Leon held the map in hand and added another line on it using the burnt end of a stick, he had found more mushrooms, but they were still not the type he was looking for. The book he had read had stated that the type of mushroom he was searching for had a blue hue in day light, no spots and a flat, circular top. These were brown with black speckles, definitely not the ones.
With a sigh, he glanced at the roughly drawn map he had created. His small hut was at the centre of it. To the west and slightly north was the lake and in between this was the wild sunclover patch and the mushroom log. To the south of this he had found another wild sunclover patch, a whole mess of wild onions in a sunny, clearing, and a few small gatherings of different mushrooms. He tapped his chin with the dry end of the stick before deciding to head west from here. In this direction, he found a river that seemed to head northwards, perhaps towards his lake. It was just deep enough to contain small fish and small crustaceans. His mouth watered, wondering if the latter tasted like the shellfish he had eaten sometimes back home. He would come and check this place out again.
Continuing west, he noted down a few other features, such as a tree that was easily five times the size of most of the aging trees in the woodland, a steep decline, heading south down the mountain and the wall of an attached mountain to the furthest point west that he could walk. This, he estimated, was at least two and a half hours walk from his hut. It was also riddled with caves and would require a longer time to explore. For now, the sun was already declining, there would likely only be enough light to see him home, so he left the western edge and headed roughly in the direction of home, only stopping to take a fruit from his pouch and ease his hunger.
Ah, he should have had breakfast at the food hall that morning, he mused, but it was an hour away in the opposite direction of this land, so he had settled for finishing his last couple of tubers. He would have to find more once he was able.
With this thought still in mind, when he left for the west cliff caves very early the following morning, he took his basket in order to gather any foodstuffs he could find. He didn't want to soil the inside of his spatial bag with mud or bugs. Before he had even reached the caves, he had gathered onions and roots. He had not found any large crustaceans, but that was alright, he didn't want them to flee or go bad while he explored anyway. After picking some mushrooms that he knew were okay to eat, he finally reached the caves. He took out his glowing sphere that he'd taken from home and very cautiously peered inside the first one.
It was a bit disappointing. Really. It was just a small cave, no hidden tunnels or anything, with a dusty floor, rock for walls and ceiling. It was very dry, no moss nor fungus could thrive here. This was the case for many of these caverns, though one led to a larger cave that had sparkling crystal veins embedded into its walls. It was a mesmerising sight. Leon made a note of this cave.
As he followed the mountain side south, he noticed the amount of moisture increase within the caves, one that dipped below the ground level he was used to, even had a small, slightly salty spring. Naturally, weeds were peeking out in places where the light from the entrance touched the ground and mould lined the inner walls of this cave, but it still lacked any mushrooms.
Just as he was about to leave, he noticed a dark alcove to one side. It had been so drenched in shadows, he failed to notice it at first. He ducked inside finding it led to a narrow tunnel that he had to crawl through. Inside was an impressive sized pond, though like the spring, the water had a salty residue. To one side of the pond were mushrooms! It was too dark to see their colour, so he harvested a few, before turning to leave.
As he did so, he suddenly heard a shuddering breath. He froze and scanned the cave with the light from his sphere. In a corner, near to the small tunnel, there was the body of a man. There were wounds littering his body and his face was very bruised. Was he alive? His chest heaved once more. Yes, he lived but was unconscious.
Leon withdrew two jade bottles of pills from the spatial bag. He mostly had the one heart pills and they were weak at best. With a heavy sigh, he withdrew one of the improved blood pills he had made from Leo's recipe. It was the strongest pill he had on him, it would have to do. He took the pill from the bottle, then took out the bottle of water he had brought with him. He knelt beside the man and pushed the pill into his mouth before teasing his tongue with drops of water, his instincts forcing him to swallow.
Leon placed his basket upon the ground before slipping out of the cave to gather firewood. He could not leave the man as he was and he did not think the willowy frame of his current body would be able to carry him out, so he would make do and leave when the man was able to fend for himself. With such thoughts in mind, he returned to the cave to cook mushrooms.
Thank you to Tinaxyooj for commenting on release of the chapters!
And thank you to those who used stones or voted or simply just read by book.
Here’s the next chapter.
The floor of the first cave was soft near the entrance and Leon was able to dig a hole for his campfire positioning it in a slightly sheltered place so that the wind from outside would not blow the smoke into the cave and suffocate its inhabitants. By the time his fire was burning quietly, it had started to rain outside, so he would not find it easy to find anymore dry firewood. Looking around the loose stone in and around the entrance of the cave, he managed to find a fairly flat rock and placed it partially over his fire before placing carefully cut pieces of onion and the edible mushrooms from the forest.
Leon poured a little spiritual energy into the fire, raising the temperature of the flames so that it was not long before the rock heated and the vegetables began to sizzle upon its surface. As they cooked, he withdrew the knife he had set aside for carving wood and began to create a set of chopsticks. Leon had never used chopsticks in his former life, but that was all that was available to him in Leo's hut. He had carved a couple of spoons, but the wood that was easy to obtain was mostly a type of soft wood that dried brittle. Chopsticks were frankly quicker to make and he felt less about them when they broke and thus became firewood.
Chopsticks made, he held them carefully, for he still needed much practice to become proficient in using them, before reaching to pick up a cooked mushroom. First time, he smiled, gently.
Cold metal touched his throat, his smile vanished and his body began to tremble. The mushroom escaped and fell to the ground. "Who are you and where is this place?" Came the angry questions of the one threatening him from behind.
"L-L-Leon," his stammer worsening under the stress. "M-m-my n-name is L-Leon." His eyes filled, blurring his vision and his breath caught in his throat. Perhaps realising that this terrified man was not a threat to him, the blade at his neck was removed and he gasped for air, loathing the weakness of his body. He heard his attacker retreat a step allowing him a little space. Leon peeked over his shoulder.
The man standing there was tall, had very white skin and carried himself arrogantly. His lips were thin and his eyes were shaped like bay leaves with small stems curved upward a touch. His hair was jet black and long strands had fallen loose from the knot upon his head, framing his face and somehow not looking as if he had experienced something rough. His elegant cut outer robes were frayed in several places, but there were still hints that these were tailored for wealth. They were mostly red, cut to the knee and set over wide leg red trousers. Koi fish of red and black were embroidered upon the robes, but whatever had ruined the cloth had also ruined their exquisite shape. He glared at Leon coldly, his sword still unsheathed. Though held loosely, it seemed to Leon that he would strike without warning at any given moment.
"How did I come to be here?" He asked, there was slightly less ire in his tone, but it was far from being warm.
"I d-don't know," Leon answered. "I f-found you in th-there. Y-you w-were hurt, badly." The man's eyes narrowed as he glanced over his body. With the exception of a few scratches and the odd bruise, he could hardly see this as being hurt badly. Leon sensed his distrust and answered the unspoken question. "P-pill."
"Oh? What sort of pill?" His sword seemed to glow with an aura of bloodthirst, causing Leon to gulp, nervously.
"Blood pill," Leon murmured.
The man suddenly began to laugh, but there was no mirth in his chuckles. His strong baritone was the sort that Leon had always liked to listen to, but with such an icy edge, it did nothing but cut into him, making him shiver. "You think such a basic pill would provide any sort of healing to this Lord?" He said, harshly. "What an absurd notion!"
Leon said nothing. He could not prove nor disprove his words, so he felt it was better to say nothing at all. He really wished he could return to his little hut and curl up under his blankets. Those bullies had instilled fear into his body, remnant memories carved into his flesh from when it belonged to Leo. But this man burned his brand into Leon's soul making him wish to put several mountains in between them before he might feel safe once more.
As this and the next chapter are short, I will post both today.
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