The not-immortal Blacksmith

5th of Kusha,

We pulled into a farm hold this afternoon to spend the night, and I had a chat with the smith. Looks like I have a job for a few days, maybe a week.

6th of Kusha,

I spent the day "shadowing" the smith. Interesting idea, shadowing. Apparently, it's from his great grandfather, who learned it from one of his apprentices.

Anyway, I followed him around in the shop, and on his rounds in the farm hold. I learned a few names, where to get extra supplies, and where each tool goes. Tomorrow, I get to start on actual projects. Probably nails, as the hold is running low.

7th of Kusha,

Yup. Nails. I haven't done that many nails since…it's been a long time. The food is pretty good, down to earth, old fashioned country fair. I like it.

Grendel has been banished from the forge, the kitchen, and the henhouse. Brianna has warned him against cheating the workers in gambling and from stealing. I wonder what he's going to do for fun now?

8th of Kusha,

Grendel was gone all day, and came back this evening with a huge smile. Suspicious, but as long as he stays out of trouble, I won't pry.

-

Grendel left the farm hold just after breakfast, and walked a half mile back along the road to a small stream he had seen the other day. When he arrived, he cut down a small, but thick willow tree, and peeled the bark off to turn it into a fishing pole. As the pole dried in the hot sun, he waded into the stream, and flipped rocks, looking for bait.

An hour or so later, bait gathered, and pole strung with like and hook, he slowly made his way up the stream, casting as he went. Several hours passed, several trout were caught, and most were returned to the water. Once the sun was high in the sky, he retired to the bank, started a fire, and cooked his catch.

Meal done, and a nap taken under the trees, he slowly made his way back to the road, fishing all the way.

-

10th of Kusha,

Horseshoes today. This brings me back. Some oxen shoes as well. Bri has been joining the ladies every day for their sewing circles and cooking. Even though the women here are all humans, they have welcomed my elven bride with open arms. It's nice to see a lack of racism on the frontier, as opposed to what Tristan told me about his home.

There is a young man here who has a problem with his legs. He was born with some sort of problem where his legs give out after a couple of steps. He uses crutches most of the time, but can't really help with most of the chores. He used to be able to walk, but has been losing his strength since he was about five or six. I'm going to make some of my old healing bread and see if that helps any; if it does, I'm going to leave the recipe with his mother.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Turns out Grendel has been fishing the local creek for trout. Little shit hasn't been bringing any home with him.

11th of Kusha,

The bread did work a bit. I've given the boy's mother the recipe. I'm hoping with continued feeding the problem will at least slow down if not reverse itself. I asked Grendel to take the kid fishing with him.

12th of Kusha,

The kid is a fish magnet. He and Grendel brought home over a dozen trout today. That was After they caught and ate another dozen fish. I love trout.

13th of Kusha,

It has been a good week. Tomorrow, we leave for places unknown. I will be sad to go, but at least the smith now has a large stock of nails, shoes, and other sundry things to keep going without falling behind.

The bread has been working, so the boy should be up to working in the next couple of weeks. His mother tried to dump all of the family's money on me; I told her I would trade for her most coveted jam recipe; it's quite good jam.

Grendel has given the kid his fishing setup, and taught him how to make his own stuff for the future.

14th of Kusha,

The road is long and winding. The ruts are deep. Almost broke a wheel.

15th of Kusha,

A short storm turned to road to mud around noon today so we gave up on traveling. By morning the road should be dry. I had a strange dream yesterday about insects. Small locusts eating things that they shouldn't be able to eat. Weird.

19th of Kusha,

No more strange dreams, but that one dream still bounces around in my head. Grendel has decided to run ahead to fish every single stream, river, puddle, and lake we come across. We don't even slow down any more; he just runs ahead, fishes, and then catches up about half an hour after we pass him. Sometimes he brings fish back, sometimes he doesn't. One time he came back, legs covered in leaches. Bri was displeased, I laughed, and Grendel almost fainted when he found one in his shorts.

21st of Kusha,

The weather has been hot and dry since the last rain. The grass is starting to wilt and in some spots is dried out. I am concerned about wild fires, so we haven't been cooking over a fire. I wonder if the next village we come to will have a magic stove for sale as I can't find mine in my trunk.

25th of Kusha,

It happened today. There was a dry lightning storm several miles away that started a fire. Then the wind came up and spread the flames, in minutes it was licking at the road; a road that was barely wider than the wagon. We survived.

-

Brianna stared from the driver's bench of the wagon as the orange fire burned across the plain, and shuddered. Her husband was out there, raising a dirt wall as a firebreak, but for most of the plain, it was too little, too late.

The curved twelve-foot earthen wall, some three foot thick, stopped the fire from reaching the wagon, and a hundred-foot length of grass alongside the road, but did nothing for the smoke and burning embers carried aloft by the flames.

She coughed, then covered her mouth with a wet scarf tied around her neck, then gently wrapped similar scarves around the horses' heads. While the smoke unsettled the horses, they didn't try to break free and run, unlike the creatures running from the flames. Creatures that invariably grew tired, fell from exhaustion, and were consumed by flames. Except for the few creatures that took shelter behind the wall; some were mice, a few rabbits, and surprisingly a fox and a deer. High in the sky flew raptors, occasionally swooping low to catch a small creature of some sort for its lunch.

She shuddered at the devastation that one lightning strike had caused, and joined Grendel under the wagon, waiting for a hot ember to come down over the wall.