Heanith was mixed on what was going on for her now. She might have essentially gotten a job making more of the engines to install in ships like the one she'd built, but apparently the marquis wanted to build more. For merchants.
Heanith would freely admit if anyone asked her that she hadn't thought of that before. Selling the ships to merchants. With those, travelling between cities would be easy. Wouldn't take much time at all. Not to mention reduce the chance of getting attacked by bandits. Or at least until they managed to buy, or steal, one of their own.
Though, even then, Heanith wasn't sure what would be the overall effect on the country would be. Even the other nations might quickly feel the effects as well. As it wasn't like there was any precedent for this either.
"Ma'am, what do I do with this?" a voice pulled Heanith out of her thoughts. One of the 'apprentices' the marquis insisted she take on and teach how to construct these engines.
The part in question was one of the more vital parts of the engine, even though it was small and could otherwise be easily overlooked. Yet, the way the 'apprentice' was holding it, made it seem like she thought it might be worthless.
Heanith walked over, wondering how she'd be able to get another one built with help like this.
"You place it here," Heanith explained, pointing where the part went in relation to the rest of the engine. Then she pointed to another part that hadn't yet gotten ready to attach. "This part will connect to the other end of that part."
"Thanks, mistress," the youth said enthusiastically.
The youth's name was Brishel and had been assigned by the marquis. Although, Heanith suspected the girl might have asked for the position, even though the marquis wouldn't admit to it, regardless of how Heanith had asked. Brishel had blond hair, pink eyes, and lightly tanned skin. She even had freckles that she disliked having mentioned because of how she felt they were something for a twig rather than a girl.
Heanith nodded absently. She hoped the 'apprentice' would remember, but she wasn't that convinced. This was the youth's first day and she'd already been annoying Heanith out of her mind, sometimes even asking where a part went multiple times before finally getting it in place, even though Heanith had shown the girl where to place it each time.
A few of the parts would have to be sent back to the smiths to correct a few imperfections, but Heanith was surprised at how well everything had been accomplished in a single week. An amount of work that had taken her months to accomplish by herself.
Aside from the 'apprentice' she was supposed to teach, she was starting to wonder if this might have been a piece of how the world could be that she was missing. Although, part of her wondered if the Marquis would have given her the time of day if she didn't have a working prototype to begin with.
While she probably could have built a smaller ship for the device, as getting those masts in place by herself was a trick she wasn't quite sure how she pulled off, the engine was so large that it might not have been able to accommodate a smaller ship. Or at least one that would be able to do what the marquis seemed to want in regards to having space for a merchant to carry their wares to sell in another city, if not another country.
"Why is this so complicated?" the apprentice asked as she looked at the diagram that Heanith had brought from her blueprints stash earlier, more as a reference for herself than for her 'apprentice.'
"It's complicated because each part has a function that won't let this work otherwise," Heanith replied, even though she couldn't say for sure that she hadn't overdesigned this engine herself. All she knew was that she put everything in as she could think and the parts that might seem superfluous often had shown themselves vital to her in the past.
Besides, she hadn't yet had much opportunity to see which parts were really unnecessary and which weren't. It might be a part of the invention process, but so was time. Something that the bandits who worked as the middlewomen until recently hadn't given her.
As such, it wasn't the time to tinker with the design. What she needed to do was construct several of these and see if the marquis could sell them. At least once he had a supply of the fuel for them. Which one of the friend of the youths who had convinced her to speak with the marquis had apparently gone to get.
Though, they weren't sure how long that might take or if they'd be able to secure a steady stream of that fuel. Though, the tests were underway of how long the fuel would last. Which given the size of the piece Heanith had been given initially, almost two weeks for a relatively small piece of that stone. Or what Heanith considered a small piece.
"Brishel, if you need to, start working on another one of these," Heanith suggested to her apprentice after her apprentice was about to attach a component to the wrong place. Again.
"Are you sure, mistress?" Brishel asked, her eyes full of innocence.
"Yes, I'm sure," Heanith replied, rubbing her temples to try and reduce the headache that was building between her ears. "Maybe it'll help you understand some of what I've tried telling you about this engine."
Brishel's expression turned downcast at that statement. "I've displeased you, haven't I?"
While true, having it said out loud merely made her headache that much worse somehow. "I'm just wanting to get another one working for the marquis as fast as possible, so I don't really have time to teach you everything about it," Heanith explained, hoping it would at least soothe whatever hurt feelings she'd caused. "This way you can work at your own pace and remember how I showed you with each piece that you work with, okay?"
Her apprentice nodded slowly, though her earlier enthusiasm was lost and Heanith was pretty sure that she hadn't done a very good job at salvaging the situation. Not that she really cared. Not when she wanted to demonstrate the marquis just how big the engines were and why he couldn't use them on anything much smaller than the ship she'd come in on.
Besides, it wasn't like she asked to have an apprentice in the first place. She'd been fine on her own up until now. Though, there was still a small part of her that felt a little guilty about what happened. Just not a big enough part of herself to make her want to say anything to comfort the girl. Especially when she suspected that the girl was at least doing part of it on purpose.
Not everything, but enough for Heanith to slow everything down to a level that Heanith wasn't comfortable with.
Which without the apprentice in the way, she was able to start getting various parts attached to where they were supposed to go, one after another. To the point Heanith wondered if she might get this assembled in one day after all. A task that she hadn't been able to accomplish when she'd built her prototype, given she was in charge of creating each component herself, where here someone else had already taken care of those components. A task Heanith hadn't thought would ever happen for her in her life. Not since she'd gone off by herself up Stone Mountain.
When she was convinced that she'd be able to finish this engine before the sun went down, there was a knock on the door. Startling both Heanith and her apprentice.
"I didn't do anything!" Brishel blurted.
"I'm sure this is for something else," Heanith replied absently.
She didn't want to get into what Brishel may or may not have done, but she did wonder if she would need to keep a closer eye on the girl. If only so she didn't receive a surprise she wasn't looking for sometime down the road.
When Heanith answered the door, a young woman was outside, with the marquis' uniform on. One indicating she was a messenger for the marquis.
"Someone who claimed to have found a residence on the mountain has appeared. They say that whoever lived there stole from them. Even though they won't say what it is that was stolen," the messenger said, as if she had committed the statement to memory.
Heanith was confident on who it was that had come calling, but she wasn't going to let that show.
"Who is it?" she asked as if this was news to her.
However, the messenger merely shook her head. "The marquis didn't say. He just told me to get you and to let you know what the situation is."
While she didn't mind the heads up, she couldn't say that she wasn't uncomfortable at having to go meet with whoever it was. That she was being requested for something that she'd have just as soon have pretended she knew nothing about.
Although, it wasn't like the person she suspected had come calling knew what she looked like. Nor did she know what that person looked like. She only knew them by name. Which had been the arrangement that Heanith had wanted in the first place.
Heanith knew, however, that while she might be able to delay this, she'd likely have to confront this person at some point. Even if it was through the marquis.
"Follow the blueprints exactly," Heanith told her apprentice. "I'll explain why each component needs to be in those positions later. After we get another engine finished."
Heanith didn't wait to hear if her apprentice said anything in reply. She immediately closed the door and started following the messenger.
The messenger didn't seem to be interested in anything about her, just that she did what she had been instructed. Which Heanith couldn't say that she was surprised about. As this was what she'd expected when dealing with nobility. Even their servants would get rather elitist and look down their noses at those who they didn't consider worth their time.
It might not be fair, since Heanith had been asked to do this by the marquis himself, but it's not like she expected any different. Not when it came to people like this. Or at least not until she proved herself to the marquis. Though, with some of the servants, she was certain that not even then would she be given a fair shot.
When she reached the room the messenger indicated, she didn't show any signs of noticing. Heanith merely walked past the messenger, thinking that if she didn't want to be friendly, then she herself didn't need to be friendly towards her.
After all, turnabout is fair play.
As she entered, she saw the marquis, three of his guards, another noble, this one clearly of a higher rank than the marquis, and three guards with the other noble.
"And who is this?" the other noble demanded, as she saw Heanith enter the room.
"This is the woman you mentioned you'd like to meet," Denshia replied conversationally, apparently immune from her hostile attitude.
"She's the one who stole from me?" the woman snapped, sounding almost like she didn't think that Heanith was capable of it. Whatever she had in mind she was claiming was stolen.
"No, just that you mentioned you'd like to meet with the new inventor I'd mentioned that I'd found," Denshia replied, taking a sip from his tea cup.
"Then where's the person who stole from me?"
"As I told you before, Stone Mountain is part of my lands. If you have an idea of what was stolen, you'll have to explain what it was that was stolen. I can't help you if you won't tell me what it is."
Heanith had a feeling she understood what was going on here. This new noble was claiming that something had been stolen from her, yet she was refusing to say what it was. Which, if she was who Heanith suspected she was, wouldn't be possible because she'd have no idea what it was in the first place.
If she wasn't, then it'd be amusing to Heanith to see if she'd explain why she couldn't describe what it was that had been stolen. Or even how she'd know what it was if she saw it.
"I don't care if that building was on your lands," the woman snapped, looking like she was having a hard time accepting she wasn't getting her way. "You need to help be recover what was stolen from me."
The marquis put his tea cup down gently, as if he had all the time in the world. "If you really feel that way, then you'll need to first find out who stole whatever it was that had been stolen. Once you do, you can inform me who it is and I'll hand them over to you, provided they're within my reach. Until then, I can't say that I can do anything to help you if you won't tell me what I need to know about what was stolen from you."
The woman stood up from her chair and untouched tea. "I should have known not to expect cooperation from a twig," she snapped, looking at the marquis disdainfully. As if Denshia was merely what she called him, a twig that she could snap if she stepped on him. If she felt like it.
Then she turned and strode out of the room purposefully, her guards following after her, like they were afraid she might outpace them.
"She's never much for being upfront about anything," the marquis remarked, as if there was someone in the chair opposite from him. Where the other noble had been sitting.
Heanith looked around, unsure if she was expected to respond or something. Though, the three guards for the marquis casually walked out of the room, not paying any mind to what he'd said.
"Though she should really get used to the fact that things don't work out the way she always wants them," the marquis added, as if he was expecting a response from someone.
However, since she'd done what the marquis had asked of her and showed up, as far as she was concerned, her obligation was over. That she didn't need to remain. So, she turned and started to walk out.
"Give me a minute more, Heanith," the marquis said before she could leave the room. "I'll get to what the point is."
Heanith felt like she should leave anyway. From everything she knew about nobles was that you didn't want to remain in the same room with them for longer than you had to. Especially if you were alone with them. That's when they'd be the most dangerous.
Yet, despite her better judgement, she found that she was remaining anyway. That she wasn't getting back to the engine she was building at the marquis' request. Not that she didn't want to build another for herself, as imagining more ships flying through the sky was an intoxicating idea for her that she hoped would one day become reality.
"While I'd like to be able to work with Duchess Neurath, I really don't think that she wants to work with anyone herself. Aside from her own servants and soldiers, I mean," the marquis continued, making Heanith wonder just how much would be 'a minute more.' "Although, I do suspect that she's one of the ones behind that attempts on my daughter's wellbeing, given how interested she's been in Stone Mountain, and I have a feeling this isn't going to be the last that I've heard about this matter from her. So, you probably should be prepared to deal with questions, at least, about where you were before you came to work for me."
Heanith wasn't sure if that was a warning or something else. It was clear that the marquis was trying to help her out, which was very much like any twig would.
However, she still didn't delay making her exit when it was clear that the marquis was done. She might have at least appreciated knowing that he had her back in this matter, but that didn't mean she didn't want to get back to work with the engines. Even dealing with her new apprentice was better than dealing with the marquis in her opinion.
Not just because the marquis was a noble, but also because she knew that there'd be a whole big complication waiting for her when she did. Something that would not just make her life complicated beyond belief, but also would take up time that she could be tinkering around with things, trying to think of ways to either make them better or create something new in the first place.
As she returned, she noticed her apprentice had hardly made any progress at all. Which made her suspect that Brishel had taken an impromptu break while she was gone. Not that she was that surprised. She fully understood that her apprentice wasn't fully committed to this line of work. Even though she herself knew that she was going to strive to become an inventor when she was Brishel's age, she had long recognized that other inventors didn't all share the same drive, nor did they get that same drive at the same point in their lives as Heanith had. Which meant that she'd have a lot of work she'd have to do herself, even though her 'apprentice' would otherwise need to be the one who did it.
Not that Heanith would feel very surprised at that fact. Even when she was that young, she could recall when she'd look for corners to cut, just so she could move on to the next project. Corners that she sometimes learned were best not cut in the first place, as many of those inventions didn't work out so well, simply because the corners were cut.
Although, as she thought about it, as she wasn't sure if having an apprentice like that was that bad. Maybe she'd be able to be the one to ignite the fire that she had used to eventually create the engine that allowed that ship to fly.
The mere thought of being able to do something like that suddenly made dealing with even a lazy apprentice seem like it wouldn't be such a bad thing to do. That she'd be able to look past the headaches and other aggravations that she was certain was going to come her way with this apprentice.