As the craftsmen hurried to finish up the tasks they were working on, Lucas cleared off a nearby table and began setting out the food.
Once all the pots and baskets were in place, Lucas ran into the kitchen to fetch a stool so he could help serve everyone, but by the time he got back, he found that the various tailors, tanners, and blacksmiths were more than capable of helping themselves.
Everyone who wasn't in the middle of something vital had rushed over, grabbed a bowl, and begun grabbing their portion before quickly moving away to let others in. There was plenty of space in the yard, so it wasn't hard for the crowd to spread out and find a place to sit, but most couldn't wait that long and just ate while they walked.
Lucas was taken aback by the sight for a moment, but he soon smiled and shook his head, thinking he should have expected as much. After taking a brief look around, though, he noticed that his father wasn't among the crowd.
Glancing over at the smithy, Lucas saw that it was still illuminated, and the sound of banging could still be heard.
Looking back and forth between the rapidly disappearing table of food and the still working craftsmen in the field and forge, Lucas did some quick estimations and concluded that he needed to make another trip.
Setting down the stool, the young boy headed back over to his now empty cart and began hauling it back to the Town Lord's Manor.
About 20 minutes later, Lucas returned with another full load of food to find that, just as he expected, the table he had set out before had been swept clean.
"Damn it, you greedy pigs, you couldn't leave anything for us?" An angry voice suddenly reached Lucas' ear.
"Don't blame me you laggard! You should have worked faster if you wanted to eat!" Another voice argued back.
Pursing his lips, Lucas realized that some of the more hot-tempered craftsmen were starting to squabble, so he picked up the pace while shouting, "No need to fight! There's plenty more!"
After calling out loudly several times to make sure he got everyone's attention, Lucas rushed up to the table and pulled off the mat covering his cart.
With more food now available, the burgeoning arguments immediately died down. It seemed everyone was more interested in filling their stomachs than fighting with those who had already stuffed their faces.
This time around, Lucas didn't even need to unload the cart himself as several people ran over and began unpacking the various pots, pans, and baskets.
It wasn't long before the smell of food filled the air again as the feast resumed; the only issue was that the sound of banging was still ringing from the forge.
Learning from his past mistake, Lucas hurriedly grabbed a new bowl and filled it with hot soup before stashing it inside the kitchen.
After making sure he had saved enough for his father to eat, Lucas finally found a dry spot to sit down and finish his own meal.
As he slurped up the rather hearty meat and vegetable stew, Lucas realized it had long gone cold, so he walked back to the table and topped up his bowl, picked out another piece of bread, and then slipped out of the crowd.
He was a growing boy who exercised frequently, so a little extra protein and carbs wasn't going to hurt.
Another quarter-hour later, Lucas was patting his bulging stomach when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning his head, the young boy smiled and said, "I saved a bowl for you in the kitchen, Dad."
Smiling back at his son, Drake nodded without saying a word, turned around, and went into the house. A moment later, he returned with a big bowl of soup and a hard piece of bread and sat down beside his boy.
Sitting back, Lucas didn't bother his father even though he had a lot of questions to ask. It wasn't until Drake was halfway through his meal that he slowed down a bit and spoke, "We just finished the third harness."
"En," Lucas nodded, "Is everyone going to keep working through the night, or are you done for today?"
"I'd like to keep going, but I don't think that'll be possible," Drake shook his head, explaining in-between mouthfuls, "Everyone's exhausted, to the point that during the last forging, several mistakes were made that we needed to stop and fix before continuing."
Pursing his lips, Lucas muttered, "I guess that's not surprising."
"En, we've been working non-stop since yesterday evening," Drake agreed, "The strongest among us can probably keep going a bit longer, but without the support of the others, progress will slow to a crawl. It's better to let everyone rest and then start again in the morning."
Pausing for a moment, Drake added, "Besides, we're almost out of essential materials."
"Already?" Lucas turned his head in surprise, "I thought after we 'borrowed' the armour and weapon from the other Herald City Garrison Captain, we had enough to make 8 harnesses?"
Frowning, Drake shook his head, "Initially, we thought so too, but we discovered some issues with the first harness when we brought it back and examined it more carefully. Several pieces needed further reinforcing, which consumed more of our limited Meteor Steel."
With a slightly worried tone, Lucas couldn't help asking, "How many more harnesses do you think we can get from the materials we have on hand?"
Without even needing to think about it, Drake replied, "3 more."
Knitting his brow, Lucas sank into thought, That means, once the last harness is ready, we'll have 6 in total. From the test we ran this morning, we figured 12 Tartans was the optimum number for towing the Sunchaser.
Sighing, Lucas shrugged and said, "I guess we'll just have to rely on the Herald City craftsmen for the rest."
"Seems that way," Drake acknowledged, "That's not too big a problem, though. 3 harnesses seem to be the maximum number we can finish in a day, so if we want to start sending out evacuation flights the day after tomorrow, we would still need to get the last 6 harnesses from Herald City."
Going over the plan in his head again, Lucas soon nodded in agreement. The first phase of the evacuation was scheduled to begin tomorrow, with 2 round-trip flights of the Sunchaser carrying some 200 volunteer defenders as well as elite soldiers from both the Raging River and Golden Wings Legions.
This advanced group would secure a place in Herald City for the rest of the refugees who would follow the day after.
Every flight on the Sunchaser would consume World Qi from its power core, so this wasn't an ideal solution, but after much debate, everyone came to the conclusion that the sooner they got started, the better.
If saving a day of time meant reducing the number of round-trips the Sunchaser could make from 28 to 22 or 23, then it was an acceptable sacrifice.
Finishing up his meal, Drake stood up and turned to his son, "Do you need any help getting the dishes back to the Manor?"
Shaking his head, Lucas got up and smiled, "Nope, I can manage. Most of the weight was in the food anyways, and that's all gone, so it shouldn't be hard to wheel everything else back."
Patting Lucas' head, Drake smiled, "Alright."
"En," Lucas smiled back.
"Say hi to your mom for me if you see her, and tell her not to push herself too hard, she's still injured," Drake said as he ruffled his son's hair before walking back towards the smithy, probably to tidy up.
"Will do!" Lucas called out to the retreating back before cracking his neck and getting back to work himself.
Trotting over to the serving table, Lucas began the cleanup process.
The now satisfied craftsmen who were nearby also began packing things into the cart, with a number of them volunteering to help the boy haul stuff back.
Lucas politely refused all of them, insisting he could manage and that they should rest while they can.
"You won't refuse me coming with you, will you?" A voice suddenly called out from behind, startling Lucas.
Turning around, Lucas smiled, "Of course not, Senior Farah."
"Good," the gruff butcher nodded before grabbing the handcart's handle and walking off, not even waiting for Lucas.
Shaking his head wryly, Lucas bowed politely to the rest of the grateful craftsmen before chasing after Farah.