Chapter 8: Chapter 8: the end of the endlands

Sleeping on the cushion on top of a table is not as comfortable as the whole couch. Sitting up, I headbut the metal table above me, before falling back down. When I put the tables in my inventory, I got a face full of water. Pretty great start to the day so far. At least it isn’t raining anymore. I look up at the cloudy sky and say “Don’t take that as a challenge!”

Looking around while still sitting on one of the cushions, I see the still wet terrain. There being no grass means that there is a whole lot of mud. As I contemplate how to travel onwards, my stomach growls. Today’s slab of meat tastes about the same as the others since I didn’t cook it after yesterday’s failure. It’s the second to last piece of meat, I really hope to get out of the endlands soon, or I will have to eat the pickled stuff.

After magicking away the improvised bed, I start heading down the muddy hill. I am really glad that my fur is dirt resistant and the mud just slides off it, because it turns out mud is slippery. Unfortunately, the inside of my mouth is not mud resistant. BLERGH. Tastes awful, and it takes a few flushes of water to get the taste to a tolerable level.

Aside from the initial fall, traveling through the mud is not that difficult. And as the day progressed, I continued practicing with my music. As the evening approached I even managed to play a simple tune. I may have even tried playing the mario bros theme and the imperial march to limited success. My notes and timing were off, but I could recognize it!

Now, how should I sleep tonight? Seeing the success of yesterday’s table fort, I decide to replicate it on top of the nearby hill. Scouting for nearby abominations reveals a few small one a fair bit away, so it’ll probably be fine.

As I traveled north today, the abominations got fewer and farther between. Hopefully that means I’m getting closer.

Curling up on the cushions is still not as good as the couch, but it’s a lot better than the ground, so it’s not that hard to fall asleep.

 

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Today I don’t bonk my head at the table, and I don’t immediately get wet when I take it away. I mean, I still stepped away from it before packing it away.

Breakfast today is the last slab of meat. After staring at it for a while, contemplating if I should cook it or not, I decide against it. I still feels a bit odd to have teeth for cutting and not for crushing, but it’s growing on me. Maybe I’ll change my opinion when I eat something other than meat, but for now it’s fine.

Today’s travel goes by fast as I travel at an increased speed, motivated by a dwindling food supply and progress in my music. There are even fewer abominations now, and by the time I set up camp again, I can see an end to the clouds. It’s still fairly far away, but it might mean the end of the endlands.

At this point the ground is no longer muddy, so technically I don’t need the wooden table to lift me off the ground, but my table fort has proven to be successful so far, so why change it now.

 

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Today might be my final day in the endlands. At least I hope so. It’s also the first day without the meat provided by Danievil. Since My stomach is growling, I have to look into the pickled stuff. 

After taking a few of them out and setting them on one of the metal tables, I start opening the one with fruit in it. The lid is quite stuck, but after some careful application of force and magic, I get it opened. As soon as I manage it, the stench hit me. It’s absolutely awful! The fruit is pickled in vinegar, and my new nose is absolutely disagreeing with it.

No way in hell I’m eating that! After closing the lid back up, I contemplate just throwing it away, but the thought of accidentally smashing the jar anywhere near me is enough justification for me to just stash it back into my inventory.

Checking another one, I am hit by an equally terrible smell, and the procedure repeats itself. The third jar is one of the meat ones, and after I open it, I actually vomit. It must be rotten or something, because it is SO much worse. I barely manage to put the lid back on, before I evacuate the premises. Taking my table with me, and leaving the jar.

I think I don’t need food for today, so I’ll just continue north, towards the end of the clouds.

It feels like it is taking forever to get anywhere as my growling stomach continuously degrades my mood. I the beginning I manage to keep my mood up by humming and playing song with my lightning, but as I continue for hours, my humming almost turns to growling, and the lightning becomes less harmonious and more snappy. 

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By the time I reach the edge of the clouds, It’s beginning to get darker. Even with how angry I am now, I can’t help stopping at a hilltop and stare at the end of the endlands. There is this sharp line between the barren lands of the endlands, and the lush greenery of the not endlands. I don’t know what to call it, but the terrain is similar, with the exception of the living trees and the grass. It even has running water in the form of rivers! 

The beauty is magnified further by the orange sunset, casting rays from the west.

I don’t remain staring for too long, and start to run towards the greenery. How long has it been since I saw the blue sky and the green grass? 

As soon as I cross the surprisingly sharp border, I throw myself down onto the grass. It feels nice, but It doesn’t take too long for my hunger to urge me to look for food.

After walking a bit farther into the woods, I eventually spot a deer, and immediately I charge at it. I’m not sure if it died from being electrocuted or from me biting its neck, or even why I spontaneously charged it. Either way, a stag is gonna feed me for a few days.

In my hunger, I don’t worry about appearances, so I use my teeth and claws to eat it. 

Whilst I’m satiating my, by now ravenous hunger, an arrow strikes me in the chest.

 

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I watch as my brother takes aim with his bow. He charges the shot with his stamina, and as he is about to release, a white monster charges at the stag, killing it almost immediately. 

As it starts to eat its catch, he readjusts his aim, and fires at the new arrival before I could warn him about the amount of mana it possesses. Him being a stamina user, he can’t really tell how dangerous magical beasts are, but not noticing the lightning that arches all around it is sloppy on his part.

As soon as the arrow hits, the beast turns to look at him with its bright red eyes. SHIT, it’s a vampire. At least he recognizes the threat and fires a second shot, but by now the monster is prepared and is running at him, though slower than when it charged the stag. It easily destroys the arrow with a lightning bolt, which causes my brother to panic a little, because he drops his bow, and pulls out his dagger.

I would love to step in and help, but as it got closer, the sheer difference in power between us and it becomes apparent. I has more mana than anyone I have ever met, including the village elders. We have to get a message back so that the hunters can prepare.

The best I can do is probably to remain hidden, and hope it doesn’t notice me. It’s honestly absolutely terrifying knowing how little chance he has.

As the vampiric monster comes within reach, he swings his blade at it. In response it quickly steps around the swing, and grabs his arm, before proceeding to grab onto his leather chestpiece and push him onto the ground.

The beast is at most two heads shorter than him, but it easily overpowers him. As it holds him to the ground, the lightning all around it becomes louder, and it says something to him. It’s Kinda hard to tell what it said with all the noise from the lightning, but I think the first word was “why”.

It releases its hold on him, but remains leaning over him, as if expecting an answer. He uses this opportunity to shout for me to run and strike it with his hand. As soon as his hand connects with it, there is a thunderclap and he goes limp.

I have to hold my hands in front of my mouth to not scream, but the monster looks directly at me with its red eyes for a moment, before turning back to my brother and grabbing him, shouting something at him and shaking him.

I can’t look anymore and start to run back to the village as fast as I can manage, hoping it doesn’t follow me.