Clink
The singular sound of stone striking stone echoed through the quiet forest. Tracing the noise to its source revealed a woman in primitive dress, working at the clay with a stone shovel.
"Urgh shit I hit another rock."
Zoe bent down to pry the rock from the clay before tossing it aside. With a firm step on the shovel's top, she drove it deeper into the ground. The clay squelched as she twisted the wooden handle, pulling free a large chunk. After lifting her loaded shovel, she tipped the heavy mass onto an already substantial pile atop a wooden sled.
The shovel landed atop the pile as she moved to the front of the sled and picked up a thick strap from the ground. After wrapping the widest part around her waist, Zoe began to pull. At first, the sled moved slowly while her feet sank deep into the soil, but gradually picked up speed.
As she settled into a steady pace, her feet dug into the earth while dragging the sled along the clearest path back to base. The journey along the river filled her ears with rushing water and chirping birds, a pleasant backdrop to her racing thoughts.
Inside her mind, various furnace designs circulated rapidly until a sudden realization struck.
"Dang I need metal parts to finish my proper furnace. I guess I need to make a basic furnace first."
With a sigh, Zoe finally reached her camp. The clay was dragged to the riverside where she began shaping it into a hollow dome. Careful attention ensured the walls remained thick with plenty of air holes throughout.
Once the temporary furnace was complete, she filled it with wood and lit it. Leaving the clay to set properly, Zoe turned her attention to another project.
Several wooden moulds were set out on flat ground as she grabbed a small shovel from nearby. Scooping up clay, she dropped it into the rectangular mould, pressed it firmly into the corners, and smoothed it off. This process continued until sunset, by which time twenty-seven brick moulds sat full and waiting. Only a tiny pile of clay remained—not quite enough for more bricks.
After checking her makeshift furnace and tossing in more logs, Zoe stretched her limbs before jogging over to her camp where spare bamboo awaited. From the hollow plants, she selected two pieces of roughly the same size that slotted together nicely.
Night fell as she settled by the fire with her materials and a small blade in hand. Through the darkness, she worked meticulously, slicing the bamboo to create tiny flaps and small grooves. By morning, a pile of carefully crafted parts sat ready for assembly.
Multiple air pumps came together quickly as she worked. Wolf fat greased the edges of the piston head, forming a more airtight and slippery seal. Testing revealed the flaps lifted when air was sucked in and sealed shut when pushed out through the small hole in the bottom.
"Nice that worked well, now to get it finished so I can add them to my furnace."
Knitting together some partially cured leather from the wolves into airtight pipes she attached them to the pump. By lunchtime, ten pumps stood in working condition.
Dusting off her hands and stretching a bit, Zoe gathered the pumps and jogged back to the river where she set them beside the forge. A glance between the pumps and clay furnace revealed a critical oversight.
"Shit I'm completely out of order with this. I don't have much iron, I don't have any way to operate this many pumps, and I don't have any moulds set up."
Groaning aloud, she swayed back and forth while muttering complaints. Eventually, a reluctant sigh marked her decision to tackle what she could.
"Okay let's see, to operate the pumps I can make a few gears to convert the water wheel's rotational motion into linear back and forth movement."
"For the moulds those should be easy, all I need to do is make a rectangular box and stuff it full of sand from the beach, then I can carve out the designs."
"Finally for the iron I should test whether my hunch is correct—it's about time I go explore the mountain, it's midday though so I can do that tomorrow."
Her voice broke the relative silence as she continued. "I reckon for the moment I'll go down to the beach, I can gather some shells to turn into calcium hydroxide I might even be able to find some kelp."
With a nod to herself, she checked her waistband for tools. Finding her axe, knife, and hammer in place, along with her spear on her back and several pouches scattered across her body, Zoe realized one item was missing.
"I need to grab my bag so I can gather more resources."
A light jog took her through camp on the way to the beach, where she grabbed her new leather backpack. While weaving through the trees, her mind catalogued every statue she passed.
After a few minutes, the tree line broke to reveal the beach. Walking to the closest rock, Zoe stripped off her outfit, leaving only her underwear. Some jumping around warmed her muscles before she rushed toward the surf and dove into the waves. Cold water washed over her head as she twisted toward the surface, breaking through to stand on the sandy bottom.
Taking a deep breath, she dove under again. Her arms pumped, cutting through the water with ease. Swimming out into deeper water, she surfaced briefly for air before diving straight down.
The pressure increased along her body as she descended meter by meter toward the distant floor. Just before landing, she spun to brace her legs against the sand.
'Well I suppose having a denser body comes in handy for sinking, good thing I learned to float early on.'
With a mental chuckle, she surveyed the calm waters around her. Tall kelp reached for the surface like forest canopies, while complex reef ecosystems teemed with life around their bases. As she walked along the bottom, her eyes adjusted to see clearly through the water.
Among the rocks, she collected shells and stuffed them into her waist pouch. With her blade, she cut through the kelp at its base, sending it floating to the surface, occasionally wrapping the buoyant kelp around her collection of shells to float them up to the surface. The material gathering continued for hours as the sky dimmed above.
During her underwater exploration, Zoe encountered a variety of marine life, many bearing odd mutations that barely resembled known species. One peculiar fish caught her attention—similar to an inflated pufferfish but with a unique defensive mechanism.
When threatened, the creature ejected small spines that rapidly dissolved in water, releasing tremendous heat that boiled the surrounding liquid she also saw the liquid eating through anything it touched.
Rising to the surface again, she gasped for air while gazing toward the horizon. Mental notes filed away her observations as she considered potential uses for these strange reactions, promising herself to capture specimens once proper safety equipment was available.
'Looks like it's time to head back, something I'll have to investigate though will be these peculiar mutations I've noticed.'
The swim back to shore included gathering the floating kelp, which required several trips to pile on the beach. After bagging her shells and dressing again, Zoe checked that the kelp remained safely beyond the tide's reach before jogging home.
Back at camp, she made a woodpile and scattered the shells throughout before lighting it with a stick from nearby. The flames quickly engulfed the shells as fatigue began to set in. Her stomach rumbled, prompting a trip to the smokehouse for meat. While chewing, she organized her materials until another yawn signalled bedtime.
'I should get to bed; I've got to work on the furnace in the morning.'
The treehouse welcomed her as she flopped onto her bed and quickly fell asleep.
Morning arrived with cool breezes under the night sky. After stretching, Zoe headed to her workbench and grabbed her best obsidian blade. The slow, meticulous process of crafting gears occupied her until sunrise. Despite small deformities in the cogs, the two completed gears looked functional.
"I've really got to get some sand so I can properly heat treat the wood, I'll put these aside for now."
The gears were stored safely in her shelter as she moved on to the next task. Always industrious, she rarely allowed herself rest. With pickaxe and spear in hand, her gaze turned toward the looming mountain.
"Well let's go mountaineering."
A light jog took her across the bamboo bridge spanning the river. Upon reaching the rocky terrain surrounding the mountain, closer inspection revealed thin reddish-brown veins running through the stones.
"Nice it looks like there is some iron here, now I just need to look for a larger deposit."
Several hours spent circling the mountain yielded no substantial deposits. Even more puzzling was the absence of magnetite.
"Hhm where is the iron? The fact I saw multiple lightning strikes here indicates the presence of a large ore deposit somewhere nearby, the better question is where?"
Her gaze lifted toward the distant peak as an idea formed.
"Maybe... maybe there's more iron up the mountain? Might as well check."
The tedious hike up the mountain began. Circling around, she climbed over rocks and fallen trees in her quest for higher ground. More iron appeared in the surrounding rocks as she ascended.
Eventually, the mountain became too steep for regular walking.
"I guess I'm going to be climbing."
After removing her heavy cloak and dropping her tools, Zoe kept only her small blade. Careful eyes searched for proper handholds among the steep rock face. Deep eroded cracks running up through the tough rock offered the best option.
Stepping up she dug her hand into a crack, flexing her fingers to secure her grip. The other hand followed suit before she wedged one foot sideways into the crack. By straightening her ankle as much as possible, the pressure from the rock held her foot firmly in place as she moved her lower hand upward.
Hand over hand, foot over foot, she climbed higher as the wind intensified. Looking up, she noticed a cave entrance with faint sounds coming from within.
With furrowed brows, she continued climbing until reaching the cave. As she peered over the edge, her eyes widened in shock as time seemed to slow.
Multiple details registered simultaneously—half-eaten crow remains scattered about and, more alarmingly, an eagle mid-dive with talons extended toward her.
Though her muscles flexed and her body tried to move within the slowed time, the eagle's advance proved too swift. Its talons glinted ominously in the afternoon light just before impact.
In real time, Zoe jerked suddenly as the eagle struck. Blood sprayed from a deep wound as she lost her handhold. Careening backward, blood flowed into her eye while rock fragments pelted her body. The fall stopped abruptly when her ankle caught in the crack, producing a sickening crack.
A scream of pain escaped as her muscles tensed instinctively, aggravating the wounds. Meanwhile, the eagle circled for another attack. Pure adrenaline flooded her system, sharpening her mind despite the agony.
Her hand flew to her waist and drew the knife. Eyes locked onto the approaching predator as it adjusted its flight path to avoid hitting the rock. The bird maintained visual contact while soaring toward her at tremendous speed, talons positioned forward.
With tensed muscles, Zoe executed a perfect ab crunch at the last moment. Her body yanked against her broken ankle as she barely dodged the attack.
As the eagle soared beneath her and quickly adjusted its flight, opportunity presented itself. Holding her knife in a reverse grip, she slammed the blade directly into the bird's spine.
The knife nearly tore from her grasp as the massive bird pulled away, but her grip held firm. Her entire body yanked along as the blade sliced through the eagle's back. Another scream tore from her lips as the motion ground the broken bones in her ankle, but the eagle suffered worse—its entire back split open with blood pouring freely.
At the limit of her reach, the blade pulled free and the eagle tumbled onto the rocks far below.
Dangling upside down, Zoe panted heavily as blood rushed to her head and her heart pounded. Carefully, she returned the blade to her belt without further disturbing her ankle.
With both hands free, she reached behind to dig her fingers into the rock. The stone cracked and shifted beneath her grip as she squeezed. After dropping the loose pieces, she inserted her fingers into the newly created holes.
Deep breaths steadied her as she carefully raised herself in a motion similar to a handstand—except over fifty meters above ground and with minimal support.
Moving deliberately, she bit her lip against the pain as her broken ankle shifted. After raising herself as high as possible, she attempted a risky manoeuvre.
With enough slack in her broken leg, she lifted her good leg above it and carefully aligned it with the crack. Despite light wobbling and blood leaking from her bitten lip, she managed to lock her good foot securely in place.
After testing its stability, she moved her arms upward to create new handholds for additional leverage. With her leg fully bent at the knee, she finally reached her trapped ankle.
Freeing one hand she begun to crack the rocks around her foot while tears leaked from her eyes. Pain threatened to overwhelm her as blood loss clouded her mind.
Growing desperate, Zoe grabbed her foot directly. With a sudden lift, the grinding of broken bones was audible, but her foot came free.
Immediately, she secured her hands in the rock. Her good foot released next as she flipped over by dropping down.
Sweat poured from her body as blood trickled down her face. One eye barely functioned as she trembled and muffled her sobs.
'Okay, okay, okay... Fuck! Think Zoe think, what do you do?'
Her clouded mind forced focus as she looked down, then up.
'I won't be able to climb over fifty metres down a sheer cliff, I would be better off climbing up the two or so metres to the cave—at least then I can easily see where I'm going.'
With renewed determination, she began climbing upward despite her body's protests. Pain screamed through her system as blood loss fogged her mind. Her broken ankle dangled uselessly below, kept carefully away from the cliff face.
At last, her hand grasped the cave's edge. With final effort, she pulled herself inside and collapsed onto her back, panting heavily and drenched in sweat.