Before building the homestead, it had been years since I had put steel to wood or nail to plank. My skills at carpentry were clearly not what they were before the darkness. Yet my hands slowly and happily remembered how to build. The work comes easily now, and I have made quick progress on the infirmary and on the shop. The pines in the northwest quadrant are ideal for framing and the foundation, and the Black Forest’s ash make for excellent flooring and sturdy siding.

The infirmary is meant to accommodate a wide variety of patients, from the smallest mouse to the largest beast. A large portion is designed as a stable. I expect I will need to support a good number of reindeer and perhaps more oxen. Horses too, if I can ever find any survivors.   I have also included a separate hall dedicated specifically to humans. I expect to find many men and women lost to the darkness of the Northern Realm.

I have moved all of the animals, including Tjokaben, into the infirmary. They seem more comfortable, and though the accommodations are still somewhat sparse, the smell of the homestead has improved tremendously. I need to finish building the loom so I can finally make them blankets, and in a few weeks, I should be able to harvest more grasses for bedding.

The shop is not nearly as complete as the homestead or the infirmary. I have half-completed most of the rooms, and many of my tools are in varying stages of completion (such as the loom). Now that the infirmary is nearly finished, I can lend my attention to the workshop. Tjokaben and I must make one more run into the Black Forest to procure the remaining lumber I require for its completion.

Would that Jötnar were able to help me, but he consumes himself with the state of the Realm. He spends countless nights conjuring spells in Niaafjäll. Thunderous sounds and brilliant blue lights emanate from that castle night after night. He has become somewhat withdrawn of late. He is distracted. He is searching for something. For what, I do not know.