"I will believe it only when I see it." Stephan opened his mouth to object but the domina waved a repressive hand. "Yes, yes, they have them on Patria. But not here! It will be a long time before the Imperium can make that, if ever!" She shook her head.
"So, what do we do?" Stephan asked, looking to the drott.
All eyes followed his to the chieftain.
The drott cocked his head. "From your reports, there are none other who would be counted among our number?" he asked carefully.
"Some might if they saw things turn our way. But none outright. They would be exposing themselves to her wrath," Domina Rasmussen replied.
The drott thumped his thick fingers on the wood tabletop. He did the tactical simulations in his head quickly. He didn't like what he saw.
"Aye, there are too many others here. Too many warriors with the other dominus."
"They will side with us!" Stephan insisted.
The wise old eyes turned to him. "Will they? I am not so sure of Baron Farragut or the others who fought by her side on the way here."
That shut the warrior up for a moment. "We cannot say one way or another where their hearts truly lay anymore and asking would give us away. No, we wait until after this Thing ," he said, pushing a plate away in disdain. "Let us be the last to leave. Only, we won't," he said with a smile.
Some of the others smiled back.
~~~^~~~
Zara noted Baron Farragut's troubled look and came over to him. "What troubles you, Dominus?" she asked with a slight cock of his head.
"Too much," he muttered, and then turned to her.
"Too much?"
"I admire your eagerness. Your youth does you well in that regard, Princeps, but you must make haste slowly in some cases. It is too much for them. It is too much for many old minds, including my own to grasp."
She nodded. "I suppose I am in a bit of a competition with my sister and as you said, eager." She frowned. "I want the people here to have a better life. Equal to the Imperium. Equal to the Terrans."
"Ah. I know," he said wryly. He had thought her and her sister a fool for giving away so much and asking for so little. He had expected different things, to have their homes sacked, to spend years under the yoke of a distant lord. Now he was unsure. The Terrans definitely had a hand in this … mercy. His people might not like the Imperium after the war, but the gifts and help were not unnoticed and not coming down on them harshly had also been noticed.
It was in a way undermining his own power base and hers he thought.
"I will … try to temper my eagerness. Find common ground with them that we can build off of," Zara said thoughtfully.
"Thank you, Princeps."
~~~^~~~
Domina Berg felt uneasy about being in the same place as Domina Rasmussen. She decided to head back to her domain to check on things and to implement some of the things she had picked up from the Imperium.
She felt that something was coming and wanted no part of it either way. She left her proxy with Count Mallory and sent her regrets to the princess.
~~~^~~~
Zara received regular reports from her team on improving capital life. She had to rein them in though, especially Tacitus since his were the most expensive investments. They just didn't have the money or the proper equipment to do what he wanted.
"Make haste slowly," she said and then took a sip of mead. She grimaced; it was a tad too sweet for her liking. "We're here to overhaul as much as possible. But we're also on a budget; we can't get greedy," she explained.
"I can dream, can't I?" Tacitus said whimsically.
Zara snorted. "Yes, you can. And there is nothing stopping you from explaining what we would like to do, the changes and let the people do what they can with what they have. Show them an example and how the improvement is helping and let them copy it that way."
"True and very wise," the smith said with a nod. "Let them pay for it."
The princess smiled. "Didn't expect that from someone my age?"
"Ah …," he backpedaled, unsure of how to respond to that.
Her twinkle went out. "It's okay. I was primed on that idea but forgot it until now."
"Oh."
"We're not perfect. Not even the Terrans, though they try to help the best they can."
"Good for them."
~~~^~~~
Whenever she could, Zara worked on things to export. The easy ones were wool, cheese, hides, leather, medicinal herbs, beer, and wood products. The problem was, she wanted to export more. She wanted to export finished goods; they made more money than raw materials.
Looking where to invest and in what was an issue. Too many things were interconnected. They needed factory equipment, but that meant power and machinery, plus the trained people to run the equipment. Duluth had been beggared by a series of droughts, the last plague, and then the war.
Occasionally, she would talk to Deidra about the trade issue. From time to time, Deidra would turn it into a negotiation, only partially in jest.
"You know we need to let the experts handle this, right?" Deidra said, half in exasperation. She made the mistake of pressing the microphone button when she yawned.
"Tired you out, sister?" Zara teased.
"A bit. I still do not have my full energy," Deidra admitted.
"Ah," Zara said, suddenly contrite. She knew her sister was rather busy. She started to shift the topic to ideas for trade, going for the absurd. That seemed to entertain her sister enough to get a soft laugh.
She heard suckling sounds and smiled as she realized what they were from. "I wish I was there to see her."
"I know. You'll see her soon enough," Deidra replied.
"Yeah, probably when you've weaned her and gotten her potty trained," Zara said mock grumpily.
Deidra snorted. "Hardly, though Eugene expects this one to grow up fast. With good food, the vaccines, and medical care, it is possible."
"True," Zara replied. "I hate losing a mother to be."
"You lost one?" Deidra asked.
Zara sighed heavily. She had backed Eudoxia's mandatory medicus checks of pregnant women and the care of children, but some farms were just too far out. And some people were still too closed minded. "Last week. One of the girls from a distant farm. She bled out before the midwife and medicus could get to her. The family insisted on doing it on their own. Now they have to bury their daughter and child," she said bitterly.
"Ah. I'm sorry to hear that. Please extend my condolences to the family," Deidra said.
Zara nodded. "I'll make sure to do that."
"Please do. We are working towards becoming one people in time."
"That's certainly the goal. But there are some pretty thick heads here," Zara said with a shake of her head. "I still don't know who to trust."
"Well, we're sending more people from here. Some are rather excited for the opportunity; some are a bit snotty about it all. I hope they'll be set straight."
"Life here is pretty hardy compared to the Imperium. I have no fear on that score," Zara replied.
"Ah, well, that's good. But I don't want some of them back," Deidra replied.
Zara smiled. "No promises," she said.
"Cute," Deidra replied. "She has our mother's eyes and her father's nose," she said softly.
Zara closed her eyes as she pictured that. "Do you still miss her as much as I do?"
"Sometimes more than other days. But we get through it one day at a time."
"That we do," Zara murmured. "Good night."
"Good night, sister."
Chapter 16
Domina Rasmussen checked the latest report from her spies and then went to the taberna one had indicated. She spotted the assassin from afar. She couldn't help but smirk as she gamed out what he intended.
Well, she had her own plans, and he would play into them even if he didn't know it.
~~~^~~~
Tacitus introduced exporting furniture and wood items to some of the mills and merchants in the capital. H
e also took a page from the princess and introduced a simple icebox made out of wood and thin metal.
He'd heard about the design. Max had one in the capital, and there were some for the medicus to store their potions. The alchemist Charlie had a much larger one.
The fridge as Max had called it was a simple wooden box with ice in it. The inside was thin tin and zinc metal; there was a layer of insulation in between the metal box and the wood exterior. It had a drain plug. A block of ice could keep food cool for a day if the door was kept closed.
It was a pain to keep clean but it would be useful for a time. And it was something that the Duluthians could build easily with the exception of the metal parts.
Only a handful of the mines had been opened; none were near enough for him to make an easy commute to them. That was on his agenda for the following annus , to visit them and begin introducing the changes Max had made. He should have done that sooner but he'd been wrapped up in the capital.
~~~^~~~
Agnes was working full out to find lodging for everyone. The dominus and domina had to be housed in the castle. That meant shifting people about and some of the permanent residents were not thrilled by that even if it was temporary.
The rest of the entourages had to be lodged in the taberna in the city. The dominus were allowed their immediate family and one servant each, no guards and no weapons. Explaining that to each of them had forced her to grow a stronger backbone. The princess had ensured their safety. One look at the Imperial miles in their battle dress made even the most annoying and stubborn complainers pause.
She of course left the option of being housed in the capital. But they'd have to do it at their own expense. That option wasn't often taken up. She did note that Sir Percival, Dominus Fenton, and a few others offered holdings in the taberna they had rented. She assumed the offer was only to their close friends and political allies.
~~~^~~~
As the dominus and domina trickled in with their entourages, the castle and nearby taberna began to fill up. Tacitus and others worked feverishly on setting up for the demonstrations. He couldn't help but be excited by it all. Of course there were a few problems. Those he brought to the princess's attention.
~~~^~~~
Zara listened to Agnes' report. So far the demonstrations were being set up nicely but they had run into one problem. The small hand crank printing press her sister had sent her in pieces had been set up and was running smoothly but the larger automated one was not working. It was missing parts; apparently someone had gotten to it and taken some of the metal bits out of the inside when no one was looking.
The report was disappointing. They worked together to juggle the schedule to remove it from the print demonstration and then moved on.
~~~^~~~
Hakon Earling heard about the planned demonstrations and realized that would be his chance to strike. The princess would be in public in various places. He just needed to know where and when. Surely luck would finally favor him.
He was tempted to solicit bids from others to do the deed. It would be nice to be paid by multiple parties to do the deed. Usually a Thing was a great place for him to find work.
~~~^~~~
Once she had a handle on their planning, Domina Rasmussen had to squelch the desire from the other conspirators to poison the princess. "You are thinking small."
"Small? Revenge is small?" Stephan demanded.
"Yes, when it will get back to her sister, the queen, and she'll no doubt wish to punish the guilty. And, if they can't find a culprit, they'll tear the lands apart to find one," she replied tartly.
That brought Stephan up short. He flinched, eyes wide and then they narrowed in speculation.
"Ah, you are starting to think. I bet you are thinking of sacrificing some pawn, or implicating someone else, correct?" When he nodded, she nodded back. "Good, but not good enough. For the moment, do nothing but watch and listen. Our time will come."
"When?!"
"When it is right and only then."
"She is right. We need to think about the long term. The long game," Dominus Fenton insisted. He nodded in support to Domina Rasmussen. She was amused but unsurprised that he was playing it cautious. What was surprising was that he was at the heart of their little conspiracy. He wasn't one to stick his neck out.
Of course, he could have turned on the others to save his own neck had they been discovered or conveniently killed them in an “attempt to arrest them.” After all, dead men could not defend themselves or assign guilt.
She made a mental note to check her own security rather carefully.
~~~^~~~
Just before a full quorum was announced Zara had some of the smiths and carefully coached people take small groups of dominus and domina on guided tours as an advanced treat. She was amused to see vendors who had been indifferent or had scoffed at the idea of a gathering had suddenly thrown themselves into things too at the last minute. They had opened their doors and were doing their best to sell their goods and services as well.
She made sure the tours showed off what they had changed in the capital. It surprised some. The tours were in a guarded carriage but with plenty of windows. The dominus found that some people waved to them or saluted. That told them they too were on display so they puffed up a bit.
The guides pointed to projects underway and sites of future projects. They spun tales of what could be in time, which whet the appetite of some.
In the evenings, Zara held a dinner and was peppered with questions about some of the projects. She did her best to answer as best she could, though from time to time she had to defer to a more suitable expert. But she was privately amused that some wanted the same industry in their own holdings soon.
Which was all a part of the grand plan.
~~~^~~~
The following morning Zara herself took a tour with Domina Rasmussen, Baron Farragut, and a handful of dominus and domina who were up early. They were surprised by her sudden inclusion.
"I had a whim and decided I wanted to stretch my legs. There will be time enough for meetings in the afternoon.
That earned a chuckle.
They went to the printing shop that had been overhauled. The dominus and domina expected to smell the ink and musty paper but it was a bit different than expected. The rooms were big and brighter. "We make the paper in what's called a paper mill nearby. At the moment, production is limited. We'd like to move the paper mill outside of the capital and closer to a steady source of wood or other material," Zara said, looking at each of them.
"Perhaps one or more of you would be interested in having such a mill on your lands?" she asked whimsically. She saw the surprise etched on a few faces but only one or two nods. "The new mill can produce more paper in a dies than can be made by hand in many annus ," she said.
"I find that hard to believe," Baron Hansen said testily.
Zara smiled to the mill operator and owner who proudly showed them a small stack of coiled paper. "The mill brings us coils of paper," he explained. "We can then trim and cut it to the shape we need."
"And you employ people to write the scrolls?"
"Some, but not as many as we used to," the owner stated. Before, they had writers who had laboriously copied material with quill pens on a piece of paper. The entire setup had been on a wood writing slope but still left the writer with cramped hands, bad eyes, and a sore back over time.
Wax had been used for the calligraphy designs in the upper corner of a document. Charcoal created a dotted line from a sketch. The calligrapher would then sharpen a quill and draw the shape.
They could erase the charcoal dust with a bit of bread.
"Ink is made in bulk elsewhere," the owner said. "Really, what the Terrans did is break each part down and make machines to make it faster and better," he explained as they came to the hand-cranked printing press.
They watched as the press was loaded with a page and then cranked. Papers were fed into it in a pile. They were stamped and th
en ejected in a smooth operating process.
The owner handed over a page for the group to examine.
Dominus Hansen stared. "To do all that writing in a moment?" he demanded, looking from the paper to the press.
"The letters are carved in blocks. They are locked together," the owner explained. "Press them in ink and then on the paper and it is done." From here we can use gold leaf and glue to add more character to the calligraphy if the client wishes," he explained. He waved to indicate a small group using a Garmr tooth handle tool to burnish the leaf and clean up any print errors.
Hostage Rescue (Princess Rescue Inc Book 2) Page 22