"We managed to restart the engines, sir!"

Thanks to the multiple ropes connecting the s.h.i.+ps, it wasn't that hard to pull them closer and actually bind them tightly one to the another. With that done and the paddlers of the other s.h.i.+p finally spinning again, we could stop relying on the current alone and push forward.

In just a few minutes, the most dangerous part of this encounter was finished. With both the current and the relentless swinging of the paddlers only serving to increase our speed, there was no human way for the bandits to catch up with us, especially if they were to attempt carrying the cannons with them.

"Just what the h.e.l.l was that…"

Sitting down at the table in my shed, I could finally let out a breath of relief. Just a quick count that I ordered as soon as the wounded were taken care off, revealed that my men used up almost the entire stock of their ammunition! If the fight were to continue for even a few minutes longer, we would be powerless to stop the enemy from boarding the s.h.i.+p, forcing me to abandon it and salvage what I could on the single paddler that would be left.

"Dear… Is everything okay?"

Seeing how distressed by this situation I was, Elia instantly locked me down on the chair by sitting on my lap and entangling her arms behind my neck.

"Yeah, we should be safe for now… I just can't crack just what they wanted to achieve by this attack. I doubt they were simple bandits, as they wouldn't have access to such expensive stuff like cannons. On the other hand, if they wanted to steal the steam horse of the s.h.i.+ps, they could have done it by attacking any other s.h.i.+p that travels those waters!"

No matter how much I hoped to crack this case, the reason for the attack remained a mystery for me. At this point, I even doubted that those people were sponsored by Ostros. After all, for such a huge and powerful clan, it would be a shame to use such underhanded… Or rather, such ineffective means!

"What about those bandits that attempted to board the boats back in the docks? Maybe their aim wasn't the s.h.i.+ps or us in particular, but our weapons? I could easily imagine how anyone would go mad when given the chance to break it apart and understand the means by which they are working. After all, as long as we are the only ones that have them, no one will be able to stand against us!"

Caressing my cheek, Elia spoke her mind freely. With her head leaned to the back and her neck exposed, I couldn't stop myself from reaching for it with my lips. Only after her slight moan alerted me that this mischief was turning painful, did I managed to pull myself back and look into her dreamy eyes.

"That's actually a valid point. But it doesn't explain the problem of the messenger. If he was working with them, then he wouldn't know about the tension between us and the ostros. And if he didn't work with them…"

Just as I spoke those words, the realisation hit me. What if those two events weren't connected at all? What if the bandits' attacks was prompted by some major power from Krakow, itchy to get its hands on my weapons, while the message was the real ploy of the Ostros?

While I couldn't rule out the possibility of both of those events aimed only at confusing me about the current situation, I couldn't help but follow my gut feeling. 

"I guess we won't learn anything else before we get back to the mining town. Additionally, with how the problems are escalating already, I think I will have to intensify the recruitment campaign. Do you think we can afford to double its speed?"

Even with me being at the very centre of all the projects, I wasn't capable of keeping tabs of all the fine details concerning them. That's why, while Matsu governed over the beer business, I had Elia take care of the Tarnowian market as well as the overall finances of our family.

"It will be quite a stretch, but we should somehow manage. Rather than worrying about gold, I think you should take care of the supply of gunpowder. If all the fighting so far is going to consume as much of ammunition as the recent battle did, then no matter how great our weapons will be, we simply won't have anything to shoot out of them!"

Just as I was about to get excited with the prospects of building an even stronger force that would be capable of repelling every and all attack aimed at my lands and wealth, Elia had to nail some reality back into my head. 

Exactly as she said, no matter which part of my lands, I didn't have any access to the sulfur mines. Without the sulfur, creating my own gunpowder would be impossible, that's why I had to look for a way to ally someone who had access to this vital resource!

If my memory wasn't cheating me, the lands directly to the east from the mining town belonged to the Zamoyski household, meaning that as long as I could win the favours of this man, then not only my position at the court of the new king would be stabilised, but also the most lacking resource could be finally mined on an industrial scale!

"That's yet another problem that will have to be solved. To be honest, I think we can solve it on the way to the mining town!"

While it would still require us to leave our s.h.i.+ps at Sandomir and take an entire day trip to the city of Zamosc, as long as I could enter a political alliance with this family, it would be more than worth it!

Only when I thought about it for a little longer, did I realise that this plan wasn't actually the best that I could do. Rather than going there empty-handed, what if I brough steam horses mark two, steam paddlers and those new rifles of mine in form of gifts, aimed at convincing the Zamoyski family that it was worth to become allies with me?