Published: October 13th 2024, 7:07:05 am
Day 61 of Banishment: Weapons and Armor (5)
Thus.
"Hehehe, let's start boiling~"
… On the morning of the 61st day of her banishment.
Marylia was enthusiastically boiling bones, sinews, and hides!
"It's frustrating that I only have one pot, and it's not even that big..."
Despite her complaints, Marylia diligently boiled the sinews, hides, and bones, replacing them continuously to make an increasingly thick gelatin solution.
Once the thick gelatin solution was ready, she spread it thinly on a piece of broken tile lined with large leaves, allowing it to solidify. When the thinly spread gelatin hardened into a jelly-like form, she dried it for storage.
"... If I could make iron, I'd prioritize a pot over the golems."
As she painstakingly crafted gelatin sheets, Marylia murmured this with a deep sense of realization.
Indeed, a pot. A pot was crucial.
Once the gelatin solution was in production, she handed the process over to the Terracotta Golems. Now, with the golems continuing to boil down the gelatin, Marylia began the process of hardening the leather with the gelatin.
She decided to utilize the halved logs that were used to make tiles.
"Alright, let’s lay the leather, apply the gelatin, and..."
She applied gelatin to one piece of leather, placed another leather sheet on top, and then began pounding the two pieces together with a smooth, rounded stone to bond them.
"... It stretches quite a bit."
Though the original intention was simply to bond the layers, she realized that pounding the leather caused it to stretch. Moreover, she could feel the gelatin seeping into the fibers of the leather. This was promising.
"In that case, let’s add another layer. Now, let’s apply more gelatin..."
Satisfied that the two layers had bonded well and hardened, she received another batch of gelatin from the golems, applied it to the leather again, and placed yet another sheet on top, continuing to pound the layers together.
"... It really stretches a lot. Am I hitting it too hard...?"
Nevertheless, in this manner, Marylia continued to laminate and stretch the leather sheets, eventually creating a solid, hardened board!
The resulting leather board was unusually rigid. As she inspected her work, Marylia muttered, "Oh my."
The layers of leather bonded with gelatin were incredibly tough—perhaps even harder than leather boiled in beeswax. This was quite the achievement.
"Now, I just need to make some armor."
With a cheerful smile, Marylia set to work, cutting the hardened leather into pieces for armor.
The leather was very tough, but after repeated slicing with her obsidian knife, she managed to cut it into shapes for a breastplate and gauntlets. Given the circumstances, the shapes were simple—just enough to protect the chest and arms.
However, even a simple piece of armor provided protection, making her stronger in combat. While gently heating the leather to make it more pliable, Marylia used logs and wooden molds as bases, hammering the pieces into shape with stones.
Once the pieces were shaped, she began threading straps and belts through them for attachment.
The gauntlets were designed like tubes with about a third of the side cut out. The open part would allow her arm to slide in, and she could then tighten it with leather laces to secure it.
For the breastplate, she punched holes in the chest piece and the belt that would go over her shoulder, threading leather cords through to sew them together. She also attached a belt to fasten the plate around her back, thus completing the assembly.
Finally, she reinforced the armor by laminating it with a kelpie tail leather, firmly pressing it together with the gelatin... and it was finished.
Marylia had successfully obtained her armor!
A weapon and armor are only useful if worn. Donning her breastplate and gauntlets, Marylia hummed contentedly as she made various adjustments.
"Let’s tighten the shoulders a bit more. As for the waist... wrapping it with tanned leather should stop most attacks. Eventually, I’d like to craft more armor for the abdomen and lower body with hardened leather..."
As she tested the fit, Marylia pondered, "If I cut the leather into small plates and string them together with leather cords, I might be able to make a flexible and durable armor..."
Unlike the chest, which was protected by ribs, or the arms below the elbow, the abdomen and legs were highly flexible. To make armor that could accommodate such movement, it had to be crafted with flexibility in mind. Otherwise, it would hinder her mobility. And Marylia’s greatest weapon was her speed. If the armor hindered her agility, she would be better off without it.
With this in mind, she decided that for now, she would substitute the lack of abdominal and leg armor by wrapping them in leather. While she considered making chainmail out of the hardened leather, her priority was still iron. Once the need for additional armor arose, she would revisit the idea. Marylia made up her mind.
… And thus, Marylia’s armament was complete.
An obsidian-tipped spear and leather armor made from kelpie and other monsters.
Primitive, yet effective. Most creatures would perish if pierced by her spear, and if her armor could withstand just one deadly blow, it would be a significant advantage.
"Alright. Tomorrow, we finally move forward in earnest!"
Marylia declared with a smile.
"... By the way, they've multiplied, haven't they?"
She gazed at the thirty or so slimes jiggling in the field and let out a soft "Oh my."
"... I wonder if I can use them for something."
There was no need for more slimes, but they would likely continue to multiply. This meant she'd need to reduce their numbers, but perhaps they could be put to some use.
"Maybe I should try eating one sometime."
Whether or not the slimes heard her muttering, they only jiggled in response. In this world of survival of the fittest, the slimes, being the weaker ones, might just end up as Marylia's next meal!
The next day. On the 62nd morning of her banishment.
Marylia rose from her bed and energetically began equipping her armor.
Now that she had armor, the concept of "getting dressed" existed, which was amusing, as she'd never needed to change or get ready until now.
"Alright, let's do this~"
Dressing up seemed to switch her mindset. With renewed vigor, she stepped outside, heading towards the island's central area, ready for a serious exploration.
By now, Marylia had gotten used to exploring with her golems.
The Terracotta Golems weren't particularly intelligent, but they weren't entirely foolish either. If given clear instructions, they would follow them, but vague ones wouldn't do. Thus, Marylia issued precise orders, advancing through the forest with her golems in tow.
This time, however, she had a specific objective, so she followed the river upstream.
"Oh my, another cliff. And a waterfall... If I could harness this water to make a waterwheel, that'd be fun."
She inspected the riverbank, the waterfall, and the cliffside, all the while checking for her desired target.
Marylia was searching for... iron.
"Oh my… the river split along the way."
Eventually, Marylia discovered a large lake where the river flowed into, with several branches diverging from it. One of those branches seemed to flow near her home. Water also appeared to flow into the lake from the surrounding ground and from another upstream river.
"The upstream flow is stronger... hehe, that’s promising."
Smiling, she skirted around the lake, continuing upstream.
The higher she went, the more the terrain began to resemble mountain climbing. Yet, Marylia, with her unladylike stamina, trekked on through the pathless wilderness until she finally reached a gentler slope and flow.
And then...
"Ah!"
Marylia crouched down, inspecting the sand accumulating at the riverbed.
It was dark, faintly glimmering, and, most importantly, heavy!
"Iron sand! It's iron sand~!"
Yes, it was iron sand. Likely, upstream basalt or granite had broken down, releasing the iron sand that now glistened faintly in the riverbed!
In other words, by dredging this riverbed, iron sand could be collected, and it meant that somewhere upstream, there must be rocks rich in iron sand! The island indeed had iron!
Marylia spent the next few moments in a frenzy of joy, squealing with excitement as she gazed at the iron sand.
She found Iron sand! Iron sand had been found! This meant she had taken the first solid step toward iron production!
Of course, just because she'd found iron sand didn't mean she could immediately craft an Iron Golem. In fact, the hard work had only just begun.
But for now, she decided to savor the joy of discovering iron sand and the hope it brought.
Marylia continued to prance about in excitement for a while.
However...
"... Hm? Oh my? What... is this?"
As she scouted for spots richer in iron sand, reading the water's flow, she noticed something different—a bright, clear glint at the riverbed.
"What's this? Oh my, it's stuck."
After a brief hesitation, Marylia waded into the water and pulled the object from the riverbed... only to find it attached to a chain. The chain was wedged tightly between rocks and wouldn’t budge.
"Oh, but there's something written on it. Let’s see..."
As she examined the item still connected to the chain, her eyes sharpened.
"... I knew it. There’s something about this island. Or more precisely, there was something here, wasn’t there...?"
It was an ancient magic artifact.
A slave collar.