The midday sun blazed over the southern edge, turning the mist into a warm haze that clung to Leon's skin. His salt pouch felt light against his hip— the last of the salt stone from Acorn Village was nearly gone, a critical loss in a land where preserving food and balancing electrolytes meant survival. As he and Isabella trekked along a rocky cliff face, Leon's eyes caught a glint of white amid the gray stone.
"Salt crystals," he said, pointing. "Just like Master Eldrin described— but mixed with something bitter."
Isabella scrambled over the rocks, her boots scraping against stone. She pried a small chunk free, breaking it open to reveal a core of milky white crystal marred by brown streaks. "Tastes like iron," she coughed after a tiny lick. "Horrible."
Leon nodded. He remembered the process from purifying salt stone back home: crush, dissolve, filter, evaporate. "We can fix this. The impurities are soluble— boiling and straining will get rid of them."
They set up camp in a shallow cave, sheltered from the sun. Leon used his iron knife to chip away chunks of the salt crystal, crushing them into a fine powder with a smooth stone. Isabella fetched water from their dew collection jars, pouring it over the powder in a clay pot. "Stir until it dissolves," Leon instructed, handing her a wooden spoon. "Every grain needs to melt— otherwise, the impurities stay."
As the sun climbed higher, Leon layered three pieces of linen over a wooden frame, creating a filter. He poured the cloudy saltwater through the linen, watching clear liquid drip into another pot— the brown streaks trapped in the cloth. "Now we wait," he said, setting the pot in the sunniest spot outside the cave. "The sun will evaporate the water, leaving pure salt."
By evening, a thin layer of white salt coated the bottom of the pot— crisp, clean, and free of bitterness. Isabella sprinkled a pinch on a piece of dried meat, her eyes lighting up. "It's perfect. Just like home."
Leon smiled, scraping the salt into his pouch. Survival here wasn't about grand discoveries— it was about reusing what he knew, adapting old skills to new challenges. The salt crystals were a gift, but it was his memory of Master Eldrin's lessons that turned them into something useful.
As darkness fell, they stored the salt carefully, wrapping it in oiled linen to keep it dry. Tomorrow, they'd hunt for ironwort— the last herb on Kael's list— and then turn their thoughts to heading back. But for now, Leon felt a quiet victory. They wouldn't go hungry. They wouldn't lack for salt. They'd survived another day.