Chương 21: Dressing an Elk

We wouldn't be getting any ditch-digging done today. It was only around noon when Colin shot the elk, but then he needed to gut it right away to make sure the entrails didn't spoil the meat. That didn't take too much time, but it certainly made a mess. Colin hadn't been expecting that we'd find an elk, and I wasn't planning on cutting any of the trees we found, so we didn't have a saw with us to make butchering this large animal easier.

If we had shot a deer, which is what we'd been hoping for, it would have weighed between a hundred and two hundred pounds after it had been gutted. I was already a fairly strong guy even before the levels. With a twenty percent bonus to strength and stamina, I could have easily packed the deer back to the homestead. This elk weighed more like eight hundred pounds. I might have levels, but I wasn't superhuman. We would have to quarter it to pack it out, and even that would be heavy.

As he was gutting the elk, Colin broke things down for me.

"John, we need to get this elk out of here as fast as we can. It's a little late in the spring to dry-age. Luckily we have some salt. Not enough though. I bet the neighbors would provide more salt and trade us some extra food for half of the meat too. We can't eat this much without a bunch spoiling this time of year. I know they keep a bunch of extra barrels to preserve the sheep they butcher."

"Sounds good," I said.

"How much salt do we need?" He thought for a minute, then said, "I'm not entirely sure, but probably at least fifty or sixty pounds."

"Whoa," I said. I'd been kneeling, holding a leg up to help him as he skinned the carcass. As he finished, I stood up and looked toward the homestead.

"I'm faster than you, and I can bring the tractor so we can move the carcass back way faster. After that though, we need to either get the neighbors here once we cut it up, or go to them. What do you prefer? Remember, they can't see the tractor." Colin nodded as he too knelt on his haunches. He'd rolled his shirtsleeves up over his elbows, but he cut a bloody figure as he held his large knife in his right hand. His hands and forearms were covered in blood.

"Alright. Go get the tractor, then bring it and a saw back. I'll cut everything apart as well as I can, then I'll use the saw to actually cut the joints. The neighbors have a good cart and horses. They could bring the salt to us, and then pack home the extra meat. Probably best if they meet you with me and Ma around. It'll make them worry less. Once we get back to the cabin with the meat you can take some more equipment back to the forest and leave it in the trees, then I'll go to their place. That work?"

Colin was showing real maturity and critical thinking here. I was impressed. I nodded.

"You'll be fine here alone? Want me to leave my rifle too? I can load both guns for you so you don't get blood all over everything. That way if a wolf or bear comes close you can protect yourself." He looked at both guns, smiled, and thanked me. Then he got back to work while I loaded the guns, then set off towards the homestead. My cardio had suffered over the last eighteen months, but with my stamina bonus, I was feeling pretty darned good. Once I got out of the rough terrain, I started moving at a slow jog.

By 3 p. m., I was back at the homestead. When Emily heard me calling her name, she rushed out of the cabin, her skirts billowing behind her as she rushed towards me.

"What is wrong? Where is Colin?" she asked, worry written plainly across her face.

"He's fine," I said, putting my hands up in the air in a placating gesture. I was barely even winded. These stat boosts were amazing. I said, "Calm down, we shot a bull elk. He's butchering it, but we didn't bring a saw and it's way too big for us to carry back. I'm going to grab the tractor and we'll use it to get it back here. Colin suggested we go to the neighbors tonight, or in the morning to trade them half the meat for more supplies." She put her hands to her heart and exclaimed.

"Thank the System! You had me scared half to death! You are alone, and covered in blood!" I looked down at myself. I'd done what I could to clean up with the canteen we'd brought with us, but there was still some blood on me.

"I don't know if I'd say I'm covered in blood." I chuckled. But I could see why she would be so concerned.

"I'll grab the new saw and take the tractor out. Do you want to come?"

"No. I must prepare for the elk. We do not have nearly enough salt to cure it, or the hide. Colin was correct there," Emily said.

"But, I will need to get out the sacks so we can rub the meat in the salt we have and then hang the rest until the neighbors get here. I'm sure the Newtons will be happy to trade salt, and maybe even some more flour and sugar for half an elk. It is almost certainly the first elk of the year. They have most likely been eating nothing but salted mutton for months by now." That made sense. I remembered Emily had told me they had four children too, so the meat would be welcome.

"K. I'll grab that saw and head out then." I smiled at her and turned around. She reached out and grabbed my arm, the first time she had touched me.

"I do thank you for the help so far. Colin clearly feels comfortable with you, and it is good for him to have a strong male figure in his life." I smiled again and said, "I know this hasn't been easy for any of us, and I'm still mostly a stranger, but I really want us all to succeed." She removed her arm from mine and seemed to settle herself. Then she gave me her pursed-lip smile momentarily before nodding and giving me more of a genuine smile and said, "Thank you. I really am beginning to believe in your words.

You must understand that life has not been easy these last few years." She seemed to be ready to continue when I cut her off.

"I get it, I really do. I don't expect you to believe me 100% in less than a week. Now, I'd better get back to Colin so we can get that meat back before it spoils." This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. She smiled again and said, "Yes, of course, I will not delay you any further." With that, she turned back towards the house and went inside. I just shook my head and went to grab the saw, some water, and some of the fabric we'd recently bought.

It was dark brown, so the blood should come out without staining it. Colin would want to clean up a little at least. When I couldn't think of anything else that would help us out, I got moving. On my drive back to the trees, I couldn't help but think about the situation I was in. I was enjoying myself more than I had in years. I had been really depressed for a couple of years.

My marriage had been failing for several years before that, but I guess I had quit pretending things would still be alright about two years ago. Then there was another year where we just fought all the time. When she finally asked for a divorce, I think we'd both been relieved. We had tried for so long to have a child. When it didn't happen, and then IVF had also failed, it had broken my ex-wife. I'd badly wanted children as well.

It didn't help that she didn't particularly enjoy the relatively rural lifestyle we lived as farmers in Idaho. We weren't out in the middle of nowhere. Hell, we were only thirty minutes from downtown Boise. But the general lifestyle wasn't one that fit her urban upbringing. We'd met in college and were great together. Despite that, when I asked her to marry me, she still almost said no. She was from Seattle, and there wasn't much of a question that if she married me, she'd have to move to Idaho with me.

All the way until a few months ago, it seemed like I was set to inherit a thousand acres of good farmland. Since Sarah was a teacher, she could go anywhere job-wise. She got along great with my family. She still did even after the divorce. Even if my mom wouldn't admit it, I knew she still talked to Sarah even though she'd moved back to Seattle to be closer to her family. Not being able to have kids just made her more and more depressed. I wasn't the best husband when it came to consoling her either.

My dad, and most of the rest of my family, were big on the whole "men don't show emotion" thing. I'd stupidly always gone along with them too. Not to the extent he and all my brothers did, but I definitely didn't provide the emotional support I should have. So, she decided she'd rather be somewhere she'd be happier. I couldn't blame her. When I got the gut punch that I wouldn't be inheriting only six month after my divorce was finalized, I didn't know how to deal with it. So I didn't.

I drank with buddies and got on dating apps and had meaningless flings for six months. I really didn't know what I'd planned to do long term. I was due a significant chunk of money if I sold or rented the two hundred acres and the equipment. If I really wanted to, I probably could have moved to Mexico, or somewhere else cheap, and just lived off dividends and interest and never had to worry about things ever again. But that wasn't what I wanted to do. I wanted to farm. I absolutely loved everything about it.

Whatever the reason for my being brought here, I was determined to make the best of it. I would farm this ground, and I would do the best I could. Emily and Colin might be weak points in that plan, or they could become proper partners as we tried to build something here. If they betrayed me instead, there was nothing I could do about it unless I was willing to do something drastic. And I definitely wasn't willing to do anything drastic. I liked both of them already.

This version of a System didn't seem to require me to be a murder hobo to level up, thank god. I shuddered even at the thought of that. An hour after I'd left, I made it back to Colin with a saw. He had everything ready to go to finish up. I was stronger, so he showed me where to cut through the bone and ligaments. Our enchanted saw made quick work of things. He'd wrapped all the edible organs in the hide while I was gone. I'd let him and Emily eat them tonight.

They had tons of nutrients, and I just didn't care much for organ meat. It took us another hour to take the meat to the tractor. The back end of the large, articulating tractor had a platform on it that covered some of the mechanical parts. It was large enough, and I was strong enough, to haul the pieces up the stairs and stack them up back there. We made it back to the homestead at 6 p. m. Emily had sackcloth laid out on top of some smaller logs to keep things off the ground.

We put the meat on the sackcloth and Colin and I went to the river to really wash up. Emily followed us with a set of spare clothes she put on a boulder by the river for us before she went back to the cabin. Once she was gone, we both stripped down and set to cleaning ourselves with our bars of soap. It was as quick a bath as we could get since it was only in the high 60s and the water was probably 45 degrees at best. Once we were back at the cabin, staring at the meat with Emily at our side, I asked my question.

"What now? It's 6: 30. You have two hours until sunset. The meat won't spoil overnight, but we should probably get the neighbors on their way here tomorrow morning at the latest, right?" They both nodded, and Emily said, "Colin will head that way as soon as he eats some soup and bread. Sorry, John, no picnic tonight." I laughed at that.

"No rest for the industrious eh?" She genuinely smiled at that, and said, "They probably won't come tonight, but they should first thing in the morning." She turned to Colin and spoke to him next.

"I know you are tired but you can be there in an hour at a reasonable pace. Tell them the situation. Don't forget to mention John. Ask them to come in the morning. I want you to return after that. Tell them he is the homesteader who was supposed to be here, and that he is letting us stay in return for helping him out. Nothing else. Am I clear?" He raised his head from looking at the marks he was making in the dirt with the toe of his boot to reply to her.

"Yes, Ma. I swear." She gave him a stern look and seemed to decide he wouldn't say anything stupid, so she nodded and said, "Good. Now eat so you can be on your way. John, I assume you will want to remove the rest of your equipment?"

"I will," I replied.

"I'll move them while he's gone." We ate our dinner before we went to work. Colin returned just as night fell and said that the entire Newton family would be here after their chores in the morning. They would provide all the salt needed for the entire elk, as well as a couple of bags of flour and 5 more pounds of sugar. Emily seemed happy enough with that arrangement, so I didn't see any reason to disagree with the deal. That night, my Almanac reading was shorter, but still educational.

The four basic magical elements are Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. All level 1-20 Wizards are practitioners of one of these four elements. Each class still has three additional subclasses, but one of the four elements will be the focus of all the spells available in those subclasses. Advanced magical abilities are available beginning after the level 20 advancement, but we will not discuss those here, as it is unlikely that you will ever attain that advancement without an exceptional deed or discovery.

You can attain the Wizard class in one of two ways. The first method is through a latent natural talent. Fewer than one in a thousand people has a natural affinity towards one of the four elements and is capable of unlocking one of the elemental classes on their own. For everyone else, several years of schooling at a Wizard school is necessary, even with the aid of a class scroll. There are even some people who can never unlock a Wizard class because they lack the natural affinity for magic.

These people do not contain mana they can convert into a spell. Those who have a natural affinity and can unlock a Wizard class on their own almost always possess more mana than those who have to use a scroll and learning to unlock their class. Mana capacity increases with each level, with a higher base mana level giving a larger increase per level. At this time, it is unknown why some people have more base mana than others, or why some may have no mana at all.

The offspring of a natural Wizard is no more likely to possess an abundance of mana than the offspring of a farmer. Excerpt from Intro to Wizards and their Elements, by The Archwizard Gwydion Harris. The 12th Dean of the Londinium Wizarding College. Note: This book is not available in the Albion Guild Store.