Chapter Twenty-Six

"Relentless effort, devoid of strategy, crumbles easily." – Coach Williams

Frank

From the moment he left the smithy, Frank's imagination ran wild. He had honed his craft for ten years, mastering the art of smithing. He had always been able to replicate the creations he saw on TV shows, watching smithing contests with his dad and revisiting every build and creation the contestants made. Through trial and error, he perfected his skills, learning and practicing the same cuts and molds repeatedly. Each creation was a variation of another, and Frank saw this as the beauty of smithing: mastering foundational skills allowed for endless applications.

But what he witnessed now was unlike anything he had ever seen. The woman was an artist, using similar motions but working with metals in a completely different way. Each blade she forged was a new creation of strength, almost pulsating with power as if the metal had been freed from its constraints.

These new insights led Frank to seek ways to merge his skills with those working in the smithy, recognizing that understanding the source of the metal might be his best method to contribute meaningfully.

After breakfast with the team, Kael mentioned a crew planning to head toward the southeastern mountains at dawn. Frank gulped down every last bite before making his way to the smaller eastern gate behind what Trish had named the "tech hut." The sight of the hut reminded Frank of Trish and how she chose to spend her time, steering clear of the opportunity to further her talent as a weaver. While Frank respected Trish's enthusiasm for this junkyard, he felt she was veering off the path the system was trying to guide her. He shook his head and continued to his destination. It wasn’t his place to say anything, at least for now.

Frank arrived at the eastern gate, letting out a breath as he saw people gathered around several large carts. These carts resembled oversized wheelbarrows but were crafted from sturdy wood reinforced with iron bands. Each cart had a single, substantial wooden wheel at the front, rimmed with iron for added durability. Two long, polished handles extended from the back, designed to be gripped by both hands. Realizing he was in the right place, Frank took a moment to admire the nearly hidden passage through the wall, marked only by a thin outline and a stone ledge that likely served as the opening mechanism.

"Could you use an extra hand today?" Frank asked, addressing the group of nine villagers. They wore loose-fitting clothes and head coverings to protect against the sun, with only their braids visible.

As the nine tribesmen and women exchanged puzzled glances, a voice called out from behind, "Don't slow us down, and don't ruin my product." Frank turned to the familiar voice, struggling to suppress a smile. It was her—the same woman from the Smithy. The tall figure strode past Frank, nodding at the others, and retrieved a metal rod from her pocket. She inserted it into the wall, causing a lever to protrude. With a determined push, she nudged the door open just enough before using her hands to open it further, allowing the group and their carts to pass through.

Frank realized he was still gawking as the woman left the village, allowing the door to start closing behind her. He sprang into action, jumping towards the door and turning to his side to slide out just before the stone door locked with a final thud. As he glanced back one last time, he noticed the door had seamlessly merged with the surrounding stone.

Still catching his breath from the sudden burst of energy, Frank looked around for the crew and saw they were already nearly 400 meters away. "Shit, shit, shit," he mumbled to himself as he took off in pursuit.

The path to the mountains took over an hour, much of which Frank had to maintain a brisk jog to keep up. Despite not taking a turn pushing the larger carts, Frank struggled to keep pace, his breaths coming hard and fast. He tried to keep his mind off the distance they had traveled, only for Nex to put up a tracker in his view.

"7.2 Kilometers!" Nex's voice announced the distance in a cheery voice as the group stopped just before the tree line surrounding the mountains. Frank chose to send grumpy thoughts towards Nex as he glanced around the area. The sun was still lower on the horizon, barely hovering over the lowest of trees, creating a silhouette of shapes and shade over a path that looked to take you to the mountain's base.

"Ten minutes," the woman softly ordered as the group members departed from the carts and headed out in different directions. Another shock hit Frank's eyes as he attempted to discover what he was supposed to be doing, only to discover that the group had made their way to several huts and makeshift tents within the tree lines. He noticed several new faces now emerging from the enclosures.

"Relax," the woman then commented towards Frank, still not choosing to look at him before continuing, "Many choose to stay here in support of the mines. Allow a moment for those to greet their loved ones before we enter for the day."

"Sounds like a good choice to skip that trip," Frank huffed, attempting to joke with the woman but falling silent. He took a moment to catch his breath and sat on the root of a tree branching out from the ground. The silence continued to linger between the two as he rested. Not wanting to endure any more awkward moments, Frank tried again, "Do you stay out here too?"

"No."

Frank held his tongue as his body twitched. He allowed himself to count to 15 seconds in his mind to prevent himself from filling the gap in silence.

"I am needed back at the village. The night is for work within the Smithy," she concluded as Frank had gotten to 13 seconds within his count.

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"Do you do that…" Frank started questioning the woman's work ethic only to catch himself and ask a more important question, "Can I ask what your name is?"

Silence.

15 seconds.

"How long..." Frank started again, only to be interrupted.

"Ten minutes is up! Let's head in," The women announced loudly as many of those from the earlier trip were already returning to the two of them.

Frank decided to set aside his attempts at befriending the stoic woman and take in his surroundings. As the team of eleven, including Frank, made their way towards the looming peak, the tall trees—resembling pines—swayed in the quiet breeze, growing denser as they progressed along the path. The imposing height of the mountain grew more formidable with each step, and the trail gradually turned rockier, with crushed pebbles scattered along the main path, allowing the larger carts' wheels to continue their journey into the elevation.

Now, just 100 meters from the foot of the imposing formation, Frank stood in awe at the enormity of the rocks. What had appeared to be a smaller set of mountains from the village now revealed itself as colossal pillars of stone and clay, towering upwards of 50 meters at the base. The rocky face of the side of the highlands was a flat rock wall with a gigantic crack running down its side. What seemed like a natural formation over time had created a narrow opening at the top, leading into the darkness of the mines.

Frank and company entered the archway without time for further examination. Each step diminished the sunlight, and the team seemed unconcerned about losing visibility in mere moments. As the sunlight faded, a blue glow took its place. Frank's eyes quickly adjusted, revealing thick, lightning-like veins trailing along the walls, pulsing with energy and illuminating both the path ahead and the depths of the canal they had now descended into.

"It's glorious..." Frank couldn't help but express his awe. Looking forward at his party, he thought he saw a smirk on the leader's face before she returned to the path and led the team further.

Minutes passed as the group descended deeper into the mountain's core. The blue veins spread further, illuminating the cavity stretching miles within the rock wall. Unwilling to ask Nex how far they had traveled, Frank started to hear voices and the sounds of axes echoing through the cavities. The reverberating sounds made it difficult for Frank to discern which way the path led as the voices surrounded him.

As they rounded another turn, more blue light pulsed as the group entered a massive cavern with rock walls resembling the size of his college football stadium. Teams of villagers were dispersed across various levels of rock, each navigating around major veins within the walls.

"Same line, group up," the woman directed the team as they moved towards a pulsing vein near the furthest wall within the open area. The site appeared to be focused around the central vein erupting from the floor, with deep holes carved into the mountain for extracting stone and blue ore.

"Smitha, I need to connect with a few others. Do you mind showing, um..." She paused, glancing at Frank, "Frank?" Frank nodded with a smile. "Showing Frank how we work down here?" With a confirming nod from Smitha, the woman left the team to their work.

"I appreciate you taking the time to show me. It is an honor to work with you," Frank began, attempting his best impression of Will.

"Save that for someone who cares. Let's get going," Smitha huffed as she grabbed a pickaxe from a nearby bucket and headed for an open wall. Just as Frank went to grab an axe, Smitha stopped him, "Just wait on that, hotshot. Let's first teach you how not to break the rules."

Smitha approached the central blue vein protruding from the ground, resembling a base tree shooting up into branches. "See this?" she motioned to the thick blue vein, "If you touch this, consider your hands gone and see yourself evicted from the tribe." She took a few steps to the side and pointed to a larger branch of the blue vein. "Touch this? You lose a finger and also see yourself evicted from the tribe." She pointed to smaller twig-like veins from the larger branch, "Maybe one day. But today, an axe to the kneecaps and removal from the mines."

Moving further away from the central vein, she pointed to a smaller offshoot. "Now this, this is where you start. We call these third cousins to the main branch—connected only by proximity to the major lines of the mountain's energy. Some are strong, yet even a simple mind can see the lack of connection to the primary energy source. Avoid cutting into the blue ore and extract the energy leeches from the rock walls."

"That's it?" Frank half-joked, slightly worried about losing a body part.

"That's it," she smiled. "Also, avoid generating a crack that could bring down the stone around us and damage the primary line… that would cost you both arms." She winked at Frank, her amusement evident.

Smitha passed the pickaxe to Frank. He stared at the small vein, then looked back at her for another nod. Taking a half swing at the side of the vein, a bit of rock crumbled to his feet. After ten swings, he finally made a small indent in the rock. Sweat poured down his face as he glanced back at Smitha, who cackled. "Yes, it's tough. Get to work, boy." Smitha grabbed an axe and joined the group in striking the wall.

Hours passed, yet Frank maintained a steady rhythm of strikes against his ore vein, silently pleading for Nex to numb the pain in his throbbing shoulders. He knew he was probably only a third of the way through extracting his ore while those around him were already working on their second or third veins. Determined to prove himself, Frank reminded himself that the others on the team were risking their lives for the future of Earth. There was no way he would quit when it came to manual labor, especially not when it involved swinging something heavy. Breath by breath, he pushed on, each swing bringing him closer to his goal.

"Cutting through rock is no different than forging," a voice from behind startled Frank. He chose to keep striking as the voice continued. History had shown that nothing he could say would outshine hard work and dedication in this woman's eyes. "You strike the wall as if you're wielding a sledgehammer. Do you make the same strike with every hit when you're forging a weapon?" she continued, causing Frank to hesitate on his next swing. "Metal, stone, rock, and ore—it doesn't matter. The intent behind your swings challenges the state of what you're hitting. Swing with reason, swing with a goal. Know that everything in this world is built upon connections. Connections that you may want to strengthen, or in this case, connections that might be easier to break."

Frank stopped his strikes, anger welling inside him for hours of what now seemed like a useless effort. How had he not thought of this before? He berated himself for a moment before focusing on her last words. Energy, reactions, bonds—he had been training to support his team in this topic, yet he hadn't considered applying his knowledge. Letting his mind connect with the wall, Frank felt for the faintest pulses of energy, the minute reactions within the rock and stone. He realized several of his previous strikes had hit stone bound by the strongest of bonds with little will to move. Shifting his focus to the ends of those bonds, he found his target: a faint crease in the stone, signaling a breakdown of atoms. Whether by reaction or the passage of time, this gap had formed between two sources. Raising his axe, Frank slammed the pick into the gap, shattering the rock to the floor. A single strike had done more damage than ten minutes of continuous effort.

Frank stepped back and looked over his shoulder to thank the woman for her advice, only to see she had already departed. Looking to his left, he caught a sidelong glance and a grunt from Smitha as she pulled her second ore vein from the stone. It was time for Frank to catch up.