21 Limping Priest (2)

"Generally speaking, we only have one principle," said the priest named Kuraken. "But it basically applies to any situation."

Naero nodded, then bent down, hoisted a wet, heavy log onto his shoulder, turned, and set it on its "execution block."

It had soaked up water from the relentless rains of recent days and become much heavier. Experienced lumberjacks knew that logging and the cutting that followed depended not only on the type of tree, but also on whether the wood was wet or dry.

Dry wood was easy enough to deal with, but wet wood meant rolling up your sleeves and getting down to hard work.

Kuraken clearly understood this as well. He took a deep breath and gripped the axe. Only after making sure he was ready did he raise it at an angle, lift both hands high, and bring it down with force.

Bang!

Wood chips scattered in every direction, vanishing into the surrounding mist in the blink of an eye. The priest planted a foot on his temporary enemy, rocked the axe back and forth to pull it free, stepped back, and raised it at an angle again.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

After three successive powerful chops, the wet log finally split in two with a harsh, grating crack. Kuraken lowered his axe and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, while Naero had already carried over the next log.

Four hours later, they drove a truck slowly down the mountain and returned to a wooden cabin halfway up the slope.

Sniffling, the priest in his thick cotton coat jumped down from the truck and began unloading with Naero.

They had brought down so much wood that it filled the entire clearing before the cabin, enough even to serve as a temporary barricade. But none of