Chapter 10: Ink
Think, think, think! *sigh*
I guess working with clay will have to wait for later.
But... I still want to make this map. If I can't use clay, it leaves me with one option, painting.
In the past, people painted in caves. Unfortunately, there are no caves here, but there are large enough stones for me to paint on, maybe even on the thick trees.
The problem is the paint. With my resources, I should be able to obtain some pigments, but to make paint, I need something with color and something to fix the paint. In the past, they used blood, bones, earth, leaves to create color, and fat from animals for the binding agent.
I know this now, except for the fat since I don't have any. So all that's left for me is the tree sap. Although there are plenty of trees, I'm not sure if the sap from these trees can be used for paint. I guess I'll have to find out.
After thinking of a solution, I left my workshop and went to the group.
When I arrived, I was met with an unusual sight: the chief was in a fight, not with a predator, but with another member.
While the group was shouting and the two fought each other, probably for leadership, I approached those with whom I had developed some rapport.
After climbing to the top of a tree, I started interacting with a few others, and one with whom I had a good connection was one of the guys who managed to create a spear first. I call him Joe.
Hey, what's going on?
The chief is fighting.
Why?
For leadership.
I see.
As I thought, it's a fight for leadership, which is normal in animals, and even among humans.
Well, I hope that regardless of the outcome, it won't affect me. I still need to improve my relationships with the others before taking over the group. When that time comes, I won't be afraid of being discovered by something.
What? He exclaimed.
The other one grabbed a spear!
Have armed fights already begun?
I thought it would happen, but not so soon. I thought it would take a while for them to get used to it.
Observing the movements, I noticed it was... quite bad. Essentially, they were hitting each other like they were using clubs instead of spears.
Seeing that his opponent was gaining an advantage, the chief also grabbed a spear and started to hit.
Instead of a spear fight, it looked more like a children's pretend sword fight.
Finally, the chief managed to land a blow to the head, winning the fight.
The other guy fell to the ground, dead.
Those on the chief's side shouted to announce the victory, while those on the other side retreated to a corner, in silence.
This was the first death I had witnessed at the hands of one of the group. The others were killed by the panther, but now I saw one kill another. I guess they haven't changed to be more human yet.
I decided to just leave it at that. After all, here, the strongest is king.
Suddenly, I felt a gaze; the chief was staring at me. His gaze wasn't only directed at me but at all the males, but I did feel a bit more attention from him.
He was saying, "I'm in charge here!"
I gave a look of understanding and went to sleep.
The next day, I started looking for tree sap that could be used as a binder for the paint.
I decided to do it like the cavemen, except without the cave and the man. I would use leaves, earth, and insects for color. The earth and the plants should be enough to make brown, red, and green, which should be all I need for now.
So I began collecting all the materials I needed.
To remove the sap from the trees, I would use the dagger, even if it's not the right tool, it will do the job.
After collecting the sap, I placed it in the wooden bucket I made earlier. After washing the green leaves, I took the dagger and chopped them into very fine pieces. For the earth, I used red-colored soil from some areas near the savanna. I made sure there was nothing in the soil that could alter the color. Then I used a mortar I made to grind the plants, which had helped with my wound; instead of eating them, I decided to grind and apply them to the wound, which worked really well. Now I used them to turn the red earth into a powder.
First, I was going to make red paint. I mixed the earth powder into the bucket with the sap and stirred until it turned into paint. Then I added a bit of water to dilute it a little. Next, it was time to test it.
I took a bit of paint with my hands and applied it to a stone. The result was...
Disappointing.
I got the color right, but the texture didn't turn out well, and the paint didn't adhere to the stone.
I sighed; well, I was really expecting that.
After this failure, I tried several times until finally...
Haha, I did it!
After testing on three different types of trees, the fourth one worked. It had the right texture and looked as I intended. Now I could make my map.
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