Chapter 8
Niall woke the next morning well rested and ready to start repairing the stable. He got out of bed and put his clothes back on. They weren’t starting to smell yet but he would need to get a few more outfits soon, as well as find a way to clean his clothes.
The previous night had set him back over a day’s worth of wages and he only had a poor frame of reference for the cost of things in his new world. One of his main goals in his past life was reaching financial independence as soon as possible. The feeling of financial insecurity was foreign to him and slightly worrying however he pushed the thought aside. He had shelter and easy access to food, everything so far had worked itself out for him and to top it all off he had a job which as far as he could tell was in high demand and paid well.
He made his bed then went out to the center room and was surprised to find it empty. He looked across the room and both Dom and Rod’s bedroom doors were still closed. Niall placed a few logs into the hearth stirring it back to life then he went back to his room and unloaded his backpack into his new dresser.
A few minutes later he walked back out of his room but still neither of them were up. Niall’s grumbling belly convinced him to wander out into the town for food and more importantly coffee.
Outside, the early morning dew slicked the cobblestone streets and the freshly risen sun blazed a bright yellow on the horizon. On his way to the town square he passed two slightly familiar faces from the night before, but couldn’t remember their names. They exchanged passing greetings then both parties were on their separate ways.
In the air, the sweet smell of fresh bread gusted about. Niall’s eyes darted to Antonio’s cafe and he saw a line was already starting to form. He queued behind a tall slender woman who he recognized as one of the readers he’d spotted on his first day in town.
The woman turned and greeted him with a kind smile, “good morning.”
“Morning,” Niall replied, trying to return her comforting vibe. “I don’t think we’ve met before, my name is Niall, I’m new in town.” He wasn’t sure whether to offer his hand for a shake or not. He decided on the negative.
“I saw you the other day with Ryu in the square,” she said, holding her effortless smile. “My name is Indira, I’m the town librarian.”
“I think I saw you reading the other day,” Niall replied, he noticed a book in her hands, “what are you reading now?”
“Oh this?” Indira said, holding up a thin red leather bound book. “A new collection from a poet from across the Eastern Sea. I like to start my day with coffee and good poetry.” They moved forward a spot in line.
Niall smiled in agreement, “I understand that need. What kind of books do you have in your library? I’m guessing there aren't very many books from the old world?”
“No,” Indira said, shaking her head, “but you’d be surprised. Most stories based in oral tradition have transferred. Shakespeare’s plays, a lot of plays actually. Most of the religious holy texts. Homer, Gilgamesh, Beowulf. There are also very interesting stories from cultures without a written tradition. But there is a whole new world of writing for you to discover if you’re interested. Our collection is small but come by the library anytime and I can show you.”
“That would be great.” Niall spent most of his evenings reading after work was done on his farm.
Indira smiled. “Oh looks like it's my turn, it was nice meeting you Niall.” She turned and began to give Antonio her order.
For the first time, Niall took in Antonio’s cafe. It was small and obviously set up for outside seating. The shop face was completely open, four sets of shutter doors faced the square, now all tied open. Inside, a counter took up half the space. Along the long wooden counter there were a few glass cake lids containing pastries and overhead hung a simple chalkboard declaring the various forms of caffeine Antonio had to offer. Behind the counter, a complicated maze of exotic metals hissed and worked in the faint resemblance of an espresso machine. Assorted grinders and cups lined a wall of shelves and huge sacks of coffee beans slumped stacked against the wall. Antonio kindly took Andira’s order then furiously went to work.
He bopped from grinder to machine like a skilled conductor and in half a minute presented Andira with a perfect cup of coffee. “Your doppio with cinnamon, Senora.”
“Thank you, Tonito,” Andira said, grabbing the cup, before heading outside.
“Ah, good morning Niall,” Antontio greeted him with a generous grin, sweat beaded on his brow. “Back for more huh?”
“Yes,” Niall nodded eagerly.
“Good, good, what will it be this morning?”
“Can you make a cappuccino?”
“Of course!” Antontio exclaimed, “I will make the greatest cappuccino you’ve ever tasted.” He turned around and quickly went to work. Niall gazed at the pastries on the counter. He saw cookies, scones, and finally strange buns laced with pink icing.
Antonio set a beautiful cappuccino on the counter. The frothy milk gently bubbled like a hill on the brim of the porcelain mug. Antonio watched him with raised eyebrows as if daring Niall to protest the drink. “What are those?” Niall asked, pointing to one of the pink buns.
“Conchas,” Antonio explained. “Mexican sweet bread, my grandmother taught me her recipe when I was a little boy.”
“Can I have one too please?”
“Of course,” Antonio said, he pulled off the lid and using tongs set a concha on a plate. “Lets see, four pences for the cappuccino and three for the concha. Seven pence please.”
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Dom had explained to him the currency the night before. Pence were the small denomination, little brass coins no bigger than a dime. They were followed in order by coppers, silvers, and golds. Each worth ten of denomination before it, so one gold was worth a thousand pence. Niall handed over a copper and Antonio made his change. Niall left a pence as a tip and Antonio thanked him with a smile.
Niall enjoyed his breakfast at one of the empty tables set up outside the cafe. He could see Andira sitting in the square under a tree but didn’t want to disturb her. Antonio didn’t lie, the cappuccino had tasted better than any Niall had ever had. Even better than the ones he’d had during a family trip to Rome. The concha tasted good but simple. At first it was strange biting through the brittle strawberry icing to the soft doughy bun but Niall quickly got accustomed to it and deftly devoured the sweet bread.
Niall returned his dishes to a bucket that had been set out for them, then headed back to the lodge.
“Where have you been?” Rod called as Niall approached.
“You were sleeping and I was hungry.”
Rod waved his hand dismissively, “come on let me show you our set up.” He led Niall through a stone arch gateway into the side yard. The yard was split between a workshop, a material depot, and a kiln.
“Where did Dom go?” Niall asked, looking around for the big man.
“He went to work on the silo already,” Rod said. “Anyway, you can keep your tools in here,” Rod gestured towards the workshop. It was a rectangular building semi-attached to the lodge. Poking his head in, Niall found a dusty unorganized room littered with scraps of metal, tools, and mortar buckets.
“Interesting,” Niall commented hesitantly.
Rod continued. “Over here is the kiln. I’m the only one who uses it so just be careful around it. And over here,” he said gesturing at a stack of assorted lumber, bricks, and metal, “is where we keep extra supplies. Most of the time we keep things on the job but left over stuff goes here and is used for small job repairs.”
“I’m going to need more than that for the stables,” Niall said, side-eying the sad pile of junk. The whole compound needed a decent cleaning.
“Lets go to Ryu and show him your plans and he’ll let us know if the town will pay for it. Do you have a material list?”
“It's inside, let me go and grab it.” Niall went into the lodge and when he opened the door to his room he found a small box wrapped in brown paper on his bed. I almost forgot, I leveled up yesterday!
Niall went over and picked it up. It was light, only a pound or so, but he couldn’t make out what was inside. It was like the box had a perfectly distributed density. Niall contemplated opening the box but decided to take it to Rod first. He quickly threw his plans, material lists, and small tools in his backpack.
“Oh you found your level up box,” Rod said when Niall came out. “Why didn’t you open it?”
“I was a little nervous, I didn’t want to ruin it,” Niall said. “Is it ok if I open it? Is there a right way to do it?”
Rod waved his hand, “no, it is what it is. Come on, open it.”
Niall nimbly broke the paper and then in a blink the box shifted its shape, getting smaller and slightly heavier. Niall ripped off the rest of the paper revealing a green book. He read the cover aloud. “Hearthlands Farmers’ Almanac. What’s this?”
“Never heard of it before, come on let's go,” Rod said before walking towards the square.
Niall flipped through the book seeing charts and graphs as well as drawing of various plants and animals.
“Niall, come on,” Rod urged, looking back a few yards ahead. Niall threw the book in his bag and followed after Rod.
They found Ryu sitting on the bench outside his house silently sipping a cup of tea. “Good morning Rod, Niall are you getting comfortable in town?” He greeted them.
“I think I’m starting to get my bearings,” Niall smiled.
“Good, good, now I guess you two have something to show me?” Ryu asked.
Rod gave Niall a nudge. “Yes, I made some plans to fix the broken stable.” He began to remove the plans and material list from his bag. “It's a simple light weight design that equally distributes the weight across all the walls.”
“I trust your designs, Niall, how much do you think this will cost the town?” Ryu asked. “Many people have expressed interest in fixing the stables but if it's out of the budget it will take time for the town to approve additional funding.”
“I don’t know about the cost, but here is a material list,” Niall said, handing over the piece of paper.
Ryu looked over the paper for a minute then turned to Rod. “Take Niall to Roy and Morgan to get a price for this, please.” He rolled up the plans and material list and handed them back to Ryu.
Rod tapped Niall across the back, “come on.”
Niall followed after Rod without a chance to tell Ryu goodbye. “Who are Roy and Morgan?”
“They have a lumber mill, it's only a mile out of town, come on.” Rod picked up his pace and Niall hurried to keep up.
About twenty minutes later they approached the mill. On the walk over Rod explained that Roy and Morgan were a couple who operated a lumber mill. They shared a homestead with another couple, George and Asha, a pair of flour millers. Their compound was built along the river and forest which ran just south of Silvermoss. Roy and Morgan were some of the original pioneers of the town and had a booming business supplying lumber for its early development. After Jorge left the town and construction dried up they shifted to supplying lumber to Ballast. They specialized in the giant oaks found around Silvermoss used to build the merchant fleets of Ballast.
“They don’t get out much,” Rod added as they approached the mill. The structure ran parallel with the river, four massive water wheels turned in sync. The scratching sound of metal on pulp rang out. Rod didn’t bother knocking and went into the mill. “Be careful,” he shouted. Niall had covered his ears but nodded in understanding.
Inside, the sawing roared so loud Niall struggled to think clearly. Saw dust attached his nose and eyes forcing him into a sneezing fit. Rod tapped him and offered Niall a cloth to cover his face. Rod tilted his head indicating he knew the way. He led them up a ladder to the main saw. A man and a woman built like literal lumberjacks worked in tandem to force a twenty foot long log through the saw.
They watched as the man kept the log down and level with a series of belts while the woman eased the log into the saw with a metal crank.
When the last of the log passed through the blade the room calmed like the beach after a wave break. The man pulled a long lever and the saw came to a stop.
“Rod,” the man greeted with a monotone shout. He pulled wads of cotton out of his ears. He gave Niall a quick glance but didn’t say anything.
“Morning Roy,” Rod said, “can you get us a price for this list?” He indicated for Niall to hand over the material list.
Roy glanced over the paper for a minute, occasionally wiping sweat from his forehead or scratching his nose. “Pencil.”
Niall rummaged in his bag for his pencil then handed it to Roy. The man stared at the dull point for a moment then signed, unimpressed. He began to write on the paper. A few minutes later he handed the paper back to Rod.
As he began to stuff the cotton back into his ears he said, “give us two days once you bring the money, all of it.” Then he turned away from them and pulled the lever, revving the saw back to life.
“Come on,” Rod shouted, leading Niall back outside.
“He was pleasant,” Niall commented after they exited the mill. Overhead gray clouds were starting to accumulate.
“He doesn’t mean anything by it,” Rod said dismissively. He unfolded the note then snorted. He handed it over for Niall to read.
“Seven Gold, five silver, and eight pence,” Niall read, “is that a lot?”
“Oh yeah, you’d think they give a discount for their own town,” Rod snorted. “Come on, let's get back to town before it starts to rain.”