At least this evening ended with an actual dinner. Okay, the birds tasted pretty bland with no seasoning. Which brings me back to adding something to my shopping list. Salt! If people have enough salt to make meat last longer, the price can't be that high. And all I want is a pinch of salt to make the meat taste like something...

It was after midnight when the hunter was ready. And, of course, I create a second one right away. I'm down to 314 kg biomass, I've already consumed almost 200 kg. But with the hunters, the situation should improve.

There are two essential reasons for a second hunter. One, of course, to increase the yield. But the other is just as important. I don't want to send anyone out into the Wildlands alone. When in doubt, two are always stronger than one.

I'll probably have to leave the cart to the hunters. If they hunt something bigger than a deer, it will be impossible to take everything otherwise. We have enough wood for now. At least until we start using it to build houses. And I won't tackle that until we buy tools in town. The lumberjacks can still cut trees, but we will need an ox or a horse for transportation.

So, the next morning we'll split up. The lumberjacks will go back to the same place as yesterday. Their task is to cut down more trees. And to prepare the logs so that they can be transported away.

The hunters get the two new bows and enough arrows to fight a small war. Since they take the cart with them, weight is not a big problem. They will initially accompany the lumberjacks. But because of the noise, they'll move further away.

The rest of us will be exploring the area today. There are several things I need to know. The most important I want to find is raw materials. I'm particularly interested in two things. Clay and iron ore. I'm not sure that I'm going to find ore. But clay can be found almost everywhere.

And if I want to build actual houses. I need clay. Whether it's half-timbered houses or brick houses. The same goes for roof tiles, I would hate to build thatched roofs.

Of course, I could just build the houses directly out of stone. But this only works on a small scale. After all, I am currently the only one who can build with magic. And I do not intend to play mason every day in the future.

Furthermore, I am sure that there must be a stream or river nearby. Since there is a small spring in the cave.

And like every high mountain range, it has a crown of snow. And somewhere the meltwater must flow to.

"Do you two know anything about water around here? At least you should have travelled around a bit."

"Normally, we don't get much further than we are now. So, we don't know if there's anything further north. But on the east, halfway to town, there's a stream that eventually joins the river." - Chloe

"It's too far away. So, let's follow the mountain's course. Ideally, we'll find something nearby. Whether for fishing or a water mill. Running water would be very useful for the development of a village."

So, we'll head north. As we have plenty of time while walking, I'll try to find out more about the Wildlands in the meantime.

"Tell me, what dangers do you usually find around here? Now, apart from goblins, of course."

"On the one hand, obviously you can run into wild animals. Like bears or wolves. Even wild boars can be dangerous when they feel threatened. Typical local monsters, apart from goblins, are gnolls. Orcs and ogres are luckily rare in this region. - Paula

"So, gnolls, what do they look like and how dangerous are they?"

"They have a dog's snout, and there's hair all over their body. So, they look more like an animal that walks on two legs. And they are much more dangerous and uglier than goblins." - Chloe

"Above all, they are more intelligent than goblins and more cunning. They are also significantly larger, almost as tall as a human. But stronger than us. And when they start a village, they become a real problem for the area." - Paula

"I don't think I want to meet them anytime soon..."

"Mistress, I think there's a spring up ahead."

Siegward interrupts our little monster lesson with his discovery. And indeed, you can see a small stream flowing down the mountain in the distance. So, we continue our journey to determine the size of the creek.

It is a small creek, not half a meter deep, but at least three meters wide. Considerably more than the small trickle in my cave. Maybe I should build the village here?

"The puddle of water on the other side looks strange..." - Chloe

"Puddle of water? It hasn't been raining lately, has it? Actually, it doesn't matter. It was dry the whole way here. So, something must be preventing the water from running off. Either there's solid rock underground. Or what I think is more likely, clay!"

So next we look for a ford or shallow spot to cross the creek. But find nothing. And since we don't want to get our feet wet, we help ourselves with big stones. It takes a while until we find enough in the right size. And I cheated a little bit, uh I mean helped with my magic.

But after an hour or so, we had our impromptu crossing. And on the other side, I get a better look at the puddle. Since I'm not an expert in these things, it just looks like mud to me. But since the water doesn't run off...

"I'm pretty sure that the soil here is very clayey. Which is not surprising, you can find this stuff almost everywhere... Probably, even in front of the cave, just dig deep enough to find some."

The only question is where to start the village now. Right here? I could use the stream for a water mill. And the clay for building would be right here... Yeah, I think this is a good place. Maybe a little distance from the stream so it doesn't run right through the centre of the village.

The dungeon is nearly an hour away. That way the village has room to spread out in every direction for now. I'll see the rest when the time comes.

We continue our exploration for a while longer but find nothing of importance. And when we arrive back at the cave, the others are already back. I tell the lumberjacks to move the logging site a little further north. To save time in the future.

The hunters were very successful. They brought three hares, two birds, a wild boar and a deer. And I decide to convert the wild boar into biomass. Together with the non-edible leftovers, I will increase my biomass by 90 kg. For this amount, I can almost create two dwarfs.

Because of the short-term success, I become greedy and decide to increase the number of hunters by two until tomorrow. As long as I don't do agriculture, hunters are my only food source anyway. But I might want to build up a stock before I transform all meat into biomass. And I can always convert the leftovers.

We'll spend the evening making three more bows and more arrows. One for backup and the others for the additional hunters. Paula also teaches them how to make the bowstring, in case they need replacements.

Since I'm getting impatient, we'll decide to head for town tomorrow. Siegward has lost to his sister in rock paper scissors and has to stay here. Together with the hunters, he shall continue to scout the area.

I'll make some more weapons for emergencies. But I don't have much faith in spears with stone tips. And a few more axes, the woodcutters need them anyway. At least until we come back with some iron.

With which Chloe, Paula, Isgard and I will leave the next morning. I'll use Dungeon View to check up on things from time to time. But my concerns are quite limited. We're planning on a week or so. Two days to the city, three days on-site and then two days back again.

Maybe the way back will take a little longer. That depends on if I can get a bullock cart or something. Assuming, of course, I can pay for it.

Hopefully, Paula's contact person can really sell the Stones of Light. And hopefully, they're worth as much as she said they were. Otherwise, all my plans for the future are nothing but dreams.