Work Orders

Muld tells his team about their first government contract.

2.

Work Orders

 

“I thought we should start this new endeavor by seeing what will make us the most money.”   Muld pointed to a long table with a large number of copper pipes arranged in rows.   He then pointed to a large group of wooden chests lined up against the wall next to the table with the pipes on them.    Finally, he gestured to another long table, where glass globes attached to short metal poles were lined up side by side.   In front of them was a pile of grey bricks.

“Look at those four groups of enchanted items, my friends, for those are what will pay your salaries and our bills.”

The five of them followed Muld over to the tables, waiting for him to explain.

“You see, we are already getting orders for these items, as people know about them due to their use in the Muddy Boot and the ducal keep.    I shall quiz you to see if you can tell me what they are.    Does anyone know the use for these copper tubes?”

Syndi immediately raised her hand, for upon their first meeting, Muld had given her an in depth introduction to their function.   The elven Practical Magician smiled at her and nodded.

“They are plumbing pipes,”  She told them, “They bring hot and cold water into buildings and others bring sewage out of the buildings.”

“Quite right,”   Muld said, “These pipes are the most important part, and actually the magic to draw the water out and to expel the waste from the privies will be the first cantrips that I will teach you.”

“Wow, fame and fortune at last,”  Rick joked.

“Don’t scoff - we have eight orders for plumbing systems already, and we’ve only just opened the business.    Everyone wants convenience, so the sales and installation will fund our more interesting and glamorous projects.    Knowing how to enchant the pipes will ensure that we have enough craftsmen to work on several orders at once.”

“So what are those boxes, boss?”  Tadd asked, pointing at the large chests arranged on the floor.

“Oh, I know what those are!”  Jevon responded, “Those are cold chests - used to keep food cold.   I’ve seen similar chests at the Muddy Boot.”

Muld nodded, “Yes, and these are the most inexpensive models that we’ll have on display here.    They are smaller than the ones usually used by Inns and taverns.    I hope to price these low enough that many of the residents of Westmark will be able to buy them for their homes or business.     In the summer months, these will sell like cheap ale.   So we’ll have an inventory ready for the rush.”

 

“Well, I know what the globes are,”   Mutt admitted, “They are the same as the Muddy Boots’ lighting globes, but they seem larger.”

“You have good eyes, Mutt,”   Muld told him, “These are actually for the streets.   Queen Aurei ordered these a month ago and we are going to be putting them up all over the city, when the weather cooperates.    They are activated by dim light and will make the streets much safer by night.    We will also do the smaller lighting globes for homes and businesses and light sticks as well.”

“Are they more difficult to enchant than a cooling chest or plumbing?”   Syndi asked him, though she knew the answer.  He had explained it all to her, months ago, but she wanted him to tell the others.

“They are more advanced, but they are about as complicated as the cooling chests.    Permanently changing the temperature, or generating light without fuel or smoke takes a more powerful spell.   But you all will learn to cast them as well.   Since they are more difficult to cast, we will charge more for these practical magic items.”

 

“Muld, what about the grey bricks?”   Mutt asked.

“Cornerstones.”   He corrected, “We use them for vermin repelling stones.    A spell cast on one of these stones will repel all vermin -- insects, rats, mice, squirrels and other small creatures- in a forty foot radius.”

“That would not be big enough for an entire house,”   Tadd commented.

“No; in larger houses and buildings, we use several cornerstones.”

“I’ll bet they’ll be popular too,”   Jevon said as he examined one of the bricks.

“Yes, but they are rather expensive, due to the complexity of the spell-casting protocol.   Still, once a few people put them into their homes, I imagine that we’ll get many orders for them.”

 

“We’ll be doing more than just enchanting these four types, won’t we?”   Tadd asked.

“Absolutely!”   Muld assured him, “These will just fund our larger projects and ensure that we have a steady stream of clients.”

“Do you have anything… more interesting… planned?”   Syndi asked hopefully, causing the Practical Magician to grin.

“Certainly!    In fact, when I arrived this morning to prepare to move my belongings out of the Muddy Boot into the apartment over the studio, I had someone waiting for me.”

“A customer?”   Rick asked.

“It was one of the craftsmen from Royal Airship Yard.   I was hoping we might receive some orders from them.”   

“I thought King Eleazar was using the wizards from King’s Reach for enchanting,”   Jevon said in surprise.

“Well, he is, but we were contracted to do something smaller and more mundane, but still interesting.    All of you know about the huge new airship that they began working on after their hanger was finished?”

“Yes.”  The others replied.    It had been the talk of Westmark for months.   Eleazar had used all of the construction golems from the former Kingdom of Northmarch, as well as paying hundreds of workers from among the exiles that had come to Westmark.    Their task had been to quickly construct a huge six story warehouse building just outside of the eastern gate of Westmark.   It was all one huge, open room where airships would be constructed.  

Many wizards had also been employed in raising the building, for it was done in the heart of winter.   Some had melted the snow and dried the ground; others had covered the construction area with a protective arcane globe so the workers could build in comfort.   Many of them helped with the shaping and placement of the skeletal frame of the huge building.    The construction team numbered 6,000 people, of which several hundred were wizards and spell casters.

 

It took them only a month, but to everyone’s amazement, the huge shipyard hanger was finished.   It featured a roof that doubled as twin doors which could be magically opened up so that a finished airship could be released.   Most people said that it was one of the most incredible feats of magic-aided, architectural engineering that they had ever seen.

Immediately the shipyard had gone into business, for the King wanted a fleet of airships patrolling his kingdom.   The first ship - a large ‘warship’ that was to be named ‘Queen Eioldth’ to honor the last Northmarch ruler- was in the process of being built.

“It seems that the plan for this new warship is to include plumbing aboard the vessel,”   Muld told them.

“Plumbing?” Jevon asked, “How is that possible, Muld?”

“Well, obviously they won’t have fresh running water, but I am told that they plan to have a storage tank so that they will have working toilets and bathing facilities.”

“Don’t airships just dump their waste from their privies through channels in the hulls or into the bilge?”   Rick wondered.

“Traditionally, yes, but that leaves two problems.   If they are channeled into the bilge, eventually it must be cleaned out and it is rather horrid to smell when it is full.    Dumping it when in flight is also disgusting as whatever is beneath the airship is covered.”

“So what do they want as a system on this new airship?”   Syndi asked, seeming to be less than thrilled with the whole thing.

“The sewer system is unimaginative - simply a storage tank that is sealed off but which can be pumped out when the ship comes to dock.   What is interesting is an idea that the architects had for a weapon.    He called it a water cannon.”

“A water… what?”  Rick asked.

“Water cannon.    Have any of you heard of the term?”   Muld glanced at them and they all shook their heads.

“In Archmage Kinzer’s history of the world, she briefly mentions the previous worlds that existed before the Great Gathering.   She wrote about the advancement of weaponry in some of these worlds.   There was a chapter on ‘Guns, Cannons and Bombs’.   All three of these things use a combination of chemicals - lost to our knowledge- that would propel objects with great force.    Lead shot - called ‘bullets’ could be flung with so much force that they would go through people and armor.”

“Good heavens!”  Syndi exclaimed.

“These were what ‘guns’ were - handheld devices somewhat like a crossbow, which would shoot these bullets into a target.    A cannon was a large iron tube sealed at one end, with the diameter of about half a foot.    Large iron balls would be propelled out of these tubes by a controlled explosion and these balls would be shot forth with much greater force than a catapult.”

“So these airship people want us to create a cannon?”   Mutt asked.

“We don’t know how those chemical explosions were created, but the gentleman who visited me this morning was trying to come up with an alternative method for propelling large iron balls.    He thought of the force of water and brought an idea for a ‘water cannon’ to me.    But I have a better idea and shared it with him.”

“Well, tell us, we’re curious now,”   Rick said, and Muld motioned for them to follow him over to the end of the table where the plumbing pipes were laying.

“When he’d left, I modified one of the plumbing pipes with a fitted end, which I sealed magically.   This is approximately the correct size that he had in mind.”

He showed them an iron tube with what looked like the top of an iron bell sealing up one end.

“I suggested to the craftsman that instead of using water, we could simply use a more powerful form of the same force that we use now to push cold and hot water into pipes.   But in this usage, it would propel an iron ‘cannon ball’ through the tube toward its target with as much force as the cannons that Kinzer wrote about.”

“That would produce devastating damage!”   Tadd marveled.

“Yes, and the craftsman was quite taken with the idea.   He left in a hurry and returned an hour later with some military men - those responsible for armaments on the vessel- and I explained my idea to them.”

“I’ll bet they were thrilled,”   Rick guessed.

“Oh yes, very thrilled.     We were immediately promised materials and full funding for production - though I would think that these weapons would have to be approved by the King.”

“So we have a defense contract?”   Jevon asked.

 

Muld grinned proudly, “We do indeed, and so we will be quite busy tomorrow.   I intend to split our team into two groups:    Syndi, Jevon and Rick; you will begin working on the cannons as soon as the supplies arrive from the King.     Tadd, Mutt and I will begin working on the more mundane orders until I feel we’re caught up, and then we’ll join you on finishing the cannons.     They want 24 of the cannons produced and asked to get them in a week’s time.”

“A week!”   Rick groaned, “Won’t that be pushing things… no pun intended.”

Muld smiled at his humor, “Yes, but we’re getting paid quite well for the effort.”

“Who is going to cast the enchantments on each cannon?”   Syndi asked, not seeming to be overly thrilled with her first assignment.

“Why you are, my dear!”

“Me?!   But you haven’t shown me the proper spells!”

“Which is what I intend to do after we finish this meeting.”   Muld turned to the others. “I’ve a list of the materials we need for the regular orders, and I want the rest of you to assemble the parts onto tables so we can complete each order separately.”

“While you spend the afternoon alone with the lovely, scantly clad young lady,”   Rick complained.

Muld shrugged, “I have to teach her the spells.   If it makes the rest of you feel any better, I want all of you to wait for me here in two hours and I’ll teach you some of the cantrips for the other enchantments.      Syndi can learn these later and you will get a chance to learn those I taught her at a later time as well.   I selected Syndi because her training in sorcery will make the teaching process much quicker and we don’t have much time to spare.   I should have been training all of you on casting cantrips a month ago, but we had so much trouble getting everything done on this building that I didn’t have time.”

“So you aren’t going to favor Syndi because she’s slightly prettier than I am?”   Mutt joked, which brought snickers from all the others.

“Beauty is relevant to the observer, Mutt,”   Muld answered.

“Oh?   So you’re saying that you think I’m more attractive than Syndi, then?”   Mutt pressed on with his joke.

“I wouldn’t go THAT far, Mutt,”    Muld responded as he ushered the young redheaded princess to his office, located off of one end of the workshop.

 

The men watched them go, and Rick snorted as soon as Muld’s office door closed, “Being the boss certainly has its privileges.”

Reviews

[Elina]

"In front of them were a pile of grey bricks." With this sentence, since you are referring to the "pile" (singular), it should be worded "...was a pile..."
"Syndi asked him, though she knew the answer to her question, for he had explained it all to her, months ago. But she wanted him to tell the others." The first sentence is a run-on, and the second feels a bit off, on its own. Perhaps, something along the lines of "Syndi asked, though she already knew the answer. He had explained it to her months ago, but she wanted Muld to tell the others." ??
"I imagine that we’ll get many of orders for them." Here, you can remove "of."
"Syndi asked hopefully and the Practical Magician grinned." This sounds odd to me. I'm not entirely sure what word would adequately replace it, but I feel that hopefully doesn't flow well.
"Immediately the shipyard had went into business..." This should be "gone into business," rather than "went."
"...ushered the young redheaded princess off to his office, located off of one end of the workshop." Perhaps omit the first "off" and remove the first "of." ?

Another excellent chapter. Mutt's responses at the end had me laughing rather heartily! I look forward to reading more.

[David Kennedy]

Interesting how technology has been kind of reworked to be entirely power by magical means, like with basic plumbing and refrigeration. The character of Muld seems to repeat himself a couple of times to his cohorts and you might want to scan through and make sure he isn't giving them information that they already have. other than that, very interesting piece with alot of the background that I was looking for in the first chapter.

[Eddie Davis]

Thank you for your review.