Vozz Stabtoe's Arc

Chapter 5 of 8

Vozz laid three charges along the cracked shelf at dawn. The fuses burned clean, and the stone collapsed exactly where she planned. The Hunter watching from above nodded once, then walked away without speaking. But that afternoon, two other Hunters asked her about the technique. She showed them how she'd measured the weak points, how she'd placed each charge to work with the natural cracks. They listened and asked questions about fuse timing. By evening, word had spread through the lodge. Three more Hunters stopped her during dinner to talk about the bridge job. One asked if she could help clear a blocked mine entrance next week. Vozz walked back to her hut after dark, her chest tight with something she'd almost forgotten—pride. Inside, she hung the first bronze medallion on the wall beside her workbench. The Hunter who'd supervised the bridge job had given it to her that afternoon, a simple disc stamped with the date and location. It wasn't much, but it was proof. Proof that she'd completed real explosive work for the team. She stepped back and looked at the empty wall space around it. There would be more medallions soon. More jobs that mattered. More proof that she belonged with the Hunters. She touched the bronze surface once, then turned toward her bed. Tomorrow she'd start planning for the mine entrance. Tomorrow she'd add another piece to her collection. The next morning, she passed a wooden board near the training yard. Carved symbols marked different names, each one showing completed jobs and ranked by difficulty. Her name sat near the bottom with one mark beside it—the bridge collapse. But it was there. She was on the board now, listed with the other Hunters who'd done real work. Three goblins stopped to look at it while she stood there. One pointed at her name and grunted. Vozz kept walking, but her steps felt lighter. The mine job would move her higher on that board. Each successful blast would push her name up until the Hunters stopped seeing her as the new recruit. Until they saw her as one of them. She took a different path back to her hut, one that led past an old blast crater filled with rainwater. Wildflowers grew thick around the edges—bright yellows and deep purples that turned the scar into something worth seeing. Someone had placed flat stones around the pond like a border. Vozz stopped and stared at the water reflecting the morning sky. This crater came from explosive work just like hers. Someone had turned their blast into something the whole camp could enjoy. She crouched and touched the smooth surface of one stone. When she earned enough respect, when her name climbed high enough on that board, maybe she'd leave her own mark on Greenhaven. Something beautiful that proved explosive work could do more than just destroy. She stood and headed home, already planning the mine entrance job. Already imagining the second medallion on her wall.