Chapter 10

Up once again at dawn that fateful Friday morning, Ben arose early to take exercise, but he concentrated mostly on hard physical exertion this morning followed by an extremely long run down to the town a mile away and then back up the hill to the castle, three times. This was about three miles uphill and three miles downhill, all in total. When he was done he was quite physically exhausted but his mind was now clear and ready to begin a hard morning of work with his steward, reviewing the first drafts of his list-making.

Now Ben had a much firmer idea of what needed to be done, when it must be done by, who needed to do it ... and why. Not to mention the minor issues of how the county (ergo the count) was going to pay for it! Condensed to a few smaller lists, the main bullet points were ready for discussion this afternoon with his new county advisory council. The steward had also been given an unfortunately heavy small chest of coppers and small silvers, containing enough to cover the counties much-increased expected expenses for the fall season, along with an additional smaller sack of mostly smaller coins for handling just the mundane household expenses for the next season, which was even adequate enough for a moderate increase in household staff and a small pay raise for the old existing staff. Since the word had gotten out already that the castle was hiring (and not seeking any pole-dancers at present), the chronic understaffing problem that the guards and interior castle staff had faces was just starting to ease.

The auspices for a mutual session of peace, love and understanding at the conference of town elders this afternoon were not promising though. During the first half of his hour-long run in the morning, Ben had worried over all of the seemingly endless things that could (or were likely) to go hilariously or fatally wrong. Now that this meeting was barely a ha’glass away from starting, Ben decided that perhaps a few more precautions would be advisable.

“Gil, I think this covers the important bits we can settle here and now, and now I’d like you take a few minutes breather and then go find Cynehard for me. He’s probably taking lunch now but I’d like to have him and a couple of his better guardsmen keeping alert somewhere quite nearby the meeting room, in case there is trouble ... particularly with the Constable. Tell him to stay out of sight ... but to be at least within earshot if anyone starts screaming or swords get unsheathed. As for yourself, I’d like you to remain present for the meeting, unobtrusive standing in a corner perhaps, but officially present as a witness to all that is said and done.”

“Ah, you’ll be wanting the official Record Stone then?” The steward said with a smile, nodding his head at his master’s instructions.

“Ummm ... and that is? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“A little toy some enchanter gave your grandfather, back in the day I believe. A round white marble stone that when it is held in your right hand, records faithfully every word spoken. When held in the left hand, the stone will repeat back everything recorded upon it. Your own father should have made much more use of it, as some of the conversations he had had with Lord Egner many years ago, if recorded for the ears of the High-King, just might have saved his damned neck! I found it yesterday, packed away in a chest of old things belonging to prior stewards, and we can use this to quietly record the meeting, assuming you have some concerns about the loyalty of some of our most respected townsfolk.”

“More than a few concerns, actually,” Ben admitted, “so grab that stone and get Cynehard in readiness. Oh, and pick a side, head or tails. I’m flipping a coin as a general augury of what the fates have in store of us ... so call it for me!” Gilgen called tails and Ben flipped the coin and then loudly sighed.

“Nope ... the fates decree that it’s not going to end well ... probably for any of us. Not a bit of surprise there!”

The summoned council members nearly arrived quite on time for the start of the meeting, save for the Constable, who appeared to be extremely tardy. If anything, this was something of a turn of a friendly card to Ben’s game hand, as this seemed to indicate that from the start, the Constable had chosen which team he was going to continue to play for. Lucie had heard the rumors that Odell had been a part of Lord Egner’s occupation team, designed from the start to help strip the county of every financial asset and create enough internal disorder that the evil lord would have excuse to militarily occupy it and annex this last part of Baad into his own lands ... but there was of course little actual hard evidence or proof of any of this.

It had been Ben’s worst fear that the Constable would play friendly and seeming turn-coat to verbally support the young count hereafter, but continue in secret to act decisively against him. By being absent, the villain had more than likely showed his true colors. More than anything, the idea of having this county advisory council was to help find and remove the moles working against him, before his actual plans for securing Baad’s survival could be acted against.

“Well, as we are well past our starting time, I feel that I should begin this meeting, so that no further time should be wasted, as we now have a very great deal to discuss and decide upon,” Ben stated, standing at the head of the table.

“Should we wait for the Constable a while further, I’m sure that he will be in attendance with us soon,” the town mayor complained, for about the third time. Densil was very much an unknown quantity and near the top on Ben’s list of possible traitors. True, he was Baadholt born and raised, a local man respected by most, but he had also been uncommonly verbally supportive of the disastrous economic and taxation policies of Guyot’s stewardship. Gilgen’s own personal opinion of the man, based upon over forty years of acquaintance, was that the mayor was merely a stern traditionalist, who didn’t adjust to leadership change well and liked the prior strong leadership ... but fundamentally he would become supportive of whomever was sitting in the big chair. He’d been a strong supporter of Ben’s father in the past, Gil affirmed, and would support Ben as well ... once the new count could prove himself to be strong and in firm control. Well ... that’s part of what this meeting was intended to accomplish!

“No, we shall get started and he may join us later, should he choose to,” Ben declared. It was about this moment when he suddenly felt the magical feeling of being scryed upon once more, but by an entirely different person than before. The feel of the magic was still feminine, but stronger with greater power behind her spell, and of a distinctly less-friendly overall aura about it. Not good ... but there was nothing Ben could do to prevent this.

“No, we must begin this meeting at once, as already the foxes are all lining up outside our henhouse, gathering up their knives and forks and licking their lips in preparation for the feast to come. Forgive me then, right from the very start of things, for being resolved of mind to defy them! My father ruled here long and with great strength, but perhaps very little wisdom. Here and now I resolve to rule with undoubtedly a bit less strength, but if allowed, with far greater wisdom. Unlike my father, and our prior acting steward, I intend to at least nominally ask before I take, as I seek a closer commonality with the subjects of this county. This is why you have been gathered here today, so that you might hear my thoughts and offer counsel before I render any final decisions or decrees in the future. I do not expect your abject obedience ... but neither will I accept any obstruction or subversion of our declared shared goals and objectives, once they have been discussed and affirmed within these walls. Have I made my views clear?” Already the frowns, or perhaps signs of mere simple confusion was showing on a few faces, but no one outright verbally objected.

Then, Ben spoke at some length a slightly revised but comprehensive retelling of the same introductory speech that he had given, after his arrival, to the assembled guards and household staff, stating that his primary objective this day forward was to restore the economic health of Baad County ... all while preserving at near any cost the High-King’s peace. Although Lord Egner had acted with demonstratively bad faith, his paid agents plundering the county treasury, destroying all local businesses with absurd levels of punitive taxation, and even encouraging outright banditry, no direct revenge was to be contemplated at this time. He stated that none of his guardsmen or soldiers of Baad were going to act in open revenge or break the High-King’s peace.

“That said,” Ben admitted with a smile, “neither shall we accept the current proliferation of armed banditry within our distinct borders. All shall enjoy the freedom of the High-King’s roads, regardless of their land of origin, should they travel through our lands in peace ... but for the seemingly innumerable raiders of the wastelands entering into our county, they shall find naught but a few feet of turned soil to mark their graves. Perhaps a wee bit more, should the bandits be of slightly greater stature.”

There was a slight titter to the room then, as a slim majority of the council perhaps agreed favorably to this new policy, while another head or two shook their head and muttered audibly, “Oh, no!”

“You seem to have an objection to this, master merchant,” Ben calmly stated, “state your grounds for opposition.”

“Clearly, it is no secret to any of us that the vast majority of the so-called bandits are in fact sworn arms-men of Lord Egner, paid and bound to do his bidding. So if we kill, capture or even just run off a few of his bully-boys, what does this gain us, other than his even greater enmity?”

“Ah, but I’m afraid we’ve already earned his implacable enmity and since the day my father was hauled off in chains his sole ambition has been to seize all of our remaining lands. True, our soldiers will kill off a few of his raiders ... but solely within the clear borders of our land, and then he will undoubtedly send more ... and we shall kill off or strongly discourage those invaders as well. Even Lord Egner must be bound as well by the command of the High-King to keep the peace, so he cannot commit to full open invasion! True, he can gather up the bulk of his armies that harry the frontiers to his many conquered lands to the northwest, and send them forth instead to conquest here ... and likely we would fare rather poorly, but as the clear defender, having obeyed all of the directives of the High-King, we would have the ear of the court ... and the moral imperative, giving us friends and allies.”

“NO!” Ben then stated in a loud but controlled voice to make sure that he had their full attention, “What Lord Egner craves is that we overreact, that proof might be given of our clear retaliation, if we were to send our soldiers in hot pursuit across his borders. This we must not do! Let him play cat and mouse, threatening our lands on all sides, but in truth the old villain’s threats are nearly impotent, until his ruffians and scoundrels cross into our county. Shall we prepare for that threat, well certainly ... but it shall be my voice alone that will order for blood to be spilled by our soldiers ... and solely within our own lands. Besides, I should like to hope that any smart thinking bandit will soon find our own lands soon too well defended to be profitable for them to raid us, and perhaps then they might find another foreign border a much greener pasture to harvest their blood-coin. Truth quite be told, the former steward has so impoverished us all that I’m quite astonished that any of the existing banditry has found anything but bare bones for their wolfs heads to gnaw!”

That generated another slightly louder laugh and Ben decided it was time to start getting into the meat of his proposals.

“Mayor Densil, I am asking you at this time to work together in concert with our absent Constable ... or perhaps soon his replacement instead, to create a town Home Guard of volunteers. First, create a census of the current inhabitants of the town, with particular interest to the number of unmarried men between fifteen and forty that do not either own significant agricultural property or hold a skill or trade level above apprentice, or in fact hold no significant current employment at this time ... such as the many unemployed miners and foresters of our community. The census completed, then announce that a draft for this new Home Guard will immediately commence, assuming there are an insufficient number of prior volunteers. The town should offer a small daily remuneration for volunteers, let it be noted, but draftees should train at the county advisory council’s pleasure, without direct compensation. This council shall expect the first finalized census list to be delivered to us by our meeting next Friday, with all volunteers beginning basic arms training mornings in the town green on the very next day after enlistment. Next Friday, this council will vote on the number of additional draftees to be selected, for Home Guard service commencing the next Monday morning. Again, it is my pledge that none of these men ... or willing women, given arms training are ever to leave the borders of our county, and should fortune be with us, only rarely ever need to leave the town of Baadholt itself. This will become a reserve force of last resort, dedicated to the last-ditch preservation of their families, women and children of our town should we face an armed full invasion of our lands. May we all wish that this will never happen!”

Now this proclamation did stir quite an uproar and much divided the council, but the main arguments against this self-defense force were primarily fiscal ones. The town was quite poor, down to its final bent coppers in its treasury chest, the mayor insisted. His facts were probably quite accurate, but Ben had a remedy for this.

“In less than two months, on the very last day of autumn, it is traditional for the town to render forth its annual taxation to the castle. The hearth tax, the head and property taxes, and the usual import and export duties and tolls on commerce, and so forth. As of this moment, as your lawful Count of Baad, I declare that I am waiving each and every one of those taxes, and other such fees that by law and custom are my proper due for this year. I shall declare a tax holiday, all fees waived in full for this fiscal year only. As of the annual taxation due for the next year ... should any or all of us live to see such happier days, all rightful assessments shall be restored to the prior lower levels enjoyed by my late father, as of the final autumn of his rule. As you all must readily admit, those older taxation burden levels levied by my father then are a pittance compared to the more recent plundering of the common purse accomplished by our former steward. This increased bounty of coins now accumulating at your disposal should rightly compensate for a few minor additional outlays of unexpected public spending in the seasons ahead ... unless good mayor, you also have a hankering for exploring the wilderness riding an overburdened horse bearing the town’s treasury on a dark night. Did I mention that some travelers found the remains of Guyot, our most beloved former steward, having been devoured by wolves? Such was the just penalty for betrayal back in older times, I believe, so quite a fitting end for such a thief, wouldn’t you all agree?”

The mayor and the pair of merchants were slowly nodding their heads in general agreement and frankly now appeared too terrified of their young inexperienced but wily count to risk making any further objections, at least right now.

“Now if these minor matters are considered by my council to be approved and settled,” and no one uttered any objections, “it is next my intention to explore any and all means, mundane or magical, to restore the historical productivity of our mines and ironwood forest harvest. I am told that this will be extremely challenging, at best,” the heads of the mining and forestry guilds sadly nodded. Before the first hard snows of winter, I will be making my own exhaustive examination of these and other difficulties that currently befall us, with an eye to seeking out professional magical expertise next spring, while I will be at the court. At a bare minimum, I feel that with proper inducements, like the public pronouncement that the county will exact no direct taxation this year, that perhaps some of the many families that have fled Baad in recent seasons might be encouraged to return. While we have considerable unemployment now, the return of many of the small holders would grant us more labor for our many planned economic recovery efforts in the seasons ahead. Such welcome news, especially if spread by paid criers and travelling newshawks and peddlers in other nearby counties at small county expense, might bear happy fruit. At a minimum, once the current perils of banditry are curtailed, I would be eager to see all of our fallow fields and pastures returned to cultivation next spring ... and this council should privately consider additional measures to encourage this. It shall be your primary consideration in the weeks and seasons ahead of us, to find every means of stimulating our broken economy and rebuild the fires of commerce here. Inform me of any measure, great or small that can help accomplish this, to once again put at least a few coins into the pockets of our countrymen and women.” Now most of the frowns had become smiles and Ben was starting to feel mildly optimistic about the odds of real progress actually being made here today.

“Now, as a small but concrete example of a useful trivial measure that I would suggest we take, to help start our other greater ambitions, I suggest that as our scouts eliminate various bandit bands and robber camps within our legal boundaries, that the spoils of plunder recovered should be redistributed in this manner: A fifth, as custom has long dictated, to the count, me ... which I shall use to pay success bonuses to the guardsmen and scouts involved, and encourage the hiring of sufficient new soldiery to better protect its citizens; secondly, a fifth to be given to the town mayor, for encouraging town renovations and pay for equipment and upkeep of its Home Guard; thirdly, to be apportioned to the town guildhall, for supporting its craftsmen, skilled workers and merchants; Fourthly, a specific levy intended to support the future rehabilitation of the town mines and forests, to repair and replace old outworn equipment, restore some of its labor force and perhaps find means to encourage a revival of those industries; lastly the creation of a minor agricultural subsidy, to encourage old small farming families to return and assist new and existing families in buying livestock, farming equipment and perhaps the ability to hire farmhands, to bring all of the fallow land across the river bridge, back into harvest by next fall. I’d suggest that the major landowners and each of the larger remaining farmsteads conduct some sort of local public assembly, to equitably divide those funds ... for the greatest public benefit, I should hope, and not just the largest landowner’s pockets. Any discussions on this matter?”

Lots, as each of the merchants, guild masters, the big landowner, and such, each had minor quibbles about why their own proposed cut of the spoils was inadequate, if not quite an insult to their needs. Ben just smiled and let the debate run in a long endless circle, until it was clear that ‘at least for now’ the proposed loot divisions were at least a fair starting point. Since no one seemed entirely happy about it, the planned division did appear to be quite fair. Besides, as old Dietta laughed, none of them had any of this loot in their hands or pockets yet. Quite true!

Thereafter, the meeting descended into a rumble of minor complaints and half-baked notions, mostly designed to put yet a bit more silver into someone’s pockets, all of which were made note of by Gilgen, but most quite unlikely to be brought up again at the next council meeting. Nearly all of the councilors could see sense that until the bandit peril was reduced, or even eliminated altogether and Baadholt was full of working men and women again with coins in their purses, no new grandiose plans (or open graft) were either practical or feasible. Ben was clarifying this point for the more stubborn members of the council when the door to the meeting hall burst open, and at last the Constable made his overdue appearance ... but he was not alone.