Reluctant Logging
With the Lady's, blessing is the wrong word but apathy works, secured you are free to fulfill your obligations. You have committed to delivering a significant amount of wood to the dwarves in ten weeks, and that starts this week. So, the day after you spoke to the lady, you meet with Saris to begin planning out the initial survey and experimental cutting.
"Tell me Saris." You say as the labourers gather at the edge of the clearing. "How confident are you that your people will be able to perform the task sufficiently?"
"We will, of course, comply with all orders given to us." The elf replies with an obsequious bow. "Our loyalty is beyond question."
You turn the full weight of your gaze upon him. "I am not in the habit of asking questions I do not want the answer to."
Saris licks his lips. "Well, I have never cut down a tree before, but I am certain that with some time and practice we will be more than capable of doing so."
"It is not the felling of the tree that I am concerned with, but rather what happens after the tree is felled." You reply calmly. "Such things are dangerous, more so than those who have lived all their lives in a city realise I suspect."
"You are the expert, my lord." Saris says.
"I have no interest in flattery." You reply. "I know something of this art, but I am hardly an expert."
"As you say." The elf replies.
The first felling takes a great deal of time. You and the other labourers discuss possible options with each other and the one wood cutter you actually have. Unfortunately, he tends to take branches from trees, as cutting a tree down alone can be quite a challenge.
In hindsight, you will admit that there was perhaps more weight given to pride than was wise. You could have chosen a smaller tree and used that. You do not count it against yourself too harshly. The simple fact is that the great ancient trees give the most wood and, while they are the hardest to replace, they are also the most troublesome for farmland.
Still, ropes tied to the tree, careful communication and simply taking your time ensure that there are no unfortunate accidents. However, between the sheer amount of time it took, and the realisation that felling such trees is going to need to be considered carefully due to the difficulty of replacing them, you decide to focus on smaller trees in future.
From there you are consumed by organising a place to keep the logs, dividing saws and workers up in processing the fallen tree. There is a great deal of organising in the simple operation, and it consumes most of that day processing your first tree.
Many people would have become frustrated, but the truth is that you never expected this to be sufficient on its own. The point of this exercise was always to determine what is involved in this operation, and to understand what is needed going forward.
The good news is that it is clearly possible to do this with nothing but unskilled labourers. You cannot make the required amount without hiring additional hands, but it is possible. However, you have also proven to your own satisfaction that this is in fact a complex task, one that might benefit from experts. Then there is the idea of making a farm out of the cleared land, that would require still more hands.
What to do?
Well, there really is not much to consider. You want to achieve two outcomes, clearing the land and creating more farms. Inspired by vague memories of Moryo muttering about 'surge production' and other concepts that you are not versed enough in commerce to understand, you decide to hire some experts.
Doing so will require your personal attention going forward unfortunately, and it is likely to be very expensive. Still, such things will be worth it in the long run. Perhaps, with some luck, you will be able to complete your requirements ahead of schedule.
You are indulging in pointless speculation. With a shake of your head, you turn your attention to more actionable thought. You will need more workers, both to cut the trees and prepare the fields behind you. That means a minimum of twenty workers, since you do not trust yourself to manage the remaining wood with anything less than ten assistants. The other half will have to uproot the stumps, clear the land, check the soil, divide the land into plots.
You have relatively little time in which to do so, thus you wait only as long as it takes to make sure all the workers have actually stopped working, before departing to the local villages.
As the harvest is all but complete, all that remains is sowing and milling, there are a large number of iterant workers who are still in town, but on the verge of departing to other places. This is good fortune for you, because it means that there is, for the first time in a while, a large pool of available recruits to draw from.
Your first targets are, as usual, the elder sections of the young men and women. These are the people who are likely thinking about settling down soon and they are the ones you have the most success in wooing with promises of a stable home. Most are looking for a farm of their own, but there are usually some who are happy to take a steady employment.
When you have spoken to as many of those people as you can manage, you start to ask around the older set. There is nothing strictly wrong with youth, but for a task like this, you would prefer a degree of experience. Specifically, you are asking after anyone with experience in logging.
At first you get an enormous quantity of responses, however you quickly narrow down that most people have cut a tree, usually one that is growing in a field that the owner wished cleared. More serious logging, in deep forests is somewhat rarer.
It is not absent though.
Many who are local have worked in the logging camps around the outskirts of Brecilian, some have even gone deep into its depths to seek truly ancient trees. Few of these more experienced workers are interested in what you offer. They are content with their lives, and with the wandering they partake in.
However, most are wise to the harshness of winter, and none would refuse a last minute wage. It is expensive, hiring them on for the task and little else, but they offer the greatest ability to ensure that your work does not fall behind schedule.
There are two equally valuable courses ahead of you. There is the one where you spend silver like water and hire as many hands as possible to make sure that you get the work on this unpleasant logging business finished as soon as possible. The other option is to hire enough hands to complete the task without any unnecessary bloat.
Regardless of which option you are taking, you will be hiring the young humans who are interested in taking up a position as farmers or permanent wood cutters. Doing so will give you additional food which serves to both feed the army you are growing and the civilians who support them.
Just in time actually, as you are entirely out of surplus capacity with this final recruitment round.
Still, you internally debate the merits of hiring more workers or less for some time. Your time is certainly valuable, and you will be forced to spend it babysitting the iterant workers. Several people who overheard your conversation observe that they will absolutely draw out the work if they can. Others claim that all iterant workers are shiftless and require constant supervision.
Even taking care not to place too much stock in such obviously biased accounts, it certainly indicates that your personal supervision will be required. Thus, the argument for getting as much done in as little time as possible, hiring the largest number of workers.
The counterpoint to this argument is the simple fact that with your food now fully consumed, you have relatively little flexibility in your budget. Hiring additional workers is very expensive, costing more than you pay your officers, which means that you will need to find more silver to pay them.
Eventually, your caution wins out. As tempting as it is to push through this task as quickly as possible, you dislike the idea of putting yourself so far out of your 'safe zone'. The option with the lower costs is what you choose.
Of course, it is not so simple as making a decision and informing all and sundry, at least not anymore. Truly, you miss being a prince, it made your life much easier. Instead, you go about the groups within the tavern, speaking to workers, haggling and generally establishing when they are available to work and weeding out those trying to charge more than you are willing to pay.
Then comes the inevitable logistics. When are the workers to assemble? Where should they do so? Is accommodation available? So many questions that need answering. Admittedly, you hardly find the matter as tedious as many of your kin, but even you cannot deny it is time consuming.
After that, you have to speak to those who indicated that they are willing to join you at Endataurëo. They need their own logistical considerations. They wish to know where to go, you need to know what they are brining. You have to answer questions such as 'can I bring my parents?' 'can I bring my dog?' 'are you a wizard?' and other such things.
Ultimately it takes you the rest of the day just to lay the groundwork that will make up next week's tasks.
Watchful Gaze
After your work ensuring that you will not fail to supply the promised quantities of wood to the dwarves, you return to the Chasind to make sure that nothing is going wrong with them.
You ride straight to the clearing where you had seen the warriors training. You find them there, listening to Cocycus. Fortunately, you see nothing like the strife from previous week. Cocycus seems to have continued your policy of breaking up the clans, unless you are misremembering faces.
You stop outside the clearing and manage to pass unnoticed during your observation. There does seem to be some friction still, muttered insults, too soft for Cocycus' human ears, reaching you. You note the faces of those who cause the most trouble, in case you need to intervene.
Fortunately, that does not become the case, as the insults are soon shushed by others around those involved. You are not naïve enough to believe this is due to some disapproval of the insults but are content that the threat of punishment keeps things in abeyance for now.
Concycus is teaching them much of his style of light infantry warfare. This seems to be a lecture on tactics at a rather low level, which interests you. Light infantry, due to the ease of equipping such forces, are incredibly varied in their disposition.
The Tevinter mercenary seems to envision them as highly independent skirmish warriors. Throwing weapons to disrupt heavier formations and retiring to favourable ground rather than standing and fighting. It is a natural fit for the Chasind, who have a similar style of engagement due to the nature of their homeland.
It is an interesting exercise to attempt to fit the Chasind into the Noldorin hosts of Beleriand. Most humans had quickly adopted your focus on heavy infantry and archers, with cavalry acting as the prestige unit when funds were available. Thus, archers or light cavalry tended to be moved into a number of the roles that Cocycus is referring to.
Scouts, harassment elements, screening elements, the warriors who hold broken ground, all archers or light cavalry. It is likely where the tradition of the ranger was born, now that you think about it. Though it also owes much to the tradition of Oromë trained huntsmen who acted as scouts for your forces.
As interesting as that topic is, you put it aside and focus back on the reason you have come here. You could continue to watch the warriors, perhaps even involving yourself with their training, to teach and learn in equal measure.
Yet, you had done so last week, perhaps it might be better to pay some attention to the parts of the clan that aren't warriors. Perhaps it might even serve to help bring the clans together if you can have them interact without the most belligerent of their members.
Or perhaps the warriors will be more moderate due to the shared experience of battle, such things are impossible to predict.
Still, you must make a decision.
For several minutes, perhaps as much as a half hour, you watch the warriors silently. You have no particular interest in joining or assisting their training, the whole purpose of employing Cocycus was that you would not need to do so. Still, you do not want to leave until you are certain that there will be no new flare of the tensions between the clans.
When your silent vigil ends, you turn Orundómë towards the villages. Though the thought of checking on the Chasind's agriculture has occurred to you, ultimately you dismissed it. Instead, you think it will benefit the Chasind most if they are brought into the trade network you have created.
The first challenge you face is finding someone in Velkind's tribe you can speak to. The chief himself is obviously with his warriors, and finding out if he has an advisor requires more complex words than most of the Chasind are capable of.
"I am looking for a chief's helper." You say slowly. "Someone who tells him ideas that might help the clan."
The woman you are speaking to frowns. "You wanting chief wive?"
"No, I am…" You pause, thinking. "Actually, if the chief does have a wife that would be perfect."
In Velkind's house is a young woman, one you vaguely recognise. You have not seen her at the Chasind chief's side before, so you assume their marriage is relatively new. She is a solid woman, broad of shoulder with short hair and a fierce gaze.
"Greetings, my lady, might I know your name?" You ask.
"Am Jezzail." The woman says. "You talk to want, Brightstar?"
"As a matter of fact, I would like to discuss the possibility of allowing your merchants to engage with the trade routes I have constructed." You state.
The woman hesitates for a long moment, before confessing with some embarrassment, "I not understand, Brightstar."
Explaining the concept of trade was a challenge, explaining that you have a number of people who engage in the practice regularly was also a challenge. Fortunately, your worst fears do not come to pass. Trade is practiced among the Chasind, unfortunately it is a largely opportunistic affair.
The clans rarely meet and when they do trade and war are approximately equally likely. There are individuals who take a risk in travelling a great distance to trade what their clan produces for what it does not. This mostly takes the form of raw materials such as trading hide or herbs for iron.
The core of the matter is that there is no established merchant tradition for you to access. Without a practice of dedicated merchants then there is likely to be no regular participation in the irregular hexagon of trade, which is pentagon again without Lanaya you suppose.
Between the language barrier and your unwillingness to appear to be bullying the relatively inexperienced woman, it is all but impossible to convince the Chasind to start the practice. Still, you do manage to explain that trade is much more common among the locals and explain that you guarantee the safety of the merchants while they are within your domain.
The only question remaining is if you are satisfied with what you have accomplished. You cannot wait for Velkind's return as you still need to speak to Thea, but perhaps you can achieve something else.
After some deliberation you ask, "If I were to send merchants, would your people purchase items?"
"I, uh, purchase Brightstar?" The young woman replies.
"Would trade one thing for a different thing." You explain.
The woman is silent for a time, mouthing your words to herself as she slowly figures out what they mean. Patiently, you wait until she replies, not wanting to pressure or rush her.
"I thinking yesbutno? Being word?" Jezzail says cautiously.
"Do you mean maybe?" You supply.
"Being maybe, yes. What things bringing, maybe." She says happily.
"What do you want?" You ask.
The woman tries to explain but fails. Fortunately, before you can cause both of you frustration by listing things on the off chance she might recognise one, she grabs your hand and takes you away.
She leads you to a storehouse, and she starts pointing at various items, listing the Chasind word for them proudly. Idly you take stock of the terms, to inform your merchants of them later, but your focus is on what they have and what they do not.
What they have is very similar to what the Dalish produce. They have meat, and fur as well as some vegetables, berries and produce. How much comes from foraging and how much from farming you are not certain. There are even some medicinal herbs.
What they do not have, and what you suspect Jezzail is trying to say given the way she is waving an axe around like a madwoman, is metal. She might also be trying to say they need wood, but given they are currently situated in the middle of a forest, you doubt that.
Other things they could use is cloth, mostly for bandages, but also for clothes more suitable to warm weather. Given the number of weavers and seamstresses you have seen in the village, you suspect they could also use raw materials they could use to make cloth.
The final thing that Jezzail stresses is the herbs. She points at them fiercely several times, repeating the chasind word 'læcecæft'. You point back at it and repeat the word.
Jezzail shakes her head. "Māra læcecæft."
It takes a bit of gesturing before you get the exact problem she has. In hindsight it is obvious. They have some, but they want more, especially since they are reasonably sure you are going to lead them to a war sooner or later.
"Very well, I will inform my merchants of your needs, and I am certain they will look into the possibility of trading with your people." You inform the chieftain's wife.
After you have explained yourself once more in simpler terms, you head to Thea's tribe. With your new list of words, you quickly establish what they need. Incidentally, they are in far greater need of food, due to the loss of their warriors who are the traditional hunters. The upside of course is they do not need as much medicine.
From there you return to Endataurëo to speak to your merchants. They are currently out, so you take some time to go over your correspondence and speak to the various workers about how they are performing.
When they return you seek out Marin's assistant, the elf Delora.
"You wanted to speak to me, boss?" The elf asks nervously.
"Yes, I have spoken to the Chasind about potentially opening up a trade route with them. As such, I have a list of goods they require." You inform her.
Delora blinks in confusion, then visibly relaxes. "Right, sure thing boss. Lay it on me."
You explain the matter to her, including the detail that they will likely be bartering due to the lack of currency among their people. From there the conversation drifts into the logistics of the matter, what could be acquired and what you even want from the Chasind.
Dalish Friendship
Merrill and Lanaya had met at an Arlathvhen, as new firsts. They had bonded over their shared trials and the sheer weight of their responsibilities. It was, Merrill thinks, something of a common experience among mages. It was hard for people who do not have the talent to really understand what it meant to live with magic, so they tend to seek each other out.
They hadn't grown up together, Arlathvhens were once in a decade affairs, but they were still friends. They'd spend time apart coming up with ways to stay in communication or to create something to show each other. In the end, they had only really met twice at those gatherings.
They've grown closer of late, since they were in the same area. Yet now that Lanaya was a Keeper, there was a slowly growing distance between them. Partly Merrill's fault admittedly, she is concealing possibly the most important revelation any Dalish could have from her friend, but also due to Lanaya changing.
Now, her friend had officially cut ties with Nelyafinwë, and Merrill is concerned. Lanaya isn't what she'd call impulsive, and wasn't even before her new condition had left her redefining what that term means in regards to her people. What's going on? She needs to know.
Hence, why she is riding Dal'banal'ras to the clan her friend now leads. She's welcomed reasonably warmly, which is also concerning. Even the faint flickers of suspicion and reserve from her kin feel like personal attacks. She's not quite sure whether or not they were always there and she only sees them now or if something's changed.
Lanaya does not see her immediately, which is strange. She had let her friend know that she would be visiting, made sure that the time wasn't filled by something else. Perhaps something came up suddenly?
Merrill chews her lip in worry as the minutes slip by.
Eventually Lanaya enters, she's putting on what the two had termed 'keeper face' in their youth, a mask that the person in question knows what they're doing and isn't panicking inside.
Merrill smiles broadly and springs to her feet.
"Lanaya! It's so good to see you!" She exclaims, breaking into a wide beaming smile.
She can't help it, the overwhelming feeling of warmth, of connection is more than she can keep a lid on. Whatever may have changed, Lanaya is still her friend.
She wraps the taller elf in a hug, to the clear surprise of the recipient. It stings a little, why on earth wouldn't she embrace Lanaya?
She here's a quiet exhalation, and the hug is returned. "It's good to see you too Merrill. It's been too long."
They separate, and Merrill frowns. "It hasn't been that long, we saw each other at the Keeper's gathering."
Lanaya blinks a few times. "We did, didn't we. I don't think we got much time to talk though."
"Well, no." Merrill admits. "But that's fine, you're a new Keeper, it only make sense you're super busy."
Lanaya's face twists into several expressions one after the other. Merrill can't identify any of them. Not for the first time she wishes people had a sign above their heads displaying their emotions.
"I, yes, I have been." Lanaya says, looking at Merrill. "But I have time now, time to make up for missed opportunities. What do you want to talk about?"
"Well, I guess I wanted to know how you've been?" Merrill asks. "It's been ages since we talked and being a Keeper's pretty hard, so I guess we could talk about that?"
Lanaya chuckles. "Oh Merrill, you really never change, do you?"
"I think I'm pretty different." Merrill says defensively.
"I'll take your word for it." Lanaya replies cheerfully. "How have I been? Hmmm, I've been alright, I guess. It's a big change, lots of things to do. Some days I feel like I'm completely out of my depth and just floundering about."
"I feel that way too." Merrill agrees. "It's like every day has some completely new problem that I've never seen before and was never prepared for."
Merrill notices some emotion flash across her friend's face, but it's gone before she can identify it.
"Yes, exactly." Lanaya says agreeably. "Some days I wish Zathrien was still here, I'm not sure what exactly he'd do I can't, but I still feel like he'd know the answer."
"I guess people always feel that way about their teachers." Merrill says carefully. "No matter what else we might think about them."
Lanaya smiles wanly. "Yeah. I, I'm still not sure how to feel about, well, everything. I guess, he'll always be the one who saved me from the bandits."
Merrill doesn't know what to say in response to that. Silently, she wracks her brain for a different topic to discuss.
"How's being a keeper?" She asks. "I know you're really busy, but why?"
"None of your business!" Lanaya snaps.
Merrill flinches, immediately, Lanaya's face takes on a horrified cast, and she rushes to apologise.
"No. I'm sorry." She says. "I didn't mean to snap at you, it's just. I'm tired, and sick of having to answer nosey questions. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."
Merrill frowns. "Are you sure you're ok?"
"Of course." Lanaya laughs bitterly. "I'm great. Top of the world."
"Lanaya. What's wrong?" Merrill asks. "You're not usually like this, and the whole clan seems on edge."
"It's internal business, nothing for you to worry about." Lanaya says weakly.
"It doesn't matter if I shouldn't worry about it!" Merrill exclaims. "You're my friend! You've been distant and you seem so tired. I want to help! Or listen to you complain or something, anything. Isn't that what friends do?"
Lanaya meets Merrill's gaze for several long seconds, then shakes her head with a sigh.
"I guess I was wrong. You really have changed." She says tiredly.
Merrill frowns and is about to continue her plea to her friend when Lanaya speaks again.
"It's a lot of things really." Lanaya looks down at her hands. "Becoming Keeper isn't easy, but I'm not helping myself."
"Well, what's the problem, I'm sure if we put our heads together we can think of a solution." Merrill says with confidence she doesn't feel.
Lanaya smiles. "Well, the trouble is that I've decided to push for the Dalish to actually do things together. It's not easy, there's constant ego stroking and staunch traditionalists with their braids in a bunch. On top of that, while I may have been ready for the role, being a new Keeper takes more work than an established one."
"Well, maybe I can help." Merrill offers. "I can ask Marethari some questions for you, if you want? Oh, or I bet … Never mind."
Lanaya shakes her head. "Thanks Merrill, but Marethari isn't exactly a diplomat, and most of the Keeper stuff is just work that needs doing. Not something I need advice on exactly, it's just time consuming."
"Well, I know you don't exactly get on right now, but if you needed diplomatic help…" Merrill trails off, unwilling to bring up Nelyafinwë.
Lanaya clearly understands what she's referencing though. "He's part of the problem. Bad enough he's brought humans into the centre of this wood, putting down structures and preparing it to become yet another part of Ferelden, but worse he's constantly sticking his nose into our affairs."
"He's not like that, he isn't even human!" Merrill protests. "He's trying to help, and if you had a problem with what he's doing I'm sure he'd stop if you asked him to, or at least talk to you about it."
"Why are you even taking his side?" Lanaya asks incredulously. "He's an outsider, even if he isn't human, yet you and Marethari are happy to tell him ever single secret if he just asks!"
"Do you even hear yourself?" Merrill asks. "That's the exact kind of thing the Traditionalists are always saying. 'We can't trust outsiders' 'the only people we should listen to are those in your own clan'. It's exactly the same kind of reasoning.
"I am not a traditionalist!" Lanaya snaps. "I'm trying to move our people forward, to a new future."
"Then why are you so suspicious of outsiders? Why reject their help out of hand?" Merrill presses.
"We can't be relying on those who aren't Dalish to decide our fates!" Lanaya proclaims. "Too long have we been at the mercy of others. Our lives depending on being too difficult to kill, so nobody bothers. We can't build a future for ourselves if we rely on those who aren't us."
Merrill takes a moment to calm herself before continuing. "Even if we accept that, we can't rely on just ourselves. There is going to have to be some cooperation, between clans at the very least."
"Of course. That's why I proposed the merging of clans, or failing that some kind of centralised leadership that might actually see us reclaiming the Dales instead of dying slowly." Lanaya says bitterly.
"Right, right, ok. So, I guess the question I have is how is that different from letting an outsider help us?" Merrill asks. "I mean, I know we don't talk about it much, but all the clans have slightly different traditions, so they're still getting diluted if we're all gathering together."
"Do you truly take me for a traditionalist?" Lanaya arches an eyebrow. "It's not that I fear the deterioration of our stagnant traditions; it's the agendas of those who offer their aid I fear. Outsiders always want something; they only ever plan to use the Dalish to their own ends. We can't trust them, at least all the Dalish work towards the same goal."
"I don't think that's true at all." Merrill protests. "I mean, different clans have different priorities. I know that Marethari was always about just keeping our clan alive. She was always warning me against doing too much research in case I got possessed."
Merrill shudders as memories of her brief possession flood back in a sudden wave. Perhaps her Keeper had a point about that.
"And, and Zathrien was…" Merrill continues.
"Don't bring him up." Lanaya hisses. "You don't get to use him in this."
"I'm just pointing out that he had different priorities, he had an agenda. You know he did!" Merrill exclaims.
"That has no bearing on this conversation." Lanaya snaps.
"What about all those clans that are basically just bandits? Do you think they're 'working towards the same goal' as you?" Merrill asks pointedly.
"That's human propaganda. Dalish clans are not bandits!" Lanaya argues.
"How would you know?" Merrill exclaims. "You've only left this forest once in your whole life!"
Lanaya flinches, then her expression turns furious. "Perhaps you've forgotten, but I've travelled plenty. And I've seen real bandits."
Merrill was jolted out of her anger. "I didn't , I wasn't… I just meant that."
"It's fine." Lanaya says tightly. "Let's just change the subject."
"Can, I, I have one last thing to say, then we can stop?" Merrill offers nervously.
"Fine." Lanaya sighs. "Make it quick."
"Ok, what I was going to say is that even if we accept that most outsiders have ulterior motives, I don't think Nelyafinwë does. He's just kind of, helpful I guess." Merrill says.
"Oh? What makes you so certain Merrill?" Lanaya asks. "After all, you're not exactly a people person, maybe you're just being taken for a ride by a silver tongued con man."
The Sabrae First takes several deep breaths, and debates her words with herself one last time. She wants to make sure that she wins this argument, and she knows how. They've been keeping it a secret, but they've got a pretty good start on the process, and she can say it's still in development.
With one last fortifying breath, Merrill says. "He helped me find a way to get back our immortality."
Lanaya's face flashes through a vast multitude of emotions, before settling on seething rage.
"Get out." The Keeper says.
"Lanaya." Merrill begins.
"No. Out, or I will have you thrown out." The other elf says, knuckles white on her staff.
As Merrill slowly walks off, she hears Lanaya mutter, "I thought better of you Merrill. I really did."