The Mechanical Era

The sun was just beginning to set, entering the day into the night. It was all silent, with the only thing making noise is the sound of the river flowing, and the crew chatting and working. In the middle of the river sailed three ships, all made of strong oak wood, all fitted with giant white sails to catch the wind to allow them to move across the river.

On the decks lay bags upon bags of cement powder, pending arrival at its location. Oswald stood on the top wooden deck of the ship leading the 2 behind him. In both his hand, he held a wooden monocular he held up to his eye. In the distance, he can see the great towers of the church cathedral, dominating the city skyline.

"We are getting closer boys!" Oswald calls out to his crew. It had been a long few weeks for everyone. They have been tasked with bringing a new product called cement powder to the city of Albersterg from Hoverdam.

The ships closed their sails near the docks. There a small wooden boat, rowed by only 2 men, came over to help guide the ship to safe harbor. Once the ships were docked, a bridge staircase was brought over, helping Oswald and his crew to get down to land.

Oswald, wearing his black wool coat, blue trousers, and leather shoes came down the harbor. There were many ships present like his. He turned around to see his crew carry the cement bags and place them on a cart guarded by knights.

"Oswald, you made it!" Oswald turns out to be a man about his age, wearing a coat like his. Except he was daisy white instead of black like Oswald. He had medium-long hair combed back, possessing green eyes with gold flecks. His face was near the shape of a diamond, giving him a strong jawline.

Oswald smiled when he saw him. He instantly recognized who this man was. He held out his hand, and the two shook.

"How is it going, Jac Pratt?" Oswald says.

"Good! Good! How was your journey? I hope you didn't get into any trouble did you?" Jac asked.

"It was smooth sailing my friend," Oswald replied.

"I got your letter just the day before yesterday. You don't usually come down with your crew to sell shit."

"Indeed."

"So why did you come down?"

"Solley to chat with you, my friend. Along with all the others." Oswald replied.

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"Ah, I see. So you met up with that prince huh?"

"I sure did."

"Tell me. How is he?" Jac asked. This moment was a good opportunity for Oswald, who can carry out the other task Kant requested.

"Quite a stellar fella I say. He seems to understand our struggles." Oswald replied.

pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ "Struggles?" Jac asked, confused.

"Well, do you know how we hate we can lose all our money if we dare make a bad bet?" Oswald asked Jac.

"Yes. I do." Jac replied.

"Well, the prince of Hoverdam has enacted some new laws, creating something called a corporation," he said. Jac got curious as to what this was.

"A corporation?"

"It's a wonderful thing. It's to limit liability. It's like a slave we own who doesn't exist physically. It's a way for us to make bets and either win it all or lose a few coins." Oswald replied.

"That truly is wonderful," Jac replied. He thought of all the possibilities of what he could do with such.

"But that's not all. There is another thing you might want to listen to." Oswald replied.

"That is?"

"Prince Kant Maybale, in the meeting, told me that he intends to invent some 'advanced machinery'," Oswald said.

"My friend, you are speaking cryptically. Please explain."

"He wants to introduce this new machinery that boosts productivity. More productively is that it could produce more goods. More goods mean..."

"More items to sell..." Jac finished for him.

"You seem to get a grip of it quickly."

"Is there more?" Jac asked.

"Of course. Though I will have to tell you some other time. It is getting late."

"Where will you sleep?"

"I thought of renting a tavern room for the night," Oswald replied.

"How about you come to my estate? You can have many more amenities all while being free of charge. You can tell me all about it." Jac offered. Oswald was a bit hesitant at first. So he asks a simple question to clarify some things.

"Can we talk about it tomorrow? I got a meeting with the king to show him how it all works." Oswald asks.

"Of course. I can wait." Jac said.

"Then I'll take your deal, my friend." Oswald accepted.

...

On the top of a bookshelf made of dark oak was a statue of an angel made of glass. It had been there for decades yet, not a single speck of dust could be seen on it. It belongs to the man standing by the large wooden window with crystal clear glass.

The man had short black hair, combed both left and right. His eyes were chocolate brown and his outfit was a purple renaissance suit. He stood in his office, with its marble times, white walls, and purple wool curtains, lit by the flames of lanterns.

He looked outside the night filled with stars in the direction of the church, the largest building in the city that dominated the city skyline. Seduced by the beauty of its architecture, and the world god had created.

His eyes filled with joy at the sight. It sort of brought him back to his past, when he was with someone, going out against his parent's wishes to go outside and stargazing with someone special to him. Yet that fantasy was not to last, as he soon snapped back into reality.

Just then, he heard the door being knocked upon. Heinrich closed the purple curtains and sat down on his dark oak table with papers, quills, and ink bottles on the best. Before he allowed whoever was on the other side to enter, he cleaned his desk a bit.

"Come in," he said as he finished tidying things up. The door opened to reveal his assistant minister, a bald man wearing a black cloak. Alongside him, was a beautiful white cat with copper eyes entering the room alongside the minister.

"What brings you here minister?" Heinrich asks. The minister comes over and sits down on the chair, while the cat touched Heinrich's legs, claiming him as her own.

"I came to inform your majesty on the cement powder." the minister replied. The cat meanwhile tried to grab Heinrich's attention. She desperately seemed to want to be a pet.

"Oh that. Well, what about it? Is it here?" he asks. The cat started meowing its displeasure. He looks down at the cat. Seeing its cute eyes, he was finally seduced to take her onto his lap.

"Yes, your majesty. The cargo has arrived in the city only two hours ago. Knights are currently bringing the luggage over to the storage room."

"That is good. I have been waiting for that thing to come for ages. When will the demonstration occur?" Heinrich asked while he pets the cat. It purred loudly in comfort in his arms with closed eyes.

"It will happen first thing tomorrow morning your majesty. Mr. Oswald Audley himself will show us how to operate it."

"What about the other things? Are they prepared?"

"In terms of the sand and water, yes they are prepared. The sand is stored in the same place we decided to keep the cement powder." the minister replied.

"And the water? How will they transport that?" he asked. The cat started to lick Heinrich's fingers with her tongue. A sign of affection a cat makes to their human slaves. Heinrich smiles at this and lets it continue.

"We decided to use barrels brought in a cart. They will be brought by the knights in the morning your majesty. You lest not worry." the assistant minister replied.

"Is there anything else?" Heinrich asked.

"Yes. The guild masters in particular." Keiron replies.

"And that is?" The white cat suddenly stops licking. She appears to have spotted something in the room and jumps down off his lap to get it.

"The Stonemason guild master and his associates are scheduled to come tomorrow to look at the cement powder being tested, as per your request your majesty."

"Is that it?" he asks. Keiron thinks for a minute before giving him an answer.

"Yes, your majesty. That is all I have for you." Keiron replied.

"Well, in that case, you are dismissed," he said. Just as the minister was about to leave, the sound of glass shattering on the ground caught both of their attention. They turned to see the broken statue of the angel, shattered into a million pieces.

On top of the bookshelf was the culprit on hand. The cat appears to have spotted something on top of the shelf, and accidentally knocked it over. Heinrich, who would usually be fuming at the cat action simply sighed.

"Get a maid to clean this up Keiron." Heinrich requested.