Chương 240: 237. Part-time Merchant

The majordomo nodded.

"I was getting to that. We have already completed the initial planned target of clearing the forests which we wanted to do in the beginning, but we do need to exceed the target because of the new people we have taken in. For that it will take at least one more week."

"Hmm..." Kivamus muttered.

"That means we won't be able to start coal mining at a good scale for another week... That will barely leave seven-eight days to mine enough coal to earn some coin so we can buy wheat to feed everyone before we have to move all those workers to the south once again to start sowing.

We will still have to put some workers to prepare the fields before that, apart from those who are digging clay and building the dam and the watchtower, so we can't even mine coal at the usual rate of forty wagons per month with that few workers."

"Even with the meat the hunters are bringing in, we barely have enough grain to continue feeding everyone for these two weeks while still keeping enough wheat for sowing," Duvas said.

"Taking in those refugees is the main reason for that. Still, it just means we really do need enough coin to buy some wheat when the traders start coming, even after paying the taxes.

The traders will only come after two weeks at best, but it might even be three weeks if the snow takes longer to melt on the northern road or if they are late, which means we probably won't have enough food to feed the village in the second week even if we use up all the smoked meat for this because now we are also feeding the new refugees. If the wait stretches to the third week, then we really won't be able to feed the villagers without touching the stored seeds." Kivamus took a deep breath.

"It doesn't really leave us with too many options, does it? I wanted to postpone the next trip to Kirnos for later, but right now it seems like that's the only option for us to buy enough food for the village so we don't starve in the second or third week."

He added, "It's another fact that even without the refugees we still would have had to do it before we started sowing, since we will need all our horses here at the time so they can drag the seed drills, not that it's a good idea to leave buying food for the last moment anyway." He looked at the ex-mercenary.

"You should prepare to leave by tomorrow. You told me that the merchant with the smokehouse should probably be willing to give you another two wagons of smoked fish on credit, right?"

"I should be able to negotiate with him for that," Feroy agreed, "but he won't agree to it unless we pay the amount we already owe him." Duvas winced.

"That's nearly ninety gold... and we are already short on gold to pay the tax..." Kivamus exhaled loudly.

"It can't be helped, Duvas. Making sure nobody starves in the village comes before anything else, and those two wagons of smoked fish will be enough to feed the whole village for an extra two weeks, based on what I had calculated the last time. So we'll just have to do some tough negotiations when paying the taxes." Once Duvas gave a reluctant nod, he added, "Give the gold to Feroy before he leaves tomorrow." He looked at the ex-mercenary again.

"We know that by this time Torhan's bandits already know that you might go to Kirnos again, since even if they hadn't scouted you on the road, the news would have easily gotten to them from their sources in the marketplace of Kirnos. So you can't leave with just four guards like the last time, but on the other hand we really are short on guards these days, and we just can't give you extra guards since that would leave Tiranat nearly defenceless."

"There is a hunting group which has been out for nearly a week and should return by this evening," Hudan suggested.

"Yufim is also a part of this group. If we don't send them on another hunting trip immediately, that'll be four extra men which we can add to Feroy's caravan without lowering the village's defence. That will give him a total of eight guards to protect the two wagons, including an excellent archer. That has to be enough - especially for such a small target of just two wagons.

Also, unlike the trips to Cinran before winter, this time it won't be a facade of protection, since all the guards have gotten good training by now, so those eight guards should be able to take on the bandits without too much difficulty." Kivamus thought about it.

"That might work. This trip will take less than a week, but Feroy should be able to bring enough smoked fish - which will easily be many times what those four men in the hunting group would have brought. Alright, let's do that." He continued, "But I think we need to do more to protect the caravan. Without getting the smoked fish in time, our village will get close to starvation if we want to preserve all the seeds, and we also have to think about the ninety gold which Feroy will be carrying with him.

We just can't afford to lose any of it, or the guards' lives." If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. Looking at others' faces for a moment, Kivamus broached a difficult topic.

"I think we should add a crossbow-woman as protection for the caravan." Duvas frowned on hearing that, while Hudan was staring hard at him. He continued, "Just hear me out. Hyola is still our best shot with a crossbow, so adding her as protection for the caravan will mean that along with Yufim, they should be able to take out a few bandits before they even reach the wagons in case of an ambush."

"This is cowardice!" Duvas raised his voice.

"Adding women as guards as long as they stay safe inside the walls of the village is one thing, but sending them on a journey to another village while passing through dangerous forests, especially when we are already anticipating an ambush is just not right when the men are sitting safe behind walls! What if the bandits capture her? I won't be able to look any woman of Tiranat in the face if something like that happened because you chose to do something stupid like this!" Hudan was shaking his head as well.

"I agree with Sir Duvas. What does it say about us if we have to send women out on such dangerous journeys?" Taking a deep breath, Kivamus looked at Feroy for his opinion.

"Actually, I think it's a good idea." The ex-mercenary shrugged at the dubious looks of others.

"The safety and defence of Tiranat comes before anything else, so wouldn't you agree that sending Hyola to Kirnos would mean having an extra man on watch duty in the village?"

"That's hardly the point!" Duvas scoffed.

"No, that is exactly the point I am making," Feroy said.

"If you ask Hyola, Isomi, Savomi or any of the other female guards, all of them would volunteer in a moment to go on this journey, no matter how dangerous it may be. By this point all of the guards - including the women - trust Lord Kivamus with their lives and know that he is always doing his best to ensure Tiranat and his people are safe, even if it means sending women out to protect caravans.

If anything, Hyola might just call you out for a bout which she'll win in a heartbeat, to prove that you are wrong and that the Goddess agrees with her." Kivamus snorted at the image of the old majordomo fighting against the redhead who was nearly as tall and well built as most men. Duvas rubbed his forehead in frustration, while Hudan's expression made it seem like he was considering the idea by now.

"Anyway," the ex-mercenary continued, "do you really think the rest of us guards going with the caravan are going to just watch idly if any bandit tries to abduct her? Trust me, we will take care of our own even at the cost of our lives. That includes every guard, whether it's a man or a woman." Feroy glanced at the faces of Hudan and Duvas again.

"Anyway, you both are still missing the point. Like Lord Kivamus just pointed out, she is still our best shot with a crossbow, which means having her with the caravan would actually make us safer and would make it less likely for the caravan and her to be taken captive, compared to not having her there." Hudan had started nodding along by now, and looked at Feroy.

"You know what, I think it would be good for her to get the experience of going out from Tiranat." He glanced at Kivamus.

"Knowing our baron and his unorthodox views, he will probably suggest sending women out as hunters or even on other caravan protection duties in the future. So we might as well agree to it and decide the best way to carry out his wishes, instead of arguing about something which has already been decided." Duvas remained quiet for a while, but eventually he gave a reluctant nod as well.

"I still don't agree with this, but if you all think it's a good idea, then I won't oppose it anymore."

"Not that there is even any point in trying to win an argument against Feroy," Kivamus commented with a snort. Hudan guffawed at that while even Duvas gave a chuckle. Kivamus looked at the mercenary.

"I'm glad we decided to make you act as our part-time travelling merchant. I pity those who will be making deals with you in Kirnos." Feroy laughed loudly on hearing that, and eventually others joined in that laughter as well. Once everyone had calmed down, Kivamus continued, "Okay. So it's decided that Hyola will accompany the caravan, which will have a total of eight guards including Yufim and Feroy.

Coming back to the main topic, now that we have started coal mining again at a small scale, we can afford to sell these two wagons of coal, even though it will leave our coal barns nearly empty. However, we need to buy food immediately so this has to be done." He looked at the others' faces for a moment, and started giving orders.

"Duvas, load up two wagons with coal in the evening when they return from the east. Hudan, make sure to tell these returning hunters to rest well tonight since this time they won't get an off day which they get after every hunting trip. Feroy, tomorrow morning you will leave with eight guards including yourself. Half of them are trained hunters, so you should try to hunt any animals you see on the road to Kirnos. I know it's unlikely, but you might just get lucky and catch a deer or two.

Even that small amount of extra food will still help us a lot in the coming weeks."

"I'll make sure to tell the guards about hunting on the road," the ex-mercenary replied, "and I'll keep an eye out for it myself. That being said," he added, "wouldn't taking those two wagons away from Tiranat slow down the building of the dam? You said that we need to complete it before the melting snow increases the water flowing in the eastern stream too much."