The Day Off
It's now the 41st of Spring, I've decided to take a break from helping the doctor and from work to relax for a few days before the mining expedition. It'll give Kaleb, a new hire, a chance to get used to serving people on his own without my help. I've given training for about a week, so I think the diner will be in good hands when I'm gone.
I got my break started by waking up before the crack of dawn, gathering my walking stick, backpack, and fishing supplies, and heading down to Arkun lake. It's supposed to be a day and a half trip non-stop, but I've made the trek so often that I can usually do it in one. So, with my fishing rod strapped to one side of my backpack, and walking stick on the other, I ran off to the south as the sun was peaking through the trees to the east.
As I set off, I noticed all the landmarks that I've passed on my prior journeys to the lake, the uprooted tree I saw get struck by lightning, the log I tripped over my first time heading out this way and the young elder tree I climbed on the way back. All of these made me feel nostalgic, and after a few hours of running, I decided to see if I could pick up the pace, climbed up a tree, and ran along the forest branches. I've tried this before but fell after a few jumps. I was fine, only spraining my ankle when I landed, but now that I'm much older, it's easier to judge which jumps I can and can't make. Each leap I made, made me feel so free, there was no other way to describe it. The rush of the jump, the brief moment where I seem to float in the air, and then landing on the next branch made me feel so alive, reminding me of why I want to explore, for that feeling.
As the sun began to set, its light reflecting off the now in-view lake, I decided to find a large branch on an elder tree and sleep on for the night. I was already ahead of schedule, the lake being in sight within half a day, so I wanted to make sure I had energy to enjoy myself when I got there. Elder trees are almost as large around as 9 houses packed together and branches that are wider than my room are relatively commonplace. So, using my backpack as a pillow, I relaxed high above the ground and went to sleep.
When I woke up, it was still dark out and I had an uneasy feeling. I opened my eyes, sat up and blinked a few times to let my eyes adjust to the dim moonlight, and there I saw it: an elder spidder. These are like the normal spidders, except instead of hunting flies and worms like the ones you'll see in your house, or the ones that hunt rodents and small birds like the ones you'll find in most forests, the elder spidders eat wild boar and bears. They only live in elder trees, so I probably should've expected this, but it didn't cross my mind at the time. Luckily, I know that elder spidders are cowards, they hunt at night, and attack large creatures that are asleep, but if you fight back, they flee. I'm not sure why, maybe because they're big they're fragile? I'm not sure. Regardless, when I woke up and saw it, I gave it a whack with my walking stick reflexively, and it skittered off. So, after wiping the sleep from my eyes after a rather rude awakening, I decided to head on to the lake so other spidders don't try to make me their midnight snack.
By the time I had gotten down to lake Arkun, the sun was just beginning to rise, causing hazy green shadows to fall upon the lake. I walked along the edge for a few minutes before I found a flat rock to sit on. It was still cool from the night, and there was a patch of mud to the right of it that I could stick my fishing pole into while waiting for fish.
After a few hours, the sun had risen to its peak in the sky, and I had caught a few fish, nothing large, but I guess that's fine. It's not like I'm catching fish for selling or anything. I'll probably cook something with them tomorrow or the day after so grandpa and mother can have a break. The diner has been busy, hence the new hire, and they've been exhausted every night, so I thought it'd be nice to treat them to dinner. It's been a while since my last catch and I was starting to get bored, so I went to walk around on the tree branches with my walking stick in hand. I left my things by the shore and made sure to cover up my fish so nothing takes them, but I knew I shouldn't take too long as that won't work if a strong breeze sweeps through.
I don't know why I decided to do combat training in a tree, but here I am. I have watched the guard practice before, so I knew what they did, and was able to complete their warmups and strength training with ease. I then used by walking stick like a longsword and found a branch to serve as a sparing partner. It felt awkward, like usual, but I was still able to smack some bark of the tree limb. I think my walking stick is too long to be wielded like a sword properly. Regardless, after I finished, I had done the guard squad's exercise regime in about half the time. Although cut back on the sword practice because I didn't want to build too many bad habits from using a 6ft long walking stick as a sword.
After I finished up with that, I jumped down to where I left my fishing rod, but since it hadn't moved, I guess I didn't miss anything while I was gone. All my fish were still there too. It's really quiet today, a little too quiet, but I decided to not worry about it. Since fishing wasn't going so well, I decided to try skipping stones, but after grabbing a few dozen, I couldn't find any that were flat enough to skip. I found a handful of sharp ones though, which gave me the idea to try target practice. I've only focused on melee training, but if I'm trying to get away from something, I'll need to have some way of attacking from afar or while moving.
Gathering more stones, I used a particularly sharp one to etch a set of circles on a nearby tree trunk, before putting a dot in the center of the target to mimic the archery targets the guard use. I stood back about 2 dozen paces and marked this spot with a line, so I don't have to count each time. I started by throwing the stones as hard as I could, to the point where they left visible marks on the target before rebounding off the bark and into the grass below. They weren't all on point at first, but after a few tries each stone was in the innermost circle. I still didn't have a catch, so I continued for another 10 minutes and by that time I had struck 15 consecutive center shots. I'm starting to rethink the sword that I'm gonna have Mr. Smith make me. I'd rather have something that suits me better if I turn out to be a terrible swordsman.
I stopped throwing stones when my fishing rod started jerking. I had to dive to grab it before it was pulled into the water, but I was able to catch a big one. I don't know exactly what fish names are, but I know grandpa has a book of them somewhere, so I'll check later. I attached a bug I found on the ground as bait, recast the rod, and continued waiting for another catch.
After a few more hours of fishing and throwing stones at targets, the sun began to set, so I packed up my fish and headed home. Nothing happened, but about halfway back I started feeling like someone was watching me. When I stopped to try and look for the thing following me, I got a random jolt of fear, and curiosity. What was strange was that the feeling felt, familiar, I don't know how else to describe it. But after an instant it faded so I decided to pick up the pace a little bit.
When I got home, I headed up to my room, set down my things and was going to put the fish in the salt box for tomorrow, but I heard something land on the roof. I would've dismissed it as an owl or something, but I felt the same feeling I felt on the way back, so I decided to try something. I opened the shudders and sat one of the fish on a table next to them, to see if whatever is out there is hungry. I went back downstairs to put the remaining fish in the salt box, and when I came back to my room the fish was gone. I didn't get to see what it was, so it was a bit of a disappointment, but now I know there is something following me around. But since there was nothing I could do about it, I decided to go to sleep and get ready for the morning.
When I woke up, I checked to see if mom and grandpa were still asleep before getting out the fish and eggs to make something. I don't know what to call it, but it's basically grilled fish, seasoned with garlic and cilantro, with a runny fried egg on top covered in tomato chunks. When they came down, they seemed shocked and then I was complemented on the dish. I took a bite, and it wasn't too bad if I say so myself. We had a nice breakfast as a family, talking about the diner, the weather, and future activities. I learned my mother is taking up sewing to make clothes, and I told them about my day off. After breakfast, I went outside, stretched, and went to help the doctor find medical herbs again. On the way there, I was thinking about the thing that had been following me, wondering about what it is, but I arrived before I could finish my thoughts, so I ended up dismissing them and getting to work.