“Even though he is pleasant to talk to, it feels like you are talking to a block of wood after a while.” Braydon and Nela were conversing as they were taking a carriage back from Baron Monrow’s estate. Having gone in the hopes of securing a deal for the wheat supply they had, they had expected the man to drive a hard bargain. While he had not had a great year for crop yields, at least his fields weren’t burning like the other two barons had done to each other.

Braydon had suggested making a deal with Barons Abel and Walker to supply them food at a high price, but Nela quickly shot his hopes down. She pointed out that he needed workers more than he needed a lot of cash in hand, and for this Baron Monrow was the only good option. Whilst his barony might not have inherited the name of Kirton when the viscounty had split apart, it did include the only town in the old viscounty. And thus, Mapjess was the only real option of the three should Braydon want to gain a big enough workforce to clear roads.

“I cannot say I disagree with you, he is so textbook that it is frankly disquieting.” Braydon found Nela’s assessment of Baron Monrow to be quite fitting for the man. Though he also seen, first hand, that her ability to act cordial with people she doesn't like to be prodigious. She had been nothing but polite the whole time and her expression had not slipped once. If he did not know better he’d have thought she were an experienced ambassador.

“So what do you think of my negotiating skills?” This caused him to sweat a little. Her skills were terrifying. Sure she was a competent negotiator, but every time he saw Nela in diplomatic mode would give him the chills. He felt like he was watching a predator rather than a mischievous young woman.

“Better than anything I could have achieved, for sure. Though I’m not sure how high a bar that is to jump over.” Braydon gained a sweet smile in return. That scared him even more after thinking about how good the terms she had gotten him were.

Nela had not only gotten him the workforce he needed, for an entire month no less. She had gotten a further 300 silver in payment for the wheat. Bringing the amount they had earned this month to 3300 silver, making up almost an entire year of expenditures. Most of the income from now on would be available for his plans, ones to rebuild but plans all the same.

“Now that you have abated my money troubles and gotten me roads, I think it is time to talk to Colin about what the viscounty has to offer to fund further improvements.” While Nela was a stellar negotiator and had a good eye for noble interrelations, she was quite frank about her lack of ability when it came to management and finances. Not that Braydon expected her to do everything, that was his job.

“Speaking of roads, it feels almost nostalgic to be on one after the mess that is the current roads on Cliforge.” Seeing that there was nothing important being said anymore, Nela laughed at Braydon’s grumbling. ‘At least she’s not giggling, whenever she does that she’s found something to torment me about.’ He had found that out when she had started teasing him about how deferentially he treats Mireille. He could still not understand what she found so wonderful about his great tales of woe. Though by now he no longer expected any sympathy.

“There has been something I have been meaning to ask, Colin.” Now back at the castle and ready to tackle his fief’s deficiencies, Braydon had sought out the chamberlain.

“And what might that be, Sire?”

“I control a significant amount of land surrounding the Brimstones, yet I have not heard anything of Cliforge producing any mines at all. Is there truly nothing there?” He would not believe it if he were told there was absolutely nothing.

“Well there used to be an iron mine on the western side of the mountains, but that was lost in a dispute to the Viscount of Kirton before even your grandfather’s time. And from what I hear that mine dried up years ago.” This was news to him, though not very relevant news at the moment. It was not like he had the spare manpower to be reclaiming now useless lands.

“And what about the eastern side of the mountains? Shuluk is rich in mines around the Brimstones, I don’t see why we are not.” Braydon had noticed that Colin had failed to mention anything about the vast majority of his territory.

“The problem there is that there are not many roads around the fief. Most lead either to Midbury or the castle. Any other roads have long been lost to time and have no records. If there was a mine, I have no way of knowing.” There were no records? This sounded strange to him.

“And why are there no records of the lands past a couple generations?”

“The viscounty was won from Shuluk in a war centuries ago, if there were any records they were lost with the old viscount’s lineage or are in the hands of the Grand Duke.” Braydon thought of the many wars that had been fought with Shuluk over the past two decades. Considering the frequency of war between Fiveria and Shuluk, if the Grand Duke knew of something valuable that would go a long way to seeing why he was so active. The castle being a strategic point should not be a good enough reason for all the wars. After all, the royal house no longer held much real power in Fiveria. The King would not be able to declare an aggressive war without the support of at least two Dukes and a lot of minor nobles.

“I would bet on such information being in the Grand Duke’s hands. There has never been any tales of great wealth in Cliforge for as long as it has been in Fiverian hands.” Colin agreed with Braydon’s guess. The only problem was that neither of them knew what it was the Grand Duke wanted, making it hard to look for.

“Do you know where any prospectors live, Colin? I would be surprised if there were none in the east given the proximity to the Brimstones.” Braydon was being hopeful with this. Any good prospector would have been snapped up by other powerful nobles or live in the capital.

“It may just be rumours, Sire, but I have heard that a retired prospector lives in Wathamalin.” ‘Retired? In Wathamalin?’ Braydon found that hard to believe, Wathamalin was not exactly the most prosperous place.

“If they retired why would they not move somewhere better. After an entire lifetime of working as a prospector, they must be richer than that.” Colin just shrugged, as clueless as Braydon.

“While it is unconfirmed that they are there, it is well known that prospectors have an odd temperament.”

“Who owns Wathamalin again, I’ve not heard of a lord there?”

“It is one of the few remaining crown lands, Sire. It still belongs to the King.”

“The King controls land outside of the capital? How come the Dukes have not claimed it yet?”

“None of the Dukes border the territory of Wathamalin, Sire. And of the nobles who do, many have tried to lay claim to it, but the other nobles shoot them down at court. It is effectively a free city at this point, ruled by the guilds.”