Chapter 301: The Logistics of Expansion

"Sorry, Mentz," said Kellar. "We got distracted watching Little Green fight. All is well. You can go on telling her."

"Yes, of course, my lord," said Mentz, and returned to the drawing. "We were at the mountain, right."

He shifted a little east with his finger.

"Further east is Karkadann’s nest, the giant turtle. It is empty now, but there is a vein of pure earth stone there. Last time we loaded onto Karkadann everything we could carry. Right now she is being prepared, to armor her and arm her with cannons, to make of her our mobile fortress."

"Armor her?" asked Ophelia.

"With plates of the same stone we take from that vein," said Mentz. "And with carriages on the shell."

He kept drawing north.

"After that come our northern territories. To the north is the crocodile forest. We have not been able to explore it whole. We only cut a road three kilometers wide for our troops to pass. We have some scouts deployed and traps in the zone, but the forest is too extensive and we have not been able to clean it fully."

Ophelia nodded slowly.

"Further north, following the bank, is the tiger king’s territory," said Mentz. "Though he lives with us, his whole family still lives there. He goes every few days to visit and check on them."

"And he obeys us?"

"He obeys us," said Kellar, without raising his eyes.

Mentz hurried on.

"To the north, but further from the river, is the red forest. It is our main source of powder inputs. The red monkeys live there. We killed their king and annihilated a great part of their troops, but we have not been able to exterminate them. They always flee deeper into the forest and the shaman gave orders not to chase them further."

"Why not chase them?"

"Because the red forest eats people," said Kellar. "It is wide, it is wet, and it has no bottom. Chasing monkeys that climb is not a war, it is a walk."

Mentz nodded and moved northeast.

"Northeast of that position, skirting the forest, are the ash valley and our mountain fortress. Though it is abandoned, the vein of fire-earth stone we use for special ammunition is there as well."

Ophelia turned her face toward the drawing.

"Did you abandon the vein because of the dragon, master?" asked Ophelia.

"No," said Kellar. "It was an insect invasion. Our weapons were far less efficient then. We could barely hold the fort. Sustaining a drawn-out war there was suicide."

"It was a wise decision," said Ophelia. "The dragon is not far from that zone. Now I understand our territory, master. We are surrounded on every side, and the road to the enemy kingdoms is not easy either."

"That is so," said Kellar. "We are quite limited in space and in resources. We have been squeezing everything we can out of it to survive."

"It is impressive, master."

"Here comes the important part," said Kellar, and leaned forward. "Right now every tribe in the forest is scattered. The roads between them are too dangerous, so there is no contact between one and another. We need to start looking for them, one by one, and bring them in."

Ophelia jerked her face up.

"Yes, I can see a devotee of the Bear God in..."

Kellar cleared his throat interrupting her, and she went quiet.

Mentz looked between the two of them.

"Well," said Kellar. "Eventually the high command will know. Right now only you can know it, Mentz, and I hope it does not leave here."

"You can count on my silence for life, Great Shaman," said Mentz, and struck his chest. "I swear it by all my line and by my ancestors."

Kellar nodded slowly.

"Good. Krag remains loyal to our tribe and he is my special envoy. He has taken it upon himself to visit every tribe he can, telling them of us. He must be preparing to begin a migration on a grand scale, but the forest is too dangerous. We need to coordinate our efforts."

Mentz’s mouth hung open.

"I will speak with him through the totem," Kellar went on. "When Karkadann is ready, I send her. We will mobilize the nearby villages. The tiger king and Little Green will support us too, but they are too conspicuous and I fear the beasts of the zone will take it for an invasion. That is why we have to be ready before we begin."

Kellar came to his feet.

"The help of the knight squadron and the fleet’s efforts give me more confidence," said Kellar. "With that we can begin."

"That makes the picture clear to me," said Ophelia. "I have some ideas, master, for the blessings you want."

"Tell me," said Kellar. "And you think too, Mentz, if any occur to you."

Mentz scratched the back of his neck and stayed quiet.

Ophelia settled the staff in her lap.

"The three blessings I cast are blessings for the army," said she. "They are very useful. But I think we are developing too fast at the cost of the people, who strain themselves past their strength for you. I do not say you exploit them. I say their devotion can cause accidents."

Kellar looked at her sidelong.

"I would like to ask for a blessing of energy recovery, one of rest, and one of joy," said Ophelia. "With those three, the workers could work without pause. Even without sleep."

A chill went over Kellar’s skin at her tone. Ophelia was not playing. She truly meant to work people to death.

"That may be," said Kellar. "But I do not want anyone working more than twelve hours a day. They must leave time for their families. We need more people, and they need time to enjoy themselves."

That made her lift her face.

"That is another blessing that can be made," said Ophelia. "A blessing of lust. If every man comes home hot, in a few months we have a new generation. And when their wives are pregnant, we can bring in women without husbands so they get pregnant too."

Kellar opened his mouth to say that they were women, not cattle.

He thought about it, and shut it.

Because the idea fit. He had built it himself. When the valley’s women rose up over the lack of sex, he had set up makeshift brothels with every one of them who was desperate for it. And now many of them, the same as the men’s wives, were pregnant.

The population was going to swell enormously.

And to build a kingdom you need people. And sacrifice.