Mountain exploration it is!
The eldest could not be swayed. After days of fierce discussion between him and some councilmen who, to the scavengers' great surprise, championed the cause of studying plant life, a consensus was reached: we had lived in the shadow of the great mountain without exploring it for too many years, now was the time.
Several expeditions, comprised mainly of hunters and militiamen were formed and scattered on the lower slopes. One headed for the caves that were spotted years ago, armed with fire.
The first result was immediate: with height came sight. We could see for miles around, and we found out that towards the rising sun a rocky plain extended beyond our sight.
The other results took more time: resources. The first was wood. The slopes of the mountains were in places thickly forested, we would never want for firewood again. Secondly, rocks of every form and color abounded everywhere. Some were worthless even to make basic tools, others, the ones that reflected the light of the sun, were so hard they could not be shaped even by our hardest obsidian knives. We didn't know how to use them yet. Others yet were pretty pebbles that looked great as decorations and trinkets.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we discovered a stone that appeared to be a great kindred to the spirit of fire. And it was an accident.
Two hunters, bored by the ranging, set up camp while a keeper built a small campfire. To pass time, they started tossing back and forth a dull black rock they had found laying nearby, until one of them dropped it in the fire. 'Clumsy fool!' shouted the first, and they started quarrelling amicably.
A few moments later, the keeper ran back, his eyes bulging out of their sockets, pointing at the fire and babbling incoherently: the fire had suddenly started burning hotter, giving away a thick black smoke... the rock was burning, brighter and warmer than the best firewood!
The small group rushed back to camp bringing back further samples of the black rock and excitedly told its tale. The council convened and agreed to send people to gather more of the substance and allow the keepers of fire to study it further.
The council convened again:
A. The keepers of fire loudly clamored:
'The black rock is a boon bestowed upon us by the fire spirits! Let's gather it, feed it to the spirit to reach further perfection in worship!'
B. The hunters, always pragmatic, objected:
'We found more wood than we have ever seen after the great forest of ancestral legends. We should bring it back here and use it, it can't be useful only to feed fires.'
C. The women of the tribe rose up:
'We like the pretty shiny pebbles. Bring some back, we'll make decorations for our warriors and hunters, to reward the most valiant ones.'