Day 62 of Banishment: Iron Sand Collection (1)
It was an emergency.
Setting aside the iron sand, Marylia first had the golem dive to the riverbed and pull at the end of the chain.
… She thought it might be connected to a human skeleton, but fortunately or unfortunately, the chain was merely caught on a rock.
"…What the hell…? Ugh~…"
Marylia felt at a loss in front of the scant information.
She was happy to find iron sand, but the discovery of something she both wanted and didn't want left her unsure of what to do next!
The "Slave Collar" was a highly advanced magic artifact.
As its name suggests, it was meant to be worn by slaves. A person who wore this collar would become a slave to the one who placed it on them. In a way, it was akin to Marylia's golem control magic, except it was used on humans rather than golems.
Naturally, golem control magic couldn't be used on humans. Humans were beings with their own will, separate from Marylia's.
Similarly, it couldn't be used on other living creatures. Even human corpses were difficult to turn into golems due to the residual will or soul they might still harbor.
… However, disregarding all of these factors, the slave collar allowed one to control humans completely as they wished.
Of course, its manufacture had been banned for some time. However, about 100 years ago, during the reign of the previous dynasty, such items were still being made and used fairly regularly.
Even in present times, there were occasional cases where they were used to safely restrain prisoners of war or subdue criminals who might otherwise commit suicide… Though such uses were quite rare.
Marylia carefully inspected the slave collar she had picked up.
… It was well-made. Not something hastily put together. It had been crafted in an environment with proper tools, materials, and technical knowledge.
However, it looked very old. Quite ancient, in fact. It didn’t seem like something made in modern times.
"Hmm, this looks like it's over 100 years old… From before the previous dynasty…"
Judging by the design and the inscriptions, it was likely quite old. It was miraculous that it had been preserved at the riverbed… Yes, the collar had been submerged there.
"This… it's gold, isn’t it? Oh jeez~..."
…Despite the moss clinging to the surface, the collar had remained intact because it was made of gold!
"Ugh~… The fact that it’s made of gold is scarier than the fact that it's a slave collar…"
Something must have happened. Something sinister. What kind of person would place a golden slave collar on someone? As Marylia pondered, she groaned in distress and hesitated about what to do with the collar she had found.
"Well, putting the collar aside, the chain is made of iron, so that’s something. I’ll take it with me."
With a nonchalant attitude, she tossed the slave collar into her makeshift sack, intending to take it back. Although the chain was rusted and in bad shape, she thought it might still be usable as iron if properly restored.
Now then…
Having found something so unsettling, Marylia realized she needed to reconsider her assumptions about the island. Namely…
"This island… someone used to live here."
… It seemed the island hadn’t always been uninhabited.
"Hmm… Well, come to think of it, this island *is* strange… There’s a presence of magic. And… freshwater fish! There are edible freshwater fish here, which means someone must have introduced them for farming at some point… Also, there are numerous berry groves… it seems likely that someone intentionally planted them."
As Marylia thought about it, she recalled various traces left by previous inhabitants. It seemed certain that someone had once lived here.
"The problem is… if anyone is *still* living here, that could be a bit of an issue… but I doubt it."
Marylia let out a soft sigh.
It was certain that someone had once been here. Even without the fish and berries, the presence of the slave collar was evidence that someone had set foot on this island.
However… it was hard to believe that any of them had survived.
"The monsters attack humans without fear. It’s hard to imagine anyone living in the center of the island. And I haven’t seen a single wisp of smoke. On the other hand, they could have spotted me from my smoke signals, but no one has made contact… So, I guess there really isn’t anyone here."
If any humans had survived and still lived on the island, Marylia would have had to consider negotiations or trading with them. However, that seemed highly unlikely.
After all, if they had been living on the island for a long time, they would certainly have noticed her presence by now. And yet, no one had made any effort to contact her. This could only mean that either there was no one left, or that whoever remained had no intention of making contact.
"Why did they disappear, I wonder? Well, it’s probably just because of old age…"
Marylia pondered the fate of the people who once inhabited the island, hoping they hadn’t died in a horrible way.
"… But still, this is a bit unsettling. Ugh~…"
Feeling a vague unease, she sighed once more!
It was better if the previous inhabitants were no longer around, especially if they weren’t friendly! And even if they were gone, if their souls were lingering around, she prayed they would quickly pass on to the afterlife and not interfere with her!
With that thought, Marylia offered a quick prayer to whoever had once worn the slave collar, silently pleading, “Please don’t show up…”
"Well, I’ve found something weird, but the iron sand! Iron sand!"
Marylia decided to put the collar out of her mind and refocused on the iron sand.
The sparkling grains mixed with the river’s sand were likely iron sand. If she had magnetite, she could verify it, but unfortunately, she didn’t. So for now, she had to settle on calling it “presumed iron sand!”
"Hmm, I should be able to gather some here… If I can build a system to sluice the iron sand using the river, that might work… But to increase production, I’ll probably have to break up rocks upstream, right…?"
Marylia looked toward the upper reaches of the river.
Further up, the cliffs became more rugged, with steep rocky outcrops. Climbing up there would be no easy task.
She could tell just by looking at the rock formations that they consisted of granite—a mixture of white, reddish-brown, and black—rocks that could probably yield iron sand when crushed.
However…
"… I need iron tools to break the rocks, don’t I?"
With a wry smile, Marylia looked up to the sky.
"I have no iron to make the iron I need…"
Yes, the classic problem that hinders technological progress… much like the dilemma of "having no clothes to wear when going out to buy clothes," this obstacle now stood before Marylia!
"Well, I suppose I’ll have to start by gathering small amounts of iron sand, refining it into iron, making a hammer with it, and then using that to break rocks so I can make more iron…"
With that conclusion, Marylia let out a soft sigh.
"This is going to take a while… I wanted to make an Iron Golem before winter, but that’s looking difficult…"
Indeed, Marylia wanted to craft an Iron Golem as soon as possible.
This was because she needed something to protect herself from the monsters that would become more ferocious during the winter due to hunger. A Terracotta Golem wouldn’t be reliable enough for that. However, even just a few Iron Golems would make a huge difference.
… And more importantly, during the winter, it would become harder to operate Terracotta Golems.
"If I leave them in a cold place with water absorbed into them, the terracotta might crack…"
Terracotta was a porous material that absorbed water. It was hard but inflexible.
This meant that when water froze inside the terracotta, the expanding ice could cause cracks, leading the material to shatter!
This was a serious issue. There was nothing more terrifying for a Terracotta Golem than that. As such, operating Terracotta Golems during the winter would be quite challenging.
"When autumn comes, I’ll have to shift my focus from iron to preparing for winter… I need to deal with this while I can still move freely."
Moreover, Marylia had a “deadline”—winter. Once it arrived, she wouldn’t be able to do much outdoors. She needed to make preparations for that, and those preparations would likely take up a lot of time.
Given the situation, she felt pressed. Pressed, but…
"… Well, at least I know I can collect iron sand. I’ll just gather it bit by bit from the river. Tomorrow’s going to be busy again… hehe."
… Even so, Marylia had no choice but to keep going. Patiently, steadily, she had to gather iron sand until she had enough to start refining iron!
"Alright, let’s make the sluicing equipment for the iron sand. I suppose I’ll need… tiles?"
Marylia would be kneading clay again. Kneading, firing… such days would begin anew! The era of bricks, once more!
What do you think about this chapter?
