to it. He mentioned a sleigh as if in passing before asking how Calf intended to transport his haul back to the river. Calf scratched his head at the question, wondering whether to ask about the Hunter's sleigh, making an educated guess on him having one within the folds of his bag. At that moment he could've sworn he saw the Hunter grinning at his considerations. The grin made him feel like he was the Hunter's prey, walking willfully into a trap by asking what the Hunter had led him to ask for. He couldn't find a proper way to phrase the trade without opening himself up for a potential loss but then he wondered, is all this caution really necessary, considering the man has been quite fair, if not outright benevolent up till now? The Hunter shook his head and laughed at his show of caution before offering to make him a sleigh using some of the left-over materials. He offered up his labor in exchange for the offal. All of it. From the Hunter's wide grin Calf knew the Hunter had him, but considering how well the Hunter had treated him, it wouldn't be much of a loss to concede the trade. Besides, I really need that sleigh, he conceded in thought.

The Hunter went straight to the task as soon as Calf accepted the trade. He had the sleigh ready within minutes and Calf couldn't help but admire the workmanship. The frame consisted of bones tied in place using sinew. A stretch of skin from the rooster's back was then draped over the frame before being tied into place. The Hunter waved his spear once over the bottom side and hot air buffeted the sleigh, drying it. He flipped the sleigh and repeated the motion for the upper side before presenting the finished product to Calf. Calf accepted it with a bow at the knees and a clasped clap. He moved all of his belongings to the sleigh and added two ropes to the front for future harnesses. With that task complete, it was now time to pay the piper and find out what exactly he had given up for the miracle melon.