Arc II – Agrarian Revolution
Chapter 7 – Beastmen
1 Month Since the Summoning
The shinnor continued walking calmly; it had already passed the first house and was stubbornly heading toward the spot where the jerkos was being butchered.
The captain fully drew his sword from its scabbard, and Kamelia followed suit.
“Watch out!” Alan shouted to the beastkin.
“There’s a shinnor heading toward you!”
The men abruptly raised their heads, and then looked at the green cat that was walking straight toward them, already within twenty paces.
The bear beastkin set his knife down.
Alan froze.
‘What…
what is he doing?!’
The man walked right up to the shinnor, and the beast calmly walked toward him.
Twenty paces.
Ten.
Five.
The beastkin bent down and started scratching the shinnor behind the ear.
“What, come to eat again?”
The beast purred loudly, as if confirming.
Alan’s jaw dropped, and to her own surprise, Kamelia’s did too.
Even Lorgi blinked twice.
“What…
was that just now?” Alan asked.
“No idea,” Kamelia said.
The dog beastkin tore his eyes away from the shinnor, and then looked at the newcomers.
“Who are you?”
Kamelia sheathed her sword.
“Countess Armenas.”
Both beastkin froze, the bear stood up from the beast, and then both bowed, reluctantly.
“Welcome to our village,” the bear beastkin said dryly.
“What brings you to us?”
Lorgi sheathed his sword.
“We need the village head,” the countess said.
The dog beastkin pointed to a house on whose porch hare skins were drying on a rope.
“Over there.”
Kamelia nodded.
“I will go speak with him, wait here.” And she walked in the indicated direction.
Alan wasn’t watching; he was just staring at the shinnor, who was already devising a 10-step plan on how to steal a piece of meat.
“Uh..
what…
what…
what was that all about?”
The bear picked up his knife again.
“That is Kane.”
Alan waved his hand.
“I…
that’s not what I’m talking about at all!
It’s…
a shinnor!
Aren’t they aggressive?”
The bear stopped halfway to the jerkos carcass.
“Who told you such a thing?”
“Well…
this guy, from a village.”
The man snorted and plunged his knife under the skin again.
“Then he has never seen a shinnor.
They are not all that vicious, quite the opposite even…
they are easy to work with.”
Lorgi raised an eyebrow.
“Work with?
A wild beast?
Impossible, it is no hound.”
The dog beastkin went back to severing the head.
“Work together and tame are different things.
Kane always lives in the forest, but he helps us track and corner beasts, and we give him a share of the meat afterwards.” He nodded at the shinnor, who sat with enviable patience eyeing the jerkos corpse.
“He came for his share today.”
Alan stood up straighter.
‘Uh-huh…
so they have a symbiosis going on here.
They took down a jerkos, they collaborate with a shinnor…
fascinating village, unique skills.
It’s almost a shame to subjugate all this for agriculture…
a shame…
hmm…
maybe the previous count also thought it was a shame to lose these talents and deliberately decided to preserve them?
Even against the beastkin’s own will?
Who the hell knows.
Alright…
I’ll think about that later.’
He simply turned around and walked in a random direction.
“Where do you think you are going?” Lorgi asked.
Alan stopped.
“Me?
To inspect the village.”
“Have you forgotten what Her Grace told you after you devoured that poisonous mushroom?”
Alan turned slightly pale.
“I remember…
not one foot away from her.
But technically, she left on her own, so…”
“I do not care if it is technically or not,” Lorgi interrupted.
“You are not going anywhere alone, lest you find trouble for yourself again.”
Alan frowned.
‘You sure got chatty once Kamelia left.’
He sighed.
“Well, then maybe you’ll just come with me?
Escort me, keep an eye on me, all that.
No point standing around here, who knows how long Kamelia’s going to be talking to the village head.”
The captain was silent for a few seconds, then took a step forward.
“Let us go.”
They wandered the streets of the village for about a few minutes; the sun had already touched the horizon when suddenly Alan’s gaze caught on the porch of one of the houses.
Golna was sitting on the steps, and across from her, a boy with wolf ears and a tail, looking about ten years old, was actively telling a story, gesturing vigorously.
The maid herself sat with her head propped on her hand, listening with a smile.
Alan walked closer to the fence to get a better look; Golna noticed him, and her smile faded slightly.
She slowly stood up.
“Lord Gothwald, did you…
need something?”
Alan waved his hand dismissively.
“Nah, nothing at all, I was just inspecting the village and noticed you here.”
Golna exhaled almost unnoticeably, and the boy turned to Alan.
“Oh…
Golna, who is that?”
“That is Her Grace’s advisor, Goln.”
The boy, Goln, opened his eyes wide.
“No way!
Then why is he…
not dressed in silk and fine clothes?
He is Her Grace’s advisor!”
Golna turned slightly pale.
“Goln!
You must not speak like that!”
Alan chuckled.
“Advisor, yeah…
part-time.”
Goln blinked.
“What?”
“Never mind.” He looked at the girl.
“Is this your little brother?”
Golna nodded.
“Yes.
Goln, meet Lord Gothwald, advisor to Countess Armenas.”
The boy bowed clumsily.
“Greetings, Lord Gothwald!”
Alan scratched the back of his head.
‘Too formal…
whatever, let it be…
I’m not going to correct him, it’d just look stupid.’
He nodded in return.
“Greetings, Goln.”
Suddenly, rapid footsteps were heard behind them; one of the young guards approached.
“Lord Gothwald, Her Grace calls for you, the village head is ready to speak.”
Alan pushed himself off the fence.
“About time.” He turned to Goln one last time and waved his hand.
“See ya, kid.”
The boy froze for a second, then broke into a smile.
“Bye, part-time advisor!”
Golna stood nearby, white as a sheet, while Alan simply shook his head.
“Little shit…
mocking me on top of it all…” he muttered barely audibly and followed the guard.
Lorgi remained by the fence.
“And where is your old man?” he asked Golna.
The maid shook her head.
“Father?
He is inside the house right now.”
Lorgi nodded.
“Tell that old geezer I am here, and I am ready to show him who the strongman is this time…
a little later.”
Golna smiled slightly.
“Of course, Lorgi, I will absolutely tell him.”
Alan, meanwhile, entered the village head’s house.
Kamelia was already sitting at the table, and opposite her was a gray-haired beastkin with no ears, only a gray tail hanging off the chair.
“Ah, there you are, Gothwald,” Kamelia said.
“Have a seat.” She pointed to the chair next to her.
Alan sat down and looked at the village head.
Unlike the beastkin in the yard, this one sat with a straight back, and his eyes gleamed barely noticeably.
‘Uh-huh…
looks like Kamelia already told him what business brings us here, seeing as he’s lighting up like a Christmas tree.’
“I presume you are Mister…
uh?”
“Dungel,” the village head finished.
“Mister Dungel, you already know why we’re here.”
Dungel nodded quickly.
“Yes.
You wish to propose that we engage in farming.”
Alan stood up.
“Well then, I don’t see much point in rambling on.
Gather the whole village, we’ll discuss it with them.”
The village head stood up after him.
“Yes, Lord Gothwald.” He went to the door and walked out of the house.
Alan followed suit.
‘Alright…
definitely have to hash this out with the village.
I see the head is thrilled, but…
not all heads are.
Maybe the majority does want to plant wheat, but I find it very hard to believe that absolutely no one will want to stay a hunter, making them a minority…
and minorities are good at sabotaging and ruining things.
I’ll need to deal with that.’
Ten minutes later, under the setting sun that painted the sky red, about two or even three hundred beastkin had gathered.
Alan stood before them, actively observing them as they assembled.
A woman with a cat tail and ears, a man with wolf ears, a boy with a fox tail and ears, another man completely covered in thick brown fur on his arms and a thick beard.
“So,” Alan began.
“My name is Alan Gothwald, and I am an advisor to Her Grace.
I have come to discuss with all of you the commencement of agriculture.
Let us start with the fact that…”
An incomprehensible murmur and chatter broke out in the back rows.
Alan blinked.
‘Hey, I didn’t even get to say anything yet.’
A furry beastkin from the front rows turned back, his expression changing to one of bewilderment.
“Lord Gothwald…
they say they do not understand you…
that you are speaking in some strange language.”
Alan frowned, then slapped his palm against his forehead.
‘Fuck.
The magic radius.
There are about three hundred people here, obviously they’re standing further than thirty meters from me.
What do I do?
…
alright, I won’t make anything up, because that’ll just lead to WAY too many questions.’
He sighed.
“The fact is, I am a Hero summoned by Svyatol…
and I can understand people, and people can understand me, only within a certain distance thanks to the magic of language translation.
So…
huddle closer to me, so everyone understands everything.”
A murmur and whispering began in the front rows.
“A hero?”
“Summoned?”
“I heard the ritual was…”
“Her Grace received a hero?”
The village head was practically just staring at Alan with wide eyes.
But nonetheless, the crowd began to huddle and move closer.
Alan simply crossed his arms over his chest.
“I’m not going to give any grandiose speeches, and I don’t want any conflict either, so let’s be direct.” He pointed his arm to the left.
“Those who want to engage in farming – over here.” He pointed to the right.
“And those who want to hunt – over here.”
The peasants froze for a moment, and then slowly began to move to the sides.
About three minutes later, there were over two hundred beastkin on the farming side, and fifteen on the hunting side, most of them sturdy older men, and a few young guys.
Alan nodded.
“Excellent.
Then you may continue hunting and maintaining your traditions, no one is forbidding you.
And we will speak with those who chose farming later.” He clapped his hands.
“Perfect, you may disperse.”
The beastkin blinked for a few more seconds, then began walking slowly to their homes, whispering about something.
Kamelia smiled slightly.
“Wow…
you were quick.”
The captain simply nodded slowly three times.
Alan sighed.
‘Wow…
that actually worked.
Peasants aren’t 21st-century people, they don’t need preambles, introductions, summaries, conclusions…
just clear, direct, understandable, and to the point.
I should probably remember that.’
1 Month and 2 Days Since the Summoning
Alan, Kamelia, and Lorgi had been walking around the village since early morning, but alongside them was also a human peasant holding a small hoe, who moved with jerky, nervous motions.
Alan looked out over the plains.
‘Stage two, we need to figure out if the soil here is even suitable for growing anything.
I don’t know shit about this, so we just called in a peasant who knows his stuff.’
“Lady Armenas,” Alan began.
“Do you have the map with you?”
Kamelia nodded.
“Yes.
You asked me to bring it along at all times.”
Lorgi took a satchel off his shoulder, untied it, and pulled out a battered map, handing it to Alan.
He took it and began examining it, while the peasant dug up the soil nearby with slightly trembling hands and inspected it.
“So..” Alan began.
“Overall the location for a village isn’t bad.
The forest starts to the east, some plains to the west, and further west a river curves around, plus a good road passes a little to the south.”
‘The question of why this place wasn’t used before…
is rhetorical.
The nearest village is quite far from here, and the beastkin weren’t allowed to cultivate the land, so it seems there was simply no one to make fields here.
Hah…
Your Honor, Lady Luck…
what a fucking phrase.’
The peasant meanwhile stood up from the ground.
“Your Grace…
the land is quite good, you can plow fields here without issue.”
Alan closed his eyes and practically broke into a smile.
‘Yes…
yes…
Finally something is going well…
I’ll probably get my ass handed to me for this amount of luck later, but I don’t care.’
Kamelia nodded.
“Excellent.
You may go to the guard; he will take you home and issue you a sack of grain.”
The man bowed deeply.
“Thank you, Your Grace!” And he immediately went off to the guards.
The countess turned to Alan.
“Listen…
are you certain we needed to give a whole sack of grain as a reward?
Is that not…
too much?”
Alan walked over to the plowed soil and looked at it.
“You get what you pay for.
Did you see how long he was poking around in that soil?
He was genuinely trying to determine if it was good or not.
Besides, we told him that it didn’t matter if the soil was bad or good, he would get his sack of grain either way, so he had no reason to lie.”
Kamelia winced slightly.
“Yes, but still…
it seems like quite a lot…”
Alan shook his head.
“Kamelia, let me teach you a new word that I’ll be using more and more often in the future.
Investment.”
She immediately pricked up her ears.
“I am listening.”
Even Lorgi turned slightly.
“An investment is when you put resources into something so that you get a profit in the end.
This, for example, was an investment.
We gave away a sack of grain to find out if the land was good, that’s the investment, and when we plant it and get our first harvest, which will be many times larger than that measly sack of grain, that will be our profit.
Understand?”
Kamelia was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.
“Yes, I understand.
But…
what if the fields yield no result?
Is there a word for that?”
Alan nodded.
“Of course.
If we get less back instead, that’s called a loss, meaning a deficit.”
“Hmm…
an interesting expression…
so when Zogen and I spent time and effort finding edible plants, that was also a kind of…
investment?
We spent time, but now we know what can be eaten so the peasants can live longer?”
Alan clapped his hands.
“Exactly!
You catch on fast.
Since we’ve only taken one step out of the deep shit the county is in, we’ll be investing constantly.”
“And the years of training soldiers,” Lorgi interjected.
“Is that an investment as well?
Right now you spend years, effort, food, and weapons to train recruits, and later you have an army.”
Alan smiled slightly.
“Hah, now that’s called the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon; as soon as you learn a new word, you start seeing it everywhere.”
Kamelia blinked.
“Are there so many words to describe any given thing in your world?”
Alan simply nodded.
“Wow…
it is no wonder you are so intelligent, hailing from such a world.”
The captain just snorted, saying nothing.
Alan continued looking at the plains with a slight smile, then his smile faded.
“Fuck!
We don’t really have plows or seeds!”