studiobondurri Before the Storm: Act 5, Chapter 3
Before the Storm: Act 5, Chapter 3
Before the Storm: Act 5, Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Olga and Raul sent unveiled looks of disgust in Miss Grans direction. The Elder Lich standing behind Olga looked up from its clipboard.
Does this constitute a breach of labour rights? The crimson points of light in its eye sockets flared.
Did Dame Verilyn instruct you to not pay the Goblins? Ludmila asked.
She didnt, my lady, the seneschal replied, but she was still quite pleased when she learned about it.
Ludmila rose from her seat. Miss Gran flinched as she placed a hand on her shoulder.
You are a chivalrous woman, Miss Gran, she said.
D-Dont say that! The seneschal cried, It isnt as if I want to appear chivalrous in regards to this! I already told you that I feel guilty about it.
I know, Ludmila returned to her seat. You are compensating them in some way, yes?
Im trying to figure it out, my lady, Miss Gran replied, but everythings been moving so quickly that I havent been able to come up with any arrangements that satisfy me. I went from moving here at the beginning of summer to having fifteen thousand Goblins by the end of it.
That is understandable, Ludmila said. What is your current arrangement?
The closest precedent Im familiar with is a forester contract, so I decided to start with something along those lines.
no wonder you have fifteen thousand Goblins.
Miss Gran held her hands out helplessly.
I didnt know this would happen! At first, I thought it would be fine until I figured something out. Then, the forest was suddenly filled with Goblins! Beyond anything else that has happened, I think its this thats thrown my development plans into chaos the most.
A foresters contract was exactly as it sounded: it granted the contract holder certain rights, such as hunting and fishing, forage, and timber harvesting in a lords forests in exchange for their expertise in woodland management and provision. It was the occupation that employed most of the Rangers in the Human countries nearby, though foresters usually didnt recognise themselves as one.
Are they generating any revenues? Ludmila asked.
Not much relative to the sheer number of them, Nemel sighed. They circulate resources internally and barely anything comes out, so trade taxes are dismal. Never mind that, its as if their goal is stretching their resources out to support as many people as possible.
That is how Goblins usually are, I suppose, Ludmila said. Their advantage is in their numbers, so having a few more Goblins around is worth far more than securing a comfortable lifestyle in their minds.
I can see that now, my lady, the seneschal said. They dont keep track of anything either, so its impossible to tax them fairly.
Since they self-organise on basic levels so well, why not just manage them as groups rather than individuals?
Miss Gran stood up and went to fetch a binder from a nearby cabinet.
Ive been considering that, she said as she placed the binder on the table between them, but Im supposed to be establishing ten agricultural villages along the valley. I cant settle into any permanent arrangements that might get in the way of what I promised Dame Verilyn. Even the most innocent misunderstandings inflict all sorts of trauma on her.
Why not just have Goblin Farmers? Raul asked.
Goblin Farmers, huh the seneschal settled back into her seat. I cant recall any legends that mention Goblins cultivating fields. After watching mine for the last few months, I think if I tell them that they can grow food in dirt, theyll just eat dirt to save time.
I dont think theyre that stupid, Raul said.
Its not a matter of stupid, Miss Gran said, Its whether they think they can do it or not. The last thing I need is thousands of starving, sick Goblins.
You have seen plenty of success having your Human migrants mentoring the Goblins, Ludmila noted. Why not continue things along that vein?
I am, my lady. The problem is that its too slow relative to our population growth. My only hope is that they start teaching one another and somehow conveniently fill all of the roles that the fief needs.
So do you still plan on bringing in Farmers from the Empire in the spring? Ludmila asked, That should help with vocational training, assuming the new migrants are willing to work with the Goblins.
Plenty of people have already signed up at our agency in Arwintar, Miss Gran answered. Id hate to disappoint them. Also, I want at least some potater, agriculture. I just dont think the farms can be as expansive as I first envisioned because the Goblin population is so huge.
If the land cannot support them, they will migrate.
Migrate where? Nemel frowned, Dont tell me Countess Corelyn is going to issue a complaint because a hundred Goblins decided to pack up their stuff and move into one of her orchards.
That might be funny to see
Despite her outward displays of perfect composure, Clara still wasnt entirely comfortable around other races tribal Demihumans, especially. If a group of them moved onto her territory, Clara would probably scream for Ludmila to do something.
That is correct, Ludmila said. The Imperial Army has evolved to serve the Empires needs, thus they can train functional soldiers as you have mentioned. Ultimately, however, they cannot break out of the mould of imperial society all they can do is work within its constraints. A sort of staircase to generational advancement has been developed: commoners who render exceptional service become landed Imperial Knights. Landed Imperial Knights raise children who gain some of the advantages that martial scions enjoy, with parents passing down the skills, knowledge, and connections that theyve cultivated as career soldiers. As the cycle repeats itself from generation to generation, the Empire eventually ends up with new martial lineages that produce scions who can achieve what their ancestors could not.
So much for being a meritocracy, Raul mumbled.
The Empire has twisted the term quite a bit, Ludmila smirked. The Imperial Army is one of the better scenarios, where a form of generational merit can be achieved, which is ironically the very thing the Emperor has been dismantling in the civilian aristocracy. They also do not recruit commoners by asserting that they can rise to the top of an Army Group, instead presenting what is achievable and the benefits of attaining those levels of achievement, which are attractive to many. For the vast majority of its citizens, however, meritocracy is an idea that the Imperial Administration propagates to encourage everyone to take personal risks on behalf of the Empire at no real cost to the Empire. Those who fail in that effort are treated no differently from a pile of refuse, and the fact that they fail is rationalised as a personal failure and quickly forgotten by society at large.
At least theyre doing better than Re-Estize, Miss Gran said.
They are, Ludmila agreed. Re-Estizes martial institutions never advanced beyond a multitude of house traditions. Now, they are paying the price for their stagnation. This is, however, the same dilemma that you are facing now, Miss Gran.
The seneschal straightened in her seat with a surprised look.
Dilemma? Me?
You are leveraging institutions that are even more primitive than those of the local Human nations, she told her. Ones that are so deeply entrenched that they are natural to your subjects. You have already mentioned your misgivings about being able to have the Goblins assume specialised roles because their regular behaviour tends to have them diversify their skillsets.
I have said that, Miss Gran said, but, at the same time, I never considered it a problem problem. The Goblins seem satisfied with what they have as it is.
Should you not wish for your subjects to achieve the greatest degrees of success?
Maybe thats a part of the issue, the seneschal sighed. I havent devised any tangible metrics to measure their progress with because so many of them appeared in such a short period. It may take years to figure it out. Actually, frontier territories in the Empire do take years or even decades to become productive by the Imperial Administrations standards. The pace in the Sorcerous Kingdom is just ludicrous.
Be that as it may, Ludmila said, this is something you should address. We may criticise Re-Estize for becoming stagnant, but these wilderness tribes have been stagnant for far longer. You are among the first to offer them a way forward.
Wow, no pressure, Miss Gran said. But, even if you say so, I dont have a clue what this way forward is. My lady has fought a Goblin army before how were they organised?
Ludmila fell silent for a moment, recalling the intelligence reports from the previous summer.
In terms of their Goblins, she said, the Goblin army that invaded the Upper Reaches last summer was not any better organised than you are here. I would even go so far as to say it was worse. They formed specialised roles by race: Hobgoblins served as officers and elite heavy infantry and Bugbears were used as shock troops. Regular goblins were treated as everything from light infantry to servants who shouldered most of the armys logistical burdens. Of course, that included randomly becoming mobile snacks when provisions ran low.
Thats horrible!
That was just how it was, Ludmila shrugged, and I presume this is what your Goblins expect under you.
But I never said anything of the sort! Miss Gran protested, Grrnow I feel all sorry for them. Still, how do I enact any sort of change? Everything that they do seems instinctual and my efforts to educate them are slow at best.
It is probably not as difficult as it seems, but I will not ruin your fun. Anyway, we should return to Wardens Vale before it gets too late. Thank you for entertaining us, Miss Gran.
Its a pleasure to be of service, Lady Zahradnik.
Oh, before I forgetdid you read the diary entry I dropped off the other day?
I did! Miss Gran grinned, It really is like a Bards tale. I cant believe Elena got married to the Crown Prince! Theyre even expecting their first child. She was just a girl from the country and everything.
What did you think of, erm, everything else?
She quickly discovered that Miss Gran was just as obsessed with romance as Liane. The both of them became singularly focused on the topic and its related developments once they caught its scent.
Its quite fantastical, the seneschal said. Never mind the details of the wedding, even her everyday life has so many advancements that it makes my head spin. Its like she lives in the Empire that people outside of the Baharuth Empire imagine it to be. So many different races live in the city, as well. It feels far more like a true Empire than anything we have in the present day.
I thought so, as well, Ludmila agreed. It makes me wonder if countries elsewhere in the world achieved a similar level of advancement at the same time and whether they have been building off of it since however long ago these diary entries were written.
I cant imagine what that might be like in the present day. Maybe theyd have ships and castles that fly in the air. Do you think theyd have gone to the moon by now?
Queen Oriculus did mention some things along those lines when they were discussing the navigational beacon installed at Eastwatch. At first, she thought that the Queen was simply being whimsical, but, after reading more of Elena Grans diary, Ludmila decided that there was a strong possibility her musings were true.
My question would be why we have not seen any sign of that sort of progress, Ludmila said. I understand that we are considered some sort of savage backwater by the rest of the world, but we are still connected to the rest of the world by trade. As far as I know, Merchants tend to not care what goods they handle so long as handling them is worth the risk.
The Empires markets occasionally do see weird things from the east, Miss Gran replied. There isnt anything too crazy, though. Imperial artisans have even reverse-engineered some of it, but its all so uninteresting that very little results from the effort. The best you might see is something along the lines of a desk fan or a fridge. My guess is that we get the stuff that no one else wants since were on the very fringe of a continental trade route.
I have heard that rationale before, Ludmila said as she rose from her chair, but that should not stop people from going out to get some wondrous bit of technology or even information about advancements abroad. Governments should be especially keen on doing that.
Youre not wrong, Miss Gran rose to accompany them to the village harbour. Maybe there are measures in place to stop advanced technology from falling into the hands of barbarians, or maybe governments have gotten their hands on it and have all sorts of secret projects running to exploit the technology to their advantage.
Somehow, Ludmila didnt think the latter was the case. New goods and technology werent the only things that came with commerce and it was new concepts and ways of thinking that held the greatest value. The latter two were far harder to stop from spreading.
I suppose it is a mystery that will be unravelled when we get there.
And the Sorcerous Kingdom would get there, eventually. But, first, it had to get its own house in order.ALL new chapters on