by Peter Rhodan
“Ho. You there. What be your business?” The big fellow asked, frowning at them under bushy eyebrows. His accent was not quite that of a local, but definitely that of a Brython, while his reddish hair and long drooping moustache and lack personal hygiene clearly proclaimed that he was not a Roman.
They reigned in and Arturo looked down at the man. “I am Arturo Sandus, come to see how Cambelyn progresses on my ship.” Would the big fellow believe him?
The large Brython peered up at Arturo for a second, apparently his eyesight was not that good at distance, and then nodded. “Aye, you look to be Arturo at that. Well follow me then.” He said and turning, lumbered towards the ship.
The three dismounted, quickly tied their horse to a couple of small bushes that had somehow survived the remodelling of the site and hastened to follow. The ship was being worked on by perhaps six or seven men as far as Arturo could tell, then revised that estimate to ten as he realised there was a group in the forward part of the hull almost out of sight through the incomplete hull planking.
“Ho. Cambelyn. Visitors.” The big man bellowed. Almost immediately Cambelyn appeared from among the barely glimpsed group in the bow, took one look at the visitors and he rapidly climbed over the incomplete framing and hopped down onto the ground beaming.
“Primarius!” He smiled as he approached then clasped arms with Arturo.
“Cambelyn.” Arturo replied then after disengaging from the shipwright, he gave a small flick of the wrist indicating the ship. “It goes well?”
Cambelyn lost some of his smile. “Not as well as I had hoped. Having no experienced workmen slowed things down more than I expected and getting specialists like Coeddyn here to understand my requirements have not been easy either. Coeddyn is my blacksmith and while he’s strong and experienced he's not too bright.” Cambelyn shook his head. “Plus, there are considerable differences between horseshoe nails and ship nails as we both discovered.” Cambelyn mollified this critique by sighing and nodding at the big fellow who nodded back, also smiling. Apparently there was some private joke between the two that this sentence referenced but Cambelyn seemed disinclined to explain further. At least the blacksmith did not seem upset at being described as not too bright!
Arturo scanned the ship with interest. It appeared to be much bigger than the Moarciu while sitting here on dry land even though it was not really that much bigger at all dimension wise. It was an interesting optical effect he decided after a moment. “The works are progressing well for all that Cambelyn. I am impressed.”
Cambelyn smiled. “Thank you sir. I will admit it is different being the one in charge, especially building such a big ship, but it is taking shape nicely and she should be ready to launch before years' end.”
“That soon?” Arturo did not think it looked to be that far along.
Cambelyn nodded. “Oh yes. It will not take that long to get the hull finished now the fellows are getting the hang of things. It will still take a month or more to fit her out after the launch though. Between getting the masts in her then setting up the rigging and sails and such. Having the two masts complicates things enormously. And the taller masts are going to require some thought as to how many stays and where they are secured.”
“I had not appreciated just how hard it will be to get the masts in her till I was standing here looking up at the hull like this.” Arturo admitted pondering the matter doubtfully. He had no real idea how to go about the task and hoped Cambelyn had the knowledge. Clearly they did get masts into ships, even if the ones for this were going to be taller than anything the locals had ever seen.
Cambelyn pointed out along the bay to a small point where a small group of men were labouring on something at the water’s edge. “I borrowed a couple of Theodorus’ more knowledgeable fellows and added a couple more workers to form a construction crew. They built the two buildings here first, Coeddyn’s smithy and the storeroom come office that I use. Now they are building a small jetty out into the bay. The water is fairly deep there and somewhat protected, at least from south westerlies which are the most common breezes. We will build a frame on the end of it and raise the mast into that frame which will act as a crane. The ship will be secured hard up against the jetty and the mast swung out over and then lowered into the hold.”
“That sounds very risky.” Arturo commented, furrowing his brow as he attempted to visualise what Cambelyn had just described. Oh, Cambelyn was describing something like an A-frame, Arturo realised.
Cambelyn smiled grimly. “Aye. We muck it up and the mast goes straight through the bottom of the hull and then we will have to haul her back out of the water to fix her up. And we have two masts to put in, unlike a regular ship.” The last sounded more like a complaint than an observation but Arturo chose to ignore it by trying to be positive. He’d noticed a tendency for Cambelyn to magnify problems and view things in a rather negative way a lot of the time.
“It will be good practice for where you have to put three masts in!” Quipped Arturo then put up a hand to forestall any comment by an aghast looking Cambelyn. “I do have to admit I am impressed with your progress so far Cambelyn, keep up the good work.” And smiled nicely at the man.
“Thank you sir. It has certainly been a challenge.” Cambelyn smiled back, presumably assuming Arturo had been joking the three masts. Cross that bridge when we come to it, Arturo thought to himself.
Arturo put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “I will not be disappointed if the ship does not turn out as well as it could. It is only your first try and as such allowances will be made. All new things take practice to get right. One learns from one’s mistakes and then presses on and finds some new ones!” He smiled at this and although Cambelyn nodded he did not seem to be amused, mind you, he did not appear to be concerned with failure either. “This will be an amazing ship. I can tell already. Lengthening the design like that is going to give her marvellous lines when she is afloat. I am still wary about both the two masts and their height, but we will be able to work things out I am sure.”
Arturo noted the fervour in the man’s tone. He really was desperately happy building this ship. Good. And if all goes well it will make it easier getting him to agree to the design for the next one Arturo already had that roughed out the details in his head. Not that it would be that much of a departure from this one but with each design he would add new elements and increase the size. Once they moved to using iron to build ships the size would grow dramatically so the earlier they got used to building bigger ships the better.
“Good. Well we’ll get out of your way then, master shipwright.” The use of which title caused Cambelyn to beam happily. “Let me know a few days in advance when you plan to launch her as I wish to be here.”
“Yes Primarius. I shall look forward to seeing you then.” The man bowed his head slightly then stood and watched them head back to their horses and ride off before getting back to work.
The four headed up the track into the town and Arturo took them to Hwillam’s establishment. That gentleman was out the back in the printing shed which now fairly bulged with equipment and the necessary material for making paper and such. Hwillam was bent over a desk putting metal type into the type box in preparation for the next printing run. A young man was at the back of the room cutting what appeared to be printed sheets.
Hwillam looked up as Arturo made a noise by banging on the door to attract attention, not wanting to startle the poor fellow. “Dominus Arturo. Sir. Welcome.” He said bowing, obviously surprised by Arturo’s sudden appearance.
Arturo stepped forward and clasped forearms with the rabbit like man. “Greetings Hwillam. Just thought I’d drop in and see how things are going.” He waved an arm at the packed room.” You’re going to need a bigger shed.”
Hwillam nodded looking worried. “I know Primarius, but I was not sure if I should spend the money without your permission.”
Arturo frowned, tempted to point out that he had put Hwillam in charge and such decisions w
ere up to him but refrained. It dawned on him then that the fellow was not really entrepreneur material and would have to be helped along. “That is fine Hwillam. I think you should consider whether enlarging these premises is the correct course of action as I think that doing so would prove to be only a temporary solution. I am more inclined to think that perhaps we should just go ahead and purchase an existing structure or build a new dedicated building at the edge of town where there is room. What do you think?”
Hwillam appeared surprised by Arturo’s willingness to discuss such decisions with him. “I, well I think we should build a new premises sir. Now that I have some idea of what is involved in printing books, a proper building with room for everything and all the parts laid out in good order would be much better.” He accompanied this statement with a wave of his encompassing the now cramped work area before turning and waiting for Arturo’s response.
“Right that's what we'll do then. Do you want me to organise it or would you prefer to do so yourself.” He rather expected to have to carry out the task himself but Hwillam surprised him by appearing to be much more confident now that the decision was made.
“I will see to it Primarius. It is better that way as I know what is needed. I have thought of a couple of improvements for the printing press when we build another, as has my apprentice Garyth. He comes from a wood working background, being the younger son of the town carpenter.”
Arturo looked over at the blond haired young man who had looked up from his work upon hearing his name mentioned. Arturo smiled at the nervous looking fellow who managed a kind of half smile back while bobbing his head in a sort of bow, his eyes then flicking to Hernann standing behind Arturo who was studying the room and it’s arcane apparatus and then to Briana, standing near the door looking, well, bland. Arturo doubted he had ever met such a non-expressive female in all his life, even some of the tough female Federation marines would have been out-blanded by Briana.
“How is the paper production going?” He asked glancing around and not seeing piles of paper ready to be printed on.
“Slowly, but I hired another worker immediately after finishing the first print run of Book One of the Aeneid because it sold so quickly and I am thinking perhaps we should hire another one as well Primarius. The demand is more than I was expecting and Melwyn has his first education book nearly ready for us on top of the other books I have planned.”
Arturo leaned back. “I see. Perhaps we should build a place for the paper making as well. Probably away from the town a bit given the processes involved. Do you want to see to that as well?”
Hwillam looked a little concerned but then his face resumed its normal smoothness as he obviously grasped the matter. “Certainly sir. I shall begin looking for likely spots tomorrow.” He was obviously one of those fellows that hated to have to make decisions himself but had no trouble acting on his own once a decision had been made by his superior.
“Excellent. Talk to Theodosius and see if has some idea of where the railroad line south is going to run and if he has decided on the course it is to follow you best look at somewhere near where the line will run. It will help with bringing in supplies and sending out the finished product if things are near the railroad, down the track when we get busier. When you do settle on a site just send the bill up to Dervent and I will arrange payment. Same with builders and building supplies.”
Hwillam looked doubtful about the necessity of being near the railroad but nodded agreement to the rest quite happily. A few minor matters needed sorting out with Arturo telling him to simply send the bills with those for the land purchases needed to Arturo. He had Hwillam rough out his ideas for the printing building on some scrap paper before they left and by the time they were ready to depart Hwillam was back to his hesitant mode but assured Arturo he would get to work immediately. Satisfied, for the moment, Arturo remounted and led his party down the street to the house of the glassmaker Gilbyn on the eastern side of town. Their approach was noted by two boys who raced inside and shortly Gilbyn appeared to welcome them. The two boys peering past his form at the strangers. “Greetings Arturo. You have come to see how I progress?”
Arturo gave a little flick of his hand. “Greetings Gilbyn. I was in town anyway, so yes, I thought I would see how you are getting on.” He smiled at the fellow who had looked a bit concerned.
“Will you stay for dinner?” He asked. Arturo tried to gauge whether he was hoping Arturo would agree or if he was just being polite but could not decide which the fellow preferred so opted for caution. He waved his hand at the Mair who was dismounting as he spoke.
“Dileen has already claimed my company this evening I am afraid. But I appreciate the offer.” He dismounted and handed his reins to Briana who frowned but took them, and also accepted Hernann’s when he dismounted. She dismounted as well and looked to find somewhere to tie the horses up while Gilbyn pointed around the side of his small circular house.
“If you would come this way. My workshop is out the back.” He said as he led Arturo and Hernann around the side of the house, the base of which was bordered by small flowering plants in the first real garden Arturo had seen here. Dileen waited and then followed with Briana. The workshop proved to be a rectangular structure, low roofed and open fronted and had a stone furnace in the back with bits and pieces of stuff strewn all over the rest of the space. An upright set of rough hewn timber shelves stood against the opposite wall upon which there were displayed a range of glass products Gilbyn had made. Arturo was unsure if they were samples or jobs waiting to be picked up.
Gilbyn went over to these shelves and brought back a wooden box lined with cloth which contained a dozen glass lenses. There were six convex and six concave, of two different sizes. Arturo looked at them carefully and picked up one of the convex ones and held it to his eye and looked at his other hand which was blown up a little in size viewing though the lens. “Good.” He commented and brought out a bag of coins. “How much do I owe you?”
Gilbyn scratched his head. “Well in the new coins, say two denarii.” He suggested.
That seemed a little steep to Arturo but he handed over the money. “And if I wanted more of these, in some quantity to specific sizes. Would the price come down?”
Gilbyn looked at the lenses in their box for a second. “I imagine I could do them a bit cheaper if you ordered a lot. It would depend on the time frame. If you wanted them in a hurry then the price would stay much the same as I would need to get help in. They are very labour intensive getting the surface nice and clear as you demanded.”
“I see.” Arturo answered but was not entirely sure the man was telling the truth. “If I wanted set sizes and thicknesses, could you perhaps make them using moulds? Would that be a way of making more at a lower cost?” Unfortunately his knowledge of glassmaking was so poor that he was guessing with the mould idea would be reliant on the fellow's answer with no way of knowing if it was right or wrong.
Gilbyn went to shake his head in negation but then checked as some idea must have occurred to him. “Perhaps Lord Arturo. I will have to think about it and try one or two things. I have never thought of using moulds to make glass objects before!”
Arturo smiled. “Very well I shall be interested see how you go. Here is a couple more denarii so you can produce me another set just like these, as time permits.” He smiled at the glassmaker and handed over two more of the coins much to the man’s surprise. He turned to Hernann. “We won’t be able to secure this properly to one of the horses so I will carry it on foot. You lead the horses.” And with a nod to Gilbyn he took up the box and headed back to the road.
Hernann went to the horses and began leading his and Arturo’s while Briana led her own. Dileen mounted up and turned to Arturo. “I’ll just ride ahead and make sure everything is going smoothly for dinner.” And with a wave he headed off ahead of them.
Wern was not large and Arturo and company were not that far behind him as they headed back over the bridge and then north a half a mi
le or so to where the local tanner lived, well away from the rest of the town with his rather odorous industry. Twice Hernann tried to get Arturo to swap their jobs but Arturo was not concerned by the weight as the box was not heavy and he was just as happy carrying it himself to ensure it arrived with the lenses intact.
The tanner was found in an open fronted shed not unlike Gilbyn’s, only larger and off to one side of his house, rather than behind. The man watched them approach as he continued to work on some object he was sewing together. “Ho. You be Arturo, Primarius or Dux. What can I do for you?”
Arturo walked into the workshop area looking for somewhere to put the box down and soon spied a bench like piece of furniture to one side that had a clear area and put the box down carefully. “Good day. This is Hernann my aide.” He motioned to the man who appeared to be a Franconi from the way he had his hair tied. “And you are called?”
“I be Owyn.” The man answered and put down what he was working on and sauntered over to the box Arturo had so carefully put down. “You be wanting some sort of leather binding to make pendants out of them or something?” He asked, looking at the collection of glass lenses.
“No exactly. What I will want you to make is two leather tubes. One designed to slide inside the other. There may even need to be three, inside another inside the first which can then be pulled out with the inner ones actually being able to be pulled right out.”
The man looked puzzled at the description. Arturo looked around the work are but there did not appear to be anything he could use as an example. He tried again. “What I want is a leather cylinder, say two feet long. Inside there will be a second leather cylinder that is just slightly smaller in diameter than the outer one, so tightly fitted in fact that the inner cylinder needs to be pushed or pulled to make it move. Does that make more sense?”
