The next morning, I left the castle to find what I was missing: animal hair, clay, and sand (I had forgotten that last one). I asked everywhere and was allowed to shear some creatures that looked like goats; there's sand practically everywhere, but what I couldn't find anywhere was clay. These people don't build with it; they simply find a mountain and carve their houses directly into the stone. I'll have to go to the river. I know clay can be red or gray, so that's what I'm going to look for.
Going down the mountains, far from the village, there is a fairly large water current; most likely what I'm looking for is there. The descent is complicated; the few paths that exist are dangerous. How do these people travel between villages? I don't think those camel-like animals can pass through here.
It is what it is: I must take this path or nothing. So I began my new adventure in search of dirt to build with; it sounds a bit absurd now that I say it out loud. I walked for a long time and the journey got difficult; apparently, there was a landslide and ninety percent of the path has disappeared. I'm going to have to go along the edge and hold onto the rocks.
In case you weren't paying attention to the previous chapters, or perhaps I didn't explain myself well: I am in an arid, hot, and desert-like place. The capital of Divon is difficult, to put it one way. The village between cliffs is literally wedged between two rock walls at a very high altitude; I'd say a thousand yards above sea level. The "roads" are steep and were also carved into the rocks, so it's normal to walk alongside deadly ravines. Couldn't they have put the capital in a more dangerous place?
As best as I could, I went through the gap and continued. For a normal human, going through here every day would be suicide, but I am not a human. I am a Liva with legs like springs; it's very easy to go jumping along, though I have to take it slow.
Several hours passed and I managed to get down safe and sound; now it's time to find my prize. I looked toward the sky and, from here, the palace could be seen in the distance, embedded in the mountain like everything else around here. I'll have to make paths or something so I can go up and down safely; with my intellect and my engineering knowledge, it will be a piece of cake.
—"I remind you that Samuel didn't study anything but programming; he's luckily managed to survive this far" —the System mocked me, as usual.
—Shut up! I am incredible! —I shouted. I heard footsteps and stood on guard.
—So you've already become a madman? I knew you were deranged —Janeth's voice mocked behind my back.
—Did you follow me here too? Are you in love with me or something? —I turned and challenged her.
—In my life would I ever be with such an ugly creature! Besides, you are very small; I am three times taller than you. Find an animal of your own species.
—You're right —I said resignedly—. Well, I'm heading to the river.
I reached the water source and set out to find my objective. I spent a while on it and found nothing; I thought I saw something, but it was deep. Besides, Janeth's blatant surveillance didn't help; she spent the whole time sitting under the only nearby tree.
In the midst of my frustration, I walked a bit following the river and on the bank I found a lot of red earth. "This must be it," I thought as I leaned down to touch it. When I stuck my fingers in, I felt it was sticky and felt like playdough; it was definitely what I was looking for. I brought a leather backpack that they gave me in the village; it looks fragile, but I think it will hold. I don't think it's that heavy.
I placed the backpack on the ground and slowly filled it with this earth until it was full. I took it with my hands to hoist it onto my back and, instantly, it broke.
Snap!
—Dammit! —I exclaimed—. I curse everything! I almost had it and this shit breaks! —I sighed—. Aaah! I'll have to carry it by hand or do something to transport this.
—What happened to you? Why are you cursing like a madman? —Janeth approached.
—The backpack broke, I'm going to have to find another way to get this to the top —I was a bit dejected.
—You mean this red dirt? Why do you want something so useless? —she mocked with a laugh.
—With this "useless dirt," I'm going to solve the food problem in Bigue! —I replied with fury.
—Fine. If that's the case, I suppose I can help a bit.
She quickly moved her hair like tentacles and extracted a pile of clay in a single blow.
—Is this enough?
My spirits soared. Since when was this purple girl willing to help me?
—Yes! I think it will be more than enough.
Her hair was all dirty, but she didn't seem to care at all. Suddenly, Janeth leaned back to gain momentum and took an incredible leap. She landed halfway up the slope and from there took another jump; before I knew it, she was already at the top. Now I understand why the roads in this kingdom are so poor: demons are too strong. They don't need roads if they can cover a thousand yards as if it were nothing.
—Now I have to go up... I wish I had that much power —I murmured as I undertook the way back to the castle.
Several hours later, I reached my destination. I was exhausted and felt like I was going to die; climbing a mountain is grueling. The positive thing was that I already had everything needed for my experiment. Janeth had left the mud outside, so I took out the materials and began to do my "magic."
The first thing was to make a hole twenty feet deep and twenty feet in diameter; I used a stick and started digging. I spent the rest of the afternoon doing this in solitude. When I finished, I started making the mixture for the "special" mortar with the mud, sawdust, animal hair, and sand. Although I was very tired, I managed to make it. The hole was very deep, so coming out to look for the mix and jumping back down was killing me. Little by little, I smeared the floor and the walls; my hands hurt and the cold was already taking effect, but I was able to conclude the base of my great work of art.
Let me explain what I'm doing. The primitive fridge (which is actually called a yakhchal) that they built in Persia two thousand years ago consisted of the following:
A giant dome in the shape of a cone, whose base is very wide and becomes narrower as it goes up. At the tip, a hole is left so that the hot air, which is less dense, escapes; meanwhile, the cold air, which is denser, stays trapped below. This will allow the ice we bring from the mountains to be preserved thanks to the thermal insulation of these thick adobe walls.
That's how easy it is to have ice in the middle of a desert. Follow me for more tutorials!
Ba-dum, tss!
It's incredible that everything is going well; now all that's left is to wait for this to dry and I'll do tests to see that everything is in order. My arms ache from the effort and I just want to sleep. Soon I'll be able to go to the other villages and move forward with my investigation so that this kingdom doesn't go to shit.