Chapter 52 - A Day’s Work

Morning came like a whisper. Soft, slow, and kind. The sun showed its cheerful face, not a single black cloud was visible.

Finally, a smell better than dry bread. Just grain porridge, but still better.

Ren descended the spiral stairs of the tower. Below, Elias sat at the table, perfectly still. But his fingers drummed softly against the wood.

Ren smiled as he crossed the floor.

"Elias? What are you doing up this early?"

Elias's eyes were wide, restless.

"I heard from Tobren. You found another blueprint."

Ren pulled out a chair, sitting slow, measuring him.

"Yeah. I did."

"Let me see it!" Elias leaned forward, both hands flat on the table. "I've already memorized everything from the last one."

Ren paused, as if considering, then shook his head.

"I want to... but I can't. Not yet."

Elias blinked, confusion flickering across his face.

"Why not?"

Ren folded his arms, leaning back in the chair.

"This blueprint could shake the entire kingdom. I need to trust you first. Show me your finished work. Then we'll talk."

Elias sat back, rubbing his neck. His curiosity warred with frustration.

"Is it really that big?"

"I'm no expert. But I know how to use this one. It's complex. We'd need resources we don't have."

"How could we even build it, then?"

"We can't. Not yet." Ren's tone stayed even. "It needs far more than what we have."

Elias tapped his foot, barely able to sit still.

"I can't take it. Just tell me something. Anything."

Ren smirked, pushing his chair back as he stood.

"Alright. A hint."

"I'm listening…"

Ren crossed to his side, leaned down just enough, voice low.

"Imagine the cart... moving without a horse."

Elias froze. His mouth opened, then closed. His gaze went distant, mind spinning.

Ren straightened, already turning away.

That's enough. Let curiosity do the rest.

He joined the others for breakfast. The porridge was warm. Filling.

As he sat, he glanced around at what they'd built so far.

What started as one tent now needed three. More than two hundred people gathered here.

Ren just taking his time eating, watching, listening.

After the breakfast, Ren back to tower.

He picked up the drill, he found the same sized stones from the mountain yesterday.

He put the stones inside and lock the back panel.

Ren closed his eyes.

Please work…

He pressed the drill.

Then—

It worked. The runes are shimmering faintly.

Tobren come in after hearing the drill sound.

"Is it worked?"

Ren looked towards the entrance. "Yes, bring this. We continue the water."

"Got it."

Not even a minute after tobren left, this time Sera is coming.

Sera approached. "Ren. The drill working?"

"Thankfully yes. It worked."

Sera take her chair. "Okay we can continue the water. By the way, I need driver and wagon. I'm heading to the capital."

That made him turn.

"So soon? What's happened?"

"No problem. I want to bring my acquaintances here. The ones I told you about."

He raised a brow.

"And what are you offering them? There's not much here yet."

Sera smiled, tilting her head slightly.

"The ring. The hammer. The stone. The tunnel. And you say that's nothing?"

"Ah... fair enough. Ask Fera, she knows Becca best."

"Can I leave now?"

"Now? Right now?"

"Yes."

Ren sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"We just finished our trip yesterday, and you going again?"

"I'm going."

"Alright. Take care."

She waved without looking back toward the tower door.

***

The sun fell. The camp quieted, it was quite cold.

At dinner, Ren's thoughts drifted.

The spy...

After the meal, he found Tobren, gestured toward the tower.

Tobren received the messages. He followed Ren into the tower.

As usual, Ren took the edge, single seat. Tobren was on his right.

"What is it?" Tobren asked, leaning on the table with both elbows.

"That spy. Is he in the tent now?"

Tobren shook his head. "No. not seeing him since morning."

Ren exhaled slowly, fingers drumming once on the table's edge.

"So, he really was a spy."

"No proof. But that's my guess."

"Any idea who sent him?"

Tobren frowned, rubbing his chin. "Could be south. Could be Central. North's close enough too."

Too many guesses. No sense chasing shadows.

"Forget it for now. Let's focus on what we can control."

Tobren nodded once.

"Find Elias. Tell him I have something for him."

Ren went upstairs, grabbed his notebook.

By the time he came down, Elias was already pounding toward the door, breathless.

Ren placed the notebook on the table, flipped to a clean page, and sketched.

A cylinder. A spinning blade. Water's flow.

"This," Ren said. "A centrifugal pump. The motor spins the impeller. That throws water outward, builds pressure, pushes it through the pipe."

Elias leaned in, tracing the lines, lips moving as he imagined it.

"This will work?"

"It works. I can't give you the math. But the design works."

"For the well?"

"For the well. The fields. No more hauling buckets. The motor from blueprint you've learned, it does the work."

Ren tapped the notebook. "I want this to change everything here. And I think you can build it."

Elias began pacing again, muttering to himself, already lost in the design.

"I'll need good metal. Blades strong but light. A new motor housing. But yes, I can do this."

Ren smiled faintly.

"Then let's start."

"Make me a list," he said. "Tell Tarn and Mikkel to to Ironpeak at first light."

Elias grabbed parchment, scribbled fast.

"Sheet metal. Brass if we can. Steel if not. Bearings. Copper wire. Tight pipe fittings. No leaks."

Ren give some gold coins to him. "First light."

"With you behind it," Elias said, "we'll make it work."

"One step at a time."

Ren leave them on the table.

He climbed the circle stairs, going to the bedroom.

Ren leaned back in his chair, alone. Then he pressed his chest.

Today should have felt easier.

There is nothing beyond control, what happens in this village every day is still the same.

But something wouldn't let him rest.

The spy? The drill? The water? The hammer...?

The hammer.

If someone could wield that power... what kind of enemy they fought?

The thought lodged in his chest like a stone.

Some answers, he knew, couldn't be found just by thinking.

And that... left him uneasy.