Chapter seven.

Descent into the abyss.

Instead of two days, three days passed, and we did not approach the cave a single step. No matter how hard Ricard tried, he did not succeed in completing all the preparations for the deadline set by me. The required amount of rope was not found and we had to weave it from young shoots of the temlis bush, which, fortunately for us, grows abundantly nearby. The stiff stems of temlis yielded poorly, they had to be soaked in water for a long time and only then twisted into bundles.

While Ricard was preparing for the descent, I had to shoulder all the hardships of managing myself. Glory to the Creator, the people I appointed turned out to be intelligent and sharp-witted. They solved most of the difficulties without me and only in the most difficult cases asked for help.

In my opinion, the preparation of food for the winter was too slow, and I mercilessly drove poor Litas. According to the chief hunter, the main difficulty was not the search for pre