Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Ezekiel, how is your cabin coming? Rhea asked when she saw me in town.

It had been several weeks now, I made frequent visits to town when I needed something or just wanted some company. Its going wellslow, but well. Got the first few layers of logs down now. Hopefully Ill have the walls completed within a couple weeks.

That is wonderful to hear. What brings you to town on this fine day? Rhea asked.

I need some planks from Derek, I explained. I plan to get the actual dock built, but I cant do that with rough logs. I guess I could cut them myself, but thats more work than I want to do.

I heard you helped out the Worthens, Rhea said. Theyre very appreciative of it.

It was nothing, I assured her. That beast wouldve been a problem for me as well. A cave bear had wandered down into my neighbors valley, and I had slayed it for them.

Nonetheless, they are very thankful. And, I have a task for you before you leave.

What is it? I asked. Every time I came to town, Rhea had a job for me. I didnt always like them, but helping Olattee out seemed like a path that might help me redeem myself.

I received a request from a nearby citys temple for flame blade, Rhea said. I would like you to gather me some. If I remember correctly, it grows in the valley where youre building.

I internally groaned at her requestthough it wasnt exactly a request. While Rhea was nice, she had an authoritative streak. Several jobs she offered came off as a requests, but werent. In some ways it felt like when your mom asked you to clean your room. She meant well, and ultimately the things she had me do either helped the community or Olattee, so I normally didnt mind. But I hated herb gathering quests.

Ill do it, I grumbled. Next time I come to town, Ill have your herbs.

Leaving Rhea at the temple, I headed for Dereks shop. He saw me coming and greeted me at the door. I have your planks ready.

Good, I muttered. Itll be nice to have an actual dock.N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.

At the top of the stock was a flower that greatly resembled a flame. Upon closer inspection, I noticed it was actually several hundred smaller flowers bunched into a cone shape. The bottom was dark red and got progressively brighter to the tip, which was a vibrant yellow. Several of the flowers looked about ready to die off. The beautiful petals were falling away to reveal seedpods. Thankfully my quest wasnt calling for the flowers, they needed the stalks of the flowers.

If these plants were valuable enough for a temple in another city to send a request for them, I decided I should find a way to cultivate them, it could become quite the business.

Harvesting the required herbs made me thankful of my skeletal nature, as the sharp leaves tore at my clothes. I tried to focus on harvesting the plants with ripe seeds, and leave behind the flowers just beginning their lifecycle.

It occurred to me the plants grew on a hillside that got full sun. This area was also barren of trees. I made note of that. They would need the right growing conditions if I were to turn it into a crop.

When I had enough, I headed home, not arriving until well after dark. I bundled up the stalks and set them aside. The seeds I laid out so they could dry and be planted later.

The next day I returned to work on my cabin. The walls were coming up quickly. The slowest part was cutting out a groove in the bottom of each log so they nested together as I stacked them. Already the cabin walls were taller than me, and I was happy to build makeshift scaffolding to continue my work. The main building was going to have a second floor, and required a lot more work. Considering I was planning on being here for a long time, it seemed like a good idea.

The next month passed quickly. I learned that the fiery flowers, flame blades, were valuable because nobody had figured out how to grow them. My guess was that they tried to grow them in regular agricultural settings. I doubted that would work. From what Rhea told me, they sounded like huckleberries from back on Earth, which required specific conditions to grow and had resisted all attempts to grow them commercially.

I decided that once the plants were done growing this year, I would work on their hillside and develop it into a kind of farm. I wagered they would grow quite happily in a known environment over one that was crafted. Plus, it wasnt too far from my cabin.

Construction of my new home was near completion by summers end. Planks from Derek for the floor on both levels would finish out the inside.

A lucky find of a nearby clay deposit, along with stones, gave the space much needed warmth via a fireplace and chimney. That had taken up the most time, but I was thankful for it. My neighbors, the Worthens, agreed to help with the roof thatch to keep it well insulated for winter. So layers of clay made sure that the wood and thatching around the chimney wouldnt be at risk of burning.

On the first night I was able to build a proper fire in my cabins fireplace, a solid roof over me, I found myself mesmerized by the flames. Building the cabin had been surprisingly therapeutic.

And though I should probably be more stressed out about being in this world, building the cabin allowed me to own part of it. The damage to my mindscape was also affecting my viewpoints and emotions, so it was hard to tell if I was actually coping.

With the crackle of a warm fire at my front, I started slipping into a deep meditative trance, and decided now was a good time to visit my mindscape.