The hunters paced carefully, but swiftly, through the forest, with their feet lightly scrunching the moist and leafy ground. They were familiar with the beginning area. As they proceeded farther into an unknown route, Logan tied red cloth onto the branches. Everyone remained silent as they moved deeper into the forest.
The thin layer of flora gradually increased, with pines, beech and oaks densely spaced together. The grounds were undisturbed by humans, but traces of feces and half eaten pinenuts scattered throughout.
With the bracelet, Nico could sense the beasts observing the hunters from all directions. Other than danger, he felt something strange happening. Whenever they were moving closer to the source of danger, it would never appear closer.
Odd, he pondered.
Cobalt stopped, and everyone followed his hand movement. Cobalt formed a triangle between his forefingers and thumbs, a signal to prepare the hunt. Everyone nodded to confirm that the message was received.
Logan lowered to the ground and watched the movement of the forest. Nico followed Logan as he was instructed to before they entered the forest.Cobalt unpacked the jute net and ropes. He unwound the rope and looped it around the tree branch as Lorne and Mayan spread out the net.
Once the net was laid out and the rope was anchored to the trees, the three hunters began piling the leaves over the net. Cobalt placed a fish in the middle of the net and everyone hid.
They waited.
Hunting was a game of chance and a test of patience, and they didn't always attract wild boar.
Some time after noon, a wild boar appeared in the area. The hunters waited in anticipation for it to approach the bait. Nico couldn't sense any danger coming from the average sized wild boar.
As the wild boar approached the bait, Cobalt jumped down from the tree and yanked on the rope, levering the trap. The net snatched and entrapped the boar. Lorne and Mayan sprang out from their location and stabbed the soon to be pork. Once it was dead, Lorne and Mayan hooked the net onto their spears and all four hunters hauled it back. Their movements were quick and efficient.
Once they vacated the forest, they loaded the carcass onto the cart and returned back to the village.
"Great job everyone,' said Cobalt.
Cobalt handed out 15 silver pieces to everyone. For a one day excursion, that was a lot of money.
"Everyone still in for next week?" asked Cobalt.
Everyone was in, except for Nico.
"It's better that way," said Logan. "It's not normally this successful. We usually encounter some sort of danger or nothing at all, and situation like today is actually rare."
Nico wanted to stay with them longer and ask them about cultivation, but they were ready to retire home. He waved them goodbye and then glanced at the bracelet deeply in thought.
He headed to the northeastern section of the village. The area was near the lake and Linden Peak, which was the southernmost peak of the Kimson Mountain Range. Standing at the boundary of the safe zone, he could see where the mouth of the river curved behind the cliff.
With a spear in hand, he braved the unprotected area and traveled along the lake circumference. Behind the cliff was an open field next to an 8-m wide river. On the other side of the river was a thick layer of forest biome.
Nico sat by the cliff area, which provided a bit of protection from the wind, but wasn't too tall as to block the sun from coming in. Nico didn't sense any immediate danger, but the sun was still up. Nico set a fish trap and then a fire pit.
As he was eating, he could sense the eyes of predators approaching his location. The beasts from across the river didn't worry him, but the beasts from Linden Peak that had unrestricted access to the field from the north worried him.
Nico gripped the spear with his right hand and a handmade torch on his left as he sensed something approaching.
From the dim light of twilight, Nico could see a silver grey wolf with glowing amber eyes staring intently at the grilled fish. It approached slowly, but something prevented it from coming closer. It was still 10 meters away.
Nico slowly approached the wolf. The wolf also slowly backed away. Nico stepped back to the fire pit, and the wolf followed. Nico slipped out his bracelet and watched the wolf . No movement.
Nico left the bracelet by the log and slowly approached the wolf. The wolf was rooted to a spot still 10 meters away from the bracelet.
"Aha!" he screamed at the wolf. "You're afraid of the bracelet!"
The wolf gave him no reply.
Nico took the remaining two fishes he had, and threw them at the wolf. The wolf sprang up to snatch the two fishes in one snap and ran off to the distance.
Standing in place, Nico watched the grey wolf disappeared into the Lindan Peak. Even without the bracelet, he could still feel the presence of the manabeasts. It was not as strong as when he had the bracelet.
Could be attributed to the Spirit Enhancement? He pondered.
The next morning, Nico walked into a brick building near the center of town. The sign indicated that it was the town hall. The clerk in the lobby eyed the boy, who was dressed in a nice blue shirt.
The clerk remembered the boy who came in with Shirley, Kanna and Rooster to register his name with the empire, but couldn't remember what his name was.The boy didn't have any paperwork and was an orphan boy. Although the empire didn't require registration, all government forms required some type of identification. Since the boy didn't have any birth record, he needed three witnesses to prove his identity.
Aha, Isiah thought to himself. The boy was Nico, apparently he was 12-years old. It was common for people to not know their true age, and most people in the village didn't care. There weren't many laws that were dictated by age except for the drafting requirement.
"Mr. Isiah, I would like to lease a piece of land from the Kelseran Empire, is that possible?" requested Nico.
The clerk named Isiah wanted to laugh, but remained professional.
"If you're leasing land, you should go see Mister Kenley from the Mayor's office," said Isiah. "He's down the hall to the left. However, no one have ever requested a lease directly from the empire before."
"Why is that?" asked Nico.
"The streets can't be leased, it's for everyone," said Isiah.
"What about the land outside the village boundary? I thought it belonged to the Empire."
"It is, but you don't mean to request a lease for the wilderness?"
Nico nodded.
Isiah didn't know how to respond.
Nico went down the hall to Mister Kenley's office. The large office was lined with large cabinets for scrolls and documents. There were two filing clerks and Mister Kenley, who was an elderly man with long fuzzy grayed hair sitting behind a large desk.
"Hello child, what can I do for you today?" Mister Kenley asked.
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"I would like to lease a piece of land in the wilderness," Nico repeated his request.
"Why would you want to lease a piece of land that's considered public?" Mister Kenley was bewildered by the odd request. "It makes no sense. You can do whatever you want on it."
"Yes, but if I want to farm the location, I have to worry about thieves and trespassers? I have no way to protect my crops if I were to keep it there."
Mister Kenley thought for a moment.
"No thieves are going to the wilderness to steal crops, that's absurd," remarked Mister Kenley. "And why would you want to farm in the wilderness in the first place?"
"Because I have no money to lease a farm inside the village?"
"And you have money to lease from the wilderness?"
"It must be cheaper," Nico stated flatly.
Mister Kenley didn't disagree.
Typically, the purpose of a lease was to define the property and who have rights to use the land. The lease was an agreement between the landowner and a tenant. It was rare for the Empire to lease a land directly to an individual. Usually, the Empire would only bestow or sell the land to a titled individual.
"I guess I could put in a request to the mayor," Mister Kenley declared. "It'll take a little more than a week." Mister Kenley looked back at Nico. "How much land are you leasing?"
"As much land as possible from the village boundary to Lindan Peak, and can it be a 100-years lease?" asked Nico.
"Well, I don't know how possible that is," replied Mister Kenley. "But it wouldn't hurt to try."
He pulled up a leather map of the village. In the center was the Shrine of Darbi, with the market, clock tower, and government buildings forming a semi-circular plaza. Radial streets and alleyways defined the village layout that stretched into the surrounding residential districts. Further out from the center were around five thousand acres of farmland.
There was a main road, defined by stone pavers, that cut through the center from the west to the southeast. The western road led to a village of Caperon and the southeastern road looped around Stein Lake to a village named Ishuto. Most of the wilderness were poorly defined.
"Where is the land you want and how much money are you willing to pay?"
"I have 40 silver pieces." Nico pointed to an area around the mouth of the river.
"You can probably get 5 acres here, but if a public road is built, it's going to cut the property," said Mister Kenley pointing to the map.
He drafted up a lease.
"Nico of Rinlin, on 8th day of Pahol, 278th year of Kelseran Empire…."
Mister Kenley gave it to Nico to sign.
"All right, come back in 10 days," said Mister Kenley. "If the Mayor Rauli agrees to the proposal, I'll send you a copy."
"What if he doesn't?"
"I don't know." Mister Kenley shrugged. "The Empire usually encourages people to cultivate as much unexplored land as possible. People don't go into the wilderness because it's dangerous, so I don't see a reason for them not to lease the land. It's not like there are any purpose to have it unused and not take the lease money."
Mayor Rauli never read the lease and always approve it anyway, thought Mister Kenley.
Nico agreed with his reasoning and went on to his next destination. With his potential home settled, he had a lot he needed to do, like make a house.
"What! You wanna build a house!?" asked Rooster excitedly. Rooster was the type that speaks as though the other person was deaf. He was always loud. "That sounds fun. I know a retired architect that can help!"
Rooster dragged Nico into the upper-class residential district.
"Chamber! Come on out! You have guests!" Rooster yelled out as they approached a little gated manor.
"Quiet down you old man!" Cried an excited voice heading out to greet them. "Hohoho! Thought you would never visit!"
A short fat man with grey beard strutted out of the manor quickly, greeted Rooster with three quick bows and led them inside the small manor.
The majority of the houses in the residential area were rough houses made from either timber or stone. Chamber's manor was built with adobe blocks and elaborately decorated facade. From the inside, it was a classy pairing of tile flooring and wood paneling. Chamber introduced his wife, a tall elderly woman named Sasha, who quietly greeted the guests.
"So is this your grandson?" inquired Chamber.
Rooster laughed.
"Haha, Nico, greet grandpa Chamber and grandma Sasha," Rooster introduced.
Nico gave them a respectful bow.
Sasha gave an automatic bow back, and silently shuffled out of the room to prepare tea.
"What brings you here to my humble home today?" asked Chamber.
"This little boy wants to make a house! Can you believe that!?" asked Rooster. "He was considering building one himself without an architect! What a crazy kid."
"Well it certainly is doable without an architect," responded Chamber. Chamber looked at Nico. "Most architects work under the direction of the nobility or royalty, so we don't normally design simple houses. Regular folks seek advice from a mason or a carpenter."
"Yeah, but look at this kid!" cried Rooster. "He can barely lift a stone or make lumber, how is he going to build a house? He's going to need all the help he can get."
"I really only need a make a simple farmhouse." Nico didn't need a villa. "It would be helpful to know what materials would be best to use and how to make some connections."
"Hm.. You sound like a smart child," observed Chamber. "Do you know how to read?"
Nico shrugged, and gave an unassured nod. Nico didn't know before, and he was currently learning from Kanna. He could read some basic words, but he wasn't sure if he could handle reading an entire book.
When Sasha returned with the tea, Chamber asked her to bring a couple of items back. Sasha returned with a book, a feather plume and thin linen papers.
"This is actually a book I have written," said Chamber proudly. "There are currently only 18 books in circulation and you're holding the original."
Nico flipped through a 150-page book with pictures of connection details, plans and elevations. Although he couldn't read everything, the images were more than enough to help out with his building.
"I can't give you the book, but you can make your own copy. If you're free, you can come to my house and have a nice chat with me and Sasha while copying the book."
"Where can I buy more linen paper?" asked Nico.
"The villagers don't normally make linen paper, but once in awhile, there are traveling merchants in the Darbi Plaza that will sell paper," responded Sasha.
From their lively discussion, Nico learned that Rooster was once a Major in the army who had trained many soldiers.
"This guy was so loud and always barking everyone around," Chamber explained. "All the cadets called him Rooster because he was the first thing they heard in the morning."
"Who ya calling a thing!" He kept the habit of yelling even after retirement.