An unknown wind blew from the south as a young girl lay on her bed crying. Her brunette hair covered her face as she faced a large door. The morning had not been kind to Lasca Olfsalban. The sun had just begun to crest the horizon when a messenger had arrived at the family seat of Earl Telaman Ofsalban. It had taken four days for the messenger to reach this place far off in the western frontier. The news from the Capital had been devastating. The earl was dead, sent to fight off a minor orc incursion to the northeast.
While in transit to deal with this body of orcs, disaster had struck. An attached force of goblins ambushed the column within the Dinjem Forest. Six kilometers from where they should have made contact with the orc camp. There had been attempts to scout the forest. But due to the density of the foliage, a goblin could easily hide in a sizeable fern at a distance and go completely unnoticed.
All Lasca could remember from when the letter arrived was her mother's uncontrollable sobbing. The entire house seemed to have fallen in on itself with grief. If there was any joy, it was felt by those who wanted the fertile regions that the Earldom possessed. Endless tracts of land could be exploited for a substantial profit. Her father had put much time and effort into bringing the industry of Galbetrya to his fief. From this home of grief, the news spread. Throughout the towns and villages, all were shocked by the sudden news.
Unaware of the tragedy unfolding, a young boy sat on a piece of granite stone, marveling at a pouch of coins in his hand. Deyxel had never seen such an amount of money in his life. Having counted the coins five times now, he could not believe he was holding three thousand two hundred Soubei's worth. In awe, he sat fixed on the pouch. In all his living years in this world, he had never seen more than a bronze Soubai.
In the three ranks of Coinage used in this world, a Soubai coin was the smallest. The coins in this rank were nickel, copper, tin, bronze, silver and gold. Based on fifths, a nickel Soubai is the smallest denomination. Followed by Duarte and Fealion, the kinds of metal used per each rank did not change. Only the purity of the metal in the coins changed depending on rank.
Holding a gold piece in his hand, the idea that this was the equivalent of two hundred nickel coins.
'I never thought that my hard work would pay off this well.'
Turning his attention to the contraption he had built, Deyxel wondered if his attempts to find some way to distinguish himself. It was not easy with the limitation of only being able to use rune magic. To have anyone look at you with acceptance unless you did something well. The cutting tool was now showing signs of wear from being used daily. To his surprise, the box-like contraption was still holding together.
Placing the pouch down on a stone in front of him the young boy looked about himself for a moment. He had adventured in this area of the mountains alone to find a place to think. In a few three months, he had opened a little space in the granite mountainside that he now had a little office area where he did all of his experiments.
It was small, only twenty feet by thirty feet. Still, he was able to stay dry and work in peace. It was not comfortable by any stretch of the imagination everything was made of granite. From the seat, Deyxel sat on the deck in front of him made of rock still he made due.
'I have money now, but openly spending it would only attract attention.'
While recognition would be nice there were problems with him coming out and starting to spend like a big spender. The question of where he. A child from a peasant family got silver and gold Soubai. It would be suspicious when his father was a farmer who only made twenty to thirty bronze Soubai or three gold Soubai a year. So in a single night, Deyxel had made what his father would in five years.
Shaking his head suddenly Deyxel brought himself back to more important thoughts. While the tool he had made did fulfill his purposes, there was a need for something more. He had hoped to have something new made similar to the stone cutter he was already using but stronger.
On his desk sat an ink well and a simple feather quill. It had been his mother who had taught him to read and write. Limited as their family situation seemed, there was Deyxel always wondered why this world was the way it was. There seemed to be some structural education system in this country that immensely favored one side over the other.
Looking at a piece of paper in front of him, the boy thought earnestly concerning what he thought would be the best course of action. He remembered there was a blacksmith in the village. A dwarf named Gilgrath iron hood worked hard in his forge. When this individual first arrived three years ago, the village had not had a blacksmith before.
Giliepii village had been founded twenty years ago with Deyxel's parents being part of the first settlers. They had been newly married and chose to leave the capital for a simpler life. What his parents did or how they lived before they came to this place was not something spoken of at home. Still, it was unlikely that he would find anything interesting, so Deyxel continued to stare at the paper.
~Dear sir, peace be upon you. The payment that you gave for the stone I prepared for you was sufficient. It would be pleasing for me to continue to prepare more stones. If you would facilitate the selling of the end product. I will ensure that the quality and quantity of everything produced will be of the best work. For my part, I will take thirty percent of all income from this venture. To increase the amount of doable work, I require some tools to be made. The diagrams enclosed should give your blacksmith an idea of what is needed.
Please ensure the work is paid for from my share of the stone. If demand increases or large orders are placed, I may need employees to increase output.~
Sincerely Doregran Tomast.
Finishing this letter to the village chief Deyxel felt it was enough. Folding the paper he moved away from the desk picking up the stone cutting tool. If it broke now, he could build another but something stronger would be nice.
As the morning turned to midday, the village chief Vihan Colmant read over an urgent message that had arrived via airship. The news of earl Telaman Ofsalban's passing had spread throughout the entire earldom. Like a gale pushing a fire to consume everything before it, the sad news had reached Giliepii.
'To die without a male heir.'
While the earl's only daughter was alive and well the security of the earldom was now troubled. It would be two years before Lasca Ofsolban came of age to take her father's title. So her mother, Flaima Ofsolban would become the retainer of the fife. This was where trouble could arise. An enterprising noble could find his way into the mother's good graces. With enough time such a person could marry the Countess and make Lasca disappear. She would not have to be killed, however, just be sent to boarding school long enough for a boy to be born.
Even in this magical world, the concept of primogeniture still had a strong bite into the society of this country. Regardless there were ways to not get caught in this kind of trap. All of which required money, and that would make looking for an advantageous marriage desirable. Or have the economic situation in the earldom become strong enough. That there would not have to run into any marriage.
With a wrinkled hand, the old chief placed the message on a desk beside him. With the other hand handed a bronze Soubai to the messenger. From the time he got the message, while important, his attention was elsewhere.
'It has been a while Gemtor should be back.'
Over an hour ago, he sent one of his aids to where the stone cache had been the night before. Having seen the works of master stone cutters in the capital Vihal could not help but think about the potential profits. It was a pity that the stone was granite marble was in the greatest demand at present. Still, the price for what had been prepared would be a large sum.
At least he hoped earlier that morning his son-in-law had been sent to find a merchant willing to buy in the city of Kylmeithos.
Stomp stomp stomp.
"Chief, I found another letter at that place." [Gemtor]
A slender man came roaring into the village chief's office. In his right hand is a piece of paper.
"Well, man, give it to me quickly." [Vihal]
The younger man handed his elder the paper without delay. Gemtor, while only thirty, had been around the merchant circles before coming to this village. So he could see the wealth that could be brought into the village if this business deal could become cultivated.
While the younger man was catching his breath the elder looked over the letter. For a few moments, there was silence as Vihal checked over the letter again, then at a bundle of other papers that looked like designs for something. In an instant, Gemtor found the bundle presented to him.
"Take this to Gilgrath, tell him whatever the cost, we will pay it to his satisfaction." [Vihal]
Without hesitation, Gemtor was out the door. Moving towards the forge, leaving the old chief.
"Thirty percent is a fair portion, but I shall not be discouraged. With the earl gone, the region will need a good endeavour to improve the economy." [Vihal]
Far to the north in the Capital City of Hertalmat sat a meeting of three nobles. The city had many places for individuals. Who, if they wanted to be discreet could meet without anyone knowing. This allowed many unsavory people to plan the downfall of those they wished to not trouble them more.
"It was advantageous that the orcs came south when they did. Pitty losing all that gold on mercenaries to fake the goblin ambush."
The other two men nodded in agreement. For years they had hoped to destroy Telamon Ofsalban. The reasons for this were many. Firstly the earl had been successful in limiting the gains of these three in the eastern frontier areas. Leaving them with the undesirable mountainous regions while Telamon took the lion's share. The second would be that he married the strongest female mage of their generation.
"The price does not matter if we continue to be united in our goals. We will gain what is rightfully ours."
"It should take a few days for the earl's body to reach Kylmeithos. We should prepare to go to the funeral and support the countess with what we can."
Laughing together at this idea, all three rose from their seats and departed.
The sun began to peek below the horizon as Deyxel arrived home. This had not been the longest he had been from home. Several times he would stay out away from home until the sun had fully gone down. Today he was tired from cutting stone. By the time someone checked the cache was there would be twenty pieces ready.
Entering the house the smell of dinner dominated his senses.
"Ah, Deyxel, everything is ready if you want to dish yourself up."
Arriving in the kitchen area the young boy only saw his mother in her apron.
"Where is everyone else?" [Deyxel]
Looking at the table, it was devoid of people neither his father nor sisters were present.
"Gelima and Rylin are looking over some clothes while your father was called away."
"Oh." [Deyxel]
While putting a piece of ham on his plate, Deyxel could sense a foreboding presence emanating from somewhere. However, he cared more about filling his belly at this moment than some far-off problem.