Corvin watched as the old man placed the metal blocks with letters on them in order on the machine. After putting the letters in order, he placed an empty newspaper on the flap and closed the flap onto the letters after putting some ink on the metal blocks. He pushed everything under the press and pressed it with all his might.
Corvin offered help to the man but he refused, saying that it was like his workout and he liked doing it. The man opened the flap, revealing a newly pressed newspaper.
"Hmm... So it was done like this? It takes some time but it is pretty clever.", muttered Corvin while watching the man press the latest issue of their newspaper.
"The merchant who invented this machine is an acquaintance of mine. He really is a bright guy but he usually uses all that smart to only find ways to pay less tax and get better trade deals... usually. Can't really say that after using this thing though.", said the old man.
"I see..."
"But, even more crazy than that is this newspaper! Never in my fifty something years of life did I think I would be publishing newspapers, let alone one that is basically a declaration of war to the Emperor... Do you younglings even think about if my heart would be able to handle this stress?"
The newspaper they were publishing this week had numerous statements from nobles that were a part of Popalis and a statement of Roz Falyn representing the Piscin Union. The statements were basically a declaration of support for the protestors and a call for the Emperor to back down from the throne.
"We will make sure you are safe, mister, so don't worry about it.
"Hopefully you guys win whatever your purpose is."
"Thank you, mister."
"...But honestly, that meeting took way less time than I thought it would.", said Corvin about the Popalis meeting they were attending earlier.
"Everyone is busy getting ready to lead armies and stuff. They came here prepared and left early.", said Noah sitting next to him.
After a few minutes, Corvin and Noah offered to help the old man using the other machines in the building. The old man, now tired, accepted and explained them how to use the machines and then continued on with his work. After a few hours, everything was done and the two young boys who delivered the newspapers arrived as well. The boys took the newspapers and left. Before they left, the old man gave some pocket change to the boys and they happily accepted.
"Now that the newspapers are out, we should leave as well, Corvin."
"I thought so as well...", said Corvin and got up.
The old man wished them luck and they bid the old man farewell and left the publishing house. After a couple of hours of carriage ride, they finally arrived at a dense grove where the carriage couldn't enter. They got off the carriage and walked inside the grove. There were no paths to follow, so Corvin had to trust Noah to not get lost between the trees.
"This is a really great place, huh?", muttered Corvin.
"Yeah. That's why I chose this place. I hope it stays like this after everything is over."
"Wouldn't it be better to camp somewhere else if that's what you want? You are practically bringing the war to the grove like this."
"It would be a shame if this grove disappeared, but this was the best place to hide our organization and I couldn't give that up. Not only is it a great place to hide a lot of people, it is also very close to our targets. Hiding here allows us to choose the battlefield, and you know how important that is."
"How far did you plan all this?"
"Almost everything. Of course, I got help from people. And I had a lot of time as well. This was something I have been planning for at least a year now, you know?"
"Yeah... You are amazing, Noah."
"Thank you but I already know. Oh, there they are."
Noah pointed towards a place in the grove, but Corvin couldn't see anything.
"What?"
"? Oh, you can't notice it, can you? We put up a camouflage around the camp... Well, I say camouflage, it's just coloured cloth. I can notice the difference but I guess that's just my eyes."
"Huh..."
They walked towards the camp. As they got closer, Corvin finally noticed the slight creases on the cloth. It was painted really well, with green and brown at just the right places to make it look like the trees outside the camp. Corvin was sure no one he knew except Noah could paint something this well.
When they lifted the cloth and got in, Corvin was surprised. The camp was smaller than he thought. It was really big, and there were probably about a thousand people here, but he was expecting a bigger camp and much more people. Because he saw the strength of the Empire's army firsthand, he knew just a thousand people wasn't going to be enough.
Seeing the complicated look on his face, Noah reassured his friend.
"Don't worry about the numbers. This is just the people training to use the rifles. We have about six or seven thousand more back at their homes who already learned how to use them. And a few mages we managed to hire come here to train as well. And if you take the other armies under the other's as well, we actually have a manpower advantage."
"Oh, I completely forgot! Do we have a matter mage here?"
"Why?"
"The Emperor is one as well! I saw him use it back at the war in the north!"
"You just came here and want to train already?"
"Well, isn't it the purpose of this place? What about it?"
"Nothing, that's just like you to be honest. I will look if we have one. If we don't, you will train with me, okay?"
"Sure. I wanted to do that as well. You also need to train if you want to beat your dad."
"Right.", said Noah and signaled a soldier nearby to come.
The young man walked over and saluted by placing his right hand right under his cheek, pointed towards the sky.
"Yes, General!", he shouted.
"You don't need to shout like that every time I speak to you, Captain.", said Noah.