Lucas came to with a splitting headache and a bedraggled Mr. Snugglepuss laying next to him on the bank of the river. Looking back at the river, he realized he was still on the east bank. There was no way he was going to try to swim across and make his way back to camp, it was only due to blind luck and an amazing pet that he wasn’t eaten or drowned while unconscious in the river.

There was no telling how far he’d traveled, but during their trip downriver, he didn’t remember seeing this sandbar. In fact, he couldn’t remember how far it was down river before the bank gave way to a manageable approach. Reaching up to check his head for injury, he didn’t find any open cuts but found a goose egg the size of his fist. When he tried to sit up, he became dizzy and quickly rolled over to vomit up a large portion of the river. Once he was done heaving, he reached over and stroked his poor bedraggled pet’s head.

“Stupid cat, you know you don’t like water,” Lucas said slowly. “Thanks for saving me.” Lucas slowly sat up, waiting for the next round of nausea but nothing came.

“Alright, Mr. Snugglepuss, we need to get back from the river, too much living in there that thinks of us as snacks.” He slowly stood and used his pet to steady himself as the world spun. Once the dizziness passed, he and the void cat slowly worked their way away from the river.

His father had drilled into him that the river carried unknown dangers from deeper in beast range and he should never linger within ten meters, let alone at the only easy approach to the river for at least a day’s journey. With a great deal of effort and two more episodes of dry heaving, he and his void cat worked themselves far enough away from the river for Lucas to feel safe enough to sleep.

He began going through his list of resources in his head. Pack, some herbs, rope, sabre, bow, arrows, fishing line, hooks, dagger, canteen. I need to find a place to sleep and some way to stay warm. I’ll need food, plenty of fresh water, but I don’t want to have to travel too far to get it. He finished the list in his head remembering the many lessons he’d received from his father, most on this very trip. Every time they’d taken a moment in camp to do something, his father would often interject exactly why they were performing the task. From placing stringers around their camp with noise makers to making sure the latrine was always a set distance from the camp but never overgrown.

With no obvious landmarks to work with, he didn’t want to do too much. First, he found a larger tree, something with a decent number of roots near the surface, and started looking for a place to make a burrow. It didn’t take bout about an hour to find the ideal spot to stay a few nights. An area under two larger roots that he didn’t even have to dig out. He scrounged for firewood next. It would be dark soon, and he would need to get dry if he didn’t want to freeze.

He wasn’t able to move quite as fast as he wanted to, but by the time the sun set, he was sitting in front of a small fire. An extra shirt from his pack was on him and the rest of his clothes were drying near the fire. Dinner consisted of some edible plants that he’d found. He still got dizzy when he moved too quick, but he hadn’t tried to vomit since making his way from the river.

“Sorry, Mr. Snugglepuss. I’ll try to fish tomorrow if we can’t find you anything in the morning,” he said to his slightly less bedraggled void cat.

The next morning brought a significantly better outlook for Lucas. He didn’t get dizzy as easily and was able to exert himself. His small burrow had kept him reasonably dry and Mr. Snugglepuss kept him warm. With newfound vigor, he set off before the sun was truly up to do what his father had warned him might happen to him and ambush some poor creature heading to the river to drink. He fished one of his spare bowstrings from its waxed pouch in his pack and strung his bow. With only a small amount of thought he felt his [Stealth] engage and he and his pet set off. Within a few minutes he was approaching the river again and quickly climbed a nearby tree and took up position with the wind blowing his scent back towards the river and prepared to watch two excellent approaches.

It didn’t take long before Lucas heard movement in the brush to his right and slightly behind him. He didn’t move at all to turn and try to find the sound, but he waited instead for whatever was moving towards the river to enter his field of view. After about three minutes, a small creature slowly emerged from the underbrush and ambled along towards the sandbar that lay just out of sight. The small furred creature reminded Lucas of a beaver, but with a prehensile tail similar to an opossum’s. The creature was big enough to keep Lucas and his pet void cat fed today and tomorrow and he was sure that his father could do something with the hide if he were here. Without a sound, Lucas nocked an arrow and waited for a clear shot. It didn’t take long before the small creature entered the area that Lucas had marked mentally as his kill zone and Lucas released the tension on the string. With a short whistle as the arrow sped through the air, Lucas and Mr. Snugglepuss saw what they hoped was their first meal take an arrow through the side, just above its forelegs.

Sneak Attack Success!

Due to your opponent being unaware of your presence when you attacked, they have received additional 20% damage and the hemmrohage status effect. Your opponent will take additional damage over time until the wound heals.

(Experience rewards deferred until full System Access is acquired)

The only problem was, the creature didn’t fall over dead like Lucas imagined it would after taking so much damage. Instead, it turned and immediately focused on Lucas. The small rodent like creature’s eyes glowed a menacing red and it let out a loud shriek.

You have become dazed.

15% reduction applied to perception, dexterity, and wisdom for 30 seconds.

(Potency and Duration reduced due to resistance)

Lucas almost fell out of the tree after the creature used a skill on him and his cat.

“Attack, Mr. Snugglepuss!” yelled Lucas with one of the commands he rarely used with his pet void cat.

Lucas recovered his balance and quickly nocked a second arrow, but the creature was gone from his sight. He began to scan the area for movement, but he could find nothing to give away where the beast had run off to. He didn’t have to wait long before the creature landed on his back and sank its sharp fangs into his left shoulder near his collar bone. Even with his prodigious pain resistance skill, Lucas experienced excruciating pain. With a yell, he dropped his bow and arrow and tried to pull the dagger from his belt.

With a small amount of will he activated [Keen Edge] and drove the tip of this dagger deep into the skull of the killer assassin beaver opossum monster. The evil beast bit down harder in its death throes and Lucas felt the blood pouring down the inside of his shirt. He reached up and pried the teeth from his flesh, letting the dead animal fall to the ground with his dagger. With all of his focus, he bent over and lowered himself from the branch he had been resting on to the larger one below him and then jumped down to the ground two or so meters below that. Without [Pain Resistance] that alone would have probably made him pass out. He quickly rummaged in his pack, covered in brush at the base of the tree, for his spare shirt and scrounged for his dagger to cut it into a makeshift bandage. By the time he had several layers of cloth around the wound and had it tied down the pain was starting to fade. The bandage was soaked through fairly quickly and he knew he would need extra help for this. He left it in place and called for his pet.

Once Mr. Snugglepuss returned, Lucas bent and retrieved the corpse of the assassin beaver opossum and tied his pack to his pet. He carried the demon creature back by it’s oddly fluffy tail, taking a perverse joy each time he smacked it’s head against a tree on the way.

When they got back to his temporary camp, he began to sift through his pack for his small pot and started pulling bags of poorly gathered herbs from the pack. Thanking his father again for the [Firestarter] stick he got the flames going. He knew from reading his herb lore book that some of these were used for healing, but he had no clue how to prepare them into actual potions. As he sifted through the packs he pulled two specific herbs from his pouches. First was the Blood Bedstraw, a common herb used to make healing potions and blood recovery potions. It had a sticky sap that helped reduce inflammation and bleeding. Second was the Purple Purslane, which was also supposed to speed healing and reduce infection. He got the best specimens that he had gathered of each and went to work.

To make his poultice, he removed the leaves from the Purslane and shredded them as best he could. Then he used the handle from his dagger to grind them down as fine as possible and added a few drops of water. He wasn’t sure if boiling the water would reduce the effectiveness, but he knew that his mom made syrup by mixing the ingredients together and boiling extra water off. At worst, the poultice wouldn’t work. It didn’t take long before he had the small amount of water boiling. After just a couple of minutes at boil, he was afraid that he would damage the leaves so he removed it from the fire and pulled out the Blood Bedstraw. The Blood Bedstraw had a pink sap, where it got the name blood, that he was going to use to keep the bandage in place and hold the poultice in the wound. After squeezing a reasonable amount of the sticky sap onto a cloth, he took his dagger and stirred his poultice. He mixed in small amounts of the sap until it thickened just a bit and got ready.

He scooped a small amount of the leaf, water, sap mixture out and put it on his wound and had to stop from the pain. Two more generous dollops of the mixture and he quickly slathered the sticky sap over the wound while pulling the edges together. Once more, he applied clean bandages to the wound and tied it off. After about a minute he felt a burning sensation in his shoulder that got steadily hotter. In just a few moments it was almost unbearable. With a loud scream Lucas tensed up. There were notifications coming quicker than he could register them and before he could do anything else he lost consciousness.

Mr. Snugglepuss quickly sniffed at his master and, after ensuring he was breathing comfortably after putting the foul-smelling flowers on his wound he settled down to enjoy the fruits of their hunt. His master was making a bad habit out of passing out, but Mr. Snugglepuss was grateful that he at least went and got food first. Without a care, Mr. Snugglepuss tugged the carcass of the odd creature out from under his master and began to eat.

Lucas woke to see the fire going stronger than he remembered and with multiple notifications pending his acknowledgment. The mind rending pain that he felt after putting his poultice on was gone, in fact his shoulder felt fully healed, maybe the poultice worked better than he expected. He quickly looked around his campsite and realized that the fire was built up by his father, but all that was in the camp was his father’s pack.

He closed his eyes and focused on the notifications from the system that were steadily pulsing at the back of his consciousness.

Congratulations!

You have learned the skill Herb Lore [Un]

Through intense study of plants and the application of this knowledge, you have gained the skill Herb Lore. This skill increases your ability to find and gather plants. Remain diligent in your pursuit of knowledge and further bonuses are available at later levels.

“Herb Lore [Un] Level 1: Progress 0%

(Experience rewards for all levels gained in skill deferred until full System Access is acquired)

Congratulations!

You have learned the skill Poison Crafting [Un]

You have crafted and applied your first deadly poison. This skill will allow you to better craft poisons and grant knowledge of which materials are poisonous so that your future poisons might be more successful.

Poison Crafting [Un] Level 1: Progress 0%

(Experience rewards for all levels gained in skill deferred until full System Access is acquired)

Achievement Unlocked!

Self Tester

Your dedication to your craft has led you to test a deadly poison on yourself and you somehow survived. Due to this you have gained a better knowledge of which substances are likely to cause you harm.

When a food, drink, salve, potion, emollient, lotion, or poison is consumed or applied to you, you may gain knowledge about its properties The negative effects of the substance are partially negated. The positive effects of the substance are partially increased. Discover more substances in order to advance this achievement.

Substances consumed 1/20

Poisons Identified 1/20

Potions Identified 0/20

Ingredients Identified 2/50

(Experience rewards for achievements deferred until full System Access is acquired)

”

With a sigh, he realized that his father must have had a healing potion, that was the only way that he wasn’t laying here with an even worse wound than he started with. So much for using his herb lore skill to craft a basic potion. He would definitely try it out on someone else first next time. With a brief pause, he realized that there would be a next time. He had actually kind of enjoyed mixing the herbs together to make his, well, poison. The idea that he could discover new ways to mix them together to create something that could fully heal or give himself an ability, or even just to make himself stronger for a time was incredibly exciting.

After a rare moment of introspection, he realized that his parents were already leading him down that path. He enjoyed learning the sword and the bow, but he wasn’t amazing at either like his parents. If not for the dream, he probably never would have even learned the uncommon [Swordsmanship] skill. But he knew that he had worked hard for [Herb Lore] and even without attempting it, had earned the [Poison Crafting] skill. With a little bit of effort, he was certain that he could be a decent [Alchemist]. Maybe he would tier up to be an adventuring [Witch Doctor].

With thoughts of drinking miraculous elixirs to breath dragon flames at hordes of dungeon creatures filling his head, Lucas didn’t hear when his father returned to his camp site. This turned out to be a bit of a mistake since his father was already mad at his son for picking a fight with a wevil and then attempting to make a potion out of weeds without even a basic alchemy primer. When he returned to camp to find his son awake but daydreaming, he picked up a rock and threw it at his son’s head hard enough to leave a lump but not quite knock him out. Stan was pretty sure it was still better than the knot his son had had on his head prior to the healing potion.

“Ouch!” Lucas yelled as the stone hit him. Fearing another assassin beaver opossum attack, he tried to jump out of his bedroll and find his sabre, only to tangle his feet and fall flat on is face to find his father with a twinkle in his eyes and a pet void cat who was wholly ignoring the entire episode to finish gnawing on the bones of his lunch.

“What’d I tell you on the first day in the forest?” asked Stan.

“Don’t wander off?” asked/replied Lucas after thinking hard for a moment.

“No, after that.” Stan said with exasperation.

“Don’t eat that,” said Lucas with confidence. He remembered it well. The first day as soon as he had walked off to gather an herb that he’d seen from the trail his father had told him not to wander off and then, as soon as Lucas was going to taste the petals that his herb lore book said were edible and full of protein, his father had told him he couldn’t eat it.

“Always pay attention!” his father snapped. He paused to take a deep breath and let it out before continuing. “Son, you always need to be aware of your surroundings. Those gobs won’t be nice enough to just lob a rock at your head, they’ll put an arrow or a spear through your skull faster than you can blink.”

“You didn’t kill them all, dad?” Lucas asked with confusion. His father was clearly capable of hunting down and killing a small tribe of gobs.

“That’s beside the point. Son, this trip hasn’t gone like I wanted. You’ve almost died twice, three times if you count the attempt at suicide from putting whatever that poison was in the wevil wound. This section of the beast range is normally pretty safe, with the exception of the bloodvines and whatever crawls out of the river.

“Well, we’re not going to make it back across the bridge anytime soon. You floated quite a ways and its closer to cross at the ford. The gobs are mostly dead. I wiped out most of their warriors at the bridge and the few I found huntin’ for you were,” he paused for a moment to think of the right word, “on their last legs. I reckon most of ‘em will die out by the time I make it back to Emmit’s Lake and spread the word. The guild will finish off any remaining.”

Stan sat down and just stared at his son for a moment before continuing. “I hope you get the skill before we make it back to the camp. The ford’s only a days hike and then three days back to camp. Too much has happened on this trip that wasn’t expected and I want to get you back home before somethin’ else happens,” he said. He waited for a moment for the protest he was sure was coming.

“That’s ok dad. I got the [Herb Lore] and the [Psn]…,” Lucas muttered under his breath when he said his second skill, “.skills when I made that poultice,” his father clearly wasn’t fooled.

“That’s great news son, at least about [Herb Lore]. I’m not surprised you got [Poison Crafting] that “poultice” you made was a piece of work,” he said the word poultice with obvious sarcasm. “At least now you’ll know what’ll poison you before you put it in you. Now, promise me you won’t make any more concoctions without me or your ma knowin’ about it and tellin’ you it’s ok,” he said.

“I promise dad. That hurt,” he replied while remembering the severe pain caused by the poison and wondered how bad it would have been without [Pain Resistance]. Lucas decided to think about something else and ask question that had been on his mind since his father had arrived. “Why do you keep calling it a wevil?

“Isn’t that he name of the thing that gets in the flour at home?”

Stan let out a quiet chuckle and replied, “They sound the same, spelled a little different. Actually, that’s one of a bunch of creatures here in the beast range that my pa named. The first time he met one he called it a ‘wee evil little butt fucker’ and had to have one of his fingers regrown, every time after that he called it a ‘wee evil bastard’ and the system eventually applied the wevil name.”

Lucas smiled at the thought that the evil little beaver opossum gave his powerful grandfather so much trouble and decided that he didn’t do all that badly.

“Well, if you’re well enough to sit around n’ yap, you’re well enough to walk. Lets get your pack put together and start south. The ford isn’t far,” Stan said as he stood and picked up his pack.

Without any fanfare, Lucas, Stan, and Mr. Snugglepuss started heading south following the general direction of the river. Now, as Lucas traveled, he couldn’t help notice plants as he walked. Whereas he would have to actively search for the various plants from his book, sometimes…most of the time…missing them completely, now he found his attention being drawn to various flowers, bushes, shrubs, trees, and fruits as he walked. It was almost too much to take in and he quickly succumbed to the lack of attention he was paying to the trail as he tripped over his own feet while staring at a rare fruit hanging tantalizingly out of reach about three meters from the path they were traveling along. His father didn’t say anything, he simply looked back to ensure that Lucas hadn’t injured himself when he fell.

“I’m sorry, dad. It’s the new skill. I can’t stop seeing all the herbs around me. I don’t know how to turn it off,” Lucas said as he picked himself up off the ground.

Stan stopped as he was pushing a branch from his path and looked back at his son. Lucas was scratched on his face already with burrs sticking to him. The plan was never to have his son out in the actual wilderness for even one night, let alone the four or five it may take to get to the ford, across, and back to camp without running into random groups of gobs. He was pretty sure he wiped out the majority of them in his rage after seeing his son fall in. The only thing that had kept him sane was seeing that damn cat paddling for all it was worth with Lucas gripped tightly in its jaws. The fact that Lucas was doing as well as he was, especially after a run in with a wevil, was a significant sign of his son’s strength.

Stan knelt in front of his son and pulled a twig from his tangled red hair. “You’ll never really turn it off,” he said. “What’s worse is that whenever your perception increases by a lot, like when you use the [Combat Focus] skill you’ll have to readjust. And, yes, I know you aren’t using the skill like we discussed today. I was gonna’ say something about it tonight, but I want you to start using it again. You need to adjust to the added perception with your [Herb Lore]. While we’re walking, I want you to try to see the things that your skill is bringing to your attention without actually focusing on ‘em. It’s a lot like when you have a system message, you’ll know it’s there, but it won’t take all of your attention.”

“Yes, sir,” replied Lucas.

“You’re doin’ great, son,” Stan said as he stood and brushed the dirt from his knees. “I know grown men who wouldn’t have done near as well as you. Just keep it up for a few more days and we’ll get you home.”

Lucas perked up after hearing that and responded with a more enthusiastic, “Yes, Sir.”

They set out following the river south again, and Lucas focused on his [Combat Focus] as they walked. He felt the world slow down and it seemed like every tree and plant within twenty meters was screaming for his attention. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. He had struggled not to fall to the ground and clutch his head while the skill was activated. After the skill ended, Lucas could still see every one of the plants that his [Herb Lore] had picked out, but they didn’t demand all of his attention.

As he walked, Lucas tried to let the awareness of the various flora fade into the background of his consciousness. It was hard, and he tripped two or three more times as they walked. By the time Stan and Lucas began to veer towards the river again at what Lucas assumed was the crossing, he was able to keep his attention on the trail somewhat and almost ignore the plants demanding his attention.

The duo came out of the forest to see the river had widened out considerably at an area with some small rapids. Sticking up above the water in several places were stones with the occasional snagged piece of timber. The water wasn’t moving at a dangerous pace here, but it was swifter than the current farther north.

“Water’s about knee high to me most of the way across. I want you to hold on to my belt and work your way across with me. Whatever you do, stay on my left and don’t let go,” said Stan.

“What about Mr. Snugglepuss?” asked Lucas

“The cat’ll be able to make it across fine. Just you worry about yourself and we’ll make camp in an hour or so and get dried out before the son’s all the way down,” he said as he looked up in the sky to see the son three quarters of the way done with it’s journey for the day.

“Yes, sir,” said Lucas.

Stan tightened the straps on his and Lucas’ packs and made sure Lucas had a steady grip on his belt before slowly stepping into the water. As he had promised, the water was knee high to Stan, and it was above Lucas’ waist. They worked their way across steadily, taking almost ten minutes to make the crossing. When they stepped out of the river on the other side, Lucas was soaked from head to toe and shivering already. Stan quickly took his son’s shirt and gave him one of his own out of his pack.

“Let’s get moving, if you stand still you’ll just be colder, movement will warm you up. It’s only an hour till we can make camp,” said Stan.

They set out again, but Lucas didn’t remember much after coming out of the water. He was finally successful in ignoring his skill’s prompts to pay attention to the plant life around him because he wasn’t able to pay attention to anything more than putting one foot in front of the other.

A miserable hour later, Lucas sat in front of the fire with just his father’s shirt on and slowly chewed on a dinner of biscuits and jerky. Within moments of laying down, he was deep into sleep and dreading the trek back north tomorrow. He didn’t even take the time to wonder about the fact that he was in a whole new country for the first time in his life.