From Londoner To Lord

Chapter 343 - 338. Progress Check - III

"How's the work?" Kivamus asked.

"Busy," Cedoron grunted, his voice rough but good-humored. "Busier than ever. I've taken on another two apprentices to keep up, but it's getting crowded. Even after expanding into the empty house next door, there's hardly room to move. I might have to expand again in the future. I'll probably have to start thinking about building another forge as well in the near future."

"That's a good problem to have," Kivamus chuckled.

Cedoron smiled faintly. "Aye. The scorpion parts have been keeping me occupied. They're far tougher to make than axes or shovels, that's for sure—but it's a fine challenge after a winter of simple work. The good news is that two of my apprentices are now trained well enough that between them, they can forge all the crossbow parts by themselves. That eases up my workload a lot."

"That's nice to know," Kivamus said. "We'll need you working on the scorpions to make all of them soon."

Cedoron nodded and picked up a long, thick metal bar which looked like it was half made only, and turned it in his hand. "We're going to burn through iron pretty fast now because of those huge things. For the crossbows, we managed to cut down the metal use a lot by making the prod - which is the bow-like part - from fedarus wood, but those crossbows are little things compared to a scorpion. But this—" he tapped the rod against the anvil "—this scorpion's much larger. Its prod needs to be made completely of iron. Wood simply can't hold that kind of tension."

Kivamus nodded. "I had a good idea of that when I drew the blueprint. You know I'd made two versions, one with wood, one with iron, even though I expected that the wooden one was unlikely to work. Still, we had to give it a try with fedarus wood."

"And we did," Cedoron said, "but it's gotta be iron. In my test with Darora a few days ago, the wooden prod broke at barely half the force which will be needed for this scorpion."

"Then it's better that we found it out sooner," Kivamus said, "instead of learning it the hard way."

Cedoron nodded. "That's why I said we are going to need a lot of iron. The rusted swords you gave me from the bandits will certainly help, but it's good you bought that big shipment of iron ingots. The scorpions alone will eat up a lot of it, without even counting the other things I need iron for." He grinned. "I saw that big stack of ingots in your barn yesterday—good thing it's there, because we'll need every bit."

"That's the reason I bought it even when we could barely afford it," Kivamus said. "We'll need a lot of iron in the coming months. When will all the components for the first scorpion be ready?"

"In two more days I think - three max," Cedoron said confidently. "Everything should be done by then."

"Good," Kivamus replied. "After that, I'll need you to start collaborating with Taniok about the outer shell of the triphammer, and all the metal fittings and blades for the sawmill. Those are some really big machines, so we might have to buy iron again to complete both of them, but that's on me, and I'll manage it somehow. You just carry on doing your work."

The blacksmith's grin returned. "You've said that a triphammer will do some of what my apprentices do now, only faster. I'm looking forward to seeing it working."

"It will," Kivamus said. "And it'll do it at a much larger scale. I've also been thinking about where to set everything up. There's enough space on both the banks of the eastern stream. Once we add another waterwheel for the dam, both banks can be used for work using that water power. I think it will be better for you to move the smithing work to the far bank where the triphammer will be built. Taniok and Darora will use the near side for all the carpentry work, since the sawmill will be located on this side. This'll be safer for everyone since hauling the heavy logs over the dam is just not a good idea."

Cedoron frowned slightly. "Taking the distant side is fine by me, but hauling my work there and back every day will waste a lot of time. I'll probably lose a couple of good working hours each day, even if I travel by wagon."

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"You don't need to move everything," Kivamus said. "Only the heavy hammering work, which means there also needs to be a forge built on that bank to heat up the iron first. You can do the finer shaping here in this forge. I also want to start smelting raw iron ore there in the future, and the triphammer will be vital for it." He shrugged. "It might not seem like it today, but don't worry, once the triphammer's running, you'll see just how much time it saves."

The blacksmith nodded slowly. "Fair enough. I'll decide what to move once I've seen it in action. Until then, I'll keep all the work here."

"That's fine," Kivamus said. "After you've finished all the components for the first scorpion, and then completed forging all the sawmill and triphammer parts, you'll have to go back to working on more scorpions. By the time we have made six of them—one for each watchtower—I'll have something new for you, though it won't be easy."

Cedoron gave a grin that showed more enthusiasm than worry. "Like I said, milord—I always like a new challenge."

"Then carry on," Kivamus said with a laugh.

Cedoron gave a nod and returned to the forge, already shouting an instruction to one of his apprentices. The hammering resumed, louder than before.

Kivamus watched them a moment longer—the glowing forge, the flurry of motion, the scent of metal and sweat mixing in the air—before turning back toward the market square. Duvas and Hudan fell beside him again, the other guards following nearby.

The road to the market square was still wet from the recent rains, and Kivamus felt the mud sucking at his boots with every step. The gravel paths inside the manor connecting its inner buildings had spoiled him. Out here, the streets were uneven and soft, with puddles clinging stubbornly to the edges of the shacks.

Reaching the market square, he saw that as expected, most of the shops were shuttered, with their doors barred and windows closed tight. Only the alehouse stood open, its faded sign swinging a little in the breeze. Through the half-open door, he saw the owners cleaning tables and restocking shelves - with what little they had anyway - but there were no customers at this hour. He heard the sound of stone grinding from a nearby alley, which meant the miller was still at work. However, the butcher shop and the bakery were closed, although a few covered tables stood nearby. From beneath the coarse cloth coverings, he caught glimpses of green and orange—vegetables kept safe from the sun and the flies.

Duvas noticed his gaze. "Those belong to the families who lived in the nearby shacks," he explained. "They grow them there—using whatever free time they can spare. As you know, vegetables are also being grown in the courtyards of the longhouse blocks, but those are communal properties and are being used to feed the people who live there. But the people who grow them here still have to go to work in the coal mines or on the farms during the day, so they cover the tables till evening. When they come back, they sell whatever they've managed to harvest that day."

Kivamus nodded, still studying the rough stalls. "But how are they selling if no one's being paid in coins yet?" He frowned slightly, remembering about the guards' request to be paid in cold, hard coin, but he still hadn't found a way to start paying them either. He knew he'd have to speak with Hudan soon, privately, about delaying their pay again for a few more weeks.

"People always find ways to adapt to any difficult situation," Duvas said. "Most of it's done on barter. Some trade on credit, promising to pay later when they have the coin. Same with the alehouse, but the owner only lets a few people drink on debt since he still needs to buy ale from the travelling merchants, whenever they come here. But everyone adjusts somehow."

Kivamus walked in silence for a while, thinking about possible ways to start paying everyone in coins, before he was distracted again by his boots squelching softly through the mud. "We'll have to improve these paths soon," he muttered, glancing down at his soaked trousers from the puddles' splashes. "If nothing else, putting some gravel here will at least make it walkable... Late summer will bring a lot of rain in this region from what you've told me."

"We can do it after the burnt shacks have been removed," Duvas said, while noting it down in his pocket ledger with a small stick of charcoal.

Kivamus nodded as he kept walking. "Now that we're clearing most of this area, it'll be better to make proper, wide roads here, like we've done near the longhouses, but that's for later." He added, "How's it going with Taniok? I wanted to meet him before he went to work today."

"He's already left the village," Duvas said. "Headed to the dam site this morning to look over where the triphammer and sawmill will go. He said he'll use your blueprints once he starts working on them later today, but he wanted to see the ground himself first to see if there were any changes needed."

"That's fine," Kivamus said. "He can speak to me this evening if he needs to adjust anything."

They turned east again, heading toward the manor. The sun was climbing through thin clouds now, making the wet ground glint dully.