Chapter 3

Having commandeered an old barn and repurposed it as a workshop. The first task I had taken to was the construction of a still. Having been quite the whisky fan in my previous life I knew the general shape and science behind it. My cousin used to work part-time at a distillery during the summer breaks when we were young and on occasion, I'd accompany him to stave off boredom. He would have me help out doing odd jobs and helping out the other staff with some of their more menial tasks. Unfortunately while sitting around in a distillery watching the staff work had not done much to stave off boredom, it did give me a basic understanding of the process and equipment. Though the age-old practice of trial and error would be doing the heavy lifting in this venture.

I was in luck regarding materials, the mine on my lands produced copper which largely went to waste as its use in a pre-industrial setting was minimal. Getting a blacksmith to hammer some copper into the shape of a still had been easy. The seals on the neck had been less so. Metallurgy in Headens was severely lacking, especially with the inability to weld metal together. While a goldsmith would have been more suited to a task of such precision, there was a distinct lack of jewellery, gold and thus a goldsmith in my rather impoverished fief. I had to work with what I had, which wasn't much.

Nevertheless, I now had a hopefully working version, which though primitive, would certainly be capable of at the very least creating poison. It took half a dozen men to operate who were not that difficult to find, considering the rate of unemployment in my fief. Training them to use the equipment carefully without causing any undue damage had been a nightmare. This was in actuality the fifth iteration of my still. The first three had failed because of defective welding, but the last one had been entirely due to human error. This time though, the men were well trained and the still looked ready for production.

Somewhat giddy, I looked to my helpful employee Fern, a man who had lived in Valerin his whole life and who had been assisting me with the project. While he had no experience working in anything remotely resembling brewing, he was able-bodied, reasonably intelligent and followed instructions diligently. He raised an eyebrow, "So does this look how you wanted it, my lord?"

"Yes, Will, yes it does. At least I hope it does. Only one way to find out, I suppose." I replied back with a grin. Hoping my excitement wouldn't have the workers labelling me as insane.

With that said, the lads started pouring buckets of fermented mash into the still for its first distillation.

With the distillation of my first batch of whisky taking place, I found myself brimming with nerves. There was no use in me sitting around micromanaging the production of the whisky, I had always hated people who did that in my previous life. It was a fairly simple procedure and I had left the men with detailed instructions on how to proceed. So I decided to go for a ride around my growing capital settlement.

The settlement was, quite frankly, looking much better than it had when I first got here. With my regulations for cleanliness put in place, the number of animals within the settlement shitting on the roads had taken a steep decline. Furthermore, as per another edict, smallfolk were forbidden from tossing their waste out onto the street. A municipal waste collection system had been set up and the said waste was dumped in a landfill outside the town. The result was a fairly clean town, albeit without many of the trappings to be found in richer areas, and I couldn't have been happier with it.

There was, however, still some way to go before I would be able to say I was satisfied with the state of hygiene within my fief. One thing that was sure to make life better was the invention of soap. And so it was that I found myself gravitating towards the District where the tanners of Valerin had set up shop in.

I could not quite remember the exact details but was fairly sure that one of the ingredients for a primitive form of soap was animal fat. Who better to provide that animal fat than those who spent their days scraping it from the flayed skins of game?

I made my way through the muddy roads and reached the more industrial area of the settlement, near the marketplace.

Heads turned in my direction as they saw me, there were few horses within Valerin and only one person who rode around with guards bearing my sigil. Some bowed their heads awkwardly in my direction whilst others hastily moved out of the path of my horse. As I passed, I handed out some coppers to the poor who were lined up along the sides of the road. While a single copper was pocket change to me, it would put a couple of warm meals in the stomach of some of the poorer smallfolk. The wealth disparity in Headens truly astounded me.

The tanner I approached dropped his tools and knelt before me as I approached and dismounted from my horse.

"Working hard or hardly working?" I asked with a cheeky grin.

The tanner looked terrified and quickly stammered, "Working hard, of course, my Lord."

Realising that a lord making jokes was likely to be rather horrifying to the average smallfolk I quickly backtracked, "I was merely japing, I am here to enquire as to how much animal fat you might be able to procure for me."

"A-animal fat? We don't usually keep it, my Lord. Some use it for tallow candles, and others for cooking. Serves us no purpose to keep it here."

I sighed, that was disappointing, "Well, from now on could you make sure you keep it and I will send someone round to collect it weekly?"

The tanner looked confused but wasn't about to argue with his liege, "Of course, my lord."

Satisfied I had set up a method for acquiring animal fat for my attempt at soap production to my resident tanners, I felt fairly confident that I would have a nice little cottage industry established within a few moons. An industry that I would monopolise and monetise to the hilt.

I had explained in detail to the old Butler my idea regarding soap and given him what little information I remembered regarding its production and other components such as wood ash. While he remained sceptical, he nonetheless acquiesced when I made it clear that it was an order and not a suggestion.

But such ambitious endeavours would attract the wrong kind of attention and as Ser Goren repeatedly pointed out to me, it was high time I familiarised myself with the military strength of my lands.

Based on current estimates, I should be able to at any time outside of harvest season, when greater manpower was necessary in the fields, draw upon a force of six to seven hundred men to fight for me. A decent muster for a Lord of my holdings. As I travelled to the barracks, Ser Goren explained that the vast majority of my forces were drawn from my coastal holdings to the East and farmlands to the North and South, where the majority of my population was consolidated.

While the fishing village directly to my east was the largest village on the coast, there were countless other small villages and settlements along the coast. Similarly, hundreds of small villages and settlements to my North and East held the vast majority of my smallfolk and primarily engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, hunting and lumber production. It was from these holdings that I drew most of my infantry and the crossbowmen that were infamous in the Harelands.

Not including Sers Goren and Alaric, there were currently 12 Knights who were sworn to my service spread across my lands performing various duties primarily relating to maintaining law and order with only a fraction of them being landed. Even then, the said landed knights barely commanded a few small villages and that too none of the major settlements. The remaining Knights answered to Ser Goren and along with their respective cavalry units were primarily responsible for patrolling my lands to keep banditry and other unlawful activity at bay.

Based upon the estimates provided by Ser Alaric, Petr and Ser Goren, I would be able to draw upon four-hundred Infantrymen, a hundred Crossbowmen, a hundred Mounted Cavalry and ten Knights in addition to the garrison of fifty Men at Arms at Valerin. While these numbers would vary depending upon the time of the year, the numbers were fairly decent for a Lord with my modest holdings.

But as I looked to my neighbours, I could not help but shudder at the thought of the vast armies that they could call upon in times of war that utterly dwarfed mine. To the North, House Ortegha of Destrier Hall could call upon anywhere from three thousand six hundred to four thousand men to serve in their army. To my North West, the Blanetts of Copperbay were capable of amassing anywhere from three thousand eight hundred to four thousand men during times of war. Across the straits to the East, the Rosecourt House had the ability to raise as many as twelve hundred men to fight in their armies, plus their naval strength. To my South West, the Logfelt House were reportedly capable of raising nearly two thousand men when necessary.

It was at this point that I realised that unless I made allies of at least 2 of my neighbours, I was liable to be crushed by any one of the Lords in my region for any number of perceived slights. And the worst part would be that none of my neighbours would care to come to my defence and Lord Wysten could probably care less about an Ancient House extinguishing some Lordling that had overstepped his bounds. I was a very small fish in a very large pond.

And there is always a bigger fish.

I looked up as there was an echoing knock on the door of my solar.

"Come in!" I shouted.

The face of my steward, Petr, appeared as the door opened, "Good morning, my Lord. I have the reports you asked for."

I nodded as Petr sat down. I had asked him to assemble a report on the state of taxation within my fief. Even in the modern world I'd had a tough time understanding taxation. The nightmare that was the Headen Tax System made that look like primary school maths in comparison. I had previously discussed it with my Steward and had found it rather convoluted and wanted an accurate presentation of my estates and incomes.

"The first document I have here details the list of taxes we currently collect. Most of the smallfolk don't pay them and they are only relevant to merchants and the like selling luxury goods." Petr eagerly dropped the list on my desk. How the man could be so enthusiastic about such dull work I would never understand.

I looked down at the list. There was a basic income tax which all who resided in my lands paid, and sure enough a list of taxes applied to the sale of goods such as silk.

The taxes on luxury goods were varied. Especially so in the case of those which were imported from outside my fief. The rare goods that were procured from Ortlands were taxed at significantly higher rates. The few luxury products that were produced within my lands were also taxed substantially but not as much as those procured externally.

"What's this tax on pottery? I can't imagine that's classed as a luxury good."

Petr frowned, "Some taxes are mandated by the higher lords. I believe that this tax was put in place to deal with an Ortlandi family who had been undercutting local merchants."

I raised an eyebrow, "Does this form of taxation not suffocate the local industry too?"

"Yes, I imagine it would, though that wouldn't be much of a concern to those who don't live here. Not all Lords are as caring of their charges as you."

Perusing the report I could see that Petr had prepared a chart of sorts for me to summarize the process of Tax collection in my lands. There were a couple of dozen tax collectors that were spread out across my lands. Each was responsible for a few villages and settlements and kept track of local harvests and industry to accurately collect the taxes owed to them. There was no specific system of oversight aside from keeping an eye on past collections from a specific region to note if the collection in a particular area was suddenly lower or higher than the previous year without undue reason.

Furthermore, each tax collector was essentially appointed for life unless caught engaging in some form of wrongdoing. The entire system was essentially built to not just allow, but practically encourage corruption and exploitation. There was no protocol in place to prevent a collector from overtaxing the unsuspecting smallfolk within their sphere in my name and then misappropriating heavy sums before sending the rest my way.

Some collectors had been in service for more than a decade and could have been artificially reducing their reported collections over the years to avoid detection and pocketing the rest. The whole system was vile and the greatest victims as usual were the smallfolk.

As I expressed my concerns to Petr, his face turned grim as he said, "Well my Lord, if I may be honest, what you must understand is that each Collector is assigned a specific quotation to be achieved every year. As long as that is achieved the Lords couldn't care less about the conduct of the Tax Collectors. While most Collectors are fearful of cheating their Lords excessively as the punishments for doing so are extremely hard, these lands have been Lordless for over 50 years. It is likely that most are corrupt and have been misappropriating minor sums every year. Based on my observations and scrutiny of the books of accounts, the previous Castellan was not the most vigilant, and it is extremely likely that the tax collectors have taken advantage of the same."

"You were a tax collector for Lord Darius, right Petr?" I said as he nodded. "I served as an overseer for the tax collectors and reported directly to the steward."

"Then you undoubtedly are aware of the methods used by other more unscrupulous tax collectors to avoid detection."

Upon seeing him nod I continued, "Well then I want you to clean up the house so to speak. Investigate the books. Check for variance in collections and other discrepancies that match with the tenure of the collectors. Consult with Ser Alaric. Having grown up in Valerin he would have an idea as to which are the worst ones. Discretely dispatch loyal men to investigate all collectors in my lands and see if any are living in conditions that should be beyond their means. Have them speak with smallfolk and identify whether any collectors are levying taxes that they should not be. Find them, Petr. I will not tolerate exploitation of smallfolk and corruption within my lands."

"Yes my Lord, it shall be done."

Looking down at the report I surmised that I drew income from three primary sources of taxation. The first and the most substantial was agriculture. In Headens, much like in medieval times of the modern world, the vast majority of the land was owned by the Lord. The farmers who settled these lands did so with the permission of the Lord and gave a certain amount of their produce every year to the Lord as tax. While most chose to in the form of crops, some would pay in coin, cattle or other similar products. Those who engaged in animal husbandry were also levied additional taxes for grazing their animals on pasture land.

Secondly was the medieval equivalent of professional tax, which was levied on blacksmiths, tanners, potters and other men who plied similar trades. This accounted for the majority of the revenue from Valerin.

Third, was the tax levied on import and export. These taxes were rather substantial as my holdings relied heavily on the import of cloth, ale, tin and several other assorted luxury products. Additionally, nominal taxes were also charged on export of barley, wheat, iron tools, copper utensils, charcoal and lumber.

Secondary sources of taxation were numerous drawing from mining, lumber, fisheries and tithes received from my landed knights amongst many others. Tax rates varied from bracket to bracket and season to season and overall made very little sense in some cases. It became clear that it would be necessary for me to spend substantial time to introduce some uniformity in the system.

I simply nodded and Petr moved on, "Moving on to your incomes. I am glad to say we are doing well. The most recent harvest was bountiful and industry is beginning to boom." Whilst saying this he passed me another document.

I began reading the figures and was satisfied with the results, I was making a fair sum. My eyes went wide when I looked at the figure at the bottom of the sheet which indicated my total revenue, "My expenses don't total anywhere near there. Plenty to invest back into infrastructure which will in turn increase revenue during the next tax season."

Petr beamed at me, "My thoughts exactly, my Lord. You are wise to invest so much into your lands. Not many lords do so." I looked up at him, "Is that all then?"

"Yes, for taxes. Though I have some thoughts detailed in a further document that I will leave with you." I nodded in dismissal.

"There was also another, more personal matter I wanted to broach with you, my Lord." I looked up at him through my eyebrows, "And what might that be?"

Petr scratched his face, "Well, my sons have been getting along very well here my Lord. I am truly grateful that you have granted them the honor of joining some of your lessons with Arthur and I was wondering whether there might be avenues for further education."

Of course, I should have thought of this sooner, "And did you have positions in mind?"

"Well, Benedict is a very bookish boy, takes much after me I suppose. There is plenty I could teach him, but like most boys he is not so eager to learn constantly from his father. I was hoping Arthur might like the boy as an apprentice." I considered his words, more learned men in service to my House would certainly not be a hardship. Furthermore, Benedict was a bright lad. It would be a shame to let such a mind go undeveloped.

What did he intend for his other son, "And for Baldwin?"

"He is far more inclined towards martial pursuits, I was hoping he could become a squire if any of the knights here were willing to take him on." I considered his words once more, Ser Alaric was currently in need of a squire and got along with the boy fairly well if I remembered correctly.

"I will take your requests under advisement, though I don't imagine there will be an issue with these requests."

"Thank you, my Lord." That said, he turned and left my solar, leaving me to my thoughts. Benedict and Baldwin were decent lads. And more importantly, were loyal to me. I needed more competent men in my service, more so ones who were loyal only to me. As I mulled it over the idea began to feel more and more meritorious to me. My decision was made, I resolved to speak to Ser Goren and Arthur tomorrow.