"It will be 20 coppers," the man said, holding the basket of limestone in front of him. Rafael glanced back at his new "brother," Aaran, who promptly retrieved a small pouch from inside his robe and counted out the copper coins, handing them to the man.
"Help me carry it, brother," Aaran said, grabbing one side of the basket.
Rafael nodded and easily lifted the other side. "Now we need to heat these stones. Where can we do that?"
"We can do it at the blacksmith's. We might even run into the high priest there," Aaran suggested. They began walking through the streets, navigating around the townspeople. Aaran, not accustomed to heavy labor, had to stop twice to rest.
"How are you not tired? Hhuuff..." Aaran panted, trying to catch his breath. Rafael estimated they were carrying around 50 kilograms of limestone, with each bearing half the load.
"Back in the day, I used to carry heavy merchandise sometimes, so I got used to it," Rafael replied. Eventually, they reached a wide-open workshop with two large furnaces and several blacksmiths hard at work. They looked around but didn't see Julius. Aaran approached a burly man with brown hair, thin eyebrows, a small beard, and a leather apron. The man paused his hammering to greet them.
"Greetings, Albert. How are you?" Aaran asked.
"Ohoo, Aaran! Long time no see. I'm good, I'm good—except for this persistent cough," Albert replied. The smoke from burning wood and coal often caused health issues for blacksmiths and others in similar professions.
"Don't worry; I'll pray for your health to improve. Now, I have something here, and I'd be grateful if you could help us," Aaran said.
"What's it? Need a new cross? Or maybe another chalice?" Albert inquired.
"No, no, this time it's something different. You see those stones there? We need to heat them over a fire. Can we use your kiln for it?"
"Heat the stones? Why use our kiln just to heat some rocks?" Albert asked, puzzled. While Aaran tried to convince him, Rafael stood beside the basket, observing the bustling workshop and the lives of the people around him.
I think I'm the luckiest person alive right now, Rafael mused. I won't have to suffer like the common folk. I have a secure place to live, free food... Oh, man, I forgot about that horrible food. But it's okay. I just have to keep showing some miracles, and soon enough, Julius will make me a priest. That's when things will really change.
Before lunch, Rafael had helped Aaran make a few more sheets of paper and prepared everything for his own baptism, giving them a few hours to talk. Aaran explained the life of a cleric—what was expected, how to behave around those of higher rank, and more. Rafael took the opportunity to ask about becoming a priest or even a high priest.
"Not every cleric can become a priest. Usually, you have to devote years to the Church, and then you might be chosen by a group of priests to rise in rank. The same process applies from priest to high priest," Aaran had explained.
"But our case is different. Everyone who directly assists a high priest has a greater chance of rising in rank. Take me, for example. There's a good chance Julius will recommend me to become a priest this year. Of course, the decision lies with the collective of priests in Calistoga, but they wouldn't take a high priest's recommendation lightly."
Rafael was jolted from his thoughts by Aaran. "Help me throw it into the furnace." After dropping the limestone into the fire, Aaran asked Rafael what they should do next.
"To make cement, we'll need volcanic ash or, if we don't have that, old pottery," Rafael explained.
"Volcanic ash... No, we don't have that, but pottery, yes. Come on, let's go buy some," Aaran suggested.
"I should stay here to watch the stones. They'll soon get red hot, and I'll need to take them out by then," Rafael said, pointing to the furnace.
"Are you sure?" Aaran asked. After Rafael nodded, Aaran headed off to the other side of the city. They agreed to meet back at the church in the inner circle. Aaran had mentioned that Calistoga had five churches in total.
While waiting for the limestone to heat up, Rafael began planning for the future. With all these inventions I've introduced, this kingdom might start to become more civilized, he thought. Suddenly, he remembered the wooden ruler and protractor he still had in his pocket. Pulling them out, he saw they were broken in the middle, likely from his fight with Amis when he fled the village.
Ahh man, now I'll have to find som... The sound of metal hammering in the background sparked an idea. He approached a young blacksmith who was heating an iron ingot in the other furnace. "Excuse me, good sir. I need something made," Rafael said.
The young man turned to him. "Oh, cleric. Good cough cough evening. How can I help you? cough"
Rafael showed him the two broken wooden pieces, holding them together to form the complete objects. "I need a metal version of these. Could you make them for me? I need the engravings to be exactly the same and in the same spots on the new ones."
"Yes, yes, cough, I'll personally make them. What metal do you want?" The question took Rafael by surprise; he hadn't expected options.
"What are the choices?" he asked.
"Copper, bronze, or iron," the blacksmith replied.
"I'll go with bronze. How much will it cost?" Rafael asked, thinking it should be cheaper than iron.
"It will be 1 coin and 80 coppers."
"What?! How much is the iron, then?" Rafael asked, shocked.
"2 coins and 10 coppers," the blacksmith said, as if anticipating Rafael's thoughts. "We're currently low on tin for producing bronze, so the price has gone up. If you choose copper, it will only cost 90 copper coins."
Rafael almost decided against it but ultimately chose the cheaper metal. At least it wouldn't break like the wooden one had.