In the middle of searching she stops and looks up and realizes she is lost.
”Now what?” She mutters to herself as she turns in a circle looking to see if she can remember which way is which.
Melitus was doing his best to keep an eye out for trouble while Shira looked for a better source of water that they could use, but this forest seemed a bit dried up. He was lost in thought about how it could be that a desert had more water than the forest when he realized they had passed the same fallen tree. Twice.
”Shira, I think we should have seat under this log here and take a moment to catch our breath, maybe eat some grubs or something. We will need energy to get going again. “ He didn’t want to insult the woman by implying that she had gotten them lost. As it was, he wasn’t exactly paying attention either. He started to look around for some mushrooms or grubs or anything somewhat edible.
He smiles when he sees the growth of plate mushrooms on the backend of the log. ”These would taste better cooked,” he says as he starts collecting branches for a fire.
She realizes that the trees have given them shade and there may be some sort of food to eat. She stops and appreciates that fact as she sits on the log. After a few moments she begins to look for any sort of plant or nuts or something they could have with the mushrooms.
After getting the fire going, Melitus uses some tree bark as a makeshift plate to place the mushrooms and wild berries that Shira had found. For once he felt accomplished, but he also knew that complacency was dangerous in this part of the world. It would get them both killed and he didn’t want that. ”I think, instead of wandering around, we need to start looking at building ourselves some shelter, at least temporarily, or at least some weapons to protect ourselves if something larger comes along.”
Shira is relieved to see the fire going and smell the food cooking. She is vigilant because she knows the smell of food can draw hungry beasts.
”You are right, but I would focus on weapons first and then shelter. We may need the weapons to defend what we are building.”
She ate some of the food when it was done and it was really good.
”Thank you for the food.”
When she was finished, she started looking around and gathering larger branches off the trees to create a weapon.
Melitus nods. ”You’re welcome. I think between the two of us, we may just make it out here. Best not to get our hopes up too high though. I am in agreement though. Weapons to both defend ourselves and make hunting a bit easier would help.” He look at the trees around him. He was excited at the prospect of holding a bow in his hands again. Even a makeshift one.
Shira finishes eating. When she is finished she says, ”Do you have any ideas on what kind of weapons we should work on?”
Melitus smiled, genuinely. It was probably the first time since he had been here. ”I would think a bow of some kind would help us hunt at least. With all these trees, I imagine, I could find a decent piece of wood around to make something simple. It won’t be an Ophirian bow, mind, but it will do in a pinch. Maybe we can find some bones to make some knives out of too, easier than a rock, I think. “ He didn’t want to guess at her training with weapons, as she handled herself well with the creature they killed. ”What would you feel comfortable carrying?”
I don’t remember how to make a bow, but I can collect wood and rocks and other materials.
Shira starts looking around to find things that she thinks might be useful. After a bit she only has a couple of twigs.
Then she sits and decides to dig for a bit to see if there is water in the ground.
I’m not having much luck.
"Well, then we'll have to do the best we can. Let's look around for some small bones so we can make some tools to help us carve arrows and such. "
As they travel the woods nearby their makeshift camp, Melitus comes across a hefty fallen branch. "This will do," he says.
I don’t have survival. Should I just roll awareness?
Shira looks around to see if she can find any bones or other supplies to make weapons.
Gathering the wood in his arms, Melitus shakes his head. ”Finding the forest in the middle of the desert was pure playfulness on the part of the gods, as they see fit to taunt us with it lacking little in the way of things we will need. We should probably rest and try again tomorrow”.
He sets to work putting the wood in a pile and only taking what they need for a small fire.
”I think we just need to take a rest and then try again and we will be fine. Let’s just take turns keeping watch for tonight. If we have to fight, for now we can use sticks!” she picks up a larger, stronger branch and snaps off the little branches and then settles in to keep watch by their small fire.
”Just like the old days,” Melitus says as he picks up a hefty stick and swings it around playfully. It was odd. here they were, knowing full well that anything at anytime could come and try to attack them, eat them or worse, yet they were making light of it. After securing the load of wood they had gathered, he sat and leaned his back against it. Having had his fill of some forest rodent and berries they had found earlier, he was content to take turns taking watch.
The next morning, Melitus is found pondering as he clears the campfire and prepares to move on. ”So I was thinking,” he starts as Shira approaches. ”Once we start collecting a lot of things, we really have no place to store them. We can’t simply keep carrying it with us. We would be overwhelmed and we will run out our energy faster. It isn’t a problem now, but it could be. What do you think we should do?”
“I suggest we take some of this tall grasses and weave that into a pouch to carry some of our things. Let me make an attempt. I used to know how to weave so I will give it a try.”
While walking through the trees she comes to a clearing, and in the center is a strange looking tree. It looks Different from all the rest. It is covered in something white and twinkles brightly with candles and adorned with red berries. She is startled at the site of it.
Then she blinks and rubs her eyes and shakes her head and when she looks again it is gone, but in its place is just a regular tree.
That’s strange she thinks and goes back to collecting more long grasses for her carrier.
Melitus smiles as Shira tells him of what she saw. ”Perhaps at least one god smiles upon us today. I will try to find some more wood today while you do that.”
After she finishes creating a pouch out of the tall grass, she decides to look for water.
She thinks that she should try walking in the direction of the center of the forest.
She’s not 100% sure that she went towards the center, but after a bit she comes across a small clear pool of water. She sees some small fish in the bottom.
She is very happy and starts heading back to the campsite, making sure to leave a clear path so they can find their way back to the pool.
Melitus returns to the camp and feels a pang of worry as he notices Shira is missing. Putting the wood down with the rest that he had collected, he began to look for tracks. As he started to trod off, he heard her approach with a smile on her face. ”Find something interesting?,” he asks.
She is a little out of breath from rushing to get back. She says, “Water! Fish! I mean, I found some water and fish! I left a trail so we can find the way back to the pond.”
She waves him to come forward.
Melitus nods in agreement. ”Alright, let’s go see what you’ve found.” They walk back along the trail that Shira left so she could find her way back. When he sees the place, a small pond in the center of the large forest, it takes him a moment to take in his surroundings. Here they were, in a deadly part of the world and yet they find this idyllic place. He couldn’t help but wonder what dangers there might be around him. Still, he and Shira had survived this long. He vowed then and there to make sure that would remain the case.
”I think this place is almost perfect. Perhaps we should start a real camp here. I can go back and bring the wood here. We can start using it to build things. What do you think?”
”Thats a great idea! I’ll walk back with you and help retrieve what we have for supplies. Then let’s see if we can get some fish to cook.”
Melitus smiled as they walked back to camp. He had never thought about settling anywhere really. His life was always on the move, from one assignment to the next. He wondered how many others actually made something for themselves out here. Still, he had to worry about here and now. Now, he was gathering up supplies and getting ready to build a camp in the middle of nowhere with a woman that he was just starting to get to know and a nice spot in the middle of a forest that shouldn’t exist.
”So, “ he says as they start heading back to the pond. ”How do you like your fish cooked?”
They gather everything and get it moved to a nice spot under a tree. It’s almost cozy.
The man asks how she likes her fish. He seems a bit happy. She can understand the sentiment, since this is a nice place to regroup and build some supplies. She still misses her home and definitely her books but she is much more comfortable out of the hot sun.
”Pretty well done on the fish!” she says. “I can look for some herbs, but first we need to actually get some fish out of the water”, she says challengingly. “Let’s see who catches the first!”
Once things are set up she takes a sharp stick and carefully goes to the water and waits to see if a fish will swim close.
”You’re on,” Melitus says playfully. For now, this would be their shared home. He had a place to go at one point, but right now, in this place, here was where they lived. It would do and he would do what he could to defend it. He knew that they were not alone out here, but so far, no one had found them. He silently worried about when that day may come.
He takes a sharp stick and attempts to gouge a fish from the water.
”I got one!,” Melitus proclaims, probably a little too loudly.
Shira takes a stick and makes an attempt at catching a fish, but misses and the fish goes right past.
She shouts something in another language. It sounds a lot like a curse.
Melitus is focused on gutting the fish he caught and only vaguely hears the new words that Shira speaks. He then realizes that the identical bracelet that they are wearing seems to allow them to communicate, despite what words they use. He tried something in a different language to see if his theory was correct. ”You’ll get the next one, Shira!”
Shira is focused on her fish and hears something the man says but loses her footing and ends up falling in the water. A stream of curses can be heard across the pool of water as she spits out a mouth of water. She decides to take a break because she is cold, wet, and all the fish have fled due to her clumsiness.
Hearing the splash, Melitus rushes over and holds out the stick he had been using to help Shira out of the water. ”That first step is a doozy,” he says. ”I think we have enough for the two of us for now. Unless you are expecting guests. I’ll get the fire going. Stay near it to get dried off. We can’t have you getting ill now.” He then sets to work getting a fire going, bigger than usual, to both cook and keep them warm. He didn’t fancy either one of them getting ill due to being cold.
Shira takes the stick and sheepishly goes about making her way back to the camp.
Thanks! she says. I guess my fishing is a little rusty.
When they arrive, she tries to figure out how to dry her clothes. She realizes that taking them off and hanging them by the fire would be quickest but she has nothing to change into.
She goes behind some bushes and tries to discreetly take off her clothes and ring them dry.
I”ll be out in just a minute!, she says
”If it’s not something you do every day, that can happen. No worries though, so far it’s just us and a couple of fish for dinner and the night animals to sing us a song.”
He watches as she disappears behind some trees, realizing that if her clothes are wet, she would have to remove them both to dry them quicker and to keep her from getting a chill. Considering that they had little clothes as it was, being left to die in their underclothes, he didn’t see much choice. ”I can wait over on the other side until your clothes dry,” he offered, wanting her to be able to maintain her modesty, even out here in the wilds of the Exiled Lands.
She appreciates the offer to let her dry her things so she is more comfortable.
”Thank you. Why don’t you eat your fish first and then I will put my clothes by the fire for a bit?”
Melitus quickly devours the cooked fish, keeping some of the larger bones to use as needles later. Judging by the dust storm the other day, the weather could take a turn at any time, and they needed clothes for protection as well as modesty. They still needed to make weapons as well, for hunting and defense. Melitus knew it was only a matter of time before they ran into anyone else.
When he finished, he stood up to walk towards the other side of the pond. ”There’s a nice log over there, I will go and rest on it while I see about finding some plants we can turn into better clothes.” He then adds, ”If we get lucky, maybe I’ll find a silkworm.” Joking aside, he turns serious for a moment.
”If anyone or anything comes for you, scream. I’ll be here quick as I can.”
Shira rings out her clothes as well as she can. Then she puts them on a rock by the fire to try to use the heat and the warm air to her advantage.
”Thank you. I’ll let you know. I think that if something attacks it would almost be a blessing. Letting the food come to us instead of us having to go searching, because for more durable clothes we will have try to to hunt. To hunt we will need those weapons.” “Let’s see what we can make in the way of traps or spears.”
She sits and eats a bit of fish and then turns her clothes over to work on drying the other side. While she waits she starts picking through the sticks they have collected and tries to see if a trap can be created between the sticks and the grasses nearby.
The thought of seeing other people out here doesn’t even cross her mind.
Melitus nods and wishes her good luck. He then proceeds to make his way towards the other side of the pond. His eyes scan the coming dusk and the quickly forming shadows. So far, nothing has found their ideal camping ground, but it doesn’t mean he shouldn’t stop worrying about it.
He went over in his head a plan. He had ideas that at some point, they may want to leave, but from all the stories he heard, that was never going to happen. It was daunting, but he knew that he could survive for a while almost anywhere, but even better, he at least had a companion to commiserate with. For now, he was content to eke out a temporary existence here in this strangely welcoming spot in a mess of dangerous land. He went to work doing what he said, using the last bit of sunlight to hunt for sturdy plants to turn into thatch.
He spots a large fern bush, about his height, that contained some rather thick leaves. While it wasn’t enough to make a full set of clothes, he could at least fashion a couple of waist skirts for them. He yanked them out and laid them to dry for the night. He would work on them in the morning.
After spending about an hour trying to figure out how to make a trap and ending up with something that looks more like a strange piece of natural artwork she goes back to sharpening one of the bigger sticks.
At least her clothes are pretty dry and she gets dressed.
”I’m all set, you can come back now! she shouts. “I tried to make an animal trap but it turned out strangely”. she holds up a stick with a sorta basked thing attached.
”I’m going back to making large spears out of branches.”
She sits on a log and focuses very intensely on the branch she is trying to sharpen. If any animals show up, she plans to be ready.
Melitus jumps at the sound of Shira’s voice. He realizes the sun had long gone down now and looked about. Continuing to listen he heard her describe something about a trap. He ran to her as quickly as his feet would carry him and he spots her holding some sort of contraption. Putting two and two together, he realizes what happened.
”Well, it may attract some curio merchants, they might have some money we could poach from them.” He smiles at his own joke, hoping she wasn’t offended by it.
He spends the rest of the night helping her sharpen sticks against whatever rocks they find until they tire and sleep. It is an uncomfortable rest, but it is a rest.
The next morning, he checks on Shira and then goes to collect the ferns he laid out the night before. He then starts turning them into waist skirts for the both of them to wear. It will take him a few hours to do so, but at least it will pass the day.
Shira sees Melitus come shooting out of the bushes. He looks at her and what she is holding and looks relieved and then makes a joke about the failed attempt at a trap. She feels the joke is to settle his own nerves and so she just snorts and brushes it off. It was kind that he was so concerned for her safety. She starts on a nice sturdy branch and tries to make Melitus a very nice weapon. She attempts to make it smooth by peeling off the bark and then sharp by shearing it to a point with a sharp rock. Next she tries to carve little symbols in the side of it with another sharp and pointier rock.
She finishes the makeshift weapon and it looks pretty nice. The etched symbols on the side are a little crooked but other than that it’s good. She then goes over to where he is working and holds it out to him.
”Here, I made you this, she says.”
Melitus appraises the weapon with a fine eye. While makeshift, the effort Shira put into it seemed to make it a bit better than something simply found in the wilderness. It was fairly well balanced and though it wouldn’t stand up to something well armored, most of the prey they would find out here had no such coverings. He admired the etchings in the side as well.
”This is a fine weapon, Shira,” he says, ”I did not know you to be a weapon smith as well.” He then holds up the dried leaf skirts he had been working on. ”It’s not silk, but it might help keep our skins from getting burned.”
While they weren’t good quality, the skirts would at least keep them cool and give a little modesty other than their underclothes, which was all they were left with. He needed to find some better thatching to make some halfway decent clothes for them though. That would take a while, especially since he wasn’t a tailor.
”So, now that I am well armed, maybe we can hunt us down something decent for lunch?” Having spent the morning working on clothes and weapons, he realized they didn’t eat much but berries and nuts they found nearby. ”Care to join me?”
Maybe, but I think I should make a weapon I can use myself first.
She starts to rummage off into the forest to get more supplies.
She is hoping to find some stones to break and chip into a sharp point.
”That’s fair enough,” Melitus says. ”I will help you with your search for more materials to make a weapon of your own. We haven’t run into too many bad things yet, but our luck could change at any moment.” He then silently reprimands himself for sounding pessimistic.
Shira is in the forest rummaging through grass and leaves when she smells something strange.
She sees a mound of grass and leaves and starts to brush at them with her palm and she uncovers something that is completely shocking. She lets out a scream but quickly covers her mouth with her hand to stifle the noise.
Helping Shira look around, Melitus finds himself wandering a bit too far. There are so many things they need to think about doing and he is focused on keeping the list straight in his head, he nearly misses a muffled sound coming from her direction. He pauses to listen, but hears nothing. Just in case, he starts moving in her direction. If only he could figure out where that was.