86 Zi'da 721
Follows on from here
Dan walked beside the ponies, a heavy pack on his back, glad to see the jutting mountain of Eureka coming closer. He should reach it on the morrow, all else being well. He was walking, because it was taking both ponies plus his own pack to haul the venison from the deer he had killed for the bounty. It had had to be done. They were over-populated and causing problems, and he had made it as quick and clean as he could, but it had left him with almost more meat and materials (bone and antler, hoof and hide, and sinew) than he could transport.
Dan had skinned the deer, then scraped the skins clean, laced them into rough containers and allowed the rawhide to dry and set rigid in that form. That gave him something to hold the meat in, and he had butchered it down to smaller portions and packed them into his makeshift containers and crammed every corner and crack between the pieces with clean snow to keep the meat in as good a condiion as possible.
Now Cloud wore the pack saddle with containers attached - carefully, so that the load she carried was even and balanced, and she wouldn't get hurt. Smoke hauled the cart with more of the containers tied down on top of most of the usual load, and Dan had turned the rest of that usual load into a pack for his own back. Mostly he was carrying clothes and tools, the things that he would need in camp at night, so that he didn't have to pack and unpack eerything in the cart every night and morning, only the bulky or dangerous stuff like the brazier and any furniture he wanted.
He pushed on as long as it was safe to do so, but eventually he had to stop and set up camp for the night while there was still just enough light for him to see what he was doing. First, he unloaded and unharnessed the ponies, and gave them a quick once over with a brush. Cloud dragged the edge of her hoof across the snow burying what grass there was and turned mournful eyes on him. Dan smiled wryly and signed a teasing, "Greedy guts!". He made a snowball with his mittened hands, then set the ball of snow down on the ground and pushed it along. The snow that it rolled through clung to the ball and increased its size, solving two problems at once. First, it cleared most of the snow off the ground where he wanted to place his tent and bared the grass for the patient ponies. Second, a row of snow boulders made a wind proof, if low, wall that would leave .little or no trace and damage behind when he moved on. He scooped extra snow to melt for water, packing it into a cooking pot and setting it aside. As he worked, the ponies trailed in behind him to crop the grass that he had bared. It didn't have a vast amount of nourishment at this time of the arc, but then again, Cloud and Smoke were small enough and hardy enough to survive on poor forage, while still being strong enough to pull the cart, or carry him (or a heavy pack) on their backs.
As soon as the ground was clear of snow, he fetched the bundled tent from the cart, and began the familiar task of fitting the poles together and pitching the tent itself. Once the tent was up, he began on the inside. He had a tiny covered brazier containing a live coal saved from the fire at his previous camp, and now he set it where it wouldn't get knocked over or set anything else on fire. The brazier used less fuel than an open fire did, which was worth while when you had to gather or make every bit of it. He raised the lid, added a little fuel, and blew it back into life so that it could begin to take the chill off the air inside the tent. He hung the pot of snow over it to melt, and set a second, smaller pot beside it. He chopped starchy burdock and thistle roots into the second pot, along with carrots, onions, garlic, and a chunk of venison, added water as soon as he had some, and switched the pots over to let the stew cook while he finished setting up the tent.
In warmer weather, he would unrolled his bedroll onto the floor next, but in the cold he needed every survival boost he could get. Sleeping directly on the freezing ground was a good way to drain warmth and energy out of you so fast that there was a chance that you would go to sleep some cold night and never wake up again. Instead he hauled an armful of pine boughs out of the cart and He gathered an armful of the pine boughs and dumped them on the spot he wanted to sleep, making sure that they were evenly spread across the area, then went back and added another armful, and another, until the top of the pile was well clear of the ground. Then, finally, he unrolled his bedroll and spread it on top of the pine to complete his own bed. The remainder of the boughs he spread across the floor of the ponies' half of the tent, so that they too would have some insulation from the cold if they decided to lie down. If he was staying longer than a single night, he would have made a box of sorts to contain the boughs he used as insulation from the ground and prevent them from spilling apart or sliding out from under him, or getting trampled on by the ponies, but it took too long to set up and remove for just the one night.
He also left as much of his belongings packed into the cart as possible, though he did take the time to change into dry warm clothes and hang up his heavy coat to dry overnight, as much as it would, as well as the boots that had slogged through the snow all trial. He retrieved a single folding stool to sit on, added more fuel to the brazier, and settled in to do a little mending by the light of the brazier while he waited for the stew to finish cooking. His mouth watered at the scent rising from his stew pot to mingle with ever present smells of smoke and horse. Dinner tonight was going to taste so good, thick with assorted vegetables and full of flavour, hot, and rich, and meaty.
He woke before dawn the next morning, rolled out of bed, and doled out some precious extra feed for the ponies. They were doing heavy work and needed the extra fuel. He added enough fuel to the brazier to reheat the remains of last night's stew and melt more snow for water, and then dressed for the weather. He ate quickly but neatly, cleaned pot, bowl and spoon, then started packing up. He dismantled his bed and stacked the pine and bedding back in the cart, along with the folding stool and the few other things he had used. He banked a few coals in his brazier, clamped down the lid, and strapped it into a corner where there was no chance of it burning anything else. Finally, he struck the tent itself, strapped the poles into place, and used the already damp canvas as a protective cover for the rest of his belongings.
He brushed the ponies down briskly, removing any dirt that might chafe under saddle and harness, then harnessed Smoke to the cart and saddled Cloud with the pack saddle. He led them both a short distance away, then went back to his campsite and went over the ground thoroughly, to make absolutely sure that he hadn't missed or forgotten anything. Only once he was satisfied did he gather up the reins and set off towards Eureka once more.
He reached the settlement late in the afternoon, and picked his way through to the main cooking area, since that was a route he knew, with one eye on possible routes to where.the meat might be stored, which he was less familar with. The faces around him were growing more familiar with every visit he made, and he hoped he wasn't overstaying his welcome. But who else could use this much meat so easily? He offered a smile to the cook, and lifted down one of the containers so that the cook could see what was in it. "Delivery," he explained, almost shyly. "Where would you like it?"
"Signed words" Spoken words
Follows on from here
Dan walked beside the ponies, a heavy pack on his back, glad to see the jutting mountain of Eureka coming closer. He should reach it on the morrow, all else being well. He was walking, because it was taking both ponies plus his own pack to haul the venison from the deer he had killed for the bounty. It had had to be done. They were over-populated and causing problems, and he had made it as quick and clean as he could, but it had left him with almost more meat and materials (bone and antler, hoof and hide, and sinew) than he could transport.
Dan had skinned the deer, then scraped the skins clean, laced them into rough containers and allowed the rawhide to dry and set rigid in that form. That gave him something to hold the meat in, and he had butchered it down to smaller portions and packed them into his makeshift containers and crammed every corner and crack between the pieces with clean snow to keep the meat in as good a condiion as possible.
Now Cloud wore the pack saddle with containers attached - carefully, so that the load she carried was even and balanced, and she wouldn't get hurt. Smoke hauled the cart with more of the containers tied down on top of most of the usual load, and Dan had turned the rest of that usual load into a pack for his own back. Mostly he was carrying clothes and tools, the things that he would need in camp at night, so that he didn't have to pack and unpack eerything in the cart every night and morning, only the bulky or dangerous stuff like the brazier and any furniture he wanted.
He pushed on as long as it was safe to do so, but eventually he had to stop and set up camp for the night while there was still just enough light for him to see what he was doing. First, he unloaded and unharnessed the ponies, and gave them a quick once over with a brush. Cloud dragged the edge of her hoof across the snow burying what grass there was and turned mournful eyes on him. Dan smiled wryly and signed a teasing, "Greedy guts!". He made a snowball with his mittened hands, then set the ball of snow down on the ground and pushed it along. The snow that it rolled through clung to the ball and increased its size, solving two problems at once. First, it cleared most of the snow off the ground where he wanted to place his tent and bared the grass for the patient ponies. Second, a row of snow boulders made a wind proof, if low, wall that would leave .little or no trace and damage behind when he moved on. He scooped extra snow to melt for water, packing it into a cooking pot and setting it aside. As he worked, the ponies trailed in behind him to crop the grass that he had bared. It didn't have a vast amount of nourishment at this time of the arc, but then again, Cloud and Smoke were small enough and hardy enough to survive on poor forage, while still being strong enough to pull the cart, or carry him (or a heavy pack) on their backs.
As soon as the ground was clear of snow, he fetched the bundled tent from the cart, and began the familiar task of fitting the poles together and pitching the tent itself. Once the tent was up, he began on the inside. He had a tiny covered brazier containing a live coal saved from the fire at his previous camp, and now he set it where it wouldn't get knocked over or set anything else on fire. The brazier used less fuel than an open fire did, which was worth while when you had to gather or make every bit of it. He raised the lid, added a little fuel, and blew it back into life so that it could begin to take the chill off the air inside the tent. He hung the pot of snow over it to melt, and set a second, smaller pot beside it. He chopped starchy burdock and thistle roots into the second pot, along with carrots, onions, garlic, and a chunk of venison, added water as soon as he had some, and switched the pots over to let the stew cook while he finished setting up the tent.
In warmer weather, he would unrolled his bedroll onto the floor next, but in the cold he needed every survival boost he could get. Sleeping directly on the freezing ground was a good way to drain warmth and energy out of you so fast that there was a chance that you would go to sleep some cold night and never wake up again. Instead he hauled an armful of pine boughs out of the cart and He gathered an armful of the pine boughs and dumped them on the spot he wanted to sleep, making sure that they were evenly spread across the area, then went back and added another armful, and another, until the top of the pile was well clear of the ground. Then, finally, he unrolled his bedroll and spread it on top of the pine to complete his own bed. The remainder of the boughs he spread across the floor of the ponies' half of the tent, so that they too would have some insulation from the cold if they decided to lie down. If he was staying longer than a single night, he would have made a box of sorts to contain the boughs he used as insulation from the ground and prevent them from spilling apart or sliding out from under him, or getting trampled on by the ponies, but it took too long to set up and remove for just the one night.
He also left as much of his belongings packed into the cart as possible, though he did take the time to change into dry warm clothes and hang up his heavy coat to dry overnight, as much as it would, as well as the boots that had slogged through the snow all trial. He retrieved a single folding stool to sit on, added more fuel to the brazier, and settled in to do a little mending by the light of the brazier while he waited for the stew to finish cooking. His mouth watered at the scent rising from his stew pot to mingle with ever present smells of smoke and horse. Dinner tonight was going to taste so good, thick with assorted vegetables and full of flavour, hot, and rich, and meaty.
He woke before dawn the next morning, rolled out of bed, and doled out some precious extra feed for the ponies. They were doing heavy work and needed the extra fuel. He added enough fuel to the brazier to reheat the remains of last night's stew and melt more snow for water, and then dressed for the weather. He ate quickly but neatly, cleaned pot, bowl and spoon, then started packing up. He dismantled his bed and stacked the pine and bedding back in the cart, along with the folding stool and the few other things he had used. He banked a few coals in his brazier, clamped down the lid, and strapped it into a corner where there was no chance of it burning anything else. Finally, he struck the tent itself, strapped the poles into place, and used the already damp canvas as a protective cover for the rest of his belongings.
He brushed the ponies down briskly, removing any dirt that might chafe under saddle and harness, then harnessed Smoke to the cart and saddled Cloud with the pack saddle. He led them both a short distance away, then went back to his campsite and went over the ground thoroughly, to make absolutely sure that he hadn't missed or forgotten anything. Only once he was satisfied did he gather up the reins and set off towards Eureka once more.
He reached the settlement late in the afternoon, and picked his way through to the main cooking area, since that was a route he knew, with one eye on possible routes to where.the meat might be stored, which he was less familar with. The faces around him were growing more familiar with every visit he made, and he hoped he wasn't overstaying his welcome. But who else could use this much meat so easily? He offered a smile to the cook, and lifted down one of the containers so that the cook could see what was in it. "Delivery," he explained, almost shyly. "Where would you like it?"
Filler Text Filler Text
