Scouting For Romance

Entry 15 - 21

Entry 15

Day 5, Month 15, Year 572

More endurance training today, everything is sore.

Jovaisa brought us to a small farm on the north-eastern side of the volcano and had us dig new divots into the ground. Shovels, pickaxes, anything we wanted so long as the divots ended up being three meters deep, with steep ramps to climb out.

We split into small groups to work separate divots. I noticed Anita standing across the way, giving me a nasty look. She had a face-brace and a load of stitches, while all my wounds had already healed.

I gave her a taunting wave, then tapped my nose.

After savoring her anger, I got to work with Tytus and a few others.

"This field is a mess." Overgrown glowing grass, clusters of flowers, and some odd, bulbous sacks full of vibrant green goop. I nudged one with the tip of my boot, its jiggle was oddly mesmerizing.

Tytus grabbed the pickaxe and started loosening the dirt and roots. "I heard it used to be a farm, but the owner went to join the military. Fifty years of military service passed, he finally remembered he owned property, then sold it to the state." He pointed to a small, incomplete farmhouse with a dozen citizens working on the roof. "The state sold it to that family, and we're helping them get on their feet."

"When did you hear that?

"A couple minutes ago when I went over to talk to them. They'll be passing around lunch at noon, as thanks for our hard work."

"I see." I gave up wondering when he finds time to 'talk' to people. I kicked the sack-plant, which ruptured the outer layer and spewed green slime over my boots and pants. "Oh."

"Haha! They also told me those things are annoying to deal with. Don't worry, the goop will disappear before long, and there's no way to uproot the thing without it breaking."

I raised my leg to smell it, and my nostrils were overpowered with a thick stench of fruit. "Sickeningly sweet." I turned to Tytus and stuck out my leg. He bent down to smell, but quickly pulled back and gagged. Naturally, I wiped my finger along the goo and gave it a taste. Awful. It burned my tongued.

I volunteered to dig up all the sack-plants, and ended up smeared head to toe in goo. My eyes watered from the smell, and I kept trying to taste it. When it evaporated, I helped the others dig.

What made this effective endurance training was the roots. They dug deep into the ground, and we constantly had to tear them out. The pickaxe helped, but the roots of the sack-plant were stubborn and refused to snap unless we hacked away.

The only break came when the family brought small bowls of stew and bread. Not much, but it tasted great, and the thought was appreciated. I got the idea to drop a small bit of goo inside and mix it around, but that was a mistake.

The rest of our exhausting day passed without incident. Tytus and I helped dig two divots, which is a lot of dirt and roots to move. It's mostly my back that's sore, but jogging back to the barracks was tough on my knees as well.

****

Entry 16

Day 6, Month 15, Year 572

We moved boulders all day.

Jovaisa had us climb halfway up the volcano, grab a 50 pound boulder from a pile, then bring it to the foot of the volcano. If he saw that our backs weren't straight, he explained that a curved back was dangerous and prone to injury, then ordered us to go back up to the pile and start again.