He closed one eye, looking sideways at us. “I stepped in some of the same stuff out on the lot that y'all are trying to sell.” We all laughed.
“Whatcha looking for this time, Gray?”
“Four oxen to pull a caravan wagon.”
“Don't need but two of them to pull a caravan wagon,” he said.
I nodded. “A regular one, yes, but I'm having a special one built. It will need four.”
“That must be one heck of a big wagon.”
“A third bigger than normal, able to handle heavier loads, and with wider wheels to keep the wagon from bogging down,” I said.
He nodded. “I got what you need. They’re young, but they're trained and pull good.”
“Let's take a look.”
Skinner showed us the oxen. They were good looking animals. We settled on a price, and he agreed to keep them until my wagon was ready. I thanked them both, and then headed to the Rooma Trading House.
***
“Master Gray,” they greeted me when I arrived at the Rooma Trading House.
“Master Rooma, you and your family are well?”
“We are, thank you.”
“No trouble from the south?”
He chuckled, “It seems there are two trading houses at war but nothing to do with us.”
“Glad to hear it,” I said.
“What can a poor merchant do for you?”
I smiled. “I have an idea, and I want your help to try it.”
“Say on.”
I laid out my idea and the wagon I was having built. “I have already bought the oxen. What I'd like from you is someone, maybe a family, to operate the wagon in a caravan.”
He nodded, thinking for a moment. “I think I know a family that will fit what you are after, but before I commit for them, let me check to make sure they are still of the same mind they were two weeks ago.”
“Thank you; you can reach me through Wizard's Alley.”
“I'll send word as soon as I have something.”
A week later, I hired a merchant family to travel with a scheduled caravan to test my theory. The wagon could easily carry twenty-five percent more goods without slowing, or affecting the wagon, or the speed of the oxen. The oxen kept up with the caravan easily.
***
After they returned from their first trip, they reported they carried more and had far fewer problems than any other wagon. I ordered ten more oxen wagons built and bought teams to pull them. My new wagons and oxen teams became the new standard for Midway caravans. The Rooma Trading House coordinated our routes and cargos, and the arrangement worked well for all concerned.
The downside was, with the larger, slower moving wagons, they needed more guards to protect them. I went to the caravan yard and found Sergeant Vince.
As usual, he was sitting by his fire. “What's your secret?” I asked, walking up.
He didn't turn, but I saw him smile. The others around the fire looked at me, smiling. They we all used to this kind of banter. “Secret to what, lad? Love? Life?”
“No, the secret to not getting fat. All I ever see you do is sit at this fire.” There was chuckling all around.
“Oh, lad, that's the secret. That's all you saw me do, but while you slept, I was creeping all around making sure all you little darlings were safe.”
“Hmm,” I said. “It must have worked; we were always safe.” We laughed.
“What brings you by? Are you looking for a home?”
“Not this time. I have a business proposition for you.”
“And what would that be? You're not selling treasure maps are you?” he said, smiling.
I smiled. “That was last week. What I'd like to talk to you about is forming a mercenary company to guard these larger caravans. I'd fund the startup, and we'd split the profits after expenses. You'd be the captain and run the whole operation.”
He looked at me. “Seriously?”
I nodded. “I own eleven caravan wagons now, and they need protection. With a merc company as an escort, more wagons will join the caravan and make us more money.”
“To form a mercenary company requires approval from the Crown, and that's not cheap or easy.”
“If you agree to be my captain, I'll get our Mercenary Charter,” I said.
He thought a moment, looking at the men around the campfire. “How many men are you thinking?” he asked.
“You tell me; how many would it take?”
“To be an effective company, we'd need at least thirty men with support wagons. We'd also need a medico, and a wizard would be nice.”
“Add a furrier-blacksmith to the list.” He nodded. “Say forty men, give or take?” He nodded.
“I'll finance the men and equipment and front the money to pay them until we are profitable. We'll split the profits after expenses. Will you be their captain?”
He looked around the fire. “What say you, men?”
“You might as well, Captain,” Burt said. “You're doing the job now for less pay.” Everyone nodded.
Vince looked back at me. “You can get the charter?”
“I can; what's the name of our company?”
“Let's keep it simple: the Vincent Mercenary Company,” he answered.
I nodded. “I'll be back tomorrow with the charter. Start planning on what equipment you'll need and where you will get the men.”
He nodded. “Tomorrow then,” and we clasped wrists.
***
The Mercenary Charter and seals were no problem since I, the Royal Wizard, was the one to issue them. I gave the authorization to hire up to one hundred men, opened an account with the moneylenders in the company's name, and put four thousand gold in the account for Vince to draw on. I was back at the caravan yard the next afternoon and gave Vince the charter with seals and the financial account paperwork. He looked it over, nodding.
“Well, Captain, gather your men and start equipping them. Buy what support wagons and equipment you need, and be ready to take our first contract in thirty days.”
“The inks not dry yet, and you're already giving orders,” he said. Everyone laughed.
***
The Crown hired laborers to build a stone road from the city to Fort Midway, and then on to South Pass Garrison. It was a huge project and put a lot of our people to work. Our farms had increased by over a hundred farms, and the Crown gave the new farmers their first seeds and oxen to work with. The Crown also got half of the farm's profit after the first year. Once people saw the farms and farmers were profitable, more people signed up to farm on shares for the Queen.
I went to the prison and found our finance clerk. “How would you like the opportunity to cut your sentence in half?” I asked.
“I would, Sir Wizard.”
“Good, I will try to teach you a code to use with signal mirrors for the army. You will work at a garrison for two years, and then you can continue to work there or leave their service. Are you interested?”
“I am, Sir wizard.”
“Good.” I concentrated on him and the knowledge I wanted him to receive.
“Receive and understand.” I waited, as he blinked a few times.
“Amazing, a complete language using signal mirrors.”
I found seven others to accept my offer and gave them the knowledge. I had the magistrate amend their sentences, and I ported them to Colonel Lewis. He had the mirror signal equipment ready, and we put them into service—two at South Pass, two at Fort Midway, two at the navy garrison, and two at the Royal Castle.
“You seem to have been busy, dear,” Pam said over dinner.
“Yeah, I've been keeping busy with my business and kept all of our projects going.”
“Built anything new lately?”
“Not really. I had some things built and got the stone road project started to put our citizens to work.”
“I received a report from our Royal Treasurer. He said our port is busier than ever, and our Kingdom is more profitable than it has ever been.�
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“That's great news and means our people are working and paying taxes to support the Kingdom.”
Chapter 21
“What are you thinking of for your next project?” Pam asked.
“Nothing pressing, unless you have something.”
“No, I was just curious.”
“I thought I would just do business for a while and keep everything going in the right direction.”
“Are you rich?” she asked.
I laughed, “I guess. I never really thought about it. I just wanted to have enough money to take care of myself, my alley, and my wards.”
She chuckled, “I think you can do that.”
I smiled. “Yes, but I have to look to the future, to ensure we are taken care of.” She nodded. “What will happen when your year of mourning is up?” I asked.
“The spoiled brats will come back, wanting to feed at the Royal trough.”
“You could stop that.”
“How?”
“Send out messages that court functions will be by invitation only. Let them cry from a distance.” She laughed. “You are the Queen; what are they going to do? Move to another kingdom? If they have business, let them put it in writing and submit it like everyone else.”
“I can hear them screaming already,” she laughed.
“You can hold court once a year and do any important business then.”
She thought about it. “I like it” it's not like we need them. I'll draft the letter and have it sent out. When should we hold court?”
“At Sumner's End Festival?” I suggested.
“Yes, that's a great idea. We'll do it.” And with that, the Royal decree went out the next week.
We still did not have any shipwrights, but we did have a lot of carpenters and master carpenters. There wasn’t a Shipwright's Guild in the city, so I started one. And since I know the Queen, I got all the Royal Endorsements. I opened a Shipwright’s Guild Hall and called all the carpenters and master carpenters that were interested in becoming shipwrights to meet with me.
“Here is our problem,” I said. “We now have a shipyard but no shipwrights. Which means we are at the mercy of other kingdoms for building and repairing our ships. I don't like that. If you are willing, I can magically impart shipwright's building knowledge to you. This will be our secret. You will be fully recognized by the Crown and the Guild as shipwrights, and those of you who are master carpenters will become master shipwrights.” I looked around the room.
A young man raised his hand: “I'll do it, Sir Wizard.”
I nodded. “Step forward,” and he did so. I concentrated on him and what knowledge I wanted him to receive.
“Receive and understand.”
He blinked a few times, and his smile went from ear to ear. Suddenly, he grabbed his head and started screaming. Everyone jumped away from him. I quickly tried to undo what I had done, and he stopped screaming and looked around the room.
“Gotcha!” he hollered. We all laughed until tears ran down our cheeks, and then we took him outside and threw him in the harbor. We were still laughing when we fished him out and went back inside.
Everyone wanted to be made a shipwright. By the end of the day, we had twenty shipwrights and twenty master shipwrights. We put them to work building our first Navy War Frigate. The next day, I had one hundred trees laid out in the shipyard ready to process into lumber.
My cargo ship came into the harbor leading another ship. I ported to the deck of Tradewinds.
“You've had trouble, Captain?” I asked.
“Aye, the other ship tried to take ours, and they failed. Our prize crew is aboard her.”
“Do you have any wounded?”
He nodded: “Below.” I followed him below decks to the wounded. Only one was serious, so I cleaned and sealed his wounds.
“Thank you, Sir Wizard,” the sailor said.
I nodded. “You'll be sore for a while, but you'll be alright.” I went back up on deck with the captain.
I now owned another ship. It was a barque and had seen better days, but I now had a shipyard and shipwrights to put to work. The ships were docked, and I paid the prize money to my crew and put the barque into dry dock to be refurbished. I sold the cargo, collared all the pirates, and sent them to the mines. The slaves they used as crew were released.
Half of the slaves were the original captain and crew when the ship had been taken by pirates. They wanted to meet with me, so I went to see what they wanted.
“Sir Wizard, if you will let us, when the ship is ready, we'd like to take her out and hunt pirates. Any ship we take will be yours, and we'll split the cargo.”
“That's kind of dangerous work, isn't it, Captain?”
“It is, but we figure they owe us, and we want to collect what they owe.”
“Okay, I'll set her right and equip you. I get the ships, and we split the cargo. Here are two golds to each man against our first haul.”
They all bowed. “Thank you, Sir Wizard.”
The ship was ready to put back to sea in a month. We renamed her Retribution. I added wards and enchantments and perfected all their weapons. I gave them gold for expenses to operate on in foreign ports. The whole crew was now made up of former slaves. Retribution indeed. They sailed out looking for blood.
It was forty-five miles from Midway to South Pass Garrison, and our stone road was now halfway there. A small settlement had formed around the garrison, which we encouraged. Midway's southern border was another one hundred miles past South Pass Garrison. I thought about putting an outpost there and encouraging another settlement.
I ported to my woodland valley, thinking of things to do with it. It had lakes, rivers, open plains, and forests. Horses…I needed to put some horses and cattle here and just let the herds grow.
I ported back to Midway city stables and found the Stable Master. “Good morning, Sir Wizard. How may we serve?” he greeted me.
“Good morning, Stable Master. I need a stallion and six mares of top quality. Who has the best horses, and where do I get them?”
“Ah, the best horses are from Westland, and as it happens, I have a stallion and ten mares.”
“And your price?” I asked.
“Ten golds for the stallion and fifty for the mares.”
“Let's see them.” He turned and led me to the back lot; they were beautiful animals.
I looked at him: “Give me all the knowledge I need, and then forget I asked.” He had been honest with me; they were fine animals, and the price was fair.
“I'll take them,” I agreed and paid his price.
“Be calm,” I told the horses.
I opened a portal to my woodland valley. They walked through to their new home and pastures. With that done, I flew to a drover's camp north of the city and bought two hundred head of cattle and opened a portal for them to my valley as well. I would let both herds grow, and in a few years, I'd sell some older stock.
I ported to my valley to look over my stock. They seemed to be alright after the teleporting. I put on Shadow Wraith and flew high over my valley; it was bigger than I had thought. I flew the whole mountain range around the valley and the plains beyond. There were no breaks in the mountains. They completely encircled it, closing it off from the outside.
No one owned or, as far as I could tell, claimed this land. Well, I did now. Whoever claims the land, and can hold it, owns the land. Who made the first kings and kingdoms? Whoever could hold their lands and built a castle became King and had a Kingdom. By that definition, this was my Kingdom, and I was King. I needed to build a castle and start a settlement to grow into a city. I rose higher over my land.
“I, King Hue Magenta, the first of my name, claim all the riches of these mountains and all the land encircled within these maintains as my Kingdom. The Kingdom of ‘Mountain Hold’—be it known to all that enter that they enter the Kingdom of Mountain Hold, and that I, King Hue Magenta, rule here.” That seemed to settle over the land, my land.
&
nbsp; I landed by the largest lake, dropped Shadow Wraith, and walked its shores. It was spring fed and crystal clear. I named it Crystal Lake; it would be a nice place for a castle and someday a palace. There were even crystals, well quartz really, here on the shore. I picked one up and examined it, and I immediately knew what I held in my hand. I had never seen one in the raw. I learned of them from the Magic User’s Guild Hall Library. It was a Sunburst Power Quartz, and they were rare, or thought to be. They stored power to be used in magic spells, wards, and charms. Once charged with magic, all they needed to recharge was to sit in sunlight. Here were these thought-to-be-rare stones all along my beach.
“It's good to be King.”
I gathered several of the stones and put them in my pocket. Surely I could find a use for them. I flew to the West Mountains to see what was on the other side of them. From the top of my western mountains, I could see a city in the far distance.
Closer to me, I saw a huge herd of cattle. I flew there but stopped short of flying into the main camp. I walked toward the camp and was greeted. “Good afternoon, Sir Wizard.”
“Good afternoon, I'd like to buy some cattle. Whom do I speak to?”
“Normally, you would speak to my master, but he is ill, and I fear may never recover. We were on the way to the city to sell his entire herd, and he was going to retire.”
“He is selling out completely?” I asked.
“Yes, Sir Wizard—cattle, horses, oxen, everything.”
“I am a healer; if you will show me to him, perhaps I can help.”
He nodded. “This way.” He showed me into the largest tent, and they took me to the Master Herder. He was laid out on a pallet of furs and pillows.
“Sir Wizard,” he greeted me.
“Master Herder,” I nodded.
“My man says you are a healer. I tell you truthfully; I have no confidence in so-called healers. I have wasted enough money on them.”
I nodded. “I don't blame you, Master Herder, but I don't charge for healing the sick and injured. My payment is the joy of seeing them recover.”
“In that case, tell me what you can do for me, if anything.”
I looked inside him and saw the problem. He had an intestinal blockage, an obstruction. “Have your man lay out a skin here on the ground. You have an intestinal blockage.”
Wizard's Alley Page 20