Feyre

  I stopped drinking when I felt satiated and ended up deciding that fire was overrated and I was fine with the dark, which it turned out was rapidly approaching. I stood up, dusted myself off again and walked over to a stick that I though was a good length and was straight enough that I thought I could use it as a really bad makeshift spear. I looked around for a while in search of a sharp rock but I couldn't find one in the end so had to make do with a blunt rock.

  I sat on a boulder and whittled away until I had something resembling a point that was at least sharper than it started. I looked up at the sky and saw that night was fast approaching so I did the only sensible thing and collected a bunch of dry twigs, sticks, bark, and fungi as well as some stones that I attempted to make a campfire with. I was not, however, an expert in making fires using sticks. This meant that I didn't get a fire. And instead I climbed a tree so I was at least likely to have more warning if any threats came after me. I managed to climb until I was about 10 feet off the ground without even ripping my dress so was quite proud of myself.

  I closed my eyes and listened to the surroundings. I could hear birds, in the distance, twittering away even though it was so late. It reminded me faintly of when I used to go camping with the team as a bonding exercise. Our boss had it shut down as soon as Sarah left so we all assumed she'd managed to convince him of something and when she left he was no longer beholden to that deal. It was a shame as I think back then was when the team was happiest. Michael didn't smoke at that point, Luke hadn't lost himself to alcohol, I hadn't pushed everyone who loved me away in order to have more free time in order to work on Aetherium. Those were good days. I didn't know why laying on a thick branch in a fantasy world with a useless system reminded me of that but it made me smile.

  The stars confirmed my earlier thoughts when I looked through the canopy and saw that I didn't know any of them. Also there were far more than I think I'd ever seen before. I guessed that was because there was a lot less Light Pollution than even on the Camping grounds I was used to. I started trying to see shapes in them but failed miserably.

  It took a little while for me to realise the entire forest was silent. That wasn't great. Forests are only silent when a predator is around. I gripped the sharp stick close and held my breath for a bit. My heart thumped rhythmically yet quickly in my chest and I swore I felt the vibrations in my skull. The methodical thud thud thud was the only sound that I heard for a long few minutes. I eventually had to breathe out so I did so as silently as possible.

  A howl pierced the air and I struggled to hold in my scream. The howl terrified me and I didn't know why. It was obviously a wolf's howl but it felt wrong. Like it was more dangerous than a normal wolf. Quietly I shifted my body so that I had a better view of the clearing and river in the direction of the howl. I shuddered as I thought about what prey they might have found, or whether I was the prey and this was a hunt. In the end my eyes closed and I drifted off into an uneasy half sleep.

  Another howl assaulted my ears and jolted me awake. This one did not feel as wrong as the other one, but it sounded far closer than the first. I imagined that my knuckles were white from gripping the sharpened stick so tightly but of course it was night and I could not see in the dark. I stared into the abyss that was the crawling shadows of the woods. Other than the howls, the forest was silent and I hated it. The forest had once felt beautiful and green, now it just felt looming and laughing. I could feel my hairs standing on end and the goosebumps wracking my body. In the shadows my eyes deceived me with movements that weren't there, although they could be. Every slight twitch made me jolt. It was exhausting and I'd almost wished for the wolves to just come already so I could fight them off and not waste energy.

  There was nothing I could do so I stayed in the tree. The whole night my eyes flickered left and right, hoping that nothing would happen while also itching to just scare the wolves off and be done with it. After all, I had already died once and I wasn't keen on doing it again. So I stayed vigilant and tense all night, and then quite a bit into morning. As soon as I could hear the forest life again I climbed down and washed my face with the river water. I was shaken, tired, and hungry so when I saw a fish in the river I looked at my makeshift spear and then back to the fish.

  It turns out it is very hard to catch a fish by spear fishing. that didn't matter though because by the time the sun was high in the sky I had caught one. I started scavenging for some flint and hoped that flint and stone would create enough of a spark to set off a fire. Unfortunately, I was unable to find flint so had to go back to rubbing a stick as fast as possible. This is hopeless. I'm going to have to spend another night in a tree without any food at this rate. That was my overall feeling so it came as an absolute shock to me when the rubbing one stick inside a hole of another piece of wood that I'd found worked and created what can only be described as the smallest flame in the world.

  I managed to very carefully escort the flame to my campfire and started cooking the fish over it. I wasn't planning to become a fantasy character and have it "raw and wriggling" but who am I to judge. That character lived for a long time and if I'm not careful I won't. I sat next to the fire and sighed, resting my head in my hands and dozing off for a little while, trying to catch up on lost sleep. I was not very successful as I awoke suddenly when I heard a twig snap. Turned out that a small mammalian creature had gotten curious and approached me. It was an adorable little thing, and if it weren't for the unicorn horn on its forehead I would have called it a mouse.

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  I went over to my fish, used a rock to get some of the scales off and took a bite. It was horribly bitter and I vowed to never eat this again once I'd gotten out of this forest. The Mousicorn, that's what I decided to name it, just stared at me as I ate and so I ignored it. Right up until night fell again and it scampered off like a toddler who'd just been caught taking an extra chocolate coin from a Halloween bucket. I quickly grabbed my sharp stick and climbed back up the tree, dreading the worst. I thought, if slightly stupidly, that surely video games can't be entirely wrong about jumping down and stabbing things doing more damage.

  This thought stuck with me as I heard something approach and the forest fall silent yet again. Hearing the bushes rustle and crack made me think that there was a big predator near me. Unfortunately, I was right. A wolf the size of a small car walked into the clearing and sniffed. I was sure that if the wolf didn't kill me then my heart would by bursting out of my chest. The makeshift spear suddenly felt very, very inadequate and small. Guess this is how my ex felt... I joke to myself in order to calm myself down. Panic causes rashness and rash decisions lead to bad outcomes.

  Once I'd calmed down I realised that the unfinished fish had the entirety of the wolf's attention. I gulped silently as it came a bit too close to my tree for my liking as it circled the fire but it quickly lumbered off to snap at the fish and then threw it up before catching it in its jaws. It then stalked off in the direction it came from. That was also the direction of the howls of course and I let out a breath of fresh air. That was a harrowing experience and I decided then that I didn't want to have to fight a wolf in this world.

  Again, eventually night became day and I felt safe enough to clamber down the tree. I went over to my now long dead fire and resolved to get as far away from here as possible, before proceeding to gather a few rocks which I might be able to throw at something if I should run into one. I put them in a makeshift pocket that one of the rips in my dress made and walked off, following the river against the flow. It was a raging torrent at times, and a gentle stream at others. I felt lucky to have found it, even if it had meant that I was near the wolves. As I went up the incline I noticed that the shrubbery and other flora became increasingly more and more sparse. Eventually I was at the top of what I could only describe as a mountain, not even that far from some of the lowest clouds. I could tell the river's source was close because if it wasn't then it came from the sky. I mean it could come from the sky... There is apparently magic in this world...

  I ignored my own thoughts and continued climbing the mountain until I got to a small peak and took a rest break. My stomach grumbled and I was tempted to join it in its grumbling when I heard a rustle and saw another Mousicorn. This one was a different colour though, having a remarkably white coat that I bet made even the snow at the top of this mountain envious. I reached out with my free hand and it approached before plopping itself down next to me and rolling onto its side. It was adorable and far too small to be worth the guilt of killing and eating it, so I left it alone and smiled before carrying on my trek. It quickly got up and started following me at a distance, probably thinking I couldn't tell it was following.

  At the top of the mountain there was a massive dip in the centre. Ice and snow covered what must have been multiple miles of ground in this massive bowl shape at the top. I thought to myself long and hard before deciding I didn't really want to be up here for when the sun no longer shone down and gave me warmth. There's got to be a cave near here... I spent enough time researching different locations for Aetherium to know there's got to be at least one cave here... So I looked for a cave. Eventually, I found one about 400 feet from the bowl at the top of the mountain. It was a bit cold until I went a bit further in and it got warmer.

  Night fell at some point. In the distance I heard the wolves' howls and sighed. I would probably have to go back down that way if I ever wanted to reach civilisation but for now I was relatively safe and moderately warm in a cave in the mountains, albeit I was extremely hungry. I curled into a ball and ignored my growling stomach.

  Karrlund

  It was a quiet journey so far, we'd heard distant howls of wolves and thought they were weirdly active these past few nights but otherwise there was nothing amiss. I stood guard for first watch with Emrik taking over after me and Pavolia after him. We knew each other and trusted each other as well, unlike Tyrril's other hired help who we trusted about as far as I could throw the carriage we were all hired to protect. Tyrril was a nice enough employer and we'd worked for him before so when he offered us the position with extra pay for standing watch we basically jumped at the opportunity.

  I heard another Dire-Wolf howl in the far distance and sighed, forcibly relaxing myself from my tensed state. I hated wolves, and Dire-Wolves were even worse. Yet still I stood guard. The carriage path through this forest was not one well worn, but it was good enough that we didn't feel the need for a guide. I stood in my silent vigil for a while before moving to my next posting and looking out at the mountain in the far distance. We should reach the river passing in a couple nights at this pace, not bad.

  I looked out into the inky black that seemed to loom and leer from everywhere in the forest. It did not surprise me that there were so many stories about this forest in particular being cursed. That was, perhaps, why everyone was so surprised at seeing the smoke from a campfire i the very far distance, near the mountain. I thought it must've been a Hunter or Adventurer on a guild quest but Pavolia was adamant that the fire was not the sort created by a guild wilderness pack. Of course I trusted the Pyromancer on what type of fire was which so we resolved that if we ever had the chance we'd investigate the fire and person who started it.

  I shook my head and realised I'd spent far too much time in this posting and moved on to the next one. Nothing happened during this time but eventually Emrik came to relieve me and we joked about being watched by the trees before I headed into our shared tent and fell asleep as soon as my armour was off.

  I dreamed good dreams. I dreamed of peace and prosperity for my village. I dreamed of my old friend and sweetheart Liefi, too. I missed her, but I knew she'd eventually want me to move on.