Excitement turned to terror as he started to fall. Derek had been expecting another teleport like that which brought him here, not to become a human meteor! Screaming into the void, Derek plummeted towards the great green expanse below.
He didn't know how long it was but he eventually calmed himself down enough to think. He wouldn't have been brought over just to become fertilizer the moment he hit the ground he thought. The notice had said they would populate this planet, not become meat paste during their first half second planetside. While logically he understood he probably wasn't going to die he couldn't help but continuously think about what he'd look like as a human pancake. If everything before this was an elaborate ruse to hide the butcher's blade then Derek would be well and truly fucked. And there was nothing he could do about it.
Derek closed his eyes and started to pray to whatever gods would listen that this wasn't some sort of sick trap. He begged them that when he opened his eyes he'd find himself safe and sound on the forest floor. After a bit, he took a quick peek and realized he was about half a second from slamming into the treetops. He screamed again, wide-eyed and terrified as he punched into the tops of the trees... And phased right through them. Shocked by the fact he hadn't been pulverized or impaled by the sea of green he barely registered that he's already landed on the ground, completely unharmed.
It took a moment for the realization that he was fine to sink in. A wave of relief washed over him quickly swallowed by the tide of rage. What kind asshole teleports people across the cosmos just to drop them from the god damn stratosphere! A stream of curses rang out through the forest, the first words to ever be spoken on the world of Tercius were the obscene raving of a naked man cursing god.
The sound of a branch snapping behind him made him stop in his tracks. Suddenly very aware that he was currently naked and alone in the wilderness of an unknown world. Slowly turning around to face the sound Derek slowly backed away, desperately hoping that whatever made the sound wasn't about to turn him into its next meal. If he survived this he promised himself that a weapon would be his first priority.
After about a minute-long standoff with the unseen threat, Derek decided that whatever it was either had no intention of showing itself or had slunk away. Still facing where the sound had come from he took stock of his surroundings. A dense sea of shrubs shaded by a scattering of trees surrounded him. The bushes reminded of salal but the leaves were shaped more like oak leaves and seemed soft. Lying a few feet away were the items Derek had chosen before his descent. A thick brown fabric that looked scratchy but relatively warm, a primitive-looking clay pot, and the sacks made from a lighter weave of the same brown cloth as before. Derek was quite pleased with his choice of gear, especially that the seeds had each come in their own bags. Each bag only seemed about half full which meant that not only did Derek have seeds for planting but three containers he could store stuff with.
Partially unfolding his bolt of fabric he quickly wrapped his gear in it before rolling it up like a bedroll. He would need something to use as a belt if he wanted to wear the great cloth like he wanted but for now, he needed to move. He still didn't know what had caused that sound earlier and Derek didn't want to chance it not being a predator.
Bundle in hand, Derek pushed his way through the bushes back and to the right of the sound. He didn't want to turn his back completely but wanted to get away from here as quickly as possible. He was right when he thought that the bushes looked soft, the leaves were soft against his bare skin, the same couldn't be said for the branches though. Surprisingly brittle and sharp the branches poked and scratched him as he pushed his way through.
“At least it isn't stinging nettle.” He muttered as he pushed on, a scowl on his face.
Luckily the bushed didn't go on too long before they opened up into an area with more dense tree cover. The forest before him was a bizarre mix of familiar and foreign. He recognized the thin shoots of hazel as well as silver birch but he also found trees he'd never seen before. A many-branched tree with bark similar to cedar or juniper but with bright purple leaves, a tall zig-zagging tree with thorns at each corner, and willow-like branches. There were a few more that looked pretty normal but just the whole thing was just weird.
He hadn't expected there to be familiar plants, this was an entirely different planet from Earth after all. Had plants from earth been seeded here before their arrival? That seemed the most likely but raised a whole bunch of questions that Derek didn't want to think about right now. For now, he would just be grateful that he wouldn't be going in completely blind.
Making his way over towards the hazel he assessed whether there were any ripe nuts for him. Hazel was a great plant to have around, the thin, flexible, stems were extremely versatile and the nuts were an excellent source of sustenance. Unfortunately, there were no nuts formed on this tree as it still had some of its flowers, and all the ones he could see on the ground were long rotted over the previous winter. It seemed They had been brought over during mid-spring, so long as something hadn't messed with the flowering cycle of the hazel, which was a possibility, he'd experienced too much magical fuckery lately to rule it out.
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Leaving the crop of hazel he walked further away from where he landed, he could hear birds chirping away now, he figured he must have scared them off with his earlier outburst. He grabbed some dry bark from the birch and the cedar/juniper-like tree which he dubbed junidar, as he passed. He didn't know how hard it would be to find good tinder so he'd grab what he could when he could. If he was right about the season he was likely in for a cold night, if he could get a fire going it would make the night a lot less uncomfortable. Speaking of fire Derek decided it was about time he stopped screwing around and started focusing on the 3 needs of survival. Water, shelter, food.
Seeing as the way he was going was slowly sloping downhill he figured continuing the way he had been was his best bet at finding water. He'd also keep an eye out for edibles and building materials along the way. An important skill he'd learned during his woodland ventures was to always be foraging along the way. Big-ticket food items were generally few and far between so eating whatever you could whenever you would be essential for maintaining energy levels and not starving.
For almost an hour Derek wandered, careful to avoid any thorns and the like. Being barefoot and nude he had to pay extra attention to where he was stepping and what he was brushing up against. It seemed he had overestimated what "minimum acceptable fitness" meant,. He was far far better than he had been but was far from what he'd consider fit. Out of breath and exhausted Derek was elated when he finally heard what had been searching for. Running water. Forcing himself to pick up the pace he continued on downhill.
Eventually, the woods opened up some and a large creek cut through the landscape. An exhausted Derek wanted to just stick his head into the water and drink his fill but the thought of what else could be in the water kept him in check. Malaria wasn't exactly his idea of a good time. He was going to need to start a fire. He was going to make a bow-drill fire. Of all the friction fire methods this was the one he was most familiar with. Using a bow wrapped around a spindle he'd spin the spindle while pressing it down into a board with a notch carved in it to collect the dust and ember that would form as a result of the friction. However, if he wanted to make a bow drill he'd need several materials first, not to mention firewood.
Across the creek there were more of the junidar trees scattered about, he'd try making a spindle and hearth board from that if he could find some dead standing wood. He'd also need something to split the board and carve the notches, not to mention some sort of cordage and a stiff, slightly bent stick for the bow. When he considered that he would need to harvest a fair bit of materials he decided carrying everything by hand was not going to be worth the effort. Why carry everything by hand when you could have pockets?
He was tired of carrying around the big bundle of cloth but he'd need a belt if he wanted to wear it. Derek had chosen the fabric to use as the most versatile garment known to man. The great kilt. It was about time he started using his supplies as intended. The great thing about the great kilt was its many configurations. It could be worn like a cloak or anorak, It could be used as a blanket and tent, like a standard kilt or what Derek intended to use it, for now, deep-pocketed legwear.
Looking around his immediate vicinity the best he saw were the roots from a bush he was unfamiliar with. It looked like an unassuming shrub, low to the ground and covered in pale green leaves, the roots reminded him of spruce roots as they sprawled out in pinky thick lengths just under the surface. He hesitated a moment finding a jagged rock and digging stick before he started digging some up. He was sick of wandering the woods nude and it would be getting cold soon, If these roots ended up being toxic then so be it.
It didn't take him long for him to get a couple of lengths he cut free with the rock so he could use them for the bow-drill and a belt, he was pleased with how strong and flexible the roots were. So long as he didn't discover some problem in the next couple of hours he'd gather some more from another plant, good cordage was damn important in the woods. After fashioning a crude belt Derek laid out the fabric and started folding the pleats, lying down on the folds he wrapped himself up and fastened his belt around his waist. Standing up and making sure everything was held securely he tucked the “tail” into the front resulting in two large pockets being made from the excess fabric. Looking like a homeless 1700s Scotsman and feeling incredibly pleased with himself He made his way across a shallow part of the creek and started looking for some dead standing wood for his bow-drill and to use as firewood.
It didn't take him long to find a tree with some dead branches that had dried out under the cover of the trees and would work well enough. Breaking them off and harvesting some more bark which he stuffed into his new pockets he set off to get more firewood. People always underestimate how much wood they need when they start their fire. Having to rush off to get firewood because you've underestimated how quickly what you have burned up is never fun and often leads to the fire you worked so hard for burning out before you get back. Unsure of how much daylight he had left Derek didn't want to risk running out and starting over. He'd prepare as much as he could as fast as he could. Hopefully, he'd get a fire going before nightfall.