Twisted Wonderland: Camp Vargas - Exercise in Survival

Chapter 2-1: Easy Peasy

In the forest, Briar and Grim check up on the Spelldrive Club, who are gathering the firewood.

Grim calls out, "What's up, Spelldrive Club!"

Epel turns to see them, "Oh, hello Grim. Briar."

"We came to see how things are goin'. If you're out here in the forest... That means you're gatherin' wood to start a campfire, right?" Grim replies.

"Yep, Ruggie told us what to get, and we just finished," Epel says.

Grim looks at the pile, "Huh... You got a lotta sticks and leaves," Won't that stuff burn up in seconds?"

"That's actually the idea, Grim," Briar says.

Then Ruggie says, "Briar's right. Thick, heavy branches burn for a long time, but they're much harder to start a fire with. That's why you need kindling—stuff that's easy to light, like dried twigs and pine needles."

"Ohh, I getcha," Grim replies.

"I'm still not sure how we'll actually start the fire, though," Epel says, "We don't have any matches or lighters. If we can't use magic, I'm not sure what our other options are..."

"Oh, that part's easy. Let's head back to camp and I'll show you," Ruggie says.

The group soon head back to the campsite, where they see Leona up from his nap.

Seeing them, Leona says, "You're just lyin' around here? I swear, you've been slackin' off ever since the tents."

"You got a problem with me, furball?" Leona questions, frowning at Grim.

That makes him feel uneasy, "Uh, I didn't say nothin'..."

"But maybe you could try to join the others," Briar says, "Camping may be hard work, but it can also be very fun."

"I'm guessing you've done this before?" Leona asks.

"Sure did. I used to be in girl scouts when I was younger and we went on a few camping trips. It's hard work setting up camp and gathering supplies, but it was worth it and it was fun," Briar says.

Leona however, doesn't seem to care, "Then you can go have fun all you want."

Briar watches as Leona stays relaxing. Briar crosses her arms and puffs her face in response.

Epel turns to Ruggie and asks, "So, Ruggie. How do you start a fire without matches or a lighter?"

Ruggie begins to set everything up as he explains, "First, you pick a dry patch of ground and lay out some rocks. Then you put your kindling on top of them."

Soon, Ruggie set up the fireplace.

Then Ruggie brings out two rocks, "Next, you get a rock, like this white one I found by the river, and a steel file, like this one."

"You brought a FILE from home?" Grim questions.

"Are you kidding? I borrowed this from one of the toolboxes when we were setting up the tents," Ruggie says, "Anyway, when you strike the rock against the steel juuust right..."

And strikes the rock against the steel file, and sees spark flies.

Epel is surprised, "Whoa! Sparks!"

Check it out! That leaf caught fire!" Grim calls out.

"There you have it," Ruggie says, "Now we just mind the airflow and use the fire to light bigger and bigger pieces of wood."

And soon, the fireplace is burning.

"See? Easy peasy," Ruggie says.

"Wow!" Everyone says, surprised.

"You knew exactly what kind of wood to get and how to light it. You're like a camping expert, Ruggie," Epel says, impressed.

Ruggie snickers, "Shyeheehee. You're welcome to give me a gift as a token of your esteem. Not sayin', just sayin'. Though it's less about camping and more just plain survival skills. I had to pick up this stuff the hard way when I was really struggling to get by. Anyway, we've got our campfire," He then turns his head and calls out, "Hey! We need a ghost over here!"

One of the ghosts arrives to see their work, "Ah, I see you've lit your campfire.

And then presents the Vargas badge to them, "You've completed the challenge! Here's your Vargas badge."

Ruggie takes the badge and says, "Great, that's one down!"

"You'll need your campfire for other challenges, and it's essential for staying warm at night. So make sure it doesn't go out, okay?" The ghost says before taking his leave.

"I read you loud and clear," Ruggie says, "As for the fire burning out, well... So long as it's big enough, it'll survive a breeze or two."

"You sure you wanna pat yourself on the back right now?" Leona questions, walking over.

"Huh?" Ruggie says, confused.

"Why do you say that?" Leona asks.

Just then, a group of wood fairies appear.

Ruggie cries out, "Fairies?!"

And they all don't look very happy and begin attacking.

Grim cries out, "What's their problem?!"

"They weren't here before, right?" One of the members says.

Another member says, "Yeah, they just popped up out of nowhere. Where'd they even come from?!"

Epel soon notices, "Ruggie, is it just me, or are they...angry?"

"Epel's right. They all look and sound so angry! Something's wrong!" Briar says.

Ruggie also notices, "Oh I'm definitely getting that vibe. Was it something we did?"

Leona turns to Ruggie, "You started a fire, remember?"

This has Ruggie shocked, "Wait, what? This is MY fault?! But why would... No, the questions can wait. We gotta get these fairies out of here!"

With that, the students begin to try scaring away the fairies, but it's proven to be difficult without their magepens to help control their magic.