XVIII The Three Day Plan - 1

It was the day after and Hierd had called for all the important people for a meeting of sorts. Hierd had a box infront of him on the table, it's contents were unknown but for the most part, it was long yet it wasn't thick. 

"Good afternoon, everyone." Said Hierd. 

They nodded. 

"Today I wish to talk about the future plans I have set up. And they range from easy to complex. And I wish to start with what I will begin today, tommorow, and the day after tommorow. Starting with today," He looked Pomlik, "The craft's guild will be commencing the bullet-making trials. And will be compensated with all the materials needed in making the bullets."

The dwarf's eyes had widened. "I thank you once more for the opportunity, lord." 

"I wish to meet the craft guild's members today as well."

"You are whole-heartedly welcome to come in the craft's guild, lord, there is plenty of space, but, the heat is quite overwhelming."

"That is much okay." He cleared his throat. "I am not certain on this, however, Unchean does have schools and teachers, am I right on that?" 

Adelheid looked confused. "There is no academy in Unchean, such schools are permitted only from the lowest of nobles and from highest of nobles. And there exists but four in this land. However, Unchean has a orphanage of sorts that has educators to teach children. I gather you wish to teach the soldiers?"

"Yes, of sorts, I want them to learn how to write letters and reports."

"Why that specifically, lord?" He pressed in. "Teaching them arithemathic would benefit them much more."

Hierd was embarrased to say that he wasn't the brightest when it came to mathemathics, but came up with; "Letters, when used correctly make communication between battle fronts much more easier. With the addition of my trucks and future vehicles, the writing of a letter and passing them to it's sender would be something fast and something that'd make, as i said, communication easier."

"I see, I did not think of trucks." He rubbed his chin. "However, I still think they should learn mathemathics, lord."

"Then that they shall, do you think the orphanage teaches it's children mathemathics?"

"I think so, Unchean does support wide spread education in spite of teaching being a noble idea. But may it support you, I can teach the soldiers, I have alot of time to give and much of that time I spend leisurely."

"I will take you up on that offer, thank you Adelheid." He smiled. "The squad leaders will not teach them."

They were shocked and relieved at the same time. Jeane had wanted to question first. "But lord, what will happen to the amount of time we had done that day in making our curriculum?" 

"I will refer your papers to the educators." He paused before; "Now, this teaching of the soldiers will happen tommorow. But I wish for tommorow to also be the training of the newer recruits. By this, I wish for Naturvege and Friedrick to be the ones who will lead the training."

"Thank you, lord." They both bowed down.

"You may choose anyone of your men or your comrades to join you in helping you train the newer recruits."

They nodded. 

"I wish for you to train them in Venit Ille's training grounds. And for added excerise, I recommend making them walk all the way there."

Naturvege laughed. "Oh we will." 

"And now, the third." He put up a silence for dramatic climax. "Auferstehen."

The room turned gloom. 

"As you all know, Auferstehen is coming closer. And as I believe, the city has done well in getting and storing food. And because the city is a port, it can recieve supply whilst still in Auferstehen." He looked at the Unchean Research leader. A rather small, woman with red hair and iron glasses. "May I ask for your name?"

She rose up from her seat. "I am Jamie Eines, my lord." She bowed. "What is it that you so wish?"

"Rather dramatic, I suspected something childish in behaviour." Commented Hierd in his mind whilst looking at her intently.

"You are the leader of the Unchean Research Division, am I correct?" 

"Yes, my lord."

"I wish to know what the research division has accomplished so far."

She looked to the past whilst rubbing her chin. "We have seen that the rise of the monsters in the day of Auferstehen is directly affected by how many people live in one area, that is common knowledge, yes, however, what is not, is that they exude magic from their hearts."

"Magic, you say?"

"Yes, my lord." She continued. "Though magic is still a thing we as a species are deeply learning, we understand that the amount of magic something has, contributes to the amount of power it will output. Corpses of Auferstehen from Ridge Village last year had less magic than our own monster's corpses. This magic was not a point difference, it was less by two-fold. By this, we have theorized that Auferstehen is not an event, but an orcastrated one."

The room was silent, but Adelheid found his way and said; "Magic is an unknown force, we don't even know how Auferstehen came to be. However, we of Unchean have reason to believe they came from the ancient civilizations that once played with magic, and now, we are subject to their trials."

"What in the fantasy-shit are they talking about, I understand it, I guess, but it's just all theories, right!?" 

"Lets stop talking about that, I wish to know the most effective way to kill them."

She had took some time to come up with an answer. "Our swords and spears have difficulty reaching the larger ones, however, we have multiple records that suggest the heart is best to shoot."

"And that is because of said magic inside of the hearts?"

"Yes, my lord."

"What of the head?"

"We have chopped off a head before, yet the creature was not even fazed by the removal of what we think of as a vital part of our body."

"I see."

"We bring the creatures down then aim for the hearts, thats what I gathered."

"In that case, that third day will be a joint practice, and I wish for you, Jamie, to be the one to teach the soldiers of how to kill such creatures."

"I thank you kindly, my lord." She sat back down on her seat with a smile. 

Hierd had cleared his throat once more. "Naturvege and Friedrick, please come here."

They came to him. After which, Hierd stood up from his seat. "I will now give you the badge of the iron cross, as well as the rank of Major." He opened the wooden box, revealing the two iron crosses as well as the four WW2 german major patches. "You may stitch the patches onto your uniforms at home."

After saying that, he grabbed the first cross and pinned it on Naturvege's right pouch. He grabbed the second cross, faced Friedrick with a smile and he whoms't was wearing the Ridge Brown uniform pinned the cross onto his right pouch. "Thank you lord." They both said. 

"Please, applaud!" Hierd said as he clapped, the room had clapped too. 

The two had bowed in appreciation. 

"Well! You two may pick up the patches. But I am afraid, to everyone here, that the meeting has ended. I will meet-up with Pomlik in the craft guild later. You may begin writing on your lessons, Miss Jamie. And to you too sir Adelheid. Thank you for attending the meeting."

They nodded to the lord and said; "Goodbye, lord."

( * )

Hierd was walking outside in the sun, it was the first time the people saw the lord truly after three days and they looked at him with either awe or fear. As his squad was behind him, no-one dared get close to him. "The streets are clean enough as is, as well as the buildings. But I think I should bring concrete into the common knowledge, I'd like to see cool looking buildings done." Adventurers had passed him, though they backed away and gave Hierd the road, he stared at them.

The stopped. 

"You are adventurers, yes?"

He looked intently at the three adventurers, two men and one woman. The men equipped small daggers and a sword whilst the singular woman had a large wooden staff, presumably, for magic. 

They looked scared and didn't know what to say. "Y.. Y-- Yes... My lord..." They all said at once.

"Some soldiers will come to your house when I call for you, I hope we will be aquaintances." 

"Whu... WHAT!?" They were suprised. 

Hierd went away before they could say another word. 

"I'm thinking of joining an adventurer on their mission, I wanna see how they operate."

( * )

The craft's guild, which was located rather south the city. Was quite small in spite of their operations. The outside had a couple adventurers and merchants that were lined up and looking at the items that were displayed. It was quite the lot of items, ranging from the jewlery and the swords. Which were golden plated and had the alot of intricate detail. 

"This is the craft's guild, my lord." Said one his soldiers. "Two will guard the entrance and three will guard you inside."

Hierd nodded and proceeded to enter. The people who were there made way for the lord, but they were very much so confused at the fact that their lord was entering the crafts guild. Inside was quite spacious, it looked much more cramped in the outside. There was a dwarf at the small reception desk.

"Good afternoon."

"Uh!" The dwarf jolted in suprise. "O' lord. You must be here for the 'thing?' I say?" 

"Yes." 

"Please, please, enter." His hands guided Hierd inwards the reception desk's little door and into the guild's heart of the heat. The forge. 

'God fucking damn!" Hierd had wiped the sweat that rolled down his brow. "The heat hit me instantly! What the shit!"

From the heat, a dwarf came running Hierd's direction. 

"Good afternoon, me lord!" It was Pomlik, he was overly excited. "We're to discuss that 'bullet' of yours? Right?"

"Yes."

"Well then," he started walking away, "Come follow me!" 

The forge had actually extended underground to give the massive furnaces the space to droop into casts and the space for other dwarves and occasionally humans to work on their works. There were, as Hierd saw, artisians of all kinds of art, glass making, leather making, sword making, and a whole bunch of that stuff. "Quite the forge you have in your command, sir Pomlik."

"Rather indeed, lord." He walked slowly downstairs. "A decade in the making, and we take our technology for granted! Gaining money was the hard step, but gradually, this branch became more and more successful as time got older."

"Where are we going?"

"Into my private room, sir."

The blacksmiths and artisans who were there had made way for the lord but they weren't scared or anything of the ilk, as they were minding their own business, they were so engrossed in their work that maybe they didn't even know that the lord of Unchean, the new one, Hierd, was passing by at all!

It was at the very bottom of what seemed like three floors down. It was not as hot down there, weirdly enough but when Hierd questioned why, he replied; "The magic academy up north at the capital invented some new stuff with ice magic, making some place colder if given enough magic that is." After saying that he opened his door and let space for Hierd to enter, "Come on in, lord." He said with a smile. 

Hierd sat down on the seat that Pomlik offered him. The soldiers stationed outside near the door and stared daggers at whom would even come close to the door. 

"This bullet, sir may I see it?"

"Yes, of course." Hierd pulled out his luger. 

"And of this 'luger' as well."

"Sure. But wait a second." He pressed the mag-release and out came the magazine, the mechanism baffled the dwarf. Then he looked at the magazine Hierd had just pulled out. 

"Golden pellets with bronze tips? It uses rather expensive materials for something to be fired alot."

"These;" he pulled one round out. "Aren't made of gold. These are made of something called brass. Which is made by mixing copper and zinc."

"Copper I know, but this zinc, I don't." 

Hierd put his hand on his hidden pocket. 

"Give me a 1-inch by 1-inch block of zinc."

[REQUEST GRANTED: BLOCK OF ZINC]

He pulled out the block and showed it to Pomlik. He examined it closer. "It looks like steel, my lord."

"It looks like steel, but does not act like steel. You, as a blacksmith yourself know that steel is hard to smelt and work with. Casting iron is hard to do when it's melting point is very far. However, this 'zinc' can smelt at a much lower melting point. Making casting molds easier."

His eyes widened up, "Where can we get something like this!?" 

"In caves and mines. However, the locations vary in terms of tempreture and of the ilk, I do not know much about it. But want I do know is that I can supply you these metals to make what I want you to make, bullets."

"Yes of course, may I see the bullet now?"

"Here." He gave it to him, Pomlik had laid down the zinc block on the table. He looked closely at the cylinderical shape and spherical front. He looked back, front, left, right, inspecting the grooves and the all-round indent on the 7.65×21mm Parabellum the Luger used. 

"It is rather intricate, but not as intricate as some of our products. But, I suspect this to be hollow no? You had said, lord, there was gunpowder inside of this." 

"Yes." Hierd put his hand onto his pocket again, and pulled from it a chopped-off version of the bullet. "I worked my ass off to chop that little bullet, also I went the extra mile and glued a plastic window onto that shit, not to even mention, I put back the things that were cut off!"

"That is rather intricate, I wonder how your country does it lord."

"I wonder too, I wonder all the time. However, not is not the time to talk of that country, we're here to talk about where we are now, right?" 

"Yes... Lord..."

"I suppose you wish also to see the inside of the luger?"

"Yes, lord."

Hierd had once again put his hand into his pocket.

"Give me a flat-head screwdriver."

[REQUEST GRANTED: FLATHEAD SCREWDRIVER]

When he pulled out the tool, Pomlik looked at it with intrigue. "What is that tool for, lord?"

"It is called a flat head screwdriver, there are many variations of the said screwdriver, and this on has a flat edge."

He then began to dissasemble the pistol grip revealing the spring within. To rid of the barrel, he pushed on the front barrel with his palm whilst simultaniously flicking the lever that was atop the trigger, releasing the sear. Which then could he pull the barrel out smoothly downward. 

Hierd showed Pomlik the mechanism of the barrel. Of which Pomlik was deeply engrossed in the deconstruction and the litte components that were all around that hunk of iron. He examined the trigger mechanism, and had came up with a theory. 

"I suppose." He put down the gun neatly on the table. "That this lever right there." He pointed to it.

"When pushed, this metal piston strikes that iron, exploding the gunpowder within and shoots out from the barrel?" 

"You are dead-on Pomlik." Hierd had laughed. "How did you know?"

"We-- Well, lord." He pointed at the bullet that was carved in half. "Gunpowder, we use them in cannons and are very, very reactive. We handle it with upmost care. I suspect because of this iron piston, hits the metal sheet enough so that behind it, it will cause it to spark, but of course, that is something I do not know yet."

"You are one smart one Pomlik!" He complimented him with a smile. 

"Thank you lord. But, about the manufacturing, one bullet would take quite the time to make, as you said that the materials would be sorted out, three bullets would come out every day at least! But of course, we have yet to make a prototype, with my team, I bet we could optimize the making of one."

"That's good to know." He cleared his throat to change the topic. "The materials will be sent some time later, my soldiers will bring them to the guild's front door, they may assist you in moving them. In your rooms."

"Thank you captain." 

"I shall go now." Hierd got up from his seat with a single heavy sigh and left the room, and as he left, his soldiers followed him at his back. The way back upstairs was quite the long one as Hierd hadn't fully memorized the place due to just how extreme the heat was inside the furnace that was the forge. But ultimately, because of his soldiers, he was able to reach the reception desk and climb out. 

The customers whoms't were there were in shock after seeing the lord just randomly pop-up out of basically nowhere and had crumbled in fear not knowing what they should do. Hierd let them be and went out without a second thought for what the people thought.

( * ) 

With his squad behind him, Hierd had walked the street with a galiant stride. His gracefullness and his blonde hair made him quite the attractor for the young woman who were looking at him with tensed eyes, but never even dared come close. "Adelheid didn't tell me where that orphanage was, I guess I'll be digging myself a new as---" 

From the corner of his eye, an old looking house caught his attention. It looked like a church and the abundance of children who were there convinced Hierd that it was 'the' orphanage he was looking for. He took a stark turn and went towards the gate. The people who were there were gossiping to themselves, 'Why is the lord going towards the orphanage?' Or that; 'Why is the lord here!?' Whatever it was they gossiped about, Hierd had not one care about it. 

The iron gate was unlocked, suprisingly enough and Hierd pushed it open. There were many children of all ages gathered in the orphanage's front yard. One girl, who seemed to be of five had went towards the lord carelessly. 

"Hello mistah! Kann you hep me up?" 

It was barely recognizable what she was saying to Hierd. "What the fuck am I gonna do, do I help her up? What the fuck am I gonna do!? I'm not good with children!!" He was tensing up when suddenly.

"Hey! Hey!" A old woman's voice came rushing out from the orphanage's front door. "Mary, please do not disturb our visitors, okay?" 

"Ocae..." She left the scene with a saddened face but immidiately when she went to her friends, it lifted. 

The old woman had quite the look of a nun. Hierd judged from her age that she's been serving this establishment as it's master for a long time. 

"Good afternoon, sister." He bowed.

"Oh, please do not bow at someone as lowly as I, my lord." She so humbly put. "But, may I please understand why you have..." She looked to Hierd's back, his soldiers looking around the orphanage with half-stern faces. "Brought your... Soldiers, into the orphanage?" 

"For my protection, I am not here to take down this orphanage, not at all." He smiled to uplift her, but she seemed to be more worried than before. 

"Then what is it that you wish, my lord?" Hierd started to walk to the entrance of the orphanage and seeing so, the old nun follow him. 

"I assume that the orphanage has teachers, of sorts. Am I correct on this assumption?"

"Yes..." She stuttered. "The sisters help the children with writing, speaking, and for the old ones, arithemathic."

"I'd like to meet them, as soon as possible if you may, sister." 

"Okay..." She walked inside and opened the door wide. "Please, lord, come in while I call for the sisters."

The soldiers followed Hierd in, removing their hats as soon as they entered. 

The orphanage started with a rather long corridor of cold stone and wooden flooring. The corridor and it's subsequent rooms had their windows open, bringing light into the long line and it felt almost ominous how it looked. Hierd walked futher into the corridor and at the end was a spacious dining area, a 'cafeteria' remarked Hierd. 

"I suppose we wait for them here, you may rest for the moment." Said Hierd immidiately after sitting down. 

There was quite a few toys on the table and some on the ground. And the wall was decorated in little signs of dents and playing, supposedly from children playing with their toys violently rubbing it onto the wood, leaving marks similar to how cars can leave skid marks on roads. 

It didn't take long before the elder nun had came back with the sisters beside her. There were thirteen women, some were young yet mostly the rest were old. They bowed down low, "Good afternoon, lord." 

"Please, be at ease, there is no need for such formalities when I am the one who forced myself in."

They too sat down onto the chairs. 

"What do you need the sisters for, lord?"

"I would like atleast five sisters that will be teaching the soldiers arithmathic and writing letters." He said boldly. But after a long silence, Hierd broke it up with; "Ah! But worry not, your job here will continue of course, and during your stay as a teacher of my soldiers, you will paid the same amount of them, one gold coin a month."

The one gold a month had enticed them to join in to Hierd's plan, specifically the younger nuns. "Excuse my words, my lord. However the church would not agree of it's members being used for other means and them not being for the church." The old nun stood her ground protesting to the idea.

"If not for that church, this war would've never had happened." He retorted.

She gulped. "Regardless of the fact-"

"Regardless of the fact that the church is here, are you not to help those who are in need?" He interupted. "The church, though I do not fully understand it's rules, their regulations, are an organization, an organization that gives to the poor and advocates their religion. The orphans, yes, they are of the poor, and so are everyone in this city who are devoid of secondary education, recieving only the most basic of education for their everyday needs. The lord who came before me never condoned the teaching of the poor and only are those who are poor be taught by their own mothers. Don't you think that that is... Something the church wishes to defeat? Poverty? To help the poor is to give the poor education. Giving them bread and water will not suffice, sister. And I wish to change that fact."

"I..." The old nun had nothing to say. 

"I agree, my lord." Said one of the sisters. "And wish to join you."

"I too agree, and will join you, my lord."

From one and the other, the nuns agreeing to join Hierd in his educational crusade. From the thirteen sisters, thirteen wished to become teachers. Hierd stood up from his seat. "It's a pleasure you see the same ideals as I." He smiled, graciously so. 

"The pleasure is ours." They bowed once more. The old nun was sweating numbers but she hadn't anything to retort. And she too stood up. 

"My lord..." She said with stutters to her voice. "I shall agree to your... Mission of yours, to teach your soldiers. However, I wish for the sisters to be able to freely come from the manor to the orphanage if so they need be."

"Deal." He then looked at the thirteen sisters. "Classes will start tommorow when the church's bell rings. A truck will be at that time to pick you all up. Please bring anything and everything you wish to bring for tommorow. And be prepared to teach mathemathics. Thank you." 

Hierd left the orphanage with his soldiers, the thirteen sisters waving goodbye, the children did as well too. It was quite cute, remarked the soldiers. "Holy shit, I shat some stuff out not knowing what I was saying, I was just saying some stuff I learned from economics class about the poor and shit. Thank God they took the bait on that one, my heart was beating faster than I could run!"

( * ) 

The sun was ways past that crux of his. And Hierd had already sent the materials for Pomlik to make the first prototype of the bullet. Hierd had high hopes but also had some doubt that alot would be made. However, he wanted for there to be knowledge on how to replicate the bullets he supplies in case he wasn't there to bring the said ammunitions for any so what battle that occurs. 

He was sitting on his office chair, and three anxious and nervous adventurers were sitting across his table. They waited for Hierd to say something before they could even move, and they seemed like they were not even breathing by the amount of pressure they were in. Should they talk? Were they being disrespectful because they weren't starting the conversation? Is there really a 'conversation?' Or were they just losing their minds for the minutes that he, the lord, wasn't speaking. 

"What does an adventurer do?" Said Hierd, 'finally' they all thought. But he was looking away, like he was before he talked. 

"We..." The woman talked. "We... Help with the merchants during their travels... Against... Bandits and all."

"We, also..." Talked the man with red hair. "Explore the unexplored areas... To help miners map out... Cave sections..."

"And... Where we shine in;" Talked the man with blue hair. "We protect people."

"So it's completely different to how I imagine it would be. Fighting monsters, dragons, and cool end-game bosses. They're more chill here. But why the magician?"

"Is a mage needed for your excursions?"

They looked at each other with confusion. "Mages are a..." Said the red one. "Something every party needs. We were and are still friends, that's how our... Party, was founded... Lord..."

"Why is a mage needed for your excursions?" He repeated a second time, this time, with a sigh.

"Well, lord..." Started the woman. "I, the mage of my... Party... Can use light magic and a small part of healing magic. My magics are basic yet... Crucial... For my party, lord."

"That is the answer I wanted to hear." He fixed his seat. "Now, I didn't just come here to ask you this, I want to see your adventures."

They sat there, blankly looking at Hierd with a confused face when finally the red headed man said; "I... You wish to join our party? Lord?"

"More of, observe. But, sure, yes." 

They were still perplexed and unsure of what the lord had just said. "I... We're just a lowly class, good lord, we... For you to join is...." The girl stuttered to utter those words, so unsure of what she was to say to the lord. 

"Why, you would rather not want me?"

"No! no, just that..."

"Whether you want or not want my coming with, I will come still."

They gulpped. 

"For I am busy now and the next few days, our meeting would probably be in the future." He raised his hand towards them. "Pleasure being your new member." 

The girl, whoms't was at the middle had raised her hand, which had been wriggling in fear for minutes now. She shook his hand. 

( * ) 

It was the next day, Hierd had given Heduc and the rest of the squad leaders alarm clocks. It took quite the teaching last night as they hadn't used one before, of course. Hierd wanted to deepen that sleep of his, extending well into the morning and encrouching noon. When suddenly, a knock shook his door. 

It took quite the time to fix himself up and get dressed before opening the door. It was Adelheid and he was joined with Jamie behind him. "Lord, we are to begin teaching them, would you like to join in and see?" 

"Having the option of sitting down and watching class is something only a fool would do." Hierd laughed. "You may go ahead and teach without me, I wish to do something else as time flies." 

Before they could leave. He remembered something. "Oh and!" They looked at his face. "Thirteen nuns will come at approximately the time when the church bells ring. They shall teach the men mathemathics." 

"You had coherced the orphanage?" Questioned Adelhied with a suprised face. 

"Yes, it didn't take that much out of me." 

"Then that makes things all the better!" Adelheid chuckled. "Goodbye lord, we will go now."

"Goodbye." Hierd shut the door slowly and retreated to the inner confines of his room, when suddenly the world started to rumble. "What the fuck's happening?" He got up and looked outside. 

A long line of soldiers, marching out the front gate. Stomping on the ground with their boots, making the ground rumble as if they weighed a million tons. The citizens were watching from their homes and otuside their houses, onlooking the parade of soldiers whomst were displaying their brown uniform glory.

Hierd squinted, there were Venit Ille black soldiers, supposedly from the four squads, that were imposing the sides of the line, making sure that the soldiers had straight

bodies and that no civilian intervened the march. When then they shouted alike a warcry;

"GLORY TO THE NEW LORD!"