Chatper 24: Returning to my workshop
The underground archive in the library was supposed to be my biggest contribution to Charlotte as her scholar. Since she was a year younger than her siblings, I had thought that I would have bridged that gap by being there as her representative, working side-by-side with Rozemyne, Wilfried, and their scholars.
That wasn’t possible anymore. As such, the next meeting on my schedule became even more important than I had thought. If I couldn’t bring more contributions on the magic side, there was still the industry side.
As we flew towards my workshop at the docks, I was pondering the possible routes ahead of us. We had the baseline covered more than a year ago, with lathes and mills spreading among the craftsmen of the lower city—and a small offshoot in Haldenzel and Joisontak. There was enough capacity that we could actually produce intricate parts for any project of our choosing. I already had some ideas for low-hanging fruit…
Huh? My thoughts were disrupted as I noticed the roof of my workshop.
Unlike all the nearby warehouses, it was completely clear of snow. Winter was ending, so the snow cover wasn’t one unified white blanket anymore, but it was still visually appalling.
I wonder if they did that only because of us.
Because of my totally responsible behavior over the winter, Caroline had overcome her own reservations about the lower city and wanted to escort me even there. Thankfully, the workshop was situated outside of the city walls, so I didn’t have to feel too guilty for dragging her through a stinking environment. The cold winter weather helped as well, and as such, I had merely told the smiths to clean up before this particular visit.
After entering the building itself, I really had to give it to them—we could actually see the floor. It wasn’t exactly immaculate, but way better than usual. As I looked around, I noticed a big half-circle of empty space around the statue of Verdrenna. The work tables, the machines, the crates—they had all been moved to give some kind of buffer.
I narrowed my eyes at the sight just as Rach walked past me.
“Everything is proceeding smoothly.” He nodded with a knowing look.
I wasn’t exactly sure what he was referring to, but if his jewelry business had been running well, I was content. It meant no opportunity to blame me for disrupting their family store.
I nodded as well, though Rach just continued outside. It surprised me that he didn’t even stop by. Apparently, he had no business with me, merely delivering his wares.
“That certainly was a casual encounter,” Caroline remarked.
After she had drilled me for months in proper etiquette to follow in the castle, this kind of interaction must have been so jarring for her. I really appreciated her keeping an open mind without audible protests. I guess she is saving them for a private conversation back home.
Caroline had even been willing to put up with a change of clothing. We hadn’t had time to arrange merchant clothes for her, but at least she wore outdoorsy clothes meant for gathering ingredients. Still more extravagant than the richest merchants, but it wasn’t that much out of place.
What’s with the RGB squad? I noticed three young boys in a corner staring at us with weird looks.
The one on the left had messy dark red hair; the smallest one, in the middle, had dark green hair; and the third one on the right sported blue hair. They looked like six- or seven-year-olds.
Maybe children of the workers here? I mused.
“That woman looks like the prettiest waitress,” the smallest boy remarked.
My smile froze as he wasn’t really taking much care to be silent. Caroline had definitely heard him.
The women in the south of the lower city didn’t use cosmetics, so the only example of such care a child could witness was among the professions where one needed to attract customers by visage.
I understood that, but… can’t you be more quiet?
“Nah, I never seen a waitress that fancy,” the redhead boy shrugged.
By that point, I could already see Kurt moving in their direction and more or less throwing them out of the building.
“See you after the baptism,” he sent them on their way with a friendly smile.
It was clear he knew his “etiquette” during this visit as the standard response would have been shouting at the kids to shut up, with a few added curses, and maybe an educational slap on the back of their heads.
“Is there a significance to the term ‘waitress’ besides serving one’s food?” Caroline asked quietly while Kurt was dealing with the kids.
Eh… should I? Well, I didn’t want my attendants bumbling around without awareness, so I pushed through my awkwardness.
“Serving customers as a waitress may also include flower offering,” I whispered.
Caroline widened her eyes, her smile twitching a bit.
“Please, think nothing of those remarks. Children aren’t educated at all on how to speak in the presence of the nobles. It wasn’t meant to offend; that small boy merely commented that you look pretty,” I added with a wry smile.
“Will everyone speak this way?” Caroline asked with a slight exasperation.
“The adults should know better.” I hope. “But remember, I instructed them to not adhere to certain aspects of the etiquette for the sake of efficiency.”
I was pushing it a lot. Hopefully, Caroline wasn’t feeling too uncomfortable. I should have come here before and rehearsed this meeting, I admonished myself.
Well, everyone had been busy at the time, but that changed nothing about my annoyance.
Kurt returned from outside and greeted us without kneeling, and more importantly, without my attendant correcting him.
“Who are the boys?” I wondered.
“Our new lehanges. They’ll start working here after the spring baptism,” he explained with a content smile on his face. “Word has spread around the whole city by now. With the new ‘weird’ tools, we gained quite a reputation, and a lot of kids find this place interesting. Some contacted us even without a direct referral.”
Speaking with an unfamiliar employer without a family member introducing them first must have taken guts, especially for a kid before their baptism.
“I’m glad your name is getting out there.”
It was always nice to hear that we were seen as an attractive workplace.
Kurt nodded. “The kids can’t do much before signing the contract, but they have good heads on their shoulders. When we showed them the electric circuit, they didn’t need as much explanation as the rest of us.” He laughed. “I’m thinking to just assign them to that section from the start.”
Sure, it sounded a bit funny to assign kids to our most foreign technology, but when it came to the running of the workshop, Kurt knew what he was doing.
The older smiths understood the basics of electricity from what I had taught them, but they mostly kept to the tangible stuff. Shaping tools, machines, gears, better metals, furnace improvements—it was all natural to them, regardless of how futuristic the parts they were actually creating were. Electricity? That was too nebulous.
Apparently, not for the boys. The leherl who had been walking them through the ropes had wanted to brag a little. He had shown them a machine which “had moved on its own” as if it was magic, and all three boys had gotten really excited about the whole concept. Kurt had seen the potential and had let them try on their own all sorts of arrangements with the copper wires.
“They just knew that stuff, just like that.” He shook his head in disbelief.
To me, it made complete sense. When it came to the regular work, the older smiths had decades of grind behind them, so it was only natural that a new employee would have to work under them to gain that experience. Generally, the younger someone was, the less capable they were.
But everyone was new to things like electric circuits. In this case, the children had the advantage—they had already come here ready to learn from the bottom up, so it didn’t really matter to them whether it was a completely new concept to everyone else.
I bet it was more like trying new toys during Christmas. I could totally picture them completing their “presents” and playing with them, while they looked like unusually competent workers to the adult smiths.
“It’s good to hear that we can expect reinforcements,” I remarked casually.
Does this mean that the average age among Ehrenfest’s power industry will be seven? I mused.
Something about it just sounded funny. We are really pushing that “young and dynamic team” to its limit. Though, then I remembered that Ehrenfest’s paper industry had been run by two six-year-olds at one time, so we were actually more mature and steady in that regard.
“I, too, will resume more frequent visits coming this spring,” I announced, “So I’m looking forward to our cooperation.”
This sounded like a great opportunity. I definitely wanted more people like Zack, who could wrap their head around new weird concepts. The more people with skills we raised, the more work I could delegate to them during the expansion of these industries.
It would be nice if they also learned to read and write. I tapped on my cheek.
Zack could do schematics, but his writing skills were rather limited. Like many craftsmen, as long as he was able to write a simple order, it was “good enough” for him. Gutenbergs were constantly busy, so I couldn’t exactly ask him to take supplementary classes on top of everything just because it would have been convenient for me.
However, with a bunch of kids, it was a completely different question. Nothing depended on them, so they could take time off from their work whenever necessary.
I could either tutor them myself, or if not, there was still Rozemyne’s project with the classes for commoners. We had down-scaled it to a single class, but that was more than enough. If we held it in the temple, I could send our new lehanges as well. That way, I could raise a few electricians who would be able to write down instructions for everyone else basing on their own experience.
It was vital that such notes were made by the people of this world. To me, a lot of things made sense since I was educated on a bunch of subjects which all blended together. If I had written a manual, it could have still ended up with everyone without high-school physics, math or chemistry knowledge getting stuck, unable to follow.
And that was if I had written it right. I wasn’t a physics teacher. It was entirely possible that I would have introduced a bunch of inaccuracies since I didn’t understand everything properly. It was safer to just let it be done by someone from scratch, learning by experiment, without any prior bias.
“Should we start building another waterwheel on the riverbank?” Kurt wondered as he watched me being lost in deep thought.
“Not exactly.” I gave him an impish smile. “The archduke promised me an underground waterfall. We will want a new type of waterwheel for that.”
It was fun watching him slowly process my words, until, finally, he just stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.
Amazing, right? “With that kind of power production, we might start connecting workshops inside the city. How much do you think they will be willing to pay for such a service?” I asked with expectant eyes.
“If it works as reliably as the one in our workshop, then it’s worth pretty much the salary of a worker. Probably even more, when I hear all the complaints about stepping into animal dung.” Kurt snorted.
Hmm… one small gold per machine… per year… Sylvester, you will make us rich.
Sure, the water wheel would cost something, the wires would cost something, adding a rotor to each machine would cost something. I wasn’t sure about the isolation or grid management yet. But once we would get over the initial investment, we would be just raking in money and occasionally replacing a damaged wire. Easy life.
I almost wanted to start a prayer to Verdrenna on the spot to bless us on this endeavor.
“Oh, right. Why are those nearby tables moved away from Verdrenna’s statue?” I wondered.
Vulcanift’s statue on the opposite side of the hall was surrounded by piles of material just fine.
“Eh.” Kurt grimaced and glanced at one of the smiths on our right. “One of our boys accidentally hit the statue with a hammer when he swung behind his back.”
You hit a statue of a goddess?! I widened my eyes at the smith in question.
“It caused a real thunder.” Nearby smiths snickered.
Their unbothered attitude was even more appalling than the apparent divine reaction.
“No, it didn’t! It was a coincidence,” the culprit protested, frowning at them.
“When did you ever hear about lightning in the winter?” one of his neighbors teased him.
“Yeah, you were using the hammer blessed by Lady Mila. It must have done something,” another added.
Wait, with my mana?! You hit her with a hammer blessed by my mana?!!
“Give it up!” Kurt crossed his arms, a slight smirk on his face. “One time is a coincidence, but you did it twice. There is no way thunder on two different days just happened out of nowhere.”
Twice? Really? I was staring at him in complete disbelief. Slow down, “Thor!”
Without a word, I set off towards the statue and began with a prayer. My sincere apologies, it was an accident. I kept apologizing and offering as much mana as I could.
After the green lights disappeared, I turned back to the others. “Come on, you are smiths, are you not? Make a protective cage around the shrine. This is a waste of space,” I declared with my hands on my hips. “Something fancy and ornamental.”
All men made a firm nod; it seemed they liked a challenging order. Maybe a lightning rod on top? I pressed my lips.
By that time, Marcel and Freida arrived at the workshop as well. It seemed they had been delayed a bit. Nonetheless, Caroline looked somewhat relieved with their presence. Most likely since someone finally spoke more softly around me.
“Should we prepare for the next research phase?” Marcel asked after the greetings.
“Indeed,” I declared with a content smile. “Were you already informed about the renovation of the lower city?”
“Yes, Gustav issued a strong warning to all guilds,” Marcel nodded.
What did Rozemyne tell them? I raised my eyebrow.
Sylvester had told me that they had down-scaled their original plan so the city didn’t have to evacuate. Although, it was probably a natural reaction of every commoner who dealt with nobles to expect the worst.
“As part of the renovation, pipes will be created under the city, bringing water from the river. Purification of the water isn’t solved yet, so not much will change on that front. But I managed to persuade the archduke to add an elevation change for a waterfall. We will be able to put those two big magnets to good use. My end goal is to power all those lathes, saws and mills inside the city.” I made a small pause. “For a fee.”
Both Marcel and Freida were listening intently, though they hadn’t reacted much when I had mentioned an underground waterfall. It seemed they had gotten used to this kind of stuff. However, the word “fee” had definitely gotten a reaction. I knew my audience.
“It will require a lot of testing since I don’t know how the copper wires will perform with longer distances and under higher stress.” Hopefully, the losses wouldn’t be too high. “But once established, I expect a steady stream of revenue. Afterwards, we might experiment with more daring designs.”
Experimentation was always easier with a larger budget. And this would definitely secure us a larger budget.
“We are grateful for your return,” Marcel remarked politely, with clear eagerness in his eyes.
It was nice to be welcome. I wish I had this kind of approval on the magic side as well.
Thinking about approval made me recall a different idea.
“Oh, Kurt, would it be in any way problematic for the Smithing Guild if we produced a written manual of sorts containing knowledge that the new smiths need to acquire before gaining a senior position in their smithy? Something on a par with the minimum requirements for those allowed into the guild.” I looked at him with an unsure expression. “I understand that every smithy guards their production secrets.”
Kurt exhaled, crossing his arms in thought. “If it was something that everyone needs to know to be allowed in, then I guess most foremen would be fine with it.”
“Good.” I nodded to myself. “I’m mostly thinking about this because we are introducing quite a few new tools. Eventually, they might pile up and become overwhelming to some. Fathers might struggle to teach their sons new tools if they themselves are in the process of learning to use it.”
For now, the reactions around the lower city were positive. The various workshops had kept competing rather than pushing against the change, and I would like to keep it that way. Nothing good would have come from a couple of workshops monopolizing everything while everyone else got left behind, campaigning for a ban on the new technology.
“True, we are mostly learning it as we go, with every new problem being a learning experience,” Kurt agreed.
His unconcerned attitude was quite relieving. I had been worried about resistance to a public manual since it could bring more competitors from outside. The whole point of the guilds was to provide stability for their members; a random person couldn’t just open a shop without permission of the guild in their respective industry. It was mostly enforced and justified by demanding standards of quality, but the main point was to guarantee livelihoods to already established workshops.
The children usually learned from their family, or from their practice as lehanges that they could access thanks to a referral from their family. It was rigid, sure, but also quite a safety net. Publicly available knowledge could disrupt that.
“Don’t expect it anytime soon, though.” I smiled, not hinting at my thoughts. “Most children after their baptism can’t read, so it would be kind of pointless at the moment. However, Lady Rozemyne is planning to establish commoner classes in the near future. If enough children learned to read, they could also read such a manual for the basics, and spend more time gaining practical experience in their job. It should help with the initial quality of the new lehanges.”
I tried to spin it as a mere additional help to already existing smiths. Hopefully, Kurt would use the same words when speaking with other foremen to avoid any conflict. Like, practice will still be invaluable. I shrugged internally. No one could just read a book and become good at their craft. That was true for any industry.
“Is this about technical education minimums for each guild?” Freida wondered.
“Someone already mentioned this?” I got surprised.
Freida’s smile tensed. “Yes… someone did.”
Well, the only other person with an otherworldly perspective was Rozemyne. It seemed she had already been making moves. I guess this is how Charlotte feels.
I had expected that she would have just focused on reading, writing, math, and maybe noble etiquette. Then, I would swoop in, introducing technical classes. Boosting the whole educational reform.
I mean, it’s not a problem. I shrugged.
I didn’t actually need any credit for anything besides bragging rights. My position as a retainer was already secured. By this time, I was dealing with details like future scheduling or signing the contract, so it felt pretty much real.
“Anyway.” I smiled. “I encourage you to make notes whenever you encounter a problem. I will supply Marcel with enough paper to write them all down. Think of anything that you would like a new lehange to know before even touching a lathe or a saw…”
“Well, the first note would definitely be to not touch the saw.” Kurt laughed.
He didn’t even have to glance at Marcel, who had an embarrassed smile plastered on his face.