by ForestRage
Only when his eyes became tired, did he fall asleep.
Ming woke him up the next morning. He had already got the fire going and boiling water to drink. Chu made some more bread and butter, making sure to leave extra for the others who would be coming over. By the time they were finished, Lucy and company joined them.
They left the two girls working on the rags. For slum residents the little girls were not converting rags to gold, but the product was way more valuable. Warmth during winter from good clothes was worth the cost of a life.
The older three children made their way south across the grasslands. They were prepared for a tiring walk.
The hunt for a home has begun.
Chapter 9
House Hunting
"This one looks good, if we get some sticks to build a wall on this side, it would be nice. We can use here for a fire and put benches around it."
"You think we are on a picnic? When are we going to be done cutting logs for this?"
Chu took in the crumbling stone structure that had half a wall standing. Giving the one who tried to 'sell' this one walled house to him some well-deserved slaps they moved on.
The group had started from the Trading Post, and walked south along the grasslands. They armed themselves with a stout staff each, and a small flimsy kitchen knife tucked at the waist. Lucy had a bag with food, while Ming carried one with their own handmade torches, and a length of rope bought from the Trading Post.
The forest line could be seen on their right. Most of the farms that became abandoned, nestled in the outskirts of the village close to the forest. The thriving farms had the village, as their buffer between them and the forest.
In the event of unforeseeable problems, Chu didn't want to be far from the village. Half a day’s walk was his requirement. This would allow them to trek to the village for supplies, with ample time to return before nightfall. Better yet, it would keep them away from the path of adventurous fools. He was aiming for one of those out-of-the-way places.
He avoided those abandoned farms off the trading routes, precisely because of this reason. These farms close to the forest, would have been built during the heyday along with the village.
Only through experience and the difficulties in defending, and farming with the threat of beast coming from the forest, did they become slowly abandoned. Of course, there were some that the previous owners ended up as unlucky fodder for some wild beast.
Some of these were simply left to the ravages of time. The ones close to the villages, were scrapped and used as timber or firewood. It was due to the fear of what happened to previous occupants, that most chose to live close to the village in the slums, rather than be alone, at the total mercy of a constant overhanging danger.
Thus, a suitable empty, abandoned house could never be found close to the village.
"Wow, this is a steal of a deal. It has half a roof and three, I say three walls with window openings to view outside."
Lucy continued walking, while looking around for any stone structures that might crop out of the undulating grasslands. Out here away from the village, there belied a calm quiet, marred only by the expectant sounds of slapping which echoed behind her.
"You think we are looking for a resort?"
Slap
"When the wolves drag you sorry behind through those open windows, who is going to save you?"
Slap, slap.
"How many times have I told you, we need something secure. Secure!"
Slap, slap, slap.
The grassland plains stretched out with undulating hills. Standing on some of those hills, the village could be seen in the distance. The original settlers constructed most of the farms on these small inclines, taking advantage of the panoramic view.
Far to the left, whiffs of smoke curled upwards far apart from each other. These marked the locations of neighboring farms.
They approached the limit of the farms that spread out. Further south, would stretch empty grasslands for miles, until the next set of farms and their enclosed village. Behind those farms, would be the road that lead to the other villages.
By walking and looking around, Chu began to have a rough idea on how these villages lay on a map. Along the forest border that stretched from north to south, villages were set up like little dots to the east of it.
Around each dot in a semicircle, farms were built within a day’s travel. The roads connected the village and farms disappearing into the horizon to unknown places. More than half of the villagers born in the village, never stepped foot outside of it.
The villages at the frontier closest to the forest served as a focal point for lumber and furs. Chu had an idea that they served as an early warning for invasions, but as far as he knew, the forest did not contain any human civilization.
They found one house that suited their needs. It was just further from the forest than the others. The walls stood strong, made of stone, but the thatched roof needed work. With winter on their doorstep, repairing this structure would take time.
Chu decided to rest on the cold stone doorway to focus his thoughts. Lucy shared around some slices of bread for them to eat.
Sitting on the stone entrance, he was thinking if to use branches to cover the roof. Lucy climbed on an old weather-beaten, stone block and admired the scenery. Ming walked around inspecting the surroundings, hoping to scavenge something of value. Looters might have overlooked something in haste.
Chu stood in the middle of arranging his thoughts when Lucy called.
"Hey Chu. What's that over there. Looks like a big house."
He stood up and followed Lucy arm that was pointing out. In the distance closer to the forest, he saw what looked like a building.
The sun had already crossed the midpoint in the sky, but they did take some time to visit and browse the structures during their walk. The requirement of being able to walk to the village, and back before night fall was a top priority.
"Let’s go look. I think this house is the best shape considering the others. We'll use this one if we don’t find anything."
Hiking onwards, they walked on and soon came to the farmhouse. On a small knoll it had a gradual incline leading to the forest a few miles away. The structure which attracted Lucy however, had been the large barn. At the side, stood a dilapidated farmhouse, in bad condition similar to those previous unsuitable ones.
The barn remained in a suitable condition, considering its abandonment. A few of the side boards had rotted and fallen, while one of the large doors had broken off. The shingled roof had very few holes, for the sun to stream through. The structure wrapped around a solid skeleton of large lumber post and beams.
At the rear of the interior, a small platform extended out, covering a quarter of the solid ground floor. This platform could only be accessed by a ladder on one side.
Chu sent the lightest and best climber, to inspect the condition of the platform. Leaving Ming on guard near the door, he continued his inspection around the barn. The previous builders used solid planks as their material, making the side walls durable.
Tugging and pulling, did little to affect the workmanship. The planks only fell or went missing, because of rotting near the nails. With little work, this barn would make a perfect home. Wild beast would not be able to tear down these solid walls.
Lucy had checked the platform and called him up. The platform looked dry, with the remains of rotted hay. Two small windows on either side remained barred by a stout board. He didn't bother opening them. Cutting two small openings would be enough to view the outside.
"Good, good, good. This is better than the stone house from before. If we remove the ladder nailed here and make a portable one, this level will be safe from animals that can't climb."
Lucy gave Chu a rare smile knowing he was certainly happy with this find.
"Chu! Come here."
The two of them quickly made their way outside. Ming stood on the side of a broken well, near the back of the barn. He had also remove
d the vines, and a rotted wooden cover that made it partially hidden.
"I think this well has water. I dropped a stone and it made a plop sound."
"Good find. With a bucket and rope we will have no problem for water."
"Hehe... thanks. But there is something else"
Ming pulled him to one side, and had him look over into the well. The afternoon sun could not pierce the entire darkness.
"Look at the side Chu. It looks like a hole or something."
Squinting, only when he focused did he see what Ming was talking about. It did not look like the stone had caved but seemed closer to an arched outline.
"Lucy get the rope. Ming bring me the torches and flint."
The torch consisted of a self-made stick, wrapped with cloth strips as the head. It was also soaked in the animal oil fat they made from the Trading Post.
Chu tied one of the torches to the bottom of the rope, and lowered it down. The three of them viewed the water at the bottom, and also a small arched opening at the side. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he pulled up the rope, and this time Lucy went down holding the torch.
"If you see anything moving toss the torch at it, and yell for us to pull up the rope."
Fortunately, nothing happened, and Lucy crawled into the hole at the side. Finally, she came out and called to pull up.
"It's a tunnel but it caved, and I couldn't get past."
Chu stepped back, and checked the direction of the entrance. In a straight line it led to the back of the barn. He stood on the opposite end of the tunnel entrance, and extended his hand lining up the direction.
"There. Check the barn floor, I think there is a trap door."
Two hours later, after clearing away all the rotted hay and debris did they find a small wooden trapdoor in a corner. After another period of struggling, swearing and sweating, they finally managed to pry it open.
Chu went down this time with Lucy to investigate. The entered a cellar about eight square feet or bigger, and around six feet high, so as children they certainly didn't have to bend and walk. On one side was a narrow passageway that led to the well. The cave-in was easy to remove, and blocked half of the entrance.
"This is perfect. If we clear the entrance to the well, we would be able to have water, and use the well as a chimney to cook down here. If we bar the place under the platform, and make a trapdoor to exit from the inside, then we will be secure.”
The last owners probably carried this secret with them to their graves. It was already late, so they hid the well and the trapdoor, before running back to the village before sundown.
After a quick cleanup and delivering his two coppers home, they eventually met in the shack. Sakura and Dyna had sorted out some clothes that were in good condition, and begun sewing the quilts.
Sitting by the fire munching on a bread, they had their discussion.
"Tomorrow we will start moving. I want to do it step by step to avoid being the center of attention."
"Will we take Sakura and Dyna with us?"
Lucy poised the question in excitement. As children this was a huge development. For them participating in this adventure, could compare to meeting a town mayor. In her eyes they were all a group.
"No, that will be too obvious if all of us head out away from the usual forest path. A couple of kids venturing into the grasslands, looking for plants and roots is okay. But if we move with loads of equipment, it will arouse suspicion."
"How will we go then."
"Tomorrow three of us will go to the Trading Post in the morning, when it's empty. We will buy food and supplies, that we can carry and hide it in the cellar. We will forage for some firewood, and spend the night there. That will give us an idea, if any animals or people are active around there."
"You won’t come back for us?"
Dyna chirped.
"Not tomorrow, you guys will remain in this shack and continue to make quilts. I need you to work hard, and sort out all the clothes here. Use the remaining rags to also make torches. Those that you made worked really well today."
"Yes."
The little girl nodded, as she blushed and dropped her head in pride. She was still disappointed that they would not be together with the others tomorrow.
"Don't worry we will be back. We need those blankets, so we are depending on you"
Chu reassured the depressed looking girl. His older mentality broke out as he patted her head.
"The next day we will return and buy more food at the store. Then we will head to the forest and bundle firewood. We will hide our stash in one of the old houses along the way so it would be easy to carry."
It takes about four hours, walking from the barn to the village. By running for most of the return trip, they actually took less time, even though they rested in between. Chu averaged the time. Traveling with loads of firewood and supplies, would increase the duration. Even so, they would still be able to make a round way trip in one day.
Chu planned to use one day, to stock up firewood in one of the abandoned houses. It would be less suspicious if they left the village empty-handed, and then pick it up halfway. He wanted to leave some bundles hidden in some abandoned houses, between the barn and village.
In the event of an emergency where they had no choice, a supply of firewood, could be used to warm them up in a temporary camp. With all their preparation, he was sure that trips during the winter would be inevitable.
"After we stock up on food and firewood, then we will move together."
He continued,
"In one week, we will be free of the slums."
Thinking about their needs and the supplies needed, he realized he missed an important step, when gathering raw material that were cheap and necessary.
He gave a wry smile as he looked to them.
"Who here, knows how to make bread?"
Chapter 10
Preparing for the Winter
The next day Chu loitered around the Trading post until it was empty. He then went in with the others to meet Griz. This time he had Dyna and Sakura join them.
"Haven't seen you around lately, but why is it every-time I do see you, that crowd around you becomes larger."
Griz eyed the children looking around the shelves in a dazed manner.
'This is how children who grow up in poverty act' he thought. They moved and behaved like the man who just discovered fire. Compare them to boy standing in front of him, spouting the airs of a miser. It was like heaven and hell. A voice shook him off, his drifting mind.
"Don't worry, pretty soon you will welcome the day you dealt with me."
Came the dry reply. Chu continued, while the others buzzed around oohing and ahhing among themselves.
"I need to get these items, before a crowd comes. Living in the slums is a rough and dangerous life you know."
Griz understood the meaning behind his words. They quickly got down to business, arguing and negotiating. Griz became surprised that the boy was able to read the prices of the items, and even recognized the names on some medicines. In the end, Chu purchased three large canvas bags full of food, medicine and other supplies.
"Hey Mr Griz, these two kids have now joined my little merchant party. If you can spare some more of those worthless rags laying in your shed, I promise to give you a better deal next time around."
Griz eyes the young girls and gave a grunt. This boy was over demanding.
"What are, these funny looking seed pods here?"
Ming interrupted from the other end of the counter, while eying some round seed pods small like marbles.
"Those are Senim pods. We got those from a merchant who trades in the north. The seeds were supposed to be sold as a laxative, but ended up being too strong. Right now we have no use for them."
Chu ignored their conversation and cut in.
"Forget that for a minute, Mr Griz these two girls will be coming over daily to collect the waste fat from the pelts. Please help them out, I will surely repay you for that kindness."
Griz didn't know why Chu wanted that waste from scraping the animals hide. If it was for luring animals, the hunters went with drained blood and pieces of meat. It was even worse for cooking as it contained hairs and dirt, that were very hard to clean.
"I don't know why you want that waste, I can sell you the fat that is cut out directly you know. You can also buy oil or candles if you want."
"It’s ok, that alone is sufficient."
With the trade complete, Griz led them to a shed at the rear, for the girls to get some of the rags. To his surprise, the two little girls each grabbed a large load, and staggered out, hidden under the cloths.
Griz stared at them and turned to their leader.
"You sure you from the slums?"
"EH? Why are you asking me that for?"
"Forget it."
'Every-time those kids come here they look healthier than even those living in the village. Who would expect such small girls starving in the slums, to be so strong.'
He shrugged his shoulders and went to work.
Leaving the Trading Post the group separated, with the three older ones heading across the grasslands, while the other two carried the rags back to the slums.
It was fortunate that most of the slum residents left to either hustle for work or lay sick in their own shacks. The girls were very careful not to be seen and quickly shut themselves up in the shack to work.
The rest made haste to the barn. With the three of them, it was easy to keep a lookout of their surroundings as they walked. The south of the village close to the forest, appeared mostly deserted, with the only activities coming from farms far from the forest.
The trek was uneventful, and they reached the barn safely.
At the barn they got to work. Chu had Lucy stand watch as the boys cleaned out the cellar. Their homemade torches worked very well and gave out adequate light, with a crackling sound. The barren cellar soon became free of the cobwebs and musty smell.
Ming began clearing the connecting passageway to the well, while Chu raked and swept the platform at the top. After lunch they switched the guard, and continued. On removing the debris, Chu crawled along the passageway towards the well. The water sparkled in the light, clear and about three feet deep, with a sandy bottom.
