I slept like a stone that night. 'Some food would be great...', I though after my stomach grumbled. My breakfast had to wait, at least until the morning tasks were done. I arrived at another well, which thankfully had a few buckets whole. 'At least this isn't going to take forever'. With that thought in mind, I went to work.
The task of carrying water took me a bit less time. One of the reasons was familiarity, while the other was the buckets that didn't actually leak. There was no rush to my other job, so I used some water from the well to wash my face and drink a bit. 'With no food around, I can at least drink water until I'm full'. I've rested there for a bit, before heading towards the Woodcutter's Lodge.
At the Lodge, the woodcutter was nowhere to be found. 'Well, he already told me to go straight to work', I figured and headed towards my work area. 'He's actually working... Who'd guess that?', I thought. There were less logs that morning, which meant someone had to cut them. With the bunt axe in my hand, I began chopping the wood. Of course I'd take breaks, and someone supervising me wouldn't disappoint. "GET BACK TO WORK", I'd hear if my break got a bit too long.
I timed myself that time, and didn't overwork myself. Once my job at the lodge was completed, I headed to my house for the well deserved breakfast. The food was same old porridge and bread, but at least the bread was less stale. 'I guess they're finally running out of the stale bread. How nice...', I thought but ate the food nonetheless.
After a short rest, I headed to the Blacksmith's Workshop for my next task. The blacksmith was not inside, but my job was clear. As *clink* and *clank* noises reverberated in my ears, the time slowly passed. Because the blacksmith wasn't there, I took regular breaks. Despite that, I managed to create two ingots, as well as work on the third one before the blacksmith returned. I showed him the two ingots and the one I haven't finished yet. He only asked one question, "Which stage were you on?". I told him the second stage, therefore one more pounding needed to be completed. He nodded and told me I could leave.
With some time on my hands, I thought more about the fishing net. I decided that the net couldn't be too large, otherwise it would be too much work. Next would be the gaps, or the holes of the net. The smaller the gaps the better, but at the same time, it would take longer to create it. A bit of back and forward with some ideas, I decided to create a net that could catch me a medium sized fish. Something of about twenty centimetres in length. Anything smaller could be eaten, but the net would simply take me too long to make.
The materials were already there by the river. I just needed to work out how to put the net together. I tried to imagine some sort of method, until then an old memory resurfaced in my head. 'My mother used to make baskets from thin strips of willow wood. She said it was a hobby of hers, and we had loads of these baskets. She even gifted some of them to neighbours and what not... Though she never taught me directly, I saw how it's done many time. I could use this method to make my net'.
That had to wait for a while, since it was time for my work in the fields. The day passed quietly and uneventfully. Back at my house, the food was the same as usual, though they didn't give me a fruit, but a carrot. 'Not sure why, but I'll take it', I thought and cleaned the bowls. After the meal, I took of my shirt to have a look at my body. 'Yea, definitely more food is needed'. I looked all shrivelled and weak. The amount of food they provided, wasn't enough for my skin and muscles. Due to constant physical jobs, the energy spent was more than the energy intake.
This sight motivated me even more to go fishing, and get more food. After a short walk, I arrived at the river. No one was there, while the sticks and vines left by me previous, were still present. Since my plan of action was formed already, without further though, I got to work on my net.
The job was fiddly for sure. The vines, branches and whatnot, required to be woven or braided. This took me about an hour, and the net wasn't even that big. 'Nothing I can do right now... I really want to try it out first', was my thought. I'd have to retrieve the net somehow, so I tied four strong vines at each corner.
The time for testing the net came. I threw the net into the river, and waited. No fish swam by for a while, but there was no bait I could use. 'Perhaps once I catch something, the leftovers could be used as a bait. For now, only patience', I thought. Another few minutes passed, and then another few minutes. Until finally some fish showed up around the net. 'Good. Now, I just need to wait for them to get closer...', this made me really excited. I had no prior experience of fishing, and the though of catching something was really exciting.
When the fishes swam just above my net, I pulled the vines in my hand. This resulted in the net tightening, and trapping some fishes inside. The sight of a few fishes being trapped in my net made me ecstatic, "I did it!".
I managed to catch three fishes. One was twice the size of my palm, while the other two were a bit smaller, but didn't slip past the holes in the net. Pleased with my catch, I immediately looked for some flint stones and tinder. Once the fire was there, it was a simple task of roasting my fish over the fire. "Finally, some meat...", I said to myself. Though without any spices or even salt, they tasted like the most delicious meal of my life.
The roasted fish disappeared quickly, and it was time for me to leave. I couldn't really take the net with me, so I decided to hide it someplace safe. With that taken care of, I was on my way back. A few minutes passed when my path crossed with those two young guys again. "... Give me a break..." I said quietly to myself, and changed the direction. Instead of two guys on my way, stood the young woman from day before.
There were two guys behind me, and that woman in front of me. They smiled, but their smiles were simply evil. I stopped in my tracks, taking some time to figure out what to do. One of the young men asked, "Where are you going slave?". I wasn't bothered to reply him, and simply focused on escaping this situation somehow.
The guy got worked up by that, and continued "Drop on your knees, and beg for forgiveness!". 'Wow, your mother taught you some really nice shit, eh?', I thought but remained silent. The other guy said, "You either beg us, or you will regret it for your entire life". Since both of them didn't receive appropriate results, they started walking towards me. I focused on the woman instead. There were two people behind me, and a young woman in front of me. I believed it would be easier to escape from her, rather than two guys.
I was wrong. As soon as I ran towards her, she smiled and ran towards me. I was confused at first, but she was serious. I couldn't hit her, but evading her was fair play. For some reason, that didn't work, and a punch landed on my stomach. "UGH!", 'How the hell is she so strong?'. I asked myself.
Though my body wasn't in a perfect condition, I refused to believe it would actually hurt that much. She tried another punch, but I rolled on the ground past her. She didn't seem happy about that, and chased after me. Hence started out mad race towards my house. She was faster though.
Not only did she catch up, she managed to land another hit on me. "Ugh... Fuck off!", I shouted while picking myself up. "That's not a nice language. I need to tech you some manners, right?", as expected her voice sounded cocky and self important. I wasn't going to chat with her. During her little speech, I legged it once more.
A few minutes later, I managed to arrive at my house. Breathing heavily, I looked back. She was also breathing roughly, but she was in much better shape than me. The other guys who joined in a while later, were even more tired than me it seemed. 'All talk, nothing else', I thought while going inside. I held the door just in case they'd try to burst in, but none of that happened. No one knocked or tried to force their way in. As if my house was a sanctuary of sorts. "This is not the end, slave. Be ready for more!", she shouted before they left.