The water turned out to be farther
than expected. It was getting pretty sunset-y when I finally found it–not a
close-by stream or river after all, but a waterfall quite a bit further away,
crashing into a pool that looked way too small to hold it. Maybe the water went
underground to the sea? Is that something that happens? I think that’s what
grottoes are, maybe?
Look, point is, WATER. You better
believe I shoved my face in and drank every drop I could hold.
Then I threw up. Again.
THEN I drank a little, waited until
I was sure my stomach could handle it, drank a little more, repeat until
dark.
When I was finally sated, I gathered
my strength and cast a little light spell. I was soaked, chilly, and hungry.
Falling asleep out in the open was a bad plan, and that was before taking into
account bears or tigers or unicorns or whatever predators they had in these
parts.
When I was finally sated, I gathered
my strength and cast a little light spell so I wouldn’t trip over anything while
I searched for shelter. I was soaked, chilly, and hungry. Falling asleep out in
the open was a bad plan, and that was before taking into account bears or tigers
or unicorns or whatever predators they had in these parts.
I set off looking under and around
the falls. Maybe there was a cave I could hide out in–it would be easy to get
a fire going, that’s kind of my specialty, and that should keep me warm, dry,
and safe from predators while I rested.
Sure enough, I found what I was
looking for, a nice, dry cave, not too deep, and with a scraggly couple of
bushes nearby I could drag in and set ablaze.
I woke up dry and hurting slightly
less than the previous day, though none of my muscles were happy about sleeping
on rock. I was also STARVING. I needed to find food today, but how? Back down
to the shore and hope some fish came into the shallows? But how to catch them?
No, there was only one way to go,
exactly the direction I didn’t want to deal with: up. Higher up the rocks I
could see the tops of some trees. There must be something up there I could
eat–berries, roots, maybe a bird or a squirrel?
I walked around for a bit, trying to
find a good way up, and that’s when I saw it: a wisp of smoke. Thin, curly, and
steady, the kind of smoke that doesn’t just mean there’s fire, but a small, controlled
fire that isn’t expanding or burning itself out.
And that kind of fire means people.
People who might have food! Maybe it’d be Iason or Iola, and even if it was a
stranger, they might be willing to share in exchange for… Hmm. I mentally ran
over the list of things I had to offer, post-shipwreck. One pocket dimension
containing a small number of spellbooks, not going to share that… And… That
was it. Well, if necessary, I was sure they’d find the generosity in their hearts
to share their food in exchange for not being set on fire.
To be continued…
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