Chapter 16: Groundwater
"Finally done. What do you think, Adaline?" Will dusted his hands off. His eyes glowed brightly as he looked at the marvelous creation in front of him. It was as if he had created the new Mona Lisa.
In front of him, was what appeared to be a stone house. Calling it a 'house' would be a complement. It looked like something out of a scary movie where a witch would live.
The house was leaning on one side. It had no windows, a crappy wooden door that was somehow misplaced. It was only one story tall, and very small, like the size of a crappy hotel room, but with no bathrooms at all.
Adaline was glad that she couldn't speak and voice her opinion. Otherwise Will's self esteem would crumble to dust. She's a creature and she has seen trees that are more suitable to live in than that crappy building.
Will knew that in his heart this was garbage. But it was also his garbage.
"I know how to make bathrooms, but I just don't have the materials in me to make them. Maybe I should have stored up on toilet paper after all."
Will had forgotten that once the virus hit his world, there was a toilet paper massacre, only God knows why that's a thing. The one thing he needed to do was store up mountains of toilet paper. He hadn't learned his lesson.
One hundred years from now, people will look back in the history books in the beginning 2020 and they will ask themselves one question... 'why'?.
"Food will also be a problem. I wonder if I can do something about this."
Will kneeled on the ground. A few hours ago it was nothing but dry land. But acres of land was now covered in lively, green grass. This made him think that it was possible to grow some food.
"I don't even have seeds on me. Just how unprepared am I?"
'Note to self: make a goddamn list of things I will need before leaving on an adventure.'
"Adaline, is it possible for you to grow some good or something? Like wheat, berries or something?"
Adaline looked at Will. She didn't know what he meant.
"Right, you're merely a month old now. So there are probably some things that you don't know about your given skills."
Will thought how it was hilarious that he was asking for help from a month old creature. But to be fair she isn't like other 1 month old monsters out there.
Even he doesn't know much about her. He can't even rely on his bestiary. Just a few hours ago it wrote down new things about her that he didn't even know. It must be because it needs to meet some conditions in order for the bestiary to be filled, like how right after Adaline displayed her ability to produce grass, the book wrote it down.
"Seeds… how about this?" Will took out from the chest a seed, it wasn't a regular seed.
{Exotic flower seed}
{Used to grow exotic flowers}
So far Adaline has produced many exotic flowers, but only one exotic flower seed. Meaning that the odds of getting a flower seed is slim.
Currently he has no idea what the exotic flower does, other than used to brew potions. But what if it had other uses like making food?
The book also didn't help him. He guessed that he either has to brew a potion using the exotic flower, or eat the potion.
The flower looked like an ordinary sunflower, only longer, with long, blue-glowing pedals, and the disk was dark. It had no noticeable roots. And the stem was glowing a pink-purplish light. The flower was wiggling, like a snake, as if it had a mind of its own.
"How do I even grow seeds? Do I need water? Of course I do! Then again this is not an ordinary flower… gah, this is hard! Why don't I have someone here to guide me?! Even having the annoying Navi here would be fine!"
(Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time reference)
As time went on, the more he realized just how unprepared he was. Before he left he should have at least learned how to grow food. Will thought that he could just go along with it, and he was so wrong.
He left the iron chest inside his house, and also placed his bed. This way if he dies he would at least spawn with his stuff in his new crappy house. He still doesn't know if he dies with his stuff on him it'll spawn with him or without him, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
The only thing on him was another iron chest that had his tools, his gun, and ammo.
"Adaline, let's go for a walk."
Will got on top of Adaline and they rode off into the distance.
Adaline made sure that she didn't run further than she could sense the patch of grass that she made, otherwise they will really be lost.
Meanwhile…
"Come on, Sam. I promise I'll make it up to you." July pleaded to her brother, who was still sulking in the corner of the room. Somehow July was able to break inside the bunker.
"..." Sam kept quiet, not even sparing a glance on her.
Jack wanted to say something, but wasn't sure what he had to say. His mother just ruined his uncle's chance of becoming a master blacksmith, a dream to any blacksmith.
This has been going on for hours now.
"Sam, I am sorry for what I did. But you can't really stay mad at me forever, could you?"
"How bout till I'm dead?" Sam got up and proceeded to walk away from the bunker.
"Sam." July reached out to his arm, but he flung his arm away.
"This isn't the first time you've ruined something because of your bad timing."
"Oh come on, that was years ago."
"I'm still hurt! You ruined my one chance of having a relationship! And now she's with some rich guy who sells potions."
"Trust me when I say this, Sam, you dodged a bullet. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it."
"Ugh!" Sam angrily stomped outside the bunker with July running after him.
"Sam, I can pay you back for the mistakes I've created."
"Pay me back? No offense, but even if you worked for years, you wouldn't be able to pay back 10% of what you destroyed. I mean, you moved to that new village because other blacksmith shops from the other villages were doing better than you, and selling them cheaper as well. You couldn't make enough money there so you had no choice but to move far away. Mom is even paying you some of her share to support the both of you. You're a good blacksmith, but you will only be a good blacksmith."
"Really? Grandma is giving us the money she makes from the hotel?" Jack added.
"Ummmm…" July had no idea what to say.
"So wait, we're poor? Can we even continue to afford the blacksmith shop? Are we just throwing money down the drain by buying so many ores?"
"Jack…"
While they were still arguing, two elves were listening attentively.
"What are they arguing about?" Asked Arbor.
"Basic human stuff. It's always about money and money."
The sound of a horse trotting got closer and louder to them. A man wearing black leather clothing nailed some papers on the gate of the village, and left soon after.
Grace read the paper. And what she read shocked her.
"Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"I think Radix and Rias are in trouble."
"Why do you say that?"
Grace pointed to the poster.
"It says that the village was attacked during the day of the black sun. Many people went missing, the mayor of that village is missing, many knights were missing as well. Only one corpse was retrieved, but no one knows who he was. That man had his head blown out by a gun. Nobody remembers how or who did this. Every villager there is completely clueless. This is the same village where Radix and Rias are."
"I'll go check." Arbor touched a tree and listened carefully.
Grace looked at the family still arguing with each other, mostly about money problems..
"Hey, hey, humans!"
Her words merely entered through one ear and exited the other. No one paid attention to her.
"You also took my teddy bear."
"That was when we were kids."
"I COULDN'T SLEEP WITHOUT MY MR. CUDDLES!"
"Mom, why didn't you tell me we were broke. I could have helped you."
"HEY!"
Grace shouting spooked them.
"What is it?" Asked July.
"Read this." Grace handed them the poster which she ripped out from the gate.
The three read it all at once. And their eyes popped out of their sockets.
"We've gotta go back now!"
"I have some horses. Just try not to mess it up this time, July." Sam went to the other side to the village to get some horses.
Jack wished that Will was here right now. Adaline could make it to the other village in a few hours, but it will take 3-4 days by any other means of transportation.
He also examined his fancy enchanted shirt. Jack wondered how much it could sell for to help his mother.
"Also, here."
Grace handed July the arrows that she stole from her shop.
"I'm too good for those crappy arrows. You can have them back."
"Thanks." July placed the arrows somewhere safe.
When Grace heard about their money problems, she felt that she should give her back her arrows. Grace will forever hate humans and nothing will make her change her mind about it. But since July brought them here to help them find the Adalis, she could at least return the arrows to July.
Although the arrows almost sold for nothing, it was something.
"Mom, here." Jack also handed her mother something.
"Jack? Where did you get this money?"
Jack handed his mother 9 silver coins. It was the money that Will gave him in order to use it to travel to his home. He already spent 1 silver coin on food and transportation.
"From a friend."
"The same one who took you?"
"He didn't kidnap me, mom. I offered to help him. And we also traveled to the kingdom of Reyes and got to see incredible things."
"Wait, that's the last place you two went?" Asked Grace.
"Oops." Jack covered his mouth. He gave them a clue to Will's location.
"You went to the kingdom? Don't you realize that travelling to the kingdom from our home is dangerous?"
"I've wanted to see the place where the heroes were summoned ever since I was a kid."
"After we've helped your grandmother, we'll have a serious talk."
Sam returned with 2 horses. July and Jack got on the same horse and sped off as fast as they could, with Sam following from behind.
Sam has some ties with the person who gave him the two horses, which is how he was able to rent them.
The donkey that July used to travel was roaming around eating grass. July left it because a horse is much faster than riding a mule. They need to get back to their village as soon as possible.
"It seems that Radix and Rias have made it home safely." Arbor said.
"Thank god. Also the Adalis was last spotted in the kingdom of Reyes."
"Reyes? Oh, that's not good." Arbor got worried.
"Not only is it far away, but our disguises will be seen through. Going to that place is not an option."
"What else can we do? The forest doesn't know where the Adalis is… wait a minute, that's it!" Arbor took out a map from his pocket. His eyes glowed brightly as he just realized something important.
"What is it, dad?"
"The forest doesn't know where the Adalis is, which can only mean one thing, that it is not near any forest. The kingdom and the Empire and many other spots are surrounded by trees, if the Adalis had stayed in any of those places, the trees would have known where the Adalis went."
"But they don't know where the Adalis went."
"Exactly. Which means that the Adalis must be somewhere around… here." Arbor pointed on a spot that was deserted.
"Grace, this is the only spot where they could have gone."
"What about the black mountains?" Grace pointed to another spot of the map.
"It seems very unlikely that the human brought the Adalis there. It's too far away, and it is also home to the most powerful monsters. Even if the human doesn't know it, the Adalis is smart enough to never go near that place."
"But that deserted place covers almost 1 million kilometers. It'll take us weeks to get there, plus even more time to search the entire area, and it'll take us a long time to return home."
"I know. Which is why I am going by myself."
"What?"
"Grace, go back home. You're entirely right, it'll take us too long to get there, and we will probably run out of food and water before we even get there. I can make the trip and back without too much trouble. But if we both go, it'll be troublesome."
"Dad, I won't let you do this by yourself."
"It's fine. Let Lea guide you back to home."
Arbor got on top of the mule that July left behind.
"I love you. Stay safe." Arbor kicked the mule and the mule ran at full speed.
Grace stayed behind and looked at her father getting further away from her.
Not obeying her father at all, she went inside the bunker, Sam's house, and searched everywhere for stuff.
"That man had a good amount of food, but most of it was made out of meat. This should be enough food and water to last me for a good amount of time."
She took a backpack from the house, and lots of water and food as well.
Grace touched one of the trees.
"Please guide me to my father's location. He can't take back the Adalis alone."
Gentle soft whispers were overlapping one another, but Grace could hear them all perfectly.
"Thanks, Lea."
Grace began running at a rhythmic pace behind her father's trail.
Arbor was right. Adding more people to retrieve the Adalis is more troublesome. It was better for him to know that her daughter would be safe and sound in their home village, protected, rather than being in the middle of nowhere, and facing dangers every night.
Grace however thought that her father needed her. He couldn't even hold a proper conversation with a human, so what if the human that took the Adalis would mistake him for a thief and shoot him?
She has no doubts about her father's capabilities to survive. But her father forgot something important, the human that took her wasn't ordinary, at least according to him. So it meant that the human should not be underestimated, as he could be dangerous or a really powerful sorcerer.
With worry and doubt in her heart, she will not be at ease until she sees her father doing well.
Meanwhile…
"Stop, girl, that's enough."
Will stopped Adaline in her tracks. They were still in the middle of nowhere.
"Just how big is this place? We've been running for almost an hour, and there's no signs of life."
Will covered his eyes with his arm. The scorching heat of the sun was getting unbearable, like being in a scorching desert.
"You thirsty?" Will offered Adaline some water and he took some sips as well.
At this rate, they will be out of water in a matter of days.
He took out the crumpled map out of his pocket and examined it. It was useless, but it was the only map he had.
"I wonder what the hell happened here. 200 years ago this place was green, with a giant river travelling across the entire area. But now there is nothing."
200 years ago it was indeed a wonderful place to live. But over time the entire area changed, until it was uninhabitable, nothing lives here.
"Crap!"
Will tripped on a crack and fell face flat.
"These damn cracks. Come on Adaline, let's go back to our base."
They returned back to their base thanks to Adaline. Will sat down on a patch of grass. But the sun kept irritating him.
"Okay, that does it."
Will took out his pickaxe and started to mine the entire area, which was mostly rocks with cracks on it.
He gathered all the rocks he could mine and made a roof providing him and Adaline a nice shade.
It was merely a thin stone, roof being supported by 4 stone pillars.
"That's better." Will lied on the patch of grass. He was tired already.
"This is not going to go well for us. We need a source of food and water, something which I should have done before we left... "
Hey held tightly onto a patch of grass. It was very green and fresh. Will just noticed something off about the grass.
"Adaline, won't the grass dry up without water?"
Adaline nodded.
"Are you using water to keep the grass fresh?"
Adaline shook her head.
"Are you saying that there's water here?"
Adaline nodded.
Will looked everywhere, but it was all dried up land.
"Where?"
Adaline stomped on the ground 3 times.
Will placed his ear on the ground, but heard nothing.
"Is there actually water under us?"
Adaline nodded her head.
Will took out his pickaxe and began mining once more. He dug 2 meters below the ground. It was very physical and tiring work, it was nothing like playing video games.
He placed his ear down, and heard water flowing, it was a faint sound but it was there.
"There is water down there. Help me mine it!" Will felt excited.
It is true that the water disappeared from the area, but not entirely. Water trickled into the cracks and crevices between the rocks due to the rain, or because of the river. This is what is known as 'groundwater' it is a very important water source that many people use.
Will forgot that in both minecraft and Terraria there is also water underground. He merely forgot about this fact and did not consider it a possibility.
When he saw just how fresh the grass is, he began to think that there might be water, otherwise the grass would have dried up even a little bit.
After excavating for a while, the water that travelled beneath them was getting louder and louder.
And they finally found water.
"Yes, it's here!" Will tasted the water by gathering it with a leather bottle.
"It's fresh and cool. Perfect."
Now his water source was taken care of. But there was still one problem, food. How was he going to solve this problem? He'll figure it out somehow.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
DemonGodHiatus
DemonGodHiatus The next few chapters will be about building and crafting.
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