Chapter 4 Surviving mother nature
It took Rohan 20 minutes before he got up again, the sound woke him up as half the tree he just rode on snapped off and drifted away in the river. He looked around to check where he was but didn't recognize it, but it seemed to be the right side of the river.
"Shit that was bad. At least I got on the right side of the river. The only problem is my bag, where did it drift off to."
As if calling for his bag, he looked in the river and had some luck remain it seemed. Rohan looked surprised to see his bag stuck on the side of the tree he got up from. Slowly going down again, Rohan reached and managed to pull up his bag, or at least most of it as it had incurred quite a lot of damage.
"Seems like a couple of things are now part of the river. I'll do a check when I make a meal"
Rohan moved to the side of the river and sat down in the grass. Taking out his stuff he went through his equipment.
"Well the walking sticks are lost, water bottle gone, sleeping mat, tent cover, but overall damage is manageable. I still have enough food to last at least 2 days." Rohan took one of his four remaining MREs and made it with some cold water.
"Better than nothing I suppose"
Finishing his meal Rohan looked around, it was getting rather dark already so he needed to set up a little camp somewhere. Surviving the next couple of days was going to be tough. Taking his supplies Rohan move away from the river until a found a nice area to put his tent down. Quickly setting everything up he left his clothes to dry, got in his sleeping bag and went to sleep.
Next morning waking up was tough, Rohan's body was completely sore to the point that he had to crawl out of his tent. Making another MRE, this time with warm water since his small camping gas cylinder had dried and worked again he went through his bag and found the map he had taken with him.
"The bridge I took is now gone so I'll need to cross the river again, best place would be close to the city bridge, otherwise the bridge further south is probably quieter but takes more time. There should also be a place for shelter and food close to the bridge so I'll aim for that one."
Not knowing how far it would exactly be Rohan took an estimate between 25 and 30 kilometers. More than a days walk as he was feeling sore all over and there was not a path to follow. After getting some water to drink with his water filter Rohan more or less forced himself up and packed his gear before moving out.
"Shit my phone's gone as well so I don't have any measure of time, but looking at the sun, it should at least be morning.... Sigh"
Following the map he had Rohan spent most of the day either walking further south or resting, taking necessary drinking brakes in between. By the time it became a bit darker he had already set up camp under a big tree and finished his 2nd to last MRE.
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't stressed over food, I'll have to manage somehow tomorrow but I'm decently on schedule, probably crossed most the distance today. I think I'll manage today… I hope."
The next morning Rohan had finished his final meal and started packing his belongings and re-sorting his backpack, he had only the more important items left. That included the mini gas cylinder burner, water filter, map, compass, first aid kit and pocket knife, which he now carried on him instead of in his bag. Lastly he still had his tent and sleeping bag, which kept him mostly warm during the cold nights.
Back on track Rohan moved closer to the river to prevent getting lost and made his way further south, hoping to come across the cabin.
It took Rohan another 4 hours before he finally saw the wooden cabin, slightly hidden away from the tree line it stood around 200 meters from the river line. It had a dark-brown slanted roof and light brown frame, looking like a standard wooden cabin. It was rather small as it stood at 4 by 3 meters with a single door and single window that were both shut.
"Sometimes they stock some conserved meals in there for times when the river unexpectedly rises." Approaching the cabin Rohan became more careful as he thought what had happened the last couple of days. First the group of people that had died on the train station, and next the satyr coming after him, no more like hunting it seemed.
Rohan first put his bag down in a safe place away from the cabin as he made a loop around it checking for anything odd. Not seeing anything he kept his right hand in his pocket where his pocket-knife was located as he approached the door. Coming close to the door Rohan tried to listen for any sounds coming out of the cabin.
Rohan grabbed the door handle and slowly pushed the door open which made an anxious creaking noise. Needing some time to let his eyes adapt to the darkness Rohan looked inside the building, and gasped for air, barely able to keep quiet as he mumbled under his breath "shit".
Rohan saw a satyr sitting on the ground in the corner with a sword in his hand, looking straight at Rohan with murderous intent, but it didn't move. "I don't think it can move" Rohan thought as he looked at the satyr's legs, which were broken in at least 3 places.
"Shit… what to do…" Looking quickly around the room while keeping half his focus on the satyr he left the cabin and closed the door. He quickly went back to his bag and sat down. "there is still some food in there, but I'll need to pass the satyr. Can I kill it? Or take the food and let it die, if it would even die from that. There is no way that it will just let me grab the food, I'll need to either disable its sword or kill it."
Getting up and walking around Rohan took a branch from the ground that was longer than himself and slightly pointy and walked heavily to the cabin. Images flashed through his head as he thought to the 9 satyrs in the valley and the people on the train station. Opening the door and looking the satyr in the eye Rohan kept saying to himself "It has to die". The satyr looked back at him, but this time without any intent in his eyes, it seemed almost saddened.
Holding the crappy spear in his hand Rohan felt doubt creep up when looking in its eyes, is it right to do it? "It has to die" Rohan repeated in himself as he aimed the branch at the satyrs torso and slammed it in. The satyr screaming at him and hacking with his sword to no avail.
It took Rohan four tries before the branch pierced the satyr and it stopped moving. Rohan looked at what he had done but couldn't feel anything at that moment. Adrenaline kept him sharp. Rohan moved to grab the conserved food, as he heard a recognizable voice which was the last thing he heard before he passed out.
[You have slain young Satyr]
[Experience earned]
[Level increased]
[?????????? system has started up]