Thank you all for your comments
I think that the feelings that drove me to write these two stories will fade after this one is finished (it has already mostly faded since the end of the first), but I feel I am capable of still writing good stories after. I already have the basic concept of one in mind.
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Blitukus walked back down the tunnel to cut the magma flow. On the way, he thought of how he would build his boiler. Originally he had envisioned a spherical design, but now such a boiler would be too small, constrained by the height of the ceiling. He pulled the lever and walked back up the tunnel. The magma now had no pressure backing it, so the steam ceased. Blitukus pulled the lever for the water as he passed the boiler space. Then, he pondered how he would harness such a large amount of steam. As a kobold, he could only reach so high with a pick axe, and more volume was needed. He decided on a cylindrical boiler, which wouldn't be able to handle as much pressure but had much more volume than the spherical design. He returned to his room, and sketched the design of the boiler itself. It would be little more than a bronze pressure chamber with a pressure gauge and a manifold attached. He included thick bands of bronze around the boiler to help reinforce the container. He spent nearly an hour drawing up the design, and decided to get materials together. The boiler would have 2 sections, and each would need 2 stacks of bronze bars to make the cylindrical casing, another stack of bars to make the side panels and piping. A single bar would suffice for making the pressure gauge, as when the steam compressed a pad down a small cylinder, the indicator would move straight along with the pad, showing, in an exponential scale, the pressure difference between outside air and the steam inside. After making sure a decent pressure could be achieved with such a set up, he decided to build his design. He had 2 stacks of bronze bars, and 4 more were needed. In order to make those bars, more coke was needed. Coke would be needed in many cases, so his first project, before building the boiler, would be to build a bridge over the magma channel.
Since the channel magma didn't spatter, he could use simple stone. He harvested a boulder out of the water tunnel, and brought it back to the masons workshop to chip it into blocks. But, another thought occurred to him as he chipped away. In order to be able to sink the stone into the lip of the channel, the channel needed to have been recently muddied. An inconvenience, but one that would make his machine more reliable and more flexible. He would have to alter his machine to allow water to flow back into the magma channel in order to muddy the channel at the end. All he had to do was install a floodgate, and a secondary set of mechanisms at the end to do so. He finished the blocks, and harvested another rock, hauling it back and chipping a floodgate out of it. He found that he had found new enthusiasm on the sight of steam. He quenched his thirst with the second to last full drink of the rum, and continued. He eventually finished the floodgate, but needed 6 mechanisms to complete the modification. He continued, using this as an opportunity to clear his new tunnels of rubble, and put said rubble to productive use. The floodgates would serve other functions rather than making the system work both ways. It would also be a safety in case the magma floodgates failed, releasing molten rock into the system when it was uncalled for. Of course, this is also expecting that the magma wouldn't just spill into every available tunnel in such a situation. Snow storms howled outside, and the water quickly evaporated from the farm. The glacier became covered with rising snow, and the suns path lowered.
Winter is upon you.
But, Blitukus had grown plenty of food for himself, and was ready to survive even the harsh glacial winter. He continued, turning unsightly boulders into beautiful mechanisms. Hauling the boulders and chipping away at them took time, but Blitukus worked with efficient speed. When he had finished the tip of the last lever, he walked back over to the masons workshop, and dragged the stone floodgate to where the magma feeds into the boiler. This floodgate would allow a reverse release from the channel, meaning water could flow beyond the boiler. He then went to dig an alcove for the new lever, but saw that where he was digging could cause a release of steam into the halls. Instead, he dug on the opposite side of the tunnel, and then left the opposite wall to prevent unwanted steam flow. He then moved the lever into position, and fixed it to the floor. Then, he strung a mechanical link from the lever across the tunnel to the new floodgate. Then, he walked down the tunnel, and when he reached the magma river, he expanded the alcove, making room for a second lever. He installed the new lever, and joined it to the linkage of the magma-spill floodgate. The machine was never meant to operate in such a manner, but all in all, it was a major upgrade. Upon finishing, he pulled the lever. The floodgate opened, no liquid on either end. As he passed the aqueduct on the way up, he realized that the aqueduct would only function one way, and would not accept fluids passing into its outlet and out its inlet. It would add even more cost in floodgates and mechanisms, but it was able to be made two-way. It would take 2 floodgates and yet another 5 sets of mechanisms. But, this upgrade would also allow the aqueduct to be completely shut down in an emergency, potentially preventing a lethal overflow in the future. Blitukus hauled stone from the tunnels, and produced 2 more floodgates, 5 more sets of mechanisms. Another benefit was becoming apparent. By making all of these components, he was becoming even more skilled. Slowly, rubble cleared from his home, and he found himself becoming even better at making these mechanisms, his ability to chisel stone workings advancing further and further. Blitukus laughed.
Yet another large project shot way over budget!
But, unlike previous over-budget projects, this was not a subject of complaint and stress, this was an opportunity, to perfect his creations and hone his skills. Eventually, he finished. He now had to put it all together. He celebrated opportunity by finishing off the last of the dwarven rum, and continued, hauling the floodgate to the inlet tunnel of the aqueduct, and placing the valuable flow-control structure. He then dug a small trench at the outlet of the aqueduct, and placed a floodgate to control the output. The trench made the statue functionally obsolete, but he left the trench open to spill on one side, providing the statue with as much fluid access as it had originally received. A space was already available for a floodgate, and Blitukus placed it. It was on the opposite side of the aqueduct as the statue. It wasn't complete, but it was a satisfying accomplishment for a days work. He left the site and proceeded to his room to sleep. That day, he read "Encased Evils" by Urist Deepdig. He read some of it, but didn't get far into it before his fatigue started to get to him. He placed the book on the floor and let himself drift off to sleep. That day his dream began with him walking through a cloud of steam, and proceeding to literally walk on water, then walk on magma, neither harming him at all. Before him lay a grand machine, towering up what seemed hundreds of feet into a vast caverns ceiling. In the heart of the machine was a portal, and the portal led to his mother. Be ran towards the machine, but just before he reached the portal, the magic in his dream failed, and he fell into the magma. A split second of fiery pain later, and he woke up. He rose from bed, and spoke to his subconscious,
No, I will NOT fail.
He felt determined. He yawned, and, disregarding his bit of hunger, continued what he had started the day before. As he picked up the mechanisms, he noticed a bat taking refuge in the wood furnace. Luckily for the bat, he had no need for the furnace anymore, but the bat spread its wings and seemed to smile at him as it rested, hanging upside down in the interior of the furnace. Blitukus couldn't quite identify why, but he felt as though something was significant, and symbolic about that. He continued, and finally completed all required upgrades to make the system reversible. Now was the time to test it. Either this would be a grand day, or a rather wet day. He pushed the lever, opening the aqueduct to flow. He walked up the tunnel and pulled the lever there to open the reverse-flow floodgate. Then, he opened the water tunnel again. The water spilled through the tunnels, and splashed through the new floodgates, flowing backwards through the magma tunnel. A flood never happened, and the water muddied the magma-baked tunnel. It splashed up against the magma inlet floodgate, a slight bit of steam rising as it came to rest.
Blitukus eagerly hauled the blocks down the tunnel. The channel was now flexible enough for a bridge to be built upon it, and when it was backed dry by magma, the entire assembly would be as solid as the stone itself. Blitukus stopped once more at the statue. The statues eyes now had a blue reflection, and its mouth had a reflection of light moving through it in rough circles as the water churned within. Blitukus' stone counterpart gazed deeply into his eyes, giving a sense of a timeless presence. The statue peacefully offered Blitukus a drink of water, and Blitukus drank from the statues cupped hands, smiling at his eternal counterpart.
Finishing his drink, he nodded at the statue and continued down the tunnel. he placed the blocks down and moved a lump of hematite. Then, he pulled a lever, shutting the spill floodgate, clearing the space of water and leaving a muddy trench behind to sink stones into. The building site was ready, but another need arose. He was putting his hunger off, but now it was getting to him. He walked back up the tunnel and retrieved another purple mushroom. As he ate it, he dug out and left multiple spores on the table. He thought that the spores themselves could be cooked and at least used as spice if needed. He walked back down the tunnel upon finishing, moved the other lump of hematite that was in the way, and lay the blocks in a neat arched bridge across the trench. The trench was not very wide, so this was quick and easy to do. Upon finishing, he realized, he had just completed, truly completed, a very major part of his infrastructure. Now that the tunnels had been suitably upgraded, the boiler could be built. He walked back up the tunnel, and shut down the fluid tunnels completely. He needed more coke in order to make the bronze. He walked back down the tunnel crossing the new bridge, and, magma sizzling to his side, struck the coal vein once more. After he had dug out a sizable amount, he brought the coal back to the smelter, and proceeded to process it into coke, taking a break to drink from the river. He had dug enough coal to repeat the process 2 more times, so he did that, each time using preexisting coke to fuel the refining, each time getting twice as much coke as what he used, each tome becoming more and more annoyed with sparks shooting out of the smelter and nearly landing in his eyes. As he hauled the coal from the mine to the smelter, he stepped over a strange, fiery, snake-like creature. He thought it was impossible. Creatures living within the magma?! He hoped that harmless snakes were all that would surface from the hellish liquid. He saw several of these creatures milling about the fiery surface of the magma flow on his last hauling trip.
He finished processing the coal, and rubbed his face, several marks from the sparking furnace having landed near his eyes. He decided on his first manufacturing project. He used scrap coke and some leftover bronze, and heated it within the forge, the scraps just barely heating the bronze hot enough to work. He took some sand off of the floor of the work space, and, using the last intense heat from the coke, melted that down into a small bit of glass. He then used a stones to force the glass to cool into two hollow half-spheres, and hammered the bronze to create a small pair of attached rings to hold the makeshift lenses. He harvested part of a nearby cave spider web, and strung the threads into a strap. He had made the joint between the two bronze rings flexible, and attached the strap, one end to each side, then he placed the makeshift lenses into the rings. He donned the resulting bronze goggles. Despite being made from scraps, they seemed to fit him quite comfortably. He felt a new feeling of confidence arise from the event of him wearing the goggles from the first time. Yes, he would no longer have to worry about sparks flying into his eyes, but he felt that the goggles held a greater significance as well. Yet again, he couldn't quite indicate to himself why.
Blitukus now had piles of coke, but now he needed to make more bronze. He walked down the tunnel, and hauled a heavy lump of cassiterite back to the smelter. Then, he walked into the dark depths again, fetching a large lump of malachite. Using some of the fresh coke, he smelted them together to make more bronze. After the bars had all cooled, he had 2 more stacks of bronze bars. 2 more to go. He repeated his previous steps. He found that wearing his new goggles, the fiery magma and the churning furnace were no longer a hazard to his eyesight at all. Sparks simply bounced off of the goggles. After smelting for the second time, the area around the smelter was littered with bronze bars. He now had enough to build a boiler with, and provide piping as well. He spent three trips hauling bronze from the smelter to the forge, then another hauling the needed coke. He then melted the bronze, pounding the bars together, flattening them into the bronze ribs that would encase his sought after power source. He had learned well as a metalsmiths' apprentice, and found the process familiar. He checked that the parts sealed airtight, and hammered a siding to seal it all off. He finished one section of the boiler, slowly, but with quality, and then proceeded to begin on the second section. As he slowly hammered the bars into the curved ribs, flat sides, solid supports and hollow tubes, he also created a pressure meter, doing the math in his head to determine where the meter would indicate a dangerous amount of pressure, and where it would indicate an optimal amount of pressure. He etched these markings in, and, once again, made sure everything fit air tight, that the pipes lined up and fit together, that there was no structural flaw that would cause the boiler to explode. As a precaution, he also made another device fitting on the back of the boiler. It was obvious that he would not have all day to tend to the boiler, and the boiler would occasionally need purging of excess steam, otherwise it would explode with devastating force. He built a device that, when a dangerous level of pressure was applied to its inlet, automatically vented gas out of a vent pipe. The boiler would be self-purging, and all Blitukus would have to do is make sure it was being fed water and magma. He fitted the ribs together, and riveted them in place, pounding the rivets in by hammer. He completed the two sections as well as their corresponding bronze mechanisms, and they would be fixed together at the site, as each alone was nearly too heavy to haul. He grunted and groaned as he strained himself slowly dragging the boiler section to its spot, but eventually, maneuvered it into place. He grunted and set it down, the segment resting upon its sturdy supports. Blitukus grunted, and walked to the forge yet again. He dragged the second segment down the tunnel and lined it up into place, nearly toppling it over in the process. He lined it up, and fastened the pipes together. He riveted the two segments together, and the inner chamber was air tight, the pressure meter reading equal to air pressure.
Now was the time to finally harness the power of steam. He pulled the lever to begin water uptake, then walked down the tunnel. He reached the magma, and pulled the magma uptake lever. The floodgates opened, and magma slowly sizzled its way through, under the bridge, steam rising from the muddied tunnel as the mud was fried back into hard stone. The bridge was frozen in place in the newly baked dust. The magma flowed through its tunnel, reclaiming it from the mud, and crossed the aqueduct once more. It passed through, and now only the new floodgate held the fire and water apart.
The system was ready. Blitukus pulled the lever, and the magma was let loose upon the helpless water. Both elements were taken up under the boiler, and there was a loud hissing as the pressure gauge began to rise. It rose, and rose. The boiler hissed and creaked as the gauge red optimal, and passed it. The pressure rose further, and began to near the danger level. The boiler occasionally creaked as the heat made the metal expand and the pressure made it expand further, but the rivets held firm. The pressure gauge reached the danger level.
I've never seen such a big steam boiler up close before, let alone seen one explode!
He stood before it in anticipation of whatever would come next. The failsafe device kicked in, and there was a loud hissing and a pneumatic sigh as steam was vented out of the back of the boiler. The pressure gauge fell, and reached equilibrium near the optimal mark.
He turned a valve on the manifold, and high pressure steam shot out. Soon he would connect pipes to this manifold, and on the other ends of these pipes would be steam driven machines. He shut the valve again, stood back, and admired his work. It was a large undertaking a good margin over the original cost expectation, but it had all gone right. Blitukus now had a power plant, and he had also built one of the first real, working, large scale steam devices in the world in making the boiler and its automatic purging system. It was a great day and a great achievement, but it was just infrastructure. Blitukus had opened the path to larger, more advanced devices, devices never before built, perhaps devices to reach his mother some day. He built it, and it worked. He grinned as he observed his achievement, adjusting his goggles.
Blitukus has become a Steam Gadgeteer.
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Topic: A Kobold's Quest II (Read 76110 times)