The Mechanical Era

The morning sun's rays rained on Neon Furner, a man with black hair, and brown eyes on an oval face, wearing a brown tunic along with grey leggings and calfskin boots, who waited alongside his buddies. They were expecting a new craftsman to turn up at the factory, carrying along with them the conveyor belts and machines powered by steam engines they were committed to being made.

He had worked in the factory for about 2 months now when it first opened. There have been a few renovations, and expansions. The factory had expanded to over double the size thanks to the use of cement. The old equipment had been cleared out for the new equipment that will be fitted in today. It was even fitted with a larger chimney.

The men talked to each other while they waited or just looked at the beautiful fields, with wood and stone buildings in the distance. The buildings themselves were packed together, consisting of houses and some small shops run by the locals. Neon himself came from one of these places. Though he would have to walk a good 25 minutes, that was the longest he had to walk.

In the distance, one spots a caravan headed this way, pulled by horses. He informed the men, who turn their heads to see what was up. They see a long trail of caravans get closer and closer while going slower and slower. Eventually, the front caravan passes the factory building, until it stops a few meters away.

From the caravan, a bunch of young men all jumps down. They appear to be in their early 20s, most likely apprentices of the craftsman, considering their attire mainly consists of a gorse flower orange tunic, along with a pair of acorn gray breeches, with calfskin shoes. They approach the men and introduce themselves.

"Good morning everyone. We are here to help you all build the conveyor belts. Please, can you help us unload the parts?" one of them asked. The men agreed and got to work. Neon, along with a brown-haired friend, carried the steam engines inside the factory while the others carried the other parts. There, they set it up where the artisans wanted, claiming that they were instructed by the big three, Oswald, Jac, and Alister.

The interior of the building was rather empty, except for the giant furnaces in the room which were built in place. It was connected to a large chimney that spewed smoke out. A few more parts are brought inside, mostly gears, long leather belts, and long iron bars called "idlers", along with some other parts. They also brought in wood and nails, to place the things together.

The men started working on setting up the belts. While the workers held things together, the artisans fixed them onto the total machine. One by one, each machine is built, tested, and fixed if a problem was stumbled upon. Neon himself worked with a brown-haired midget, with coca-brown eyes.

As they were working on building the contraptions, Neon couldn't resist but ask a few questions about how it worked. He faced the midget and asked him a question.

"Say... Keith. How do these things work?" he asked. Keith, not taking his eyes off where he worked, replied calmly.

"According to Mr. Walton, the belts move thanks to a closed loop around the pulleys, which are the large round things here. This means that the belt can continuously rotate and deliver the materials where it needed to go."

"How powerful is this one?"

"Considering this uses a single-piston steam engine, about 6 to 7 horsepower?"

"So... like seven times what horse could do?" Keith chucked.

"Oh no! A horse at the max has about 15 horsepower! This can do only less than half that."

"Then why use a steam engine?"

"Probably because it is cheaper and can operate for a long time without needing to rest or eat food. Well, unless you think burning coal is giving food."

"Ah, I see."

Soon, one row of conveyer belts was finished. From the start, it went straight and then up. From there, it straightens once again allowing whatever materials to fall down into, what they designate as a grinder.

However, since that will take some time to get here, considering that project went to a different duo of craftsmen, they could all focus on the belts. They went back outside, brought parts back in, and continued. They continued till midday when they finally finished.

With the machines built, all they had left to do was test them. Neon, after grabbing a bunch of coal and a box of matches, brought it to cover the first conveyor belt they build. He opened the steam engine gate and threw the coal inside. Then, he filled up the tank with water, closed the cap, and then lit the coal on fire with a match.

As the water boiled, allowing steam to travel through, the flywheels turned gears that cause the belt to move. It started slowly, but it soon accelerated. The workers, not wasting time, dumped the materials onto the conveyor belt.

Although the weight of it slowed things down, it manage to deliver the load to the other side of where it needed to go. The conveyor belts seemed to work well, and that was all that mattered. However, if they thought that was the end, they were dead wrong.

From the outside, another caravan was heard stopping nearby. Neon, and a bunch of others, went outside to see who it was. As the artisans got on their caravans and left, it revealed a much smaller, modest caravan, being ridden by two twins of sorts.

Neon, who was shown to be the most comfortable with the artisans, was voted to confront the artisans. He protested, arguing that the supervisor should be the one to confront them, but since he was busy, Neon was their next pick.

Neon walked up to them, and lend out his hand, something that he learned from his boss, Jac Pratt. The two men both had brown hair, on their heads and their face. The one with the thick beard shook Neon's hand first, followed by the one with the thick mustache.

"Hello, gentlemen. My name is Neon Furner, an employee of the factory. I assume you have something for us?" he asked while shaking Samuel's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Furner. And yes, we have what your boss required... a steam-powdered grinder, I believe," he said. Neon had already moved on to Victor as Samuel spoke.

"Hmm... yes. For the limestone. Well, come in. The others will bring in the parts," Neon said. With a wave of a hand, he commanded the workers to come to lift the parts inside of the caravan. Soon, they place the parts inside and built them alongside the twins.

...

It was nearing 6 P.M, and Jac Pratt, wearing a purple coat while riding on a horse, was coming to see the progress of the renovations. He wanted the factory to be up and running by tomorrow, to fulfill any demand that his customers would have. That wall is going to need a lot of cement.

He stopped the horse near the fence. After tying the black beast up, and walked to the front door. After knocking on the door, it opened, revealing Neon. He looked to be rather tired, after a long day of work.

"Oh, Mr. Pratt. Welcome," he said as he held the door for Jac. The man stepped inside, to see rows of conveyor belts, all connected to complicated mechanical devices powered by steam. Each conveyor belt leads to a steam grinder, which turns the material into a powdered version of itself.

Then, the powdered material heads to a funneling system, where one can control how much of the material they would need so that the factory workers can easily add the proper parts, mix it up, and throw it inside the large furnaces present inside the factory.

"Impressive," he said.

"How much cement can we produce an hour?" he asked Neon.

"Hmm... If I remember correctly, about 40 an hour, but that was because we ran out rather quickly."

"How long did it last?"

"About... 15...20 minutes?"

"I see. Well, I think this is a job well done! Everyone, you can all go home."

"Excuse me, sir?" Neon interrupted.

"Yes, my boy?"

"Am I getting a bonus for this work?"

"Why of course! I wouldn't want you to go home without anything! It will be included on payday."

"I see. Cherro, boss," he said in his sleepish voice.