Mark woke after a great night’s sleep in his own bed. He had enjoyed his trip south and helping create Fisher’s Point. When he dropped off the fish with Dale last night, Dale was so excited; it had been a week since he had seen any fresh fish. Mark let him know that there were now trade routes set up and every three days he should get a new shipment.
Mark went out to get breakfast, but before he got to the kitchen, he saw John running up. His first thought was what new work he had to do today.
John said, “You need to come with me.”
Mark said, “What’s up? Can’t you just tell me over breakfast?”
John said, “You need to see it.” He then turned around, motioning for him to follow, and ran off down the trail. It took Mark almost the entire trip there just to catch up, and he was almost out of breath when he finally got to the Forgeworks.
John said, “There,” pointing at the Forgeworks buildings.
Mark looked around; it had been a bit since he was last here and really looked around. There were more buildings, five in total now, which together made up what the system called the Forgeworks. More coal storage, finished stonework, active furnaces, and busy work areas. It finally looked like an industry rather than just a construction project. John then pushed a status screen to him.
[Forgeworks Construction]Status: ActiveProgress: 97%Primary Structure Completion: 98%Smelting Systems: OperationalOre Processing: OperationalTool Production: LimitedEstimated Completion: 2 Days, 7 Hours
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John just stood there with a smug look on his face. “What do you think? We are a little ahead of schedule.”
Mark replied, “Wow, I thought it was like another week away.”
John said, “We are ahead thanks to the mining; we were able to really start working and ramping up the process. Follow me; I want to show you around.”
John walked around the different buildings, walking Mark through them. He showed Mark examples of things they had made. There were barrels of nails, hinges, brackets, hooks, metal rings for wagon wheels, other wagon hardware, door fittings, and many other things.
Mark was stunned. The nails he took down south were nothing compared to what he was seeing now. The whole region was going to change when these items started to go out. John then took him to the ore processing, talking about the ore arriving from Ironridge, which he found out was the name of the outpost that was built at the mine entrance so miners did not have to walk from the other villages to the mine each day, slowing down the work.
John told him about how the ore was processed, talked about charcoal production, smelting yields, and the decreasing impurity levels in the ore. Then he shared a report with Mark.
[Metal Production Report]Iron Ore Processed: 4,280 lbsRefined Iron Produced: 1,740 lbsCurrent Yield: 40.7%Projected Yield After Completion: 55%Quality Rating: Common Iron
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Mark looked around at the workers as they talked. One of the blacksmiths was almost a journeyman blacksmith and only needed four quality items to advance. A furnace worker talked about the efficiency and temperature controls, and if they got the numbers up and the control to a better stage, they were really close to their next rank.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
There were ore sorters, charcoal burners, and other classes, all talking about their rank-ups or how they were soon to rank up. Many, like Mark, only needed the Forgeworks to finish for their new ranks.
John then went over what he had heard about at the mines; they had found traces of coal, limestone, and better-quality ore veins. The miners were gaining skills, classes, and levels. He then shared the last survey report.
[Resource Survey Update]Iron: StableCoal: Trace Deposits IdentifiedLimestone: ConfirmedClay: ConfirmedAdditional Survey Recommended
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Mark said, “So John, what is left?”
John replied, “Not much, really. We have the final furnace installation and inspection. We have some ventilation fixes that were found lacking in the last inspection. We need more storage expansion as well as workshop calibration. All the real problems are solved; it’s just a day or two to finish up the last details.”
Mark said, “I am really impressed by how well you and your team have handled this.”
John said, “It’s not just me and the team. We could not do this without the support of all the people; there were dozens of classes involved in every step of the process.”
Mark said, “That is great. I will head back and let some of the others know how close we are.”
John said, “Wait, Mark, there is one other minor thing we need help with. We need someone to plan the celebration when this is all done.”
As Mark walked away, he received a notification.
[Steward Observation]
Regional Industry Capacity Increasing
Metal Production Established
Future Development Opportunities Detected
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Mark said, “No, not doing it, not today,” then closed the screen and walked away.
When Mark made it back to Forest’s Rest, he saw Tom; he was stomping around talking to himself. He watched for a few minutes and walked over to chat.
Mark said, “Hey, Tom, you look upset. Anything I can do to help?”
Tom replied, “Oh, nothing serious. I am trying to work on some projects, and all I keep hearing from the people around is that these smiths are making nails; they’re making hinges. It’s all about the smiths. Like us leatherworkers are worth nothing.”
Mark said, “Tom, you were here making quality items long before they showed up, and you will be making quality items long after people stop talking about them. I bet you made a ton making leather gear for the smiths to wear to protect them while smithing.”
Tom said, “I guess, but now they have enough and won’t need replacements for a while.”
Mark said, “What about harnesses for the horses, oxen, and mules? I bet you’re getting many orders for those types of items.”
Tom replied, “You’re not kidding; I have an order for 50 harnesses. They have what? Two horses ready to haul teams. What are they thinking, ordering 50? Everybody thinks iron is changing the world. You try hitching an ox to a wagon without leather.”
Mark replied, “You should see those horses and other animals with the right trainers and other tradespeople; they are just growing like weeds. I heard in the reports that they had five births in the last two days alone down there. The breeding pairs are breeding like rabbits.”
Tom said, “Okay, I guess I do have work. But no one thinks it’s that cool anymore. When I first started, they were excited to get a waterskin. A week ago, I made a batch of 100 of them. Talk about people going all crazy over the next newest thing. My last skill allows my waterskins to hold 50% more water than the originals while taking up less space and weighing less.”
Mark replied, “Hey, you’ve been holding out on me. You have not given me anything new in forever. Where is my waterskin?”
Tom said, “You, like everyone else, can get them in the contribution store. They are selling fast, and the system keeps upping the price, so I would buy one soon.”
Tom finally had a smile back on his face and went back into the workshop. Mark at this point was starving; it was already past lunchtime, and he never got breakfast. He still saw that system message blinking in the corner of his eye, and he was just not going to look at it and spoil his lunch.
When he got to the counter, he could see Clara back in the kitchen giving orders and directing the staff. Dale was nowhere to be seen. He grabbed his food and headed to the cabin; everything was going just fine.