Chapter 112: Trial and Error

Okay then, the basics of flight had been explained to the people who could fly, and the ‘daddy how does the plane work’ edition of engines and propulsion had been explained. Tom was hoping that what came next might temper the enthusiasm for strapping engines to people… or dragons… big people. They had too much to do and making something like that wouldn’t be in the cards for a long time. Still, he had learned enough about dragonettes to know that laughing at things going wrong was a universal constant. So this was about to get funny. They also had a few guests who had yet to see a movie, and he was planning to show them the scary edition later when the kids went to sleep. And after food had been dealt with of course.

First off was a documentary he had found on the history of powered flight, specifically the section from before humans really figured it out, so to speak. Tom had told them no one was gonna die in this one, which was mostly true. He mainly said that for the kids’ sake. They weren’t gonna be seeing any death, so they shouldn’t be able to figure it out.

As expected, the original expressions from his little crowd were ones of utter confusion as they tried to figure out just what the fuck they were looking at. That quickly turned to maniacal laughter though as things on-screen fell apart, blew up, or just generally failed horribly. Tom just leaned back and let the movie do its job for now.

“How could they ever believe that could work? It didn’t even get moving!” Rachuck broke out laughing, Jacky currently beyond the ability to breathe from making fun of the idiocy being displayed. They all shut up for a second when Franz Reichelt fell to his death though. Ray especially seemed to swallow something at the sight of the faulty parachute.

“And that is why we test if things work in a safe way. Don’t just jump and cross your fingers,” Tom interjected as silence reigned. “And don't worry Ray your parachute has been tested many times.”

“Thanks” Ray replied, still looking rather uncomfortable.

“Was he okay?” Fengi questioned, a few other worried faces turning to Tom.

“He was hurt quite badly, but he lived,” Tom lied, looking reassuringly at Fengi.

“They have some good healers,” Dakota stated, from the front row, sounding like she was speaking to herself.

__________________________________________________________________________________

‘What the fuck is that supposed to be?’ Sapphire chuckled to herself as yet another contraption was brought out. This one had two wings and the same thin wood frame construction with canvas over it as many of the other weird machines. It had two propellers, one engine, and two very brave or possibly insane humans sitting in the middle. Unlike so many of the predecessors, it did actually get to move and there were a lot of people around to watch too.

The weird old film did make it rather hard to tell what was going on exactly, but at least Jacky had stopped complaining about the lack of sounds. Saph glanced at Tom who was staring at them rather intently, causing Saph to squint a bit. He knew something she didn’t. Looking back to the screen she gasped as the odd contraption took off, climbing very slowly and clumsily into the sky.

“The crazy fuckers did it… in that thing!?” Dakota let out in disbelief.

“Yup,” Tom replied, leaning back seemingly content with the response from them. “The first filmed flight of the Wright brothers. That isn’t the first flight by them, only the first that was filmed, and that thing is actually the world's first military plane. Anno 1909, or just over 110 years ago.”

“Incredible,” Linkosta let out. “Those wings, the propellers... we could make that.”

“But why would we want to? I mean look at it,” Rachuck interrupted, pointing at the machine slowly lumbering around the sky.

“Yeah no. that won’t be useful. Let’s go for the next bit, the first proper planes and just how quickly we got better. For now though, let’s talk about control surfaces and plane configurations.” Tom turned off the projector and walked up to the blackboard again. Things started getting a bit more complex, but it was a fascinating subject. Saph of course knew everything there was to know about steering through the sky, but to look at the principles converted to a machine was definitely new.

The fact they could not really do much to change their wing shape meant they basically used little flaps to steer. A crude if ingenious solution to Saph. That meant they could use stiff wings which could take more load. Tom kept going through the years, showing how the humans had mastered flight. The progress was incredible, more than one joke being cracked at Nunuk and Apuma being older than most of this.

And yet despite all this progress, the humans kept going to the limit and beyond, going higher, faster, and further. Even Jarix had to concede they had him out-matched in range too within a few decades. Mainly due to their much higher cruising speeds.

“A plane like that could make it to the capital in a few days, maybe just one if you fly through the night,” Linkosta got out between her frantic note-taking.

“Oh it gets better, that’s a Douglas DC-3 we haven’t even made it to jet engines yet. You are gonna love that,” Tom replied as he got out some footage of a strange pointy thing with stubby wings. “This is kinda cheating, since it’s using rockets, but this ladies and gentlemen is the first thing to take a human beyond the sound barrier: the Bell x-1, and that is Chuck Yeager. A real contender for craziest pilot to ever live.”

“I like him already,” Jacky replied as the plane was carried into the sky by a much bigger plane.

“And off we go,” Tom said with a smile as the smaller plane was dropped. A trail of smoke billowed out the end of it before it sped off into the distance. Saph had thought for a second that something had gone wrong but the thing just kept going.

“What is that?” Linkosta questioned as the view cut to someone looking at a round screen.

“That’s a radar, it’s keeping track of the plane… It’s a machine that can see very far and through clouds.”

“How can you say that like it’s ‘oh, we can see through clouds.’ That is incredible!”

“I want five,” Rachuck let out with a chuckle, Tom sighing a bit.

“Not happening I’m afraid. Not for a long time.”

“Yeah, he’s making me the fastest person in the world first,” Jacky let out, though her cheery attitude seems to be dampened a bit when she looked to Tom, who was suddenly looking a bit tired.

“What about my machine gun?” Jarix questioned.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day. So one thing at a time,” Tom cut them off. “Lathe first, then mill, then we can start looking at some weapons and other useful items. We need defenses that will scare off an army. Then we can start having some fun. Now though, I think it’s time for dinner, and we will pick this up again afterward. Then I will have a go at explaining why some things should not be made… ever! And why others need to be treated with extreme caution and respect. Most of you know what I’m on about.”

Linkosta had a look around at the others, Saph doing her best to convey, ‘brace yourself’ via expression before they set about clearing the chairs away to make room for the tables again.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Well, the scare session had gone well enough. Judging by her performance the day afterward, Linkosta had either not been able to sleep or spent most of the night writing notes down. And even Tink hadn’t as much as mentioned the nukes since.

Jacky had, of course, not let the whole engine backpack thing go, not helped by Tink coming up with some ideas for how to do it over the last day or so. Jacky was quick to point out she was just excited about it. It was honestly cute to see her struggling with being so excited and not wanting to pester Tom. ‘Jacky showing restraint… If that isn’t love I don’t know what is,’ he chuckled to himself as she went about explaining how she envisioned it. Tom had to admit that was a fun idea. It would not be able to run for long, but hey, it might actually be useful if they could make a fitting power plant.

Testing on the power cell for the lathe had gone surprisingly smoothly. No explosions, no overheating, just clean reliable power output. He had been worried they would need a speed controller of some kind, but with voltage control this fine it simply wasn’t necessary. By the end of the week, they got the motor rigged up for the first time. That was truly a special day.

“The first-ever engine produced in this world,” as Linkosta so eloquently put it. That was something to be proud of. Sure, it wasn’t some fire-breathing monster fit to win a war, but it was arguably more useful. Shiva had made good progress on Jacky’s armor, though she had cursed quite a bit when Nunuk confirmed that the blood used to inscribe the enchantments was not from her mother’s era, it was simply not old enough.

The smith had wanted to clean out every last rune on the suit to rid it of anything unworthy. A swift reminder of just how long it would take to reenchant it as well as the notion that she would be wiping centuries of Furlong blood and history out with it stayed her hand. Instead, it would be reinscribed to make sure the enchantments were strong and fit for battle.

Tom had expected to have Jacky be the source for the blood, since they clearly put emphasis on you being part of your own equipment. But, to his surprise, Shiva wanted Jarix’s. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been, dragon blood was apparently better, and if there was one thing he knew about Shiva it was that she valued Jacky above all. Tom had seen an opportunity to make further amends with the smith on a front where they definitely agreed. He had told Shiva to hold off for just a day, taking Nunuk, Apuma, and Linkosta aside one evening to discuss their findings on the unicorn horn.

They claimed the horn to be in excellent shape despite the rather brutish method of removal. There were no cracks or other nasty surprises within it, though the cut was far from clean at the root. It had taken some convincing, but with the proposal that perhaps two sets of armor needed reinscribing, Nunuk was sold on the idea of using some of the horn from the break to enhance the procedure. Linkosta had at first refused, claiming such work should be carried out by masters of the craft. She did come around when Apuma found an old procedure on how to infuse the horn into the blood. It was apparently not very different from the normal procedure of reinscribing. With a little persuasion, Jarix had accepted too. It wasn’t like it was a large amount of blood anyway, perhaps half a liter.

The process was actually very simple; a very small amount of the horn was filed off the base where the break was and added to the blood. Then Linkosta, with her father’s help, conducted some ritual over the mix. Then came the actual re-inscribing. First, some kind of protective wards or something had to be removed, then it was simply a matter of repainting the tiny runes with the now rather glowy concoction, and then more rituals to seal the deal. Tom had tried to follow along, that last part had been about sealing the enchantments to make them harder to break or disrupt or something, as Linkosta put it. Apparently, that was one of the more spur-of-the-moment things she had trained in, and also why she had originally started studying enchantments. Beyond just curiosity, of course. It had taken three full days of Linkosta and Apumas combined effort to repaint every last little rune, Whatever they had done to the blood seemingly keeping it from clotting or drying out.

Jacky had been beside herself with excitement at the knowledge she was getting not only an enchanted set, but one ‘boosted’ for a lack of a better word with the power of, as she put it, “A literal fucking unicorn. This is armor fit for a queen!” Tom couldn’t resist making a quick quip about how it was in the perfect place then. That one certainly sat well with Jacky at least after she confirmed she was a warrior queen, not one of those prissy ones. Shiva also warmed up a fair bit that's for damn sure.

And with the smith now available for full-time work on all their projects, they were soon flying. At this speed the lathe would be done in no more than a week. Tom found himself relegated to teaching and managing what was going on just as much as actually working. His only regret was the lack of time he was spending with the kids. Nanny duties ended up mostly in the hands of the guards and huntresses for the time being. Keeping Kiran out of the workshop was, of course, near impossible, so his little assistant was along for the ride much of the time.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Ray also ended up as a kind of assistant around the workshops when she was not doing cleaning or kitchen work. She did also fill in with the kids when others weren't available. All in all, she worked like a madman day in and day out to the point she could often be found asleep where she had been working in the evening. Tom had given up trying to get her to not do that, after the first few attempts, so he relented to just put her to bed if he found her.

She had little skill when it came to crafting, though she did have nimble fingers and she didn’t complain. She never did. When they had been working on the motor, she had burned herself rather badly on the soldering iron. Whereas Jacky would certainly have gotten mad, Ray apologized for touching it. Tom had told her to please just stop apologizing for everything. She didn’t have to. At least gone to have it looked at after apologizing.

Tom didn’t get his wish with the new bows though. Kullinger and Raulf had been put to work fashioning a net for Jarix, inspired by his mother’s. Judging by how effective that had been before, it would soon see their stores filled to bursting. But they would need to get cracking on those bows since they could churn them out a hell of a lot faster than the guns.

‘So much to do and it should all have been done yesterday’ Tom mused to himself. As he checked off another point on the to-do list. Next up, mill head angels adjustment bearings.

__________________________________________________________________________________

“Right girls, you know what to do. Ready Jarix?”

“Sure, let’s do some herding.”

The plan was nice and simple. The five huntresses and the two greenhorns would go out and try to force a herd out of the forest if they could find one. Once out Jarix would come down on top of deer and drop the net. Zarko and Radexi were in charge of the actual dropping. To help keep the herd in check, they had brought shields and clubs to make noise. They would keep their bows stowed unless they managed to fuck it up somehow.

It had taken a while scouting water holes before they found their quarry, but found it they did. Pho was once again paired up with Saph, the two of them getting along rather well. The greenhorn was competitive as hell, just like Saph, though she might be a bit more reckless at times. Not Jacky levels, but still enough that you had to watch out for it.

“Well, here we go. Try not to break your voice roaring at them,” Saph joked as they rolled into the dive. They held off on the noise for now. They didn’t want the herd to break apart in panic after all. It worked like a treat, the deer bolting into the trees at full speed. They were even going in the right direction. The huntresses followed below the canopy, fanning out to keep the herd together, putting on a bit of noise to keep them close together, Dakota skimming over the heavenoak to give Jarix a marker to follow.

‘I guess this is how they do in the inner keeps, god it’s easy,’ Saph mused to herself, reaffirmed in the knowledge those people couldn’t hunt. Not really at least, this was just too easy. Deer were quick, but they were faster, and they could maintain this speed for a while. The deer knew this though, and they soon started trying to break out, putting the huntresses to work intercepting their little attempts to drive them back.

After around 10 minutes of that, the deer were exhausted to the point that they could probably have picked them off with ease anyway, but Jarix had gotten his net, so they had to try it out. Saph guessed he would be rather pissed otherwise.

When the deer broke out of the forest they were honestly too tired to even notice their doom approaching from above. Nor were they fast enough to run as the net came down on a good section of them. Dakota ordered that the ones not caught be allowed to run. This had not been the largest herd ever to begin with and they had gotten most of them. The strongest animals and the lead buck were allowed to escape. The remaining deer had their necks broken, so as not to cover Jarix in blood. That was the least they could do to thank him for carrying the quarry home.

“Well it was a good workout,” Saph stated as they set about loading the Deer.

“Not much of a hunt, but it was quick,” Jacky replied, tying another one down.

“We will keep doing regular hunts. Deer gets rather boring in the long run anyway,” Dakota retorted. “It gives us the time for more training though. Sounds like the people at home can use a hand too.”

“They are doing great though. Tom said they are gonna start on new bows for all of us now that the net is done.”

“You are gonna love them,” Saph replied genuinely. “They are so awesome.”

“I can’t wait for him to get started making ammo for the guns so I can actually hunt with this thing,” Jacky replied, patting the revolver on her thigh.

“Or guns for the rest of us. Think I could get one too?” Pho questioned, sounding like she believed that probably wouldn’t happen. They had held a little demonstration for the new faces and well. Pho was definitely sold too. As was Bo for that matter.

“I have no clue… Jacky, has he said anything about how long they take to make?” Dakota questioned, all eyes turning to Jacky expectantly.

“Uhm… well there are definitely maaaanyy kinds. So I’m guessing it depends… I can ask him if you want.”

“Just don’t make it sound like we are impatient. I think Rachuck has that one covered… He must have asked by now.”

“He mostly talks about traps and other things. He really liked the idea of the ‘anti-corruption mine,’ ” Jacky replied, in what was unmistakably her attempt at sounding like Tom… It was not very successful.

“A what?” Zarko questioned, from where she was busy packing Jarix’s net again.

“It goes boom if there is anything corrupted nearby. Sounds real handy. Linkosta looked like she wanted to die at the thought of having to make the triggers.” Jacky replied with a laugh.

“Well, she’s gonna have to pull her weight for once then. All those years with her nose in the books need to amount to something,” Dakota replied plainly.

“Be nice now,” Essy interrupted, looking rather pointedly at Dakota. “She has worked wonders on your mother’s armor.”

“I’m kidding. I could never do that” Dakota replied, a hint of annoyance creeping into her voice. “She can’t shoot for shit though.”

“Might be able to with a shotgun,” Jacky interrupted with a chuckle. “Don’t tell Heron, but that’s a weapon for those who don’t know what they are doing.”

“Why did he give you the revolver then?” Sapphire joked cockily, Jacky seemingly not appreciating that one.

“Maybe I should not ask him what you should use?”

“I mean… A rifle would be sweet I guess. Don’t think I could steer the shot though.” That would be a bit of a bummer. She had gotten rather used to being able to just fire and let her magic do the work, but she had seen Tom shoot; she could not even see the shot when he fired.

“So do I know what I’m doing with this thing?” Jacky questioned, looking very smug.

Saph looked at Jacky with an annoyed smile. “Jackalope Furlong, the finest dragonette… revolver girl?... What do you even call that?”

“Fuck, I need to ask that too.”

“Gun woman?” Fengi tried, Jacky scratching the back of her neck a little.

__________________________________________________________________________________

The hunts had apparently been going very well. Jacky and Saph were around to help out intermittently now, though they were spending a lot of time training, Saph with the new recruits and Jacky with her new armor. Essy and Fengi having more time with the kids had also freed Ray up a little though it would seem the only effect was that everything was now even cleaner around the keep.

Rachuck and Nunuk were taking Jackalope through quite the training schedule. Shiva had explained that Jacky needed to pretty much learn to fight again from scratch. She was trained as a flying archer who had a self-learned affinity for the warhammer in close combat. Halberds too, apparently, something about little Jacky thinking they were just the coolest. Now though, she was expected to go toe to toe with just about the nastiest things the world had to offer and not back off. The no fear part had come naturally. But the whole ‘using your armor’ part had been hard for her to grasp. It didn’t help she had never done much sword fighting, nor did she seem cut out for it.

They didn’t have an enchanted shield for her either, which resulted in her being equipped with a halberd for the time being, which made her very happy. Jacky’s revolver had gotten a custom holster made, that fit on the backside of her thigh to keep it safe. Then she could switch to the revolver, drawing one of the armors holdout daggers if needed. The only thing she lacked was a place for the grenades but they would figure that out at some point.

She looked so fucking badass walking into the sparring ring when Tom had come down to watch a few rounds one day. The illusion was sadly broken when Rachuck had a go at her. She was quick, but he was faster, and when she struck he deftly blocked or dodged. Jacky got in one good hit which had sent him flying. He got her in return though, sneaking inside her defenses, fighting as close to her as he could get away with.

“Headbutt, Jacky! Knock his ass out!” Tom shouted at her, as she struggled to backpedal to make use of her longer weapon. She reversed direction, stepping forward, trying to sweep Rachuck’s legs as she went for a shove. He saw it coming though, making a quick hop backward before bringing the sword up under her chin, Jacky freezing in place.

“I think I can pierce that part,” Rachuck went, holding the blade against the leather-backed mail for just a second.

“You need to keep him away from you, and if he gets that close, you crush him!” Nunuk shouted at Jacky. “He is smaller and weaker, so use it!”

“Thanks mum,” Rachuck replied sarcastically, taking up stance for another round. “Now remember, quick on your feet I’m gonna try to sweep them.”

He didn’t get the chance as he once again moved in close trying to go for Jacky’s legs she dropped the halberd and kicked forwards. Jacky embraced the confused Rackuck, who looked almost like he was going to ask why she did that. The dagger Jacky had retrieved from the armor’s back soon got his attention though, as she pushed it into his back just enough to prove the point.

“Jackalope, those aren't dulled!” Nunuk shouted out. Jacky let go.

“Sorry, but I have to learn how to use them.” Yeah, Tom was not quite convinced she was in fact sorry. But it looked like she had been careful at least.

“It's fine mum, it’s all in good spirit,” Rachuck dismissed his mother, Nunuk seemingly not quite convinced. Deciding it was her turn now she put on her helmet and drew her enchanted sword.

“If you want a proper fight I’ll give you one. Yield or first blood.”

“Done, I’m guessing no gun?” Jacky questioned sarcastically, picking up her own nice and sharp halberd from the weapons rack, sheathing the dagger. Tom knew her well enough to hear that she was sounding nervous. He was curious though. He had not seen Nunuk fight apart from getting her ass kicked in the armory way back. Jacky was a touch winded already, which really didn’t help her odds. It wasn’t that Tom didn’t believe in her; it was just that, well… Yeah, no, she was likely about to get her ass kicked by a 100-year-old grandma who actually knew what she was doing.

Jacky did put up a valiant defense, managing a fair few blocks and even getting Nunuk to backpedal a bit. Rachuck was chuckling as he came up beside Tom.

“She might be getting on a little, but she knows what she is doing.”

“Dunno, looks like Jacky is doing well,” Tom replied as Jacky forced Nunuk to duck with a wide swing.

“Nah, mum’s playing with her. Any second now.”

Tom was a touch skeptical, but as Nunuk’s blade phased through one of Jacky’s blocks he remembered that, yeah, only one combatant was fighting with an enchanted weapon here. That was hardly fair in his mind. From there it all happened too quickly. Nunuk stepped forward, tripping Jacky with her tail, a move Tom hadn’t really thought about before, sending Jacky sprawling onto her back. She was reaching for one of her daggers when Nunuk used a single wing beat and a jump to land on top of Jacky, pinning down both her arms with her clawed feet. ‘Well shit,’ Tom concluded as Rachuck looked at him. Likely going to say ‘I told you so’ or something of that nature.

Jacky, though, was seemingly not done yet. As Nunuk leveled her blade at Jacky’s throat, the huntress used her tail, combined with Nunuk holding down her arms, to land a powerful kick on Nunuk’s back, sending her flying forwards with a surprised yelp. Tom and Rachuck let out a joint ‘oooh’ as Nunuk face-planted in the dirt. Jacky was first on her feet, Nunuk only getting up onto all fours as Jacky raised the halberd for a swing. Nunuk rolled out of the way before getting to her feet, bringing up her blade.

“Fine, come on then!” Nunuk shouted at Jacky, who replied with a powerful swing. Nunuk stepped back out of Jacky’s swing before lunging forwards, Jacky throwing up a block with the haft of the halberd. Nunuk simply phased her blade through it, bringing the blade up under Jacky’s armpit and going for a stab. It was clear she was hesitant, not wanting to hurt Jacky too badly. The enchanted blade didn’t pierce as the newly inscribed runes on the armor burned bright for a split second.

“Damn okay,” Rachuck let out. Tom nodding sagely; that was exactly what he had been hoping for. Shiva had explained that Nunuk’s armor, while amazing, was reliant on the natural strength of mithril scales and chain to safeguard the vulnerable parts. It was also of slightly lighter construction to allow her more freedom of movement. Jacky’s new armor on the other hand took special care to reinforce the weak points, using both enchantments and heavier mail than usual to let the user focus on offense. The true Furlong way. It made it bulkier, but that fit Jacky just fine.

Nunuk paid for her hesitance, and surprise at the lack of penetration, with a strike to the back of the head with the haft of Jacky's halberd. To Tom’s surprise, it didn't seem to do much, the force of the blow likely being mostly eaten up by the enchantments. That had been another long explanation on how they managed to do away with much of the padding to lighten up the armor, but right now It was clear both of the women were furious. Nunuk pulled back, taking a full swing from Jacky on her shield, which, unlike Rachuck's, was enchanted. The hit still threw her off balance, but the magic was likely the difference between that and sending her flying out of the ring. Jacky used the time bought to bring down the halberd from above with enough force to kill Nunuk in a single hit, had the lady not been inside that masterpiece of metalwork.

Nunuk caught the hit on her shield, sending her to one knee. The more experienced fighter was starting to show her age, as Jacky was no longer the only one showing signs of fatigue. Jacky, though, had been burning magic for those swings, and it showed. She was too slow to land a third hit on Nunuk, who deftly dodged the incoming swing, Jacky having overcommitted to it. That became her final mistake, as Nunuk made her way around Jacky’s side, kicking her in the back of the knee. The kick sent Jacky off-balance, forcing her to one knee leaning on the halberd. Nunuk jumped onto Jacky’s back latching on with claw and talon, taking out her own dagger. It was a sharp needle-like weapon clearly meant to pierce things, the Lady holding it at Jacky’s neck.

“Yield!” Nunuk shouted, Jacky freezing in place seemingly thinking for a second. The Lady reaffirmed her threat by pushing the dagger a bit harder, “Yield!” With a strained sigh, Jacky dropped the halberd in defeat.

“100 years and going strong,” Rachuck joked, giving Tom a playful hit to the shoulder.

“We will make one hell of a warrior out of you yet,” Nunuk went, holding out her hand to Jacky after she got off.

“We have to, no way Rachuck is gonna cut it,” Jacky replied, taking off the helmet before shaking Nunuk’s hand with a smile that Tom guessed was at least a little forced.

“Hey what was that for!” Rachuck protested, Tom having a slight chuckle at the captain's expense.