TNL 45 – Preparation Part One
The same day that Morris leaves, Gareth visits Raidon.
"Raidon, those harnesses aren't going to be ready any time soon. Even repairing parts is not going to work. I have now read most of the documents that deal with forging, which is only a small part of the whole, but that is not enough. Those priests of the past all had pupils and it took years before they were able to attain the rank of priest. And that under the guidance of other priests. I don't have that guidance. Both branches of the priesthood are new to me."
"That might become a problem. We really need you to make new parts, especially with all the new recruits we're going to get."
"If I want to have even a small chance to forge something soon, it would be best to make sure that someone comes to teach me the blacksmith trade. I can eventually learn the priestly tasks from the books, but not the practical experience as a blacksmith."
"If you think that will help, I will do everything I can to find you a teacher. I will send a message to Aran that they need to find someone."
Within a few minutes of Gareth leaving Raidon's office, someone is already on their way to deliver the message to Aran. With the fishing boat that is available for these kinds of important messages, the message is immediately taken away.
Within two weeks after Raidon has sent the message, the first replies are coming in. These were collected over the course of that week in the barracks in Aran and then sent in one bundle. Raidon now has a stack of nearly twenty responses to his message.
One by one, he carefully goes through the messages. For this he has taken the whole evening. Unfortunately, he might as well have taken fifteen minutes.
Everywhere the blacksmiths are extremely busy. With the enormous increase in prosperity in the province, more is being demanded everywhere from not only the blacksmiths, but also from all other crafters.
Only when he takes a look at the second to last message does he have a positive answer. Indigo has indicated from Fort Alpha that the blacksmiths in the neighborhood are all busy, but that in the village nearby, Nicaea, there is a retired blacksmith who might be interested. This is the father of the blacksmith who repaired the gate of Fort Alpha. He is not a blacksmith, but he did make knives and arrowheads. Even though this man is retired, his experience is unparalleled in the province.
Raidon decides to read the last message before he decides to bring this man to Centurion.
As soon as he opens the last answer, the decision is made. On the last note it only says in a very bad handwriting: No one available.
Raidon sends an escort of two soldiers to pick up the retired blacksmith. He expects the blacksmith in Centurion within two weeks.
It takes fifteen days before the blacksmith finally arrives in Centurion. Due to a storm, it took a day longer before the crossing from Aran could be made.
After arrival, the blacksmith immediately goes to see the forge. This without even visiting Raidon. It's only when Raidon receives a report from one of the two soldiers he sent to find the blacksmith that Raidon knows he has arrived. The soldier says that the blacksmith was very impressed, and it seemed as if the years fell away from him when he saw the forge.
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A moment ago a soldier came to get Gareth to get him to meet the blacksmith. After waiting half a day for the blacksmith, he had only just left when the blacksmith arrived.
When Gareth arrives at the forge, he sees the old blacksmith walking around. The old man clearly has his best years behind him, but he still looks fit enough to teach Gareth what he needs to know. His arms are huge, probably from all the years of work in the forge. The man has gray, almost white hair and he is slightly bent over.
You step out for one moment to wash yourself and as always, that’s when people show up, Gareth thinks to himself. That was where the soldier had found him: in the baths. As soon as Gareth enters the forge, the old blacksmith speaks to him in a loud voice.
"So, so you are the master of this forge? You don't look like it!"
"Yet I am, sir," Gareth replies. "I didn't think this was for me myself, but apparently Mithras thinks I'm suitable for the craft. I just have a lot to learn."
The blacksmith is shown around the forge by Gareth. He doesn't say much and what he says is in such a deep humming voice that Gareth can't even understand him. Yet it seems as if the blacksmith is satisfied with the forge. At the end of the tour he asks:
"What's behind that door there? We haven't been there yet."
"You can't go there, sir," Gareth replies. "Behind that door is the sanctuary of the forge. This is only accessible to priests of Mithras and their pupils. You can give it a try, but you probably won't be able to get through the door."
The old blacksmith tries anyway, but indeed, the door doesn't even move!
"Well, we know that now," he hums in a cheerful tone. "Then we can now get to work. Tell me everything you already know about the craft."
Gareth explains what he learned from the priests' textbooks.
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"The old priests usually learned forging as recruits. As a priest's recruit, or acolyte as they were also called, the training was much longer than that of any other soldier. Yet after the first year, they were often able to deliver work that was almost as good as the work of regular blacksmithing."
"That seems impossible to me. As a blacksmith, knowledge is important, I admit that. If you don't know how to hold the hammer, it will fly through the air after your first blow. Not to mention things like tempering or the amount of carbon in the steel. But to master the techniques, you need a little longer than a year. Even with all that knowledge, you still have to practice, practice and practice again."
"That's what they did that first year. According to the texts, they did little more than practice forging. That first year, the acolytes had no life other than the forge. However, since there are no full priests now, I was immediately promoted to priest in spite of everything. So I have a lot of catching up to do."
"Training you to be a blacksmith should be possible for me, boy. You'll have to figure out all that stuff about priests for yourself."
The blacksmith questions Gareth for a while. It is clear that Gareth has already learned a thing or two from the books that he read, but that he has little idea of applying that in practice. Nevertheless, the blacksmith seems to be enthusiastic.
"That doesn't matter, boy." Gareth is now getting used to the man's humming voice. "It means that you don't have any bad habits that you have to unlearn. Let's start at the beginning. First, we will test whether everything works."
The blacksmith climbs into the fire pit with some difficulty to check the chimney.
"Well, that looks fine!" he shouts. "We can light the fire and see if the rest works as well."
Immediately the blacksmith tries to light the blacksmith's fire. This just turns out not to be as easy as he made it seem.
"This can't be that difficult. Despite its age, this thing is still in perfect condition. This whole forge even looks like mine."
Gareth, who has been told to watch alone, is now also helping. Together they check everything that has to do with the blacksmith fire. When Gareth studies the stones of the oven, something strikes him.
"I think there are signs here!" he shouts enthusiastically.
Gareth goes through the signs with his fingers. For a moment nothing happens, but at the last sign he feels something moving. With a little force in the right place, he knows how to push the stone where the sign is on. Gareth then quickly pushes on the other signs as well. For a moment these light up, after which the blacksmith utters a cry.
"Absolutely! I think you did it, boy."
When Gareth looks up in the oven, he sees that the blacksmith's fire has started to burn on its own.
A day later, Gareth and the blacksmith have checked everything that is available and are ready to really get to work. They have found a large stock of coal and iron, as well as a very nice number of tools. So nothing needs to be picked up from Aran. While Gareth uses the blowing gall to fan the fire, the blacksmith explains what they do and why they do it. Slowly but surely Gareth becomes more and more comfortable and begins to ask more questions.
That same day, the fire in the forge burns again for the first time in centuries. The blacksmith himself no longer has the strength to practice his profession for a long time, but he can teach Gareth what he knows.
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Raidon is once again putting things in order. To pick up Morris and the expected recruits in Peredur, he really needs a manned warship. A merchant ship is simply too small to take all the expected recruits with it.
Fortunately, Ryker has been preparing a warship for use for a while. It does mean that he has to take soldiers away somewhere to man the ship. Luckily, the eleven soldiers who were wounded in the fight with the pirates are now almost completely recovered and can resume their duties. After some calculations, Raidon finds out that he now has one hundred and thirty soldiers. He has included the first recruits, but not the hundred who have only just arrived from the capital.
After struggling with it for some time, Raidon decides to leave two squads in Fort Alpha, one platoon in Aran and one and a half squads in Arana and in the naval base. This brings him to two full platoons that are needed to man the different stations. The remaining three squads can join the ship.
"We're in better shape than I thought," Raidon says to himself. "Just a little while longer and we have enough soldiers to not only maintain our positions, but also to carry out real missions."
Then squad leader Ice reports to Raidon's office.
"You wanted to see me, Captain?" he asks.
"Yes, Ice, I want to talk to you about a journey we need to take. As you know, Morris is on his way to find new recruits. The intention is that we pick up him and those recruits with the ship. At the moment, soldiers are on their way to help man the ship. I want you to act as my second in command for the trip."
"Of course, Captain, that makes sense to me."
"What do you think we should do to get the men ready for battle at sea? We have to go through the pirate islands and I think we're going to see some action."
"Hmm," Ice hums, "at least we have to practice with the men first. And preferably a little longer than a few times up and down through the harbor."
"Well, of course we could also start looking for recruits ourselves. Morris is still a long time off from arriving in Linh and the Empress has given us permission to look for people everywhere. I think there is a remote city in the north that we should be able to reach in a few days. I believe the city is called Estera. Ever heard of it?"
"No, Captain. But a few days at sea would be ideal to train the men. On the way there and back we can do exercises. Do you want me to coordinate it?"
"I think that's an excellent idea. Talk to Ryker, I'm sure he'll have a thing or two to say about life on the ocean."
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For Alyena, the day doesn't start great.
It started right after breakfast, when the Empress had a meeting with generals Dwain and Colling. Once again she had to point out that the New Legion is under her command and that the generals have nothing to do with it. The fact that they still try to hinder the work of the New Legion starts to annoy her more and more. It seems as if she has to name every detail specifically for the generals not to oppose her.
After that awkward conversation, she had to talk to Griffith again. The count is still too lax with her new law to help the poorer inhabitants of the empire. Even though the new law states that every citizen of the empire has their own rights, Count Griffith still treats them like slaves. There have also been reports of inspectors he has tried to bribe.
And then comes the conversation with her minister of finance. According to the man, the empire is not in good shape. The cost of moving the inhabitants of the conquered piece of land in the north has demanded a lot from the treasury. The new fortifications and other war effort even more so. Together with the piece of land, this is a serious depletion of the reserves of the treasury.
"Your Majesty, unfortunately the reforms you want to implement are not possible. The treasury is currently almost completely empty. We will have to wait until at least the beginning of spring, which will take a few more months, before we have the first taxes. We will need them to pay off our debts. If you are going to implement reforms now, we will not get enough taxes to get through the next quarter."
Alyena begins to look frustrated. The minister has a whole series of reasons for not introducing reforms. Even the few changes that Alyena has already ordered are not or hardly followed by the people under the minister.
"If I'm not mistaken, it's your job as finance minister to make sure the expenses I deem necessary are paid, isn't it?" Alyena does not give the minister time to respond to this before she continues. "That is why I hereby recommend that you draw up a plan to implement the reforms before the spring of next year. I do not want any of my subjects to be mistreated for another season. Therefore, everything must be ready before the planting season has arrived. I expect your first draft of the plan within three days."
When Alyena is done with her finance minister, she leaves the office, leaving the man somewhat bewildered.