[IC] The Twenty-Fifth Hour

[Typical]

I pocket the necklace, for perhaps it may be useful down the line. And, after a final check for any more overlooked objects, I head further inland. Along the way, I ponder about the text and its inscrutability.

[The Harbinger of Ferocity]

@DocRock @Pyromaniacwolf

---

Chapter I

"Reaching down to clutch the necklace, you feel its warm metal settle in your palm whilst shaking the sandy grit of the beachhead from between your fingers. Pawing it over, you admire its humble, simple beauty that seems to reflect back much of this would-be paradise to you, although it calls to mind the unpleasant concerns that harry your thoughts, namely thirst. But for now, the serene moment of looking at the glistening silver gives you some semblance of hope, plucked from wherever this unlikely trinket had come from, and a much needed object of light in a dark scenario. Putting it away in a pocket for the time being, you pluck along the area you believe you found the sack and these items the night before, only to see that nothing of seeming value in the moment had washed ashore. With a heavy heart, no matter how elevated after another fortuitous find, your boots lead you inland."

"Along the way, you begin to muse on the apocrypha and cryptic words the pale book you now possess contains. The more you mull it over, the more uncanny sense it makes, in that it is some amount philosophical wanderings - the type of babble one would have in a daydream - melded with spiritual and religious appeal. Even merely browsing the pages of whimsy and fantasy, you try to hold yourself back from the idea that it is all just incoherent, even encrypted writing, entertaining the thought that with added study, it might just reveal more than fever dream ramblings by a holyman. However, as you part through some of the undergrowth and sparse trees further inland, you can feel the air getting thicker with humidity."

[The Harbinger of Ferocity]

@DocRock @Pyromaniacwolf @Dusksong

---

Chapter I

"Nearly snagging a boot on one of the roots that had erupted from the ground, you pause and listen. The strange ambient silence is broken only by the sound of trickling water. Orienting yourself toward it, you begin to pursue the noise in the hopes it really is as it appears, something to quench your dry thirst and your parched lips. Much to your joy, you find that it is no auditory hallucination, no mirage in the desert of the mind, but that there is indeed some amount of water. The thicker plant life and humidity in the air was an indication, as was the deeper you pressed inland toward the upstart of this hill."

"Now, with fingers trembling, you begin to think about your situation carefully. Dangers might lie awaiting near water or they might well not at all. To think of it, not a single animal have you seen thus far, but does that truly mean it is safe? Uncertain of this and still desperately thirsty, you hang precariously in the balance of many decisions on how to approach this situation. The anxiety making you rub the spine of the book."

[Pyromaniacwolf]

I shall begin to approach the area from which I can hear the sound of water. As I approach I will take care to watch for any potential predatory animals ...or humans.

[The Harbinger of Ferocity]

@DocRock @Dusksong

---

Chapter I

"Much to your fortune, the caution is found to be unneeded for now, as your careful presence only seems to disturb the plants and nothing more. Pushing some of their thick, broad, green leaves aside, you meander around the exposed stone and the trickle of water running over its surface only to discover the spring it is sourced from in this pool must be further up. With further attentiveness, you navigate the thicket and climb atop a few of the rough, dark stones; your palms grasping at their abrasive surface and clinging to them with desperate need for your thirst to be quenched. As of yet the worst of the day's heat has not fallen upon your sorry soul but that will not last and this water is a must."

"So it becomes evident when you reach the fountain before you, a bowl of stone with water bubbling up from the center and sending it spilling down small channels, that your prayers have likely been answered. This little oasis among a green desert offering the first true reprieve you have had in your odd adventure. Thankful for this opportunity, you fall to your knees for the time being and survey your prize."

[Typical]

@The Harbinger of Ferocity I look to see whether there is anything in the body of water—algae, small creatures, or otherwise. If there is nothing else taking advantage of the oasis, there may be something wrong with it. I also take note of where the water seems to be coming from and whether I have anything on me that can carry water.

[The Harbinger of Ferocity]

@DocRock @Pyromaniacwolf

---

Chapter I

"The small fount of water bubbling up from the stones appears as clean as it could come for a wild source. Here there is no green hue to its flow, no animal life at that swimming or skimming it over, and the plants unable to claim the rocky surface. As it comes, this appears most fortuitous, as the water is reasonably none more safe unless one were to boil it. Again, the pain of the isolation concerns you, for not a single wilder thing of the faunal realm has appeared the entire time you have been on this island; several hours now since you awoke in the dark, on and up to dawn in this moment. The lack of any animal, be it winged or legged, is concerning and that worry prevails further as you stalk around the bubbling pool, assessing it."

"From what it is that can be noted, there is no way to capture the water for the time being in any conventional sense that you possess. Not your book or ring will be of any measured use here although you suspect you could invent alternate methods of transporting some water for later drinking if you were exceptionally clever. Despite this, it is becoming more difficult to resist the need to drink, as your mind - what is left of it is that is - tugs you toward its thirsting need."

[DocRock]

I consider the thought of waterproofing my bag, or something to carry water with, but even so, my body draws me closer, and I thusly kneel. I set my belongings down beside me, and I lower my hands, cupping some water from the spring, lifting my hands to sip, still somewhat alert.

[The Harbinger of Ferocity]

@Dusksong @Pyromaniacwolf

---

Chapter I

"Conceding to the call of fresh water, there is an eagerness and excitement in you that is hard to contain as you kneel beside it. The fount, streaming up from the stones and bubbling up, almost welcomes you with the crystal clear, cool flow it rises with, its tranquil twinkling sound filling your ears as it spills its contents over the sides; a celebratory cup of nature's provisions runneth over. The drink is much needed and soon would only be more so as the heat of the day begins to rise again but for now? Now you drink happily and with pleasure, thankful that your hands can cup such a treasure on this lonesome island."

"For all your worries and suspicions, safety seemed to be your companion for the time being; further away from the sea which had reached out to claim a doomed sailor as yourself. However, as you wipe clean the water from your lips with a wrist, you realize that while there may be water, there exist still no shortage of other threats to you. Or so your suspicions go, as exposure to starvation, all these worries were quite real. So the next question was, now what?"

[Typical]

Driven by the desire to find food, I return to my previous route and head further inland. I keep a lookout for any possible weapons—sticks, stones, or otherwise.

[The Harbinger of Ferocity]

@DocRock @Pyromaniacwolf

---

Chapter I

"Transmuting thirst to hunger with a thought, you realize that with your parchment quenched for the time being that food was truly a great concern. While you had not been looking for sources before, surely there would be some things to devour on this island, all while internalizing the hopes of potential rescue. Deserted as it seemed to be, food might be far more scarce than imagined, even assuming the sea's bounty was reliable at all; which in these estranged waters could very well prove challenging. Dispelling this notion, you pack up your equipment and saddle it upon the sweat tinged clothes you wear across your back."

"Venturing down, you pay keen mind to the various provisions made available by this thicker part of the island, hopeful that some of it might translate to physical arms. Stones had not been in short supply and it was not impossible to wager volcanic glass might be somewhere here, so blunt or bladed points were not impossible, neither were those purely made of wood from the palms or thick, tubular plants that might well be bamboo or a relative."

[The Harbinger of Ferocity]

@DocRock @Pyromaniacwolf @Dusksong

---

Chapter I

"Quietly, or as best that you may muster, you collect a few fallen sticks of sturdy make, hefting them up upon a shoulder. Likewise, you find your pockets now bulging with stones, some of which are certain to make for various tools. The only cost short of time is the renewed hunger and thirst you experience, to be expected after an ordeal as your own which has taxed much of your body. Upon your return to the spring, another few precious gulps of water on mind, you note nothing seems to have intruded on this place even now, leading you and your heart to a sigh of relief. Perhaps you had more blessings than deserved or expected yet whatever the case, fortune smiled on you."

"Setting aside your assortment of goods, those natural and wrought by the hands of man, you enjoy some time at the spring to drink and recover your strength. Perhaps now would be a good time to revisit the book? Its mysterious have called to you time and again, and there is certainly no rushing the recovery of your stamina after at least a half day spent in the wake of a flaming sea."

[Typical]

I consider my gathered objects, looking for sturdy sticks to sharpen or stones with fire-lighting properties or sharp edges. Then, following my intuition, I retrieve the book from my possessions, hoping it would provide some sort of guidance.

[The Harbinger of Ferocity]

@DocRock @Pyromaniacwolf

---

Chapter I

"Flipping through the pages of the strange pale book, you discover that a certain pattern of symbology emerges throughout it, almost as though the author was keen on developing a certain set of core ideas and philosophies to be repeated through their penmanship. Perhaps mantras, mudras, or something of similar nature likely, a trope of many beliefs. Puzzling on them, your mind wanders from this island again and traverses other thoughts that pervade you such as the place of the inky black that sought to consume you. Yet this time thinking upon it, you view it within the mind's eye with an objective experience, dazed by the passing thought that it all could have been more symbolic than factual. However, your introspection is interrupted as you recall you have more worldly concerns to be busied with."

"Returning to them, you snap the book shut and secure its latch, depositing it into the sack you have carried with you throughout the green growth. Now back to fumbling with stones, it is plausible some of these might be useful cutting instruments, namely the stones you believe to be obsidian glass. With some basic effort, you manage to fragment the stone down into crude edges and flay the wood just enough to act as spears."

[DocRock]

I search around to make sure I have materials to fasten the stone to the wood, and if so, I attempt to form some into spears, and if any are viable enough, into instruments for cutting future materials. Now and again, I glance around, wondering if the safety would last or not.

[The Harbinger of Ferocity]

@Pyromaniacwolf @Typical

---

Chapter I

"While in this moment you haven't the materials to affix the stone to the wood, you could attempt other means, hopeful that they would be so long lasting or function in return or by perhaps sacrificing some of your precious few materials... or by mere quality of being a crafty mind. Debating among your crude tools, you shoot suspicious stares off into the wild wood around you, worried that despite the tranquil morning, sun clocking nearer and nearer to noon, that your bout of fortune in quiet and serenity after the thoughtless horrors only hours before would not last. Your suspicion is not without place either, who knows what manner of thing lived or lives within this place or just who else, and dread to think of it what else, survived the seas on to the beach."

"At this brief impasse now, just what to make said spears out of, you can only hope that you will not need them. A child of the sea you might be and based upon your tattoos that line the inner meat of your arms, a true sailor at that, the use of said weapons is not strange, but you are at disadvantage here. Some crucial parts of your memory lie lost to the darkness, perhaps only to surface again later or if dared to be dredged through, but there is sufficient familiarity with these poles and wicked stones that you are not hapless before any would-be aggressor here."

[Typical]

I select the choicest stones and rudimentary spears to take with me, storing the rest near the spring I'd discovered earlier so as to not weigh myself down. Then, finally somewhat protected against the unknowns, I continue further into the woods, making 'x' marks on the bark to mark my path. Getting lost in the woods would be a tragic scenario, and though I can always count on the shore leading me back to where I started, I can't count on the island being small enough for that to be a readily available option.

[The Harbinger of Ferocity]

@Pyromaniacwolf @DocRock

---

Chapter I

"With each cut into the trunks of the palms with your crude hand-knife, you are content in having a better assessment and surveying of your path. While it will not lead you directly back to your hovel on the beach, it will certainly get you to the safety of the shoreline should something dangerous in the tropical wilds confront you. Thoughts of dark jungles with howling apes, roaring cats, vile insects, and dangerous serpents abound in your thoughts for a moment but your rationality confronts you that you have seen no such animal of any variety at all, for better or worse. This troubles you, however, more than it relieves you but you cannot name why. A deserted island is deserted after all, is it not? Just why should there be animals? Is your own mind playing tricks upon you once again?"

"Wandering again through the undergrowth and humid wood, you claw into various trunks your mark before pausing to observe the sun. High above you now, noontime or at least closer to it, you realize that you do indeed need sustenance perhaps more than anything. While water appears plentiful, lack of animals and questionably edible plants pose a problem of their own, as does nightfall. The subtle shiver that courses down your spine makes you shake your head away from the thoughts that attempt to rise up from your depths..."

[DocRock]

I sniff the air, attempting to see if I can smell anything, and if not, I continue onward, searching for any sign of food, but also look for signs of danger, such as loose rocks that could cause me to fall, or sudden drops. But finding food is crucial, and I scan the trees for the sign of any hanging fruit as well.

[The Harbinger of Ferocity]

@Pyromaniacwolf @Typical

---

Chapter I

"The air on this island is clean and warm, pure in an odd sense and were it not for the fact this place held you prisoner, it would likely be a place of reprieve. Despite the sea-salted breeze among the green making you relaxed, your worried heart at rest for a moment, you press on and begin scouring the trees around you. Avoiding any trail or thicket that seems much too dangerous on your travels, you eventually discover what you can only assume to be wild bananas. The large palm they are attached to, their green, leathery flesh in rows, and the bowing hanging with flowers, there is not much else you can suspect it to be."

"Stopping with gear in hand, the tree, nearing ten or more feet in height, appears to be the first real promise of food you have seen. Likewise, reasonably if there is one of these great fruit-bearing stems among this island, there are bound to be more. As fortunate as it is, the fruit is not readily accessible as to be expected..."