Day 20

I woke up later than usual, the sun was already high above the treeline, and I was feeling tired like I hadn't gotten enough sleep. My dream hadn't been memorable, and my meditation mindscape hadn't changed. Sitting up, my back cracked, I slowly got up, putting some meat on the fire, and chewing some jerky. I needed a drink of water, not just absorbing it, I was getting tired of not drinking something, it felt weird, I was hydrated, but not satisfied, like that feeling of taking a nice cold sip of ice water, I missed that feeling. I took a small sip of the water from my mug, and it was still as gross as before, and I added need to make a way to purify water to my list of things I had to do or make.

Speaking of that list I looked at my spear fence, undisturbed, and standing tall. I walked over to my pile of logs, and started to notch more for the cabin thing I wanted to make, waiting for the meat to cook was going to take a bit. I worked for an hour, then gobbled down the cooked meat, and buried another brick of it under the fire, then built it back up to last a while, before starting into the forest to examine my trap and the hole in the clearing.

I got to the clearing first and checked the spear I had left, surprised, and a little worried, it had been broken in half, coming out of the hole. So, something had come out, and rather violently too. I didn't see any tracks though, so it was light on its feet, or I was a shitty tracker, maybe both. I placed another spear in the hole, and continued on my way, hoping that it wouldn't be broken going in when I got back. Continuing on my way, I looked around the trees, hoping to see marks other than mine, and there was a ton, but I think they had been there before, I just hadn't been looking, and they all looked old anyway.

It took me a bit, but I eventually got to the trap, and it had been tripped, the leaves and sticks had all been scattered, and there was fresh green blood on the spikes, and an actual trail I could follow leading away. I started to jog, following the trail, still marking the trees I passed, I didn't want to catch some beast, only to be lost and have to start a new camp with even less stuff. I took a while to get to find it, following its tracks hadn't been easy, but I guess it either hadn't been as hurt as I thought of, it was panicked and running fast, and finally slowed down.

It was a medium-sized creature, it was lying down, resting it looked like, there wasn't much blood on the ground at this point, just the occasional drops or splashes. It looked weird, it had a bunch of growths on its back that looked like stocks of something growing out of it. It had six legs and was laying on its stomach, legs splayed out, looking like the stereotypical bear carpet. Its head reminded me of a cow, and it had no tail. Its eyes were looking at me, or at least its head was turned towards me, with no visible eyes. I stopped when it turned to me, startled, I thought I had been walking quietly, and didn't think it would hear me.

I was standing still, and it turned away from me, slowly getting up, and started to walk away, its feet hitting the ground in a way that was almost mesmerizing, it had a weird beat to it. I shook my head and realized that the cow bear had walked a good ways from me, I had lost focus and hadn't realized what happened, I hummed the six-note beat to myself, trying to get the pattern right, it felt like it was slipping form me every time I almost got it. I turned away and started to walk back the way I came, not wanting to chase after something that could confuse me just by walking.

I eventually reached the spike pit I had made and decided that if I wanted to catch something, it would have to be deeper. I cleared out the spikes and started trying to dig deeper, but I only hit a root, a thick carpet of the root. I walked away from the pit and started digging again. It was the same there too, roots about a foot deep. Frustrated, I grabbed my ax and tried to chop away the roots, and it kind of worked. Beneath the roots, I cut through, was more roots. It seemed like it was roots all the way down. I was confused, the roots were interconnected, making a thick weave, layers deep like it was one big organism.

I walked over to the tree I had marked, and pressed the Manaphage to the cut, working it in, making as much contact as possible, and tried to absorb the tree. Instantly, I pulled away, choking and coughing, I had the feeling of all the air in my lungs being sucked out at once, and I had been drained of all my energy. I had to sit down, and take a break, what the hell had happened. Was it because it had such a big life force, or because its a plant, it scared me, and I didn't want to try it again for a while. Looking down I realized the Manaphage had almost gone out, only a dim light was glowing in it now.

I got up after another 30 minutes of sitting, the sun was already on the decline, and I had to get back. It took a while, but I got back when the light was dimming and grabbed some more jerky to chew on. I had been able to absorb some snow on my way back, and when I passed the clearing and hole, they were undisturbed, the spear intact. I ate some roasted meat mechanically, thinking about what had happened with the cow-bear, and with the tree. Curious, I started digging at the ground near my campsite and found I could dig deeper here, about three feet before hitting solid rock or roots.

I went to bed humming and tapping my fingers to that odd tune, hoping that if I got it, I would be able to use it. Eventually, I started meditating, then fell asleep.