He wasn't accomplishing anything by entering into a battle of wills with the featureless monument before him. He had every reason to suspect that he'd be the first to lose his nerve considering he was in a contest with an ostensibly inanimate object, peculiar warmth aside. Despite his fatigued muscles, he slowly struggled to his feet; he needed to find water, and there was little point in stopping until he did. There was still much left of the day and the structure, though interesting, was doing nothing helpful for him.
The man pushed his way through the strand of trees at the edge of the clearing, groaning inwardly as he did so. He'd been grateful to have a reprieve from densely packed trees, but here he was, weaving his way in and out of them once again, their scraggly branches scratching at his exposed flesh. As he had multiple times that day, he wished that he'd begun his journey with a little more foresight. There had been a considerable amount of rainfall the night before; if he'd thought to do so he could have collected some rainwater in a makeshift container, giving him enough drinking water for a day or two.
Although he'd only been dimly aware of them before, he did notice some small woodland creatures rustling through the tall grasses around him. He was hungry, but still not close to starving. If it came down to it, he might have to capture a small animal for food. Still, water was the more pressing issue at the moment, so he kept walking, paying more attention to his surroundings than usual. He was considering returning to the clearing to make camp if he could find a source of water close enough. He didn't want to hamper his progress, but it was clear that he didn't really have a destination--and very little idea of how close he might be to the edge of the woods. He might as well set up camp somewhere that was reasonably comfortable, as opposed to hunkering down in the middle of a grove of skeletal trees.
If he were to be completely honest with himself, he felt drawn to the silvery monument in the clearing. On the surface, it was unremarkable, but something about it felt so. . .important. Again, he was reminded of the strange warmth he felt when he touched the structure. Maybe if he spent some more time around it he could figure out what purpose it served, if indeed it served any purpose at all. He made a mental promise to himself that he would return to the clearing once he found water--and hopefully food.
After traveling a full circle around the area surrounding the clearing, he finally found a small stream parting the line of trees. It was shallow, with flat rocks clearly visible beneath the surface, but it was more than enough for his purposes. He knelt low to the ground and drank deep of the stream's water, savoring the feel of the cold liquid sliding down his throat. Now that he knew the stream's location, it would be simple to locate it again if he did decide to set up camp in the clearing. His next task was to find food, which in his mind was infinitely more challenging. Not only would he have to catch and kill one of the elusive woodland animals, but he'd have to start a fire as well--no small challenge considering he hadn't thought to bring flint and steel.
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