After a week of implementing his assembly lines and securing the cave’s perimeter, Frodo wanted to push the tribe’s evolution even further...
He envisioned an immediate leap into the Chalcolithic era, the Copper Age.
But as he tried to mentally map out the logistics of smelting ore in the frozen foothills of the Last Glacial Maximum, the grim reality of his situation shattered his optimism.
First, he needed a kiln capable of reaching nearly two thousand degrees Fahrenheit.
While he understood the physics of forced-air drafting, he lacked the clay required to build a stable furnace; the ground outside was essentially frozen granite covered in permafrost.
Without specialized kilns, his grand vision of bronze spearheads and copper armor could not progress effectively.
The second, and far more frustrating reason, was fuel.
The ancient metallurgists of Earth’s history had thrived in river valleys with abundant hardwood and early charcoal production. The Mammoth Mountains offered only sparse, moisture-logged pine and damp moss. They barely had enough dry wood to keep the children from freezing to death at night.
To forge metal, he needed intense, sustained heat.
And unlike the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, his tribe did not have a temperate climate or an abundance of combustible resources to fall back on.
Hence, Frodo chose to pivot, transforming the tribe’s capabilities one step at a time.
Finding a way to improve their clothing and cold-weather survival was relatively simple, as the candidate suitable for the job had already proven her genius... Kaelen.
Having engineered the flexible travois, Kaelen possessed a deep understanding of the structural limits of animal hides and sinew.
Her intuition was unquestionable, given her lifetime of surviving the brutal winters.
Furthermore, Kaelen’s meticulous attention to detail made her an even more fitting candidate to lead a dedicated weaving and tailoring team than any of the older women in the tribe.
However, the real challenge lay in finding leaders for two entirely new concepts Frodo wanted to introduce: a dedicated ’Scouting and Reconnaissance’ team, and a ’Resource Logistics’ team.
Now, Frodo needed specialists who could track enemies without engaging, and planners who could calculate the tribe’s caloric burn rate against their stored meat.
Moreover, much of the tracking in the past was done by the strongest hunters like Tor, making the talent pool of available, uninjured men seem practically non-existent.
Frodo decided to take a unique approach to address this challenge. Since he couldn’t find a candidate himself among the obvious choices, he chose to cast a wider net...
Within the tribe of forty-odd survivors, there had to be someone with untapped skills.
He initiated a gathering by the central fire, with the goal of digging out individuals from the fringes of the tribe... the outcasts, the weak, or the very young who possessed the necessary potential.
Furthermore, he believed that this opportunity could serve as a demonstration that anyone, irrespective of their strength or hunting prowess, had the ability to ascend in value and become a pillar of the tribe.
The requirements for his new roles were announced loudly over the crackle of the flames.
For the Reconnaissance team, the ideal candidates were individuals who could move through the deep snow without breaking a branch, capable of observing details and remembering landmarks over long distances.
This specific criterion served as a filter, eliminating the heavy-footed brute-force hunters.
On the other hand, for the Logistics team, Frodo was in search of someone obsessed with numbers capable of organizing the piles of bones, wood, and meat, while also possessing a relentless attitude toward waste.
As soon as the announcement settled over the cavern, those who normally sat in the shadows became excited, finally seeing an opportunity to contribute without needing to hold a spear.
...
The next day.
Over a dozen tribe members rushed toward Frodo’s corner upon hearing about the tests designed by the boy who had killed the Great Tusk.
Frodo’s authority was at an absolute peak after the defeat of the Blood-Walkers, attracting even those who didn’t fully understand what ’Logistics’ meant, just to see what the strange boy was planning next.
Although the requirements for Reconnaissance were strict, many of the smaller, swifter youths had learned to step lightly as part of their daily survival, avoiding the heavy boots of the elders or hiding from wolves.
Over time, some even became proficient at reading the tracks of small game that the main hunters ignored.
In their day-to-day survival, dealing with rationing scraps and understanding exactly how long a piece of fat would last was common, leading many of them to develop a rudimentary but sharp sense of resource management.
This demonstrated that even in the face of brutal prehistoric conditions, humans are like water; they adapt and find ways to make themselves useful to the pack...
Due to the sudden crowding in his small alcove, the flow of the meat processing caused an abrupt halt in the cave’s morning routine, which had just started to find a rhythm.
To restore order, Tor and Bael were swiftly recruited to act as guards, keeping the path to the fire clear.
Not everything was chaotic; the gathering brought a strange sense of unity, as people who rarely spoke to each other began discussing the boy’s strange tests.
The morale of the tribe improved significantly due to this event.
Observing this situation, Frodo realized that simply dictating orders was no longer suitable for the rapid growth of his people.
However, due to a severe shortage of time before Kael inevitably returned, he had been delaying the establishment of a proper council.
Although he now had the tribe’s full attention, it needed to be used wisely, as their limited daylight hours had to be spent carefully to complete the fortifications.
As the youths and the elderly arrived at Frodo’s testing circle, Bael directed them to a series of flat stones where small piles of varied pebbles, twigs, and animal teeth had been arranged hastily.
The crowd moved towards the stones and encountered Frodo, sitting cross-legged.
Frodo arranged for the youths to track a specifically marked rabbit pelt he had hidden deep within the cave’s darkest tunnels, filtering out those who made too much noise, and evaluating the rest himself based on their speed and silence.
For the Logistics candidates, he asked them to organize the piles of pebbles and teeth into logical, easily countable groups.
As the tests progressed, more and more individuals walked away with a sigh of relief or disappointment, their expressions reflecting the harshness of the boy’s standards.
Eventually, a group of three teenagers was selected for Reconnaissance, and a group of two fierce, eagle-eyed elderly women for Logistics.
Signs of great pride were evident on the faces of all the selected individuals, as they eagerly awaited receiving their first orders...