Rochemnix walked up to a wooden board as tall as a person. The board was carved with nurous words, but unfortunately, he couldn’t read a single one. Curious, he asked, "What is this?"
"This is where the laws and regulations of our tribe are carved, so that tribesn can refer to them anyti, morize them, and avoid punishnt for breaking them."
"What if soone doesn’t know how to read?"
"We’ll have soone here in the future to explain them to interested tribesn."
"Oh." Rochemnix reached out and touched the carvings on the board, feeling an even stronger desire to learn how to read.
The two walked one behind the other toward the eastern village gate.
After walking a few steps, Rochemnix suddenly stopped, pointing toward the north and asked, "What are they doing?"
It wasn’t surprising for Rochemnix to be curious because he had been here before and knew the area by the Kupa River. Now, however, the place was filled with people more densely than ever before.
"They’re building a bridge."
Rochemnix’s eyes lit up: "Is it the kind of bridge where wooden boats are tied together and planks are laid on top to connect both sides of the river?"
"No, the bridge we’re building isn’t a simple pontoon bridge; it’s a real wooden bridge!" Akegu said proudly.
"A real wooden bridge..." Rochemnix rembered the stories his mother told him as a child about Ro, and he excitedly exclaid, "I want to take a look!" Saying this, he sprinted toward the river.
By the riverside, the people were all intensely focused on the water, allowing the boy to squeeze his way to the front.
Across the 70-ter-wide river stood two rows of wooden pillars stretching from one side of the riverbank to the other. These pillars were ford by two equally long pieces of wood placed side by side, nailed tightly together with intersecting shorter planks, and angled inward to penetrate the riverbed. Each pair of pillars was spaced about four or five ters apart, forming a wedge shape...
A large wooden raft sat in the center of the river, carrying an intricate wooden structure with a pointed roof as tall as six or seven ters. Hanging from its peak was a pulley system, with one end tied to a cylindrical iron block and the other held by several strong n. The iron block slid along a sloped groove and struck the wooden pillars below repeatedly, driving them deeper into the inclined angle of the riverbed bit by bit...
"A little higher, just a few more hits... Stop! One more hit..." The riverside crowd held their breath as only a middle-aged man’s commanding voice rang out.
In front of him stood a wooden fra about waist-high, equipped with a variety of peculiar tools. He occasionally bent over to peer through it at the river and gave instructions. Finally, he bellowed, "Stop! Stop! That’s enough! Check carefully now—make sure the pillars are firmly in place!"
A mont later, a signal of confirmation was given from the center of the river.
The middle-aged man turned toward the people gathered around him and, with a fervent tone, announced, "I proclaim that all the bridge’s foundation pillars are now in place! Next, we’ll embed crossbeams between each pair of pillars and lay down the planks on top...
I estimate that it will only take two days! Within the next two days, we can complete the entire basic structure of this bridge! I urge everyone to put in your best effort during these two days, to make sure everything is done right. Afterward, I’ll go to Leader Maximus and request credit on your behalf!"
The crowd erupted into cheers.
Amid the cheers, Akegu tugged Rochemnix away: "We need to hurry, or we’ll miss lunch at Westeni."
Rochemnix’s mind was filled with the image of the massive raft, the towering wooden pillars standing proudly in the river, and the words of that last man. Dazed, he murmured, "That man... that man said he could build a wooden bridge connecting the two sides of the Kupa River in just two days... Is that true?"
"Of course it’s true! The hardest part of bridge-building is driving the foundation pillars deep into the riverbed, and you’ve already seen for yourself that it’s done. The rest is like having the roof beam already raised—building the house becos much easier from there."
Being of the sa age, Akegu wasn’t as astonished. He already understood the principles of bridge construction and therefore responded calmly, "And stop calling him ’that man, that man.’ He’s Spukala, the most skilled engineer in our tribe. He’s highly respected by both Leader Maximus and the tribesn!"
"Engineer?"
"An engineer is soone who possesses vast knowledge and uses it to create things like bridges, massive siege engines, hydrological hamrs... all the ’miracle’ things you talk about." Akegu explained with a hint of pride.
Although Rochemnix didn’t understand so of the terms Akegu used, his eyes burned brightly: "Engineer... so incredible! I want to be one too!"
Akegu was montarily stunned and reminded him, "You didn’t quite catch what I said earlier. Becoming an engineer requires learning a lot of knowledge first—"
"I can learn! I’ll work hard to learn!" Rochemnix said with great seriousness.
Akegu looked at him. Though he wasn’t convinced, he didn’t want to pour cold water on his new friend’s sudden enthusiasm. Going along with it, he said, "If you want to be an engineer, you’ll have to start by learning to read and do arithtic. Right now, we need to get to the school—"
"I understand! Let’s hurry!" Rochemnix urged, quickening his pace to walk ahead of Akegu.
"This guy really has a fiery temperant," Akegu muttered, following closely.
As they left the village, Rochemnix stopped again, looking south and asking, "What are they doing there?"
"Cutting down trees."
"Why do they need such a long line of people to cut down trees?"
Rochemnix’s confusion was justified. Nearby, the line of tribesn from the Nix Tribe stretched out in a single file from the Snowdonia village gate, through the dirt road winding through the fields, to the mountain ridge in the south. The line was three to four miles long... This far surpassed Rochemnix’s understanding of ordinary tree felling.
Akegu explained, "We’re currently expanding our tribe, so we need a lot of wood. If we sent people up the mountain like before to cut trees and carry the logs back, it would take a lot of strength and ti, and we wouldn’t be able to fell many trees in a day.
Our leader ca up with an idea. He had the strong tribesn responsible for cutting the trees go to the mountain, while carpenters also went up to saw the logs into planks on-site, making them easier to transport. Then, other tribesn ford a long line from the mountain to the village and passed the wood hand-to-hand. This saves both ti and effort, and even the elderly and won can help.
You see those nearly bare little hills nearby? They used to be covered with dense trees. In just a few days, all the large trees on those hills have been felled. Otherwise, Spukala wouldn’t dare announce that the wooden bridge would be roughly completed in just a few days. That’s because the vast amounts of wood needed for the bridge are already taken care of."
"That’s a great thod. Your leader is impressive!" Rochemnix thought for a mont and genuinely praised him.
"The leader is certainly impressive. Even so of the ideas for building the wooden bridge were his suggestions to Spukala!"
"Really?"
"Of course! I wouldn’t lie to you. Spukala often goes to the main hall to discuss matters with the leader. Since we work around the leader, we know these things very well."
"I envy you for being able to learn directly from Leader Maximus."
"Since you joined the secretary’s departnt, you’ll definitely have the chance too."
...
As the two chatted while walking, there was a sound of hoofbeats from behind them, followed by a voice: "Hey Akegu, where are you headed?"
Rochemnix turned around and saw a double-donkey carriage approaching. An older man sat on the carriage, smiling at the two.
"Uncle Xibarita, we’re heading to Westeni’s school." Akegu answered while glancing at the contents of the carriage. "Are you delivering wood to Westeni?"
"Yes, after two more trips today, there won’t be any need to deliver more for now." Xibarita replied, looking at Rochemnix. "Who’s this young fellow? I don’t recall seeing him before."
"This is Rochemnix, son of Leader Karsipenpas. He just arrived in our tribe and has been assigned to the secretary departnt to assist Leader Maximus." Akegu introduced.
Rochemnix quickly chid in politely, "Hello, Uncle Xibarita!"
"What a polite youngster, and you even know Latin! Your father is truly a benefactor to our Nix Tribe. Without his help, we would never have settled here... A warm welco to our tribe!"
Xibarita’s heartfelt words filled Rochemnix with pride for his father.
Xibarita continued, "It’s the sa direction anyway; hop on and I’ll give you both a ride."
"Thank you for your kind offer, Uncle! But we’d rather walk. Westeni isn’t far, and we wouldn’t want to tire out your donkeys."
Xibarita widened his eyes and said, "You’re being too modest! Hurry up and get on! Those donkeys are tough and healthy—they can handle it." He then patted one of the donkeys, which imdiately responded with a cheerful bray, as if in agreent.
Akegu didn’t argue further and climbed onto the carriage with Rochemnix, sitting atop the pile of wood.
Xibarita patted the donkeys again and said, "No slacking! With young passengers aboard, you two better trot, or you’ll get teased for being slower than walkers."
The donkeys seed to understand as they broke into a steady trot.
The carriage began to jostle noticeably, but Rochemnix didn’t feel uncomfortable. Instead, he found the rhythmic bouncing quite amusing.
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