lirvothethird

  "What?!? There's a RAT! A RAT!"

  A distant shout alerted the prowling farmers. It was from a part that I previously passed. Shock passed though my body as I froze for a split second before submerging myself fully. Listening carefully, I can barely make out the conversation as they formed a circle for the discoverer to expin.

  "Look here, this is obviously pinched. The skill is trash but it's lower and harder to find. It must be one of those scummy vagrants that snuck here and ate it."

  "How long ago?"

  "Hey, hey! There is still some sap leaking, it should have happened within a few moments ago!"

  "Chase that bastard down, first one who catches the scum can keep them as a sve for their farm!"

  Rustling shook the pnts as the farmers scattered to find the trespasser. I gulped. Sve, what is that? In this context it has to be bad. No harm was done, why are they overreacting?

  “Whatever, they can’t touch me, but I’m still hungry…”

  Rubbing my stomach, the dull ache ever present didn’t cease. If I gone this far, what’s the matter with going a little bit further?

  The trampling of the farmers passing overhead continued as they passed by. Every day that passes by makes the noises clearer and clearer. Time to visit a cottage. A devious smirk spread over my face unknowingly.

  “First victim.”

  The ck of anyone at this cottage made it my first choice. By spreading out my thievery, no no, my borrowing of foodstuffs no one gets hurt and I will be gone by the time they notice. I am still incapable of going through wooden floorboards, but thankfully the poverty of the farmers resulted in at most straw. Poverty huh.

  As a fellow poor person I shall free your food for you. Righteousness filled my eyes. Pushing aside some of the straw in the room, I stood up. Confidently, for a split second before shame hit me. Plucking the sprouts was already at my limits.

  Shoulders sagging, I decided to do it. The small room I was in seemed like a pce to sleep, as hard straw messily piled on a corner with a small piece of leather on top. Tried once and never again. Dirt floors are superior in the way you didn’t wake up with straw sticking out of your back.

  Creeping out the room, joy filled my eyes as a barrel of grain id there. Scooping a handful, it slowly trickled down my hands in a golden cascade. It was the same old Freljordian grain I was used to eating. But that is a problem as well. These hardy grains cannot be eaten raw. It has to be cooked or soaked.

  Flipping the bottom of my shirt up, I created a quick pouch after pinching the dirt together. I quickly realized my mistake. Scooping with my hands will waste grain, as well as creating tracks. Undoing the sides I pinched, I just used the shirt to scoop before holding it again. Just this amount of grain limits my speed, what would happen if I had an extremely rge stomach? The horrors.

  The soft gurgle of a stream could be heard from a distance. However, people are present. Upstream it is. Downstream will get more contaminated as time goes on. Passing by underneath, I can't help but want to scare them. Life needs joy or I will feel bad. Mustering my strength, I called out weakly.

  "Heeelllppp. It hurtsss, heellppp."

  A repetition of those words did the trick. Any noise of fun stopped as they caught wind of the sound freaked them out, as squeals and sounds of distress could be heard. Snickers left my mouth as I headed further upstream, following the sound of water. The ground is damp but not wet. Very different from the soggy forest ke.

  When I think it's far enough, I stuck my head out. Water spshed in my face. A cool refreshing feeling spread as I greedily drank some water. Looking around briefly, wilderness surrounded me. Walking along the small stream, rocks dotted the surroundings. They were small and misshapen but that isn't a problem. Kneading the rocks together, water dripped out.

  "Huh?"

  It seems some rocks have water inside, which means there's holes that I cannot see somewhere. But maybe I can feel it? Controlling my power, I gently shook the rock. Nothing happened. Closing my eyes, I tried to feel the echoes after shaking it. Small differences in pitch came back. This will take time to learn. Casually embedding the rock onto my shirt to practice ter I combined rocks into a mortar and pestle. This will become my main source of income if I enter a city. I can't live in the wild forever.

  Opening the stomach pocket, I carefully poured the grain into the mortar before grinding the grain. Fire is needed to properly eat it. Buuuuuut, I don't have any fire starters. Sighs left my mouth. Now, the grains are coarsely ground. Scooping water from the stream, I let the grains sit. Closing the mortar by crumpling it, I attached it to my waist.

  Now, I will properly enter the vilge and see if I can sell my skills.