Things were starting to look up. We were working on a secure base and food wasn't going to be a problem, thanks to the fertile land, and those nuts, that did turn out to be edible after being processed. Looking at my new bodyguards' bows reminded me of something, and I had the young inquisitive carpenter brought over.
"Hey Aramid, why did your mentor look so angry when I was talking to you? Was it just that I addressed you before the more experienced folk?"
"Yes my lord, and he doesn't like that I ask too many questions." He replied, with a grimace on his face.
"Hmm. I personally think that's a useful trait. How about you become my personal carpenter? I have projects in mind that will require a keen mind. Someone who doesn't just repeats the way things have always been done, but tries out new approaches. Not so much that you never finish the job, mind you." I warned.
He nodded, smiling in embarrassment. Over-optimization was the bane of many an engineer.
I drew the bow magazine from memory, which made Lothar raise his eyebrows, as he figured out it's purpose.
"Like what you see, hunter?" I asked. "It will more than double your rate of fire, and let you hold your bow drawn practically forever."
His eyes almost popped out in response, making me chuckle.
"Here's your first project, Master Aramid. It's a fairly simple construction. Work with my bodyguards to test and refine the prototypes, and remember, it's to be kept secret at all costs." He nodded emphatically and I handed over the plans to him. The giddy man held the drawings gingerly, as if they were a sacred artifact.
Even with hundreds of man-hours of labor available everyday, it took more than a week to dig three hundred fourteen meters (1030 feet) of deep foundation, thanks to a lack of proper tools. At the same time, the strongest and most skilled people cut down, processed and transported fifty of the biggest trees to the construction site.
Meanwhile, I worked with the craftsmen on refining the paper production method and let my body recover.
Once I was well enough to walk for a few hours, I began a tour of the valley, to find out what other resources were available to us.
We started at the eastern mountain range and headed towards the sea. The mountains melted into the heavily forested area two hundred meters before the sea, through which the refugees had entered the valley. The forest came to an abrupt end at the cliffs by the shore. We named the forested stretch East Gate, as it was the only way to enter the valley from the east.
Instead of delving deep into the dense forest, we approached the shore and began walking along it, towards the other end. The shore turned out to be around five kilometers long, the valley's widest part, and somewhat craggy. The only large beach we found surrounded the estuary of our river, Mara, which formed a bay. Still, there were multiple spots where people on boats could land, which worried me.
As we approached the other end, I was delighted to see the other mountain range extending into the ocean. The mountains at the end might be only worn down stubs, covered in vegetation, but they were still hard to traverse, fother-mucking mountains. No way any large group of people could enter the valley through that route rapidly, or without being seen. I named it West Point.
I decided to build several hidden observation posts at both ends of the shoreline and at intervals of a kilometer each in-between, to keep an eye on any ne'er do wells who would try to disturb the cradle of our civilization. The Steward would whine about me assigning thirty or so men to the job, but our security was non-negotiable.
As we neared the mountains, I noticed their stone was gray in color. I hit it with a pickaxe, exposing chalky white rock. I suppressed my excitement by steadying my breath and crushed a bit of freshly exposed rock into powder by grinding it between two rocks. I then poured some vinegar, which I had brought in anticipation of this very moment, over it, and it, began, sputtering.
"Is this? It is! LIMESTONE!!" I roared in triumph.
"My lord?" my confused bodyguards asked.
"Limestone, Lothar, limestone. One of the most crucial ingredients for civilization! Put it in the foundation of our palisade, and the wood will never rot! Roast it and you get lime, which is a flux for producing metal and glass. Mix lime with sand, soot and seawater, and you get concrete. Liquid stowne!"
I returned to our settlement, Cradle, happy as a clam. I arranged for the lime to be extracted, and visited Aramid. He had managed to steal a wood plank from the people working on the palisade and already built some prototype magazines.
"These look good." I said, admiring their construction.
"Thank you, my lord. I tested one myself, but couldn't hit a single target."
"Without skills, more firepower is just wasted firepower. And it takes a lot of practice to get good with a bow."
My bodyguards, the pompous asses, puffed up their chests in pride.
"Enough posturing, you lot. Start fixing them to your bows. We need to test them..." An idea struck me.
"Lothar, contact the Elders. Tell them the Supreme Leader requests their presence. That he has something special to show them."
"At once, Sire!" He replied cheekily, and went to fetch them.
While we waited for the Elders to arrive, Aramid helped the hunters attach the magazines to their bows. As soon as they were done, they loaded the mags with arrows and began testing them on dummy targets.
"Holy moly!"
"This thing's amazing!"
"I'm three, no, four times as fast!"
"I can hold the bow drawn forever! Nothing's going to escape me now!"
"You definitely need it, Sir Miss-a-lot."
"Hey! That was only in the early days! I got good faster than you!"
The Elders arrived with Lothar, with Elder Hyde not bothering to hide his annoyance.
"Elders! Welcome!"
"Supreme Leader, you have something to show us?"
"Yes. When you gave me that title, I promised you that I would help you develop a powerful military. Well, we have taken the first step. Let me show you our new weapons."
While the hunters loaded the magazines, Lothar whispered in my ear, "Was it necessary to antagonize them by summoning them here on such a short notice?"
"Yes." I said, as the hunters took aim. "Just wait and see."
They eagerly and repeatedly hit their targets, turning them into pincushions within seconds. I turned around to see the Elders standing still and slack-jawed, while staring at the targets.
"Okay, I get it. That was quite a display." Lothar conceded.
"I think I have sufficiently demonstrated my usefulness and established my authority. This display should wipe out any opposition they would have to my more unconventional ideas."
He seemed unconvinced. "If they are military matters, yes, but don't be too confident about other fields."
I smirked in response. He was right, of course, but I had just begun.
"Continue making more, Aramid. I would like to see all the hunters and their apprentices equipped with them within a fortnight." I told the carpenter.
"Are we going to need them soon?" he asked fearfully.
"Hopefully not," I said. "But better to have and not need, than to need and not have, right?"
Everyone around us nodded in response.
"There is that band of brigands that had a hideout this side of the Bog, who might arrive at any time, and I wouldn't put it past Count Zock to send soldiers to harass us further." I added.
Things might look peaceful at the moment, but you could never rely on them to stay the same. Especially not when we were as weak as we were. So we received the Elders' congratulations and went back to work. There was more land to explore and more weapons to be built.