Kukes and Lezhe

They left a little over a week ago to reach the village. Will estimated they were a few days away. Will stood looking out over the bow of the ship. He enjoyed the mountainous backdrop.

The western Theta Mountains Range consisted of tall snow tip mountains. Some mountains peaked above the clouds. The Theta mountains reminded Will of the Alps back in Europe.

Will was not an avid skier, but he went whenever he attended Davos. The World Economic Forum was held in Davos, Switzerland. The city housed the largest ski station in Switzerland.

Will missed attending World Economic Forum. The World Economic Forum was the largest political, business, cultural, and media conference in the world. Political leaders and business moguls worked to tackle global challenges during the day and negotiated billion-dollar deals at night.

Each year the board chose a different overall social cause. In addition to the overall theme, participants work on eight thematic priorities. The priorities were global cooperation; economic rebalancing; society and equity; climate and nature; innovation and governance; industrial transformation, risks, and resilience; and global health.

Will loved the duality of it all. He enjoyed the press towards world peace while increasing his piece of the pie. Wealth was not a zero-sum game, but an expanding universe of opportunities. And it is everyone's job to pursue those economic gains, that's the 'spirit of capitalism," that the rational pursuit…to increase your wealth.

As he flew to Kukes, Will became increasingly excited. If possible, Kukes would be his Davos, and he would be its founder.

Two days later Kukes came into view. It was perfect. It was exactly like Davos. The Arctic town was in a narrow canyon surrounded by mountains and surrounded by a river like a peninsula.

As the airship landed, the townsfolk came out to view it.

"Welcome Fermion Lord, I am Gideon, Kukes' mayor," Gideon and his townsmen kneeled.

"I am Major, Viscount William vont Ballard. I greet you on behalf of King Roland Godwin Fermion III. I am here to inform you Fermion has been reunified," Will said.

"Esteemed Viscount, we have no intentions of fighting the Kingdom of Fermion. We, loyal westerners, submit to King Roland Godwin Fermion III.

We have a feast prepared for you and your soldiers. Please follow us," Gideon proclaimed.

"On behalf of the king, I accept your submission," Will said following Gideon to the Assembly Hall.

Inside the hall, six long rectangular tables were formed into a square. A smorgasbord of food was piled on top of the tables. Will sat in the seat of honor.

Gideon stood and was the first speaker.

"Western Lords, today we are blessed to meet Viscount vont Ballard. Our new king's cousin, and the richest man in the world. How many thought airships a tall tale? Now we see the flying ships with our own eyes.

Today we pledge allegiance to our new king. When was the last time the sultan cared about us? When was the last time we received food aid? Consider this, the richest man in the world visited our small cold corner of the world…in winter.

King Roland Godwin consider us, important enough to his own family member. Long live the king!" Gideon shouted.

"Long live the king!"

"Long live the king!"

"Long live the king!"

The people in the room cheered. Then they began eating. Before Will ate, Bubba poison tasted the food.

"Lord vont Ballard, would you care to address us?" Gideon asked.

"Fellow countrymen, thank you for your hospitality. I shall not stand here and make meaningless promises. Instead of giving a speech, I'd rather listen to you. Tell me your concerns, and I'll present them to the king," Will said diplomatically.

"We need money! All we have are worthless Albania currency," yelled one person.

"We need food, especially in the winter. It's hard to hunt in the snow," another yelled.

Will listened as people continued to raise their concerns. After an hour Gideon stopped the comments.

"Why Lord, do you have any questions?" Gideon asked.

"What are your main businesses and who do you trade with?" Will asked.

"Milord, our main business is trapping. We sell animals pelts to traders year-round. We also sell logs to Lezhe," Gideon said.

"I see the problem," Will said.

"Can you help us? asked a neighboring Village Head.

"Tell me about your natural surroundings. Is there anything interesting?" Will said.

"We farm, trap, and log, that's nothing interesting. Besides the river we have a few hot ponds, that's about it," said another neighboring Village Head.

"Where is your lord?" Will asked.

"The last sultan never appointed one. There hasn't been a lord in Kukes since my great grandfather's time," Gideon said.

"The who owns the land?" Will asked.

"Whoever wants it," Gideon laughed.

"How close is the nearest hot pond to Kukes?" Will asked.

"No far, about a kilometer or two outside of town?" Gideon said.

"Lead me there!" Will said.

Will and about two thousand townsfolk followed behind Will. They were curious what he'd say.

A kilometer and a half outside the city, Will saw the bubbling hot springs. It was just the right temperature to enjoy a relaxing lounge.

"Who owns this land? Sell me this land," Will said.

"My lord no one owns it. If you want, Kukes can be yours?" Gideon laughed.

"Fine. Pending his majesty's decision, I proclaim Kukes as my territory. Let's head back to the Assembly Hall. Well, I shall give you, my orders.

Back in the Assembly Hall, Will laid out his vision for the town. The town was to build a ski lodge next to the hot springs. The hot springs were fenced-in and exclusive to hotel guests and employees only. Next to the hotel was a leather shop, casino, bank, general store, cafe, theatre, convention center, clothing stores, and tourist stores. The entire town would become a tourist trap.

The same would go for the sleepy seaside city of Lezhe. Will planned to own an ocean and ski resort. All the elites in Gadreel would soon summer in Lezhe, and winter in Kukes.

Will had to make sure Western Albania fell under his control.

"Lord vont Ballard, this shall be an immense undertaking. Your blueprints and city plans are very complicated," said a neighboring Village Head.

"I'll build the lodge this week. That'll give you a year to build the rest of the town. Our goal is to be fully operational within a year. Will said.

The rest of the week, Will built the ski lodge. Townsfolk and nearby villagers came to watch Will work. Will started by building the road to the lodge and then the lodge itself. Then he marked off where the other buildings should be built. After everything was completed, Will handed Gideon enough coppers to pay for six months of construction and waved goodbye.

…

A week later, Will sat in the lord's seat at Lezhe Castle. Before him kneeling was the Lezhe City Administrator, and adjacent coastal Village Heads and Town Mayors. They too accepted Will, without resistance.

The Baron of Lezhe fled when he saw the airship descending. Having lost their lord, the city administrator and guards were left with no rationale to defend the city.

Will, smiled and rested his face on his fist, as he listened to these men pledge allegiance to King Roland. At the head of the group was a middle-age tan man with short brown hair and a matching beard. He was the city administrator,

and represented the interests of the dozen or so coast villages and towns who had gathered to surrender.

"Viscount vont Ballard, as you know, we have suffered from famine and plague. We request food aid; our food reserves are at a crisis point. Please ask his majesty to send us food as soon as possible," Landen begged.

"Done, I'll have food brought here from my territory. I was informed Gadreel had an exceptional harvest last year," Will said.

"We don't have much Fermion coin, but we shall pay what we can for our food stores to be adequately resupplied," Landen said humbly, handing Will a cornucopia filled with abundant tropical fruits.

After Will arrived in Lezhe, he sent the airship to Gadreel with a letter for Kurosawa and Miles.

Then Will toured the sleepy Lezhe. Although Will had never visited Durres or Vlore, he compared Albania's coast to southern France. Maybe, he subconsciously missed the French Rivera.

Durres was the largest port and accounted for 70% of seafaring trade year-round. Vlore was the second largest and accounted for 25% of trade. Vlore's ports fluctuated depending on how full Duress ports were at any moment. The other 5% was spread out along the coast.

Lezhe did have a deep water dock.

Will secretly compared Durres to Marseilles, Vlore to Nice, and Lezhe to Cannes or Antibes. Antibes was the yachting capital of Europe. During summer Cannes and Antibes were filled with billionaires, millionaires, and movie stars. The only people who could afford the hotel prices were movies producers or young business executives. The locals made enough money in two months to last the year.

What Will missed the most was staying out to sea on his yacht. The rocking waves, heat, chilled wine, and the occasional dip into the sea were like living a dream.

In Lezhe, people walked slow, ate slow, spoke slowly, and life was slow. Will felt life slow down. It was perfect. This place was a treasure. It was the perfect place for the wealthy to slow down and enjoy themselves.

Just as before, after the tour, Will asked Landen about Lezhe. About any local attractions or unique geographical features. There was only the beach. But, the white sand, crystal clear water were enough.

In the Baron's vacate manor, Will, Bubba, and his troops were served fresh seafood. The seafood was caught and prepared today. The fish, lobster, crab, and octopus were delicious.

Will, Bubba, and the costal representative ate outside on the manor covered patio. Over the patio, was a pergola covered in vines and fine cloth. The entire city was built with Romanesque architecture. Will felt like a wealthy Roman merchant.

For dessert, the servants served lemon meringue pie, lemon bars, and lemon cake. The tropical food, on a late winter, mild evening, made for a perfect getaway.

At conclusion, Will thanked the nearby costal Village Heads and Town Mayors. Will didn't make any false promises, he only said the king would see to Lezhe good governance.

With the capture of Western Albania now complete Will turned his attention to Podglorica. That evening before bed, Will teleport to Rijilir to discuss his next objective with Holo and Lawrence.