beautiful barbarian
princess, a furry black and blue–hued intelligent cat–thing, piranha birds,
abandoned Jeeps and wheelchairs, phantom thunder, carnivorous grass,
kleptomaniac vines, savage snake men, perpetual sunlight, meteorologist moss,
and a host of other things. Underground metal passageways didn’t seem so
perplexing or important when compared to some of those.
After reaching the top again, we discovered a small spring
bubbling up through some rocks. Bloop knelt and sniffed the water. Apparently
satisfied that it was safe, he cupped his hands and drank. Then, Kasheena and I
did the same. After a brief respite, we continued on our way and soon found a
flat, smooth space on the forest floor on which to make camp. Using our swords,
the three of us cut fronds from a palm tree and lay them on the ground to make
a bed. We covered these with soft green and yellow ferns. After that, we cut
some more palm fronds and fashioned a canopy above the bed.
Bloop disappeared into the forest while Kasheena and I gathered a
number of large rocks and formed a stone fire pit. I asked her how we would
make a fire. To the best of my knowledge, neither her nor Bloop had a tinder
box or matches (if they had, I don’t know where they would have hidden them,
given his full nudity and her lack of anything other than a loincloth). And I
certainly couldn’t start one with the few items I had scavenged.
Kasheena gave me a playful smile. “I have much to teach you,
Aaron.”
She walked into the forest and beckoned me to follow. Puzzled, I
did as she requested. She searched the ground, overturning rotten logs and
sweeping the vegetation aside until she found a strange–colored rock—grey and
silver shot through with brick–red speckles. The stone was roughly the size of
a baseball. She pried it up out of the ground and then searched until she found
another.
“These rocks produce a spark when ground together. I noticed that
there were many of them in the area when we were setting up the camp. Unlike
our meal before our encounter with the dragon, we can cook our dinner now.”
“I’d like that.”
“As would I,” she agreed. “Gather some tinder, and then I will
start a fire. It should give us some comfort until the rains come.”
“And how soon will that be?”
She glanced up at the treetops and shrugged. “It is hard to know
for sure. The trees grow close together here, and I cannot get a good view of
the sky. But soon, I think.”
I went about gathering an armful of twigs and branches, mindful
of where I stepped and what I touched. I also made sure to focus only on dead
wood, rather than cutting any from the trees. I’d seen what some of the
vegetation in the Lost Level could do, and I didn’t want to take any chances
with the strange plants growing around me. I piled the tinder up and then added
some of the scrap paper I’d collected from the Jeep.
Bloop returned to camp just as I did. He carried three rabbits
with him. They looked remarkably like the rabbits back home, except for their
fur, which had a greenish tint—probably some sort of camouflage effect. He
proceeded to skin and field dress them. Given my reaction to our earlier meal,
I wondered if this was for my benefit or not. He offered us the bloody innards,
but both Kasheena and I declined. Shrugging, Bloop noisily slurped them down.
Bits of gore dangled from his whiskers and the fur on his chin. He grinned,
flashing blood–stained fangs.
Kasheena, meanwhile, piled my tinder in the center of the ring of
stones and then crouched over it, holding one of the peculiar rocks in each
hand. She struck them together, reminding me of a teacher knocking two
chalkboard erasers together, but instead of producing a cloud of dust, a shower
of bright sparks erupted. Their vibrancy surprised me. I had expected a few
singular sparks, much like that produced from a piece of flint, but instead, it
was like she’d turned on an arc–welder. The paper caught fire
princess, a furry black and blue–hued intelligent cat–thing, piranha birds,
abandoned Jeeps and wheelchairs, phantom thunder, carnivorous grass,
kleptomaniac vines, savage snake men, perpetual sunlight, meteorologist moss,
and a host of other things. Underground metal passageways didn’t seem so
perplexing or important when compared to some of those.
After reaching the top again, we discovered a small spring
bubbling up through some rocks. Bloop knelt and sniffed the water. Apparently
satisfied that it was safe, he cupped his hands and drank. Then, Kasheena and I
did the same. After a brief respite, we continued on our way and soon found a
flat, smooth space on the forest floor on which to make camp. Using our swords,
the three of us cut fronds from a palm tree and lay them on the ground to make
a bed. We covered these with soft green and yellow ferns. After that, we cut
some more palm fronds and fashioned a canopy above the bed.
Bloop disappeared into the forest while Kasheena and I gathered a
number of large rocks and formed a stone fire pit. I asked her how we would
make a fire. To the best of my knowledge, neither her nor Bloop had a tinder
box or matches (if they had, I don’t know where they would have hidden them,
given his full nudity and her lack of anything other than a loincloth). And I
certainly couldn’t start one with the few items I had scavenged.
Kasheena gave me a playful smile. “I have much to teach you,
Aaron.”
She walked into the forest and beckoned me to follow. Puzzled, I
did as she requested. She searched the ground, overturning rotten logs and
sweeping the vegetation aside until she found a strange–colored rock—grey and
silver shot through with brick–red speckles. The stone was roughly the size of
a baseball. She pried it up out of the ground and then searched until she found
another.
“These rocks produce a spark when ground together. I noticed that
there were many of them in the area when we were setting up the camp. Unlike
our meal before our encounter with the dragon, we can cook our dinner now.”
“I’d like that.”
“As would I,” she agreed. “Gather some tinder, and then I will
start a fire. It should give us some comfort until the rains come.”
“And how soon will that be?”
She glanced up at the treetops and shrugged. “It is hard to know
for sure. The trees grow close together here, and I cannot get a good view of
the sky. But soon, I think.”
I went about gathering an armful of twigs and branches, mindful
of where I stepped and what I touched. I also made sure to focus only on dead
wood, rather than cutting any from the trees. I’d seen what some of the
vegetation in the Lost Level could do, and I didn’t want to take any chances
with the strange plants growing around me. I piled the tinder up and then added
some of the scrap paper I’d collected from the Jeep.
Bloop returned to camp just as I did. He carried three rabbits
with him. They looked remarkably like the rabbits back home, except for their
fur, which had a greenish tint—probably some sort of camouflage effect. He
proceeded to skin and field dress them. Given my reaction to our earlier meal,
I wondered if this was for my benefit or not. He offered us the bloody innards,
but both Kasheena and I declined. Shrugging, Bloop noisily slurped them down.
Bits of gore dangled from his whiskers and the fur on his chin. He grinned,
flashing blood–stained fangs.
Kasheena, meanwhile, piled my tinder in the center of the ring of
stones and then crouched over it, holding one of the peculiar rocks in each
hand. She struck them together, reminding me of a teacher knocking two
chalkboard erasers together, but instead of producing a cloud of dust, a shower
of bright sparks erupted. Their vibrancy surprised me. I had expected a few
singular sparks, much like that produced from a piece of flint, but instead, it
was like she’d turned on an arc–welder. The paper caught fire
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