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Chapter 132 Homesteading in a fantasy world
🕑 Added 2022-12-20 18:36:06 +0000 UTCFalyr’s table was empty, and he was glad that he didn’t have to do any paperwork today. Soon a knock sounded on his office door. He barely had enough time to sit down from his morning breakfast. Why would anyone need to come here so early he complained.
“Come in,” said Falyr in a cheerful mood while making himself comfortable in a chair.
A young guard hurried in and gave a quick salute. “Sir, Rich and his apprentices have entered the village.
Falyr gave a quick nod to that and waived the guard away. He had ordered the town guards that remain to give him a heads up when Rich made it here, but he never expected him to come so early.
Before he could do anything else there was another knock at the door. Another guard came and after being allowed in Falyr received another report that Bert and Michael had come through a portal into the village.
Falyr did not like this kind of development as Michael was supposed to come after lunch and Bert wasn’t supposed to come at all. Falyr got up from his chair and quickly walked to the window so he could look out. He noticed Bert first as it’s kind of hard not to notice him but the person next to him stood out as well.
Falyr hasn’t seen Rich for quite some time, but it seems that Rich has grown a bit and seemed to radiate a lot more strength than he remembered. He could also see Michael being very uncomfortable and he understood why as they were supposed to have a serious meeting later on and talking like friends might complicate that.
Falyr's mind worked quickly but there was only one answer that might solve this problem. They need to have the meeting now and see what Rich wanted. Bert was also going to be a problem as Falyr didn’t see a way to keep him out of the meeting. He knew that Bert had his own dealings with Rich which might make it difficult for Bert to stay impartial.
Falyr moved quickly downstairs and outside towards the group of people he wanted to stop fraternizing. The only pause he did was when he opened the doors outside and was greeted with a pleasant wind that indicated the spring was close. His speed didn’t come from him running or walking faster he used his long legs and years of military service to eat up the ground fast yet with dignity.
Rich was the first to notice the approaching man and quickly directed his intention towards him. “Good morning, Falyr it’s nice to see you. It’s been a while, hasn’t it.”
Falyr didn’t pause as he was used to Rich’s antics, but he did greet Rich back while still walking. “Good morning to you as well and it is good to see you again it has been quite a long time since our last meeting,” Falyr answered with a smiling face but that smile wavered when he turned his attention toward Bert. “And good morning to you as well Bert and Michael. I know that Michael was supposed to come with the afternoon portal, but I didn’t know you were coming Bert.”
Bert noticed the disapproving voice, but he didn't let it bother him. “I just saw the opportunity for us all to unite once again so I couldn’t let it go. Bert said as he moved in for a hug with Falyr. At first, Falyr didn’t want to return it as he was still a bit angry but that lasted for a few seconds before he returned the hug.
The four men exchanged a few more pleasantries before Falyr suggested that they moved the meeting up. Everyone agreed to that but before Falyr started to guide them all back into his office Rich interrupted him and said that he would join after he went and got some items. Everyone was interested as to what those items might be, but they did as Rich proposed and went ahead.
When they were quite far away from Rich Falyr spoke in a quiet but assertive manner towards Bert. “Why did you come here? I don’t know what deal you have made with Rich, but you should know that your loyalty should lie with the company.”
Bert shook his head to that. “You are too deep in your political head already my old friend. I just read your complaints about Rich, so I decide to come and see for myself and if needed help you push for a stronger influence over this area.”
Falyr was a bit taken aback but he straightened his posture and nodded in thanks. Michael was next to speak up. “Do you know why Rich called this meeting? Back at the headquarters, we suspect it's about the food that this community will be able to provide us. But if this is the case I don’t know if we can make a trade deal with him because it’s highly likely that food will no longer be an issue.”
Both of them shook their heads in response. None of them knew exactly why this meeting was called as none of them had seen Rich for quite a while. Back inside the office they moved one of the corner tables to the middle and set up four chairs to surround it. This way they would have a more comfortable time while they were discussing whatever Rich wanted from them.
They had barely finished when Rich walked in through the open door. Rich was carrying a cloth bag but none of them could see what was inside. If they had to guess they were some sort of sticks-like objects.
When everyone was still setting up the atmosphere was quite pleasant like old friends talking about everyday matters but when everything was finally done and Falyr went and closed the door in an instant everything became more official and more serious.
“I would like to thank the Rose Thorn company for accepting my proposal for a meeting.” Started Rich in a clear and strong voice not wavering even for a second. “I was quite sad to hear that you will be leaving here but also quite relieved to know that you plan to leave quite a few members behind that wanted to start up their lives here.”
“The reason I called for this meeting was to discuss a possible trade agreement between the community here, myself and the Rose Thorn company. I would like this to be an open trade agreement where you would buy what we can supply and supply us with resources and items that we require. While we currently don’t have a lot to offer, I can assure you that this will change over time as we get more settled in.”
Most of the time Rich looked at Michael while he was talking as he was the person he needed to convince. But the others at the table also had some influence over the decisions made around this table.
While Michael understood a bit about Rich and even sympathize with his wish for a trade route his proposal would most likely not be accepted by the company. There just wasn't anything valuable enough here. While their trade missions to this far would still make some money it would not be enough compared to other places.
After a short pause which Rich took to look into each of the man’s eyes gauging their response, he continued. “I don’t know the economic situation out there and I don’t know if it would be profitable for you to run this trade route for normal goods. So, I wanted to also show you that there will not just be normal goods for this trade route but also things a bit more special.”
That got everyone’s attention. Rich proceeded to pick up the cloth bag that was beside him and pull out three ordinary-looking bows. But the ordinary look was only skin deep. All three men could see it. Falyr was the first to snatch up one to examine it but everyone else also picked up one. The bows looked like they were made by an old master, and they looked strong.
Falyr didn’t hesitate and got up and quickly found himself catching a tossed bowstring that came from Rich. Falyr was surprised at how much strength he needed to string the bow and quickly gave his comments to Michael. He pulled it back quite easily but it took quite a lot of strength. After a few more minutes under his expert gaze on martial weapons, he gave a strong nod and then smiled at Rich.
“High silver level power. With a design that makes the arrow fly quite fast. I would suspect this is made for hunting silver-tier creatures.” Falyr finished his comments with an approving look towards Rich.
“It is extremely well made from some sort of evolved wood. It will hold up for a long time.” Added Michael. “I can see a maker’s mark, but I do not recognize it. Is it your's Rich?” Asked Michael in a hopeful tone
“Yes, it's my maker's mark. And yes, I did make this. And I will be able to supply them on a semi-regular basis and hopefully, that would be enough for a trade route. But I also like to repeat as time goes by the amount of different items will increase and the quantity as well.” Rich answered and hoped that this would be enough to secure a trade route that this village need for continued growth and stability.
The three men asked Rich to leave the room for a bit so they could talk amongst themselves. Rich expected that quick left, but he still listened in using his better senses. Everyone around the table still talked quietly as they all know how people with high stats could hear quite a lot.
They were all surprised by the turn of events, but they were also quite glad. While the bows weren't incredibly valuable, they still had lots of potential and indicated the future value that this trade route might give.
It didn’t take a long time to decide to accept Rich’s proposal. When they invited him back in, he was quickly given the good news but that wasn't the end of the meeting what followed was a few hours of straightening out all the terms of the trade route.
It was all quite basic but still everything needed to be done by the book. When it was all over it was close to afternoon and when they all got out and into the fresh air, they all started to complain about bureaucracy while massaging their heads.
For the other villagers, it was quite a weird sight looking at men that could kill them with one blow complaining like women when their husbands come back too late and drunk. The bouts of complaining were interrupted by a few laughs which made everyone feel at ease. They needed to separate for a bit and Bert use this opportunity to give Rich a warning.
“Rich you need to be careful. With the afternoon portal, a priest will come looking for a necromancer and if he finds any it would not be good news for anyone.” Rich nodded at that and became a lot more serious but before he could do anything to thank the man Bert continued. “And here take this.”
Rich accepted the item Bert gave and looked down to see what it was. It was a weird wooden carving that didn’t mean anything to him and looked like some symbols. “What is it?”
“It's an item that will allow you to make this village into claimed territory. This was quite hard to get but I believe it could hide the expansion that your people will be making with that class of yours. While this will make you a bigger target sooner it would also hide your other activities.”
“Thank you, Bert. I would have to change a few of my plans but I think this will be quite helpful. To you know the exact range.” Asked Rich in a sincere and thankful voice.
The two men continued to talk as long as possible, but Falyr and Michael soon found them. Falyr wanted to give Rich a tour of the village and talk to him about everything that they had done to the village so he could take it over without any hassle. They continued walking and talking until it was time for the portal that was supposed to bring Michael here and the last portal team to finish their move.
Comments
Stephen Pearson
Thanks for the chapter! :-)
