That evening, Kelton asked Jeremy what he thought about the smokehouse idea. It was almost strange to think that they didn't have one already, although given the warm climate year-round here, there wasn't much need to prepare food for winter. So, while it might have been a strange little side idea in terms of the grand scheme - not really a big deal either way - it felt like a nice small project that might demonstrate some progress. Jeremy thought there was some merit, there, but warned Kelton that Franz and team wouldn't be interested; it was just too small of a job. Kelton found that even better news, because then he could get a few of the local young men to do it themselves. That would make them feel good, and useful, and possibly even inspire one or two to think about travel themselves - that wouldn't be a bad thing. Jeremy agreed that he could get a couple of teens or young adults interested, and even figured out an angle to make it about impressing the young women of the town. Jeremy winked salaciously at this last part, but Kelton thought the Jeremy was probably right - not much can get a young man working harder than the thought that a young woman might be watching.
Kelton drew up some basic plans; nothing so fancy as to be called architectural, just some basic dimensions and important features. He told Jeremy to show this to the men, and say that if they got together and built it on their own, they could probably sell some of the product that was made there, as a nice payback for their efforts. Jeremy and Kelton switched topics for a little while, discussing the crops experiment, and decided that there was little to be done now other than to wait and see how it all turned out, although Kelton would obviously need to check in regularly to make sure that everything was as healthy as he could make it. It was frustrating that this would take so long to bear fruit (or grain, as it were, if it even worked), but it couldn't really be rushed. With both their conversation and their meal finished, Jeremy happily went off to do a little recruiting, while Kelton got to work on the larger problem.
The only person that Kelton knew of who made frequent trips in and out of the city was his current "patron" of sorts, Sten - the merchant that had hired Franz (and ultimately, yet indirectly, Kelton) to build the protection wall. Obviously Franz and his men had the ability to go between towns too, but they were quick to note the difficulty and the danger, and often travelled together. Kelton decided that it would be worth his time to try to meet Sten the next time he was around, to learn more about his work, and if there was anything Kelton could leverage out of that. Plus, considering Sten's persona as someone who was doing "good for the city," he could even be someone interested in joining forces with Kelton on some of his projects. Better that than a competitor.
After weeks of being with Franz and the rest of the various crew members (at this point, Kelton had filled several different roles, although he still liked his original team of mortarheads the best), he had learned that most of the people traveled from town to town either on foot, or by taking an odd job like protection for a merchant in exchange for passage. It was a slow way to go, and Kelton knew he'd need to solve that issue before he considered carting around loads of fragile goods.
The next day while working, Kelton started asking questions about Sten's trade and activities. He was surprised to learn that Sten was mainly a middleman, something that Kelton understood well. Sten had once sold textiles, but mass production in the larger cities had driven him out and dried up his trade; however, Sten was quick enough to realize where profit could be found, and he spent most of his time on the road, buying and selling whatever would make him the most money in the most places. As a result, he had a good eye on what was popular everywhere, not to mention the budgets that most folks had available. Sten spent little time in his village home, especially after the death of his daughter - in fact, the prevailing opinion was that if it weren't a good stop along some of his coastal routes, he'd probably not be there at all. Many people apparently believed that Sten seemed to keep his manor due to a combination of convenience and nostalgia, nothing more.
Kelton spoke to Franz on a break, and Franz informed him that Sten would be back in a few days, as far as he knew; the two had a loose communication system, and Franz typically had a rough idea of when Sten might make an appearance. However, he was curious (if not downright suspicious) as to why that would matter to Kelton; Franz didn't want anything messing up his deal. Kelton somewhat hesitantly told Franz the overview of why he wanted to speak with Sten, and what he was thinking about doing; to his pleasant surprise, Franz was completely supportive of the idea, and even told him not to worry about taking a week away. There'd be plenty of work available, Franz insisted, when Kelton returned. That made some of the more tactical parts of Kelton's plan much easier, so he spent the remainder of the work day in good spirits.
That evening during dinner, Jeremy told him that he believed a small group of teenagers had already started working on the smokehouse that morning; as such, the two men decided to go check it out, in order to see how much progress they had made, and if they had run into any trouble. Kelton was pleased to see how much work had already been done - the whole initial framing was complete, and it wouldn't take them more than a few days to finish at the rate they were working.
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Kelton congratulated the young men, who were still working even though the hour was so late, and as he turned to leave, the heard a sound like a loud yelp - except it sounded more like it came from a person than an animal. Kelton swung his head around looking for the source of the sound, only for the boys to point him towards a house standing alone about a hundred and fifty yards away, at the edge of the forest; too far away for one to expect to hear sounds, for sure.
One of the teens explained what he was seeing and hearing. "That's Jasper's place. Sort of an orphanage, I guess. He raises kids with no parents, or ones that just didn't want them. But he's got a bit of a reputation...let's just say he isn't seen much around town." Perhaps it was a reminder of Kelton's own youth, but something visceral in him reacted to this nearly instantly. Kelton decided to play this Jasper fellow a visit. Most likely, Kelton thought, he'd be rude, possibly violent, and unlikely to deal well with confrontation. Confrontation had never been Kelton's strong suit, either - he should probably be careful, or maybe even just mind his own business. But Kelton couldn't let it go; this was one of those rare times where he found himself wanting to do something for (or to) someone else, not for what he'd get out of it. He left the group, and headed directly to Jasper's place.
When he got there, Kelton wasn't exactly surprised that nobody came to the door at first. Living on the outskirts of a remote town, near the forest, and not making appearances in public...this Jasper probably didn't want visitors. And if he was up to something, he'd want them even less. Kelton continued to poke around, and to knock - eventually, a boy of nine or ten opened the door a few inches, and poked his head out to ask Kelton what he wanted. The boy was heavily bruised. Kelton coaxed the boy out when it was clear he offered no threat, and with barely a prompt at all, the boy (who introduced himself as Patrick) started to talk.
Words rushed out of the young boy's mouth in a torrent, like Patrick had been saving them up for a long time, just waiting for someone to ask. Jasper was cruel to the four children he "looked after," Patrick said, but nobody in the town seemed to care or be able to do anything about it. There were adults in town who had grown up in that house, and knew all too well what happened, and yet no efforts had been made to stop it. Patrick told of beatings, of being made to stand in the same spot for hours for no reason, being locked in the dark, even being tied to a post for a while day - the punishments differed with age, but were all designed to incite fear and hurt. That wasn't the worst, either. Patrick shied away from saying so explicitly, but Kelton was able to garner that Jasper had been doing unspeakable things with some of them, maybe all, just from what the scared young boy would say. It simply couldn't stand.
Kelton immediately saw the man as a sickness - not to mention, the sort of person who turned others into people with chips on their shoulders and wrongs to avenge - and he was determined to do something about it. This wasn't about power, though...this was Kelton's own childhood traumas demanding satisfaction. If this Jasper fellow was a long-standing institution in the town, Kelton was sure that the townsfolk would probably need some catharsis, too; Kelton just needed to provide the opportunity.
Suddenly the boy's eyes widened and he jumped out of the way, and Kelton turned just in time to see a man wildly swinging for his face. Dodging easily enough, Kelton noticed that the man was clearly drunk; although he had never seen him at Millie's inn, which was the most reliable place to get alcohol. Jasper must have some sort of still, or private supply (although that was hardly the most important thing to think about when trying not to be assaulted). Jasper was screaming, raging and Kelton and threatening to kill him, although Kelton had never said a word to the man. Out of the corner of his eye, Kelton could see that the young men who had been working on the smokehouse were not exactly rushing to his aid; on the contrary, they were making their way away from the fracas, along with Jeremy.
Kelton wasn't an especially violent person, but he had no problem with self-defense. He ducked and weaved away from the stumbling drunk, waiting for his opportunity - eventually he managed to land a good blow to the side of Jasper's head, and the man fell unconscious to the ground. Kelton looked at him for a moment, held up a finger to young Patrick in a "wait here" gesture, then quickly returned to the smokehouse. There, he grabbed a large length of rope that had been used to tie the timber together; it was more than enough for what Kelton had in mind.
By the time he had made the short walk back to Jasper's, all four children had come outside, tentatively eyeing their tormentor lying prone and unwaking. Kelton walked up to Patrick - who it turned out was the eldest of the children - and handed him the rope. He said simply "If I were in your shoes, and this happened, the opportunity wouldn't be wasted." Kelton saw the glint in the children's eyes as he turned around, and returned back to town without another word. He made a point not to look back.