Chương 8: Fish & Water

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 one shadow of a rock to an adjacent rock. 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 realised he had stirred up the mud on the bottom of the stream and now had to wait until it settled. When the water finally cleared, he again watched the pattern of the fish. This time, he knew exactly how it went, and it was a sure thing. He slammed his spear down into the water again and then pulled it out. Looking at the end, there was no fish. 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 realised 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 went through a narrow spot with enough room for the water to flow through with the fish. 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 on 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. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. On his way back, he checked his traps again. Nothing in the first one. As he approached the second one, he said.

"What do we have here?" Mark watched as his trap wiggled. Looking closer, he saw a small mouse. Mark pulled out the spear he had made and put the mouse out of its misery. [Field Mouse Level 1] +6 XP [Title Bonus Applied] +1 XP Total: +7 XP Reaching over, he touched the mouse. [Loot Available] Field Mouse Corpse Convert to usable materials? After confirming the prompt [Conversion Complete] +1 Tiny Meat +1 Scrap of Hide [Low quality] Back at camp, he looked over what he had.

A temporary shelter, a fire pit, and traps. He needed to find ways to improve each of them. Improved shelter. Tools for cooking. Check traps. A weapon to fight with, preferably ranged. Water.

"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 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. Pulling out more leaves and layering them over each other, forming a cup, he again tried to lift up his hands holding the water. 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. [New Craft Discovered: Crude Water Pouch] Durability: Very Low Capacity: Small Leak Rate: High Mark let out a sigh of relief. With the discovery came new knowledge; he would next time 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." Looking back into the forest, he had branches, wood, maybe he could build something more solid. But for now, he had water.

"What's next?" Mark sighed, "Gather more food and build tools."