Settling the Dispute

A fine drizzle fell on the huge waterwheel, dampening the red wood until it turned an even deeper crimson.

Rudolf looked up at the waterwheel, nearly two stories tall, and asked with interest, "Can you get it turning?"

The local lord readily agreed. He led his people to the water's edge and raised the sluice gate. Rushing river water poured into the channel, and the deep-red wooden blades turned heavily and slowly. The millstones inside the mill rumbled like thunder.

Count Ranke examined the enormous waterwheel, which was said to be two hundred years old. He noticed bearings on its axle—he had never seen bearings so large before.

After Rudolf took Ranke, Schuyler Steiger, and Pistol around the waterwheel, they went into the mill. Rudolf had the wheel stopped and sent away all the bystanders, leaving only the four of them.

Rudolf patted the enormous millstone, then braced himself on it and hopped up to sit, facing north. Florensburg, the target of this campaign, lay just twenty kilometers away.

He gestured for the other three to find something to sit on, then asked Ranke, "How many days until the supplies arrive?"

Ranke dragged over an empty wooden barrel, turned it upside down, and laid a sack on top as a cushion before sitting down. He replied, "Your Majesty, all the supplies will have arrived in five days."

Rudolf was growing impatient. He wanted to take Florensburg as soon as possible and savor the joy of victory.

After weighing his words, he said, "It doesn't seem worthwhile to waste five days here. Can we take action?"

Ranke thought to himself that the five days would not be wasted. They would be helping the Duchy of Bayern's army build fortifications and establish a secure base in the rear.

He was just about