Bates had not lied. He really left the same day.
The castle that was bustling with activity had gone quiet.
Theodore enjoyed a peaceful morning as he started planning for the day.
He would have a packed itinerary. He spoke with miss Ilverny and Mr Heardly and consulted them as well.
In order to get acquainted with his territory, he would start the morning with a walk through town with a local guide. A clerk that hat been working in the territory would also join him. Mr Heardly and miss Ilverny would inspect the staff and the current state of affairs.
The guide was a middle-aged man called Barn. Barn was one of the few farmers around Fivernely. As there was little to do around the farm right now he was readily available to guide Theodore.
Theodore met the man in the great hall.
"Barn, at your service, sir." He greeted.
"Hello Barn, I'm grateful that you are willing to show me around. Please drop the sir and just call me Theo. We're going incognito."
"Incognito, sir?"
"It means, to go without being noticed. Don't mind. We're going shopping. The way I'm dressed I'm sure to be noticed. Any recommendations?"
"Sure, m' lord. We can go by Waverly, a tailor downtown. She'll have you re-dressed in a jiffy m' lord." Barn recommended quickly.
"Barn."
"Yes, m'lord?"
"It's just Theo. Just Theo."
"Alright, m' lord. I mean Theo."
'This is going to be hard.' Theodore was already facing a headache thinking about how this was going to affect his plans.
By visiting incognito he would get a good measure of the towns actually prosperity and workings. If he visited as the lord, he would only get smiles and some courtesies. He had been thinking about his plans all night. To have his first trip downtown fail would really be annoying.
They quickly made their way outside, a cart had already been prepared. Instead of his luxury carriage, he would take to 'peasant' transport. Even though he had to admit that his horse still looked anything but ordinary.
A small group of knights were also waiting by the side. Their captain saluted Theodore.
"M'lord we're ready to escort you downtown." he said.
"Captain?"
"Ah, sorry m'lord. Captain Ward reporting for duty."
"Alright, Captain Ward. We've travelled far and you've accompanied me throughout the long ride and kept the convoy safe and sound. It would be to harsh of me to have you join me by foot all the way through town today as well. Please take your rest, I promise that I'll be safe with Barn here."
"But, m'lord. It is our duty to protect you. We cannot rely on, no offence, a peasant, to protect you from harm." He objected firmly.
"Offence taken." Barn gruffed.
"Alright. There's a compromise to be made. Take three of your men, have them cloth as civilians and they can join the cart. Barn and I can ride on the front anyways." Theodore suggested.
After appeasing the captain some more they came to an agreement. The captain himself and two big men joined them on the cart and they departed for the tailor. Luckily the captain and his men were able to dress appropriately for the mission.
"Say Barn, this place is been said to be barren. How come there are still farmers around?" Theodore asked as they rode down the road towards the village near the river.
"Well, m'lord, there's a short window in which we can grow crops. About three months a year, the ground isn't frozen and the conditions are barely acceptable to some crops. Not all crops make it, some years we have little harvest. But every bit we make, we don't have to import. It's important for us to keep farming, even if the conditions are as bad as they are. Those that have stayed to farm all love the job and this place."
"How do you get the rest of the food supplied then?
"Well, we hunt a lot. We have rich forests around here. Deer, moose, bear, ox all live in the forest. We also fish on the river as well. Salmon, trout, herring, mackerel, cod - we get more than a bit of those 'roud here. When the river freezes our supplies quickly run out though. We do fish by making holes in the river. But there's little fish to be had 'ere later in the season."
"And vegetables?"
"Import, really no choice there. We can't make ends meet with the yield here up north. Traders visit here. They trade vegetables with us for local products, like furs, antlers, leather and the like. We don't have much special stuff to trade. But it's 'nough to get our mouths fed."
Perhaps it was less bad than he initially thought. They seemed self-sufficient. If this was the case, then how could it be such a costly territory? The convoy protecting the levied might be expensive, but if the town fed itself and was trading local products... Then taxes should be able to cover it, right?
"Mister Ferris, does the territory operate on a surplus?" He asked the clerk that joined them.
"Reporting to m'lord. The taxes are enough to cover the expenses of the territory. Taxes on agricultural products are low in order to have farming stay profitable. The territory main income comes from taxing trade and hunting. By the king's law, all animals in the forest belong to m'lord. So for their hunting, they pay taxes. In order to prevent overhunting, the lord gives out special permits to the hunter to hunt a total amount of animals per season. We also levy the ships that board on our docks. All things considered, the territory is barely profitable." The clerk explained.
"What are our main expenses then?" Theodore asked
"Maintaining order, upholding the law, maintenance on the roads and the church." The clerk dutifully answered.
"Any recent developments that cost money?" Theodore was silently calculating. He couldn't fathom how this was supposed to be a territory running on a deficit. It was far from a 'prosperous' territory. But so far, he hadn't heard anything that would make it unprofitable and costly..
"M'lord. The previous castellans did not develop this area much. They were keen on receiving the benefits and administering the territory. The only activity deployed since the time the territory was granted to your family was the inspection of the mountain range further north. According to record nothing of note has been found there."
"Nothing was found?" Theodore perked up at the mention of the mountain range. He had expected there to be some resources and had planned to take advantage of those. The report sounded dubious to him.
"As far as the records state, m'lord." The clerk answered honestly.
"We've arrived at Waverly m'lord." Barn said as he quickly alighted from his seat and tied the rein to a fence nearby.