Chương 379: 374. Progress Check - I

When the first rush around the food settled down, Widel pointed toward the swords at the guards' belts.

"You've brought gifts from the goddess," she said, while glancing at satchels of grain and bread.

"It's something we never expected, and I thank you for it. You've even invited us to your incredible village where we will supposedly get such meals regularly." Her gaze went to their weapons again.

"But you've also brought iron with you. Do we even have any choice in this?"

"The weapons are for the beasts in the forest," Feroy said.

"And yes, you certainly have a choice. We'll return back within the hour if you choose to stay here. I wouldn't recommend that, but we're not going to force you to come with us. I'll also hand over some of the medicine to you and will tell you how to use it before we return. But I still think you need to give your people a chance at a better life. How long do you think your children and the elderly can survive here? The next winter will take most of them, if a large predator or a bandit group doesn't do it first.

But yes, it's still your choice whether to come with us or not." He glanced up at the sky, where the sun was already climbing close to its highest point.

"Either way, you need to decide soon. I'll give you an hour to talk it over and to speak with your man who has already lived in Tiranat, so he can tell you more from his firsthand experience. After that, we'll have to leave—with or without you all. Otherwise we'll be stuck in the forest at night, and nobody wants that." Tesyb remembered the lower than expected count of people in the clearing.

"Where are the rest of you?" he asked.

"We expected above two dozen people here." Widel looked at the others, then her shoulders dropped.

"They're out gathering nuts and berries, and checking our traps for small animals. With only a few men left here, we can't hunt anything bigger. But even if we decide to go with you, we can't leave until everyone is back." Feroy thought for a moment before answering.

"You sent that girl to warn them about us, didn't you? That means they're probably already hurrying back, thinking bandits came to raid your camp. We'll wait as long as we can to give you time."

"Thank you," Widel said. A hesitant smile crossed her face before her eyes went back to the food being shared out. Feroy returned the smile.

"Go on. You should eat something too. You deserve it."

~ Kivamus ~ Four days had passed since the first sawmill had been completed. The second sawmill had also been finished two days ago, and the carpenter apprentices were already stacking construction material at a steady pace. Three times a day, both log mover crews hauled fedarus trunks to the sawmill site and brought back beams, posts, joists, and other building parts—everything but planks.

They were being stacked in front of the two longhouse blocks for use in the new one, and other carpenter apprentices were already cutting the mortise and tenon joints in the parts needed for construction. The foundations for the third block had been dug long ago, and with one of Taniok's apprentices overseeing the work, half a dozen laborers had started the construction yesterday. A groma was being used to make sure the layout stayed straight and square, especially since the design had been modified this time.

Ideally, Kivamus would have put more men on the site, but he did not want to slow down coal mining. He could only hope more refugees arrived soon to ease the constant strain of labor shortage. The third sawmill was also expected to be finished by the evening, which was just an hour away now. From tomorrow, it would start turning out planks at a previously unimaginable rate, although the shortage of log movers would still prevent it from running at full capacity.

Kivamus just hoped Feroy would succeed in persuading more craftsmen to move here, especially a wheelwright to build more axles for new wagons and log-movers. He had also been expecting Trevalo to return by now, but the merchant was already late by two days. Kivamus tried not to dwell on it, but he couldn't help but worry that something had gone wrong on the road. Though he really hoped it wasn't so.

A few days ago, the farming foreman Pinoto had reported that all the wheat sowing was complete and that all the seed drills had been brought back inside the manor for some small repairs and safekeeping until they were needed again. The final sown area was at least a quarter times bigger than what they had planned initially. Hopefully it would help them get a good harvest in the autumn. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

The loggers were still expanding the fields to the south though, preparing for the next merchant who might bring potatoes or other crops that could still be planted. The vegetable gardens south of the village were being enlarged as well, with new refugees helping under Madam Nerida's direction. Madam Helga was overseeing the mushroom barn and had reported that within a couple of weeks enough mushrooms would be mature to replant in a new barn, if one was built in time.

Kivamus hadn't promised her anything, but with the sawmill running now, there was at least a good possibility of that happening. It certainly wouldn't have been feasible without the sawmill. Pinoto had also retained nearly 30 farmers for weeding and irrigating the fields as needed. The weather was still mild in late spring, but the peak of summer would definitely require more irrigation.

That would have been impossible without a well close by, but a new well had already been completed near the fields, so farmers could load buckets on wheelbarrows and carry water for targeted irrigation. Even so, that was barely a stopgap measure. Kivamus knew they needed to dig the canal from the reservoir to the farms before summer turned harsh, or they would risk losing part of the crop. The farming foreman had also asked for a lot more help at harvest time.

Thirty farmers would be enough to tend the fields while the grain grew, but he would need at least a hundred more men and women for the harvest itself. Probably even more. Kivamus knew they could not afford to stop coal mining for weeks to free up that many people, so he had assured Pinoto he was working on the blueprints of a machine that would make it much easier to harvest the fields with the workers they already had.

Pinoto had been stunned at the idea, but after seeing the seed drills in action, he had tentatively accepted the promise. Inside the manor, another batch of losuvil medicine had been processed by Syrene. Several ceramic jars filled with acelos tablets now sat on the shelves in the laboratory. Duvas hadn't been able to hide his grin when he saw them, knowing how much gold that medicine could bring in once it was sold.

However, the budding scientist had warned them that workers would only be able to gather losuvil leaves for at most one more week because of the rising heat. After that, the leaves would lose their potency before the hunters bringing them even reached the village, which meant after the next week, new medicine could not be made again until late autumn, when the weather cooled, or until an encampment was built in those hills.

Kivamus had told her to focus on making pills from the leaves already gathered, since it would take another three weeks to process the latest batch, and he would do what he could to build the encampment as soon as possible. The better-quality paper was also being made regularly now. One of the rooms—the same one the tax collector had used during his last visit—had been set aside for storing it. A small but steadily growing stack of sheets lay there, bound by thin twines.

The paper was still yellow and could have been smoother, but for now it was decent enough to be sold for a good amount. Meanwhile, the hunters had brought in a few more sheep and some rabbits. Another group had found a pair of roaming nodors in the forest, and they had also been brought to the manor. The rabbit population was already starting to rise, giving hope that it would lead to another steady source of meat in the future.

Kivamus had also asked the visiting merchants to bring cows, pigs, and other large animals they could not catch in the forest. If all went well, they would soon need a dedicated animal enclosure in the south. On the trading side, another merchant had arrived yesterday. He had bought four wagon loads of coal and sold them a good amount of iron ingots, along with a few pigs Kivamus had ordered earlier. They still needed many more animals, but at least it was a start.

He didn't bring grain though, because of its high prices. Hopefully, Trevalo would bring a good amount of it soon. With new wells being dug in all four directions of the village, as well as near the farms, Tiranat had become much safer in case of a fire, whether started by accident or on purpose. Only the last well remained, and the diggers were already working on it just beyond the eastern gate of the manor, where a new training ground would be built in the future.

They all had been lined with stone brought from the eastern hills. Buckets were already being stockpiled near all the watchtowers and wells. It would take a few weeks before they had enough of them, but at least the work had begun. The multitasker foreman, Yeden, had reported that the defensive trench outside the walls was now complete on the eastern side as well. The diggers were already working on the last stretch in the south.

That would take less than a week, after which the crews would be sent to cut a proper road from the village to the coal mines and then on to the dam, forcing a wide and relatively straight path through the hills. They would also work to dig a canal parallel to it. The clay coating of the village walls was also coming along well. Laborers had finished coating the north and west, including the watchtowers there. Only the east and south were left, and that would take around 10 more days.

He was musing about the next steps in his current blueprint when the manor hall door opened, breaking his train of thought, and Duvas walked in looking tired. He let out a long breath as he sat down and poured himself some water from the wooden jug on the table, taking several gulps before setting it back.

"What's up with you?" Kivamus asked.

"You were gone for hours. I nearly finished my latest blueprint in the time you were out."