For the moment, I set aside my previous thoughts. It was bad for me to focus all my attention on that and overthink it. I knew the solution would come to me one way or another.
"Hey Luke! Are you feeling better?" Daren exclaimed visibly cheerful when he saw me arrive with Rowan.
"I think so, thanks for worrying."
"Come sit down, you must be hungry. I prepared the house specialty, roasted panlagor," he pointed at some logs where Claire was already sitting around a campfire. On it, there were branches with meat skewered on them.
I sat next to Daren, took one of the sticks, and examined the piece of meat. It was quite black—charred, I would even say. It didn't look appetizing at all.
He was watching me with expectant eyes. I gathered the courage to try it, and as soon as I took the first bite, I knew I had been right. Not only was it burned, but it also felt like a flavorless rock.
"Uhm, how… Delicious, who was the great… Chef?" I said, trying not to cry and keeping my composure.
"You don't have to lie to him, Luke. We already know my brother is anything but a good cook," Claire was cooking her own piece of meat.
"Why do you say that? I don't think it's that bad… ugh," Daren complained as he grabbed a stick with the meat he had cooked to taste it.
"How did you manage to burn it like this? I mean, I don't know much about cooking, but… this could already be considered charcoal," I put on a more sarcastic face and made the joke.
"And I was worried about you and took the trouble to make you lunch. How ungrateful," Daren leaned back and pretended to be offended, though he couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. Claire couldn't either and laughed lightly.
"It also needs salt." The three of us stopped laughing and turned to look at my brother, who was sitting there calmly chewing the piece of "obsidian."
"Are you seriously eating that?" Claire blurted out with one eyebrow raised.
Rowan shrugged. "Aside from being hard as a rock… it's just food. I don't mind."
We stared at him open-mouthed. It really seemed like he had no sense of taste. After a few seconds, we laughed again. He looked at us without understanding why, but he didn't care and kept eating.
I took the knife and cut a piece from the raw meat that was left. I skewered it on a stick, added some salt, and cooked it myself. And to think it was from one of the panlagors I couldn't fight… no, I had already decided it was useless to think about that.
It was still somewhat tough—it seemed to be a characteristic of this meat. That must be why it wasn't sold at food stalls—but it was better than Daren's charcoal.
Later, I was sitting in a nearby tree on the cliff above the camp and looked at the surroundings. The camp was pressed against the mountain; on that side there was a small cliff—not very large, but enough to use as cover.
Near the rock wall were the tents of the civilians and workers. On the other side were us, the guards, at what would be the edge of the whole group. My brother and I were in one tent, and Daren and Claire were in another right next to ours.
All the tents in the camp were arranged like that, in groups of two to four tents surrounding a campfire—something vital in this cold. As if it were fate, I saw a snowflake pass right in front of my face.
It seemed that the snow had finally arrived. This was going to complicate the work in the area. I hoped we wouldn't have to stay longer. While I was lost in my thoughts, I felt a strange sensation, as if something were watching me.
I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword, which I had left at my side so I could sit, and looked frantically around me. After a few seconds, I saw it—it was just a bird staring at me.
It seemed to be some kind of eagle or hawk. I couldn't say for sure since I had never seen either of them before. It was somewhat small, with black feathers and faint red patterns. "How beautiful," I murmured to myself. It was quite majestic, in a way. I had never imagined a bird could look like that.
Pheew
A sharp whistle sounded from below, startling the bird, which quickly flew away. It was Serin. In theory, she used that whistle when she wanted us to gather.
I grabbed my things and stood up quickly. Even though it wasn't the alert for a threat, it meant she wanted to say something important and urgent. I went around the cliff and descended. When I reached the place where she had blown the whistle, there was already a large group of people gathered, including my companions and my brother.
"Where were you? You left as soon as you finished eating," Rowan asked.
"Up on the cliff. I was exploring the area," I answered quietly. "You know, I just saw a haw—"
"Thank you all for coming so quickly," Serin interrupted me and began speaking in a loud tone so everyone could hear her.
She stepped back and let the man beside her speak. He was in charge of the workers' sector. "Well, as you may have noticed, it has started to snow, which complicates our work," he sighed. "So we'll be working shorter shifts and staying about five days longer than expected."
Complaints and murmurs were heard throughout the crowd. It was reasonable—this would extend the expedition to nearly three weeks.
"Please calm down. This is necessary to protect you from the cold and avoid having to return in a second expedition. The capital ordered a fixed amount of wood that we must fulfill," Serin intervened to calm the situation.
"Additionally, the extra hours will be generously compensated. These kinds of setbacks were already anticipated when the request was made. Please return to what you were doing. Tomorrow, when the workdays begin, we'll properly clarify the shifts," the man finished explaining.
"Guards, stay a moment longer and come closer," Serin asked. When we all approached, she continued, "We'll do something similar. We'll take six-hour shifts instead of eight. Prioritize staying warm and well covered. With this cold, it's very unlikely that any beast will approach."
We all nodded at once.
"Good. I also want to make a change. Luke and Claire will be with me on the shifts. Daren and Rowan will take their places."
I nodded again at this order. Clearly, she was doing it because of what had happened upon arrival, which seemed fine to me—even if it sounded like she was going to be our babysitter. She explained some things about our duties, including that we would build, with the help of some workers, a small palisade and an improvised watchtower to better oversee the camp just in case. Once she finished saying all that, she told us we could leave.
I was walking with Rowan when he decided to speak. "What was it you wanted to tell me before?"
"What are you talking about?" I asked, not knowing what he meant.
"I don't know. You were telling me about something you saw while you were on the cliff."
"Uh, honestly, I don't remember anymore," I shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Let's go back to the tents—it's cold."
"Okay…"