55- One down, two to go

7/3/5/4353 M.A.C - Niwut- Mid Afternoon

"So, you'll be at the top, unofficially, and your father and I will be section leaders. We'll be in charge of handling and training people below us while you do the same for us. Like this, we can keep your identity secret from all but us and future section leaders, and you'll be able to delegate tasks that you need done."

Scholar Atwut pointed toward the top of the pyramidal diagram he had just finished drawing.

"I would like my section to be in charge of buildings and infrastructure, and I believe Khetep's section should be put in charge of materials. We would need at least one more section to become operational, one that would be responsible for manufacturing. You can fill the gap for the time being, but we will be limited to whatever amount of energy you are able to spare. Should we also plan a section for your mother?"

"Don't worry about Mom, she focuses on the 'Art' part of artisan. Best to just supply her with stuff she could use from Dad's section and then just let her cook."

"If she cooks with stuff your Dad gives her, won't it be toxic?"

Doro facepalmed as he realised he'd let an expression from his past life slip through, but decided to move on without explaining himself.

Yeah, gotta remember that some stuff just doesn't translate. I'd better not start talking about beating a dead horse, or people will give me strange looks. He is right, though; I don't have that much energy, and I'll probably need it to practice my Abilities. However, I'm not sure a single general manufacturing section would be the best option.

"Uh, professor, I think it might be better to have multiple manufacturing sections, each specialising in a different thing. I spent a lot of time thinking it over while I was bedridden, and I reckon we will need three to four such sections to start with."

His father and the scholar both leaned in closer, their curiosity keeping them on the edge of their seats.

"We'll need a section for large metalwork, one for precision manufacturing, to make smaller items and do the detailing on larger pieces, and one for mass manufacturing of simpler items and components. We'll add a few different production sections later on, I'm planning to eventually put myself in charge of one that will deal with vehicle conception and assembly for example, but we'll start with a lucrative market that won't make too much of a splash while letting us train up artisans in skills they will need for bigger things later on."

Khetep and Atwut inched even closer; any further and they would slip off their chairs.

"We'll start by focusing on kitchen appliances and cooking gadgets!"

The two men visibly deflated as Doro revealed the first market they were going to tackle.

"Sorry, professor, there won't be much work for your section to start with, so your job in the meantime will be to help find and vet candidates for the other section leaders. Since you have a lot of contacts, I think you are the most suited to this task."

Doro gave Attwut an apologetic smile before turning toward his father.

"Dad, the first order of business for your section will be to set up a mundane refinement process for stainless steel. Don't worry, I will help you out. You will need to look into hiring at least one person to work on this project as their main job, a somewhat experienced apprentice might also work."

Khetep looked somewhat energized by his task, but the scholar still seemed unmotivated.

"Kitchen appliances and gadgets? I don't really have any contacts in those fields…"

"It is fine, professor. We don't need people with specific experience in the field. As long as they are well-suited to leading the three different sections I mentioned earlier, all is good. Ultimately, they will be responsible for creating the components used by all the other sections, including yours, so all we need is for them to be able to make what we ask."

Khetep cleared his throat to signal he had something to say before giving his opinion.

"Should we also set up a glass section? After my set of glassware and your mother's gift, seems like you could share quite a bit of information there."

"Patience, Dad. We'll do that at some point. Can't make too much of a splash and we need to build up capital, better concentrate on metalworks for now. By starting with this, we should be able to make quite a bit of profit without causing too much of a fuss, and it should let us set up production chains for other markets and materials later. The important thing is that we don't waste our time setting up a shop front and act as suppliers instead. It will mean smaller margins, but it will let us pivot into different types of products much more easily."

Atwut looked pensive for a moment, but Doro's last statement seemed to have reassured him.

"We can start small, using the personal workshops of whoever we hire, but our first priority will be to reinvest the profits into expansion to get a refinery, a factory, and a warehouse set up exclusively for consortium business. With how expensive the prices are in the inner district, we need to be on the lookout for a large area here in the industrial district, or maybe around the port district."

"Leave that to me. While you help your father set up the temporary refinery in his workshop, I'll find us some options for vacant lots that can be converted; that should be easy enough. There are many different construction crews who owe me favors, so as long as you don't need the buildings to be too fancy, I might be able to get them built at just above material costs. I have a fairly good idea as to where to find someone with the skills required for precision manufacturing, but could the two of you look around Boomtown for candidates for the other two positions? I'll also search for potential candidates in the central district, but you may have better luck here."

Well, I already have some sort of idea for the large-scale metalworks, but it's really too bad Sarima's father is in such a state; if not for the incident, he seemed to have the skills needed for the mass production section.

***

Sarima walked through the clinic's too-clean, empty corridors as she made her way back to the room where her father lay comatose. Aside from some bright white lamps, the corridor was bereft of any adornment; nary a speck of dust to be seen.

I wonder why they are treating Dad so well...Not only did they give him a single room, even though he can't see it, but every day a new medicus or healer comes by to see if they can do something to help.

Sarima reached the door to her father's room and scrunched up her nose as the ward's pervasive, pungent chemical smell continued to assault her nostrils.

Achoo!

Sarima sneezed as she opened the door, startling the stranger standing at her father's bedside. The man had dark rings beneath his eyes, and the uneven silver mid-length beard adorning the bottom half of his face was full of pits, the ends of some of the hair burnt black. The mass of curly hair on his head did not fare any better. Sarima even noticed some burnt areas on the man's eyebrows, but his surrounding skin seemed unblemished.

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"Sorry for startling you. Don't be let down if you can't help either, none of the others could do anything either."

Sarima first assumed the man was yet another healer, but his reply made her doubt her assumption.

"...Alda? No, it can't be..."

The stranger reached for a pair of wide spectacles and gave them a thorough wiping before pinching them onto the bridge of his nose.

He must be one of Dad's old friends if he knew Mom.

"Excuse me, young lady, but would you happen to be Alda and Kejit's child? I thought they had a son..."

The man looked down at Sarima, but his eyes seemed to focus on something in the past rather than the girl in front of him.

"I do have an older brother, but he ran away to become a sailor against Dad's wishes. My name is Sarima."

"Sarima? Well, you sound so much like your mother that I got confused momentarily. Luckily, you also seem to look more like her than Kejit. My apologies. Where is she by the way? Shouldn't she be caring for Kejit?"

Sarima's expression soured as she realised the man's information was sorely outdated.

If his information dates from before I was born, he wouldn't know about Mom...

"I'm sorry if you were close to her, but Mom died over three years ago."

Pain flashed across the man's face before he glared at the motionless Kejit, but he quickly looked back at Sarima with pity.

"I'm so sorry, child. I didn't know. Kejit and I parted on bad terms when he and your mother moved here. Until I received this letter from the clinic, the last time I had heard from your parents was when your mother sent me a letter to let me know of your brother's birth. I'm ashamed to say that I was still too wounded and prideful to send a reply at the time. That is probably why no further letters came."

"It's fine, you didn't know. But who are you anyway? And what do you mean by moved here?"

The man blinked hard, as if to chase the ghosts of the past out of his vision, and then responded with a non-threatening smile and a honeyed tone.

"Well, Sarima, I am your father's cousin. My name is Hapu, but you can call me Uncle if you want. Your Dad grew up with me in Sawut, across the river from Niwut, after his parents left the Empire to fight in the Brihonian war and left him in my father's care. He only moved here after he and your mother got together. Growing up, he and I were best friends; we apprenticed under my father at his forge and got along famously until your mother entered the picture and complicated things. Well, not that she did anything wrong. The past isn't important now, what is important is you. If your brother is gone, your mother is dead, and your father is here, does that mean you are on your own? As your closest relative in the Empire, you can come stay with me. Sawut isn't quite as large or lively as Niwut but I am sure you will grow to like it."

Sarima's expression shifted into one of fear as she looked up at Hapu. The idea of being separated from Doro and his family, just when she finally started to feel as if she belonged with them, brought tears to her eyes.

"Huh? Well, you can go to the orphanage if you hate the idea this much, but I think you would be much happier at my place. I am a bit of a workaholic, and I don't have a wife or children, so you would mostly be left to entertain yourself, but my parents live next door and can help out if needed."

Hapu panicked as he tried to reassure the crying girl, but his lack of experience dealing with young children showed.

"Please, Uncle, don't adopt me! I'm happy to know I still have other familly members left other than my idiot brother, but I already found a place I want to be. My best friend's parents already took me in and said they would treat me as their own if I wanted to stay with them. I already told them I wanted to, and I shouldn't go back on my word. Also, I like them a lot and want to be with them, and it sounds like I might get lonely if I went with you. Not only would I have to leave my best friend, I'd be left alone most of the day again, like since Addat ran away..."

Hapu scratched his beard as he looked away pensively.

"If they are good people who will care for you, I guess that would be fine. Well, as long as they are not forcing themselves beyond their means out of goodwill. As your closest adult relative, though, the Empire would prioritize my claim if I were to push for it. I feel like I owe your parents for the past, so I'm inclined to do whatever will make you happiest so long as you are safe. Let me meet these people first, so I can reassure myself that you aren't being taken advantage of."

Sarima brought her foot back, preparing to kick Hapu in the shin for even imagining that Doro's family was planning on taking advantage of her, but she let her foot drop back down as she saw the genuine look of worry on his face.

"Sure, we can do that. If anything, I'm the one taking advantage of them, but if I told them that, they would probably get angry or sad. Even if I stay with them, though, that doesn't mean I want you to stay away. Crossing the river doesn't take too long, so we can visit each other. I would really like to get to know you, and I do believe you would have done your best to give me a comfortable home if I needed one."

Sarima gave a glance at her comatose father and sighed.

"Honestly, even if he wakes up again, I'm not sure I'd want to go back with Dad. The adults have been trying to make it seem like it was an accident, but I am not dumb. Either Dad got so drunk he nearly killed himself, or he did it on purpose. Either way, I can't keep taking care of him if he is going to be doing things like that; my heart is not strong enough. It has been a very short time, but staying at Khetep and Suyum's home reminded me of how a family is supposed to be."

Hapu grimaced as he realised the child in front of him had been forced to grow up beyond her years due to her unfortunate situation. He turned to the sleeping Kejit and gave him a look of disapproval before muttering something so quietly that his beard muffled most of it.

"...failed to take care of her...even her children...picked the wrong one..."

"What was that? I couldn't hear you that well."

Hapu cleared his throat and straightened his back before turning back to Sarima.

"Nothing of importance now. What is done is done. Your Father's condition doesn't look like it is about to change today, so we should head back to your friend's place before it gets too late. The last ferry back to Sawut leaves at twelth bell, and I'd rather not have to pay for a night at an inn."

***

"No, no, no...We should call it 'Nicofam', short for Niwut Consortium Fabricarum Mundanarum."

Khetep was adamant that his naming scheme made the most sense, but Scholar Atwut disagreed loudly.

"What Consortium Fabricarum Mundanarum? It should obviously be 'Nicotem', short for Niwut Consortium Technologiae Mundanae!"

Both grown men turned to Doro, their piercing glares demanding a decision from the boy. Doro put a hand up and responded timidly.

"Hum, wouldn't it make more sense to drop 'Niwut' and go for Consortium Fabricarum Mundaranum et Technologiarum, or 'Cofamtech' for short"? We might expand out of the city in the future."

Khetep and Atwut did not seem convinced by his suggestion, and the trio started arguing again until the sound of someone knocking on the door caught their attention.

"Doro? Mister Khetep? Can I come in? I have someone to introduce to you all, and I thought it might be best to keep Miss Suyum for last."

"Come in, come in. We are just having a chat; nothing dangerous is going on. We could use your opinion, actually."

Khetep invited them in without leaving his seat, and Sarima led Hapu into the workshop.

Huh? He looks like a black Hephaestus. With that bushy, singed beard, he might be one of us...One of us...One of us...

"So...This is Hapu, my father's cousin from Sawut. Turns out that..."

Sarima went on to explain the conversation she'd had with her newly found uncle earlier, and that he was mostly here just to make sure he wasn't leaving her in a bad situation or causing them problems by leaving her there. As she continued relaying the information, Doro could not help but pick up on some of Hapu's peculiarities.

If I understood it correctly, he trained with Sarima's father, but instead of getting married and opening a shop, he stayed single and threw himself into his work at his father's smithy? If I'm to believe Gaius, gods do not exist, so would this just be a coincidence? Serendipity? His smithy being across the river isn't the most convenient, but aside from that, isn't he like the perfect candidate?

Doro pulled at his father's sleeve and started whispering into his ear.

"Hey, Dad, should we unofficially interview him for the mass manufacturing section?"

***

Instead of doing what he had come to do, Hapu ended up sidetracked and involved in the discussion the other three had been having.

"Not sure it is my place to say it, but if you want to avoid getting noticed, maybe you should forgo using a name altogether."

Doro and Khetep nodded and scratched at their chin in unison, making Sarima let a small giggle escape, but Scholar Atwut interjected.

"Not a bad point, but we need to use a previously unregistered name when I deal with the paperwork."

Hapu scratched his head for a few seconds, his hand disappearing into his mass of hair, and then pulled it out and pointed upwards as an idea came to him.

"Ah...Why don't you just register as 'The Consortium'? I doubt anybody's done it before, and it will make it harder to investigate you."

Scholar Atwut open his eyes wide as he processed the simple yet genius solution Hapu had come up with. Meanwhile, Doro leaned in and quietly spoke to his father.

"Yeah, Dad? I think he'll be a great pick for the job."

"Alright, give him your recruitment speech, I'm sure Atwut can sort out a contract quickly, so you can feel free to share any information after that."

Hapu got startled by Sarima poking his shoulder as the sound of bells rang outside, the girl having completely left his mind as he got enthused about sharing ideas with likeminded folks.

"Uncle? Didn't you plan on taking the last ferry back to Sawut?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well, twelfth bell just rang. I think you missed it."

Hapu's pinched his lips as he noticed the last echoes of the beels, but then he saw the predatory look the father and son pair were giving him as they rubbed their hands in unison, and his annoyance turned to apprehension.

"Well, if you are not pressed for time, would you kindly listen to us for a bit?"

Doro unclasped his hands, spread his arms apart, and tilted his head slightly forward before continuing his recruitment speech in a conspiratorial manner.

Twenty minutes and a freshly signed contract later, Doro successfully collected yet another middle-aged man.

"Oy! Dinner is ready, I made some extra if baldy wants to stay!"

Suyum shouted from the other side of the door and all the people in the room turned toward Atwut, their eyes directed at his polished dome. All did their best to contain their laughter, but Sarima failed and started laughing out loud.

"Oh lords! Hahaha...Miss Suyum isn't scared of anything, is she?"

Rather than getting angry, Atwut just looked down at his feet and spoke softly.

"If this is how mothers are, maybe I dodged an arrow with mine..."

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