Ezekiel, how is your cabin coming? Rhea asked when she saw in town.
It had been several weeks now, I made frequent visits to town when I needed sothing or just wanted so company. Its going wellslow, but well. Got the first few layers of logs down now. Hopefully Ill have the walls completed within a couple weeks.
That is wonderful to hear. What brings you to town on this fine day? Rhea asked.
I need so planks from Derek, I explained. I plan to get the actual dock built, but I cant do that with rough logs. I guess I could cut them myself, but thats more work than I want to do.
I heard you helped out the Worthens, Rhea said. Theyre very appreciative of it.
It was nothing, I assured her. That beast wouldve been a problem for as well. A cave bear had wandered down into my neighbors valley, and I had slayed it for them.
Nonetheless, they are very thankful. And, I have a task for you before you leave.
What is it? I asked. Every ti I ca to town, Rhea had a job for . I didnt always like them, but helping Olattee out seed like a path that might help redeem myself.
I received a request from a nearby citys temple for fla blade, Rhea said. I would like you to gather so. If I rember correctly, it grows in the valley where youre building.
I internally groaned at her requestthough it wasnt exactly a request. While Rhea was nice, she had an authoritative streak. Several jobs she offered ca off as a requests, but werent. In so ways it felt like when your mom asked you to clean your room. She ant well, and ultimately the things she had do either helped the community or Olattee, so I normally didnt mind. But I hated herb gathering quests.
Ill do it, I grumbled. Next ti I co to town, Ill have your herbs.
Leaving Rhea at the temple, I headed for Dereks shop. He saw coming and greeted at the door. I have your planks ready.
Good, I muttered. Itll be nice to have an actual dock.
Is sothing wrong? Derek asked.
Rhea just gave a job I couldnt say no to; wants to pick plants for a temple in a nearby city, I said sourly.
Thats not so bad. Hasnt she had you clearing out monster dens? Derek raised an eyebrow at . Id say picking so plants would be easier.
Easier maybe, but boring as all hell. I pulled out the money for the planks and handed it to him.
Its for a good cause, dont let it get you down. Derek waved for to follow him and we moved around to the back of his shop. Two heavy planks, each almost a half ter wide. Hed cut them out of a massive tree Id floated across the lake, curing the wood rather quickly in his facilities using a magical kiln. Youre going to need to make sure you pull your dock down in the winter before the lake freezes, otherwise the ice will rip it apart.
Ill keep that in mind. I stepped over to the planks and picked up one end. It lifted easily, my superhuman strength showing its uses once more.
Ill help you get these to the lake, Derek said as he picked up the other end. Im assuming you plan to float them up?
Yeah, easier than carrying these the whole way.
The two of us managed to get the planks through the town and out on to the small dock the town maintained. We slipped them into the water, securing one end with a rope to the canoe I was still borrowing. Satisfied they werent going anywhere, I began to work my way back up the lake. Pulling the planks made the journey harder, but I still made steady progress and it was indeed much easier than trying to carry them along the winding path. The sun had all but set by the ti I returned ho and dragged the planks up to shore.
The next morning, I drove a pair of heavy logs into the gravelly soil at the bottom of the lake ten ters out from shore. Then the planks were secured together with several crossbeams on the other side, using straight, smaller logs Id cut from the area. That done, I secured the combined planks to the two posts waiting in the water. The dock wasnt anything spectacular, but with the speed the water dropped off, it gave a good place to tie up my canoe and land materials.
Constructing the dock took most of the afternoon, and I decided to use the rest of the day to complete Rheas quest to gather herbs. The description of the plants was quite detailed, and it was one I recognized. It wasnt at the end of the valley where I was building, but Id seen so growing farther up the valley. Blade-staff in hand, I headed in that direction.
As I had grown in levels, so too did my weapon. It proved an interesting phenonon. When Id received it before, I was already quite powerful and so was the weapon. Wed started from scratch together this ti around, and the weapon undoubtably had just as much growth potential as I did. One of the first upgrades Id taken was one I hadnt bothered with beforean automatic sheathing effect. At will, I summoned or dismissed a sheath over the long blade. The sheath was designed to blend in with the rest of the staff, and when in place, it was hard to tell it was a weapon.
Passing where a second stream joined my own, which was near the cave my phylactery was stored, I continued up to the main valley. Id only noticed the plant before because of its uniqueness, but seeing as I had no use for it, they went ignored. In so ways it reminded of a pineapple plant. Its leaves were thick, strong, and sharp. In the middle, a stock rose up, growing anywhere from a dozen centiters tall to over a ter.
At the top of the stock was a flower that greatly resembled a fla. Upon closer inspection, I noticed it was actually several hundred smaller flowers bunched into a cone shape. The bottom was dark red and got progressively brighter to the tip, which was a vibrant yellow. Several of the flowers looked about ready to die off. The beautiful petals were falling away to reveal seedpods. Thankfully my quest wasnt calling for the flowers, they needed the stalks of the flowers.
If these plants were valuable enough for a temple in another city to send a request for them, I decided I should find a way to cultivate them, it could beco quite the business.
Harvesting the required herbs made thankful of my skeletal nature, as the sharp leaves tore at my clothes. I tried to focus on harvesting the plants with ripe seeds, and leave behind the flowers just beginning their lifecycle.
It occurred to the plants grew on a hillside that got full sun. This area was also barren of trees. I made note of that. They would need the right growing conditions if I were to turn it into a crop.
When I had enough, I headed ho, not arriving until well after dark. I bundled up the stalks and set them aside. The seeds I laid out so they could dry and be planted later.
The next day I returned to work on my cabin. The walls were coming up quickly. The slowest part was cutting out a groove in the bottom of each log so they nested together as I stacked them. Already the cabin walls were taller than , and I was happy to build makeshift scaffolding to continue my work. The main building was going to have a second floor, and required a lot more work. Considering I was planning on being here for a long ti, it seed like a good idea.
The next month passed quickly. I learned that the fiery flowers, fla blades, were valuable because nobody had figured out how to grow them. My guess was that they tried to grow them in regular agricultural settings. I doubted that would work. From what Rhea told , they sounded like huckleberries from back on Earth, which required specific conditions to grow and had resisted all attempts to grow them comrcially.
I decided that once the plants were done growing this year, I would work on their hillside and develop it into a kind of farm. I wagered they would grow quite happily in a known environnt over one that was crafted. Plus, it wasnt too far from my cabin.
Construction of my new ho was near completion by sumrs end. Planks from Derek for the floor on both levels would finish out the inside.
A lucky find of a nearby clay deposit, along with stones, gave the space much needed warmth via a fireplace and chimney. That had taken up the most ti, but I was thankful for it. My neighbors, the Worthens, agreed to help with the roof thatch to keep it well insulated for winter. So layers of clay made sure that the wood and thatching around the chimney wouldnt be at risk of burning.
On the first night I was able to build a proper fire in my cabins fireplace, a solid roof over , I found myself srized by the flas. Building the cabin had been surprisingly therapeutic.
And though I should probably be more stressed out about being in this world, building the cabin allowed to own part of it. The damage to my mindscape was also affecting my viewpoints and emotions, so it was hard to tell if I was actually coping.
With the crackle of a warm fire at my front, I started slipping into a deep ditative trance, and decided now was a good ti to visit my mindscape.
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