I woke up relatively late in comparison to the other days. Partially because the bed was incredibly comfortable, but mostly because I wasn't going to have to constantly watch out for my back in case a guard was there! I was still going to have to keep a look out for anyone that might be looking for me, in which case I could hide beneath the house in the strange tunnel. After all, that library would provide hours of entertainment if I had to retreat into there! In fact, I was tempted to go down and get some more books to read. There were hundreds of titles, and some of them were bound to be more interesting than the ones up here already. Eventually crawling out of bed, I planned out the day more casually whilst cooking some salted meat I had taken fro the ship. Looking into my bag, and then in the chest, I realised that first on the agenda would be to go hunting! I probably wouldn't need to go far because I could hear the sounds of wildlife all around, and the area was pretty flat. Chances were this place was a widely used area for grazing animals like cows and sheep. There was bound to be a source of fresh water too! After finishing up, I took my bow and quiver and left the house. I had instructed Chiron to stay put and rest his paw, but he seemed rather content with sleeping anyway. I closed the door and walked towards the arched entrance of the wall. This was impressive work! Not only was the wall was sound and stable, but the arch was incredibly robust, and provided a thin entry point. I was tempted to craft some large wooden doors or gates to put the way, but I had more demanding things to do. Besides, I would like to keep the majority of the external house the same so the guards aren't as suspicious if they come snooping around. Exiting the wall, I turned right and instantly saw four pigs! This was going to be too easy! Taking an arrow from the quiver, I arched my arm back and let loose... The target practise would do me good!
After taking out each pig individually, I set to work stripping them of useful meat. I left the rest to be picked at by whatever animals wanted them, and turned my attention to some cows. They were grazing close to fresh water source, and I took the opportunity to bag one! It took three arrows to the neck! It may sound grizzly, and I can't say it wasn't messy, but it was a necessary thing for me to stay alive! I needed to eat... Circle of life and all that... I have never actually killed a cow before, getting most of my meat from fish and pigs. Cows were different altogether, but just as delicious! After stripping off the necessary meat from the cow, I needed a way to preserve what I had. There was no way I would be able to keep all of this in the time it takes me to eat it! I would have to find some way to preserve it, and the only way I could find was to salt it. This wasn't really an issue as there was a supply of salt in the form of the sea nearby. I took the meat back to the house, wrapping each piece in a separate piece of cloth, and putting them into the chest away from Chiron's slobbering mouth! I found a small bucket under the bed and I went down to the sea and filled it up. I then returned to the house and put it on top of the stove and lit it and let it burn. Hopefully the salt content was enough to only merit one or two more trips. The heat would evaporate the water and leave salt crystals at the bottom. Then it was a case of coating each piece of meat generously in salt, and wrapping tightly back in the cloth. As the bucket was able to carry a reasonable amount of water, the water would take hours to evaporate. Instead, I decided to make a small farm around the back of the house. Hidden from sight, and able to provide me with wheat, it was a great idea! I took my diamond shovel and headed around to the back of the house! Busy busy busy!
After determining the approximate length of the channel needed, I started digging a small trench that spanned the length of the back of the house. This would allow me to grow the maximum amount of wheat without it being visible from the front. The wall was actually a great asset; it protected whatever was inside from view within a height of two metres at least! Unless I was growing super wheat, no-one would see it from the back! After finishing the trench, I went inside to get a bucket, and realised there wasn't one spare! I would need to make one... I didn't really mind because it tested my skills, and allowed me to let my mind wander. I went into the chest and took out the small amounts of lumber that was there. Jonas hadn't refined it so I spent half an hour stripping the bark, and chopping it into planks, and resting them against the side of the stove the dry them out. After they were considerably drier, I took them to the crafting table and began shaping them to form a wooden bucket. It was crude, and not entirely water tight, but it would do. Attaching a cloth handle to it, I took it out to the small pool of fresh water and raced back to the trench! The bucket was considerably less water tight than I had first assumed, and I lost about a third of the contents. Going back inside, I stuffed the obvious holes with cloth rags and went out for another try. I saved more this time, but still lost quite a bit. I repeated this until the trench was filled to about four fifths filled. Phew, that's all the to-ing and fro-ing done. Now to plant some seeds!
I left the bucket outside and went back in to retrieve the seeds and a hoe I had found. It didn't look like it had been used... Maybe he had had plans to grow a farm... Until his untimely demise... Shaking it from my mind, I began to till the earth, ready for the seed. This was a part of the job that required no actually thought to it at all, and my mind wandered as it does so often... I began thinking about THEROS, and what the next step was... Surely they weren't going to expect me to go back to the dirt hovel? That was miles away and the chances of getting caught were huge! I had a feeling that THEROS doubted I was still alive though, so I'm hoping I can wait for this all to blow over. Eventually, the figure will probably think I'm dead or long gone... I hope that HoN Co. sends a task force to deal with them first though... When they do, I will probably go back with them... It's been fun here in Minecraftia, but no pay check is worth what I've been put through. After a few moments, I realised I had started tilling the ground nowhere near the water trench! Putting my mind back on track, I put lay the hoe down and began to scatter the seeds on the freshly tilled earth. A few days, maybe weeks - depending on the soil quality - and I would be having bread again! I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth going out into the open and looking for other food sources. There's only so long I can live on fish, meat, bread and water! I still hadn't tried milking a cow yet! If that was even possible... I was willing to try, even if it got me injured... I could really do with some milk!
I went back inside to check on the bucket of water, to find it all gone... Looking into the bottom, I saw the reward for my patience! A large amount of salt! About half of what I needed so i went back to the sea and got another bucket of water. I walked back, just as it began to get dark - it gets dark really quickly when you keep yourself busy! - and put it back on the stove. There wasn't really much to do now, so I secured the door and had another root around in the chest. I found a lot of raw iron that hadn't been smelted yet, so I decided to make use of the already lit stove. I put a load more coal in and waited for it to get really hot before adding the iron. It would take awhile for the iron to liquify and separate from the rock and stone. But I wasn't going anywhere, and I wasn't complaining of the heat. Chiron decided to curl up in front of it again, whilst I lit some torches and began scanning the shelves for a good book. It was nice to get back into a more relaxed routine, without having to constantly look over my shoulder... I'm wondering if there's any need to go back at all...? I have what I need here; a farm, meat, a shelter, a hidden passage to hide in if needed, and total security from knowing that the guards were unlikely to know I was up here. I eventually settled into a good book about cows... I don't know why, but it might help if I decided to go looking for milk tomorrow!
The rest of the water finished evaporating, and I had plenty of salt to use with the meat. I spent a good hour salting each chunk after cutting it down, and wrapping them into individual cloth rags. Now they would keep for considerably longer with the moisture being extracted from them by the salt. A good wash off and cooked just right and I could have myself a proper steak! I'd begun to wonder if there was any source of fruit or vegetables around... I had a severe lack of both in my diet, but I wasn't too worried. I preferred to eat what I liked rather than living as everyone else did. Although there wasn't as much stigma associated with that living alone! I'm actually learning a lot from this book about cows, and I think I have a strategy... I'm just wondering if it's possible to have one tamed... Or just wander around an enclosed space of grass. Then I could have milk whenever I wanted! Why did this never occur to me months ago...
Syeonyx signing off
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