I was heading south, towards the last hint, which was located in the southernmost part of the forest, it was the last stretch before I could meet 'that' thing and finally acquire the item I so wanted, all this trip and journey was for this, so there was no chance in hell I would let it get taken, no more letting the protagonist get the rewards anymore, he can probably deal with his issues.
I had no idea how big this island was, but I knew that it was pretty big, and that I would need to walk for a while before reaching my destination much like the protagonist, I did feel confident though in knowing that soon enough, all of this would be worth it.
The sun was still high in the sky, so I had plenty of time, and I was sure that I would be able to reach the cave before nightfall, not like it mattered anyways.