Bob the farmer hated farming with a passion. Getting up at 4 or 5 in the morning and doing chores. The stupid rooster that woke him up the backbreaking work he had to do every single day. He hated his fields that had more stones than land. He hated the larger farms that sold grain for so cheap. But most of all Bob hated the fact the lords claimed over half his crop claiming to protect him from monsters. What monsters the ones they arranged themselves most likely. Thinking about it Bob was now in his old lords place.
A evil smile appeared on Bob's face as he went over the reports from the farmers. Rabbit looked at Bob “Who are you planning on killing now?”
“No one no one well I am not killing anyone at any rate. I am about to straighten out a lot of the tax loop holes the larger farmers use. I always hated them. Why was I the one having to get up at five in the morning and then I had to work until I dropped. The reason they got to stay in bed until 7 am was simple. They cut anyone down who tried to compete with them. They sold their crops at a loss so the smaller farms had to change what they were producing. Then they hiked up their prices. They bribed the tax man to take a look at the smaller farms but not theirs. Well I do not hate the actually decent farmers much. But I really hate those who pulled others down to keep themselves up and I can now do something about it. ”
A evil smirk appeared on Bob's face “I spent years learning how to hide my copper coins from the tax man. I know all the tricks and misdirection's because I wrote most of them myself. I listened to the old farmers when they told me about their tricks and learned. Even better it is now in my interest to have more farmers working for me. So I will be taxing the larger farmers and leaving the dirt farmers alone. The larger farms will leak workers who will want their own land. More people will stay on in the farming villages and become farmers. Still it means more farmland and farmers and less food.”
Rabbit looked up “You mean more farmers and more food?” “No a hundred farmers working on a plantation can produce 10 times the amount as 1000 smaller dirt farms with half the work. At larger levels it is even more slanted in favour of the large farms. Luckily I do not want more food i want more people. I have a breeding skill that helps my minions so I want plenty of farmers breeding plenty of children. The first child takes the farm the second takes a trade the third becomes a soldier. Any children born after that hope that I am still in power so they can claim some land. In time the farms will grow larger as farmers buy out their neighbours and develop skills. But by then the population under my command will be huge.
Oh I should have the slavers guild gone in a couple of months. Once I get rid of the last of the slave scouts the slavers will be gone in a few months. Remember this rabbit in a large farm of 100 There will be one blacksmith and one seed grower. Getting rid of the blacksmith will let the farm buy their goods from the local blacksmith but getting rid of the seed crop grower can half the farms profits.
In large organisations where everyone in specialised if you remove a link in the chain you can destroy that organisation. In this case by killing all the slave scouts I crippled the slaver guild. You know I managed to get the slavers scouts to kill each other. I posted rewards for several of them in their own guild hall and watched them tear each other apart.
Its simple really the slave scouts are paid the least and hated by the other slavers. If your a slaver who do you look down on the scouts. They in turn do not like the other slavers. Who knew slavers would not like each other? The slaver scouts turned on each other and now there are no scouts left. The slavers are rounding up villages and selling them to keep up with demand.
Which is good for me your getting bored Rabbit? ”“No no I hate slavers tell me how you are going to roast them all alive.”
“I do not have to do anything Rabbit they are doing it to themselves now. Without the spotters to tell them which girls from the countryside do not have family. Or a would be adventurer boyfriends they are targeting the wrong people. I heard they even enslaved a guard captain niece. The guard captain happened to find the head slaver who had been nailed to a town guard post a few days later. The slavers are being hunted down by the thieves and beggars guilds in most cities. When the competition is down its the best time to kick them in the balls.”
Rabbit looked up “Wait what do you mean competition?” “The thieves guild recruits the homeless and so do the beggars guild. You think a slaver is going to care a homeless person technically has rights? No they are going to sneak up on that farmer boy with the unusual class like clerk or builder trying to make it big in the city and bash them over the head. ”
Rabbit nodded “They are bad people as well.” Bob eyes shined “The beggars guild is vicious they sell young children to the brothels. So they are next once I have skinned all the slavers alive. Well all those left after the purges begin. Remember when you kill someone's brother or sister do not forget to kill them as well. Also always remember to loot the corpses of those you kill if you can. In the case of the slavers I plan on squeezing every drop of blood I can from them. I am going to use their blood to make potions and their bones to create undead.”
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Rabbit swallowed “You must hate them more than I do.” “I do not really hate them but now I have a excuse to rob them. Even better no one will try and stand in my way because they are slavers. Even better than that no one will object to what I do to them. So I can make a lot of gold.” Rabbit looked distressed “Are we the bad guys?”
Bob thought about it “I do not know I mean those priests were screaming about how I was evil for killing them. But seriously they were the ones who came around with their golden carriages to give out porridge. Their robes would have feed a village for a year. They kept the farmers down by extorting tithes from them. The older town guards were tossed out on the streets with their children but they are guards. If they do not have a decent combat skill or crime sense what good are they?
As for the slavers I might be a little rough on them but am I taking them and selling them and their children to the nobles who will do things to the beautiful ones I would not do to my dog? That is what they do I merely torture them all to death.
I guess I am as bad as the slavers and nobles. The only difference is that your my friend and they are not. So I will not sell you into slavery. Also the fact I had a few bad run in with slavers means at least any of the serfs on my land will not be sold to be eaten alive or tortured for fun.
It happened to the most beautiful girl in my village. She caught the eye of a local lord a fat and smelly lout called Victory. He must have been eighty with his balding head and pus coming out of the boils on his face. Linda was a beauty young with golden hair. Victory was like a troll. Now had Victory been in his twenties and good looking a bit of attention from the rich lord and Linda would have become his personal maid and tucked him in at night. These things happen but Victory was old and smelly. He tried to woo Linda but was not patient enough to bribe Linda's family or even Linda herself. That is what annoys me about the whole thing.
Rather than offer Linda a small farm for a couple of nights of keeping him company he bought the farm her family were renting had them tossed off and she vanished in the night with her family. I do not know for certain what happened but her father and mother bones were found a year later. Linda herself killed herself.
I have sisters and while not at the level of Linda they are attractive. What I am saying is that now that I am powerful I can actually make a difference. Starting by horribly killing every slaver I can find. Then I am going to find their families their pets even their friends and end them all. By the time I am finished any slaver will take a 200 kilometre detour around my land.
I am not doing this to be a nice person its all for my sisters. This way my sisters can grow up in peace. Their children and their children's children will all not have to fear the slavers. And all i have to do to make it happen is kill anyone who disagrees with me ”
Rabbit nodded “That is right slavers have done desperate things to our families” Bob sighed “Not exactly I might have skinned a couple and tossed them into a hole with some rats. ” Rabbit looked up “Wait what?”
“I got drunk one day and the next thing I knew I was surrounded by dead slavers. It turns out they tried to give me a knock out potion. Well I gave them a deadly poison which caused their bowels to explode. I was still kind of drunk so I took some beer and the next thing I knew I woke in the middle of field with a bunch of holes and screaming slavers. I do not know how all seven of the slavers found themselves in the holes. Or why I skinned them and put healing mud on their wounds before tossing them into the holes.
Frankly had I been sober I would not have done that. The smell from the skinned slavers who had several organs leaking out of their ass's was horrible. Then I had to look for the slavers gold. Horrible simply horrible. ”
Rabbit blinked “Do you have any stories that do not involve you killing and maiming.” “I was a farmer I had 2 fields both covered in rocks with the worst soil you could imagine. What kinds of stories do you want? The one about the bird shiting on my head. Or the one where i spend sixteen hours a day every day doing backbreaking work for less than a copper coin?
My grandfather originally had 4 fields but he rented them from the lord. After years of backbreaking labour fixing up the fields the lords man kicked my grandfather off the land he had spent his life working so hard to improve. So my family was forced to move. My family choose a spot just outside the human controlled lands and carved out a farm. My family killed goblins and bandits as well as at least one so called tax man. Then some noble ass hole declared that out farm belonged to him and we owed him rent. You think my father was going to take that?
No several tax men died and the local knight fell off his horse and died because someone put a rope at neck height on a bend. My point is this being a farmer is hard and people will come and take your land steal your hard work from under you. I am certain being a knight or soldier is hard because I saw a couple of knight families starve to death when the main fighting force in there family died. But compare that to a farmer. If the main farmer dies there is no armour that can be sold. No gold hidden away under the bed. And if there is gold under the bed of a dead farmer you can be certain a knight will show up and claim it as gold owed for rent.”
Bob sighed “I will let you choose any class you want but let me say this. The farmer class is one of the worst. I guess prostitute or slave could be considered worse just not by much. Everyone will tell you pick something you love doing. That way you can do what you like for the rest of your life. What I am saying is look at what you are good at and see if there is a market for it.
YOU CAN DISLIKE WHAT YOU ARE DOING BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY MAKING SURE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY HAVE FOOD IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. ”
Bob grinned “You need to start to gain skills in whatever profession you are going to choose. I would say doctor or potion maker but the various churches have a nasty habit of coming around and giving out free healing. Mages are always in demand. If things turn out badly you can be a adventurer or mage trainer. No one messes with a high level mage either. Of course if you actually want to be a knight we can arrange that as well. Just do not pick farmer ”