As Lem’s simulated self drew closer, his excitement vanished.

The figure looked less and less like a living human. The texture and color resembled bone rather than flesh.

[As you are walking, you notice a horizontal man-sized skeletal figure on the bank ahead.]

He took a few more steps, and realized that the figure was unnaturally still, and stooped over.

Was it a corpse?

If so, was there a trap up ahead?

Lem could not help but remember certain stories he had heard of illusion pools. He had limited the amount of time he spent looking into the river for fear of accidentally gazing into one.

Was there an illusion pool ahead? He did not dare check to see if there were any bright patches in the water.

Had a poor townsperson stared so long into one that he turned into a skeleton?

Lem’s simulated self was tempted to avoid the area, but curiosity got the better of him. He began walking again with some hesitancy.

However, once he had gotten a better look, he felt assured.

It was not a human that he was looking at, after all, but the carapace of a death-skull crab. The angle at which the carapace was positioned had distorted his perspective.

Lem chided himself for not remembering that the patterning of their shells could resemble bones.

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It was even the inspiration for their name!

[You are surprised, but you quickly notice that it is unnaturally still. You carefully approach, and determine that it is the carapace of a death-skull crab. You suspect that it is a shed skin from a molt.]

No longer afraid, Lem’s simulated self continued walking normally.

He stopped when he came up to the carapace.

From a closer distance, it was impossible to mistake for a human, however, the patterning truly was unique.

He gazed up at the sky. The sunlight was dwindling.

He wanted to get a bit further before it was gone entirely and he was forced to stop.

{You continue traveling…

Night falls. You move away from the riverbank to the nearby forest. You eat from your rations and fall asleep…]

[Day 10:…You continue traveling along the river…

As you are walking, you see a cloud of light flies traveling close to the river surface. You watch as a blue snapfish leaps from the river and eats a swathe from the cloud, while the rest of light flies scatter.]

Looking at the light flies dispersing into the air in a cluster of light, Lem thought about how beautiful the sight was.

Apart from the majesty of the river itself, he found that he enjoyed the presence of the light flies more than any other detail in the environment.

They provided little bursts of color to the day, and were also entirely harmless.

At the same time, watching the light flies being eaten by the snapfish reminded him of how brutal the way of the world was for all of its inhabitants.

Even a fish had to eat, and even a fly could be seen as prey.

Of course this appreciation was only possible with his detachment from the real dangers that surrounded his simulated self.

Lem felt fatigue from the constant fight for his survival. It was accompanied by a curious longing.

Perhaps, one day, when he was strong enough, and had outlasted the evil within him, he could sit back in his real body and appreciate such sights.

A few minutes later, Lem’s simulated self stopped.

In the distance, he could see a green vine that was curled around a dead rabbit.

A razor-leaf vine!