Chapter 5 – Acquiring Land

Author: J. Arque

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Exton, 29th Late Winter, Markadia Calendar

After we settled some of those People and Horses in Karling's empty house, both Reandra and Chaeryn started to clean up the dust, spider webs and dead rats that could be discovered inside the house. The house itself were unfurnished since lots of Karling's stuff was sold to some traveling peddlers by Bob a few years back. Meanwhile, Danzael, Lando, and Edmene would stay at Xander's house with the slaves.

Since Bob and Pateyk had bought some foodstuffs from Trakken, Bob and I had to share a bit of it with them. It wasn't much but at least it was enough to keep them alive until the next harvest. It was necessary but still it was expenditure from my own personal coins nonetheless.

When Bob and I rode back to our house, I inquired about how much coins we had left.

"I don't know, 'ere is the pouch, keep it, all the coins left in there," he said as he threw a leather pouch to me who sat at his back without even turned his own head.

I took the leather pouch and looked at the coins left in there, there are 3 gold coins with a boat of Markay and the younger face of the current Old King of Markadia, Horath, stamped on each side, this denomination was called a Krabel which valued as 100,000 Strung. There are other 12 thumb-sized coins made of silver but instead, this one had Iene's clover and a face that I couldn't recognize on the other side. This one was called a Tran which valued as 500 Strung.

"3 Krabels and 12 Trans, so 306,000 Strung" I concluded. I strapped the pouch with a string and attached it to my leather belt.

"Did you just threw 306,000 Strung to me like it was nothing?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Hahaha, I know right? I am like those aristocrats"

"Yeah, just a few days ago, you could only get around 300 Strung worth of food in a month from Chief Wilmot"

"Hahaha, we are rich Karl! With all those coins ye could free ol' man Wilmot from his position and become the chief yerself. He has tried to sell his land for years but nobody wants it"

I surely had a plan to become the chief of Exton in the future since it would be easier to expand my business here if I also became the authority of this place.

But it didn't sit well with me that an 8 years old suddenly replaced a 70 years old man from the chief position. I knew my mental age was more or less same as Wilmot, but other people would only see me as an 8 years old.

"How about you, Uncle Bob? Do you want to be the chief?" I proposed since it was acceptable as long as the one I could control was the one that in power.

"Me? Chief? Hahaha no Boy, now that we 'ave all those ores, I will be forging happily all the time! I don't have time to be a chief"

His reply wasn't a surprise considering the fact that I had never seen a man with more passion in smithery than Boban in my two lifetimes. He literally could get high by sniffing the iron dust. The way he worked with the crucible steel a few days ago showed me that he was a quite decent smith and could be regarded as a pro in the modern time Earth. Sadly, it wasn't enough for him to acquire the membership of the blacksmith's guild.

I guessed it was not because he wasn't talented enough but rather he didn't have enough resource to train his craft. While Blacksmith profession was not an expensive career compared to a sculptor or an alchemist, but it wasn't cheap either. Especially for a man whose parents only a farmer from a small village like Exton. Karl's late grandfather from his mother side, Bregel, even sold half of his land to paid Bob's expense while in Trakken.

Now that he had more ores than he could ever dream of having, he should be drowned in ecstasy. No wonder he wore that smug since I saw him arrived in Exton. It was a good thing since I was getting tired with his broody and dark mood after a few days living with him.

"But I am too young!" I stated.

"Hells with that! Ye should know that a lot of villages out there had a child, a woman, or even a paralyzed man as a chief, nobody would bother as long as ye have the largest land"

"How about the royals in the capital?"

"Hah! They wouldn't care… last time when ye wasn't even born from Tatia, Janna's husband, Wilson, became a chief at nine when Ol' man Wilmot suddenly fell ill. But nobody seemed to care about it"

I recalled in Karl's memories, his aunt Janna's husband, Wilson, was quite young when he was killed by Red Swamps after several years being the chief of Exton. He was even younger than Xander. So it was possible that Wilson was very young when he succeeded his father, Wilmot.

But the problem was, Wilson himself was quite popular in the village while Karl wasn't. Karl could be considered as a loner and only played with a foreign girl, Natasha, which wasn't a weird thing since all the children in Exton either a lot older or a lot younger than Karl.

It added to the fact that Karl never greeted or showed respect to the older person while he was alive was really concerning to me. I wasn't sure whether they would accept me as a new chief. But I knew they couldn't do anything to prevent me being a chief as long as I have the largest land in Exton. And besides, I should have known that respect was not given but had to be earned. I couldn't expect them to suddenly accept me as a chief.

While getting accepted was important to my plan, but the importance of being in power preceded it. With Chief position, I could easily turn this village into a proper operation base of my future company.

Exton, especially millions of acres of the Great Extonian Forest had tons of resources that I could turn into money making machine. The location of Exton was right in the heart of the dense Great Extonian Forest also made it difficult to attack, but only if this village had equipped with proper wall and troops.

"Okay, then why don't we go to Old man Wilmot now to talk?" I said.

It was still afternoon after we settled Antonei and co. and even though the village already seemed empty but I knew most of the villager stayed at their house to prepare the night. In Exton, it was a normal custom in winter to sleep as soon as the sun had set. Since it was still bright, I was sure Chief Wilmot still awake.

"Eh? Now? Sure" Bob turned the horse towards Chief Wilmot's house near the river.

As soon as we arrived at Wilmot's house, we saw two young men sitting in the front of a large hearth fire at the hall of the house. These two young men were Kante and Jamey who were both orphans that raised by Wilmot when all their family wiped out by the Red Swamps. Both of them worked at Wilmot's land with two other men -Weldan and Storn- since the 70-year-old Wilmot would certainly find it difficult to cultivate his land by himself now that he was old and all his direct relatives were gone.

When Kante and Jamey heard us enter the house, Kante said "Oh, Bob! Karl! It is rare for you to come here"

"Ei, Kante, Jamey, is Ol' man 'ere?" Bob asked.

Jamey nodded "Yea, Chief just got back from outside, sit here while I got him, he must be in his room right now"

"Thank you, Jamey," I said.

"Nah, just sit here with the fire and don't let Kante take my good seat"

"No problem!" I immediately sat at Jamey's previous position. The heat from the large hearth was really effective to shield me from a chilling winter breeze. I should probably build a large hearth like this one in my own place later until I could have a proper heating system that more economical.

Wanted to break the silence, Kante asked: "So Bob, I heard you left the village few days ago?"

"Yea, I left to Trakken to do some business"

"Oh! what kind of business?"

I interjected, "That's what we are going to talk to Old man Wilmot. Does Old man Wilmot still intend to sell his lands?"

"Of course, four of us could only work 30 hekas each, the other 480 hekas, left fallow since Brother Wilson and others died"

I still found it difficult to used the Rohrkadian measurement units. But I knew at least that a Heka was about half an acre. So 480 hekas was more or less 240 acres.

There was no exact value to a heka because it depends on the speaker approximation. And it would be thousands of years if I had to wait for someone to standardized the whole measurement system. So it was all down to me to standardized all this mess. Whether I would introduce the same standard units that used on Earth or standardized the whole current system, was still a conundrum for me. It was not easy as you might think to introduce the Earth's SI units here since I couldn't measure a meter or a gram in a really precise manner when I didn't have a calibrated scale or a ruler. I remembered lots of constants like the speed of light, a weight of a hydrogen atom, Planck constant, Avogadro constant, and so on. But it would be meaningless if I had to invent a whole measurement system from scratch. I could probably get a meter if I could measure the length of a light traveled in a vacuum for 1/299,792,458 second, but how in hells could I do that? I couldn't even get an exact second in this place since I wasn't sure whether a day here would be equal to 86,400 seconds. The only possible way I could think of to get a second and a meter was to measure the atomic resonance of the cesium-133.

I didn't know the other way to get a meter or a gram on this planet. Maybe some of my friends on earth could find a way to solve my problems but sadly I couldn't contact any of them now.

Just when Kante finished his words and I finished my thoughts; Chief Wilmot and Jamey appeared from the back entrance.

Chief Wilmot looked old, I mean really old. I also lived through my seventy back on Earth but I didn't look as old as him. Not that frail at least. Wilmot was short and his back bend to an angle that I couldn't believe it was possible.

"Oh! Bob! Karl! What a pleasant surprise" Chief Wilmot said with a smile.

"Hi Ol' man"

"Hi Chief," I said.

"I am sorry if I look really tired since I just got back from Wilson and your aunt Janna's grave," said Chief Wilmot to me.

I could easily see peace in his eyes, even though there was a bit of sadness and despair in it.

This had struck me to the core.

This old man literally had buried all his family, his hope, his future in a grave that should have been his own. However, there were no vengeance, hate, or even contempt that I could sense from his solitary gaze. I asked myself 'how could he endure all that misery?'.

Wise was the perfect word to describe this old man. I immediately felt inferior even though I had lived with a similar duration like him but I didn't know why couldn't I be like him.

At that moment, I didn't know that question would haunt me for dozens of years in the future.

Meanwhile, Boban started to talk "Ol' man, we come 'ere to buy yer land"

Wilmot's eyes widened, but he replied with his usual calmness, "Oh really? that is wonderful Bob, how much do you want to buy?"

"All of them if possible Chief," I said.

"All? You mean all 600 hekas?" He couldn't hide his disbelief.

"Of course, only if you give us appropriate price Chief" I nodded.

Jamey said, "Gods! I heard from the others you left the village for several days, Bob! Did you get yourself some relics or magical artifacts in your journey?"

"Well, sort of, but not me, it is all Karl's doing"

"Hey, you are in it too, Uncle!" I shot a glance toward Bob then turned my attention back to Jamey, "Yes, but I can't speak about the detail now. The important thing is now that we have some little coins on us, we want to buy more land to grow more food"

Wilmot still couldn't believe what he just heard but he started to back to his calmness, "But are you sure Karl? With enough coins, you could buy more fertile lands far north near the capital rather than here"

I knew he was partly right but the closer we were to the capital the more the nobles and royals gave unnecessary attention toward us. And more attentions often meant more troubles. But what Wilmot didn't know was that the lower soil in Exton or even the entire Great Forest were more fertile than the one in the northern Markadia. If that wasn't the case then how could the entire area filled with deep-rooted trees such as pines, spruces, and firs?

What people in Exton used until now to cultivate crops was the topmost and less fertile layer of the soil so it was natural for them to yield fewer bushels per acreage compared to the northern land.

The lower more fertile soil would only need to be lifted to the surface using a steel mouldboard in a plow. I hadn't decided on what type of plow should I make before the planting season but at least I already got the gist of it.

I nodded at Wilmot question, "I am sure Chief, now it is up to you how much heka you want to sell"

Wilmot thought for a while as he kept stroking his white beard, "How about 500 hekas for 100,000? I have a plan to give Kante and his brothers, 25 hekas each when I died"

So I would pay 400 Strung per acre. It was not a bad deal actually, but now that I had more manpower with our 12 freshly bought slaves, I would need around 320 acres or 720 hekas if each slave cultivates 60 hekas.

"If you worried about Kante and his brothers, what if I bought all of your 600 Hekas for 100,000 but I will pay Kante and his brothers to work for me from now on. I will pay them 10,000 Strung each year regardless of the harvest yield that year"

Both Kante and Jamey jaw-dropped as soon as I said 10,000 each year. It meant that they would get more than 800 a month. Only someone from Ramphil caste in a town or a city would have an income more than 500 a month. As orphans from Tanne caste that had depended on Wilmot's kindness for most of their life, they would never even dream of receiving that kind of money.

"Swear to Gods you are not joking Karl!" demanded Kante.

I put my right hand on top of my heart as I said, "I swear to Gods! Mandhala, Safera, and Azai that I am not joking"

Wilmot smiled when he saw his adopted sons' reaction "Well, it is fine with me if these kids agree to it"

Jamey nodded and stood up, "Let me get Weldan and Storn"

When Jamey left the room, Kante asked Bob, "So you are going to be the next Chief huh?"

Bob shook his head, "Nah, I can't but Karl will"

Kante nodded, "Well, that should not be a problem right, Chief? I remembered Brother Wilson took the chief hood when he was nine"

Wilmot only replied Kante with a huge smile as he stroked his long white beard.

When Weldan and Storn heard about my proposal, they immediately agreed. All of these four brothers were quite strong if I used Exton's villager as a standard. Especially Kante, the 22-year-old had large built despite the lack of nutrition on their daily food intake.

I already had a plan for these four people to mentor the 12 young slaves while working on the field. Even if the tools and method that I would introduce to them would require a new set of skill, these four brothers' knowledge and experience on how to cultivate the land in this area would be really useful for us.

Bob and I finalized the land purchase with a handshake and oaths from both parties. I gave Wilmot a Krabel from the pouch and he gave us an old parchment; The proof of the land ownership. This old parchment probably made a couple of hundred years ago when Markadia first claimed the Great Forest.

When the four brothers discuss their future employment with me, Wilmot went to his room then back to the hall with a single parchment, a quail pen, and an ink. I saw him writing something on the parchment but I couldn't recognize the characters he used.

"What is that chief?" I asked.

"This one will be the proof of your land ownership so King and Royals can be informed about my retirement and you become Wilson's successor"

"So, you really don't mind if I become Uncle Wilson's successor, Chief?" I asked.

"Of course not, you would be a great Chief, Karl," Wilmot said as if it was nothing.

I still couldn't believe how easy these people accept me as their new Chief, especially Wilmot whose family had become the ruler of Exton for generations. I already expected some opposition or disagreement toward my ascension to the chief hood. I even prepared some plots and underhanded tricks for those who tried to oppose me but so far these five people, no one even question my credibility. I had this restlessness in my head when everything was going too easy according to my plan.

I couldn't take it anymore so I asked "Why Chief? I know even though your daughter-in-law is my late aunt Janna, but you don't know me really well. And I am not a well-liked child in the village, Why do you think I would make a great chief?"

He smiled to me, "You might not know, but I have seen you since you are little Karl and I know something has changed inside your heart when I saw you today"

"Change?" Bob and the four brothers also curious about that matter.

Wilmot slowly nodded and looked straight into my eyes "I could sense it in your eyes when you tried to probe me a while ago"

I was shaken. Nobody ever caught me probing them like this before.

"I've never seen a gaze like that again since forty-five years ago," he continued, "I was really young when I traveled to Capital for the new king election. But I remembered clearly the scene in the throne room. I was fully clothed but I have never felt so naked before. The eyes that could detect person's deepest emotion and ambition, the eyes of his highness King Darsus"

My eyes widened when I heard Wilmot mentioned King Darsus, uncle to the current King of Markadia, Horath. Darsus' name was legendary in the entire peninsula. He and King Tarlagh of Banthage were the heroes of Vajo-Rohrkadia War. Especially Darsus who was known to be invincible at naval battle with his battle fleets. Some people in Markadia even believed Darsus was an avatar of Markay which was the ancient deity of southern people.

After Wilmot finished his words, no one in the room said anything. Kante and his brothers' eyes looked straight at my direction while Bob only dropped his jaw.

Wilmot said, "I believe you have what it takes to be a great Chief, Karl. And I know you know it too"

I could only nod to his remarks.

Bob and I stayed to talk with them until the sun had set. Wilmot told me that I really need to learn how to read and write in order to write a yearly report and tax letter to the capital. He also told me about the responsibilities and privileges of being a Village's Chief in Markadia.

Some of the responsibilities were being a state law enforcer, a provider for militias, and tax collector for the state. While some of the privileges were being able to elect a new king from 5 large factions of Royals, ability to open a new land, and I didn't have to get permission to built new buildings inside of the village.

The ability to open new land and build a new building without permission were the things that made Chief position really desirable in my opinion. Exton would surely expand in the future and such expansion would require me to open new lands in Ramswood, Norwood, and Blakewood. While in the village, I could build various facilities and factories for my enterprise.

"In each village and towns, there is a tradition to have a Ring of Chief to symbolize the status of a chief" Wilmot took out a ring from a small wooden box, "This Chief's Ring was made by my grandfather. Usually, it made of Gold but we don't have enough coins to forge a Gold ring, so he made it using a green stone he found while he was strolling in the riverbed"

When I looked at the ring, I recognized the green stone was called Jade stone on Earth. It was a simple jade ring with Rohrkish characters engraved on it -probably Exton- yet I felt something peculiar about this ring.

I took the ring from Wilmot and tried it in each of my fingers but none of them fit. So I just put it in my leather pouch with the rest of the coins. I would wear the ring as a necklace when I had a string to tied it to my neck.

"Tomorrow afternoon we will gather all the villagers here to announce your ascension and also to let them hear your oath as a new chief" Wilmot reminded me.

I nodded and then looked at Bob, "Uncle Bob, we probably need to get home now, Yolanda and Natasha should be waiting for us"