Mark woke in the larger A-frame pleased that camp felt less temporary. That morning he began rebuilding the fire pit, lowering and widening it so it would hold heat and cooking coals more effectively.
After several trips for stone, Ava woke and fed Bramble. Then Cora entered camp looking shaken.
Walking over to Mark, Cora said, “Something is happening near the cave.”
Mark had almost forgotten about the cave; it was next to the waterfall on the other side of the stream from them at the northwest corner of the zone map he had. “Something? What does that mean?”
Cora said, “I found tracks that were like nothing I had seen before. They look like they came from the cave and headed south on the other side of the stream.” She paused for a moment, hesitating. “I think we should go together and check it out.” This was the most Cora had said since they had met her. She had never asked for help before; this must be something she thinks is serious.
Mark said, “Okay, let me get my weapons, and we can go investigate.”
Ava stood up and said, “I’m coming too.”
Mark said, “Alright, you can come, but you and Bramble will need to stay back till we figure out what it is.”
The three of them left camp following Cora. She went slow enough that Mark and Ava could keep up. Cora led them up the east side of the stream until they got to the pond at the bottom of the waterfall.
Cora then led them across the stream and stopped a few hundred feet from the cave. “Around here is where I saw the tracks. I have a funny feeling about the cave, so I won’t go any closer.”
Mark started looking around using the skills he had learned. He examined the ground. It did not take him long to find what Cora had seen. Indeed there were tracks. They did not look like any animal tracks he had seen before. He bent down and touched the ground. It looked like something had passed through, dragging along the ground. Maybe even trying to hide its tracks. He could see some trace of plant matter. The trail gave Mark a strange feeling that he could not explain. Bramble went over and started rooting around and sniffing the ground where Mark was looking. Bramble let out a low growl and ran back behind Ava’s legs.
Mark said, “Looks like Bramble does not like what he can smell. It looks like it headed south. I am going to follow it.” As Mark headed south, Ava and Cora followed along. It had headed south a couple hundred yards and then veered into the woods. They followed the trail for a while, not seeing anything else other than the odd tracks.
Mark started to notice that the sounds of the forest were starting to go quiet, like something had spooked the animals. He had just rounded a tree when he finally saw something in the distance. He tried to identify what it was, and a system message appeared.
[New Creature Type Discovered]
Classification: Unknown
◈ ◈ ◈
Mark suddenly stopped and hid behind the tree he had just passed. He was quiet enough that whatever it was did not see him. He was about to whisper to the girls what he had seen when Bramble came around and, seeing the creature, started to growl.
Ava said, “He is feeling scared.” Before Ava could get him back behind the tree, the creature stopped and turned toward them.
Mark said, “Well, so much for just investigating. Whatever that is, it is heading toward us.” The creature was strange-looking. It came up to about waist height on Mark. It had tentacles or arms, maybe more like vines moving side to side as it dragged toward him. A system message finally appeared.
[Rootling — Level 3]
Mark said, “Okay, definitely not an animal.”
It was still moving towards them. They started to back up, but it was slowly gaining on them. Mark finally decided he would attack it. Pulling out his bow, he let three arrows fly toward it. It shook each time the arrow hit, but it did not seem to faze it. And it was gaining ground. Mark put his bow away and pulled out his spear. When it got within arm’s length, he stabbed at it with the spear. Like the bow, it was not doing much.
He finally saw a chunk of the rootling tear away with one of his better stabs. Realizing that his current tactics were not working, he swapped his spear for his axe. This weapon was more effective. As he hacked at it, the thing started to scream, if that was even the right word for it. It had stopped moving forward now and was trying to move away.
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At this point, Bramble joined the fight and came over and started to pull and rip off some of the roots near the bottom. Seeing Bramble join in, Cora came in to help using her spear. The rootling finally died, and they received a system message letting them know it was dead. They all just sat there looking at the dead rootling on the ground. The thing didn’t look like anything that should have been alive. Mark finally spoke. “Well, that changes things.”
[Rootling — Level 3]
Defeated
◈ ◈ ◈
The body did not vanish until all three of them had looted it.
“We should get back to camp,” Mark said. “It looks like securing our base just got more important. We need to prepare for whatever else might come out of that cave.”
The walk back to camp was quiet, each of them turning over what they had seen and what they had just fought. Ava stayed close to Mark, constantly looking behind her. Even Bramble was subdued, walking slowly right next to Ava.
“That wasn’t an animal,” Mark said, still looking back toward the trees. “And if more of those come out of the cave, the traps I’ve been using aren’t going to stop them.”
Cora replied, “That is the first non-animal I have seen so far. Its tracks clearly show it came from the cave.”
Mark said, “That means that there will most likely be more in the future. My plan to reinforce camp is now my priority. Cora, we have room for you here if you would like me to build a shelter for you.”
Cora said, “I will think about it. For now I am going to go out and make sure there are not any more in the forest.” With that, Cora turned around and headed back into the forest.
Mark said, “Ava, when you are out checking traps, make sure to watch your surroundings. Our traps will not work for those, and I want you to be safe.”
Ava said, “Yes, Mark, I will be careful. Bramble was able to sense those things and track their scent, so he will help me stay safe.”
Mark said, “Ok, I plan to work on camp for a while. If you’re willing to help, you can help move things around. I am going to start by expanding the edges of camp, which means I will need to cut down a few trees and cut out a bunch of bushes and underbrush. That way I can put up some alarm traps that will give us time to react if something comes near camp.”
Ava said, “Maybe later. I am tired after that walk.”
Mark cleared trees and underbrush around camp, using the material to form rough barriers between the remaining trees. He left two controlled entrances and placed noise traps anywhere something might still slip through.
Ava finally came over and said, “Bramble and I are going to go check the traps west of camp. And yeah, I know, be careful.”
Mark chuckled as she left camp. She was handling this new threat better than he was, or at least she wasn’t letting it slow her down the way it had slowed him. The last thing he needed was to make gates/traps for the two exits, but he would wait till later so he could show Ava how to disarm and open and close them. He walked the perimeter one more time, checking each section as he went and mentally noting where something might still slip through.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than what they had this morning. When satisfied, he sat down in his chair at the crafting table and fiddled with some of the items in the craft box, turning over what he had and what he still needed, trying to figure out what would actually make a difference if something like that came again. A short while later, Cora came back toward camp. She always just appeared between trees in the past; this time she stopped behind his makeshift barrier.
Cora said, “What’s all this stuff for?”
Mark said, “That is a barrier to make it harder for something, or someone, to wander into camp.”
Cora said, “This is not going to stop anything.” She then started to try to climb past the obstacles. About halfway through, one of the alarm traps went off. “What’s all the noise for?”
Mark said, “That is an alarm trap that you tripped. It won’t stop something, but we will hear it with enough time to prepare.”
Cora said, “Well, I can see a few places I could get through without making noise.”
Cora identified several quiet routes through the barrier, and Mark reinforced each one. Ava returned through the gate with Bramble after finishing the trap run.
Cora said, “Great job. You’re getting pretty good at doing that. I watched you clear a few of the traps, and you do it really well.”
Ava said, “What, are you spying on me?”
Cora said, “No, I just saw you while I was passing through, looking to see if there was anything else we needed to worry about.”
While both of them were there, Mark built the two entry/exit gates and showed them both how to set and disarm the traps. Mark turned to Cora and said, “Would you like me to build you a shelter?”
Cora said, “You can build me one, but I am not sure if I will use it, but it could not hurt to have one ready if I needed it.” When she was done speaking, Cora walked over to the gate and quickly disarmed it and went through, arming it as she left. Mark laughed at how she still came and went, not yet fully part of the group.
Mark said, “Ava, I am going to go out and gather items to make Cora a shelter before it gets dark. Can you cook us some dinner?”
As he left, he heard her say, “I guess if I have to.”
Mark went through the forest and gathered all the materials to make Cora’s shelter. When he returned, he ate dinner, and then he and Ava built the shelter for Cora. After the shelter was finished, he walked again around the camp. The area was bigger now, and there was room to grow. That morning, there had been only two shelters in camp. He looked at Cora’s shelter with satisfaction. He wondered how long it would be before she used it. He finally sat down next to the fire, and bringing up his status, he went over it. Mark knew he was close to another level. Tomorrow he planned to clear the stronger eastern traps and expand farther north. The camp was better now, safer and more secure than it had been that morning, but he knew it still wasn’t enough.