Homesteading in a fantasy world

The next morning, my chores went well until I made it to one of my deer traps. I was not too far away from it when I started to hear movement. I started to approach slowly until I saw the deer that was caught in my trap.

When I saw the deer, I got the notification of a new skill basic trapping and it levelled up to 2 in one go. I approached carefully, but when the deer finally noticed me, it started to move even more frantically, trying to get loose. But all it did was exhaust himself more. I pulled out my sword just in case, but my plan was to wait until he was so exhausted that he didn’t have any energy to move.

Every time the deer tried to rest, I moved closer until finally it was so exhausted that it just slumped down. Decided to use the sword to cut its throat. I approached but just before finishing him I decided to do a piercing cut, easily cutting quite deep into the neck. Immediately, 2 new notifications showed up.

Level up frontier farmer

frontier farmer now level 3

Strength +2

Dexterity +1

Vitality +2

Endurance +1

Ability is upgraded to piercing cut level 3

New trait gained

dexterity reaches 10 new trait gained better twitch muscles

I used the trap rope to pull the deer up so that his head would be downwards, and the blood would come out. I went and checked the other traps but there was nothing else, I only needed to reset one of them.

When I made it back, all the blood was drained out. I decided to bring the deer back because I simply didn’t have the experience to actually properly harvest a deer in the woods. Walking across the river, I almost fell in when I slipped, and the deer shifted on my back.

Now that I made it back, I realized that I was not actually ready to deal with what I had caught. Deciding to use the large workshop table, I did the butchering the best I could. I was out of practice, but I got all the useful bits.

You have gained a new skill basic butchering

Getting about 20 kilograms of meat and enough sinew to make a bowstring. I left the meat to rest, but I took enough back into the house to cook food. I put it in the cast-iron pot and went got some carrots, potatoes and onions. Putting them all into the oven. I load up the oven with firewood and went back over the river to continue making the bridge.

I started by debarking the logs that were going to go into making the bridge. When I was about halfway done, I started to gather up all the bark. I was going to let the deer hide go to waste, because I don’t have any salt for the curing solution. But then I remembered I can use bark water and the powder they have here at the farm for the same effect, if not a lot faster. Back at the house, I put more firewood in the almost extinguished oven.

Putting the bark to boil in the big pot. I went and dragged the rainwater barrel towards the river. Using the buckets, I transfer the bark water into the barrel. Getting some more water from the river, I filled up the barrel. I prepared the hide by scraping off as much flesh as I could, as well all the hair on the hide.

Having done that, I went down to the river to put the hide in the barrel. Moving the hide occasionally while I sat on the riverbank and watch the water flow. I also noticed some fish that swam past and remember I should maybe make some fish traps.

Maybe I will eventually make a fish farm, but that would depend on how many fish that are in the river. If there’s a lot of fish, there is no reason to start the fish farm. Washing the hide in the river, I scraped the hide a bit more, and quickly put together a drying rack, leaving it out where it could get the most sun. It looks like the powder is a lot better than I expected.

Gathering up all my tools from the construction site, I took them back to the workshop, just in case. I went and pulled out the deer roast. I made another fire in the oven to make some meat pies, because I ran out of pies for lunch, and I also need to use up the deer meat. Tomorrow I will also need to make a smoker so I can preserve the deer meat.

While doing my morning chores, I pondered how to make the smoker. I needed some way to make a chimney that long, so when the smoke reaches the meat, it will not be too hot.

Best way to help cool down the smoke is to have a chimney that is long and underground. Luckily, the smoking box itself can be made out of wood. Why does it need to be cold smoking? It’s the best way to preserve meat for a longer time.

Now, if I had some salt, I could just cure the meat that way. If I salt and smoked the meat, it would last even longer and taste better too. I’m really starting to miss salt. When I made it to one of my rabbit traps, I found that I've caught a rabbit. The moment I saw it, I also got another level in trapping.

I almost wished that I removed the traps, because I still haven’t figured out how to make a working cold smoker. I can’t even make a hot smoker, because then the smoke would burn up a wooden box. But looking at the live rabbit, I got another idea.

If I actually start to raise it, I get a lot of experience in animal husbandry which currently has barely filled up. I can feel my handyman class getting close to a level, and of course, my frontier farmer just recently levelled up. So, I decided not to kill the rabbit, but to take him with me.

There’s nothing else in the other traps, but the damn rabbit I was carrying with me was fighting me every minute, not giving me a break. I was annoyed when we got back to the farm. But I was determined to get the rabbit farm going because they provide an excellent source of meat and pelts.

I tied him up at the workshop, where I proceeded to make the rabbit cage with the good wood planks I had. Putting the cage together was pretty fast. I used a simple but well-tested design that has a small feeding place on one side. The cage inside is 1 meter by 1 and a half meters and 80 centimetres tall.

Rabbit cages are meant to be off the ground, so I will need to find some legs for it. I think some of the branches I have cut will work fine. The roof I made out of wood boards, I will need to think of a better roof down the line. Just before I finish the cage, I got a notification that my basic wood crafting level up.

Now I need to find the place for the cage and then put legs on it. I walked around a bit to see a good place. I decided to put it beside the barn towards the riverside.

Installing the legs was a bit more work than I expected, because doing it alone was annoying. When I finished the cage, all that was left to do was putting some hay on the floor and then cut some fresh grass for food.

But that brought up another problem. The grass was getting a bit high around the farm, and it needs to be cut down. I would need to do it with a scythe. It took me a bit of practice to get the scythe working correctly. After finishing getting food for the rabbit, I really started missing my robotic lawn mowers. They made life so much easier.

Putting the rabbit in the cage was easy. Holding my breath and watching if the cage would hold or if he found any other way to get free. I waited for a bit until he finally started to calm down. I was really happy when he finally started to eat the fresh grass. Keeping my eye on the cage, I also went around the farm to see where it would be a good place to build the smoker.

It would need to be on a slope, so I don’t have to do so much work. Because the fire needs to be lower and about 3 meters away from the smoke-box. The smoke needs to be cool, so it doesn’t actually cook the meat but smokes it. I actually found the perfect spot, but it's a straight in the way of the future path I want to create for the bridge.

But the general area would still be excellent, just need to dig a bit more. Good idea is to build my butchering house there also, then the smoker will be next to the butchering house and that would just be perfect. I could also keep my eye on the rabbit cage while I was digging.

Now digging was good and all, but I still didn’t have any good plan for the underground chimney. My current best plan is stones, but they would have too many holes. Even if I found some clay or mud to fill it up. I kept working on the problem while I was finishing the digging for the burning pit and the chimney.

I was sitting down and holding 2 stones in my hand. If only I had some tools that are meant for cutting stones, if I could even just get one side flat, my problem would be solved.

I didn’t just want to just sit and think. So, I also decided to work on my energies so that I wouldn’t waste time. But that actually gave me an idea. How sharp and how well did the piercing cut actually cut?

Getting my axe, I tried to concentrate on the ability and try to release the ability without actually hitting the stone, just getting really close with my axe head. To my surprise, it actually worked. It left straight but small cut. So, I continue to test and also monitor the axe to see if it affected it in any bad way.

It took me some time to get the hang of it well enough to not hit the stone. I needed to sharpen the axe twice because I hit it on the stone, but other than that, the ability didn’t affect the axe as far as I could tell. So now I had a way to get a straight edge on a rock. It takes a lot of energy and it exhausted me quickly, but I now have a way.

Collecting the stones was easy because of the fields where large piles of rocks were collected over the years. I was happy for a moment, but then I could feel my entire body shuttering “shit”.

That meant that I actually have to pick up rocks from the fields before I have harrowed them. Just another thing I need to add to the list. My mood a bit down, I continue to bring rocks and straightened them out while laying them to make chimney.

I become really practiced in using the ability and I got 2 new levels in piercing cut and also a new skill basic masonry. Finished the chimney, I covered it up with dirt.

Fireplace was a bit cramped to get to, so I decided to widen it up a bit. After that building the smoke-box was easy. Making an adjustable way for the smoke to get out was a bit more difficult, but nothing I couldn’t do with a bit more time.

Firing up the smoker, I tested the smoke temperature and how well it worked, and I have to say I was pleased. I also got the new skill basic construction for my effort.

Bringing the rest of the deer meat over to smoke it. I cut them into smaller pieces so that they would actually get done today and I didn’t have to stay awake all night. I'll still need to stay awake past my usual bedtime, most likely until midnight.

Hopefully about 7 hours will be long enough to finish the meat. While that was going on, I decided to finish barking the rest of the lumber for the bridge.

Going back and forth between the smoker and the construction site was annoying, but the constant need to keep the fire from going out made it necessary. I did finish up the barking before the sun went down and the rest of the time; I waited and watched the smoker.

Two of the bigger pieces with bone were not completely done, but I really wanted to go to bed, so I took them all to the house and into the basement. Even if not completely done, it still would help keep them fresh and I could just make a roast out of the bigger pieces the following days.

If I wanted to preserve the meat for a longer time. I would need to smoke it up to 50 hours, but this meat would be eaten before it goes bad, there's not that much meat. I got a new skill level in basic cooking, and I went to bed exhausted, but happy from another day of working.

This morning, another problem popped up. The first wheel cheese I made, I found a small piece of mould on it. Luckily, I found it quickly, but the problem is I don’t have any wax to cover it to prevent mould forming. I have a lesser fix for it, I just needed to smoke them. It would give a little more protection but will give a different taste to them.

This morning's chores were different because I also needed to feed the rabbit. Luckily, this didn't take long. I just had to put some grass that I got yesterday into the feeder.

The better question is do I have to only feed him twice a day or three times a day? I guess this will be a wait and see kind of problem. Getting another cheese wheel done this time, I brought them to the smoker.

It took a bit of creative thinking, but I was able to get all the cheese wheels inside the smoker. However, six will be the limit for this smoker. I don’t want to smoke them a lot, just enough to give a bit more protection from the mould.

So, I simply decided to make a fire and go and check the traps. When I made it back, finding nothing. I made another fire and then that would be it for the cheese. Can’t spend my day only smoking, I need to finish the bridge soon.

Getting back to the construction site, I started to measure and plan everything out. Moving the big pieces of lumber was hard, but helping guide my energy I have from my stats made it a bit easier.

Thanks to my ability, piercing cut it made everything a lot easier. What wasn't easy and was annoying is trying to get holes into the lumber. I had to use an ancient technique of using burning coal to burn the holes.

I will use the scarf joint to connect the main supports and I burned the hole through the joint so I can tap it later when assembling the bridge. When the main supports were connected, I started to carve out the cross support. During that time, I got new skill basic carpentry. For the cross supports, I used lapping joints with a hole so I can tap them later.

Making all the wood boards was made easier thanks to my ability. But it was still time-consuming, and I only made 1/4 of the wood boards before the end of the day. i got a level in basic carpentry and piercing cut. Going back home a bit earlier today, I made another venison roast. This time without potatoes i didn’t want to eat them all and went to bed afterwards.

The next day continued as usual. I was able to finish the wood boards. I made them in the shape of a parallelogram, so they fit together even better and there would be no problem with the lifting section of the bridge. And just like that another day was over.

Skill increases basic carpentry level 5

The next day, my regular chores got me another rabbit caught in a trap. This time I didn’t get the skill level, but I did have another problem. Will I have to build another cage or will they actually be able to share it?

This one struggled less and before I put it into the cage, I remember I didn’t check for genders. The one I caught today was male and after trying a little bit I was able to check the other one, but he was also male.

I put more grass into the cage and monitored if they could be together in one cage, hoping I do not have to make another one. This one calmed down a lot faster. I don’t know if he’s just less aggressive or if the other rabbit’s presence helped. They seem to be getting along well enough. Now I can get back to making the bridge.

When I finished shaping and cutting the wood boards. I wanted to test how well they would work and how it would be best to attach them. When I started test fitting, I only need to shave off some bits.

They fitted together pretty well, but securing them will be hard. I do not have enough large nails, so I think the best plan is to use pegs. I made the pegs a bit like nails but a lot bigger and not round headed but rectangles. Of course, the end will not be pointed but flat so I can use a wedge at the end, to make it even securer.

If I had to use one or two pegs to secure the boards, that all depended on how wide they were. Making all the holes was even more annoying. I wish I didn’t have to burn them with coals. I didn’t want to burn a hole completely through the main supports, so I needed to constantly monitor how deep it got.

The rest of the day, I just made holes. I finished them a bit before evening getting another skill level in basic carpentry. I decided not to do anymore work and just relax for the rest of the day.

I finally decided to go swimming in the river, not just because I needed to wash, but because it would be relaxing. I’ve always enjoyed swimming. Let's just hope some horrible monster doesn't come and eat me.

The weather was still quite cold but not too bad, I think my trait minor temperature resistance helped me out. I didn’t spend the time just doing nothing while I was swimming. I was exploring the river and seeing how deep it was and what was at the bottom.

The wider parts of the river moved slowly, the narrower it got, the faster moving the water was. Mostly sandy and rock bottom, but some spots had a lot of mud. And luckily, I did find two places where there was clay.

That is really good news. It’s good to know what and where I have resources. After that I went and hung out a bit with the bull so it can get more used to me. Then I went to bed.

Morning chores went as usual, nothing in the traps this time. I finally made it to the part where I wanted to start making the lifting part of the bridge. For that I made an extra square that will go inside the main supports. This square needed some extra supports in the corners. Which was a bit of a hassle to get them in place and secured, but good application of my ability and the axe made the joint doable.

Now making the hole for the pivot point is the most annoying part. Mostly because I needed to take apart most of the bridge, turning the main supports onto their sides, so I could burn holes through them and the lifting square at the same time.

The burning and reassembling took the rest of the day. I made it so the pivot point was a bit further in, so there would be no problem with the clearance. Testing it out it worked brilliantly.

But when I was done, I discovered a problem. Where would I attach the rope so that it wouldn’t get in the way? I need to make the tower to the side, but the rope will need to be straight, or at least as straight as it can be.

Otherwise, the parts that I can make to raise it will not be able to withstand the tension. After thinking about it for some time. I figured that the rope does not actually need to be under tension when the bridge is lowered, so all I need is to carve a slit into the board, so the rope doesn’t have to be in the way.

Plan made how to continue tomorrow, I went back home to make some dinner and go to bed. I was happy that I also got another skill level in carpentry.