The idea of teleporting copper straight to the forges suddenly came to mind, prompting him to come up with a new one. What if we tackle the problem of this mine comprehensively? Along with the rebellion and all these attempts to fake a siege of Zalon! Archmage Dukun is in a somewhat vulnerable position right now, and by creatively reworking old suggestions, you could sway him to your side! Especially if you sweeten the bitter pill!
- With pleasure, Your Excellency! And I have some ideas you'll like!
***
The men back in the hall were not a pretty sight. Many of them were still pale from the massacre of the mages in the courtyard. Others had regained their natural color, but their hands trembled and their legs shook as they walked. The scene of the slow, agonizing death of the executed and its spectacular finale, in the form of their sprawling pieces, was before the eyes of almost everyone.
The vampire, who had seen more of this in Hollywood blockbusters, had long ago pulled himself together. Now all that was left was to use his privileged state and promote the correct vision of the future to the archmage and entourage. When everyone was finally seated,
Alexander stepped forward with deliberate vigor and cleared his throat.
- There are two small problems before us. Food and the inability of the mine to operate, although the latter could be argued. The ore can be stored outside the fort, no one will steal it. But back to the problems I mentioned. There are now four hundred and sixty-two convicts, thirty soldiers and officers, twenty overseers, and thirty-six other men in various positions, from mining engineer to cook. We have four days' provisions left. And we can either starve them all to death or share the army's supplies with them, now that the cold weather has come and the trail is free of goblins, we can replenish them without hindrance.
The archmage smiled contentedly. The army's march to Zalon did not imply its immediate capture, but the plan was not to sit here until the snow. Savoyardi and Cass were now stocking up with food caravans that would fill the fortress' warehouses for the winter once it was freed from the rebels. These caravans could be used to replenish the besiegers' supplies and fill the fort's food stores. The vampire meanwhile continued.
- This seems like the easiest way out. We can easily solve the problem. And then we'll solve the same problem at the mine. I'm sure there's not enough food supplies there either, but we haven't heard about it yet, since all the workers have fled to the fortress, reducing the rate of consumption of the available food. And we seem to still have a problem with the mine's produce, which is also easily solved by loading ore into carts that bring food. Sacks of grain are brought in, sacks of copper are taken away. Everyone is satisfied. The work of the fort loyal to the king, continues.
Dukun sat back and simply beamed with contentment at every word the knight said. Taken on the campaign as a mere observer, he was more useful than most of the officers, and though some of his words or actions were puzzling, the archmage was pleased with the company of this former Valerian master. Alexander, paying little attention to his listeners, focused entirely on his speech.
- It would have been so simple if there were really two problems, as I said so at the beginning of my speech. But we actually have three problems. And the third problem is Zalon," the vampire paused and looked around, "I propose a common solution to all the problems of the rebellion.
I've got more interesting stuff on patreon
patreon.com/Chill76