Preserving Hope (The Aliomenti Saga - Book 2)

by Alex Albrinck

  Will nodded, and sighed. “We have to take it back down to the Water and start raising it all over again, after we turn the Wheel around.”

  Roars of protest sounded from those on both sides of the Wheel, arguing against the approach. Some said that the carpenters should have made the buckets more easily movable. Others blamed Will for not noticing the error sooner. Still others argued that they should finish installing the Wheel, and then determine if they could move the buckets to the other side, build separate buckets to attach to the shore side, or even extend the trough around to the opposite side. “That won’t work,” Will said, raising his voice. “The open ends of the bucket won’t be facing in the correct direction to scoop the water as the Wheel turns.”

  That led to additional commentary on a poor Wheel design; the Wheel should certainly have worked regardless of which way they installed it. Will groaned. “The Wheel’s design was fine. There is no option guaranteed to succeed more quickly than to simply let the Wheel back down the ramp, turn it, and reload it. And that is how I case my vote.” Will let go of his grip on the Wheel.

  A few others on both sides of the Wheel followed his example, and suddenly those protesting the effort to reload the Wheel were left holding the entire weight up on their own. “Let it go!” Will shouted. “It doesn’t matter how hard you pull on the rope if the Wheel isn’t moving in the right direction!”

  In the end, the effort to hold on and fight to complete the loading of the Wheel as it was positioned was too much, and even men like Maynard were forced to let go. The Wheel rolled back down the ramp on its wide axle and settled into the water with a tremendous splash. Will felt the glares from several of the men aimed in his direction, and he wasn’t sure he needed his empathy skills to sense it. They felt they’d just wasted effort by starting over, apparently unconcerned about the potential wasted effort from continuing. The carpenters, at a minimum, would be forced to try to attach buckets to a Wheel already mounted, and that could keep them from continuing their work for several more days. And they might very well determine, after putting in that effort, that no amount of effort would get the Wheel working positioned as it had been. Worse, they might damage the Wheel and have to build another.

  “I know everyone is tired, but this is the best way forward,” Will said. “Since it is midday, may I suggest that we stop for a meal, and then resume this afternoon?”

  The men glowered at him. More than one made it clear that they weren’t coming back to waste their time on his crazy scheme yet again, and that included those who’d joined him a few moments earlier in releasing the ropes right away. Apparently, their gesture was done for reasons of fatigue, rather than principle.

  He should have known better than to think that a community of people willing to enslave the daughter of one of their own to do their dirty work wouldn’t have the character to respond to a setback like this. Will sighed, exasperated at the lack of perseverance.

  Gerald and Aldus walked up to him, and Aldus glanced over his shoulder at the retreating crowd. “I really don’t think any of them are coming back, Will. They see this setback as a failure, and proof that the idea itself was flawed. If we want this to work, it’ll have to be done with just us.”

  Eva walked up to them, joined by Matilda and Eleanor. “We’ll help as well. And I agree. The rest of them aren’t coming back. It’s a shame. I’m sure they’ll be happy to avail themselves of the abundant water if it works, though.” She snorted. “Reminds of their attitude around other things of value.”

  Will chuckled. “In spite of that, I still want this to work. And I do have some ideas on how we can make this happen. The fact that this group — and Elizabeth — will benefit from it is enough to make me want to continue, even if we’ll have to share the benefit with the others.”

  Will threaded a rope around the spokes and then tied the ends to the dock, explaining that he didn’t want to find the Wheel washed downriver when they returned, and with the Wheel secured the Traders returned to the village for their midday meal. Will was surprised at the level of anger he could sense as they worked their way to the Stores, as evidenced by the paltry amount of vegetable and pork soup ladled into his bowl and the glare directed at him as he walked away. Many of the workers made a point to complain loudly about their tired, sore muscles, and how they’d have to work extra hours to meet their desired quota for the next Trading run. Others made it clear, even to the Traders who’d previously worked with them during down time, that they were to stay away. “That’s fine,” Eva snapped. “We’d been planning to finish the Wheel project first before rejoining you anyway.” Her proclamation was met with jeers and laughter.

  After all, surely three men and three women couldn’t accomplish what thirty had struggled and failed to achieve.

  After eating, the Traders exited back through the gate, with more than a few residents suggesting that they stay away for an extended period of time, lest they ruin more lives with their crazy ideas. “Weren’t we heroes a few days ago for bringing back mounds of coins?” Will asked, grinning.

  The Traders were silent.

  Will looked at them, and ran Energy at them, attempting to get a read. They were scared, concerned about the shunning they were facing. The Traders, by definition, created nothing in the Shops that couldn’t be created by others; they held nothing in the Stores they could sell within the community or on Trading runs. The craftspeople could always choose to Trade on their own, and prevent the Traders from working in the village to earn money needed for food and necessities. Taken to its extreme, the Traders could even be forced to leave the village to survive.

  Will stopped. “Listen to me, everyone. We are going to make this work.”

  “How, Will?” Matilda asked. “I watched the first attempt. Every one of the men in this village was straining to push and pull that Wheel up the ramp, and there are only six of us. I’m not as strong as someone like Maynard, and even if I was, we still only have one person for every five that were working earlier.”

  Will tapped his head. “We’re going to work smarter, that’s how.”

  Gerald grunted. “Brains don’t lift heavy Wheels, Will.”

  If only he knew I could float that Wheel into its place in a few seconds with the right thoughts, Will thought, and he grinned. “Who said anything about lifting a Wheel? We’re going to roll it up that ramp.”

  Aldus frowned. “Isn’t that what we were doing earlier? With, as Matilda noted, five times as many people?”

  Will shook his head. “We’re taking a different approach. Before we used the physical power of thirty people to push and pull the Wheel up the ramp. We’re not going to do that this time. We’re going to use the water to roll the Wheel up the ramp.”

  At Will’s direction, the team rotated the Wheel around so that the buckets were facing the shore, as designed, and then they let it float down river to the opposite end of the docks, where they tied the Wheel down. Will then had them detach the temporary ramps. “We’re going to put the ramps on the other side of the support beams, downriver from the posts.” Despite the puzzled expressions, the team followed his recommendations, and the ramps were soon securely in place.

  “OK. Now what?” Eleanor asked. Like the others, she was wet, tired, and sore, but curiosity kept her going.

  Will pointed to the stack of paddles and the mallets near them. “Now, we attach the paddles.”

  “But why?” Eva asked. “All that will do is spin… the Wheel…” Her brow furrowed, and then her face lit up as she understood his plan. “Backwards.”

  “What?” Gerald asked. “Why is that important?”

  “Because if the Wheel spins backward downriver from the ramp, the motion will cause it to roll up to the top without any effort on our part,” Eva explained, smiling.

  The other four Traders stared at her. Then Aldus started laughing, and before long all of them were joining in. For it was not simply a case now of whether they’d succeed at this impossible task, it was
simply a matter of when.

  The team rotated through the various roles, with the exception of Gerald, the tallest of them besides Will, and the strongest of the team. He had the unenviable role of standing in the river, up to his shoulders, and holding the Wheel back from accelerating up the ramp as the paddles were added and the Wheel started to spin. It was a role that the former soldier demanded. The others took turns holding the Wheel back from the shore, and those on the dock strained to keep the Wheel still long enough to attach each paddle with a wooden mallet. After a time, the strain on those holding the wheel from spinning and accelerating up the ramp was evident. “I don’t mean to complain,” Gerald grunted, his teeth chattering at the stain ad exposure to the frigid waters, “but please hurry it up!”

  Will directed several of his nanos to help hold the Wheel still, and sent a small bit of Energy to Gerald, Energy that would help ease the ache in his muscles and warm him, protecting him against hypothermia. He then continued hammering the paddles into place. At last, the final paddle was secured.

  He moved into the water with Gerald, and directed Eva and Aldus to hold the rope on the shore. “We can’t let go, because the Wheel may move so quickly it will roll past the support beams and crash into the dock.”

  Gerald grunted again. “Yeah. Let’s not do that.” Will noted that his teeth were no longer chattering.

  Eleanor waited on the shore-side dock, ready to help control the Wheel as it moved up the ramp; Matilda covered the riverside dock in a similar fashion. Matilda would have the trickier time of it, because Will and Gerald would need to get out of the water and onto the dock without getting crushed against the structure by the force of the Wheel. Eva and Aldus would merely need to step onto the dock from the shore.

  At last they were in place. “Let’s do this!” Will shouted.

  They gradually let their stances loosen, just enough for the backward momentum to pull the Wheel between the ramps. The axle, thankfully, was above the level of the docks due to the shallow water and made immediate contact with the ramps.

  The Wheel started to roll up the ramps.

  “It’s working!” Eleanor shouted, more joyful than Will had ever heard her. “It’s really working!”

  They managed the transition to the docks with surprising efficiency, and the Wheel moved in a controlled fashion up the ramp, those on the shore-side dock getting doused with buckets of water as the Wheel worked its magic. When the Wheel reached the summit, it settled with a resounding thud into the support beams. Will tensed, fearing the supports might topple, but the carpenters had done their work well. The Wheel turned, and bucket after bucket of water fell into the waiting aqueduct, forming a river in the air that flowed toward the unsuspecting villagers.

  “We should go and watch this,” Eva said. “I’d love to see Arthur’s face when the first water starts pouring into the village.”

  “No,” Will said, stretching out on the ramp, quietly sending out Energy to warm and energize the tired crew of Traders. “Let them come to us.” It was time to turn the power struggle tables on Arthur.

  Arthur Lowell stood before the community. “Though it pains me to say this, I fear that we may need to consider removing our newest member, one Will Stark, from these walls. While I fully recognize his reported contributions on the recent profitable Trading missions, disasters such as this Wheel of Water scheme will only set us back from achieving our goals: developing wealth, and developing the abilities observed by our Travelers. Therefore, I would like to propose that Will Stark be expelled—”

  A torrent of water fell on Arthur, a downpour that drenched the man instantly. Spluttering, he moved from his spot, looking up to see where the water had come from. He saw only the edge of the aqueduct system leading out to the Ealdor River, to that accursed Wheel. His frown at the shock of being doused with cold water was quickly replaced by one of surprise, as realization spread to his face.

  “They got it to work,” he whispered. “I don’t believe it. They got it to work.”

  The community was stunned for a moment, and then shouts of joy rose from the crowd. There were calls for Arthur to unlock the gate from the inside, which he did despite the impending twilight, and the men and women raced toward the Ealdor River. They approached to find the six Traders sitting on the two ramps, watching the setting sun, while the giant Wheel turned without pause, dumping bucket after bucket of river water into the waiting trough. The crowd burst into applause, cheering wildly. Arthur stared at Will, and Will wasn’t certain if the look was one of admiration or hatred. Knowing Arthur, it was a combination. For Arthur knew he’d lost this round.

  “We seem not to have a place to sleep tonight, or a place to get something warm to eat,” Will called out, his voice carrying over the crowd. “Do any of you know a place we could stay?” He dropped a slotted piece of wood into the end of the aqueduct, and the water dumped by the Wheel splashed against this shield, falling harmlessly to the dock below and preventing the flooding of the village until they finished the interior water ducts.

  Laughter broke out amidst the cheers, and the community came to carry Will Stark, their hero, and his team back to the community on their shoulders. Will was only aware of one thing, however. He could sense the pride and admiration emanating with intense force from a soon-to-be seventeen-year-old girl, and an emotion he hadn’t noticed from her before.

  Love.

  His relationship with Elizabeth was certainly going to become complicated before long.

  XV

  Traveler

  They celebrated that night. Everyone chipped in a copper and the brewers cracked open two kegs of beer; the bakers lit their ovens and made cakes, and — much to Will’s surprise — Matilda sang a number of songs he’d never heard before, in a voice both beautiful and mesmerizing. When he complimented her later, she told him that her upbringing as the daughter of a noble required her to learn to sing, and it was one of the few mandates of her life she’d truly enjoyed.

  As November opened, the cold intensified, and Will experienced his first snowfall in the wilds of northern England. The cold was significant enough that the villagers elected to postpone the construction of the additional water ducts until the spring, when they’d could spend greater time outdoors working without getting frostbite. That didn’t prevent them from discussing their plans in that regard, however.

  As their initial water run demonstrated, they first needed a mechanism to return any unused water to one of the rivers, lest the flowing water saturate the ground and possibly flood their village. They settled upon a small stream that ran through the forest and emptied into the Halwende, downriver from their standard bathing spot. The water levels and flowing speed, even when the waters weren’t filled with chunks of ice, wasn’t sufficient to propel a water wheel or supply sufficient water to the community, and as such was best used as a drainage ditch. Will wondered how many environmental violations they’d be cited for in his birth era, for they very openly intended to use the drainage system to remove from the village wastes from their trades and their bodies. He made a mental to note to figure out how best to break down those products as they traveled to the stream via the secondary aqueduct system they’d construct.

  They decided to build the drainage system exit point nearest the gate, next to the stables. It was a simple decision for a practical reason. Nobody wanted what would one day be called a sewage system running near their rooms, and thus the space nearest the large stables were the only option. They’d fortunately elected to run the inflow aqueduct into the village over the top of the stables, and thus they’d be able to run all or a portion of the water inflow directly into the drainage system. They planned to run this primary drainage duct system over the top of the stable doors to prevent blocking access to the animals housed inside.

  The final step in the initial phase of construction they’d start in the spring involved getting the water to the shops. The water duct system would have a much lower rate of descent than the syst
em bringing water into the village; the ducts would loop around and flow directly back to the drainage system. They discussed additional expansion of the duct system to run water directly to each person’s room, but decided that it was simply too strange to consider seriously. Who would want water flowing into their room all hours of the day and night?

  Will could only smile at the memory of his twenty-first century home, with multiple water taps indoors and out, and wonder how the villagers would react to such a design. Then he remembered that two of them would join him in living long enough to see that strangeness become commonplace. It frightened him anew to think that he’d live long enough to see his own birth, and gave him headaches at the same time.

  The winter brought fewer Trading runs for Eva’s team, and they spent their time helping to chop firewood from the forests. Indoor fireplaces weren’t in use at this time, and as such they’d fire up the ovens used for cooking and the blazes used to heat metal, and they’d all huddle around for warmth for much of the day. The snow didn’t help, as it kept them quite cold and damp, and Will wondered if they could somehow replicate the concept of central heat to help them lose the snow and warm the rooms during the frigid months. He was glad he’d been advised by Eva to purchase warm coats, boots, and blankets during their second Trade mission, for he’d likely find himself freezing to death. His Energy certainly helped, and he was typically one of those furthest from the central fires for that reason. Will even stayed further away upon the return journeys from the daily baths; given the need to dry quickly and regain warmth, Arthur had them go to the river in groups of five. The trips weren’t the social occasions they were in the warmer months; everyone ran to the river, cleaned themselves as quickly as they could, and ran back to the warm fires. Evenings were dreadful; darkness came early, and everyone huddled under piles of quilts and blankets to keep warm. They were able to build small fires in their rooms on the dirt floors, which helped, but even with the small ventilation holes in the ceilings the smoke made sleeping difficult. On the windiest days, they all fastened wooden shutters over their windows to keep as much cold air out as possible. Will longed for his heavily-insulated, temperature-controlled home in De Gray Estates.