The next day, as the sun timidly began to paint the horizon with orange strokes, the roosters' crows echoed through the cold room where I was sleeping. Through the dusty window, I could glimpse the pale light of dawn, slowly spreading across the room. The cold penetrated to the bone, enveloping my body in an icy embrace that cried out for me to remain lying down and covered.
Today, without a doubt, was the coldest day since I arrived in this unknown world. My breath turned into clouds in this wretched cold air. Each exhalation was like a small cloud-shaped work of art, but it quickly dissipated into the freezing atmosphere.
My brother had his back to me. At some point during the night, in the middle of this relentless cold, we decided it would be smart to sleep with our backs touching, with the idea of sharing the heat our bodies produced. The blanket we currently had wasn't much different from having no blanket. It was thin and rough, offering little protection from the biting cold that permeated the room.
The other children instinctively acted in the same way; they were piled on top of each other in a corner of the room, creating a scene that was both funny and pitiful. I decided to turn slightly to look at my brother behind me and instantly regretted it. The cold of the blade of my newest machete made my body tremble, as if it were a stone of ice. And before you ask, yes, I slept with my machete. I don't think I need to mention that my brother did the same, do I? It was a precautionary measure in a world where our safety was questionable.
What was strange is that no one mentioned anything about us coming here with machetes. Neither the other children, nor even the person in charge of the orphanage, made any attempt to stop us. The lady who manages the place even showed a smile to my brother. He's sure she's unbalanced, and I, well, I guess I can't disagree. The orphanage lady's attitude was disconcerting, especially when faced with something as unusual as children sleeping with machetes next to them.
But, pushing these thoughts aside, I gently nudge my brother awake; We need to start our work early. I can't wait for the day when we have enough money to leave this place behind and begin our journey as a mage and warrior. However, there is a significant obstacle: our lack of knowledge about my mana core and my brother's dantian. Our information is limited to what the ancient Carl and Teus knew, and, as orphans from a small village, they knew almost nothing.
My brother woke up with an expression that denoted a bad night's sleep. He looked at me with the lifeless eyes of a dead fish and muttered under his breath, "Good morning, bro." I responded with a simple "good morning" and continued: "Come on, we need to hurry. I don't want any smart guys following us when we leave the village."
He quickly understood what I meant and, without asking any further questions, got up and prepared to leave. I didn't hesitate to move forward either. While all the other children were still deep in sleep, we sneaked out towards the village exit. Here, there were no guards to watch the entrance, making entry and exit very easy.
As we walked along the road before reaching the creek, my brother started laughing to himself and said, "Two kids, two machetes and a dream. Hahaha!" In fact, now that he mentioned it, the whole scene seemed kind of comical. Two brothers, carrying machetes as if they were heroes of some adventure tale, determined to pursue their own destinies. But despite the apparent strangeness of the situation, I remained firm.
My brother's laughter echoed through the serene morning air, and with that we arrived at the familiar stream, the same as yesterday. I pointed toward the bush I had crossed the day before. "Hey, see that bush on the side of the creek? Let's cross it and follow the creek from there." My brother just nodded in agreement. In the blink of an eye, he had already jumped over the bush, on the other side he joked "why the delay?".
After I jumped over the bush, we followed the same route I had taken the previous day until we reached the place where I had found the clay. Before even crossing the stream, I could already see Senhor Carvalho, his imposing presence amidst the landscape. The branch I had left in the stream to serve as a bridge was still there. I pointed to it and said to my brother, "Let's use that branch to cross."
He agreed and then asked a question: "Okay, but what exactly is the plan?" I walked over and stood beside him, promptly explaining our strategy. I started by pointing to the place where the clay was.
"There's clay there. From what I heard from the merchant yesterday, it's something rare in this region. Not that the clay itself is rare, but the knowledge of how to work with it can be scarce around here. So, we have a good profit potential if we can find a way to use it in a valuable way." His expression indicated that he was closely following my explanation.
Then I pointed to the elevation of the creek. "See there? If we look from where we are now, we can't see what's beyond that elevation. Furthermore, the sound of the water falling from that elevation will provide us with sound camouflage, hiding our movements and conversations from potential observers."
After taking a few breaths, I continued explaining the plan. "The plan is to set up a camp right after this elevation. We are going to use this place as a base to make ceramic pieces with the clay we find. These pieces we can sell to that same merchant from yesterday. With time and a little luck, if If we manage to stay unnoticed here, we'll accumulate enough money to leave this village and maybe even buy a house in the barony's capital."
My brother's enthusiasm for the plan was evident when he exclaimed, "Then let's go! I want enough money to have an elf with big tits!" His provocative remark brought a moment of levity to the conversation, I couldn't help but laugh a little at his amused expression. I said with a slight smile on my face "Who knows, but if there are things like elves in this world, I think they are not cheap. Who knows, they could even be considered sacred."
He looked at me with a grin from ear to ear and said "Fuck! I don't care."