Day 90

Today was a truly barbarous day at the settlement. When dawn arrived and the barbarians began stirring, I must admit I wanted to merely roll over and snuggle deeply into my sleeping furs and snooze the day away. Even now as the littlest barbarian fights sleep in my hut, I wish I was back in bed in that just waking haze and that today had perhaps only been a dream.

It began almost as soon as I ventured up the hill to the Gathering Hall. The littlest barbarian was in dire need of a change, but the sight that greeted me upon entering that Hall was almost too much for my groggy mind to handle. There on the stuffed hides were the elder barbarians, watching the rocks glow across the Hall. The White Wolf was groveling at my feet, desperate to be set outside of the settlements walls. There in the center of the Gathering Hall was a pile of the White Wolf's excrement. It was obviously unhealthy excrement and not entirely her fault, she probably couldn't hold it. The paw print where she had stepped in it and spread it on the rushes, that was more her fault.

What baffled me wasn't the pile of excrement on the Gathering Hall floor it was that while both of the elder barbarians had evidently noticed the steaming pile, neither of them ventured down the hill to the sleeping hut I share with my partner and the the littlest barbarian to inform us of the accident. Instead they turned on the glowing rocks and vegetated.

My partner cleaned up the first part of the mess (what came up with towels) while I cleaned up the littlest barbarian. Then I had to scrub the rushes until they were no longer covered in excrement. It is not an activity that I care to repeat. Ever.

After cleaning the rushes and feeding all the barbarians. They were tasked with cleaning up their sleeping huts while I cleaned the Dining Hall. This was a far bigger job than I had anticipated. Many things needed to be moved to other huts or down the hill to the root cellar. I worked for several hours performing the traditional Spring Cleaning tasks that only get done infrequently. Meanwhile, I kept running down the hill to the stream to wash our laundry.

After lunch, which my partner arranged for the barbarians, I continued to labor in the Dining Hall. My partner was called away on an unexpected hunt and thank all the gods for the Most Honorable Elders. They came to watch the oldest and youngest barbarian while I took the middle one to his Scouting practice.

I had to run to Mart's Wall for some supplies for the meeting and was forced to hurry (my partner was to make the trip and was in fact preparing to go when he was contacted by the other hunters.) The middle barbarian and I then helped his Scouting pack clean up sticks down by the Trout Hatchery and went on a hike near the trout stream that runs past the Hatchery. 

Once we finished our Scouting Practice, we returned to the settlement. Again, I thank all holy things for the existence of the Most Honorable Elders as they took the elder barbarians out to hunt up a meal while I fed the littlest barbarian, bathed her, and put her to bed. She has finally settled as I am writing this and sleeps now soundly in her furs.

I, on the other hand, have more chores yet to do this day and I already ache from my labors. Perhaps I will shirk my duties and put off until tomorrow what I have no fire left in me to complete today.

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