On the Rocks

by Peter Rhodan

  “Good.” Said Dileen. “He is an oaf and a fool and needs to be dealt with, not negotiated with. I think I've told you that before haven't I?”

  “Yes you have. That point has now been made repeatedly by my officers as well.” He paused. “We shall see. But I am now working on the basis of having to fight him rather than talk to him, which everyone seems to think is the correct way of dealing with the man.”

  “And do you have enough men to deal with him?”

  Arturo grimaced. “That would appear to be the problem. With the Scotti we, ah, recruited and other men who have wandered in of late the army is still less than one hundred and fifty strong. I do have an idea of how to beat this fellow based on what the others have told me of his, um, personality, but it is all very much dependent on when he comes south and in what formation.”

  Arturo paused and cocked his head sideways at Dileen. “I am thinking of calling for volunteers from amongst the local populace, both here and up at Dervent to bolster our force. Men who have a bow and can form a rear rank behind my trained soldiers to add some firepower. Do you think I would get many from here?”

  Dileen sat for a moment obviously turning the idea over in his head. “Probably some. Maybe thirty or so if it was clearly only for a day or two’s service.”

  “That would be the idea. They would come north and join my force at Dervent the day we got word Maximus was moving and then the next day we would probably engage his forces. Hopefully successfully. After which they could return home assuming we win.”

  “Assuming you win.” Dileen paused and studied his visitor. “You don’t seem overly concerned that you will be outnumbered three or four to one.” His tone being more of a statement rather than a question.

  “Well it all depends on how Maximus handles his troops. By all accounts he is rather headstrong so if I plan a on fighting him on a battlefield that lets me use that tendency to our advantage then there is a good chance we will win with minimal losses. If he can get his whole force into action against my small army then that would not be good although we might still win in the right circumstances. My troops have a greater firepower than anything he or his men will have faced before.”

  Dileen waved a hand. “True. They were surprisingly effective against the Scotti I’ll grant you. That will mitigate the numbers somewhat. And his infantry are largely Limitani these days. All the real soldiers that were left departed with Constantius years ago. How much experience do you have fighting battles? I never asked that before, we were a little pressed for time.”

  Arturo smiled. “I have fought many battles but not land battles like this as I served my whole career on warships. But I have been trained in military strategy and tactics extensively. My people have long taught their officers the basics of all types of warfare before letting actually command in the field. So I do have some understanding of the needs of land battles, particularly logistics and I have many long years of commanding men aboard warships to give me an idea of what is needed to get the best out those under me.”

  “I see. You are older than you look I think.”

  Oween joined the discussion. “Aye Dileen. That confused me at first too. He only looks barely thirty but I think he actually closer to your age from things he has let slip.”

  Dileen turned his head to Oween. “Really. I was thinking mid-thirties myself. I remember as young man serving under a chap from Italia who was forty plus but only looked in his early thirties. So, years of experience commanding warships eh. So how did you end up here?”

  Arturo leaned back on the couch he was on and frowned in thought. He needed to remember what he had mentioned to Oween to make sure he kept his story straight. “My ship was damaged in a battle and driven off course. It was so badly damaged we had to abandon it. We had several smaller boats which the crew took to. I was last to leave and found two injured crewmen who I helped get off.” He paused. “By this time there was no one else left and only a small boat for us to use. We got separated from the others and eventually arrived here. The other two died on the trip unfortunately leaving only me.”

  Dileen glanced at Oween who nodded in confirmation. “That is quite a sad story really. I gather you are a long way from home then?”

  “Very, very far from home, yes. Maybe, in time, I can command the resources to build a ship that will let me return home.” He said morosely knowing inside it was a lie. Five thousand light years he might be able to manage if things went well but five thousand years was another thing entirely. “In the meantime I will pass on the knowledge my people have, as far as I can, and hopefully improve things around here.”

  Dileen could see the sadness in Arturo’s face and refrained from continuing that subject, turning instead to discussing local matters. He was unprepared for Arturo’s insistence that after the bridges the next major work would be sewerage mains! Further talk of fighting Maximus was left to another time.

  Chapter 13

  Storm clouds coming

  The next morning Arturo and Oween found Cambelyn south of the main town area down by the water’s edge negotiating with a large ruddy complexioned man in a tunic of local homespun while wearing woollen boots with the fur out and a strip of cow hide sewn onto the base as a sole. Cambelyn’s more Roman style tunic and Germanic trousers made for a strong comparison of cultured versus rustic. Both men glanced at the two as they rode up then returned to the heated discussion.

  “I’ll not be letting you use this land for the pittance you be offer’n me.” The rough dressed man said forcefully as Arturo arrived in earshot. “You be wanting to build ships here an such and that will wreck the fishin’ and stop others from usin’ this area as they have done since the town was first started.”

  Cambelyn ran a hand through his hair looking harassed. “This is worthless land that no one is using. Not even for fishing. And besides once the new dock is built over there.” And he waved over the other side of the small bay where the river reached the sea. “You’ll be able to park your fishing boats in there safely and even fish from the wall.”

  “That be all well n’ good but the dock ain’t been built yet and may never be.” The man crossed his arms over his chest to drive home his obstinacy.

  Cambelyn shrugged and looked to Arturo as the two men walked up having dismounted further back up the shore where there was a convenient tree to tie their horses to. “Dominus. He won’t be reasonable about this worthless land.” And waved his arm to indicate the rather barren spit of land reaching out into the grey, leaden sea. The day was overcast and rather a glum one for what was technically still summer in these parts and a slight onshore breeze brought the salty, muddy and sort of fishy odour that this coast produced wafting over them. The contrast between grey leaden days like this and sunny days when this part of the world seemed green and sparkly was quite astonishing.

  “I see.” Arturo commented, nodding to Cambelyn and turning to face the large local. “So fellow, what is your name?”

  The ruddy man unfolded his arms. “I be Caractas, owner of this land which has been in my family for many generations.”

  “And you have done nothing with it in all those years.” Cambelyn spat, obviously having become quite annoyed with the local.

  Arturo stepped in. “How much do you want for this piece of foreshore? In gold?”

  “Gold!” Caractas said surprised. His eyes took on a glazed look then refocused. “He gave me to understand payment would be in coin. Imperial coins are nearly worthless. But gold, well that is another matter.”

  “I meant in gold coins. Not Imperial stuff.” Cambelyn defended himself to Arturo, realising the fellow had misunderstood.

  “It wasn’t clear what you meant southerner. As for what I would want for this land, I think two pound of gold would be fair.” The local declared boldly, crossing his over his chest again and looking belligerent.

  “What!” Yelled Cambelyn, obviously outraged. “That is just robbery. Do not pay him that much Dominus Arturo. Why that is
more than similar land in Londinium would be worth!”

  Arturo nodded caught between wanting to get the deal finalised and not wanting to seem an easy mark. “One pound and one part in ten share of the shipyard Cambelyn is going to build.” He countered.

  “Know nothin’ of ship building I don’t.” The man grumbled. “One and a half pounds then. That’s my final offer!”

  Arturo smiled having learnt bargaining on backwards planets years before as a young officer. “One pound and ten of the new solidi we are minting up at Dervent.”

  The man grimaced. “You seek to rob me too I see. One pound and twenty of your solidi then.”

  Arturo used his thumb and forefinger to stroke his chin. “One pound and fifteen solidi. That is all I can manage for your land. And that is too much!”

  The man cocked his head looking keenly at Arturo. Cambelyn piped in. “It is still too much Dominus. Look at the land. It is barren and useless except for grazing goats. He would sell us far more than we need.” Arturo inclined his head to acknowledge this sally but stared out to sea trying to appear impervious to any further haggling.

  “You are a hard man Dominus Arturo. Very well, one pound of gold and fifteen solidi for all this land.” And so saying he held out his arm to clasp forearms with Arturo and seal the deal.

  “Good. I will have the gold for you in three days if that is acceptable?”

  “That will be fine Dominus.” The man answered with a broad smile, apparently quite satisfied with the price now the deal was done. After they clearly defined where his land ended he took himself off, still smiling. Arturo and Cambelyn moved to a point overlooking the river mouth. Arturo pointed to the flat area to their right. “That is where you’ll set up the yard to build the first ships, yes?”

  Cambelyn nodded. “It looks to be the best spot. I need to be able to ease the finished hull into the water easily.” He explained.

  Arturo turned to him. “I suggest you get Theodorus to lay a section of the rail road track right down into the water on a low tide. It might take some work and you will probably have to strengthen or firm up the area in the water before laying the tracks. Then you build the ship on a couple of flat wagons or something like that, that will roll along the track easily with the finished ship sitting on top. Launch at high tide and it all should work much easier than your more traditional way.”

  Cambelyn looked down at where he planned to build the first ship and clearly trying to picture what Arturo meant. He had seemed to be impressed with the horse drawn rail road but obviously had not considered building a ship on wheeled vehicles like Arturo was suggesting.

  “It will help with the much bigger ships we will be building. The weight alone will make it hard to launch them.” Arturo threw in.

  “Oh.” Said Cambelyn considering this piece of information. “How much bigger are you wanting to build them?” He asked.

  “You can build a ship like the Moarciu you told me, that is correct?”

  Cambelyn turned his hand over in acknowledgement. “I helped my father build the Moarciu herself and we also built several others before that.” He said, obviously proud of this fact.

  “Good. You have a good idea of what is involved then. This is what we are going to do. The first ship will be same width as the Moarciu but an extra three paces longer.” Arturo paused translating in his head to four metres. He didn’t want it to be too much bigger this first time round. “But you will design this ship to have two masts, each about a third in from the bow and stern, give or take. You follow?”

  Cambelyn blinked. “Two masts, on such a small ship?”

  Arturo nodded. “Yes. And they will half as high again as the one on the Moarciu. Even if we finish up having to make them out of two pieces of wood fished together. These high masts will require more rigging to hold them up of course. And we will be using new types of sails. There will the usual square sail on the foremast, with a second smaller one on the extended height. On the rear mast there will be a similar square sail on the upper third but the main sail there will be a rectangular one on a boom that sits like this.” And here he used his boot to scrape flat some loose some of the sandy dirt near where they were standing to draw a long straight line then an angled line leaving it two thirds of the way up. From this, obviously supposed to represent a sail hanging down form this line, he drew a rectangular vertical sail for Cambelyn to consider.

  After looking at this design for a few moments the man scratched the back of his head. “Ain’t never seen a sail like that.” He said but his tone sounded more intrigued than dismissive. "Not sure how you would rig that."

  “That is part of the problem. Rigging is not really my forte so there will have to be some experimentation. That sail has certain advantages from the way it’s designed. There will be a second boom along the lower edge as well to provide rigidity to the whole thing. As well as that sail at the rear there will be a triangular sail that can be hoisted here between the foremast and the bow sprit.” Arturo added drawing a long triangular sail in front of the vertical mast line. “That will provide extra turning power when this ship turns across the wind.”

  “Turn across the wind!” Cambelyn spluttered. “Really? You expect this vessel to be able to turn across the wind without oars?”

  “Yes I do.” Arturo replied trying to sound far more confident than he was actually feeling. “You will see. But the rig will take some experimenting with I feel, given how simple the rig of the Moarciu appeared to be. Well that is for the future. First we have to secure the land and get you a slipway set up.” He smiled at the shipwright who smiled back then frowned.

  “This is going to be complicated to build. Will you be overseeing the work?” He asked looking somewhat concerned.

  Arturo shook his head. “Probably won’t have the time. That is why I thought we should start with something small like the Moarciu, so the first effort is not too far removed from what you have experience with. I am not a shipwright, but I can provide ideas that you will then have to translate into practical methods for use on the vessel. I realise there will have to be experimentation and that it will take time to find the best ways of doing things so do not feel under pressure to build a perfect ship first time out Cambelyn.” At this point he clasped the man’s shoulder. "I expect it to take quite some time to get all the rigging sorted satisfactorily."

  “Did you say this was only small?” The shipwright asked sounding puzzled.

  “Oh yes.” Arturo answered. He dredged up from his memory the picture of the Constitution he had seen. It was an ancient sailing warship that had lasted into the age of starships somehow or other back on old Earth, or at least the Earth of his history. “Eventually we will be building ships that are a hundred paces long or even more.”

  Cambelyn started. “A sailing ship a hundred paces long? But, but that is enormous. How do you build something that big? The frames alone would have to be incredibly thick!”

  Arturo smiled. “Do not worry about that yet. There are ways. But first let us get some practical experience building something very like the ship you have helped build before. How close to the wind can the Moarciu sail?”

  Cambelyn considered this. “It can do a little more than square to the wind.” He paused and held up a finger in the breeze coming onshore. “The wind is there.” He said pointing to the west or slightly north of west. “So the Moarciu could probably sail from here to that point over there.” He said indicating the part of the foreshore on the other side of the bay not much further out to sea than where they were standing. It wasn’t good.

  Arturo nodded. “Our ship will be able to do much better than that. It will almost certainly be able to sail that much closer to the wind again and possible a good deal closer.” He informed the other man who looked surprised.

  “This I will have to see to believe.” Cambelyn said obviously doubting Arturo’s statement. Arturo wondered how he’d react to one of the modern sailing yachts of his home world, with their catamaran hulls
and hydrofoils that could sail within thirty degrees of the wind and reach speeds that rivalled ground cars when they lifted up out of the water entirely.

  “And so you shall. But this first ship is our learning vessel. You need to find men and train them in how to work the new rigging. You also need to get a practical understanding of these new ideas about more sails and different sail plans which is why we will build this first ship as an experiment so to speak.” Cambelyn nodded accepting his new master’s point even though he still obviously held doubts about these new ideas. Arturo waved his arm over the newly purchased land. I suggest that when you plan out the slipway you leave room for something, say, hmm, twice or even three times as wide which can be used as a second slipway somewhere down the road.”

  Cambelyn had been given too many shocks to his accepted way of how shipbuilding worked and merely nodded at this instruction. Oween and Arturo retrieved their horses but our of politeness elected to remain on foot as they returned to the town. Once there he told Cambelyn to find a suitable residence for himself and his family to live in. Cambelyn’s family would hopefully turn up in a few weeks once the letter he had sent with Captain Largwil reached them.

  Arturo and Oween returned to the fort and found Dileen waiting with a small mousey man with dark hair turning to grey. “This is Gilbyn, my wife’s cousin, who knows something of making glass. Gilbyn, this is Dominus Arturo and Oween.” The two clasped forearms with the small man who appeared nervous although Arturo was not sure why he would be.

  “I am in need of various glass items.” Arturo led out. “Many of which are probably going to need to be moulded to specific shapes or even ground down while still remaining transparent and not appearing scratched or milky. Do you have experience in these areas?”

  The man nervously shook his head in negation. “Not really lord. I make small glass beads and some glass containers. But that is all I have ever done.” He opened his hands in a sign of apology.