With this kind of configuration, Ronan felt that he was all set... and wouldn't you know it... their next major encounter is about to begin.
With their list of scuffles at present only being from the daring soloist and little scouting teams that stood no chance.
For in this dark crack of the mountain... lies a deeper cave system within. Which sort of reminded him of Minecraft... or maybe just actual caves themselves.
Using the rats as his eyes, he explored... weaving stems and using caps as cover.
Through them, he had plenty of poor and blurry visions... but it was all more than made up for with sensitivity to motions... and heightened smelling and hearing...
And after a sneaky and thorough check... by all accounts... about 49 cave people were actually cave diving here. Or they might truly just be cave living.
So, he'll call them the Croods for now.
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And after a quick convening, the plan was simple...
Ronan volunteered himself to be bait... and have himself be chased out by the savages that his rats apparently found out to have been living in a dark underworld.
He would go in alone, stir them up, and run.
While they were to wait outside, hidden, and take them once they left the safety of the cave.
And as much as they had objections to their young lord's bravado... they can only assent when he's quite persuasive.
They usually just give in, and he does as he pleases.
And so... after a while of waiting... Ronan ran out smiling... while a whole tribe, armed with stone tools, came charging out in droves.
It really made one wonder what he's done inside to earn such ire within that short span of time.
With the cave dwellers literally leaving their dark homely advantage and going into open light with angered fervor.
But against bronze-armored and steel-armed warriors who trained to better themselves every day... they were just no match.
Once they stepped into open ground, their advantage was gone. More so when they're pitifully few against a hundreds and hundreds strong.
So if possible, the awaiting Bronze Order even used "non-life-threatening methods"... or showing restraint when they can.
Like netting up a bunch and then knocking the inconvenience down... courtesy from all their forced net fishing practices and boxing till K.O.s...
Many of them also used the unique boleadoras to just ensnare the charging wildlings by their legs...
Two balls upon a rope used by slavers across the Narrow Sea... but incorporated into the Bronze as fugitive entrapment.
Aside from those, they're also wrangling those they can with lassos...
And then there's the Young Bronze... expertly using a lasso against plenty... not for entrapment but using it as a literal whip unto heads to make them sleep.
Of course, the more bloody confrontations could not be avoided entirely... with the truly stubborn and bullheaded savages falling to their deaths.
Futile demises were what those were.
Accordingly, one can't help but wonder why not just end all of them right away... but Ronan reasoned that they needed to find a balance.
For he says that doing a massacre was bad for the reputation, and there's no need to unnecessarily end bloodlines.
Case in point was when some of them were tasked to round up the leftovers inside... with a handful of barely lucid women and thin babes being the one the brought out.
Showcasing the Order of the reality that most of these tribes and clans are composed of. Victims and innocents that still had a chance.
Nevertheless, against the Shroom Folk that these barbarians fashioned themselves to be... the Bronze Order was victorious.
Which was the fourth or so against many more to come.
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Accordingly, while his men were wrapping up... like processing the dead bodies, the captives, and little babes... Ronan explored this cave some more...
A relatively dark place with high humidity and coolness that should truly support fungal growth... the very shrooms that the stubborn Shroom Folk have cultivated.
Such a shame that they weren't actually called the Croods though.
Of course, it's also a shame that this cave didn't seem to be some secretive gold mine or whatnot. Until further notice, that is.
Maybe that just goes to show that this mountainous Vale really didn't have those rich mineral deposits that should have been expected...
But, as described, it is as fertile as the Reach... with it's underbelly being able to grow unique fungi like these.
Shrooms that actually glow and must have served as light source for its prior inhabitants.
So, "glowshroom" is what he'll call this plundered discovery.
Then again, there's still many other shrooms in this cave system... and it made sense why these folks didn't seem to be notorious much in the area.
Alas, they're still part of the considerably hostile and uncivilized... with them munching on a certain shroom at the sight of him and becoming berserkly territorial.
At least it made his aggro job easy peasy.
Of course, there's also hallucinogenic shrooms that those left-behind women must have been drugged up with.
So, if it wasn't clear just yet... this was a collection of unique mushrooms here and there... and that should at least count as a considerable and unexpected bonus.
Cause, he probably can't say the same for the next batch that he'll meet up with.