Preparation Period Remaining: 6 Days
Mark woke up and went over what he had accomplished the evening before. He had built the compost bin in his backyard, and he had enough wood to build two side by side so he could rotate between them. He would still need to learn more about the correct way to manage the compost, but his bins looked similar to the ones he had seen in Wayrest, so he must be doing something right. He had made progress on the Tool Handling lesson and still had several requirements to work on, but he had time.
Most of the supplies he and the village had ordered should show up today, so it would be a packing day. He still had not gotten to the two bags sitting in the corner, and going through them was at the top of his list. Breakfast came first, though, so he went to the inn. It was slow that morning, and he mostly had the room to himself.
That morning he had eggs, bacon, and hash browns. Mark was pleased with the shipment they had received. The new choices at the inn were amazing. He would miss them when he left, but he planned to take seeds for as many things as he could, and a vegetable garden was high on his list. He was disappointed that he could only bring one animal. He would have loved to bring a chicken or two, since he loved his morning eggs. But it was okay. He would find something new to love.
After breakfast, Mark was heading back to his cabin when Tom showed up in a wagon with piles of gear in the back. Mark helped him unload, and they made two stacks, one for him and one for Garrick. It was not surprising that Garrick's pile was twice the size of his. Mark was going to laugh if they left and the horse collapsed under the weight while Garrick still tried to push it through the arch.
Tom took some time to go through the pile and explain everything. Mark ended up with four waterskins, and they were higher quality than his old ones, so they would hold a lot of water while weighing almost nothing. Tom also showed him the two outfits he had made. One was a work outfit. The other was not dressy, but it was a little more stylish than Mark normally wore. Tom said he would look good in it when he met the natives.
Tom then wished him a safe journey and rode back to Forest’s Rest in the wagon, stopping first at one of the yards to pick up the next load heading that direction. Mark had just finished bringing the pile into his cabin when his next visitor showed up. This time it was John. He had Mark’s load, and he planned to bring Garrick's load tomorrow, as they just were not quite done with it yet, but he knew Mark wanted to get his packing done way in advance.
Mark's full order was there: hatchet, axe, hammer, shovel, pickaxe, small saw, two-man saw, wedges, nails, hinges, door hardware, and multiple sharpening stones. John then pulled out a box and showed him the contents. It held nails and all kinds of other small metal fixtures Mark would use but would never have thought to bring. John helped Mark lug everything into the house, then headed back to Cave Camp and Forgeworks.
Mark started rearranging everything into different piles. The have-to pile was getting bigger by the hour. The maybe pile was far bigger than he could reasonably take, and he was slowly moving things he wanted but that were not practical into the leave-behind pile. While he was sorting, someone knocked on the door. He went outside and found a wagon full of items from Brightwater.
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He first opened the sheet of paper marked Read First. It explained that one container held all the available seeds, along with paperwork covering the best soil, location, water needs, and just about anything else they could think of for growing them. He then found a container of honey and some beeswax with a note explaining that they couldn't send the bees, but this was the next best thing. There was also a care package of cheese and other dairy products. They were small and light, making them easy to tuck almost anywhere.
He finally got to the saplings, which excited him most. He had planned to order some and put a small orchard behind the cabin, and that might still happen, just not behind this cabin. There were two packages, one for Garrick and one for him. Each set had four of each tree: apple, pear, plum, and cherry. Each group of four contained two pairs of slightly different varieties.
He had been told that the village ordered a set for Dale to plant behind the inn, and Mark decided that maybe tomorrow he would help Dale with them so he could see how to unwrap the protected package and plant the trees correctly. He also secretly hoped that this would get him across the finish line for his Forestry lesson so he could pick up another lesson before he left. But that would be tomorrow's task.
Mark read through all the instructions on the trees: how to care for them, how to load and protect them for transit through the Frontier Gate, and what kind of location and watering they needed. By the time he finished, he felt like the instructions had said the same thing three times, as if he might forget.
He was busy packing and sent a runner to bring him lunch so he would not get distracted at the inn. When it showed up, he ate it and then settled in to open Dale's pack. It had exactly everything Dale described, though the spice collection was a little more than he expected, but it had a note with it on how to try each and learn how to use them.
He finally opened the pack from Hazel. Every seed packet had handwritten notes explaining its use, growing medium, what grew well near it, and what to keep it away from. The notes covered which plants would grow well in planter boxes and suggested finding a marsh where he could establish some of them locally. There were even instructions on soil depth and harvesting, warnings about which plants were poisonous and should only be handled with gloves, and a list of possible creams and salves that could be made from some of them.
Mark smiled at what Hazel had given him. It was not just the seeds but all her experience shared through her personal notes. It must have taken hours, if not days, for her to compile all that information. Now it was time to start packing. He would get his horse and figure out how the pack saddle worked. His understanding was that it used large bags that could be attached after the saddle was in place, allowing him to load it efficiently.
Mark tied his horse up outside and put the new pack saddle on it. He made sure that it fit well and that it was comfortable. He went back in and started going through his must-have supplies and filled up the large packs. When he was finished packing all the packs, he was able to load them, and the horse was able to move them and walk without any struggle. They were full but not so full that it was not manageable.
Mark led the horse around the yard once to make sure the load was stable, well balanced, and not going to hurt the animal in any way. With that done, he removed the large packs and stacked them in the corner of his cabin, then removed the saddle and returned his horse to the stable.
It was late evening when he finally finished, and his must-have pile was mostly packed. He still had some room in the packs, and most of his inventory was free other than the items he wanted on him at all times. He looked around the cabin and was pleased that he was mostly in order and ready to go. Of course, he still had a few days before leaving, but he assumed others would find ways to fill that time for him. For now, though, he was ready.