Mark looked around his camp, considering his next steps. “I ate, but I could still eat more.” Could he try fishing, maybe? More water would also be helpful. It looked like another trip to the stream was in order. He walked in the direction of the stream. He continued to look for any items that he might find useful.
He picked up more leaves of various sizes along with fibers. He even found a long stick that he could use as a spear. He passed all the snare traps he had placed but found no activity. When he arrived at the stream, he took a long drink. He then stood there watching the water, looking for the fish he had seen before.
He then saw one dart from the shadow of one rock to another. Looking over the items he had gathered, he pulled out the long stick he had found. He pulled out a rough rock and started filing down the end of the stick. When he had a nice point on his stick, he walked over to the stream and slowly approached the area where he had seen the fish.
After watching the pattern of the fish, he lifted his homemade spear and slammed it into the water, pulling it back out. He looked at the end, and there was no fish. “I knew it wouldn’t be that easy.” Looking back at the water, he realized he had stirred up the mud on the bottom of the stream and now had to wait until it settled.
Being persistent, he tried this same process six more times and still had no fish. He knew he was not a hunter. But he had to give it a try. It was now time to figure out how to create a trap that would work in the water.
Mark again spent time watching the fish, their movements, and patterns. He realized they traveled through the same spots over and over again. If he could funnel them using rocks into a space he chose, he could trap them.
He picked up a large stone and put it in the stream, then another. He was forming a path towards a narrow point, something he could control. It led through a narrow gap with enough room for the water and fish to pass. He stacked more rocks, making a rough bowl so that the fish would go in and then not be able to swim out with the rocks in the way. He left enough space for the water to flow, but not enough for the fish to escape.
He then went and gathered some sticks, placing them around his bowl of rocks, making sure there were no spots to get out, and then placed sticks at the entrance so that the fish could flow through but would restrict the path back upstream.
He had a smile on his face as he reviewed his work. “If I were a fish,” he mumbled. “I’d get stuck there.” He then received a system message.
[New Craft Discovered: Primitive Fish Trap]
Effectiveness: Low
Passive: May catch small fish over time
◈ ◈ ◈
Mark stared at the message and then back at the trap. “Over time,” he repeated. Not instant. He let out a small breath. “That’s fine.” He now had a method to get food. He could let it come to him. He looked over the trap one more time. The current flowed through it unchanged, unbothered. But now it was controlled. “We’ll see if that works.” Turning away, he took one last look around and headed back to camp.
“Why do I keep forgetting water?” He glanced back toward the stream. Not enough. He needed to figure out a way to bring some back with him. On the walk back to the stream, he continued to check his traps. At the third one he passed, he realized it had been triggered, but nothing was there. He reset it and tightened it up some so that the next time it would work better.
Checking his fish trap, he was disappointed that there was no fish yet. “Over time,” he repeated. He crouched down and took another drink, cupping his hands and bringing the water to his mouth. It was cold and refreshing. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stared down at the stream. He reached down again with cupped hands, lifting water before letting it spill back into the stream.
That act of cupping the water gave him an idea. In his travels, he had found many leaves of different sizes. Some of them were pretty big. He pulled out one and dipped it in the water, cupping the edges in his hand. Standing up slowly, he watched as the water sloshed back and forth and eventually back into the stream. He pulled out more leaves and layered them over each other to form a cup, then tried lifting the water again.
Still, most of the water drained out. But it was improving. He reshaped the crude cup again. Well, maybe more of a bowl with tall walls. This time, he used rocks to prop up the sides. Pulling out some of the fiber string, he started to wrap the leaves with the string. He was tying and knotting it in a crossed pattern in an attempt to get it to hold together without using his hands to hold it.
Once done, he gently picked it up and put it into the stream. He slowly lifted it and held it. There was still a little water leaking out. After removing the water, he again fiddled with the string and swapped out a few of the leaves that were not working. Again, he dipped it into the water. Slowly, it came up. Better this time; almost no water leaked out. “That’s something.” Then he received a system message.
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[New Craft Discovered: Crude Water Pouch]
Mark let out a sigh of relief. With the discovery came new knowledge; next time he would make one even better. “Yeah, that works.” Carefully, he made his way back towards camp. Moving slowly to keep the water from spilling. By the time he reached his campsite, about a third of it had leaked out. But he still had some water. Not a lot, but enough.
After setting it down, he looked over the crude container. It wouldn’t carry much, but it meant fewer trips to the stream. Fewer chances to run into something he was not yet ready for. “Next step, make it better.”
Later, when he headed out again to check the traps and refill his water pouch, the first snare held a field mouse. He killed and looted it, collecting a tiny piece of meat and two low-quality scraps of hide before resetting the trap and continuing toward the stream. His next trap was different. It looked disturbed. His trap had been broken, but nothing had been caught. After rebuilding the trap, he looked around for signs of what had happened. He could see some tracks that were different from the mouse’s. Drag marks were leading away.
He hesitated. Should he follow the trail and see where it went? Mark finally decided he needed to figure it out and followed the drag marks behind the next tree. After following the trail for a bit, he found something he did not expect. It was a small bush, its leaves dotted with small dark berries.
“What do we have here?” Mark looked at the small bush and noticed that some of the berries looked to have bites out of them. He also found others on the ground smashed. Taking his time to look around, he found nothing. He bent down and picked up one of the berries and rolled it around in his hand.
He mashed the berry between his fingers and then smelled the juice on his fingers. “Smells good.” He looked around one more time and, finding nothing, picked another berry. “Food, maybe?” Was it safe or poisonous? He brought the berry to his mouth and took the smallest of bites that he could. He did not swallow, just waited. Nothing happened. After a few seconds, he swallowed. He waited a few more seconds before another system message appeared.
[Consumed: Wild Berry]
Status: Safe
◈ ◈ ◈
Mark let out a small breath. This would help a lot. Now he had meat and berries. Not the best meal plan, but it was a good start. Mark started picking handfuls of berries and added them to his inventory. Not all of them; he needed to make sure he did not kill off the plants, and the animals needed them too. But enough to last a few days.
He walked back to his trap and verified it was set correctly. He then resumed the trip to the stream. Checking his last trap along the way, he could see no changes. Mark approached the stream, looking for any signs of change there. Nothing was visible, so he approached his fish trap. From the shore, he could not see anything, so he slowly stepped into the water to examine it more closely.
There was nothing. Just as he started to turn, he froze. “No way.” Looking back into his trap, he saw movement. There was a fish in the trap. “I built something, and it worked.” He reached down and pulled out the fish. The fish thrashed and slipped from his hands. Fortunately, it landed back in the trap.
“Fine, we do this the hard way.” He pulled out his spear and stabbed at the fish. “Of course.” He missed the fish. Then one more quick thrust.
[Small River Fish — Level 1]
Defeated
◈ ◈ ◈
Mark received 1 raw fish and 1 fish bone. Satisfied, he checked over the trap to make sure it was still in good shape. Then he climbed out of the stream and looked around again. Satisfied that all was in order, he returned to his camp. He sat down next to the fire pit. He laid out his sticks and fire-starting materials.
Mark pulled out a long flat rock he had pulled out of the river and set it on the side of the fire to heat. He then pulled out his last razor meat and put it on his roasting stick. This time, he did not put the stick in too far and let it cook slowly, rotating it evenly. Looking at the rock, he decided it was warm enough and put his raw fish on it.
He watched the rabbit meat sizzle without burning this time. He pulled it back to him and looked it over. “Much better. Not burnt this time and actually cooked through.” He then noticed a new system message.
[Item Created: Cooked Razor Meat]
Watching his fish, he flipped it over as needed. He put the tiny piece of mouse meat on another stick and held it over the fire. Mark checked his fish, decided it was done, and pulled it out. He got another system message.
[Item Created: Cooked Fish]
[Skill Increased]
Cooking Level 2
New Capabilities:
Prepare meals more consistently.Better manage cooking temperatures.Reduce overcooking and undercooking.
◈ ◈ ◈
Mark then realized he was still cooking his mouse. Pulling it back, he looked it over carefully. He laughed despite himself. The tiny piece of meat had cooked much faster than the fish, and he had completely forgotten about it.
[Item Created: Poorly Cooked Tiny Meat]
Mark let out a sigh. “I upgraded my cooking skill and still burned my food.” He looked at the poorly cooked mouse and put it into his storage. Looking up at the sky, he saw that the sun had now set. He reached over and added a little more wood to the fire. Mark pulled out the food he had prepared and put it on a flat rock. Fish and razor meat. Looking at them for a minute, he then pulled out the berries and put them with the others.
Mark took a bite of the fish first. “Oh, that is good.” Mark continued eating, then he tried some berries, and then the razor meat. Looking around, he found his water pouch. He did not have much left, but enough for tonight. He sat watching his fire burn, reflecting on his day.
Finally, he decided it was time to go to sleep. Sitting down in his shelter, he looked toward the fire that was still burning. It made him feel safer. It helped with the cold. Not completely safe, but safer than before. He then received a system message.
[Item Created: Improved Shelter]
Mark looked back towards the fire and smiled. “Food is handled, water is handled, but I still have no way to fight from a distance.”