The first thing I did after settling into my new cave was gather as many flowers, plants, herbs and small shrubs as I could. I lugged them all back to my cave, uprooting as much as the stems and flora as possible. Anything that looked even vaguely familiar took precedence.
I thought something looked a bit like aloe? It was going with me. Maybe one looked a bit like foxglove? That too, though with a bit more care. Plants that were common and easy to find, that looked like regular weeds, I pulled up without care. It was slow, tedious and annoying, as I was hindered by a rather large lack of any sort of tools aside from my spears, but I managed.
Why did I want the plants? Well, it was as simple as it was complicated. Most of the plants would be harvested for their fibers. It had taken me a good twenty minutes the first few times to figure something out for my spears, and they were shoddy. I’d need a lot of practice, and if I was going to be here awhile, I was going to need a lot of twine and string and rope.
And clothes. Can’t forget clothes.
The more complicated reason as to why I gathered all those plants, was the same reason I snatched up as many large rocks as I could, along with a bunch of wood. Already, the exertion was getting to me, and I could feel my muscles growing incredibly sore and protesting. Sweat, grime and dirt cloying to my skin like an unpleasant muck. But I persevered, and hauled everything I could back. Materials were needed, and I’d start where everything started.
With the basics.
“Alright, I think this one looks a bit like… What was it… It was part of the dogbane family… Myrtle? And this kind of looks like… No. That can’t be poppy.” I squinted, holding up a couple vibrant, purple, orchid-like plants that had seemed familiar. Again, I was no expert, and I was running on half remembered diagrams of ancient roman texts and other historical sources. But I thought it sort of looked like what I remembered of the poppy plant?
If it was, that’d be invaluable, though I’d have to be careful.
“At least I’m pretty sure this one is fennel, and I know these ones are lilies of the valley.” I sighed, and sat down some long white plants and flowers on a stone I had dragged into the cave. It was acting as an impromptu workbench as I sorted things. Plants I knew, plants somewhat familiar, and unknowns.
My system wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t haphazard either. And the small pop up screens over the pile on the left proved it.
Convallaria Majalis
Known as Lily of the Valley, or more commonly, Saint Bell Tears, these plants can serve as powerful drugs and can be used as diuretics, heart medication, or poisons.
Thyme
Most commonly used for cooking, these herbs can also be cooked down for their oils, which serve well as antiseptics. Known as Superior Mintspice.
Along with a bunch of other dialog boxes and pop ups. As I’d collected the plants and the boxes appeared, my Gardening skills had slowly risen to Level 5. When that happened, the information displayed on the herbs had subtly changed. Namely, the additional names for the plants.
If I could identify what the plant was, it would tell me a completely different name for it. One that was apparently common, but I had never heard of. That was important. It meant the information being provided by the system wasn’t based on what I already knew. It revealed information on the world itself, and what I revealed took a weight off my shoulders.
Because if these plants had common names, that meant there were people who could recognize them. That their use was widespread enough to be well known. There were in fact, people other than me, wherever the hell I was.
I just had to find them.
That was besides the point, though. What I was really doing with these plants had little to do with the ones I knew. In fact, you could say it was all the other ones that were the focus of my attention. Of all the plants that I gathered, I recognized maybe 1 in 10. The rest? They were taking up a huge portion of my stone table.
If I was going to survive, I needed to know what they were.
“Alright. Starting with Specimen 0001A. Split stem. Flowers shaped like a clove of garlic. Petals have a curious, overlapping, scale-like shape.” In the air to my side, an ephemeral box slowly filled with text as I spoke aloud. This was part of the System I had managed to find and dig up. Basically, it was an internal note taking system. I imagined it was the equivalent of all those codexes and bestiaries and things in various games.
The difference was, I’d probably have to fill it myself. For now, I simply referred to it as the Journal.
“Smells slightly like cinnamon mixed with ground cumin, but more bitter. Roots are adventitious.” The thing about documenting and classifying plants, was that, well. You had to use them. And, unfortunately, I was the only real test subject I had access to. I’d have to keep an eye out for animals I could maybe capture and use instead, but there was no guarantee the effects would be the same.
Or that I could capture any. Plus, subjecting random critters to md science experiments left me feeling a little queasy, but I did my best to fight that down.
Taking a deep breath, I raised up a shoddy wooden handle with an uneven, stone edge. Carefully, I reached down and began to cut off small pieces of various parts of the plant. I had to be incredibly careful here. If a plant was poisonous, it could be hard to tell how much was needed to be lethal. However, I was hoping that by using small pieces, I’d avoid that.
“Not that there isn’t a good chance I’m going to regret this anyway.” By the end of this, I’d be amazed if I wasn’t begging for death from nausea, pain, swelling, or any number of other potential symptoms and side effects. Especially since I’d be carefully testing several different plants each day.
Before I could hesitate any further, I scrunched up my face and tossed a few of the petals in my mouth. They were soft, and smooth, and tasted like dirt, but I ate them. Since they didn’t make my tongue go numb or anything like that, I didn’t immediately spit it out. Instead, I swallowed and felt them settle in my stomach. Whether that would be enough or not to see what they did, if they did anything at all, I’d have to wait.
You have been Sickened!
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Effect: 5 Minutes
Mountainous Wyrmscale
A mountainous wildflower with a bitter taste. Reptiles are fond of this plant and rubbing it against their scales.. Known to cause hardening of the skin in non-reptiles.
Gardening LV 5 is now Herbalism LV 1
Or not.
Bombarded with an array of messages, I groaned as my stomach gurgled in protest, the small bit of the plant I’d eaten obviously not sitting well. In the lower screen of my vision, a sickly green symbol pulsed, a circle slowly beginning to deplete around it. On the table in front of me, nothing changed save that now some of the screens over the plants flashed for a moment.
“Ugh, oh god, I think I’m gonna hurl.” It was like a horse had suddenly kicked me in the gut. For as little as I’d ingested, the thing had a surprising kick to it, and I had to slowly lower myself to the ground lest I follow through.
Okay. Maybe eating random plants hadn’t been the best idea. But what was I supposed to do?
Beads of sweat forming on my brow, I looked towards the notifications that had popped up. I hadn’t been expecting anything like that, but it did show that it had somehow worked. What was this, Skyrim? Ugh, I really hoped nothing else in here was as bad as that was.
Herbalism
Rather than the cultivation and care of plants, this skill regards their study and in depth knowledge of their effects and uses.
By using one’s knowledge of plant lore, the user of this skill can make an educated guess as to the effects and nature of various plants. As well, this skill allows the user to better recognize and remember various herbs, flowers, trees and other various bits of flora.
Level: 1
Unpleasant as this was, that skill was… It was a lifesaver. Literally. Already I was getting a sense for some of the plants I had on my work table. More than I’d had before. I could tell that a couple of the plants in the ‘Unknown’ Pile had certain similarities to the… Wyrmscale. The branching of the stems, the way the petals sort of somewhat had a similar coiling pattern. Differences as well, different colors, shapes and patterns. But I could see more than I had.
Things that I could have noticed beforehand, but were more evident now. And it wasn’t just the Wyrmscale either. That one there, a flower with a bright white core on the petal with orange on the tips, now that I looked, it was similar in shape to the Nightshade. But the roots were slightly different, and there were thorns on the stem, like a rose. I had a gut feeling it was poisonous, but nowhere as bad as the Nightshade.
It needed more testing.
----------------------------------------
The good thing about making a small stockpile of all those herbs, was that it ended with me having a large heaping of fibers. Fibers that were integral to making twine and string, and eventually, rope. That would come later, though.
After I’d made myself a shoddy pair of pants.
Much as I’d prefer it, I couldn’t just hole up in my cave all day eating random plants. Not only would the various chemicals kill me after a while if I wasn’t careful, I needed more than that to eat. Plus, the cave’s entrance was pretty open, and I wanted to make a door. I had the feeling I’d be staying here for a while, so protection was necessary.
“This would be so much easier if there was a town nearby.” I couldn’t help it. With no one else around, I had only myself to talk to, and I was beginning to realize I complained. A lot. Still, my point was valid, even if there was no one but the nearby trees to answer me.
One might wonder why I was staying put, rather than wandering. That lack of a town was the answer. Sure, I could wander and hope, and maybe, eventually, I’d find somewhere. But there were no guarantees. Each hour walking was an hour not spent with available shelter, and I’d have to spend time gathering supplies. Food could become scarce. Annoying as it was, I’d have to take the cautious route.
Which was why I was focusing on the fibers, and why I was out here, slowly creeping deeper and deeper into the untamed forests around my cave. Because all that twine I had made from those fibers was going to find a use.
“Right, these were edible, so hopefully this will work.” The berries on this bush were a bit odd looking. The color of blueberries, but elongated and in the shape of teardrops. According to the System, they were called Wildsnap Berries. They packed a bit of a punch when you first bit into them, and they had a bit of an uncanny note of bitterness that was covered up by all the sweet.
All in all, they were a bit… much. But they could be eaten, weren’t poisonous, and I was fairly sure they’d make for a decent dye. Which is why I had a small pile of them, and other non poisonous berries back at the cave.
Rather than pick these, though, I uncoiled the delicate bits of twine I’d wrapped around my forearm. I’d never done this kind of thing before, so this was going to be a bit of trial and error. Still, I threw my gaze about for a good twig of the bush and began to tie one end of the string off, slowly looping it about. All in all, I designed the loop a bit like a noose, and in the middle was a small batch of the berries.
In a couple days, hopefully something would get stuck in my little trap, though I wasn’t sure how well it would hold.
“For now, quantity will have to make up for the lack of quality.” My words were a bit bitter, but now that I was sure that my snare would hold for now, I slowly began to move on. Doing my best to keep silent, my feet glided over the earth, careful to avoid any branches or twigs as I made my way around my cave.
Honestly, it sucked. I still didn’t have any clothes, and I probably wouldn’t for awhile.
I tried hard not to think about the fact it would be a miracle if I lived past a week.
Point is, this whole thing reaffirmed my vast dislike for the outdoors. The rocks and foliage beneath my feet dug into my soles, I was covered in scrapes from the branches and twigs as I passed by tree after tree, and it was wholly uncomfortable having my bit flopping about everywhere. Every time I swung around a new tree or giant rock, I felt myself tensing and preparing to block some kind of blow for my junk. To say nothing of all the goddamned bugs that were biting everywhere.
Worst of all, was this feeling of being completely out of my depth the longer I was out.
For now, I was ambling along on some half dredged up knowledge and barely educated guesses to survive. But everytime I stepped into the deep darkness of this forest, I felt it. Every verdant leaf, every spindly branch, the arms of the trees reaching up to the skies above like grasping bones blotting out the sun. Suns. Whatever. This place was dense and wild and in all the worst ways.
Because I knew I was very, very alone.
I remember, once. My history teacher had gone on about old myths and their relation to society and the things different myths can tell you about the people of a culture. And the thing was?
Every culture from Rome to China to Machu Picchu feared the Wild. Every step and every breath and every stuttering beat of my heart reminded me of that fact as I set up snare after snare after snare. No matter how far I went or how quiet I was, I could never shake off this feeling of wrongness. Not even the pop up notification that appeared after my fifth or so snare telling me I’d learned Trapmaking did anything to shake the sense of unease.
My only comfort was a lonely notification telling me Stealth had levelled, giving me just the tiniest bit more leeway.
Sunlight barely filtering down from the tree tops, I set up the last of my snares, grabbed a few more plants and roots, and then began to head back.
It was only when I stumbled along the soft, smooth earth of the ground around the stream that I realized why I’d felt so off. Why there’d been a palpable sense of tension for hours in the forest around me.
I hadn’t heard a single peep from the mountains and trees since I’d set out.
And there, right in the middle of the clearing, visible on both sides of the stream, were large tracks, dug deep into the ground. Clawed paws, like a cross between a wolf and a bear, large enough to speak to the size of whatever had made them. And, across the stream and away from my cave, was a path of carnage as trees were knocked completely over.
Something settled deep in my gut. Because alone as I was…
I wasn’t the only thing on this mountain.
Congratulations!
You’ve Gained Dangersense LV 1!