I Built This City Chapter 38: Chapter 38

Read chapter 38 of I Built This City by ThePudding on NovelPedia.

Mason Ellen Autumn had turned to early winter, and with it the weather had become more brutal. Ellen was no stranger to cold and snow, but the house she had grown up in was more modern and carefully-constructed. The new home was more primitive, especially without the benefit of internal walls. Two stone pillars helped support the ridge beam above, though only the first floor’s worth were actual stone. Wooden beams had been needed to prop up the main supporting beam the rest of the way, and Ellen was wary of that despite Carpenter Ellen’s reassurances. Not that this structure of a house was strange, but when everyone was still Tier 2 in their Class, they aren’t hardened professionals yet. Implementing it all correctly was going to be difficult. Ellen had repaired the pillars and what damage she’d found in the walls. Once she had progressed to Hearthmaker , various flaws and damage that had been considered minor and inconsequential to her before now stood out painfully. Her mortar had been ready faster than expected, but even using it to patch and repoint the damage was imperfect. Once applied, it would need to set… and being in the cold mountain winter had made that much, much more difficult. She was pretty sure they got it all done in time, but now that the temperature had dropped, they’d be finding out very fast. If the mortar hadn’t set properly before that freeze, it would be crumbling early. “Got it!” Apprentice Ellen hopped down from tying off another hide to the rafters above. She held out her arms, helping Healer Ellen down with a soft ‘oof’ of catching the other girl, then setting her to the floor. The sharply-peaked roof left a lot of empty air up above, so Ellen had suggested using some of Hunter Ellen’s less pleasant-looking pelts and some cheaper purchased cloth to make a ceiling above. It wasn’t perfect, but it would slow the heat loss. Ellen thumped the door frame and nodded. “How’s it looking from out there?” Through the door, Carpenter Ellen called out an answer. “I think we’ve gotten it!” Sealing the frame was the last big job they had, and it had finally been finished. Ellen stood back and shivered as Carpenter slipped through the door and quickly shut it behind her. The wood had been covered in pelts from the inside, attempting to add insulation to the simple wood that made up the door. The Settlement Interface showed the Longhouse as being 87% functional now, and that was a huge step up. Apparently anything above 80% was acceptable as being a finished building, so now everything else was just winter-proofing. Tonight was the big test, since a light flurry of snow had started outside about an hour ago. If their thatching were really correct, that shouldn’t be a problem at all. Ellen was pretty sure the chimney was fine, as well. It had taken a lot of work to get that safe and functional. It had looked fine, but inspection had shown quite a few cracks and flaws in the old masonry. Repointing it had been more hurried than she’d liked, but Apprentice Ellen was surprisingly helpful once she stopped playing with the flue. The forced air through it had been annoying, but she'd belatedly realized the draft from the 'goofing off' had helped find some of the cracks to be addressed. It had been worth it, though. A fire crackled in the fireplace, radiating warmth over the large room. The tent was no longer needed, allowing the ever-growing ‘bed’ of furs and bedrolls to be pulled nearer to the hearth, where they could all sleep near the embers. The kitchen area nearby had plenty of pots and boxes—no cabinets or cupboards yet, but that would come in time. The stone floor had been cleaned and a few pelts turned into rugs. More pelts than just Hunter Ellen could provide… but that, once more, would be fixed in time. “The fire is going, it’s safe to shut the window,” Ellen told the others, settling before the fire to rub her sides for warmth. Even inside it was cold… at the moment. With the window shut, the last major source