Dungeons, Ramsgate,
It wasn't the dungeon where the prisoners were kept. No, it was the dungeon where inventions happened. The large, long corridors with many rooms where Qyburn worked, where the printing press made copies, and where Wylis usually made first iterations of his discoveries.
That day, Wylis worked with a lot of wood and iron to create three machines that would one day turn Ramsgate into a textile powerhouse and give jobs to thousands of women. The first thing he built was a water-powered mechanical cotton gin. But it could also be powered by hand, by turning a crank handle.
However, since Wylis had plenty of engineering knowledge, he chose to make some improvements over the basic design of a cotton gin. The basic gin pulled too hard and broke fibers. Shorter fibers meant weaker threads. So, he made the teeth finer and smoother. The next part was keeping the machine at an even speed. For that, he planned to install a flywheel, but not on the machine, instead on the mechanism that would connect to the water wheel.
Finally, he added two rollers that would pull the cotton in at a steady rate, creating a feeding system.
Next in the pipeline was turning the fibers smooth. For that, he made a hand-cranked carding machine. He made two cylindrical rollers with fine wire teeth, one big and one small. Making those teeth was a journey in itself, but his blacksmithing abilities were useful. Sadly, he couldn't mass-produce them yet.
After that, it was as easy as turning the hand crank. He fed the cotton in, the teeth grabbed and pulled fibers apart, and aligned them in one direction. It created a soft sheet of fibers after that. He then pulled that sheet out and then ran it four or five more times through the machine, and eventually, started pulling the fibers from one end of the roller, creating a loose, continuous rope which would then go for spinning.
This one was a lengthy process that Wylis hoped to solve later. For now, he moved onto the spinning wheel. It was a simple wooden machine with a foot paddle. One could work with it by just placing a chair beside it.
Wylis added a high-ratio drive wheel so it would spindle faster. He added a flyer system with adjustable tension to keep it uniform. Then he added a drafting zone, which would stretch the fibers to a decided length before being twisted.
It took Wylis many tests to calibrate the machine to the perfect twist per inch.
Twisting too little would make the yarn weak, too much would make it wiry. He had to find the perfect balance to make it strong. Besides, he decided to conduct this spinning in a humid place, like some regions of his dungeon. That would add to the thread quality. But it would take training to make people learn how to make even threads.
In the end came the biggest and most important machine that would be used in the industrial district. A full-sized water-powered power loom. The sheer number of components it had made him insane. And he needed to make multiple of them. But for now, he planned to get Chett to turn the crank handle to test the machine.
Wylis also knew of the process called mercerization. By treating the yarn with cold, concentrated caustic soda, he could improve fiber strength and gloss. But that was a long process, and he would need to work on it a lot before trying it on an industrial scale. For now, just increasing the output of cotton to cloth was enough to earn him shiploads of gold.
For now, he was happy just applying some starch to it. And that was enough. Once he built the first power loom, he showed it to Qyburn, Chett, and the women. He had baggy eyes by then, even the kids had started to notice.
But since he had documented all the steps and diagrams, he hoped to find talented carpenters and blacksmiths to make many of these. But first, he'd need to get them recorded in the Royal Registry for Invention and Discovery Rights.
"It feels so much better." Rhaella felt the sheet of fabric Wylis had made for testing.
It was simple, white in color, but it was the first cloth made in Ramsgate, and he was damn proud of it. And if a woman like Rhaella, who knew all about luxury, felt it was better, then it was damn better.
"Aye, I'd jump into the sea if that wasn't the case after this much work," Wylis complained, tiredly sitting on the chair beside the spinning wheel, still making yarn. He'd gotten used to it by that point.
"Bah! You look good doing this, Wylis," Brandon barked. "Drop the sword swinging, make clothes."
Wylis noticed a hint of mockery. Brandon saw this work beneath a knight. "It'll earn Ramsgate coin from across the world."
"I knew a tailor in Winter Town," Brandon added. "Even he loved to play with swords. Used to get loud at night. Father once sent me to investi—"
Wylis got up, shaking his head. "I only meant to show you what's kept me from supper these past nights. Truth is, we haven't the hands to work these machines and make cloth in any great number. So we wait, and keep ourselves ready."
"It will succeed," Elia murmured, feeling the fine weave between her fingers as Rhaella presented the cloth. "This is the sort of craftsmanship nobles pay a fistful of gold for. Yet you've made the process orderly, almost graceful. With steady hands at each machine, the cloth can be made again and again without loss of quality. My lord, it won't just be the realm that will desire Ramsgate's fabrics. The wider world will hunger for them. And this time, not just nobles or merchant princes, but even those of modest means."
Jesus! She understood the division of labour fast. And the concept of scalability.
Wylis was surprised and intrigued by Elia's quick thinking. He quickly made up his mind to write some books about basic business concepts and hand them to her. That was one thing he'd learned to master in his past life, after all. Inheriting a multi-billion-dollar company meant his job was all about managing things.
"That is right," Ashara added. She, along with Elia and Rhaella, was one of only three who had seen the peak of nobility, the royal court. "My lord, if you need hands to man these machines, I'm willing to help."
"No." Wylis refused right away. He knew how harsh raw cotton was to the hands. And the last thing he wanted was for these noble women to suffer. "That will only help briefly. I'll wait to find a permanent solution. Still, if you fancy making something for our children, I won't protest. They're little yet, won't give you much trouble."
That suggestion made all of the women excited.
"We'd love to," Wenda exclaimed.
"I'll make one for each!" Lyanna was a step ahead. "Wylis, teach us!"
"..."
"Look at me, woman. Feed me a little something first and sing me a lullaby to put me to sleep. I haven't seen my own bed in two whole nights."
"Of course, my love," Lyanna chirped and rushed to stand at his side and grab his arm to drag him. Ashara did the same on the other side, grabbing his arm.
"We'll feed you with our own hands, Wylis," Ashara said.
"Of course." Ros nodded.
Wylis eyed the women with suspicion, letting them pull him along. "Tell me, why do I feel like a pig being fattened and the blade's not far behind?"
"Not at all, my lord husband," Lyanna said with a playful grin. "We'll fill your belly, then you'll lie that handsome head on my lap for a nap. And when you're done snoring, you'll show us how to work these machines."
"How long do you mean to let me sleep?" He stared at his wife's face. "Ah, but your loss, I still haven't made the sewing machine which would turn out a full set of children's clothes in a day. But I suppose I must teach you these machines fir—"
"Sleep! Sleep as much as you want!" Lyanna declared. "I'll be right there beside you the whole time. And don't worry, Ashara, Ros, Wenda, Rhaella, and even Anna will be keeping you company."
Wylis gulped. "That… I'm afraid it will do more to keep me awake than help me sleep."
A few snorting laughs echoed behind him.
Bickering with them and joking, he soon arrived at the small supper hall. Since it was past supper time, his gorgeous wife and his paramours brought him food themselves, set him a plate, and even fed him.
Though he didn't like Brandon seated across from him, stuffing his face with another serving of supper.
"Benjen left?" He asked, eyeing the wild wolf with a serious glint in his eyes.
"Aye. Left with Chett and five lads. Should be feasting with Lord Hornwood by now."
"Good. Very good."
Wylis just nodded and smiled, accepting another spoonful of delicious meat stew. But he could swear it tasted better because Rhaella was feeding him. What a beautiful sight to behold, her smile so kind and true.
Yet, his mind was in turmoil with too many things to do. The Boltons, the Freys, and the Flints were already aiming for him. He just hoped this Hornwood deal would go through.
This damn quest. I can't fail this one.
Ting!
Wylis' jaw tightened at the notification. Not a quest, but just an update to an ongoing Main Quest 'Art of Naval War'.
[...Goal - Stop the Ironborn from sinking your ships (3/10)]
Another ship was lost to the Ironborn.
While he had given the orders to leave the Sunset Sea completely, it wasn't easy to simply move all the ships away. Some ships were busy near Bear Island harvesting ice. They received word late, and hence, another casualty. At least that was what he believed for now. The raven would take days to reach him.
Damn Ironborn. I'll show you your fucking drowned god soon enough.
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Advance chapters on [PATREON] are in long-form format. I have 12 long chapters of this story on P@treon. That's equal to 45-50 Webnovel chapters.
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