With fast steps I walk away from the cabin and find the trail. I start to walk down the path still frazzled from that encounter. Seriously, what the fuck was up with that guy. I feel like I was going to soil my pants there as he was talking to me. I really hope Gus hurries up and gets here. It’s dark out, and it's hard enough to follow the path when it's daytime out. I kind of hate how reliant I feel upon Gus. When we get to New Dale I’m going to make sure to work harder to understand this place. If I don’t then I’ll probably die again and have to try and get out of the spawning pools again. I also would probably end up somewhere completely random. I’m really lucky that I found Gus and that he wasn’t a creep like that trader guy. Gus did say that he was something of a slimeball himself too though. Let’s just hope he doesn’t revert back to that. Before I noticed, I had been walking for a couple of minutes and the cabin couldn’t be seen anymore.

Shit, did I go too far? Oh god, I can’t get lost. Gus, where are you? The thought of calling out came to mind, but remembering that Gus said I shouldn’t yell came to mind. I don’t want to become monster food. Panic starts to set in. My heart rate increases, and I start to feel a cool sweat encapsulate my body. I can’t get lost. God, Gus please get here quickly. I look down and notice that I have slightly gone off the path. Ba-dump, Ba-dump, Ba-dump. My heart rate increases again. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I feel like I’m going to start crying. The image of the trader’s smile flashes through my mind. He wouldn’t have killed Gus right. Gus is immortal though right? If he died he would be respawned at another spawn pool. Would that guy even be able to kill Gus? Maybe Gus suspected that he might have to fight and sent me on ahead. Gus please live. I don’t know where I am or what I would do without you. Please. Please. Please. I hear a twig snap behind me. My heart rate increases once more. A mountain breeze blows by sneaking its way into my clothes freezing the sweat throughout my body.

If I speak right now I might accidentally activate my voice gem. I freeze looking around trying to detect who or what is around. A hand touches my shoulder from behind. I start to scream, but a hand covers my mouth muffling any sound that would come out. I loosen my body and accept whatever fate this is. “Woah, woah, calm down. You okay?”, a familiar voice whispers. The hand loosens from my mouth as I start to calm down, and I turn around to be greeted by Gus. I lunge forward and hug him immediately, starting to uncontrollably sob and cry into his now clothed shoulder. “Are you okay? What happened?”, he asked while still consoling me. Fighting through the tears I manage to utter, “I-I-I-I got l-l-lost. I thought you m-might’ve died.”. While still holding me he starts, “What are you a ch-”, he cuts himself off. Things connected for Gus in a way that hadn’t previously, but the thought he just had made perfect sense to himself. “He really is a child”, he mutters to himself low enough for me not to hear. “Everything is okay. Don’t worry I’m fine, and so are you.” he says in a caring tone, which I hadn’t heard from him before.

Stolen novel; please report.

I start to calm down, and say, “I’m sorry for worrying you, I should be able to handle things on my own, but I just couldn’t.”. “That’s fine, if anything this is a fine place to camp out for the night.”, he says, setting down his bag. He starts digging through pulling out different items as he goes. He pulls out some logs of wood as well. Those must be the logs of wood for the fireplace inside the cabin. He must’ve packed those in addition to everything that came with the already overfilled bag. Gus clears out the area beneath us with his energy axe using multiple hand swipes left and right till there were no other fire hazards nearby. While he was doing that I went and grabbed some nearby plants and fallen twigs to use as kindling for the fire. He goes back to digging around in his backpack till he pulls out a vial of liquid. Gus takes the kindling and uncorks the vial. He covers the opening of the vial with the kindling and then flips the vial upside down soaking the kindling in the liquid, but not letting any drip out. He then sets the kindling underneath and in the center of a little log teepee hut he made for the campfire. He takes the vial once more and puts his hand at the opening, flipping it upside down to get a bit on his fingers, and then he recorks the vial. With a flick of the wrist, the liquid flings off his fingers and onto the campfire exploding into flames. The kindling burns very well immediately, but doesn’t appear to actually be causing the kindling itself to burn. Instead it is just the liquid that it was drenched in burning, and rapidly catching the larger logs on fire. “What is that?”, I ask wide-eyed. “That right there is liquid fire, a very useful thing. Wouldn’t you say?” he said, grinning at me. I enthusiastically nod back. Gus then starts to tell me about what happened with the trader. I start to doze off while Gus continues his ramblings. Enjoying the heat of the fire, but exhausted by all the affairs of the day, both of us pass out, relieved that the first step of this life is completed.