Day 51 of Banishment: Weapons and Armor (1)
Day 51 of banishment.
“Hah, what a lovely morning~”
Marylia woke up in her ‘home’ bed.
She stretched, slipped out of bed, and immediately washed her face using the water she had set aside, then lit the fireplace.
She had become quite adept at using a fire striker. With just one strike—*clink*—the fireplace was alight.
“Today... let’s have wheat porridge. I’ll make a sweet one with dried apricots and berries.”
Marylia, smiling cheerfully, began cooking with excitement. Having a fireplace indoors seemed to motivate her to cook more.
Stirring the pot of wheat porridge, she smiled brightly.
“Today’s a perfect day for an invasion!”
… Yes.
Today, Marylia was going to invade the island’s central area!
After eating, Marylia set about making a packed lunch.
She’d take the smoked meat as it was, deciding to grill it on-site or just gnaw on it. The dried apricots too, which she could chew on for their subtle blend of sourness and sweetness. Marylia loved apricots and plums, so she saw them as her source of energy.
She filled a bottle with water. It might not be enough, but she decided to keep going as long as the water held out.
… And then.
“Gather up!”
Marylia called out to the golems, gathering them together.
Surveying the 10 Terracotta Golems she’d assembled, she smiled and said:
“Everyone, bring your weapons.”
The golems immediately responded to her command, similar to one she’d given before.
They brought stone axes, wooden sticks, fragments of broken pottery, stones, bricks...
Marylia observed them and nodded, “Hmm, it’s still a bit lacking, isn’t it? Well, let’s make do with what we have for today.”
That was her conclusion. Ideally, she wanted to obtain proper weapons to fight monsters. But given her current situation, the available resources for making weapons were limited.
After all, she didn’t even have weapons to go in search of iron—the material needed to make better weapons! It was quite the conundrum.
In fact, in order to get the resources to make weapons, she would have to fight monsters. But to fight monsters, she needed weapons… The infinite loop had already begun!
“Well, I suppose I’ll have to push myself a little at some point.”
Without iron and with limited wood processing, Marylia expanded her exploration bit by bit, gradually assembling her armory and, step by step, moving toward iron. That was how she intended to conquer this island from now on.
“Let’s head a little deeper into the island today. You all keep up with me, okay? The goal for today is…”
However, she wasn’t planning to take control of the island’s center just yet. At least not today.
“Obsidian.”
Today, Marylia’s mission was to collect weapon materials from a deeper part of the island.
Obsidian, a glass-like rock, shatters into sharp, thin flakes when broken. These thin edges give it a cutting advantage.
Obsidian, when worked into a thin edge, can form blades so sharp that they can rival iron knives.
That’s right. Stone tools made from obsidian are excellent for sharp blades!
… But they lack the durability of polished stone tools. Swinging an obsidian axe at a tree would probably break the axe before it could cut the wood.
Thus, obsidian isn’t suited for heavy-duty weapons that rely on brute force.
… But.
“It has to be a spear, right?”
Marylia was planning to make a spear out of obsidian!
Spears had several advantages.
First, they were long.
This meant they could easily handle opponents who couldn’t close the distance. There would be fewer instances of ‘the blade not reaching.’
Second, only the tip needed to be sharp.
Unlike swords, where the entire blade had to be sharp, a spear only required the tip to have an edge.
In other words! Spears could be made with minimal resources, making them ideal for a deserted island!
And…
“They’re perfect for use by a group.”
Marylia chuckled as she measured the length of a wooden stick with a golem that had brought a shard of pottery.
The golems, of course, weren’t skilled warriors. Their movements were slow. In a real fight with humans, they would break easily or be neutralized as threats quickly, causing more trouble than they were worth.
But… they were many.
On this deserted island, having 11 bodies—including Marylia—was undeniably an advantage.
And by arming the golems with spears, the long reach would help them surround enemies or block intruders in a line formation.
To capitalize on this numerical advantage, Marylia needed to equip them with standardized spears.
Marylia had already found one piece of obsidian.
She had picked it up while walking with her Terracotta Golems during a previous hunt. So, she decided to explore that area for more.
Obsidian is formed when lava cools rapidly. If it was exposed on the surface, there must have been some tectonic activity in the past. Since there was also a spot nearby where she could dig for clay, there might be a fault line close by.
“I ran into a peryton around here last time, didn’t I?”
Marylia recalled the previous encounter as she searched for more obsidian.
She was looking for obsidian at a depth where monsters might appear, making the search a bit nerve-wracking. But the desire for obsidian outweighed her fear. By using obsidian to create better weapons, she could hunt more safely in the future. That was her immediate goal.
“Obsidian should be… hmm, maybe a bit further in.”
Unfortunately, she didn’t find any right away. She might have to go deeper. With that thought, Marylia, along with the golems, pressed further into the island.
As they moved toward the island’s center, the vegetation started to change. The density of the trees increased, making it harder to see.
… But.
“Ah, this looks promising!”
Even in the low visibility, Marylia didn’t miss the glimmer.
A shiny, black fragment, half-buried in the soil, stood out with its lustrous gleam.
“Probably obsidian!”
And so, Marylia found another piece of obsidian!
This one was smaller, just enough to fit in the palm of her hand. Still, it could work as a spear tip.
“Well, for now, I’ll use what I found today to make spears. For the rest, I’ll just sharpen the tips with polished stone tools. Most creatures will die if you stab them with something sharp and throw some force behind it, right?”
Thinking aloud, Marylia began digging through the ground. If she saw any dark stones, she eagerly dug around, hoping they were more buried chunks of obsidian.
The golems joined in, and soon, the area was filled with holes from their excavation efforts.
After collecting several pieces of obsidian—some of them fairly large—Marylia decided to retreat. There was no benefit in encountering monsters without proper weapons.
“Alright, let’s make some stone tools when we get back!”
With a smile on her face, Marylia carried her obsidian and began her journey back to base—back home.
“… It feels so good to have a home.”
Savoring the joy of having a place to return to, Marylia hummed happily as she briskly made her way back.
What do you think about this chapter?
