out.
“I think about the future all the time,” Kaz interjected. “Like when will we get to the first food stash?”
“We have only been walking for twenty-three minutes,” Bendar said in a monotone voice. “Perhaps I should reconsider some of my calculations about your food consumption.”
“You’ve calculated my food consumption?” Kaz asked in disbelief.
“Eating is an important part of survival,” Bendar replied.
“What else have you calculated?” Farin asked.
“Hopefully everything.” Bendar stepped off the path and pointed to a hollow under a large cherry tree. “Just up ahead on the left is the first stash. That one should have been pretty easy to discover.” The first stash of supplies was covered with dried leaves, carefully camouflaged to blend in naturally.
The boys threw the leaves to the side and uncovered the large, wooden box. Kaz reached under the box to lift it up, but nothing happened.
“Are you going to pick it up?” Garin asked.
Kaz turned on him with a sour look, “Why don’t you try helping? This thing weighs a ton!”
The larger farm boys hefted the crate out of the ground easily and then pried off the lid, excitedly sifting through the supplies.
“Something must be wrong.” Bendar cut in, pushing his way to the crate. “Perhaps I have misunderstood this part of your tradition. If adults in the village find the food stash, do they not take some of the supplies, to help promote self-reliance among those who are sent on Troven?”
“That’s only if they find the stash.” Garin responded. “You must be better at stashing than you thought.” Although it seemed to irk Garin to admit Bendar was good at something, he also looked very satisfied to point out that Bendar was wrong.
“No I am not. This was found.” Bendar knelt down at the base of the tree and searched for tracks. Looking up at the others he continued. “I know it was found.”
“What are you talking about? Here are all the apples that I collected and all the salted dry pork Farin borrowed from Dad's smoke house. Two bow strings and a hunting knife. This is great!”
“Something about this is just not right.” Bendar looked concerned. “My parents knew about this stash. They should have taken at least half of the materials.” Kaz could see the worry creasing Bendar’s face, and it clearly bothered Bendar that the stash was intact, but the other boys just kept pulling out supplies.
“I'm telling you they didn't find it,” Garin insisted, gesturing to the undisturbed surroundings. “Can't we just be happy for what we have? Your calculations were wrong, but your stashing was perfect.”
“Let us gather what we can fit into our travel bags,” Bendar said, handing out the small burlap sacks from the supply crate, “We can reach the second stash by nightfall and that will be our campsite.” They filled the bags with the food and supplies, hefted them up, and continued down the dirt road.
At about noon Kaz was exhausted by the hours of walking down the dirt road carrying the heavy pack.
“I need to get this bag off my shoulders for a bit. Can we stop for lunch?” Kaz looked at the other boys pleadingly. He knew Garin and Farin worked on the farm and expected them to be in good shape. Trying to appeal to Bendar, Kaz added, “It’s logical to stop now, so our bags will be lighter after we eat.”
Bendar shook his head at Kaz’s remark, but seemed to be happy to shrug his bag off his shoulder and set it on the ground.
“We can stop for a little rest, but not too long. It is still a half day’s trip to the second storage crate.”
“Is there any way we can rest somewhere else today?” Kaz asked, wanting to have some fun on the first day of his Troven. “Perhaps right here. There is a stream we can collect water from, and we can sleep in that small stand of trees over there.”
Bendar looked unsympathetic. “That would be fine if you want to sleep without any shelter. Those supplies
“I think about the future all the time,” Kaz interjected. “Like when will we get to the first food stash?”
“We have only been walking for twenty-three minutes,” Bendar said in a monotone voice. “Perhaps I should reconsider some of my calculations about your food consumption.”
“You’ve calculated my food consumption?” Kaz asked in disbelief.
“Eating is an important part of survival,” Bendar replied.
“What else have you calculated?” Farin asked.
“Hopefully everything.” Bendar stepped off the path and pointed to a hollow under a large cherry tree. “Just up ahead on the left is the first stash. That one should have been pretty easy to discover.” The first stash of supplies was covered with dried leaves, carefully camouflaged to blend in naturally.
The boys threw the leaves to the side and uncovered the large, wooden box. Kaz reached under the box to lift it up, but nothing happened.
“Are you going to pick it up?” Garin asked.
Kaz turned on him with a sour look, “Why don’t you try helping? This thing weighs a ton!”
The larger farm boys hefted the crate out of the ground easily and then pried off the lid, excitedly sifting through the supplies.
“Something must be wrong.” Bendar cut in, pushing his way to the crate. “Perhaps I have misunderstood this part of your tradition. If adults in the village find the food stash, do they not take some of the supplies, to help promote self-reliance among those who are sent on Troven?”
“That’s only if they find the stash.” Garin responded. “You must be better at stashing than you thought.” Although it seemed to irk Garin to admit Bendar was good at something, he also looked very satisfied to point out that Bendar was wrong.
“No I am not. This was found.” Bendar knelt down at the base of the tree and searched for tracks. Looking up at the others he continued. “I know it was found.”
“What are you talking about? Here are all the apples that I collected and all the salted dry pork Farin borrowed from Dad's smoke house. Two bow strings and a hunting knife. This is great!”
“Something about this is just not right.” Bendar looked concerned. “My parents knew about this stash. They should have taken at least half of the materials.” Kaz could see the worry creasing Bendar’s face, and it clearly bothered Bendar that the stash was intact, but the other boys just kept pulling out supplies.
“I'm telling you they didn't find it,” Garin insisted, gesturing to the undisturbed surroundings. “Can't we just be happy for what we have? Your calculations were wrong, but your stashing was perfect.”
“Let us gather what we can fit into our travel bags,” Bendar said, handing out the small burlap sacks from the supply crate, “We can reach the second stash by nightfall and that will be our campsite.” They filled the bags with the food and supplies, hefted them up, and continued down the dirt road.
At about noon Kaz was exhausted by the hours of walking down the dirt road carrying the heavy pack.
“I need to get this bag off my shoulders for a bit. Can we stop for lunch?” Kaz looked at the other boys pleadingly. He knew Garin and Farin worked on the farm and expected them to be in good shape. Trying to appeal to Bendar, Kaz added, “It’s logical to stop now, so our bags will be lighter after we eat.”
Bendar shook his head at Kaz’s remark, but seemed to be happy to shrug his bag off his shoulder and set it on the ground.
“We can stop for a little rest, but not too long. It is still a half day’s trip to the second storage crate.”
“Is there any way we can rest somewhere else today?” Kaz asked, wanting to have some fun on the first day of his Troven. “Perhaps right here. There is a stream we can collect water from, and we can sleep in that small stand of trees over there.”
Bendar looked unsympathetic. “That would be fine if you want to sleep without any shelter. Those supplies
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