Chapter 297: Share The Plan
Dinner was served, and Dominic made sure that the two witches got seated together so that they didn’t end up isolated or shouting at each other across the table. When they weren’t part of another conversation, they were happy to spend all night talking about plants.
Other than Tena, and possibly the Barons, who were responsible for farmland, that conversation would quickly bore anyone else.
Dominic turned to Sunni, their lead architect. "So, how is the first building coming along? I heard that you’ve been making great progress."
Sunni puffed up with pride. "Indeed, the Woodcutters brought us plenty of lumber, and the mages made short work of cutting them to length and drying them.
They’ve got a magitech sawmill outside of town, and they’re quick about splitting boards for us. We’ve got the whole floor done, there are just some small details left, and then we need to put the roofing on.
We gave the roof a plank roof, covered in tar, but we’re putting clay tiles over it for durability. That’s how most of the other houses in town are built, and it’s very durable."
Baron Keith smiled at the excited Architect. "So, there will soon be an architect available for hire in town? My family is pressuring me to put an expansion on the Barony manor. I will admit that some of it is my fault, I’ve got a very large family, and with all my unmarried children, plus my parents and my in-laws in the house, we will need more space soon."
"You have it hard. Your Mother in Law has already been by, demanding to know when we will be finished the housing complex so that we can start working on the projects that she has planned." Sunni replied sadly.
Dominic winked at him, "At least you can still talk back. My father-in-law is rather terrifying."
The dessert course came out, an apple strudel served with cinnamon spiced pudding, as they didn’t have enough animals to make whipped cream or ice cream for so many yet.
Once that was finished, they got down to business, and Alexis came to stand beside Dominic so that they could explain the situation without having everyone look back and forth.
Alexis began the explanation. "First off, I will lay out the basics. We have twice now encountered attacks by members of the Skiple Mage Academy. This time, one of the attackers was an Elder. Going by the information we found in their belongings, and the presence of only Dagos coins, we have reason to believe that they are a faction that has defected from their Mage Tower.
Both attacks have had monsters with them, and we now have proof not only that the Monster Attacks were organized by Dagos, but specifically by Prince Kaizon.
The Elder had written orders with the Prince’s Insignia on it, and the witnesses that we have been able to speak with informed me that they had only the same few visitors in the past two months.
So, the effort to invade with monsters is not yet over, they are simply in hiding.
For that reason, we will be calling for regular army reinforcements.
The King has been informed, and we are waiting on his response, but in the meantime, we will be increasing the training and equipment levels of the town guard. They have already been given magical swords and pistols, but we will also be providing magitech suitable for dealing with larger groups of monsters.
The groups that we have encountered were smaller ones so far, with the most dangerous being the group controlled by the Elder, which was a fist of war trolls.
Dominic has taken care of them, and given their free will, they have chosen to move to a village about a day’s walk from here.
The Trolls are not a threat to the village, and now that they are prepared, they are unlikely to be coerced again, even if they are found by another Elder of the Dagos Mages.
Until the army arrives, we will only be running short range patrols around town. That will give us sufficient time to respond if a threat is found, while still being far enough out that we can protect all the farms and outlying workers.
But threats are not the only news that we have.
The first of the buildings of the new apartment complexes is about to be ready, with five more to follow. Once those are being finished, we will be constructing a warehouse for the town’s new Magitech factory.
Notices looking for workers with aptitude for mana will be going up in the next few weeks, and training in basic magical engineering will be provided.
I know that most of you have at least heard the rumours, so I want to clarify them.
Our first products will be magitech lights and fireplace inserts, so a regular wood stove or fireplace can be run on magic. Both are designed to be affordable to the masses, and we hope that this project will completely fund the Duchy’s future efforts."
Alexis paused, and Baron William smiled at her.
"So, you’re thinking that the Duchy might make enough that even after the two-year exemption, you might not have to raise taxes to fund the estate?" He asked in a hopeful tone.
"That is exactly the intent. Currently, the Duchy is more of a County in size, but we should be able to make it one of the wealthiest in the region." Dominic answered.
Alexis smiled at the new Baron. "Look at you. Gone from Billy Bob of the Regiment to a properly business minded Baron in under a month."
The young Baron chuckled. "Well, I can’t say that I hate it. Just wait until I have the winery properly stocked again, you won’t be the only wealthy Noble in the region."
Alexis smiled, but Dominic could see the scheming in her expression. If she had her way, and they found the rest of the hidden monster herders, Princess Alexis would be fabulously wealthy just based on Monster Cores.
Getting to hunt monsters while still fulfilling her duties as a Duchess was one of the best parts about this location.