Chương 16

Merchant Ellen The Crown Surveyor's Office was one of the nicer buildings in Merriweather. This part of the kingdom had been 'frontier' for at least five generations, so it was common for people to request use of various land parcels or even lease them outright from the king. That made this office an incredibly important place, which explained the mortared stone building that extended up three entire floors, all of them stone rather than wood.

In truth, Ellen hadn't known too much about how land worked until she'd asked Mister Pulani a few casual questions about it. Her parents and uncle had both talked about 'buying' and 'owning' land, so she'd been surprised to realize that wasn't technically true. Ownership of land was under the king, and purchasing a plot simply meant that the 'owner' had rights to use it under a specific contract.

She'd realized this also meant that Hunter Ellen feeding everyone had technically been poaching, but the merchant had assured her that in practice this was never enforced, and most unmanaged land at the edges of the kingdom had explicit exceptions in the rules, since it was otherwise unused anyway. Now she was quietly tapping her foot, her nervous fidget for the moment.

Her Gambler's Face kept her body from shuffling too much and made it easier to control her expression, but she was still feeling an upset stomach from the nervousness of what she was doing. This was a huge risk. It was also taking forever. The clerk had laid out a dozen papers already—more than Ellen had thought possible for such a simple request. Paper and parchment were not exactly cheap, and the office had drawers upon drawers of it anyway.

She also knew that almost all of them would be duplicated elsewhere, since this was a satellite office… and that made the amount simply mind-boggling to her. At last, the clerk lined up the final paper and sighed. He'd moved slowly, and Ellen had the distinct impression that the skinny, quiet fellow much preferred sitting in the office and being bored just barely more than actually doing his job.

"So," he droned out.

"The total parcel comes to just under 1200 acres. That includes Mount Onroc, the site of the old town of Onroc, the river frontage, and some of the surrounding land." He set aside several pieces of parchment for those.

"In addition, you will be taking over management of the settlement already there. It looks like they've been paying a flat presumptive tax for the last… four decades, or so. Probably less than they're really worth, but that will be your problem now. The new taxes will require a bare minimum of five times what we are receiving right now. I can't imagine they're doing that well." Ellen shook her head.

"No, they're not. I plan on developing the area and reopening the old iron mine, which should increase income. Among other possible projects." The man eyed her thoughtfully for a long moment… then shrugged.

"Right. So this includes all possible rights to the land usage so long as it does not endanger the Crown. That includes river usage, timber rights, hunting rights, farming rights, mineral rights… everything. It would be cheaper if you leave out farming rights and a few others, you know." Ellen shrugged.

"Maybe, but not by much, and maybe I'll want to have some farmers. Throw it all in there." A heavy sigh, and the clerk selected a paper and set that aside with the others, while tucking some of the untouched ones onto the table behind him.

"Very well. The iron mine does drive the potential value upward, but this parcel has been unclaimed for over seventy years. That does bring down the price significantly. Even so, with existing timber export and river access…" He went quiet as he did some math, scratching numbers onto an erasable slate next to him.

"Twenty-two crowns." Ellen made a face, then shook her head.

"This is undeveloped land and I'm going to have to develop up the town. That seems extreme given the taxes and obligations. Fifteen seems more reasonable." The clerk raised an eyebrow at the unexpected haggling… but Ellen knew he had some leeway in negotiating initial fees. That's what she was banking on.

"That would be basically at cost for the land itself," he murmured.

"Then there is the registration and duplication costs, administrative handling…" Once again, Ellen grimaced.

"Fine, seventeen then. But I think you and I both know that the terms are already a little rough for this parcel." The two met eyes for a long, tense moment. Ellen's blue stared into the clerk's deep brown, the silence of the office only disturbed by the faint, distant murmur of the city outside the thick walls. It was a sudden contest to see who had the most patience: the quiet redhead who walked into the office, or the worker who just wanted to sneak more sleep in before the office closed.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The clerk sighed.

"Seventeen, then." He wrote something onto another piece of parchment, set it aside, and then read one of the remaining ones.

"Initial fee of seventeen crowns, payable immediately. Taxes on the land will be ten percent of gross revenue, payable annual or quarterly, with a two year grace period from purchase. After two years, a minimum of eight crowns must be provided each year, and a total of fifty crowns by the end of year five.

If the tax revenue does not cover this amount, the property holder will be liable for the difference in addition to a ten percent fee, subject to forfeiture of the parcel and possible property seizure if the amount cannot be paid." He looked up.

"Is this all acceptable?"

"It is," Ellen replied. It was the same things they'd discussed before she'd pushed to complete the transfer, and she hadn't heard any changes.

"Very well." The clerk slid a paper over, with a spot for her signature—or 'X' if she were illiterate, though that was supremely rare. A small crystal globe was set down beside the paper.

"Sign here with your real name, if different from the public name of record. Please place one hand on the globe and state your full System-accepted name for the official record." She'd been most worried about this, but Ellen had given herself time to prepare. She signed her name, and placed her hand on the crystal.

"Ellen Matilda Greylan." The clerk paused as he set the final paper down.

"Greylan? Any relation to ah… Gabriel Greylan?" Ellen grit her teeth, but kept her face calm with the help of her Perk.

"He was my grandfather. Please don't spread it around that I'm here, people have all sorts of expectations if they know who I am. I'm just a girl making a purchase, okay?" A soft clearing of his throat told her that the man was trying not to say anything untoward.

"Yes. Yes, of course. That explains your… of course." He picked up the quill again.

"Now, one last item. It is common to name your parcel, usually after any town or settlement intended to be built there." He tapped the parchment.

"The previous owners used the mountain name, but would you like to declare it anything else?" That was something Ellen didn't expect. She'd been calling the town Onroc just like everyone else, because of the mountain name. Made sense to her. Now she had a chance to make it something else.

"Hm…" Ellen considered as she thought back to what she should name it.

'Ellentown' would be too on the nose, even if funny. It would also lead anyone who was looking for her right to the town. She needed something less obvious, but that would be a name all of herselves would agree upon. She snapped her fingers. She could name it after her uncle! The one who taught her how to be an adventurer in the first place! The one they all admired.

"Onroc Anroll." It was a close call. Ellen escaped the Surveyor's Office just as the Guild Runner was stepping inside, no doubt to pass on the news of a new dungeon found. A dungeon in a remote little parcel of land that had gone unclaimed for decades, until now. A parcel of land that was about to become much, much more valuable. She hadn't done anything illegal, but Ellen didn't want to be there when the clerk realized how badly she'd pulled one over on him.

Fortunately, she wasn't headed anywhere she could be easily tracked. A quick trip to the market district was what she needed now, after a brief stop to withdraw some actual coin from the bank, since her Guild card couldn't be used by most vendors. She had a lot of things to purchase on this trip. It was going to take about half of what she had left on the Guild card, if she counted right.

She was sure the other Ellens would be livid at all the money she was spending, but this was something Ellen was sure they needed. She just had to be careful. That was why her first stop was Mister Pulani, to ask where she could reliably buy what she needed… So it was getting toward evening when she pulled up to the Guild and tied off Melissa, her new donkey, to the post. She wasn't really good at driving a cart yet, but that could be a nice Secondary Skill to get. Most merchant-types got that.

Once again, she pushed open the door to the Guild, and saw Edmund and his friends packing their things. The Guildmaster looked up and smirked at her. Maybe the Briar Thorns didn't know, but the Guildmaster certainly knew that she'd pulled one over on the Crown.

"Oh, you're leaving?" Ellen called out.

"I was hoping we could travel together. It's getting a bit late to be leaving, but we can probably get a couple hours on the road if you're willing. I was just heading back to the village." Even Edmund, who was the most friendly of the group, gave her a confused look. Miriam stared at her and spoke bluntly.

"Why would we be going there?" Ellen smiled as the Guildmaster laughed out loud, then held up a paper.

"Oh look! A new job that just came in!" She grinned at the confused trio.

"Your redheaded friend here is a canny little fox, that's for sure. She must like you, she asked you three to have this job. There's a new dungeon up where she's headed that needs a confirmation and assessment. At Silver Tier, you're more than enough for it." Edmund walked over to pluck the small sheet out of the Guildmaster's fingers.

"A… new dungeon? Out here?" He turned to stare at Ellen.

"Us?" It was the Guildmaster who clarified things for him.

"Your little friend here is the one who discovered it. Guild bylaws state that the one who discovers the dungeon can explore and report, but any official expedition needs to be done by an unaffiliated party." She gestured toward Ellen.

"She didn't join your group because she liked you enough to give you free access. I'm sure the owner is going to charge a fee for entry." A glance was given to the other two members of his party, but they both nodded. Edmund tucked the job posting away and smiled.

"Well. In that case, we'd be happy to go with you. If there's an owner, could you talk to them on our behalf, Miss Tember? I wouldn't want any misunderstandings." The Guildmaster guffawed, but this time she just turned away and walked into the back, still laughing to herself. Miriam was squinting at Ellen suspiciously, but this time she looked less angry and more perplexed. Vincent pursed his lips, as he'd by now figured out the reason why Ellen had asked him about poisons and the like.

She'd give him the details on the trip over. Ellen gave a sweet smile to the swordsman and the others. She tugged her cloak's hood up to prepare for the chill of the evening settling in, then headed for the door.

"I think I could probably put in a good word with the owner."