Robert's POV, Castle Ruins, Morning
As I woke up, I realized that I was in dire need of a bed. Or anything really, I was sick of sleeping on the ground.
I stretched my limbs, trying to get the soreness out of them. I arched my back and got a satisfying crack out of it, then immediately wanted to lie back down. Never was a morning person to be honest.
I checked myself, all my clothes where in a somewhat bad condition; I desperately needed to wash them. My amulet dangled on my neck, making small clinking noises whenever I moved. As much as I wanted to look around the castle, I had no time to waste. I needed materials to build something my mind had been telling me for a while. I didn’t know exactly what it was, but I knew it would help me greatly. I needed help now more than ever in my life. Stranded who knows where, with giant creatures that wish to eat me, and intelligent, talking, colorful horses, you have to take advantage of every opportunity.
I had a couple bad situations when I went camping, but it usually resolved itself and I could go home afterwards and rest. My father always made sure we were prepared, so supplies weren’t an issue. Besides, we did it for fun, not because my life depended on it!
This was not the case. I was alone, with nothing but my fancy, deteriorating clothes and jewelry. I didn’t know where home was anymore, and I didn’t want to contact whatever passed for people in this place. Human survival instincts teach you to fear the unknown, and it has worked in my favor so far.
No more getting sidetracked, I had a shelter now, and I doubted anyone lived here anymore. I still needed much more if I was planning to stay here; I just really hoped it didn’t come to that.
Seeing that there was no point in standing around and doing nothing, I went outside. There were still some bushes that had some berries among them, so I went up to them and gave myself a small snack. After eating a handful of berries, and checking around to make sure no turkeys would eat my precious bushes, I went back into the forest.
I quickly gathered some materials and made a very crude axe out of a stick and a sharp rock I had found. It would probably break after a few trees, but it was something. Sure it was unusual how easy it was since I had never done this before in my life, yet it felt natural to craft this tool. Once I had the chance, I would definitely look into it.
Traversing the forest, I tried to not lose sight of the castle’s clearing. I found a few random boulders in the middle of the forest. Some of them even glistened in the light. Odd, I didn’t remember them being there at all yesterday…
“Please don’t tell me I’m losing my mind, if anything that would just make things worse.”
I traveled back to the clearing, going towards the smaller trees so that I could get them down quicker and carry them towards the ruins. Cutting as many as I could, I brought the thin logs back to the entrance of the castle until my axe became useless.
I could probably use the loose stones from the broken walls around this place to build the other parts of this idea.
Then I needed… gold…
How in Darwin’s name was I going to get gold from a forest in the middle of crazy-land?!
I used a hand to rub my temples, I saw some boulders somewhere deep within the forest that had a yellowish reflection to them. Maybe…
Nah, that’s ridiculous! There is no wa-
…
So was half of what I went through yesterday…
Grabbing some more supplies I managed to make myself a new tool, it was a pick made from more sharp rocks and sticks. I found one of the many boulders, and began to pick it to ruble. A while later I managed to get some rocks, some flint, and a... yellowish stone? Hey, I was no geologist, give me a break! Still, it didn’t look like it was gold.
“It looks like for once, logic won. Too bad it wasn’t in my favor,” I muttered out of breath, taking down a boulder twice your height was a heavy job. I was very surprised that I even managed to do it!
Taking a few deep breaths I was able to compose myself, I was not about to give up just yet. I approached another boulder; it was slightly taller and had a few yellowish cracks that shinned in the sunlight. Mining it down as well, my pick still somehow held itself together. After reducing it to rubble small enough for me to pocket, I noticed the same results.
“More rocks, more flint, an-”
…
…There is no possible way…
“Are… are those small chunks of gold?!”
I took off my collar and compared them. It was the same exact material as far as I could tell, and they were size of my fist.
With my newfound resolve, I made a couple more crude picks. I was getting better at this, for they looked nicer than before. I brought down half a dozen more boulders, not all of them had gold, but I still had quite enough to satisfy my vanity. Bringing the materials back took some effort, for I could only pocket so little and carry so much, I had to do a couple of trips back. However by the time the sun was setting I already had a nice pile of resources at my disposal.
I used the remainder of the afternoon making the parts for this idea on my head. It took quite a while, but after I assembled the machine I instantly questioned if it was worth my time and effort.
It looked like a cube, suspended from the ground by three wooden legs. It had a lever facing down, and a couple of hand carved wheels connecting the cube to the fourth log atop the contraption.
What on Earth did I just build?
That lever was just screaming at me to be used. I went up to the machine, and threw the lever upwards. It made a whirring noise, before the wheels slowly moved and picked up some speed. The moment it stopped warming up, I felt, well, enlightened. Even more ideas where flowing into my mind, the knowledge felt amazing!
“How does this work? How is this possible? This… this could change humanity as we know it!”
It was my duty as a scientist to test this strange new contraption. Standing near what my mind believed to be called the “Science Machine”, I began to browse through the recipes it had to offer. Using the machine was… well, interesting to say the least. I had to think of what I wanted, and an image began to form in my mind. It felt odd and surreal, but I was slowly getting used to it. Going for something simple, I decided to craft myself a backpack. I gathered the materials, which fortunately where just pieces of grass and sticks, and began to assemble them together. My hands where incredibly more dexterous than before, and where they… glowing? It must have been the sun reflecting off my skin, but it still made me wonder.
The backpack was made almost flawlessly, have I always been this able? Questions, questions, far too many of them and not enough answers, it almost felt like teaching again.
“Heh, well one thing is for certain. This machine will help me; it will help me out a lot.”
