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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Mista9000 on 2024-10-31 19:07:30+00:00.
Synopsis:
This week an avalanche of advance alloys from underground allies abound!
A wholesome* story about a mostly sane demonologist trying his best to usher in a post-scarcity utopia using imps. It’s a great read if you like optimism, progress, character growth, hard magic, and advancements that have a real impact on the world. I spend a ton of time getting the details right, focusing on grounding the story so that the more fantastic bits shine. A new chapter every Wednesday!
**Some conditions apply, viewer cynicism is advised.*
Map of Hyruxia
Map of the Factory and grounds
Map of Pine Bluff
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*****
“That’s the whole problem with you new people—you don’t understand how much better this is than before! I mean, we didn’t even have anything like this before!” The city watchman’s white moustache flopped distractingly as he spoke, but Karruk’s professionalism kept his attention sharp.
“Aye, it’s nice! Wave Gate hasn’t anything nearly as impressive as this!” He gestured around the small tastefully appointed lookout. The two men stood behind sturdy dorf-cut stone parapets, on the top level of the coastal fort. Everything here not only looked new, but had been built in the last several months. It was so new that the smell of creosote and sawdust still lingered, even in the stiff sea breeze.
“I am just saying, I think we should make time to practise with the new ballistae, I’ve seen plenty, but none like this, and I’ve never used one! Lord Stanisk was clear, I’m here to help you, so I’m not telling, I’m asking. May I set up some training sessions? It seems prudent, it’s a complex machine!”
They slowly walked around the raised firing platform to admire the closest in a row of five new defensive ballistae. The only ones Karruk had ever seen used thick timber for the bow portion, but these were gleaming steel, an unimaginable extravagance. He didn’t make nearly enough money to afford a steel pocket knife, and here was a precision weapon that weighed as much as two or three men. Where every timber ballista bow gently curved back, these steel arms gracefully went forward first, like a steppe horseman’s bow. Gold filigree along the recurved arms glinted in the afternoon sun, and he was sure the gold was the cheapest part of it.
Such fine machines are wasted in unskilled hands!
“I don’t doubt you want to play with these new toys! But they are serious weapons! Not something to shoot empty bottles off a fencepost with!” The old-timer ran a finger along the braided steel bowstring.
How does the mage draw such pure steel as to weave with it? A wonder of industrialism! I have no idea how it’s different from hemp, but I bet it is! A tenth the thickness for one! I didn’t even know steel could be woven!
“That’s exactly what we should do! Set some target buoys, assign two or three fire teams for each weapon, and drill all day long! Normal ballistae are pretty durable, but I’ve got a feeling these can outlast the seas and mountains!”
Karruk flipped up the ladder sights. Fine red hairs were painted on the bronze plate, marking distances, with narrow slits to correct for fall-off. There was a calibration screw at the bottom, still set wide open.
“Just one day to zero these sights would make a world of difference!” Karruk said, trying not to sound like he wanted to play with the huge new toys. “I don’t think anyone in town has fired anything like this but I’ll ask around. Worst comes to it, I reckon we can puzzle it out, it’s not that different from a crossbow. But we need to practise! These things are too nice to squander!”
“Hmmph. Fine. If you file a request to your bosses for some training ammo, I bet Lord Stanisk knows how to shoot one, he was the one pushing for us to get them. Yeah, fine. We can set up a regular drill night. Maybe monthly drills? There aren’t enough town watch to run all these, so the militia oughta learn too.”
Karruk nodded. The small town had somehow gotten several different paramilitary hierarchies competing. The Count had his men, White Flame had theirs. There was the town watch which answered to the mayor, and the militia that in theory answered to the watch, but in practice was trained and equipped entirely by the mage, and swore their oaths to the Count.
To say nothing of the imperial army, which had a small legion barracks in town, but hadn’t seen a legionnaire in a generation. It was a requirement for every town to maintain such a barracks, though Pine Bluff’s was full of refugees now. That was a medium big crime, but in the scheme of things, the best solution.
“Alright, I can do that. It’ll be worth it. Also far more bolts too. Is there just one box of them?” Karruk asked.
The old timer shrugged, ”All that was here when I got here! They are something beautiful though!” His floppy moustache hid his lusty smile as he stared at the new ballistae. “Lad! Just look at ‘em! Like steel crossbows, the size of an ox-cart! Filled with fancy gears and cranks, I bet a child could fire one of these!”
“I agree, sir! I’ve served a long time, and never seen their like!”
“A long time?! Pfft! You’re all of what? Twenty? A gruelling few weeks, eh?” the watchman said as he gestured for Karruk to follow him down into the main keep.
“Hey! I was a guard in Wave Gate for twelve years! I’m nearly thirty now! Just because you were born before fire was invented doesn’t mean I’m a kid!” He hastily raised the weapon’s canvas cover and darted after his new supervisor.
“Let’s get you started on how to take an out-of-empire customs declaration, it’s important to get it right, or you’ll be drowning in amended applications. Don’t worry about the defences, kid. I’ve been a guard for far, far longer. We’ve only been attacked once. It’s fine.”
*****
“Make sure you let them know how to activate the glyphs, otherwise these are just noisy pyjamas!” The mage placed the canvas covered bundles into Ros’s arms. He glanced at Ros, the package, and the door. “I’m so sorry, I should be there, but I have to get going. I’m meeting those apprentice mages at the new academy site. I should have left ages ago! I can trust you with this, right?”
Ros nodded, trying to think up something clever to say to put his boss’s mind at ease, but the mage was already gone, hurrying down to his waiting horses and the small party accompanying him today.
The worst part of being the dorf liaison is that I for sure would have been spending the day with Mage Thippily and Stanisk otherwise. That’s where exciting things always happen. I’m just glad they both feel they can rely on us to keep the process running in tip-top shape, so I mustn’t let them down.
The bundle was quite heavy, more than bundles of clothes ought to be. And it jingled! He had a pretty good idea of what he had, and hopefully, he’d be able to explain it to the dorfs. As heavy as the load was, Ros had grown lean and strong, and carrying it down the stairs and across the yard was no hardship to him.
I shouldn’t complain about being the dorf guy, they’re great and I seem to be better at understanding them than anyone else in the guard. They’re better to hang out with than anyone I knew in my old life, and what would my mom have thought to learn that’s I’d grown up to basically be an ambassador to a whole other race!
“Hey! You’re back! How’d it go at the hive?” Eowin called from the gatehouse as he passed.
“Good, no time to talk, I got a delivery, but I’ll tell you all about it at lunch! We got back super late last night!” Ros kept his steady pace. He wanted to wave, but his arms were too full, and it was hard to keep it all balanced as it was. He worried not waving was rude; he always waved. With effort, he did a nodding bow, but Eowin had already turned his attention elsewhere.
Ros left the sturdy walls and took the smooth cobbled path to the dorf excavation. He went through the tight door, down the spiral ramp and into the main mine chamber. Even since he’d last been here, about a week ago, before his trip into the mountains, it was different. The dorf way to make high ceilings was shockingly simple, they just excavated out the floor as they went. Last time he was here he had to keep his neck bent to avoid the ceiling, and now he doubted he could touch it if he jumped. Just as well, since his hands were too full to grab his helmet.
“Hello! Any dorfs about?” he shouted.
Without an answer, he kept going deeper. It was much warmer here than the chilly fall morning on the surface, but still cooler than it had been a week ago, and the mage’s moss frames were doing a great job with the air. It smelled slightly of smoke, but no more than a cottage in the winter might, and the air was clear enough that he could see and breathe without a problem. The stone underfoot was rough, but fairly even, and the moss frames on both sides of the wide corridor cast plenty of calm green light. He could see some new side passages that hadn’t been there before. Branching out made sense, the point was to extract rock, so might as well get the ones close to the exit first.
None of the new branches had any noise coming from them, so he carried on. The entire coastal fort had been quarri…
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