Two weeks before winter arrived, the village suddenly became much busier.
From dawn till sunset, the sound of chopping, sewing, carrying, and shouting filled the valley. The clear lake nearby reflected a paler sky, and the wind that used to feel cool now carried a bite of cold.
Food counting, storage checking, hunting parties, sewing furs, drying meat.
Every corner of the village had someone doing something.
By the stone palace, several large storage pits had already been dug. Villagers squatted at the edge, counting bundles of dried meat and carefully placing them inside.
"Twenty strips here."
"Add five more. The lion king eats a lot."
"Do not blame the king. Look at the males who are competing to impress Goddess Isabella. They eat enough to feed a small tribe every day."
At the drying racks, rows of meat strips hung neatly. Thin smoke from slow-burning wood curled around them, giving them a deeper color and a faint fragrance.
