Ronald- (not the old steward, he’s dead)
Stretching my back after hooking up Jez to the cart full of limestone, I groaned. We had mined more yesterday than I could bring down so that meant I was stuck making a morning run. We had not bothered much with the limestone before the new lord wanted us to start trying to make things other than our mortar. I would grumble about it, but the results were interesting.
I wondered what Carl and the rest of those guys would come up with next. The fact that the new baron wanted us to experiment was strange, but I liked sitting down with the guys at the end of the day and discussing what they had tried. I was lost in thought as I began to travel the road down to Melnon, and that is why I didn’t notice the man coming down the small hunter’s trail to the left of me.
Jez suddenly stopped, causing my lead rope to go taut. Looking up, I saw some sort of wildman turning onto the main path. It was Dwaine’s trail, but this was definitely not Dwaine. He was a tall, bulky man with ragged clothes and a week's worth of unkept growth on his face. It wasn’t until my eyes moved from the man to the horse trailing behind him that I realized this was no wildman. Wild men didn’t have fine horses. I took a closer look and noticed that even though his clothes were worn, they were well made. This man was a nobleman or wealthy merchant, for sure. Had he gotten lost?
“Excuse me, but is this the trail to Melnon.”
“Yes, umm… I am sorry, but I don’t know how to address you,” I said hesitantly, fearing to insult the man if he was indeed noble.
The man smiled and said, “I apologize. That was rude of me. I was just so excited to see someone. I am Lord Amos, and I have an urgent message for Headman Richard.”
I immediately fell to my knees, “Forgive me, My Lord, I didn’t… That is to say you…”
“That I look like a crazy man and carry a stench that would make a pig grimace,” He chuckled.
I had heard that the rumors of him being a cruel young man were false, but I couldn’t fathom a lord making fun of himself.
“Now, my good man, What is your name?”
“Ronald, sir,” I said, still keeping my head down.
“Oh, sorry, you may rise, Ronald. I forgot that you needed permission.”
“Thank you, My Lord,” I said while standing.
“No problem. Now you aren’t, by chance, Headman Richard’s nephew?”
“Yes, My Lord,” I said in surprise.
“I thought so. I heard you had a mule. Tell me, do you think a mule would be able to pull a plow well? I was thinking about buying some more plow animals.”
The sudden question caught me off guard. “I… I believe so, my lord. I have never hooked Jez to a plow, but she pulls the cart just fine. They would probably be faster.”
“Yeah, that’s what I am thinking. I am just trying to figure out if the added cost would be worth the increase in speed.”
The lord became lost in thought for a bit before saying, “Well, Ronald, it was a pleasure seeing you. I must hurry to the village to deliver my news. Do you think this trail would be safe to ride Blaze down?”
“I don’t know much about horses, My Lord, but I would guess so.”
“Excellent,” he said with a relieved look on his face while leading his horse over to a large, flat rock.
“Sorry, Blaze, break's over. Time to get back to carrying me. Ronald, I look forward to seeing you in the village.”
With that, the baron took off at a pace Jez and I couldn’t keep up with. I guess they were right. The boy really was a friendly person. They now whispered he was blessed by the Endless One. Maybe.
Amos
As I rode into Melnon on Blaze, everyone began to stop what they were doing and look at me. One of the women recognized that I wasn’t some hobo wanderer. Getting up from kneeling in her garden, she ran to me.
Bowing, she said, “My Lord, are you well.”
I didn’t know her name, and I was too drained to try to be a gentleman. “I must see Richard. Is he in?”
“I believe he is at the new kiln, My Lord. Follow me,” she said politely. Was my PR campaign actually working?
“Thank you,” I said with a smile.
We walked through the town and rounded the bend of a hill. The new kiln was a sight to behold. It was larger than their other kilns by a half. Several men were loading crushed limestone into the furnace to produce the lime. Richard was standing next to a large man gesticulating wildly about something. I rode up to them on my horse, “Headman Richard, we need to talk.” I said loudly before he even knew I was there.
Both men turned to look at me. Richard's eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he saw my state. The other man, whom I don’t think I had ever met, immediately dropped to his knee.
I sighed, “Thank you for the respect, but you may rise. I am in a bit of a hurry, and the headman and I have some business to discuss. Would you mind finding someone to tend to my horse?”
“Of course, My Lord,” He said with a bow.
“My Lord, why are you here? I thought you had gone to the coast?” Richard said in a worried voice.
“We should discuss it in private,” I said, trying not to let my stress show in my voice.
“Oh course, My Lord, I will lead the way.”
He strode quickly to his home, and I noticed something different about it. I couldn’t put my finger on it, and my mind was too frazzled to come up with a description. As we entered the house, Richard lit a candle and then shut the door to give us some more privacy.
“My Lord, what has happened?”
“We were attacked by bandits. My men fought to protect me while I ran. Dwaine pointed me towards the village on the bay, and they helped me get here.”
“The village?” he said in confusion. When it suddenly hit him what I was talking about, the color drained from his face.
Despite my exhaustion, or maybe it was because of it, I couldn’t help but freak him out a bit, “You have been holding out on me, Richard.”
At that point, he fell to his knees. “My Lord, I-”
“Seriously, Richard, why didn’t you tell me we had neighbors we could trade with? Hogging all that seafood for Melnon was just wrong. Cofi’s fish are good, but have you had Kim’s fish soup? That alone was worth the trip.”
“But… so you are upset that we have not been giving you the trade goods?” He said, sounding extremely confused. “Not that we have been hiding escaped peasants?”
“I didn’t see any escaped peasants there. I only met a bunch of people living on unclaimed land. I have no idea where they came from. Anyways, they need our help. Bandits are living not even a day away from them. Bandits that have killed our people. I need to get to Captain Draves and gather our troops.”
Richard hung his head. Grief is apparent on Richard's face, “Dwaine is dead. Is it possible that they were only captured?”
“I don’t know.” I then went on to explain what happened in more detail. When I was done, I put my hand on his shoulder and said, “I’m sorry. It’s my fault for insisting on the trip.”
Richard shook his head. “No, My Lord, if it wasn’t you and your men. It would have been someone else. They may have been able to attack the village before anyone knew they were even there. Thank you for warning them.”
“I will let Blaze rest here for half a bell and then continue. I have to gather the troops as quickly as I can. For all we know, the bandits could already be in the village. I need to be distracted, Richard. Tell me how things have been going here.”
“Well, I suppose. There have been arguments about how much lime and how much coal we are cooking. Jorb found out about the coke, so he wants some as well. The coke makes copper easier to cast and mix with tin. The bronze is getting better results. I know you wanted to experiment with iron, but we can’t get the temp high enough to melt it, and it is brittle. Phillip, the man I was just talking to, says he can get the metal to a temperature that makes it very soft and easier to remove impurities, but it still isn’t as useful as bronze.
“I didn’t really expect it to be. It won’t really become useful until we can melt it and remove the extra carbon and slag. Once we do we won’t have to import as much tin.”
The head man nodded and said, “The masons have taken up your challenge to make something more durable than our current mortar with the lime, but scraping the ash from the sides of the kiln is not producing much. Most of the ash escapes through the vent.”
I sat there and thought for a moment. I had no idea how to collect the ash. I have no idea how this stuff worked. Fortunately, necessity was the mother of invention. Or a properly motivated individual.
“Tell you what, Richard, any man who manages to find a way to trap all the fly ash will receive a Billie-Mar, Butchered or alive. Whatever they prefer.
“That is quite generous, My Lord. Are you sure?”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“Trust me, the idea is worth much more.”
“I will spread the word. In fact, I am going to take a crack at this myself.”
“Don’t forget to tell Ronald. I met him on the trail down to Melnon. He looked like he could use something to think about as he hauls lime.”
Richard nodded.
"I don’t remember if I asked you yet, but do you have a spot near the river where we could build a water wheel?
“I believe there is a place that would work, but what would we use it for?”
"Crushing coal and lime. We could also power a bellow for the furnaces. That may get the temp high enough to melt the iron.”
“How would we crush rocks with a water wheel.”
I explained how, with the right gears, you can convert the wheel's rotational power into an up-and-down motion. This would allow us to create trip hammers, rock crushers, and bellows.
I grabbed a charcoal stick and some of the paper I had sent him. I drew out the various designs for the gears for the hammers and pistons for the bellows. The more I explained, the more excited he got. I was pretty sure this wasn't going to work on the first try. The History of the Iron Computer Animation Project I didn't have the weights of each piece and measurements for the smaller parts, but I was sure that within a couple of years, we would have something that worked.
“My Lord, this would change everything. A man could do the work of at least four men. You could have so much surplus we wouldn’t know what to do with it.”
“If we could capture that fly ash we could make a lot of concrete, It would be much better for building next to the river. I think concrete is more water-resistant than mortar. Not sure, but worth a try.” I said with a shrug.
“Indeed, My Lord. We could build massive buildings from it if what you say about it is true.” Realizing what he had said, he quickly added. “Not that I doubt your wisdom.”
I smiled, “Time will tell.”
"By the way, something is different about your house."
"Oh, yes, well, while we were experimenting with the lime, we came across a mixture that was easily spread. We are trying it on the sides of some of the houses to see if it will crack or maybe give an added layer of protection and keep out the cold when winter hits."
'Hmm, sounds like plaster or stucco. I really didn't know the difference.'
"Well, done. Keep experimenting, and I may ask you to do the same for the manor. Of course, we would need a lot of trips back and forth with a wagon."
We chatted for a bit, and then I decided Blaze had had all the time I could give him. Blaze was around the back of the house, and I used a chopping block to get up on him. My legs protested as I positioned myself. I could almost hear Blaze protesting as well. “Hey, what are you complaining about? I have to have lost at least 100 lb. over the last few days.” I think the horse actually snorted.
Richard walked with me to the road leading to Bicman village.
“Well, Headman Richard, Thank-” My farewell was interrupted by shouting from the cutoff leading to the river. Without even thinking, I kicked Blaze into a cantor, and we rushed towards the cries.
When we got there, two women were dragging a limp body onto shore. Another woman who had been rushing along the bank of the river scooped up the body of the young boy and started to weep. Hopping down off of Blaze, I called out to the women. The one with the child ignored me, but the other two soaking-wet women bowed to me as they saw me running forward. One spoke up and said, “My Lord, The boy fell in the river up there while playing on the rocks. When we heard the shouts, we rushed into the river to catch him before he passed. But we were too late. He is dead.
I knelt down next to the woman and said, with as much authority as I could muster, “Give me the boy.”
At first, the woman ignored me, but then I shouted, “Give me the boy, now!”
Startled, the woman almost dropped the child, who couldn’t have been more than eight. I didn’t bother checking for a pulse but went straight to CPR. Fortunately, this wasn’t a TV Drama where intense music was playing, and they were doing CPR for five minutes of the show. I didn’t even have to shout, “You are not going to die on me!” it only took 30 compressions and three breaths before the boy was coughing up water.
As I straightened up into a kneeling position, the mother immediately scooped up the boy and started sobbing for an entirely different reason. As the other women from upstream arrived, I heard the words chosen and blessed being murmured among the people gathered. I ignored the comments and said, “He may have a concussion. Try keeping him awake for a while and out of the light. Letting him fall asleep may make him slip into a coma.”
I am glad I decided to recertify my CPR after the accident. I don't think that I would have remembered my two years of classes from scout camp.
With that, I got up to leave. Everyone immediately backed up, but it looked as if some of them wanted to touch me. It was seriously weirding me out. At the edge of the group was Richard, staring at me in amazement. I didn’t say anything, and it looked like no one else was willing to speak first. I got back up on Blaze and cantered back to the trail. I continued at a canter for the next fifteen minutes as I tried to sort out my thoughts. The whole incident seemed like a dream or something I would see on TV without all the added drama. I had just saved a kid's life. It was so surreal. And it happened so fast I didn’t even have time to be nervous. Now that it was over, the enormity of it all came crashing down on me. All the nervousness that I should have felt in such a stressful situation hit me all at once, and I felt like vomiting. I took some deep breaths and repeated a steady mantra of “Relax.”
Due to the pace I was pushing Blaze, we arrived at the manor in about half the time it had taken me the last time I traveled this road. I slowed at the gates, yelling to the guards to go find Draves. One took off while the other stayed in position. After getting off my sweating horse, I tossed the reins to Jake and headed towards the manor. As I got to the doors, Draves burst out of them. I took a moment to look over me, and seeing that I was filthy but uninjured, he let out a sigh of relief.
“Let’s go to my study,” I said before he could open his mouth. The pace we set to get there was almost a jog. Emily poked her head out of the paper room and gaped at me in alarm. “Emily, have Cookie bring me something to eat, please,” I said as we rushed past. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her dart down the hallway. As soon as we entered, I collapsed into my seat.
“What happened, My Lord?” Draves said evenly.
“Bandits,” I said simply.
“How many did we lose,” he said gravely. He wore his military mask now. The one that protected him against the pain of losing men.
“I’m sorry, Captain, I’m the only one left,” I said, trying not to look away.
The Captain's look did not change, but I could see the pain in his eyes. I went on to explain everything that happened in detail and my commitment to the villagers to send help.
The more I spoke the deeper his frown became. Finally, he interrupted me as I explained my plan to exterminate the bandits.
“My Lord, may I be frank with you?”
"Always, Captain. Your council is welcome.”
He sighed, “Although your idea is honorable, committing to help these people was extremely foolish. Especially committing your men to this fight. We do not know who these bandits are or how many they are. They could be a mercenary band charged with hunting down the escaped serfs and peasants. If they were as numerous as you say, we would be fighting with fewer men. We would also be leaving our own land empty if I were to gather your guards. Are you willing to send men to their deaths and leave your own citizens open to attack in order to help a village that isn’t even part of our Barony?”
I was stunned. None of this had occurred to me. I just saw people who were worse off than my own and decided to try and help. I didn’t even think about the lives of my men. I hung my head in shame. After thinking for a moment, I looked back up. “I gave my word, Captain. I have to do something.”
Draves gave a small nod. “I respect you for your decision to keep your word, My Lord. It is what I hoped you would say.”
“But you said-”
“I wanted you to know the consequences of your actions. And forgive me, but I also wanted to see how you would react. The fact that you are keeping your word, even when you gave it foolishly, is a trait I can respect. We can figure out a way to keep your word and minimize the risk.”
“A test then,” I sighed. I needed to find a way to minimize the threat to my men while at the same time keeping my word. We sat in silence for a while until an idea came to me. “OK, how about this? The bandits will still probably follow the coast first. They are only about a day away from the village, so we may already be too late. If they reach the village, though, then they will probably send men up the trail to Melnon. I want you to gather ten of your men and two horses with supplies. Travel back down that trail to the village. If your scouts spot the men traveling the road to Melnon retreat. The branching path to Melnon looks like a game trail, and hopefully, they will pass it by. The same goes for if you reach the village and it is destroyed. If, however, the people are still there. Offer to help them evacuate. Bring extra spears. I know they are just peasants, but a larger armed force may deter the bandits.
"If the bandits are traveling through the marsh and swamps, they will most likely come across Barim or Bicman first. I will evacuate Barim and have the men drafted to bolster our forces. I will also ask for volunteers from the peasants to train with the remaining men to prepare for an attack. They will get a small amount of compensation for the hours they train.”
Draves did not immediately respond, and I started to get nervous. Finally, he nodded. “I like it, My Lord. I fear that the peasants will not do much in the face of a bandit raid, and I don’t think any other baron would arm unconscripted peasants, but it is the best of bad options. We will need more actual spears made. But they can train with sticks. I will send out the request to gather the troops I need and give your orders to the rest. We will gather at Melnon tonight and leave in the morning.”
“Thank you for your support, Captain. Now, I must go and write letters to the families of the deceased. I don’t think I could handle giving them the news in person.”
“It is never easy, My Lord. I am normally the one to give the news, and I will, but the families will appreciate the letters. It is not normal to receive such from a member of your family.”
With that, Draves departed to make preparations, and I began writing letters. I was in the middle of the first one when Emily opened the door. She had a worried look on her face. As she set down a plate of buttered bread, cheese, and salted pork, she asked hesitantly, “Amos, what happened.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and said, “We were attacked by bandits. I got away, but…”
When she realized what I was not saying, Emily put her hand to her mouth, and tears filled her eyes. She knew these men better than me. I can’t imagine any of the villagers handling this news well.
After a moment, she said, “Are you OK? Were you hurt?”
I shook my head, “No, but it was the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me. If I hadn't been so focused on getting back here to warn all of you, I would have never made it. I still can’t help feeling this is all just a horrible nightmare.”
“You should be resting.”
“I can’t. We have to be prepared for if they come.”
“What can I do to help,” Emily said with determination in her eyes.
“I am writing letters to the families of those we have lost. When I am done, bring them to the Captain and ask if there is anything he needs.”
“OK, I will hurry up with everything else and come back when I am done.”
“Thank you, Emily,” I said.
She gave me a weak smile and left.
My letters were not eloquent, but I hoped that the family would be able to tell their sincerity. After Emily had left with the letters, I had one more thing I wanted to do. Something I dreaded more than anything else I had done in the last few days. I tried to think of what I was going to say as I approached Maggie’s hut. Everything I thought of sounded hollow to my ears. I stood outside the door, my hands frozen, not able to take the next action. I don’t know how long I stood there mustering my courage, but I never got to the point where I could knock. Instead, Carrie opened the door and jumped back in surprise when she saw me standing there. Then her expression turned confused when I didn’t say anything. Finally, I said, “May I come in.”
She nodded and stood aside. I walked in and sat on a chair without being invited to. Maggie came in from the back door. Before I could say anything, Maggie, perceptive as always, asked sternly, “Where’s the boy?”
All the words I thought to say fled my mind. All I could manage was, “We were attacked. I… I’m sorry, Carrie.”
When the realization of what I was saying dawned on her, she collapsed to her knees and started to sob. After a moment, Maggie said, “Well, boy, hold her.”
“What? But I-”
“Why are boys so stupid? You brought this mess to my house. Now comfort her. I don’t comfort, I instruct.”
I wanted to say, I’m a lord, and this is highly improper, but I couldn’t muster the strength under Maggie’s steely gaze. Were all old ladies this cranky and bossy? I knelt down next to Carrie and wrapped an arm awkwardly around her shoulder. She remained stiff and continued to sob. All I could do was kneel there and wait for her to cry herself out. It was a long wait.