Chapter 67: Morale Boost
Marix stood in front of the group as they built the cart. Thanks to his arm, he wasn’t much use other than making sure everyone was doing what they were supposed to.
Whimble was taking charge, instructing them how to build, limping around as he pointed at this and that.
"Break this piece right.....slrrrp...here and put it....slrrrrp.... over there." He guided them confidently.
Eilownia approached Marix with her hands clasped behind her back. She stared at Whimble with a look of amazement.
"How does he know how to build all of that? Whimble is so knowledgeable! Is there anything he can’t do?"
Marix snorted, "Anything he can’t do? Plenty. As for this," he motioned towards the cart construction, waving his index finger back and forth, "Whimble is an engineer. He’s the one who designed and built most of the torture devices."
Eilownia tilted her head, "He built those?"
He nodded, "And much more intense ones that you were lucky enough to never see."
She smiled wide, "Wow! He’s so capable!"
The men brought out more of Marix’s furniture from the safehouse and broke it apart per Whimble’s instructions.
They then handed them off to the next group who pulled out any nails and put them aside for reuse.
Meanwhile, another group returned from deeper within the forest with large branches full of leaves.
"What are those for?" Marix called out.
Whimble looked up and gave Marix a crooked smile, "They are to cover the.....slrrrp.....cart so that Miss Eilownia isssss....slrrrrrpp.....shaded properly and to help provide.....slrrrrrrrrp.....camoflauge."
Marix nodded, "Proceed."
"Eilownia!" Jinya called, "Will you help us cook?"
Eilownia looked up at Marix with a wide smile.
"Go on. Be careful."
She skipped over to Jinya, "What can I do?"
"Jinya! Make sure you don’t make a fire that’s too large." Marix warned.
Jinya gave him a thumbs up and squatted down as she began to build a fire pit.
"Where did you get all of these from?" Eilownia asked, staring at the pot, stack of bowls, spoons, brick and stones.
"I found the pots and utensils while rummaging through the cabinets in the safehouse. There were a few bricks laying around the back, I assume they’ve fallen off the top of the chimney, and the stones I gathered just from around the forest."
Jinya stood up after adding the last stone to the makeshift fire pit and dusted off her hands.
Eilownia nodded as she stared all around at the circular stones, "What is this?"
"It’s a firepit. It’s to help make sure the fire is contained."
Aleiza walked up with a pot full of water and handed it to Jinya.
"There is a small stream nearby, I filled the pot to the brim. I wasn’t sure how much we’d need."
Jinya examined the water and gave an approving nod, "This is more than enough, good work Aleiza. Can you take the other pot and fill it so we have some drinking water?"
Aleiza nodded and grabbed the other pot, heading back to the stream to fill it.
As Jinya got to work starting the fire, Eilownia looked through their ingredients.
"What will we cook? There doesn’t seem to be much here."
"We’re going to make a beef stew. It’s not going to be the most delicious thing in the world, but a warm meal after everyone’s hard work might boost morale. I don’t know if you can tell, everyone’s spirits are a bit down at the moment."
"Mmm~ I bet everyone will be so excited when we serve them!"
Jinya laughed softly, "I don’t know if excited is quite the word, but hopefully it will do them some sort of good. Why don’t you start smashing up the berries? Use the brick as a mortar and one of the stones as a pestle."
Eilownia stared at her with her eyebrows furrowed as she tilted her head, "Marder? Pistol?"
Jinya extended her neck towards Eilownia with her eyebrows raised, "Huh?"
"Barter Parasol?"
"Mortar.....and pestle....." Jinya repeated.
Eilownia’s eyebrows knitted together tightly as her mouth opened to allow a confused exhale escape, "Murder and petal?"
"Pes....tle....." Jinya repeated, blinking slowly with her mouth also open.
Eilownia’s eyes widened as her eyebrows continued to furrow further.
"Mor-tar is like a bowl and a pest-le is like a thick stick you use to smash and crush things in the bowl. Here."
Jinya grabbed the brick and one of the stones and placed a berry on it, crushing it in a rhythmic motion as she twisted her wrist.
"Like this. Crush it like this."
Eilownia took the stone from her and added another berry, copying Jinya’s movement.
"Perfect! Just like that!"
Once the water was boiling, Jinya placed a few pieces of dried meat inside. Eilownia finished with the batch of berries and sat back on her heels.
"What are the berries for? Why do they need to be smashed up like this?"
"The meat is dried and salted, so by boiling it, we’ll soften it. Plus the flavor of the meat and the salt with start to come out into the water which will make a broth. Then we’ll add the berries in to add some sweetness to counteract the salt and then some cheese to make it a little creamy."
Eilownia stared into the boiling pot with complete wonder and amazement, "Wow! You can make something like this with so few things! Jinya you’re such a wonderful cook!"
Marix continued to supervise the group while glancing over at Jinya’s ’kitchen’ to make sure the fire didn’t get too large.
It was then that he noticed Whimble was adding slats to the cart instead of wheels.
"Whimble! Didn’t I say to make a cart? What are you making a sled for? Where are the wheels?"
Whimble stood up and bowed, "General it will.....slrrrp...be too difficult to create proper wheelsssssss and axel syssssstem with the time constraint and resources we have.....slrrrp.....available. I opted for ssssslats instead since they’ll be.....slrrrrrrp.....better for the rough terrain."
Marix thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, good call. Continue then."
After a few hours, the cart was complete. The soldiers carried out the mattress from the bed inside and placed it in the cart before tucking the blanket over it.
Marix walked around it, examining it.
"I want to see it move first."
Whimble tied a rope around the front of it and secured it with a complicated knot, then tied it around Eilownia’s Andalusian. One of the soldiers grabbed the horse’s lead rope and clicked his tongue.
He walked the horse in a circle. The cart was a bit bumpy going over the terrain, but it was sturdy enough that he knew it could survive their journey.
"Alright. Good work."
Jinya smiled wide, "Just in time! The soup is finished as well! Good work everyone!"
Eilownia started clapping, following by Aleiza and Jinya which resulted in all of the soldiers clapping over their work.
Marix allowed them to clap a bit more before he cleared his throat, grabbing their attention.
"Everyone! After we eat, take a moment to breathe and then I want you all to shed your armor. Dump it inside the safehouse. We need to look as discreet as possible as we travel. We’ll go through the forest and avoid the main roads. We’ll begin travel once the sun sets."
They all saluted him, "Yes sir!"
He couldn’t help but smile a bit as he headed over to Jinya’s makeshift kitchen.
"Okay! There are very few utensils!" Jinya announced with 10 bowls of soup already filled.
"You’ll have to eat in waves. Triaged soldiers eat first. Once done, please announce it so we can collect your bowl and feed the soldier after you!"
They let out a loud groan. They were tired and hungry and now they had to wait even longer to eat. 10 bowls a person would make it take forever.
Yet, there was nothing they could do but shell out the servings and wait.
When it was Eilownia’s turn and another group’s she excitedly took her first sip.
"Wow! This is so delicious!!!" She grinned from ear to ear as she spooned another portion into her mouth.
The soldiers stared at her like she was crazy.
"What do you mean? It’s quite bland and the meat is leathery." Etil said with a grimace.
"Don’t you think it’s amazing? It’s salty and sweet but also creamy. Plus you can chew the meat for a long time and it makes you feel like you are eating more than you are! We made this with only four ingredients! Over a fire!" She wiggled excitedly in her seat on the ground as she ate.
"Yeah! Y-You’re right!" Prav said as he swallowed another spoonful, "This is impressive!"
"Well when you say it like that, it is pretty great!" Nascor said, slapping his knee with a smile.
The soldiers began laughing and smiling. Talking about what a great job the girls did making it.
Marix leaned back against a nearby tree as he watched.
’Improving their morale already. I knew she was the right person to stand by my side.’
