Clapping my hands together, I wanted to give the man a high-five and a hug and a bonus of beautiful women and a fine feast. They had done it, they had moved the needle. We weren't far from being so far ahead of the game that it wouldn't be a lie to call this land, the capital of advanced weaponry. Money was sure to come, trade, everything.
Enok spoke up next, "I've modified the crucible slightly, to better fit our production methods, I think, give me a month, and I can have it working as intended."
Hah, there was no need to curb my enthusiasm now.
Damn, we were going to be rich.
Good bye, fragments of bloomery steel that could only be pattern-welded onto the edges of swords and axes and spear tips and hello, relatively solid single piece steel constructions!
"Good work men, we'll throw a feast for your accomplishments here," I bellowed proudly while patting Enok and Ansgar on the shoulders. "Damn good work."
Letting myself out as they went back to work, I was in the best of moods.
I wasn't sure if anything else could top the feeling at the moment.
My spirits were soaring far above the clouds.
"Hey guy," messaged Ellieby with rather peculiar timing.
"Hey Ellieby!!" I replied somewhat overeagerly due to my uncontrollable happiness.
"Uh whoa, you're excited," she followed up with a light smile as she enabled the video imaging. "I've got good news for you."
"Yeah?" I replied succinctly.
"We managed to sell everything ahead of schedule!" she declared almost shouting as she jumped and threw her hands up. "Turns out white furs are pretty popular, who woulda' thunk it? Me, that's who! Ahhahha!"
Hah, what.
I couldn't help but laugh too.
The two of us on screen, laughing almost maniacally as others stood nearby and watched, clearly visible in the background of our video call. We didn't care though; we were both traders and had made a killing.
We had a right to laugh!
"Oh man, today, must be my day," I finally said after laughing to my heart's content.
"Right?" she stated after catching her breath. "Anywho, I was able to get the items you wanted, send the next shipment when you're ready, sooner the better!"
"Ah, let's clarify this time," I said clearly, not wanting to have any confusion this time around. "I can send about a quarter of that first shipment right now, and if you get some solid connections… I might have something special, weapon wise, in the future."
"Wait, weapons?" she questioned.
"Yeah, that's a secret for now, give me some time and I might surprise you."
"Okay, well, send what you've got, and I'll send money and goods back!"
Closing the video call, my day had surprisingly improved.
More so than I thought was possible.
Walking around the village, I was informed by the villagers that Milly had been running around talking to everyone. With that information in hand, I decided to turn around and head back to the blacksmith's hut.
"Hey Ansgar, Enok, keep that sword and axe a secret for now would you, we've got outsiders here, don't want them to learn anything," I explained quietly as the two listened intently.
A single nod from both of them sealed their agreeance.
I went back out into the town, with happiness on my mind.
Prepping the longship for a second voyage and picking a crew wouldn't be hard, but I didn't want to go on this trip. A waste of two days at least, sitting in a little boat.
That wasn't exactly my idea of fun.
A feast was necessary, yeah, that was what I wanted to focus on.
One large feast for everyone!
Chapter 63: A Glorious Day
(Sunday, September 19th Game Day / Monday, March 29th Real Day)
Lying on the river bank, I was enjoying the dream, a bright sunny day, one that seemed brighter than all the rest. With a few parted clouds in the sky to throw the right amount of shade down on us, followed by a pleasant ocean breeze that blew steadily across the river, there were no complaints from me.
Nor were there any complaints from any of the others, currently enjoying the festivities. Roasted meats of all types, plenty of seafood to tide one over, and even a few vegetables from the farm that were recently harvested.
Live music in the form of singing and chanting as the warriors got drunk by the fireside only added to the ambiance, as Selene and Katherine enjoyed themselves with the other women. Even Milly was somewhere in there, too.
Everyone was having a good time.
The birds were busy chirping in a tree a little ways from me as I continued to stare at the sky, thinking about how far things had come. When I started this game, alone and cold, nearly freezing to death on many occasions, I had a goal but didn't know if or when it would come together.
Now, hah, now all I had to do was turn my head to the side and look at my creation. All of the hard work, the countless hours spent digging, chopping, carrying, to prepare the buildings, all the days out in the forest hunting and exploring, and even the time devoted to scaling the mountain… all of it, led to this moment.
I had accomplished what I set out to do.
Premature celebration, perhaps, but I was on my way.
When you've failed, and find yourself in a hole, it's not about the big successes and the end goal. It's about the small steps and realizing that every little accomplishment adds up. I still had an end goal, but I was going to realize the success that had already happened.
Yeah, it was a good day.
A few hours had gone by as I had fallen asleep in the sun, only to wake to a sleeping Selene on my arm. The sun was setting now and the party was long over as the reddish-purple sky began to shift into its lightshow mode. The aurora was coming next, intermixed with countless stars that seemed too bright to be real, but without the light pollution of a large city, it was nature at its finest.
Beautiful, was one word to describe it.
The cool, late summer breeze hit my bare skin as I stretched out and wrapped Selene up in my arms. She didn't wake up, but that was fine. Moments like these were nice in their own way.
Watching the aurora as it floated about, pulsating and waving, a kaleidoscope of colors enthralling and entertaining. Blues, greens, purples, pinks, yellows, and reds, all the vibrant colors one could think of, all visible and ever-changing.
The reflection of the moon on the river's surface held still and stood out amongst the smaller stars and colorful sky, but it was a calming presence. That singular white circle, large enough to hold in your hands, illuminated the entirety of the village on this cloudless, cool summer night.
Closing my eyes, I went back to sleep.
Life was good.
Chapter 64: The Day After
(Monday, September 20th Game Day / Monday, March 29th Real Day)
Logging back in and finding myself lying alone on the river bank, I looked down the river and noticed that the longship had already departed on its voyage. The trade master, two sailors, and nine warriors made up the crew that would travel to the eastern side, where they would partake in the trading of goods and receive payment for prior products already delivered.
A simple thing, left for them to handle.
It was already mid-day as the sun was directly overhead by the time I made it over to the cabin. Inside, Selene and Katherine were playing with the kittens while Barkley was sitting calmly by the fireplace.
"Have you girls seen Milly?" I asked with a little interest.
She was attached to my hip the entire trip… then once we arrived at the village she was always running around, talking to others. I hadn't actually talked to her since we came back. I thought that was a bit odd, and something about her had bothered me.