The next morning, I was up early. I was hoping to see the count today and take off. After breakfast, I got my daily report from Benjamin.

"So we have found suppliers for most of the goods we need, but prices are rising. It is harder to negotiate with merchants. I don't know what gave our position away as urgent. Maybe it was the quantity we were buying or our time frame. It might even be that they heard you were making a lot of money, so they are trying to squeeze as much as they can out of you." Benjamin said in an annoyed tone.

"Are you sure it is not a supply-and-demand issue? Are we taking too much from the market?" I asked.

"No, they are just greedy. I warned them that if they did not start being reasonable, we wouldn't do business with them in the future. It helped a little, but we don't do enough business with them that they would be concerned."

"Well, we shouldn't need as much ever again, so just make note of who we will not be dealing with in the future," I said.

"Yes, my lord. Also, I received a letter last night while you were away. The four hundred new people should arrive late tomorrow or the next day. I recommend waiting until they arrive before departing."

"Good. I wanted to see them before we left, but I wasn't going to wait around if it was going to hold things up too much."

As we were talking, a messenger came. It was an invitation from the count to visit him. I was to come at two bells past noon. Speaking of bells, I purchased one thing that was completely unnecessary: a large brass bell to ring in the square of Bicman village. It was nothing like the huge church bells you see, but the sound would carry to the manor on the hill.

Why not put it at the manor, you say? I didn't want a bell going off right over my head if I was trying to take a nap. I used the possibility of a battle as an excuse for the purchase. You know, an alarm bell.

So, after painting one last piece of art, which I was leaving for the family who owned the house, I headed to the count's castle.

I was ushered into the count's office as soon as I arrived. Once again, both the count and Casper were waiting for me. The count looked more serious than usual, and that was saying something.

He started right in, "Casper says you are claiming to be able to create miracles." He made it sound like an accusation.

Benjamin trained me for this. The count was trying to put me on the defensive. Sneaky nobles and their games. "I will assume we are speaking of the Bicman plow. And yes, the results we have seen so far this year have been very impressive. We are planning on using the plows on all our fields this year, and if the results are the same, we will be able to prepare the fields in half the time. And even if we didn't expand the amount of fields, we would still have spare grain."

"And why was this not reported earlier? I understand you hid it from Mathew. Why?"

"Because I was not done testing it. I could not verify that it increased crop yield."

"But the fact that it can plow the fields quicker was already verified and would have been enough to be considered a success."

"But what if the churning of the soil had a negative impact on crop production? I needed to finish the experiment."

"You are making up excuses." He said sternly.

I kept silent.

He gave a quiet harumph. "Very well, I understand that Fredrick has been counseling you on this matter and believes you should request another barony upon the report being verified. I agree, but the reward will not come from me. It will come from the king."

I tried to keep the surprise off my face as he continued.

"You are probably aware that the kingdom is divided at the time. Many people are upset, and the king's political opponents are preparing to make a move. With his support eroding, he needs something to bolster the people's faith in him and help him gather supporters. Therefore, I am bringing this invention to the king. The plow is now an invention of the king's scholars, who were tasked with developing a way to increase the prosperity of our kingdom. If you agree to keep your silence, I can guarantee you two additional prosperous baronies. It will either come as land that the king currently holds himself or through an introduction to a heiress. Depending on the success of this venture, I can guarantee you will receive more."

This seemed like a hail mary on the part of the count. The king must be very desperate if the count can offer this without even consulting the King. It also shows the level of trust the king has in Count Vaspar. I was expecting to receive just money for this, and truthfully, I would have been fine with that, but Benjamin would strangle me if I refused this. And once Fredrick found out he would raise me from the dead and run me through with a sword.

"Lord Vaspar, your offer is most generous, and I accept it. But what are you going to do about Baron Tine? I told Casper he has also got the design. "

"Do not fear. He will be well compensated for his silence. Unless there is anything else, I will have Casper show you out."

It appeared that he was in a hurry, but a thought popped into my mind that may have been crazy. But if it worked, it would be the perfect gift for Emily. "My lord, I do have a small request. The inventor of the paper, Emily, has worked hard to bring this invention that I believe will change the kingdom with time. I ask that you raise her to the status of an untitled noble."

This definitely caught the count off guard. He leaned forward and looked at me as if he were trying to understand my motive. "You cannot possibly be thinking of marrying this girl. If I recall, Mathew's report said that she was a serf. A maid in your manor. To waste one of your wives on such a person would give you nothing in return. Just take her as a mistress after you marry. If you treat her well I am sure she will be happy."

I was getting used to this type of thinking now, and his assumption only slightly surprised me. "Forgive me if I was unclear, my lord. I have no intention of marrying Emily. I owe her a great debt. She is the one who saved my Nephew Aaron the Third, now Aaron of Tine, from assassination. She is like a sister to me and one of my best friends."

After a moment, he said, "I see. I have no objections to it. But the request will be sent to the king. I have no doubt your request will be granted since you are an out of the way barony that no one pays attention to. I will have Casper write up a Passive Title of Nobility. It will be non-hereditary but will give her status higher than anyone in your barony other than you. Just so we are clear, even after the king sends the actual title, it will mean very little outside of your barony. The peerage would never accept an uneducated serf, no matter what title she is given.

I smiled, "Emily is literate and can figure out higher math. She is also a good dancer, better than me anyways. I suspect it would take little training from Benjamin to make her fit right in with the nobles."

I laughed as I thought of one of my mom's favorite movies. "My Fair Lady" I wonder if I could remember enough of it to turn it into a book. Would the nobles like it or be offended by it?

"My lord, as a parting gift, I would like you to try another invention developed in my barony."

I opened a pouch at my waist and grabbed a paper-wrapped candy. I handed one to both Vaspar and Casper, then unwrapped one myself and popped it into my mouth.

"Just suck on one of them for a while. These are a sweet treat I call hard candy. They are very delicious but extremely expensive to make."

"Hmm, it has an interesting taste but is a bit too sweet for me," the count said. Casper said nothing, however, and just continued to suck. The count also did not spit it out, so he must not have found the candy disgusting, even if it wasn't his favorite thing.

"Thank you for your time, my lord," I said. Count Vaspar nodded, and Casper took that as a cue to lead me out.

As we stopped at the carriage, waiting for my guards to return, Casper turned to me and asked. "How much would you like for the rest of those?"

I smiled and took the pouch off my belt. "A gift for all your help."

"A most generous gift, my lord. I am extremely grateful.”

Well, even if I couldn't get the nobles on board, I could use candy to bribe Casper.

At that moment, my guards and Benjamin came around the corner, and I hopped up into the carriage.

As soon as Benjamin entered, I started to explain what had happened during the meeting.

“This is happening faster than I expected," Benjamin said with a hint of excitement.

I narrowed my eyes, "And what exactly were you expecting?"

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

He had the decency to look abashed. "I did not want to get your hopes up, my lord, but I was hoping that your creativity would lead us to get recognized and given more land. I was counting on it coming from Vaspar. The fact that we bypassed even the duke and will receive it from the king, though, is even better."

"Why? I just don't understand why this all matters. We have plenty of land in Bicman, and once we drain the marshes, we will have even more. Why should I want baronies who may be on the other side of the kingdom?"

"If you manage to find an heiress with huge tracts of land in a good location. Actually, now, with the option of multiple wives, you could find two. That would be the best case since the land the king would offer you without an established baron will most likely not be as good. That being said, either way, you would become a tenant-in-chief. You wouldn't even have to visit as long as you put the right people in charge."

You have got to be kidding me. Huge tracks of land? Was this guy a fan of British comedy?

"Ok, but you are too excited for this to just be about additional baronies. What is your plan." I said forcefully. I did not like the fact that he was plotting behind my back.

"It wouldn't take much to persuade Plimgus to trade you baronies. From what I can tell, he is not overly attached to the location he is at. Even if his barony is not as good as the one we are trading him for, we would have a larger territory. It is always best to have them close together than far apart. We could find a knight to be in charge of the town of Polman and surrounding areas."

"And then you want me to use the other barony to trade for Decmoor. Scratch that. I meant Malcolm."

"That might be trickier. We may need more than just a single barony to entice him. He will know what you are doing and demand a higher price. I don't know how long it will take to get everything moving."

This felt like the game of Monopoly. Get three baronies close to each other rather than three separate. Wait…

I glared at Benjamin. "Are you trying to turn me into a count?"

"Of course, that is the end goal." He said as if I should have made this conclusion much earlier.

"Why? I can barely manage my barony."

"No, you are doing an excellent job for someone who was never supposed to have a barony. Your people are prospering more than they ever have, and that they love you is proof of that. You are also expanding rapidly already. You don't have to know everything or do everything. You have been gathering the right people in order to get things done." Benjamin said.

"And all the other nobles are going to be just fine with me taking over the northern teritories? You think Vaspar is just going to let me split his county?"

"Of course not, but they are all trying to do the same thing. I am sure Malcomp wants to take Plimgus and vice versa. Vaspar is trying to steal some of Count Nurik's land. Duke Kimton is trying to grab more of the Duchy of Falmor, and Githum is expanding south. In fact, I am beginning to think this is why Vaspar is so sure that the king will agree to give you baronies. They will want to see what you do with them. They will try to use you as a piece in their games. They need people loyal to the crown, and if they can give you gifts and have you push Plimgus and Malcomp out, that will give them more influence in Kimton, which is where the main opposition to his rule is," Benjamin concluded.

This is like Monopoly, only with multiple levels of play. Or maybe 3D chess. I should invent chess. The board games I saw at some of the noble houses I attended were more like Othello, Backgammon, or that tile game you see in anime.

"So you think that these gifts I am given are part of the king's larger plans?" I asked.

"It is how things are done. Gifts and rewards are not given if it isn't to their advantage to give it."

“And how long have you been cooking up this plan?”

“Well, I started thinking about it as soon as I saw the paper you were making. Then, everywhere I turned, something new was being done. I had to admit I was not hopeful at first, but you have shown yourself capable of learning. Once I realized how dedicated you were to your people, I knew you would do everything you could to improve people's lives. That is when I really started to think about how we might be able to expand your influence. I wouldn't have planned anything if I didn't think you could do it," He said.

"Thank you for your confidence. But I will not let the fact that you hid your plans from me slide. Even if this plan was meant to happen far in the future and might not even happen, it was too big for you to hide from me. It destroys my trust in you."

At this, Benjamin put his head down. “Forgive me, my lord. It was not my intention to hide this from you. I really had thought this would be something we would discuss in a couple of years once you had integrated into society. I think the king is scrambling to gain more support.”

Again, I had the feeling I was being used as a Hail Mary pass.

“Be more transparent with me in the future.”

“As you wish, my lord”

When we got back to the manor, my guards and the couple of extra hands I had brought along started packing things up. I had planned on doing something with my paintings towards the end of my trip, but now I would have to bring them down to Kimton. Each of them was wrapped in a separate cloth and laid gently in the wagon. Paints and chests were brought out, leaving only a few things that I would need before I left tomorrow.

It was late in the afternoon when I received word that the people that had been gathered to be my new subjects had arrived. I decided that now would be a good time to meet them so I wouldn't be delayed tomorrow.

When I arrived at the camp, people were still setting up tents, and campfires had been started. Men were guarding the outside perimeter, and a few were walking among the people. The people sat around eating what looked like hardtack. Others were gathering water from a nearby stream. Many turned to look at me as I approached.

A guard stepped forward. He was a gruff-looking man who I could tell even from a few yards away needed a bath.

"How may I help you, my lord." He said with a bow and in a voice that matched his looks.

"This is Baron Amos Bicman. The owner of the land you are bringing these people to. Bring the leader of your mercenary group here." Benjamin said.

He nodded and left.

"How did you know they were mercenaries?" I asked once the man was out of earshot.

"The red band around his belt. I hope they haven't lost too many on the trip up here. Mercenaries are not known for their kindness."

"You think they will push them to the point where we will lose a lot along the way?"

"They get paid by the job. So they will rush these people north as fast as they can without losing too many."

"Looking at the condition of some of these people, I would say you will lose up to one hundred."

I grit my teeth. "That is unacceptable."

"Travel is not easy on the weak and the young."

I looked around at the exhausted faces of these people, who were gathered together in families and small groups. There were several groups around each fire. Many looked like the people of Bicman had before I started allowing them to eat their food rather than pay it all in taxes.

"My lord," A tall, dark-haired man said as he approached. He carried himself with confidence. "I understand you wished to see me."

"Yes, how has the trip been so far?" I said. I was not planning on getting angry at this man for doing his job. Even if I thought it was a crappy job.

"Well enough for a transport mission. The people have been mostly quiet since we beat the most rowdy of them."

"And how many have we lost?"

"You would have to ask our quartermaster. I put him in charge of that detail. If I had to guess, we lost thirty on the way to Vaspar from illness and fatigue. A few ran away."

I wasn't sure if I believed him on all accounts, but we would see if I could improve the situation.

"How many men do you have."

"Thirty-two."

"Gather ten of them. Leave the rest to guard my people so they don't run off. I have some things to say to you all."

He turned to the guard I had sent to go find his captain, "Thomas, gather the men."

Tomas nodded and left. While he was gone, we chatted about the road conditions and the weather they had on the way here.

When the men arrived, I turned and began to address the group. "First of all, thank you for your efforts in bringing my people here. Now, I would like to improve things for both you and my people. In order to keep losses to a minimum, you will leave with my caravan, which I am sending north. This will slow your pace and make it easier to travel. I understand that you were not expecting to have to stay here for five extra days, so I will be giving your captain three silver crowns to compensate you for your time.

"The slower pace means you will have to spend more time on the road than expected. To compensate you for that, I will be sending a letter to the caravan master to hand to my steward at Bicman. You will be given one copper for each of my people who arrive at Bicman safely. That would mean, if the captain's estimates are right, thirty-seven additional silver pennies."

I paused, waiting to see if there would be any sort of response, but the men kept their mouths shut. They were well disciplined.

I continued, "I will discuss some other things later, but right now, I need to address some of my people. Please help gather them in groups of fifty. I will need to repeat my message several times."

I soon found myself standing before a group of fifty adults and a few small children who couldn't be left alone. I figured the older people could pass the message on to the youth.

As I looked out at the crowd, I saw a myriad of expressions. None good. I saw distrust, anger, depression, and, most common of them all, fear. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is trust.

"My new citizens, I am Lord Amos Bicman. Thank you for answering the call of the king to travel to my barony and settle in the north."

I knew they really didn't have a choice, but, hey, maybe this would make them feel better.

"The first thing I want to say is that the well-being of my citizens is very important to me. As such, there will be a five-day rest period before you continue north. During this time, supplies are being gathered and brought with you. The supplies were initially meant to help increase the stores we already have in Bicman, but when I found out a few days ago you were being sent to my barony—"

I paused as my last statement caused a murmur in the crowd. So, I guessed right. They had no idea that they had been sent to a barony that the lord didn't even know they were coming.

"I decided to procure more and send it along with you. From today on, you will receive double rations. I have procured four hundred goats. Every fifth day on your journey, enough goats will be slaughtered that every person will get a small portion of meat. Every tenday will be a day of rest.

"I have with me a list of the laws of the Barony of Bicman. You will be subject to all the laws of Falmoren as well as the laws of Bicman. These laws are there to protect you, not to oppress you. I do not expect you all to trust me right now. You will see by my actions that I value my citizens."

I then introduced the laws, discussed sanitization in the camp, and told them we would be back tomorrow to evaluate everyone's health and look for people with specific job sets. I wanted additional guards on the way up to Bicman and promised to pay those who passed the interview.

By the time I finished addressing the crowd, night had fallen. I had planned on leaving tomorrow, but after seeing the people's poor state, I decided I could not leave them until I had done everything I could to give them the best chance to arrive at Bicman safely. These were my people now, and I would not fail them.