The conversation with Kalanthia ends up taking quite a while, and Bastet goes back to play with the cubs when it becomes clear that her presence isn’t necessary. We discuss Kalathia’s original plans for dealing with the damage to Lathani’s Energy channels. At the same time, I take advantage of the opportunity to discuss more about the obstacles that can come up at Tier two and what lies ahead in Tier three – with a view to helping my Bound with them. Now that I have some Bound in Tier two – and awareness of Kalanthia’s own situation – she’s been more willing to share information than she was before.
The sun has already passed its zenith before I manage to set out with my little group. It’s a bigger group than I was intending on taking, but that’s probably not a bad thing – everyone who’s coming is able to defend him or herself. All included, there are nine of us: Rocky, Catch, Pride, Honey, Bastet, and the raptorcat juveniles.
I lead the way into the forest. We make good progress towards my intended destination. I’ve been training my new Inspect Skill by sending out pulses every so often with the focussed intention of seeing any enemies or potentially useful resources. It does mean I have to ignore a whole lot of gold-haloed plants and rocks. Or, not ignore exactly, but mentally dismiss any which I already recognise as things we don’t need.
It’s not long into our journey that Bastet realises where we’re going.
Are we journeying back to the cave? she asks, her tone troubled.
Yes, I answer. Is that a problem?
She’s silent for a long few moments.
No, she answers finally. I will show the cubs where their pack used to live, she decides
If you think that that’s a good idea, I reply neutrally and the conversation ends there.
We slow as we approach the clearing around the cave where the battle with the snilapede took place a while ago. I keep sending out pulses of Inspect, watching carefully for any signs of enemies. Fortunately, it seems like nothing else has moved into the area since the last battle.
“Alright everyone,” I say to them after both observation and Inspect indicate that the area is empty of anything bigger than small lizards. “This is what I would like you to look for,” I tell them, picking up one of the chunks of iron ore still lying around. We harvested a lot during our last visit but time meant that we weren’t able to get all of it. “There seems to be some buried under the surface – that’s where you come in, Honey. There’s also some in the trees around. Try to find as much as you can and bring it to the cave mouth, please,” I instruct them. “Look for this slight reddish colour to the chunks of rock. Any questions?”
Is this what you’re searching for? Catch checked, holding a reddish-looking lump of earth.
“Probably,” I agree. “I’ll look through them properly later. Just gather anything you think might be right, and pile it up, OK?”
A chorus of agreement, verbal or otherwise meets my mental ears. Without any more discussion, they all set to looking for chunks of what I hope is iron ore. Heading towards the cave in question, I pause for a moment, eyeing the group thoughtfully.
Pride, can you stand guard, please. Warn us if any enemy approaches. He quickly agrees to my request – I have a feeling he’s rather grateful not to have to grub around in the dirt. Honestly, he’s not really suited to it, hence why I thought about assigning him a different role. Neither his small fore-limbs nor his big back-limbs are adapted to digging, and his long toothy maw would probably find it difficult to grip the chunks of ore. But as a sentry, he’s ideal since he stands almost as tall as I do and taller than the two samurans with us.
Speaking of them, I should probably give them a tool – they can dig with their clawed hands, but it would be better if they have something else to break the ground. Pulling two long pieces of bone out of my Inventory, I concentrate as I feed them with mana.
Once they’re full of my Flesh-Shaping magic, I reshape them into something which vaguely resembles a spade. I didn’t want to risk them breaking immediately, so the head of the spade isn’t much wider than the bone handle itself, and it doesn’t narrow down much either. They wouldn’t be much good for digging a hole as they probably wouldn’t carry much earth each time, but they should be better than nothing for this task.
Calling the two over, I hand Catch and Rocky their new tools, explaining what they’re for. Rocky looks a bit awkward; Catch looks curious. I leave them to it – I have my own objectives.
Last time I came here, I wasn’t able to get hold of the copper in the walls because my mining tool – my flint axe – really wasn’t suitable for knocking it out of the rocks. With my new Earth-Shaping Skill, I have to hope that it’s going to be a different story today.
Most people would expect low-tech mining to involve battering at the wall with a pickaxe. But they’re not using magic. Instead, I sit down near the wall where I see the glinting metallic traces of the copper vein. Closing my eyes, I reach out with my hands to touch the wall, and then reach with my mind and magic inside the wall.
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With my mental sight engaged, the earth magic in the wall before me becomes clear. It’s actually rather fascinating. I can see different shades of brown magical connections. They indicate different types of rock, I guess. I know that rock is made up of different concentrations of elements formed in different ways; I wonder if I could eventually get it to the point where I could break the rock down into those elements. Probably, I’d guess, but I might need more scientific knowledge than I currently have – if only I had Google at my fingertips still….
I also see where there isn’t any earth magic. That, in fact, is more useful in a way: I want the metal which apparently doesn’t identify as earth according to my magic. Knowing where there is solid matter but limited earth magic is a good indication of the metal itself.
Working slowly, I start to shift the rock to bring the metal towards me, and then drop it at my feet. I have to move slowly: earth doesn’t like shifting quickly. Though I can produce rapid movements, the mana required for them increases exponentially. No, it’s better to just shift the rock wall slowly and steadily.
I find a good rate of movement at which my mana regenerates as quickly as it depletes, meaning that I can theoretically keep going indefinitely. Theoretically, because it’s still mentally tiring, and I will need to eat and drink from time to time, but at least I’m not running out of mana.
The magic within the earth is amenable to my requests as long as I don’t require it to move abruptly. I find my attention being gently guided deeper into the rock, towards another seam of nothingness. It’s almost like the magic has its own consciousness to an extent and is trying to help me find what I’ve shown it I’m looking for.
I’d previously thought of the earth as uncaring for the little insects which walk on its surface, but this experience is starting to make me rethink it. Maybe it’s that the earth only cares for those who manage to catch its attention.
I continue encouraging the earth to shift towards me, like lava flowing through the tube of a volcano, depositing the blank areas in front of me before returning to take the place of the spaces opened up further into the rock.
If a geologist came along after me, I reckon that they would be rather puzzled as to the history of the region – I don’t doubt that I’m completely messing up the layers of the rock. But considering how unlikely that is, I don’t care.
As I work, I come across a new type of deposit. Whatever these are, they’re definitely not metal. Instead, it feels like the earth magic is extra-concentrated in them. They’re also relatively distinct lumps in the midst of the surrounding rock. Actually, many of them are within the metal itself, offering an island of earth magic within the blackness.
Curious, I open my eyes to look at one of the objects once my conveyer belt of rock has delivered the first to me.
It’s surrounded by a bluish metal – a form of copper, if I’m correct. Breaking apart the lump of ore with an application of Strength fueling my fingers, my eyebrows go up as I see what’s revealed.
“Turquoise?” I question. I’m not a geologist, neither by trade nor interest, but I’m familiar with a few precious and semi-precious stones – anyone who buys jewellery for a female partner has to be, in my opinion. At least successfully buys jewellery that she likes, anyway. I learned my lesson on Lucy’s birthday when I got a bracelet for her. I proudly announced that I knew her birthstone was sapphire, so I’d got her a silver bracelet with a sapphire set in it. Small, of course – I was earning good money at the time, but not that good. I’d got it for a very good deal – or so I’d thought when I bought it.
She’d accepted it with appreciation for my thoughtfulness, but there was a wry twist to her mouth that I didn’t understand at the time. It was only when I overheard her speaking with a friend that I realised I’d instead accidentally got a bracelet with blue quartz instead. She still wore the bracelet and it suited her, but I learned from that mistake. The next time I got her jewellery, I made sure to get it from somewhere which actually offered a certificate for precious gems, and did my own homework ahead of time so I knew what I was looking for.
That homework is what indicates to me that I’m holding turquoise, a semi-precious stone on Earth, and apparently something that has a much higher concentration of earth magic than what surrounds it. I briefly wonder what Lucy would think of what I'm doing here, then dismiss the fantasy, shoving it back into its box.
While I have my eyes open, I pick up the chunks of mixed metal and rock which I’ve managed to harvest so far.
The coppery and blue coloured lumps are what I was expecting to find – different forms of copper. I was expecting slightly greener lumps, honestly, since I know that copper roofs go green over time as the metal oxidises, but the blue I see here isn’t too unexpected either. I remember chemistry labs and the blue colour of a type of acid that uses copper. Copper sulfite? Sulphate? Something like that.
What I’m not expecting are some of the other lumps I see. Picking one up, I turn it this way and that, the light from the cave entrance and Aingeal’s illumination making it glitter. I’ll need to inspect it in proper daylight, but I can’t help suspecting that its silvery appearance isn’t just because of the light here.
Another lump I pick up has a more buttery colour than the reddish shade of some of the copper lumps. It’s heavier too. Can it be…? My hand shakes a little as hope mingles with my sense of probability. I’ll need to see it in the light to be more confident.
Then a thought pours water on my excitement. Even if it is gold, it’s not like I’m in the middle of the Gold Rush or something. Things are only as valuable as what others are willing to pay to get them – I don’t think that there’s a market for gold among the samurans. Or any market at all, actually.
Though, I suppose that even if there isn’t the opportunity to trade it among samurans, I’m not going to be here forever. Perhaps I should keep it for when I go to Nicholas’ world and hope that they are more interested in the malleable metal there. If it even is gold, and not iron pyrite or something. Though I’ve seen iron pyrite before, and this doesn’t look like it.
I drop the lump among all the others. I wonder whether my Inventory will sort the metals apart automatically – it would be interesting if it did. For now, I concentrate on trying to harvest as much of this bounty as I can before we need to head back.