From Londoner To Lord

Chapter 357 351. Pydaso - III

Pydaso continued, "Since the time before the winter, my wagon driver has been saying that Tiranat looked like a much better place to live than his own village, after he saw you spend your own gold to bring wheat from Cinran for the villagers. Also, most villages are in worse shape after the winter, but when we came here again a few weeks ago, we both saw that everyone looked fit and healthy, instead of the usual gaunt and bony looks which are common everywhere after the winter."

The merchant added, "So when I went to Ulriga last time, I took a detour to visit my family in a nearby village, and my driver went to his. When he came back, he said his whole family wanted to move here—if you allowed it. In fact, after he told his neighbors and friends, many others in that village wanted to come here too. They've heard that there are a lot of opportunities for work here, and everyone gets food and a roof over their heads. I can't speak for the other villagers, but my wagon driver's wife can work as a laborer or as a cook, and they have a teenage son who can help out too. But I wasn't sure if you wanted more mouths to feed here, so I told him I'd ask you about it. What do you think?"

Kivamus grinned, but before he could say anything, Hudan and Feroy both started laughing. Duvas soon joined them, and the manor hall was filled with the sound of joyous laughter.

Pydaso looked confused. "What's so funny?"

Duvas chuckled. "You didn't even need to ask. Lord Kivamus wants as many workers to move here as he can manage. Anyone who can contribute to the village is accepted as a resident of Tiranat. Even if they can't work much - whether because of old age or disability - as long as they try to help out where they can, they'll still be welcome."

Pydaso laughed as well, finally understanding the reason. "Then I'll tell my wagon driver that when we go back to Ulriga next time, he can tell his family that they can move here. I'll let him know that other villagers are also welcome. Actually, this makes me think I should start thinking about moving my own family here someday. I won't do it immediately—it's a big decision—but seeing how fast your village is changing, I don't think it'll be long before I make that choice to move here permanently. As a merchant, Tiranat seems like the place to be, in these tough times everywhere."

Kivamus smiled. "You and your family will always be welcome here, just like everyone else."

"Well, I should go and move my wagons to the shed now, so your servants can start unloading it." The merchant gave a small bow and left the hall.

Once he was gone, Duvas turned to Kivamus. "Including the gold we got today and what we already had, we have nearly 400 gold now. Shouldn't we pay Trevalo from this to reduce our amount of debt?"

Kivamus shook his head. "No, we can't afford that. Trevalo already agreed to sell us on credit until the new trade route is set up, so paying him back so soon would be a waste. We need to save gold for the mercenaries' tribute in a few months. We also need to pay the craftsmen, and I want to start paying the guards and villagers in coins soon—otherwise, there might really be a mutiny. We'll also need gold for things we can't make in the village yet, like wine for the acelos medicine, and basic goods like soap and rope which we can't produce here. So hold on to it for now."

Duvas smiled. "In that case, I'll keep it safe. Our strongbox will be happier for it."

Kivamus leaned back in his chair, wondering about the delay in Darora's latest delivery of ranged weapons. "What's the status of the scorpion and the crossbows? Now that we've given six of them to the hunting groups, we only have one for each watchtower. We'll need more of 'em soon."

Duvas nodded. "Darora mentioned a small issue with the scorpion. He's already crafted the gears, but the part that connects those gears to the main frame kept breaking. He had to adjust the design a bit, which delayed the work by a couple of days. He should still have all the parts ready within the next few days, though. Cedoron already gave him all the iron components he needed. After that, Darora will just need to assemble everything. Overall, it'll take about a week—10 days at most."

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He continued, "As for the crossbows, work is going on for them everyday, but the carpenter and his apprentices are overworked. They're also making other wooden things—buckets, smaller parts for the triphammer and the sawmill, and so on. They don't even have enough time to carve enough shafts for crossbow bolts and arrows, and without them, the fletcher can't make new bolts or arrows."

Hudan folded his arms. "That could turn into a problem later if we don't get enough of 'em, but for now we've got a decent stockpile. It'll be fine in the short term."

"That's a relief," Duvas said. "Anyway, we should also get another crossbow today, and then we'll keep getting new ones at an average rate of around two new crossbows every week."

Kivamus frowned, frustration rising in his voice. "That won't do... Two crossbows a week is much faster than what we were getting when he started making them, but it's still too slow. I don't know how it'll go with the mercenaries, but I want our defenses as ready as possible, just in case. But even at this improved pace, we'll only get just 8 new crossbows a month. That means in around two to three months when the mercenaries are supposed to come here, we will only get something between 16 to 24 crossbows. If we give two more of them to each hunting group to improve our meat yields, and put two of 'em on each watchtower, we'll be left with barely a dozen extra ones at best, or just four at worst. There's no way we can arm every guard with a crossbow like we'd planned if it keeps going on like this."

He began pacing, his boots echoing softly on the wooden floor. "Even the scorpion is taking far too long. I know it's Darora's first time building one, and it'll get faster later, but it's already been ten days since he started, and you said it'll take another ten days to complete it. At this rate, we'll get just three scorpions in two months. We won't even have enough to mount one on every tower by the time those mercenaries arrive! That's the bare minimum of defense we need—which still might not be enough—but at this rate we wouldn't even get there! That's not acceptable—we need more craftsmen!"

Duvas sighed. "I know that you only want the best for everyone, but you have to understand that things are already moving at a pace no one could have imagined a year ago. We're also getting new refugees and freed slaves every week, but skilled craftsmen are very rare. Most of 'em would already have stable work, and they would usually be in a good position in society wherever they are living. It's unlikely they'd move to a small, poor village like ours."

He shrugged. "Still, news about the availability of good opportunities here for everyone—especially for craftsmen—is already spreading in the west near Kirnos, and now even in the north and the northwest, because of Pydaso and his driver. But moving to a different place just based on some wild rumors is not something which anyone except the most desperate people would want to do. I'm not sure how we can make this go any faster."

"Rumors... huh?" Kivamus muttered as he stopped pacing. "That actually sounds like a good idea!" He looked at Feroy. "I think it's time we sent you out again to spread some rumors—just like you did in Kirnos. That's already helped us get more people from there and the nearby farmhouses."

Feroy gave a nod. "Where do you want me to go?"

Kivamus glanced at the map spread on the table. "Ulriga would be ideal, since it's a huge city with lots of craftsmen, but apart from the wagon driver's family and maybe his neighbors, we won't easily get any immigrants from there or its nearby villages. That city is too far from Tiranat, and its relatively well-off residents wouldn't easily consider moving here with this village's reputation of being such a dangerous place to live. But Cinran is much closer, and the people living near that town would consider us much more seriously. So we need these new rumors to spread in Cinran too." He glanced at the majordomo. "Trevalo's leaving tomorrow, right?"

Duvas nodded. "He is. The servants have already unloaded the wheat and loaded his wagons with coal, but it's too late for him to leave today."

Kivamus nodded slowly "That's good. We can't afford to send Feroy with Pydaso anyway since a round trip to Ulriga takes around twenty days. But I think it will be good to send him with Trevalo to Cinran instead. It's still a big town, with plenty of people living there, and even more in the surrounding villages and farms."

He looked toward the ex-mercenary. "Now that the bandit threat of Torhan has been dealt with, and the arrival of mercenaries still at least two months away, we can afford to send you out for a while. By only going as far as Cinran, you can come back to the village nearly every week, so we'll keep getting regular news about your progress. And we can even hold you back if needed."

Feroy shrugged. "Fine with me. It's been weeks since I left the village anyway. It's making me itchy."