Preparation Period Remaining: 7 Days
Mark woke up and got dressed. He looked around the cabin and realized it was a mess. He had emptied every single thing out of his inventory. He even had some sticks he had picked up during his first days in the forest and never taken out, just in case. He sorted everything into piles: junk he needed to get rid of, things he had to take, things he might want to take, and things he was leaving behind. The last pile went into the corner of his spare bedroom since he had never put furniture in that room.
His stomach started to rumble, indicating that it was past breakfast time, so he headed to the inn. On the way out the door he took an armload of the junk pile and dropped it in a pile behind his house. One of the things he needed to create at some point was a compost pile, and some of the junk, like old food that was no good, would make great compost, but for now just a pile would work until he got back from wherever he was going.
The special today at the inn was biscuits and gravy, which was one of Mark’s favorites. He again ate the food, savoring it with that realization that he would be cooking on his own. With that thought in mind, after eating, he headed to the kitchen and found Dale.
Mark said, “I was just thinking about food this morning while eating and how much I will miss your food. I have not cooked for myself since you joined me at Forest’s Rest, and it has me worried. What do you suggest for things for me to take?"
Dale said, “I was wondering how long it would take for you to come to your senses.” He then went over to a corner, picked up a pack, and handed it to Mark.
Dale said, “This contains a spice setup and a simple cookbook with about twenty recipes you can make even with Cooking Level 1. It includes a pan, a pot for boiling water, and a variety of cooking utensils. It will be enough to make you an okay cook all on your own. I also made one up for Garrick. He might be a little slower than you at realizing he needs it, but don't tell him. I want to see how long he waits before asking.”
Mark said, “You don't know how much this means to me. Thank you so much. Maybe when I come back, I might have leveled Cooking a few times and won't burn water anymore.”
Dale said, “Oh yeah, I forgot to say there are also plates, glasses, and bowls and a small stew pot in there too and utensils. That spork you had when I first showed up should be tossed or saved as a decoration for your office.”
Mark thanked him again and took the pack back to his cabin and sat it next to the pack that he got from Hazel. He had not gone through that yet either. He would save both of those aside until he had sorted everything else out. Packaging this all up was going to be the fun part. None of it was super heavy, but some items were weird-shaped. If he could put the odd-shaped thing in his inventory and the more contained and heavy things on the mount, he might be able to get a few more items.
Mark then stopped and brought up the school interface. He had finished Teaching yesterday and forgotten to look at what lesson he could add to replace it. Quickly opening the list again, there were really only four open options that currently interested him: Shelter Building, Tool Handling, Soil Preparation, and Farming. All of them interested him and would be useful where he was going, but he did not have time to learn all four before he left, so he thought about which might be easiest to complete. Shelter Building would probably require him to build a shelter, which would be useful later but was not something he wanted to work on during the few days he had left here.
Tool Handling sounded promising. He would be using tools and crafting things for sure. Soil Preparation would help with his other skills for growing things, but he did not think the requirements would be quick to complete, and Farming fell into the same category. Without much more thought, Mark made his choice.
[Lesson Generated]Tool Handling Level 1
RequirementsCorrectly demonstrate safe use of three different hand tools (0/3)The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.Perform basic maintenance on five different tools (0/5)Complete one practical project using at least three different tools
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The requirement list was not too bad. All of them were reasonable and doable. If he did not finish the lesson this week, he would for sure finish it when he got to the new region, as there were many things he would need to build there. Mark then heard a knock at his door and went to check. Sarah was there and let him know that they had called another council meeting for just after lunch and wanted him to be aware so he would not miss it.
Mark had a few hours before lunch and looked again over his Tool Handling lesson. A practical project. He had just the idea for what he wanted. He went out and headed to the stable and got his horse and headed to the nearest construction project. There he stopped and talked to the foreman of the project.
Mark wanted to build his compost pile; his plan was simple: he would have four posts in the ground. He needed boards to cover three sides that would be nailed in place. Then he would have a series of boards going across the front that would not be nailed but held in place by the weight of the items inside. He would put the first board at the bottom, add items, and as the compost level rose, he would put the next board in place, being held by the weight of the compost.
When it was ready, he could remove the boards one at a time and take out the finished compost for his future garden. He explained the plan to the project foreman and asked for scrap lumber or posts that were imperfect and no longer needed. It did not need to be perfect but just enough to finish his project. With the foreman's help, he had enough parts for one or maybe even two side-by-side compost piles and arranged for him to have them delivered and left in his backyard by one of the delivery drivers in the afternoon.
Mark then left and headed for the inn. He would be a little early for lunch, but there was not much else he could do in the time he had left. When he arrived, he found Garrick at a table in the back with a scale and three hammers laid out. He was weighing them one at a time, noting each weight before swapping it for the next. He was on his third rotation through the three hammers when Mark could not take it anymore.
Mark said, "Garrick, what in the world are you doing?”
Garrick said, “Trying to figure out what hammer to bring.”
Mark said, “Well, out of the three you have been weighing, that one there is the lightest,” pointing at the one on the left.
Garrick said, “I know, but I hate that one. This one is much better,” pointing at the one in the middle.
Mark said, "Well, if you like it more, take that one.”
Garrick said, "Yeah, but I am worried about the weight. Every ounce counts.”
Mark said, “What is your weight requirement?"
Garrick said, “I am taking your spare horse with me, and that really depends on what point its legs buckle.”
Mark said, “Maybe you should get an elephant; they could carry more.”
Garrick said, “Oh, that would fix my issue. Where do I get one?”
Mark just laughed, walked to another table, sat down, and ordered lunch. Garrick was still staring at the three hammers, occasionally glancing toward the road as though he were actually wondering where someone might find an elephant. That would be nice, but no one had seen one, so it was not happening.
After lunch, Mark went to the council meeting. The meeting was short, mostly a recap of the fact that they still did not know much. They had ordered items from all over the known zones, and most should be there by tomorrow or the next day at the latest. The only interesting news was that runners had returned from Silvermere, and one of their people was a Frontier Representative. The community was pooling resources to help them prepare. The nearest Frontier Gate was Beaver Crossing, so they were expected to arrive there on the morning of the transfer.
Brightwater had two Frontier Representatives. They were also working as a community to get them ready. Beaver Crossing was their closest Frontier Gate, and they planned to arrive the night before the transfer. The plan was to ride the barge up with the next load, which should arrive two days before the transfer, or one day before if it ran late.
The council decided to send an extra pair of oxen down and a team of workers to make sure all the towpaths were clean and good to make sure the trip was smoother than the first trip was. They also were told that no other Frontier Gates were located in the known regions.
The more reports they received, the more obvious it became that this wasn't happening to Beaver Crossing. It was happening everywhere.
With that done, the group sent Garrick and Mark back to packing and handling last-minute tasks. Mark decided to spend the afternoon and evening sorting and organizing his things, as well as going through the two packs Dale and Hazel had given him. When the supplies showed up, he would build his compost bins.