‘Farewell, Grand Master,’ Farnese said slowly. ‘You have taught us well.’
To Jared’s embarrassment he insisted on kneeling and kissing his ring.
‘Go forth, Brother Bartolomeo, and may good fortune always attend you.’
The members of the guild had spent much time together working out how they might best proceed. Jared had imparted his discovery of the true proportions of gunne-powder and Farnese had taken them all to a bell foundry and pointed out the limitations of bronze casting as well as its opportunities. Others had contributed their knowledge and experience and now they were ready to go out into the world.
Streuvel recruited three Hollanders who had been venturing with what they called ‘fire-lances’ and were astonished and gratified to now be part of a greater brethren. They were quickly followed by two from Cividale sent by Marco, young men of enterprise who had heard of the mystifying thunder devices fielded by Arezzo and had guessed their nature.
They were heady times for Jared. For every man that was emerging to join them there must be many more – and it was only the beginning!
At the same time he had to make a start on his own business. There was a prospective interest that suggested itself in Ghent – the Great Portal and miles of walls that needed defending – and what better than the fearsome roar of gunnes to keep attackers at bay? It was a rich city that could well afford such and would be a good thing for the guild to point to.
With casting he had more freedom in designing the gunne but there were practical limits. He needed to find a bell-founder to make them and secure a place of testing.
He decided to start with the size of ‘pea’ and the measure of the gunne would then suggest itself. If it were an ‘orange’ that would imply a size of near six feet long on the basis of the cannones he’d seen.
Fortunately there were six bell foundries in Ghent.
Finding a testing place proved troublesome until he hit on the idea of taking an island in the miles-wide Scheldt estuary. This was directly connected to Ghent by the Leie River, which allowed merchant shipping to enter the city itself and what better highway to move the gunnes?
Low-lying, marshy and uninhabited it didn’t even have a name. It was perfect for the job and Jared set up a workshop and began, leaving Daw in the city with Rosamunde handling correspondence.
With Farnese’s requirements listed down he was able to give the Stoverij bell foundry a workmanlike parchment of a device and the bell-metal ratio of copper to tin more for strength in place of musical tone.
It was a curious order for the foundry but the promise of further work ensured discretion and speed.
Working up sufficient quantities of gunne-powder was next. He had the charcoal and knew now where the best sulphur was to be had but saltpetre?
Rosamunde’s business network gave the answer: there was a small but reliable trade in preservative saltpetre already in existence deriving from the rich deposits along the Syrian camel caravan routes. It would need building up, and when the material arrived a further purification and refining would be required. But now at last he had a secure source.