{A/N: I won't be able to upload as many chapters becuase i've got a lot of projects at school.}
Zoe clutches at her eye, trying to stop the blood flow while her good eye scans the stone cave for anything useful.
She rises to her knees and crawls forward toward a thick fern growing near the cave entrance. Tearing a leaf from the plant she props it against the wall ,splitting it with her knife. Gripping one side with her teeth, she tears it down the middle, then uses the sticky sap inside like a makeshift bandage.
She presses the leaf over her wound, gritting her teeth as she secures the edges. Taking the remaining half, she rips it into small strips and applies them around the larger piece.
Having stopped the heavy bleeding, Zoe collapses onto the stone floor as exhaustion takes over. While she sleeps, the sun moves across the sky, eventually dipping below the horizon as orange light creeps into the cave.
The light fades as night envelops the land, cold seeping through the air and stone around the unconscious Zoe. Her body works overtime to heal her injuries, the excess heat from healing maintaining her temperature.
As morning light appears on the horizon, Zoe wakes with a deep groan. She opens her eyes, quickly glancing around the cave before slowly sitting up.
"Urgh shit, that fucking bird did a number on me."
Shifting her legs slightly she winces, her gaze moving to the twisted appendage. Taking deep breaths, she assesses the damage using her extensive medical knowledge.
"Shit I've only read about injuries like this, I'll have to give it a go either way -- no one can help me."
Dragging herself to the edge of the cave she snaps a branch from a small tree growing in the cracks. Pulling off some vines clinging to the rock, she prepares herself.
Leaning against the cold stone wall, she pulls her injured leg closer, gripping the injured foot with one hand while steadying her leg with the other. Breathing deeply, she twists sharply, feeling her ankle pop as the broken bone resets, falling back into the socket.
Pain makes her wince as a tear falls from her eye. Her breath comes in quick, shallow gasps as she reaches for her materials. Placing sticks on either side of her ankle she wraps the vines tightly around them, creating a solid support.
Feeling lightheaded, she shakes her head and pinches her arm. The small pain momentarily distracts her mind from the greater pain in her ankle.
She breathes deeply, allowing air to fill her lungs as she calms herself.
"Okay I can't pass out now, I need to make sure there isn't any more dangers nearby."
Looking around, she notices a stick barrier blocking a path deeper into the cave.
"Hmm? That's definitely not natural."
Dragging herself toward the barrier, she carefully movies around the half-eaten crows. She pauses to examine the more intact bird.
The crow has large black wings spanning almost 1.5 meters, with a sharp, long beak. Its legs are thicker than birds she remembers, ending in blade-like talons. Inside the open wound, she notices strange tissue resembling brain matter rather than muscle or fat.
"That is certainly interesting. It's a shame they're dead. I could learn more about them if they were alive. My basic analysis indicates these birds should be smarter than the ones from three millennium ago, which makes sense I suppose – this is just a basic conjecture though and could be highly inaccurate."
Focusing on this distraction, Zoe ignores the pain in her foot as she studies the strange biology of the familiar-looking bird.
Returning her attention to her exploration, she continues toward the barrier at the back of the cave. Upon reaching it, she finds a tightly woven mass similar to a bird's nest.
Her gaze briefly returns to the dead birds as theories form rapidly in her mind.
Turning back to the barrier, she locates a point that appears movable. Following it to the wall, she discovers several hastily woven sticks. She loosens them, causing a portion of the wall to swing open and reveal a curved path behind it.
She looks toward the cave entrance, seeing the vast forest stretching to the horizon with the ocean twinkling in the distance.
"Well I suppose I've got nowhere else to be. I might as well explore."
Crawling into the low tunnel, she notices dark feathers scattered across the ground, similar to those on the dead birds. As she pulls herself around a corner, she discovers the cave consists of multiple bends.
Moving deeper, the light from outside disappears behind sharp turns. She reaches the end of the tunnel, finding a straight section with dim light ahead. Her curiosity drives her forward as her eyes adjust to the faint illumination.
At the end of the straight section, she encounters another barrier which she easily dismantles. Finally, she reaches the innermost section.
Before her stretches a vast network of intertwined tunnels lit by glowing moss and mushrooms.
"Well this is most certainly interesting. The layout of the moss and the structure of the tunnels indicates a deliberate design. I have two theories.
First, someone else awakened and decided to hide here. This is unlikely given the area's remoteness and surrounding evidence.
Second—and more likely—some unknown element caused accelerated animal evolution. This would have enhanced the natural intelligence of all corvid species."
Deep in thought, she advances further into the caves, noting odd trinkets lining the walls. She stops before a shiny rock, her eyes widening as she picks it up.
"Gold?... Ha awesome, this helps so much."
Returning the small gold nugget to its place, she continues exploring the tunnels. Discovering a side room, she pushes open the door, and enters. Inside she finds piles of different minerals, all rare and extremely valuable.
"Fucking jackpot baby! This might even be worth getting attacked by the eagle. This stockpile would have taken me years to gather by myself."
Brimming with excitement, she ignores her pain and begins sorting the minerals: Scheelite, Bornite, Silicon crystals. Dozens of different materials lie throughout the pile in varying amounts. Eventually, she reaches the bottom.
"This is such a good find! I've got to see what else is around here."
Turning away from the mound of materials, she drags herself out of the room and deeper into the cave system. She searches through smaller chambers, finding more common ores throughout, until reaching the final room.
The final door is clearly important, with thick branches woven throughout and vines binding it together in various places. She reaches for the thick latch, lifts the bar, and slides it aside. The wooden lock glides along a hollow bamboo rail.
"This craftsmanship isn't too bad. It's primitive, but if the birds made this, they definitely have potential."
Admiring the birds' work, she pushes open the thick door. Inside is a wide chamber with small strips of ore lining the room. Large clumps of glowing moss along the walls provide strong natural light, and water pools in a pond on the far side.
In the centre sits an obvious nest, while something shiny catches her attention to the side.
Turning her head, Zoe's eyes widen slightly.
"Are you shitting me?!? How is there so much gold and silver here?"
At the side of the room sits a large pile containing at least ten kilograms of relatively pure gold, with a few extra kilos of silver scattered throughout.
Moving closer, she digs through the pile, finding additional minerals and gems. She freezes as a mad glimmer appears in her eyes.
"HAHAHAHA!! Thank you crows, your love for shiny objects has truly helped me greatly. Your distant ancestors must have robbed a bank before the minerals fully deteriorated."
Looking at the small, roughly 10g piece of metal in her hand, she immediately recognizes it. The ancient ring glimmers faintly in the light as the platinum sits heavily in her palm.
She places it atop the pile and continues looking for other valuables.
Making her way to the nest in a floor depression, she notices two white objects buried among the feathers. Pushing them aside reveals two roughly chicken-sized eggs, both intact and showing slight movement.
"Oh they had kids... that explains why they fought the eagle outside. Still, it would be wasteful to leave the eggs here, and if they're as smart as I think they are... I've decided then. I'll take care of them as payment for the materials."
She buries the eggs back under the feathers and returns to the door, skilfully taking it apart for useful materials.
"Okay, let's see here; I need to get out before I starve, the pond will prevent dehydration. I can use the vines to make ropes and abseil down the cliff face. The materials won't go anywhere, and I need to heal first."
Having decided her plan, she begins dismantling the doors for materials, gathering everything useful and moving it to the cave edge. Taking a break, she gazes at the setting sun, its fading light illuminating the dense forest below.
"This would be a great place for a base if I didn't have to crouch everywhere. Such a waste."
She sighs in disappointment, lamenting having to abandon such a good location, but consoles herself by thinking of the treasures within.
"I've got to get back to work now."
Shaking off stray thoughts, she drags herself back into the caves to gather more materials.
"At this rate I'll get out by morning."
Using her chipped obsidian knife, she trims bamboo into shorter lengths. With some Haematite found in the pile, she digs holes before securing sticks to form a strong brace.
She repeats this process multiple times, embedding sticks in different spots around the entrance, each improving the weight capacity of her setup.
After creating all the fastenings, she runs a thick stick through each bamboo piece, positioning them behind the mounts as makeshift pulleys. Looking outside, she notices the first light of dawn streaming around the mountain, casting a long shadow over the forest.
With heavy eyes, she reluctantly moves deeper inside to sleep, her body exhausted from a full day's work and her injuries. Reaching the innermost room, she finds a clear spot on the floor and slumps over, her eyes closing as sleep claims her.