The next morning, Carlos went to visit Quixotina, who was still recovering in bed, pale with deep dark circles under her eyes. The magical exhaustion had left her so weak she could barely hold a glass of water.

  "How are you feeling?" he asked, concerned.

  "Like I was run over by a wagon," she replied in a hoarse voice. "But I'm alive, thanks to you. Aqua told me what you did... she called it a 'resurrection ritual'."

  Carlos sighed, imagining the rumors that must already be circulating around the quilombo.

  Seems like I'm practicing black magic instead of just simple CPR.

  "It wasn't any ritual," he explained patiently. "They are just first aid techniques from my world."

  After ensuring Quixotina was in good hands, Carlos spent the morning teaching the basic resuscitation procedures to the quilombo guards. He showed them how to check pulses, perform chest compressions, and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, under gazes that wavered between skepticism and admiration.

  At noon, he found Tassi near the stream, washing the dirt from her hands.

  "So, what's our next move?" she asked, drying her hands on her clothes.

  Carlos rubbed his face, tired. The smell of wet earth and dry leaves filled the air.

  "Now that we have the saltpeter, we need to purify it for the production of black powder. The book I have on the history of firearms explains how they used to do it in the past."

  He opened the worn book, showing the diagrams to Tassi.

  "We need large clay tanks to mix the saltpeter with water. The impurities sink to the bottom, and then we filter the water. We'll ask the quilombo's potter to make the tanks. For the filter, we need the weaver, and to boil the mixture, we need an iron pot – we'll have to order it from Nia. In the meantime, we build a suitable place for the purification."

  "Wow, that's a lot of work," Tassi commented, looking at the complex drawings. "But it will be worth it if we get more weapons. Alright, let's do it!"

  After ordering the materials from the artisans, the two began building the shed for the saltpeter purification. The structure would be made of clay with a thatched roof, like most buildings in the quilombo. The hot sun beat down on their backs as they worked.

  "You know," said Tassi, stopping to wipe the sweat from her brow, "they could lend us some magical artifacts with earth and plant gems. Even if they are weapons, they could be used to build this shed. When I was in the Mino army, I was responsible for building camps. Now that they've seen you know things beyond weapons, like that... resurrection ritual, maybe they'll give us more support."

  Carlos almost laughed at the confusion between medicine and magic.

  "But can't you use your staff?"

  "No, it only makes plants grow," Tassi explained, shaking her head.

  "I see. Let's talk to Aqua now. With her approval, we can get the artifacts and the permission to build."

  With Aqua's authorization, they received two silver bracelets – one with a green gem, the other with a brown gem. A guard was assigned to accompany them, and Aqua instructed them to build the shed further away, near the tree stumps where they had previously tested the weapons.

  Upon arriving at the location, Carlos observed the weedy plain covered in stumps, already imagining the area in the future as a potential industrial zone.

  Tassi chose a spot near the forest.

  "Why here?" asked Carlos, confused.

  "You'll soon see why it needs to be near the trees," she replied mysteriously.

  She put on the bracelets and stomped her left foot firmly on the ground while punching the air with her closed fist. Immediately, a wall of smooth, solid earth rose from the ground. Carlos watched in amazement as she repeated the movement to form the other walls and a central column.

  Then, Tassi approached a tree wrapped in vines. With her growth staff in one hand and touching the vines with the other, the green gem on her bracelet glowed intensely. The vines began to climb towards the roof, multiplying and intertwining like green snakes, until they completely covered the structure, blocking out all external light. What would have taken weeks was ready in less than an hour.

  Tassi looked at Carlos and the guard, both open-mouthed, and felt a wave of pride.

  This is the kind of thing I'm good at. If I had a decent magical weapon, that snake wouldn't have stood a chance. When I was a warrior, I was one of the best.

  Her legs trembled slightly, and a headache emerged.

  Damn, I used too much mana. But it was worth it to impress them. And I'm hungry...

  "Now that the shed is ready, we can go have lunch, right?" she said, taking off the bracelets and handing them to the still stunned guard.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Carlos took a moment to compose himself.

  "Yes... let's have lunch."

  If even the guard was that impressed, what she did must be truly extraordinary. I wish I had powers like that...

  After lunch, they took the baskets of saltpeter to the shed. As they still didn't have the tools to refine it, they stored everything there.

  The next day, Carlos pondered who could guide them to the pyrite cave. They had originally thought of Quixotina, but she was still recovering. This time, however, they wouldn't need someone with magical powers, as the cave was inside the quilombo, not in the dangerous forest. Aqua had told them that the quilombo had formed precisely because people came to fetch fire gems from that cave.

  They decided to ask Aqua for a guide, but first, they needed mining tools. They went to Nia's smithy.

  The place was hot and noisy, with four apprentices working vigorously. One of them was hammering a still-irregular musket barrel.

  Nia, near the furnace, tossed some fire gems under it, which, after a few seconds, ignited.

  Nia was so immersed in her work that she didn't even notice the visitors' arrival. Her movements were precise and fluid, as if she were dancing with the fire. With special gloves adorned with small fire gems and iron, she firmly held a glowing iron bar that shone with an intense red in the furnace.

  What followed seemed like pure magic: the iron began to twist and modify itself, as if it had a life of its own. Nia kept her hands firm on the handle, but it was the metal that seemed to be molding itself by its own will, assuming complex and precise shapes under her gentle command. The air around them trembled with the heat, and the smell of hot metal permeated the smithy.

  Only after several minutes, when the piece began to take its final shape, did Nia finally look up and notice Carlos and Tassi standing at the entrance, both with expressions of complete astonishment at her ability to manipulate the glowing iron with such mastery.

  "Good morning," she greeted. "How can I help you? I'm quite busy for new orders."

  Carlos was fascinated by the delayed activation gems and also by the iron manipulation.

  If we can control the ignition time, it would be perfect for gunpowder bombs! Much more practical than a gunpowder trail... Also, such control over iron might allow us to make more complex machines! Maybe even steam engines, I might be able to bring about the industrial revolution!

  Tassi, seeing him distracted, answered for him:

  "We came to get some iron pickaxes. We need to collect a mineral from the quilombo's mine."

  Nia smiled.

  "If that's all, you've come at the right time. Not only do I have the pickaxes, but I'll go with you. I need a good piece of pyrite for the weapon's flint."

  Carlos was excited by the news.

  "Pyrite is exactly what we need! And we'd love to have your help identifying the veins."

  Nia, wiping the sweat from her brow, smiled.

  "Excellent! I'll get the equipment. I'm also curious about what you'll do with this pyrite."

  While Nia was gone, the four apprentices fixed intense stares on Carlos. She soon returned with three pickaxes and a hammer in a straw basket.

  Leaving the smithy, they headed for the mine, climbing the mountainside.

  "I think your apprentices don't like me very much," Carlos commented. "They were staring at me after you left."

  Nia laughed.

  "Ha ha ha, don't mind them! They must be jealous because I'm going out with another man. They think I'm going to make you my new husband."

  Tassi's eyes widened.

  "Wait, you mean all of them are your husbands?"

  "Exactly! Handsome and muscular, aren't they?" Nia paused and looked mischievously at Carlos. "But I also care about personality. If a person is interesting, intelligent, and extraordinary, they score a lot of points with me."

  Carlos felt his face grow warm.

  No, no, what am I thinking? It's true I've been in a dry spell since I got here, but that doesn't mean I want to get married and share my wife... There must be some single women around here.

  "Let's focus on the work," he said, embarrassed. "I don't want to make four enemies."

  I can't believe I turned down a woman. I don't think a woman has ever hit on me so blatantly.

  Changing the subject, he asked:

  "The fire gems you used ignited after a while."

  "Ah, that! They are the only gems we can work here without a magical gemcrafter. Aqua knows something about fire gems and taught us. We can do that, but not much more."

  That alone would be a lethal weapon with gunpowder!

  Arriving at the cave, they entered the mine, which was smaller than the one they had visited before, with wooden beams supporting the ceiling and holders for torches. Each carried a torch, following Nia. At a fork, she explained:

  "To the left, fire gem veins – that's why it's called the Fire Cave. To the right, the mineral you want."

  Going right, they found shiny veins in the walls. Carlos recognized the pyrite by its golden gleam – understanding now why they called it "fool's gold." Anyone without experience could mistake it for real gold.

  "We're here! I'll help you collect it," said Nia. "I need a good piece of pyrite for the flint. As you said, it needs to make a good spark to ignite the gunpowder."

  "You remembered correctly. By the way, how is the weapon production going?"

  Nia sighed before answering.

  "It's taking a long time; the iron we have isn't very good quality," Nia explained. "We have to hammer it a lot to improve it. Also, parts like the hammer and the frizzen are complex, with thicker and thinner sections."

  Carlos thought that in the future, blacksmiths might no longer be necessary for such parts, especially for mass production, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

  They began to work, using the pickaxes to extract the pyrite and place it in the baskets. Nia occasionally hit a piece with her hammer to test the sparks. For a flintlock weapon, the more sparks, the better. She soon found a suitable piece of pyrite but continued to help.

  After half a day of work, the group left the cave, exhausted and hungry.

  "You know, this pyrite is made of iron and sulfur," Carlos explained. "Unfortunately, we can't extract pure iron from it right now, but the sulfur alone will be useful."

  "Really?" Nia seemed surprised. "I thought it was only good for sparks! If you can get iron for us, I'll be very grateful. We're always short of iron here. We trade food with people from the region in exchange for iron and other items – they aren't slave owners, which is why we trade with them, but even they have limited resources. Any additional source of iron would help a lot."

  As they descended the mountain, Nia handed over her basket of pyrite, keeping only the stone for the flint. Tassi and Carlos took the rest to the shed, where they would refine the saltpeter and extract the sulfur from the pyrite.

  Now comes the hard part, thought Carlos, looking at the full baskets. The real work was just beginning.