81 The Forge

In a newly constructed forge along the western side of the Strega,

North of Redwater harbour,

Redwater.

…

"It's quite a fine day, isn't it, Blacksmith Braun?" The young master ever so calm voice called out as he walked into the building.

"Welcome, sire." Came a muffled reply.

Together with a gust of intense heat and the reverberating sound of clanking metal, the respectful voice of the town's master blacksmith greeted Levi. As always, the honest-looking but not-so-honest blacksmith had his eyes on the door as he skillfully worked a weirdly-shaped metal object between his tongs.

Though only a muffled sound escaped from beneath his leather mask, one could still feel the enthusiasm in his tone as he welcomed the young Marquess.

The smith gave the glowing piece a few more quick taps with his hammer before dipping it in a cauldron of oil. The liquid briefly caught fire as the metal rapidly cooled.

He put away the items before pulling off his mask to reveal a stubby, sweaty face.

"Pardon me," The blacksmith said as he wiped clean his face and smudgy hands. "I wasn't expecting your visit, please forgive my insolence, sire."

As he greeted, he signalled the remaining individuals in the room to stop working.

The clanking of metal slowly stopped and silence was briefly restored to the forge. Only the sound of the burning furnace could be heard, its bellows like the sound of a great slumbering beast.

"No worries," Levi replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"How do you like the new building, blacksmith?" He asked with a small smile, his gaze scanning the very spacious, well ventilated, newly constructed workshop.

"It's really wonderful, sire. I extend my sincerest thanks to the Lord for his care." The blacksmith replied with an appreciative smile that extended up to the corners of his eyes.

"And the workers? I hope they are not giving you too many problems?"

"No. Not anymore, sire." Braun replied. "They have been quite helpful lately, in fact."

He glanced at the three new blacksmiths standing next to his two sons and the ten able-bodied serfs that quietly stood at their workstations, the contentment in his eyes only grew more visible.

About slightly over a week ago, the town's Lord placed this newly constructed smithy under his care. The building was made out of the same mysterious mud that became popular among the serfs last winter, only this time it appeared more dignified with its fired-clay construction and tiled roofing.

However, unlike the previous smithy, this one had a much larger forge and furnace with new bellows installed.

But aside from the general building, the Lord also invested a lot in purchasing numerous work tools for use. From new cast-iron anvils and workbenches to freshly made hammers and tongs, the forge was equipped with everything a blacksmith could ever want.

But then again, what is the use of a larger forge without enough blacksmiths to make full use of it? It seemed this was something the Lord had also considered.

Just a day after moving his family here, three new, experienced blacksmiths were placed under Braun's supervision.

The young men who mentioned they hailed from Ilpedro, were of much help and despite their initial arrogance. The intense workload and the young Marquess's strict requirements managed to straighten out any delusions that they might have originally held about being superior to the master blacksmith.

Initially though, when the young master proposed the idea of hiring serfs to handle some of the work, Braun didn't really support it.

He felt it ludicrous that a causal peasant could match up to a tempered blacksmith without years of hard work and experience, but soon he found the Marquess's reasoning to be quite ingenious.

Although the serf naturally didn't have the skills to handle very complex tasks, with a little training they were soon able to take care of a few simple but otherwise tedious ones.

Take, for example, the production of the new armour plating the Marquess invented. The item was very simple to produce, but given the sheer volume ordered, it would take a tremendous amount of effort just to finish producing everything.

So instead, the serfs were individually taught a few of the steps in the production, before they were arranged in a very peculiar fashion, then made to perform only these series of actions on the item before passing it on.

This way although a single piece would be work on by as many as five individuals, the production would be much faster and consistent than it being made by a single individual. All that was left was to do was inspection work and a few patches if need be.

This freed up the actual blacksmiths to have the time and energy to work on more delicate designs such as the also newly invented flintlocks and machetes.

Blacksmith Braun had a very happy smile on his face. The longer he stared at the young master, the more content he felt about him.

If not for the fact that he was blessed with only burly sons, he would have really considered gifting a daughter as a personal maid to the young master. What a noble, perfectly selfless thought that was!

"And what do I owe your august arrival, sire?" The blacksmith asked with a very welcoming smile.

"Firstly," Marquess Levi said still examining the smithy. "My butler has been away on an assignment, so I was just inspecting all the facilities in the industrial zone and this just happens to be one of those."

"So is there any major problems that need to be attended to?"

"Erm, yes sire."

"Oh, what is it then."

"The installation of the new bellows still hasn't been completed yet," Braun spoke with a contemplative expression.

The bellows were intended to be powered by a waterwheel which would be operated with the Strega's current but delays in the construction of the wheel have impeded installation so an ox is being used instead, though not quite ideal.

"Yes, right." The Marquess nodded. "I was at the carpenter's workshop earlier and he mentioned that the wheel will be completed in under a week, so that should no longer be a problem."

"Also, we have been running through raw materials very quickly recently, both our iron and coal supplies have started to run dangerously low. We might have to halt production soon."

"Don't worry about that either, Robert predicted this before he left and placed an order for a shipment before he left so that should not be a major concern."

"Is that all?" The young master asked.

"Yes, sire."

"Ok then." Levi nodded pulling out a scroll from his coat pocket.

"Have a look at these plans and tell me what you think of them."

"Yes, sire."

Braun collected the delicate scroll and unfurled it. On the pristine cream-coloured sheet of paper what a partially detailed schematic of an odd-looking object.

Some portions of the blueprints were well detailed and labelled with their exact sizes and requirements detailed. The rest? Well, they were in some places left with just vague requirements and in others just vague descriptions of how those parts should function and hopefully, their relative size and shape.

"This-"

"Can you make this?" The Marquess asked.

"I am not sure what this is meant to be, sire," Braun said hesitantly as he turned to face the Marquess hopeful eyes. "Besides, the drawing isn't complete so I can't say with absolute certainty if this can be built."

Levi's expression turned slightly contemplative.

"Is there not a way to work around the vague sections? I can't seem to be able to remember how those parts are meant to fit together." The Marquess said, "It's an old design of mine and I had lost the initial drawings so this is all I could come up with."

Braun scrunched up his face slightly in thought as he stared at the drawing, vague ideas came to mind but they were still very blurry.

"There might be a way," He said hesitantly as he read through the pictographic description of the functions of the labelled parts.

"But, it would take a lot of time and resources."

"Really?"

"Yes, but I can't guarantee success."

"No matter." The Marquess replied. "When you are done with the batch of orders that were sent previously, begin work on this at once."

"Yes, sire," Braun said with a bow as the young master turned to leave.

"I will be off, then."

He glanced at the blueprint in his hand and at the Marquess quickly disappearing back before calling out.

"Sire!"

"Yes?" Levi replied as he paused just outside the door.

"What is the name of this new invention of yours." The blacksmith said.

"Oh," Levi made a sound of surprise as he turned to face Braun's expectant face.

The earnest curiosity in the otherwise opportunistic artisan's eyes brought a small smile to his face.

"I call it a steam engine, a machine that would fundamentally change the way of this world." The young master said as he turned back.

"And with your hands, you would bring it into existence."

Braun watched the young master's back as he walked off. Under his breath, he muttered with a small smirk as he glanced down at the blueprint in his hands.

'How arrogant.'