A Time Traveller's Guide to Feudal Japan Chapter 115 - An Oxen's Burden

"Are we off already, then?"

The shipwright had asked him, as they met outside in the courtyard after a good night's sleep and some breakfast.

"Well, I think we should make one small stop first."

"Hm?"

He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Where we are headed there is a distinct lack of materials. We will not be able to find any trees large enough to be used as a mast along the way."

"Mm… So you're going to cut some down here? Be quite the haul, dragging it to the shore."

"Indeed, but it's the only option we have. And, at least this way, you'll be able to choose a good bit of timber."

The man nodded. It indeed made sense, and so, with some oxen, some axes, and his sons, they headed toward the forest. Jikouji had yet to wake, but Gengyo did not have need of him quite yet, so he allowed him to sleep a little longer.

"Good patch of forest, this is."

The shipwright commented, running a hand down the bark of a tree. Where he came from, nearer the coast, there were fewer good quality trees, as they'd been hacked down by generations of shipwrights.

They wandered through the forest, as Gengyo allowed the shipwright to take his pick of trees, without distracting him in the process.

They passed some tall, straight, pine trees and he half expected him to pick those, but he merely touched their bark and shook his head, moving on to the next one.

"You need some good quality wood to deal with the stress you want to put on it."

He explained, answering the unspoken question that both Gengyo and his sons were wondering.

"I see."

They wandered throughout the forest, going deeper and deeper. It took him a while to find a tree that was to his liking, and when he found it, he did not even announce that he had. He merely began making a felling notch with his axe, before he began work with his saw, glancing toward his sons wondering why they were not yet at work.

They joined in, sawing from other points of the tree, and before long, they heard the cracking strain placed on the last chunk of wood holding it up.

"TIMBER!"

The shipwright shouted out, alerting them of the falling tree. It began it's descent rather slowly, forecasting which direction it was going in, as it worked its way through the last lump of connecting wood, and caught on the branches of other trees.

But just as they managed to step out of the way, it came crashing down with vengeance, slamming hard into the soft ground, sending all sort of debris flying everywhere.

As soon as it fell to the ground, by some unspoken command, all them began trimming it. Seemingly, this was the result of years spent working together, as they all knew their job exactly, and within minutes, all that was left was a bare log, completely stripped of branches and leaves.

He admired the efficiency with which they worked but made no comment, as he lead two oxen forward, so that they could harness the log to them. Since they had completed their duty within the field, the oxen had been grazing lazily, and so he reckoned it was time for them to earn their keep.

Even for oxen, the log appeared to rather heavy, but they did not utter a complaint.

"You should probably find another couple of logs for the oars and the like."

The shipwright, Morojo, nodded. He had already begun his search for them. As so the young master deemed it fine to leave the other four oxen within their company, whilst he escorted the other two out of the forest with their burdensome load.

They had to struggle to pull it uphill, and over all sorts of obstacles, and by the time they got out they were sweating.

"That'll be the hardest part."

He assured them, unloading the log so they could rest a little. The road would be far easier on them, as it was mostly flat, with minimal obstacles.

He waited there a little while, and soon, the other four oxen emerged, lead by the shipwrights, each pair dragging a log between them.

"Sorted?"

"Sorted."

Morojo agreed.

"Let's head back then."

They dragged the logs back into the village, and he went to awake Jikouji. As he entered, it seemed the old man was already up, as he was sat there, a cup of tea in his hand.

"Morning, Jikouji. I'm going to head back to the bay to oversee construction. You'll be fine overseeing things whilst I'm gone?"

He spoke. Without even turning around, the old man had heard his footsteps, and realized who it was.

"There isn't much that needs overseeing, but aye, I'll take care of it."

He said lightly, continuing to drink his tea.

"I'll be back in a few days then."

Back in the courtyard, they worked to get all their supplies ready. The Morojos had arrived with a cart full of all their tools, and some horses between them. On that cart, they loaded extra food supplies for themselves. He reasoned the oxen would be fine, as there was rich grazing land near the bay.

He took a horse for himself, so that he could return a little more quickly. And then, they set off.

They had to go at a pace that was slightly slower than that of walking, so that they could accommodate for the oxen's speed as they pulled the logs. And so the time they made was not quick.

They had to stop every couple of hours to give the oxen a break, and a chance to feed, which slowed things down further. But still, they managed to arrive just after dark.

"Where's your ship lad?"

Morojo asked, as they looked around, unable to see anything. They could see the sea, but that lay at the bottom of some rather high cliffs.

"Let us camp here for the night, and I'll show you in the morning."

He replied. It was too dangerous to try and descend the cliffs whilst it was so dark outside. Not to mention, it would be impossible to do so with the oxen.

"Eh… Alright."

The men set about making a small fire, on which they heated the food they had brought. Within a half-hour of eating, they all seemed to be asleep.

Gengyo, on the other hand, leaned against one of the exhausted oxen, as he stared up, admiring the stars that plagued the clear sky.

He found it a little amusing how the ox did not reject his company in the least, it had merely snorted once as he sat down, and then it was like he did not exist. The other oxen settled nearby, and soon, he had something of an army of them.

The thought amused him slightly - an army of oxen. Though he could not laugh too heartily, as they were some of the most resilent beasts out there, and their strength was certainly not something to shake your head at.

Recently, with the lack of sleep, he had come to despise night somewhat. When he was home, it was not so bad, as he could find things to occupy himself. But as he was here, unable to find anything to focus himself on, thoughts came and went.

He found himself worrying that they would be discovered, and that worry heightened till it esculated into some form of paranoia.

He heard the call of an interesting bird, that came out as a small squeak. But the intervals in which it squeaked were too odd, too bizarre to simply be that of a bird. He began to worry that it was a signal of some sort. A signal that they had been discovered. That their intentions had been forcecast to the rest of the province, and looking at them now, within the long grass, was an army of men, waiting to assault them.

"Haha… Of course they'd know. It's obvious isn't it?"

He muttered to himself, as though that would offer some form of comfort. But as his fears began to climax, dawn came, lighting up the landscape. With that new light his fears were revealed to be as irrational as they were, and his shaking stopped.

'By the gods… what a fool I have become.'

He scolded himself for his unwarranted anxiousness, and set about collecting himself, before the others awoke and found him as a shaken mess.

He petted his oxen - that had served as his pillow - on the head, receiving a huge gust of air through the nostrils in response. They were warm animals, he decided.

As he stood up, they stood up too. Perhaps it was a reaction of fear, or of surprise, or perhaps they now saw him as a member of the herd.

He decided on the latter, because it was far more interesting. Animals like cows and wolves were pack animals, and would regulate their sleeping cycles according to each other, so it was not an entirely unreasonable proposition.

The commotion caused by the now awoken oxen, startled the shipwrights out of their dreams, as they stared up sleepily, seeing the massive creatures begin to munch on the grass.

"Morning… Is it?"

Morojo muttered, exhausted.

"It is. If you feel like getting up, I'll show you to the ship."

He closed one eye, as he contemplated simply ignoring him, and going back to sleep. But with his sons already standing up, he breathed a sigh, realizing that such an action would likely prove futile.

"Aye… Go on then."

He muttered, throwing his furs around his shoulders, as he attempted to combat the chilly morning air.

Before they went down, Gengyo made sure to scatter the ashes from the fire, so that there would be no signs of their camp.

And then, he lead them to the side of the cliff, where they had assumed there was a sheer drop. But at this point, there was a gentle slope, that gradually steepened the further to the bottom they got. And from this vantage point, they could see the sand below, with the beached trading skiff, and the small opening to the cove.

"Ho… Now this is a good find."

Morojo said approvingly.

"Aye. Careful on your way down."

Leaving the oxen up top, and the logs with them, he walked down the gentle slope, before sliding down the rest of the steeper part, demonstrating how it was to be done.

After sharing a glance, the shipwrights began down after him, feeling a little uneasy about the height. But soon their feet were firmly on the sand.

"Quite the basic trading skiff you have here."

Morojo commented, looking at the well-weathered boat.

"But I suppose you're more interested in blending in, rather than simple power."

"Preciously."

Gengyo nodded in agreement. It was an obvious conclusion to reach after the plans that had been presented to him.

"Now that you've seen it in person, can you visualize what I meant in the sketches more clearly?"

"I can. But it still will not be easy."

"I don't need it to be easy, I simply need it to work. Take a closer look at the ship, if you need to, and then we can bring the logs down, and start."

He was eager to get things underway, though dawn had only just broken.

They took him up on his offer, and moved closer toward the boat, before mounting the ramp and jumping on the deck. Morojo made his way to the lower deck, to try and get a feel for its depth. The lad wanted the lower half of the mast to fit in here comfortably. But he himself wasn't so sure if that was possible.

'Still, it will not hurt to try. And it's a pretty amount of gold.'

He reasoned with himself, coming back on the upper deck, and nodding toward the lad.

Chapter end