The rat was inside the back of the monkey.
It had climbed in the hole that Alaric had created with the machete, and was now inside the monkey.
The monkey was in distress, doing its dance.
Alaric took this opportunity to finish it off.
He ran over to the monkey, and took the machete out. He wanted to cleanly take off it's head with the machete.
The monkey however, still had a chance. It could change its internal organs into sharp objects to attempt to kill the rat.
Alaric was now all the way over to the monkey.
He lifted up the machete then.....
Blurshhhhhhhh
A bloody rat came pouncing at him from out of the monkeys neck.
The rat was covered head to toe in blood that stained the white coat of the rat.
Alaric quickly embraced the rat.
"Good job man! I'll make sure to get you a good drink tonight!" Alaric said tears in his eyes.
Before he forgot, he quickly decapitated the monkey. He didn't want to have room for a revival of the monkey.
"Alright, lets head back now buddy." Alaric said to the rat, a broad smile on his face.
Alaric looked at the body of the monkey.
"This could be useful for something..." Alaric thought.
Alaric was not a wasteful person. He didn't want to be disrespectful to the dead animal. He wanted to make sure it had use even after death.
Alaric took the components that were left and lugged them behind him on his way back.
Eventually, they both reached back home.
The pool that Alaric had made was completely filled now.
He took the pile of dirt he dug up and closed up the pool. He could refresh the water later in the future.
Before he would clean himself off, Alaric wanted to clean up the monkey corpse.
He looked at the body. He brought both the head and the body over.
It was very gross, but Alaric could definitely get some value out of it.
There were a couple key components to what he would do with it.
Firstly, he wanted to smoke the meat. The smell right now was probably attracting wolves.
Secondly, he wanted to convert the bone arm into a sword. It was already pretty swordlike, and Alaric thought it may be cool.
Thirdly, he wanted to make it into a pelt. Alaric had always been a fan of wearing animal pelts, so If he were to make his own it would add to his vibe.
Ones vibe is not to be underestimated. As an Esoteric Fisherman there is something to be said for attempting to look unassuming, but alternatively one could go big.
Alaric already had strange eyes, so adding a spiky monkey pelt on top of that would definitely make him stand out.
This sounded good to Alaric. Being a strange looking businessman oddly would add credibility to selling strange goods, as opposed to an ordinary looking guy selling strange goods.
Alaric prepared the pelt, skinning the body. He set it up to dry after cleaning it in the river.
He also cleanly severed the arm bone. He saved some of the bone below the blade part, so it created a natural handle. Alaric held it in his hand and felt it.
It was a decent blade. It was debatably a magic blade, as it was formed by the monkey. Alaric considered its value, and put it away. He might sell it later, it could likely fetch a good price.
He decided against the smoking. He had no place for the fire, and it would attract prey. For now, he cut up the meat and put it in a pot with some water. He would just make a large soup tonight to eat.
Alaric set up a pot in the house, and started boiling. If he were to play his cards right, this soup could last him 2-3 days.
Next thing he did was clean up himself. Alaric and the rat were bloodstained, so they took a bath in the river.
Alaric took his clothes off and washed them aswell.
He still kept on a belt with the machete on at all times though.
Nothing would be worse than being jumped while taking a casual bath.
Alaric brought some soap with him so he ended up being pretty clean along with the rat.
It was mid fall, so the water was pretty cold, but Alaric wanted to be clean more than he cared about slightly cold water.
The flow of the river wasn't very intense, he could comfortably stand in it. The bottom had some well worn rocks as well. He took one off the bottom, and looked at it. It was nice and smooth.
After he got completely washed up, he checked in on the soup.
It seemed to be decent enough at this point.
Alaric turned the fire off, and got ready for bed after having a few mouthfuls of the soup.
It wasn't very good, but it would stretch his food a little longer. He definitely had enough food, it was just a matter of using what he had.
Alaric drifted off to sleep a little easier this time, falling asleep to the howling of the wolves.
Alaric woke up to eat some soup.
He took a swig of water out of a bottle to wake himself up, and had some stale soup for breakfast.
He gave the rat a little drink and planned out his day.
He would finish up the pelt in the morning, and then go fishing in the afternoon.
For being so fishing related, he really felt like he hadn't fished much. He would have to get on that soon.
Alaric now decided to prepare the pelt.
The pelt was large and furry, having the iconic spikes.
Alaric sew the head pelt back on, and attached it.
After some quick craft work, Alaric finished it.
It was made in a way that he could wear it on his head and the pelt would rest on his back.
It may also provide some camo as well as warmth.
The defensive capabilities were also nothing to scoff at. It was a nice thick fur that would provide some protection from many an attack.
At this point Alaric didn't need his hat. He wondered why he even bought it at this point.
Anyways, now that Alaric had the pelt, he headed off to fish.