Chapter 24: New Camp

The mood felt heavy, even after they caught sight of the abandoned campsite and altered their course to reach it. Neither of them said a word as they parked twenty yards away and walked the final distance, being careful to keep an eye open for a potential ambush.

Their caution was unnecessary. The abandoned camp, if it could be called such a thing, held nothing more exciting than a ring of rocks around a few charred twigs, a bed of dried grass, and the remains of a broken clay pot. Hugh immediately searched the pot to see if it was hiding any secrets, but the only thing inside was a spoonful of water and a twig. Hugh scanned both to make sure they weren't something special, perhaps a healing draft and a wand, but the holographic tool-tip only confirmed what he already knew. The pot and its contents were trash.

The only thing making the camp a tiny bit of an improvement over their old site was the fishing hole only a few feet away. It wasn't huge and Hugh couldn't see any fish, but the water was crystal clear and perfect for bathing.

"We should have done some hunting while we were still in the woods," Hugh said regretfully as he poked the grass bed in search of fallen trinkets. Again, he found nothing.

"We could check that grove for wildlife," Dex said, pointing to a stand of trees to the East. If Hugh had to hazard a guess, he thought it was only a quarter mile away. It'd be an easy trip there compared to their five kilometer biking marathon, but his thighs were already aching from the exercise he'd already done.

"I have a better idea," Hugh replied. "Why don't I set up camp, then find a recipe for you to spawn for dinner? I was going to use my last three spawns for another tent, some soap, and some towels, but food is starting to sound better. After that, we could spent the rest of the afternoon swimming and relaxing."

"What happened to your gung ho attitude?" Dex asked in concern. "I thought you were eager to make progress. Was it because of what I said?"

"No, it's not that. My muscles are starting to ache. I overdid it with the wishing well and the bike ride. I'm assuming it means I can injure myself if I can feel the warning signs of overworking."

"You can." His tone suggested he was holding back something and Hugh didn't like it. He didn't want Dex to ever feel like he couldn't speak up.

"Spit it out," he said. "I know you want to say something, so say it. I'm not a mind reader and I prefer it when the people around me don't act like I can figure out what they want me to know if they just wait long enough. I'm not that bright."

Dex sighed. "I wish you'd stop putting yourself down like that. And I'm not expecting you to read my mind. I'm just not certain I want to give my opinion when I know it'll alter your choices. But since you insist, I'll tell you anyway. I don't think we need another tent. The weather won't change until you use the Genesis Spear to bring rain and there won't be any biting insects or threatening animals for the same reason. We can sleep in the open without worry for the rest of our journey. Soap would be a waste, as well. We're not dirty enough to need it and I'm not sure it's a good idea to contaminate the pond with the chemicals in your modern soaps. However, if your muscles are aching too much, you might consider having me spawn muscle cream instead."

Hugh understood why the Navigator hesitated now. He was right—everything he said did alter Hugh's choices. "I think I can do without the cream as long as I relax for a while. I still want one of my daily spawns to be towels, though. A stack of beach towels preferably, so we can use them as blankets. Even if the weather doesn't change and it doesn't get any colder, I'll sleep better with something over me."

"I don't think I can do a stack of towels with a single daily spawn use," Dex replied in consideration. "But there shouldn't be a problem with sharing one to dry off and I can sleep without a blanket tonight. The Robe of Affluence you spawned for me will keep me comfortable. Yours will keep you comfortable, too."

"Then we'll use one spawn for dinner, one for a beach towel, and one for a pop-up pavilion."

"A what?"

"A pop-up pavilion. I remember scanning one in the camping section of the department store before they threw me out. It's like a tent, but you can roll up the walls so it's just a canopy. We might not have to worry about rain and bugs right now, but the sun is going to burn the hell out of us if we stay out in the open for the rest of the afternoon. I'd rather avoid sunburns if I can."

"Alright. The towel and pavilion are in your inventory whenever you want to confirm. I'll add dinner once you decide what you want."

Hugh took a seat on the edge of the grassy bed, finding it to be a much softer chair than the hard ground, and pulled out his Book. He woke it and turned to his inventory, seeking out the icons for the items he'd requested. Confirming the creation of both, he summoned the towel onto the grass beside him, then directed his wand to an open patch of ground to summon the pavilion.

A cardboard box appeared on the ground.

"Please tell me it has a pavilion inside and I didn't just waste a daily item spawn on packaging," Hugh said.

Dex chuckled. "I would have warned you first. No, this is just the form the item took when when you scanned it in the real world. If you'd scanned a bundle of towels instead of individual ones, I could have spawned a stack that way, but you didn't. The only bundles I'm seeing are a package of socks, a package of boxer briefs, three varieties of gift sets, and something labeled a bug-out bag."

"Crap," Hugh said. "I forgot I scanned that. I made the bug-out bag when I went through a prepper phase. I should have spawned that instead of the beach towel—it has a towel and a bunch of other goodies we could have used."

"I can queue it for tomorrow's spawn," Dex offered.

"Actually, go ahead and spawn it now for our last item. If I remember right, it has several cans of soup in it and a self-heating thermos."