บท 2: 52 Winter : Northwind city

Being one of the first dwarthen cities made on the other side of the Great Stren mountains, the dwarthen leaders prioritised defensiveness over looks or the efficiency of the city which would go against all morals of old dwarthen city construction.

Arthur visiting the city for the second time since him becoming the monarch was in a bit of a surprise to see the city because Northwind was the first place that he was sent to learn the culture and language.

Walking through the tight city with many dead ends, one would get lost in the many stores of dwarthen made decorations, weapons and inventions that are still looking for a purpose, that was how Arthur found the train by falling down the rabbit hole of going too far into the dangerous and dark part of the city where the more weird and less conventional inventions appear.

On the other side the closer one got to the fortifications facing the lost lands the more fortified the area got with more storage depots containg grain, arrows, stone bricks and many more weapons for soldiers to replace from as well as spare equipment for volunteers as well as conscripts which at time of need would be required for the military, the military training that the dwarth were trained in would also come in useful as they would require little to no training.

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Arthur arrived in the engineering center filled with loud bangs of hammers hitting metal, moist air filled his nostrils as he walked down the huge straight corridor that could definitely fit a war ship with plenty of room ro spare.

The center it self was filled with mass workshops producing tools, weapon and many more things for the whole federation.

Most workshops were guilds which specialised in specific parts of production, ranging from weapons, armour to even magic stones used to enhance a casters power or to educate them in the art of magic but one thing they had in common was mandatory training in repairing ballistas, weapons and producing munitions for the ballistas and crossbows that made up the main defence of the great wall.

The engineering center was nearly as big as the city's center but replace the smell of freshly cooked foods to the smell of sweat and iron and you can get the picture quite well, it wasn't a place where the average citizen would go. Most people including merchants go to the one of the 4 Engineering offices which were connected with pneumatic tubes which were powered by a constant source of mana. These tubes would be connected to 4 main offices as well as mini offices within the center that would have information on stock and would send messages to each guild for new orders which eliminated a need for a reception for each guild, freeing man power to other areas.

But Arthur was there on a private matter to discuss a potential upgrade to the ballistas that would increase their power and range substantially, this project was the main plan for his 4 season stay at Northwind with the train tunnel project coming up after his visit and accidental run in with the machine.

"Donald,Donald!!" Arthur yelled at the owner of the guild.

"Oii chap me old bonez 're over hehhhehh" Donald replied in his thick groany voice whilst waving from the drawing room.

"How's the work coming along with the project?" Arthur replied, whilst he walked towards Donald's small drawing room.

" 'ell it cannit get any 'orse, We gowt yer riquirements' but da whol' thing falls apa't after jast a bunch of shots" Replied Donald with annoyance.

"Well it seems like this project is a failure" he replied with disappointment.

Donald stared him down with discontent in his eyes "Huh? Failure!? What' 'id we fail at? w'ey achieved yer targets, it nawt our fa'lt that der mechanism ke'ps on failin' aftar a bunch of shots!" now yelling at Arthur

Dwarths from the guild begun gathering around the drawing room where a conflict was brewing between an old prideful dwarth and a noble hearted half human-elf Prince.

Frowning his brow "It's a failure due to it falling apart after a few bloody shots! The ones in use right now can fire thousands and not explode, and we can't have them explode in the heat of a god damn battle!" Arthur continued yelling at Donald.

" 'ell dats a hell' of a problem, we ainit' goat the bloody techno'logy for such a large ball'sta, and yous' want us to develop a ball'sta dats al'eady been' hammered to perfection?! Hows' yous create a new variant of ball'sta 'nd call it smothin' like a heavy variant?!"

Arthur wanted to argue back but his idea wasn't a terrible one "You know that's not such a bad idea, you know if you move your head a little more maybe we would've won the war years ago" he replied with a grateful smile.

"Yer' likes dats ev'r gunna' happen, wey were far tu weak' and undar supplied for us' to mak' a dent" replied in dispute "But yer can giv' the heavy ball'sta idea to der council h'pefully day' make a fittin' reform and protect us from og'res, dey co'ld definit'ly breach der walls if properly 'rmoured e'ven our carrent ball'stas could nwat pierce dem".

"That's is quite true Donald, The doctrine is flawed but we're already too invested in it so we might as well strengthen what we have" Arthur replied with a saddened look "Well anyways I got to go tomorrow is my last day so I going to try to enjoy it, before summoning the council to a meeting and your payment for your work should arrive at the start of spring, see you Donald" Arthur left without saying another word as he wanted to get enough sleep for the next day as it would be a very busy day for him.