Day 276: paper for maps

Day 276:

Well, I ran out of paper, which definitely puts a crimp on the map production.

And I ran out of paper because I ran out of paper supplies.

I spent the day today harvesting the bamboo or cane or whatever it is down by the waterfront, then boiling the hell out of it.

(It’s kind of sugary, and now I’m trying to figure out if I can make sugar crystals out of the water.)

Once the fibers are suitably boiled, they unroll almost like a scroll anyway, and that means I can lay them out and press them and turn them into really low-quality paper.

At least the boiling I can do outside, so I’m not covered in both soot and sugar.

Day 275: maps

Day 275:

Spent the day updating my maps and I have to say this is getting to be a ridiculous part of my life. There’s an entire room dedicated to paper and paper-making equipment, and since the caverns are always a bit on the dank side, trying to get anything to dry involves fire and chimneys and soot.

On the other hand, getting permanently lost isn’t so great either, so I end up drawing the maps, memorizing them in the process, and hoping I don’t remember them wrong when I go digging. Because it’s not like I can carry an entire book of maps with me either.

What I’d give for an info tablet or a computer of any type!

Day 274: Back where I started

Day 274: I finally reinforced this chamber all the way back to where I started, so I took a few hours to harvest the cane by the water near my primary entrance.

I think maybe I can turn it into sugar? It seems kind of starchy and sugary and sweet. And so far nothing here has poisoned me. (Then again, I haven’t tried the puffer fish.)

To find out, I think I’m going to need to forge a pot.

I wish I knew how to make a sand cast.

Day 273: boring digging

Day 273:

The only thing wrong with reinforcing tunnels is it’s super super boring.

Like, it’s prepping-to-paint boring. Or worse, it’s peeling-off-all-the-tape-after-painting boring.

I would rather be doing almost anything else. There’s nothing to find, nothing to bring home… it’s mostly just open space and timbers and walls and torches.

It makes me tired.

I’ve run out of songs I can remember from back on the ship, so I’m starting to sing old folk songs and stuff.

That boring.

Day 272: Looping back

Day 272: I dug into a cavern I’d dug out before, so now I’m heading back the way I came to actually polish it into a properly shaped and structured cavern.

I don’t have to, I guess, but it’s safer and easier to have a structure you can count on than it is to leave stalactites and fractions of walls all over the place.

And if I’ve dug into a place twice already, not only does that mean that it’s a place that is near valuable things, it also means that I’ve already damaged its natural stability twice as well.

So best to reinforce it, even if it means working backwards to a certain extent.