Chương 141: Chapter 152 — A Place to Begin

Mark went through his mental checklist of things he needed to do before he officially called this place his next home. He wanted to verify that the water was fresh, confirm there was a local source of food, make sure he could secure the area, and then start preparing for the arrival of the Pioneer Candidates in the next seven days. He walked west toward the small stream that passed near his chosen location.

He wanted to make sure the water was flowing and not stagnant like the water farther beyond, which formed a marsh stretching into the distance. As he approached, he reached down and touched the stream. The water was cool and refreshing. From his new vantage point, he could see that there were actually two streams that joined together just south of his location. The stream was not huge, maybe only big enough for a shallow-draft rowboat but not big enough for a boat with a deeper draft.

Mark then headed upstream to see if any of the marsh drained into his stream and polluted it, or if the water came fresh from somewhere to the north. He followed the water, and as he did, he saw a number of plants that were not familiar to him. He gathered some of them to study for later. He was still looking for three useful herbs to finish the requirement for the Herb Identification skill, one of the three lessons he was working on. He was following upstream in roughly a northwestern direction.

He finally got to where the two streams split off from a bigger stream or river. Mark was not sure what the true definition of each was, but the larger river split into two smaller streams. But even looking at what he was calling a river was still pretty small compared to the one he could see far to the east. What he could confirm now was that the water came from far upstream, split into two channels, passed his future outpost location, and then continued south.

The leftmost stream flowed into the marsh beyond, but the marsh water was not flowing back into or polluting his water source, which was what mattered to him. There was a small stand of trees east of him that he then walked toward. What he was looking for now was signs of animals that he could trap for food. The low-rolling grass that covered most of the area would hide anything that he might be looking for, but he was hoping he could find some tracks in the trees.

The stand of trees was not huge, maybe twenty of them. He started looking around and saw some signs of recent activity and even found one bush with some purple berries on it that looked like some animal had foraged from. Something was living among the trees and eating from the bush. Next he looked for the paths the animals followed and quickly found several well-worn trails. Back when he was first dropped in this world, he had to trap for food.

But since meeting others he had left it mostly to them to gather food as he worked on different projects. For now he would have to create some traps of his own. In a week he could teach the arriving Pioneer Candidates how to use them, and they could eventually take over the job from him. The first thing he needed were materials, and he started to scavenge items to help him build a trap. Mark looked through his inventory for something to tie it together with and then noticed all the gifts he had gotten.

He added those to his mental list to deal with. Not today, but another day this week. Then he found what he was looking for. In the early days, Mark had made fiber string and rope. But the craftspeople in Beaver Crossing had started turning reeds and other materials into rope and twine, some of which was much sturdier than what he used to make. He pulled out a spool of twine that Garrick had given him to hold for him, and he figured this would be a good project to work on.

He started to make the trap, and it was funny how he could just feel how it should go together. Long ago he had acquired Primitive Crafting, which had helped him with many of his early projects, and his fingers still seemed to remember. He worked to make sure all the knots were tight, that the wood was flexible, and that the twine was secured correctly. When all was done, he walked back to the bush and grabbed a handful of the berries and then walked back to the location he picked.

He set down his trap and positioned it exactly how he thought the animals would come across it. He then used a small stick to stake it into the ground, since he had learned long ago that animals would sometimes drag off his traps. Then he put the berries inside, crushing a few to make sure the smell was obvious to whatever was eating them. As he stood back up, he received a System message. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

[New Craft Discovered: Improved Baited Trap] Mark almost laughed. It had been forever since he got a new craft notification. He knew this one would not be the last over the next few weeks, and it brought back memories and reminded him yet again why he was taking such care to do things right this time. Before he left the grove, he set three more traps in a variety of locations to give him the best shot at finding out what he might be eating soon.

As he left the stand of trees, he looked toward where his horse and gear were waiting. It was not far, and the area was pretty flat and looked pretty fertile. As he looked over the area he thought it might make a good location for a field to plant some vegetables. Of course, when he did, he would either have to wipe out the local animal population or secure the field so that whatever was eating the berries did not turn on his future food crop.

There was another small stand of trees southeast of his current location and just a little northeast of his planned outpost; he headed in that direction next. The walk was quick, and as he went, he kept looking at the ground. At one point along the way he pulled out his shovel and dug a small hole to look at the soil. He was no soil expert, but it looked reasonable enough to him for something to grow. And the grasses and other vegetation here were growing, so it had to be a decent area.

He looked over at the stream and realized that, if needed, he could create a small irrigation ditch to water the area. Maybe even the fruit trees could go here or just on the other side of the stand of trees he was walking toward. At the stand of trees, he looked around again. He did not see any berries, but he still found tracks, so he added two more traps and baited them with berries from the last area.

With six traps out, he walked back to his horse and gear; it was time to find some food, as looking at the sky, it was either noon or close to it, and he worked up an appetite walking around inspecting things. When he got back to his outpost location, he looked around for where to sit and had to just sigh. He should have thought about that. He had the same problem in the beginning. Another item went on the list: pick up some wood to make a decent camp chair.

Maybe he could bring out the real tools and cut a tree down and make it, but he was not sure he wanted to go to that much effort. For now he sat down on the ground and opened the backpack Dale had handed to him. He was sure there would be something good in there. Mark could smell the food before he ever got the backpack all the way open. There was a note on top that said, "Your first meal should make you remember how much you're going to miss me when you have to start cooking your own food."

Mark just laughed at the note and sat it on the ground next to him. The item on top was a quarter of a pie wrapped up; it included a fork and a plate as if he might have forgotten one. Next came some still-warm bread that must have been made this morning before they left. Next he found a clever pot with a lid that had a stew with some kind of meat in it. There was another small plate, maybe for the bread, some butter and jam, and a spoon. There was more stuff below that, but this was overkill for his lunch.

He looked around for where to put the plate and added a table to his mental list right under the chair. He just shrugged and put the plate down on the ground next to the pie and put the bread on it. Taking hold of the clever pot, he removed the lid again and grabbed his spoon and dug in. There was enough to feed three armies, and he ate every bit of it. He buttered a piece of the bread, which was already cut into slices for him, and put some of the jam on it and ate it.

And yes, he was sitting there thinking that the next meal he was really going to miss his friend. With just the pie left of his lunch, he unwrapped it and saw that it was a cherry pie and ate the full quarter of the pie he had. By the time he was done, he realized he had eaten too much and was going to regret it when he had to stand back up off the ground and do some more work. He packed up all the items and put them back in the bag.

He would have to figure out later where and how he would wash dishes and take care of the leftover mess, but for now he had other things to do. Mark then opened his map to see how much of the new zone he had explored and get some idea of how large the place was and where in the zone he actually was. He was surprised, but then again not surprised, to see three bubbles in the fog on the Guild Map for Bracken Hollow.

He knew his was the southern area, and he noticed that he had traveled much farther than the other two. Okay, now he had a decision to make: did he go find those people or set up camp?