Recovery takes time, even when you are the most powerful adventurers known to human history. Matt was far from that standard. He stood and checked the storage chest of the igloo for the third time. The contents hadn't changed from the two bags of dry cold jerky and the closed jug of ice for melting. A few grumbles and a fistful of jerky later, Matt was in no better of a mood than before.
"Isn't loot supposed to respawn or something? I wanted hot chocolate or a good slice of pizza. How am I supposed to hack and slash on such an empty stomach?" Though he had been healed by Natalie's white magic and warmed by her fire spells, neither of those did anything to help with the growing void in his stomach. At least the beach had treats like ice cream and Natalie's swimsuit. Here in the frozen tundra he had to deal with just the bland rations and the modesty of heavy coats and warm pants.
"This isn't some game, Matt," Natalie chided. "Besides, I feel like checking the same chest three times in a row and expecting different results is just stupid. Why would the developers let you loot the same chest multiple times in a row?" She was sitting on one of the stools and drying out the outfits they had gotten frozen in with her fiery red staff. Though melting the ice and healing the damage was easy, it took a little more careful use of her fire magic to dry the coats without burning them.
"What do you know about game balance? You're our healer and magical heavy hitter. How does that even make sense?" Matt tore a piece of jerky in half and waved half about as he spoke with the other half in his mouth. "I just want a decent meal once in a while. We haven't had one since we left The Town."
"I hate to suggest it," Natalie conceded, "but maybe there is something we can kill and cook between here and the edge of the desert region that surrounds the volcano. But nothing gross, okay? And if you try making ice cream out of an ice slime again, I swear…" Her protests trailed off as she heard her own stomach growl at the thought of decent food.
After a little more searching, the pair pulled Lance away from his project and got to hunting. They came across several fiery turtles, some ice elementals, even some slimes. True to his accord with Natalie, Matt resisted the urge to try to make ice cream out of them, despite the presence of both ice and cream in its very essence. The oddest encounter wasn't even with a monster, but rather a small headstone constructed at the very edge of a massive cliff.
"I wonder who decided to be buried all the way up here?" Matt wondered aloud. He could understand the desire to see such a beautiful sight, but maybe not be buried all the way up here.
"Just memorialized," Lance noted, "Not buried. There is barely even a layer of topsoil over solid stone here. Don't you find it a little suspicious in general that this is just here?"
Natalie thought for a moment before responding, "Not really. It is a great view, and if they lived in the area for a long time, maybe this was their favorite spot?" She walked up near the edge of the cliff to feel the cool air and take in the expansive ocean. Far off on the corner of the horizon, the evening sky was faintly red through the dark clouds. "Maybe we'll have to come back here when this is all over, see the sunset without all the dark clouds. I think it would look really beautiful."
Lance and Matt seemed to consider it for a moment, the blond cocking his head in a gesture of contemplation and the military man resting his hand on the stubble that was starting to appear on his jaw. After a moment, Matt narrowed his eyes looking at the cross shaped headstone.
"This is suspiciously sword shaped. Makes me want to see if I can lift it out," Matt explained as he reached out for the arms of the cross. Before the others could stop him, he pulled on the stone and they all heard a cracking sound. Expecting far more resistance, Matt went stumbling back with the large stone cross in his hands, ending up spread out in the snow with the cross holding him down.
"What are you doing?!" Natalie shouted at him. "You just destroyed a very important memorial while I was trying to be serious and reflective! Why did you have to take that away from me?"
"Because sword, duh!" As Matt sat up, the stone of the cross let out a loud crack of splitting stone. The palm covering Lance's face made it clear what he thought of the team he joined.
"Matt, this isn't a video game," Natalie scolded. "You can't just grab anything vaguely sword-like and hit foes with it." Even as she spoke, the stone of the cross crumbled. Left in Matt's grip was a stone blade with runes carved along the hilt and guard. The polished stone of the blade gleamed like hardened steel.
"Ha! Look at that! Now I get a cool sword. Next thing you know I'll smash some pots in a house and find some gems." Matt grinned and rose, using the new blade as leverage against the ground.
As they moved on, Matt swung his blade absently through the air. Though foes tried to hinder their path forward, the rune carved sword seemed to let him drain strength from his foes as he struck them. Still, nothing seemed quite worth cooking to eat it.
The most concerning part of the trip was a tiny ravine that was barely a crack in the path. Wide enough that they could jump over, Matt and Nolegs easily reached the other side with a spring. Natalie and Lance making it across had been a close call, with Natalie almost not making it across and Lance's gear keeping him weighed down.
Finally, their journey began sloping downward, still their final challenge stood in their way. On the path before them stood a massive furry creature with a trunk and tusks. The last wooly mammoth.
Matt licked his lips at the sight of so much potential food. "Alright. Let's get cooking."