Chapter 160: Not For Sale
The messenger was gone before Aria realized she was still holding Lord Valen’s letter.
She looked down at it.
Then at the road.
Then back at the letter.
Kelme stood beside her.
"You’re thinking."
"I usually do that."
"You’re thinking very loudly."
Aria folded the letter.
"I don’t trust him."
"Because he’s a collector?"
"Yes."
Kelme nodded.
"Fair."
Aria looked toward the settlement.
The new workshops were already busy.
Workers were shaping clay.
Others were preparing food.
The builders were working on another storage building.
Children were running between the houses.
A wagon loaded with supplies had arrived that morning.
New Beginning was growing.
That was the problem.
A month ago, nobody cared about them.
Now everyone did.
Merchants wanted their pottery.
The guild wanted their membership.
The government wanted their taxes.
Lord Valen wanted their investment.
And Aria had a feeling that this was only the beginning.
She handed the letter to Kelme.
"Burn it."
Kelme blinked.
"What?"
"Burn it."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
He held the letter over the nearby fire.
Then stopped.
"Wait."
Aria looked at him.
"What?"
"It’s from a noble."
"So?"
"Burning correspondence from a noble seems like something that could cause problems."
Aria stared at him.
"You’re learning."
"Thank you."
"Don’t sound proud."
Kelme carefully folded the letter.
"I’ll keep it."
"Why?"
"Evidence."
Aria paused.
Then nodded.
"Fine."
---
The next morning, Aria called a meeting.
The entire settlement gathered.
The Duke was there.
Martha was there.
Kelme was there.
Several workers from the pottery workshop stood near the front.
Aria stood on a wooden platform.
She hated public speaking.
Mostly because every time she stood in front of a crowd, something went wrong.
She looked at everyone.
"We have a problem."
Someone groaned.
Aria pointed at them.
"Stop doing that."
The person immediately looked down.
Aria continued.
"New Beginning is growing."
There were murmurs.
"That is good."
She held up a hand.
"But it creates new problems."
She pointed toward the pottery workshop.
"We have more orders."
Then toward the road.
"More merchants."
Then toward the houses.
"More people."
Then toward the government building.
"More taxes."
A few people laughed.
Aria didn’t.
"And now powerful people are interested in us."
That silenced the crowd.
Aria looked around.
"Lord Valen offered to invest in New Beginning."
Several people exchanged glances.
"What does that mean?"
Aria answered honestly.
"I don’t know."
That surprised them.
"But I know one thing."
She looked toward the settlement.
"We built this ourselves."
The Duke watched her carefully.
Aria continued.
"People here were once controlled by someone else."
Her voice became quieter.
"I don’t want us to replace one master with another just because the new one smiles more politely."
Silence.
Several former slaves lowered their eyes.
Others nodded.
Aria looked at them.
"So from now on, we’re going to establish rules."
Kelme whispered:
"More rules?"
Aria elbowed him.
He stopped.
"We need rules for investment."
She wrote on the board.
NO ONE OWNS THE SETTLEMENT.
A murmur spread.
"Second."
She wrote:
NO PERSON CAN BUY CONTROL OVER NEW BEGINNING.
"Third."
WORKERS KEEP THEIR WAGES AND HOMES.
"Fourth."
BUSINESS CONTRACTS MUST BE VOLUNTARY.
"Fifth."
She hesitated.
Then wrote:
IMPORTANT DECISIONS REQUIRE A COMMUNITY VOTE.
The crowd became quiet.
The Duke nodded slowly.
"That is a sensible structure."
Aria looked at him.
"Can the government interfere?"
"Not if you remain within the law."
"Good."
Martha raised her hand.
Aria pointed at her.
"Yes?"
"You’ve just created a council."
Aria stared.
"A what?"
"A council."
"No."
Martha smiled.
"You have representatives, community decisions, rules, and shared authority."
Aria looked at the board.
Then at the people.
Then at the Duke.
She sighed.
"I accidentally created government."
Kelme whispered:
"Congratulations."
Aria glared at him.
---
The first vote was surprisingly simple.
Should Lord Valen be allowed to purchase ownership in New Beginning?
The answer was unanimous.
No.
Even those who respected Valen’s contracts didn’t want ownership of their settlement transferred to anyone.
Aria wrote the result down.
Then she looked at the crowd.
"This doesn’t mean we’re refusing every outside investment."
People looked confused.
"It means we decide what kind of investment we accept."
Martha nodded.
"For example?"
"Someone can invest in a business."
Aria pointed toward the pottery workshop.
"They can provide money for a kiln."
Then toward the storage building.
"Or materials."
Then toward transportation.
"Or carts."
"But they don’t own the people using them."
The Duke nodded.
"That’s an important distinction."
Aria looked at the workers.
"If someone puts money into a project, they get whatever return we agree to."
She paused.
"But they don’t get control over the settlement."
The crowd seemed satisfied.
Aria turned to leave.
Then someone raised a hand.
"What about you?"
Aria stopped.
"What about me?"
"You’re making most of the decisions."
Aria blinked.
Everyone looked at her.
She suddenly realized the problem.
She was telling everyone that nobody should have too much control.
While she had been doing exactly that.
Kelme slowly smiled.
Aria glared at him.
"Don’t."
"I didn’t say anything."
"You were about to."
"I was just enjoying the moment."
Aria sighed.
"Fine."
She turned back to the crowd.
"Then I’ll be part of the council too."
Martha smiled.
"And?"
Aria understood.
"And I don’t get more votes than anyone else."
The crowd nodded.
Kelme whispered:
"She really is learning."
Aria pretended not to hear him.
---
Three days later, the council held its first proper meeting.
It was terrible.
Nobody knew how meetings worked.
Everyone talked at once.
The farmers wanted more land.
The builders wanted more materials.
The pottery workers wanted higher wages.
The cooks wanted larger kitchens.
The children wanted absolutely everything.
Aria eventually slammed both hands onto the table.
"ONE AT A TIME!"
Silence.
She pointed at the farmers.
"You first."
The farmers explained their problem.
The settlement had more people.
More food was needed.
They needed additional fields.
The builders explained they could prepare the land.
But they needed tools.
The blacksmiths needed metal.
The metal cost money.
The money required sales.
The sales required production.
Aria closed her eyes.
The entire settlement was connected.
One problem created another.
She opened her eyes.
"Fine."
She began writing.
"We prioritize food."
The farmers nodded.
"Then tools."
The blacksmiths nodded.
"Then production."
The pottery workers nodded.
"Then expansion."
Everyone agreed.
It wasn’t perfect.
But it was a plan.
For once, Aria wasn’t trying to solve everything at the same time.
She was learning to prioritize.
That might have been the most important thing she had learned since New Beginning started.
---
That afternoon, Lucan arrived.
He brought news.
"The first shipment sold."
Aria smiled.
"All of it?"
"All."
"How long?"
"Two days."
She blinked.
"That fast?"
Lucan nodded.
"There is strong demand."
Martha smiled.
"I told you."
Aria ignored her.
"How much did we make?"
Lucan gave her the number.
Aria calculated.
After costs.
After Lucan’s percentage.
After wages.
After transportation.
After taxes.
There was still a healthy profit.
Aria stared at the number.
Then smiled.
A real smile.
"We did it."
Kelme looked at her.
"We did."
She looked toward the settlement.
"We actually did."
Lucan smiled.
"And there is more."
Aria’s smile disappeared.
"Of course there is."
"The merchants want more."
"How much?"
"Three hundred pieces."
Aria stared.
Kelme laughed.
"Don’t."
𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
"I didn’t say anything."
"You were going to."
"I was going to say congratulations."
"You weren’t."
"I was."
Aria shook her head.
"Three hundred is manageable."
Lucan nodded.
"There’s another matter."
Aria looked at him.
"What?"
"The Southern Crafts Guild has requested a meeting."
Aria’s expression hardened.
"Why?"
"They are concerned about your growth."
"That’s their problem."
Lucan shrugged.
"They don’t see it that way."
"What do they want?"
"To discuss guild membership."
"We already said no."
"Yes."
"Then we’re done."
Lucan looked uncomfortable.
"Not exactly."
Aria narrowed her eyes.
"What happened?"
"The guild has issued a commercial notice."
"What kind?"
Lucan handed her a document.
Aria read it.
Her expression changed.
"What is this?"
Lucan said nothing.
She read it again.
Then looked up.
"They’re claiming our pottery doesn’t meet regional certification standards."
Martha immediately took the paper.
She read it.
"This could prevent some merchants from buying your goods."
Aria looked at Lucan.
"Is it true?"
"The certification isn’t mandatory everywhere."
"But?"
"In some markets, merchants prefer certified products."
Aria clenched her jaw.
"So they’re not stopping us."
"No."
"They’re making it harder to sell."
"Yes."
She stared at the document.
Kelme leaned closer.
"Can we get certified?"
Lucan nodded.
"Probably."
"How?"
"Through the guild."
Aria laughed.
It wasn’t a happy laugh.
"They want us to join."
"Or pay for independent certification."
Aria stopped.
"Independent?"
"Yes."
"Who provides it?"
"There are several recognized inspectors."
She looked at Martha.
"Can you find one?"
"Probably."
Aria nodded.
"Then we’ll do that."
Lucan smiled.
"I expected that answer."
---
The inspector arrived two days later.
His name was Tomas.
He was an older man with gray hair and a permanent expression of suspicion.
He inspected everything.
The clay.
The kilns.
The finished pottery.
The storage.
The workers.
The records.
Aria followed him everywhere.
At one point, he picked up a bowl.
Tapped it.
Turned it.
Examined the bottom.
Then put it down.
"Acceptable."
Aria blinked.
"That’s it?"
He picked up another.
"Acceptable."
Another.
"Good."
Another.
"Good."
Aria frowned.
"You’re not going to tell us what’s wrong?"
He looked at her.
"Why?"
"So we can improve."
He stared at her for a moment.
Then smiled slightly.
"You actually want criticism."
"Yes."
"Most people want certification."
"What’s the difference?"
"Certification tells you whether you’re good enough."
He picked up another bowl.
"Criticism tells you how to become better."
Aria smiled.
"I like you."
"I didn’t ask you to."
"Fair."
He continued inspecting.
Eventually he reached the decorated pottery.
He paused.
"These are new."
"Yes."
"Who designed them?"
"Several people."
"Good."
He looked at Aria.
"Your settlement has talented workers."
Aria smiled.
"We do."
Tomas nodded.
"You should be careful."
Her smile faded.
"Why?"
"Because talent attracts attention."
Aria looked at him.
"Everyone keeps telling me that."
"Then perhaps you should listen."
---
That evening, Aria stood outside.
The settlement was quiet.
The sky was dark.
The workshops had closed.
The pottery was finished for the day.
She looked at the houses.
The fields.
The roads.
The kilns.
The people.
Everything they had built.
Kelme joined her.
"Can’t sleep?"
"No."
"Why?"
Aria pointed toward the settlement.
"Look at it."
Kelme did.
"Beautiful."
"That’s the problem."
"What?"
"It’s valuable."
He understood.
"If it’s valuable, people want it."
"Exactly."
She looked toward the distant road.
"Colston wanted control."
"Valen wants investment."
"The guild wants influence."
"The government wants taxes."
"Merchants want our products."
Kelme nodded.
"Sounds like success."
Aria sighed.
"Success is annoying."
He laughed.
She smiled.
Then something caught her attention.
A light.
Far away.
Beyond the eastern hill.
A second light appeared.
Then a third.
Aria narrowed her eyes.
"What is that?"
Kelme looked.
"Campfires."
"Whose?"
"I don’t know."
They watched.
More lights appeared.
One.
Two.
Five.
Ten.
Dozens.
Aria’s smile disappeared.
"That’s not a merchant caravan."
Kelme shook his head.
"No."
The Duke emerged from the settlement.
He followed their gaze.
His expression immediately became serious.
"How many?"
"Too many to count."
The Duke stared at the distant lights.
Then turned toward the soldiers.
"Wake everyone."
Aria looked at him.
"Why?"
The Duke’s hand moved toward his sword.
"Because those aren’t merchants."
Aria’s heart sank.
"Who are they?"
The Duke stared into the darkness.
"We don’t know."
Another light appeared on the hill.
Then another.
And another.
A long line of torches began moving toward New Beginning.
Kelme swallowed.
"Aria..."
She didn’t answer.
The settlement behind them was asleep.
The pottery was finished.
The contracts were signed.
The taxes were being paid.
They had finally become legal.
They had finally become successful.
And now something was coming toward them in the darkness.
Something that hadn’t bothered sending a contract.