CHAPTER 235: TEN FARMS

That made ten farms occupied. They might have a long way to come before they looked like proper farms, but they now had real residents.

"We should let Larry and June know about the new neighbours. I’m reasonably sure I saw at least three pregnant women in the crowd, and June is a midwife." Dominic informed Wilkes.

"I will tell them now. I hear a tractor running, so Pops should be nearly done at the compound, and the Princess wanted me to ensure that they found what they needed to get started breaking land before noon.

She’s supposed to have a magical conversation with her father some time today, and the King will be very impressed if he learns that we’ve managed to make enough progress to settle refugees and break land for farms already." He explained.

Dominic thought that they were doing alright just getting the manor house operational, but Wilkes had a good point.

Being able to tell the King that they had settled refugees into long-term homes would help calm down some of the chaos in Court.

The border Barons were mostly gone, and while Dominic’s lands didn’t extend east into the old Cygnia borders, someone was going to have to go take over all those estates that had been purged as traitors.

Letting the King know that they weren’t just lawless lands overrun with refugees would make it easier to send the right people for the job.

"Millie, would you like to come see the Manor garden now?" Dominic asked.

The Garden Witch nodded happily, and then waved goodbye to the others.

Dominic looped his arm for her to take, and she skipped happily to the garden, where Tena was picking vegetables.

"Tena, I’ve found you a Garden Witch. She needs someone to look out for her. She’s got a head injury from a horse kick, and Wilkes healed her headache, but she’s probably tired from over exertion." Dominic explained.

Tena nodded in understanding. She knew what a kick to the head could do to those who survived. The Royal Guard would have healed as much as he could, but head injuries were tricky.

"Would you like to help me weed the garden? I’m sorting the plants into three sections, so we have constant fresh vegetables." Tena explained.

"Oh, I know how that works. I have good magic for removing weeds. It only leaves plants that are edible." Millie declared.

Movement in the distance caught Dominic’s attention, and he focused to see that one of the newly arrived farm families was directing a refugee group toward town.

"It looks like I’ve still got work to do. Who would have thought that lifting the curse on the area would have such an immediate effect." Dominic sighed.

Tena waved him away so that she could watch the child-minded Elf work on removing weeds from the garden.

Dominic met the refugee group at the edge of the village a few minutes later, and a muscular man with a Merchant Guild emblem around his neck came forward to greet him.

"Your Grace, it’s a pleasure to meet you. The Guild mentioned that you were moving in here." He declared.

{The Resistance Lives. Welcome home, Your Highness. I have brought you skilled workers. They paid the Guild to relocate them after the battles destroyed the cities to the north, outside the ceded area.}

Dominic nodded. That explained a lot. If the Merchant’s Guild was getting themselves involved, they would be using magical communication to let their people know where he was.

There had only been a few days since the official announcement, and since he had told their branch where he was going. But there were also Merchant Guild members in Albroles, and they would have given the Guild a warning that Dominic was about to receive a peerage.

"Welcome to Wistover. I wish I could say that we were fully prepared to host you in style, but I do have a room at the manor for the Merchant’s Guild, and we can arrange lodging for the others, whether they are staying long term or short." Dominic replied.

{I appreciate it. We need all the skilled hands we can get at this point. We got some farmers, enough to feed the village. But we’re short on everyone else.} He signed back.

"Now, I think that I have just the right people for you. None of them were impoverished before the war, and they’re all valuable assets to any Lord.

I have an innkeeper and his staff as well. Assuming that you haven’t found one. Then, we have three Techno Wizards, a steam fitter, an Artificer, two tailors, three carpenters, woodcutters with draw horses and gear, and two steam tractors.

Those are for sale by the Guild, if you happen to have some coin." The Merchant explained.

{None are criminals, all had good reputations checked before we left.}

Dominic smiled. "That will work wonderfully for us. With all the traffic we’ve been seeing, we’re going to need all the skilled magitech specialists for certain. We do have an empty Inn, and a number of shops and homes for everyone else.

Some of the shops are still complete with inventory, though it’s a decade old and in questionable condition, but I’m afraid that the Dagos Army burned down all the shops with magitech visible in them."

The tailors looked hopeful. "We brought some cloth with us, but space is at a premium. Is there a tailor shop intact? I have some coin to purchase the shop and home."

Dominic nodded. "As we are establishing a new village, I am not charging for homes, but we can come to an arrangement for the shop and the Inn.

The King of Cygnia has declared a two-year tax amnesty for us. So, you will have some time to make a name for your establishment without worrying about war taxes."

The group began to celebrate, and the Merchant Guild member discretely handed Dominic a piece of paper.

Dominic unfolded it, and saw that it was a list of what he had for sale, including the steam tractor that had pulled the convoy here.

If Dominic’s math was right, buying everything would leave the man with one horse to ride back home on.