Chapter 11: Flaming Tree

CHAPTER 11: FLAMING TREE

I find myself in the Teepee at dawn. It seems that the fog just woke me up. I stretch out my body and mentally prepare for the day.

“…I’m pretty sure it’s real, I focus on using the skill and bam, a flaming tree. Come on Chris, you know you want to see a tree on fire,” I hear David say as I approach the campfire.

“David, it just doesn’t make any sense, you’re telling me right now, a tree is somewhere out there in the forest, on fire. We don’t know what direction it’s in, we don’t know how long it’ll burn for, and we sure as hell don’t know how far away it is. If we see it, sure, but I don’t think we should throw caution to the wind over a tree,” Chris replies.

“Are you referring to an active skill David?” I ask the smaller-framed goth guy.

“Yeah, it’s Locate Landmark,” he says.

“So you just focus on the skill? Can you explain?” I ask.

“Sure, I focus mentally on the concept of landmarks then it feeds an image into my mind. It’s interesting, but it doesn’t direct a path or anything, just a really vague sense of direction,” he clarifies.

“Okay, I’m gonna give it a try,” I say with a grin. I imagine my spears and think of a stronger, better version, one made of a sturdier wood with a metal tip. My mind flashes and I’m mentally diving into water where I see several large black stones. The memory sinks away as my focus returns to normal.

“Elizabeth, don’t force it. I can only use mine once a day, if I try to again I get a killer headache,” David pulls me back to reality.

“Welp, I think I just found metal,” I announce.

“Metal? Where?” Trevor asks, pausing his conversation with Big Mike.

“Umm, I think it’s by the fast moving river, it’s definitely under the water though, and pretty deep at that,” I explain my vision.

“Hmm, we would still need a forge for it, but at least we have an idea where it is,” Trevor says.

“Also, make sure to come by for lunch today, we’re going to have a group check in,” he adds.

“Yeah…. I kind of keep forgetting about lunch, don’t I?” I give a sheepish grin.

“Thanks for dropping off food for me, Trevor. I would probably starve without you,” I end with.

Picking up my bow and quiver, I begin my morning practice. As I loose arrow after arrow, the familiar right and wrong from my crafting skill begins to take over. My posture shifts, becoming less stiff, I raise my right elbow just a tad higher, and rotate my left wrist. By midday, my accuracy has already improved. I still feel that wrongness while shooting, and I have the sense that it will take a lot of repetition to ingrain the changes, but I’m optimistic.

I diligently check each arrow and the bow itself, before I take my seat around the fire. I nibble on some smoked meat, and drink down my stale water. After about ten minutes Chris and David return and they start eating, shortly thereafter Trevor stands up.

“Okay everyone, we’ve been here around ten or so days now, and we need to decide on next steps,” Trevor announces the purpose of this ‘check in’.

“Aren’t our next steps to get stronger?” Big Mike says.

“Umm….I thought our goal was to survive,” Jamie comments.

Whirling around Trevor steps back in. “Yes to both of you, but the question is, how do we do that? Do we equip ourselves as best as possible, and venture off into the world? Do we settle in here and start putting up housing? Do we move closer to a water source? We could keep going as we are, keep exploring the immediate area, keep sleeping in the teepee, surviving off smoked meat and such. But, I don’t think it’s our ideal route. What do you all think?” Trevor asks the group.

Chris is the first to respond. “Although I prefer to be out there with David exploring, having an enclosed space to sleep and live in would be nice. Especially near a River, we could probably make bathtubs.”

Huh, I guess bathing after ten days off scrounging in the dirt will make anyone excited. I think as he finishes speaking.

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“Personally, I think traveling would be better, sure we’d lose most of our tools, but there could be civilization nearby for all we know,” David says.

After several long seconds of no one speaking, Trevor starts up again, “So we have two perspectives, everyone for traveling, raise your hand.”

That’s not for me, we have knowledge and tools and I just don’t feel prepared to travel endlessly for the vague idea of civilization. Ultimately, the group agrees with me. Only David raising his hand, he scowls and lowers it.

“Okay, so do we go towards a river or do we stay here?” Trevor asks.

“I’d much prefer living near a River. Preferably the nearest one. It’s faster moving so it works as a natural break, and it’s only about a mile or two from here.” I throw my opinion out there.

“Water would be nice, but it’s not that bad of a walk, and this area is already clear of all trees and shrubbery, plus the ground is perfectly flat. If we went to the river we would have to cut down trees, rip stumps out, and maintain the land in a far more involved fashion than we do here,” John says.

He has a point, but baths.. I internally grumble at our orator.

“So which will it be, all those in favor of staying here?” Trevor takes the vote. John, Jamie, and David raise their hands. “Those for going?” He asks for clarity. Cody, Chris and I raise our hands. “Big Mike, what do you think?” he asks.

“I don’t really care, to be honest. I’m going to cut down trees either way, so it’s not a big deal to me,” Mike says.

“In that case, why don’t we wait a few more days, and come back to this topic. I don’t think I should split the tie, and it gives people time to think things through,” Trevor finishes.

“Before we all get on with the day, why don’t we go over what we’ve been up to,” Trevor changes topics. “I’ll start, I’ve been thinking over camp buildings and what we will need to properly set up our home, I’ve also been managing small tasks around camp and trying to keep us organized.” He waves to Big Mike, who’s sitting next to him.

“With sheer strength and my axe, I’ve chopped the branches of every major tree around the clearing. We have a good stockpile of firewood next to the teepee, and I’ve split some trunks for crafting,” Mike goes over his typical day.

It’s weird to find us settling into a routine in this scenario, but I guess we really don’t have a choice. I think as Jamie starts speaking.

“Umm…Well, other than my music, I’ve been working with the spider silk, I’m trying to turn it into an appropriate thread, but it’s difficult without tools,” Jamie shares.

“I’ve mostly been practicing archery and spearmanship in between crafting sessions. I plan on finishing Cody’s bow today.” I explain, then we all look at Cody. Who simply shrugs, and pulls out bits and pieces of armor, then mimes sewing.

Next is John. “I started taking down any stories I remember on loose bark, and have been working with David to make a map of the region. The map isn’t done yet, but we’re making progress,” the mop-headed man says.

“Chris and I have been looking for landmarks. Specifically, I want to find a flaming tree,” David grumbles in the second half.

“We searched all morning but haven’t found it, I think it’s at least a day out from here, and David isn’t too happy about it,” Chris adds in for his friend.

“Sounds good everyone, if there isn’t anything else… then let’s get on with our day! I’ll see you all at dinner,” Trevor says.

I feel like I’m in middle school. I let out a short giggle at the thought, earning an odd look from Cody. Who I’ve signaled to follow me. I measure his height and draw length, along with the rough size of his hands then send him on his way. After about an hour of chiseling, I’ve got the overall shape right, so I start tapering in on the edges and length, to make another set of flat limbs, I make sure to keep some extra length for later refinement. And soon enough, I’m having Cody sit next to me as I slowly piece it together. I put a small eye motif at the top of the bow on the front facing flat area. Then I layer on some wet sinew and hide backing. Now all I need to do is make the string and I’m done.

It took a little over six hours and I’m running late on my spear practice. So I lay the bow out and grab my spear. After ten minutes of going through the motions, Mike approaches me with spear in hand.

He takes a stance, and I follow suit. With a low horizontal sweep from him I take a step back. I raise my spear, pivot, and deflect his follow up. He picks up the pace. Side step, duck, return strike, step back, sweep low, deflect, and soon my arms ache. We spar, and my confidence builds, I try to take initiative but only earn a smirk. He moves into a series of jabs, I’m knocked back. He strikes at angles coming from both above and below, transitioning from one stroke to the next. It takes about five minutes before my bruised body rests on the ground.

“Better, you can accurately predict sweeps and strikes, but jabs you don’t know. So you’re going to follow along for fifteen minutes and then take a fifteen minute break. You're going to keep this up until dinner,” he orders and I take my position. He shows me various strikes from each angle, vertical down, upper left down, lower left up, and their right counterparts. He has me move through each strike for the fifteen minutes. Over the next couple hours I drain all my energy and soon find myself devouring strips of meat in front of the fire. While the boys talk, I shuffle off to bed.

The morning is familiar, as I go through my archery. The warm sun on my now tan skin feels amazing when mixed with the cool summer breeze. The sounds of distant birds echo through the clearing and it isn’t long until lunch. My accuracy has improved to the point that I’m hitting around 9 out of ten arrows. Starting tomorrow I’m either going to have to try moving and shooting, or bringing the range up to around 100 feet.

After lunch I create Watchers string and prepare it for the bow. I measure it twice before cutting it to size, and looping the ends. With a bit of help from Cody we slip the string on and the second bow is complete.

Watcher’s Bow

A long flat bow made for a friend of the bowyer.