Hudan scratched his chin, thinking about the idea.
Kivamus grinned. "It will be like just another training exercise for the guards. And they don't actually have to kill anyone, other than any local guards who pursue them." He shrugged. "I consider them fair ga for enslaving these innocent people and kids and making them fight as animals. But I'm not doing it just to take revenge against them. There is a far more important reason for this. Doing this will prevent us from getting highlighted as the place where the slaves are going. This way, other nobles will likely think that the slaves are just trying to escape to the forests while the guards are distracted with a bandit raid, which is quite common and to be expected. The nobles will also think that, as usual, the slaves can't run far away, and will be confident of getting them back within a few days to punish them. But in the night, our guards will et up with the slaves in the forest, where our wagons will already be waiting, and will bring them to Tiranat. We can also specialize the tasks, like keeping one expert scout team to act as bandits, while another transportation team will bring the slaves from the forest to here. But those details can be worked out later when we start doing this in a few months. Perhaps in late sumr to autumn months so that we have had more ti to consolidate Tiranat's strength."
Duvas gave a slow nod. "I can understand your reasons now... I guess it could work, but I don't think it's going to be easy."
Hudan gave a grin, looking at Kivamus. "I still believe it's a good idea. With the way you are changing this village and its policies, we are going to get into conflict with other nobles at one point or another. Don't worry, I am fully with you in everything. But the more we can increase our strength before that happens, the easier it will be to deal with them. This will also give more practical experience to our guards, which the newer recruits are sorely lacking in."
"Exactly," Kivamus agreed. "Southern Reslinor is huge, so we will start doing it with a single team of scouts in the beginning, and will increase the scale of our operation in the future as the village keeps growing. We are in no position to do it at a large scale right now, but we still need to start laying the foundation for this. So we will start with the farms near the forest at first, then expand to further places later. This way we can continue liberating slaves and give them a better life here, and in return we will get a lot more workers. Another good thing is that unlike any free people who immigrate here, these slaves will have a lot of reason to support us against their previous owners. Once they have tasted freedom here, they will never want to get back to their previous lives. So if it cos to a battle between us and another village when that baron finds out we have stolen their slaves, these newly freed people will support us all the way. We can even recruit the best of them as guards."
"We'll have to do that anyway," Hudan said. "It won't be long before we run out of the original villagers of Tiranat to recruit guards from. Not all of them want that kind of risky work. In the future, these guards can form the officer grade of our forces, which you explained to in the past, while the new recruits from the slaves will be the enlisted n, or privates. I already like those terms. Makes feel like I am a knight or sothing, commanding so many people!"
"That you are," Kivamus grinned, "even if not in na."
Duvas raised his bushy white eyebrows. "Uh... Officers...? Privates...? I can't say I know much about those terms, but it sounds like you are trying to raise an army here."
Kivamus chuckled. "Not yet, but you're not wrong. By now we have a good idea of what's happening in our neighbourhood, so we'll need that strength. Within six months or so, we need to be able to defend ourselves from any other barons attacking us, and within a year we need to be able to deal with any punitive raid from Cinran even when they bring knights. At so point, Zoricus will surely find an excuse to make the Count attack us, so we need to be ready by then." He pointed to the east. "But you both know that our real enemies are outside."
His expression beca serious. "Binpaaz has finally started probing the defenses of Reslinor after two decades of peace. It's still nothing serious right now, but nobody knows when the rulers of Binpaaz will decide that Reslinor is ripe for another invasion, or make them want to capture the iron-rich Tolasi hills once again, which ans a certainty of another war. In the south, Girnalica seems content to live as a rcantile nation, earning as much gold as they can. But from what Feroy told us, Velonox's rcenary group is not particularly big among Girnalica's other groups, but as of today, we have no possible hope of defeating even them in a straight battle. So what will happen if Girnalica hears about our village in the future, and decides that it wants Tiranat for itself? It will beco far more likely if Binpaaz invades from the east, and Cinran and Fort Aragosa beco busy in dealing with them. We probably couldn't expect any help from them anyway, but if—or rather, when—Binpaaz invades, Reslinor's forces will have a genuine reason to focus on defending the east instead of providing help to us in case Girnalica sends a few companies of rcenaries to force us to bend our knees to them."
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Hudan nodded. "Two decades of peace is already longer than it usually lasts. But I don't know if Girnalica would ever care to bother with a small village like ours. As a relatively rich kingdom, their profits would be far, far more than what we earn here."
Duvas shook his head. "No, I understand Lord Kivamus' reasoning now. Other countries aren't going to be interested in Tiranat just for its few hundred workers or its coal mines. But once they start hearing about the unique products being made here, that will make them start salivating to capture it for themselves."
He grinned at Kivamus. "I have no doubt you are going to make a lot more interesting things in the future, but what we already have is enough by itself to make them consider sothing like that. We can now produce paper which is as good as a good quality paper from the guilds of Plumron, even if it's still not as good as their best quality paper or at that scale. However, what will really tilt the balance is the Acelos tablets we are making. Any country worth its salt will imdiately want the secrets of it so they can stock up on the tablets in case of a war, and to prevent their enemies from getting the sa. So far, the rulers of Girnalica probably have no idea that a village called Tiranat even exists on the map. But the rcenaries who will co at the end of sumr will see the changes. It won't be enough to make them report to their superiors, but it will certainly make them curious that there is sothing different here."
"But how would they ever know that we are the ones making the tablets and the paper?" Hudan asked. "We will never let the rcenary representatives get close to any such area."
"They don't have to see it themselves that we are making it here," Kivamus replied with a grimace. "Rember that Pydaso is selling the tablets in Ulriga, which is a big port city. So sea rchant will surely buy it and take it to other places in the world, hoping to get a good profit, because the dicine is good enough to safely last for that long. That ans the ruling class in Binpaaz and Girnalica will be amongst the first to know that there is so revolutionary dicine being made in Reslinor. They won't connect it to us imdiately, but if that Velonox is smart, he will probably connect the dots and realize that we are the origin after noticing so many unusual things here. Perhaps not this sumr, but surely in the next sumr when they co here to ask for their tributes again. But by then, my plan is to grow strong enough to send them packing without paying them even a copper coin. But either way, the point is that as our village grows, and as our products reach new markets, stronger and stronger enemies will start noticing us. That ans we have to continue growing our strength, particularly in defensive asures. That's why I know that we need to increase the size of our village, and fast."
Duvas nodded. "You are right in all that, as much as it scares to think that Binpaaz and Girnalica might start noticing us in the future. Or... that empire. But I know you are not going to change your path, so the best we can do is to make sure our village remains safe in the future."
"We just have to do our best," Kivamus said. That's when the temple bell rang, sounding out eight tis. "Well, it's getting late today. Let's end this eting now. Duvas, we have to et with Trevalo tomorrow morning and make the purchase for everything he has brought, and you have to tally up the total amount we owe him. Hudan, we will et again around noon tomorrow along with Tesyb and Kerel, so we can make a proper plan for that other thing."
"What other thing?" Duvas asked curiously. "Wait, is that what you hinted Tesyb about? Sothing to do with Torhan and his slaves?"
Kivamus nodded. "It is. We were not able to kill that bastard in the previous raid, which is why he might be ready to take another try at revenge in a couple of months. That's exactly the ti when we expect rcenaries. We cannot possibly deal with two such threats at the sa ti. So we have to neutralize the smaller threat, or at least make it less dangerous while we can." Duvas still looked confused, so he added, "Don't worry. We will talk in more detail tomorrow."
And with that, the eting ended.
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