[As you walk, you see watercress in the river. You know it is edible, but you are unwilling to get any closer, so you continue walking…]

Lem was filled with excitement.

Every so often, his simulated self would find an unusual plant or rock formation that was interesting to look at. A few were utterly bizarre, like a spindly water plant that he could not recognize from the village texts and a clump of yellow mushrooms with thorny hooks.

His simulated self was significantly more grounded, as he was extremely concerned with the dangers of the river.

If a death-skull crab ambushed him because he was distracted, would he be compensated by the beauty of the plant he was staring at?

Still, discovering the town would be a tremendous step towards the survival of his simulated self, so he was not in a bad mood.

If anything, he was feeling hopeful towards the developments of the day.

A few minutes later, when Lem’s simulated self was surveying his surroundings, he finally saw the first sign of larger wildlife. A hundred meters behind him, a white figure with patches of red was slowly approaching along the river.

Lem’s simulated self felt a jolt run through his body, but it was quickly dispelled, as he saw that the bird was not interested in him, and was being moved forward by the river current.

[You see a fire swan drifting on the river. It does not even look at you, as it floats past…]

The elegant bird never moved within a two dozen meters of Lem. It slowly passed from view.

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Even though the swan had not shown any interest in him, Lem’s simulated self felt a little more at ease when it was gone.

The bird was larger than a bear, with a beak the size of his forearm. He was not interested in spending any more time around it than was necessary.

A few moments later, Lem’s simulated self saw a large fish move underneath the surface of the river, a shadow that was at least the size of a man.

A moment later, it swam into a patch of underwater grass and out of view.

Was it a catfish?

Lem was not particularly troubled. As far as he knew, fish did not have the means to attack outside of water. At least, such a case had never been recorded in the village texts.

About an hour later, Lem’s simulated self saw a small stream that fed into the river up ahead.

When he came up to it, he stopped a few meters away and studied the area carefully. When he could not find any dangers, he closed the distance, walking right up to the very edge.

The stream was only a meter across its narrowest. There were a few small fish and insects he could see darting around, but nothing that concerned him.

The water was very clear, indicating that it was good drinking water.

Lem’s simulated self stooped over, and undid the clasp on his bag.

Even if he was nowhere near the point of running out, he thought it was a good idea to refill his water skins.

As he dipped the skins in the water, he took the opportunity to drink to his heart's content.

[As you travel, you notice a stream that feeds into the river. You stop and restock your water…]

While he waited, Lem remembered the words that Tamor, the village elder, had told him when he was banished.

“The forest is full of beasts, and there are many clean streams to drink from.”

He couldn't agree more that the forest was full of beasts.

Every one of them wanted to kill him!

But were there really many clean streams to drink from?

If that was the case, why was this the first one he had come across?