Upon returning to camp, the first thing he did was throw firewood onto the campfire, and he was about to lie down to sleep again, and when he had settled comfortably.
«What if they come again?»
Then they would simply kill him, and, of course, this could not be allowed. This thought gave him no peace. Kopii was not satisfied with this. But sleep had other plans, and before he knew it, he had departed into oblivion.
Kopii greeted the morning with the first rays of sun. He woke up with a stiff neck and the sensation that his whole body had seized up after a difficult night.
First of all, he set about building a campfire to warm up and prepare breakfast. He had a bird that he had carefully shot down to eat.
He hoped that today was the last day and he would head back. Back to a cozy bed, where goblins would not attack him at night. He would not need to think about food. Only pluses, he realized, and he quickly ate the bird and set off further.
He tried to walk quickly but cautiously, peering attentively into every bush and listening to every rustle. Yesterday's encounter with the goblins had forced him to be on guard, for no one knew what might happen suddenly. He needed to gather the remaining herbs and return to Orario, to his little bed, as soon as possible.
Along the way, he encountered other monsters too, but Kopii tried to avoid confrontations, understanding that his strength was not limitless, and every battle cost him precious time and energy. He gathered herbs, placing them in his sack, and continued on his way, not losing vigilance and sharpness of perception.
By noon, Kopii had reached the spot marked on the map. It was a small clearing, densely overgrown with the herbs he needed, and he gladly set to work. He began gathering them, trying not to miss a single stalk, for every find could be important. The work went quickly, and soon the sack was full, and Kopii sighed with relief. Now he could return to Orario with a good haul.
He wanted to return in half a day. But how could that be done if it had taken him almost three days to walk here? He thought so only to later realize that he had walked along the safest road and had constantly needed to make detours, but now he needed only to walk straight. Well, run.
«It's already getting dark.» – He thought, beginning to understand that he definitely wouldn't make it in half a day, which greatly displeased him.
He ran as fast as he could, and it was already starting to get dark, and he had no choice but to set up camp.
Having set up camp, Kopii got down to supper. The remains of the bird, roasted over the fire, were not the most exquisite food, but they satisfied his hunger quite well. He sat by the fire, watching the dancing tongues of flame, and reflected on his impending return to Orario. Thoughts of home warmed his soul and gave him strength. And especially of his little bed.
The night passed calmly; to Kopii's surprise, there were no uninvited guests.
Having packed up camp, Kopii set off on the return journey. The sack of herbs noticeably weighed down his shoulders, but he tried not to pay attention to it, focused on his goal. He knew that every step brought him closer to his cherished goal, and that was his main motivation. Along the way, he tried not to engage in skirmishes with monsters, avoiding dangerous areas, as his intuition urged him.
Kopii looked at the map; he had little left to go, but it was already dark, and he had not had time to set up camp.
BOOM. BOOM.
As if thunder in the distance made itself known; he looked in that direction, his eyes frowning; the cloud was too large and dark.
«It's definitely going to be a downpour.»
But he determined that it should pass by, so he had nothing to worry about. Yet his assumption turned out to be wrong. He realized that the rain he saw in the distance was closing the distance with him too quickly.
He looked around in search of at least some shelter or a hint of one from the rain, but there was nothing of the sort anywhere in sight. So he had to resign himself to it and stand under a tree, hoping it would somehow save him from the rain.
Soon a true storm broke out. The wind bent the trees, the rain poured as if from a bucket, and lightning lit up the surroundings with bright flashes, acting like illumination masts of a dreadful landscape. Kopii was soaked to the bone and shivered from the cold. He regretted not having taken a cloak with him, which could have helped him. All that remained was to wait out the bad weather, hoping that it would soon end, that the sky would at least clear.
But he began to realize that the rain was not going to stop. So he had no choice but to keep walking. The main thing was not to get lost, for he no longer had a map, and visibility left much to be desired.
Kopii trudged through the downpour, each step accompanied by the squelching of water in his boots. Lightning tore the sky, illuminating the forest ahead. The wind howled like a wounded beast, and Kopii felt the raindrops striking his face like thousands of tiny arrows, pelting him stubbornly. His hand gripped the hilt of his sword; Kopii was simply paranoid, he knew that this was the perfect time for attackers: nothing could be seen, it was cold, and the sound was masked by the rain and thunder.
«Why am I so unlucky?»
Kopii trudged through the downpour, his teeth clenched from the cold on his face. Water seeped under his collar, ran down his back in icy rivulets, and it was extremely unpleasant. Suddenly he noticed — in a gap between the trees, movement flickered. Not goblins...
But fear had already begun to seep into his bones, and his grip on the sword became so strong that his fingers turned white.
— Are you running from the storm too? – A girl's voice suddenly rang out behind him.
And without a drop of hesitation, he spun around and took a stance. Casting a hostile glance at the girl.
— Go your own way. – He growled, hoping that the aggressive tone would frighten her off.
But she simply stared at him with an emotionless gaze.
Kopii did not understand how he had to be so unlucky as to run into someone in the forest, in such weather, at night... Very unlucky.
Realizing this, he ran from her without hesitation.
– YOU MUST WIN!!!
Her voice rang out from behind, but he ignored it and kept running.
«Where did I sin that I'm so unlucky!?»
He ran, not making out the path, stumbling over tree roots and falling into puddles. It seemed to him that the woman was pursuing him, although there was no sound from behind.
– Oh, finally, Orario! – A smile began to bloom on his lips.
Kopii saw the familiar city. But his thoughts returned to that girl.
«If Orario was so close, then why? Maybe she's a traveler, or maybe she got lost? Whatever, not my problem.» – He decided, cutting off his own reflections.
Kopii, staggering from fatigue and a suppressed state, entered the gates of Orario. The city was somehow not bustling with life as usual; he wondered why? He wanted only one thing – to get to his room and collapse onto his bed, forgetting about everything.