Chapter 79: Supplies and Courtesy
Kellar walked away from the butchery with a steady stride, followed closely by Krag. As they moved among the temporary shelters of the tribe, Kellar turned his head toward his subordinate.
"Where is all the alcohol?" said Kellar.
"All the alcohol we brought is stored in my hut," said Krag.
The two continued supervising the tribe members working on the site, ensuring that the wood gathering and house foundations kept to the newly marked line.
Upon reaching Krag’s hut, a curvy middle-aged woman was waiting near the entrance. She wore a fitted leather skirt that could barely conceal her wide hips and heavy rear. This was Helga, Krag’s wife. Seeing the new shaman approach, she hurried forward and bowed low in greeting.
"Welcome, Shaman Kellar," said Helga.
"Such formality isn’t necessary," said Kellar.
"It is our family’s duty to show proper respect to our shaman," said Helga, remaining bowed.
As she stayed bent over, the low neckline of her hide top revealed a pair of prominent, tempting breasts that caught Kellar’s eye for a brief moment before she straightened up to lead them inside the hut.
Krag walked past them into the dimly lit hut, heading toward the back storage area where heavy wooden crates were stacked.
"I’ll pull out the jars from the bottom shelf," said Krag, rummaging through the provisions.
Helga stepped down the narrow doorway to show him the way, but as she turned, her foot caught on an uneven wooden log on the floor. She gasped, losing her balance. Kellar reacted reaching out to catch her before she hit the hard ground.
His hand slammed against her hip, pulling her back toward him. The sudden force pressed her body flush against his, her massive, soft rear bumping directly into Kellar’s front. Helga let out a low, breathy gasp as the heat of his body pressed right against her thin leather skirt.
"Careful there," said Kellar, his hand remaining on her hip for a second longer than necessary, feeling the fullness of her curves through the rough hide.
"Ah... thank you, Shaman Kellar," said Helga, her cheeks flushing red as she felt the pressure against her lower back.
She tried to straighten up, but in the tight space of the hallway, her wide hips brushed heavily against his thighs once more as she turned around. The low angle of her posture gave Kellar a full, unobstructed view of her heavy bust bouncing beneath her top, her breath coming in short, rapid puffs.
"Are you alright?" said Kellar, keeping his voice steady while taking in the view.
"Yes... I just lost my footing," said Helga, looking up at him with embarrassed, gleaming eyes while adjusting her leather skirt, which had hitched up slightly to reveal her thick thighs.
From the back room, Krag emerged carrying two heavy ceramic jugs filled with their strongest fermented spirit oblivious to the brief moment in the narrow corridor.
"Here it is, Shaman," said Krag, wiping dust off the top of a jug. "This is all the liquor we managed to make."
Kellar nodded toward Helga, stepping back so Krag could pass through with the heavy containers.
"Let’s carry these back to my place," said Kellar.
Krag and Kellar carried the heavy ceramic jugs out of the hut, walking through the village until they reached the yard of Kellar’s residence. As they set the containers down on the frozen ground, they found Grok standing there alongside the other three injured hunters. The moment the four men saw Kellar arrive, they immediately dropped to their knees and bowed until their foreheads touched the snow.
"Stop, get up! You’re still injured!" said Kellar, rushing forward to stop them.
"You saved our lives, Shaman Kellar," said one of the hunters, his voice trembling with deep emotion. "We heard everything that happened while we were unconscious. We owe you our lives, and we will dedicate every breath we have left to serving you."
Beside them, the wives of the injured hunters bowed low as well, tears of gratitude in their eyes as they thanked the shaman for preserving their families.
"It’s nothing. You just need to focus on recovering so you can return to your duties," said Kellar.
"I feel completely fine, Shaman," said Grok, standing up and rotating his shoulder. "It only stings a little bit now. We can move around without any problem."
Kellar stepped closer to inspect them, carefully unwrapping the bandages he had applied just a day before. To his surprise, the severe wounds were already closing and forming healthy pink scars.
"So this is the natural recovery rate of bodies in this world... impressive," said Kellar under his breath.
Activating his [Medical Knowledge (Level 1)] skill, a soft stream of diagnostic information flooded Kellar’s mind as he checked each of the four men. He examined their pulse, muscle tissue, and healing progress, confirming that the infections had been checked and their bodies were rapidly recovering without any complications.
"Everything looks good, but don’t overexert yourselves just yet," said Kellar.
"Thank you, Shaman!" said the hunters in unison, bowing their heads once more in deep respect.
"Now, let’s take a look at this liquor," said Kellar, turning his attention to the ceramic jugs on the ground.
He stepped over and pulled open the heavy wooden stopper sealing the top container. As the pungent, sweet stench of the fermented alcohol filled the air, a glowing window flashed in his mind, triggered by his [Alchemy] skill. A precise list of ingredients immediately appeared before his eyes:
[Wolf’s Tooth Root]
[Frost-Cranberry]
[Red Mountain-Berry]
[Bitter-Plum]
[Winter-Grown Maize]
[Wild Honey-Nectar]
Kellar stared at the detailed breakdown floating in his sight, his expression turning into one of surprise as he realized the system could break down complex brewed concoctions into their exact base components.
"Who made this?" said Kellar, looking up at Krag.
"The former shaman used to mix all kinds of ingredients together to ferment it," said Krag.
"Tch, I shouldn’t have killed him so easily," said Kellar, shaking his head. "His hut is still intact, right?"
"Yes, Master. Nobody has taken anything from there, and I even posted a couple of guards to watch it yesterday," said Krag. "Should we head over?"