Chapter 6

Jón and Forni dressed much neater and with less fuss after I explained to Jón how a hero had to act like a hero, and not like a child. He, in turn, told something similar to Forni and now it may be difficult for them to act like children again.

On the way to the dining room, Jón was congratulated again and by inference so was Forni. They still acted like children pretending to be adults and I was happy with that. Their knives were now proudly displayed at their waists.

The other children that had usually stayed away from Jón somehow found reason to get close. They didn't talk to him however, and I found this odd.

Clovis said by way of an announcement, "Jón has shown valour by defeating two armed enemies and, as such, has gained the equivalent of ninety-three pieces of silver, five knives, two swords, and two fine horses with their harnesses. He has taken the horses and given one to his friend Forni. He has also tried his hand at inventing. An odd looking suit made of rags is almost impossible to see when in the forest. We are making some to test them out. If his other inventions are as good, the Romans may as well surrender now."

There was pounding of the table and a lot of catcalls. Those dining seemed to approve of what Jón was doing. Jón's eyes went frantically back and forth as he was still not used to this acclaim. Forni was with him through all this embarrassment and held his hand to show support.

After our meal we managed to escape with much less fanfare. We made a swing around the kitchen and I asked Jón to get some food. Andsvarr may be a nasty old coot, but perhaps I could find a way around his bad disposition.

With a borrowed leather bag we set out to find our bootmaker. He lived close to the wall that surrounded the town, nevertheless his home was still easy to find. He was not there at the time and his neighbours said that he was at the carpenter's shop. Everybody knew everybody else's business and we were soon pointed in the right direction.

We found Andsvarr talking to a tall thin man. Andsvarr didn't appreciate our presence, but I got him to make introductions. Jón found it difficult to hold back on his comments, but he did until Andsvarr admitted his ignorance of making something out of laminated wood.

I said with Jón's help, "Let's find a horse. I can explain what is needed." Both men didn't like it, but did do as I asked. We went to a different stable and the master there watched us and was invited to listen and comment.

"A wool blanket goes onto the horse's back. It keeps the saddle from rubbing the animal raw." I showed the men the contours of the horse's back and said, "Two pieces of wood need to be carefully made to fit this shape. If it is wrong in fit, then the horse will be in pain. There is no wood in the middle over the spine. Rather, there will be some padding. A piece of wood spans the first two pieces at the front. It has to be mounted quite firmly. A stiff portion sticks up and is used by the rider to grip while moving. It will be useful, if he were to be struck by an enemy and not immediately killed."

There was some chuckling and I added, "A large piece of wood at the back is designed to hold the rider's butt. It has a very high back because he will use a special spear called a lance to kill his enemies. If the enemy is big, the rider will be pushed back in the saddle. The high back will keep him from being pushed off the horse.

"The whole assembly is covered in leather including the part between the blanket and the wood frame. Thick straps are sewn to the saddle and go under the horse. A buckle helps to adjust the tightness. Another strap goes around the front of the horse with a buckle on one side only. This keeps the saddle from being pushed backwards when the rider is stabbing Romans." This got more chuckles.

"Two straps like the first ones hang down. Each has a buckle to adjust the height. The rider's feet fit into this and it is made of iron but thick leather can do for a start. It has to be strong enough for a man to stand in the hanging loops, so he can see above the heads of those around him."

Andsvarr said, "This is a lot of work to make such a seat on a horse."

"Yes it is. Yet, when it is done we will be the masters of the world."

The men looked at me and then each other.

I asked Andsvarr, "Do you have a son or an apprentice in the leather trade?"

"Yes, four sons."

"I will pay a son to make me something."

"What is that?"

Jón talked about the difficulty in getting the full power from a horse. He mentioned the chest strap, but it would not be enough. The horse collar was discussed and how the leather would have to be attached, so that the horse could pull a heavy load.

Again Andsvarr said, "What is wrong with what we have? It has been good enough for years."

There was a leather strap near a stall and I took it down. "If I put this across your neck, will you be able to pull a wagon very well?"

"I am not a horse, or an ox."

"You are too old. Send me your son. He will answer my questions with an honesty that his father does not have."

The man got angry and his hand went to his knife. Jón's hand went to his knife too, but didn't draw it. Jón repeated my words, "Answer the question."

It took a while but I got, "It would choke me."

"If I put a strap around each of your shoulders, could you lean forward comfortably and pull a heavy load?"

Again there was a pause. "It would not hurt as much."

I asked the stable master, "What is your name?"

"Eberhard, if it pleases you, my lord."

"Work with this man to make a saddle. He needs a horse to fit the saddle upon. Make your own suggestions to what may be a comfortable fit for the horse. Above all, build heavy. We can always cut some away."

I turned to the carpenter. "What is your name?"

"Rudi, sir."

"Work with the stable master and the bootmaker. For the first part you will be in charge. When you have done your job, the bootmaker will take over. Eberhard will get a silver penny, if he works diligently. Rudi will get a similar penny for his work. Andsvarr, though he is hard to work with in his dotage, will get two pennies for making the saddle and the horse collar I want."

Andsvarr started to object and I said, "I will pay for the materials in the bargain in advance. What would the cost of the leather for both articles? There cannot be any seams on the seat of the saddle."

Andsvarr paused and I think his greed came out. "Five pennies at least, my lord."

"How many saddles do you think I will want made, Andsvarr?"

"One?"

"When the saddle proves its worth, I will make one for every man in our cavalry. That is more than you could count. I will talk to the tanners and other leather workers to make saddles too. Your sons would be included. That number of saddles will make a great many men rich. Now, tell me again how much the leather for both articles will cost."

"If I bargained very hard I may get it for a silver penny, or just a bit more."

"I will give you three pennies for enough leather for two collars and two saddles. One more penny will be given when the second two are done. The extra money is because you may have to trim and work more to make the first saddle. Be fair with me and I will ensure that you get paid what you deserve."

He nodded his head and I showed him the new, old custom of shaking hands. The people here now didn't understand this, but in the future the Germans would shake hands at the start and at the end of a meeting. If it went long, they would shake hands half way through.

We sat in a corner on the hay and broke open the leather pouch and Forni divided out the food. We drank water, though everybody else drank beer instead. It was odd to see a child with a tankard of beer, but I had become used to it.

In this more relaxed atmosphere we discussed the finer points of the prototype saddle. It would be fashioned to fit a man of Clovis' size and if it worked it would win his approval. If I had been more of a businessman, I would commission all the people that could work with leather to make my saddles. Then, I would sell them to those that just had to have one even at the highest offered price.

Cornering the saddle market could make me rich. This was only one of Clovis' cities. Seven others were nearly this size and one more was even larger. Clovis didn't like the other cities as much, so he located his castle here. Many smaller towns paid homage to him and all told I estimated nearly a quarter million people would follow him. This would work out to many less fighting men within that gross total. I had no accurate numbers, but only the answers to a bunch of much simpler questions.

The land under his control had originally been nearly twelve thousand square kilometres, but it had been whittled away by other barbarians. The disputed territory was close to thirty percent. More could fall away now that Rome seemed to have become very serious about deposing Clovis.

We were moving too slowly. I knew that only too well. Jón's body was still too weak to allow me to do much more. He could sleep more and I could do some organising, but Jón was still Clovis' son. He may want more of me, but he would resent it if his son were not around. This was especially true after the public saw him as something more than a spoiled and perhaps disturbed boy.

Before parting, I paid Andsvarr the three pennies for the leather and another penny in advance of his pay. The other two shared a penny for the same reason. The men didn't understand this, but we shook hands again as I said, "This is just a formal way of coming to an agreement. If the terms are not to your liking, you can give back the money and I will find someone else." Nobody gave back any money. The deal was on.

Forni and I wandered the town edge until we had made a full circuit at the wall then we went inward some and did this again. There were children everywhere and most were naked. The men wore a cloak with a pin at the throat. Some were dressed underneath with what looked like seal pelts. Everyone was armed except for the youngest children. The girl children were just as naked and after a while it didn't seem so odd. My own cultural preferences had no bearing on the here and now. The streets were filthy still, and a recent rain had made it worse. One man sat under an awning using a chisel and a mallet to cut some limestone.

I said to Jón, "I want to make a wheel of stone." I gave him the dimensions and added information about the hole in the centre and the thickness of the wheel.

"What is it for?"

"The wheel will go into a wooden frame. A man will spin it with a bent piece of metal. Iron tools can be pushed into the spinning stone and they will get sharpened. The smith sharpens with his hammer, but this does a smoother job. Let's get one made and sell it to the smith for the shoes he will make for us?"

"Ok. Do you know how to make this thing work?"

"I need some bronze tube, or a mixture of soft metals that will support the shaft. It is going to be fun making something by hand so we can make it closer to perfect. This tool in turn makes other tools even better. I have to start someplace and here is as good as any."

We stood in front of the stone cutter soon after. Jón did the negotiations himself, now that he knew what I wanted. The man's name we found was Kareltje. He said, "You want a stone wheel?"

"Yes. I want a square hole in the middle and I do not want any cracks in the stone."

"Stone wheels are expensive, master."

"I will give you a half a silver penny, but it has to be done in two days." I had Jon search among his broken stone pieces until I felt the right sort of sedimentary rock. Holding it up, I had Jon say, "One more thing, the stone must be of this type."

"A half penny is not enough. I can make much more making stones for the wall."

"You can make stones for the wall then. I will look for someone else."

Jón and Forni got only a few metres away when the man anxiously called back, "Hold on. I will do it, but I want some money to buy the stone."

I was proud of Jón when he said, "You cut the stone yourself and there is no cost but I will give you two coppers for you to start. I will pay two coppers less when I get the stone."

The man thought about it and Jón pushed his hand out and explained the custom to the man.

When we walked away, Jón said, "Anything else? This is fun."

"Let's talk to someone who can melt bronze and form it in a shape we need."

"A smith?"

"I was not sure who did this. Let's find a smith then, but a different one."

We continued our systematic tour of the city and came to a smith. After a few casual questions, we found that he didn't do this. The next did, though.

The smith saw from the clothes that we had some money. He probably recognised Jón's face too. "What would you kind masters need?"

Jón said, "I want a very special bell cast just the way I describe." Jón used his hands and said, "It will be this long and this wide at the front and this wide at the back." With a gap between his finger and thumb he added, "A hole this big that goes from the front to near the back, but not through the metal. I want two heavy pins cast in it on both sides."

Jón moved forward and picked up a hammer and I gave him a weight based on the weight of the hammer. "The weight in metal should be six times the weight of this hammer. If it is more, I will pay for the extra metal."

"That will not make a bell. I have made a few and this will not make a sound."

"Thank you for your probably accurate words, but I still want the bell cast. I intend to assist in making the mould for both the inside and the outside. It will be a gift to our king."

"The King... well, it will be over three talents in weight. That is a considerable amount of metal and it is very expensive, especially with our problems with the Gauls and the Romans."

"If I have to do so, I will find old bronze armour. How much for using your charcoal and your hearth?"

"Charcoal is very expensive. It takes a long time to cut the trees and then to burn them properly. I am getting older and I need to repair my shop."

After a polite pause Jón said, "How much? I have others to ask."

"I am the best. You can ask anybody. The rest will cheat you."

"How much?"

"Because it is for the King, I will only charge seven silver denarii for my labour and my equipment."

"A hundred and twelve asses for the use of your shop, and a bit of charcoal. My father would have you whipped for offering such a figure. The metal is worth less than three aureus and your work is worth only a few coppers even if you supply the charcoal. I will have to find a thief that will try to rob me a lot less."

Jón walked out, thoroughly disgusted with this conversation. I said, "How did you know the cost of the bronze?"

"I heard my father talk to a merchant. If you want the metal all I have to do is ask father. We have nearly two aureus, though it is in silver." I knew that we had more but I said nothing.

"Is there a forge in the castle?"

"There is a small one and father will be angry at getting enough charcoal to do what you need."

"Let's talk to the smith that is making our shoes. He can put a crucible near his flames and it will capture heat that would otherwise be wasted. He can then heat the metal and pour it into a mould."

"Do you know how to do this? I don't."

"We just play with the clay, sand, straw and some horse shit. Mix it all up with some water and form the shapes we want. The shape forming the hole needs to be hollow and dried. Then it is dipped a few times in fine clay suspended in water, then dried again. If that doesn't work, we will have to make it out of clay and fire it."

"You don't know for sure?"

"There's a lot I don't know. I sometimes know a little about it and have to guess at the rest. It is like the saddle design. I saw one in my mind, but it was not clear. I had to guess at how it was to be made."

I could feel that Jón was not sure of himself now that he had found that I was not omnipotent.

I said, "Life is to discover the world around you and what is inside you. It would be a dull world, if you knew everything in advance." Forni was just staring at us since he had not heard any of the conversations. He became worried as he became aware that we had just stopped communicating.

"Tell Forni that you were just talking with your conscience. He is worried that you may be ill."

"Forni, I was just thinking to myself. Let's go back to the castle and see how much bronze there is."

We found that Clovis had left soon after we had talked to him last. Jón said, "We can see the armourer. He takes care of all of the weapons."

We had to ask a few people, but eventually found the man we wanted. He sat in a large guard room talking to his friends. Jón was all for barging in and I said, "Wait until the man is done. What he is saying is important to him."

"But we are making a gift for father."

"That is important to us. Now just stand close and give him a chance to recognise that you are here."

Fálki the armourer, took only a few seconds to terminate his conversation. "What would the castle's newest hero want with us?"

"Hello Fálki. Forni and I want to make something for Father."

I said quickly, "Tell him it is a new invention that has to be worked out. You are uncertain whether it will work, or not."

Jón said to Fálki, "We are making a new invention. I am not sure if it will work and I want it to be a surprise for father and everybody."

"What is it supposed to do?"

He was nonplussed for a moment and came back with, "I can't tell you that. It wouldn't be a surprise, then."

The old man screwed up his face and in a moment replied, "What did you want with me? I was the one you were looking at."

"I want to know how much damaged bronze armour there is. I want to make something out of it."

"What is... how much did you want?"

"Three talents should do it. We may get by with less."

"Three talents. That is almost half again what you weigh. That metal is valuable even if it is not very useful now as armour."

"I know that. A smith wanted an a hundred and twelve asses to use his forge and some of his charcoal. That was outrageous since I was going to do most of the work."

"You?"

"I am not strong yet, but I will get back to what I was. I was going to make the mould and the smith only had to pour the metal."

"We have a forge here."

"I thought of that. Father would not like to start it up. It takes a lot charcoal."

I said to Jón, "We can use the forge here with dry wood for fuel. It's hot enough to melt bronze."

Jón said, "If we use the forge here, we can use wood. It will melt the bronze. We still need clay."

"What do you want clay for? You use wax and that's very expensive."

I said, "Wax makes a very good finish but clay is cheaper and will do just as well." Jón repeated this to Fálki.

Jón continued with his own words. "Can I see the bronze and get an idea of how much there is. I can wait until father gets back before I actually take any of it."

"I don't see why not."

In a few minutes Fálki was walking down the hall with two of the off duty guards. He pulled out a large key that hung from his neck and opened an equally large lock on a very stout door. After an oil lamp was lit we could see a lot of armour. Some of it was in piles on the floor, but most hung from the walls. There were no weapons here and I had to assume they were stored in another room.

Fálki pointed out the pieces that were surplus and Jón picked each of the pieces up. It was hard work for the weak boy, but I got an idea of how much metal was available. There was a great deal of bronze here and I estimated that there was over a thousand kilos of damaged or poor quality armour and perhaps five times that in the useful armour.

Bronze could be harder than iron and its edge would be sharper too. The only reason the iron age came about was not the fact that iron was stronger because this was not true but that iron was just more easily obtainable. When steel was eventually made it proved to be the superior metal but bronze was still used in the chemical industry. Solid or sintered bronze made good bushings and vessels made of the metal resisted corrosion much better than steel. Cannon had long been made of bronze, but iron could be produced much more cheaply. Iron also was weak and ruptured guns were common. This is why I would make mine of steel. Steel had not been invented yet though some was made by accident.

Fálki locked the door up when we were done and Jón said, "Thank you for showing us your armour. Would you show us the forge and then I have to see the potter."

"This way then."

The forge was could not used because mice had attacked the leather billows and the leather had to be replaced. The forge itself was not large. It had been installed as an emergency feature for times when the castle was under siege and weapons had to be made or repaired.

Fálki stayed with us though the others had left. The potter lived within the castle walls and was basically one of Clovis' employees. He was a young man who made everything by hand and didn't have a wheel to work on. Clay could be coiled to form vessels but a potter's wheel was as old as the cart wheel.

Jón said to the potter, "Greetings, my name is Jón and my large friend here is Fálki. My smaller friend is Forni. I would like to make something for my father and part of it needs a clay form." Jón put out his hand and after a bit of misunderstanding the potter's hand was shook.

"My name is Sander. What would you ask of me?"

I said to Jón, "A potter has a table that spins to make his products. Ask him where it is."

"A potter uses a table that spins. Where is yours?"

"It broke. It was sent out to be repaired but it keeps being delayed by more urgent matters."

I chuckled to myself because now a potter's wheel would now be termed of strategic importance and get all the attention it required so that it was repaired quickly.

Jón said, "We will see about getting it fixed if it is important."

"It is."

"Then, let's go see the repairman."

"Thank you, milord. You don't know how happy I will be to get this machine repaired."

The carpenter was working on making blanks for the fletcher. The fletcher was working with him to take the rough pieces of wood and make them round and of the correct diameter and length.

The two men stopped when we approached. Upon hearing the reason we had come, the carpenter had to get up and stretch. Then, he showed us the still damaged wheel in question. I looked at it and saw immediately that it was poorly designed in the first place. Certain key wooden shafts had just worn out, causing the device to bind then break.

I said to Jón, "We can build a better one, but we need some help from the potter and a number of other people. Do you and Forni want to do this? It will take time and you will learn something that is important."

"What?"

"To use your own hands. You can make wonderful devices, but you will be the only one to know what they look like. Some helpers can work with words and others from pictures, but all will need help to start. We will make simple machines in the beginning. Later, we will make them more and more difficult to understand by people who hear of them. It will take the mind of special person just to understand how the machines work."

"So, we make this device for the potter?"

"We will make only part of it. The stonecutter is making a heavy wheel that will go to the smith. We will need another stone to be used for the potter's wheel. We can make a tube of bronze that will hold the weight and allow the stone to still spin. This means we need another carpenter and a smith once again."

"You want me to work, but I am not familiar with all these crafts."

"We can work it out together. Doing almost everything is just a matter of doing some simple jobs one after another."

With a little coaching, Jón said, "Sander, we will make a new wheel. I want you to make me two shapes that are round and four fingers long." Jón showed the shape of a hollow cylinder with a large heavy flange at one end. "You will make two of these to start. One will be bigger than the other."

Turning to the carpenter, he said, "I want you to make a straight pole that I want to spin around. Part of it is to be square to hold a stone wheel. Under it, the shape will be round. I will make something called a bronze bushing. This will hold the weight of the stone and allow the potter to use his feet to turn the stone. Another of these bushing will go at the top and over that will be a circular table for the potter to work with."

"I have got work to do and can't make toys."

"This is not a toy. When father comes home, he will order this to be done. Work with me and we will make this machine better than anyone has seen before. There are a lot more machines to make and you will have a hand in making most of them, if you try hard."

"You are the son of a king, not a craftsman's son. Your father would not be pleased with this."

"Then, let my father decide that. You will be very surprised at his decision. Now, are you going to make me the short post I described, or are you going to block this important construction with words?"

"I work for your father, not his son. I do not want to have him come here and say that I neglected my important job to make something foolish that his son wants."

I could feel Jón's anger rise, but he held his tongue. He did ask me, "What can we do to get this work started?"

"We can find a hardwood log of the right diameter to start. The older and dryer it is the better."

"Let's look in the kitchen. They use logs there in the fireplaces."

Fálki and now Sander stayed with us. We did find two suitable logs but they were cut with an axe. Jón relayed my question. "We need a place to work that is out of the weather to make our machine so it can work on these logs. It has to be large enough to make a wood frame and there will be a lot of wood chips thrown off."

It was Sander that said, "What about the stable? A few extra wood chips are a good thing. What is it you want to make?"

"I do not know the name, but it takes a piece of wood and spins it around. A sharp tool is pushed into the wood and it makes the wood round."

"Oh, we call those things lathes." The old German word was used. It was one that Jón had not known existed.

"Is there someone nearby that can turn these down the way I want?"

"I am sorry, I have only heard of this machine. I do not think there is one in the town."

It was cumbersome having to have Jón relay all my questions and replies. On the other hand, he was learning as I did this. "We will have to make one. Again, I need both tools and some iron parts."

We went to Clovis' stables. The stable master was not pleased, but there was a large shed that was now unused. "You can use this, if you clean up after yourselves. I want no fires either."

Jón assured the man then sent Forni to learn about his horse and to walk both animals because they had not been exercised. A stableman that didn't look busy was ordered to assist. "You can ride one or both of the animals so long as Forni gets a chance to learn." Forni was all smiles because he had never been on a horse before. The best he could claim was to be in a wagon.

Sander retrieved his broken wheel and Fálki and I went to see the smith. He already had a bar that I could use. I had talked to Fálki and he mentioned what tools to which he had access. Two large and thick nails were made for me. After some money changed hands, he heated the first bar up white hot so it would bend sharply. The smith put the appropriate bends where I wanted them. This would be the crank that would turn a wheel. The nails would be the centres of the lathe.

Sander was back when we arrived. Fálki and he disassembled the broken wheel. The bottom portion was just what I wanted, though it was not quite the size I would have liked. Fálki got his bow drill, hammer and saw. We worked the rest of the morning using rough limbs to make a frame.

Time passed quickly. We went to have our midday meal, when Forni came back red faced from his ride. He walked funny. I knew that would happen.

Forni said, "I love to ride. I am up high and can see everything. The horses ran like the wind for a while and I thought I was going to fall off mine. Klaes, the stableman that rode with me, showed me lots of tricks. He had heard about our saddle, but didn't like it."

Jón said, "Do you like him?"

I quickly said, "Are you jealous so soon. Cannot Forni have some friends. You are his best friend."

Forni looked at the ground and I felt sorry for how Jón had needlessly hurt him. Jón said, "I am sorry, Forni. You are my best friend. I never had as good a friend as you. I don't want to loose you."