Sophia and Nick had been traveling alongside the river for most of the afternoon. They were pushing themselves hard, trying to get as far away as possible from the river king while looking for a place where the water ran slow and narrow.

Unfortunately, the only bridges they had come across had long since been reduced to rubble. While it was possible that there was another natural crossing somewhere ahead, they couldn’t afford to spend days looking for a place where the water was shallow enough to ford and free from the presence of hostile beasts.

After deciding that the only way across the river was to float and row, the duo had begun searching for the best place to attempt the crossing. They needed to get to the tower fast, before the next global event was triggered, unleashing fresh hell upon the bog.

In short, their only option was to build a raft and sail to the far side. Fortunately, the raft didn’t need to be seaworthy, or even particularly riverworthy. It just had to hold together long enough for the pair to row across and continue their journey. That being said, if their vessel broke apart or sank halfway across the river, it was going to be a serious problem.

While Nick felt confident that his stamina and physical attributes would see him through to the other shore, once they were in the water, they would be easy pickings for the predators that prowled the depths.

There was a chance that they would be attacked anyway, but the local beasts shouldn’t have much experience with manmade vessels or guess that people were riding on top. Hopefully, the raft would shield their presence for the handful of minutes it took to paddle across to the opposite bank.

None of that changed what they needed to do first. Now that they had left the fire breathing turtle behind them, it was time to find materials sturdy enough to hold their weight, then bind them together using the limited tools at their disposal.

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First on the list was to figure out what kind of wood would be best for building the raft’s body. Once they saw what they had to work with, the duo could decide how to lash it together.

Finally, they needed to carve a pair of oars, and ideally a third for backup, in case one of them fell into the water. Nick was lucky that the crude vessel wouldn’t require anything fancy like a mast, sail, or rudder, as crafting such complex components was beyond his ability.

After conferring with Sophia, they decided to split up to cover more ground. He would focus on finding lumber suitable for the raft’s frame, while his partner searched for vines sturdy enough to tie everything together. Nick spent the next hour scouting along the riverbank, looking for a likely candidate while watching out for anything predatory living in the nearby waters.

He eventually found a promising specimen, a toppled tree that was floating alongside the shore. The tree in question had already begun to rot, but now that he had identified a species light enough to float, he took out his spyglass to survey the surrounding terrain.

Not long after, he spotted a small grove of the same kind of tree, five of which were tall enough to lash together, but not so big that he would have to waste time cutting them into three or more pieces.

After scanning the area to make sure no beasts were lurking nearby, Nick took out the axe he had taken from Shaun and went to work cutting down the trees.

He kept one eye over his shoulder as his axe bit into wood, in case the noise drew the attention of something nasty.

By the time that he had felled the second tree, Sophia came walking over to his side. Wrapped around her shoulders was a thick loop of vines, which would stretch out to a few hundred feet when unrolled.

“This stuff is really tough,” she set down her load and inspected his efforts. “I think it will hold the logs together. Let me take a turn chopping, so you don’t get completely exhausted. You’ll need your strength to row and fight, although hopefully we can avoid the latter. You can stand guard while I knock down this last bunch.”