A Goal (4)
The perimeter of the tower’s furthest graves, that was the furthest I've ever traversed apart from the place since I woke up in this world.
I breathed a sigh of appreciation, looking at my handiwork from the fifth floor. But I eventually went back down.
"It's so cramped now...ugh." The tower’s fourth and third floors were filled to the brim with armor.
Luckily the designs of such armor were metal plates bolted onto thick leather, and by simply removing and throwing away all the excess, they could be kept in bundles or stacks like china onto a cupboard.
Still there was a lot.
I sat down on the office chair, or what was left of it and stared at the contents atop the office desk. My clothes, all the armor pieces I’ve decided to wear, my weapons, the last of my bread, my money, and a map I obtained from unearthing an officer-rank corpse.
I could feel the chill of the night air on my bare skin. I wasn’t wearing anything else but my underwear, which I'd washed a day before, all for a purpose.
At dawn, I’d embark for the only location on the faded map. I did not have a compass, so I used the heavenly bodies. The sun rose from the east and set on the west, and so I’ll head north for a city that may or may not be there.
I did not have a choice, but neither am I dreading such a journey, after all I had a goal.
I will not die, not yet, not ever.
I closed my eyes with a smile on my face. I could never have been happier to fall asleep without the sounds of monsters crawling out of graves. Tomorrow will be a good day because I’ve never felt safer.
Dawn came quicker for some reason, but I wasn't complaining. I did not wake up in the middle of the night for any reason.
I slept like a child unaware of the difficulties of the world. I wasted no time and while I was eating the biggest batch of bread I’ve baked on rocks, I got dressed in my jeans, polo shirt, and sweater.
I tucked away as many gold coins as I could onto my shirt pocket, fitting only fifteen without it being too cumbersome, and about thirty silver and sixty copper coins had been stuffed into my pockets.
I would need to make contact with civilization, but I needed to survey them before moving in with all of my assets. I can probably sell the scrap gear for a small fortune.
I was no miner, but getting minerals was not as easy as creating a pickaxe out of stone, and neither was getting wood. The metals may or may not be profitable, but the time spent in its production should be worth at least a bit more.
I then put on my armor, putting on my shin-guards first, but it would be more accurate to call them armor for the entire lower leg since they covered my calves too.
Unlike the armor on my legs, I only put on larp armor that covered my knees but since it came from a person much smaller than me, it did not restrict my movements too much. I’d argue that it was perfect for my needs.
For my upper body I wore a chest plate and a backplate that secured themselves onto my person with straps and I had arm-guards and even armored gloves that matched.
My sides were exposed though...
Unfortunately, I did not find a helmet that suited me. They were either too big, too small, too brittle, or just outright cumbersome to wear. I couldn’t find anything that would protect my head, by far my most important part.
But I was already blessed with much, I can’t complain.
For my weapons, I had two of the ten-inch knives strapped to my back girdle using a belt I fashioned out of usable leather, and a sword and axe– like I had thought a week ago, and I carried them on my back in their sheaths.
I needed my hands to be free to carry the water-skin and a walking stick for my travels. I needed to cover as much ground as possible in a single day, at night I’d have to find suitable shelter.
I closed the door of the tower, putting crates full of compacted dirt in front of it for added security. If I had a clock, it wouldn’t be a few minutes past seven when I turned my back to head north.
I slowly walked through the open field, zig-zagging as there was no straight path as I had intended. If I looked around, I could probably count some of the monsters that came from the forest and unlike the ones in the graveyard, they had no possessions worthy of looting
Ignoring them would be smarter, but maybe they'll still be here when I get back?
I have something to check when I get back.
“Hm,” I smiled.
I entered the shadows of the canopies, and I removed my hood. I had washed this cloak as much as I could, but it was too tattered in places so I just cut out the damage and used fire to seal the cloth.
I gripped the walking stick I fashioned out of the dry branch from the first day with My right hand which had healed. It took a whole week to fix a simple fracture, so I wondered how long it would take to heal from other more serious injuries.
I was not expecting to get injured anytime soon, but I’m not blind to the possibility of getting hurt. This was why I was quite happy about finding the graveyard.
Still, the weight of iron was quite evident.
“When I get to town, I’ll probably invest some of my money and time to exercise. I need some meat in my system and on my bones.”