51 Mmm, Seasoning.

Luca's discovery of this new mystical weapon had all but made him forget about his original reason for coming here... He just continued to stare down at the weapon, with his gaze occasionally flitting at the where the basin and tree had been.

Fortunately, there was someone who could break him from his thoughts...

"Bark! Bark!"

Luca finally managed to pull his attention away from his new weapon and looks up at the hole where he'd entered from... Sarr'bal had stuck his furry head over the ledge and was barking at him as if he were saying "Hurry up! I'm bored!"...

He wraps some leather scraps around the weapon to stop it from accidentally cutting anything before tying it firmly to his belt. Looking up, he waves at Sarr'bal, "Alright, alright, I'm coming!" he says before beginning to climb up the rope he'd previously set.

It's only after he'd clambered up that he realises just how long he'd been down there... The sun had been firmly out when he'd entered the cave, but now it looked like the dead of night... This was probably why Sarr'bal had gotten impatient.

He rubs the wolf's head as an apology before looking around the area... Obviously, he couldn't see much of the landscape so he'd probably have to resume his search in the morning. He drops the fur he'd been carrying on the floor and rolls himself up in it. That combined with his bear pelt gave him another protection from the elements to comfortably rest. Not to mention the large furry Sarr'bal who laid next to him.

The next day Luca was on the move again, continuing to walk west in search for that life-giving white stuff... He'd already been searching for a couple hours now but still nothing, his determination was fading into apathy the longer he searched, feeling that it was pointless. After that, the apathy became anger against the Gutizia tribe for causing this problem in the first place.

As always, he's brought from his thoughts by Sarr'bal who was gently tugging on his arm. He turns in the direction the wolf was pulling him and his nose twitches, blood? From the years he'd spent as a hunter, he'd become more sensitive to certain sights and smells. Faeces, blood, urine, all markers of where potential prey may be.

Of course, Sarr'bal would always be superior to him in that aspect as wolves were simply designed for it. As such he followed the wolf as he started making his way through the foliage.

As they went Luca spotted various splotches of dried blood and signs that something had passed this area. While yes, this was a distraction from him searching for salt, he didn't mind though, it saved him the trouble from having to personally hunt for a meal.

Eventually Luca and Sarr'bal stopped their advance and hid in some bushes, he could vaguely hear the heaving pants of a dying animal, and by the sound of it, it seemed to be a deer. Creeping closer, Luca finally saw it lying on the floor with a large wound in its hind leg, it was strange and didn't look like anything a bear, wolf, or even a hunter could inflict.

However, that wasn't the thing that caught his attention the most... Covering the deer was some sort of white powder, it looked sandy in its fur and clung to each individual hair. Luca waited a few more minutes to see if the deer was strong enough to move, but it just continued to pant exhaustedly.

Luca stood and started walking over to it, stroking Sarr'bal's head once to stop the wolf from sprinting in and tearing the dear apart. The deer noticed their presence but didn't even try to get up, as if it'd accepted its fate.

Now that he could get a closer look at it, he saw that the wound in its hind leg was leaking puss. The wound wasn't old enough to already be infected, which meant that it was likely poisoned. Which was strange since he didn't know of any venomous creature in the forest large enough to inflict such an injury...

Shaking his head, he ran his hand through its fur and took a closer look at the white powder covering it... It looked suspiciously like salt, but it could be any other manner of substance, regardless, Luca knew he'd survive any damage it could cause so he took a few cautionary licks of the white substance.

...

...

Salt!... But, the problem now was finding where the creature had come from. This was not too hard since they could just follow the blood trail to it, but Luca was wary of running into the same beast that injured the deer.

He knew he'd survive almost everything, but Sarr'bal was still at risk. He sighs to himself and starts thinking of a way to send Sarr'bal back to the tribe without him, soon enough he has an idea.

Standing off of his haunches he strokes Sarr'bal's head before pointing at the deer, "Go Sarr'ina, Sarr'bal." he commands in a stern voice. He repeats it a couple times before the wolf tilts its head to the side and whines. He says it one more time before Sarr'bal finally picks up the barely alive deer in its mouth and starts dragging it East.

The wolf sends one last look at him before disappearing into the forest. Luca knew the wolf would be fine, it was a gentle giant when around he and Sarr'ina, but when hunting it turned into a ravenous monster.

Honestly, he'd rather fight that giant frog again than face Sarr'bal.

...

"Now, let's see where that salt came from." he mutters to himself before he starts backtracking and following the trail of blood.