54 The Foresigh

"For your own safety, nobody is permitted south of the Mines of Kara-Goth!" a poster read in front of the Iron Legion camp. Below it was another poster; "Workers wanted, good pay, food and shelter provided, please contact Quarter-master Max at the Iron Legion camp."

A third poster next to that said, "Defense demonstration; the invincible airship gunboat 'Foresight' debuts Starday evening! Wilds cannot bite what they cannot reach!" followed by a few bullet points saying; 'High-powered XL-ballista', 'Ammunition for 100 rounds', 'Tier 3-4 Wilds leather envelope', 'Ironwood deck', 'Frontier Town's first custom-made ground-support battle airship!'.

Remian considered that third poster which also sported a rough sketch of a ballista on it. One hundred rounds of ammunition was a bit of an exaggeration; that much ammo was only possible if they were leaving out all the other shooters and their weapons. If they wanted to put a squad of crossbowmen on the airship along with their weapons and ammunition, the Ballista would have less than half as much ammunition to work with.

It gave them three days to prepare the gunboat. Today was Thirstday, and it was morning, so they should have today, tomorrow (Fryday) and the day after (Starday) to finish up whatever they needed on the 'Foresight'. Would they make it in time? Arnold promised that the Ballista would be ready by then, and Andros assured Remian that his crew could have at least twenty spears would be prepared on time. They could have made a hundred, had they the kind of facilities and equipment they used to have, but as it was…

Arnold was right. They definitely needed to build up their tool-making abilities. That would have to be their first order from Charlie's new airship.

Speaking of which, they should be here sometime today. Then they'd have seven days to load up on ore before he next came by with their forge equipment and buy whatever they'd have to ship. Supposedly, the day after that, the next Beast Wave would arrive.

'Supposedly' usually didn't work out, in Remian's experience. The Beast Wave could very well arrive a day early again. The question was; what was going to be in it?

Markus approached. "We got them."

"We did?" Remian blinked. "The Secret Waves actually promised to send help on the next Beast Wave?"

"Same terms as before; Ten fighters, at least one of them being a Slayer." Markus cleared his throat. "They will be posted on defense at the town wall ruins all day next Starday."

"Town wall ruins? Next Starday?" Remian stared. "So if the Beast Wave happens to hit us on Fryday…"

Markus spread his hands. "I actually asked them about that. They said we could call them if that happens."

Remian grimaced. That was as good as telling him that the next Wave was going to be a bunch of light Tier 3's and/or 4's. They were going to blitz the defenses, try to catch them unprepared, almost definitely a day early. So long as the Secret Waves didn't know that Remian already knew the secret of the Waves, this might actually go right.

In fact, now that they knew what was coming and even when, they might very well be able to stop them cold at the mines.

But at what cost? Remian considered. Succeeding too well in this defense would be practically announcing to the enemy that they knew who their agents were, and that the information leak was a trap.

Besides, he wanted the Secret Waves to bleed. Odd as it might sound, the only way to do that was to let at least enough of the next Wave reach the town that the Secret Wave defenders would take casualties. That might risk their own fighters…

Or not. Not if their own fighters were all inside the two half-built Guard Towers. The original two were in pieces, now, but the third and fourth had completed Phase One. They even had regular Ballistae mounted. They'd have Scorpions too, if not for Remian insisting that Arnold focus his efforts on the Foresight's XL Ballista.

Remian thought of it as he inspected the site where they were going to run the demonstration, a spot between the Iron Legion camp and the workers' settlement. Mindy and five crossbowmen on the Foresight, the mercenaries in one Tower, the Iron Legion in the other…would they be able to post troops at the mines without proper fortifications? Not yet, not the way the mines were now. But by next week, perhaps they could modify the mines with arrow slits so that people could shoot from inside them. Otherwise, they could simply be used as bolt-holes for the scouts. That could be the scouts' job description; simply keep an eye out, send up the signal when the Wave appears, duck into a mine, then barricade the door behind you…

Those mines could be really useful. Already they were large enough for both the Desert Moon and the High Rock clan workers and mercenaries to live in. They only needed to be renovated and dug out.

They also needed some sort of docking station for airships at least up to Tier 5.5, preferably up to Tier 6. That Large Personnel Carrier they planned in the airships Step 2, the ones designed after the Sky Galleons that was meant for the workers to stay in for their safety… Deutero Sky Galleons were Tier 5.3. These carriers were likely going to be bigger, less aerodynamic, fitted for more cargo space. In order to house nearly two hundred people for a night, they should be at least twice the size of a Sky Galleon, that is, Tier 5.6, as big as six houses put together. If Remian had his way, they could easily reach Tier 6.

While they were meant to be transports, not permanent living quarters, it was possible that people might have to live there for weeks on end. This was especially true if they ever needed so much cargo space that Charlie ended up towing one of these large carriers back to civilization for trade. On top of that, who knew how big the airships around here were going to get in the future? But that was the future. They could expand their facilities later.

Tier 6, Remian decided, at least for now. In the end, they would be relying more on the mines themselves for shelter and safety. The airships were meant for carrying cargo; people who boarded them did so only temporarily, whether for a night, a week, or an hour. Sky Galleons were a nice comparison to start with but in the end, Remian didn't actually have plans to transport a lot of people around much. They would be in the mines most of the time. The stuff that would most usually occupy the airships would be cargo, raw ores to start with.

In other words, these larger carriers wouldn't be personnel carriers like he first thought. They would be cargo carriers. Towed carriers. With flat tops loaded with industry-standard container crates, because who the heck carried rocks around in sheltered holds these days? They'd fill containers with ores (from the mines to town) or smelted bars (from town to elsewhere), so yeah, no need for complex structures. Simple flat top decks, like barges…

"Sky barge?" Remian mused to himself softly. That sounded better than 'flying crate'. They needed some sort of railings at the side, or perhaps use a similar half-crate design. It seemed suitable enough for the gunboat. It should suit the barge too.

At least, for now. Everything they did now had to be cheap and easy to build.

Meanwhile, the first Frontier Gunboat named 'Foresight' had taken shape under Mindy's care and instruction. It wasn't much to look at; she'd basically built a half-crate and hung it on an air balloon from fishing nets. The design was laughably simple, but it could fly and it could carry a Ballista. That was all Remian asked for.

"Why couldn't we just hang the ballista by the nets?" Mindy asked Remian as they inspected the 'Foresight' together.

"To carry ammunition. Also we needed a stable surface to load, to crank, to maneuver and aim…"

"Never mind. Forget I asked." Mindy sighed.

There was a central platform mounted four feet high so that the Ballista would shoot over the sides, not into them. Remian personally felt that raising the side walls a few inches higher, maybe even a foot more would be better, but time was short. This would do. The mines had priority.

They needed to work out the balancing so that the whole gunboat flew on a level plane rather than tilting over one way or the other. Right now they relied on a frame to keep the envelope in shape and the balance just right. As long as the frame was intact, the Gunboat shouldn't capsize.

This also meant that the 'Foresight' was precariously fragile, but again… it would have to do. For now.

Remian was beginning to hate having to say that phrase. Everything was 'for now'.

"Airship spotted!" Mindy pointed to a signal coming from their temporary airport between the Guild Hall and the workers' settlement.

"That's probably Charlie." Remian got up. "It's time to meet him."

This would be it, Remian decided. This would be the day he sold Charlie the last of the mana potions. From today onward, he would have no more personal treasures to offer. Everything else was co-owned by Charlie himself and would need to be dug out, whether mana crystals, fire copper or jade.

And even those were limited.

"We're going to need to find more sources of money." Remian grunted to himself. "There's a whole continent out there. These mines are just the start."