When I wake up in the morning, I feel a grievance feeling in my heart. It feels like I missing someone important in my life. When I try to remember what happened, I recall what that swordman said in my dreams, that last night is our last time to meet each other. Yes, that what master Durharm McClouds said.
I get up from the bed and go to the carpenter sites. In there I ask a plank and borrow a small knife to carving wood. I engrave my sword master's name on the plank, Dunharm McClouds. After engraving his name, I go to the top of the cliff to put the plank on his burial ground. Well, at least, with this plank, this grave is not for the unknown body, and maybe someone still remembers my sword master's name by looking at the name on that plank.
"Honorable master, this is the only thing I could do to honor your name. I promise you to use the swordplay that you teach me in a good way, defend the weak and uphold justice. And I pray for your soul to rest in peace"
After praying in front of his grave, I left the top of the cliff and inspecting the clearing work for salt pool. I see the crew already divided into 3 groups, first ground finishing the first pool, the second group makes seawater canal, the third group opens the forest to make the second salt pool. I see my uncle still directing his men and oversee their work. When he sees me walk into the clearing site, he greets me first
"Yo! Henry, if you do not show up, I'm going to pick you up, you know"
"Good morning, uncle. How's the progress?"
"It's been very good after the result from the cooking pot. Everybody was spirited and expecting a bigger harvest from the pool"
"That's obvious uncle, although slower in the process, the salt pool will give more yield than cooking the seawater"
"How much salt we will get from this pool, Henry?"
"I don't know exactly but it must more than a hundred kilos of salt, uncle"
"Hundred kilos…that will make our territory prosperous within a short time"
"That's my intention to making this salt pool, uncle. Ah right, I also have something else to made here, but to make it maybe take days to finish it"
"Oh? What is that? Let me hear that"
"I want to make charcoal here uncle"
"Charcoal? Is that like coals? Coals already expensive item in this kingdom, Henry, because it's hard to find and mine"
"Something likes coal uncle, but less in quality but still better than firewood. Less, smoke, higher heat from the fire, and easy to carry which make them good use for smelting iron and blacksmithing"
"How? Can we make that here? Wow, I get excited again after this salt result yesterday"
"We make it from wood, uncle. The principles to make this charcoal called pyrolysis, it's burning the wood under low air intake to reduce the moist and remove unnecessary elements in the wood. We should make a kiln first to burn this wood. This kiln must have an exhaust hole on top of the kiln and some air intake on the base of the kiln, put stacked wood inside the kiln to turn into charcoal. After that, ignite the fire for above the kiln, when the fire reaches the lower side of the wood stack, we seal the kiln and air intake holes, leave only exhaust hole on top of the kiln. When the fire is off, we can open the kiln and harvest the charcoal"
"How we know the fire is off Henry?"
"That's easy uncle when no more smoke comes from exhaust hole"
"And how to makes this kiln, Henry?"
"Don't we have much clay-like mud here, uncle? We can use that to make a kiln"
"Yes, you're right! Can we make it now?"
"Sure, but the wood used to make this kiln should come from hardwood tree uncle, so the charcoal will have hard textures and not breaking easily"
"No problem, we put aside the hardwood tree that we just cut today to make this charcoal"
So under my guidance, my uncle took some men to collect the clay and make the kiln for me. While waiting for the kiln to be dry and able to use, they start to cut the hardwood tree into smaller pieces that will fit into the kiln.
While waiting they cut the tree, I call one of the carpenters in the camp, to make something for me. That carpenter, Charles, is the one I usually ask to make something for me like the soap mold and other things.
"Master Henry, what do you need to make this time?"
"I want you to make a square plank that wide enough, make grids over the plank 19x19 but if the plank not wide enough you can make it 15x15. Also some wooden chips, the size should be smaller than the grids on the plank, make it around 200 chips, and paint half from them with black color and the rest with white color. Can you do that?"
"No problem, master Henry, but it needs time to finish it"
"It's okay, I can wait"
After that, I leave him to make what I've ordered to him and return to my tent. There's something I need to check there without anyone else nearby.