The last couple of days were full of me locking myself in the library whenever I was not busy training the troops and reading up on magic, this world's tactics and studying the geography of this region. Yesterday evening we received some fascinating news - a brigand camp has been spotted in a cave system someway North of the main tract. We don't yet have confirmation but it seems to be the most active group, the very same one that attacked us on the road when Gurthan was leading me to this country, which, coincidentally, is designated as the biggest threat to the region. Liyanne listened to an early stage of a plan I came up with and admitted it might be worth a try, so the soldiers were mostly busy gathering supplies, which cut training sessions a little short and finally gave me a moment of much needed respite. The whole gig was just too much for me. Liyanne insisted I train with each soldier personally but I managed to create a census by which I can judge their abilities and way of fighting, creating several smaller groups to streamline the process a little. This way I can train five or six soldiers with roughly the same fighting style and individual skill at once, which is more manageable since I'm used to teaching eight people at once already. What proved harder was keeping track of everything. That, however, was easily solved by me running a registry of everyone's skills, regime, progress and everything else I might need. The first few days were hectic but now it's all going fairly smoothly. That doesn't make it any less tiring, though.
As such, as soon as I could get a moment for myself, I found a hidden spot in the gardens by the castle walls and hid there, laying on the grass in the shade of a big tree. I tried clearing my head but doubts and concerns were flooding in any chance they got. I know I came up with the strategy we're gonna use but I'm still not confident in my knowledge of this world's combat sense and magic's ability in a fight like that. Additionally, I'm to join the troops at the front line. Liyanne was strongly opposed to that but I'm a rather proud person, so fighting alongside my troops fits me much more than cowering in the back. I know that me dying out there won't do anyone any good but there's still a lot I had to learn and that was the quickest and best way to do it. And the main thing I had to learn...
... was to kill.
I moved my offhand to the hilt of the sword on my hip, brushing it with my fingers and hesitating to take hold of it. I can fight but I've never killed anyone nor did I ever expect to need to kill someone at any point in my life. I understand that this is something I will eventually have to do. This is just what this world is. But understanding something and coming to terms with it are two completely different things. Of course, I could swap my weapon to something like a mace and aim to immobilise or knock the opponent out cold instead. This way, if they die, I can just blame it on poor luck. But still, I know I'll have to learn how to kill sooner or later, I already accepted that... it's just the matter of pulling the trigger.
-Are you having second thoughts?
The sound of Mearyl's voice startled me but nowhere near the point to cause me to bolt upwards in shock or panic, as she might have been hoping I would. I turned my head towards her and, seeing her slightly troubled expression, I gave my best attempt at giving her a reassuring smile. Encouraged, she walked up closer and eventually sat down besides me, looking in the distance but keeping me in the corner of her eye.
-Where did you get the idea from, Mearyl?
-I just figured. Whenever you were talking about your world, it always sounded peaceful, so I thought that this whole bandit fighting business is probably a completely new experience for you.
I let out a sigh. We started talking about our respective worlds over breakfasts, which I usually ate slightly later than the rest of the castle occupants. Mearyl, who generally had no duties at that time, kept me company. It is true that I usually portrayed my world as this ideal place with close to no worries because, frankly, that's the life I had. But...
-My world hasn't been such a paradise, though.
-Huh? What do you mean?
Mearyl tilted her head, her face betraying a mix of surprise and curiosity at my sudden declamation. I shifted my gaze towards the sky, leaning back a bit as I supported myself on my elbows, thinking how to phrase it best.
-Well, in short, our history was not just stained by wars and bloodshed, it was basically written by it. Even at the time when I was alive, there were constant conflicts fuelled by nothing but monetary greed, ambitions of one man or some other messed up reason like that. I just happened to live a life in a country that was on the side-line of all that, although if I had joined the military... Still, it is correct that even walking down the street I never feared for my life, health or even my possessions. Robberies and such were so uncommon that they might have as well not existed for me. I know life wasn't like that for many in my world, though, just like it isn't here. Yet still, even if I know that it is something relatively normal here, that I'm doing it to protect myself and those around me... killing someone still scares me somewhat.
-Then why are you pushing yourself to do it?
I sat up and looked at her. I opened my mouth but closed it immediately. Second attempt at speaking turned out to be more successful.
-So that I won't hesitate when it truly matters. Like I said, I'm aware of the reality I'm living in now. I can't be so casual and nonchalant with my style of life, I have to face the risks and challenges. For that reason, for myself and all those I am to protect, I need to learn how to kill. I have to get accustomed to this feeling so that it won't deter me when someone's life may really depend on whether I’m able to do it or not.
We sat like this for a moment while Mearyl was going through what I said over in her head. I gave her the time she needed, somewhat curious about her response, but I could have never prepared for the warm smile she gave me a few seconds later.
-You're a kind person, Edward. You're even willing to go against the morals and norms you were used to until just recently so that you can protect us. With that kind of resolve and determination, I have no fear of putting my life in your hands. While your heart might still weaver now, when it matters, I know you'll be able to make the right choices.
I haven't replied immediately, completely caught off-guard by her response. After a moment of awkward silence, I just burst into laughter.
-Aye. I've got an obligation to fulfil, if anything else. Still, I'd expect a speech like that from Liyanne but it's a bit strange coming from you.
-The princess and I have been close friends for years now, it's only natural we share some qualities. Besides, I might not be as religious as her but I am at least as much as anyone else, so I think I can still preach a little here or there.
-Alright, alright, I get it, you can stop now, or I'll never hear the end of it. Still, thanks. Talking to you and hearing you encourage me helped me gather some more resolve.
-That's the least I can do for our Hero. But if there's anything more...
-Okay, that's enough, I should be getting back to work. The next group of soldiers should be ready for their training soon.
I stood up and stretched, deciding not to fall for her teases. She didn't seem amused but let out a short sigh and stood up as well. With a short bow, she turned around and started walking towards the castle. I followed her shortly after. Still, talking to her really did boost my confidence quite a bit. Well, there was nothing to worry about, it was still at least a couple of days before we will attack the bandits. I still had plenty of time to come to terms with myself. For now, I had more important matters to attend to, like the training of the soldiers. They'll be doing most of the fighting anyway, so they need to be in top form. Training them up is also a way of protecting them, after all.
Returning to the courtyard, I found the five soldiers already gathered. I pulled out my notes and confirmed which group it was and what their role in the upcoming battle was. Seeing they belonged to the archer squadron made me want to reconsider and go back to the park. I wasn't great with a bow and knew even less about the theory of it but they still insisted I supervised them in their training. I consulted my notes again after exchanging a short greeting with my “students".
-Last time we were focusing on posture and on a proper draw, is that correct?
-Yes, Sir!
-One of you mentioned something about a certain bow Skill, do I remember it right?
-Yes, I did.
I took a look at the somewhat small and feeble soldier in front of me. He was younger than me, seemingly barely an adult in terms of my world's common sense, a rare exception in this region's military. Most soldiers were at least a few years older than me. That was because the majority of them came from a civilian organisation with a pretty ordinary name, the Town Watch, after serving in it for a few years and getting a good reputation. This young man, apparently, was helping his father, who was a Town Watcher and an adventurer, since he was just a kid. He used to assist in general preparations and was getting a lot of training in the meantime. That’s why he was accepted into the official military so quickly and without many issues.
-Okay, show it to me.
The youngster nodded and took a stance. He drew the bow at about half strength and tilted it sideways. The tip of the arrow started glowing a little with an unnatural, grey light. He held it like that for a moment before pulling the string back a little more and suddenly releasing it. The arrow shot towards the target and pierced into it to a similar depth as one shot from a fully drawn bow would. I walked up and investigated it up close for a few moments, scratching my chin as I analysed what I just saw.
-Greater punching power at the cost of speed and, consequently, the range of the projectile. I understand that the waiting time is mandatory as well? In that case it isn't even very viable in close quarters either.
-I'm not the best at it but I saw some archers who could get a lot more power into it.
-Sheer magical power? Or were they using special bows or arrows for it?
-No, Sir, just sheer Skill strength.
-So it's not uniform either, huh?
I thought about the potential methods of increasing the draw power while maintaining all of the elements of the Skill. One was to use compact bows instead of longbows but since magic was so prominent in this world, straight bows replaced most projectile weapons and specialised equipment was rare if not completely unheard of. The only ones I've seen so far were shortbows used for hunting and longbows used by auxiliary troops in case the spellcasters ran dry on mana or if the enemy had some anti-magic defences. Those guys were even raising eyebrows at the idea of throwing axes or javelins at the enemy.
-So, the activation condition is that your bow is placed horizontally, not vertically, is that correct?
-Yes, Sir. I cannot activate it if the bow is held straight up. It also has to be at around half of the maximum draw.
-Do you have to shoot it in that position as well?
-Well… I’ve never tried doing it differently and haven’t seen or heard about it…
-There. Try activating it again but just before releasing, push the bow up straight and try to get a full draw.
The soldier looked at me a little unsure but nodded and drew the next arrow. From what I understood about Skills, the activation mechanisms are supposed to just pop into your head when you acquire the Skill. It's not like magic that requires specific formulas and activations that can be passed down or even written down and used by basically whoever has the magic capacity to do so. The affinity for certain types of magic only boosts the effect of the spell or lowers its required mana consumption. Skills, on the other hand, while often also utilising mana, are more similar to special moves I've seen in many action movies and beat-them-up games. It is possible to learn them by harsh training and guidance from someone who has mastered the Skill but it's a fairly rare occurrence. Some Skills also "unlock" themselves after certain conditions are met. It's a whole weird game-esk system that even the residents of this world don't fully understand, which makes it extremely difficult for me to work with. Properly understanding it should be my priority right alongside figuring out magic, as soon as I have some time to do research about it. Figuring this stuff out should greatly help my actual students as well, after all… once we figure out how to keep in touch more easily.
The archer activated his Skill and with a deep breath, straightened the bow and pulled the string back. The glow on the tip of the arrow started to quickly fade away and was completely gone by the time he released.
-No, it doesn't work.
-I'm not so sure myself.
The kid and all the other soldiers looked at me surprised as I continued to scratch my chin thinking about what I just saw. Noticing their glances, I figured I owed them an explanation on what has intrigued me and what they, apparently, failed to notice.
-You see, the glow on the arrow didn't disappear instantly. This might mean that the Skill is only pouring a certain amount of mana into the arrow that slowly fades away after the Skill deactivates. I would like you to shoot once or twice more, I need to confirm something. If I'm right, it should still be possible to fire at full draw, just perhaps with not as much power to the Skill. Using different arrows could, potentially, also boost the effectiveness of it, although that would require further experimentation. The former alone would still prove greatly beneficial and, if correct, could even be implemented into... Ah, sorry, I’m getting slightly ahead of myself here. Please, if you could use that Skill normally once again? I just need to confirm something.
Seeing my enthusiasm about some apparent finding he likely couldn't figure out for himself, the young soldier agreed to show the Skill one more time. And then again. And another time, this time taking longer to release the arrow. From all those tests, I managed to observe that the glow of the arrow was fading away as it was airborne, although on such a short distance, it was difficult to observe it properly and I couldn't just have him shoot over the wall and risk hitting someone on the other side. Still, this confirmed what I was looking for.
-It's far from a scientific conduct but I'm starting to be positive about one thing - you're storing mana into the arrow which then starts dissipating, or is already doing so from the start. This means there's both a limited amount of time for the full draw and the flight time, both of which would extend if we could somehow limit how much mana is sipping out or increase the amount that can be stored into the arrow, or by some other way... Do you guys have a crossbow?
The sudden, excited question startled the soldiers who zoned out while I was rumbling under my breath. Now, they were looking at one another confused. This has already given me all the answers I needed but I still waited to hear the inevitable question:
-What is a… crossbow?
-A bow, usually a metal one, attached horizontally to a perpendicular plank with a trigger mechanism which, as a whole, allows to hold the bolt, a specially made, short arrow, at draw without any strain on the user and to launch it at great speed and power.
Once again, the soldiers exchanged confused glances. I sighed and didn't wait to hear that they never heard about a device like this. It was written all over their faces.
-Is there some sort of a weaponsmith or inventor in this town that could be up for a little engineering challenge?
-You should probably ask one of the maids, Sir, they know the ins and outs of various shops better than us.
-Or maybe the princess or even the king himself will know? I certainly never heard of anyone who would want to invent weird things.
-I don't want to bother the royal family like this, although I'm sure the king would be ecstatic about this nifty little weapon design. I guess I'll ask Mearyl about it later. Well, that's enough special training for now, we'll pick it up once I have something to run more tests on. For now, back to quick draw training.
The soldiers, who were getting a little lax from the casual conversation and likely hoped to hook me up on a topic I found particularly interesting and skip class time this way, suddenly sprung at attention and quickly got into their respective firing positions, hoping I’ll cut them some slack in punishment tasks later if they are on good behaviour now. I knew those tricks about distracting the teacher all too well myself. I was a student too, and a curious one at that, so I also did it plenty of times, although for a different reason. Stories people can tell sometimes are just wiser and more interesting than what the textbooks have to offer. Because of that, I was a little more harsh with them than usual.
After the training had concluded, I managed to seek out Mearyl relatively quickly, as I knew she would be helping around the kitchen preparing lunch for the royal family around this time of day. She was in the middle of setting the table so, fortunately, she had some time to answer my question.
-Someone willing to craft an unorthodox weapon for you? That's an odd request, should we be worried or rather excited?
-It's to enhance the effectiveness of our troops and help me test some theories about the Skills and how to better utilise them.
-Hm, there was this one old dwarf... He should be living in the outskirts of the town.
-Could you lead me there? I still don't know the town too well, I might have a hard time finding his workshop solely on instructions.
-I would love to but, sadly, I have my duties to attend to.
-Yeah, figured. Guess I'm gonna ask the king to assign me a guard to escort me there. I might ask for some patronage for the project too, so I don't have to pay from my own pocket. It’s for his army, after all. And my pockets are fairly empty, too.
-The king should currently be in his study. I assume you will not be joining us for dinner then, correct?
-If the king agrees, I'd like the project to be under way as soon as it can be. So I might be eating it cold today.
Mearyl let out a dissatisfied sigh but nodded, bowed gently and returned to the kitchen while I made my way upstairs, to meet with the king. I explained to him the general concept of crossbows, together with the various advantages they pose over regular bows, and he seemed thrilled by the idea. It wasn't particularly surprising, for the old man he was, he seemed extremely interested in the technologies and solutions from my world. He clearly believed that this is what this country needed most to prosper and I kind of agreed with him. With limited manpower, technological advances and automation just seem as natural next steps towards prosperity and expanding influence. Too bad that the most I could do for them is to present a simple concept of the idea. I couldn't explain all the complicated processes behind them to the people here because not only they would likely have a hard time understanding it, I did so too. And that's when I actually knew how something worked. For most stuff, I had absolutely no idea what intricate processes were required to make them work. That's why I also wanted to learn as much as I could about magic and various ways to shape it. With things like runes, stones capable of capturing a specific spell or element and releasing them once mana is being poured into them, some mechanisms might be modified or even constructed from scratch to replace the complicated mechanisms and systems with something those people might be more familiar with, or at least have an easier time understanding the logic behind them and pushing them towards figuring it all out themselves. At least the crossbow doesn't require any fancy magic manipulation, the blacksmiths here should even be able to do the basic trigger mechanism for it. And if not, I know I can make a rudimentary system for concept demonstration and we can move from there.
So when I explained, as simply as possible, what needed to be explained, while adding a short mention that it might be possible to upscale crossbows to create ballistas for both defensive and offensive use on fortifications, the king handed me a pouch full of money to use as payment for the development and construction of a prototype. When I asked about the dwarf, the king nodded his head for a moment, thinking.
-There was one like that. A bit of an odd fellow but a good person at heart. I am sure you will find a way to talk to him, though.
-I'll try to manage. Where can I find him? Mearyl said he lives somewhere in the suburbs but I am not yet familiar with that region.
-I think he recently moved closer to the main square and opened a small shop there. I remember giving him a trading permit some time ago. It should be on the road leading off the south-east corner of the main square.
-Well, I should be able to find him with that. Thank you, my liege.
-No, no, Edward. Get us that crossbow thing and we all might be thanking you instead.
I decided to not argue and simply bowed my head and left the room. With directions, I headed out into town. I visited it a few times over the past couple days, mostly while forcing the soldiers to do endurance runs, so most people got used to me being here already. Those who spotted me, usually moved aside with a certain degree of respect, almost as if I was part of the royalty myself. Well, "officially" being an envoy and staying at the castle manor probably put me on a similar standing, so it was understandable, to a degree. It still felt a bit odd and it made it difficult to approach anyone. Not like I was looking for friends but most of the soldiers, while they enjoyed fooling around like anyone else, were still treating me with respect you can only show someone distant, someone standing way above you. They drew a line between themselves and me, so I was stuck with Mearyl and Liyanna as the only people who approached me relatively casually. One more so than the other, which could be annoying at times as well, but I won't complain. I’m just glad to have some company at all.
I stopped and looked up at the blue sky, which was gradually hiding behind grey clouds. Seems like it will be raining soon. I've been told that the storms in the Frontier can be really rough. So far the weather has been fairly pleasant and unoriginal, unlike what I’ve been told, but I fully believe the stories I’ve heard. Let's hope it doesn't escalate too much in the coming days either, I wouldn’t want to conduct military operations in conditions completely unfamiliar to me.
For a moment I wondered how things were going for the other Heroes. If I were to guess, they're probably not stuck training troops but are experiencing various adventures and are leading a fun and exciting life. Not like I'm complaining about my stay here but I hope that once this region stabilises a bit more, I'll be able to travel the world and meet up with them. Sadly, there was no form of fast communication in this world and the mail service here, in the Frontier, was terrible at best, so I couldn’t keep in touch with any of them. The only exception has been Lucas, as Gurthan had to send a message to the Holy Alliance, he proposed to include a letter from me as well. I’m still waiting for a response, though.
I continued on, exiting the market square through the road the king mentioned. The shop in question turned up relatively quickly. If it wasn't for the sign with a hammer striking a gear, I'd probably not even notice it in a row of the dense housing. I stopped by and looked through the window. The shop seemed oddly dark inside. Was it closed? And how was it this dark in there if it was still only afternoon now?
With a deep breath I knocked on the door. As I did that, they swayed ajar a little. Seems like they weren't properly closed. After a short moment to think this over, I pushed them open and stepped inside, making sure they don't shut close behind me but stay in the same position I found them in. The inside of the room was extremely gloomy. The low light made it difficult to see but it still wasn't hard to distinguish that all tables and displays had drapes over them. Seems like the dwarf was closing the shop.
-Hello? I'm looking for an inventor!
-If ya want another bloody quick-assembly cart, I'm out. Bugger off!
The clearly annoyed voice came from the back of the shop, preceded by the sound of several metal objects hitting the ground and a barrage of what seemed like curses in a language I couldn't understand.
-No, I have a project I would like designed and built. And money to back it up.
-No, I'm not developing a new rake or whatever.
-It's a weapon, a crossbow. A bow tha-
-Wait!
As I was cut off, the sounds of even more metallic objects being thrown around erupted from the back room. Soon after that, heavy footsteps drew gradually nearer, until a bulky man with a long and thick beard came out the back door. He was taller than most dwarf depictions from common high-fantasy stories but was still relatively shorter than an average man. He hit some panel on the wall and suddenly the room lit up with several wall-mounted candles, a sight at which my jaw dropped.
-No way in hell...
-Yes way in hell. Now, what was that ya wanted, a weapon?
-Just one second. That switch on the wall, could it be some magic rune stone set to ignite the candles?
-Aye. Yar not that stupid, eh? It might be complicated to set up, tho.
-I can imagine, from what I read, magic runes are difficult enough to create, it's probably even tougher to work with them. I'm impressed. Was that your design?
-Aye, t'was. But I ain't buldin' one fer ya.
-Shame. Anyway, the crossbow. I want a very specific weapon designed, one that will increase the strength of our archer battalions.
-Ah, yar that kid from the Alliance, aye? I'd love to help the king but I want nothin' doing with you, bloody purists. So bugger off.
-Can you keep a secret?
-Eh? What's that about?
-Can you or not?
-Depends on the secret.
-You can ask the king for confirmation later but I'm not actually with the Holy Alliance. I probably wouldn’t be speaking with you if I were, right? I won't go into detail now but those guys did me, and a number of my friends, wrong. So I have no respect nor loyalty for them. Quite the opposite, really. I’m working with Gurthan to repay him for his help while I prepare to take my revenge on those church bastards.
The dwarf sized me up. He sure didn't seem convinced. I let out a sigh.
-Hear out my idea, at least? If you're an inventor at heart, and I can see you are one indeed, you might like it. And if we strike a deal, that won't be the only thing I'll come to you with. I've got a couple interesting things that ought to bring this country into a new industrial age and just imagine all those machines having your name on them.
The dwarf sized me up one again, frowning. He seemed like he’s about to spit but then realised he’s inside his own shop and reconsidered, letting out a sigh in turn.
-Okay, you caught my interest, kid. But I’m only doing it for the king and his army, not for ya, gotcha? So let's hear about that weapon of yours then, shall we?
I smiled to myself. The toughest part was behind me. Given how quickly that dwarf changed his tone when he heard about designing a weapon, there is no way he will not be interested in the challenge I have for him.
