Chapter 20: The design of the Hageback wall 2/2
Chapter 20: The design of the Hageback wall 2/2
Max finished drying his hair and took a rope from the table while Helmi, who was also drying his hair, looked at him quite curiously.
“Einar, what do you plan to do with that rope, and why do you put it on your hand.”
A smile formed on Max’s face, “I measure my hand to try to find an approximate measurement of 10cm.
One of the forms of measurement that I plan to use, if we were only at the equator or some area that could remember its latitude, perhaps it could make a more exact measurement.
Either way, these measurements will be used to complement the plan of the wall and the sewers that I made yesterday. “
Kassia, who was getting dressed, translated everything Max said but looked at him a bit strangely. “Max, what is the equator, and why is it so important.”
Max scratched his chin. “Something you should know is that our earth is not flat but a sphere, although it is incorrect to call it a sphere, let’s not go into details.
The equator is an imaginary line that divides the world into two parts but allows us to separate the northern hemisphere from the southern hemisphere, so I could play with some shadows and obtain some measurements that enable me to get a meter value that is more similar to the one I remember.
Not to mention that having a latitude of 0 will make it easy to know what latitude we are at anywhere. “
Helmi blinked and looked at Kassia for answers. For her part, Kassia was more interested in the spherical world that Max posed.
“Max is real what you say on earth.
So the Globus Cruciger was always correct, and those theories about the concave or flat earth were still false. “
Max held his chin, “The Globus Cruciger, you are talking about the orb with the cross.”
Kassia agreed, “My mother taught me many times and told me that the orb had a significant value because it was the symbol of the cross over the world.”
Max smiled as he tied some knots in the rope. “You may not believe it, but in the future, people will continue to accept the idea of the flat earth.
How theory is acceptable, but mathematics has shown us otherwise, not to mention that I could see the earth’s beautiful images.
Although I respect their opinions as long as they do not force me to follow them.
But changing the subject a bit Kassia you can ask Helmi to stand up so I can measure her height.”
While Max measured Helmi with the rope, Kassia, who was about to make breakfast looked at the window, “Max, what the world looks like.”
Max, who was measuring Helmi, stopped and with his hands made as if he had a sphere “It is beautiful, I never had the opportunity to see him as an astronaut in space, but many times I saw him in documentaries or video with Erika.”
Kassia’s hand put dried fish in the water, and she turned to see Max with quite a curiosity. “What is an astronaut?”
Max smiled and began to explain, “Astronauts are people who can …”
While this was happening in Kassia’s house, a little girl opened her eyes in the great hall when she heard a woman’s voice.
“Children, it is time to get up; the slaves have prepared fish soup for breakfast.
Remember that you have to lift your leather beds and take them to where the slaves indicate.
Einar shouldn’t belong in coming, so they’ll be waiting in the inner courtyard. “
The little girl wiped her eyes and raised her small hand while shouting like the other children, “Yes, Mrs. Elin.”
Elin was glad to hear the children’s voices in unison, so she decided to stay to supervise the little ones.
The little girl got up, and from the little animal skin that she used as a blanket, she took out a small carved wooden fox, which she hugged on her chest.
‘Mommy and Daddy, I want you to know that their deaths were avenged.
Also, since yesterday the other children and I are members of the Jarl’s family, so I will not be cold or die like Auntie. ‘
After hugging her figurine, the little girl began to fold her animal skin; when she finished, she carried it and moved like a penguin to where the slaves indicated.
After leaving the skin in the warehouse, he went out and was able to see a small boy of about three years old who was having a hard time carrying his skin.
“Hello, you need help,” Said the girl as she looked at the little boy, who seemed to have a sad look.
The little boy who was thinking of his mother turned his face and looked at a girl with golden hair and green eyes.
“I do not need help since I have to show that I can do these things; my mother told me that men should work hard no matter the situation.
I, I … “
A few tears fell from her face, and she continued walking, the little girl could also feel sadness for the boy’s words, but she decided to just squeeze her wooden fox and go to the table.
Max, who was arriving at the town, ignored the townspeople’s curious looks who looked at him with some jealousy as Kassia and Helmi were hugging him.
Eskol, who was waiting for Einar’s arrival, walked over to where he was. “Einar, I’m glad you came; the little children are already in the inner courtyard waiting for your arrival.
The council members are also meeting in the great hall to discuss your proposal for the wall. “
Max nodded and started walking into the great room.
When he got to where Sven was, “Father, good morning, our family could buy the 3 monk slaves.”
Sven smiled and gave his son a hug. “We bought them; your mother could get them for only 15 silver coins.
If you want to see them, they are taking care of the brats in the inner courtyard. “
Max shook his head. “For now, I would like to show the council the plan I made of the wall and the sewer system that will be under our feet.”
Sven scratched his beard after hearing Kassia’s translation, “Why is the sewer system so important?”
Max walked to a chair where he took a seat, once there he took out a large scroll, which he spread out on the table so that his father could see it.
“The sewer system is an essential element father; otherwise, we can bring misfortune to our people.
If we don’t have sewers and our town grows, it is very likely that our streets will be filled with shit and other things.
That will make our people sick and die in the most horrible way possible. “
Sven, who had seen many cities in his life, knew that it was common to see dirt on the streets, but he realized that the design of the wall was quite strange and did not follow the conventional technique that he knew.
With his finger, Sven pointed to the strange triangular wall of his son “Einar, why the wall is not round or square like Miklagard is.”
Max smiled and looked at his father, “Because our wall will be far ahead of its time.
The triangular angles offer better defense against any siege weapon that might attack us, not to mention that our walls will remain functional even a thousand years later.
Odin’s knowledge calls them Italian Trace, but I prefer to call them the Loki walls; I think the god of mischief’s name is perfect for their design.
They will also be built of cement and not stone, so it won’t take long to make them, perhaps no more than a year or two.
If we can get slaves in large numbers, we can finish much earlier, but that leaves me a big question, father.
That we produce food and on what dates can something be planted. “
Sven closed his eyes as he thought, “I will ask Asgot for the harvest dates, and as for the food we produce, I will have to tell Eskol to ask the fishermen and hunters.
But of one thing I am sure, son, all the food we produce cannot be kept for long, although we can smoke certain foods we need a lot of salt to be able to store the food we get. “
Max got up from his chair and put his hand on his father’s shoulder. “The salt problem won’t be a problem once I start making salt.
But for that, we will have to ask Ibssen if he has the materials I requested. “
Sven proudly put his hand on his son’s head and ruffled his hair. “We will wait for the other council members to arrive so that you can show your plan, and we can move into construction planning.
If we can avoid another surprise attack like the one above, things will be more comfortable in the future. “
Max smiled and sat back down while Kassia and Helmi sat next to him to ask him all they could about his map.
When all the members of the Thing and the female representative of the craftsmen’s guild arrived, they sat at the table and began to listen to how Einar planned to build everything.
After explaining how everything should look, Max looked at all the members seriously. “These days will be complicated because I hope everyone can help me so that I can make a crane, cement, and tools that can help us.
They should know that this implies more than an economic benefit because if we cannot build a solid defense, perhaps in another surprise attack, the deaths will be even more.
Let us also not forget that in the center of the town is the body of the son of a King, so I do not doubt that we may be attacked by a great army. “
Einar’s words reminded everyone at the table that there was a danger that could come at any moment, so no one spoke until Nilsa placed a small piece of wood that had a gutter on the table.
“Einar, I think we shouldn’t be afraid of the Vikings or the Danes; if I’m not mistaken, this little weapon was designed by you.
During the battle, Gerd killed the Viking leader and 5 other enemies using this weapon, but he also told me that you had drawn another called Crossbow.
If we can arm our warriors with these weapons, we cannot improve our fighting level. “
Max recognized the Atlatl on the table, so he nodded, “That little tool called Atlatl is an enhancer for throwing darts or javelins.
The Crossbow is the evolution of the bow; with that weapon, we can increase our fighting capacity, but no weapon is magic.
Well, it will be useless if we have the best weapon when the enemy has a more significant number of combatants; we have to increase the number of people in the town.
I have methods to increase our ability to produce and preserve food so that we will not starve of any kind in the future. “
Max shifted his gaze to Ivar. “But the first thing we should do is change the idea that orphans are a drag, you may not understand it, but children are the future of our tribe.
For Odin, it doesn’t matter if they are boys or girls; they are all essential and must be cared for over anything because when we don’t have children, our people will be destined to die without glory or honor. “
Ivar wiped the sweat from his forehead as he could be sure that Einar spoke directly to him.
After this, Einar looked at the woman with a leather apron. “Representative of the craftsmen’s guild, you have the things that yesterday I asked you to look for.”
The woman representing the artisan union showed a smile, “We already have everything you asked us yesterday.”
She took out a white stone, a porous stone, and a cloth with black ash from his leather bag.
“We had a hard time finding the volcanic ash, but the limestone was relatively easy to find next to the porous stone.
Now we’re just waiting for you to tell us what else to do. “
Max held the limestone for a moment and looked at the woman with satisfaction. “We are going to go outside once the assembly is over to show you how to make Roman cement.
But remember that anything I teach is Odin’s secret, so if this information is sold to enemies or people outside our people, you will be punished. “
The woman put her hand on her chest. “I Seren the representative of the craftsmen’s guild swear before Odin’s herald and the Thing assembly that I will never sell or deliver any knowledge.
If I ever break this oath, may my body suffer the punishment of the blood eagle, and may my family be banished for my treason. “
Upon hearing Seren’s oath, Sven looked at everyone at the table and said, “Since we have discussed everything necessary, I close this meeting.”
Max, who kept looking at the limestone, asked Seren, “These materials were found in small places, or there are a lot of them.”
Seren took out of her bag a map that was drawn on a piece of leather. “There are a lot of them, and they are near the village.
Our artisans had found them years ago but, not knowing their value or use, they only marked them on the map as a curiosity.
Fortunately, we sent a few people yesterday to review, and they found the materials to match your description. “
Max held his chin. “Interesting, if you can ask some craftsmen to bring samples of any material that they do not know its use or value.
Maybe they have found some strategic material for our people. “
After saying that, Max got up and started walking towards the inner courtyard.