Shipwrecked with Monsters (Sallin_Kari)

[porne]

Leading you to a nearby chamber, on a slightly different level which strains your calves a bit, there's a very small mock up of the cliff face you're on... and little else. "We have a hundred worker drones and a single commander for them, a dozen scouts, and a dozen warriors." She tells you. Damn, you were hoping for an actual kingdom... "There are several trees that provide food top side, as well as a few sources of... meat that we have found, but none that seem reliable. We have not been struck by any predators yet." So... basically, she knows nothing.

[Sallin_Kari]

This... is pretty bad. "Okay well how much food do we have stockpiled? What else do we have stockpiled? Do we have stockpiles for that matter. What kind of things do you need besides food?"

[porne]

A few gestures, and she's showing you a few more caves that seem to have a mix of fallen fruits and nuts, as well as some... smoked meats of indiscriminate origin. Fortunately, they've at least gotten something resembling a kitchen started. There's also wood being gathered, although it's mostly firewood stuff rather than proper building material. Of course, they are termites... maybe they can... chew holes in the rock or something? Some brief back and forth with a few workers by your queen partner indicates this is enough food for a week or so at the current population.

They seem to be in an initial hunter gather state right now, building up the most basic of resources to survive as they scavenge and look for areas and resources they might need. Some of the worker girls are busy digging straight into the stone walls with their bare hands. It's extremely slow going, far too slow for your own taste, but... none of them seem to be hesitating. Another, rather foul smelling area, seems to be a fungus farm that feeds on droppings. While they exist, none are operating at full capacity, it's more like the queen knows that her colony should have these, but not why.

[Sallin_Kari]

At least, they understand the principle of smoking meat. I take a nibble to see how it tastes. "Alright, gather these into groups of how much one of you would eat in a day," I explain. I doubt they'd know what a pound is, and I have no idea how much they eat in a day, so best to keep track by allocating it into so many 'daily rations.'

This is... not impressive. My nose scrunched up at the site of the 'fungus farms' or better described as fecal pits. I'm not entirely sure whether or not smell, as bad as it is, or the pitiful attempt is more offensive. Unfortunately, fungus farms are not one of the economies of my home so I only have limited knowledge of them. Trying to wrack my brain on how to fix this mess, I try to wrap my brain around just what a pitiful display.

[porne]

The meat tastes fine, but it's exceptionally bland. Literally smoked meat and nothing else on it, most likely to kill any parasites. The Queen next to you makes a few clicks, and some of the worker drones in the area begin to sort some of the rations out. A few are even sent scurrying for some of the large leaves to wrap them in.

Several of the diggers are doing something near the fungal pit, adding some kind of tunnels above them, and you're not sure what's going on there. You could interrupt them, or you could ask your Queen what they're doing, or something else. Otherwise, you'll likely need to figure out how and where to expand.

Toward the south, the cliff face looks out toward the water over a small area of sandy bank, the eastern direction cliff face gradually sinking down to the same level as the beach. Most of the cliff face is rock, with a few holes drilled into it, but the top layer is soil, mostly covered in tropical trees, which also extend further north/inland. Shortly after the last little bit of rocky cliff and spotty trees, a thick jungle like growth takes over, dense underbrush indicating the soil is fertile at least. The rations seem to be a mix of meat and berries for the most part, so maybe berry farming is viable? Grain would be nice, but with the short spread of what little is known, it could be just around the next hill. Dammit, you need all the things done!

[Sallin_Kari]

Wrapping it leaves is a good idea. Then we could literally hand them out as basically packed lunches, rather then having to come from their work here to eat. I think that's one of the first things I want to introduce. A bag or cart so they can take whatever tool they need to and from their workplace.

Noting the tunnels I gesture to them as I ask the Queen what they are doing and what the plan is for those tunnels. Latrines come to mind instantly considering what this is, but with everything I've seen I don't know if they even have a concept for that.

Alright, first thing is first, I try to see if the leaves they brought to wrap the meals can be fashion into a sack or something. If they can, I want to fashion one of them they can carry on their back. Hopefully it will help facilitate hauling supplies back and forth. In addition I instruct them to bring back any stones the size of a fist to the size of a head, preferably hard stones, sticks at least as thick as a thumb and as straight as possible, and any reeds or vines that could be used to tie things. We need to make some simple tools, before we worry about making any buildings.

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

He's about to bring these girls into the stone age.

[porne]

The workers listen, although most don't seem to catch on that well until the Queen issues a very complex series of clicks and squeals to explain it to them in a more... natural way. Some of them seem to be able to handle human speech, but the translator spirits don't have the full functionality of translating concepts, something that you'll have to get used to.

The Queen listens to you, thinking for a moment before answering, "Air flows? I don't remember exactly what that was, but I do recall it being necessary to keep air moving through the hive." Both ramshackle and far more advanced than you'd expect. Probably best to let them complete that project then, at least it has a function.

The Queen again has to explain things to them, and you realize that her clicking communication is probably too complex for your mind to process. The Queen has them bringing you some piles of the large waxy leaves, almost like fronds, but big enough for your head as the food is easy to wrap up in. It's a bit less useful for making sacks, as the bugs have a lot less understanding of reeds and vines, much of what they have harvested from the woods likely wound up in the compost fungal heap. Still, they do their best, although the queen is becoming worried that you're diverting so many workers from food gathering.

[Sallin_Kari]

"Airflow is important, certainly... especially here," I nod.

With tools being setup I pause for a moment, "Okay, so I'm going to need to see where your food source is." I need to be able to see it, to properly conceptualize what we can do to boost production. Also might want to introduce rabbit snares.

[porne]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Air flow thing is based on actual habits of termites. The way they dig their tunnels and use their fungal chambers causes continuous air flow.

The Queen hesitates at your suggestion. "The fungal farm has not started producing yet. All other foods are scavenged." She doesn't seem to have much to offer you, you might have to introduce proper agriculture, they don't seem to be aware of anything beyond a mix of fungal farms and grazing animals if some of the tools you spotted are any indication.

[Sallin_Kari]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

I mean fair enough. Also I'm not sure what I'm suppose to suggest to improve the fungal farm.

"So you don't hunt? What's the local prey animals? How big are they?" I inquire. From what I could tell, even bagging a few rabbits a day would significantly lighten the burden on the food reserves. Depending on the situation, I might have them cut down a fruit tree, rather then what I presume they do and wait for the fruit to fall or just pick the lowest hanging. That would give us a boon of wood and food, even if it lowers our food production longer term. Harvest from fruit trees isn't the most reliable anyways.

[porne]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Using it as a compost heap and fertilize crops maybe? I'm kind of half formed as is. I'm mostly just giving you a list of really basic assets. Obviously, you need to get a doctorate in how monster girls would construct their lairs.

The scout/hunter class seems to bring in a mix of... one to two small feral pigs, which at least seem to breed like rabbits if the numbers are anything to go by. Unfortunately, they're hard to catch and chase down. For the most part, they don't seem to have figured out traps or other things, so most of what they bring in is what they can actually catch. Strange men laying on the beach unconscious not-withstanding, hunting is fairly rare unless they can develop an apothecary to allow for mutations such as spine throwers. Add 'traps' to the list of things you'll need to show them, although you should probably do the really simple ones.

Based on discussion, it does seem that the fruit trees produce quite often, and some discussion implies that winters are incredibly mild, so they produce year round. Of course, the ability to use the fruit as bait and who knows what else is still tempting. There's also the nearby ocean, if you can recall or figure out fishing devices of some kind. Honestly, it might be worthwhile to just train the hunter/scouts in a variety of skills and cut them loose, but such a fast and dirty method of planning offends your noble upbringing.

[Sallin_Kari]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Certainly not a bad idea. He's definitely more familiar with more traditional farming, and can almost see him form a terrace farm setup to take advantage of the verticality of the termites and keep it in a safe area from predators.

I'm shocked to hear they can... induce mutations. That... is something I'm going to have to put a pin in for later. As of now I consider the best trap or snare I can. We need a source of ropes to truly make this work but there are still options. Deadfalls are the easiest to make with simple wood, dropping a mass to kill, pin or at least cripple the prey for capture. Tension traps might actually be able to use vines lack of tensile strength, having a creature break the vine to activate the trap. Either way this will do for now. I hope to be able to capture them and have them as cattle, but that is a later concern, and probably will require rope to do so safely.

Baiting the traps might be a good idea. Especially the deadfalls. Slipping a few pieces of fruit underneath the trigger, torn to really spread the scent, would incite the creatures to investigate the trap, rather then relying on them just choosing to cut through where the trap is set. I'll put off fishing until later. We at least need wooden spears if we plan to do that. Hell if we get good enough tools I might actually lead them in a hunt. Wouldn't be the first time I hunted swine, though the boars back home were quite a bit bigger and dangerous, though I also had a powerful longbow and a boarspear, a few things I don't expect to be able to replicate in any sort of timely fashion. As it stands traps seem to be the best way to go short term. Letting out a sigh, I secretly thank those hard times where I had to check up on basically everyone in the fief to figure out how we can turn around the financial decline. The broad knowledge of how peasants completed their tasks is invaluable now.

[porne]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

I'm surprised you didn't built something like this: https://media.tractorsupply.com/is/imag ... 8476?$456$ but out of wood, probably shaped like a proper pen with posts driven into the ground.

While the queen can induce basic mutations on herself, more advanced mutations such as wings require a larger resource base to support a breed of alchemical workers who specialize in growing and preparing various concoctions to induce the changes. That sounds a great deal like something that would be useful sometime in the far future, but the shear cost of it puts it out of reach right now. They also show you the way the workers can... spit globs of gluey material, the proper hardened stuff is much more difficult to make, but you have a temporary solution for binding right now.

The workers take some convincing that they should not in fact collect the food from the traps, and it takes a little while for you to get that through to them. The idea of not collecting food takes a lot of explaining, although the hunters and scouts seem to take to it quickly enough. Some of the workers also seem happier not being told to rip up dirt and stone with their clawed hands, and have an easier time with the wood you hand them. They're... not very bright though, and you have to guide them a few times to make some samples for them to follow. The question being... what do you have them work on?

[Sallin_Kari]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Right now he's keeping it simple, especially since he doesn't know how capable the termites are going to be at crafting. He wants something that can be made in like fifteen minutes just shaping naturally found sticks. He'll move up to more complicated traps as things progress. So things like https://sensiblesurvival.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/deadfall-trap1.jpg or https://sensiblesurvival.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/deadfall-trap4.jpg is basically what he is thinking.

The glue is good. While there are several ways of making basic glues, it is a mighty pain in the ass, and would distract for more immediate problems. I'll have to test how reliable the glue is, but it is nice to have regardless. Ideally we'll be able to use it to make bags... I wonder if they have any hides? I don't recall seeing it? Do they eat it or something? What a waste. I'll have to figure out how to make tannin as well, since unless there is some fibrous plant or something nearby, we might have to deal with leather straps in lieu of rope.

With the workers struggling to understand the principle I point out that the animals will also want to collect the food, and there by get caught by the trap, giving us more food then if we just collected the food. Hopefully they understand. Also, is there any flint around? I ask them how they start their fires. While not ideal, we could make some tools out of flint. Don't know how to do it personally but I've seen a few examples and had it explained briefly how to do it. Honestly if we can get it to be even slightly pointy then that's already a boon. Regardless of whether or not we have flint, we need to focus on making the traps first. Once we have an excess of food, and perhaps more importantly, hide, we can shift towards tool making.

[porne]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The trapping pens are nice because they don't kill the critter, so you can actually farm them. Like what's shown here: https://manganelo.com/chapter/qc923430/chapter_15

Also, writing myself an out for finding resources close to base: the scouts aren't quite bright enough to be sent searching for multiple things at a time. You can send them on general scouting missions, or you can send them to look for specific types of resources.

Unfortunately, none of them really understand the more complex terms you use, and you're not able to make yourself understood on the 'fibrous' part. It's frustrating, but you'll probably just have to have them bring things back and look over it. You also notice they don't quite seem to have the concept of deadfalls down. Some of them are too small, others are so large they would reduce the animal to a paste. But... they're earnest, just not too bright. Irritating, but something you'll have to train them with and show them how. Most of them seem like they'll figure it out as they go along, improving over time.

They do have a bit of flint, but most of it is residual material brought in from the old hive, and you'll have to find a new supply. There are plenty of rock chips from where they dug into the walls and such, but none of it is flint, not that you'd want to live in a cave made of it anyway. You could tell the scouts to focus on finding flint or other building materials, but with their single mindedness, they'd likely overlook something obvious within the same area that is also valuable. Much of the issue is one of focus and time, if they're only looking for particular types of rocks, plants, or foods, they'll likely ignore the other possible items, allowing them to spend more time looking at what you've told them.

[Sallin_Kari]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

No I understand that, but at this point what would he do with live animals? They don't have a place to keep them, nor would they be in a position to feed them, both problems will take time to deal with. It's on his to do list, but he's focus on spiking food production.

Fair. Was more expecting the immediate area then lots of nearby places that might have more but I suppose this works as well.

It is clear that I'm going to have to break them into groups. I get most of the hunters to focus on creating traps, and when their traps are good enough, start setting them out in the wild. A take a couple to look for flint, as while that is very useful it's not a make or break right now. The workers I mostly assign to gathering wood, vines, and stones. Even without a flint, a simple rock tied to a stick can be a potent weapon.

[porne]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

I'll probably work something in where resources are further away. Currently, you've got a cliff face nest, facing south, with a slightly distant beach to the ocean, and a jungly/forest to the 'north' on top of the cliff face.

It takes most of the day to train them on creating traps, and it's starting to edge closer toward later afternoon when you go looking for flint with a few 'guards'. (8) Unfortunately, you don't manage to find much in the few hours before dark and you have to return. You find a few bits and pieces of flint, enough to start fires with, but not nearly enough to start making weapons or other useful tools with. Materials wise, they've managed to scrounge up quite a decent supply, although it doesn't seem to be growing more than it was before.

At this point, you may need to consider what you want to do tomorrow, and if you want to consider breeding the queen to get another batch of workers started, but other than that, you've still got a chance to talk with the queen over night.

[Sallin_Kari]

Gods how I wish I had workers who weren't so ignorant. Things might be very slow because of that. I rather not have more workers until we start getting more food in. Starvation is only going to make things worse. Still I'll talk with the queen to see if she got any insights as I explore the properties of the glue they can make. Depending on how good it is, that might open up some options.

[porne]

It's been some time since your materials studies involving farmed insects such, as silk worms, but this material seems to be a fairly sturdy drying paste, not as strong as the wood it's made from, but fairly rigid. You wouldn't want to stake your life on it, but it seems pretty suitable for use as a mortar. Unfortunately, all of these girls seem used to building under ground anyway. The main thing they seem to use it for is when they finalize a tunnel, they spit this stuff all across it to keep any moisture out, at least if you're understanding them right. It also prevents smaller rocks from coming loose sometimes, if you spot any sagging spots.

[Sallin_Kari]

Might be able to use to fit heads to shafts. Need to make it fitted though so that it's already pretty snug and just needs some glue to prevent it from loosing or wobbling. It could even be repaired by the user if they just need to make sure the head is properly align and give it a good squirt of glue. Not ideal but should allow for some basic tools. Actually might be a good finish overall, if it keeps out moisture. Preventing rotting is always useful but I need to test how it function as a grip. Does it have good friction? What about when wet?