As the first light of dawn hit the shelter, we found Barun sitting sluggishly at the gate of the deer pen. The animals seemed to have grown used to his massive presence. However, the constant weight in my stomach from eating nothing but meat was starting to trigger alarms in my body. I turned to Eliz. "We can't live on meat alone. Our bodies will grow weak; we need things that grow from the earth."
Eliz nodded in agreement, but we had a problem: the ground was as hard as frozen iron, and we didn't even have a simple hoe.
"Barun!" I called out. "What did you do with those massive antlers from the stag?"
Barun looked up, confused. "I tossed them aside, why?" I went and retrieved the hard, multi-branched antlers. Using the iron nails Barun had brought and Essence's (Green Slime) sticky secretion, we lashed the antlers to thick wooden handles. What emerged were primitive, lethal-looking hoes capable of tearing through the stubborn earth.
Barun pointed to a sunny patch right next to the stone wall of the sauna, where the wind was blocked. The three of us set to work. Every time Barun slammed the antler-hoe into the ground with his immense strength, the frozen earth groaned as it split open. Eliz and I cleared away the large stones and mixed fresh manure gathered from the deer pen into the tilled soil. After hours of sweaty, back-breaking labor, we had created a small, dark, and nutrient-rich plot of land ready for planting.
"Now for the real problem," Eliz said, slinging her bow over her shoulder. "We have nothing to plant."
We dove into the depths of the forest for a "seed hunt." Eliz's sharp eyes scanned every thicket. At the base of a wild berry bush where a flock of birds had gathered, we collected dried fruits the birds hadn't touched; inside them lay the seeds of the coming spring. Near the stream, we found wild garlic bulbs and forest carrots struggling in the mud. We dug them up carefully, ensuring the roots remained intact.
Our most interesting discovery came from the crop of a large forest grouse Eliz had shot. The bird had swallowed a handful of wild grain kernels it hadn't yet digested. "This is pure gold," I murmured, cleaning the precious seeds.
Returning to the shelter, we carefully tucked these "treasures" into the soil of our new field. We gave them their first drink of water from the stream. I placed the Red Slime on the stones bordering the field; the gentle heat it radiated would prevent the ground from freezing over during the night.
As night fell, the three of us stood looking at this small sign of life we had created with our own hands out of mud and stone. We were no longer just hunters; we were sowers. Barun wiped his muddy hands on his tunic. "The earth isn't ungrateful," he said. "If you look after it, it will look after you."
Just then, at the far corner of the field, I noticed two glowing eyes watching us from the darkness of the forest. Our new field's first visitor didn't look particularly friendly.
ESSENCE HAVEN
KINGDOM POPULATION: 3 (+6 Animals)