Chương 10

When you made rope, it was important to know what material worked and what didn't. Wood broke down, especially dead ones. The best way to do this was to listen to how the wood splintered when struck by a rock, if a snap came out then that meant the wood is low quality and would easily break under tension. Brittle wood was something that couldn't be turned into fiber—and if it was then it'd just snap the moment it was used—so it was best to avoid those.

The best kind of wood to use when making fibers was the kind that twisted easily after it got smashed. And if it didn't make any kind of cracking noise? Then it was even better. Sobelle was very careful to not break the length of the wood while she flattened it. The stone she held was the one she used to knap rocks into knives moments before this, and it worked pretty well. The dead stalks were easily grounded up and the fibers split nicely.

She ran down the length very slowly, and ensured that the resulting lines weren't cut or damaged. It was a delicate thing, and one she was quite used to. Before she got her system, this was the sort of work she did for her mother. They made rope and sold it to passing merchants, or to other villagers. She wouldn't lie and say that she found the whole process quite enjoyable, as it was one of the many things that just felt peaceful and came naturally to her.

Once the branch's fibers had been split, Sobelle twisted them around each other until they softened enough to be coiled. Then she grabbed one end of the wood fibers, tied it around another, and twisted it into a tight coil. She repeated this process until the whole thing came together into this thick strand of rope made from wood. It was strong, sturdy, and perfect for when you needed to make something. This rope would hold the parts together and it would do so for several seasons.

It might even hold up against the raging currents of a river and the constant nibbling of fish and even the pincers of Khulls and Lokhulls alike. It was the perfect building material really. Now for the snare trap, Sobelle chose to make it out of simpler materials. Rope made from grass fibre was perfectly suited for catching small critters like squirrels, rats, or even rabbits. Did rabbits live in forests? Probably not. But plenty of them populated the nearby plains.

'Not that I'd ever go there.' Sobelle found it difficult to deal with her siblings, it was only expected that she didn't even dare to try her hands against the raptors. It simply wasn't worth it. And she hadn't even mentioned the ticks yet! Night had descended into the world by the time Sobelle finished the rope. She looked up at the unblinking stars and the wide, fog-like mist that filled the skies and painted it light blue.

People say that heaven was up there, and that the mist was the reason why no one could see it. Why the Gods chose to cover the skies with something so beautiful could only be because they didn't want anyone to feel like they lacked something when they looked at the sky. Heaven was beautiful, but so was the swirling mist of blue and gray that coated the heavens at night. Sobelle didn't bring home the rope she made, she didn't dare to.

It would be taken by Creyla the moment the woman's eyes recognized Sobelle carried rope. Dinner came and went, and the Gods had chosen to give Sobelle another request when she readied herself for sleep. And this time, it was the hardest test she had undergone. The Gods saw her potential and stopped holding back, now she had a week to memorize the entire table starting from 4. [Your performance was simply fantastic! Learning so fast proves you are quite smart, but are you smart enough to beat this? Answer all the remaining multiplication tables in a week, failure will result in lethargy for 2 days and a reduction in your [Strength] stat.] Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. The punishment was severe enough that Sobelle wouldn't dare risk playing around or feeling complacent. From now on, she would do nothing but study and she would not stop until she could recite the whole thing from start to finish in one go.

At the same time, Sobelle didn't want to forsake the Gods' other tasks. So she woke up early and finished her physical routine way before the sun came up, then she set up several traps around the forest. The bugs and the sun bothered her but she didn't have time to spare, she needed to be as quick as possible and as efficient as possible. This was the only way for her to succeed. Pain was nothing, and the Gods' trials would be filled with them. That was to be expected.

Work would reward her and prevent her from losing anything, her efforts would be repaid. The Gods' promised this would be the case after they have her the system they never once faltered or went back on their promise. Gods did not lie. Sobelle placed trap after trap, the knowledge given to her came with the know-how of animal movements and where they would frequently go. All she needed to do was place traps in such places and she'd be done. Snare traps came and went, up until Sobelle carried none of them.

She had gone so deep into the forest that no visible trails could be seen. This was on purpose, as a lack of humans meant the animals were so much bolder on where they came and went. The areas she had chosen were well and truly wilderness. In every sense of the word. It was on the walk back to the plains that Sobelle noticed something unusual within the murky depths of a lake. The body of water that attracted her attention was fairly small—just the size of two houses or so—and also relatively unknown.

There were fish inside, but more than that? There was a turtle. Or what Sobelle believed to be one. She inched closer to the water's edge, careful as to not step on a mossy rock and accidentally slip. That would be embarrassing. Sobelle got a closer look at the movement she had spotted earlier and confirmed that it was, in fact, a turtle. The snapping kind. It waited silently in the corner of the lake and waved its tongue back and forth to attract fish, unfortunately for this turtle, it got Sobelle.

She snapped off the branch of a nearby tree and inserted it into the water, then she placed it in front of the turtle's mouth and waited for it to clamp down. Its powerful jaws snapped shut and held the wood tightly, Sobelle pulled it out of the water and quickly rushed over to its neck. She grabbed the nape of the turtle and wrestled it into submission, then she reached for a rock and it was over the moment her fingers curled around the spherical shape.

Sobelle raised the rock into the air and smashed the turtle's head. It thrashed so she did it again. This repeated until the creature no longer moved.

'Meat. This is exactly what I need.' Sobelle smiled and hefted the turtle on her back before she went off and searched for birds' nests for tinder. She got lucky today, as some of the nests had eggs and even hatchlings. Sobelle carried her prey back to the alcove and then went on to make a primitive cooking station.

She cleared some leaves and other foliage to prevent the fire from spreading, dug down into the wet earth, lit it up using a firebow and some leaves to create a layer of ash, She then placed a bunch of rocks around the pit, with two large ones on either side. She made sure that the turtle shell could be placed between these two rocks and once that happened, she nodded and left to complete the rest of the fire pit. She placed rocks until the pit was surrounded by a ground of stone, this further prevented fires.

After that, she butchered the turtle, the eggs, and the tiny birds she caught. There was so much meat that Sobelle physically felt disgusted by the sight of it.

'I need vegetables or fruits. Maybe mushrooms?' Sobelle went off and searched for the aforementioned items, she looked at trees and other areas that she knew these would be present in. She gathered enough to control the taste of her stew and then went back to her alcove to open up the turtle and prepare it. With her butchered food inside its shell, she went up to the springs and cleaned them of blood, viscera, and other disgusting things. The fruits were treated the same way.

While she was there, Sobelle decided to cut them up and diced them into edible pieces. She also searched for roots that could control the taste of what she cooked and cut those up as well. Finally, she went back down, started a fire, and cooked turtle meat, fruits, wild root, and hatchling stew. The eggs were boiled. Sobelle took a bite and frowned. It didn't taste quite like her stepmother's cooking, but it was still good.

'I have meat secured, now all I need is to keep studying for next week.'