Ethan browsed through the tables and blue boxes absently as he waited.

  The brewery was an option, and not a terribly expensive one. But… he wasn’t so sure it made sense.

  What besides birch beer could they brew this year? A bit of buckwheat in the late summer or fall? The quantities involved were barely sufficient for a bit of bread every now and then. Much less beer.

  Bee’s perhaps? Honey, mead and wax were all valuable products. But it was a long term goal, not sufficient to spend building points on a brewery now.

  Still, long term it was worth looking into. Especially if they could keep the hives heated during the winter.

  Woodshop?

  Hell yes! And the Bowyer’s shop upgrade as soon as possible. Might need three for that matter. Bowyer, Fletcher and a Woodshop, basic or upgraded, for tools and furniture.

  He mentally bookmarked the required materials, and while they were short metal for tools and a bit of hardware, it was neither expensive nor a large footprint.

  He nodded, making a mental note to start construction immediately, and as soon as the first load of ore came in, prioritize finalizing it.

  Not that it was the only priority that would have to wait.

  The cost was nine parts in ten for the difficult-to-forge saw blades, Ethan mused. And each would need regular reforging. Worth making from a Tier 1 metal. If they had any available.

  Quality metals, or alloying materials like orchalcum, mithril and adamantine were not uncommon rewards. And a small amount of any added to a baser metal could easily raise the tier of the finished product.

  He made another mental note. Not that there was much construction to do for a pit, but they would need it, and soon. Splitting logs with hammer and wedges took far too long and it was sheer waste to use a full log when a plank would do.

  He scrolled down and winced.

  The list of defensive structures frequently left him drooling. But the costs…

  He winced, the term prohibitive came to mind! It would take years of work, and with damn near the entire population working on just it!

  No.

  Not that every option was that expensive.

  The guard tower didn’t have a terrible price. But unfortunately, it wasn’t really usable either. He wanted guard towers at choke points for the valleys or meadows. And those were well outside of the mile build range.

  For now at least. He made a mental note to build them to the core’s spec anyway. When their range did expand, he’d claim the towers, and the buffs that went with them.

  He moved on. Infrastructure had a few nice options as well. Irrigation Ditches, Roads, Wells and Cisterns to name a few.

  He tapped again.

  Ethan took a second look and chuckled. The cost was a misnomer. If he cut it into solid stone, it would just be the removal costs. Throw in a few arches and a central pillar for strength, put it on the roof and drop channels through the solid stone down and they’d supply water for the entire stone!

  Definitely on the list.

  He’d consider the Irrigation ditches once they got a feel for rain patterns and how much work it was to water from the river by hand.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  So many projects. So little time and so few resources…

  He glanced up from the screens as a slight scratch of boot on rock caught his ear.

  “You ready Sir Andrew?”

  “Yes My Lord!” He barked, happily at that. And so he should be. He’d won the coin toss with Conner fair and square!

  “Then good luck, and Gods all bless.”

  The younger man saluted, Fist to chest, and a hundred plus other men doing the rattled the very stones and shook the snow. He spun on his heel, took three steps forward. “Centurion!”

  “Decurions!”

  “Decade!”

  Andrew let the command echo down, then barked “Move out!”

  Nearly 500 feet struck the ground in a unified stomp. A hundred armsmen, Andrews ill fated desert squad, plus 300 Labori, 50 Craftsmen, 8 Timbermen, 3 Army Cooks and 3 Apprentice Cooks. Near a quarter of their entire population, all headed to one rift, and with orders and intentions to strip it of any and everything they could in the next week.

  And despite the mountain of work ahead of them, they were as cheerful as their leader. Warm weather, space to move about and good food! It was indeed a choice assignment.

  And if the coin toss hadn’t been so damn public they might have had a riot from the rest. Conners swamp coated crew in particular.

  Poor bastards.

  Ethan wished Andrew well of it as the large column spread out, and stopped marching in time as they moved out onto the still solid lake. Then turned to walk back into the Stone.

  A quarter of their populace, he mused. 2000 sounded like a decent number until you started to split it into chunks. Near 500 Armsmen, or at least 450 and another 60 bowmen who were wives, cooks and mothers on the side. Solid camp defenders when called upon, but he’s just as soon not call on them often.

  Another 400 Alpine Hunters already spreading out to clean out the surrounding predatory beasties, and harvest the same.

  A bit over a hundred Professionals of various stripes, from Smiths, Masons, Carpenters, Bowyers, Fletchers, Cooks and More. That left about a thousand Basics, two out of three Labori and the rest Craftsmen.

  With 350 heading to the rift, 200 mixed Labori and Craftsmen at the mining site to the south, another century earmarked for the creation of Promise, and 80 for the various bridges…

  It left about a century and a half of Craftsmen, most already working in the various workshops in the Stone, and a century of Labori to provide transport, supply and any other odd jobs that needed doing.

  Of course, a Hastati didn’t forget how to do labor with his promotion. A century of them with a knight to lead them would help at Promise. Starting to put up a snug little fief, and more importantly an important ruse. Facades of buildings against the mountain proper with a few actual caves behind them to throw scouts off.

  Another half century already with the miners. Then a century each for close in protection and additional rift closures.

  As soon as the rift was closed, many of those men would be on herd duty, pushing them south to Promise, taking advantage of the significant drop in elevation to graze on the new greens.

  All the way back to the Stone, and hopefully established pastures…

  He tapped his teeth considering. Then sighed.

  It didn’t leave much of a reserve in case of disasters.

  ___

  “-tents enough in good conditions, but with snow still on the ground I worry about the furs.” James gestured to the densely filled parchment on the table in the middle of the council room.

  “Bows are a plentiful, but not good bows.” Ethan nodded, only a trickle of the new Composite Bows were trickling out of the bowyer’s hands, and they were all reserved for Pahadi. That left the former war bows of the Band for close in defense, and the dregs they’d purchased in Aeonland for much of the rest.

  “-and arrows are even more limited. Five or six each.” Enough for a bit of hunting, but not war, nor even heavy practice. Now that wood was coming in in quantity the fletchers would take care of the problem, but it would take a week or so at the earliest.

  “-smoked meat reserves are getting low, but we’ve a month stocked up, and with more fresh meat coming in regularly, rift and natural, I’m not worried about it. The first greens should be up in a week or two. It may not be much at first. Thistles, dandelions,-“ Ethan hid a wince. He’d just as soon not have to eat bitter thistle greens again, nor dandelions either, but beggars could not be choosers. “-sorrel, ostrich fiddlehead ferns-“ not that ferns were any better. He still hated the damn things. “-and even a bit of wild garlic.” That… well, that made up for the rest then!

  Ermina nodded, scribbled a few numbers on the sheet and passed it back to James. They debated back and forth for a bit, then, after referring to a new scroll, jotted down a few more lines.

  Judging quantities, consumption, transport, guard details and rotations for the sick or injured, it all had to be planned and accounted for.

  “It’s tight My Lord.” Ranier offered, hesitantly, then visibly straightening his back he continued. “We could do with more Labori, and if you will forgive me, less armsmen.”

  The sound in the room died down. Many eyes turning to the center. Ethan glanced out at them. Ermina to his side carefully running a cleaning cloth over her charcoal dusted hands, Blake carving a small pipe out of a pine knot, ever dependable Sigismund leaning against the wall respectfully with his ears all but perked upright.

  Conner leaned back with a light, amused smile, catching Ethan’s eye. He didn’t need to say ‘I told you so’. At least not out loud.

  Perhaps only Guile showed little care, working a wetstone carefully over his large blade.

  “The standard for a fief is ten to one, basic workers to those under arms, My Lord. Go above that and collapse is all but certain.”

  “And yet we have nearly one to two,” If you considered the hunters. “-and we are yet uncollapsed.” Ethan pointed out dryly.

  “Yet, My Lord. And that is my point. Even if we consider it three to one, we are still dangerously unbalanced.”

  “A man does not forget how to labor for picking up sword or spear.” He pointed out, echoing his earlier thoughts. “Many a road was built by the Emperor’s, may his light ever shine upon us-“

  “-may his light ever shine upon us!”

  “-Legions during sections of peace.”

  “With all respect My Lord, you are not he,” Ranier pointed out dryly, “-nor do I expect you will let me work them through practice time?”

  “No.” Ethan agreed. That he wouldn’t. Ranier raised his hands to the side, shoulders shrugging. “But a bit of double duty, Hunter and Hastati won’t set us back much. Worth it to get Promise up and ready.”

  “Expensive double duty My Lord. They eat half again as much!”

  “And with higher stats, they can get more work done in the same time.”

  “Without skills meant for labor or craft, it doesn’t quite equal out My Lord.” He stubbornly insisted, nor was he wrong, Ethan sighed. Not that it would change his mind.

  “And yet, a hundred armsmen, in one rift, have already brought back near a season’s harvest.”

  Ranier opened his mouth, and closed it. Taking a second to breathe as he considered. “A bit overgenerous, My Lord, but I do take your point. Still, how many rifts are as generous?”

  Ethan shrugged. “Two of the last four.” He quickly raised a hand as even Conner chucked a bit of snow from his glass at Ethan for that outrageous sally. “Alright, alright. Records are what, more like one in eight? But we do have that bountiful rift buff.”

  “That wes don’t know the extent of.” Conner offered to the wall, sotto voce.

  Also true.

  “It will help My Lord, but we are still pushing the limits. We need more Basics, more infrastructure, reliable food sources in farms and herding. Industry for furniture, tools and weapons for the rest.”

  “I’d not turn them down, Master Ranier, but I can’t exactly pull them from my posterior. But Basics or no, this is not prime farmland. I’d just as soon not try, and fail miserably, to be a Riverlord in the mountains!” Though he hoped Miro and Leo between them would bring back a few more just the same. “And whether we get them or no, we’ve no choice but to continue to grow our military strength.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Small Rifts.” Guile offered, looking down his Blade and nodding in satisfaction. Looking up he saw the entire room looking at him in surprise. “What? I do pay attention.”

  When he felt like it, Ethan held in a smile for a moment, but even the desire for it faded as he sighed. “He is right. If a small rift appears now, at anything but tier 0, we can’t close it.” Near 900 men, if he brought the hunters with them, might, with a great deal of luck and the strength of their tier 2’s, do for a low to mid tier 1. But undefended, the rest might just end up in the bellies of wolves. “Nor can we depend on our neighbors for assistance, outside the Empire’s precepts.” And those were fairly narrow.

  “And how do you expect that to change, My Lord. With only 2000 citizens.”

  Ethan leaned back in his chair. Considering how much he wanted to reveal. It was a habit, and not a bad one really, keeping his cards to his chest. But advisors and subordinate commanders couldn’t follow the plan if he never told them what it was.

  So… Might as well.

  "Military might comes from four places," he points out at last. "Numbers." One finger goes up, and no one objects. It is the most obvious.

  "Good training." Again no objection. Well-trained, skilled troops will defeat equal leveled and tiered troops that neglect skill training seven or eight times out of ten.

  "Tiers." His third finger goes up. Or levels, but who's quibbling.

  "And gear." A heavily armored man with good weapons will mow through unarmored men like a scythe through a hay field. There was a reason every living veteran had most of their total worth, as much as a decade of loot and pay, invested in their armor and weapons. It wasn't a small expense, but it paid off. Each man was more effective, and fewer died. that meant more experience was accrued and a higher average level was maintained. A self-fulfilling prophecy of success.

  He could throw in a few comments about leadership and logistics, but it would be a bit self-serving right now.

  He gave them a few seconds to think on those obvious truths, then offered the only path he’d been able to find. "If we can't have the first, then we go all in on the rest."

  Highly trained, well-equipped, high-tier troops. Out-tiering and gearing a small rift could make up for the lack of numbers. Standard military logic put a tier advantage at roughly one to ten. More in narrow breaches or battlements, less in an open field where they might be surrounded.

  But even more if they had the mobility to hit and retreat where they pleased. It was why his Lancers were so feared. But high-end troops still needed mass. To hold ground if not to take it. And they'd be more than a bit light on that end.

  "Expensive." Ranier points out, troubled but it wasn’t a disagreement exactly.

  Ethan nods. He wasn’t wrong. And it won't be an overnight change. It would take five to ten years at minimum in normal times...

  But.

  They had a Fortress Core. Not a civilian core. Not by a long shot. And the buildings he'd already seen could shorten that dramatically. Training and barracks, weapon-specific industry buildings, it would take the majority of their efforts, after putting at least the basic civilian infrastructure into place. But it was a usable path.

  No, a winnable path!

  They are still going over lists and parchment, leveraging existing resources and making predictions for what should be coming in when a guard awkwardly steps inside the council room.

  "Milord? Yous has a visitor."

  "Visitor?" What the hell did that mean?

  ___