The Pen and the Sword (Destiny's Crucible Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

inlet and offshore
rock formations a two-hour hike west of Abersford along the unpopulated coast
toward Gwillamer Province. Although the islanders used manure as fertilizer, the
use of guano had been unknown. Cadwulf had been correctly dubious that Keelan
farmers would be interested, because they already had trouble selling excess
crops now that the Narthani had blocked off island trade. However, Yozef
persisted, asserting that the time would come for increased yields, either for
restarted trade or unforeseen needs for food.
    What
he hadn’t told Cadwulf or anyone else was that guano was a source of potassium
nitrate and sodium nitrate, both of which could be used to make black powder.
He had kept that use in the back of his mind and now used it to salve his
self-castigation.
    “I
think we can solve the gunpowder shortage problem. I believe I know how to
prepare a substance to replace the crystals.”
    “How
would you—” blurted Yawnfol, before Denes elbowed him sharply in the ribs.
    “If
Yozef says he knows how, it’s best to just stand back and watch what happens.
His ideas don’t always work, but enough do to reserve judgment.”
    “All
right,” said the Preddi worker, rubbing the impact point. “No reason to beat on
me.”
    Yozef
had ignored the interchange. Lost in thought, he spoke aloud. “Let’s see,
charcoal’s the easy ingredient, and the people here know of sulfur, so there
must be deposits. Nitrates are the limiting factor. They’re the main component
of gunpowder and provide rapid oxidation for the reaction. Here come my guano
deposits at Birdshit Bay.”
    The
aforementioned locale was descriptive of large guano deposits from Anyarian
murvors, the local flying creatures filling the niche of terrestrial birds. After
he had stumbled on these guano deposits, he had registered ownership of the
area. Tests of the guano as fertilizer and elementary chemical tests had
confirmed high levels of nitrates, in both the sodium and the potassium forms.
Both could be used to make gunpowder, although the sodium version absorbed
moisture, and the resulting gunpowder needed to be used within weeks or
stabilized by coating the gunpowder grains with graphite, a natural mineral he
knew existed on the island, because it was commonly used as a lubricant on
wheel axles.
    “I’ll
need to get a staff to work on this,” Yozef continued in a mix of English and
Caedelli, the meaning equally obscure to the two listeners. “Probably
apothecaries or their apprentices. They’re used to mixing stuff and weighing
specific amounts. I can give them clues on how to purify nitrates from the
guano and convert the sodium form to potassium, if necessary. I don’t know the
exact composition of the guano, so they’ll have to experiment with various
precipitations and leachings.”
    Part
of his mind knew he was rambling, but the free flow continued, with Denes
bemused and Yawnfol confused.
    “Is
he talking to us?” queried the Preddi worker.
    “No.
To himself. I think. Although . . . ” Denes didn’t continue, having given no
credence to rumors of Yozef communicating with the unseen. While the militiaman
wasn’t religious, one could never be sure.
    “Once
we have the gunpowder source licked, we can experiment with rockets, grenades,
mines, and who knows what else?” Yozef’s voice radiated excitement.
    Within
two sixdays, one more shop was added to Yozef’s cluster. The gunpowder facility
was located several hundred yards distant from the others and within a circle
of large boulders, supplemented with masonry walls in gaps. If the experiments
went well, he figured to set up a larger production facility far enough distant
that a catastrophic accident would be confined to a single facility.
    Yozef
hired four apprentices, two from Caernford and two from a Hewell Province abbey
whose scholasticum specialized in apothecary knowledge. Yozef wrote out
everything he could remember about gunpowder production, provided the staff
with