Chapter 14

At forty two MehrAk went rigid. KhAvar said, "I hoped you learned your lesson MehrAk. I cannot have you disobeying me and your master all the time. I am going to have to watch you all the time to make sure you do as you are told. Do you understand what I am saying?"

KhAvar's fingers were subtly rubbing MehrAk's open and very wet mons. It sounded like KhAvar was actually giving her more time to enjoy her orgasm as she went into her act.

MehrAk's eyes seemed to glow now as she looked on KhAvar. KhAvar was not that much different but tried to act like a mistress. "Pick up your clothes and get inside. We have more talking to do."

"Yes, my lady, at once, my lady."

KhAvar came over to me and said, "That tired me out. I better have my talk to her and rest a bit."

I kissed her and she shivered at the touch. I said, "You may have overdone it. Take a few hours to rest. See that MehrAk is taught a lesson. I think she maybe worth saving. Keep a very firm hand on her." I think it was then that she knew that I knew. My smile though brought her own out and she hurried into the house. When I turned around, all the men and most of the women had disappeared.

My discomfort only lasted a few minutes as I got back into bookkeeping. When this was barely started I heard some noises coming from my bedroom and they were far from pain. I had to tone down my own response again.

After hearing seven orgasms I was finished this work. I had to push my mind to work on other thoughts. I considered all the silver I owned. With a little more I could start making a generator. Copper was good but it had to be almost a 100% before it lost most of its resistance. Silver was much better at a far less purity. I had worked on this problem off and on and it should be done on the Rhine with the machine shop but I did not have one here and this is where I would be stuck for a while.

I was not an electrical engineer but I had been taught to repair military equipment by the men that did know. At the time a generator on a car or truck produced DC directly. Modern versions used a three phase alternator and a bridge rectifier to produce the same DC but at a lower rpm. I, at least, remembered what a truck generator looked like.

The best solution would be to make a dam with all the associated parts and leave room for a generator when one could be shipped here. This meant that it would be made on the Rhine but I could do some of the designing here and hope that somebody could do something with it there.

I had to deal with Constantius soon and I wanted him to come to me. Quinctius had a lot of dealings with Constantius but I did not think that piracy linked them. It was more like a way of gaining gold, and power and perhaps at the end Quinctius would 'discover' where the pirates lived and kill all of them.

There was some evidence that Quinctius was not top dog and it was still possible some other force may come here to recover the gold, and slaves or just to remove me from the equation. A third possibility existed that they may want to find a way to command me to do what they wished.

My thinking was interrupted when the house shook. The quake was fairly strong. The bottle of ink I was able to rescue before it destroyed my records. All through the house I heard articles falling and people crying out in fear. Quakes were common but this was strong. Before the aftershocks came I heard my name being called in fear.

I raced to my bedroom and found two naked and beautiful women standing on the floor and holding each other tightly. The smell in the room was very strong with their combined musk.

KhAvar put out her hands and I came to her. I saw MehrAk and she looked so piteous that I reached out with one hand and pulled her into out group hug. The first of the aftershocks came and the women squeezed me tighter. We rode out a lot more shocks but they were all of diminishing intensity.

KhAvar and MehrAk became aware of their lack of dress and tried to pull away but with little force. KhAvar looked up to me and said with a fake smile, "MehrAk has started to learn her lesson. I beat her so much that I was sweaty."

I kissed her and said, "Stay!" I turned around and closed the door and returned to holding both women. I said, "I see nothing wrong in the way you treated MehrAk as long as she did this willingly. Girls learn about love from other girls and boys do too in many cases."

Both women looked down in embarrassment.

KhAvar finally said, "I won't do this again."

I picked up her chin and said, "Men have hurt you a great deal. It takes time to come to terms with that. You were only a little ready for me last night and I know that you were still very worried. You have to heal in stages even if you have to go back to the type of friend that never hurt you as a child. You were a very healthy woman and you need sex. I love you enough to wait so you can heal more before we resume what we had before."

"But women are not supposed to do this."

"That is a double standard that was started by men. They go out and have sex with other men or boys while the women cannot. This is not right."

"But..."

"But what? Kiss MehrAk and then me and I will go back to what I was doing and I want you to continue with what you were doing. If you do not want that then just hold each other. That is the best medicine."

KhAvar had to think on this then pulled MehrAk close and kissed her the way she did me. MehrAk seemed to sag with the intensity. I was smiling and then KhAvar did too when she kissed me. "You don't really mind?"

"I would not say it if I did not believe it." I kissed the woman I loved and then kissed MehrAk the same way but this time I tweaked her brain to make her very horny.

I got both women back on the bed and I blew a kiss to both and closed the door behind me.

The girls had bothered me quite a bit but it was not from morals but from hormones. I took out my aggression on the swordsmen that arrived to keep me in shape.

With Mithridates and a few men to guard the house, I left alone to walk the city. I had armour under my clothes where possible but my head, arms and legs were not covered. Somebody good with a bow could kill me but I wanted to find out why Lazeez was not coming to talk to us. There was also the need for me to be seen as not afraid.

I talked to one of Demetrius' relatives though he was distant. He happened to be another smith. I had his attention as well as his three apprentices and four helpers. I talked about the steps to make steel and not iron. The saying about Rome not being built in a day was true now as when it was first coined twelve hundred years in the future. They were going to get at it right away.

It took only a short time until I had a crowd around me. I walked to other businesses and talked to the proprietors about good products to make and then to sell. This I had done in other cities and it had worked well for the populous and for me. I could actually go out then and purchase what I wanted instead of having to make it myself.

I checked the produce market again to see what was grown in this area but there was nothing much new. A few of the crops were in though and I hired a man to deliver all he had to my new home. There were many mouths to feed and this would keep the rest healthy.

I thought I saw Lazeez once but the person went down an alley before I could get a good look. He had to be blind though to not see me or the crowd around me. There were a lot of men with the figure I saw and most looked to be Roman.

My supply of stingers was low as I said before so I looked around a purchased a lot of lead and raw sulphur. There was lots of this in the neighbourhood but it did not sell very well or at least not until I came. More was commissioned to be harvested and I would pay for it when it arrived at my home.

I used the ploy about soap again and I wanted to make soap my way which meant that I got to keep the glycerine. The nitrate was readily available and all I needed was some glass carboys to store my acids.

Cotton was readily available and I bought rags when I could but only if they were clean. I realised that I felt cramped in the house and here in the city because I could not do what I wanted to do and that was make things.

I wanted to go to the bat cave and I missed my Robin in this instance but he was looking for my enemies and trying to keep all of us safe.

That night KhAvar only had one orgasm and I had no idea how many she had today. She made sure I had a few and we tapered off to sleep. She was still not ready to accept me anyplace but her mouth.

The next day I was interrupted by a young man I had seen in the group of Wodenists. We went through a greeting and he said, "My lord, you asked about finding minerals, a black liquid or a gas that escapes the ground. I have found this."

He was very excited and I asked, "Where is it?" It is close but in the hills above town. It will take at least an hour to ride there and ten minutes to come back."

It was rocky and steep. I informed a happy KhAvar that I was going for a few hours and she asked if she could come.

"There is a gas that is not good for you. I have to watch for metal that will make sparks. It is best that I go with just this young man."

"It could be a trap."

"You are right but I will careful."

"It took a bit longer to get to the area and we were very lucky that the gas was blowing south east or we would have died from asphyxiation. There was a great deal of gas escaping and I guessed it to be ten to twenty times what we had found at the mouth of the Rhine.

This gas was not as dry either because volatile liquids were spurting out like water and eroding the soil. The area was even cold from the liquids taking the heat from the air before evaporating.

I spent an hour putting rocks into the fissure and then some large rocks on top. Rocks as large as a kilo were being expelled with the intensity of the discharge.

There was not much time to think when we worked but when we were done, I knew that I needed some large diameter pipe, a lot of what the Romans called cement and a giant valve that would match the pipe. This was too dangerous to let flow and I did not want to promote global warming even though it was a natural process.

The gas would not only be good for making glass, steel but fertiliser. I just had to strip the hydrogen from the methane and combine it in a thick steel column and I would generate ammonia. The ammonia would get converted to ammonium nitrate and I would have not only a much better explosive but a great fertiliser.

When we left, very little of the gas was leaking out. It could still work loose and like eroding water it would make a new opening. I surveyed the land and I could almost see the refineries and chemical plants sprouting up on the rocky plain.

I was excited but the man was again right and it took very little time to get back down the mountain.

Back in the house I said to the man, "That was a good thing to tell me. What do you think it is worth?"

"I know you are pleased but I have no idea."

I called Rogelius into the room and asked him to bring me twelve gold aurii. The man that called me was dancing from one foot to another.

"I am giving you a year's pay for a Roman soldier for your discovery." I handed it to the man and it took a while before he saw my hand and then shake it.

"Thank you my lord. I never thought I would ever have this much money."

"You may loose it or somebody will steal it but it is yours. I will give you something else if you wish it."

"What is it my lord?"

"The job is simple but dangerous. You are to live by the stones for the next few months. During that time you are to fill in any holes that appear with wet clay. I do not want the gas to escape. One spark will mean that you will die in a ball of fire. You have to stay upwind all the time. If I were you, I would go there now with some friends and prepare a lot of clay and try to plug all the leaks. Even better may be a way of putting a lot of damp clay over the pit we filled.

"This job should last for an indefinite length of time. I will pay you two more aurii each month to keep others away and for keeping what is in the ground safely there until it can be used."

"I will do it my lord. I feel happier than I have ever felt before."

I blessed the man and this bound him to me a bit more. With him as an employee he was checked for problems before he was sent on his way.

A family meeting was called and I said to them, "I need to build a road up the mountain. Is there anybody that any of you know about that can do this?"

Quinctius' family were here too but nobody could give an answer. I sent some of the older boys with notes to the senators that lived nearby. The notes were only a bit polite and I simply asked if they knew of a man or men that had experience building roads.

Others had to assist me in doing this but there were only a few that could write. None of the educated few were home at the moment.

While I waited, I worked on the design of the valve I would need. I could not help myself and constructed pipe in my mind and ran it out onto the plain above the city and thought of all the equipment I needed to purify the gas and separate the condensates. This design got bigger and bigger as I thought and I had no idea how much gas was available. I knew it may last only a few years. I rationalised this by saying I could drill for more when the need arose.

I had been working two hours when I had my next visitor. He was an old man that looked very unsure of himself. Coming to the home of a man that just killed a lot of soldiers could be unnerving.

We talked of pleasantries and I tried to get him to relax. Finally I had to resort to a blessing and then I worked on him to make him able to work with me if the need arose.

"Thank you for the blessing my lord. I have never felt that way before and I am sure I will remember it for the rest of my days."

"You are welcome. I needed a way of helping you calm down and this was the best that I could do."

"What is it you require?"

"I want a man to construct a road that will lead to the plain just behind the mountain. This will be like the standard Roman road and covered in large flat stones. To do this job, that man will also have to make steps. This is a job that will take many men, months to complete.

I added, "At a guess, I think it should take four hundred men four weeks to complete this job. The extra men have to make a way to keep the water from the rains from washing out the road and the steps. The road cannot be the way a horseman would gain the mountain top but weave back and forth so that a wagon with a horse can climb the mountain. There is a lot of work because rock must be dug out of the mountain to make the road. One other complication is that I need a trench dug that will be very straight but on an incline. I will add a metal pipe that will take a liquid from the top of the mountain and bring it to the city."

The man said, "Do you have any drawings? Do you know what I mean by drawings?"

I had to smile and I said, "My mind is even older than yours. The gods allowed me to live in a time that will never be. I am changing time itself. In that other time I was an engineer that had to make chemicals. I know a great many secrets but I do not know how to make roads. I do not want to make this road either but to hire somebody else to make it for me. While this is being done, I can be doing other tasks."

The man and I walked to the top floor of the house and I showed him the ravine that I had just climbed. The engineer said, "You want to build a road up there?"

"Why do you question this?"

"I have not made a road like that before. I am worried that I may fail."

"There is another way to get this built. If there are more engineers in the city then I pay them to get their ideas and assistance. We all work together to see what idea is best. When the talk is done then diagrams are made and the job started. One engineer can be in overall charge while other engineers work in certain areas. The question now is, do you know of any more people that can help me?"

"There are many in a city this large. We have come here to enjoy our remaining years in a beautiful land."

I said, "An engineer is an odd type of man. He is always curious and never stops being an engineer even if he is not working. He looks at a building and admires the good points and criticises the bad. He is not paid for this but he does it to gain more knowledge."

"You must have been the engineer you mentioned because I am the way you mentioned."

In the next three hours sixteen more men had arrived plus a few of the senators.

Each had been given a piece of what I wanted done. "I am claiming the plain at the top of the mountain and the rocky land on the other side. I do not need the land used for farming. Does anybody dispute this claim?"

One of the senators said, "It may have to be purchased from the government. Nobody has wanted it until now so you should get it."

"Who do I talk to, to buy it?"

With a smile he said, "Me."

"How much?"

"Will the road you make be open to the public?"

"Yes but it may be closed for repairs or construction at times."

"Then I think the property or even two is yours then. We have wanted a road up there for a long time."

"Thank you. Now to the road, the steps and something like an aqueduct that will support the metal pipes that I will build to bring the gas down the mountain. I want the road wide and safe so wagons can go both ways without a danger to them falling over the edge. I am concerned about heavy rains washing out all three of the constructs."

We talked for an hour then went closer to the mountain to see the problems first hand. Sketches were made and we went back to the house to talk.

The best road would also be the hardest to construct. I estimated that a good hunk of the mountain had to come down to build it.

There was a lot of conversations going on and I interrupted, "Gentlemen, I have a partial solution." They listened attentively. "You all know that my god favours me in many ways. I can make something that contains the power of Thor's hammer. This you may have already seen. I can make much more power. If a mine is dug into the rock at the top of the mountain, then the power can be released and a large portion of the mountain is dislodged and it will fall. When that part is complete then another mine can be dug further down the mountain and this done again. Since we all know that rocks fall down we have to start at the top first."

The men were digesting this but soon the questions came but some were secrets that I could not divulge. I did give the basics that the power had to be contained to do the work.

I realised that I needed a lot of everything I could make. It has to be then transported to this location. The high tech materials would be the lathes, milling machines, steam engines, steel plate, various cast iron parts, steel rope, track, engines, railcars and the list went on and on.

What it boiled down to was that I needed everything delivered and then used not for the fertiliser but to make another steel company here in the Middle East. Only after the steel was rolled off the end of the line would it be used to make fertiliser.

That night I wrote another letter home and like a student talking to his parents, I asked for a handout. If the Enterprise was built soon enough it could transport the machinery I wanted built but the machinery had to be made first.

Patricia had her own letter. I said how I still loved her. I had mentioned KhAvar in a previous letter but no more were sent when I was looking for her. I gave a simple explanation of what I had done so far and wished that she could come with the equipment with or without the Enterprise.

KhAvar added her own letter to mine and she mentioned how Patricia had first dibs but she hoped that Patricia would let her have a portion of my time too.

I wrote a letter to Rufus too but my thoughts also applied to Julian and I was sure the two were close. They were both in love with the same lady if Rufus didn't work her to death first or sink her on a reef.

My third book had been done for a while but it needed editing. This was going back and I would get an edited version to check before it went into print.

A lot of letters had to be sent and I needed to find somebody going that way. There was also a chance that the person may be attacked just to let spies know what information I was sending.

In coming days the list of articles I wanted got so large that it would take twenty Enterprises to bring it all to me even if it was available.

Galerius can home with a sling on his arm and a smile. The four men I had sent were back but only three of the original detail.

When Galerius got off his horse, I just moved close and checked his wounds. He was healing quite well but I wanted to make sure.

"Hello, Galerius. What has happened?"

"Those at the estate were not ready to call you their new employer. I am afraid I used your stinger and now there is no disputing your authority."

"How many of your men were killed?"

"None. We were allowed in the gate since we were outnumbered eight to one. When I threatened to destroy every building they began to see reason."

"That is good to hear too. Tell me about the men that you brought back under your command."

"My command?"

"I cannot have anybody else."

Galerius did some thinking and said, "There are two hundred and sixteen more mouths to feed. Ten of them need your touch but I am afraid that three more will die."

"Perhaps I should go there soon. I have some information to tell you and then I need some advice."

"You want my advice? You are the Hand of Woden."

"Woden makes sure I have a hard road to follow. I have to work for any gains I make. Anyway let's go inside and we can have a drink and talk better."

Galerius learned of the gas and what it was good for then the need for a road. My assistance in removing a few hundred thousand tonnes of rock was mentioned but not as an easy or cheap solution.

"I need some equipment that can only be manufactured in Germania Inferior. This means that I need some men to deliver the messages. The people delivering this mail will be in danger from many sides."

"I know some men that would like to make this trip."

"Then we can get this project going."

That day I met three young men that looked dedicated and quite willing to do this job for me. I made sure they were healthy and gave them a requisition for a suit of armour and weapons to be filled out on the Rhine. This was their payment for doing this task for me. A further sum of gold had to be paid to feed and transport the men there and back.

I said with a chuckle, "In the future, an employer will not pay first. A man collects receipts of what he had to pay and his employer pays him on his return. Another way is to have a special document. All the merchants that provide lodging, food or travel expenses, send their bills to the employer and the employer sends the funds back.

Galerius said, "That sounds complicated and a merchant would have to wait a long time to get his gold."

"There are people here who lend money. A company could do this. If the company has a person in each city and the communication I talked about before then the head of a company can simply tell his subordinate in a far country to pay his bills for him. The bills that originate in that far country can be paid in another. In the end, very little gold has to be sent from one place to another.

The men looked perplexed and I added, "A lot of small changes have to happen with each one fairly understandable before our future comes clear to you."

The men left with as much help as I could give but I knew that anonymity was the best way for getting there and back without incident.

I wanted to go to the farm but my reason was not just to heal those that were hurt but to find out more about the property. It was preferable that I went myself or with just Mithridates. I told KhAvar and Galerius about my intentions just before I left. Both were upset with my decision. Galerius wanted to send an escort and I vetoed this as soon as it left his lips. Mithridates didn't mind this at all. Galerius had been appraised of Lazeez but had never met the boy.

With the bases touched, we loaded up some horses and quickly left the city. The watch at the gate was very courteous at our exit and I knew that news of it would spread quickly.

The bat cave was not far off our route and we entered the region to find Demetrius still there. There was a large pile of crystals just inside the cave but we would need far more to reshape the mountain. There were just the four of us that knew about the addition of the fuel and I was the only one that knew that a very heavy charge was needed to set a bomb of this type off.

We set off on our trip once more but on regaining the road we found that a dozen horses had passed recently. This may be innocent but it may also mean that we had been followed. The intent could be sinister though.

Six kilometres further along we decided to take an alternate route that was longer. The fresh tracks we were following did not go this way. I had most of my arrows back. Everybody that was in the burial party knew that I was the one that had cast them. Some needed a bit of work but most were serviceable for hunting still.

This area was mostly farms but woodlots were common. We camped in one when it was getting dark and I was able to get a few hares for our supper.

The next day we moved quickly and I had to help an old salt that was still not comfortable on a horse.

We passed farmers and a few travellers like us. I wondered if any of them were here to spy on the Romans for Sapor. If so, I could use their services to carry some messages for me to their king. It was nice to keep in touch.

We came on the farm around noon. Instead of rushing in we looked at the property from a variety of aspects. I had never been a farmer but I found the land interesting now. I had rough maps but now water was very important to me. I knew little about plants themselves but I had seen some of the before and after pictures of fertiliser usage.

I assessed the farm's defensibility with my other hat on and looked at how an enemy could come upon us. The map I had was not that accurate but I estimated that the farm was roughly a hundred square miles in area but they were Roman miles. A kilometre was a bit longer than this type of mile. This made the farm nearly ten thousand hectares in area.

The pillars at the start of the road into the property were well marked as to who had owned the land. This would have to be changed. I soon realised that a farm this size needed quite a few slaves to keep it running. I saw many of them in the fields where they were needed and this was just what I could see. It was an hour's travel at a good clip before I came to the main house. Many other buildings I saw but they were for managers and slaves I felt.

The manor proper had high walls like a city. I saw no sentries but we were greeted by four men that were well armed. We were too and that was probably the reason we were met thus.

My hair was coming in blonde again and the stain had not left the remainder but I think it was the stinger in my hand that allowed them to find my identity.

One man then the rest got to one knee and waited. I did not know if this was Quinctius' requirement or something these men felt they had to do to a new employer.

We got down and Mithridates held the reins while I stretched and walked up to the men.

"Get up. I do not mind respect if it is warranted. Now tell me your names and duties."

Only two men were able to finish before more men came charging at us but slowed quickly when they saw us. The men in charge were the men Galerius had left here to watch over the farm.

I greeted the newcomers and asked the same questions I already asked of the others. It went much quicker this time as the ones learned what to do from those that spoke sooner.

The farm was now secure so I went to the house and removed some of my armour but not all. The swords and bow stayed with me but by now they felt like old friends.

I shook hands with the freemen as I got a tour of this compound. I wanted to go to the barracks first to treat the wounded. One of the thirteen men had died but I worked very hard to save those that Galerius felt would die as well.

There were a lot of stone fragments in the wounds and I used my kit to remove all that I could. At the same time I explained about sterile tools and washed hands. This did not quite apply to me because I could direct a body to fight the infection.

Some of the men were able to talk about themselves as I worked because they could not feel any discomfort from their wounds or my actions. One man had been close and his wounds were not all healed because I had to be much more intrusive and this could only happen after he gained more strength.