Aaron picked up a piece of the potato flatbread. "How is the flour for this made?"

The majordomo nodded and motioned Aaron to follow him. "This is the oxmill. As you can see, the millstones are operated by an ox that walks in circles. Three workers take care of the produce."

Aaron walked up to the contraption and studied it thoroughly. Two flat grooved stones. Dried potatoes were thrown in on top, and the upper millstone was set in a framework that connected to the harness of the poor ox who kept walking in circles.

"So their mechanical tech is really stuck in antiquity," Aaron murmured in surprise.

Lyra observed Aaron growing excited and studied him. "Why is such simple technology so fascinating to you? The tools of the lower castes should be of little concern for mages. A Geomancer could create much more flour in a fraction of the time."

Aaron looked at the group behind him. "So why don't they?"

Shard shook her head, making it even more obvious that she wanted to be anywhere else. "Because it is not the role preordained to mages in the Polis. If the gods had wanted me to work in the dirt, they would not have blessed me."

Aaron ignored her and turned to Lyra and the Majordomo. "Have you ever seen a mill driven by a waterfall instead of an ox?"

Shard just sniffed and walked away. Bug and Keios observed with intrigued expressions. As Lyra, smiling easily, leaned into Aaron's side while studying the mill, the Majordomo answered with a cough. "No, such devices are not permitted by the gods."

Aaron tilted his head and pointed at the wheelbarrow. "Does that offend the gods as well?"

The majordomo frowned. "Why would a normal wheelbarrow be offensive to the gods?"

Aaron pointed at the oxmill. "There are devices from the past of my—no, our—world. Devices that are capable of weaving fabric or using rivers to power mills that are technically not more complex than a wheelbarrow."

Aaron looked at Grandmaster Keios with a smug smile. "Devices that time has tested for hundreds of years. Say, honered Majordomo, how quickly can you get me a group of skilled craftsmen?"

The Majordomo looked between Aaron and the Grandmaster. An intrigued expression had settled onto the man's face. At a nod, the Majordomo bowed.

"With your permission, I will leave to fetch the blacksmith and head carpenter."

Aaron nodded. "Get me four weavers as well. The ones most likely to be open to new ideas."

Lyra walked up to him and whispered in his ear, "Aaron, this is unwise. My uncle gave you this land not to profane the will of the gods, but to have a home. How about we let my uncle settle some matters and just go swimming together?"

She winked at him.

Goddamn it.

Aaron gave her a tight-lipped smile. This is what I'm supposed to do. But I also wanna try this. Maybe I'm just arrogant. But if watermills and mechanical looms actually work, that could be what breaks slavery. At least partially.

Aaron put a hand on Lyra's shoulder and pushed her back slightly. "That is an amazing offer, but let's do it later."

She winked at him with a sad pout.

Goddamn it, I want to go with her. I can guess what she has in mind.

Aaron turned her by the shoulder and looked over at the two other mages. "Imagine if one weaver could do the work of ten. I think I can make that happen. Would it not at least be worth trying, Grandmaster Keios?"

The man's expression settled into something unreadable and intrigued within a heartbeat.

Is he judging me? No matter.

"It would surely be impressive. If it is possible."

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Aaron looked into the reptilian eyes of the ancient mage. "It is. And think of the benefits this would bring to the polis. Clothes are very valuable right now. In my world, clothing had become cheap. Each person owned their own weight in clothes. All because of these devices that I know how to build."

Aaron noticed Bug giving him a slight shake of the head. His hand flashed: Under observation. No talk. Other place.

Aaron frowned. Is he warning me against real danger? Or is he just worried that I'm sharing stuff with the Purists and not with his cabal?

Aaron set his jaw. No, I need to diversify my options. And getting involved with this family in such a venture might be great for infiltrating them.

He studied Lyra and considered her chances. What the High Priestess told me. I think I can learn how to play the factions against each other.

Have the Mindmage support my education. Work with the Priestess for balance. Use the Purists for economics and the Expansionists by defending their mentor. Aaron shuddered, recalling the cave and the darkness. And I guess I need to learn what to do with the damned Matriarch of my clan.

Aaron looked at the Grandmaster. "Would your family be willing to support me if I can produce a lot of resources? Milling better and cheaper than an oxmill and producing fabric?"

Keios narrowed his eyes. "I am sadly not of the main branch. But personally, I would support you, as is my duty as your prospective mentor. I assume the finer points of business in our polis are where you need some support?"

As Aaron agreed, they discussed how to do this. Apparently, Keios had various contacts who'd easily deliver thread and dried potatoes and he could arrange the trades. He kept asking questions, and Aaron and Lyra thought through it.

After a while, Keios nodded, satisfied with the agreement. He had made sure to integrate Lyra and her family into it.

"So, to conclude: Grandmaster Keios will organize the raw materials. My estate will manage labor and the sale of goods back to the polis. Lyra will join me in managing as a local assistant. I will provide ideas and guidance. We split the profit so that I get six parts, where the two of you get two parts each, correct?"

Lyra and the Grandmaster nodded, whereas Bug's expression and stance soured further over the planning session.

Tough luck, man. I'm not your organization's pet. Ask your boss how that proposal went for him.

Soon the craftsmen arrived and Lyra began to get more enthusiastic about the work. Aaron had thread and tables for woodworking brought out alongside a loom. It took a few hours of experimentation, in which he worked with Lyra and the craftsmen under the annoyed and intrigued looks of Bug and Keios.

In the end, they had an amateur contraption between the two tables. One side held a roll that would collect the fabric. The warp thread hung over the gap to their spools on the other end of the table. They were bowed onto two planks, one at an angle above and the other below the plane of the fabric.

The construction of the frames, where every second warp thread was caught in a loop, had taken most time. The old weaver had cursed but acquiesced and created the construct to Aaron's instructions. The frames were lifted and lowered in turn, allowing the classical weaving motion.

Then, the carpenter had created a wooden sled the size of a forearm. That held the weft thread, which the worker would push through the warp with billiard cue–like sticks.

As the middle of the afternoon approached, a group of ten operating Bonded had achieved about a step long piece.

Confusion had turned into amazement on the faces of the natives. And only within half an hour, an amount of fabric was produced that would've taken the weavers a whole evening.

As the Majordomo set out a buffet of cheese and fruit, Aaron called a break and settled down on a bench with Lyra and all the others. On his insistence, the workers were fed from his table.

You can get used to that, my dear mages.

Shard had observed distrustfully from a distance and Bug was engaged in an animated discussion with the Grandmaster.

Lyra and Aaron were just enjoying the calm after the storm of engineering.

"So, Aaron, did you do something like this in your world as well?"

Aaron smiled ruefully. "No. These projects were only ever a hobby for me. I was more interested in how people think and can overcome the issues with their thoughts."

Lyra widened her eyes and poked Aaron in the side. "Are you saying my thoughts have issues?"

Aaron grinned at her. "I'd have to form a qualified opinion—uh!" He barely dodged the elbow aimed at his side.

"Consider your next words well, Hellionis," she warned him with a predatory grin.

Aaron laughed in turn. "Well, you seem to have had a lot of fun building the loom. What managed to overcome your reluctance? Just my charm?"

He dodged another blow as she gave him a thoughtful hum. "I guess the Weaver's Champion would naturally know how to build a better extension of his god's domain. After all, the Weaver creates the tapestry of our lives—and like that, you're good at making fabric from disordered thread."

Aaron shook his head. "Admit it. You had fun building things. No need for theological justifications."

Lyra tensed, then shrugged. "Maybe."

Aaron observed her thoughtfully chewing a grilled slice of fruit. Then, she jumped up all of a sudden.

"You said you wanted to explore the river and the waterfall. Let's finish the break there."

Then she tossed her tunic over her head and dropped her loose clothes, and winked at Aaron—perfectly naked in front of him with white skin and raven hair. Then she ran off.

Aaron smiled and followed her to the river.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.