Eastern River Bend
1299 Words
Mid-June 1441 and it is coming to the end of Springtime. It had been 22 long days since the river gouge had been created behind the domain where the intended river would be running around it — YES, 22 LONG, FREAKING DAYS.
It's not really an easy time if someone had some special abilities that could be conjuring something out of thin air at any moment of time and day, am I right?
When Priest Earl and Priest Walter reported that the river gouge that was marked on the ground as 10 feet wide and 5 feet deep and lined with gravel and flat pebbles had been completed, I congratulated the duo for their dedication and we all were equally delighted.
It was just after lunchtime when the report for the works had been completed for the ½ mile across behind the domain. The men rested for some time to recover their depleted energies and along with some of the pioneers, we all went over to evaluate their hard work.
The process to design how the river flows around the perimeter had taken a king time since the ground this time was filled with trees and other whatnot. It was unlike the residential lots back then where Priest Earl could conjure up sewage tunnels and the incineration pit within minutes.
But it was worth it...! Every single minute, hour and days that the two Priests that worked tirelessly 8 hours or more daily to complete the painstaking process of creating the river extension perimeter that would later have vehicular and footbridges to accommodate new access for the residents once their new houses had been erected.
We walked behind the domain and through the orchard where there were some ladies who were harvesting the fruits and placing them on baskets. These baskets would be balanced on the head and carried back to the cold storage barns before being selected and set aside for immediate consumption or to be stored and made into extract and essences instead.
After passing the orchard, there were trees that would need to go through a process of deforestation. These non-fruit-bearing trees would aid in the supply for the wood planks when the first few houses would be built.
The sounds of soft gurgling water were heard and when we got there, we all were awed by the whole scene that spreads before us. It was what we had planned and it was exactly how it looked like.
The river flows slowly and gently and the river banks were slightly raised to prevent overflowing to the sides. It was as what Priest Earl had suggested to be and I walked near the river bank and peered to see how clear the water was. It was literally teeming with life and I could even see some fishes swimming amidst the algae and water plants underwater.
The main River Ure had been successfully split to make the perimeter successful. As I watched the land beyond the river and also the land where I was standing, I discovered that the trees need to be deforested on both sides...!
Now, there's a river perimeter around it and posed a slight issue during the deforestation. Unless the timber would be floated back in the river back to the sawmill area. But from what it seems, we jolly well need more manpower than what we have right now.
*SLAP*
I literally facepalmed myself when the realisation of this matter finally sank in. Damn...! How could I not see the problem on the minimap and only realises the issue right here and now?!
"Is there an issue with the river, Your Majesty?" Priest Walter anxiously asked me since I looked kind of lost and slightly agitated when I realised my own mistakes.
"The river is fine, Priest Walter. The only matter is the trees on this site and beyond the river. In order for the area to be developed, we need to perform mass deforestation, 1 mile across the river and 3 miles perpendicular to this point, am I right?"
"You may opt for the trees to be swallowed back to Mother Earth if you want but the process would take much longer than the river project. In fact, it might even be like 3 months or so?" Priest Earl spoke and shared his idea.
"We need the wood to build the houses and I don't want those trees to be returned back to mother earth at all. We need to fell the trees from this point near the river on both sides and float them back to the sawmill."
"Ben... Frank... Could you relate to me what you can solve our issues right now? We need to have a count off for the manpower available and also the manpower that we need. There's a possibility that the sawmill would be operating round the clock or maybe we acquire another sawmill to support the current one?"
"We need about 100 able-bodied men, Your Majesty, on top of our current manpower. Would we be able to get the manpower from the towns that we are supporting them with bread at this moment?" Frank voiced his suggestion to me and Marcel came forward and shared his views too.
"We would have the required manpower that we need. We need to prepare the accommodations and food for them as well on top of salary. Would the men be getting the same salary as our residents too?"
"There's no issue for the salary, Marcel. They can be paid the same rate as our citizens. We also have more than 100 empty houses in the residential lots to accommodate them and 3 can share a house to sleep in."
"They would perform the same functions as the rest of the citizens for morning meets and nightly conference and they would be treated as Equals."
"But their statuses would be under temporary residency just like the 4 lads that would be ending their contract by end of this month, supplying the wire caged incandescent lamps."
I explained and Eagle came up and informed me that the 4 lads would like to stay on here in Gracehaven as permanent residents and be deployed to work as deemed fit by Ben or Frank.
"My dear friend, Marcel... Help me out, please. I need 100 to 150 families, in accordance with the empty houses, if possible to be inducted into our population from all the 15 towns. They would be placed under temporary residency for the moment and would have a choice to be permanent residents."
"I would get on with it, I could get Eagle's assistance to inform all the 15 towns and the Shadow members situated in the towns would be taking their nominations and perform screening for us as well," Marcel suggested to me as Eagle gave a thumbs up for the suggestion.
"Thank you so much for your assistance, guys. You really had made our dreams come true. Eagle, do any of your engineers any good in civil engineering?"
"You mean like building stone or iron bridges?" Eagle asked and he smiled as he understood what I had in my mind before I fully mention it.
"Hahaha. You are really a mind reader, Eagle. Yes, we would need civil engineers to build us 3 bridges here, wide enough for 2 wagons to travel on each side and also two walkways on the sides for residents to walk over."
"I could make the foundation for you, Your Majesty, in order to hold the bridge up on both ends." Priest Earl mentioned and I explained that the bridge would be constructed when the deforestation had been completed.
I clapped Priest Earl shoulders for speaking up and offering his assistance without further ado. It seems our citizens are getting more assertive.
- Writer
