The meal was, again, surprisingly good. Though the coconut pork flavour of the gravy was certainly unexpected.
Once they were finished, Bob led the group down the ladder with their packs, in case something happened, and they couldn't easily return to their fort tonight. It was always better to be safe, but with the amount of fighting that they were going to have to do very soon, Karl was questioning if they were even going to lose sight of the huge tree today.
The mages seemed to be having the same thoughts, as they didn't have the superhuman strength to make the packs a negligible burden, but nobody openly questioned the leader's decisions. That was a recipe for disaster out here, and any questions could wait until they were finished, or at least on their lunch break.
The pile at the bottom of the tree contained various metallic coins, shiny obsidian tools, and a few unknown ointments in leather pouches that Hawk and Rae had assumed must have some purpose.