Chương 221: 218. Speech

The ex-mercenary smirked and waited until they had exited the gates and moved some distance away from the gate guards before he whispered back, "Got the full amount, and even got to see the Baron Farodas scolding his son for making such a bad deal. He was quite angry that Lanidas had agreed to buy coal at the price I asked for, but the baron didn't want to lose face by refusing to pay that price which would only prove to outsiders that his own son was making deals without his permission."

"While I didn't know about your secret mission, Lord Kivamus would already be expecting you to do something about that," Tesyb grinned, "but even he wouldn't be expecting you to have gotten such a big profit from this trip!"

"True," Feroy shrugged, "but even with the extra gold I'd been given by sir Duvas, we'll still barely be able to buy enough to fill a single wagon with smoked fish, if that. If the market had enough grain for us, then I would have preferred to buy that for use as seeds in spring, but the merchants will immediately increase the price if they find out we want to buy it in a good quantity." Tesyb frowned.

"Wouldn't the merchants prefer to clear their stock?"

"In usual times, they would have, but right now they all know that the prices are only going to increase until the next crop comes in next year's autumn, so they don't mind holding on to their stock of grain for longer so that they can get an even better price in future. I'll still try to see if I can get that merchant to provide us with more smoked fish on credit."

Feroy continued, "Anyway, it's already late, so let's go to the empty barn near the north gate where that fish merchant has promised us a place to sleep for the night."

~ Kivamus ~"Milord, all the preparations for the feast are done," a servant reported after entering the manor hall.

"Great, I'll be there in a moment." Kivamus looked at the guard captain who had also come inside with the servant.

"Have you gathered all the servants and guards together?" Hudan nodded.

"We have barred the gates of the manor, so the guards who were posted on duty there have already gathered near the training area in the southeast of the manor, but those who were posted at the village gates will have to remain at their posts, and two guards will be doing continuous patrols inside the village walls for tonight. I have still arranged for all of them to be replaced after an hour or so, so they can also enjoy the feast.

You had also asked us not to send the hunters out once they arrived in the past few days, so by now we have most of the manor residents here - nearly all fifty of us - except for Feroy and the three guards accompanying him." Kivamus smiled.

"It's a good idea to change the guards at the village gates later," he replied while putting his fur coat around his shoulders.

"Duvas, let's go. Gorsazo has already been out for a while." The majordomo stood up as well, and followed him outside.

"Feroy would have loved to be here tonight," Hudan said, "especially since we are giving some ale to everyone this time."

"Yeah, but he was the best choice to lead the caravan to Kirnos," Duvas replied.

"Let's hope he succeeds in all his tasks." Kivamus nodded, remembering about telling the ex-mercenary to try to give hints to the people of Kirnos that Tiranat was willing to take in as many of them as they could. It had led to an argument with the majordomo about them being able to afford to feed them, but he had explained that such a decision wasn't going to be easy for any people there, and it would take many weeks or even months before any of them decided to move here.

By that time winter would have ended and the northern road would become open once again, which meant they would be able to buy more grain to feed them. It was certainly true that they were already very short on coin, and they did need to pay the taxes to the Count by that time, but with the hunters bringing in a lot of meat now, and the smokehouse working round the clock, they had slowly started to gather a small stockpile of smoked meat by now which could also be used to feed any newcomers.

If Feroy was successful in bringing in smoked fish from Kirnos, it would make that task even easier, specially since the mineshafts in the coal mines were already being emptied of flood water now, which meant they could keep trading smoked fish in exchange for coal, assuming more workers arrived from Kirnos to work in the coal mines. A labour shortage was their biggest problem right now. Any other problems could be dealt with as long as he had enough labourers to put to work.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. They exited the outer door of the manor house, and he saw the empty place in the south east of the manor being full of people even a few hours after sunset. With no new snowfall in the past couple of days, the ground only had a small layer of snow at this time inside the manor, even though a lot more snow was gathered outside the village walls in the forests where people weren't trampling over it all day.

The old majordomo stood next to him as he took a moment to look around at everything, while Hudan walked ahead towards a small gathering of guards. Like the previous time they had given a feast, they had put a few wooden tables close to the manor walls, on which a variety of dishes were kept in steaming pots, with a few maids standing behind the tables ready to start serving food.

Most of the braziers from around the manor had been gathered in this place in a rough circle, making the place inside the circle a lot warmer and feeling a lot livelier than usual. Many of them were even burning sawdust briquettes instead of coal. Lucem and Clarisa seemed to be playing a game of tag between the crowd, while Gorsazo seemed to be busy talking with Madam Helga in one corner.

A few servants and stable grooms seemed to be guffawing at a joke one of them had just told, as another servant brought a barrel of water on a wheelbarrow before the others helped him to unload it near the serving tables. Madam Nerida was taking a round of all the serving tables with a strict visage to confirm that all the preparations were done properly, while the long blonde haired Yufim seemed to be talking with Syryne nearby.

Calubo and Hyola, about whom he was already sure that they liked each other a lot, were giggling together in one corner, while Kerel, who was a senior guard, seemed to be telling war stories from his past, making the nearby guards and servants look at him in awe.

The carpenters Darora and Taniok seemed to be busy talking to each other about exchanging their best ideas for wood crafting, while the huge blacksmith Cedoron was explaining about something new he was trying in his forge to Leah, who had already been living with him for a few months now. He wondered when they would get married. Father Edric was the one who officiated such occasions in the village, and a hopeful event like that would make a nice change of pace from the gloomy months in the recent past.

Kivamus gave a satisfied smile at looking at the high-spirited atmosphere inside the manor.

"I'm glad we kept this feast tonight."

"It feels really good to see everyone so cheerful after so long," Duvas agreed.

"It had become rare to see anyone smile in the months after the previous baron was murdered, but today it seems like all is good in the world somehow." Soon, the manor residents started to notice that he had arrived, and it slowly became quieter and quieter, until everyone was looking at him with anticipation. The crowd slowly moved to form a semicircle in front of him, with the braziers burning in the empty spaces between them.

With the delicious smell of the freshly prepared adzee meat coming from the serving tables, the manor had become festive looking after all despite everything they had gone through in the past.

"It's time, my lord," Duvas whispered gently. Still being completely unaccustomed to giving a speech in public, he nodded and gave a big smile to everyone to calm his nerves.

"It hasn't been too long since I arrived here, but within this short time we have managed to do so much for the village. Everyone in Tiranat gets food thrice a day, every person has a roof over him in this winter, and there are enough opportunities for everyone to find work. Within a week from now, both of the village gates will be completed, and we will finally have strong walls surrounding and protecting the village from all the threats around us."

He continued, "The coal mines are already being made ready to start working again with the water wheel, and we have managed to reduce our coal consumption by using sawdust briquettes in place of them. This is far from a complete list, but either way, we have managed to accomplish so much in the last few months." He gazed at the eyes of all the people listening carefully, "None of that would have been possible without you all.

Whether you are a guard working at the gates, a maid cooking in the kitchens or a stable groom taking care of our cows, horses, chicken or nodors, all of your work is invaluable for the survival of Tiranat." Many of the listeners grinned after hearing that, while he saw the kids looking back towards the serving tables repeatedly.

Smiling towards them, he added, "Despite all the burning braziers, it's still cold outside, and a variety of food is waiting for you all, so I won't take too long or the food will go cold, but before we begin the feast, let me say that while we have come long way from the difficult situation Tiranat was in just a few months ago, we still have a long way to go, and with the support of you all, Tiranat will get there!"

Immediately there was a loud roar from the gathered crowd, before some of the guards began to yell while stomping their boots and raising their swords high, "For Lord Kivamus we fight!" Not wanting to be left behind, the servants and maids added to it while striking a few wooden bowls with spoons, "For Lord Kivamus we work hard!" The two carpenters and the blacksmith looked at each other for a moment, before they raised their hammers and chisels high in the air, and bellowed, "For Lord Kivamus we build!"

Eventually, someone roared from the back of the crowd, "For the glory of Tiranat!" Once again the crowd was enveloped in a series of cheers and roars as they began to chant the newly made slogans once again. Kivamus wondered if they had planned it already or if they had thought of it on the spot. Either way, it felt really good to him to see everyone united in such high spirits, so he raised both of his hands and joined the cheers as well, while Duvas clapped from nearby with a grin.

Eventually, when the hubbub had quieted down a little, Kivamus spread both his arms wide.

"The feast is open!" he bellowed.

"Enjoy the food everyone!"