"That bottle of healing medicine of yours is quite effective. His external injuries should be fine now.
However, it's best we send him to the apothecary in town as soon as possible. He's burning up quite badly. His forehead is so hot that it could fry a raw egg, "Marcelo said to Claude after touching Eriksson's forehead.
Everyone had returned to Miltini. The small two-masted alkeren fishing boat had already turned around and was heading back to Whitestag at full speed.
Eriksson was carried on Welikro's back to the fishing boat. He had already taken off his half-dry clothes and was stuffed naked under a blanket. He was tied to the bed with a rope so that he wouldn't fall to the ground due to the rocking and shaking of the boat.
Claude fed Eriksson half a vial of the perfect-quality elementary healing medicine he brought with him and applied the other half to the wound on his thigh.
External injuries were easy to treat, but there was nothing he could do about Eriksson's fever.
Welikro sat on the edge of the bed and wrung out a linen towel from a nearby bucket every now and then and placed it on Eriksson's forehead.
However, the bucket was filled with cold seawater and it didn't take long for white salt to appear on Eriksson's forehead.
It couldn't be helped. After finding the unconscious Eriksson on the beach of Krulu's Flying Fish Island, none of them remembered to go to the spring on the island to get some fresh water. All they knew was to send him to the hospital as soon as possible.
In the end, when they needed water to cool him down, they discovered that there was no fresh water on the boat, so they had no choice but to use seawater instead.
"I think Eriksson was forced to abandon the boat and swim ashore due to the leak. He lost too much blood in the process and fainted because of the injury to his thigh.
Lying on the beach in this kind of weather with wet clothes, I estimated that she had been unconscious for at least a day and a night.
Fortunately, you guys insisted on finding him on Krulu's Flying Fish Island. Otherwise, he would've lost his life on the island, "Marcello said with a sigh.
"But he's running a really high fever now. It won't cool him down at all!" Claude said anxiously.
"It's hard to cool him down with just a towel. The most it can do is prevent his brain from burning up."
Captain Marcello shook his head. "I still have a bottle of whiskey left. Go get it and wipe his upper body with a towel dipped in the whiskey. It should help."
Claude and Welikro used a towel soaked in whiskey to wipe down Eriksson's upper body. His fever seemed to have subsided a little and his breathing was much more stable.
Claude kicked Welikro and said, "Go take off your pants and boots and dry them on the stove.
Ike, let me look at him first. It'll be fine. "
Due to his anxiousness, Welikro realized that Eriksson had jumped straight into the sea when he was lying on the beach. His pants and boots were completely soaked, but he was too busy taking care of Eriksson that he didn't care about his own discomfort.
Welikro ignored Claude and sat on the edge of the bed looking at Eriksson.
"Hurry up and go. I don't want you to be like Eyke and be a sick person in bed!" Claude said angrily.
It was only then that Welikro stood up and went outside to take off his pants and boots to dry.
Claude sighed and went to the wood while Borkal busied himself in his shop.
In the end, Eriksson and Welikro were the only two left out of the four friends who spent most of their time together. Their friendship only grew deeper and deeper.
For instance, when Eriksson went out to sea alone without everyone knowing, Welikro blamed it on him, believing that it was because he wasn't there that Eriksson had to take the risk and he felt really guilty about it.
That was especially so when Eriksson fell to his knees and cried on the beach, thinking that Eriksson had met with misfortune. That was why he was overjoyed when Captain Marcello said that Eriksson was still alive and had merely fainted. He insisted on carrying Eriksson on his own and didn't even let Welikro help him.
It was fortunate that they managed to find Eriksson. If they didn't, Welikro would've blamed himself a lot.
There were six sails on Mildini's twin masts. In order to return to Whitestag faster, Captain Marcello even set up four jib sails. As a result, the boat rocked violently as it sailed through the waves.
Eriksson rubbed the whiskey off his face and waited for more than two hours. He started to feel cold all over and hugged his blanket as he shivered on the bed. Before he woke up, he kept muttering, "Cold … Cold …"
Claude and Welikro had already covered him with all the blankets on the boat, but it didn't help. Eriksson's teeth were still chattering from the cold.
Marcello came down to take a look and shook his head. "He's chilled to the bone. He'll start running a fever in two hours. It'll be a tough journey.
There's no medicine on the boat, so let's give him some whiskey to warm him up. Perhaps that'll make him feel better. That's the only thing we can do. "
After downing half a bottle of whiskey, Eriksson seemed to have calmed down a little and his teeth stopped chattering.
But not long after, his body temperature started rising again and his forehead started burning up.
Claude and Welikro had no choice but to remove the blanket from his body, wring the towel dry and put it on his forehead. Then, they used the towel soaked in whiskey to wipe his body.
Mildini finally docked at Eriksson's dock in the wee hours of the 24th November. Claude and Welikro were so exhausted that they looked like puddles of mud on the boat.
Not only did they not sleep for the entire night, they also had to keep an eye on Eriksson's movements at all times. Both of them had dark circles under their eyes.
Madam Eileen waited anxiously at the dock, but Captain Marcello still brought her good news. Eriksson was found!
The excited Madam Eileen wanted to run onto the boat even before it reached the dock, much to Captain Marcello's surprise. He hurriedly stopped her and told her that Eriksson had a fever and was in urgent need of a carriage to be sent to the apothecary for treatment.
Soon, Angus carried Eriksson off the boat and into the carriage. Captain Marcello and Madam Eileen also went to the apothecary.
Claude and Welikro were forgotten on the ship, but Colin went into the cabin to ask if they were getting off. Before Marcelo left, he and Welikro were instructed to return the ship to the public docks first and return it to the owner, Cyberbron.
Of course they were. The carriage from the wood was still parked at the dock.
When Claude and Welikro got off the boat, Pegg came to greet them from afar and asked them about the search for Eriksson.
Claude gave a brief explanation of what happened and thanked Pegg for taking care of Jack for the past few days. Then, he got into the carriage and sent Welikro home first before making an appointment to visit Eriksson the next morning.
As they drove the carriage to the wood, Claude smelled something burning in the air.
He looked in the direction of the wood and saw a few wisps of black smoke rising into the sky.
Is the wood on fire?
Claude's mind jolted. It was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him and he snapped out of it. He pulled on the reins and yelled, "Hyah!" as he drove the carriage towards the wood.
There's no fire?
Claude stood in the yard of the wood and looked around. The white mansion, the herbalism lab, the two-storey building and his own wooden hut didn't seem to be on fire. Even the Siori's chicken farm on the hill not far away seemed to be in good condition.
However, the smell of smoke in the air was definitely there. It's not like my nose is damaged.
Claude suddenly thought of the Siori couple and called out a few times, but no one answered.
If they're not here, where did they go?
If they're at the chicken farm, they should be able to hear me.
It was only then that Claude remembered his promise to the Siori couple to let them burn some coal for the winter.
He sniffed carefully and confirmed that it was indeed the smell of burning coal.
Could it be that they were burning charcoal?
It can't be. It's already been five days and the coal isn't done yet?
Right, the wisps of black smoke seemed to be above the stream. I should go and see what's going on.
Claude unhitched the carriage and saddled Jaimie, before mounting the horse and riding up the stream.
Then, he was stunned by the sight of bustling labor before him.
For some reason, he suddenly remembered Bai Juyi's "Charcoal Seller" that he had read in his previous life. How did the lines in the poem go? His face was the color of smoke and dust, his temples were gray, and his fingers were black …
The Siori couple before him had already turned into two black men. They were digging out charcoal from a pit at the foot of the hill and putting it into a big sack.
The bulging sacks had piled up into a small hill under a simple and crude rain shed …
It was a hill beside the stream that had been cleared out.
Some tree branches were used to build a simple canopy and the sacks filled with charcoal were piled up inside.
Beside the canopy was a large pit at the foot of the hill. That was the bread kiln used to burn charcoal.
As the name suggested, a bread kiln was made by digging a large pit and piling the firewood in the shape of a cone with a small fire path at the bottom. The top would be covered with dirt and a few air holes, making it look like a round loaf that had just come out of the oven. That was why it was called a bread kiln.
After lighting a fire, the fire path would be sealed and the firewood would be left to burn. When the time was right, water would be poured over the kiln to extinguish the fire and the dirt would be dug up to fill the pit with charcoal.
The Siori couple were obviously good at burning charcoal. At least eighty percent of the charcoal in the pit was up to standard.
Between the pit and the stream, there were quite a number of withered trees and chopped firewood.
The Siori couple were so busy that they didn't notice Claude's arrival.
It wasn't until Jemmie snorted twice in annoyance at the smell of smoke that the couple noticed Claude on his horse looking at them.
"Supervisor Claude, y-you're back," Siori hurriedly greeted.
Claude pointed at the sack of charcoal under the canopy. "What's going on?"
"Well, well …" Siori put on a fawning smile and said, "It's like this, Supervisor Claude. When I went to collect the dead wood and branches, I also cleaned up the miscellaneous trees in the wood. They're all old trees that are about to wither and die.
I thought it would be too much of a waste to just leave them there, so I brought them here to burn charcoal. "
Claude ignored him and clamped his legs together, sending Jemmy scurrying forward.
Claude rode his horse around the pile of firewood on the ground and examined them carefully. After confirming that they were all old and withered trees, he rode his horse back and pointed at the sacks piled up under the canopy. "Send two sacks to the storage room outside the villa in case the madam doesn't have any charcoal when they come over during the winter.
Send another sack to my hut. Deal with the rest yourself, got it? "
Siori nodded and bowed with a smile. "Of course, of course. I understand. I'll send it over later."
Claude turned his horse around and went back.
It was obvious that Siori and his wife were earning some extra income at the wood.
The charcoal alone could be sold for at least three to four thales in town.
However, he was clear-headed enough not to chop down any useful trees. Claude could at least turn a blind eye to the old and withered trees.
But if he were to chop down the trees to burn for charcoal, Claude would have no choice but to send the couple to jail.
It was Claude's responsibility to look after the wood. Be it in terms of law or rules, every blade of grass in the wood belonged to Madam Maria. She had inherited the barony title of Normanley and the wood in Whitestag.
As the supervisor appointed by Madam Maria, Siori and his wife couldn't do anything to the wood without his permission.
Even though the couple were also foresters, they still had to get Claude's approval for something as important as burning charcoal.