Firebrand

Retreated to their room, after a long overdue greeting, Martel and Eleanor lay next to each other. “What a strange sensation,” she spoke, having heard him recount his tales. “I can scarcely imagine the sight.”

“Even now, I find it hard to recall. It’s more like a dream than a memory. What of yours?”

“Expressing it in words does not come easy to me either. It was a journey deep underground, and I faced… ‘dangers’ seems the wrong word. Perhaps ‘fears’ is better.” She shuddered and moved up against him. “Perhaps that is how it is meant to be. These journeys are personal. What we learned cannot be taught to others.”

“It can be shown, though.” Martel smiled as he extricated himself from her briefly to find a golden coin. He repeated his trick, summoning a flame and letting the gold pass through without causing any change.

“How is that possible?”

“Honestly, I don’t know how to explain. But gold is not what we always assumed it to be.”

She stretched her neck to kiss his cheek. “My clever battlemage.”

“What about you, all your time in Morcaster. I can’t imagine you’ve been idle.”

“Certainly not.” She got out of bed to rummage through a drawer, withdrawing notes from it. “I have negotiated with different merchants for the use of their ships. I have also made visits to the Senate, discreetly, preparing the way that we might request support. Ideally in the form of coin, but other ways would be useful too. And I have made lists of everything we need, making inquiries as well with relevant merchants that might supply it.”

Martel glanced over her elegant writing. “Most impressive, my lady.” “The stumbling block is money. If the Senate will not provide it, I may have another way, but if that fails as well… At least we do not require coin to entice settlers. The offer of land and home will have to suffice.”

“Any idea how much money we’ll need?”

Eleanor looked at him. “Empty your pockets, and let us see.”

A little while later, their entire fortune, mostly in gems along with gold coins, lay on the bed between them. Eleanor took several of the precious stones and set them aside. “That alone will cover chartering ships.”

“That much?”

“We need several trips, and our destination is up the Savena river to its headwaters, carrying mages and Asterian settlers past the cannons of Nahavand, who possess the right to inspect all vessels attempting to sail by, as per the peace treaty.”

“Can’t believe anyone would sign such a treaty,” Martel mumbled.

“In addition, we need seed and livestock.” Eleanor moved more gems to the second pile. “Tools and equipment, not just for farming, but also to carry out all the different crafts that a city needs. Leather, fabric, clothing, we shall require all these things.” By now, she had moved all their wealth to the side. “Weapons to arm ourselves. Lastly, we must have a reserve of coin to buy replacements for anything that breaks early, or if the animals fall sick before they can breed in sufficient numbers. Or should harvest fail and buying food is our only option to avoid starvation.” She looked at him. “By my estimate, we are several hundred crowns short.”

“That’s a bit of a gap. I don’t suppose fire enchantments have greatly increased in value over the years, have they?”

“Not really. All the wealthy people who can afford to pay a good price will already have bought what they need. Unless you want to toil away making enchantments for the next decade or two,” she speculated.

“Fine. Let’s assume we can get the Senate or someone else to back us. What about people? Who do we need?”

“A few hundred to work the fields should suffice to grow enough food for our requirements, assuming we do not bring a host of others. Now, finding idle hands that might be desperate enough to settle in Archen should not be a problem,” Eleanor mused. “Plenty of unemployed veterans in the city. Given our reputation, I imagine they will trust us. The only issue is that men trained to fight are not skilled growing crops.”

“So we need to find others who are. Skilled and desperate, I guess.”

“Yes. I spoke with Regnar. He suggested that we look in the copper lanes. It has many serfs who have run away from their masters’ estates. Men and women with knowledge of working the land.”

“Alright.” Martel nodded thoughtfully. “Good idea. Sounds like you’ve solved the problem already.”

“Well, I am not sure how we can best persuade them to leave Morcaster and sail with us, but at least it is a place to start. Besides that, we will need craftsmen. Smiths, weavers, tanners, coopers, and more. I suspect this will be the issue.”

“You don’t think they’re the sort to join a risky venture?”

“Some are. Not any of the masters. Their position is too comfortable in Morcaster. But apprentices who cannot expect to inherit their master’s seat in the guild may be willing. Though they will also be less skilled,” Eleanor considered, chewing on her lower lip.

“What of the Khivans?”

She frowned. “I had not considered them.”

“They have their own craftsmen – and women, for that matter. But even their masters are denied membership of the Asterian guilds, and they can’t own their shops. We offer them a chance to have all the rights as others, including owning their workshop, and it’ll garner interest, I guarantee it,” Martel claimed.

“We are offering same rights to everyone in our new city, regardless of origin?” Eleanor said speculatively, looking at him.

“It’ll be a city where we’re all foreigners. Except Atreus, but he doesn’t count,” Martel declared. “We should all have the same rights.”

“I am not opposed to that. But we never discussed with him how we envisioned the city to be organised.” Check latest chapters at novel★fire.net

“For now, I consider it safe to say that all will be treated equally. Knowing him, I can’t imagine he disagrees.”

“Very well. That still leaves a few recruitment issues.” Eleanor cleared her throat. “If we want there to be a second generation, we will need women. Regnar once again had a suggestion.”

“Which was?”

“We extend offers to the women who work the harbour and the bridge district. Many of them are in their – current profession out of necessity. They might welcome the opportunity to have a home.”

Martel grinned as he realised whom she meant. “At least they know where babies come from.”

She smacked his shoulder with her notes. “Lastly, if we want this to be a school, we need students. This, I imagine, will be hardest of all.”

“The Senate won’t support us if they know we intend to set up a rival to the Lyceum.”

“Indeed, which is why I have kept quiet about this. We cannot expect to recruit from Tyria, and Khiva is out of the question. Sindhu is too far. Our students will predominantly come from Aster.”

Martel leaned back in their bed. “In some ways, the most important piece, but also the one that can be postponed. We need everything else to build our city. We can wait with finding students.”

“Indeed, though recruiting trained wizards would also be of use. A stonemage would be invaluable when it comes to actually building a city. An earthmage to help prepare the fields. A weathermage to protect our crops. A watermage to set up irrigation and the city’s water supply,” Eleanor rattled off.

Martel sighed. All important things that he took for granted in Aster, but which they needed to build from the ground up. All of it requiring magic skills he possessed none of. “Alright. Let’s save that for tomorrow. Archen is not going anywhere.”

She gave him a smile and put her notes away.