Kalvan moved closer to the hearth so he could get a better look at the polished lump of green glass presented to him by Rector Ermut. Outside he heard the whumph of a cannon shot in the outer courtyard as General Thalmoth proof-tested one of the new brass six-pounders. He could even hear the drill chants in the bailey where, despite the falling snow, the petty-captains were valiantly-and probably vainly-doing their best to combat the low morale of the long and idle winter months.
He imagined his enemies were doing much the same thing in Tarr-Veblos where they made preparations for the largest invasion in here-and-now history. Talk about getting the ball rolling! This was going to be a long and bloody war no matter who won. He wished, for about the thousandth time, that the survival of Hostigos was not totally borne on his own not so wide shoulders!
"Do you see the milkiness, Your Majesty?"
"Yes. It's better than the last lot, but still too cloudy for a lens." Ermut and Kalvan were meeting in the royal bedchamber, since keeping Tarr-Hostigos warm was in the same category as heating a Wisconsin football stadium in the winter. Queen Rylla, wearing a blanket over her lap, was in the corner in her rocking chair-which Kalvan had designed himself as a Name Day present-with little Demia in her arms. It had taken a master wheelwright to cut the runners on the bottom of the chair.
"I can't understand it," Ermut said, tugging at his blonde beard. "I'm at my wit's end. I know how badly you want the farseers for this coming spring."
"It's not your fault, Ermut. There must be something wrong with the sand we're using. We've taken all the lime out of the formula so it has to do with the purity of the sand itself. Let me see the sand you're using again."
Ermut passed over a small leather pouch. Kalvan poured a spoonful into his palm. "It looks like clean quartz river sand to me." He moved his hand closer to the log fire. "Ah ha! Look at this!"
Ermut pointed to the small chalk pebble. "Limestone!"
"Yes, limestone must be the problem. We'll have to carefully clean the sand we've already collected. Unfortunately, this is no time of the year to go looking for a new source. I should have spent more time on this during the summer."
"But when, Your Majesty? You spent most of the summer fighting in the Trygath."
"I know… Maybe next year I can spend some time at the University."
"Didn't I hear just those words last year?" Rylla asked.
"I'm afraid so. At least our winters are peaceful. Now back to our glass."
"Shall I use the water method to separate out the limestone?"
"No, Ermut. That will take too long and still might not do the job. Limestone dissolves in acid… We have so little sulfuric acid-"
"What about vinegar, Your Majesty. I have a storeroom full of bad wine we couldn't use for the brandy still."
"Good thinking, Ermut. Vinegar will work just fine. But first, you need to distill it the same way you distill wine to make brandy. Vinegar is a dilute form of acetic acid: it won't work as well as sulfuric acid, but it will do the job.
"Once you have concentrated acetic acid, here is what you do: Wrap the sand in cloth and wash it with the strong vinegar solution. Do it three or four times until the acetic acid has dissolved the limestone. What's left will be mostly quartz sand-"