Preparing the Firewood

As they exited the city's boundaries and approached the large commercial warehouse, the number of carts on the road increased. There were many of them, of all types and sizes: large trade carts pulled by four horses, some pulled by three horses, and others by two. Some were heading toward the Great Capital, while others were heading to the outskirts of the capital to circle around the surrounding cities in order to expand their trade.

Kogan and Frederick arrived at the small warehouse with their small wagon, and there were many wagons parked. Some people were unloading their goods, while others were loading their wagons.

This warehouse was full of all kinds of goods that could be traded. It was the main stop for all the caravans passing through here.

Of course, it's not the only warehouse; there are dozens more at every entrance to the grand capital.

And there are hundreds across the continent, but they're usually not as big as the ones at the capital's entrances.

Frederick parked his wagon in one of the designated spots. A worker approached him, wearing a dark blue one-piece suit with threads on his chest acting as a zipper. All the workers were dressed in the same suit.

"We've come to take some firewood, and it's best if it's pine," Frederick asked the worker.

"The pine logs just arrived this morning, and they haven't been chopped yet," the worker replied sadly.

"Alright then, we'll chop them ourselves. After all, it was a request from the great priest," Frederick sighed.

"We'll give you a discount for your trouble. How many logs do you want?"

"We'll take five."

The worker led them to the pile of logs. They struggled to move the five logs into place, ready to start chopping.

"Here are the axes; they're sharp, so things should be a bit easier," the worker handed them a set of axes of various sizes.

"Are you ready, Kogan?" Frederick spat into his hands, gripping the axe.

"I was born ready," Kogan said, lifting a large axe.

They began chopping. The logs were thick and long, and it would take a long time to cut them.

They could have chosen a two-person saw to cut the logs one by one, but that would take even longer. So, using axes and cutting the logs separately was considered a better solution to speed things up, as no one knew when the storm would begin again.

Frederick chopped one log and started on the second, while Kogan struggled with the first. His strikes were strong at first, but over time they grew weaker and weaker, until he started missing the log entirely, hitting the ground or striking the log incorrectly.

His breathing became heavier, and he started to feel dizzy.

"Kogan, don't push yourself. Rest, I'll finish it myself," Frederick said, looking at him with sympathy.

"I'm fine. Besides, how can I leave you to chop all this alone?" Kogan continued chopping.

"Don't you feel cold in those clothes? Where are the coat and boots I gave you?" Frederick leaned on the axe, looking at Kogan.

"I'm sorry, but I had to sell them. Food is more important than clothes to me," Kogan kept chopping.

Frederick sighed and continued chopping.

The clothes Kogan was wearing were made of white fabric, which could be described as cheap and readily available. It was often used to wrap the dead before burial or cremation.

Frederick had given him coats and boots several times, but Kogan would sell them after a short while to provide food for his family.

His feet were wrapped in many layers of cloth, tied around wooden planks slightly raised off the ground.

After hours of chopping, they finally reached the last log.

"Did you bring your kids a souvenir from the capital to show off to them?" Kogan asked teasingly, sitting on the side of the log.

"If I did, you'd be the first person I'd show off to," Frederick gathered his breath and replied.

Suddenly, they both burst into loud laughter until tears streamed down their faces.

"Speaking of which, maybe I'll bring them with me when we go to the capital tomorrow."

"Won't they feel depressed when they go back to live in the city?"

"No, this will show them the privileges enjoyed by nobles and high-ranking individuals, and that will motivate them to work hard to improve their lives."

"Do you really think working hard will make you live like the nobles?"

"Of course not, but as long as you aim for a decent life and work towards it, that will be enough to survive in such a vile city."

"If you want them to live a decent life in this city, I think you should make them aspire to become priests and monks."

"To become a priest, they must be chosen by the god, so I think it's easier to become a noble than to become a priest."

There are tens of thousands of cities on the continent, and each city is ruled by the great priest of that city.

Some cities are ruled by a single great priest.

The great priest and the monks chosen by him live in temples.

These temples are located in the best areas of the cities.

In the city where Kogan lives, the temple is almost at the exit of the city, and it's the only place where trees and flowers of every color, along with green grass, are found.

When you see the temple, you feel its strength and sturdiness. It was built with the finest and strongest construction materials, and even if storms and floods occur, it will not be moved from its place.

After finishing the chopping, they loaded the dry firewood onto the wagon.

Frederick paid the worker the amount, saving a little due to the discount.

They set off back towards the city after a tiring day of work that lasted for hours.

The distance between the warehouse and the city center takes more than an hour with a small empty wagon and horse.

Now, with a full wagon, it would take them more than two hours.

"It seems like this dark weather will last for a day or two at most," Kogan looked at the horizon to the west, where the clouds had torn apart, letting some sunlight through.

After two hours of bouncing along the road, they finally arrived at the heart of the city.

"Where should we put this firewood?" Kogan asked.

"They renovated the western altar, we'll put it there."

After several minutes, they arrived at the desired location.

It was a pyramid-shaped tower with a square base, about three meters tall, with a circular top that had a diameter of 7 meters, surrounded by a stone wall about one and a half meters high, with an opening in the wall allowing people to enter and exit. There was also a stone staircase for going up and down.

'I've been here once before, but it wasn't this tall,' Kogan looked at the massive gray altar. "Should we leave the load here, or take it up top?"

"We'll leave it here, and they'll take care of the rest," Frederick began pushing the firewood off the cart.

"Are they going to have a barbecue with all this firewood or what?" Kogan asked as he helped push the wood.

"Even if it's a barbecue, we won't be invited."

After unloading all the firewood, the sun had already set.

"Mr. Frederick, can I take some of this firewood? The one at my house has rotted, and I don't think it can catch fire."

"Of course, you don't need to ask me. Take this, it's your pay too," Frederick took out some coins from his wallet and handed them to Kogan.

"10 silver coins." Kogan looked at his hand, surprised. "That's a lot, Mr. Frederick."

"I got a decent salary from my last trip, no need to worry." Frederick smiled and waved his hand.

"Thank you very much," Kogan hurried off, hoping to find some shops still open.

"We haven't had fish in years, I should buy a lot of it," he drooled as the image of fish appeared in his mind.

He passed by every shop he knew, but they were all closed. In fact, there was no one outside.

He stood alone in that dark city.

'Day four without food,' Kogan sighed and headed back home with a heavy heart.

'My luck is terrible,'

'I haven't had a job for a long time.'

'And when I finally got one, all the shops closed.'

'What is that smell?' While he was thinking, he noticed a scent coming from his house.

Kogan pushed the heavy door, causing it to make a disturbing squeaking sound.

"Come in, Kogan, we were waiting for you," his parents spoke in tired voices. They were in their seventies.

They were sitting on the floor around a poor table, which was a square, uneven wooden board placed on four stones.

The source of the smell Kogan had noticed was placed on the table. Grilled fish, pork, and various fruits.

'Is this my reward for hard work?' His body shivered as he looked at the delicious dishes.

Kogan quickly sat on his feet, bending one leg underneath him, and started devouring everything his eyes landed on.

"Don't you want to ask who gave us this blessing?" His father looked at him with a smile, with four or five teeth in his mouth, and a bald head.

"I'll ask after I'm done eating," Kogan's mouth was full of food.

"It's the Great Priest," his mother said with gratitude.

"Oh, I see. Thank you, Great Priest," Kogan continued eating greedily.

"Right, we should thank the Great Priest," his father mumbled.

Moments later, all the dishes were empty.

Kogan stretched out on the floor, letting out a long sigh, his hand resting on his belly.

'I've never had a meal like this in my life, wait…' Kogan opened his eyes, remembering what his mother had said earlier.

'The Great Priest …'

'Why did the Great Priest give us this meal?'

'He used to take things from us, but to give us... this is really strange.'

After a short while, he pushed all these thoughts from his mind and headed to his bed.

"Leave everything as it is, I'll take care of the cleaning tomorrow," Kogan said as he lay down on his bed, feeling drowsy.

After a short while, Kogan fell into a deep sleep.

The cold air was flowing in from the window he had forgotten to close, but he didn't feel it.

Given his way of living, he might have lost his sense of cold.

Once his parents were sure he was asleep, they opened the heavy door, making an annoying sound, but Kogan didn't notice. He continued to sleep peacefully.

They left the house and closed the door behind them.