While Rafael was engaging in small talk with the old couple, another conversation was taking place in a different house. "Sir, I managed to see what he asked Richar to make," Amis, the spearman, reported.
"It was a square wooden frame with cloth stretched over it. I also overheard him mentioning something about turning wood into pulp, but that's all I know."
"Hmm, could it be a canvas? But what could he mean by turning wood into pulp?" Cenric mused, sitting in his chair with a plate of food in front of him.
When I questioned that farmer, he shared some interesting details about his encounter with this man. Also, my scout confirmed there were no signs of people around that strange object he found.
"I don't know, sir. Hmm... If it's a canvas, could he be planning to draw our village layout and details about our forces to smuggle it to an enemy?" Amis speculated.
"It's possible. He said it was an experiment and that he would show me today, so let's wait and see. Continue your observations and report anything else you discover about him," Cenric instructed. Amis nodded and returned to his duties in the village.
Tonight, the scout should arrive at Baron Frederic's city and deliver my message. I just have to wait for an answer, Cenric thought as he resumed eating.
Meanwhile, Rafael was finally enjoying a cooked meal. The soup, though a bit bland due to the lack of salt, was satisfying, and it came with a piece of hard brown bread. However, what caught his attention was the cup of ale in front of him.
"Wait, you're telling me that you all drink this instead of water? Even when you're thirsty?" Rafael asked, puzzled.
"Yes, what's the problem with that? I don't know how the water is where you come from, but here everyone knows you'll certainly get sick if you only drink water," Richar replied.
The beer had a sweet taste and less than 3% alcohol. At least the taste isn't bad, Rafael thought.
I remember the book mentioning distillation as a means to purify water and other liquids. I think I'll have to make some changes in my sequence of inventions, Rafael considered. The old man finished his bread and then asked, "So why do you need wood ground into pulp?"
"It's a little experiment I'm doing. If I succeed, it could change a lot of things," Rafael answered.
"When will it be finished?" Richar asked, taking the last spoonful of soup from his plate.
"It depends on when I get my hands on that ground wood," Rafael replied, finishing his soup as well.
"You really want that, don't you? Okay, I'll focus my afternoon on grinding some wood as you asked, but only if you tell me what you're going to do with it... And, of course, if you pay me," Richar said.
This guy only thinks about money, Rafael thought. "Fine, I'll tell you. I'm trying to make paper," Rafael revealed with a big smile.
"Paper? Hmm, that word isn't strange to me, but I just can't remember what it means," Richar said, his gaze wandering as he tried to recall.
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll remember when you see it. But for now, thank you for this incredible soup, and I don't want to disturb you during your work, so I'll be going," Rafael said, getting up and heading for the door.
"Do you think I forgot about my payment? 60 coppers for my work and 20 for the food," Richar reminded him.
Cursing the man silently, Rafael reached for his money pouch, but then he remembered. "Wait, I gave you that silver coin, isn't that enough for everything?"
"Yes, right, you did pay already. Sorry, I forgot. Here is your change," Richar said placidly as he searched for some money before handing it to Rafael.
This old man didn't forget anything! If I hadn't remembered, he wouldn't have returned the money, Rafael thought, counting the coppers in a small pouch. "How much is in it?"
"Are you really a merchant? There are 20 coppers in there."
Hmm, I gave him a single silver coin, and after deducting 80 coppers, I have 20 left. So, it seems that 1 silver coin equals 100 coppers, Rafael calculated, putting one pouch in each pocket of his pants. Richar, the old man, wasn't paying attention to him anymore.
"Again, thank you for the food. I'll be leaving now," Rafael said. He took Richar's grunt as a goodbye and left the house. What should I do now? There isn't much to do in this place, so I think I'll just find another thing to create, he thought.
Back at his place, Rafael opened the book again. The first option is to create a clock. It's pretty easy, and the only hard part will be the bit of calculus I'll have to do. The next option is to produce soap, but that's a bit more complicated. Another option is tanning, but I don't think there's enough animal skin lying around here for that. I could invent cement and concrete... well, maybe, he pondered.
I'll try the easiest one, so a clock it is, Rafael decided, opening the sub-chapter that explained how to create a clock.
[10.7. "It's Late and I'm Cold, and I'd Like to Know How Late and How Cold it is"
(...)
10.7.1: CLOCKS
"Being with you and not being with you is the only way I have to measure time."
-You (also, Jorge Luis Borges)]
Reading the prerequisites, Rafael realized that the only type of clock he could currently create was a sundial. I can try to create this sundial on a small scale and then ask Cenric for some funding to create a bigger one and place it somewhere in the village for everyone to see, he thought.
[Modern wristwatches use tiny pieces of quartz to keep time, (...) and it has a useful property called "piezoelectricity".] "Yeah, too complicated. I'll stick with sundials," Rafael concluded.
The book explained how to make a water clock and an hourglass before finally detailing how to create a sundial. It started by stating that if the reader wanted a precise sundial, they would need to know their latitude and the true north direction, or at least the magnetic north.