The Waterway (1)
Having bypassed the crocodiles, Chester and Monia continued their exploration of the far side of the river.
"Ugh!"
"Ouch!"
The defining feature of this side of the river was the abundance of tall vegetation. Unlike the other side, which was dominated by thick, ancient trees, the trees here were mostly thin and spindly. Furthermore, the plants were incredibly tough and sharp. While Chester was relatively safe in his trousers, Monia, in her tattered dress, constantly ended up with cuts and scrapes on her legs as they walked.
The grass sliced at their skin, the tree bark was rough, and the sunlight beat down mercilessly. It hadn't been this bad right after they crossed the river, but as they ventured deeper, the environment on this side began to show its true, harsh colors.
"Damn it. If only we had a proper machete."
"What should we do?"
"First, let's protect those legs of yours, Monia."
Chester unraveled some of the tree bark he had woven into the basket and wrapped it around Monia's legs like bandages. Having hastily fashioned this makeshift armor, they set off once again.
The far side of the river. It was just a short distance across the water, yet it felt as though someone had drawn a line, dividing two completely different worlds. What surprised them most was the sheer number of flying creatures.
"Whoa!"
"Eeek!"
A lizard with wing-like membranes glided from one tree to another.
"What on earth is that?!"
"A-A bird?"
"No, definitely not."
The lizard glided between the branches, snapping up flying insects mid-air.
"..."
"..."
Chester stared at the tough grass blanketing the ground. Did they adapt to glide so they wouldn't have to deal with the grass? Still, a gliding lizard was a bizarre sight. Despite his bewilderment, Chester's mind immediately jumped to a more practical question. Can we eat it?
In the end, survival always came down to that single question. To catch the creature, Chester loaded a stone into his sling and began to whirl it. He was quietly taking aim when the lizard suddenly launched itself into the air.
"Hup!"
Chester quickly tracked its flight path and released the sling. The stone flew true, striking the target with a sharp crack. The hit lizard spun through the air and tumbled down, catching on the stiff blades of grass.
"Oh."
"Wow."
Chester took long, high strides, trampling the grass underfoot to forge a path. Monia followed closely behind in his wake. They had almost reached the fallen lizard when the surrounding grass suddenly rustled, and a swarm of tiny rodents emerged. They were so small and light that the blades of grass didn't even bend under their weight.
The rodents scurried toward the lizard. Instead of eating it immediately, they began biting the surrounding grass, snapping the blades and weaving them together to wrap the lizard in a tight green shroud. It was their hunting habit: whenever a flying creature or insect accidentally fell into the grass, these rodents would bind them in the tough blades, waiting for them to die before consuming them.
"..."
"..."
After encasing the lizard's carcass in a grass cocoon, the rodents vanished back beneath the undergrowth.
"What did they just do?"
"...Storing their food, I assume." Chester sliced open the grass cocoon with his stone knife and pulled out the lizard. "Take a look at this." Examining the creature, Chester noticed a thin membrane stretching between its front and hind legs.
"What is that?"
"Who knows. It looks a bit like a bat's wing. I guess this is how it glides." Chester gently tugged at the membrane, making it flutter. "Its legs are longer than a normal lizard's. It probably leaps from a tree, spreads its limbs wide, and uses this skin to glide."
"Huh... Hey, do you think humans could ever fly in the sky?"
"Hmm? Who knows?"
"When I was at the Academy, I heard about scholars who were researching ways for humans to fly."
Chester pointed to the lizard's excessively thin limbs. "The most important thing for flight is being lightweight. Birds have hollow bones, and look at this lizard." He laid the lizard flat on his palm; its belly caved in instantly, making its body look paper-thin. "There's barely anything to its body, see?"
"You're right."
"The physical structure of a human is just too different from creatures built for flight."
"So it's impossible for humans to fly?"
"Maybe. But more importantly..." Can we eat it or not? "The body is practically empty, but the tail has a bit of meat on it." Even so, the tail was incredibly thin. It wasn't worth the effort of hunting them. Chester decided he would ignore these lizards in the future, but since he had already caught this one, he severed the tail and tucked it away.
"Are you going to roast that?"
"Yeah."
Monia's face fell at his confirmation.
"What?"
"I don't want to eat that. Besides, our diet has finally become somewhat decent. Why do you insist on eating such unappetizing things?"
"Decent, you say?"
Leaving their bizarre encounter with the gliding lizard behind, the two resumed their search for resin-producing trees. Resin-producing trees—in other words, conifers.
"You said they have needle-like leaves, right?"
"Yeah."
"Does such a thing really exist?"
"It does."
After walking a bit further, the grass grew taller than their waists. Chester borrowed Monia's club. Holding the stick-like club horizontally, he pushed it forward to flatten the stubborn grass as they walked.
"Good, this makes it a bit easier."
But "easier" was highly relative. Wading through the stiff grass felt like walking waist-deep in water. With no trees to block the sun, sweat poured down their faces.
"We need a break."
Deciding to rest in the shade of a suitable tree, they sat back against the trunk and drank their water. The openings of their water skins were sealed with thick leaves tied with cord; they untied the cords, tossed the leaves aside, and drank. It was so stiflingly hot that Chester poured an entire skin of water over his head to cool his face.
"Monia, your face is beet red."
"So is yours, Chester."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"I see."
Chester placed the empty water skin back into the basket and stared at the tree he was leaning against.
"..."
Looking at the cord he had used to tie the water skin, Chester immediately began peeling bark off the tree. He stripped a long, rectangular piece, poked a small hole in the middle of each long side, and threaded the cord through. He placed the bark over his head and tied the cords under his chin to secure it. The elongated bark acted as a makeshift visor, casting a cool shadow over his face. Feeling the immediate relief, Chester nodded in satisfaction.
Monia quickly copied him. Now wearing their bark hats, the pair continued their trek in search of conifers.
"Still, it's quite amazing," Monia remarked.
"Hmm? What is?"
"How much things change... just based on whether there are many trees or few."
"Ah. Since the sunlight hits this area directly, the humidity is much lower here." Chester scanned the trees with sharp eyes from beneath his shade. Whenever he spotted an unfamiliar tree, he approached it, peeled back a bit of bark, and made a small cut to see if resin would seep out. Conifers usually thrive in colder climates, though. Would they really find one in this sweltering heat? There has to be one.
After settling down, Chester had heard many stories from the hunters who visited his father. They spoke of a beast called a camel. Though originally native to cold regions, some of these creatures had miraculously adapted to survive in the scorching, deadly wastes of the desert. They were said to be indispensable mounts for those traveling across the sands. If the same creature could exist in both polar regions and deserts, Chester believed he could surely find a conifer that grew in hot climates. After walking for what felt like an eternity, they finally left the sparsely wooded area and entered a dense, lush forest once more.
"Ahhh!"
"Oh, thank goodness!"
They hadn't found water, but simply escaping the blistering sun felt like a divine blessing.
"I've never hated the sun so much in my life."
"Ha. If you said that back in the kingdom, you'd be executed for treason." The royal family's symbols were, after all, the sun and the lion.
"Hmph. Like I care about that wretched country."
"Hahaha. Fair point."
Chester wiped the sweat pouring down his face with his palm. He was sweating so profusely that his hand was instantly drenched.
"This is insane."
Though they were in the shade, their bodies still radiated intense heat. As they ventured deeper into the forest, the humidity returned, making even breathing feel like inhaling steam.
"I feel like I'm going to die."
"Me too."
As he spoke, Chester glanced at Monia. She's keeping up remarkably well. Over the past month, walking through the forest day in and day out without a single rest day had built up Monia's stamina. Her physical strength might still be lacking, but her endurance was surprisingly decent. Not bad. Still, he hadn't expected her to endure this grueling march—which was taxing even for him—without falling behind. She had far exceeded his expectations. Good.
The two collapsed beside a small, flowing stream, gulping down their remaining water to replenish their dehydrated bodies.
"Hey... we have to walk back through that wasteland on our way home, don't we?"
"...Let's not think about that right now."
"Do we really have to suffer like this just to build a waterway...?"
"Whew." Chester felt a pang of doubt himself under the oppressive heat, but he looked at Monia and spoke. "Listen."
"Yes?"
"That area we just crossed has no tree cover, so it heats up much faster than other places."
"Yes."
"Which means our camp could get just as hot eventually."
"Eek! I-I can't live like that! I absolutely won't!"
"Neither can I."
That was why they had to prepare so they could endure the heat when it came. "We have to build the waterway. Otherwise, we'll have to fetch water in that blazing heat every single day."
"Eek! Let's build it! Absolutely! Walking outside in this heat is pure madness!" Seeing Monia leap to her feet with renewed determination, Chester let out a soft chuckle and pushed himself up. "Alright, let's keep moving."
Fortunately, their suffering was not in vain. Chester finally managed to locate a conifer. After spending the rest of the day collecting a generous amount of resin, they headed back home. The very next day, the two officially began construction on the waterway. As a side note, the lizard tail was thrown away without being eaten, as they feared it had spoiled quickly in the sweltering heat.