Day 64
I woke up late, the snow around me having melted a fair amount, as I was now sleeping in a puddle of water face up. It was getting dark, the shadows on the ice field having just passed me, cooling me down rapidly. I sat up, and pet Lupe who seemed to have been running around for a bit, probably excited. I looked out at the forest fire, and found it was pretty much out, smoke was lingering above it, but it was just smoldering at this point. I got to my feet and started making my way over, quickly sliding down the side of the mountain, clearing as much snow as possible.
I reached the bottom and got to my feet, the sunlight dimming faster and faster. I entered the smoldering ruins of the forest, and found the air warming up, it was getting to the point of temperate, but the area I was entering seemed to have been the forest one to go out, so I assumed it was probably where it all started. I found the charred remains of a giant corpse, about the size of an elephant. Besides that, I could tell it died fighting, or at least was killed well before the fire, mainly because its skull was about a tree's length away from the body. Most of its flesh was burned, leaving a couple scraps below its skeleton, the bones were brittle to the touch and fell apart with a good smack.
I was sad, this thing would have kept me well-fed for a year, if it had as much meat as the skeleton suggested. I wondered what started the fire though, if it was whatever killed it, it would not have needed to burn it or did the creature start it, with its dying breaths or something. But if that was the case, its body should have been resistant to the fire. I was confused by what had happened, but it had dashed my hopes of meeting someone, as I dejectedly started up the mountainside, and headed home. I sped home, my mind stuck on what happened and embracing the fact that I wouldn't find anyone soon, since there was no way a sane human would live in this part of the world, at least an average human.
I made it home in one piece, Lupe following behind, I hadn't realized it before but he had avoided entering the burned forest entirely, weird, but whatever. We entered the house and ate a light meal of stew and meat, the usual. I added wood to the fire and entered my room, meditating, and falling asleep.
I slept for a while before I had a dream that made me bolt upright in bed. Human settlements grew around rivers, anything sentient would probably settle near a river, as a source of food and water. I had to build a boat and a big one at that. I got up and started drawing out what kind of boat I needed, what I would have to bring, all kinds of things.
Lupe got up groggily, and walked over to me, as I was sitting at my table, and curled up at my feet. I got up after a bit, and felt a renewed vigor, the river would lead somewhere, and that's what I needed, as much as I liked having a dog as my companion, I needed something more, I wanted to talk to someone. I grabbed a bit of muscle meat, I think, and dried it to jerky in a second, and started chewing on it, madly thinking about what I was going to have to bring with me. A bunch of jerkies, I wouldn't need to bring a ton of tools, since most where made in a day with wood or dock, and I could easily make them again, probably better.
I would need to transport the leather and bones though, at least the leather, well, if I hunted the boars I would have a usable source of bone and leather, and meat, I would just have to dig a pit and... hm, it might actually be feasible. I looked outside and saw the orange of the sunrise, the sun hadn't even peeked over the mountain, and I was already getting in gear for the day. I knew that even if I left everything here, it would just freeze, and I was fine with that, I could come back whenever I needed to, it would be great, and I could come back for my car too, it was perfect, and I had no doubts about what would happen.
I started packing my things after eating a good breakfast and started making several bags, filling them with half of my bullion, meat, and leather. I left the tools and stuff I had made for snow travel, only planning on taking the sled, as I loaded it up with everything, even packing as much snow as possible in a hand made barrel. I left the big fatty and well-marbled pieces of meat to stay frozen, only taking the pieces of muscly tough meat, that would taste just as good as jerky or as a texture in a stew. I was done packing up everything midday. I was ready to leave, and had one last thing to do, and put out all my fires, and after clearing all the smoke and letting the house cool down to outside temperature, I sealed all the windows and holes in and out, closing off all the vents and chimneys. I shut the door, and melded it shut, making the house essentially an enclosed box. I grabbed some leftover planks, and quickly hammered them into the ground around the perimeter, and melded those too the house as well, now it was entrenched into the ground, and would hopefully withstand a heavy windstorm or flooding if all the snow somehow melted away.
Lupe looked back at the house as we left as if he knew it was going to be the last time in a long time that we'd see the house too, and it was, I didn't plan on coming back anytime soon, as long as nothing terrible happened. I started into the forest dragging my heavy sled behind me, and started planning what I would be doing next.
thanks for the chapter
TFTC!