The Alchemist Chapter 16

Chapter 16

I landed with Hypo next to my shop. Rachel was standing at the door, shieling her face from the sun.

“You’re back!” he said.

“Can you go grab Moray, from the Royal Society?” I said.

“Sure, but why?” said Rachel. “I thought you were gone on the incursion.”

“I promised that I would put together a cannon by the time they marched,” I said.

“Cannon?” said Rachel. “Wait, never mind. All your ideas are good. Just tell me what to do.” She paused. “I’ll go grab Moray.” She turned and began jogging down the street.

I leapt off Hypo and entered the shop. In the months in which I had been working on the fiber steel armor, I had collected a large amount of raw materials in a chamber underneath the shop.

I grabbed iron and cast it into the form of a cannon. It wasn’t the actual cannon that mattered; that was easy. What was hard would be the gunpowder. I knew it was comprised of sulfur and saltpeter, but its exact composition was a mystery to me. This is why I needed Moray’s help.

By the time Moray made it to the shop with Rachel, I had the physical cannon made. Now it was time to do research about gunpowder.

“So, do you understand what the point of this machine is?” I said, pointing to the cannon.

“I can’t fathom it,” said Moray. “It’s a tube made of cast iron. Are you going to ram things with it?”

“Remember what I told you about the first law of motion?” I said.

“All forces have an equal and opposite reaction …” Moray seemed to be clicking his mind cogs. “Ah, I see. If enough force is applied to a projectile, it will fly out at extreme speeds.” His eyebrows went up. “This is a catapult.”

“No,” I said. “A cannon.”

“But …” said Moray. “How are you going to generate enough force to throw the projectile?”

“Have you ever seen anything explode?” I asked.

“Explode …” said Moray. “I’m not familiar with that word. Not in the way you’re using it.”

Hm, I thought. I guess people living in a medieval world haven’t seen an explosion before.

“Oh, man,” I said. “You’re in for a treat. This is all about chemistry! Do you remember what I talked about with exothermic reactions?”

“A reaction that produces heat …” Moray grinned. “You’re telling me that there are reactions fast enough to produce enough heat and energy to propel an iron ball?”

“Yep,” I said. “And I know its components. Saltpeter and sulfur. Further than that, we’re just going to have to experiment.”

“We could use magic,” said Moray.

“The amount of energy required to propel a projectile like this would probably drain all the energy from a normal mage’s body,” I said. “Remember what I told you about conservation of energy?”

“I do,” said Moray. “If a small object goes fast, it has as much energy as a large object going slow.” He paused. “I see. In order to propel an iron ball at speeds required to break down castle walls, you would need more energy than is inside the human body.”

“Exactly,” I said. “Get me some saltpeter and sulfur. We’re going to figure this out.” I paused. “The substance is called ‘gunpowder.’”

“A substance that explodes, propelling a projectile,” said Moray. “Brilliant.”

“I didn’t figure that out,” I said. “It’s ancient technology in my world.”

Moray chuckled. “I love learning about your world.” He made a motion, hitting his fist into his palm. “I can get any chemicals you need from the chemisters’ guild.”

“Do that,” I said. “I don’t know if I can find the ingredients on my own using my power. It’s too complex.”

Moray left the shop. Rachel leaned against the wall. “On another adventure, are we?” she said. Her lips were curled slightly up.

“I hope to continue working with you,” I said.

“Of course,” said Rachel. “This is where all the money is.” She grinned. “You know I’m only in it for the cash.”

I nodded. “Of course you are.”

I had taught her how to fist bump before. We bumped fists.

This was my chance to change the world in ways that I hadn’t before. I wasn’t ready to make the printing press technology public. But introducing cannons hundreds of years before they would be invented naturally would change the landscape of combat in ways I probably couldn’t foresee.

“We’re going to have to be careful,” I said. “Military technology can be dangerous to know about.”

“It would be best to get the King on our side,” said Rachel. “Your ideas are too big to be handled by us anymore. You’re changing the world, and people will start to notice you if you continue to do it.”

“I’d rather stay back than be in the spotlight,” I said. “Can you handle this? Just present this technology but don’t mention me.”

“I know your tendencies,” said Rachel. “And I’ll do as you ask. I’ll negotiate with the Crown while you figure out how the cannon will work with the Royal Society.” She clapped her hands together. “Let’s get started.”

It took ten minutes for Moray to return with Canary and Jones. “I’ve talked with the chemisters’ guild,” said Moray. “They’re going to deliver a number of different chemicals tonight.”

Rachel stood up from where she had been working on the cannon’s chassis. “I’ll be going now,” she said. “I’ll be back by tomorrow. Hopefully, at that point, we’ll have the protection of the crown.”

Moray knelt beside the cannon. “I now know what you’re making,” he said. “Will you accept my help?”

“Of course,” I said.

“I’ll drop all my current projects,” said Moray. “This fascinates me like nothing has in a long time.”

“We did make a golem together,” I said. “Let’s get to it.” I took several pouches of chemicals and spread them out on a wooden table.

“Saltpeter,” I said. “Nitrogen. Phosphorus.” I mixed the three together, and then lit it with a flint and steel.

There was a puff, a spark, and I was blinded for a moment. The room smelled like gunpowder.

“That was easy,” I said. “But I don’t think it’s enough.”

Moray measured out another batch of chemicals. “Try this.”

We spent the rest of the night trying out different combinations of flammable chemicals to see what would create the biggest spark. By the time morning came around we weren’t any closer to figuring out gunpowder. Sure, we had stuff that burned quickly, but nothing powerful enough to propel a cannonball.

Moray consulted with some of his chemister friends, and by the second night we had a working prototype. We dragged the cannon to an isolated point in an empty lot near the city’s edge. We packed it with powder and a cannonball and lit the fuse.

The cannon went off with a huge Whump, demolishing an abandoned well two hundred meters away. Dogs began barking for blocks around. Windows lit up and people looked out their balconies.

“We need to get out of here!” I said. We dragged the cannon back to the shop and covered it under a blanket.

“We should have planned that better,” I said. “We’re totally getting in trouble.”

Someone knocked on the door. I opened it to reveal Rachel. She had an annoyed expression on her face.

“I knew you guys were up to no good,” she said. She sighed. “I’ve got the protection of the crown. They’ve given us use of the city’s parade ground under condition that we contract with them to produce cannons. We’re also going to receive armed guards. Our project has been elevated to the level of a military secret.”

Two soldiers in fiber steel armor were standing by the door’s outside face, holding pikes.

“Ugh,” I said. “Well, it’s better than being involved in some sort of scandal or intrigue.”

“We can’t count that out,” said Rachel. “Your exploits are being spread far and wide. We should probably hire some guards of our own.”

Moray looked between Rachel and I. “I agree with her,” he said. He knelt down beside the cannon. “But can you believe it? This thing actually works!” He tapped it with his palm. “It’s heavy, though.”

Rachel walked in a circle around the cannon. “It’s starting to look good.”

I shrugged. “There are cooler things in my world.” I paused. “Now let’s try making some muskets.”

“Let me guess,” said Moray. “Those are portable cannons that can fit in your hand?”

“Exactly,” I said. “Muskets are basic firearms that are slow to reload but effective if used in volleys.”

“And let me guess,” said Moray. “Ancient technology?”

“At least five hundred years old,” I said.

Moray nodded once. “All right. Let’s get to work.”

Rachel took out a note from her pouch. “The crown prince wants to see our weapon in action tomorrow by the second afternoon bell.”

“Well then,” said Moray. He turned to me. “Do you think this cannon is done enough to demonstrate?”

“I do,” I said.

“And if it fails?” said Rachel.

“It won’t,” I said. “We can afford to work on building a musket in the meantime.”

Moray, Rachel and I doubled down on the work. We fine-tuned the cannon, and then began work on a reliable musket. It was dangerous work, and halfway through I convinced everyone to start wearing eye protection.

Just in time to see a prototype musket explode during testing.

Moray took a shard of metal out of his eyeglasses and examined it. “Damn,” he said. “I get why you wanted us to wear these now.”

Rachel chuckled. “Markus knows more than we can ever understand,” she said. She took a piece of shrapnel out of her shoulder. “Ouch,” she said.

“Is it deep?” I asked.

“No, it’s fine,” said Rachel.

“About me knowing stuff,” I said. “Do you really believe that I know that much?”

Rachel shook her head. “Don’t kid yourself. I know you don’t believe you’re special, but you’ve changed this world in ways we couldn’t have imagined. Just take credit for it and move on.”

“Um, thanks,” I said.

“You are a little bit dense,” said Moray, knocking me on the head.

“Ow,” I said, rubbing my scalp.

We spent the rest of the night, into the morning, perfecting the first musket prototype. We also figured out a way to mix chemicals in a manner that a simple magician could repeat. Since we had a bit of time before the second afternoon bell, I decided to take a nap.

As soon as my eyes closed, a breath of warm air brought me back to the chamber where the god of darkness resided. He was sitting in a corner, watching TV on a 2000’s style set. He spoke without looking at me.

“I do enjoy Mythbusters,” he said, his eyes glued to the TV. “Your world is so charming. All this technology and yet the amount of misery is still the same.”

“Have you played any video games?” I asked.

“Halo, Borderlands, and of course Grand Theft Auto,” said Miliapolis. He still kept his eyes on the TV.

“I thought there was a chasm between my world and this one,” I said.

Miliapolis shrugged. He turned to look at me for the first time. “It’s time that you leveled up your game,” he said. “You have been affecting things on a local level for the past two months. Now you will affect things on a much larger scale. Prepare yourself.” He cracked open a pack of Doritos and ate one. “Mph, these are good,” he said. Then he put the bag down. “Many powerful eyes will turn your way. Just make certain that you don’t fall prey to those that hunt you.” He snapped his fingers. “Toolio.”

I woke up in my bed, sweating, breathing heavy.

Oh my, I thought. This is going to get difficult.