The Alchemist Chapter 32

 

Chapter 32

Fey Grimes held a blunt sword before me. “Under the laws of the land, I hereby grant Markus Peters the title of Knight Baron.” He used the sword to do the traditional knighting thing, on both shoulders. The only thing different was that this place was a church. Did knights in my world get knighted at churches? I didn’t know. Maybe I could look it up later.

The small crowd clapped. Rachel was there, and she did not look happy. At the very least, she wasn’t frowning, only the corners of her lips tightened.

I stood up. “Thank you,” I said.

The deed to an estate at the outskirts of Brownfield was handed to me in a ceremonial fashion. I was now, technically, a wealthy landowner. And since this was a feudal society, the land was worked and tilled by peasants. I later found out that there was a small village containing four hundred peasants on my land, not to mention a couple local industries, including charcoal making and poultry farming. I accepted the deed with grace.

When the ceremony was over, Rachel approached me. “I apologize for making such a big deal out of things,” she said.

“It’s okay,” I said, placing my hand on her shoulder. “I plan on utilizing my new position to the utmost.”

Rachel sighed. “Maybe it’s just because I’m jealous. Upward mobility here is difficult.”

Baron Wolfe approached Rachel and I. He clapped me on the back. “Congratulations!” he said. “You’re now one of my peers. I respect you for all the things you’ve done. However, the land you’ve been given has a bit of a … Reputation.”

“Tell me?” I said.

Baron Wolfe sighed. “There’s a reason the crown was so ready to just hand you a parcel of land. These people, these peasants … They’re not exactly the most docile of people.”

“That’s fine,” I said. “I don’t plan on exploiting them. If I can get that across, we’ll have a better time working with them.”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” said Baron Wolfe.

“How much do you tax your peasants?” I said, to Baron Wolfe.

Baron Wolfe scratched his head. “Depending on the family, about one third of their harvest …”

“Exactly,” I said. “That’s what I call exploitation. I know it’s normal, since we’re still in a feudal society, but I’m going to aim to change that.”

“They’re your peasants,” said Baron Wolfe. “If you want to experiment on them, go ahead.”

“I’ll be asking for help when I need it,” I said. “In the meantime, I’m going to go visit my new domain.” I turned to Rachel and Claude. “Let’s go.”

“Aren’t you going to come to the after party?” said Baron Wolfe. “It’s not often that someone like you is knighted.”

I sighed. “Okay,” I said. “I’ll go. Meeting my subjects can wait.” I paused. “Can Rachel and Claude come too?”

“They’re your consorts,” said Baron Wolfe.

“That’s not—” said Claude.

“But—” said Rachel.

I interrupted them. “They’re my coworkers,” I said. “Nothing more.”

“Whatever suits you,” said the Baron, with a wink.

Claude sighed.

“Insufferable,” whispered Rachel.

We went to the church’s banquet room. It was massive, gilded and covered in expensive-looking tapestries. Statues were set in the corners. The center was filled with a massive banquet table. Baron Wolfe was already sitting, along with about twenty other people dressed in noble clothing.

I sat down at the right to the head. The head of the table was occupied by Fey Grimes. I supposed that meant he was the most important person here.

Fey Grimes leaned towards me. “I hope you enjoy the roast duck.”

I tried it. “It’s good,” I said. I put down my fork. “But not really what I was hungry for.”

“How about a meat tart?” said Fey Grimes.

I took one. It was good.

Fey Grimes stood up and clanged his fork against his goblet. “Let us welcome Markus Peters to the royal family!”

Everyone cheered and toasted. After that, a stream of nobles approached me and greeted me. I tried to remember their names, but it was difficult. When the parade was over the real eating started. The banquet was classically medieval, with all the excesses that I had heard banquets like this featured. I ate until I was full, and refused to use the vomit potion to allow myself to eat more. Most of the nobles did not have the same qualms.

Both Claude and Rachel were uneasy as they ate, probably for different reasons. Claude was technically as important and powerful as the people here, but Rachel was just a low level merchant. She didn’t really belong here.

Neither did I, but I supposed I would make the best of it.

When the banquet was over I left the building, with Claude in town. Rachel stayed behind to do some negotiating and networking.

The day was getting late, and the clouds overhead gave the sky a gloomy feeling. I knew where my new estate was, so I hailed a horse drawn cab and left the city. It took half an hour over rough dirt roads until I came to the small town that was my new domain. The chimneys of the hovels were letting up smoke.

I dismounted and walked into the town square. The peasants that were outside looked at me with suspicion. An old man with a long beard approached me.

“Greetings, Lord Peters,” he said. “I have been informed that you are our new liege.” He bowed.

A curious group of peasants had gathered to watch. I looked at them. They were obviously poor, wearing tattered clothing and covered in dust. It would be difficult to do what I had in mind.

“Do we have any artisans in this village?” I said.

“No, liege,” said the village elder. “Please refer to me as Barns.”

I sighed. “I give you my word that I will not tax your work if you tell me the truth.”

Barns tilted his head, a gleam in his eye. “We shall see,” he said.

“First off,” I said. “Where did the previous lord live?”

Barns pointed to a small keep at the top of a hill. It was in obvious disrepair. “There, sire,” he said.

“Follow me,” I said, to Barns. Claude followed, as well as a number of the villagers.

We climbed the hill until we made it to the entrance to the keep. I pushed open the rotting door and went inside. It was dusty, empty, and covered in cobwebs.

“This place has not had a resident in two decades,” said Barns.

“Where did your previous master live?” I asked.

“This was not his primary estate,” said Barns. “So he let the building fall into disrepair.” He made an annoyed sound with his teeth. When I looked at him, his face flashed with a small amount of fear. “My apologies,” he said.

I waved my hand. “Don’t worry,” I said. “I don’t take offense easily.”

“You are a young man,” said Barns. “And I think you may want some company while you live here.”

I held up my hand. “Later,” I said. “I’m not interested in those kinds of things at the moment.”

I took one last look at the building. “Okay,” I said. “I’m going to declare this entire settlement as a “special economic zone” as my first act as lord.”

“What would that entail?” said Barns.

“No taxes, for one,” I said.

Barns looked shocked enough to have a heart attack. “No—” he paused. “No taxes?”

“And no guild oversight,” I said. “On my land, if someone wants to start a business, they don’t need anyone’s permission.”

“But, Markus!” said Claude, obviously shaken. “You don’t know what you’re doing!”

“I know exactly what I’m doing,” I said. “Since my income does not need this town’s taxes, I can let them go. I will make money through other means.” I turned back to Barns. “And, I will decree mandatory free education for anyone under eighteen, and optional free education for everyone else.”

“My lord,” said Barns, bowing. “You are clearly different than any other who has ruled over this land.”

The rest of the peasants bowed as well.

“I want this place to become a beacon of free market capitalism,” I said. “I want this town to be a center of commerce, science, and the arts.”

I wrote down a message and handed it to a small boy. “Go,” I said. “Give this to Rachel at the shop on West street and Lorn.” I flipped him a gold coin. The boy held the money incredulously. “Don’t let anyone rob you,” I said. “Hide it until you need it.”

The boy nodded and left the keep.

Barns bowed again. “My lord,” he said. “Why are you insisting on educating us?”

“Because an educated population is a productive one,” I said. “If you learn how to read, write, and do math, many new avenues will open up for this town.”

“But we need people to work the fields,” said Barns.

“We’ll have that fixed as soon as I build my steam engine,” I said. “Tractors are a natural extension of that.”

“My lord,” said Barns. “Please tell us why you have come.”

“I want to execute change,” I said. “I want his society to grow and become more prosperous. Eventually that will lead to what I really want, which is video games, movies, and the internet.”

Barns looked from side to side with suspicion. “The other lords may not like your new approach to governing,” he said.

“I will deal with that,” said Claude. “If anyone wants to challenge my ward, I will protect him.”

“Okay,” I said, taking out a piece of paper and a pencil. “Tell me about this town’s industry.”

Most of the people in this small hamlet were farmers, of course. But there were the charcoal makers and the poultry farmers. I wrote down a few things and then turned back to Barns.

“We’re going to repurpose this town’s labor force,” I said. “Not by force, but with the promise of good pay and benefits. We’re going to move all the operations of my shop back in Brownfield to this hamlet. With the help of the people here, we will make this place prosper.”

“Sir,” said Barns. “The people of this town would not like being meddled with. We have done things the same for generations.”

“No taxes does come with strings,” I said. “Don’t worry. I’ll offer a competitive wage.”

Rachel entered the keep, pushing her hair back. “Are you seriously going to upend everything we’ve worked for in order to go all in on this?” she said, waving at the keep’s disrepair.

I nodded. “Indeed,” I said. “With a workforce right here, we can set up our factories and print shops and become much more efficient than if we stayed in town.”

“But—” said Rachel paused. “You know what?” she said. “That might be a good idea. This way we won’t run afoul of any of the town’s guilds. Since this place isn’t under their jurisdiction.” She paused. “This is a good idea. I’ll start working on this immediately.”

“I’m going to build a prototype factory here,” I said. “Can you please bring Moray here as soon as possible?”

“Sure,” said Rachel. She left the keep.

I turned to Barns. “How many children live in this hamlet?” I asked.

“Twenty or so,” said Barns.

“Good,” I said. “Is there a building for sale that can fit that many kids behind desks?”

“Why do you ask?” said Barns.

“Like I said,” I said. “I’m going to teach your kids to read and write. And the adults as well if they want. That’s my only condition at the moment. Education is my first goal.”

Barns bowed. “Thank you,” he said. His eyes were almost tearing up. “We’ve been blessed.”

I put my hand on Barns’s shoulder. “I’ll try my best.”