Establishment: Book 5 (Stranded) by Vlad ben Avorham

Author:Vlad ben Avorham [Avorham, Vlad ben]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-10-02T00:00:00+00:00

The next week is the calm before the storm. Buck doesn't get as many evenings together as he had hoped for, and each of them more subdued than the first, but he does notice subtle signs that the cease fire among his ladies is holding. All of that gets pushed out of the way when the others return from Avex. People and money strike Homestead Falls like a tidal wave. The impact of which threatens to wash the little town away.

There are no where near enough houses to accomodate all of the workers who show up. The cost of food and housing skyrocket as scarcity becomes the word of the day. Gud is making a supply run every three days to Maycrav, and sells out within an hour of returning. Barron Riekvold threatened an export tax after the second trip, when Gud showed up with three times the number of wagons that he had used on the first trip. Buck seriously concerned about food availability for his boom town was infuriated at Riekvold's obvious attempt to starve him out had ordered modifications made to the sole aircraft in the duchy's possession. He demanded bomb bay doors be cut into the bottom of the cargo compartment.

John and Colfar got wind of this situation and cornered Buck in his office to talk him out of a direct attack on Riekvold. Both argued that a war with neighbors would be the last thing the area needed. Stability brought about growth, but a war would just lead to the need for more guards to protect the already large workforce, and in the end would only exasperate the situation. Buck couldn't dispute that point, but at the same time, just couldn't stand by and let the weasle starve his duchy out. Colfar agreed to make a special mission to visit the King over Riekvold's actions, if Buck agreed not to level his castle in retaliation. Colfar left that same afternoon, and Buck broke the punching bag in the palace gym.

The other thing that was in short supply was building materials. Even agreeing to clear cut whole swaths of forestland wasn't enough to help in the short term. Felling trees and milling lumber takes time and yet more workers. While workers weren't in short supply, experienced lumberjacks were. The additional need for horses to transport the lumber, also was putting a serious strain on the pasture land needed to support them. Fortunately, John came through with a solution to that problem, at least a temporary solution. On a rotation, underclassmen from the University's Plant and Earth Colleges would walk the pastures casting Rapid Plant Growth and spells to improve and revitalize the soil three times a week. While it would never serve the needs of farms growing food for human needs given the small amount of the plant that people ate, to make the grass grow a couple of inches over a pasture was well within their power limitations. This of course, was a drain on

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