The Pen and the Sword (Destiny's Crucible Book 2) (2 page)

Keelan
Manor, Caernford, Keelan Province

Culich
pushed aside reports scattered across his desk, as Maera entered his study. He
had reread the accounts so many times, he could recite many of them from
memory. No matter whose perspective had produced the descriptions, the common
thread was a sense of the miraculous that the people of St. Sidryn’s and the neighboring
town of Abersford had beaten off the Buldorians, despite being short of fighting
men. Not mentioned in all accounts, but prominent in those of St. Sidryn’s
abbot and Denes Vegga, senior militiaman leading the defense, was the role of
Yozef Kolsko.

Culich
already knew of Kolsko from reports of his mysterious discovery, lying
unconscious on an Abersford beach, and his subsequent introduction of novel
products. Culich had personal experience and appreciation of the new kerosene
lanterns whose light was so much brighter than the older whale oil models. He also
grudgingly converted to new soaps and toilet papers after cajoling by his wife,
Breda, and he likewise admitted the new whiskeys rolled smoother on the tongue.
He had no experience with other products whose value he accepted without
personal experience, not needing to avail himself of new medical procedures or
the “kotex” Breda assured him that all younger women treasured.

What
was new from St. Sidryn’s were reports that Kolsko had suggested not to defend
the abbey walls against the raiders but to let them into the abbey courtyard
and a trap. Everyone outside St. Sidryn’s and Abersford, including Culich
Keelan, had thought the idea insane. However, those who knew Kolsko were not so
sure, and, more important, Denes Vegga had listened and followed the advice.
Whether the successful defense was due to Kolsko’s mad idea, sheer luck, or a
miracle from God was actively argued, but it convinced Culich he needed to meet
this outsider to Caedellium.

“Yes,
Father, you wanted to see me?” queried Maera.

“Yes,
there’s something I wanted to discuss with you. First, though, you’ve seen all
the reports coming out of Moreland about more and more sightings of Eywellese
crossing the clan border into Moreland and now several small raids. Do you have
any thoughts?”

She
was blunt, as always. “The Narthani will try to take Moreland. The province is
in the center of Caedellium, and once under Narthani control, they’d have a
foothold in the island’s heart. All indications are Moreland is their next
target. The only question is
when
they move, and it’s only a matter of time.
If I guessed, I’d say a year, at most.”

He
grunted, having hoped for a different conclusion from his own.

“All
the more important is the outcome of the conclave at Orosz City. The other clan
hetmen need to understand what’s happening and prepare their people for what
may come. The conclave is the best chance to convince them.”

“Do
you really expect such recognition at this meeting, Father?”

Although
her voice may have sounded like she was asking for an answer, he knew her
opinion. “You’re right. This is more a meeting out of duty and hope, rather
than expectations. However, I’m obliged to try.” Culich’s face drew down into
discouragement. “Since it’s not a formal All-Clan Conclave, attendance by all
hetmen isn’t mandatory, nor do they even need to send a representative. The
best I hope for is that two-thirds of the clans will be there and half of the hetmen.
That’s my hope, though my prediction is lower.”

“A
great Caedellium philosopher once said that all a man can do is his best,” said
Maera.

Culich
smiled. It was something he himself was fond of saying. “Obviously, a great thinker.”

“Obviously,”
replied Maera innocently.

He
could always count on her to lift his mood.
God, what will I do if she marries
and moves away?

“And
the reports from St. Sidryn’s?” asked Culich. “You’ve read all those as well.
I’m particularly interested in the references to the mysterious stranger who
washed up near Abersford and is cutting quite a swath around St. Sidryn’s and
now farther afield. Sounds like something out of a child’s story.”

“True,
but the fruits of his coming are evident here in Caernford and throughout the
province. With the Narthani stopping trade for the poppy powder, you can
understand how many would consider the ether of Kolsko an answer of prayers to
God. And all the other things he’s introduced, like kerosene. Everyone is
switching to the new kerosene lamps as soon as they’re available.”

“Yes,
it’s amazing, though I admit I’ve been too occupied to pay enough attention to
everything. But now, with the reports of the St. Sidryn’s raid, I wonder again just
who
is
this Yozef Kolsko?”

“Obviously,
you need to meet him for yourself.”

“That’s
what Abbot Sistian suggested when he was here after the raid, that I go to
Abersford and evaluate for myself this mystery person, this Yozef Kolsko.”

Maera
raised an eyebrow. “
You
should go
there
to meet
him
. Not
he
come
here
?” Her tone conveyed her surprise that the clan hetman would
consider traveling to meet a commoner who wasn’t even a clan member.

“I
have the impression Sistian is concerned that Kolsko might refuse to come.
Certainly, Sistian has cautioned me several times to remember the man is not
from Caedellium and has peculiar ideas. He also believes Kolsko is more
comfortable where he is, and I should see him in that environment first, whatever
that means. I know, it sounds odd and somehow mysterious in itself, but there
you are.”

“Well,”
she replied, “Abbot Sistian isn’t one to play games, so I’d be tempted to
follow his advice.”

“I
agree, and I’ve been thinking more and more about such a trip. Of course, that’s
not possible for a few sixdays, because I leave soon for the conclave meeting.
What I’m thinking is that since you’re always interested in rummaging through St.
Sidryn's library, you could go in my place. I might then consider a visit sometime
in the next few months after I hear your impressions.”

Maera’s
normally serious expression morphed into delight, something that lightened his
mood.

“Oh,
Father, that would be wonderful. I love Sistian and Diera dearly and haven’t
visited the abbey in over two years.”

Culich
knew Maera would devour any new books the library had obtained since her last
visit, and she was always interested in the medicant profession, St. Sidryn’s
being acknowledged as one of the best sites for medicant training and housing a
modest-sized, though influential, group of scholastics. If she had been born
into a different family, he suspected Maera might have entered either the medicant
or the scholastic order, although such a vocation was impossible, given her
family position.

“Plus,
Father, I confess I’m interested in seeing this Yozef Kolsko myself. I have had
several letters from Diera, and they often sound almost euphoric. Not just the
ether, but other pieces of knowledge Diera believes will revolutionize
treatments for illnesses and injuries. She didn’t give details, which means I’m
dying to learn more.”

“It’s
settled then,” he said. “Go ahead and plan your trip. I’ll probably be gone
three sixdays, so let’s say we plan your visit to last a month.”

The
nightmares became less frequent, although they reinforced Yozef’s trepidation about
open warfare breaking out with the Narthani. He ruminated over what knowledge
from Earth might help the islanders survive. Although he wasn’t optimistic, his
plans coalesced one evening while walking from Abersford to his house. The
darkness and the alien stars helped focus his mind, there being no way to
ignore, even for a moment, that this wasn’t Earth. He had to act to survive.

As
he walked the half-mile to his house, those stars provided the only light. The
smaller of Anyar’s two moons, Haedan, would rise soon. The larger moon, Aedan,
wouldn’t be seen until early morning. Even with both moons visible, they
reflected a quarter of Luna’s light at full phase. Compensating, more stars filled
the Anyarian night than on Earth. He could see several prominent star clusters
and the Anyar version of the Milky Way, here called the River of Stars, high in
the sky. One tight star cluster looked as though it had scores of stars, which Yozef
suspected meant it contained hundreds, with most stars not bright enough to be
seen under the blaze of their bigger brethren. Even without the moons, the star
array gave enough illumination that, once his eyes adjusted, making his way
down the roads and the paths was easy.

The
stars, the sea air drifting onshore this time of evening, and firefly-like
Anyarian insects, of which several sizes flashed yellow or green, together
often provided a reflective time in preparation for a night’s sleep.

But
not tonight. His thoughts refused to divert from the raid and future
implications, and he spoke them aloud in English, a habit he indulged in when
no Caedelli was within hearing.

“A
raid is one thing, but what if the Narthani move on the other clans with an
army? From what I can learn, the Caedelli have no direct experience with real
warfare and seem naïve. Their idea of a battle is masses of horsemen charging one
another. What would be the Narthani methods of war? If the military tactics here
are on a similar timeline to the general levels of technology I’ve seen, then
the Narthani have infantry formations, cannon, cavalry screening,
reconnaissance and pursuit, and maneuvering tactics. War is a strict
taskmaster. A mainland realm like Narthon will have developed sophisticated
tactics.

“Just
think of cannon alone. From descriptions I’ve heard, the Narthani warships
mount cannon, so their army must use them, too. What about the Caedelli? I’ve
neither heard nor seen anything about cannon.
Are
there any cannon or
cannon making on Caedellium?

“And
what about me? Lord knows, I wasn’t ready to defend myself against anyone, much
less experienced Buldorian mercenaries. There weren’t many sword or musket
fights in Berkeley. I’m lucky I survived with only the scar on my leg and the
occasional limp.

“Carnigan
didn’t joke when he handed me that spear and told me not stick him with it.”

The
volume of his voice had increased, as he continued talking out loud to himself.
He stopped, afraid to arouse the Faughns and have them wondering what was wrong
with him. However, somehow his mind had cleared. He had used the spear but didn’t
fool himself. Alone against a real opponent, he would have died quickly and in
agony. He had to accept where he was and a level of potential violence far
beyond anything he would have experienced in his old life. Worse, he had a bad
feeling the raid on St. Sidryn’s wouldn’t be the only time it happened.

He
shook his head, as if discarding conflicting thoughts and leaving clarity. No.
There it was. He’d have to learn the basics of handling weapons. Maybe Carnigan
or Denes could be persuaded to give lessons.

And
what about the islanders? He’d introduced ether, pure alcohol, kerosene, and
new soaps and papers, all from elementary aspects of chemistry. He should be
able to come up with things that go bang, like cannons, grenades, mines, and rockets.
He hoped.

Cannon

The
next morning, he hustled toward his shops clustered between Abersford and St.
Sidryn’s, eager to gather information. Cadwulf Beynom was his first target. The
eldest son of Abbot Sistian and Abbess Diera Beynom was a mathematics prodigy
who soaked up everything Yozef could remember about mathematics and was writing
a textbook Cadwulf believed would revolutionize Anyarian mathematics. He was
also Yozef’s friend and the manager of the Bank of Abersford, the B of A, as
Yozef insisted on referring to another of his innovations, the first formal
bank on the island. Yozef found him at the bank talking with two staff members.

“Yes,
I know what cannon are. I’ve seen them on ships, and Preddi City had cannon
defending the harbor to discourage pirates, but the Narthani control Preddi
now.”

“No
others?”

“Not
that I’m aware of.”

“Are
any made on Caedellium?”

“No.
Why do you ask?”

“Just
some thoughts I’ve had. We need cannon in case of more raids, or worse, but you
have to cast bronze or iron to make them.”

“Casting?
You mean like we use to make the bells for abbeys? They were all made in Preddi
City before the Narthani came. New ones aren’t possible since the Narthani took
over Preddi Province.”

Hell,
I should have thought of that. Bells and cannon! Both are casting chunks of
metal. If you can make a bell, you should be able to use the same techniques
for cannon . . . maybe
.

Yozef
left Cadwulf to his ledgers and walked to Abersford. He now knew the concept of
metal casting existed on Caedellium. He went straight to the alcohol distillery
building and found Brellen Nyfork, the Preddi who’d escaped the Narthani with
his family and now ran the alcohol and whiskey production. Brellen was working with
two other men, cleaning one of the distillation set-ups, when Yozef motioned
him aside.

“Brellen,
do you know what a cannon is?”

“Of
course. Why do you ask?”

“I
understand that none are made on Caedellium, but that bells were made in Preddi
City before the Narthani came. Did you know anything about the process?”

“No.
I daily passed by the building where they were made in Preddi City and was
inside a few times. Besides bells, they did metal work of all kinds—grills for
windows and doors, decorative grillwork, cooking pots, wagon parts, and other
smaller objects. As for the bells, I never saw how they did it.”

Yozef’s
face fell. He had expected it unlikely Brellen knew bell making but had hoped
for luck.

“Maybe
my cousin Yawnfol would know.”

“Who?”

“Yawnfol
Nyfork is also an escaped Preddi. He lives in Clengoth and worked in a Preddi
City metal shop for a few months before his family fled the Narthani. I’d ask
him about bell making.”

Bingo!

Five
days later, Yozef returned from Clengoth, accompanied by a twenty-year-old
Preddi as a technical “expert.” Although Yawnfol Nyfork had worked for the
Preddi City metalworker only two months, he had absorbed much of the basic
knowledge required for metal casting. Not that he had practical experience
casting cannon, but Yozef figured that would come with making mistakes.

A
new workshop was built near Abersford in the “industrial park” alongside Yozef’s
workshops for ether, ethanol, kerosene, papers, and soaps. Nyfork and Cadwulf
hired three more workers, and the cannon foundry began work.

The
first goal was to produce a useable swivel gun, a small cannon mounted on a
moveable stand or point to allow rapid pointing in different directions. Typically,
they were a yard long, with a bore of no more than two and a half inches, and were
used as a large shotgun to fire musket balls. While of no use against ships or
any serious shielding, they
were
effective against personnel.

To
Yozef’s frustration, he couldn’t remember the fine details of cannon making on
Earth. When his airplane had collided with the Watchers’ spacecraft, his
injuries were so severe they had used microscopic autonomous machines,
nanomachines, to help repair the injuries. They had also modified his mitochondria,
the subcellular organelles that generate energy for metabolism, to compensate
for Anyar’s heavier gravity. A side effect of these treatments was his ability
to recall sections of texts he had read. Unfortunately, the enhanced memory was
sporadic. He could recall whole chapters of organic chemistry and the
instruction manual for a strategy video game but could dredge up only a few
details on cannon making. He would advise the workers, then would have to trust
to trial and error.

After
Yozef had a session with Yawnfol and the three other workers assigned to this
new project, they decided on a two-inch bore and two-and-a half-foot barrel.
They used bronze, the alloy of copper and tin. Yozef remembered that bronze was
preferred over iron in early cannon, because iron tended to burst annoyingly
often, with less than desirable consequences for gun crews. Until they had more
experience, bronze was safer, plus the cannon firing the same charges could be
lighter than the same bore iron cannon, an advantage for both horse artillery
and manual maneuvering of the guns. The shop Yawnfol had been lured from in
Clengoth specialized in bronze products, so Yozef arranged with copper and tin
sources to obtain sufficient metal for experiments.

He
also recalled that most bronze cannon on Earth were cast as a solid piece and
then the bore drilled out. The problem was what to drill with. He assumed the
best option would be drill bits of the hardest iron possible. However, since
Yawnfol had explained how bells were cast hollow, Yozef figured they would try
a single-step cast, and then any drilling would be to smooth out imperfections in
the barrel’s bore. To hold the position of the bore, the mold would be placed
vertically and a hard-baked clay cylinder positioned inside the mold where the
bore would be. They poured molten bronze into the mold, and when cooled, the
clay center was drilled out. Next, they assessed, if the bore were centered in
the barrel, by inserting a wooden rod the diameter of the bore into the barrel,
any significant slanting of the bore could be seen by rolling the barrel and
noting whether the rod stayed in approximately the same angle. If not, they’d melt
down the barrel and recast.

Although
Yozef cringed at the whole process, it worked. If the bore was uniform, a crude
iron bit drilled the bore’s internal surface reasonably smooth. They then drilled
a vent in the closed end of the barrel to allow firing, and the barrel clamped
to an immovable block to test-fire. They decided that if a barrel didn’t rupture
after ten firings, they would assume success.

It
sounded simple and
was
, in principle. Performance of the simple was the
problem. The twenty-fourth cast produced the first swivel barrel to survive
mounting on a carriage. The second success came eleven casts later, the third on
the next seventh cast, and after the fourth they were successful half of the
time.

Yozef
planned on eventually casting 12-pounder cannon—field pieces firing twelve-pound
projectiles: round shot, two-inch grapeshot, or canister-holding musket balls—the
standard cannon for Napoleon’s armies and modified versions used by both sides during
the U.S. Civil War. The first dozen 12-pounder casts were such disasters, they
gave up and tried 9-pounder barrels, with no better results.

They
moved to 6-pounders, which Yozef remembered were used effectively by the United
States in the Mexican War of 1846–1848 and in the U.S. Civil War as horse
artillery–cannon mobile enough to accompany cavalry units.  Anything smaller
wouldn’t be appreciatively better than the swivels his foundry already produced.

By
the twenty-eighth pour, no 6-pounder bronze barrel was successful. Although Yozef
thought they could eventually work through the problems, instinct told him time
was running out for testing, with rumors and reports of increasing incursions
into clan territories, and a new Preddi escapee detailing large-scale movements
of combined infantry, cavalry, and artillery. If the Narthani moved soon, the
only cannon Yozef and his men had produced were the swivel guns.

The
next problem was how the swivels would be used in field operations and not just
in fixed defense. They had to be mobile. In his overconfidence that they would
succeed in producing 12-pounder cannon, Yozef had assigned a crew of carpenters
and blacksmiths to make carriages and limbers with two and four spoked wheels,
respectively. The two-wheeled carriage mounted the barrel on a crosspiece with
bronze nubs, trunnions, on each side of the barrel, allowing the barrel to tilt
up and down using a screw assembly between the barrel and the trail piece protruding
back to the ground. The limbers would hold shot, powder, and an attachment for
the gun carriage trail, and a team of six horses would pull the assembly.

A
single swivel gun mounted on a carriage meant for a 12-pounder looked both
ridiculous and of dubious impact in a field battle. Yozef had the workers mount
three swivels to a single carriage after widening the cross piece between the wheels.
An obvious problem glared with the first tests. The guns had to be reloaded and
fired rapidly to be useful. Yozef was chagrined that he hadn’t considered the
reloading procedure when mounting three swivels to a single carriage. It simply
wasn’t possible for all three swivels to be simultaneously reloaded; there
wasn’t enough space in front of the muzzles. The two outer barrels could be reloaded
at the same time, but the middle barrel had to wait for the two outer guns to
be reloaded.