CHAPTER 233: NEW FAMILIES

The Khalil Family of Causman had once been an illustrious and wealthy family, not quite Nobility, but the next best thing.

Now, their riches had been confiscated, and they had all of their remaining assets loaded into one large trailer pulled behind a farm tractor. But at least they had a pair of oxen with a merchant wagon to carry everyone, and the cargo trailer behind the tractor had a plow hooked to the back of it.

They had brought the essentials to get restarted wherever they ended up, and Dominic was immediately impressed.

The farms had serviceable equipment, but taking the initiative to bring the essential pieces to start a new farmstead showed that they didn’t think they were above starting over from nothing with their own hard work and no handouts.

Better than the ones who had immediately turned to banditry.

Though, Dominic realized that he likely shouldn’t judge them too harshly. Even when he had first come to Cygnia he had been stealing from scrapyards to make ends meet.

If the group coming in the morning were as good as the other two families said they should be, he would give them a chance to prove themselves.

Dominic turned to the elder of the Alator family. "General, it was a pleasure to meet you tonight, and I will come check on you in the morning. For now, I will escort the Khalil family to their new compound."

Dominic led the large group assembled by Omar Khalil to a family complex at the edge of town that had once belonged to a wealthy merchant family, much like the new residents.

It was made of five smaller houses arranged around a courtyard, allowing the branches their own space.

They hadn’t brought any dedicated household servants that Dominic could see, but with the mix of able-bodied men, adolescent boys and entirely too many girls, they should be able to at least upkeep their own house.

"Does your family tend toward girls?" Dominic asked as they pulled up in front of the complex.

Omar chuckled. "You don’t know the half of it. These are just the ones that haven’t been married out of the family. We’ve long had three girls to every boy. If we weren’t smart at business, we would have been bankrupt just on dowries by now."

One of the older men came out of the truck to shake Dominic’s hand.

"Your Grace, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Omar Khalil Senior, father of the Captain, and a skilled tailor. If you need any clothes made, let me know. We managed to salvage a small portion of the family’s inventory before the shops were taken." He announced, while also speaking with his hands.

{Well met, Lord Wavemates. The Merchant’s Guild welcomes you back to Stansia Province and appreciates your hospitality.}

Dominic smiled back at him. "The ladies will be pleased to know that we have a skilled tailor among us already. While their needlework is exceptional, our staffing levels are not high."

{It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Merchant. If you didn’t hear, there has been a two-year tax amnesty declared for those under my care. I look forward to seeing how well your family manages to establish themselves.}

The Captain chuckled. "I should have known that you would both be fast friends.

If you come back in the morning, we will make sure that the other arrivals under Captain Brass behave themselves. We have worked together for nearly a decade now, as his village was not far from the city.

If you send out a runner to the cities, I don’t think you’ll have a hard time finding skilled tradesmen. Many of the locals are still loyal to the true lineage, and they will happily come to live and work here."

Dominic nodded. "Well, I have a rather significant amount of land available and vacant. From what I remember, at least four thousand of the twelve thousand acres are suitable to either be worked or put to hay.

That’s a hundred small farms, plus the village.

Then there will be twenty Barons appointed soon. The total vassalage covers five hundred square kilometres." Dominic explained.

The Captain whistled in appreciation. "It’s a shame that none of us managed to impress the Cygnia Nobility enough to be considered. But our families were military and not Noble to begin with.

Just the peerage you’ve been given, with the magic in your veins, should be enough that you never have to worry about money again. That alone is a dream come true."

Dominic laughed. "We’re just getting started. Cygnia is on the verge of a cultural leap from animal to mechanical labour. If I can find the blueprint, or duplicate an existing tractor, I might be able to thoroughly change how farming is done here.

The one that we have at the manor is on the smaller side, but with most families working forty acres, it might be large enough.

Assuming I can find steam smiths to make us a hundred of them in the next year."

The Patriarch of the Khalil family nodded in understanding of what Dominic wasn’t saying. ’Find us someone to make tractors, and everyone benefits.’

Dominic explained the situation to everyone when he returned so they could be on guard against thieves. Hopefully, it would not be necessary. But when they had valuable equipment, a garden, and goats, there was no telling what desperate people would do.

Fortunately, when Dominic woke the next morning to the smell of frying pork and eggs, there was no sign that the Royal Guard had encountered trouble.

"Perfect as always, Beth. Thank you for breakfast. Pops, one of the new arrivals, has a damaged steam tractor they would like you to take a look at. They brought a plow with them as well, so if you can get their issue sorted out, they can start clearing land today.

It was still running and driving, but I didn’t have an opportunity to look into it last night." Dominic explained.

"That’s not a problem. They must be the ones in town, I can see the tractor from my window. I will sort them out and put them to work." Pops agreed.

Now, Dominic just needed to vet the rest of the arrivals.