B01DCAV4W2 (S) (43 page)

Richter’s eyes narrowed a bit, suddenly feeling like the other shoe was about to drop, “Why?  Why are you so relieved?”

“Ahhh, it might be best if I just finish telling you about what happened in Leaf’s Crossing, my Lord.”

Richter looked at him side eyed for a second, then just slowly said “Uh huh.  Go ahead.”

“Ahem, yes, well, as I was saying…”

Basil talked about how he commandeered a table in the corner of the Whistling Hen over the next few days.  Prospective villagers would come up singly or as a family and then he would interview them.  One scribe would take down all of their info and the other would record their image and then compile all of the information on the Knowledge Tablet.  Basil said that all of the people he had spoken to seemed to be honest and were simply looking for a better life.  Most were nonhuman, but there were humans that just wanted a change.  One thing that had surprised Basil was that not all of them were from Leaf’s Crossing.  Richter’s name was now becoming known. 

Richter wasn’t sure how he felt about that.  The more attention he brought on himself and the Mist Village, the more vulnerable they were in certain ways.  He supposed it was also an opportunity, though.  He did want things to be built faster after all, and an influx of villagers could mean a boost to productivity.   It was also inevitable, he realized.  The villagers who had chosen to come with Richter from Law had left behind friends and family.  Those friends and family would have spread the story of a safe haven for nonhumans that existed in Forest of Nadria.  Basil told him that this was in fact how many of the people he interviewed had heard about the village.  Many in fact had had friends and relatives among the already existing mist villagers.  The people Basil interviewed had come from towns neighboring Leaf’s Crossing, and more than a few had walked from Law.

Richter interjected, “So while you were doing these interviews, the authorities had no problem with having so many nonhumans congregating in and around the inn?  Especially considering why they were there?”

Basil’s lips twisted in irritated remembrance, “My Lord is most astute.  In fact, the authorities did come to the inn the second day.  A group of five guards wearing Yves livery walked right up to me.  I thought I was going to be arrested or beaten at the very least.  Then Rosy came up and told the lead guard I was there on your behalf.  After that he smiled at me, and I remember this part quite clearly my Lord!  He said, ‘I’m sure you didn’t mean to flout the King’s laws now did you?’”

Richter laughed out loud, having a strong idea of where this story was heading, “And you said that you would never do something like that, right?”

“Of course, my Lord!  Well then the irritating man told me that I had to have the proper permit to conduct interviews like I was doing.  Then he told me that he just so happened to have a cousin that could issue the proper documents, and he would be MORE than happy to take the money for permits to him.  THEN he added that OF COURSE, there were also the penalties for late registration, the surcharge for expedited processing, the mandatory overtime for his guards to monitor a sanctioned interview, the new tax on…”

Richter waved for the irritated trader to stop talking, as his own laughter was threatening to drown Basil out anyway, “The guard’s name wasn’t Caulder, was it?”

“You know the rogue, my Lord?!”

Richter smiled and just asked, “How much did he shake you down for?”

Basil’s expression looked like the man had just swished with vinegar, but he ultimately said, “Seven gold and four silver, my Lord.”

The somewhat steep price helped Richter get his chuckling under control.  He wasn’t too bothered though and said, “Just the cost of doing business Basil, now tell the rest of your story.”

“Yes, my Lord.  Well, the annoying smiling man got the money for his quote unquote ‘permits’ and then I got back to the interviews.  On the afternoon of my third day there, a tall muscular man wearing loose fitting clothing came up to the table.   I recognized him by your description of Hafiz’s emissary and he knew that strange passcode you told me.”

Excitedly, Richter asked, “What did he say?”

“He said ‘Rick,’ my Lord.”

Even more excited, Richter asked, “And what did you say in response?”

“‘Morty,’ my Lord!”

“YES!” Richter shouted happily.  “Wubbalubbadubdub!”

Everyone around the table stared at him.  He waved them off, “Meh, you guys wouldn’t get it.  Trust me though, I’m awesome.  Continue with your story, Basil.”

Basil coughed, totally confused, “Uhhh, yes, my Lord.  Well the emissary from Hafiz was with four other men who were obviously his brothers.  I paused the interviews and retired back to a secure room Rosy had prepared for the meeting.  The men Hafiz had sent were actually his sons and I am happy to report that they acted honorably.  I am even more delighted to tell you that the price was even better than expected. The nobles of Yves are apparently very interested in increasing the level of their warriors.  Each vial sold for three gold, one silver and seven coppers!”

Richter started doing some fast math in his head, “So for the two hundred Potions of Clarity I gave you…”

“We made six hundred and thirty-four gold, my Lord!”

Richter gave a whoop and stood up with his hand raised.  Basil looked at him and then looked at the hand as if he was unsure if Richter was about to strike him.  Richter laughed and pulled the man to his feet.  Then he had Basil extend his arm with his hand flat.  Richter gave him a resounding high five and said, “Fuck yeah, man!  Make that cheddar!”

Basil sat back down with an amused smile, apparently liking the show of exuberance, “Errr, fuk yah indeed, my Lord!  I did not buy any cheese, however.”

Richter laughed again and told him, “That’s okay.  So what happened with all the people you interviewed?  Are they waiting in Leaf’s Crossing for my decision?”

Basil opened his mouth and then closed it again before speaking, “Well, my Lord.  That is an interesting part of the story.”

Here comes the other shoe, Richter thought.

“Well after the initial trade with Hafiz’s sons, I also gave them the list of items we needed that I had not been able to find in Leaf’s Crossing.  They told me their father was eager to continue the trade relationship.  They had even anticipated some of our requests and had brought food and livestock to sell.  They were also quite clear that their father, Hafiz, would take more Potions of Clarity as quickly as possible, but there was a complication.  They had sailed to Leaf’s Crossing from Yves, but before they had left, there were rumors that a Count that was close to the King had noticed that some nonhumans were attempting to escape the Kingdom.  They had also heard that a military force was going to be sent to curtail this.  They didn’t know if the soldiers would come overland or by boat, but they had recommended Basil leave as soon as possible. 

“So you see, my Lord, I had a dilemma.”

Richter looked back at him, “I’m guessing the solution to that dilemma has something to do with those ships in the harbor?”

Basil let out a heavy sigh, “Yes, my Lord.  You empowered me to make decisions on behalf of the village.  I know that we need more people, so I just asked myself what you would do.  I could have left them all there to the mercies of the Yves military, but I decided to bring them with me.”

“So the, I guess we will call them refugees, are all on the ships?” 

The rest of the people Richter had sent Futen to fetch had joined the table while Basil was talking.  Futen now floated in the center of the table casting his light on everyone.  Roswan, the elf who led the building crew, spoke up, “Well, we were already making a second longhouse.  When the ships showed up, I had all the other projects stopped so we could finish it faster.  Most of them are in the second longhouse now.  Some are still on the ships.”

“That was good work, Roswan,” Richter said nodding in appreciation.

Grrrmmm
was the only response Richter got from the mustached elf. 

“We also unloaded the supplies and animals that Hafiz’s sons brought with them,” Basil said.  “I paid them a fair price for all of it.  They agreed to wait for you to return before leaving because they would like to meet with you, my Lord.”

Richter looked at Basil for a long moment, but ultimately nodded, “I agree with your decision and you’re right, I do need more people.  Let’s just not make a habit of increasing the population of the village by more than 50% in one day, okay?”

Basil gave a relieved laugh, “I will restrain myself in the future, my Lord.”

“So we have another one hundred and sixty-three new villagers?” Richter asked.

Basil opened and closed his mouth again.  Richter nailed him to his seat with this gaze, wondering what was coming next.

“Well, my Lord.  While I was doing the interviews, a few more people came to town as well,” Basil said innocently.

“How many more?” Richter asked impatiently.

“Just eighty-two, my Lord.”

“Just EIGHTY-TWO?!”

“Plus, the two scribes.”

“The scribes agreed to come?” Richter asked somewhat surprised.  It sounded like they were already doing okay in Leaf’s Crossing.  He knew Basil had thrown that in to soften the shock of an extra eighty-two people he hadn’t told Richter about yet, but it did sound like the scribes would be quite a boon to the village.

“Wellll, I did have to pay off their debt to their guild, The White Quill.”

“Debt!” Richter said his voice rising.  “What debt?”  He was getting actually irritated now.  Basil’s story seemed to be yo-yoing between great news and expensive realizations.  Richter would have much preferred to just eat all of his veggies at once then focus on the pudding.  Nobody wanted to eat spinach after they had had chocolate cake!  Alma had been resting on the table in front of him, but she rose up on her haunches at feeling her master’s consternation.  The dragonling stared at Basil who regarded her warily.

“Wellll, for their training, they had to follow their guild’s orders until they paid back a certain amount.  I can promise you though, my Lord, that you can’t put a price on their kind of expertise!” Basil assured him.

“Well you better PUT a fucking price on it,” Richter said rising from his chair.  “How much?” he asked again, definitely louder this time.  “And I hope you didn’t agree to pay all of these new villagers the same wage that I agreed to pay our current villagers.  I’m not made of money you know?!”  Alma’s wings unfurled and she hissed at Basil, who was definitely starting to look a bit fearful.  Richter kept his hand on her back so she didn’t actually attack the man.

Randolphus came to the beleaguered trader’s aid.  That was good, because everyone else around the table was just looking at Basil with expressions that said, ‘Sucks to be you man!’

“I promise you the scribes were well worth the initial price, my Lord,” the chamberlain stated.   “They also agreed to providing their services as much as we needed for only six silvers per month.  As for everyone else that was brought back with Basil, they are here to work for their keep.  They understand that no payment has been promised to them.  I have a detailed list of all expenditures for your perusal, my Lord, if you would like to view it later.”

Richter looked back and forth between Basil and Randolphus.  He knew he was being managed, but he also knew his inner ‘thriftiness’ had reared its ugly head for a second.  He took his seat again and said in a measured voice, “So we have two hundred and forty-five new villagers plus two scribes.  You also had to pay a ‘reasonable’ amount for the scribes to come.  Is, there, anything, else?”  Richter stared intensely at Basil.

“Wellll…”

“Spit it out Basil!”

“Yes, my Lord!  Caulder told me that since the new King took power in Yves, the guard’s salaries had only been paid sporadically.  When he saw that I was willing to pay off the scribes’ debts, he approached me saying that he was willing to relocate for the right price.  Other guards were as well.  Ultimately, eighteen guards offered to come.  I believed we could use the extra help and defense.”

“So another eighteen people?” Richter asked.  “And if you say ‘wellll’ one more fucking time, I WILL let Alma attack you.”

Basil’s mouth snapped shut to keep himself from doing just that.  He stared at the dragonling whose tail was swishing back and forth as she stared back at him.  “Yes, my Lord.  Several of the guards had small families that have agreed to come.  I also bought the food and animals from Leaf’s Crossing.”

“How many food and animals?”

“Everything I could buy within a day, my Lord.”

Well, between the people and the livestock, that easily explained the extra ships, Richter thought.  Basil would have needed more transport capacity.  “The extra guards I agree with.  Defense is definitely a priority.”  He looked at Randolphus, “How much am I paying everyone per month now?”

Randolphus had the answer prepared, “The original compliment of the village was two hundred and ninety yourself included.  Of that number seventy-three were children, sixteen were elders too old to contribute and another eighteen men and women did not actively work for various reasons.  That left one hundred and eighty-one workers.  Twenty-one villagers were lost in the bugbear attack, eighteen of which were workers, and another was killed when you saved the patrol.  That leaves one hundred and sixty-two villagers earning a wage.  At four silvers per fortnight, that amounted to one hundred and twenty-nine gold and six silver each month.  Of the nineteen workers who died, twelve left behind families.  As you instructed, their full year’s wages were paid in a lump sum to their loved ones.  That amounted to one hundred and five gold and six silver.  I am assuming you wish for a lump sum to be paid to Barden’s family as well?”  Richter nodded and the chamberlain made a notation. 

Randolphus consulted another page and then continued, “With this new influx of people, the scribes will cost twelve silvers per month. The guards agreed to work for four silvers per month and ten had wives or husbands that are also willing to work.  If you decide to extend the same terms to the new villagers, which are comprised of one hundred and seventy-eight workers, the final tally would be two hundred and ninety-six gold and eight silver per month.”