Felix was about to get up and rinse off his plate when Koale broke the silence. “I was thinking in light of last night, it might be a good idea if Felix and I took a little expedition up the mountain.”
“Wasting more time for which you’d like us to feed you, right?”
“Not at all. We’d be looking for a source of metal, and perhaps we can find some new crops near the lake at the peak.”
Renessa eyed Koale, eyebrow raised. He met her gaze. “It is a long trek, it may take a day or two apart.”
Renessa smiled. “A day or two, huh? Right shame it’d be so long. Metal would be quite a find though, we would both pleased with that.” The last was delivered with a stern gaze at her husband.
Koale’s plan was about as subtle as a freighter, but Felix was still pleased. He really could use a few days to breathe. It would be a nice change of pace to have snuffle lizards being the only thing baring teeth at him.
He went to his chest and grabbed his spear and knife. After a moment’s thought, he brought a pick and axe as well. They might not need them, but better to have and not need. Besides, he’d tell Koale he didn’t have to bring his, and he could carry more food to make up for it.
Liz was still sleeping, so Felix set her inside the duffle bag. He wasn’t going to leave his girl behind this time. He put the pack on carefully so as not to jostle her.
Felix was out of the hut and ready to go before Koale had even finished cleaning up. Not over eager at all.
Soon enough, Koale was packed as well, and they were set for two days out and about. Felix set out with a spring in his step he hadn’t felt in a few days. With any luck, they’d find some good things to research. And if they found metal? Well, that’d be a game changer.
By early afternoon, the spring was long gone from his step. They had made it to the foothills and were beginning the ascent. The grade was gentle enough to be a steep walk rather than a climb, but Felix’s calves were already feeling the strain. Still less of a pain than Trent.
“So, now that we are out here, and away from prying ears, do you think we’re actually going to find anything worthwhile?”
“We already have.”
“What’s that? I haven’t seen anything.”
“Peace of mind and a break from your whining.”
Felix laughed. “Ass.”
Koale raised his brow ridge. “Sounds like our dear friend’s vocabulary is rubbing off on you.”
“Whatever. Let’s up the pace. We might be able to make it to the peak tonight if we push.”
“So commandeering. You are trying to take over.”
Felix rolled his eyes and scratched Liz. “See how they treat me, gal? Everyone abuses me so.”
It was beginning to get late when Koale stopped them. “See that there?”
Felix looked where Koale pointed. Something glinted in the failing light. “Yeah, I do. Let’s take a look.”
Felix picked his way across the rocky terrain. As he got closer, his excitement grew. Embedded into the dirt was exactly what they had been hoping for. Metal.
A head-sized chunk of metal peeked out of the ground. It was in the center of a small indent on the mountain. Most of the surface was covered in dirt and rocks, but what was showing through was strangely pitted, but smooth.
Felix grinned. “Oh, this is great. I can’t wait to get this back to base.”
“I agree, this will help further our efforts immensely.”
“That too, but I just want to throw it in Trent’s face. Haven’t contributed anything, indeed.”
“You do mean that figuratively, correct?”
“Sure.”
Felix grabbed out his pick and started swinging. He intended to bring the whole chunk back with them, but as he uncovered more of the deposit, that plan was quickly shut down. The deposit was much larger than it looked on the surface, which was admittedly a mixed blessing.
They split the chunks that had popped into Felix’s inventory between them and marked the spot with a tower of stones.
As pumped as they were after their discovery, night was falling, and they needed to find a place to camp. They were nearly at the crest of the mountain, but quick discussion led to the conclusion that going into more vegetation in the dark would be less than ideal for their health.
In the end, they had a light dinner of fruits and roast squirrel and settled in for the night. Felix took first watch, and sat, spear across his knees.
The night was quiet, with just the distant sounds of wildlife, and the wind over rock. The sky was clear, and the stars shone bright. Felix stared up at them. He wondered if he could see his home system from here.
How long had he been down here now? Two months? More? He thought about where he’d be if he had opted to take the slower route around Karlyke. He’d be long past his stop at Ublao. He couldn’t remember his schedule well enough to figure out where he would be.
Life before this planet was beginning to feel foreign. He hated to admit it, but even with Trent, the new base was starting to feel like home. At least here he had people who counted on him for more than how much product he could move.
He’d make sure they all got home eventually.
Felix laid the start of his plans as he watched the moon crawl across the sky. By the time he woke Koale for his watch, he felt ready. He fell asleep, content.
They set off again in the early morning. The goal was to look around the area with the lake and the waterfall and get back to the base by nightfall. It would be a hard day, but there was a tentative excitement. The metal had already made the expedition a success. Anything more would just be icing on the cake.
The rocky ground soon began to give way to jungle once more. The view was breathtaking as they crested the final ridge. The ground sloped down rapidly to a large lake. Large shrubs clung to the drop-off. The lake itself was a deep blue and so deep no bottom could be seen. A trickle of water poured over a low point in the ridge, creating a waterfall on the far side of the island.
Large jellyfish floated just under the surface of the lake. They were nearly translucent, but at their core, they glowed with a rainbow sheen. Felix was tempted to try and catch one, but he also spotted several dark figures gliding deeper in the water.
On the far side of the lake looked to be an opening into the mountain. It wasn’t high above the waterline, but the entrance looked fairly wide.
Koale pointed at it, “I’d like to go explore in there. It’s likely to be a good source of guano, and I could use more for explosives should we find more sulfur. Or fertilizer if we don’t, I suppose.”
“Sure. We can take it slow and grab Renessa’s plant samples as we go.”
For thoroughness, they grabbed a few fruit from everything they saw, familiar or not. Renessa had also instructed them to grab any grasses or flowers they found as well. Felix was unsure what good they would do, but they grabbed several varieties as well.
The lake was bigger than it looked at first, and their constant stopping for plants was not helping any. They had started their day at sunrise and it was nearly noon. They still weren’t at the cave and planned on getting back to camp yet.
“I think we’re going to have to stop with the plants for now. We’re going to have to haul ass if we want to hit the cave and still get back tonight.”
Koale looked up at the sun. “Agreed. If we walk higher up on the ridge, it is a bit more even there. We should be able to walk faster.”
They scrambled up to the crest again, and followed the curve around. It really was quite scenic up here. Felix enjoyed the wind blowing through his quite overgrown hair. He was going to have to cut it soon, or tie it back. It was the longest it had ever been in his life.
Felix looked out into the ocean, wondering if he could see another body of land from here. To the south, he could just make out an island. He scanned the other directions. He saw something else on the horizon.
He squinted and used a hand to shield his eyes. Something large and white w
as out there. And it was moving. Felix stopped moving to stare.
“What is it?” said Koale, stopping behind him.
“I think,” said Felix slowly, “Sails.”
“Get down then. Don’t let them see us.”
Felix and Koale dropped and crawled forward to get a better view. They watched in silence.
The ship maintained course and sailed past the island. They watched it until it dropped out of sight.
“Back to base?”
“Back to base.”
***
“And there you have it,” said Daviron. “The die has been cast. Will Trevor’s Crew include our fledgling players in their path of raiding and carnage? And will the players be able to put aside their difference long enough to employ their newfound metal? Will that be enough?
We’ll find out soon. For now, we turn our attention to The Islanders, the likely site of the first raid.”
Daviron paused to take a long sip from a brightly colored pod. “And if your raiding and pillage game is flagging and lackluster, consider picking up a case of Wampole Fuel. Wampole Fuel for when your adventure just needs a little kickstart.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Without words, Felix and Koale got up after the ship passed. They turned and retraced their path through the depression surrounding the lake. All thoughts of spelunking and potential discovery within the cave were forgotten.
The distance between themselves and the camp that Felix was so pleased with the day before was suddenly a daunting challenge. He needed to be back now. Renessa and Trent had to know what they saw, and they needed to prepare. He pressed his pace as fast as he could, stumbling as the foliage grabbed at his feet.
The path out of the area was much quicker without them constantly stopping to harvest plants as they had on the way in. Still, Felix was tired by the time they hit the rocky slope of the far side.
He wasn’t just tired either. His stomach growled. They had planned to break for lunch just before entering the cave. After seeing the sails, neither one of them wanted to break for a meal any longer, regardless of the hunger gnawing at them.
Free of obstructing roots, Felix picked up the pace once more. He knew he had a long way to go, but he couldn’t help himself. The slope gave him an awkward, pounding gait as he hurried. It was more of a controlled fall than walking.
His foot slipped on a patch of loose gravel and Felix found himself sliding several feet down the slope. His trip ended with him on his face on the ground. He decided that perhaps a slower pace would be better after all.
He only got a few scrapes this time, but if he had tweaked his ankle or knee, that would have slowed him more than a slower pace now would.
Felix took a deep breath and tried to rein in his growing impatience. The raiders weren’t on their way right now. Getting there a half-hour sooner or later would not make a difference.
He knew this was true, even as he chafed at the thought.
The sun was just setting by the time the camp came into view. Renessa and Trent had made good progress while they were gone. The kitchen was up, as were the crafting stations in the workshop. A small length of wall stood.
Good, they’d need that much and more.
Judging by the time, Felix guessed they would be eating. He burst in the door, Koale a half step behind him. Sweat ran down his face and soaked his leathers and he panted heavily. His eyes needed to adjust to the gloom inside, but his nose picked up right quick.
The oven seemed to have been a good call, judging by smell alone. Felix concentrated on that while he waited to catch his breath enough to speak and his pulse to stop pounding in his ears. His stomach growled in reminder of the lost meal.
When at last Felix could recall himself again, he heard Renessa talking. “What’s wrong? What happened out there?”
“We saw,” Felix took another breath. He was still panting heavily, “Sails.”
“Shit,” said Trent.
Felix pointed to the man in agreement.
“Anything else you can tell us? How many were there? When will they arrive?”
“Sailed past. Might have. Seen us.”
“Sit down,” said Renessa, beaconing to the new chairs. “Eat, then tell us everything.”
She slid two loaves of something at Felix and Koale. It looked a lot like bread, smelled like bread but Felix knew they didn’t have any grains. He didn’t question it and dug in.
It was denser than he would have liked and had a strong earthy flavor. But even a week ago, Felix would have doubted he’d ever have baked goods again. It was heavenly.
Food and a seat grounded Felix. By the time the bread was gone, he was ready to talk.
“Thanks. So, I think we saw a single ship. It was pretty far out, so I couldn’t say for certain there wasn’t more. We watched it sail past the island. I think the way it was headed, it was headed to one of the islands in the chain, though.”
Renessa nodded. “Okay. This doesn’t really change anything then. We just have a tighter deadline.”
“We did find some things of note before we had to rush back,” said Koale. He began to place one of all the vegetation they had found on the table.
Felix grinned. “Way to bury the lede. This is the good stuff.” He put a chunk of the ore on the table. “There’s more of it on the mountain, but we didn’t want to load ourselves down too badly.”
“This, this does change things.” Renessa sat back and thought. “We rebuilt the research desk while you two were out, paper and all. It’s in what will be the workshop. How about we keep someone at the desk from now on? In the morning, the other three of us can go load up on as much metal as we can carry.”
Felix and Koale agreed. Trent was quiet, staring at his knees.
Ignoring him, Felix turned back to Renessa. “Any of the plants look promising?”
Renessa turned her attention to the piles of vegetation in front of her. “This one, actually,” she said, and pointed at the grasses. “How tall were they?”
“About hip high to me. Why?”
“Research this after the ore. I think we may be able to use it to make cloth.”
“Sounds like a plan. Who has first shift at the desk then?”
“If you guys don’t mind, would one of you? I know you both look wiped, but Trent doesn’t deal well with sudden changes. I need to get him settled.”
Felix could hear the man breathing hard. He had been since the mention of the pirates. As much as he loathed the guy, Felix wasn’t cruel. “Yeah. That’s fine. I’ll take the first shift if you all want to get some rest and figure out the rotation?”
They agreed and Felix walked over to the new research desk, ore in hand. He set the ore to researching and pulled up a patch of floor. He made note to build a chair in the morning. It wouldn’t set them back much, and it would make the watch less terrible.
As he settled, he took a chance to really look around at the changes the last two days had brought.
All the furniture in the workshop had been built and placed, including the crates. The tables and workbench Felix had seen before and didn’t hold his interest. The forge however was a different matter.
They didn’t have proper mortar yet, and the lack showed. Tier 2 stones yielded a forge made mostly out of large, uniform stones. Unfortunately, clay was the best binding material they had and so hardened clay held it together. The overall structure of the forge looked like a short, stone chimney.
Felix was tempted to put in some sand and see how glass would come out. If he had enough on hand, he might have done just that. As it was, Felix didn’t feel comfortable wandering down to the beach to grab some.
He was certainly bringing sand with him to his next watch, however.
After a few hours, Renessa relieved him. She told him Koale had the next one, and they’d figure out the next day’s plan at breakfast.
Felix threw her a weary wave and headed off to his bed. He was out before he even stopped moving.
When
they were gathered again, save for Trent who was with the research, both the metal and grass had finished researching. Another chunk of ore was in the research desk to bring it up to second tier.
The results were varied, but impressive. Metal yielded all they could have wanted. They would make metal weapon heads and tools, braces and nails, armor and building reinforcement. The question was less what they could do with metal, but what would they do with the supply they had available?
The grass also had good results. Renessa was right on the money, and a variety of new crafting stations had cropped up to turn the grass into cloth. Along with the fabric came options for padded furniture and clothing, bags and a sail. The last caught Felix’s eye.
Sails mean ships. He scrolled through the list, and sure enough, there it was. They didn’t have the time or resources at the moment, but Felix was intrigued. Breakfast was quiet as everyone caught up on the crafting options.
“If you guys haven’t seen, we can make a ship now,” Felix said. “I know we were undecided on it before, and we are busy just this moment, but I’d like to raise the subject again.”
Renessa looked at him. “We have pirates coming, but we don’t know when.” She held up a finger. “We don’t have enough resources for our current plans, which include defenses for said pirates.” She held up another. “And leaving the island means leaving everything we’ve built so far behind.”
Felix held up a placating hand. "I wasn't suggesting an all-out effort on it. I'm simply saying that it might not be a bad idea to invest some of our resources into it once we get the walls finished. Call it a ship tithe."
"I'm in favor of options," said Koale. "If we have a ship, we could use it to collect materials from elsewhere or fish. Even not use it at all. If we don't have a ship and need one though? It'll be too late."
Renessa drummed her fingers on the table for a long moment. "Fine. After we get the walls built."
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“I think we can sort out details on the way to the metal,” said Renssa. “Who is coming with Trent and I? Koale?”
Fresh Blood Page 20
