William was kinda disappointed in the followers list. It didn't show names or classes just what they are good at. Out of all the things to be vague about William felt this was the wrong one.
He went through the entire list and couldn't tell who was who at all. So he went through the list on a single night and just flicked check-boxes on every entry.
You get a blessing, and you get a blessing, everyone gets a blessing!
Over the course of the next few days he noticed here and there stares from the goblins, children, and various adults. William didn't really acknowledge them but by the next night he had more boxes to check.
It was next night that he had his first questions pop up, literally. The first question was 'Why is the sky blue?' There was something like a little chat window that popped up with a keyboard. William put, 'The sky is blue because light bounces off of the air and blue light is the slowest and easiest to scatter.' Then hit enter.
The second was a bit more interesting ‘Why does the wind blow?’ ‘The wind blows due to a temperature and pressure. Air wants to always be in equilibrium but the sun causes imbalances thus the air moves to compensate.’
The first thing he thought after answering was Why do I suddenly feel like an internet search engine. I really gotta be careful with who I give that blessing to. Who knows who will come asking.
The days turned to weeks, weeks to months. The same schedule. Except William had finished his work on his steel refinery. Everything was set for the introduction of electricity. Instead, his defensive project came to the forefront again. The Gatling Gun. It was his best bet as it was easier to maintain. With his new lathe anyone could make parts for it.
At least as long as they had a chunk of steel. The main limitation was ammunition. He was the only one who could make his smokeless powder now. Nitrocellulose was far too dangerous. Until he had trained chemists and proper safety equipment he wouldn’t give anyone the recipe.
Another breakthrough came in the form of [ Create ] itself. Unlike the Giardoni air rifle William had never seen the guts of a Gatling Gun. So the skill was truly using his imagination to make what he wanted. However this did him no good. Yes it meant he could literally make anything he wanted including fictional things but they were one offs.
He couldn’t replicate it in the real world without the skill hence why he was still fiddling with the rotary gun. At this point he had four of the fake Gatling guns and zero real. At this point he gave up he needed a real gunsmith if he wanted to manufacture more of them. He just didn’t have the mind for such small finicky stuff. Unless he knew it very well. With the high tolerances to make sure the thing didn’t blow up in villagers face he just didn’t want to hurt someone.
Thankfully the four make believe guns could be split between the two gates of Runick. While they couldn't have ordinary maintenance. He made sure they had plenty of ammo in an ammo bunker. The next project was to start plumbing up the houses. To be thorough he also added separate pipes for the eventual move to running water so he wouldn’t have to do it later. After this infrastructure leap he needed to make a steam powered harvester.
The next great leap forward came two months after the legion left towards the south. Kena was finally able to make magnets. Evidently she had finally made a breakthrough and supercharged her mana manipulation. She could now individually touch almost a couple hundred billion of atoms and their individual charges.
A magnet the size William needed was work but it was attainable unlike before. Her spells now expanded with her effort. William was especially impressed when she was eventually able to produce something akin to a mini force field. Unfortunately her breakthroughs came at a bad time for William he was only a quarter of the way through his plumbing effort.
However he made a small pause to get a semblance of automation. He desperately needed steel without the steps. Within a week William had a small inefficient steam engine turning a turbine. It was made to simply power the steel refinery.
While he didn’t have lights going the hum of the wiring and hellish glow of the air heaters gave his workshop an eerie effect. Those who had to walk by the building made hurried steps to do so. William chuckled at the passerby as soon, the entire town would be like this.
With the steel refinery finally working he gave detailed instructions to a set of blacksmiths on how to run it while he was teaching for the day. The refinery quickly became the talk of the town. William’s slow progress on the plumbing frontier was sped up rapidly. Since he no longer had to individually make bars of steel for a single length of pipe. He saved immense amounts of time.
By the end of the third month he had plumbed every house currently built. The sewer system however was only halfway done. So cesspits and their eventual clearing was still needed. At this point with electricity a whole new set of possibilities had opened up. Yet again William was paralyzed by the sheer choice of projects he could start.
However his path was made clear by a raven dropping a rolled piece of waterproofed leather at his feet with a piece of bark over the seam. The piece of bark had writing in charcoal that simply said ‘found it’. The large rolled piece of leather was a fairly decent map to the south with approximate distances to the new bauxite mine. There weren’t any villages nearby so it was fair game to claim ownership.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
However in a big red ‘X’ nearby the bauxite location it said plainly ‘bandit camp, very hostile’. William could only groan hostile bandits could only be dealt with one of two ways pay them off or kill them. If he went with the air rifles he knew exactly what would happen. Therefore the criminals had to be wiped out or chased off their spot with force.
Thankfully the mine was a relatively short distance away via the main road. While a few cart loads definitely wouldn’t be enough it would allow him to get the next metal from the book. Now who to take?
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Months away to the south a series of different questions were being asked. Why hasn’t this city folded yet? We made a breach months ago. Yet we are still repulsed. The cracks are there yet Arin’s Hold has held. I have failed you yet again father. How I wish you could see my achievements laid before you. I need to speak to Locke. Either we use his Immortal Legion or the siege has failed. At that point I will need to look for a new avenue to keep my reputation.
“Centurion! Send a runner for Legate Locke. I must speak to him as soon as he is available.” “Yes my Lady.”
Locke’s report was fairly vague on a few details but it seems he found another Rifter village in the same location as the one we burned to the ground. He mentions he lost almost seven centuries in less then a minute. He said it was all mundane weaponry seems a bit far fetched but I will trust his judgement.
He had to pay reparations to one Mr. William Willow. In the way of seed stock, cattle, criminals, and…orphans? Strange things to ask for. The first three are excusable but orphans of the empire is a step too far. Hmm… that might lessen the blow.
So the mind wandered a meal was had and eventually a announcement was made “My Lady, Legate Locke has come at your summons.”
“And not a moment sooner send him in. You may also place the guard ten paces from the tent this is a private conversation.” “Yes my Lady.”
The sound of several footsteps are heard but only one enters the tent. “Hello Varia, I am sorry for the wait but the march was tiresome and rest was needed. You wished to speak to me?” “Nothing that couldn’t wait my old friend. A debrief is all and then strategy on how to break Arin’s Hold. Please, take a seat.”
Why does he seem unhappy about sitting in my personal chairs?
“So where is Irene? I have missed her jokes in the last several months.” “Oh, she needed to take care of some things she is safe. Anyways what did you need to go over was my report not enough?”
Why was he vague about Irene?
“The report is vague in some places your usual is finely detailed.” “What can I say it was a fairly boring trip.” “I wouldn’t put losing seven centuries as boring Locke. You put in the report that your men were slaughtered in less than a minute. My personal butcher at home cleans a rabbit in the same time. I would like detail on it you also said it was done via mundane weaponry not magic that is a feat.” “Yes…well…you see…”
Why is he so unsure? Things are not adding up right.
“We were caught in an ambush you see. Totally caught by surprise didn’t know what hit us. They also hit the supply train. I had a large contingent of men guarding the train in case of bandits. But the group had strange new weapons. These weapons were shown to us at the parlay. Here, is what turned my men into nothing but…corpses…’cough’.
It’s an iron ball.
“The villagers had mechanical devices that fired these with little sound. That at three hundred yards can pierce an oak stump at up to six inches depth.” “This weapon sounds fearsome were you able to procure any.” “No Varia, the weapons were under lock and key as it were.” “That’s to bad. Could the technology be replicated if we could get one?”
“Possibly but it would take decades centuries maybe. He said he had upgraded it so we would never be able to understand it or make it for another five to six hundred years.” “Who is he?” “The man I spoke on William Willow.” “Is he an inventor of some sort.” “Yes and no. He has great amount of knowledge not of this world.”
“Hmm…do you think he would be helpful to the Imperium.” “No… he requires a great deal of freedom he also stated that he wants nothing to do with us or anyone for that matter except for the citizens of Runick.” “So he cares for the village.”
“Deeply so. So much that he built an impenetrable wall around the old settlement.” “Walls? Made of what? Wood? Theirs no way a stone wall has been built in such a short time.” “Yet it has. Twenty feet to the top might I add with carved defensive positions for defenders.” “How?” “Another wonder invention via Mr. Willow. He calls it concrete.”
“I know of that word it makes up some of the ancient buildings in the capital long before the the Imperium during the republic. The recipe was lost hundreds of years ago. Yet this man has rediscovered it.” “More like he brought his own much better version.” “Hmm…what of these reparations you gave this village. Seed stock, cattle, criminals, and orphans?”
“Well the first two are self explanatory the village is in need of food. The other two I cannot say but he sounded resolute on being granted the orphans so much so that we emptied every orphanage minus the babes.” “So they don’t have a steady food supply.”
“Um…yes that’s what I said.” “Thank you Locke, you just made my decision much easier.” “Wait what decision? Why were you so inquisitive about Runick?”
“Oh, my dear old friend I have decided to abandon the siege Arin’s hold. It has cost to many resources. I will try again once we have regained our strength in a century or so.” “That’s great news Varia. The men are tired they do wish to be home again.” “Yes, and they shall. Via the village of Runick. We shall recover the Imperium’s honor, while saving the orphans from the barbarians.”
“Varia, did you not…” “You are dismissed Locke. I thank you for your counsel.”
“Varia, you can’t be serious the slaught…” “Yes, yes Locke. The slaughter of precious innocent villagers I heard you a year ago. You are dismissed Locke.”
“That’s not what I meant our men will be…” “You. Are. Dismissed. Locke. Go get some rest. You will need it for the march north.”
He doesn’t seem very happy eh… it doesn’t matter. This Mr. Willow will be a fantastic asset to have. Lets hope the siege doesn’t kill him.
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In another part of the same camp the same man that was dismissed minutes before enters the newly finished camp of the forty sixth legion. However above the gate painted in black a more colloquially used name 'The Immortal Legion’. The man rushes to find one of his veteran centurions and gives them orders “Get a group of riders supplied and ready. Send this message to Runick with all haste and make sure they carry this symbol on them or they will all die. ‘The Imperium’s first through seventh march upon you, make ready.’” The centurion’s eyes go wide at the order and runs off to see his orders through.