The Maid and Her Princess

First Contact (Winter 9)

IX.

Audrey was warm enough for the both of them as Madoka trudged onward. She lost her cloak to the winds so she only had a light traveler's coat on. Still, even that was soaked from climbing down the mountain. The frost-covered coat did not bother her, however; she was more worried that they would run into people. The frame of a wooden structure peered over a small hill so the girls opted to explore it. Everything here seemed peaceful and she did not sense any hostile thoughts around her.

That bear really did terrorize everyone here. The lumber mill had three charred buildings at the site and bear markings everywhere. Madoka's ears stretched to hear more thoughts but nothing was around for miles. There were many sections of razed trees and carved ground that traced sweeping paths along the riverbank. She could still smell the peculiar smell of burning from lightning strikes. Later, the two found craters punched into gravel splotches like torn hair from a scalp behind the saw facility.

"Dang, nature is scary," Audrey mumbled. "Still, there's probably stuff in this place for us to, ah, borrow."

"Borrow, huh?" Madoka sighed. She meandered to the first building which appeared to be a large cabin. The door showed signs of neglect and stood tall despite being beaten down by the weather. She kicked it down anyways.

No sign of life inside but it sure beat shivering outside, Madoka supposed as she scanned the room. The place was cozy with a small window viewing the white fingers of clouds and mountain reaching into the sky. She could hear a river frothing beneath sheets of ice near the largest building next to them from the maw of a mountainside. Tufts of white fluffed the corners of the window panes. Madoka could imagine men working out here for days and nights but there were no beds here.

"Nothing of value here," Madoka shrugged. Audrey agreed so the two set off to explore the mill itself. A lot of tracks crossed over the river ice and pathways through this lumber mill, Madoka noticed. An army probably crossed through this place to Fiara.

"Wow," Audrey said on Madoka's back. The two looked up at the saw's blade. "No jigs or any machines. Just a waterpowered wheel and a saw. This was a real old fashioned job. They probably chopped those larger trees here and shoved them onto boats using this slide."

Madoka followed Audrey's finger to what she presumed was a slide. The structures seemed to be damaged by weapons and greedy claw marks tore sizable chunks off the walls. None of her explanations on the process of logging trees helped her at all with her current problem: Her stomach growled again.

"... Then they probably plane the irregular edges to make the logs round and uniform before shipping them to the city," Audrey rambled on before noticing her hungry maid. "Oh, right. Set me down over there. I see a firepit! Maybe I can cook the deer up there. It's probably the same thing as the bear."

Madoka carried her princess off the mill to the third building. This one seemed like a house. She hoped there would be winter supplies in there since only the kind gods knew what was in Audrey's storage talisman. She left the former princess to her own devices in front of the fire pit and pushed the door open. Madoka also could cook for her but she never mentioned it. She could prepare commoner food just as well as all her fellow slaves but Audrey's cooking was somehow exquisite back then. She never thought that medicinal herbs could be also used in cooking.

She could tell this cabin was designed for overnight stays from seeing a mess of blankets strewn across the floor. There was little else so Madoka snatched them up and got to cleaning it up. She decided they could stay overnight. It has been some time since they stayed indoors for once. Madoka peered outside to see Audrey huddled over the deer. She paused with a knife held up over it.