Chapter 70: Act 2: Chapter 16

Seventh day, Fifth Moon, 253 AC (+12 days)

Climbing the mountain had been tough. Well, to be fair, there wasn't too much actual climbing, but it was an extremely challenging hike to get to the top.

But the view? The view was worth it. I could see the river valley before me stretching out into the distance towards the north; to the south lay the Twin Lakes River and its tributaries. It would be a prime way for an overland highway route and would make for good farmland because the valley was oriented north to south.

It would make for a good place for a castle as well, with a fairly large hill located near the middle of the valley close the Twin Lakes River. The mountains on either side were large and, as I had just found out, hard to pass over, would stop any potential enemy movement. We had not explored the entire valley, but our maps provided by Lord Stark indicated that it ought to continue close to Redbridge.

I just wasn't sure if a castle was worth it since I didn't face any threats from inland. I mean, I suppose it would be useful in the event of a peasant rebellion, but I would like to think I'm a good enough Master not to have one occur. Besides, there was no one in this area to rebel.

In time this would make for a good trade route and might make for quicker transport to Osend than sailing along the coast or sailing from the Twin Lakes. I sighed - another thing to measure then.

Still, it wasn't a huge priority. Rillplainshire, on the other hand, had been a very interesting experience. It reminded me of a very wet American Midwest, with a very flat landscape, good growing capabilities, and lots of water, both rain and river. There were a few larger tributaries that flowed from the mountains into the Twin Lakes River which would eventually provide excellent transportation for goods, with a few smaller rivers as well.

The best part of Rillplainshire? I found soybeans.

I found soybeans! My jaw dropped when I had found them, as I had grown them back on my farm on Earth. I recognized them immediately, even after so long, and began collecting as many as I could. Rillplainshire would provide an excellent place to farm them, as they were a very water-intensive crop, and rotating them with corn would provide a beautiful cash crop for my people.

As we had travelled north along the Twin Lakes River, we had encountered a few settlements along the river on the opposite shores, which was promising. I had feared that the area would be completely vacant, and I was happy to see it wasn't. The communities were all agricultural in nature, and quite a few had a focus on horses.

After I had found the soybeans, we encountered a boat from one of these villages a few days later, and I got the chance to ask them about it. Apparently, it's been present in the area forever, though they weren't exactly sure about that. They eventually settled for it being here for a really long time, which I thought was better, but I had given up on trying to make sense of this world. The medieval government and environment reminded me of Europe, but there were definitely North American crops, and now apparently an Asian crop. It could have been brought over, perhaps even accidentally, as there was some limited contact with the far east in this world, which I figured might be the same as on Earth. Ultimately, it was irrelevant, but it was mildly annoying.

The people used it mainly as forage for animals and didn't cultivate it themselves, which while odd, was not unprecedented. It was the same in early America, where soybeans started out as a niche crop, mainly used for forage for animals, and that wasn't changed until the 20th century. It was weird that it wasn't used more, knowing what I know, but I suppose to the uneducated it wasn't that crazy. I mean what is the difference between this plant and the million other unfarmed plants?

Still, the occurrence of soybeans really pushed up the priority for development in Rillplainshire and Osend.

I was unsure if soybeans could be used in the valley before me, as I would need to study the land a bit more. It looked like lush land, but did it receive little rain because of the rain shadow effect from the mountains? The valley was certainly useful otherwise, but it would be nice to kill two birds with one stone.

I looked over to Koryn who was panting beside me, having just reached the top of the mountain, with one of our guards just behind him.

"Quite the view, eh?" I asked.

"Aye," he replied, absently as he looked at the scene. "Stunning. Absolutely stunning." He turned to me and grinned. "I'm glad you convinced me to make the journey up."

I smiled. "Definitely worth it." I looked over to the guard, Aiden, as he looked around as well. "And you, Aiden?"

"Incredible, m'lord," he replied.

I looked to Koryn and said, "I think this would make for a good farming community as well as a good location for a road to connect Redbridge to Twin Lakes River."

Koryn hummed speculatively as he pictured what it would look like. "Perhaps, but would the farming here really be that much better than Rillplainshire?"

"Probably not, no," I conceded. "It would be good for obtaining lumber though, for building Osend and other villages."

Koryn scratched at his chin in thought. "True enough, I suppose. Some farms to support the lumber operation then?"

I nodded. "Aye, I think that'll work. A road through here isn't really a priority, so there's not much need for anything bigger. Though, with all the animals here trapping would be pretty good."

Koryn laughed, while Aiden let out a snort.

Once we left the plains and started to reach the mountains again, trees became more common, eventually forming a large forest, and with all those trees came larger animals. We had a bear try to steal food from us a few days back, but we were able to rally and kill it. The sound of wolves at night had been pretty common as well, though they had yet to make any moves toward us.

"True enough," Koryn replied. "It'll certainly be a pain to get a community up and running here though."

I smiled brightly. "We ought to name the pass."

Koryn rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. Not another one of your names."

"Oi, what's wrong with my names?"

"One word," he deadpanned. "Rillplainshire."

Aiden snorted again, letting me know I had no ally there. "What's wrong with that?" I asked.

"What's not?" Koryn countered.

"It has the same number of syllables as Winterfell," I defended.

Koryn shrugged. "Winterfell makes sense. And any other name you come up with includes the Old Tongue for some reason."

"Fine, you come up with a name then."

Koryn grinned. "Let's call it Koryn's Pass!"

I laughed. "No way! That's awful." I looked over to Aiden who was laughing. "What about you, Aiden?"

"Is Aiden's Pass out of the running?" he asked, jokingly. At my nod, he continued. "Call it Bear Pass or something, then."

I glanced over to Koryn who shrugged. "That's a good enough name as any. I have a feeling that bear won't be the last we see while we're here anyway."

Koryn was once more gazing out into the pass. "You know? That hill would make an excellent spot for a castle."

"I had a similar thought," I replied. "But there's no real need. We don't have the people, and honestly? I'm not worried about an invasion from the Tallharts or Ryswells."

Koryn laughed. "No, I suppose not. Shame though, it would make a great location."

Silence fell between us as we took in the view.

It really was a shame about the castle, but perhaps something else could be done? Perhaps a fortified manor or watchtower-type thing? Something to house a guard, but not necessarily withstand a determined siege. That might work, but who would be in charge of such a thing?

I would need to make a new role or something, as I wasn't overly happy about the typical feudal structure. For some of the small villages that were out of the way and relatively unimportant, I was planning to give them the option of a mayor or council, depending on the size. The village would vote, and that person would make decisions and represent them to me. It wasn't much in the way of democracy, but it would introduce the topic and make life easier for myself. Importantly, I wouldn't be giving up any of my power and end up making myself work harder to achieve my goals.

So, perhaps a type of temporary military type role as well? Not elected, but an appointed governor-type thing? No, let's call it a Sherriff. They would be in charge of protection of these types of medium settlements, with a small garrison of troops. Medium settlements like this important lumber camp, possibly more remote mining camps, and other locations that are far from any of the three castles but doesn't warrant a true castle.

The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. It would be a well-paid position, maybe with some kind of pension to offset the lack of inheritance that a Masterly house would provide. The pension would be a new concept, and it might meet resistance from those who aimed to achieve a Masterly status, but people might be able to accept it regardless.

It could work, especially if each Sherriff was provided a cushy fortified manor that their family could live in. It would provide status and comfort and allow them to retire with a lot of money and a guaranteed pension. It would be a prestigious job, in a prestigious building, with lots of coin. It could work.

I think I'll chew on it a bit more and then talk it over with Nyra; she's much better at thinking about people's reactions.

With a last stretch, I turned to Koryn and Aiden. "Ready to head back? I'd like to be back before dark."

Koryn sighed. "Aye, we probably should. We'll be cutting it close; it took longer than I thought to get up here."