Chien grunted as we pulled the last of the ropes taut and readied to test this machine. Next a small bolt was brought to the fore and we established a shield in front of us, something learned from previous mistakes.

“If this one explodes we need to move on,” the boy said. I was debating the same course of action myself, as this had taken far longer than I'd have liked.

A ballista was something akin to a giant crossbow, safe for a few things. Mainly, it didn't require an actual bow, instead functioning on a completely different set of principles for power generation. The 'bow' was composed of straight pieces of wood, held by a form of rope spring. The tight ropes generated enormous power, enough to toss the little javelins far further than even most spells would go. This was what we were after, a weapon usable by normal elves to fight spellcasters, and monsters for that matter as it would do that magnificently Sadly that power didn't always go where it was wanted.

The first ballista had exploded, sending bits onto Chien and I that had sent us both to find a healer. On the second one it just ripped itself apart, a nice change. The third one though, I had good hopes for. So I pulled the rope holding the line back and watched.

The bolt shattered and I sighed. I really should have expected this particular problem, too much energy entering it at one time was just a little more than the spar of wood could take.

“Boss, are you sure this is worth it?” my assistant asked. “I mean, we could be doing a lot of other things before this.”

I didn't answer, instead getting another bit of wood and making a shorter, fatter dart. My going theory was that the energy going down the length was the problem, that and the sheer quantity of it. I didn't bother putting a tip on the thing as it was only for testing, but hopefully it wouldn't need one.

Once more the siege engine was reset, loaded, and aimed. This time the bolt fired true, rushing forwards like a strike of lightning from the sky and slamming into a nearby tree. The tree still stood, the ancient plant not falling to only one shot, but the projectile, it was gone. Where the dart had struck a massive chunk of wood had ripped away, exposing the inner bark and meat of the green giant. As for the projectile itself, it shattered like glass, sending bits everywhere.

“That is why it is worth it,” I said, pointing at the tree hundreds of feet away. There were a few magically enhanced spear-men that might have managed that throw, but it wouldn't have been an easy feat.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“It's probably still going to break and hurt people. We'll need to have someone oversee the construction and testing of these,” Chien observed.

“Of course,” I wanted to smile, the boy had learned so well. He now sounded almost like me, like he was ready for the next phase of this.

Over the years he'd gotten better and better at managing the projects I gave him. He didn't even flinch at strange ideas and new ways of doing things, instead going through the same steps over and over. He knew how to test, to observe, to look for risks and problems and how to go about solving them. It honestly made me proud, seeing where he'd come from.

That wasn't to say that Chien had lost his sassiness, or the slight impropriety that was just always there. No, he still made jokes, chased skirts, generally acted like a jokester. Now though there was more, deeper, he was growing up, really getting there.

“What?” he asked as he saw me looking over at him.

“Back in my village we had a tradition, for when a boy became a man. About time for you isn't it?” He already looked tall enough, and with how he acted I didn't think anything else was really right.

“We don't do stuff like that in Atal...” he began.

“Perhaps,” I said. I'd have to talk to someone else. Maybe when Ian came back, he'd know even if he didn't really like the kid.

“On another note,” Chien said, quickly changing the subject. “The copper smiths you called for should be at the house soon shouldn't they? Best not to keep them waiting.” I smiled, as it was clear what he was going, but he wasn't wrong.

An hour or two after we got back the first people started to arrive. I'd not stopped working of course during the interim, pumping out piece after piece for our refined ballista design, along with a few steel tipped darts. There was no reason to wait if we could get this on and done with, and it wasn't like we had a lot of time anyway.

In all five smiths joined me at my shop. None of them were as good as I was yet, but all o them worked metal, a rare skill right now. Most had picked it up and were working with the ingots that got sent in from outside, something which had all but stopped, but a couple were making their own already, a big advantage for them.

“So, what did you bring us here for?” one asked, I recognized him as the man who'd once sold me poor quality copper. Sadly he was one of the better men at working the stuff.

“Today we're going to go over how to make iron. It's laborious and time consuming, but we need more than we have and I can't make all of the supplies on my own. You lot are the men already working metal, and so we'll have to go over the differences and processes that you'll need to know.”

“What's wrong with copper?” one of them asked.

“Nothing at all, but we don't have enough of it, and iron is everywhere. Iron is also harder, stronger, and in most cases better than copper for things like weapons and armor. Maybe you've heard, maybe not, but there are enemies encroaching on Atal's lands, making their way towards us and destroying everything in their path. We need to defeat them, and we'll need every weapon we can get to do it.”

“Maybe Atal can negotiate...” another started, but stopped as I shook my head.

“They're killing kids, using them as soldiers in ways that will kill them. Atal seems to be done talking. We will fight, we will win, because if we don't we die, or children die, our loved ones die, that is the cost.”

“So no pressure,” Chien chimed in.

My statement caused all of their faces to go grim, understanding the implications of such a series of actions. Elves loved their young, cherished them. Children were such a blessing because they were so rare, nobody got tired of them, or disliked them like back on Earth, instead they were viewed as the greatest thing around, and to threaten them, an unbelievably grievous crime.

So we began, starting with how to separate iron ore from the sands of the beach, to pull together from grains one of the few things that would really aid us in this war. Soldiers would fight, builders would shore our defenses, and we, we would make the weapons needed to throw the enemy down and make them regret ever coming to these lands.