Kain stood in the center of what would be his new home, dust floating visibly in the air under the beams of light that came through the holes in the roof. The floorboards creaked under his weight as he shifted, but they felt solid enough. That, at least, was something.

He pulled a worn leather journal from his pack, a habit from his mercenary days when tracking expenses and supplies could mean the difference between eating and starving. Time to assess exactly what he'd gotten himself into.

"Right," he muttered, fishing out the last stub of a pencil he had on him. "Let's see what we're dealing with."

The main room was spacious enough, maybe twenty paces by fifteen. The fireplace basically covered one wall. The stonework was rough and weathered, but still intact.

Kain grabbed a fallen branch from outside and approached the fireplace. He poked the stick up the chimney and jabbed it around. A bunch of old twigs, leaves, and what looked suspiciously like the remains of an old bird's nest came loose. He covered his mouth with his sleeve as dust and soot filled the air.

"At least nothing's living in there now," he said, stepping back to let the air clear. The stick came away covered in black residue.

He crouched down to examine the firebox itself. The iron grate had rusted through in spots, but the basic structure remained sound. His stick scraped against something in the back corner.

Kain reached in and pulled out a small metal box, its surface corroded and caked with ash. The lid refused to budge at first, then gave way with a screech.

Inside lay a handful of copper coins, green with age, and what might have been a child's toy soldier. It was hardly recognizable.

"Someone's old hiding spot," he muttered. "You mattered to somebody once. I'll take care of you."

He poked around a little more and more soot came down. The chimney would need a good cleaning before he could start a fire. He put it down on the list at the top.

Clean the Fireplace & Chimney

Kain went to the kitchen next where a large, though mostly rusted, iron pot still hung from a hook over the hearth. He walked over and gave it a slight push.

He winced at the grinding sound that followed. "Yeah, that's not going to work at all."

Kain ran his hand along the kitchen counter. The wooden surface underneath seemed solid enough once he scraped away some of the dirt with his knife. If I clear away the grime and sand it back down, it should be okay, he thought.

He added it to his list.

Sand and treat counter

Then he moved on.

The cabinets hung crooked on their hinges. He bent low and tried to open one up to see what was inside. It cracked and came off in his hand. He peered inside and found mouse droppings scattered across empty shelves.

"Honestly, not the worst thing I could have found."

He added that to his list too.

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Fix cabinet doors

Deal with mice

Kain moved to the sink next. He grabbed the handle of the hand pump. "Let's see if you still work."

The handle resisted at first, years of disuse and rust adding resistance. He put some elbow grease into it, and finally, it suddenly gave way and didn't give him any more trouble.

Up, down, up, down, up, down he tried to work the handle, but there was only a kind of hollow empty sound.

"Great."

He dropped to his knees and looked into the dark space beneath the sink. The musty smell of old wood followed and something else, similar to the smell of a rock cave.

Eventually, he found the first of the problems. There was a clean break that separated the pipe, and beneath, dark stains had spread out across the wood, half rot, half mold, all from the countless drops of water that had come down the broken pipe from the well.

There were no recent signs of water.

"Though, I'm guessing the well isn't doing too good either since the water seems to have dried up. Simple enough fix, I think. I just need the right pieces."

He added to his growing list of problems to manage.

Replace the wood and fix the sink pipes

Check the condition of the well

Kain moved to the brick oven built into the far wall. There were several broken pieces of mortar that had crumbled and come off, leaving holes between the bricks, and several more of the bricks had worked loose around the edges with a couple fallen to the ground.

He crouched down and looked inside with his hands on his knees. The interior was black with old soot, but the dome looked solid. No obvious cracks or missing pieces.

"Could still work. Might need to replace some of the outer bricks though."

He put that down too.

Repair loose bricks around oven

He went over to the pantry next. The heavy wooden door to the pantry wouldn't move when he tried to open it. Kain threw his shoulder into it and it burst open.

The hinges tore partially free from the rotted frame. Then he tumbled into a room full of stale air. Empty shelves lined the walls, coated in dust and cobwebs.

A few broken clay jars lay scattered across the floor, and whatever had been inside them had rotted away with time.

Something moved in the corner. A mouse looked straight at him before darting into the kitchen.

"Great. More unwanted tenants."

Kain's boots scuffed against something that didn't feel right. He dropped to one knee and brushed away decades of dust from the floorboards. The wood gave a bit under the pressure, soft and spongy.

"Damn." He pressed harder and a chunk crumbled away. "Water damage. Probably from that broken pipe."

He stood and tested each board with his weight. Several spots flexed and groaned. Near the far corner, the resistance gave way completely as his boot cracked the board all together.

"Perfect. Add that to the list." He yanked his boot free, then added that to his list.

Replace rotted floorboards

He looked around to see if he'd missed anything, then caught sight of a burlap sack, more holes than fabric at this point. Kain grabbed it to throw it away, then saw a metal ring.

"Hello, what's this?"

He cleared the dust away and found a trapdoor set into the floor. The wood looked sturdier than the rest, probably oak instead of pine, something reinforced and meant to last.

The iron ring was cold in his hand as he pulled. The door resisted, then gave way with a groan of rusty hinges. Stale air wafted up from the darkness below.

"At least the previous owner thought ahead. Good spot for storing vegetables... once I actually have some to store."

He added that to the list as well.

Check out root cellar

Kain moved to the back door. The wood had warped with age and had swollen in places from moisture. The iron handle hung loose, barely attached.

He gave it a tentative push. The back door refused to open more than halfway before scraping against the floor. Kain knelt to examine the bottom edge. The ground was scratched where it had been forced open.

"Come on." He shoved harder. This time, the door just opened and spilled out into the back.

Kain squinted against the brightness and stepped onto what remained of the back porch.

The wooden planks sagged beneath his weight. Several boards had rotted through completely, leaving gaps that exposed the dirt below. The roof overhead wasn't much better.

He tested each step carefully as he made his way to the railing. What was left of it, anyway. Most of the posts had either fallen away or stood at odd angles, their bases eaten away by time and weather.

"Well, that's another thing for the list." He pulled out his journal again and added:

Fix the back door

Rebuild back porch

There was a crash behind him and the door gave out, crashing to the ground.

"Make that 'replace immediately.'"