Zir coughed, glanced around at Leo’s council—which included almost twenty people now, including Zir’s own mother—and then spoke as if reciting a memorized speech. “The rabbit-kin warrens, who call themselves the Hopsi Unity, are here,” he said, his thin, gray finger touching about twenty miles east of the eastern entrance to Cliff Pass—which was itself about fifty miles past where Leo had met the Crone, almost a year ago now. And a hundred miles west of that to reach Star Port, over the marble roads from Cliff Pass through the Forest of Familiars.

Zir took a breath and then continued. “It’s a series of rabbit-kin warrens with different interlocking deals and allegiances, all loosely answering to the Hopsi warren, which is the largest and most liked of the warrens both. They’ve established semi-permanent camps along the few tiny streams leading down eastern side of the Cliff Mountains. They are being wiped out by various human tribes. There are too many human tribes to name, but they’re all led by a couple powerful and vicious human champions, and the warrens are falling fast. They’ve asked us for protection, and I’d like to offer that protection if the kingdom is okay with it.”

“Do you have the soldiers?” Leo asked. “I mean, Stonehaven isn’t exactly swimming in resources.”

Zir grimaced. “Yeah, we’re pretty poor up there by comparison to you guys, and even you guys aren’t that wealthy. But we make enough off the metal trade from Stonehaven and the Cliff Pass trading tariffs to support a few soldiers.”

“Just a few?” Lily asked, nervously clasping her hands. “Will ‘a few’ be enough?”

“I wasn’t planning on sending large numbers of soldiers into the scrub-plateau that is middle lands, that’s uppy elf thinking,” Zir said. A couple of Leo’s ministers—including Lily—frowned at the mild insult, but Zir didn’t seem to notice as he continued. “Dwarven heavy infantry doesn’t do well on the plains, in general. And, again, these are more of a plateau-scrubland than plains per se. I was thinking of sending dwarven champions instead. I don’t know if you remember, but a huge number of the dwarves were leveled, many to six or seven, from their fifty-year losing war against the blodkin and rupterwyrms. So, even against human champions, I think we can match them. They’ll act as champions and organize the rabbit warrens to defend themselves.”

“That’ll be enough?” Leo asked.

“Well… I think that I and a few of my deep elf friends will also act as an, um…” Zir glanced at Lily, closed his eyes and muttered under his breath, then finished, “Assassination squad. If we reduce the number of higher-level humans, I think the warrens can hold. I don’t think any of the enemy can match me, specifically, or stop me from culling them.”

Lily frowned.

Leo hurried before she could voice her objection. “And if we win, we get what? Or you get what, I mean?”

“We get the warrens as subjects, part of your empire,” Zir said. “The Hopsi Warren Chieftain, Velrin, will take the title of count, as my vassal. Each of the warren chieftains will become a baron. I’ll get twenty percent of their government income, and since you get twenty percent of mine, that’s about four percent to you directly.”

Ty started to open his mouth, but Lily beat him to it. “How much do they make?”

Zir grimaced again. “Almost nothing. Gonna be honest, four percent of their taxes are probably less than a gold. A lot less. The land is a scrub-plateau, not the greatest for growing, and the only nodes whose aura reaches any part of their realm are the earth nodes that underly Cliff Mountain. Without extensive investment in permanent magical rituals, the area will never produce more than hardy rabbit-folk traders and scouts I suspect.”

Ty stood and half raised his hand. “Holding this land with enough merely to enforce your laws and basic tax collection will likely be a net negative. Territories like this are productive enough to technically support people, but only in very small groups without the need for deeper organization or laws. The rituals to make a section of land productive enough to support even decent organization in this region would be around ten thousand gold.”

Leo knew from his history that hard lands on the edge of a kingdom had advantages, but it didn’t feel like the greatest investment. On the other hand…

“We have another need now—the need to train our soldiers. We’ve a disparate force, from disparate sources, and we’ll be using new weapons. I think this kind of fight, against weak enemies, is advantageous for its own sake in this rare case.”

Zir and Ty both blinked at Leo’s statement.

Leo continued. “Additionally, because of how important Stonehaven will become to our future war efforts, we need a buffer realm around it, even an unproductive one. So we’ll be doing our best to take any reasonable opportunity to expand—and protecting people with a legitimate existing claim is a good reason.”

Zir smiled at Leo’s words and fingered his knife.

“But I don’t want champions and assassins. The royal government is going to launch an expedition, with the majority of our soldiers. We’ll be taking a few of the new cannon, once Andul and Ratham create a couple here in town. We’ll get the necessary gunpowder initially from sources in The One Land dimension while we build up our own facilities.”

“Cannon?” Zir asked, his eyebrows raised.

Leo gave a nod to Zir. “Yes, cannon. I’ll demonstrate before we leave—”

Lily shuddered and interrupted, “It’s impressive enough at killing that even you’ll be overwhelmed, Zir.”

“—But they require a lot of consistent resources—resources that the Duchy of Cliff Pass has. Our greater kingdom’s need will be the source of your realm’s wealth. I need the metals, and the guano, that we can currently only find in Steelport’s mostly mined-out iron mines and within the mines of Stonehaven. I’ll be organizing a massive royal investment in your realm, Zir.”

Zir’s mother, Lady Ruenna Veltear, smiled upon hearing Leo’s words.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“What’s ‘massive’ mean, in this case?” Zir asked. “I mean, your realm isn’t exactly rich, and it’s low tax as well.”

“After everything is divided out, I’ll have about thirteen thousand gold from adventuring, after the crown,” Leo said, reaching up and touching the magical artifact. “About three thousand of it will go to buy the businesses and farms for the new orchard towns, I think. I’m sure we’ll need upgraded shipbuilding and training facilities here… but most of the rest will be invested in and around Shaleton, I think, for what I need to build a modern military force.”

There were some jealous whistles from the other dukes and representatives around the table, and more than a few of the three-finger symbols of approval.

“I should never have stopped being an adventurer,” Zir groused.

Leo laughed, then turned to Ty. “Speaking of the three thousand gold and orchard towns, I’ll need a few of said ‘orchard towns’ re-founded along the road to Cliff Pass, probably one every twenty miles or so, with caravan repair facilities and outriders to protect the trade from Cliff Pass. Also, to increase the food grown closer to Stonehaven, so we can support it more easily and cheaply.”

Ty nodded. “Transport over land we’ll never be as cheap as water transport, but the distances are manageable, and the roads are good for it, certainly. Each village will also become independently wealthy through agriculture, so it won’t require food or other support once stable. I suspect they’ll all be profitable and a net benefit to the realm. That’s a lot of investment just to secure the weapons—a buffer realm to protect Stonehaven and expanding our realm in a good, but less than optimal, way in order to feed the duchy. Are you sure of this path?”

“Why less than optimal?” Leo asked, using his telekinesis to pull a glass of extremely watered-down wine to his hand, then raising it and sipping. “I thought the Marble Web was one of the great strengths of the old Averian empire?”

Hugh, whose head was at the outside window, yawned heavily.

Ty steepled his fingers and ignored the dragon. “Any of the orchard towns built near the Blue River will be far more valuable, as they can get their goods to market far more easily. It’s ‘closer’ to the empire capital, effectively, because of the low cost and speed of river transport. The marble web orchard towns are productive, but they grew into existence after the good lands near the river had already been taken.”

Lily clapped and smiled. “I’m impressed, Ty—you must’ve been studying hard to know that since this isn’t your native land.”

Ty flushed visibly even through his darker skin and spoke stiffly. “Technically, I come from a part of the kingdom, since we control one of the houses of Steelport.”

Lily winced, almost certainly remembering how sensitive Ty was about his past. “Of course, sorry, that was a compliment, I promise.”

There was a brief, awkward moment of silence.

Leo forced a cough. “So, give me the update on the rest of the realm, please?”

Molly, who sat draped across her chair in a sensual manner, smiled up at him as she played with her green hair. “Well, Hywyl Pools has benefitted mightily from our first year as a vassal of your kingdom, Your Majesty—”

Hugh snorted.

“We’ve gained a few new members of the city, and they’ve mostly integrated to our—what did you call it?—“Hippie commune lifestyle.” Additionally, being a part of the trade network benefitted us, and being able to sell food here at hugely inflated prices after the refugees benefited us even more. Some of the refugees coin and magic flowed to our realm.”

“Excellent,” Leo said.

“We’ve done well in Ice Pines,” Rezendria Icesower said. “The wars are over, our babies are happy and well fed. There are almost two thousand of us, mixed ice flower elf and arthic, in the Ice Pines district of your city, and my dukedom numbers around eight thousand. We’re poor by your standards, but the sale of fur and magical resources has helped greatly. Because of our tie to a high-magic world, we cannot support you for long in any wars or campaigns on Toth, of course, but magic will flow to you and food to us, to both our benefits. And we’ve started sending ships out to the rest of the world, now that Ty has made friends with the progenitor of the Gigan Whales and they leave us alone. I suspect the magical resources shipped will only grow.”

Leo nodded to Ty respectfully.

The once half-elf nodded back, then stood again to give his own report. “Green apple Grove has reached capacity, unfortunately. It’s the only entirely safe orchard town, and the only one on the West side of the Blue River, where the Calastic Tree Node reaches. Also on the West side, Wheat town keeps growing. It’s not as productive as the orchard towns, but with your dam and irrigation system there, it comes close, and there aren’t as many monsters there. District One… well, you’ve seen around town. We’re doing well here.”

Ty continued to stand as he gave his report. “Overall we’re doing… okay. We will have an extremely tight food schedule for the remainder of winter, but we’ve avoided any major disasters, whether mundane, magical, or monstrous. Trade through the gate, according to this chart, has made up for my… lack, as compared to my late father.”

Leo sighed. He would also miss George Orsini’s mercantile and administrative genius, but Ty was nearly as strong—and Ty was leveling. Sooner or later, he would become a better administrator than George—even if only because he would get an aura.

“You’re doing great, Ty.”

Ty shrugged. “Well, I think I’ll be doing better soon. My strengths will play very well to setting up the orchard towns you want. Ever since I became a dryad, I’ve had a knack for growth, and I’ve a great deal of experience setting up farms and farming communities now. Additionally, we’re gifted with more and more dryads. The more I think about it, the more the work to re-establish the ‘marble web’ sounds good, even if you’re working on the landward ones first. That’ll give us more to trade, and rebuilding the network will increase Star Port as well. But we’ve very, very few spare resources now. Are you a hundred percent sure about your support of the Hopsi Unity?”

“Well… we need the training.”

“It can’t wait till next year? After the harvest?” Ty asked. “Every ration the soldiers eat will pretty much have to be imported. You’ll pay close to twice what you would after harvest to fight this battle.”

“The Warrens’ll be dead by then,” Zir said, again fingering his knife.

“It doesn’t change the math,” Ty said, and Lily nodded along.

Leo nodded and held his hand up. “If it was just rescuing the warrens, I’d be tempted to let it go.”

Hugh snorted from the outside window. “Sure, you’d just let people die. Very likely outcome.”

Leo chuckled, but it died quickly, given the gravity of what he was about to say. “There is a second reason to do this now, and it really is the training. Come fall, after the harvest, I aim to make war again. War on Kruegar and his demon-orcs. They have obviously decided that they won’t leave us alone. Invasion has given way to assassination, but the source is obvious.”

The mood turned extremely grim, but no one said anything to Leo’s pronouncement.

Leo continued. “There are things that I need to build, first, and we need to train people. I intend to conquer the Barrier Isle outside of Red Port, and then take Red Port itself. With luck, I’ll finally be able to finish Kruegar off, and bottle the orcs up for good.”

Leo leaned forward on his table. “The followers of Irkukht have been a knife held to our throat for too long, and this is their last redoubt in the region. I intend to end the threat to our kingdom once and for all. So we need this experience, because if we can’t handle the tribes in the middle lands, I need to know before we commit to finishing Kruegar off.”

Sober nods and thoughtful eyes were his only answer. He suspected a few people were remembering how the last fight with the orcs, when they were far stronger, had gone.

“Anything else I need to be worrying about?” Ty asked.

Leo smiled, genuinely, and reached out to take Lily’s hand. “Yes. I’m tired of waiting—I need you to plan a glorious royal wedding, as soon as possible.”

She squeezed his hand once.

Ty smiled back. “With everything else going on, I think a royal wedding will be perfect.”