Chapter 175 - Handmade

It didn't take long for the Farmer to lead Gustav towards that little opening to the ground. Gustav had a sprint on his walk thanks to the thought of possibly opening a Coal mine, this can be the most profitable establishment this town could ever experience, if the cave is big enough. He kept walking faster than the Farmer, often slowing down after a portion of speed walking so the farmer can catch on.

When they reached the hole, there wasn't much to see first! It was just a crack measuring about a couple of meters wide and around 5 meters long. This opening wasn't even deep in a mountain or a hill, it was just a crack on a fairly flat land. Which makes this a lot more interesting, because this isn't where one easily finds any Mine in particular. So the cave could likely be very small, or maybe... would need a Century to conquer. There is no inbetween.

Before he was about  to walk in, trying to check what this cave can offer, he was struck by the dirt like aroma it unleashed with a radius spreading quite a few meters. It was as if someone was smoking tree leaves inside the cave and the smoke was getting right in his nose. Not healthy to breathe in no doubt, but this just signifies that there are a lot of Coal down there, more than usual. Since the Farmers claim that they have taken Coal from here quite a few times yet the strong aroma was still there, defines how much this Coal this cave could possibly hold. Shortly described, it isn't little.

He had to carefully climb down, since at first there was a meter high drop, followed by occasional stair like boulders leading him deeper down the cave. There was Coal rolling beneath his feet, he even almost fell down because of them a couple of times. It wouldn't nearly be a nice experience to slip and fall on the hard cave flour, especially with possible Coal chunks laying around. It would be extensively bad if he takes damage to the head here.

These Coal Chunks laying around however, is a result of  people being down here before. They broke a lot of it before from these cave walls, so they can use them for warmth or cooking reasons of course. As a result a few Chunks likely escaped their eye, It isn't easy to find pitch black Coal in this pitch black dark. The only portion of illumination provided in this cave, was the one coming from the Sun, breaking through that little crack above his head. This can't partially define how much Coal this cave is capable of giving. 

Seeing his limited capabilities to explore this cave, Gustav returned near the exit, called for the Farmer to approach and asked him. "Can you get me a Torch? I can't see anything down here. But I smell the Coal, I sense there is a lot of it." 

Although Gustav's enthusiasm high about this little exploration, the Farmer didn't simply understand the value of these flammable rocks. He just saw them as a little material used to save up precious wood for the winter. This Town has been using it for years to the point of downgrading it's value. "Sorry, we don't have Torches here, we mostly use the Fireplace to provide us light through the night until we fall asleep. Mostly, to save wood we sleep earlier."

Gustav understood these standards, it reminds him of his childhood really. So he didn't nearly plan to mock their lifestyle, in fact he was too excited to waste anytime with such a toxic activity. Apart from that, he desperately wanted to make this exploration thing possible. "Oh, then can you find me a two foot long stick, a bit thinner than your arm?"

Realizing that Gustav was very careful with his words, the Farmer got a little spark of motivation to lend a hand to this little exploration. "I'll get on it. Please wait." He answered, and took off with a sprint.

What would he do with a stick you might ask? Well he already has a Dagger, so he decided to make a little Torch of his own here really quick. Because when the Farmer arrives, Gustav will basically have all the required items and tools to do so. Gustav started touching around the cave, felt with his feet a little bit too which seemed safer for a bit. Trying to find the biggest Chunk of Coal he can under this lowly provided light.

It took him a while, but it's good because it took the Farmer a while as well to return with the specified branch, so it fairly worked to his advantage. While looking for an appropriately sized Chunk of Coal, Gustav's hand also ran through a piece of Flint, it just fitted on his hand perfectly. This made things a bit easier since he wouldn't have to wait for the Farmer to return with an Ignited torch either once Gustav made one.

As Gustav made his way near the Cave's exit, he saw the Farmer approaching with a sprint. He arrived near Gustav, fairly out of breath and gave him the required stick. However this Farmer was still confused with Gustav's intentions so he dared to ask. "Here sir. But what do you plan to do with this stick?"

"Simple." Smirked Gustav as he pulled out his Dagger from his little leather Scabbard (For those of you who don't know, a Scabbard is a little leather item which can be used to hold Swords safely. It can be hung on a belt or put on with a strap.), and started working on the stick.

He first carefully placed his Dagger right in the middle of one end of the stick and used a rock to hit the back of the Dagger. One hit managed to split the stick on the desired position, thankfully enough to break the stick though. This is just what he needed, it is even why he asked for a 2 foot long stick. Because if he didn't manage to split it right, he could cut the failure off and try again.

And afterwards he pushed the split end closer to each other, and split it once more but from another position, forming a plus(+) on that one end of this stick. Grabbing the fist sized Coal he found, he placed it in between this split side. This will prove great for holding the Coal for a long while before the Coal burns through them and falls off.

After he saw that his Torch is fairly steady, a bit long too but it gives him more space, away from the burning Coal which would burn near him, he would have to inhale its smoke a lot less plus and it helps him explore this Cave better.

Placing the Torch to the ground and afterwards using the Flint he found just a bit earlier in the same Cave, he tried to Ignite it with the aid of his Dagger. Bashing Flint against Steel can cause serious sparks, at this point it's all he needed to finally provide more light to this cave.

And it was fairly easy to light it, it just took a few strikes to achieve Ignition. Once listen, he started walking further down the Cave. The first portion wasn't so promising, it was just a part of this Cave ranging about 12 meters long, it ranged from 3-6 meters wide too. However, the size of the Cave was the only thing not promising. As for the amount of Coal, well... It covered over 65% of the Cave walls!

But once he passed that first materialistically promising portion, he discovered a bigger wider part deeper down. He didn't manage to explore it since the drop was beyond the Torches reach! It would be very dangerous if he went down there unprepared or without the proper tools. All the tools he has is a Torch and a Dagger. However he did use a Chunk of Coal to determine how deep this second portion of the Cave is.

Since he heard the Coal's collision with the Cave's floor shortly after. He decided that the drop should be 10 meters at least. It isn't a lot to climb down with the proper Tools, but it would prove a hassle when an established Coal mining team would need to get the Coal out of here.

He decided to not go down there alone, it is too much of a risk. He is needed here for many other governing jobs, he is a big help there and just an explorer here. He can at least get people down there who are more skilled, who are physically stronger. Or at least he can try sending down a long Ladder down there, or a Rope maybe. What he did know, is that he isn't cut out to go down there. He could be risking too much even if he aims to help this Town attain financial Freedom.

For now, he walked towards the Town's newly established Blacksmith team. They could be looking at a possible Coal Mine here, but the town doesn't even have one Pickaxe! Even King Zar didn't send one since it wasn't required in any way in Guard Commander Delrus Aze's request list. If there were Stonemasons here they would carry such a Tool around to aid them even out land, but there isn't a team of Stonemasons in Bale town. The hardest Iron they can hit the ground here is with a Hoe, and the closest people reaching the Stonemasonry craft here, are the Clay Sculptures.