Chương 36: Someone Else

When Mark got back to camp, Ava was off to the side playing with Bramble. Mark started toward her, planning to tell her about his new skills. Cora walked in while Mark was explaining his new skill.

"There are tracks west of the stream. Not an animal, not a monster. They're like ours." Ava said.

"Cool, there's another person out there!" Mark looked at the other two, thinking about the risk. Should he help? Will this put us at risk? If they are human, they are most likely as lost as he was.

"How fresh were the tracks?" Bramble walked over while they were talking, his ears perking up.

"They were pretty fresh. They looked to be dragging their feet; might be in trouble." Mark looked in the general direction that Cora had indicated. He could feel something different. But he couldn't quite describe it.

"Ok, if someone is in trouble, we should go help if needed. Does anyone have concerns about going?" Ava said.

"You guys helped me; we should help them too. If they are hurt, they will need our help."

"Alright, that is good enough for me. Cora, can you lead the way?"

"I am coming too," Ava said.

"Bramble can help track too." They all followed Cora through the forest to the stream and then crossed it. The area they were in was way south of the cave. Mark could tell as he neared the stream that it was the border of his area. He lost a lot of the extra sense as they crossed the river; he could still sense the general direction, enough to tell that whatever it was didn't belong there. Not long after they crossed the river, they were able to find tracks pretty quickly.

Surprisingly, it was Bramble that found them first. They could tell from the tracks that the person was dragging their leg and, from time to time, saw blood. The tracks headed southwest through the trees. Mark found it interesting, the different feeling he felt being outside of his area. The feeling of control was not there. The area did not resist his presence, but he could tell that it was not his to control. They finally found the person; it was a man. He was limping along looking frantically in all directions.

Bramble made a growling noise, and the man stumbled and fell. He looked worse up close than the tracks suggested. He said.

"Not again. It's caught up to me," as he tried to get back up. Ava said softly, "Sorry, sir, that is just Bramble; he is with me; he won't hurt you." The fear in his voice wasn't sharp; it was worn down. Just someone at the end of whatever rope they had been clinging to. The man turned towards us.

"Oh, you're not the animals that have been attacking me." Mark looked at the man's fear and the wounds. Someone that needed help. He did not look to be a threat. Only time would tell. But for now, he was going to help.

"Hello, my name is Mark. This is Cora and Ava and her pet Bramble." The man said.

"Thank you. Thank you. I have been wandering lost for a few days; I don't know where I am or how to get home. Each time I lose the animals, they find me again."

"Did you get the system message when you were dropped here?"

"Message?"

"The… survive one."

"Yes, it was not a lot of help. I don't know where I am."

"You're hurt. I can clean that up and get you somewhere safer if you want. We can make sure nothing can hurt you until you get your bearings."

"Thanks so much. I have killed a few things, but they keep chasing me, and I am hungry and thirsty. Do you have anything to eat?" Mark pulled out a water skin and a piece of cooked meat and handed it to the man. Cora also gave him some berries. Mark sat down next to the man and, using some water, cleaned the wound on his leg and bandaged it up. When done, Mark asked.

"If you're up to it, we can show you the way back to our camp."

"Anything as long as I don't get attacked again." With Mark's help, the man stood up. He was able to walk on his own, though he went slowly. Mark made him a walking stick to help make it easier on him as they walked. They walked in silence on the way back to camp. Mark, knowing the way and being able to sense danger, guided them so as to avoid anything that might stress the man out.

When they arrived, the man watched Mark as he opened the entrance to camp and then, after they were in, closed it and re-armed the traps. This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Mark grabbed him a chair and helped him sit down near the fire pit in the center of camp. Grabbing a chair of his own, he sat down to talk.

"You are safe here. Again, to introduce myself, I am Mark. I have built this camp that we are living in. When I showed up in this system, I did not feel safe. I am not a fighter. I have learned to survive by making traps and using the traps to catch the animals. I have been able to level some."

"Oh yeah, sorry I forgot to say my name; it's Dale. I am still completely lost. I was at work when the lights flashed. Then I was being attacked. I ran, and well, for 3 days I had been wandering lost, not knowing where I was and how to get home."

"What have you learned about the system?"

"Nothing. I saw messages but did not understand. I killed something by accident, and it told me I leveled. I was too busy running, and the message finally went away."

"Yeah, the system does not seem to go out of its way to help unless you use it. Then it seems to respond and help you. For example, I have learned that I can make simple things, and the system recognizes them. For example, when I built my first lean-to and put the fire near it, I gained bonuses for having a shelter. It has grown from there."

"Ok, how do I learn or use the system?"

"Well, to start with, you can think 'character sheet' or at least give that intent, and it will respond and open your character sheet." Mark watched as Dale scrunched up his face and then said.

"Oh cool, it lets you select items, and it gives more details.

"Oh, I have stats to assign."

"Feel free to sit there and look at it. I am going to cook some food." Mark pulled some meat and fish out of his inventory and set it on one of the plates. Dale stared at the food.

"Wait, what? Can you just conjure food out of thin air? I wish I knew that when I was running through the forest hungry." Mark laughs.

"No, not out of thin air, but that would be cool. I learned quickly that if I just hold an item and think "store," it goes into an inventory." Mark pulled out a knife out of his inventory and handed it to Dale.

"Now just hold it and think about storing it." Dale picked up the knife, and it vanished. Then it appeared.

"That is cool. So I can just store everything I want, huh?"

"Well, there is a limit. Don't really understand exactly what it is, but I tried to put a bunch of big rocks in once, and then I could not move until I tossed a few out onto the ground." Dale went to hand the knife back to Mark.

"No, you keep it. I have more. I learned how to make crude knives at first and then better ones later as I practiced and used better materials. I have plenty of them."

"Thanks, I don't know how to fight, but I do know a little about knives." Mark then went back over and started the fire. When it was going well, he pulled out one of the sticks he used for cooking meat, threaded it on it, and placed it over the coals. Dale said.

"What are you doing?"

"Cooking us dinner."

"Looks more like burning meat with style. You've been wasting a lot of this, haven't you." Mark laughed.

"You think you can do better?"

"Yes, actually." Moving over to the fire, he picked up the meat sticks and, finding a couple rocks, stacked them up and then placed the meat sticks back farther from the heat.

"Do you have any spices or seasonings?" Mark was about to answer when Cora walked over and set down a pile of items on the workbench.

"Will these work? I have found them while I have been exploring around the area." Mark just looked at the pile of foodstuffs that Cora put on the table like she had magically provided a spice rack in rough form. Dale said, "Oh, that stuff will do nicely. Will have to experiment with it, but I can sure make this meat better than how Mark was going to burn it." Mark said.

"I will have you know I have the Cooking skill."

"You do, and that is how you cook?" Mark just smiled and watched Dale pick up some herbs. He smashed them between his fingers and smelled them. He pulled out the knife and diced it up finally and then put some on the meat. He then picked up some of the veggies and diced them up. Turning to Mark, he asked.

"Do you have a pan or a pot I can use?"

"Sorry I have been using that rock to cook on that is near the fire."

"Ah, ok, going to make this a little harder, but can do." He picked up and moved the cooking rock near the fire and started putting the veggies on it. Finding a spice he liked, he added this to the veggies and stirred them. Mark just watched in awe. Mark, Cora, and Ava just watched Dale in awe as he cooked the food. When he was done, they all lined up with plates in hand, and he dished them up. Cora said.

"Better." Ava said.

"That's fantastic, much better than Mark fed me." Mark said.

"Ok, you're hired." Mark could not believe the difference in taste from how he cooked the meat. It was not just the spice he added either. It made him feel refreshed. The better food made a difference. He had a skill that they could use to improve their lives. Dale just sat and smiled.

"I guess those years in culinary training paid off then, huh? I also received a system message about food quality improving and gained the Cooking skill." [Skill Acquired] Cooking (Level 1) Allows: • Prepare simple meals using basic ingredients. • Judge food doneness more reliably. • Reduce common cooking mistakes that waste food. They spent the rest of the night chatting about the crazy few days and telling each other what they had figured out or found over the short time they had been here.

After dinner and talking, Mark showed Dale to the shelter he made for Cora. Cora had vanished into the forest earlier after she ate, so she did not look like she would be using it tonight.

"You can sleep here tonight, and I will make you your own a-frame tomorrow. I made this for Cora, but she has never used it. I will make another in the morning." As Mark fell asleep, the last thought through his head was one more thing he didn't have to handle alone anymore.