As expected, after pa.s.sing through the dock of the harbor they saw Frank, intent on giving orders to his men, who tirelessly continued to transport the thoughtful building materials of the s.h.i.+p.

"Hey! Frank!" Sander called, drawing the attention of the construction site manager and his workers, who as soon as they recognized his voice, stopped and bowed their heads.

"Master Sander, Master Dag! It's a pleasure to see you again! I didn't expect your visit so soon!" he exclaimed, bowing before them.

"Don't worry, we're just looking forward to seeing the boat taking shape. I promised Master Dag that you and your men would make it in record time" Sander replied, rea.s.suring Frank, who was busy with the preparations.

"Of course! You will not be disappointed, my men are Okstorm's most skilled carpenters!" the sailor continued, praising his subordinates, who immediately returned to work.

"I've never traveled like on the Bra.s.s Arrow. It was the fastest and most manageable boat I've ever ridden in my life! Despite the rough conditions of the sea that night we left for Vaeren Island, that boat managed to maintain its stable trajectory and lead us to our destination safely, returning back intact. Well, as I explained to Master Sander a few days ago, I know it's difficult, but I would like the new s.h.i.+p to be more or less like it, though much larger and wider" Dag interjected, trying to provide more details to Frank, who paid attention to his every word.

"Master Sander handed me this project, telling me that it comes from the ingenuity of two brothers who have never been able to realize it because of the excessive costs. Well, I made some changes, trying to make the sides of the s.h.i.+p smoother, to ensure greater adherence to the water in case of waves and higher speed at fully unfolded sails. Come with me, I'll show you what we're building right now!" Frank said, beginning to walk away from the pier, heading to one side of the harbor, a kind of gigantic hut, in which there were numerous boats parked next to each other.

Among them, Dag recognized the Bra.s.s Arrow, cleaned and maniacally polished by its owner.

On one side of the shed, more than 20 men were busy working the base of the new s.h.i.+p: some of them smoothened large wooden beams, giving them the typical curved shape so they could frame and nail each other, others instead were intent on striking with large blacksmith hammers of the iron plates, which once smoothed and bent, they would have lined the sides of the boat.

"Unbelievable! After only one day you are already at work! You are worthy of your fame!" Dag exclaimed, thrilled to see the great boat take shape.

"Thank you for your words, Master Dag. Although this is only the draft of our project, you can already catch a glimpse of the s.h.i.+p's base, almost 30 meters long! With my modifications, I made sure to slightly widen the main bridge, which otherwise would have been a bit too cramped to contain all of the soldiers. There will be almost a distance of one meter between the rowers and other pa.s.sengers, allowing both to move smoothly and get up quickly in case of need. In addition, I have also added an additional sail and other details that you will see with your own eyes once the bottom of the boat will be finished" Frank replied, admiring his work with satisfaction.

"And this? What is it?" Sander asked, pointing to a group of men around a thick wooden pillar, intent on sculpting it from multiple sides simultaneously.

"That's the highlight, Master Sander. We thought the bow of the s.h.i.+p should have been the most majestic the Skjold seas had ever seen, so... we are making a sculpture to decorate it, representing the symbols of the three Clans of the Iron Alliance: a hammer and a spear, crossed under the face of a feline, with its eyes pointed towards the horizon" Frank replied, happy that Sander had asked him.

"All this is magnificent!" Dag said, preceding his friend, particularly appreciating that symbol, which in addition to being incredibly decorative had a divine function, protecting travelers during the sea voyage and ensuring them the strength of their G.o.ds.

Dag and Sander stayed for a few hours at Gurn, hearing Frank explain other details of the s.h.i.+p, including the additional modifications he had made to the original draft of the project, such as an additional sail and a double rudder, useful in case one of them broke.

After greeting Frank and encouraging his men, urging them to do their best, the two Masters returned to Skjegg and during the ride, Dag told him about the ambush of those strange bandits as soon as he and his men had entered Runar.

"Bandits? Mmh... It's very strange... they haven't been seen in our region for many years. I hope theirs was a mistake, not least because attacking one of the nation's strongest warriors along with his troop in so few men was not a brilliant idea! Hahah!" Sander chuckled, trying to play it down.

"Yes, it is true. They were incredibly predictable and disorganized. I'm sure Egill would have put them on the run with a hand gesture if he wanted to!" he replied, praising his Master.

"Egill? No, I wasn't referring to him!" Sander replied, smiling at Dag, who had not realized he had just earned the nickname of 'one of the strongest warriors in the nation' directly from the Crows Of Odin Master.

"You're too good to me, Master Sander... I still have a lot to learn... in this regard... I would need to use the training arena these days, before our departure. Is it a problem for you and your men?" he asked again.

"No, absolutely not. You can use it whenever you want".

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