Chapter 5

Where Snow Is But a Story

Puffs of smoke and steam escaped out of the smoke stack as the familiar chug-chug sound of the machine sped up. The arm turned the flywheel round and round, but there was nothing else attached to that wheel for the engine to power.

I didn't wait long before I shut the steam engine down; it couldn't hold much water anyway. Not when it was the size of a shoebox. The men and two women surrounding me looked between it and the drawings I'd pinned up to the walls of this shack.

"I'm seeing a few things I recognize," one of them said, scratching his scraggly beard. "Looks like you started with one of the steam pumps they use up at Blackcliff's coal mine."

"It does use the same principle, but there's a lot of inefficiencies in that engine." I shouldn't have been surprised, of course. That Cairhienin engineer who had made the first locomotive in the books didn't start from scratch. A steam engine powerful and small enough to fit on a cart presupposed all sorts of previous advancements.

What I hadn't known was that those sorts of low-pressure engines were being used up at the mines in the Mountains of Mist. They were just used to pump out water and were terribly inefficient. It also told me why their existence was so obscure. Not many outsiders bothered traveling to these mountains.

I gestured at the demonstration steam engine I'd made last night but remembered not to touch it. It was still burning hot and it wouldn't do to teach these people bad habits. "That engine really uses the pressure of the atmosphere to do the work, but we can get a lot more pressure by using steam to move the arm. And the flywheel smooths out the action so we can get continuous motion rather than a stuttering one."

One of the women moved over to the drawing of the inner workings of the steam engine. Her hair was short, and there were a few scars from burns on her lower arms. Another thing that shouldn't have surprised me. Working with metal was mostly men's work in Andor, but there were always exceptions.

She shook her head now. "It's been tried, but for this to work, we'll need a perfect seal between the piston and the cylinder. We might be able to make one with a lot of tries and failures, but just one of these isn't worth all this effort."

I nodded. "We can get by just making the cylinder by hand and sealing it with oil and tallow. There will be leakage, but the true solution is that," I said, pointing at the other drawing. "This machine can bore out a cylinder from a solid piece of iron." And once that boring machine was available, it could also be used to make cannons. "But we'll need an engine to power it, so that's where our efforts should go to first."

As I walked them through the parts we'd need, I revised how long it would take down. This time, Governor Adan had given me experienced people and several of the parts they were already familiar with. We'd actually be using more steel than James Watt had when he built his, because it was more readily available.

I'd have to do some work on my own when nobody was around, but we should be able to get something functional within a week. Then another week to get the boring machine working, and I'd be on my way.

VVVV

It had been nearly twenty days since I'd returned to Baerlon, but at last, everything was ready. We could head out first thing in the morning. I shared my dinner with both Gemiad and Sheraine. It was typical winter fare using a mix of preserved vegetables and cured pork.

"Are you sure we can leave?" Gemiad asked. "You said that yesterday as well, but then there was an explosion that had you and your conspirators running around like headless chickens."

"Not an explosion," I said, though my face got a little red at the reminder of yesterday. "Just an … unexpected release of steam; all of the steam." That could have gone terrible anyway, but thankfully, the emergency release pointed upward and away from everybody. "Someone forgot to check all the valves. We spent the rest of the day just going over various problems and faults that can crop up with prolonged use."

"Good." Gemiad hesitated, then spoke up. "Are you sure we can't quickly visit Caemlyn? I don't like what Hagaidhrin wrote. He was clearly playing down the riots."

I'd sent off our articles and what evidence I'd assembled along with letters with a courier the same day I'd talked to the governor. I had underestimated just how fast they could be on horseback when they had remounts, but I had asked Master Fitch who was the best courier in Baerlon. Not only had that courier delivered in record time, he'd also managed to get back to Baerlon today with Hagaidhrin's reply.

"It would still take a couple of days for me to reach Caemlyn, and there's not much I can do against a full-blown riot." I grimaced. "Not without setting off a panic that would be worse."

"It's unfortunate that Morgase is away from the city. No doubt trying to find out what happened to her daughter," Sheraine added. "I do wonder if that was intended by that Darkfriend." She never called Liandrin by her name once the Aes Sedai found out what Ajah she truly belonged to. "We need every nation to be strong given what's coming, and I don't like what I'm hearing from Cairhien."

"Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence," I said. Especially because I knew why King Galldrian was dead, and it had nothing to do with any Darkfriend conspiracy. Just the Wheel setting up the board. "Three times, now that is enemy action."

"And speaking of enemy action, why are you spending so much time on this project," Sheraine said with a frown. "I don't see how this … steam engine is involved with preparing for the Last Battle." The last words she spoke in a low voice.

I held up my fork. "There's another saying from where I'm from. Amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics." I popped the piece of carrot into my mouth and chewed before resuming.

"And how will these steam engines help with that? I suppose if they can turn a wheel, they could turn those of a cart, but a horse is far easier to use and doesn't require coal."

I shook my head. "You're thinking too limited. Rather than trying to replace a horse directly, you put several big mining carts behind each other. The steam engine can do the work of many horses, so you could very efficiently transport far more cargo at a greater speed. And the engine doesn't get tired."

Sheraine raised a single eyebrow. "Mining carts? Don't those use tracks? You'd have to lay those from here all the way to Whitebridge. There's nothing closer with any importance. That's a distance of over a hundred leagues."

"And the rails have to be made from steel. Wood won't hold the weight," I said.

"Steel!" Gemiad coughed keeping one fist in front of her mouth before reaching for her wine glass. "You want them to lay down steel for a hundred leagues out in the open? It'll get stolen in a month."

"Not when the price of steel is only a tenth of what it used to be. Good thing, too, because you're both right, we'll need a lot. Here to Whitebridge will already cut transport time by two weeks and that's just the first leg. The end goal is a connection between here and Caemlyn. Just not sure if we can manage that before it all comes to a head. Still, I'm putting a lot of gold behind this venture. It's the only reason Governor Adan's willing to sell me the steel I need."

It took all the promissory notes I'd had left as well as a fistful of gems to convince him. That, and all the designs to make it all happen. But the railroad should start turning a profit the moment it reached Whitebridge. From there, goods could be unloaded into boats, which then sailed down the Manetherendrelle and up the Cary to within two days' travel of Caemlyn.

After that, though, we would have to build a bridge over that same Manetherendrelle to continue the railroad on to Caemlyn itself because the existing bridge from the Age of Legends hadn't been made with trains in mind. That railroad would hopefully not only help preparing for the Last Battle but also with the rebuilding efforts afterwards.

I wasn't sure how fast we could lay all that track, but if it was about 2 miles a day, then it would take two hundred days just to reach Whitebridge. By the timeline, we'll be well into book 6 or 7 by then. I could do it a lot faster with my Gifts, but there was no hiding that sort of effort. I would need both the full backing of the throne of Andor and Rand pulling all eyes towards him to pull it off.

So, for now, we'd start slow and mostly use the new steam engines right here in Baerlon.

"Are you listening to me?"

I blinked and looked at Sheraine. "I'm sorry?"

"I asked whether you thought we even have the time for a project of this size. With the-with him having announced himself now, the final confrontation can't be so far away anymore."

I hummed. "Still a lot of prophecies he needs to fulfill, and I think we would have noticed if all the seals had failed. Then there are the prophecies of both the Atha'an Miere and the Aiel to account for as well. I don't think he can do all that in a single year, so I think we have that at least, maybe even the full year after that. And you'll have to admit, there's a certain poetic logic to it that the Third Age would end in the year one thousand."

The Aes Sedai gave me a look. "I don't think we can count on an entire Age ending on such a neat number. And why am I not surprised you even know the Aiel and the Sea People have their own prophecies? Just how much have you told the Amyrlin?"

"Not everything I know," I admitted before taking a sip of my cider. "I'm sure there will be heated words once she realizes that." From the books, Egwene didn't like not knowing everything, especially when the reason was that someone held it from her. And Siuan Sanche wasn't any different in that regard. "But then, there's loads of secrets she never told me either."

"She's the Amyrlin," Sheraine said slowly as if speaking to a child. "And while you are certainly a unique being, it's not the same."

I couldn't help but laugh. "I'm not the ruler of my own country, you're right about that." Though setting that up wouldn't be hard, strictly speaking. All it would take was Dominion and not even that much, given all the free real estate around here. "But you have to admit there is some irony to calling yourselves Servants of All while being so secretive and thinking you have a unique wisdom that everybody needs to listen to."

"We receive training in diplomacy and history that only some kings and queens can get," Sheraine countered. "And we live for over a century with ease. Most of us can become two hundred even. Compared to all that experience, what other advisor can compare?"

I grimace at the reminder of how much shorter an Aes Sedai's life was thanks to the Oath Rod compared to a normal channeler. "Perspective, I would say. Because you've all spent a decade or two in training at the same place, steeped in the same culture, Aes Sedai tend to have the same blind spots. But don't take my word on that. I think this journey will prove my point."

Sheraine said nothing for a moment. "Which will take us to Ebou Dar, you said. How do you plan on getting there? Those lands are not as empty of people as here in the north. If you think you can fly right up to the coast without getting spotted, you are wrong."

"I was thinking of flying directly south following the Mountains of Mist, then go roughly southeast and follow the Sharia to the city."

She shook her head. "That means crossing a good portion of Amadicia and getting within sight of Amador itself. If even one farmer sees you, we'll have the Children of Light go into a froth. At the one time we can't use that sort of trouble."

I recalled the maps I studied, and she wasn't wrong. Amador wasn't that far south of where the mountain range came to an end. "Do you have an alternate suggestion? I do need some sort of landmark to navigate by."

"You could use Garen's Wall. That would keep you well away from Amadicia. Then follow the river Mandern south until it joins the Eldar. If you keep east of the river, you'll never have to cross into Amadicia. We can just take passage as well, so we won't need to fly."

"Already gotten a fear of heights, huh?" I gave her a teasing smile.

"I fear the panic you'll set off. You are far too big to go unnoticed."

"Ah, and now I'm fat, too." I shook my head. "Your course is a good one. It means I won't have to get close to Jehannah as well. But we can fly the distance. The good thing about there being more villages south means there's more light. Between that and the river, we can fly at night and rest during the day. Means we have more time to fly, too."

"Perhaps," Sheraine said. "We can always reconsider once we reach the river Eldar."

VVVV

I sighed as the river's bank slid by slowly. At least the captain had stopped grumbling about having women on board. That actually nagged at my memory, but I couldn't remember anybody of any importance that was so loudly misogynistic.

The route Sheraine had suggested had worked well for us. We'd quickly flown over the Two Rivers and crossed the Great Blackwood, then followed the long canyon called Garen's Wall. One of its sides was mostly gone, leaving the one cliff face that bore that name.

We had to camp on top of the cliff amid the crumbling ruins of an ancient watchtower, but putting my words into action, we'd waited until the sun had started to set before departing again. Following the river in the dark hadn't been easy, but I'd managed it and even found where it flowed into the Eldar.

That's when the sun came up, and the problem with my plan revealed itself. I'd had to scramble to find a landing spot, which meant landing in a field. Everything else was managed forest. That field turned out to have a flock of sheep that, of course, panicked at my arrival. They knew it when a predator was among them.

We'd barely gotten away before the farmer showed up, so we'd taken a ship at So Eban. Who charged far too much just for the indignity of having women aboard his vessel, but I didn't want to waste even more time on trying to find another ship that would charge us a more reasonable amount.

Still meant that instead of a day or two, it took over a week to reach Ebou Dar.

"Are you still moping?" Gemiad joined me at the bow of the ship, giving me a bemused smile.

I gave her a perplexed frown. "I don't mope." She didn't look like she believed me. "Truly … this is me being bored. I haven't been bored in …. decades." I glanced at the crew and lowered my voice. "I can't do much with all these people right on top of me." Riverserpent was quite big, a two-master at that, but nearly all of it's available space was reserved for cargo. The first mate had lost his cabin just to give the women someplace to sleep.

"You have two books with you," she pointed out. "Besides the … old one."

"Already read them," I said. "And the captain doesn't like it when I bother the crew, so I can't strike up a conversation with them. And as for the captain …" We both glanced at him but quickly looked away when it seemed like he had felt the eyes on him. "I think he might be a criminal. He got very aggressive just from me asking a few innocent questions. That, and I've noticed Riverserpent has a couple of smuggling compartments."

"He's a smuggler?"

I shrugged. "Don't know what, and I can't really get bothered over someone getting one over the queen's custom inspectors." Given the lack of serious narcotics or human trafficking in these lands, whatever he smuggled had to be to dodge taxes and tariffs. Given that those taxes were, for the most part, not spent on things like roads or social provisions like schools or pensions, I found myself not caring much about it.

"But what about you? Can Sheraine do any tutoring or is she still seasick?" It had been a surprise to find out Sheraine got motion sickness. Why would she suggest taking a ship if it was this bad? Though Riverserpent did roll a bit much, given how calm the Eldar was. I was pretty sure that in trying to hide his illicit cargo, the captain had failed to balance the load correctly.

Gemiad blew out a breath. "Sort of. She has me not touching the Source until we reach Ebou Dar. I didn't get the point; I've spent most of my life not channeling. But now that I know how to …" She rolled her shoulders in a twitchy shrug. "I can't help but think about it."

I gave her a concerned look. "I've read that it makes you feel more alive, makes you feel more just in general."

"Those are just words; they don't really do it justice." Gemiad stared into space for a moment. "You're connected to something so much greater than yourself, and you feel like you can do anything with that power." She took a shuddering breath. "Sheraine Se‒she's told me again and again to respect it. Not to rely on it for everything."

"To a person with only a hammer, everything will start to look like a nail." I nodded. "You've got more than one tool in your toolbox, Gemiad. The One Power might be more versatile, but it doesn't mean it can do everything. I think …"

The Riverserpent sailed through yet another bend in the river, and suddenly it came into view. On one side high, thick walls gleamed white in the winter sun. Beyond them I could see a few buildings that were higher than the walls, just as white but with bands of color to decorate them. The other side had no walls, just a warren of tall buildings that could be even older than those walls sprawling up the left bank of the river.

Then came the smell, a mixture of old sweat, urine, and fish.

Next to me, Gemiad ignored the smell. "Ebou Dar."