Perhaps out of gratitude, Star Jasmine threw himself into helping the Hunters search for ore.
At the crack of dawn the very next day, he led the group away from their lodgings in the Collapsed Canyon to begin searching for mining sites.
Star Jasmine had an excellent memory and easily guided the Hunters to four of them.
These small veins exposed at the surface could not support a full-scale mining operation, but they were ideal for individual gatherers.
Common ores such as Iron Ore, Machalite Ore, and Disc Stone were abundant in the mountains near the outpost. What the advance team truly lacked were higher-grade ores such as Dragonite Ore.
The few sites in the Collapsed Canyon that yielded high-grade ore solved that problem nicely. Given the advance team's current size, they could already meet most of its needs.
At least they no longer had to contact suppliers in the outside world whenever they needed a handful of ore, then have it hauled thousands of miles from the Old World. Delivery took far too long, while expedited shipping cost several times more than the ore itself.
It had nearly driven one particular supply manager to despair...
"That's two of our three objectives complete. All that's left is the Eltalite Ore," Altaïr said as he carefully marked the surface mining sites on the map.
The topographic map in his hands had been drawn on-site after they arrived in the area. As pioneers, they had to do everything themselves.
With Star Jasmine leading the way, the group trekked over mountains and through valleys. Before long, they reached a riverbank.
The river appeared to be nearly dry. Only a thin trickle ran along the bottom of its bed, scarcely more than a creek.
Star Jasmine stared at it, wide-eyed and bewildered. Several seconds passed before he found his voice. "La... last time I came here, it wasn't... like this!
"There was so much water... It was a great river!"
"When was the last time you came here?" Altaïr asked.
Star Jasmine scratched one furry ear. "I can't remember... the exact day... It must have been before the canyon collapsed.
"Back then, Honeysuckle and I... had decided to settle in the valley. I found this place while... exploring the area. I even found that Eltalite Ore here. I took it back to... make a tool."
"And you haven't been back since?" Altaïr pressed.
"No... I haven't." Star Jasmine shook his head. "After Honeysuckle... disappeared underground, I searched everywhere for... a way into the depths. I never came back... here."
"Could the same thing have happened here as in the cave where we found Pariapuria?" Isis asked. "An earthquake may have cut off the underground channel and drained the river.
"But it hasn't dried up completely, has it?"
"A river wouldn't dry up overnight. Its flow would dwindle over time. The underground channel may only be blocked, not completely severed."
While Altaïr and Isis discussed the possibilities, Kagetsu leaned close to Star Jasmine's ear and whispered ominously, "So where is the Eltalite Ore?"
Her tone sent a chill through Star Jasmine.
He shuddered. "Not far... It's right ahead!"
Altaïr saw no point in speculating further. He decided to report the river's condition to Ms. Meow-It-All and leave the question to her.
The group continued onward, following Star Jasmine for barely another hundred or two hundred meters. There, the river channel curved sharply into a broad bend.
Star Jasmine pointed at the riverbed. "Right here... This is where I saw it. There were fish in the river then. I tried to catch one, but my hook... snagged on something. When I jumped in to free it, I found the ore."
"I thought you said the current was strong back then?"
"I'm... a very good swimmer!" Star Jasmine flexed his arms proudly.
Altaïr was still asking for details when Kagetsu jumped into the river channel. She bent down and groped through the water, which barely rose above her thighs, then picked up a piece of crimson ore no larger than a fingernail.
"Found one! ...But why is it so tiny? What am I supposed to do with this little bit?!"
The others climbed into the river channel one after another. Caught off guard by the footing, Sajji tumbled straight into the water, then sprang up and shook himself dry.
"Meow? It smells a little like sulfur, meow." Sajji sniffed his damp fur.
An excellent swimmer, Clawdia paddled back and forth a couple of times. "It does smell like sulfur, meow. Like hot spring water, only much fainter, meow."
Altaïr looked upstream, toward the Great Volcano at the center of Tidal Island.
"If I'm right, this river flows all the way down from the Great Volcano. Volcanic eruptions and lava aren't the only things carrying ore out of the mountain. The river does too.
"If so, we'll search along its course, especially around bends like this one. Heavy ores such as Eltalite Ore may settle there.
"Small fragments are fine. Ore is valued by weight, and the smiths can refine it."
He paused, then added, "Besides ore, we may find gold nuggets or even gemstones."
Kagetsu's head snapped up.
The tiny fragment of crimson ore still lay in her palm, but Kagetsu's eyes gleamed gold.
—--
Large chunks and tiny fragments alike, the carefully sorted crimson ore slid from a smith's shovel into the crucible.
Burly smiths sang work songs as they heaved together on the enormous bellows. The rush of air sent the flames in the furnace leaping high.
The Village Chief had come specifically to watch and beamed with excitement. "With the Eltalite Ore you brought back, we'll soon be able to build the high-temperature furnace!
"That will dramatically improve smelting efficiency. Metal parts of every kind will no longer be the bottleneck holding back the outpost's development.
"We'll have better tools, and construction will move faster!
"Once most of the outpost's basic facilities are complete, we'll build the waterwheel. Harnessing the river will increase the smithy's output even further!
"Everything is falling into place. Now this is how a proper outpost comes together!"
Altaïr watched just as intently as the crucible gradually glowed a deep golden red inside the furnace.
He clearly remembered Hubert's promise. Once the high-temperature furnace was finished, Hubert would begin upgrading his Tyrant Blade [Solar Eclipse].
Everyone else was focused on the furnace. Only Kagetsu was busy calculating her earnings.
The ore scattered along the river near the Collapsed Canyon was tedious to gather, but there was far more of it than they had expected.
They camped beside the river and spent three or four days gathering more than twenty units of Eltalite Ore. They also found several other high-grade ores, including Dragonite Ore and Firestone, which were normally found only inside volcanoes.
They found no gemstones. Raw, unpolished gemstones scarcely differed from ordinary rocks at a glance. They certainly did not sparkle like glass, as most people imagined. Since none of them were trained geologists, it was hardly surprising that they failed to spot any.
They did, however, find a gold nugget the size of a bird's egg. Isis found it, not Kagetsu.
Kagetsu went green with envy, but there was nothing she could do about it. Luck was never something anyone could count on.
Still, Kagetsu was the most dedicated collector of the three. She had spent day and night painstakingly dredging at least half the assorted ore they brought back to the outpost from the riverbed. The ore alone was worth a considerable sum, and with the mission reward on top of that, her financial crisis finally became far less dire.
An "oddball" among the Uruki, much like Honeysuckle, Star Jasmine naturally joined Mangrove Outpost and became a member of the advance team.
And his reunion with Honeysuckle? Was it touching?
Uruki and humans had very different customs. Hugs? Tears? Neither belonged in an Uruki reunion. Instead, Star Jasmine and Honeysuckle exchanged baskets woven from flowers they had picked themselves, then performed a strange dance together.
Even little Alfalfa, who could barely walk, crawled out of a flower basket and did her best to hop and skip alongside her parents.
Watching them, Isis alone was moved to tears...