The Mechanical Era

The sun rose once again on the city of Hoverdam. In the distance, along the cobblestone road, a group of men, all holding strong pickaxes, were breaking down the road. Upon hearing the noise, the people residing in their wooden-planked homes looked outside their windows and observe them

Unlike the citizens of the area, these guys were much more toned in their physique, signaling to them that these men were no ordinary men, with the only good guess being retired knights, working for the palace.

But what was even weirder were the holes themselves. Instead of some normal holes, they broke it in a way to make a sort of rectangular shape. Once a rectangular-ish hole was made, other, more skinner workers, holding hand-held chisels, started working on each individual hole, turning it into a rectangle. Once they appear to be done, they used a bubble leveler and made sure it was leveled, before moving on to the next one.

They move on through the entire main road, prompting the people to start to question what in god's name they were doing. After a few minutes, one of them soon gathers enough curiosity and courage to walk out of their home and ask the men what they were doing.

He had short black hair with hazel brown eyes on his square-shaped face. He wore a reed-flower green hemp shirt, nettle leaf brown pants, and a pair of old calfskin boots that had been passed down to him by his father. He approach the sweating workers, who had been working hard for about an hour and a half.

"Hey, excuse me, who is the one in charge here?" he asked politely. The workers simply pointed to a man holding a map and giving out instructions. John soon walked up to the man and greeted him.

"Excuse me, sir...?" he asked the supervisor, grabbing the man's attention. He was wearing a white-cotton tunic, with black breaches and boots, and the beard of his oval-shaped face appeared to be shaven off.

"Yes?"

"Um... Hi. My name is John. John Black. I just came to ask you a question. But before that, would you mind telling me your name?"

"My name is William. What is this question you want to ask me?"

"It is just that I have been looking and got a little curious. What are you all doing? Your men are destroying the roads we use to walk around. But not just any holes, but rectangular holes. So..." he said as he clapped his hands.

"... I was wondering where you would mind explaining it to me?" John Black politely questions.

"We are currently undergoing a construction project. These holes are for the sleepers," William replied. John got evermore confused, as he didn't understand what it meant.

"Sleepers?"

"Sleepers. They support the tram tracks. Do you know what a tram is?"

"...No Mr. William. I don't," John honestly replied. His confusion has started to compound as Williams throws him these terms that he doesn't understand.

"Well, I guess they are going to announce it later, so I might as well tell you here. These tracks are built here so that a... carriage-like vehicle can move across the land, going from this part of the city to the newly built Industrial District 1."

"A carriage-like vehicle? If that is the case, why not just build it to go along the road?"

"Because this carriage that we are speaking of is much heavier and much faster than a normal carriage."

"If it is heavier, how is it powered?"

"A steam engine."

"What is a steam engine?"

"Think of it as a metal horse that allows things to move. Soon enough, you will see one pass through here once the construction project is done."

"But... why are you building it here?"

"For you all. It is for you all to use."

"Why would that be?"

"You are all looking for work, right? This area has been stagnating for a long time since the plague hit, correct?"

"Yes. We are. Why do you ask?"

"Because in Industrial District 1, there are said to be new places for you to work. Now, considering that it is far away from anyone over here to walk, his majesty has decided to fund the construction of this tram track.

This way, you will be able to get to your new place of work and come home quickly before the sun sets. Now, do you understand?" William asks John.

"Yes. I do. Thank you," John replied as he nodded.

"You are welcome." With that, John went back to his house while William went on to continue instructing the workers on what to do next. They continued making the rectangular holes until they arrived at another construction project, a tram station.

Like everywhere else, there were people looking on with curiosity. The station was made out of gray stone bricks, cement, and a bit of reinforced concrete for structural support. The station not only had a platform, but also a few other neat additions. It had a large sundial, which told the time for anyone who wanted to know when the next tram is coming. The station also had installed some wooden benches for people to sit on and wait for a tram to come by.

The workers continued to build the holes inside the station, next to the platform, all the way to the back of it. Once they have made all the holes that they needed, they gathered around the supervisor William, waiting for their next task.

"Alright. We have made it. Now, Group 1, go get the cement and pour it into the holes. There should be some here we can borrow. As for group 2, go and grab the concrete sleepers. They have it prepared for us to use. As for group 3, get the bubble leveler and make sure it is even. We don't want the tram to trip over and hurt anybody. Otherwise, the palace may have our heads."

The workers, after taking the cement, pour it inside the rectangle holes. Once it was all the way filled, a reinforced concrete sleeper is installed inside the hole. The third group then makes sure that the concrete sleeper is leveled, before pushing it in.

They do this until they make it all way back to the new road, where they had started. Once they have finished, they inspected each and every one of the sleepers and fixed the ones that were slightly off, before placing the rail lines on.

The rail lines were connected to each other and planted throughout the entire track, all the way until they made it back to the station. The rails were laid in the trenches of the sleepers, with their edges lined up, aligned, leveled, and then bolted in place to form a continuous track. By this point, the station was nearing its completion and was being mortared and painted red.

With the construction finished, William and the other instructors gathered the workers at the starting point of the construction. The workers all formed a half arch in front of William, allowing everyone to hear what he has to say.

"You have all done a wonderful job today. Without you all, we wouldn't have been able to complete this marvelous project that had been undertaken. For groups 2 and 3, you can all go home. However, for group 1, you are ought to stay.

Under the order of King Kant Icurus Maybale I, you are to help with the assembling of the Steam Trams. The craftsman will be arriving shortly. Do you have any questions?" A few raised their hands. William picked one and allowed him to speak.

"When will they be here, exactly?" he asked.

"They should be here in about an hour. Till then, enjoy yourselves." Once William finished speaking, the workers did what was told of them. Some of them went around, exploring the place and spending some money on food.

Soon, a convoy of caravans was seen strolling down the road. Assuming that it was the artisans, with woodworkers, William called back all the workers. With the workers gathered around, they waited till the convoy stops. From the front caravan, the craftsman, which included the Peterson Twins, jumps out and shakes hands with William.

"Thank you for waiting for us. I hope we are not late?" asked Samuel Peterson, as he shook hands with William.

"No. You are just in time. Now, how can we help you, gentlemen?"

"Oh, just let the men carry the heavy components. We will do the rest." William soon instructed the men to take the components out of the caravan. This included wood and metal materials, a HeklorKloch 4CC45 engine, wrought iron wheels, and a variety of components.

The craftsman, with the help of the woodworkers, first assembled the frame. Once the overall layout of the frame was complete, the wheels were fixed onto the frame along with the axles and bearings.

With the help of the workers, this was then lifted and placed on a set of tram tracks, that William and his workers helped build along with the new brick roads. With the frame fully completed, they fitted in the engine, the break, and the rest of the important components, with some final touches added to the frame to make it look nicer.

"And that is it! We have completed the first compartment. Now, all we need to do is to make the others," Samuel told William. The tram was rather simple in its design. Made mostly out of wood, with open windows. There was no paint job on the tram, leaving a rather plain-looking carriage at best, which looked to be made mostly out of wood and iron.

"Mr. Samuel, don't you think that you should test out it before you move on to the others?" he suggested.

"We don't have the coal or the water," Samuel replied. However, William had a plan.

"The retired knights could provide it. They have magical abilities, remember? We can use a water spell to conjure the water, and a heat spell to apply heat to it!"

"Hmm... I guess. Hey, can you give me and the other artisans a minute? We need to discuss this."

"Why of course! Go ahead."

Samuel soon gathered the artisans and proposed Williams's idea. They all discuss and argue over the matter. In the end, the majority of them decided that testing it out now would be the best.

"Alright then. Who is going to be the tester?"

Victor, who was the most enthusiastic about the project, immediately raised his hand.

"I will! I would really want to go," he suggested.

"Alright. Anyone else?" Nobody raised their voices.

"Alright then. It is settled."