Magnifico

Hammer and his inventions

General Sun had kept his eyes open since he woke up in the morning. He got up finally and decided to get himself washed up. After taking his early morning bath, he went straight to his large wardrobe and picked up his uniform, and put it on.

Without waking up Amara, he quietly left his room and headed straight to their military arsenal, a warehouse at the southern side of the fort to inspect the level of development and also to monitor the activities there. He decided to do this before visiting the king because he thought it would be nicer to give the king a chance to sleep more since it was still very early.

Sun got the arsenal, a very big storehouse at the south side of the fort, though it was a big warehouse but was made bigger on the orders of Sun because of the arrival and fear of Magnifico. The weapon house covers a large area of the south side of the fort.

The engagement, renovation, and replanning of the weapon warehouse were among the promises Sun had made to himself and the king to ensure that there is enough space for producing all sorts of weapons they can think of. There was also a slight increase in tax in Quinax because of this project and some other projects they embarked on simultaneously.

Sun hasn’t visited the weapon house for the past few weeks. He visited before the warehouse was upgraded so he wanted to know the latest development and also to inspect and know if all things have been put in place.

Arriving at the warehouse, before Sun entered through the main entrance, he saw that the gate of this main entrance has been made taller and was built with a large log of woods finely knitted together and carefully given a sweet looking touch. When Sun entered the warehouse, the first thing he saw was the long lobby and in this lobby, the storage rooms were on both sides of the lobby. Here, documents, files, and all sorts of audit files are kept there for inspection purposes. The storehouse was built in a way that the entrance door was in the middle and it is very tall around 12feet double doors. Then at the entrance is a very long lobby that divides the storehouse into two equal parts which are divided sections by sections. Moving further, in the second section was small offices where workers sleep and take rest after work and during break periods. Sun came down to the third section, he saw the eateries. Here, the workers come to eat their food whenever it is time for eating or during break time.

The last and the most important section to Sun was the last section, which was the main place weapons were built. When he got to this point, he saw many people at work and he also saw some new weapons that have already been produced, and some are still being produced and worked on as he arrived.

They waved at the General and the General also waved back. He got close to a worker and he asked him where the person that was in charge was and the worker told him to check him in one of the offices. The person the General was looking for was the head developer of the weapons in Quinax. He was nicknamed the ‘Hammer' because of how he builds weapons from what you think may not be physically possible and how he forms weapons and also the way he uses his hammer to mold pieces of iron into a wonderful piece of art. He was old, plump but very energetic. The way he talks was quite funny and he doesn’t get offended quickly. He is garrulous, has a paper tin mouth, with a round face, and always in a happy mood.

Sun saw him resting in one of the offices alone, Sun quietly and slowly walked up to him and tapped him on the back while he was still taking an unserious nap that early morning. He jerked and fell off the bench. Sun laughed hysterically and managed to help get him up.

“You can never cease to amaze me, Hammer,” says Sun as he continues to laugh uncontrollably. Hammer got up, dusted himself off and looked at Sun straight in his eyes, and made a grunt with his teeth wide open like he wants to bite Sun. Sun also laughed again and hugged him.

“Your body has gone stiff Hammer, stiffer than it used to b,e,” Sun said as he smiles.

“I am getting old Sun, I am now sixty-five” Hammer laughs too and stopped immediately like he never laughed before, he automatically changed his face into a more serious, mean face. He leaned back and looked at Sun like a stranger, “How are our wife and Sun?” Hammer said sharply.

“Please, who is our wife and son?” Sun asked as he grinned. He didn’t understand the question but he knows Hammer was sure of what he just said even though he seemed unserious when he asked the question.

“I mean how is your wife, Amara, and son General?” Hammer asked with more seriousness in his voice.

“Oh!” Sun exclaimed as he laughed stupendously. “My wife and son are okay. Thanks for asking” Sun said as he leans forward to hug him again. Sun so much liked Hammer because he is always happy and never much worried. He is so loyal to the core as regards the services he renders to Quinax and as the head of the department of weapon development.

“I am happy to hear that, Sun.” as he leans forwards too to hug Sun in return and smiled. “why have you come this morning here? Have you come for inspections?”

“Eh-m, yes. Actually, I came to see how things are going, I have been busy training the soldiers and integrating them into our military, I have not had much time to come here to check out how things are going so, I finally decided to come today. And of course, to see you too” Sun answered.

“Alright, well we are almost done with setting up things in the weapon house. We did everything as you wanted, we separated every division to have a separate function so that everyone will handle the particular task that is assigned to him.” Hammer said, lifting his paper tin lips and nose as if he was perceiving an odour he wasn’t quite familiar with.

“That is very nice and wonderful to hear Hammer. But, what about the weapons? Has there been any new development?” Sun asked with a face hoping to get a positive answer.

“Of course, there are new improvements done on the previous weapons we have developed. It will be nicer if you come with me to see it, General.”

Sun followed him and they both went to the production unit; the last division of the weapon house as it was popularly called. Getting there, Sun noticed the hotness of the place and he also saw some new weapons that were already built and other ones that were still being worked on.

“Look over here,” Hammer says as Sun looks to take a glimpse at what he was pointing at. He continued, “these are the stone-throwers. Formerly, these weapons were built with woods but these new ones were built with irons. Though it was less heavy with woods but this new design is more durable, stronger, and less likely to be destroyed by fire. Though I told you before that this wasn’t going to take much time but finally it took more time than I expected.” Hammer explained, this time, he was more serious than ever.

“In terms of its technicality and mechanical operation, was there any other improvements apart from the iron body?” Sun asked with his eyes dimmed.

Hammer smiled with his razor lips and said “Trust me, General, there are improvements and we are still working on more improvements but I will have to tell you some of the ones I can remember. These stone-throwers you are seeing” he paused pointing at it again “were also worked on”. He paused and continued “initially, what we had were machines with only one swinging arm but we have managed to develop new ones with three swinging arms with an increased speed of throw and more precision. We will work on the ones with four swinging arms later, we just need time to master this new model. In addition to this, I discovered a new secret we may use against our enemies.”

“What secret?” Sun asked optimistically.

“It's vinegar, this does magic... Ha-ha” Hammer laughed. “Look General, all my improvements were purely motivated simply because of fire. Fire is the most destructive medium and element used in warfare and it is used to destroy weapons and weaken the morale of soldiers. Now I asked myself, what do I do to make this fire less effective and less destructive on our weapons. The wood General, the wood. It needed to be changed into something stronger and that is why I opted for metals. Then I asked myself, what about that equipment that no matter what happens, the use of wood to construct them will always be inevitable. What do you think can protect some of our towers from fire General if we are to be under attack?”

“Protecting from a fire? I don’t know, maybe water. Correct?” Sun replied he was unsure.

“Ha-ha. That is very wrong General, very wrong. The magnitude of fire thrown in warfare is not something water can easily extinguish. In fact, water will make the fire stronger General.” Hammer says again as he continues to laugh.

“What then?” Sun asked.

“It’s vinegar. I discovered something when I was working in the warehouse, I soaked hide in vinegar for a few days and I found out it can be used as a fire repellent. This can be very useful to us and we can use this as a defense tactic.” Hammer said.

“wow!” Sun exclaimed with his mouth wide open. “You are brilliant Hammer,” Sun said as he leans forward to hug him.

“Oh, yeah. I am the head technician of Quinax, I should be very resourceful.” Hammer grinned.

“We need to fortify our fort and let it grow as strong as it can get. I’m happy I have something tangible to tell the king. I’m happy to have just learned this new thing from you" Sun said smiling.

“I will show you the carroballista later, there are some things I need to add to the design. I am also looking forward to designing movable watchtowers that can easily be driven to avoid being too close to the city walls in case of attacks from the outside.” Hammer said.

“Movable towers? How is that possible?” Sun asked enquiringly.

“It is possible of course. We just need to build the towers with wood so that it will be less heavy to move" Hammer said.

“With woods? Is it not better with metals? Besides, when the enemy attacks and happens to shoot at the towers, it will all end up in flames, or won’t it?” Sun asked.

“No General. First of all, if we construct it with metal, it can’t be easily moved. It will be very heavy and also, the associated costs will be too much. One tower built with metal can build three towers with wood. Secondly, that’s the need for the vinegar. When it is time for war, we will pour the mixture of vinegar and hide on the towers to repel the fire as I explained earlier.”

Sun couldn’t believe the technical ingenuity Hammer has shown him. He was totally astonished to see the latest improvement Hammer had developed and also the schematics of his plans.

“Hammer, I can’t help but to say, that you are an old genius” Sun declared.

“I owe you much General. You gave me the opportunity to be here, the opportunity to put to use my talent. I won’t forget that,” Hammer said with an endearing smile.

“The sun is almost rising, I need to see the King right away” the General stated.

“All right, we will see later.”

Sun left the storehouse and headed straight to the main palace to talk to the king about his unreadiness to travel out to Sytrits that day. When he got to the palace, his arrival was announced by the king's eunuch. He came in and saw the king drinking his herbal tea with some morning breakfast. Right on top of the king's table was a small brown jar that contains his tea, nicely spiced meat mixed with lettuce, cabbage, and peas.

“Hmm, General. You are welcome, you just entered at the right time.” King Zulu said with an unclear voice, and churn of food in his mouth. “Bring the General some food” King Zulu commanded. Sun was given a seat, just opposite the king.

“Thank you, my King. I really appreciate your kind gesture.”

“you are always welcome. I believe you must have come to say something to me, coming this early means it’s a matter of urgency” Zulu said.

“Yes, it is. That’s exactly why I am here” he paused. The food was already served hot and tasty, with the aroma all over the room.

“Thank you” Sun said to the King’s servant that brought in the food for him.

“Please, I will need water too he added.

Now, Sun’s eyes was more focused and fixated at the king. “I came to tell you that we won’t be making the journey to Sytrits again today,” Sun said. King Zulu's attention was drawn, he paused eating for a while and looked at Sun.

“what’s your reason for that? And when are you planning to go again” Zulu asked.

“I am not fully prepared for the journey so I decided to shift my date of travel. The thing is, I don’t know when the time will be right” Sun’s voice unsteady.

“What do you still need to get prepared that you haven’t already gotten? Please tell me.” King Zulu asked, still looking into the General’s eyes.

“The journey to Sytrits is the journey of the unknown. I have taken time out to put into account what we will be needing and who I will be needing. I will be going with Jonas as we all know because he has little knowledge more than anyone in Quinax and he isn’t ready too. I just don’t want to go unprepared but I tell you, we will be moving out very soon but today, isn’t the answer” Sun said.

“Alright. Take your time General. Besides, I am supposed to host a little farewell party for the journey and to ask the gods to bless the journey.”

“Thank you my King for understanding. But I promise I will be traveling very soon. We need to destroy Magnifico and I very much want to and if this journey becomes a success, Magnifico will be killed.” Sun said. He also stopped eating because he needs the King to be convinced and he very much got the result he was looking for.

“Alright, Sun. Please eat your food,” They both continued eating their food.