Nick's next objective was to examine the sliver of shoreline visible from this angle, an ivory strip of sand in the shape of a rib. The southern side of the island spread out before him in a breathtaking panorama. He could see the streams running from the spring gleaming like bands of molten silver. The obelisk was hidden from his view, but he could see bits and pieces of the western coast.

He tried to make out the forms of individual komos and lemurs, but they were too small to pick out from this elevation. To the east, Nick spotted what appeared to be a colossal pile of firewood splayed out along the shore. The distinct angles and curves were out of place with the organic contours of the terrain. That must be a shipwreck. I should check it out sometime soon.

He then looked north, turning his attention from the shore to the interior of the island. From here, he could see a series of foothills ringing the base of the mountain, the tallest topping off just below his present vantage. It looks like there is a highlands biome that is separate from the mountain. Nick memorized the layout of the hills visible to him, for he suspected that he would visit the highlands eventually, then twisted to inspect the woods running between mountain and shore.

Part of the reason that he had been willing to climb the massive tree to begin with was to get a sense of the biome bordering the beach. It took only a glance for Nick to be certain that avoiding the woods had been the right call, shoes or no shoes. Beyond the area claimed by the conifers, the overgrowth was incredibly dense. Visibility in those regions would be terrible, and getting lost or ambushed would be inevitable without being properly prepared. But even more worrisome were the landmarks that could never have appeared on Earth.

Nick turned his gaze to the northwest, to the section of forest closest to where he had woken up on the island. His gaze soon landed on what appeared to be a giant, Alice in Wonderland style mushroom jutting above the treetops like a lighthouse. It sported a speckled red cap the size of a barn, rising up to half again the height of the surrounding canopy. He saw the pale stalks and ruddy caps of lesser mushrooms scattered across the region as well.

He frowned while muttering to himself, for something about the area seemed off, beyond the presence of fungi of unusual size. He doubted that he could activate his size up skill from this far away, but in this case, Nick didn’t need it. He was already receiving unmistakable vibes that practically screamed, “danger.” Nick had felt an instinctual aversion to the colossal fungi the instant that his gaze landed upon it, and he resolved to avoid that part of the forest completely.

What he saw when he examined the woods to the northeast was even worse. At first, he thought that the wisps of white shrouding the treetops were some kind of localized fog or mist. But as he moved his head, points of light slid along what revealed themselves to be long strands of translucent material. It took him a minute to understand what he was looking at. It’s silk, Nick realized in horror. A wide swath of the woodlands was covered in the stuff. Like someone had stretched an immense sheet of gauze over the treetops, although it did not extend all the way down to the border with the beach.

That much silk had to come from enormous worms or caterpillars or… Who are you trying to kid Nick? He sighed. It’s obviously spiders. Gigantic, nightmare-fuel spiders.

That was the moment when a golden mass clinging to one of the largest webs moved, followed by a black dot perhaps half the size. He felt a surge of fear when he realized how big the creatures must be to be visible from miles away and hundreds of feet in the air. That was definitely a pack of humungous fucking spiders. The yellow one must be the size of a building. Well, that settles that. I’m never going anywhere near that side of the forest.

When Nick began exploring the woods, he resolved to stick to the south and stay as far away as possible from both areas. As he sought out a permanent shelter, he would make sure that the site was far enough back that there was no chance it was within the spiders’ hunting grounds.

Sighting the giant spiders and shrooms made him wonder what lived within the woodlands below him, as well as the forest on the north face of the isle, which was obscured by the mountain. Not that he wanted to find out anytime soon. Now that Nick had obtained clear evidence that the woods were significantly more dangerous than the beach, he decided to leave before he discovered what beasts lived beneath him firsthand.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

While Nick wasn’t happy with what he had seen, the information was invaluable. He would ponder long and hard as to how he would use it once he was back at the obelisk. His task complete, he carefully began his descent. Not allowing himself to think about anything other than completing the climb as safely as possible.

An hour later, Nick was only halfway down, and his body had begun to ache. His muscles were starting to cramp, and his limbs felt like they were stuffed with broken glass and wrapped in sandbags. He was certain that he was going to be incredibly sore by tomorrow morning, accelerated healing or no.

He needed to make it back to the obelisk and recover as best he could. Climbing the tree had been a major undertaking and Nick had been up in the branches for three or four hours already. He would still have a few hours before dark after he made it back to the lemurs’ territory. Early enough to find a few berries or another ripe coconut if he was lucky, although Nick could wait until morning to forage if he had to.

At least climbing down used a different set of muscles than climbing up. Another exhausting half hour later, to Nick’s immense relief, he swung down from the lowest branch and landed lightly on his feet, thrilled to have completed his mission and retrieved his prize. Although he was beat, he exited the woods as quickly as he could, stopping by the spring to refill his canteen and drink his fill. This time, he spotted two komos sunning in the grove, but now that he knew they could change color, Nick was able to get in and get out before they caught wind of his presence.

When Nick made it back to the obelisk, he sat down at the base, groaning in relief as he took the weight off his battered feet. After pulling out a few splinters and nibbling on a bite of coconut, he took the belt out of his pocket and examined his reward. Hefting it in his hands, he judged that the toolbelt weighed about five pounds, and his initial impression of the accessory was that it was both serviceable and stylish.

The adventurer’s toolbelt was formed from deep red leather, punctuated by jagged stripes of yellow that looked like stylized bolts of lightning. Nick couldn’t decide if the effect was a natural property of the leather or had been added as an artistic flourish, but the result was elegant either way.

The stitching and leatherwork had clearly been fashioned by a skilled artisan, even to his untrained eye. Unlike a belt intended to hold up his pants, the toolbelt hugged his hips and rode low across his waist, where it would not interfere with his range of motion. The front of the belt was thicker than the back and about three inches wide in the middle. The exterior of the toolbelt was interspersed with small pockets and a series of loops. Nick wasn’t sure what the loops were for until he remembered the clip on the side of his canteen.

Sure enough, the canteen snapped into place like it belonged there and came free just as easily. He tried sticking his wand through the next loop over, and was pleased to discover that it was nearly a perfect fit. This belt will improve my carrying capacity. More importantly, it will help me keep any tools I find organized and within easy reach. According to the description, the modification is the best part of the package and likely the reason for its uncommon rarity.

I should be able to use this belt for quite some time to come. It won’t wear out over time like the pockets of my robe, which are already beginning to fray. Satisfied with the toolbelt’s construction, Nick moved on to inspect the pockets, which opened from the top and were secured by what appeared to be magnetic snaps.

To his delight, several pouches were already full. Nick removed the items within, eager to inventory the new tools at his disposal. One entire pocket was filled with a roll of white fabric. Bandages suitable for basic first aid. Let’s hope I don’t need to use them.

The next pouch held a spool of twine. The cord was thin but revealed a surprising strength when he pulled it taut between his hands. He wouldn’t trust the line to hold his weight, but having some string would prove useful in any number of ways. The next two pockets were empty, but the last was smaller and shaped differently than the others. It held the best items of the bunch.

When Nick popped open the tab, he discovered a row of tiny leather straps intended to secure small objects, which reminded him of the interior of a sewing kit. The top loop held a metal hook about an inch and a half long, with a barbed tip built to trap a fish once it took the bait. Unfortunately, the hook wouldn’t do him much good until he found something to use as a line, as the cord was too thick and easily visible from below the water. The final object inside the pocket was a pair of tiny steel scissors, the sight of which made Nick’s face light up like Christmas morning.

He knew what he would be doing the instant that his inspection was complete. At long last, it was time for his bristling beard and mustache to die.