Another early morning for Evren, he had already started move by the time the sun had fully risen. The nights were getting longer, but the days still felt much longer than he was accustomed to. The golden field of grasses spread out before him were swaying with the gentle morning breeze. It was chilly this morning, so Evren was wearing his cloak for the moment. He planned to remove the cloak after he had warmed up from the sun and pulling the wagon.
He was pushing the wagon at a brisk pace, wanting to get to Plinth before the sun sets, if possible, but he planned to move through the night if he doesn't make it in time. As he went, he ran through the things he wanted to do in Plinth through his head. The weather was getting cooler, and although currently the trees still had their leaves, they won't for much longer. First, he would set up in a good location in Plinth, hopefully a shop in good enough condition existed.
Second, he would have to work on the gates of Plinth. He didn't need all of them working, he just wanted them to close at the least. The northern gate, closest to the forest would be the one he would have to make sure works properly. His original plan was to only stay in Plinth for a few days before heading north to Aernide, but after the fight against the two fire breathing dogs, his plan changed to a more cautious approach.
Third, he would like to explore the town. He needs things like books on local plants, animals and monsters. He needs materials to either make new equipment or to improve the equipment he currently has. His sword proved it wasn't strong enough against monsters. His bow was effective to a point, but once it became a melee, he only had his dagger to rely on. He figured the blue metal must be something special, and he would love to make something out of it, but there is probably some sort of special process to doing so and he was bad enough at weapon making.
Forth, his magic repertoire was abysmal. The only useful spell aside from his telekinesis was water ball, and that was only good for a distraction. Once he cast the spell, it moved on its own automatically and he had no further control of it, so he couldn't get creative in his usage. With telekinesis it isn't a spell, it is an ability, so he can use it in new and different ways. Hopefully the town hadn't been plundered too much after its fall.
Fifth, he wanted to do some scouting in the forest. Those two monsters in town may have been an exception to the strength of the monsters in the forest, especially at the shallower depths. He wanted more experience fighting monsters, and although he had gotten lucky so far, he wasn't sure how much longer that luck would last.
Evren was having second thoughts on whether to head to Aernide or not but was determined to find someone. While in Plinth, he'd have to restore his rations of food. Hopefully there were some gardens grown wild in or around the town. It was late in the season too, so his choices might be limited.
He had enough at the moment to last a couple of weeks as a majority of his diet consisted of dried meat, but the number of dried vegetables had become pitifully low. He wasn't sure how long it would take for winter to arrive, nor how long it would last once it did. This was the main reason why he was thinking of staying in Plinth for a while. Evren had been hunting during his travels and had accumulated quite a number of pelts, which was a good start.
His journey to Plinth finished as the sun was setting. Evren was now outside the eastern gate, clearing rubble away so he could get his wagon inside. He had lit a torch, and it was propped on the corner of the wagon. He wanted to hurry because he felt very vulnerable. The torch provided light for him to work with, but it also was a beacon for anyone looking. Fortunately, it didn't take long for him to clear a path through the gate.
Once he was inside, he headed towards the center of the town, where he had fought the monsters. He wanted to start working on them in the morning, mostly getting fangs, claws and the pelt from them. He wasn't sure how well the meat would taste with it, but meat from predators was typically not very good. When he reached the center of town, it took him a minute to find the correct street, but once he had, he pulled his wagon down the road and stopped by the house he had slept in previously.
Upon arrival, Evren left the wagon in front of the house, took the torch and his bedding inside and set everything up for him to get some sleep. He doused the flame of the torch with "chill" and settled in for the night.
In the morning, Evren moved quickly outside and began to scout around the buildings near him, and after a cursory inspection of the buildings within a block of the house, he returned to eat a quick meal and set to work on disassembling the corpses. He had gotten faster at dismantling beasts since his arrival half a year ago, but the toughness of the monsters slowed him down significantly. As he was only interested in a few of the things, it didn't take as long as it would to process the meat as well, but he barely finished before noon. He took his shovel and buried the remains in the back of the building he was working in, along with the innards he had left previously in the middle of the road.
Evren left the cart and the pelts and began to jog around town looking for a shop that would fit his needs. He was hoping for a smithy, but a place with a work area in a reasonably good condition would be great as well. The Lord's Manor was located in the south-eastern corner of the town. The shops were located on the three main roads that lead from the gates to the center of town. There was no statue or fountain at the center of town, just a large open space. On the eastern side of town were the more production shops, the south-west led to what Evren would assume as a more high-class goods shops, and along the northern road, was found general shops and a market.
Houses for middle and lower classes was found on the west side, upper class homes surrounded the Lord's Manor in the south, and in the north-east section were mostly businesses and warehouses. This was the area Evren was currently in. He had found a tannery and a blacksmith on the eastern road, but a bit north of the main road there was another blacksmith shop that was in much better condition. Evren had gone back to retrieve his wagon after he decided where to stay and spent the remainder of the day cleaning the shop to make it livable.
The shop had two entrances, one for customers and one for the owner around a back alley. The shop area was rather small, maybe four meters wide and six meters deep. On display were some weapons and armor, which were no longer serviceable as they had rusted or rotten parts on them. Behind the door in the back of the shop was a storage area where the owner kept the higher quality items, and the better-quality versions of the stuff displayed in the shop area. Each piece was wrapped in either a cloth or a thin leather soaked in oil, and there were a number of usable weapons and armor.
The work area had a few tables along the walls, with a work bench near the center of the room. There was a forge on the opposite side, and outside in the alley, near the owner entrance was a furnace. A shed half full of coal stood next to it. He had found coal in the other shop as well, and once he found a wheelbarrow; he would be migrating it to this shed.
Inside the forge was a sword the owner seemed to have been working on before leaving. There were several unfinished weapons on the tables in the room, along with the parts to finish them. None of them in a good condition. There was a barrel filled with scraps, and several barrels full of different colored ores.
He would need to repair the bellows, and several tools were unusable, but fortunately he brought his own tools with him. There were a few he didn't have or couldn't carry due to weight restrictions, that were serviceable.
The owner's apartment was above the shop, with the stairs leading to it outside. In fact, the shed was located under the stairs. There were a few risers that needed to be replaced, but otherwise Evren could ascend to the apartment and look around. It was a simple place consisting of a kitchen, a bed and a toilet behind a partition. The toilet was a squatter, but it appeared that there was plumbing to take waste away.
