Soul Caller 1 - Chapter 5 (Patreon)

Merrick wanted to go home, and as he sat in the small shelter he had cobbled together, he was faced with a reality that had never needed to acknowledge before. He loved exploring, but even when he was forced to spend a few nights out in the wilderness, it was always with the clear expectation of being able to return home. That was not the case, currently. The high walls of the basin made it impossible for him to know if he would ever get out, and that reality caused his heart to ache.

“No, I’m going to get out of here.”

His voice was small in the big empty night, but it still encouraged him, causing a firm resolve to rise in his chest. He would escape from this basin. But first, he needed to find some food. Now that his shelter was secured, and he had a clean, sustainable water source, the next step was fueling his body so that when the time came to leave the basin, he was strong enough to actually do it. Making a plan in his head, he decided to spend the morning hunting after he had checked his trap. Once he had completed that, he would then spend the afternoon exploring the area around his small shelter, and making sure there were no major threats.

Taking up a heavy stick that he had found that could act as a club, Merrick set off into the forest, his feet barely making a sound as he walked through the tall trees. There was little underbrush in this forest, except around the lake itself, and the trees were all large and thick, speaking to their age. Unlike many of the young forests up on the mountains, this forest seemed old. Ancient, even. The morning light streamed through the thick leaves, occasionally sending a stray beam down to the forest floor, but for the most part, it was dark and cool. But Merrick didn't mind. His eyes, ears, and nose seemed especially attuned to everything around him, taking in the sights and sounds and rapidly transforming them into detailed information. He picked up a trail used by the animals when they went to the lake to drink, and as he walked along it, his eyes swept the ground for prints that might indicate worthy prey.

Eventually, he found what he was looking for in the half-formed print of a deer. Crouching, he examined it carefully, pressing a finger against the edge of it to check how fresh it was. As he did, one of the windows he had been seeing popped up, and he blinked in surprise.

Tracking Skill Locked.

He had very little idea what these words meant, especially since he could see that the deer print was from the night before, and so with a shrug, he pushed the window aside mentally and stood up to continue on his way. After following the path for about ten minutes, he found a spot for the trap he was planning on putting up. There was a tree growing nearby that had a low hanging branch that stretched across the narrow path, overhanging it. It was here that he would set his trap. His goal was a simple snare that could be built from the things around him as he had no tools at his disposal. He had built traps like this in the forests around the village with his friends often enough, so he at least knew the basic method. Gathering some sticks and a large stone, he set up a deadfall using the thick branch that arced over the top of the path. Animals would have to duck down underneath it if they wanted to get to the lake, and when they did, they would bring the heavy rock crashing down on them.

By setting it up here, he hoped that he would be able to increase the likelihood of catching something. Once the deadfall was set up, he retreated, knowing that his presence was likely keeping the animals away. As he moved through the forest, he did his best to scrounge for things to eat, looking for berries or other plants that might have roots that were edible. Though there was little in the forest itself that he found, he did find some simple dandelions along the edge of the lake. Digging them out, he chewed the bitter roots, frowning as his taste buds rebelled. Still, they were edible, and filled his stomach better than the air did. Washing down the plants that he ate with some of the cold water from the lake, he made sure that he had plenty of wood stacked next to his fire and got ready for another night.

This time, he turned in early, trying to get as much sleep as he could and trusting in his fire to keep him safe. Early in the morning, he awoke suddenly, his pulse pounding as he heard the sound of an animal coming to the water. For a moment, he lay absolutely still, his eyes staring up at the dark sticks in the roof of his shelter. The fire had been reduced to nothing but coals, but he didn't want to move for fear of attracting attention. Hearing a heavy sniffing sound, the fear in his heart grew. It was a bear. Again, he had no real clear idea of how he knew that information. Something in the heavy sniffs and the shuffle of its feet sent this information directly into his head so clearly that he felt as if closing his eyes, he could picture it.

For nearly ten minutes, the bear continued to shuffle around outside his shelter, curious about what it might find inside. Eventually, however, it seemed to lose interest and lumbered away, soon vanishing deep into the forest. His heart sounding like a drum as the adrenaline from the close call surged, Merrick quickly got up, staying as quiet as he could, and began to feed the fire until it was a bright and cheerful blaze once again. First wolves, and now bears, Merrick felt more desperately than ever his need for safety. That meant finding weapons and securing a way out of the basin. Even with his new powers as a warrior, Merrick had no desire to go up against a bear, especially without weapons.

Crouching next to his fire, Merrick remained there, listening warily until morning when the sun's rays finally dawned over the horizon, painting the sky a pleasant orange. Merrick couldn't stand it any longer. His stomach had been growling for days, and he felt like he had forgotten what it was like to eat. Even though the forest was still dark, he picked up his stick and went hunting, first checking the deadfall trap, as he feared it was empty. Though it had been triggered, it looked like a large beast had come through, knocking it over. Paying careful attention to the tracks, it didn't take Merrick long to realize that it had been the bear on its way through to the lake the night before that had upset it. Sighing at his bad luck, he reset the trap and began to hunt for other places to set more.

Trapping was a numbers game, and the more traps he set up, the more likely it was that one would actually trigger, catching something for him to eat. The problem was, he didn't even have any tools with which to process them, so any animal he did catch was going to be a messy endeavor. Undeterred, he set four more traps while hunting for berries and tubers in the ground along the forest floor. Despite his hunger, he continued to proceed cautiously, paying careful attention to the signs around him, not wanting to get surprised by another predator. It was clear that this basin was full of wildlife, and after some thought, he headed further into the forest.

Both the wolf and the bear that he had seen had been well-fed, which meant that the basin should be teeming with animals. Soon enough, he came upon fresh tracks of what looked like a young wild pig. The thought made him salivate, but along with it came a deep caution. Wild boars were no joke and their sharp tusks made them incredibly dangerous. Frankly, he didn't feel up to handling one in his current weakened state. So instead, he turned and began to move in a wide arc, tracing a path in a large circle using his shelter as the center point. His hope was to explore more of the forest, getting to know this place he would be calling home for at least the next few weeks a little bit better.

Along the way, he heard a rustle in the underbrush and spotted a group of rabbits. Excited, his heart began pounding, but he did his best to still it, staying absolutely motionless as he observed them from behind a tree. He had approached from downwind so they had not yet caught scent of him but he knew that any sudden movement would send them scurrying for cover in their burrows where he couldn't reach them. Rehearsing his move in his mind, Merrick thought carefully about what he was about to do. He would lift his arm, he would throw his stick point first like a javelin, hoping to stun one of the rabbits long enough that he could get to it.

As he rehearsed this in his mind, he suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if his body knew how to do exactly what he wanted. This sensation nearly made him gasp, but at the last second, he kept himself under control, not wanting to startle his prey. Ever so slowly, he lifted his arm, holding it, raising his staff until it was perpendicular to his body. Drawing back his arm, he was about to throw it when one of the rabbits suddenly looked in his direction. Instantly, he knew it was now or never, and with a yell, hoping to freeze the rabbits in their tracks, he hurled his makeshift spear.

The motion came naturally and strangely smoothly, considering how few times he had practiced it before, and the staff shot out, slamming squarely into the side of a rabbit and sending it tumbling. As soon as he saw the contorted body hitting the ground, he knew that it was dead, and rushing over, tried to pounce on one of the other rabbits while they were frozen in fear. The little creatures were too fast for him, however, scampering off into the underbrush before he could get his hands on them. Still, one rabbit was plenty, and he couldn't help but feel the thrill of excitement.

[Ding! One experience point.]

Bemused, he stared at the window that had appeared in his vision. Experience point? He didn't know what this was, and yet at the same time, it felt intimately familiar. The flash of excitement that he had felt in successfully hunting the rabbit was replaced by a thrill as a faint trickle of energy filled his body. This was unusual. He had never heard any of the warriors speak of anything like this. Puzzled by the strange sensation, he bowed to the dead rabbit, murmuring his thanks to the spirits and then picked up the rabbit's body, took up his staff, and carefully made his way back to the lakeside where his shelter was. Before he approached it, he spent a few minutes scanning the area, making sure that there were no creatures, no predators, lying in wait. Once he was sure that the area was clear, he returned to his fire and sat down, still trying to puzzle out what this experience was. After a moment, he thought to bring up his status, and to his surprise, that single point was recorded.

STATUS

NAME:  Merrick

SOUL PATH: Warrior

LEVEL: 0

EXP: 1/10

SKILLS: [1]

Warrior’s Observation [1]

Still, he had no idea what it meant. Shaking his head, he closed the window and focused on what was more important, the rabbit. He had no knife to skin it, but that did not deter him. He had started charring a few sticks earlier and now removed one of them from the fire and scraped its end into a sharp point using a stone he had picked up from beside the lake. What he created was a crude device, but it would work until he could find something better. Taking the sharpened stick and the rabbit's corpse, he went down to the lakeside where he punctured the rabbit's skin, letting it bleed. While its blood dripped out into the water, he continued to sharpen the stick on nearby stones, waiting until the rabbit had been bled fully.

After that, he took it down and began to score its skin, running the sharpened point of the stick over it again and again, not caring about the mess that he was making. It took some time for the dull stick to tear through the rabbit's skin, and it was messy business, but he was too excited to get the meat inside to care. Once he had prepped the rabbit, removing its skin as best he was able, he threw the scraps into the lake,  washed the blood from his hands and makeshift wooden knife, and returned to his camp with his spoils. Skewering the rabbit on a stick, he held it over the fire, waiting as patiently as he could until the meat began to turn a golden brown. The smell was incredible, and too impatient to wait for it to cool after the meat was done, he wolfed it down, getting a few bones in his throat in the process, his stomach gurgling as the greasy meat hit it.

He knew that he shouldn't eat so much, and that eating after such a long time could cause him more stomach pain, but he simply didn't care. In what felt like a few bites, the rabbit was gone, and though it felt like his stomach was still empty, the edge had been taken from his hunger, improving his mood considerably. Cleaning up to make sure that he wasn't going to attract animals to his camp, Merrick sat and looked over the lake until the night came, watching as the birds came out to hunt for bugs. He had much to do if he was going to survive in this place, and the ever-present threat of predators was gnawing at the back of his mind. But right now, what he needed to do was be patient. He could remember his brother-in-law telling him that patience was the key to survival. Action was necessary, but patience was everything. And so he resolved to be patient, to let his traps do the work, and turned in for the night.