Leo awoke to the dim light that filtered into the cave. His body still hurt from the fight, but the more intense pain—the one that was driving his brain crazy—was much, much worse.
He couldn't stay there anymore.
The mirror.
It frightened him. Whatever it was, whatever the goo had revealed, he knew staying near it was a mistake.
With no option, he decided to journey towards the city the stranger had mentioned.
But he needed to prepare first.
First and foremost, Leo needed a good weapon.
Having gone to the river for water, he saw a thick branch and sharpened one end to a fine point. He toughened the point with hardened resin and leftover rabbit bones and attached it in place with plant fibers.
As he held the finished spear, it was strong—not perfect, but adequate.
Then there were supplies to be obtained.
He returned to the cave and sat down and carved out twenty small wooden vials. His hands complained about the work, but ultimately, he had usable containers for storing liquids.
Leo returned to the burnt clearing where he had fought the Bloodclaw Ursan. The devastation was more severe than he remembered—burnt trees, burnt ground, and shattered boulders.
He had hoped to reclaim the Bloodclaw's pelt, but it was burnt too badly, too brittle. But its claws and teeth were intact. Leo carefully cut them off with a sharpened stone.
They were huge—bigger than he had expected. Perfect for crafting later.
But he was not here for that alone.
Leo needed the red-spotted berries—the ones which caused paralysis.
Most of the plants had been burnt by the fire, so he had to travel upstream over a river to a nearby lake.
After searching around a bit, he was able to finally spot a bed of the berries and pick up as many of them as he could.
On leaving, he noticed something.
A light-blue, shining moss that had grown between two rocks.
Curious, he used God's Eye.
Azure Veil Moss
• A valuable moss with mild healing properties.
• When used topically, it is possible to speed up closing minor wounds.
Leo's mind was spinning. That was why his injuries healed quickly after he fell into the river.
Carefully, he gathered as much as he could.
Satisfied with his pack, he returned to the cave to start crafting.
Perched by his campfire, Leo employed ten of the bottles and filled them up with river water.
Then, he crushed up the red-spotted berries in a bowl and pressed out their juice, filling the bottles up.
God's Eye: Diluted Paralysis Potion (Minimal Effect)
Leo frowned. Too weak.
Then he considered the Azure Brineleaf—a veined blue-green leaf which he had earlier picked. Steeped in water, it produced a salty-like substance to preserve meat.
Picking up one of the ten weak paralysis potions, he soaked a single Azure Brineleaf in water and shaved the salt-like substance, mixing it into the potion.
God's Eye: Weak Paralysis Potion
• Effects: Affects humans and small animals. Not effective against larger animals.
Leo smiled. That's better.
He did the same for the other nine bottles, completing his set of paralysis potions.
Then, he moved on to the healing potions.
With the remaining ten bottles, he combined:
• Clean water
• Azure Veil Moss (healing properties)
God's Eye: Ineffective Healing Potion
• Effects: Heals minor wounds upon consumption.
• For medium wounds, it must be applied externally.
Leo exhaled. That would suffice.
Final Preparations
Having two pouches of potions—one for healing, one for paralyzing—Leo felt ready.
But something was nagging him.
The baby wolf hadn't shown up in two days.
He had grown used to its presence. Now… it was gone. Maybe it had left, or maybe… something had happened.
Leo's fists tightened. He could not linger.
If the stranger's directions were accurate, then the city was near.
And he had to find out what awaited him there.
He would be departing the cave at dawn tomorrow.