The next several months went by in a blur for the sleepy town of Odellia, although to Kelton, it seemed like almost the opposite - to him, it was if everything was moving in slow motion, and he was one or two steps ahead at all times. Kelton had gotten lucky with the potters, but he knew that he needed extreme focus and determination to turn that luck into a solid foundation of power.

To do this, Kelton operated on as many fronts as possible while Spring turned into Summer, and then into Autumn. Everywhere one looked in the town, it seemed, Kelton was there, working on something. He was also clearly an outsider no longer - everyone was happy to see him, and paid him great respect.

But he had earned that respect in many ways. Continuing his work with the artisans, Kelton convinced them to maximize their opportunity by hiring apprentices and increasing their production, while also giving their aging backs and hands a break from the difficult harvesting of the materials. Jeremy convinced Catherine at Alter Works to host an exhibition of Odellian pottery, which was a massive success; as demand increased, he and Kelton expanded sales to two additional cities.

They didn't want to flood the market and crash prices, but it was hard not to ride the wave while they could. Alongside the pottery, they brainstormed additional ways to trade on Odellia's new reputation as a producer of high-end niche artisanal products.

The herbs that Kelton had planted grew quickly, and were spreading even outside of the beds into the formerly inhospitable soil of the clearing. The men were able to convince the mayor to fund a project that Kelton ran, in which Jasper's old house was not only given to the children to live in, but was partially converted into a distillery that produced oils.

Kelton trained the eldest two of Jasper's wards to work the fires, and taught them the oil extraction process - his plan included selling the oils and sharing the profits between the town (which acted as a silent partner), the children who operated the business, and himself/Jeremy.

Things were moving quickly in that regard; however, that wasn't the only use for the herbs. The young men who had originally built the smokehouse Kelton designed had taken to adding herbs to their meats and fish for some more variety in the flavor. So far it had just been experimental, but if they got it just right, Kelton was certain that they could sell that too. Odellia was going to move from a small town on the edge of a peninsula into a brand, and he was going to champion it.

The wheat had worked, too. Evidence was clear that his idea on soil treatment was right (although there was certainly room for optimization), so there was a rush to stake out huge plots of the clearing near the village's edge. Denizens were piling forest soil and crushed limestone gravel all over wide swathes of the land; hopefully before long they would get a solid enough bed of soil that it would sustain itself, but Kelton had to admit that he wasn't sure if that was feasible, or how long it might take.

Conceivably, new soil might have to be on each spring, but at least there was an easy test to determine if that would be necessary. They'd also need to introduce crop rotation, he knew, to keep the soil healthy. But for now, with the wheat coming in, Jeremy convinced the mayor to retain Franz and a small number of his crew - who was already starting to dwindle as the outer wall neared completion - to construct a mill (designed, of course, by Kelton).

Kelton's vision and dedication were infections - he was appointed in a fully-paid position by the townspeople, with the goal of driving their economic growth. As people saw the money start to roll in, they quickly became addicted, and Kelton knew that if he played things right, he'd be able to use this economic boom to get the townsfolk to do virtually anything. His name and face were completely synonymous with their good fortune.

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For his part, Jeremy was getting the riches that he wanted, too. However, there had been an unexpected side benefit for him; in the months since they had settled in Odellia, Jeremy found that he had fallen for Millie, who had returned the charismatic man's affections, and caused his spirits to soar even higher. Rather than continuing to rent a room of his own, he had moved at the end of the summer into Millie's chambers, and the two were very happy indeed.

Jeremy's pitches had started to turn, too; he still spread the word about their goods, of course, but now he had a secondary message that was being told in a less direct manner. Jeremy started quiet rumors about Kelton's genius transformation of Odellia, giving him all the credit for the town's change in fortune, and trying to generate a bit of demand for their work in other places. If Jeremy was successful, he knew that they would be able to get even more money and unlock the future that he had always wanted.

All in all, things were going faster, and better, than Kelton had expected. He clearly had the town wrapped around his finger, and was more content than he had probably ever been. His policy of only gaining powers at the expense of others when that person was "bad" was working...although he was confident that at some point he'd have to start telling the people who looked to him for guidance who should be exploited, or should be punished.

This seemed a little bit dangerous, but he knew that it would give him a tighter stranglehold, and allow for more direct action without possibly casting him in a bad light. He could declare his enemies (although to be honest, that category was pretty empty at the moment) to be undesirable, and allow the populace that loved him to take care of the situation. In fact, Kelton did have one opportunity to try this at a small scale, and found the results very interesting.

The stark increase in economic activity had attracted the attention of other merchants and traders, who had started to visit Odellia in hopes of buying their luxury goods at rock-bottom prices, or selling their various wares to the citizens (who had begun to find themselves with some disposable cash). There was nothing wrong with that, but occasionally, an unscrupulous one would attempt to take advantage of the townsfolk, and Kelton reacted swiftly and harshly. It cost him nothing, and it only made the people more beholden to him. One day, rather than simply throwing them out of town, Kelton decided to make an example of a con man.

Kelton had noticed that some of the women from the wealthier families in town had started to wear jewelry, which was sold by a merchant who came to town once or twice a month. However, green rings had been appearing on their fingers and ears. When the merchant next came to Odellia, Kelton confronted him in private, and warned him not to pass off low-quality fake goods to the people of the town. While the man might be able to convince them that gold "does that," Kelton knew better.

The merchant quickly offered Kelton a bribe to remain silent and turn a blind eye. Kelton took the man's money, and distracted him with a drink in the inn, while he discreetly paid one of Franz's men to carve a large notch in the axle of the man's cart, so that it would break before he could travel far.

Kelton then went out into the town square, and publicly called out to everyone what the man was doing, and what he had attempted to offer him to look away. Kelton threw the money that the merchant had given him to the angry crowd, and the tone changed instantly. They rushed the man, and would have mobbed him had he not made a beeline for his cart.

Although it was hard to be heard above the shouts of the crowd, Kelton quieted the people, telling them to let him go; he promised that the next time they saw the man, the tables would be turned. Of course, the hapless merchant didn't make it more than a mile or two before the bumpy road caused his weakened axle to snap, stopping the cart in its tracks. Frustrated, the man had no choice but to make his way back to Odellia on foot for the night, seeking lodging and repairs.

People went wild. Of course, the man was gouged beyond belief, but he had no choice, and the townsfolk were delighted to see this man who had taken advantage of them get his comeuppance in such a satisfyingly short period. Jeremy took no time in making sure that everyone knew Kelton had been watching out for them - which was funny, really, as Jeremy wasn't actually aware that Kelton was responsible for the breakdown of the cart.

After that, word spread quickly, and while it wouldn't be true to say there were no further incidents, for the most part, subsequent peddlers were careful to deal with the people of Odellia honestly.