We began to walk through the trees in the direction that the kenku indicated. We moved slower than the group of fighters did. This was partly because my leg did not let me move too fast without pain. We were also slower because none of us were used to this type of hiking. I reached down to rub my leg after a particularly big stretch to get over a tree that fell on top of a rise in the ground. "Seems like it’s healing way too fast.” I thought as I realized the wound felt stiff and tender but more like a bad bruise.
The rest of the group saw me rub my leg and must have decided it was hurting too much because we decided to take a break. Aiden produced a canteen he had gotten from one of the birdmen and sniffed the contents before taking a testing sip. As soon as the liquid hit his mouth her swished it a bit before swallowing and taking a bigger gulp.
The rest of us watched Aiden drink as we produced our own canteens and slowly unscrewed the lids. "It's just clean water!" Aiden practically shouted between gulping in air. "I didn't realize how thirsty I was."
I sniffed my canteen to be safe and took a small sip to test. The moment the water contacted my tongue, it felt like all the moisture in my mouth and throat was ripped away. My throat burned from being parched and I felt my lips crack as they dehydrated in an instant. I tipped the container up and drank in large gulps of the water trying to quench the immediate and devastating thirst. Only when the bottle was empty did I lower it and look at the rest of the group who appeared to have finished all their water as well.
“Holy Sahara sands batman, that was a horrible feeling!” Heidi was taking in deep breaths to replace the air she had missed as she almost drowned herself to satiate her thirst.
“I wonder if it is an aftereffect of the blue fizzle balls. Like major class cotton mouth.” Janet had sat down on the fallen tree and was just staring at her empty canteen. “We need to find a way to refill these now.”
“That guy.” I began and then paused, remembering what I had done the night before. “That thing.” I took a deep breath trying to convince myself that, as an alien, I couldn’t give him the same humanity I did for my group. “There is supposed to be a river we have to cross according to the enemy information.” “Should I dehumanize them, so I don’t feel bad? Will that make me ok with killing anything that isn’t human? Should I treat them the same, to keep myself from becoming a monster?” My thoughts were driving me crazy as I struggled with exactly how I should feel.
We sat there for another five minutes before Aiden stood and rested his hand on my shoulder. “We are all doing things we don’t like, but you did what was needed to protect all of us. In the eyes of God, you are still a good person.” Aiden’s voice was low, only meant for me to hear. I have never been religious but hearing his word did make me feel a little better, so I didn’t hesitate when he turned to the rest of the group to suggest getting moving again.
The sun was setting by the time we reached the river and all of us rushed to refill our canteens. The water tasted fresh and clean, thankfully. It was also cold, probably from some melted glacier somewhere far away. We all drank our fill before sitting back and looking out over the river.
"I got the wood tonight." Aiden stood up and gave my shoulder one more pat before heading back towards the woods.
“I can get a fire started with this.” Janet smiled and held up what looked like a rectangle of rock. From my confused expression, she could tell I didn't understand. "It's a flint." She sighed, deflating from her victory as she had to explain why it was a victory. "I found it in the camp last night, I can make a fire by hitting it with my dagger."
I nodded and turned my attention back to the river. “I’m going to keep an eye here for fish, I’m not hungry yet, but if it hits like the thirst did, that would be bad.”
Heidi held up a couple of rocks and showed them to us. “Fire pit?” She looked very proud of her find that both Janet and I nodded, and Heidi did an excited skip-walk to build the rock ring a little way off.
As I watched the water my eyes became glued to the rocks. They were worn smooth after countless years and gallons of water washed over them. I scanned the riverbed, my attention moving from one rock to the next. As I watched I could swear that I could see a small fog as the rocks were being broken down.
I became hyper-focused while watching, all sense of self faded away as I sat there on the side of the river. The world faded into a haze as the rocks in the river sharpened in my eyes. I couldn't help but marvel at how the marching of time had given this lazily flowing water the power to break the rocks into imperceptibly small particles. “Is it the water that has this power or is it time that does?” My mind kept moving between the two, trying to understand. I felt a connection between myself and the rocks. I couldn’t tell if the connection was imagined or if it was because of my land affinity, but it helped me focus on the fog flowing from the rocks. As I paid more attention I felt as though I could start to make out individual particles as they broke off from the rock and swirled in the water before depositing in the riverbed further down.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
My eyes moved on their own as they snapped between rocks and particles, catching different rocks as they were slowly wearing away. The particles washed away and went with the flow of the water and time. The erosion moving slower than should be perceptible to the human eye but happening as clear as day to me.
I don't know how much time had passed but I was snapped back to reality by shaking me hard. "Dax! Snap out of it! Come on man." I was confused as I looked at him, his features barely discernable in the dark. Over his shoulder, I could see the flickering of the campfire burning where Heidi ran to with her rocks. But there were still a few hours before it got dark when I sat down here.
“What happened? Why is it so dark all of a sudden?” I began to stand up as I tried to get answers, but Aiden push me back down by my shoulders as he looked at me with worry in his eyes.
“All of a sudden? You've been sitting here by the river for like 10 hours. We thought you were just avoiding work at the beginning. We got worried when you didn't respond to anything, just your eyes occasionally moving and then staying glued in one spot. I don't think you even blinked.” Aiden's loud explanation caused Janet and Heidi to rush over.
“Dude! You were freaking glowing like a light bulb!” Heidi walked around me looking completely amazed.
“I was glowing?!” I quickly moved my hands up to examine them. They seemed normal enough, and there was no glow at all.
“Yeah, you glowed for half an hour and then stopped. We sent the choir boy to check on you when we couldn't see your light anymore.” Janet stared at me but kept her distance. I can't say I blame her. “How are you feeling? Feel like you might go Chornobyl on us?” Everyone took a quick step back as Janet asked.
My stomach sank as I thought about the possibility of blowing up without warning. I tried to check all over my body and focus my thoughts trying to find even the slightest odd feeling when a new prompt popped into view. [Origins added] Erosion.
“I don't think I'm going to explode. My sheet changed though.” I explained the line that was added as I looked at my ever-expanding and confusing sheet.
[Name] Dax Williams
[Level] 2
[Race] Human
[Strength] 8
[Agility] 6
[Endurance] 9
[Constitution] 8
[Mind] 6
[Origins] Erosion
[Quest] Weapon Proficiency-Kama
Work with the kama to survive to better understand the weapon and how to use it.
[20%]
[Quest] Armor Proficiency-Breastplate with pauldrons.
Survive while wearing your armor to understand how to use it.
[10%]
“We’ll have to ask Michael about it when we get back.” Aiden stood and quickly crossed himself before heading back to the fire. I looked sheepishly at Heidi who laughed and slapped my shoulder before joining him. “Great, now I’m going to be the one everyone is worried about!” I shook my head at that thought.
I slowly got to my feet and followed them. The three of us sat down and looked over at Janet, who was standing some distance away watching us with crossed arms. She walked over and joined us 10 minutes later. “Just making sure you didn't go boom when you warmed up,” Janet spoke with a guilty smile as she sat down.
We sat there quietly watching the fire for a few minutes before anyone spoke again. When someone did choose to speak it was Heidi, “Do you think that you zoned out and got that new addition because of your cut?” She was looking at my leg as she asked, a mix of curiosity and fear playing across her face.
“I don’t believe so. I don’t feel any other side effects, and I would believe there would be something if it was some kind of poison. The fact that the system gave me a prompt and added it to my sheet makes me hope that it is a good thing though.” I tried to sound confident, but I wasn’t feeling very sure myself. This could be like a cursed status or maybe it means I will erode into dust. There was just no way for me to know, and I felt my stomach turn as I realized I could now have a very real countdown clock.
“We need to figure out a plan.” Janet thankfully changed the subject as she pointed across the river. There was smoke just beyond the tree line rising into the sky. “It looks like there are a few small campfires like our own. Couldn’t be much bigger.” She spoke with confidence but then looked surprised at what she said, “I don’t understand how I know that.”
“I just hope the light show didn’t give us away.” I smiled at Aiden, noticing he had purposefully changed the topic back to strategy.
“We need to get into the woods tomorrow morning and try to scout the compound before we can make a full plan.” I sat back thinking of the handful of times I played Dungeons and Dragons in my teens. “We will have to sneak and try not to be noticed though, otherwise it’s going to be another frantic fight for our lives.”
“Wake up. Cross the river and hike into the woods like a true explorer, then go ninja. Plan the whole mission without being noticed and then the four of us are going to raid the base.” Heidi was looking off at an angle as she spoke. “Nothing like a suicide mission to get your blood pumping in the morning, I guess. I really hate this place. More than Florida even."
Janet laughed as she slid a little closer and nudged Heidi’s shoulder with her own, doing a rocking motion from side to side. “I don’t know, Florida is pretty crazy.”