Chapter 5: Lead the Way

He had no idea how far he ran, but it enough to make him feel tired. Alexander found himself under a rocky alcove for the night, swathing himself almost desperately in the brown scraps of cloth that still remained on his person. It was enough to shroud his head and his shoulders, but little else.

While he would identify the climate as temperate, he fully expected his sleep to be miserable. He expected to be cold and shivering, a consequence of laying asleep without an actual form of covering. But he was pleasantly wrong. While it was for from comfortable, his armor allowed him a considerable amount of warmth.

It was this factor that led to him waking up in the morning largely refreshed, albeit still worn out. He would have to provide his own meal this time. He brought out the knife Janesca gave him yesterday, cursing its mild bluntness.

Before his capture he was set with a myriad of weapons and tools. Large daggers, throwing knives, darts were but a few examples of the weapons he had on hand. If his apparently high-tier armor was any indication, all of those weapons were probably of a high quality. They would have probably cut through any low level indigenous fauna like butter.

But alas, he has lost them all now....and in this moment Alexander felt frustration rise up as he stared at the knife that barely bigger than his palm. It showed signs of aging, with some of its steel blade being tarnished with the dark orange colors of rust.

He wasted....god, he wasted so much! Hunger issues aside, he was delt a pretty good hand! Granted, he didn’t know just how powerful those tools were...or his armor, for that matter. He just knew it was good enough to absorb the effects of a “palm strike”, whatever that entailed.

The attack itself he could understand—hell, his sternum still felt little sore—but aside from a paralysis effect that should have been a knockout, he didn’t know what else it was supposed to do. Did it have a level limitation? Or was it only effective against certain classes? Or was it a damage-type thing where his armor was made of material resistant to knockout effects?

Groaning in frustration and disappointment, Alexander found himself trudging through the grass as he wandered without direction. He several woodland critters. With birds, squirrels, and the like skittering about. All being so close yet so far.

What he would give for a bow and arrow...

He heard a large rustling again, and he looked to his side to see the unicorn from before walking its way over him. He didn’t think horses—er, unicorns—were especially emotive. But his trotting seemed chipper than what one would expect. With his hooves lifting just higher than what was strictly necessary and with his head held high, the unicorn was practically gallivanting as it tread through the forest.

By the time it was in front of him, the creature almost looked like it was preening. He was rather proud of himself, wasn’t he? He gave an amused smile. “I had no idea trashing a poor woman’s camp was your idea of a good time.”

Its ears flicked in response, waiting for some other form of communication before it made a move. Even as Alexander shifted his weight from side to side, it seemed to waiting for him. “So, to be honest, I thought that escapade at the camp was a mixture of curiosity and territorialism. But do you understand what I am saying?”

It pawed at the ground once. Was that yes? Or was just a sign of boredom? “So...can you lead me to food?”

It reared its head, lifting its chin especially high before it started turning. Reaching a hand out to grip at its mane, fully intending to lift himself onto his back, he found himself barely registering its soft texture before the unicorn darted out of his reach.

It gave out a short, shrill winnie as it went ahead of him, looking accusingly at it as it did so. Touching, it seemed, was a bridge too far for him. That probably meant riding him was out of the question for him too.

He held up his hands, trying his best to look apologetic. “Lead on then.”

It gave a loud snort at him, tail angrily flicking in the air as it turned tail and continued onwards. Keeping an obvious distance between him and itself, Alexander found himself starring at unicorn buttocks as he followed like a trained puppy. He was pretty sure it was even mocking him, deliberately swish-swashing its tail every time he made a noise.

“I’m sorry, alright.” He groaned, craning his neck to the side so he can hopefully see its face. The unicorn continued walking, not even bothering to look back as it continued its steady walk.

“I didn’t know unicorns were picky about who could touch them...” He muttered sourly. But it was an interesting tidbit to know. They continued walking in silence for roughly 30 minutes, with Alexander only taking silent note of the foliage they were passing. He saw leaves that looked like fractals, flowers that grew in clumps, and weeds close to the ground that reminded him of honeysuckle.

It was when he heard a careening caw from an unknown bird that he decided to speak, the silence of the trek finally getting to him. “So how long is this going to take?”

No response.

With air rushing through his nose and bemoaning his lack of tools again, Alexander resolved to following his ass of a guide.