A week quickly passed. It was finally time for the first batch of merchants to arrive at Blackstone Town.
Pancho, an upstart merchant from the Lion City, was tasked with the first haul. Under the orders of Big Mona, he travelled from the Lion City towards this place, just to get the second batch of Kalrane stones. It was a relatively simple task, since the deal itself had been made, the prices and quantities of goods have been decided, and all he needed to do was deliver.
Accompanied by some servants, he made his way towards Blackstone Town. He momentarily stared in surprise upon seeing it up close. It was not like this two years ago, when he last visited.
The most notable change was the main road. Unlike the muddy, uneven road before, the road stretching through the heart of the town was cobbled. The carriages hardly wobbled as it passed through. Pancho was sure that even if it rained, it wouldn't be muddy at all. The entire road itself was not yet fully finished, but judging by the number of workers working on it, it would only be a matter of time before its completion.
Roads represented the transportation ability of a region. Thus, it represented its power of commerce. Whoever implemented the reformation of this road knew what he was doing. From the main road, numerous streets branched out into different directions.
As he went deeper in the town, the more stunned Pancho became. This was supposed to be a ghost town, a region abandoned by the Kingdom. Since the Black Famine struck the Kingdom of Lukas last harvest season, food became a luxury. Even nobilities had to cut off rations for their personal armies.
Pancho expected the residents to be lifeless, to be skin and bones, but reality gave him a different picture. On the contrary, the locals were walking with purpose, their gait filled with life. Several of them would stare at his group, before going about their own way, doing their everyday tasks.
He could see children playing on the streets, their laughter creating mellifluous background.
His mind still filled with various thoughts and questions, he finally arrived at the Mansion. There, he was immediately greeted by the servants.
"Ah, the Young Master has been expecting you!" said one of them. He bowed, looked around, then scratched his cheeks. "But the Young Master and Sir Gaston have left for the northern farmlands about an hour ago."
"Is that so?" Pancho did not really mind. Personally, he wanted to take a tour of this town. This would be the perfect excuse for that. "Then, could you lead me there?"
"It's a bit far from here," said the servant. "But if Sir Merchant doesn't mind, this servant will lead you to where the Young Lord is."
Accompanied by the servant, Pancho and his men headed towards the northern farmlands. According to Big Mona the land around Blackstone Town was barren, non-arable, and it was the same reason why merchants seldom visit this place at all, since the town had nothing to offer.
Several roads were under construction, and they had no choice but to pass through the Eastern Border before heading towards the northern region. Along the way, Pancho saw a peculiar sight. Dozens of workers were constructing houses. The sound of hammer striking stone and wood filled the air. Several houses were being built here and there.
Strange. Why do the houses look… similar?
Pancho immediately noticed this peculiarity. The two-story stone houses were all built with the same design, with uniform spaces between each other. Every now and then, in between intersections, a wooden post was seen erected. Pancho was not sure what it was, but looking up, he could see a tiny crystal installed above.
A group of men wearing leather armors passed by. They were all holding spears, their movements uniform and steady.
"Soldiers?" mumbled Pancho.
The servant from the Mansion nodded. "Blackstone Soldiers, Sir. Personally formed by the Young Master himself!"
There were probably enough soldiers to form a platoon or two. For a personal army of a Lord of a small town, the number was quite high. Furthermore, everyone was well equipped, with a full set armor each. Judging by their movements, those guys have undergone a certain degree of training.
Pancho could not understand why the Lord of this town needed to train so many soldiers, when monsters and bandits rarely attack this area.
And what the hell is going on with the construction? It's like the Lord's trying to renovate the entire town!
Pancho could simply imagine the amount of gold being used left and right for these developments. Even a Baron would have a hard time providing for such finances.
Soon, their group arrived at the northern farmlands. Pancho was at loss for words at what he saw.
Spread out into the distance was a vast land plowed numerous times. Numerous wheats have already been planted, creating a beautiful shade of brown and green. Pancho noticed the water canal that spread through the northern farmland. Upon tracing its origin, he realized that it came from the forest beyond, probably connected to a river in that area.
Pancho quickly realized that advantages and benefits of this ingenious device! With this, the farmers would not have a hard time watering the fields, and the risk of the crops dying during a drought would be reduced somehow.
"A watering device," said Pancho. "I've got to report this to Big Mona."
He was sure that the fat merchant would be extremely interested with this find. As he was wondering of the peculiar things he saw in his short visit, something else caught his eyes. It was a device with a large tube in front, resembling a bicycle. The person riding on top would grip the handles, move the pedal, and the device would plow the ground.
Pancho realized that those things were the reason behind the uniformly plowed land spread in all directions. This area was really vast, but for despite the lack of manpower, the farmers were able to plow the land.
A young man with silver hair approached their group. The carriages halted to a stop. Upon stepping out of the cart, Pancho was greeted by the young man's smile.
"The Merchant from the Guild, I suppose?" The young man was grinning.
Pancho nodded. "Pancho, representative of the Merchants Guild. I went to the Mansion but the Young Lord is no longer there. I'm here to meet the Lord of this domain."
The young man spread out his hands. "Lark Marcus, Lord of Blackstone Town." Despite the young age, this noble exuded the air of a ruler. "Had you notified us beforehand, we could have prepared at least some refreshments." He looked at the carts. "The kalranes are currently stored in the warehouse near the mining area."
For some reason, Pancho did not really care about that. He could simply get them later. His thoughts were currently occupied by those things he saw – those tools used to plow these fields.
He pointed at them. "Those things. What are they?"
Lark looked at the direction he was pointing at. "Ah, plowing devices. The northern region's vast, so I created those things for my men."
"Plowing devices. I know that," said Pancho. "But how could those men move that thing?"
Judging by the size and shape of the device, it would take great strength to make the wheels in front rotate and plow through the land.
Seeing the curious stare of the merchant, Lark chuckled. He playfully said, "I can't tell you that. It's a trade secret. But if Big Mona himself comes here and asks me, then maybe I'll consider disclosing the mechanisms."
Normally, those words would be considered haughty, but Pancho could not help but see the ingenuity behind those devices. He was sure that had Big Mona seen them, he would be also be gawking right now.
"Ah, that's right," said Lark. He took out a small pouch and handed it to the Merchant. "Just in time. We've finally finished the first batch of this product."
Pancho opened the pouch and stared at what was inside.
"Salt?" he said.
"Umami Salt," corrected Lark. "Give that to Big Mona. Tell him that aside from kalranes, we could also provide him that. Of course, it needs to be at a competent price. It's a limited resource, after all."
It's just salt, was what Pancho thought. He could not see the merit of actually selling such a common thing. Although the price of salt had been rising lately, it was not like there was shortage of it.
He scooped out a speck of it and placed it on his tongue.
His entire body shivered. What was this taste? He had never tasted something as delicious as this before!
He noticed that the young Lord was grinning at him, his eyes dancing with glee.
"How's it?" said Lark. "Delicious isn't it?"