The day began with the first rays of light on the horizon. The people awoke naturally, without the need for an alarm. The servants quickly dressed and set off to begin their daily tasks. Rafael, however, was woken up by the bustling servants but decided to go back to sleep after everyone left the house.
The cleric, like the others, rose with the dawn, prepared himself, and made his way to the front gate of the wall.
He greeted the guards and continued walking in a specific direction, offering encouraging words to the people he passed. Eventually, he reached a large workshop where several men were already busy with woodwork. "Hello, Aadel, how are you today?"
"Ah, hello there. I'm... well, I've had better days, but you don't need to be concerned. I'm just a bit under the weather, that's all," the lead carpenter replied.
"I understand, but don't worry. Our Lord won't let anything bad happen. Now, did you manage to make what we asked for last night?"
"Yes, yes, my apprentice made exactly what you requested." Aadel retrieved two objects from a corner and presented them to the robed man. "We already had this large bowl here, so the only thing left to make was this. Are you sure it's not just a canvas for painting?"
"I'm sure. It may look like a canvas, but it serves a different purpose. What about the wood pulp?"
"Oh, right. Just a moment..." Aadel brought out a bowl filled with a light brown, almost white paste.
"Good, good. Please, help me take all of this to the church in the inner circle," the cleric requested, and a young carpenter was summoned to assist.
Upon arriving at the church, they placed everything in front of it. Some servants were instructed to bring buckets of water to fill the large wooden bowl. The high priest emerged from the church to observe the experiment. "Where is that young man, Robert?" he asked.
One of the servants informed him that Rafael was still at the servants' quarters, so the cleric went to fetch him. He found Rafael still asleep. "Mr. Robert, Mr. Robert, please wake up!"
"Huh? What? What?" Rafael mumbled, disoriented as he woke up.
"We have everything ready to make paper, and the high priest wants you to be there," the cleric explained, helping Rafael up and leading him to the church.
"Good morning, Robert. How are you feeling? Did you sleep well?" Julius asked.
"Sorry, I overslept because I was really tired," Rafael apologized.
"We're going to test whether what you said is true. What do you think?" Julius inquired, his eyes narrowing as he gauged Rafael's reaction.
Rafael glanced at the "canvas," the wooden pulp, and the bowl filled with water, all prepared and ready. What the… I explained how to make paper just last night! How do they already have everything ready? he thought, surprised.
"I'm... confident. I know that what I saw in my dreams was an angel, so I'm sure this is the right way," Rafael replied, maintaining his overly religious peasant persona.
"Alright then, you may begin," Julius instructed.
The cleric proceeded to drop all the wooden pulp into the water and began mixing it. After some time, he submerged the "canvas" into the mixture, then lifted it, catching some of the floating fibers.
He carefully separated the wet sheet of fibers from the mesh and laid it on a table. He finished by placing a polished, straight piece of wood onto it, then added a heavy rock on top.
"So, now we just wait?" the cleric asked, turning to Rafael, who nodded in response. "Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly is paper?" the cleric continued, keeping up the facade.
The high priest nodded to Aaran, who explained in simple terms what paper is and its potential uses. "Wow, that's incredible. So, He wants more knowledge to be recorded and taught to others. Thank you!" Rafael exclaimed, looking up at the sky as he spoke.
They waited for half an hour before checking the results of the process. To avoid any probing questions from the religious men during that time, Rafael entered the church, sat on a bench, and pretended to pray.
What will happen is they'll see the sheet of paper and finally believe in me. I'll take the opportunity to ask for some coins so I can stay at an inn until I find a permanent place. In the meantime, I'll look for someone skilled in stonework. Once I find them, I'll make a deal to introduce concrete to the world, Rafael planned as he waited.
After half an hour, Rafael was called outside to see the results, but as he stepped through the door, he noticed a group approaching. Leading them was a man with dark brown, long hair, a brown beard, green eyes, and a sturdy build.
He wore a cloak of different colors and was accompanied by three female servants and three soldiers for protection.
"What a fine day, isn't it? How are you, Julius?" Baron Frederic greeted the high priest, ignoring Rafael and the cleric. So this is Frederic. Yeah, exactly how I thought he would be, Rafael thought, observing the Baron.
"Good morning, Sir Frederic. I'm old, so feeling good is a luxury for me," Julius replied, his tone lacking enthusiasm.
"Ohoho! If you'd like, I can lend you one of my servants. They're very skilled at what they do," Frederic offered, pointing to one of the girls with a wide grin.
"Thank you for the offer, sir, but I'll have to refuse. I already have Aaran," Julius declined politely.
Frederic glanced briefly at the simply robed cleric, then turned his attention to the various items in front of him. "What's all this? Are you washing clothes?" he asked, barely suppressing his laughter.
"We're just trying out some new things. It's dirty and boring work," Julius replied, deliberately downplaying the situation. He didn't want the Baron to know they had just discovered how to produce paper, so he linked the activity to something he knew Frederic disliked.
Frederic's smile nearly disappeared, and he began to turn away. "I'll leave the boring stuff to you, then," he said. But before he fully turned to leave, something caught his eye—the piece of wood on the table, with water pooled around it and a rock on top. "Is there something under that wood?"
Julius had to restrain himself from cursing the man. You… May He punish you! he thought angrily. "This is the experiment we were conducting. We're about to check the results now."
"Hmm, now I'm a bit curious. Go on, let's see what's under it," Frederic said, his interest piqued.