Looking around him, all he could see was raw meat. Deboned and packed neatly in between leaf and wood. It was arranged in a way to make it easier to carry.
Four large planks were tied together to form a long rectangular shape. On it had wooden planks arranged in uniform to make a platform.
The hunters arranged the meat on top of the platform to carry it to their homes. Most of the bones were hidden nearby to be carried later and the larger pieces of the bones were set aside to be carried with them.
Bones were as crucial as meat for the hunters. They could use them to make weapons, arrowheads and even some tools. While meat provided them energy to use the tools. And the animal skin and hide kept them warm. Everything from the animals was important to them. So, they kept everything useful to be carried with them.
After an hour of preparation, it was time for them to set off.
Unlike the modern age, they didn't have heavy machines or vehicles to carry the load. So, the hunter grouped into ten teams to carry the wooden platforms on their shoulders.
Alex volunteered to carry the bones of buffalos on his back. The stack of bones was not that heavy for him. But thinking about carrying it for a prolonged time made him dejected.
Nonetheless, he had a hidden agenda for volunteering. He wanted to quickly swipe some without anyone noticing.
No, he was not stealing them. He was just being less wasteful. Even if the hunters took all the meat and bones. They would be wasted along the way or even decay. So, by taking the part the hunters have to leave behind due to their limited manpower. Alex was actually contributing to society.
Or at least, that's what he said to himself when he stole their meat and bones.
He also wanted to try selling them in the farm shop. What if he hit the jackpot?
But life never goes as planned. Although he could sell meat and bones to the shop. He was not able to buy them back. It meant that he was better off keeping them with him instead of selling them. Besides that, as long as he has the farm, he could slowly accumulate farm points instead of chasing after a couple of FP gained by selling meat.
So, Alex decided to store the meat and bones in the inventory.
Among the six empty slots he had, now it was filled with large stones, wood, meat and bones. Now he was left with only two inventory slots.
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom —--
It took a long time for the hunters to reach their homes. More than ten hours in total of intense marching.
If they were normal people, most wouldn't have even been able to walk ten minutes much less ten hours in the harsh winter climate carrying heavy loads.
But the physical fitness of the hunters made it look easy. They had to rotate the personnel every hour to maintain the speed. But it was all worth it for them.
Leaving the hunting ground as fast as they can was one of their goals. And they did it without any hesitation.
'Are they afraid of something? Wolves, tigers and snow leopards might be scary. But it wouldn't scare mammoth-smashing people like them to be scared. Why are they jumpy even though they reached their home?' Alex thought after looking at the hunters.
Nothing went wrong till now. So, Alex calmed himself down.
Looking at the barely visible wooden construct in front of him. Alex knew that they had reached home.
'Is it right to call it home? After all, it is not my home. It is this body's home.'
In front of him was a thirty-foot-tall wooden wall separating the inside from the outside. It had large wooden spikes poking outside to prevent animals from scaling over it. And in the middle, it had a large wooden door with sentry towers on either side.
'It is a fortress made out of wood.' Alex thought.
Lining up in front of the fortress were people young and old. All waiting to welcome the hunting squads.
They smiled and cheered seeing the hunters return. The kids ran towards them to welcome their fathers. And rest came to help the hunters carry the burden.
It was the first time Alex felt good to be part of a team.
Most of the time, his work was unappreciated or misappropriated by his superiors. So, he used to feel miserable living a life like that.
Instead of a team like that. He for once enjoyed the feeling of returning home and being welcomed with a smile.
Even though his contribution was small, the people quickly came towards him to help him carry the bones. They smiled and talked as if they knew and cared about him. In this small community, he could not see any malice.
"Big bro Meru, how was the hunt? Was it exciting? Did you kill anything? Did you see a live bull? How does a mammoth look, are they big?" Suddenly a small kid not older than ten ran toward Alex and began asking questions.
"Why are you not answering? Are you injured? Did you become mute?" The kid rambled on. He didn't even let Alex think, much less answer before the next question came.
"The mammoth was tall," Alex stated.
"As tall as the sky?"
"No, as tall as that tree. And it was also fat. Fat enough for a hundred people to carry."
"Ha ha aha haha…" The kid laughed upon hearing the description. "Then there would be enough meat for us all. We will eat meat today. Hahaha."
"What are you doing, Unda? Come here, don't disturb Meru. He needs to go to the pond for his coming-of-age ceremony." Mani, who saw Alex being held up, interjected. He picked the kid up and carried him over his shoulder while motioning Alex to go forward.
Just like Mani said, there was a group of kids at the centre of the tribe. They stood firmly before the chieftain, waiting for someone. The chief looked towards a well-decorated house in the centre of the tribe. It was large, made entirely of polished wood.
And from there came a scrawny old man. One of his eyes was covered by an eyepatch and his white hair was sprawled across his back.
'A pirate?'
He looked too old to even walk. Yet he walked gingerly with a staff held in his arms.
"Young warriors of the stone head tribe. You have returned with great pride after completing your first hunt. Today you will meet our mighty ancestors. They will bestow you great power. The power that can change your future. For you shall be our future. He he he…"Smiling mysteriously, the old man said.
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