Chapter 148: More Than Eleven Villages
The following morning, Kael stood over the map of Blackwood.
Eleven villages.
That number had once seemed sufficient.
Now it looked small.
Very small.
Kael moved a marker across the parchment.
"This is where the western road ends."
Darius stood opposite him.
"Yes."
"And beyond it?"
"Forest."
"How far?"
Darius studied the map.
"Several days before reaching the next settled territory."
Kael’s finger followed the road.
"So there is land between us and the neighboring territories."
"Untamed land."
"Meaning nobody claims it?"
Darius shook his head.
"Not officially."
Kael looked up.
"Not officially?"
Darius gave a faint smile.
"Land nobody wants is usually land nobody has bothered to make useful."
Kael looked back at the map.
That sentence stayed with him.
Lily entered carrying several reports.
"My lord."
Kael turned.
"More requests?"
"Several."
She placed the papers on the table.
"Farmers requesting additional fields."
"Merchants requesting storage space."
"Two villages requesting new wells."
She paused.
"And Westfield wants a proper watchtower."
Darius nodded.
"That one should be approved."
Kael looked at him.
"Why?"
"The western forest."
Darius pointed toward the map.
"If creatures are already approaching Westfield, the villagers need warning before anything reaches their homes."
Kael considered it.
"How many soldiers?"
"Four."
Kael frowned.
"Four?"
"Two watchmen during the day. Two during the night."
Kael looked at the Black Dragon roster.
Every soldier had already been assigned somewhere.
He slowly leaned back.
"We’re running out of men."
Darius said nothing.
He didn’t need to.
The problem was becoming impossible to ignore.
Kael looked again at the map.
Eleven villages.
One manor.
Several roads.
Growing farms.
A developing market.
More merchants arriving every week.
And only fifty Black Dragon soldiers.
His eyes moved toward the western border.
"What if we expand?"
Darius looked at him.
"How?"
"Territory."
Darius studied Kael’s expression.
"You mean claiming the unoccupied land?"
"Eventually."
"That will require Imperial approval."
"I know."
"And money."
"I know."
"People."
Kael smiled.
"I know."
Darius folded his arms.
"Then why are you smiling?"
"Because every problem you just mentioned has the same solution."
Darius raised an eyebrow.
"Which is?"
Kael tapped the map.
"Growth."
The discussion lasted through midday.
Kael ordered a survey of the lands surrounding Blackwood.
Not a military expedition.
Not a conquest.
A survey.
He wanted to know what existed beyond his borders before deciding what could be developed.
Darius immediately understood the importance.
"I’ll choose the men."
Kael nodded.
"Use scouts from the Black Dragon."
Darius paused.
"And if they encounter monsters?"
"Withdraw unless they are directly threatened."
Darius nodded.
"We’re mapping land, not hunting beasts."
"Exactly."
Kael looked toward the western forest.
"Don’t risk good soldiers for information we can obtain another day."
Darius smiled faintly.
"That’s a general’s order I can accept."
By evening, Kael walked through the marketplace.
Orrin Belmore was already there.
The merchant had established himself quickly.
Several wagons stood behind him.
Kael approached.
"Master Belmore."
Orrin bowed.
"My lord."
"How has trade been?"
The merchant smiled.
"Better than expected."
"That sounds promising."
"It is."
Orrin pointed toward the stalls.
"But I have noticed something."
Kael waited.
"Your market is too small."
Kael glanced around.
He already knew.
Merchants were beginning to compete for space.
Farmers carried goods from villages farther away.
Travelers stopped to purchase food.
There were even craftsmen asking about permanent stalls.
"What would you recommend?"
Orrin folded his arms.
"A proper market square."
Kael looked around.
"And warehouses."
Orrin nodded.
"Several."
"How many?"
"At least three."
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"Three?"
"One for grain."
He raised another finger.
"One for general goods."
Then another.
"And one for merchants who need secure storage."
Kael nodded slowly.
"That would bring more merchants."
"More merchants bring more goods."
"More goods bring more people."
Orrin smiled.
"And more people bring more merchants."
Kael laughed.
"You’re beginning to sound like me."
"I’ll take that as praise."
That night, Kael returned to his chamber.
He opened the notebook.
The guild plans remained exactly where he had left them.
He added another page.
Before Guild Establishment:
Market expansion.
Warehouses.
Road improvements.
Population growth.
Territorial survey.
Additional protection.
He stared at the list.
The Adventurer’s Guild was no longer simply a building.
It was the final piece of a much larger foundation.
Kael dipped his quill into the ink.
Then wrote one more line.
Blackwood must be able to support the people who will come.
He stopped.
The thought brought another realization.
If the guild succeeded...
People would come from outside Blackwood.
Warriors.
Hunters.
Travelers.
Merchants.
Craftsmen.
Perhaps even people of races that had nowhere else to go.
Kael’s eyes lingered on that thought.
He remembered Grom.
The goblin had once been treated as an enemy simply because of what he was.
Kael had given him a place among the Black Dragon.
And Grom had repaid that trust with loyalty.
Kael closed the notebook.
There would be a time when Blackwood became known for more than its roads and markets.
A place where ability mattered more than birth.
But that future was still distant.
For now...
He needed to build the foundation.
The following morning, Darius returned from the western road.
Kael met him at the gates.
"You’re back early."
Darius dismounted.
"We found something."
Kael’s expression sharpened.
"What?"
Darius removed a rolled parchment from his saddle.
"The land beyond the western forest."
He handed it to Kael.
Kael opened the map.
Several markings covered the parchment.
A river.
A valley.
A stretch of fertile soil.
And farther north...
A series of old stone ruins.
Kael studied them.
"Who built these?"
"We don’t know."
"Any sign of habitation?"
"None."
"Monsters?"
"Some."
Darius pointed toward the valley.
"But not enough to prevent settlement."
Kael’s eyes moved across the map.
The valley was enormous.
Large enough for farms.
Large enough for roads.
Large enough for another village.
Perhaps several.
Kael looked up.
"How far from Blackwood?"
"Three days by horse."
Silence followed.
Darius watched him carefully.
Kael rolled the parchment back up.
"Don’t tell the villagers yet."
Darius nodded.
"Why?"
"Because I don’t want people rushing there before we understand the land."
Darius smiled.
"Wise."
Kael looked toward the western horizon.
For the first time, he could see it clearly.
Blackwood did not have to remain eleven villages forever.
It could become ten times that size.
Perhaps more.
But Kael would not simply take land because he could.
He would make it useful.
He would make people want to live there.
And when the time came...
He would ask the Empire for permission to expand.
Kael turned toward the manor.
"Prepare the Black Dragon."
Darius followed.
"For another expedition?"
Kael shook his head.
"Not yet."
He smiled.
"First, we’re going to build."