Zuo Ci closed his mouth and held his breath as he watched the almost crystal clear water come rushing towards his feet. He tucked his legs up against his chest and closed his eyes tightly...

 

The water hit me like a brick, sending pain signals throughout my body. My brain was telling me to get above the water's surface but my body was telling me to give in to the pain. I kicked my legs outwards and started thrashing about like a fish out of water. I eventually surfaced and found myself looking up at a clear blue sky. I looked around to see some grasslands to the west and some marshes closer to me to the east.

 

I summoned all my strength to swim easterly towards the marshes. As I approached, I noticed the water getting shallow and murkier. Around the marshes were many grass patches dotted around. A little north of my position there was a large grass bank that lined the side of the marsh and the river. Looking up at the evening sky, I decided that I would go to the grass bank and sleep there for a night to regain my strength for further exploration in the morning...

 

 

{Arrived at square G4, travelled slightly into H4, then rested for the night on the grass/marsh bank in between squares G4 and G3}

 

LiChef

I awoke sometime early in the morning. I looked up at what seemed to be a Sun and noticed it was only just rising above the horizon. It was earlier than I imagined. I looked around for anything that could of stirred me from my slumber and noticed the water rippling close by to me. I stood up, brushed myself down, and walked towards the fast flowing river that I had landed in the day before.

 

I watched as a school of fish swam around in circles and occasionally rose above the water for air. I smiled and realised that this world was more abundant in life than I previously assumed. I sat down and watched them for a while longer, mesmerized by their dance.

 

After the sun had risen a little more, I closed my eyes and focused on the thought of the fish...

 

{Stayed in same square as before}

 

LiChef

Smiling, I shoved the hastily cut fish into my robe pockets. I may of lost everything else, but this simple garment and goose quill stayed with me.

 

I had had to cut the fish up with some sharp stones that had been eroded by the fast flowing river. At least they might be slightly clean. And of course, at least I could eat the fish raw as I explored for the rest of the day.

 

I decided that I would wait until my energy had returned to me and then I would cross the river. Surely there would be more life over there, perhaps even someone who I could talk to. But for now I would explore this marsh a little more and see how far it extended over the river.

 

I should probably stick to the north of the marsh, where the river next to it is smaller and a little less harsh...

 

{Zuo Ci makes a note on map, Stayed in the same square as before}

 

LiChef

Sticking to the north, I proceeded to explore the marsh area around me. The water here was only upto my thighs and I could almost walk with ease. Every now and again I stopped to take a small piece of fish out of my pocket and ate it. The fish was cold and slimy, but it provided me with energy and kept me going a little longer.

 

I stopped where I was and turned back to see that the grass bank that I had started from was now a tiny speck in the distance. I must of travelled at least three and a half Li. Looking northwards I could see the distance between the marsh and the grasslands getting narrower. I presumed this was as narrow as they would get before they started to open out again.

 

Just south of me was a larger grass island that looked as though it could harbour more flora or fauna that would provide me with better nutrition than the fish.

 

I started wading in a southerly direction in order to reach the larger island of grass...

 

{Travelled from G3, along the bottom of H3 and into the bottom of I3}

 

LiChef

As the Sun, if that's what it is called, reached the highest point in the sky, I stopped and caught my breath. I had been walking all day and I had eaten all my fish pieces. I walked along the river a little further and noticed a small hunched creature, seemingly drinking from the water.

 

I reached for my enchanted cards and suddenly realised that they were gone. I cursed myself for not realising earlier and began to walk towards the creature. As I got closer I noticed it was a human, the first one I had seen here, dressed in ragged, torn clothes...

 

{Same square as before}

 

LiChef

I approached from behind the scraggy looking human and tapped him gently on the left shoulder. After a few moments I over exagerated a noise to get his attention.

 

"Hem-hem"

 

{Same square as before}

 

LiChef

I watched the creature, who now turned out to be a human, stand and grab me by the throat. Although slightly surprised, I remained calm.

 

"I am Zuo Ci".

 

The stranger looked at me a little longer, as though beckoning me to carry on speaking.

 

"I am afraid that is all that I can tell you, as I am a stranger to these lands. Brought here by a magic that I am unaware of", I paused for a moment and caught my breath, "I was hoping you'd be able to tell me more..."

 

{Same square as before}

 

LiChef

Well, if you don't know anything, for now, I'd rather work this out on my own. I released him from my grip, dove into the water, and swam downcurrent.

 

(I probably won't be doing much with this rpg right now, so I'd rather not hold anyone else back by not being here)

(Switching from 1st person)

 

"How rude..." Zuo Ci thought. He watched the silhouette of the mysterious stranger swim away and then looked around for a surface to make camp.

 

An hour later, maybe more, he found a large grassy bank somewhere in the middle of the swamp. He nodded in agreement many times and began stamping out any protruding weeds or sticks...

 

{Stayed the night at square I4}

 

LiChef

Zuo Ci left the large grassy bank and began to swim northwards to where he had found the stranger. He presumed that the stranger would know where he was going to run off so hastily, and thus presumed that he too should travel in this general direction.

 

He spent about an hour walking north until he found himself staring in to the river once more. He took a deep breath and dived into it's icy depths. The fast moving current made it difficult for Zuo to swim as strongly as he would of liked, but nevertheless, he made it to the other side.

 

In a northwesterly direction he could see a large area of forest; and he decided that it was to here that he would travel. He began to walk at a steady pace towards the trees and was blissfully unaware of the sun starting to set...

 

{Moved from square I4 to I3, moving off towards H2}

 

LiChef

Zuo Ci woke very early the next morning, for a reason he couldn't quite work out. He looked around his makeshift camp for anything that would indicate why he had awoken so abruptly, but found none. He packed up what little things he had and began to walk towards the forest that he had pinpointed yesterday.

 

He began trekking towards the forest, and thus did not notice himself being stalked. He soon arrived at the wall of trees and peered into the darkness. He looked up at the sky and noticed the orangey colour that he had awoken to was starting to turn blue. So it was nearing late morning, he thought to himself.

 

He began to walk into the forest, blissfully unaware of his peril...

 

{Entered square H2}

 

LiChef

{Oops, double post}

Zuo Ci walked casually through the forest, keeping his eye out for any food that he could forage from the forest floor. He spotted some small red berries that seemed to grow high up in the treetops, but not near the bottom. Maybe they enjoyed being high up, he thought.

 

He decided against eating the berries and walked further into the forest, checking behind himself every five minutes or so. So far he had only found the various fish near the swamp and was starting to wonder if anything else could sustain itself here.

 

He stopped and leant against a tall tree, a litter of red berries scattered around its roots...

 

{Moved deeper into square H2}

Zuo Ci opened his eyes and was suddenly aware of the temperature. He was sweating, at least he though it was sweat. He ran his hand along his forehead and placed it in front of his eyes. His sweat was yellow? He nervously glanced upwards and saw a large arachnid like creature peering down at him, drooling.

 

Zuo Ci shuddered at the thought of being covered in arachnid drool and started to back away from the tree. Wherever he moved, the spider's eyes followed. Without warning, the spider jumped down from the tree and started circling its prey. Zuo Ci backed himself against another tree and slowly slid to the ground.

 

The spider opened up its jaws and began to walk closer and closer to Zuo. Acting on instinct, he grabbed a few of the red berries from the floor and threw them into the spider's mouth. Its jaws snapped shut and it began to chew violently.

 

The spider stopped in its tracks, seemingly waiting for something. Froth began to appear around its mouth and its legs began to tremble. The arachnid collapsed in a large heap, its stomach making a horrible churning noise.

 

Zuo Ci ran as fast as he could away from the arachnid, he hoped there wouldn't be anymore...

 

{Zuo Ci makes a note on his map, Moves deeper into square H2}

Zuo Ci ran, clutching his pockets tightly. He only had his goose quill and the map he found, and he'd be damned if he lost them now.

 

Zuo vaulted over twisting roots and avoided the fallen red berries as best he could. Who knows what they could do to clothing, he thought...

 

{Same square as before}

Zuo Ci emerged from the forest, his clothing stained with the juice of the poisonous red berries. It seemed they had no affect on clothing or skin, but burnt everything inside a creatures digestive system. He smiled slightly. He had made one important discovery for himself.

 

He glanced into his pockets. The fish grease had stained the farbric and there was now nothing left to eat. He could feel his stomach rumbling. Feeling dizzy from the spring and the lack of food, he staggered towards a large boulder, where he sat down and rested his head against its cool surface.

 

He could feel himself slipping out of consciousness...

 

{At the south-west corner of square H2}

(I apologise for the amount of time i've been inactive guys, on all aspects of the TIF forum. I'm not gonna lie, I just had more important things to deal with at the time. However, I am back on the forums, and I shall try and make a good go of it this time)

 

Zuo Ci awoke from what he could only presume was a long period of unconsciousness.

 

He staggered blindly back towards the forest. No, that wasn't the right way, he thought. There were big spiders and poisonous berries in there... He let himself fall to his knees, where he searched for any form of food that he could eat. He found a small group of the red berries that had saved his life earlier. He picked a few of them up and ate them straight away, forgetting about the horiffic things that they had done to the spider.

 

He felt his stomach lurch and gurgle. He could sense his digestive organs struggling to cope with the poisonous ooze that was inside the berry.

 

He quickly jumped up, full of energy and feeling suddenly afraid. He ran quickly in a northerly direction, faster than he had ever ran before. He glanced up into the night sky, watching as the large spiders danced about with the stars. Was he hallucinating? No, he thought. The spiders had always danced with the stars. He looked down at his feet. Following him were two large mosquitos, there antennae poking him gently. The insects nodded behind them and forced Zuo to follow their gaze. He saw a giant boulder rolling towards him, crushing all the small carrots in it's path.

 

Carrots? Yes, of course, he thought. He was on a world made of carrots.

 

The two insects stuck their thin legs in front of Zuo, and he fell forwards, his face and body crushing the carrots beneath him. He rolled over and looked up at the dancing spiders. They were laughing at him now. He looked back at the boulder and saw it approaching ever closer. He panicked, and raised his hands in order to stop the boulder.

 

Suddenly, a crimson set of tarot cards appeared in his hand, their golden embroidery shining in the spider-light. They fired a beam of green light towards the boulder, which shattered into a thousand pieces. The sky suddenly rained down a thick crimson fluid, similar to the colour of the cards. Zuo stood, his mouth open wide as he drank as much of the liquid as he could.

 

He keeled over violently, and collapsed to the ground...

 

{On the northern border of squares G1 and H1}