Chapter 18
After almost two full weeks of being abroad, the Baron finally made his way back to Bickenstadt. As soon as he entered Castle Bickenstadt, he was slapped by his son. He felt no annoyance or anger, he knew he deserved it.
“What the hell were you thinking!? Disappearing off to Wako for two weeks! We have a festival next week, not to mention the first ever meeting of the Bickenstadt City Assembly, and you haven’t done any of the planning!”
“Well, did you plan for it?”
“Of course I did! You weren’t there!”
The Baron smiled and slapped his son’s shoulder.
“Then everything turned out ok! The festival is planned-a-a-and it’s not like I could’ve done a better job than you. More proof that I should retire and make you baron von Bickentstadt.”
Wolfgang looked like he was considering slapping the Baron again before looking completely dejected.
“You’re…hopeless.”
“Yup! Anyways, my sword was stolen from me by shinobi, so I need to commission a new one. I fought hard for it, it was a gift from you after all, but there is nothing we can do about that now. Probably already sold to some daimyo in Wa. The design should be sea related, like my throne, to show off where the wealth of Bickenstadt comes from. Do you remember who made my last one?”
Wolfgang breathed in deeply, held it for a few seconds, and breathed out.
“He died a few years ago.”
“Damn, truly? He was so talented? Such a shame…well, I suppose we will have to find a new swordsmith.”
Wolfgang pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Ask the new guy from Wako whether he can do it. Or Jean, maybe he knows.”
“I doubt Jean can do it, I had to fix a watch enchanted to be wrong for him. It may be a good idea to speak to Tokitaka, though.”
Wolfgang scoffed and began to walk off.
“How do you remember everyone’s name so easily?”
The Baron was about to answer but Wolfgang quickly walked out of earshot. He shrugged and left to find Jean.
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The Baron found Jean in his workshop. He and Alana Albrecht were working on a massive machine. It was a wheel being spun by something which reminded the Baron of the oil rigs he had seen in his past life. A piston was working hard, powered by a small steam engine. It caused the coupling rod to move back and forth, spinning the wheel slowly and steadily.
Jean lay on the floor and was fiddling with some bolts, while Alana was hammering something into place at the top. The Baron walked over and cleared his throat.
“Jean, just what are you working on?”
I feel like I’ve seen something like this before…in like a textbook? Or a museum?
Jean tightened a bolt and got out from under the machine.
“Baron! Alana and I had an idea! I showed her something I learned in University! I used steam from a kettle to propel a ball, and she asked if steam could be used to move other things, like wheels. I said it could probably do that and then we began to theorize! We came up with a machine that spins a wheel using nothing but steam. Hardly revolutionary, and we ‘aven’t figured out ‘ow to make it do something practical yet, but it’s at least a proof of concept!”
Oh my god. They’re fucking geniuses! Now I know where I saw this before: In a museum of trains!
“My God Jean, if you can figure out how to make things move with steam, we may be able to revolutionize transit! Just tell me what you need and I’ll provide it! This is-WAIT I am not here for this! I am looking for Tokitaka! Though please come to me later with a list of things you may need, and I would like to speak to you in private some time.”
Jean and Alana looked ecstatic. Alana jumped off the machine and ran off into a side room. Jean smiled at her and pointed towards an in progress building next door.
“‘Es in there. Is very specifique about ‘ow ‘is workshop will be created. Overseeing it personally. ‘Is Reikers is excellent, by the way-where did you find ‘im?”
The Baron walked over to the closest door.
“He approached me. Said he wanted to be my gunsmith. Gave me this”
The Baron drew his beautiful dragon pistol. Jean walked over to get a closer look.
“Oh my, I never got to see ‘is work. It is beautiful indeed!”
The Baron smiled and holstered the pistol.
“Oh, speaking of beauty, how is Alana performing? Her brother is quite intelligent, is his sister the same?”
“Oh, she is more than intelligent. It took me a century to reach the level she ‘as in just six months! When I say we created that prototype, I mean WE created it. Despite having more than a century of experience over ‘er, she provided just as much to the project!”
“Good. And it’s good to know you two work well together. Just six months and she created a steam engine from scratch, huh? That’s a real prodigy.”
“Oui! She is a prodigy! No other word for it!”
“Good to know!”
The Baron said as he left Jean’s workshop.
Tokitaka’s workshop was half finished. The half of the building that was finished was filled with forges built directly into the walls. The other half was covered in scaffolding and the skeletons of forges. Tokitaka was directing some workers towards the end of the rows when the Baron walked over to him.
“Excuse me, Tokitaka! I see you’ve taken a personal interest in your workshop’s construction! Jean did the same thing when we built his workshop.”
Tokitaka looked up from his clipboard and smiled at the Baron.
“Ah, yes. If I want to be efficient, I need to fully understand every inch of my workspace. Do you need something?”
“Yes, I was wondering if you made swords? High quality ones.”
Tokitaka nodded sagely.
“Hai, I began my smith journey as a swordsmith. I began to transition over to firearms after around fourty or so years of being a swordsmith. I believe my wares are of the highest quality.”
“Excellent. I need you to make me a new sword.”
“And what is wrong with your old sword?”
The Baron gestured to his empty waist.
“It’s gone. Stolen by a shinobi for some reason.”
Tokitaka narrowed his eyes.
“Why would they…oh I see. It is possible they believed your power came from your sword. It is a common belief in Wa culture. Yes, I can make you a sword.”
“Excellent. I am looking for a saber, I’ll give you the measurements used for my last sword later. I want the handle to have a sea motif, to show off where my wealth comes from. The blade should be simpler than the handle, though it would still be nice to have some niceties on it like etchings or something like that. Maybe a wave pattern, or something in silver. Also, do you do enchantments?”
“No, I do not.”
“Alright then, just make sure to make it sturdy enough to boast at least two enchantments, sharpening and strengthening.”
“I can do that easily. Just how much are you willing to spend on this?”
“A lot. I may very well be the richest man in the Empires. What am I saying? I am the richest man in the Empires.”
Tokitaka smiled.
“If money is no issue…then I already have an idea. Tell me, how easy is it for you to source coral?”
“Easily. It should be expensive, but it’s my sword dammit.”
“Excellent. Then how do you feel about having a coral handle?”
The Baron smiled brightly.
“I would love nothing more!”
“Then, I should have something good for you by the end of September, or early October.”
“That would be great. Thank you for doing this for me.”
“No need to thank me, you are paying for it.”
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The Bickenstadt City Assembly building was set up as a Forum, the style of the Brayherd’s senate. A central pit with a square platform surrounded on all sides by rows of communal seating, designed so that one or more people may speak and be the center of attention at all times.
The assembly building was packed. Many of the people of Bickenstadt city had decided to attend, if only to see what's going on and if this concept actually means anything. In the center of the forum was a single, very old man.
“I think we need to keep factories out of the city, or at least away from where people live. The smoke it puts out makes me cough something fierce.”
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A murmur came from the hundreds strong crowd as men and women discussed the merits and shortcomings of that idea. After minutes of discussion, a man on the sidelines slammed something down on the ground loud enough to get all eyes on him. It was the Baron von Bickenstadt, who was mediating and taking votes for the assembly, at least until people were comfortable enough to run it themselves.
“Alright, I hope you all have discussed the merits of his proposal. Does anyone have anything to add? Speak now or forever hold your peace.”
After a few seconds, a young man spoke up.
“Well, how far away are we talking here? We can’t have the factories too far outside the city, people work there! I work there! It’s gotta be at least within like a fifteen minute walk from where we live.”
The crowd began to discuss. The Baron smiled and leaned back in his chair.
I think this is going to work out well.
“Well, it’s gotta be far enough to not get ash everywhere. Don’t want Bickenstadt to end up like Rauchburg, that place is gray and lifeless!”
“I agree, but how do we even measure that besides trial and error?”
The crowd’s volume rose as people argued about how to measure ash output from factories. The old man from earlier spoke up.
“What if we make it so factories have to be, say, a thousand paces away from residential areas. That seems reasonable to me, I’m sure young men like you folks won’t have too much trouble crossing the distance!”
The crowd murmured in agreements and disagreements. After a few minutes, the Baron got their attention again by beating the bottom of a simple replacement saber’s sheath on the wooden floor.
“Alright folks, does anyone have more to add? Speak now or forever hold your peace.”
The Baron waited a few seconds before nodding and continuing.
“Alright, we are going to take our vote! Those who are for the proposal of requiring that all new factories be built at least one thousand paces away from residential areas, raise your thumb upwards. If you are against, point your thumb down towards the ground. Keep your arm up until we have counted everyone.”
The Baron scanned the crowd, taking note of the proportion of thumbs up to thumbs down. After taking a minute or two to count and do math, the Baron spoke.
“The yays have won! The proposal passes!”
He slammed his saber into the ground again to punctuate the ruling. People in the crowd began to speak to each other and discuss whatever was on their minds. The Baron wrote down the new policy in the Bickenstadt Code of Laws, in the section having to do with building regulation. It was now officially law that all factories must be built at least a thousand paces away from residential areas.
Time passed as people discussed proposals and settled grievances legally instead of through dueling or general anti-social behavior. After a few hours, it was time for the lunch break. The Baron banged his saber on the ground.
“Everyone, it is time for lunch! You are released for an hour! Be back here by one o’clock!”
The Baron watched the crowd move like a liquid out of the building. He smiled, crossed one leg over the other, and took a sip of a drink he had taken to drinking while working besides brandy: Coffee from the Assai’id confederation.
It was very popular in Bickenstadt, from people as varied as the dockworkers working early mornings and the students studying long into the night, which led to coffee houses to become a shared space amongst the different classes of Bickenstadt. It was exactly what the Baron could’ve hoped it would become.
I believe these are the conditions the enlightenment sprang forth from.
A young man approached the Baron looking somewhat star struck.
“H-hello Baron, my name is Erich Wemhoff-”
“Ah, son of Fritz Wemhoff, yes? I have heard of you, a student in my university?”
Erich looked shocked that the Baron knew who he was.
“Y-yes sir, I am. My father insisted that I go there.”
“Then he made an excellent choice…”
The Baron gestured to an empty cup on the platter next to him.
“Coffee?”
Erich held up his palms.
“Oh, no, I couldn’t impo-”
The Baron waved his hand dismissively.
“Oh, no, you’re not imposing on me! If anything I’m imposing on you. Come! Sit and drink with me.”
Erich nervously took a seat across from the Baron, who moved a cup over and poured some coffee.
“So, Erich, my new friend, did you have something you wished to speak to me about?”
Erich twiddled his thumbs nervously.
“Oh, um, yes sir I do...”
The pair sat in silence for a few seconds before the Baron chuckled.
“Oh, no need to be so nervous. Personally, I think rank is, overwhelmingly, worthless. The true worth of a person comes from their words and their actions, not a piece of paper that tells you you're special. I didn’t get to where I am today because my blood makes me a genius. I was given an education, and traveled the world to learn as much as I could. Were I born a commoner, I would have done neither of those things, and I would not be here speaking to you now.”
The Baron smiled and shook his head.
“When I was a boy, commoners had far fewer rights than they do now. I always felt there was something strange about that, personally.”
“Um, sir, the question I wanted to ask was, why are you so invested in the common folk?”
The Baron resisted rolling his eyes, instead putting on a smile. The kid didn't seem to be looking down on commoners, just curious why the Baron cares.
Nobles. Can’t believe we have to be ‘taught’ to care about our fellow man.
“Do you want the truth, son?”
Erich nodded emphatically. The Baron’s smile widened.
“Well, the truth is, I have always cared, at least a little bit. Contrary to popular opinion I don’t enjoy seeing people in pain on any level, really. In fact, I feel quite sad when I see unnecessary suffering. I looked at our vast wealth and resources, and I thought ‘why do we have so much stuff? And why do they have so little?’”
The Baron paused to sip his coffee.
“I was told it’s because of our noble blood, we were entitled to such things, but that was never sufficient for me. I have met other nobles, I have seen how we are, and let me tell you, as a whole, we are not that smart. All we have is a piece of paper and an attitude, I never worked to get where I was at birth, and neither did they.
And all of those feelings became stronger when I began my mercenary company a little over twenty years ago.”
Erich was nodding along. He looked invested.
“Fighting alongside commoners, training them, interacting with them on a daily basis, it taught me something important. That commoners are not less intelligent than nobles, they are less educated. When I teach them something, they learn it, and apply it just fine. And many of them learn extremely quickly. Honestly there are many commoners who I believe deserve nobility more than some nobles.”
The Baron smirked.
“Maybe a lot of them, actually.”
Erich spoke up.
“And that’s why you believe in democracy? Because you’ve seen that commoners can be just as intelligent as us?”
The Baron nodded.
“Essentially. And before you ask, yes, that is the reason I have made it my mission to end Elven slavery. I have met with elves, free elves, and I learned that they are the same as you and me, slowed aging aside.”
The Baron fanned out his arms, gesturing to the forum itself.
“Look around you! All of this was planned and headed by an elf, Jean La Mechaniqué. And the roads around Bickenstadt city, as well as the rest of our beautiful province and a small portion of Holenstadt now, are rebuilt better by him as well. I believe that despite some differences between the races, our minds, and our moral worth, are all the same, fundamentally. We are all social species, and so we can work together if we see each other as people, instead of outsiders.”
Erich slowly nodded.
“Yeah, that makes sense. I’ve been opposed to it for a while now, but I haven’t really been able to articulate what I’m feeling.”
“Ah, yes, the problem with being young. The words will come to you, in time. All you need to do is learn as much as you can. The young mind is like a sponge, it will suck up whatever it is brought into contact with. And good on you for opposing something that is wrong, even if you don’t fully understand why. You should strive to understand, but any instinct rooted in the abhorrence of suffering will provide good outcomes!”
Erich drank from his cup, nodding his head in understanding.
“That…makes sense. Thank you, sir, for talking to me.”
The Baron waved his hand at Erich.
“Oh, no need to thank me. I am always happy to talk to people, especially when it’s about myself! I hope this conversation has been enriching for you. I have enjoyed it greatly.”
Erich saluted the Baron.
“Thank you! Yes sir, I also enjoyed it quite a bit! You have given me much to think about!”
Erich walked off and the Baron sipped his coffee. He sighed contentedly and spoke to himself in a low voice.
“Nice kid…hope he turns out good. A proper progressive, perhaps.”
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The Baron called all of his lieutenants, as well as Jean, to the war room. There on a board were rough maps of the Assai’id confederation. Wolfgang clapped his hands together to get all eyes on him.
“As I am sure you can tell by the contents of the board, our next deployment will be in the Assai’id confederation. We will go there and offer our services to some of the local lords. We cannot make friends with everyone as there are a myriad of different factions and cultures within the confederation, so we will need to pick sides. Any questions or concerns?”
Ludwin raised his hand.
“Yes. Do you have any suggestions as to which faction we should side with?”
“Honestly, no. When you hit the ground you will just have to meet with people and make your judgments then.”
Fergus raised his hand.
“How dae we know there’s gonna be fightin’?”
“There is almost always inter-factional fighting in the Assai’id. They’re a confederation of many very different cultures, like us, but with no laws against war, conflict is bound to get violent under those conditions.”
Helmut raised his hand.
“How much does their support factor into our overall plans?”
“They would be a great help, but I believe we would be able to survive without any large-scale assistance. So long any of the lords agree to help, we can continue as planned.”
The Baron raised his hand.
“How do they measure up to us technologically?”
“Generally, they don’t. The wonders of industrialization have yet to reach them on a large scale. I imagine we can use that as a bargaining chip to gain support.”
Ludwin raised his hand again.
“How much information do we have on the local factions? Or cultural details we should know?”
Wolfgang sighed.
“There is shockingly little information available to me about them, the Empire has spent so long focusing internally that we have neglected to make accurate maps of the rest of the world. I am sorry, but you will simply have to learn of their cultures first hand.”
Ludwin and Helmut grumbled slightly at this. Gaius raised his hand.
“Do you hawe information on how well they fight?”
“I have general information on that. Every faction fights differently, however there is a lot of hit and run style fighting, guerilla tactics, that sort of thing.Though for large scale battles they tend towards conventional tactics.”
Wolfgang pointed to the sand dunes and flatlands on the map
“As far as I can tell, they use a lot of cavalry, camels and horses alike. Mounted archers and gunmen are quite popular. Their infantry tend to wield one handed swords and medium sized round shields. Though of course there is variance. And from what I have heard a few lords mass gunmen such as we do. Pikemen are relatively rare, though. It is mostly archer, firearm, and sword infantry.”
Fergus raised his hand again.
“So, when do we get tae go?”
Wolfgang grabbed a piece of paper off the table and quickly scanned it.
“My best estimate is three months. We need time to arm our old soldiers and train our new recruits. And we need to figure out how our new horsemen factor into the equation.”
Gaius raised his hand again.
“What exactly do you wish to gain from the Assai’id?”
“I wish for assistance in taking Bergzitadelle Friedrich, which I would like to remind you is top priority when our revolt begins. As soon as the south falls, we can begin our assault on the north.”
Helmut raised his hand.
“Are our tactics evolving at all to deal with the terrain? I hear it is quite different from what we are used to.”
Wolfgang thought on this for a moment.
“Well…we will need to think on it. I know that sand dunes are quite different from our terrain, but it is not all rolling dunes. There is plenty of flatland and rocky terrain like we are used to. We will need to learn how the locals fight in their terrain. Perhaps we can find some men from the Assai’id to help us train for it? We have at least three months to wait and train, afterall.”
A voice came from the doorway.
“Wait and train for what, exactly?”
Everyone turned to see Adolf, iron bound book in one arm, the other at the warhammer dangling at his waist. He was wide eyed and unblinking, as he usually was. Wolfgang turned to Adolf, not letting a single emotion show on his face.
“Adolf, good of you to join us. Where have you been?”
“I just arrived. I was out preaching to the faithful, as the Baron refuses to allow for Imperial Cult hegemony the word must be spread by hand and mouth.”
Wolfgang didn’t let the relief show on his face. He knew that Adolf was out so his story checked out.
And he most likely would not have shown himself should he have heard me speak of revolt.
“Well, we are discussing the Klarwasser Mercenary Company's next deployment to the Assai’id.”
“Why was I not told of this meeting? I am a warrior priest of Alarich.”
Wolfgang almost let the displeasure show on his face as he realized what he had to say.
“Oh, well, in that case, would you like to join our deployment? Providing religious and combat support to the men?”
Adolf’s face didn’t change, and he had still yet to blink, but his tone of voice sounded pleased.
“Yes, I would enjoy that very much. I can read scripture before battle to give the men a moral boost, then fight with them at the front, with my faith acting as both sword and shield.”
Wolfgang pretended to think for a moment and nodded. The gods must have turned against me.
“Yes, I suppose that could be arranged. I can inform you of everything we talked about here separately.”
Adolf nodded.
“Good. I shall meet you in your office.”
He turned and left the war room. Wolfgang, after waiting for the sounds of Adolf’s footsteps to diminish, sighed loudly.
“Well, I guess we have to bring him along. Father, all I ask is that you be careful. And try not to let him ‘die’ on campaign.”
The Baron waved his hand dismissively.
“If he dies he dies. I won’t do anything out of hand, though. God loves all of his children equally, even the unfaithful.”
Wolfgang looked vaguely incredulous.
“Right…well, this meeting is adjourned. When the guns start rolling in, train the men in how to use them properly. This is more my father’s avenue so I will leave the specifics of that up to him.”
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“This, right here, is a percussion cap. You are to insert this percussion cap into this part of the musket, known as the nipple.”
Helmut pushed the percussion cap into the nipple and pointed to the hammer.
“The hammer strikes the cap and it explodes. Igniting the powder in the barrel. From now on, you will use these! As will those still equipped with flintlocks.”
Helmut held up a small paper cylinder.
“This is a cartridge. You bite the marked end and dump the powder into the barrel. Then you insert the ball and ram it down. The paper acts as the wadding, so there is no need to carry your own.”
Helmut did as he said and then cocked the hammer, taking aim and firing at a target.
“It is that simple. From now on this is the method of reload you shall use. You will drill this until we leave for the Assai’id. Alongside something else. There is another aspect of our new firearms which will lead to our success. That is the lug-mounted bayonet. It is attached to the side of the barrel. No more need for plug bayonets. This is integrated and cannot be removed. In addition to drilling, reloading, and firing, you will now go through spear training. Understood?”
The men all yelled in agreement.
“Then let us begin. Those who have already been issued our new muskets will begin with the reload training! Those with the old muskets will work on spear drills! Understood?”
The men all yelled in unison.
“Yes sir!”