Proofread by Thomas F
Marquess Grimvale
I felt the contract being signed on the other side, but it won't take hold until I sign the one in front of me.
"Talmire, you have negotiated a good deal, except for the taxes," said Jorand, my son, turning to Talmire, who is sitting in front of me.
"I had tried my lord, but they weren't willing to budge over 25%," he replied, shaking his head.
I am frustrated by it as well. I want tax money, I am bleeding here, but more than that. I wanted Silver to have less. So, he wouldn't be able to grow his army quickly.
But keeping it unresolved is not an option either.
Silver threatened with the north-western route; that was not good news for us. Seeing that he controlled a large section of the baronies and Mirador Hold, he could circumvent our territory entirely with the north-western route.
There is a good chance that it wouldn't have worked, but if it had worked even by 50%. Then it would have been troublesome.
My adviser told me the chances of it working are small, but Silver has proven to be very ingenious.
I can't give him a chance to develop an alternative trade route. He needs to be hooked on mine, because if he made that work, it would be bad for me.
I need money, especially now that I have more numbers in my army.
"It's a minor setback and would mean nothing. If we conquer the baronies that Silver holds," said Jorand. "That wouldn't be easy, my lord," Talmire replied, shaking his head.
"Silver's forces are guarding their territory well, and he has enough powerhouses to contend against us," he added.
If we count the forces in the north of the baronies, Silver has slightly more men than we do. It is why we are very cautious and alert.
These are experienced men, capable. It would be unwise to underestimate them.
"He is currently, but he won't always be," said Jorand, bringing a smile to the faces of people in the room. Yes, he won't always; the monsters will give us a chance.
He may have gotten the north, but I am sure he is already finding out how troublesome it is. The South is much safer. So, we do not have to focus much of our forces on dealing with monsters; they are focused on dealing with him.
There had been two tides since we had conquered the baronies, but they were small ones.
We are waiting for the big one, like the one that came on the day we got the baronies, or even bigger. It will force Silver to reinforce the north, giving us an opportunity to attack.
I turned to the contract in front of me and read it once more, before scribbling my name across it.
The moment I did, I felt the contract locked. From tomorrow, it will come into effect and remain valid for a year for taxes and other essential purposes we have discussed.
"Have we been able to find out anything about the knight seen in the Greltheaven?" I asked.
A mysterious Knight had been sighted in the past few weeks in Greltheaven. Nobody knows his strength, background, or allegiance.
He is also fully cloaked, and the only reason we know he is a knight is that they never hid it.
"No," replied Sathorn, my spymaster.
"He is roaming openly in the city, but guarded. He rarely talks to people other than those in the upper circle of military and political administration," he added.
Unlike the case in the fortress and baronies, we didn't have much success in turning those at higher levels of political or military administration in Greltheaven.
"I think he is just a mascot. Silver produced him to fool us." Said Jorand.
"He might be, but he could also be a real thing. So, we will need to be cautious and find out everything we can about him." Sathorn replied.
Cautious as ever; that is what I liked about him, but excessive caution is not good as well. One needs to be when the time demands it.
"Have one of our expendable assets make contact with him," I ordered; it is time to be bold.
I need to know Silver's full strength before I make a move. I failed last time, but this time, I will not.
Soon, the meeting ended, and everyone, including me, walked out of my office.
I took my son to the fortress's battlements, where soldiers stood alert to deal with any action from the Tabes effectively.
"If Tabes hadn't been standing here like a snake. Our army would have been free to conquer the whole region." Jorand said, before he sighed with a smile appearing on his face.
"But without Tabes, we wouldn't have gotten this fortress as well," he replied to his own words.
He is not impulsive or an idiot as he acts in front of his people. The persona is carefully crafted, reinforced by the armor of the skills.
"I am hearing the whispers from both of the courts," he said, and turned to me.
"Yes, they are true," I replied with a sigh, gravely. This matter is severe. Threatening everyone in the region.
"We have just come here, and there are already people eying what should be ours," he said, and I smiled. "They are just whispers; those things might not even happen."
"Though the chances would increase. If we didn't make any positive progress in the war," I replied.
"We have to prepare," he said, understanding the gravity of the situation, if those whispers become actions "We are doing it," I replied. Looking toward Tabes's fortress at a distance.
This is yet another danger, along with the undead and Silver, but it will not be the only one. Right now, it is whispers only, but by the day, this wasteland is becoming more appetizing.
Drawing the eyes of many powerful people to it.
There was a silence for a few minutes as we walked across the battlement.
"I am still not satisfied with the first group of nobles we have chosen. We should have more warriors in it," he said, and I sighed.
"Temporarily, we have enough powerhouses to protect ourselves and what we have." "Our priority should be building an economy, and they will help us with that," I replied.
I am selling the territories—75% of which will go to merchants and mercantile nobles.
They will have the territories in many green spots. I want to establish a business and develop trade. All of them will have mines in their territories. It is a resource we have.
I am sure that once they arrive, they will develop other sources of business that my dominion needs.
It won't be quick or easy, which is why I chose them first. Warriors are essential, but so is money, which I am spending a lot of.
I need to recoup enough to fund the fortress, army, and territory I control with money earned from here.
I may have money, but there is a limit to it. Silver knows that as well. He used that knowledge with a killer's edge during the negotiations.
And it will work. It had worked in Nakar Forest, where they had transformed the whole territory.
Circumstances are different here; it is barren, but merchants always find a way, and that's why I am taking such a considerable risk.
"I understand it, but I want us to be stronger. So, we would not experience again what we had," he said with a deep pain in his eyes.
The same pain, I feel in my heart every moment.
We had to abandon the home where we were born in. The territory that had been in our family for centuries. We fought hard, but the enemy was too strong.
"We would not, my son. I promise you that," I replied, with a promise.
I had buried the hope of getting our territory back; this is our new home, and this time, no one will take it from us. Not Tabes, not undead, not Silver or anyone else.
"We have selected good people; they will benefit us a lot," he said after moments of silence.
I nodded.
Many had offered a larger amount of money than those I had chosen, but I do not want a one-time payment. I want to create a growth system that will continually nourish my domain.
It is more sustainable and lays the seeds that will feed the dominion for a long time.
This wasteland is not a temporary stay, but a new home. I do not have high hopes about the empire. We could not take back what our enemies had conquered.
We have strength, but we are too fractured. By the time things conclude, we will be too exhausted to fight any further.
"Take this and give it to the Lord of Inam," I said and handed him the letter. "It's such a regret that Silver was able to make him an ally," replied Jorand, and smiled.
"Thorn is no ally of Silver. He is gathering strength. The moment he becomes confident of handling two fronts, he will not hesitate to attack Silver," I said.
I may not know him personally, but I am familiar with his work.
Inam is a critical chokepoint. Enemies cannot get it, and that's why both princes had left it alone as long as the Lord of Inam maintains a powerful force in the city to deal with any threat that comes at him.
If he moves now, Tabes will not hesitate to move toward him, which would be bad news for the empire and region.
Especially for us, we are landlocked. We do not have a port city like Silver and Zanav.
They will move through Renwell to attack Inam, which is more bad news for us.
Unless they were able to open the route through Halsad, which will be troublesome for them.
Inam is strong, with a powerful force, but not enough to fight against Tabes's powerful forces and conquer Greltheaven at the same time.
"We have to get Greltheaven before he does," he stated, and I nodded at that.
We do not have to, but we need to. It is what will save us.
Thorn is not a man without ambition. Conquering Greltheaven will give him control over the world's most desired resource.
"I don't know why Silver, with all his shrewdness, would do this thing? I am sure his adviser would have warned him about it?" he asked.
He is smart, but still needs to gain experience. Especially to understand the long-term plans.
"Silver understands it very well, son. To him, it's a race. If he gets stronger, before Thorn gathers enough forces, he will win, and he is counting on that," I replied.
Silver has grown fast, and so has his army.
It is with such confidence that he made a deal that will make Thorn powerful by giving him the resources he needs; however, Silver is also getting something in return, and I am not just talking about the legacy.
"Do you think he could?" he asked. "After what happened with Mirador Hold and Baronies. I would say there is a good chance," I replied, and he shuddered rightly.
I would have said no, but now I am not so sure.
It is why I am sending my son to Inam. It is an excellent opportunity for us. Thorn wouldn't want Silver to get strong too quickly, especially after the show.
It is a great opportunity which I am going to exploit to its fullest, and I am confident that there will be a positive response.
Thorn would want to keep Silver in check; the same thing I want, and there is no better way to do that than helping me to get stronger.