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PCD
Since: May, 2021
jormis29
Since: Mar, 2012

So bit of an odd one thats been driving me nuts, the book from what i remember was in a city that was in a kingdom that was slowly failing to invaders. The main characters were a pair of inventors who were trying to invent a cannon, with a friend in the city guard. They were broke and almost arrested when their patron died owing a lot of money. Without any other option they threw themselves at an old wealth house to get a new patron, which turned out to be the patriarchs grand-daughter (maybe daughter) holding the family together since the patriarch was money/noble oriented. They traded a toy steam ball on the promise they could make one that would power a ship against the wind. While siphoning as much money as the could to the cannon project
The two eventually hit on the idea of using a bellfounder to cast the cannon. And equipped a ship with a proto steam engine. One of thier helpers turned out to be a relative to a pirate family/clan and escaped the cities sacking with the ship while they escaped with the bronze case cannon/thier notes and the patrons daughter
They went on to found a secret science community while pretending to be priests.
For the life of me i cant recall the title or author of the series