“Not many, Your Highness,” the hunter replied. “During every Months of the Demons there will only appear two to three mixed species demons, otherwise Longsong Stronghold would be in huge trouble.”
“Well, you seem to be very observant,” Roland ordered the man to stand up and asked, “what’s your name? You don’t look like a man from my Kingdom of Graycastle.”
“Half of my lineage hails from the Mojin Clan, the townspeople call me Iron Axe.”
Mojin Clan, the people from the Shamin Kingdom, located southwest of the barren lands, it was said that they were the descendants of giants. Roland searched within his brain for any memories related to the Mojin Clan and realized that Iron Axe did not use the name his clan called him by, rather using the name given by the people of Border Town, and apparently he did not want to have a relationship with the Shamin Kingdom. As for why, since it was obvious that he was from the southwestern border of the desolate lands, he estimated, that there were a series of sad stories involved.
But for the moment those stories weren’t important; everyone was welcome in Border Town, regardless of his or her background.
Roland clapped his hands, “That’s not why I asked you to be here, Carter, bestow each of them with ten silver royals, then they can leave.”
“Thank you very much for the reward, Your Highness,” said the three in unison.
Afterwards the people were taken away by Carter. When he had finished his task, Carter returned once again and asked, “Your Highness, why did you ask them these questions? Do you want to stay here?”
Roland didn’t express any opinion and instead asked, “What do you think?”
“This matter is out of question, Your Highness!” Said the knight loudly, “According to the statement from the hunter, even a wild demon bear would be difficult to cope with. Outside of fifty yards a shot with a crossbow would have no effect; we would have to wait until it closed to forty yards, or even until thirty yards before making our shot, only our elite soldiers can accomplish this. Plus the demons are too numerous, and we can’t rely on strong walls, only standing side by side with the local guards to stop them. I’m afraid that the casualties would outstrip the accomplishments, our defeat would be assured.”
“You already saw what a witch is able to do, so why do you can’t think positively?” Roland sighed.
“This… The witches are evil, but Anna… Miss Anna does not look so, as your Knight Commander, I have to seek truths by looking for facts.”
“If I would give you a city wall, would you think it will be possible?”
“What?” For a moment Carter suspected that he had heard wrong.
“If I give you a wall, between the north slope of the mountain and the Chishui River,” Roland stressed every word he said, “Although they would not be like the enormous walls from Graycastle, but to stop animals, they should still be able to.”
“Sir, do you know what you are saying?” The knight didn’t know whether to be angry or to laugh, “Even your nonsense should have a limit, if you don’t stop, you will have to excuse my lack of manners.”
“We still have three months, don’t we? I looked at the past records, the first snow usually falls here at the end of the second month from now.”
“Even if we had three years it would not be enough! Building a wall would require many workers, for setting the foundation they have to compress the earth and every one or two feet would have to be reinforced; otherwise it would have a high risk to collapse. This would be the simplest of the earthen walls,” Carter shook his head again and again,”brick and stone walls are even more difficult to build and it would need hundreds of masons who would first have to cut the stones or bake the clay into bricks. Afterwards they would need to build it block by block. Your highness, all walls were built this way, without exception. A city being built in the time of a day and a night, that is only the stuff of legends.”
Roland indicated he had heard enough, “I see. You don’t need to be so upset, if there is no reliable wall in place, I will evacuate with you to Longsong stronghold. I’m not going to give away my life in this place.”
The knight knelt down, “I will protect you!”
Afterwards in the beautiful castle gardens, Roland nipped at his bitter ale. Looking at Anna who was intently eating cream cakes, his mood recovered a lot.
He had decided to stop the demonic beasts at the Border town – joining the elite soldier with the town guards, he would also intensive the farming by expanding the area the guards patrolled. If he wanted to build the wall, connecting the north slope of the mountain and the Chishui River within three months, he must use an appropriate technology from the modern times.
It was not the case that Roland had suddenly thought of this, previously he had checked the edges of the Border town (although he didn’t go personally), in his memory remained a clear picture — the northern slope of the mountain and the Chishui River were only separated by 600 yards at their closest point, it was a natural bottleneck. And due to the all year round mining in the North Mine, it was surrounded by rock gravel mined from the cave.
These gravel cast offs were ash gray, containing plenty of calcium carbonates, which could be used as limestone after grinding. With the limestone he had his solution, it would be equal to cement.
Yes, this would change the history of mankind, to be able to build with a water hardening material, with raw materials which were easily to obtain, which were simple to prepare, it truly numbered among one of the most efficient tools for tilling the fields.
Roland estimated the needed time, even if he would implement new technology, even with cement he wasn’t sure if it was possible, the amount of cement they actually needed was too big, he wasn’t sure if they could calcine so much cement powder within three months. And concrete toughness would be inferior, in the end they would need to reinforce it with steel, thus the probability to succeed in building a concrete city wall was not that great.
They had to maximize the usage of the existing materials and save cement, so building a fieldstone wall would be the most appropriate choice.
The so-called fieldstone, was a stone which had not undergone any grinding, it was just a natural byproduct of mining. This stone, because of the irregular shape of the edges and corners, there was no way to directly using it to build, instead it first need to be processed by the stonemason into usable bricks. But building a fieldstone wall while using cement as binder was possible, regardless of how oddly shaped the stone was it could be used, the gap between the stones was filled by the cement, saving cement and using leftover materials.
With this the big direction was set, but the actual implementation, he was afraid he would have to do it by himself, thought Roland. Regardless of whether it was the calcined cement or fieldstone wall, both were new things. Except for himself, no one had seen these things, and also no one knew how to make them. He was afraid he would be very busy for the next three months.
“You, look here.”
The sound of Anna’s clear voice came from behind him.
As Roland turned, he saw a small cluster of flames in her palm quietly burning, there was clearly no wind, but the flame tip was rising up and down, as if it would nod to her. She shook her finger, and the fire was like a toddler, moving slowly towards the tip of the finger. In the end, it stood at the top of the index finger, simmering down.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“You did it.”
It was an incredible scene, Roland felt admiration from the bottom of his heart. This was not illusion magic, nor a chemical trick, but it really was a supernatural power. But this was not the most attractive thing to Roland – many time more dazzling than the flame, was Anna’s look.
While she was intently staring at her fingertips, the lake water limpid eyes were reflecting the vibrant flame, as if an elf sealed within a sapphire. The traces left from the prison torture had already faded, though she rarely smiled, but her face was no longer lifeless. On the young lady’s tip of her nose was a speck of sweat, the rosy color on her white checks emitted vitality, even looked at also can let a person feel cheerful mood.
“What happened to you?”
“Ah… Nothing,” Roland noticed he looked at her for too long, he removed his gaze and coughed.” well, then, try using it to melt the iron.”
In the past few days, except for eating and sleeping, she always repeated her practice, in front of the hardworking enthusiast Roland could only endlessly blush in shame — even in the face of the college entrance examination he did not work so hard.
“Apparently she will not need long, until she completely grasps this power,” Roland thought. Following that, his ideas of new projects can be set on the agenda.
TN: For information about concrete and why it is logical that he was able to invent it.
The weather had been bad all week, and the sky was always gray. Karl van Bate’s mood was just like the weather: gloomy to the extreme.
As he walked down the wet stone street, people greeted him from time to time—Karl ran a school in this town. Unlike the Kingdom of Graycastle, where only the children of noble could go to school, here he taught r the children of ordinary people. Therefore, he had a very high reputation in Border Town. "Hey, Mr. van Bate, good morning."
"Sir, is my son doing all right?"
"When are you free, Karl? Let’s go fishing together."
Usually, Karl would always smile and respond to them, but today he just nodded, never saying a word.
He had just witnessed Anna’s hanging, so in his eyes there was a crack in the once-perfect world—or this crack had begun to form since his departing from Graycastle , but he deliberately turned a blind eye. He used his busy work to numb himself, and to a certain extent, he even used the innocent smile of the students to mend this crack.
"Until Anna died," he thought, "the world had not changed." But after the hanging, the crack not only did not disappear but expanded.
His memories of Anna stopped at half a year ago. She didn’t stand out of her class of more than thirty students with her normal appearance and few words, but there was something about her that impressed Karl deeply.
It was her passion for knowledge. No matter what he taught, whether it was characters or history, she could always remember it on her first try. Even if it was the boring history and evolution of the religion, she could read about it all day. He had also seen the young lady help to take care of her neighbor’s sheep--sitting down in the sun, Anna would carefully brush the sheep’s hair, like someone would with a baby. He still remembered her sweet smile very clearly, and no matter how, he could not think of her as a sinister and evil person.
Then, after the fire on Anna' street and her mother unfortunately passed away, Anna never came back to school. He never saw her again until a week ago, when she was proved to be a witch and hanged in the town square.
"Tempted by the devil? An unclean person? Evil? All lies!" He began to doubt the Holy Church and the knowledge they imparted for the first time in his life.
He didn’t know if Anna had been a witch or not, but she was never evil! If a teenage girl, ignorant of the world and full of curiosity, could be called evil, and then the administrative officials of the Kingdom of Graycastle were from hell and possessed by the devil too! In order to save several hundred gold royals, they deliberately switched out the stone material used to build a theater, leading to its collapse and the death of more than thirty stonemasons.
But were they hanged? Not even one! The judge finally ruled that the leader of the stonemasons was unsuitable for his job, and he was punished into exile, while the Mason Guild was forced to disband. Karl, who knew the true story, fled the Kingdom of Graycastle, followed the road to the West, and eventually arrived in Border Town.
He managed to establish a school with a lot of students, got to know his new neighbors, and find new friends, but the Graycastle officers’ crime was always engraved in his mind. Now, he felt the world was mocking him once again. - Could the Gods in Heaven really recognize what was evil?
The last straw for Karl was Nana.
Nana and Anna were so different that one could even say they were the complete opposite. After class you could always see her playing with birds or rolling around in the grass. If you asked what she was doing, she would giggle for a while before answering that she was looking at a fight between a grasshopper and ants.
Nana was always smiling; it seemed to be in her nature. She was completely oblivious of the world’s sorrows, and at least at school, she could continue smiling without a care. Karl was even curious if she had ever cried since she was born.
Two days ago, Nana suddenly came to him with tears in her eyes and asked, "Teacher, will I be hanged like Anna?"
This told him that his student, Nana Pine, had become a witch.
"Ah, isn’t that Mr. van Bate? Come over here and help us read what it says."
Karl felt someone pull his sleeve and looked up to find that he had arrived at the town square. Many people stood around the bulletin board, and when they heard van Bate’s name, they all made a path for him.
"You came just in time, sir. Please help us read it."
"Yeah, Meg was supposed to read this to us, but he got a stomachache and had to go to the toilet, but he still isn’t back yet."
Usually, he would have nodded with a smile and explained in detail the contents of the bulletin board to everybody who listened. However, Karl found this impossible—the smiles and enthusiasm of these people were earnest, but this made it even more difficult to bear than if they were all pretending.
The notice about Anna’s hanging had also been placed here, and everyone had also discussed it this cheerily. "In a sense, you were all her murderer," he thought, "and your ignorance and fear had killed her."
Karl suppressed his emotions, took a deep breath and walked in front of the announcement list.
"The prince calls for hands to help with the construction of new buildings for Border Town, and a variety of different kinds of jobs are available," he said.
"But I’m also one of her killers, so why do I deserve to blame them? Wasn’t I the one who taught them that witches were evil?" Karl had a bitter taste in his mouth. "Look at what I’ve taught these children. I followed every word of the Church’s doctrine, and I thought I was teaching them well, damn it!"
"Stone grinder, male, 20 years to 40 years old, strong and healthy, salary is 25 bronze royals per day."
"Mud craftsmen, no gender limitations, over 18 years old, must have experience in masonry, salary is 45 bronze royals per day."
"Handyman, male, over 18 years old, salary is 12 bronze royals per day."
"…"
No, he had to do something. If Anna’s death was irreversible, at least he couldn’t let Nana die. Karl heard his inner voice shout, "When the Mason Guild collapsed, you didn’t do anything; when Anna was hanged, you didn’t do anything. Are you also not going to do anything and watch this lovely child being dragged up to the gallows?"
But what could he do? Could he escape with Nana out of Border Town? He had his own family, a family who traveled with him from Graycastle. Would he make them leave again just when their lives were getting better? Would Nana herself, who was born into a rich family, be able to leave her comfortable life?
"Stonemason, no gender limitations, no age limitations, long-term position for anyone who has participated in construction for the government, salary is one gold royal per month."
"Additional Term: People with rich experience and excellent performance may be granted an official position."
After hearing the notice, the people became even noisier, "One gold royal per month is even better than the salary for the stronghold cavalry!"
"But can you do it? If you can’t even build a mud pile, can you build a fortress?"
"Don’t just stare at it. Even the first few positions aren’t bad. If you get paid every day, you’ll earn the same amount as a hunter."
"Indeed, hunting is a life-threatening job, and the Misty Forest is a really dangerous place."
Karl van Bate did not pay attention to this chatter and only concentrated on the seal and signature at the foot of the notice. It was the autograph of Roland Wimbledon, the Fourth Prince.
Did the prince not know that the Months of the Demons were already coming? Whatever he wanted to build, it was not a good time to start now. It seemed His Highness knew nothing about constructions, so if he could become a stonemason and catch his attention… Karl had suddenly an idea. Perhaps through this recruitment, he could meet the prince himself, Border Town’s highest ruler.
Karl gulped in fear. Could he convince the prince that witches were not evil? There were rumors of His Highness’ unique ideas, so he should be different from ordinary people, and he also hated the Church deeply. "Maybe I can do it!" he thought. "Although Anna’s hanging was ordered by Prince Roland, everyone could tell that he was not willing to do it."
The prince himself was still in his early twenties, which should make it easier to understand, that these young girls were incapable of being evil.
Of course, there was a possibility that Karl would be branded as a Witch Helper and have to go to the gallows with the witches. The Church’s law stipulated that anyone who protected a witch or begged for leniency should be regarded as the devil’s minion.
He could only hope that the prince’s hate for the Church also extended to its laws.
Karl prayed in his heart.
Even though he did not know which God to pray to, he closed his eyes and prayed for a blessing.
For the sake of the dead Anna, for the sake of Nana, who was still alive, and for the sake of his own heart to stop breaking, he decided to take the risk.