The halls were brightly lit with braziers and sconces along the walls, already in attendance was Lord Black, Johannes, Craig, Jacob and following behind Lawrence was Old Man Frost.

There was also a group of musicians playing some tune to brighten up the atmosphere. Lawrence was given the privilege to sit at Lord Black’s right hand side. The dishes served ranged from whole chickens to duck slices, the drinks were beer or wine.

“Ah, the main character of tonight’s feast is here! Everyone, to the newly knighted Lawrence Carstein!” Lord Black said loudly, raising a glass as a toast.

Thanking everyone sheepishly, Lawrence took his seat in the feast.

“Ah, Law- I mean, Sir Carstein, you have no idea what a great deed you have done for the Black family. We are in your debt, literally,” Lord Black joked and polite laughter echoed through the room.

“So… Are we skipping the entire uh… Formal ceremony?” Lawrence whispered to Jacob beside him who was stuffing himself with a roasted chicken.

Jacob chewed rapidly, a gulp of red wine assisting the process.

“Yes, I believe so, but you gonna have to tell people that he did. I guess making 50,000 gold in payment helps speed up the process, eh?” Jacob guffawed, before resuming his slaughter of the food on the table.

Lawrence turned his nose at the food because they all seemed so oily. However, to keep up appearances, he opted for the potatoes as well as slices of duck meat.

“Lord Black, I wanted to bring to your attention of a planned expedition some months from now, as well as some possible developments in the area of Black Bay,” Lawrence said, chewing on a slice of potato. Lord Black nodded, continuing to eat, but his eyes trained on Lawrence.

“We will be building a shipyard and hiring some experts to take part in building some warships for the purpose of destroying the sirens, followed by a maritime protection force,” Lawrence said, putting down his cutleries entirely and folding his arms.

Lawrence knew that even though Johannes did not seem concerned, the money grubber was perhaps listening to the conversation even harder than Lord Black himself.

“Ah… But you know what happened to the last expedition right?” Lord Black asked and Lawrence casually glanced at Craig before nodding.

“I have heard, but I shall attempt to nonetheless. Great risks come with great rewards, no?” Lawrence replied and Lord Black seemed troubled.

“We are going with good intelligence. There were two survivors bound for Black Bay which some information on how the Sirens fight. I do believe we have a chance with the right methods,” Lawrence replied and Jacob stopped eating for just a moment and added, “The shipyard is being built as we speak, based on Lawrence and Evergarden’s specifications.”

Lawrence had described to Evergarden a type of shipyard that in the long term, could expand to include armories. It was to be called the Storm Arsenal, with Lawrence simply removing the actual name where this innovation came from. Venice.

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The Venetian Arsenal was leaps and bounds ahead of its medieval counterparts which utilized guilds as their most efficient methods. The shipyard on the other hand employed, almost 16,000, and the streamlining of production within the Arsenal itself.

Production was divided into 3 main stages: framing, planking and cabins, and final assembly. Each stage employed its own workers who specialized in that particular stage of production as well as using standardized parts to produce an almost assembly-line process.

The Arsenal often kept up to 100 galleys in different stages of production and maintenance. That way, once a galley was launched, another could be immediately put into the finishing stages of production. The layout of the Arsenal itself was modified to enable minimal handling of materials during the stages of production.

The Arsenal also saw the use of standardized, interchangeable parts.

Lawrence had informed Roland and Evergarden that the way forward should see the standardization of arms, equipment and parts. Therefore, if things ever got desperate in the city, it would still be easier to manufacture based on one standard instead of a hundred others.

“… Are the terms for the port still the same or should I give you my blessings and assistance, is there anything we can get out of it?” Lord Black asked, expressionless and Jacob immediately put down the lamb leg he was gnawing on to pay attention. Craig on the other hand had given up trying to understand what is going to follow and opted for the salad instead.

“I’d say we have already offered enough and based on any taxation of reasonable proportion, the reopening of the port will still directly benefit your rule. I think we should not discuss any further regarding any more concessions on my part. I mean, I am the one boarding the ship to kill the Sirens after all,” Lawrence replied, equally expressionless.

Lord Black nodded slowly, replying, “Fair!” as he poured himself a mug of ale.

“Next, I would like to talk about the iron mine of Black Bay,” Lawrence said and the ale that Lord Black had just swallowed was spat out.

“What iron mine?” Lord Black asked, his voice an octave higher than before. Johannes eyes brightened, his face flushing red, as if he had just heard the most beautiful maiden whisper in his ear.

“There is indeed an iron mine that has been excavated and we will begin operations in a matter of weeks. I wish to discuss the share in which your family gets, with some terms of my own,” Lawrence said and Johannes leaned forward.

“For this, you will discuss it with Johannes, Sir Carstein,” Lord Black said and Johannes’ own smile broadened, revealing his crooked teeth.

“First of all, any proceeds derived from the mine will be channeled directly to the house, at the market rate of 20%. Then, we will also require periodic shipment of iron gathered amounting to 15% of the iron mined daily. Lastly, for construction—“

“Forget it. I’m only going to agree to point one. Anything else is your wishful thinking,” Lawrence said, holding up his hand.

“I rather not even open the mine to begin with in this case,” Lawrence shrugged, silently enjoying the look of horror on Johannes and Lord Black’s faces.

“But Sir Carstein, this is the market rate—“ Johannes attempted to reason but Lawrence held up a hand and spoke even louder.

“With all due respect, the loan I gave you was probably unheard of in history. If I were to go by the market rate for loans, I suspect I will be bankrupting you faster than your own liege, Lord Black,” Lawrence stated, his finger tapping on his table.

“You want 20% of the proceeds derived from the iron mine? Fine. Shipping the iron anywhere else or to help you in construction? That will not be possible I am afraid. This is my baseline,” Lawrence said, smiling and drinking his mug of ale.

Johannes opened his mouth angrily—

“We accept.”

Lord Black raised his own mug of ale and smiled at Lawrence. This ended the first business discussion with Lord Black. In fact, Lawrence thought that he did rather well.