Chapter 19: Autumn 876 AD - winter/spring 877AD

Scott's girls admitted they had found the experience of the battle in Fife traumatic, particularly watching the Saxons being bombarded by the trebuchets when they had nowhere to run. They had also badly missed little David who had been left behind with Hella. Scott thought to re-assure them by telling them they wouldn't have to go again, only to find himself under attack, the girls adamant that they would set an example to the other Dalriada women. It seemed to be a case of 'it's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it'.

A house was under construction for Gabrain and his new wife but in the meantime they continued to live with Scott and the girls. Gabrain and Esta had undertaken a tour of the various lordships so the people of Dalriada could see their new Queen. Esta seemed to be enjoying her new status but it didn't change her personality or how she treated people.

Scott received word from his spies in the north that Constantine was having a very hard time with the Vikings. There had been continuous raids all along the Moray coast and Inver Ness itself, Constantine's main base, had been attacked on several occasions. The Norsemen seemed to be abroad in significantly increased numbers this year and Scott next heard from Murdoch that a new contingent had landed at the head of the Tay. These must have heard of the fate of their predecessors though, and struck north rather than south into Fife. So, Constantine was being assailed on two fronts.

Scott thought it was ironic that he would have been happy to ride to the High King's aid if Constantine hadn't turned on him. Even now he thought he would be duty bound to support Constantine against the Danes if he was asked, but he couldn't imagine the High King thinking of such a course of action.

The rapes in Fife had started Scott thinking. While this might have appeared an isolated incident, he wondered what other kinds of crime might still be going on in Dalriada. He discussed with Gabrain the possibility of taking a further step towards establishing greater power for the ordinary people. His plan was to establish 'burghs' with some limited powers, a concept he didn't think came along in Scotland until around the eleventh century. He explained what he meant to Gabrain, each settlement appointing twelve men (and women!) to consider and deal with wrongdoing. Where disputes arose between settlements, Gabrain and the lords would step in. Gabrain agreed that this sounded like a useful step.

The remainder of that year passed peaceably, the food stores were full to overflowing, the children's education was coming on apace and the burghs were set up.

Scott had visited Oban to investigate progress in the development of his ideas for a steam driven ship. He found that his craftsmen had constructed the basic parts for producing and controlling the steam - the boiler - much as he had envisaged it. The development of a prop-shaft assembly to turn a propeller was proving more difficult though. Small scale versions had been made and shown to work but scaling this up brought a whole range of problems that the craftsmen were struggling to overcome. Stability was one problem - how to get a shaft that was long enough to run from the steam tank to the propeller to turn smoothly so that it didn't just rip itself from the assembly. Scott realised that some of this required precision engineering, engineering that he didn't have access to. The shaft could be shortened, but only by siting the boiler at the very rear of the ship and that would lead to issues with the trim of the ship. He left them to continue working on the issues.

His 'geologist' had been shipped over to the Low Countries and he now returned having had the opportunity to examine the different types of rock that bore various metals. Scott now had him travelling the length and breadth of Dalriada in the hope that he would find other sources to mine.

He had also let his Business Administration training rear its head again too. He had focussed on what kinds of investment made for successful companies, trying to find any angles that would help Dalriada in the ninth century. He had come up with another idea that he thought had merit - R&D, Research and Development. He planned to try and bring together particular people with particular skills and see whether they could spark off of each other to develop further innovations. As a starting point he thought he would list the various things he thought might be achievable from his own time. This was not a million miles away from what Leonardo Da Vinci had done after all. Da Vinci had produced drawings for tanks, a helicopter and who knows what else, centuries ahead of their time. If he gave his R&D people some direction; perhaps they would be able to make breakthroughs that he couldn't with his limited range of knowledge.

With no warfare to worry about, Scott threw himself into the other developments he had begun but had not progressed fully. Builders were tasked to begin to link other Inveraray houses to the sewer system and to set in train the building of a communal bathing facility and laundry for the settlement. Porcelain toilets were installed in all houses and the readily available supply of iron now also allowed him to have his smiths manufacture cooking ranges for all too.

Gabrain's apprenticeship idea was beginning to bear fruit, as more skilled labour was becoming available. More wagons had been produced and Scott had a shuttle system of longships sailing to Ayrshire to load up with coal before bringing it back to Loarne. The increasing use of wagons caused Scott to wonder about road building. The Romans had invested heavily in road building he believed and there was certainly a parallel from his own time in terms of the importance of infrastructure to the profitability of industry.

He recognised road building would require a significant investment of labour and decided to begin small and see how things went. He would use hard-core and gravel in the first instance, as he had not managed to develop bitumen and asphalt yet. He remembered the trick of using a hollow metal roller that could be filled with water to increase its weight. While empty it was relatively light and easily transported but when full it would do a good job of levelling the new road. The first road would be between Inveraray and Aird Driseig.

The last merchant ship to call at Inveraray before the snow set in brought a welcome surprise. The merchant, concerned at the potential loss of Scott's goods had gone to the trouble of making some temporary adaptations to his ship and he had transported twenty large horses, much larger than those Scott was currently using. The merchant described them as Rounceys and indicated he had traded for them in the Mediterranean. The horses were alive but looked as if they might not be for much longer - the journey and the conditions aboard ship having taken their toll.

Scott knew he could have driven a hard bargain given the state of the stock, but he wanted to encourage this merchant to try similar things in future so he didn't push as hard as he might have. In any event, he had a healthy supply of trade goods in his warehouses.

He was pleased to see that it only took a week of being on dry land and some quality feeding to see the Rouncey horses regain their condition. There were two stallions and eighteen mares, a good start for a breeding herd he thought. The beasts were magnificent; he estimated at least fifteen hands high and so big that they certainly frightened the children, and even some of the men. Scott believed they would be capable of carrying an armoured man into battle and he set his smiths to making armour for himself and for the biggest and strongest of the Rounceys. He named the horse 'Albannach' - Scotsman - and began to ride him every day so they grew accustomed to each other.

As autumn turned to winter Scott still had plenty of time to supervise the improvement projects in Inveraray. He was pleased also to have lots of time to spend with the girls and little David. The little one was now on his feet and walking, eager to investigate everything and liable to injure himself if not kept closely watched. The girls had taken to removing everything that could even be remotely dangerous out of his reach and Scott had had a simple stair gate made to stop him from climbing the stairs - or more importantly, from rolling down the stairs from the top.

David also spoke his first words just as the snows started to fall. He was walking hand in hand with Fiona when the flakes started to fall heavily and the toddler immediately started to trot towards the house, urgently pulling his mother behind him. He was obviously excited by this phenomenon and had decided he had to share it with his father. Scott was sitting at the dining table, a stack of paper in front of him as he was preparing to put some of his ideas down in readiness for sharing with an R&D group. David rushed into the room and shouted at him excitedly.

"Dada, Dada!"

Scott turned, astonished by the words. He looked at Fiona and they both grinned widely. He stood up and let the boy take his hand and drag him out of the door to stand and let the snow fall on them. David began dancing around in glee - there must just be something about snow that appeals to children. Fiona joined them and Scott put his arm around her, both of them sharing a special moment in their child's development.

Scott had set up a system of regularly exchanging pigeons with the other main settlements. He knew that a pigeon would reasonably quickly come to accept its new dovecote as its home so it really only had a shelf life of a few months before it would become useless as a messenger. Regularly changing them meant that he and Gabrain would always have this communication option open to them.

There were three further things of note that winter.

The first two involved the carrier pigeons. Scott was sitting on his balcony, well wrapped up against the cold weather and sipping a cup of coffee. Gabrain was with him but he had opted for a beaker of hot wine rather than the bitter brew, which he could still not develop a taste for. One of the men came rushing towards the house waving something in his hand above his head. It was clear that the man thought there was something that needed their urgent attention and Scott and Gabrain made their way downstairs to the door.

It transpired that the man carried a note that had been attached to a carrier pigeon. The note was from Aird Driseig and in clipped words told Scott that Lachlan's grain store had caught fire, destroying his entire stock of grain for the winter. Scott realised this was a heavy blow for the Aird Driseig camp and immediately started to consider whether it would be possible to get a ship to Lachlan with sufficient grain to see him through. Gabrain interrupted his thinking by suggesting they try to make it to Aird Driseig using a sled pulled by some of the domesticated wolves they had in the camp. Scott was doubtful about this, still sure making an attempt by ship would be an easier, and quicker, option. The waters on Loch Fyne were rough in the high winds of winter but he thought he could persuade a crew to venture out. Gabrain was insistent however, sure that a trip by sled would actually be fun and would help break up the boring winter days for them. Scott eventually agreed to give it a try.

It became obvious that Gabrain had been planning something of this nature for some time. He already had harnesses made up and other wolves materialised quickly. Scott could see that the animals had run together previously, as they seemed well co-ordinated as a team, Wolf the clear leader.

A sled was loaded up with sacks of grain and food to keep the two friends going on the trip. They loaded snowshoes and skis and dressed themselves in warm quilted clothing and Ugg boots. Many from the camp gathered to watch them set off, recognising the importance of the grain to their neighbours further down the loch.

It took Scott and Gabrain three days to reach Lachlan, their friend wide-eyed at the manner of their arrival. Indeed the whole of the Aird Driseig camp came out to watch Scott and Gabrain drive the sled through the gates and up the hill to the hall-house. Lachlan greeted them warmly, and the men and women cheered loudly, thankful for the supply of grain. Lachlan was also pleased for the unlooked for opportunity to see his friends again - while he had sent for help, he had not expected Scott and Gabrain to deliver it personally. Hot food and drinks were called for as men began to unload the sled of the precious cargo.

The signs of the fire were obvious, the grain silo all but destroyed. Lachlan had no explanation for what had happened, assuming that some stray spark from a fire had somehow ignited the structure.

They stayed for two days but once more Scott began to get morose and withdrawn, Aird Driseig and its memories crowding in on him. The journey back was much faster as the sled was unburdened. Gabrain really enjoyed himself, urging Wolf to lead the team at the run and expertly guiding the sled through the best of the snow. Scott had to admit that this was fun and he was glad Gabrain had talked him into making the trip this way.

The third thing of note was shared with the pair the night they arrived back in Inveraray - Esta informed Gabrain that she was already with child. The young King was delighted at this news and immediately demanded a feast be organised in celebration. Scott suggested they just build on this additional celebration to the St Andrew's day holiday and Gabrain thought that was a fine idea.