Preserving Hope (The Aliomenti Saga - Book 2)

by Alex Albrinck

  Will smiled. “As a matter of fact… yes.”

  Drawing in the dirt, Will explained his idea. He would bury two long spikes into the river, and suspend a wheel between them. The wheel would have pieces of wood jutting out of it, much like flippers on a fish, and the water would turn the wheel.

  Joseph shrugged. “OK, I guess you could do that. But why?”

  Will grinned. “The river is going to send water directly to us, without our needing to draw water from the well.” He showed how he’d add a bucket to the wheel, positioned such that as the wheel turned, the bucket would be submerged and scoop up water. As it started to turn upside-down on the way back into the river, the water in the bucket would fall into a trough, which would enable water to flow down to a position they chose.

  Joseph gave him a blank stare. “So the ground near the river gets wet. Why bother?”

  “What if a second trough caught the water leaving the first? And a third from the second? If you start the water high enough, and connect enough troughs together, then eventually…”

  “The water reaches the village,” Joseph said, nodding. He glanced at the wheel. “I don’t think that wheel will get the water high enough in the air to reach this far.”

  Will grinned. “No, but it will let us test to see if it will work. If it can work on this small scale, then the community can decide to build larger wheels and larger troughs.”

  Joseph smiled back. “Let’s go see if this works.”

  The two men left the village a short time later, carrying a strange assortment of wood-based products, including the two long poles carried over Joseph’s shoulder. Will had gotten a bucket from one of the farmers in charge of the livestock, and Joseph had brought along the hand tools of the day along with several pieces of wood and rope they’d use to secure the bucket at just the right angle.

  The two men spent several hours placing the poles into the Halwende River, which thankfully was only about three feet deep near the shore. Will expected that the fast-moving Ealdor waters would be best for a full-sized version, but for testing the Halwende suited them. They mounted the wheel after attaching three “paddles” and gradually lowered the it to the point where the water caught the paddles. As Will had predicted, the water turned the wheel. Joseph found himself fascinated.

  They returned to the community at midday to eat, and returned to work the rest of the day on the contraption. Though they were soaked through, the daily bathing in the cool waters had acclimated them to the chill, and it failed to slow them down. Shortly before they were to return for the evening closing of the gate, they identified the correct angle for the bucket, and when they held the trough in place they were able to get an irregular, pulsing stream of water flowing through the trough. Elated at the possibilities, the two men returned to the village.

  In the morning, the two men walked together as the community proceeded to the river for the daily bath. Arthur, walking in front, spotted the wooden wheel spinning merrily in the waters, and held up his hand. “What is that?” he roared. “How did one of our wagon wheels end up in the river, and why does it not float away?”

  Will stepped forward. “Let me demonstrate.” With Joseph’s help, they showed that the water in the bucket could be directed into a trough and flow through it to a distant location. “If we can build this,” Will explained, “then the river can feed consistent supplies of water to our crops, even when it does not rain, and if we extend it far enough, it can reach into our village as well.”

  “And why would we want to do that?” Arthur asked. “Do we not have a well centrally located?”

  “We do,” Will said. “However, that water requires that one of the workers at each craft move in that direction, carrying a bucket each time. It takes time to draw the water forth in that way, and is limited to the size of the bucket. If we were to extend the troughs to each working area, we could fashion doors in the troughs that could be opened as needed to fill buckets, pots, or pitchers as needed. A secondary system of troughs would carry unneeded water back to the river, along with anything else we might wish to wash away.”

  There were murmurs in the crowd, murmurs of people contemplating the possibilities of having water running directly to their places of work, water immediately accessible in whatever quantity needed. The questions came quickly. How long would it take to build? Will didn’t know; it depended on how quickly the team of carpenters could build the wheels and troughs, but he knew they could work quickly if needed. How high would the wheel need to get? Will said that they should only need to have the troughs drop slightly from unit to unit, so that the water could flow downhill, but probably would need to start twenty feet in the air or more.

  The community bathed, excited about this new innovation, a project that would have water running to their shops. They’d no longer have to fetch small amounts of water one slow, laborious bucket at a time. Will overhead several of his new neighbors imagining the possibility of extending the troughs — smaller than those from the river — directly to their rooms, and at least one wondered if they might direct excess water back to the river with their waste, as “that would improve the smell inside the walls.”

  Will smiled. The spark of innovation had been lit; his neighbors were considering the impossible, thinking in terms of technology rather than magic. Perhaps, just perhaps, this might ease them off the relentless pursuit of those supernatural abilities at the expense of the physical health and mental well-being of their youngest member.

  XIV

  Wheel

  The community rallied around the Wheel of Water. It was the first group project of such enormous potential and scope since they’d endeavored to build the walls and single rooms over a decade earlier, before most current residents had even joined the village.

  After thinking through the project, a number of the villagers suggest starting at the neighborhood walls and working back toward the river, raising the level of the troughs as each was added, and testing each section along the way by dumping a bucket of water into the end of the trough to ensure the water flowed correctly. “The most difficult piece to build will be the Wheel,” Joseph, the carpenter, noted. “It’s critical that we know exactly how large the Wheel must be, and the only way to be sure is to build it last.”

  Will recommended that they mount the Wheel in the fast-flowing Ealdor river to the west. “The Ealdor is the better choice for several reasons. First, the Ealdor’s waters move more quickly than those of the Halwende. That means that the Ealdor can deliver more water at a faster rate than we’d get from the Halwende. The Halwende moves so slowly that it might not be able to turn a larger Wheel at all.”

  “That makes sense,” Gerald the Trader noted. “If this Wheel doesn’t move, we won’t get water. We don’t bathe in the Ealdor because there’s too much risk that the water might pull us away, but that same feature makes it ideal for this project.”

  Will nodded. “Secondly, the Ealdor is closer. This is a significant building project, and the Halwende is perhaps three times farther away than the Ealdor. We must continue to build goods for trade, and if we spend too much time building our aqueduct and Wheel we may hurt our work in other areas.”

  Arthur nodded at this, though his perpetual glower at others’ ideas remained. “We do not want to cut off the flow of profits to this village to create a flow of water; we’ve done without this contraption before. Let’s not lose sight of our primary purposes.”

  Will couldn’t argue with that, much as he wanted to do so. “Finally, the Ealdor is actually a bit higher above the ground than the Village. That means the Wheel won’t need to be as tall. The natural elevation of the river is such that you walk downhill from the water to the village, and so it will be easier to get the water here.”

  The villagers agreed with the plan, and construction began.

  Progress was steady. The carpenters, in addition to their normal workload, spent hours as a team building the poles necessary to hold the troughs. Those normally
working other crafts took time out of their evenings to help find more wood, gather the sap necessary to waterproof the troughs that would form the aqueduct, and otherwise help the carpenters. It took several months to reach the river, and the weather cooled as summer gave way to autumn. The Traders conducted several additional Trading missions to other towns and cities to the south, making solid profits on each trip, and rushed back with the supplies needed to shape the support beams. The village celebrated in late September, when the final trough was secured, and the test bucket of water from the river successfully traversed the aqueduct back to the village.

  The extra work continued. The more senior carpenters, including Joseph, worked on shaping the massive Wheel and paddles now that they knew the actual size required. Others in the village, including Will and the Traders, worked on fashioning a large, wide dock along the shore of the river, extending out nearly ten feet. They built outward, one plank a time, using each additional foothold to drive beams into the water farther and farther from the shore. Once the dock extended out the full ten feet, they tore out the middle four feet, forming the causeway that would contain the Wheel. They then began driving the vertical support beams into the riverbed, beams that would be used to elevate the Wheel and hold it in place as it turned with the current. Once the vertical beams were in place, they added diagonal beams to ensure that the weight of the wheel and speed of the current wouldn’t topple the entire structure.

  The construction of the Wheel proved a challenge to the carpenters. They built two prototypes, in part because they weren’t sure how to transport the Wheel to the river. They wanted to roll the Wheel to the river, but the weight would likely snap the paddles off. In the end, they figured out how to build the paddles separately and attach them to the Wheel after transport to the water. That would enable the villagers to move the Wheel from the village, out to the docks, raise it onto the support beams, and only then add the paddles that would capture the energy of the flowing water and turn the Wheel. The carpenters did not attach buckets; rather, they used the prototype Will had created to observe the angles of the containers and simply carved the carrying structures directly into the side of the Wheel.

  When the Wheel was completed, the entire village put aside their daily chores and worked to roll the massive structure out of the village and along the now well-worn path to the Ealdor River. They took care to ensure that the Wheel did not strike the overhead aqueducts or underlying support beams. Will, as the one who’d come up with the original design, was chosen for the honor of carrying one of the three-foot square paddles to the river. Arthur and Maynard, the village leader and his primary assistant, also carried paddles. The two men flanked Elizabeth, apparently concerned that she’d run off if they left her behind in the village during the event. Maynard, ever-mindful of his grudge against Will, glanced back at Will and sneered, tapping the hilt of his sword and glancing at the girl.

  Will sighed, wondering if perhaps he should risk squeezing the man with a nano-based cocoon until his eyes popped out. Realizing that he’d have to look at the eyeless man in such a case, he decided he’d need to figure out another way to put the man in his place. He needed to do so before Maynard decided to put that sword he so loved to improper use.

  Will was the only Trader given the honor of carrying a paddle, and as such was isolated from Eva and the others. He was near enough to Elizabeth, however, to both catch Maynard’s threatening glance and to notice Elizabeth taking advantage of her time closer to the trees and vegetation to build her Energy. She maintained her outwardly sickly appearance, so much so that Arthur had complained on more than one occasion that the village doctor was clearly not doing his job. Will replied that most doctors weren’t denied access to the herbs and potions needed to treat patients, for Arthur had refused to allow Will or the other Traders access to the Schola unless they paid the silver coin fee for the day. Arthur eventually decided to drop his complaints, realizing he couldn’t both complain and deny Will access to all possible supplies.

  Noting that Elizabeth’s Energy was growing nicely, he projected directly to her. You’re doing well.

  This is very exciting, but I can tell that Father’s anxious. He’s concerned that if this works as promised, he’ll lose power and people will start treating you as their leader.

  Will snorted, which drew odd looks from the people walking nearest him. I have no desire to be a leader of that sort. People can follow my example if they choose; he wants them to follow because he ordered them to do so.

  They reached the shore and, after looping long lengths of rope through the gaps between the spokes of the Wheel, rolled the structure into the water upriver from the dock. Several of the men wrestled the Wheel into the slot between the support beams. They tried to lift the Wheel into place, realizing only then that they’d need to get the Wheel’s axle nine or more feet above the surface of the docks. Amid much grumbling, they secured the floating Wheel to the docks, and decided what to do next. Arthur sent several glares in Will’s direction, clearly attempting to suggest that this oversight was Will’s fault, or perhaps even that Will’s plan was fatally flawed.

  “It’s a Wheel,” Will finally said. “If we build ramps on both sides, we should be able to roll the Wheel up the ramps and into place.”

  This suggestion was widely approved, and dozens offered to volunteer time to build the ramps, foregoing their usual chores and tasks to do so. Arthur waved his hand for silence, and when all eyes faced him, spoke. “My friends, like you, I am excited about the possibilities that the Wheel in the water will bring, and I am pleased at how we’ve all come together to work tirelessly toward achieving this goal. However, we must not forget to attend to our other duties as well. We must continue making progress toward our other goals, but more importantly, we must not fail to handle the basic tasks necessary to survive. I must ask that enough people in each of our trades remain on duty throughout this process of ramp building and Wheel mounting that we do not fall significantly behind in preparing for our next Trading mission. Or,” he added, chuckling, “that we do not starve for lack of food to eat.”

  To Will’s surprise, an angry outburst greeted Arthur’s words. Many shouted at the same time, stating in various ways that the villagers were fully committed to the Wheel and would resume full production of their crafts upon the Wheel’s completion. A few even shouted that it was an insult to the idea that Will had come up with to suggest pulling people off the Wheel and back onto normal work duties. Arthur glanced at Will, and shrugged.

  To his regret, Will walked to the front of the group and supported Arthur. “I agree with Arthur. We still need to eat, and we can’t forget why this community was established, and its ideals, for one new idea. I think Arthur’s plan is sound and I personally support it in full.” Sometimes, supporting a good idea was painful, simply because of who voiced it first. Will realized that, in some small way, many who followed Arthur without thought had started to see Will, a member for less than two months, as a leader of their village, just as Elizabeth had noted. In looking to Will to support his plan, Arthur had essentially forced Will to acknowledge Arthur as the true leader. Will was the leader of a specific project, but Arthur was the leader of the community.

  Though the grumbling continued, most were reluctantly convinced by Will’s statement that Arthur’s plan was sound, despite requiring that some of them would miss portions of the actual building process. In the conversations that followed, it was decided that when it was time to load the Wheel into place, they’d make sure everyone was available to help and watch to see if the Wheel worked as promised.

  Promised? Will found himself nervous at the word choice, and the possibility that something would go wrong. This was a community which had killed a woman for allegedly keeping secret a means of unlocking enhanced abilities; what would they do to him for diverting so much time and energy to this project if the Wheel did not work? Would he risk using Energy or nanos to make sure it worked? Or protect himself from their
wrath if it didn’t?

  On a late October day, the ramps were finally completed, and the villagers once again gathered on the shore of the Ealdor River to witness the raising of the Wheel. Heavy cloaks were worn by all to protect against the frigid winds blowing off the waters. Several of the men untied the ropes that held the Wheel in place, floating on the surface of the river, during the past several weeks. They tossed the ropes attached to both sides of the axle over the support beams, with several men and women pulling on each end. Others flanked the Wheel on both sides, pushing on the spokes and moving the Wheel up the ramp, a Sisyphus-like team moving the Wheel into place. Slowly, the giant Wheel rose out of the water.

  Will, part of the team pushing the Wheel on the shore-side ramp, realized the problem when the Wheel was three-quarters of the way up the ramps. “Stop!” he shouted. “Stop the Wheel!”

  He felt the eyes of dozens of exhausted men and women looking at him, teeth chattering against the chill. “What’s wrong, Will?” Arthur asked, his eyes expressing anger at the interruption even as his teeth chattered. “We’re nearly done. Why stop now?”

  “The Wheel is in backwards. The buckets are on the outside. They need to be on the inside, on the side with the aqueduct. The Wheel won’t work the way it would be mounted now.”

  A collective groan arose from the crowd, and cries of “No!” and “Are you joking?” could be heard among those on the ramp and in the crowd watching the proceedings. “Can’t the carpenters just move the buckets to the other side?” Maynard shouted from the opposite ramp, his arms shaking with the strain of holding the Wheel in place.

  Joseph shook his head. “No, not without taking the Wheel back to the Shop. The buckets aren’t separate structures that can be removed; if we tried we’d damage the Wheel and it wouldn’t last more than a few months before it would crack.” He sounded worn down.