The mud pit was in a low-lying area, and some of the mist hung about, especially since I descended a bit the more I headed around the mess. I slowed down substantially, careful not to take a wrong step. Once again, I wished I could hover like the sled, or even fly. This would be so much easier. Nothing moved along the edge of the mud except for me, though the mist would hide anything small and quiet. For some reason, the mist got heavier and thicker the farther I traveled, which caused me to be on extra alert for anything moving nearby.

The sunlight had a hard time piercing the wet cloud, though it was cooler walking through it, while drops of water clutched to my cloak and hair. It took my slightly damp clothes to the next level of wetness. The more I walked through the mist, the wetter everything became.

The crystal hummed behind me, which was really frustrating. I didn’t think I was moving that slowly through the mud, but I must be moving slowly enough that the crystal was partially grounded. For some reason, it ticked me off, and I stomped ahead. I poked the ground with my spear and it was really wet. I angrily shook my head and moved more to the left, trying to not growl. My grip on the spear tightened, as I tried to not let it bother me. We were traveling slower than a snail, I couldn’t see much, and my clothing was getting wetter. The cloak couldn’t block the mist.

Then my foot slipped out from under me.

My hand let go of the rope, which I had been dragging behind me. My feet went flying forward, and I slid faster down in the mud. Then I felt air beneath me.

I landed a few feet lower, my spear still clenched in my fist as all the air was knocked out of me.

It hadn’t been the crystal humming. The mist had been hiding a bend in the river. That was why I needed to go to the right, not the left.

Damn.

I stared up at the mist, cursing inside my head for getting so frustrated and distracted. My stomach rumbled, adding another layer to my problems. My optimism of only an hour earlier was gone, but at least the hunger explained the irrational anger. I hadn’t eaten since the sweet and smoky Avian heart. That was my bad, I needed to eat after each fight since fighting used up energy. I needed to calm down, and figure out what had happened.

First, I waited for the pain along my back to dissipate, though I was glad I had landed in mud and not on the rocks sitting along the riverbank. I stared up at the sky, wondering about my luck. The mist blocked my view of the sun and clouds, but that made sense since I was lower than everything else around me.

The rainwater must have caused this bank to cave in, which also made sense the more I thought about it. It had poured the night before. I carefully got to my feet, making sure I wasn’t injured. More importantly, I made sure my spear was okay, and the inventory crystal under my shirt was fine. Mud completely covered my backside, along with my boots, and the cloak had ripped off and was sitting halfway up the bank of mud. The bank itself had a slight overhang, except in this one section. Here, it was a dirty, muddy slope. Overall, it was maybe one and a half times taller than me, but with nothing at the top to grab onto and nothing on the slope itself to grip for climbing.

I ate a few bites of the cut up bird I’d saved. It helped calm me down and clear my thoughts. I eyed the water’s edge, but at least I had a few feet between it and me. The loud sound of it in the background was worrisome. The closer you got to water, the bigger the teeth were, that was a rule. I had to get out of here, even if I needed to backtrack the other way around the mud pit. This stretch of the river was wider with the bend, and it looked deep enough that I’d need to swim across if I headed in that direction. Farther upriver, the water itself looked much deeper, but less wide. It’d still require lots of swimming.

I couldn’t go down along the river, as the rocky area I stood on was taken over by water after only a few meters. There wasn’t a bank to keep walking on. To the other side of me, heading upriver, there was a sliver of dirt, stones, and an edge that I couldn’t see past. There was what looked like a small boulder that I’d need to climb around if I went that way.

Silently, I let out my breath and turned to stare at the bank I had fallen down. Turning my back to the river was dangerous, but I had to climb back up there, fast. My cloak was within reach, and I pulled it down, mud flowing in its wake. My fast movement caused most of it to splash at my feet instead of all over me, at least. The cloak was caked in the stuff, though, and I shoved it into my inventory stone. Unless I cleaned some of it off or let it dry, it would only weigh me down at this point.

I paused, scraping mud off my boots, which were coated in the thick stuff. I didn’t dare stick them into the water, and instead used a branch I found on the rocks to clean them as best I could.

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After looking at my other options, the slope of the bank didn’t seem so steep, and I tried to head directly up it. Within five steps, however, my feet were sinking into the mud and I started to slide backward. At that point, I tried moving faster, using my spear as a walking stick, but the mud was hard to get my feet out of. It didn’t want to let me go. My stomach growled again as I arrived back at the bottom, my situation not improved. Taking a moment, I fished out the rest of the bird. I had a few ration bars left in the backpack, but I ignored them. The eggs I wanted to save, but if needed I’d eat them raw. That insight into Iron Stomach might come in handy sooner rather than later.

The meat hadn’t been enough to fill me up, and I worried about food. Instead, I sipped on water from my canteen, using it to fill my empty belly.

Too many problems crowded inside my head.

First, the bank, because at least something was in my stomach at this point.

“You got yourself in a pickle,” said Noseen.

“Just a little.”

“Too bad you can’t fly.”

I rolled my eyes at the comment, and moved to try the bank again. It was the whole reason I’d gone after that bird, but I guess I wasn’t so lucky.

This time, I tried closer to the edge instead of directly up the middle. I made it farther up the bank before the mud behind me started to move toward the river. I got far enough to see the crystal and hear it hum over the rushing river behind me. I almost chuckled as I slid backward. The crystal was grounding on the sled and should be safe where it was at. Nothing should get close to it. Too bad I couldn’t say the same for me.

I was the one in trouble.

"You need a movement skill, besides Tree Climbing," added Noseen.

I paused for a second before I tried again. "A movement skill?"

"I have flying, because of my race, but that doesn't mean you can’t develop or evolve tree climbing into something better that works in different situations."

This was the most Noseen had explained to me about the system, but honestly, I couldn't see how it would help right now. If I could move faster up the mud, I might make it, but part of me was a little worried about knocking the sled with the crystal down here. Still, the idea that I could develop or evolve my skills was something I needed to keep in mind. Tree Climbing was only useful in the jungle, like Noseen had said.

This time, I tried the other side of the muddy slope and shortened my spear into a knife. Every time I moved, I stabbed it into the ground and heated it up, hardening the mud to a crisp around the blade. It almost worked. I made it up over halfway and scrambled for anything to grab onto at the top, but my feet couldn’t gain traction and the mud won again. This time, I slid down on my stomach, covering the rest of myself in gunk.

At the bottom, I wiped as much off of me as possible. The sun was getting hotter, and even the mist this low was burning off. The mud on my back had started to harden, and dry. I stretched in a few different directions, flaking dried mud off with every movement. My stomach growled again, and I tried to figure a way out of this without waiting for the mud of the bank to dry. Once the sun started to heat it, the surface should crust up, and that might help. Yet, I had no idea how long it would take, and I’d already lost a lot of time.

The day was flying by, and the longer I stayed near the river, the more likely something would show up and would try to eat me. I didn’t want to ask for help, but I needed some input. “Any thoughts, Noseen?”

“Going up the bank isn’t working…” I could almost hear the dumbass at the end of the comment, though he didn’t say it.

Instead, I turned to look at the pathway along the edge of the river to the north. It was narrow, and I could only see so far because of the boulder that blocked my view. Hopefully, it didn’t end in the river, though I could check it out, and if it did, head back here. Maybe by then the mud would have gotten dryer.

The only problem was, I needed to find my way back to the crystal, no matter what. I couldn’t afford to lose it out here, it was the whole reason I was out here to begin with. Still, if I followed the riverbank, it should be fine. I could backtrack along the same bank, and I should find the crystal.

Shaking my head, I walked along the edge of the river, keeping as far away from the water as possible. Given where the sun was, and the higher riverbank, I at least wasn’t casting a shadow into the water. The muddy surface wasn’t super thick, and a layer of round pebbles made it so I didn’t sink. It didn’t take long for me to make it to the boulder, and I peeked out from the edge of it, trying to see the next stretch of riverbank.

Thankfully, the muddy pebble edge continued on the other side. There was a little gap at the very edge of the boulder, but I should easily be able to get past it. I swallowed hard, then went for it. I kept as close to the boulder as I could, pressing against it as I lifted my foot over the gap and to the other side.

The other side had a larger beach area, with more rock than mud. It stretched several yards into the distance. Up around the next curve, in the distance, a tree had fallen into the water, and several large vines hung down over the rocks. It looked promising as a way to climb up the tall bank and finally get out of this trap I’d literally fallen into. Between it and me was this huge riverbank, and a cloud of flying bugs. The distance didn’t bother me, but the cloud of bugs could be a problem.

“Are those mosquitos?” I asked.