"I've got no idea about what I'm doing here."
Val sat cross legged, frowning as she gazed down into her book. She looked up at Mand who was reigniting the fire to make breakfast.
"Trouble?" questioned Mand as she scrambled some of the eggs that the farmer had given them.
"This gear structure doesn't make any sense," Val said holding up her book. She jabbed her finger at one of the diagrams.
Mand plated the eggs and brought them over to her sister, taking a quick glance at some of the arcane diagrams on the page. "Do you even know what a Gorilla is?"
"Of course I do!" exclaimed Val snatching the book back. She looked at the diagram once again, tilting the book left and right. "It's some kind of giant lizard, Right?"
Mand sighed and went to her backpack. She pulled out a piece of charcoal and some paper and began to sketch. After a few moments of fierce scribbling, she handed the paper to her sister.
"This is a gorilla," Mand said "A mammal. Lives in the southern regions."
Val took the drawing and studied it. "Ahh, it's looks like a furry human! No wonder I couldn't figure this out! How do you know what they look like?"
Mand kicked dirt over the fire and began to gather her things. "You were probably too young to remember. Dad had a pre-war book that was filled with pictures and facts about animals from around the world. I used to look at that thing for hours."
Val placed the drawing of the gorilla into her book and closed it. "What happened to it? The book I mean?"
"It was lost in the fire... the same time we lost Mom."
"Oh," Val said nothing more. Being too young to remember, Val had questioned her sister several times about what their mother was like. Mand always seemed uncomfortable every time it was brought up.
"So Cain's Point is next," said Val, attempting to change the conversation. "I can't believe it's been a year since we've been back to the coast."
Mand nodded, "Yeah, we won't be able to stay long, but Claire and her father will be expecting us for sure."
Val brightened at this. Despite the pact that the two had to keep moving, visiting Cain's Point was always the exception.
The two packed their things and cleared the campsite. Travelers began to appear on the road, following along its route in both directions. The road was still too mucky from the spring thaw to travel reliably with a cart or carriage, but enterprising individuals made do by carrying large sacks of goods on their backs, or traveling by way of horseback. Another week of warm and dry weather and the roads would be ready for all manner of traffic.
The girls traveled for quite some time, enjoying the weather and light conversation. Even with the suboptimal condition of the roads, it seemed like they would reach Cain's Point by the end of the day.
They waved to other passers by and spoke briefly to a tinkerer about the road conditions. The sun was quite high in the sky when they stopped for lunch.
The two sat upon a stone wall that lined the road and munched on preserves. They watched travelers moving along the road as they ate. They were just about to start walking again when Mand piped up suddenly.
"Val?" asked Mand. "Have you noticed something odd about the people on the road?"
Val narrowed her eyes and scanned the road for a few moments. It was currently empty.
"What people?"
"Exactly. In the past while, we've only seen one or two people traveling in our direction, but that's it. Nobody is coming from Cain's Point."
Val hopped off the wall and gazed up and down the length of the road before looking back to her sister. "Just might be a coincidence," she offered.
Mand stayed on the wall, eyeing the road. "Let's wait a little while."
Val returned to the wall and withdrew her book from her backpack. It was bound in worn leather, with a simple cover that just said "Mechanical Anatomy of the World".
Mand had flipped through it a few times, but the diagrams and scribblings that lay inside made very little sense to her. Val studied the thing constantly, drawing inspiration on how to create their next construct.
The next hour was a dull one. Finally, figures on horseback appeared on the road, coming from the direction of Cain's Point.
The girls left the wall and went to meet the lead traveler. When they drew closer, they were surprised to see a merchant who had passed them earlier in the morning. He was a portly man, middle age, but he rode a fine horse with what looked to be an expensive saddle. He was a man of money and business, and to protect that wealth, two armed and armored men followed closely behind.
"Bloody bridge is out, " he offered when he saw them approach. "Thing must have only just collapsed. Pre-war piece of garbage, " he spat. "Could take days or weeks to repair, I don't have that kind of time."
Val looked wide eyed, "Collapsed? Is anyone hurt?"
"No, but there are a bunch of people stranded on either side of the river. It's swollen with the melt from the winter, so you can't even ford across. It's a damn shame, I was supposed to meet with some shipbuilders for a timber deal."
Since the war almost two-hundred years ago, humanity had been left scattered. Pockets of civilization lived in small villages and towns. These small settlements were often governed by committees and elected members. While these committees did a fine jobs running the settlements, the roads and the lands that separated humanity were often left in disrepair and ungoverned. Slowly, nature was reclaiming bridges, towns, and other structures.
Mand looked at the merchant and then to her sister. She could see the gears turning in her head and knew that she had the same idea. The two girls nodded to one another in a unspoken agreement.
"How much is it worth to you to get across that river today?"