It was still early. Clara glanced towards the reed marsh, where Mateo had taken the children to play, but she couldn't see them anywhere.
This was a relatively open area, with the gentle autumn sunlight neither too strong nor too weak, making it comfortable on the skin. Clara took a stroll, stretching her limbs. In the distance, she saw black smoke rising to the northeast. Perhaps because it was autumn, the sky was a particularly vivid blue, making the dark gray smoke stand out even more.
What was that place? It looked like it was on fire. Clara laid a piece of animal hide on the ground and sat down, waiting for Mateo and the children to return.
Transporting all this rice back would be quite a task. It would probably take three or four trips with horses and carts. But there were no specific roads in the forest.
