12 Strokes of Midnight

Chapter 9

CopyrightⒸ 2019 by B. R. Bailey All Rights Reserved

Archie spends most of the ride talking about the town, filling me in on its history and the best places to dine. By the time we roll up to a huge mansion, I'm so distracted that I don't notice anything until we pass big walls.

"Whoa!"

The building as beautiful as any other. Before I can marvel too much, I notice soldiers unloading stuff from the carts at the dock earlier.

"What is all of that?"

"A curious mind," he smiles down at me. "Foster that curiosity and you may well be a scholar!"

"Those boxes there are supplies. I have much to build, many prototypes to test."

"Prototypes?"

"Miniature machines," he explains, slowing the horses down as we turn towards a set of stalls. "better to make it small and see if it works before going full scale when I can manage it. Easier to smelt the metal back down to if it fails."

"What are you building?"

"I've got many ideas. The matter of which ones work is the question. Those that are successful I shall construct for use to defend the city."

Tilting my head to the side, I figure that's about as honest an answer as anyone can expect. Sometimes inventions simply don't work out.

"Can I help?"

His eyebrows shoot up as he turns to me, placing his hands on his hips as we come to a stop. "Do you know how to use tools?"

"I do! I can help you make stuff!"

Smiling, he wrinkles his nose. "That will be for me to decide, but...I suppose I can always use a spare set of hands."

Something nags at the back of my mind, but my excitement drowns it out.

Jumping off of the carriage, I turn on the spot, looking over at all of the mysterious boxes.

It takes a while for the soldiers to bring them inside, prying open the lids with crowbars. Metal gleams in the light, catching on gears and levers, while yet other boxes are simply bars of various metals, waiting to be forged.

Archie guides me over to a worktable, covered in blueprints, picking over a few before handing me one.

"This is a simple pulley system. Can you help construct it?"

"YES!"

He smiles and hands the blueprints to me, instructing me to go over the Donte with them. Donte looks over the design briefly before taking me to a crew in a courtyard, telling a few soldiers to set specific boxes out there.

There aren't many tools to use for this, so it goes by fairly fast. Archie raises his eyebrows as he sees how quickly I assemble my part, waving me over when I'm finished.

"Can you name these tools?"

A workbench is laid out, with many pieces on it. I manage to get over half of them correct, earning me a huge smile.

"Well, you have a keen mind. I think I shall need your assistance on a few projects after all Ray."

As we go over some other blueprints, Fedele approaches, bowing again. "Archimedes, where do you want us to take these finished projects?"

"To the wall. The same spot as the others."

Archimedes.

Like, the Archimedes?