With enough of his folk wisdom consoling against stupid decision making, Zan stayed close to tree line. He kept himself away from the road but not so far away as to lose sight of it. Should any Expanse troops pass, his passage should be the least observable thing deserving of their intent.
While Zan searched for something edible, his headset gave him a never-ending stream of notifications. No magic, mana sickness, energy reserves depleted. Zan couldn't do anything but ignore the pop-ups. He had to search for the fruit. In his weary state, his mental processing slowed. He looked for the signs of edible growth. The colors, patterns, smell.
On the verge of losing himself again, Zan searched and searched. It felt like hours.
By the light of the gods, Zan search gave unto him one large 'papple' fruit.
Papple fruit grew on the bottom of certain trees, more as a fungus than fruit. Each papple was about the size of a small melon. Was red. Had thin skin and juicy flesh. Carefully picking one up, Papple wasn't Zan's favorite food, but it was common enough to his country he knew enough on how to eat it.
Normally, Zan would have enjoyed cooking if he a papple fruit. He could put it in a stew or curry. Especially spicy curry? Forget about it! Nothing was better than a papple fruit bathed in creamy hot curry sauce.
Pulling the fruit and bringing it to his lips, Zan obviously hadn't the time to cook this fruit. So, instead, he eat it raw.
Zan took huge bites out of the papple. Each bite came with a cascade of juice pouring down his face and chest. Although the fruity, fun-tasting fruit felt as mush in his mouth while in its raw state, Zan continued to eat it by the chunks. 'Moosh' or not, it tasted good. Though his face looked sticky and red by the end, Zan hoped people would mistake it for blood instead of juice.
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Finishing a whole fruit by himself down to the fleshy bits on its core, Zan now hoped to find a river or a pond or lake nearby to clean himself with. Checking with the Screen Master, neither Zan nor the Screen Master could find any such water source nearby.
Fine, Zan knew. It was only an idle thought. Getting clean.
Drying his wet and sticky hands and face on the grass -- poorly -- Zan crouched low and felt himself restored. Although papple fruits were fruits, they were high in protein and often were used as meat substitutes when the hunting party fared poorly. Zan did not know exactly how much protein was in that one fruit, but a whole fruit being eaten by a single person? That would be the equivalent of a single person eating an entire turkey.
Done with rolling on the grass like an animal, Zan then burped. And burped again!
Stil crouched, Zan felt leagues better than he had even an hour ago. With food and (some) rest inside him, Zan could again move his body without pain shooting through his limbs. "Simulacrum: can you mark on my HUD where my allies are?" Zan asked.
"Unfortunately, I cannot do that as I do not know where they are, Zan," the Screen Master said.
"Oh... I thought you would. I figured you observed where they went or whatever."
"I do have some limited 'eyes in the sky,' so to speak, but these eyes are only the echoes and pings from the command center. If our echoes cannot reverberate using the natural magics of the land, I do not know anything. Alas, when Colonel Winters and his men fled, they went in a direction contrary to high magical sedimentation. I am sorry."
Shet-on-a-crypt, Zan cussed. Guess I will have to find them myself. Yay...
"Alright. Can you at least mark where Colonel Winters went? I can trek it myself from there," Zan asked of the Screen Master.
"Of, course. Marking it now," the Screen Master replied, a new icon showing up within his HUD. And far away, too.
Keeping his spirit up, Zan didn't let the distance drag him down. I have an in-way, now. He spoke. My belly is full of fruit. I'm alive. I have a fighting chance. I can do this. I will stick to the shadows, keep myself apace of any automotrons. I will encounter Winters and Jiehong much sooner than my doomsday head has been saying.
With the darkness of an unfamiliar land ahead, Zan took a slow and deep breathing rhythm, and stepped forward.