I stepped out of the office after the meeting ended. As lord of the town, my orders had already been issued. The workers returned to their duties the moment they saw me. No one asked questions.
The construction site was behind schedule. Roads were only half-dug. Brick stacks were unstable. Public toilets had foundations but no walls. Kilns were unfinished. The new furnaces were active but poorly sealed, leaking smoke. Tomorrow, new villagers would arrive, and the town had to function, even if it wasn't complete.
Raff, my head smith, approached."My lord, you said you wanted to show the men the dark wood."
"Call the smiths and miners," I said.
They gathered near a stone sorting table. I dragged a blackened log onto it.
"This is not burnt waste," I said. "It's wood burned slowly without air. We call it Black Wood. It burns hotter and longer."
One smith said, "It looks ruined."
"Use it in the furnaces from now on," I replied.
Raff lifted it. "It's heavier than normal wood."
"That's why it holds heat."
Mork, one of the miners, asked, "Won't hotter fire damage iron?"
"If it does, we improve the iron," I said. "We're making Steel."
Raff frowned. "Explain the process."
"Heat iron with Black Wood until it glows. Add powdered charcoal slowly. Then hammer it, fold it, reheat it, and hammer again."
"What if we add too much charcoal?" Raff asked.
"The metal becomes brittle."
"Too little?"
"It stays soft."
Raff nodded. "We'll begin tonight."
"You'll refine it," I said. "Not experiment blindly."
We moved into the mineshafts. The tunnels were damp. White crystal deposits clung to the stone walls.
Mork pointed. "This material?"
"Yes," I said. "We'll call it White Ash Stone. Mine it carefully. Wash it, boil it, and dry it."
A miner asked, "What does it do?"
"I don't know fully yet," I replied. "But it improves reactions when burned."
Farther in, yellow rock veins lined a drainage tunnel.
"That one?" Mork asked.
"That's Bitter Gold," I said. "Crush it and soak it. The green liquid is what we keep."
"It smells dangerous," a miner said.
"Keep it sealed," I replied.
A shout interrupted us. A pulley failed near the cottages under construction. A heavy log crushed a worker's leg. Bone was visible.
I walked over."My lord, please—" the man begged.
The injury was fatal.
"You won't survive," I said.
I ended his life quickly.
"Remove the body. Fix the pulley. Continue work," I ordered.
No one argued.
Raff walked beside me."You decided immediately."
"There was no other option," I said.
Near the furnaces, one unit shook violently.
A boy asked, "Is that normal?"
"No."
I opened the side vent. Sparks escaped. A worker was burned on the arm.
"Cold water!" Raff shouted.
The injury was severe.
Raff said, "We need better furnace control."
"We'll build it," I replied.
He hesitated. "About the powder made from White Ash Stone and Bitter Gold."
"Yes," I said. "It will be called Thunder Dust."
Mork asked, "The mixture?"
"Three parts White Ash Stone. Two parts charcoal. One part sulfur."
"And if we mix it wrong?"
"Either nothing happens," I said. "Or it explodes."
"When do we start?"
"After enough material is mined. Mixing happens far from fire. No metal tools."
Before sunset, I called the carpenters and foremen to the lumber yard.
"We're changing how houses are built," I said.
They gathered around prepared beams with identical cuts.
"No nails," I said.
Confusion followed.
"These joints lock together. Every beam is the same size. Every cut is the same."
I demonstrated, fitting two beams together.
Raff tested it. "It holds."
"Because weight tightens it," I said.
"Stone foundations only," I continued. "Wood never touches wet ground."
"Walls?" a carpenter asked.
"Panels. Wood frames filled with reed and clay. Light and replaceable."
"Roofs?"
"Prebuilt frames. Lift and place."
Four men lifted a roof section and dropped it onto a frame.
It fit.
"Each team makes one part," I said. "Foundations. Beams. Panels. Assembly."
Raff nodded. "Faster."
"Ten houses by tomorrow," I said.
A foreman stared. "Impossible."
"You'll build twenty," I replied. "Because they're all the same."
As night fell, construction continued. Injuries happened. Work didn't stop.
Mork asked quietly, "When the villagers arrive tomorrow, do we expect trouble?"
"We prepare for cooperation and resistance," I said.
I surveyed the site. Steel, Thunder Dust, modular housing, unfinished roads, active furnaces.
"We're behind," I said. "But this town will function."
I turned back toward the office.
"Continue work," I ordered.
And they did.