Jon sighed as he heard a knocking on the door. He was sleeping so well just now too. When he was old, he had a hard time sleeping solidly through the night. But now he slept like a rock and it was wonderful. Except for now.
"Your breakfast is on a tray on the table outside your door. I'm going now." Jon heard from outside his door. Though Sarabella sounded cheery and sweet, he had no doubt that an Unseen fanatic like her would kill every man, woman and child in this town without the slightest hesitation or remorse for her ends. Her duplicity disgusted him.
Yesterday, the village chiefs had arrived in the evening, and he had gotten his first glimpses of them. They had decided to delay introductions to do them in a more officious manner, so he had made sure they were fine and had gone off to discreetly follow Sarabella.
That girl had gone off immediately to talk with someone from the other villages, and Jon felt like he had perhaps found another one of her compatriots. Or perhaps not. All this intrigue was giving Jon a headache.
Another interesting bit was that the merchant had arrived with the caravan. Once the kingdom was established, he'd have to talk to the merchant right away. It might be best to gather more information from Sarabella on this fellow first though. So much to do, so little time.
After he ate his breakfast, he went to the tavern. The village chiefs were already waiting for him, but it seemed appropriate for him to arrive last.
"Good morning." Jon greeted.
The others seemed unsure of how to return the greeting, and mumbled theirs in return.
Jon was a direct man, and had served in the military for most of his life, so he didn't care too much about their manners or their nervousness and went straight into it.
"We're all here for the formation of a new kingdom. I'm sure you've heard the prophecies, and perhaps have been... convinced by others already." At these words, a couple of the village chiefs winced. Davius remained calm, but the last chief stared at Jon with a grudge on his face. Jon could tell the Unseen had made themselves known. It wasn't the way he would have wanted to gain their cooperation, but what was done was done. And he had to use everything he could get if this fledgling kingdom was going to become something.
"Regardless of that, I'll make my promises now. I will protect the security of the kingdom, and make sure that everyone is safe. I will develop the dungeons in the kingdom, and hopefully bring some wealth to the outlands. If possible, I'd like to make people's lives easier."
"Pfffft. As if." The chief of Fairsummer village responded. He was a large man who sat with his arms crossed and a petulant attitude, as though he thought this was all a waste of time. "You think we'll believe your lies? We need to have some solid incentives before we join a sapling like you!"
"Oh, shut it Perry. You never acted so tough when Reek was strutting about. No one's going to buy your strong man act." A sassy granny cut in. Jon looked at the chief of Stonegate appraisingly. This no-nonsense attitude was something he could work with…
"Julia! We're negotiating here. There's no reason to cut down your fellow. And Perry, there's no sense in putting on airs. A solid relationship is built on trust and openness." The chief of Goodwood village added. Clearly he was trying to mediate before things got out of hand, and as the oldest chief there, he had the presence to reprimand them. But Jon suspected the recent business that he had sent to Goodwood village was also working in his favour.
"My fellow, Jeffrey?" Julia asked. "Where was tough man Perry when Reek took his pick of women from Stonegate? Cowering in his boots, that's what! This young man has done more for Stonegate in a fortnight than Fairsummer has in years! Even if he didn't, I've never suffered imbeciles, and I'm not starting now."
Jeffrey's face turned sour, and tensions were building. Luckily, Davius was an astute man and cleared his throat for attention.
"Ahem. I can assure you that Jon is an upstanding fellow. I sincerely believe we can trust him and work with him for a better future for all of us. And I don't believe I have to remind you that our options are… limited." Davius threw the others a significant look.
Jon looked around to gauge their reactions, and he wasn't pleased. Perry turned sulky, and likely thought Jon was in cahoots with the Unseen who had threatened his village. Julia looked away, and wouldn't look back. Jeffrey's face was still as stone, and unreadable. Jon wanted to explain that he was in a similar position to them, but he knew it wasn't something they would accept. He'd require more of their trust first.
"Putting that aside, we've got to lay down some ground rules. Since we're doing away with pretense, let's get to the meat of it. I will be your King. The four villages will listen to me, and I will do what I can to provide for them.
I've been collecting mana bones from the dungeon for a while now, and have accumulated a fair amount of them. Once I can start trading with the merchant, we'll be in a good spot to start making some improvements. I won't be needing taxes immediately, so we can spend some time getting a good system into place. So what I need now is to know about each of the villages, and the problems we need to tackle first."
Jon looked young, and he felt young, but he commanded with the vigour of an army general. The village chiefs found themselves naturally falling into line, discussing the details and habits of their respective villages. What they thought their villagers were good at, and what they weren't so great at. Though the meeting started in the morning, it continued ceaselessly until night came. Arguments about various customs and which local laws would be used came up often.
Sarabella had been bringing food and drink to the group regularly, and as the night deepened was bringing more drink than food. Other than that, she had been turning away disappointed villagers from the tavern, shooing away regular patrons and busybodies alike.
As the meeting was winding down, Perry was starting to get into his cups.
"Hey, I just realized. If we're starting up a kingdom, am I going to become a noble? Hahaha!"
"No!" Jon suddenly stood up and slammed his mug down! With excessive strength, he shattered clay mug into pieces! The table itself rocked on its legs from the loud impact. The chiefs became shocked at his strong reaction to the idea. After a moment of silence, the mood turned icy and still.
"No. There will be no nobles." Jon said in a more collected voice. "No nobles, no passing down stewardship through families. The world has enough of that garbage."
Jon's determined and serious tone carried a note of warning to the chiefs in the room. A mad look in his eyes sealed their mouths shut. For a few moments, everything was still and silent in the darkening tavern.
"I still need to talk to the merchant. We'll pick this up tomorrow."
Jon walked out into the night. The chiefs had been warming up to Jon throughout the day, but that tentative rapport was tenuous after that outburst. Were they going pledge fealty to this man? All the fear and doubt they had held in the beginning of the day began to creep back into their minds.
---
Another festival of sorts was happening in the village again. Since there was so much meat these days, they were having a big barbecue to welcome the merchant. Kevin Feathers was quite a popular man. Though his fat stature might normally evoke jealousy in a poor land like this, the villagers showed nothing of the sort towards him. He had become well acquainted with these towns he had traded with over many years, and was always happy to take requests.
Kevin was particularly happy, seeing his clientele doing much better these days than usual. He was laughing and joking as he poured a mug of Golden Dreams, a famous ale from a barrel he had brought from the Tulin Empire. The villagers were appreciative and generous with their compliments.
Jon's sour mood melted away as he watched the merchant. It was a happy moment he was looking upon. As he watched though, Kevin caught sight of Jon and immediately got off his wagon. With a practiced flourish, he took off his hat and took an exaggerated bow towards Jon. It was both polite and respectful, but had a dramatic flair that didn't make the situation too serious.
"Hail! Is this the famous King of the Outlands?" Kevin yelled out. He waved enthusiastically at Jon, bringing more laughter from the villagers at his comical movements. Jon couldn't help but forget the past and get caught up in the moment.
"Indeed! Glad to meet you!" Jon yelled as he came forward. One of the villagers thrust a hefty skewer of rat meat into his hand as he passed, and ran off as a dance began to start in the village circle.
As he approached Kevin and his cart, he noticed a young, huffy girl leaning against it. Her reticent stance was quite out of place with the festivities, but Jon didn't pay it any mind. He could tell from her decent clothes that she wasn't from the Outlands though. Likely she came as part of Kevin's caravan.
"I'm Kevin, a traveling merchant that frequents these parts. Pleasure to meet you! My route generally takes me between here and Saffy Falls. If'n there's anything you need, I'd be happy to help!" Kevin extended a welcoming hand, and revealed his vigorous energy once Jon began to shake it.
"That's great to hear. I have quite a few requests, and a lot of things to talk about. If-"
"Oh, sorry if I gave the wrong impression. Now's not the time for business, it's a time for partying! I'd be glad to talk later, but there's too many folk I need to catch up with, and I'm a bit tipsy right now." Kevin gave a wink as he finished that made Jon laugh.
"In that case, I'll take a mug of whatever's in that barrel!"
"Good choice! One mug of mystery ale for you it is!"
As the night went on, Jon got to know more about Kevin and his crew. There was a group of 8 guards to protect him, and some of them were worried they'd be out of a job now that Reek's crew was gone. He told them to consider moving here, but they were rightly a little skeptical. The outlands were still undeveloped and quite boring to most.
And the girl Jon had seen before was Kevin's daughter, Savanna. She came along to help with the trading, but this leg of the trip was the one she hated the most. Savanna was normally quite sociable, but it was only outside of the Tulin Empire that she would start being broody and withdrawn.
As the night wore on, Jon came to realize his love for this village. It was good to see their smiles and laughs, and that no one knew how to 'act proper' around him was his favorite thing. He began to realize that he didn't want to make any kind of normal kingdom. He wanted to try something new. It might not work, but the fires of hopes were lit in his heart for a new way of life.
---
Jon woke up excited today. He had been thinking about all the things he had hated about the Ryka Kingdom, and all the things he wished had been done instead. Much of it was related to his bad experiences with the military leadership, but he had talked enough with nobles about how the kingdom was run to get a good idea of how a lot of things worked.
He walked into the tavern again with the same people as yesterday, and smiled brightly at their doubtful faces. Perry in particular was looking skeptically at Jon.
"Good morning, chiefs! First off, my apologies for my outburst yesterday. I will admit, I have very strong feelings about the aristocracy. But that's okay, because we won't be using something like that." Jon said in a cheery voice. He stood before the table of chiefs, gesticulating excitedly with his hands. It made him look a little crazy at how excited he was to explain this, but he couldn't be bothered to care.
"Instead of using nobility as leaders, we're going to test and pick people individually. Every time. Any time I need someone to be my proxy somewhere, I'm going to make sure they're capable of doing it. I don't want some idiot son of a noble waltzing in and making a mess in my kingdom.
And everyone will need to train a protege, to make sure someone can take over their job. In the army, if a squad captain dies, then his vice-captain takes his place. We'll do the same for civil projects as well!
The proteges will be picked from the common folk. Whoever can prove themselves to be smart and up to snuff will become an official of the kingdom! Then they can take on these vital jobs that normally would be done by nobility in other kingdoms!"
Jon looked around, expecting great applause or excitement from the village chiefs. Instead, he was met with more doubtful looks…
Julia, having more gumption and guts than the men at the table, broke the silence.
"It's a wonderful… vision… but how do you know it'll work? Have there been other kingdoms that worked this way before? All we know of is the Tulin Empire, which has used an aristocracy for… who knows how long. I'm not saying I want to do everything the same way those tuffy Tulins do, but I'm not looking to reinvent the wheel."
Jon paused for a moment, finding his words. His face turned serious and stoney, as he gave off a grave impression.
"We are going to become something new and incredible. If this kingdom is to survive and prosper, it must become GREATER than the Tulin Empire, which will not tolerate our existence otherwise. To do so, means we must walk a path untread by others. To follow our predecessors is to doom ourselves to mediocrity, which will lead to our demise.
Now… I understand that you may have been… forced into this uncertain situation. I have too, if you're willing to believe me. But I have no hesitation to remove you if you're uncooperative. I'd rather not be a tyrant, but there's too much at stake to quibble."
Leaning forward in a menacing manner, Jon's voice quieted down until you had to lean in to hear it.
"Do we understand each other?"
After looking around at the slowly nodding heads of the chiefs, Jon smiled brightly and popped back up into a standing position.
"Great! I have to talk to Kevin now. Have some lunch and we'll continue later."
As Jon left the tavern, Julia, Perry and Jeffrey shared a look. They clearly thought the same thing at this moment.
"Our king is insane…"