Chapter 73

The contract was quite effective and detailed, but there was no other way. A free settlement had a special status that needed to be defended. If a village grew into a town and attained free status, a completely different policy came into play.

There were internal taxes, their own troops, and many other things. It was almost like forming an independent entity. Which feudal lords could approve of such a thing? But these places were indispensable. Thus, the contract was drafted to ensure satisfaction on all sides.

Then the baron's steward received a hefty purse with a hundred silver coins as a deposit for taxes that were due only in a year. Yes, that's right, taxes were collected in September here. Although, they started collecting more around September, and all the fuss only wound down by winter.

Nevertheless, the triumvirate deemed it necessary to pay a portion of the taxes in advance. Oksana, appointed as the vampires' treasurer, agreed with this idea. In her previous life, she had performed exactly these duties at a sanatorium. Konstantin, who was Oksana's protege, swore that they couldn't find a more competent person.

Overall, for villages and settlements, especially remote ones, this was common practice. No one liked tax collectors, and carrying large sums of money was dangerous. Therefore, elders preferred to pay some sums in advance over the year. The cursed bloodsuckers, tax collectors, were satisfied, and they didn't unnecessarily intrude into the village, and they could grab something for themselves if they did things smartly.

Counting the money again, the steward smiled and entered the amount into the balance. With that, the parties, pleased with each other, bowed and parted ways. Outside the vampires' gates, the steward caught up with them, out of breath from running, and reminded them not to forget to pay the royal representative for using the Great Northern Tract. The silver from the cart.

"Lord Baron, their armament. The Toshalts prefer weapons forged by gnomes. While these are all city swords."

"Did you notice that too?"

"It was hard not to notice; I lived in Toshal for five years. The nearest gnome mountain to us is the only one whose clans trade weapons with humans. A Toshalt would never wield weapons made by city blacksmiths."

"Exactly right, Captain. Gnome weapons are slightly different, and one must get accustomed to them. I have a gnome axe from Toshal myself."

Three men stood on the tower and looked north. The appearance of a strange band of people had caused a stir.

"Why then did you make a deal with them, Your Grace? They are clearly spies for Henry!"

"Who have already wiped out a couple of city army units and are willing to do so in the future? Don't jest, Captain. They lied about their origins, but these people are not city spies."

The baron patted his sword and turned to the third man, who had been standing silently beside him, not intervening in the conversation.

"Mit, you will need to follow them and find out as much as possible about our mysterious friends."

"Your Grace believes they could be dangerous?"

"I did not like the looks they gave me."

"The looks, Your Grace?" The baron's scout was clearly perplexed; his lord had never shown vanity or arrogance before.

"The looks, Mit. That's how a hunter looks at prey, a predator at its victim, but not some pitiful bastard mage at a baron."

"A mage?!"

"Oh, Captain. So you noticed the discrepancy in their armament, but didn't continue the thought? Who do you think they are then? If they lied about being fugitives from Toshal who offended their count, and if they are not city spies, then who are they?"

"Cultists..."

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