Chapter 27: 1.27 Great Beams of Iron

I had shock course through my body, followed by fear.  

I had already finished my beer long before my body started reacting to it, indicating that the side-effects were not going to be a factor. 

I had been right up until the point where my pedipalps just wanted to get a hold of the elf next to me. I should be thankful that it hadn't been somebody else. Who knew how they would have reacted?  

I feared for the worst but it seems I was still in control of most of my body. 

Velariah hadn't even reacted to what happened to her. She simply continued eating while there was a spider part behind her back and on her lap. 

I was left questioning her sanity. 

Fortunately, the effects of the alcohol didn't intensify beyond that. I could keep my extra limbs under control by simply grabbing them with my hands and keeping them in place. They still twitched but I'd at least keep my dignity, what was left of it anyway. 

''What was that for? If you want to flirt, get a room you two!'' Seralyn commented. 

What was she thinking? As if I'd stand a chance with Velariah.  

Wait, did I even like girls? I didn't think so? 

I thought about it. I never had had a relationship back in my world. Not that I knew? Did I forget that too? I tried hard to remember, finding nothing to even grasp at.  

I give up. I don't know anymore.  

I blushed in embarrassment at the ranger's comment. Good thing I had an extra pair of hands to hide my face in while I kept my spider parts in check.  

''So.'' Draco filled the awkward silence. 

Thanks, Draco. 

''Is there anything else we need to plan?'' 

Seems he took a page out of my book. 

There was one thing that came to my mind but I had no idea if we could pull it off. I had the idea of taking containers with us and full them with volcanic ash. As far as I knew this would make for ideal fertilizer. The thing was, it was probably going to be extremely dense and I was not planning on breaking a cart and pay for a new one... 

If only we had a railway. 

Come to think of it, they had problems with their yields. If we could supply the fields with volcanic ash, it may solve the entire issue. I guessed it would also be a welcome addition for the coffee plants. Setting up a simple railway to handle logistics would be the dream. Transporting over fields was going to be pain for carts due to the weight, their wheels would simply get stuck or sink.  

Instead of a locomotive they could use horses. The technology would remain at a bare minimum but the advantages would be huge.  

… 

''Elania?'' Velariah's voice called out to me. 

''Huh?''  

Seralyn giggled. 

''You seemed lost in thought, are you okay?'' Velariah's voice came again. 

''I got a crazy idea to help out the village.'' 

''Seems to be a trademark of yours!'' Seralyn called again. 

Was she going to do this all the time? 

Sigh. 

''Care to share?'' Velariah asked.  

The idea of railways is so simple that it's fine for me to share this with other people, right? it's only the idea, Valtheril will probably have to execute this plan. They'd probably look to him as the inventor anyway, considering he already established a name for himself.  

I couldn't believe railways weren't a thing yet... 

Here is to hoping I don't start the industrial revolution... 

The steam engine was still a long way out, at least from what I could see, so I doubted it. 

''Do you have a pen and paper?'' 

''What's a pen?'' Velariah looked at me. 

Oops. 

''I meant a pencil.'' I quickly averted. I hoped they would think that I meant that in the first place. It seemed they were none the wiser. Phew. 

''Let me check if I can borrow some from the Lore keeper.'' She stood up and practically ran off to the desk on the other side of the room. 

Curious one, isn't she? 

It seemed she was successful in her quest for basic stationery. Moments later she returned with a pencil, a sheet of paper and a huge smile.  

''Alright.'' I stated as all their eyes were on me. 

Stop making me nervous! 

''You know volcanic ash is great fertilizer, yes?'' 

Velariah shook her head.  

I dropped the pencil on the table and my hand hit the table. 

You got to be shitting me.  

''Well, now you do, I guess. I was kind of hoping to start off with the knowledge that you knew about that.''  

''How would we know? Nobody decides to grow crops near a volcano, that’s just stupid. One eruption and their entire farm is gone!'' 

Ok, she might have a point there. 

How did people actually do it back on earth? I knew it was great fertilizer but I wasn't sure if people in modern times still lived near volcanoes. I knew it was a thing in ancient times partly because of the fact that the soil was so rich. Though, a few accidents did wipe out a lot of human life. Just look at Pompei for example.  

''Ok, so, long story short, volcanic ash is great for growing crops. I believe you have had issues with your yields in recent years, yes?'' 

The elves around the table nodded, Draco remained still.  

''Ok, so, what if we grab the soil around the volcano and move it to Dawnleaf.''  

''How do you plan on getting it here?'' Draco asked. 

Seems he had already figured out the biggest problem of what I had just suggested. 

''I'm glad you asked.'' I replied with a smile. 

''Short answer: we make a road out of metal. The long answer is a bit more complicated than that, but we will need a load of metal.'' 

I picked up the pencil again. 

''Let me show what I mean.'' 

I started drawing a railroad. It was nothing special, just two vertical lines crossed by horizontal lines.  

''So, these horizontal lined are sleepers, wood that is put on the ground.'' 

I paused for a second. 

''These vertical lines are huge bars made out of iron or steel, preferably steel. They are fastened on the sleepers and form a track. On this track you can then transport goods with carts that have wheels that envelop these tracks. it's important that the width of the track is the same across its entire length'' 

I stopped there to see if there were any questions so far. 

''But why?'' Seralyn had asked. 

''Ah, here comes the fun part.'' I rubbed my hands together. 

''Because of these tracks called rails, you can apply a lot of weight on them without getting stuck. It also allows you to connect many carts to each other which can then be pulled by one group of horses. Look at it as if it's a caravan wagon that is then linked to another, which is linked to another, etcetera. With this, you can transport huge amounts of resources at once with relative ease.'' 

''Or people.'' Draco added. 

This lizardman was quick to catch on, I loved it. 

''Or people.'' I added. 

''That's.'' Velariah looks at the shabby drawing. ''A very interesting concept. Is this what you talked about before, you know?''  

I nodded. 

''A train.''  

I let the info sink in before I continued.  

''Of course, there's some more to it but these are the basics of the idea. I reckoned if we can transport large amounts of volcanic ash to the village, we could give the agriculture sector here an enormous boost.'' 

''It sounds like a good idea but all that Iron is going to be expensive, it's quite a distance to the Searing Peak.'' Allina added to the conversation. 

''You're right, it's a lot of resources needed. The thing is, I know eventually this will pay for itself, you could also sell the ash as fertilizer to other villages and towns. you'd be able to get immense amounts with this, way more than you'll need.'' 

''My father is going to love this. We should inform him right away.'' Velariah was getting all excited. 

''Uh-uh, lunch first!'' I stated. 

My second plate of pork chops was just brought in. The others had already finished and they were now waiting for me.  

Sorry, not sorry.  

I did enjoy me some good bacon. 

I just enjoyed my food in silence as I could almost see the gears in the others' brains grinding, trying to process this revolutionary idea I had just shared.  

''Where did you get all this information from?'' Seralyn had simply asked. 

I knew it would be her. 

''Oh, you know, alcohol does that to you, it gives you crazy ideas.'' 

''And grabby hands'' Velariah added, grinning. 

What the hell, Vel? 

Seralyn joined the other elf in grinning. 

Two against me? This isn't fair! 

At least Velariah managed to distract Seralyn enough to not have her question further. That was a relief, I wasn't sure what my next excuse was going to be. 

Velariah stood up and paid the waiter who was currently serving to another table. When I asked her how we were on finances she said we would have two gold remaining after our visit to Dworag.  

'Those scorpions better be worth something', I thought.  

If I needed fifty for the inherity ritual we were still quite a bit off.  

I decided to take a look at the quest board just in case. I knew I would have to take a small break for my body to finish what it started but it couldn't hurt to have a look, right? 

Oh, that's right, I can accept gold quests now. Hmmm. 

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Empty. 

The gold column was empty, just like the ruby one, though the ruby one has never held a single quest so far. I'd never seen the gold one empty before, though.  

There were no interesting silver quests either, bah. 

Anything lower than that really just wasn't worth the time, I'd be better off working in the field. Come to think of it, I wondered how much progress they made? 

I yawned. 

What the hell? 

Seems Draco was right. I should probably head back to Vel's home or take a nap in the grass outside the village. Unfortunately, one thing still remained to be done, but hopefully we could get it over with quick.  

The day was still young and the sun was still as bright as ever. I decided to go to her home after we’d seen Dworag. I would have some questions to ask the white-haired elf. I should probably just ask away and get familiar with a lot of things I have skimped out on until now. I mean, what did I really know about this world? 

I'd finally have a good excuse to do nothing and just gather information. As much as I was a doer over an information gatherer, even I knew it would be important to know more.  

We decided we'd meet again the next day at noon at the guild. Velariah and I bid goodbye to the others and made our way to Dworag's shop. 

Since we didn't hear any noise coming from behind the building Velariah decided to use the front entrance instead. Not long after, the dwarf exited with the chest armor from before in his hands, the only difference was that it had four holes for arms now. Velariah followed behind him as he walked up to me. I decided to lower myself to the ground so I could actually look him in the eyes. 

''Ah, miss Elania, graceful as ever. How are you on this fine day?'' 

Such a charmer. He would have completed the picture if he'd kissed my hand too. 

''I'm doing fine, how about yourself.'' 

''Mighty fine now that I've laid eyes upon you.'' 

A true Casanova this dwarf. 

I could feel myself blushing at the comment. I'd never expected anyone to mention anything like that. 

''I hope this fits and serves you well, would hate for a beauty like yourself to get hurt.''  

He held up the armor piece above his head. 

Seriously, stop with the flirting, I'll die! 

I eagerly took the chest armor which had the straps on the left side unlocked. 

It fit like a glove. All four of my arms fit through the perfectly positioned arm holes, and I could move them freely. It seemed these straps worked much like a belt; this should be easy. I tried to fasten them. 

It was. At least I wouldn't need help with these.  

I stood up and enjoyed the new feeling of added protection. Thanks to the featherlight enchant, I hardly noticed wearing it in the first place. It may not be the most expensive enchant there was, but for me right now, it was definitely one of the more useful ones.  

I walked around in a few circles, thankful I didn't have the large turn radius anymore when I first appeared in the forest. I'd lost that a long time ago. It seemed this piece of armor would serve me well indeed. 

''Thanks, Dworag, it looks to be perfect.'' 

''Heh, it's far from perfect, if you have the money, I’d be happy to forge something that would be more befitting of your body.'' 

Again, with the flirting. 

I sheepishly thanked him as Velariah paid him the promised sum of two gold pieces.  

The dwarf waved goodbye and Velariah and I made our way to her house.  

The same routine as usual played out. Velariah knocked, Elly looked and opened the door. She then helped Velariah out of her armor and complimented mine.  

I thanked Elly while I helped myself out of the armor that I had just put on. Maybe I shouldn't have closed those straps, they turned out to be harder to open than to close. Elly had offered to help which I had ultimately accepted seeing as it was taking me too long. Any longer and it would just have me made look incompetent.  

I hoped having her helping didn't make me look incompetent. Maybe I was just overreacting, she helped Velariah every time as well, after all. 

I had Elly get me some water while Velariah walked upstairs. I wondered what she was going to do there. 

Elly returned with a glass of water and Velariah came walking down the stairs again. 

''What were you looking for?'' I asked her when I saw her face. She had obviously not found what she was looking for as she eyes the doors leading to the hallway. 

''My father. Seems he isn't home yet.'' 

Oh yeah, the railroad thing. She is really impatient, isn’t she? 

I dub thee Hyper Elf. Well, she just had coffee so it's not too far off. 

She took a seat at the table and drank the glass of water that Elly had just put down for me. 

''Hey, that was mine!'' 

''Pft, Elly, could you grab another?'' 

''Certainly.'' 

Whatever. 

I yawned again.  

Damn molting. I really hope that doesn't happen too often... 

''Someone is getting sleepy, you sure you don’t want warm milk instead?'' Velariah teased.  

''Very funny.'' I said as I made room at the table.  

Velariah still had the crappy drawing I made before. 

''Do you have a pencil here somewhere?'' I asked, realizing I could probably get it a bit more complete. 

''I'll have Elly grab one in a bit.'' 

Poor Elly, she was going to be worked like a horse at this rate. She was lucky there were no beans waiting for her to be peeled. 

She handed me the glass of water before she went off looking for a pencil on Velariah's mentioning. 

It was a good thing we got back home because a wave of drowsiness hit me again. There wasn't something in the water, right? I doubted Velariah or Elly would pull anything like that. 

I hoped two days would be all I needed; this was ridiculous. 

A knock came at the door and Velariah walked up to check on it as Elly was still upstairs looking for a pencil. 

Velariah returned with Valtheril in tow, it appeared he had a document in his hand. When he sat down at the head of the table I recognized it as the document that we'd all signed.  

He sighed and laid it down on the table while Velariah shoved my drawing under his nose and started bombarding him with the same information I had fed the others earlier. 

Poor man, at least give him some time to relax first. 

Or coffee. 

Or, the best option of them all, both. 

Oh no. 

He looked at me with an interested look in his eyes.  

Elly returned with a pencil and gave it to me before walking off into the kitchen. 

''Mass transport you say?'' He looked at Velariah, then at me. 

I nodded.  

''Mass transport is probably the best way to describe the concept. You can transport many, and heavy goods over long distanced with this concept, as long as you can build the so-called railways properly.'' 

He looked over at the drawing. 

I held out my hand. ''If I may?'' 

He handed the piece of paper and I drew an H and a long vertical rectangle.  

I stood up and walked next to him and laid the new and improved drawing on the table. 

''So, this is what the metal beams look like from the top. And this'' I pointed at the H. ''Is what they look like if you look at them from the side where you connect the beams to one another. The bottom part is wide to connect it to the sleepers and the top part is wide to support the wheels of the wagons, which also envelop the metal so they stay in place on the beam.'' 

He had his eyes fixate on the drawing and seemed lost in thought. 

''From here to the Searing Peak, that's a lot of steel.''  

I nodded.  

''That's a lot of money.''  

Yup. Not going to disagree there. 

''We should get Dworag's input on this, get an idea of what we're looking at, maybe get some of the smiths from Duskleaf while we're at it.'' 

"By the way, what is beyond the mountains?'' I asked.  

''There's one village that we trade with every now and then, beyond that, there's an ocean.'' 

So not much of interest. That was a shame. 

I yawned once more.  

What am I, a cat? Do I need to sleep sixteen hours per day now or what? 

''Take some rest. I'll see if we can look into this matter further tomorrow, with some more minds that is.'' 

Ugh, I really wanted to get some questions out of the way today, but it seems I won't last much longer. Tell me this is an effect of the molting thing and not some lame ass god trying to prevent me from getting certain information. That would be such a pain in the butt. 

I'd find out soon enough, either way. 

I walked off to the bathroom after wishing Velariah goodnight again in the middle of the day. 

I hoped I wouldn't have to get used to that. 

I took of my shirt and put it in the sink. I was improving with regards to civility. I then put my tag on top of it before my eyes wandered to the bathtub. 

I so wanted to take a bath this evening. 

Bah. 

'I'll do it tomorrow morning', I resolved. 

I grabbed a pillow as I let myself drop into the pile again. I then turned off the lights and closed my eyes. 

I wondered what tomorrow would bring.  

Faragi

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I want to use the next chapter to tie up some loose ends and answer some questions that are still outstanding. 

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