survival in an unfamiliar place

Looking down at all the books, none of them were organized. There were three wooden shelves full of different books with no rhyme or reason. Carefully I pulled each book off the shelf and started setting them to the side. Once the shelfs were empty I noticed an odd switch hidden behind where the books were. Upon flicking it, the shelf allowed some movement on the floor. Looking to the other side, there was another. Upon flipping both the shelf became detached from the ground and I was able to move it away, revealing a hidden compartment. Opening it revealed a plethora of different books that looked old. Taking one out, the cover had the number 17. Curious of what it was, I opened the book. The first thing on the page was a date and following it was a description of events that had happened. The book was actually a journal. I closed it and set it to the side before taking more out till one book, bigger than the rest remained. The cover had no title, number, picture, or anything. Unlatching the lock that bound the book shut the book opened revealing pages upon pages of what seemed to be different worlds. Each had a number and description that classified it. Towards the back, had pages that looked new when put in comparison. The front of the book however had three main pages that weren't numbers but names… Heaven, Hell, and The Line. The pages for heaven and hell both had a list of names of who was in charge, but next to nothing was on The Line. I closed the book and set the journals back in the little compartment and slid the shelf back into place and got to work organizing. First, I stacked them by category; fighting, spells, and wildlife. Then I organized them in alphabetical order and put them back on the shelfs. Board, I grabbed a book on old Bushido teachings from japan. Thankfully it was already translated to english or I wouldn't have gotten anything from it. Most that I got from the techniques in the book were forms of simple slices and thrusts but it was something to do. For the rest of the day I practiced. Before long, the sun was high in the sky and the forest was teaming with life. Taking a cup, I walked out to the river and filled it with water. It was gone in less than a few seconds. Curious of what might be in the books, I looked into the spell book, not knowing what it might hold and the words were unworldly. I closed it and put it back on the shelf and left it there. After contemplating for a minute, I grabbed the book back out and started to attempt to decipher what each character might mean. By nightfall I managed to mostly decipher the first page, which was just full of explanations as to how to perform the different spells.

Before I laid down for the night, a figure came walking down into the platform. "Alce, Next time you leave, just take me with." I said, noticing something wrong.

"You know I can't just take you wherever I go, it would be like carrying a puppy through a battlefield." She replied with a smile formed across her face.

Quickly, I got to my feet and started to back up to the nearby training swords.

"Is something wrong?" She asked closing in.

"Yeah, the problem is… You're not Alce. For starters, Alce has yet to even smile like that at me and two, the real Alce wouldn't be talking with answers like that. She barely ever even speaks to me." I said, raising the sword.

"Oh come on, you really want to fight the moment I get back?" She said as I noticed she was missing her blade.

"So, you want to tell me where your sword is?" I asked, taking a step up.

"T-t-that's not important!" She chuckled, stopping in her tracks.

Without saying a word, I charged at the obvious imposter but before the slice could connect, something grabbed me by the leg and threw me across the platform.

"I will admit, I am impressed that you could tell the difference." it said, changing into an odd human-chameleon like figure with a long tale with a spike on the end.

"What the hell are you?" I whispered to myself, turning to the ramp and running into the outside of the forest.

Turning around, the thing tackled me to the ground and attempted to impale my head with its tale. Quickly, I threw my head to the side and whipped my head into the thing's head, knocking it to the side. Before it could get up I ran towards one of the tree's roots and started to scale up to the blue vines. Looking down once I got there the thing wasn't coming any closer than the root. Taking the sword, I struck the vine but it didn't cut. I struck again, but no luck. I continued hacking at it till it eventually gave in and bursted. The blue liquid inside started to poor out onto the creature causing what could only be assumed to be an acidic effect. I covered my ears and looked away as it screamed in pain while flailing on the ground. Eventually the screaming stopped. Uncovering my eyes to look down revealed the skeletal remains of what was the creature.

"So that's why they avoid the blue." I said breathlessly to myself before climbing down.

The blue liquid gave off a very sweet scent as it surrounded the tree. Going over to the shelf I pulled off a book for the flora side of the forest. There are a total of three main vine types in the forest. Red, blue, and green. The red vine isn't poisonous but it packs a spicy punch. The blue is a very sweet but high PH liquid that in high concentrations can act like hydrochloric acid. Finally, the green vine grows fruits and is filled with nutrients. Explorers of the forest used to take pieces of the root for extra energy. There is a rare fourth root that only has been discovered in one place… the tree of the center. It's a bright purple root found at the top of the tree that in small concentrations can heal even the most serious wounds; however, overuse can cause a terminal illness that will kill a person in less than 24 hours. As late as it already was I closed the book and put it back. Unbeknownst to me, the creature had landed a strike to the shoulder. Not deep enough to kill but if left untreated could cause major problems. Looking around for anything to patch the wound with, I found what could only be assumed to be a medical drawer. Slowly as to not make the wound worse, I removed my shirt and pulled out the alcohol and poured it on the wound. A sharp jolt of pain almost caused me to drop the bottle but I managed the pain enough to keep a grip. I quickly set the bottle down before it went flying out of my hands and pulled out a bandage wrap and started to cover the wound. I laid back down, this time to hopefully sleep. The night shortly fell to day and Alce was finally back from her mission.