The doors of Konrad’s study were barred, locking out the noise of the keep. Konrad sat at his desk, covered in ledgers and a rough map of the Swabian lands.

He was reckoning the iron needed to meet both the Bavarian wheel-lock numbers and the secret, scattered forging of Götz von Berlichingen’s iron shells.

He needed a way to vastly swell the harvests of his lands to feed a growing host of workers. The four-field planting was a true path, but it would take years. He needed a sudden, massive yield of grain.

He unrolled a fresh parchment and began to draw. He drew a great screw of wood, bound to wooden gears, made to be driven by a second river wheel.

It was a cunning engine to lift water.

If Dieter could forge the heavy iron axles and the carpenters could build the tight wooden shell, they could push river water straight to the high, dry fields that relied only on rain.

True water meant true harvests, even in the dry months.

A sharp knock broke his thoughts. Before Konrad could speak, the door flew open. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Konrad!" Elise gasped. "You must come to the yard! She... she is here!"

"Speak plainly, Elise," Konrad stated, not looking up from his drawing. "Who is here?"

"Lady Isolde!" Elise cried, "From the Duchy of Württemberg! She comes with a dozen heavy lances, and she has Uncle Lothar in chains!"

Konrad’s quill stopped. The Duchy of Württemberg was a vast, wealthy land to the north. They were the heart of the Swabian League.

And Lady Isolde... Konrad searched his memory. Isolde was the Duke of Württemberg’s niece, known in all courts for her vile temper, her cruelty to her servants, and her hunger for power.

She was also, according to the dusty pacts Konrad had found in his father’s chests, his sworn bride. A match made when they were babes, long before his father died and the estate fell to ruin.

"Stay in your chambers, Elise," Konrad ordered, standing and taking his cloak.

He strode out and descended the stone stairs, his mind working through the defenses. As he stepped into the muddy yard, the truth was plain.

Twelve heavy Württemberg knights, their horses stamping, sat in a ring in the center of the keep. The estate’s guards, holding their hidden wheel-locks, watched them tensely from the walls, awaiting Konrad’s word.

In the center stood Lady Isolde. She was eighteen, dressed in an incredibly rich riding gown of dark crimson velvet. She held a sharp, cruel beauty, her dark hair bound tightly back.

Yet, her face held naked scorn as she looked upon the muddy, plain courtyard.

Kneeling in the mud beside her horse, his hands bound with heavy iron chains, was Uncle Lothar.

Isolde saw Konrad approach and gave a mocking laugh.

"So, the whispers hold true~" Isolde sneered, "The sickly little rat lived, and now he plays the warlord in the mud. Tell me, Konrad, where did you steal the silver to hire those peasants on the walls?"

Konrad stopped ten paces away.

"Lady Isolde," Konrad stated. "I see you have brought my false uncle back to my justice. If this is a returning of a traitor, I accept him. If it is an attack, you lack the swords."

Isolde’s eyes flashed. She raised a leather riding crop and brought it down hard across Uncle Lothar’s back. The older man screamed, collapsing further into the mud.

"This pathetic worm came to my uncle’s court whining of a magic forge and a peasant host," Isolde hissed, pointing the crop at Konrad.

"He begged us to conquer you and seat him as lord. My uncle, the Duke, meant to send a thousand spears to burn this valley to ash."

"Yet, you bring twelve," Konrad observed. "Explain the lack."

A wicked smile spread across Isolde’s face. "Because I told my uncle an army is a waste. I reminded him of our childhood pact, Konrad. I am your sworn bride. I am here to wed you, claim these lands as my dowry, and strip you of whatever cunning tools you have stolen."

She took a step closer, "You will yield the keep to my knights, you will hand over the ledgers, and you will spend the rest of your miserable, sickly life locked in the tower while I turn your little forge to Württemberg’s purpose."

It was a classic lord’s ploy... She meant to use the law of marriage to take his lands without drawing a sword. If he broke the sworn pact, Württemberg would have a lawful reason to march a great host against him.

"The pact is broken, Lady Isolde," Konrad stated, "My lands were ruined when my father died. The dowry cannot be paid."

"I care nothing for the dowry!" Isolde screamed, "I care for the guns! You belong to me, Konrad!"

She raised the crop again, meaning to strike him across the face and force him to his knees.

Before she could swing, the doors of the hall swung open behind Konrad.

"Lord Konrad." a calm voice called out.

Isolde stopped, her crop raised, looking past Konrad in confusion.

Walking out of the keep, flanked by her scarred captain, Gregor, was Lady Katarina of Bavaria.

The Duchy of Bavaria and the Duchy of Württemberg were bitter, blood-feuding foes. Finding the daughter of the Bavarian Duke standing in a Swabian yard was an impossibility.

"Katarina?" Isolde gasped, lowering her crop. "What... what are you doing in this pigsty?"

"I am reckoning trade for the Duchy of Bavaria," Katarina replied smoothly, stepping beside Konrad. "And I am sealing a great pact with Lord Konrad. A pact that grants Bavaria mighty weapons."

Katarina turned her gaze to the twelve Württemberg knights, who suddenly looked fearful. "If the Duchy of Württemberg attempts to seize these forges, it will be viewed as a strike on Bavarian supply. My father, the Duke, will answer it with war."

"This is madness!" Isolde shrieked, "He is my sworn husband! I hold the right!"

"The law holds no weight against Bavarian iron~" Konrad interjected, matching Katarina’s shield. "You hold no power here, Lady Isolde. I suggest you ride back to Württemberg. Leave Uncle Lothar in the mud."

Isolde looked from Konrad’s flat stare to Katarina’s smug smile.

"You will burn for this, Konrad," Isolde hissed. She spun around, kicking Lothar viciously in the ribs as she mounted her horse.

"Both of you! Württemberg will not forget this slight!"

With a furious cry, Isolde and her twelve knights wheeled their horses and spurred them out of the yard, leaving the chained Uncle Lothar weeping in the mud.

Konrad turned to Katarina, who was watching him.

"Your shield was well-timed, Lady Katarina," Konrad stated, offering a brief nod. "The secret of the forge remains unbroken."

Katarina let out a small laugh. "You were about to be whipped by a cruel Duchess, Lord Konrad, and you call my aid ’well-timed’?"

"It is a true reckoning~" Konrad replied, genuinely confused by her mirth.

"You are a maddening man," Katarina sighed. "If I am to shield you from Württemberg, I require more than wheel-locks. I want to see this new water-engine you were drawing."

Konrad nodded, "The drawings are in my study. We must measure the iron for the main axle before I set Master Dieter to the work."

Leaving Uncle Lothar to be dragged away by the guards, the two lords turned and walked back into the stone keep.