I woke up feeling great. I had no bedbug or flea bites this morning, and that was a total plus. I had to find out where they came from. I had to find a way to help everyone to have regular baths. What if I created a bathhouse by the river? Redirect some water into an artificial pool and then a drainage system. That would be a wintertime project. What I needed to do was come up with a to-do list. Come up with ideas of things that would help us. First, I needed to get my morning routine out of the way.

I got up, did my exercises, took a bath, and then went for breakfast. After breakfast, I went and found Marcus. He was in the study going over yesterday's reports. "Hey, Marcus, how are things going?"

"Other than the plague setting us back, we should be fine this year. Few should die over the winter."

"What is causing the winter deaths?"

"Illness."

"Citrus fruit doesn't grow around here, does it?" I asked

"Citrus."

That word didn't translate. I wanted vitamin C in our diet. What else would help? I wish I knew some herb lore. I would have to talk with the herbalist. I wonder if other stuff would work. You always hear you should drink orange juice, but other things have to have vitamin C in them as well. Would a kayver soup help with sickness like chickens?

"My lord?" Marcus said, bringing me back to the present.

"Sorry, Marcus, I got lost in thought. Fruit that is very sour."

"I have never heard of those?"

"They are probably too exotic. Maybe we could get them in the capitol, but they would be prohibitively expensive. They are supposed to help with illness. I think the best thing to do is expand our fruit and vegetables. This would make people healthier. We are also adding herbs to our diet. That will probably have to wait until next year. I hate to do it, but we are really in an uphill battle with trying to raise the crops we have. How much grain is needed for each person to survive? We need to find that out. Then, determine how much each acre produces. Then, set a goal to increase yields so we have more time to plant other things. Forgive my ignorance, but how do we preserve vegetables?"

"I only know of pickling, but the cook may know more."

"What about the summer illnesses?"

"Marsh feaver. It is bad air from the marshes."

More likely the mosquitos, I thought.

Could we use natural remedies to protect against bugs? In scouts, we just stayed near the fire when it was smoky if we forgot our bug spray. Maybe burning or rubbing herbs on you like sage, thyme, or… Basil. I have no idea. We would have to increase the production of herbs if we wanted to run experiments. We would also have to find a way to drain the swamps. We just didn't have the manpower. I might be able to buy serfs or grab poor people from cities or something, but where to get the food to support them? Everything came back to that. My projects could not be completed without people, and I couldn't increase the population without food. If I could increase the amount of food, where would I get the people? Babies just take too long to grow.

So, make a trade that is good for buying food. Hopefully, the paper will do that. Let's face it, though: Someone will try to steal the idea. There would be more profit producing it in a city. The other option is to increase field production. Hopefully, we can make some money off the paper while finding a way to increase crop yield.

"Dang, I'm sorry, Marcus. I don't mean to space out. There is just so much to try and get done. Is there anything I should be aware of?" I said apologetically.

"No, my lord," He responded in his stiff manner.

"Very good. Have a pleasant day, and thank you for all you do."

He nodded, and I departed. Trying not to think about how uncomfortable conversations were with that boy. Maybe I will try and get my lesson prepared for tonight. I would need to write out the alphabet and have them practice writing each letter while memorizing the sounds for each. I wish I had a song like the ABCs, but the tune didn't match the letters here. There were thirty-seven letters in the new alphabet. There were also syntax differences. But fortunately, I didn't have to teach syntax unless I wanted to teach them English.

I went to the room where the paper was being made. Samuel was there attaching the lever for the counterweight. He also had a bin full of wood chips and shavings next to the machine. He didn't notice me come in, and I didn't want to disturb him until he was done. He swore as he tried to position it on his own and had to set it down to readjust. I realized this was a two-man job, so I decided to jump in.

"Let me help," I said.

Surprised, He looked up, "Do not trouble yourself, my lord." He said.

"Nonsense, Anyone can see this is a two-person job. I will hold it, and you put the pin in."

Between the two of us, we were able to put it all together. "So, is it done?"

"We still need Jorb's counterweight, but we should have that by this evening or tomorrow. When I came by this morning, he was working on part of that new plow blade and said not to bug him until the afternoon."

I chuckled, "Well, make sure to grab Emily before you test this. She will be disappointed if you do it without her."

"I will, my lord," he nodded.

"Well, I am going to grab some of this paper and start preparing my lessons."

"Lessons, my lord?"

"Yes, I am teaching Emily and Jacklyn to read and write. Then, we will work on math, which reminds me. I have something I want you to make for me. Just a moment." I went to my room and grabbed a quill and ink set. I really needed to get those dip pens made.

When I returned, I drew out an abacus. Grandma Benson was my Grandmother on my mom's side and married my Grandfather when he was on a Peace Corps mission to Japan. She had grown up using the abacus for math and taught me how to use one. She even had a vintage Lee Abacus that she let me bring to school in the fifth grade for show and tell. OK, actually, she came with me so nothing would happen to it and wowed my class by how fast she could do math problems with it.

"What does this do? It looks like one of those number counters."

"It is an advanced number counter. I am going to call it a Benson Abacus."

"That is an odd name. Why not a Bicman number counter?"

"Because I like the other name," I said as if that made any sense.

Samuel just shrugged. "It may take a while. This is fine work."

"No worries. There is no rush. I know I have taken you away from other things."

"It has been my pleasure, Lord. This contraption that can make paper is fascinating. When I finish it, you will have to show me how the number counter works."

"I would love to. Thanks for all you do, Samuel. I am off to try and prepare a lesson."

"Forgive my ignorance, Lord Bicman; I know your wisdom is greater than mine, but why teach these things to those who may never use them? We are quite far away from a city."

"See, that is where you are wrong. I intend for this barony to become the greatest center of learning in all of Falmoren. If you did not have basic knowledge about wood, how could you learn to build this contraption? Ideas and advancements are based on what we know. The more people know in the barony, the more discoveries we make that will improve our lives. Without writing, we cannot share our ideas effectively."

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"It is all beyond me, but I will trust your wisdom."

And with that, I took the paper and left for my room. Setting everything down, I thought about how best to teach. Could I make flashcards for sounds and letters? That would be good, but not until we had enough paper. It would also be nice to have a printing press to make multiple copies of the cards; for right now, though, I would write out two copies of the alphabet, and we would practice that until they had all the letters down. Wish I actually knew a lick about teaching.

Very carefully, I drew out each letter. Trying to make it look almost artistic. I would not have any student of mine go out in the world and be mocked for their illegible writing. I drew some simple sight words and pictures when I finished the two copies. They were all on the same page, but that was OK for now. It was noon when I was finished, and I had to figure out what to do next. I heard a rapid, frantic knock on the door. Rather than say come in, I leaped to my feet and quickly went to the door. Emily was there panting.

"What is it?" I said anxiously.

"Do you want to try out the pulper?"

"Em, your pounding almost gave me a heart attack. I thought this whole place was burning down," I said with a smile.

She put her head down as if embarrassed, "Sorry."

I rubbed her head. "Let's go, Em. This will be fun."

"Don't do that!" She groaned.

I ignored her and moved right past her. Heading down the hall to the room with the "pulper," as she called it, was sitting. "Um… Em, there is still no counterweight.

"Well, Samuel said it would work if I had something heavy enough, so I figured you could hold it," she said casually, as if she didn't realize how insulting that was.

"Em, are you calling me fat?" I said with an offended tone.

"You weigh a lot," She still didn't get it. Either that or she was just pretending she didn't insult me.

I sighed. "So you want me to try and hold it steady while you spin the wheel."

She nodded excitedly. So, I pushed down until I reached the first mark for the grinding. Then Emily dumped some wood chips in. Next, she added enough water to cover the wood. She started to turn the wheel, and I lowered it down to position. It hit the water first and caused a small spray to come up, but Emily kept turning it faster and faster. Then, I felt the smooth rotation of the wheel turn rough as we hit the first layer of wood. Emily tried to turn it even quicker, but the resistance kept her at the same speed. I was tired from holding this at just the right level, but Emily was worse off. Every time the resistance slowed, I lowered the wheel. Finally, it started to be soft enough that it was beginning to clump to the side. I lifted the wheel, and Emily opened the side shoot to scrape out the pulp. It looked pretty good to me, but Emily started to pick out small pieces that hadn't been pulped.

"So what do you think?"

"It's amazing! That was like five mortars worth of linen pulp. And it took no time at all." She exclaimed.

"Not perfect," I said as she continued to pick out bits.

"This will take no time at all," she said, waving away my complaint. I will just put these bits back in with the next batch."

After she was done, she pressed it into the frame. "Do you want to make some more?" she asked.

"My arms are tired," I complained.

"So are mine. Come on, just one more batch."

"You don't have a frame to put it in." I countered.

"The next one, I am going to let soak in water for a while," She responded

I groaned.

"Come on, Amo- Lord Amos," She pleaded.

"Fine, one more. But just because you almost called me Amos."

That made her blush.

After the next batch, which we ended up doing twice, we paused to add a little more water and scrape the sides."

This came out a little better. Emily decided to let it dry rather than soak it.

"You're going to need a partner and more frames. We will have to hire someone from the village. You can ask Jacklyn if her mother doesn't need her right away after school is out. I'll pay her a loaf of bread."

"I am also going to need more wood."

"Noted. Alright, I am going to get back to figuring out what to do with my life."

Emily and I left at the same time, and she went back to her duties as a maid and me to tour the castle.

I walked around to the side of the Manor where the garden was. This was in a separate area but not far away from the fields. I found Marcus's mother, Patricia, on her hands and knees with two other servants. I didn't have anything better to do, so I got down and started digging up the weeds' roots. It was funny how long it took for servants to notice me. when one of them did, she gasped, "My lord, what are you doing?" This made the other two look.

"Well, I thought I was weeding, but evidently, I was doing such a poor job you couldn't even tell," I said with an exaggerated sigh of disappointment.

"My lord, you will get yourself dirty," The other unnamed one said.

"I fear it is too late for that. All I can do now is press forward." I said with a smile as I rose to a kneeling position. Who would have thought that pulling weeds was hard? "So Patricia, how are your children?"

She beamed, "Carrie has become engaged to Hyrum the guard. Of course, you already know that. She told me that you said she must tell me."

"I did not!" I said in surprise, "I think she was nervous about telling you, so I said that I was sure you would be fine with the match."

Patricia gave a smile. "Many would take that as a command, my lord."

That is just ridiculous. I mean, what if I got frustrated and told someone to jump off a cliff?

I didn't voice my opinion out loud, though. I started to weed the garden again, and the women remained silent. When I could do it no more, I got up. "My dear ladies, your skill and endurance far exceed my own. Thank you for allowing me to join you this afternoon. Have a pleasant rest of your day."

I brushed off my knees and then my hands and retreated into the house. As I was walking, I realized that I had been neglecting my responsibilities as an Uncle. I took off towards his chambers and found him in the room with Amy. He was crawling rather than toddling.

"Hey buddy, how's your day?"

Immediately, he changed trajectory and crawled toward me. I scooped him up and spun him around. He was initially surprised by it, but as soon as I stopped, he started to babble at me. I got a gasp from Amy when I tossed Aaron into the air, but as soon as I caught him, he smiled and laughed. So I kept it up until he got tired of the game. Next, we played peek-a-boo, and then I became a tickle monster. Pretty soon, I could tell he was running out of steam when things stopped being funny.

I turned to Amy and said, "I think I wore him out." Amy gave me a genuine smile.

"Those were some interesting games you were playing. I will have to remember them."

"Well, I enjoyed my time, but I need something to eat," I said.

Amy came over and picked up Aaron. He started to cry as soon as I left the room.

Well, at least I have one friend in the world, I thought as I headed to the great hall. Venson and a root plant I didn't recognize were on the menu today. It was a little bitter, but it was a nice change of pace. The captain was absent, so I sat alone, which was a little disappointing.

When I was through, I noticed that Jacklyn had arrived and was speaking with Emily. I walked over to the table and said hello to the girls. I told them I would be right back with the letters and paper I had snatched. I also made a trip to the study to get some extra sheets of parchment and some extra quills.

When I returned, I found that Emily had brought some additional paper. No, it was wood paper.

"Is that it, Emily?" I said with excitement.

"Yes," She said with equal enthusiasm. "It's not great yet, but we will be able to make a lot of it. So I can run different experiments."

"Excellent!"

"My lord, Emily has said I can help if it is OK with my mother," Jacklyn said shily.

"That is an excellent idea, Jacklyn. If you can help Emily sometimes, I will have Cookie make you two loaves of bread to bring home to your family as payment.

"Thank you, my lord," She said excitedly.

"Now, no more lazing about. It is time to learn your letters." For the next hour, I taught them the first half of the alphabet. Jacklyn was a faster study, but by the end of the hour, they had both mastered it.

"Alright, that's all for today. Jackie, you go home and teach your brother. Take the sheet with you. Em, you go help your grandma."

Jacklyn looked shocked, "Are you alright?" I said.

Emily giggled, "You called her Jackie."

"Oh, oops. Sorry." I said.

Emily turned to Jacklyn, "He isn't really sorry. He will pretend to be, but he will just do it again later."

I huffed, "Em, stop spreading vicious rumors about your baron."

"See, he can't stop calling me Em even though he told me he would stop." She said, ignoring my reproach.

"Alright, get out of here, munchkin," I said and ruffled her hair.

"Lord Amos," She groaned. "You promised."

"That's what you get, you little snitch," I said as I walked away. I caught Jacklyn's look of disbelief and knew she would tell everyone she could about this. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now. I think I will do some exercises before bed. I feel good.