493. Transportation - III

Duvas looked doubtful. “There is no easy solution to this problem. With our coal production approaching triple the amount of what it was till the last year, Ulriga is the only place in southern Reslinor which can buy it. That is where we sell our medicines and paper as well, because it's easier to hide the real source in such a large city. Along with coal sold to that city, that’s where we earn the majority of our revenue. Since we can't sell there in the winter, it means finding new markets. But we already agreed that Kirnos is not a viable option, and Cinran can't absorb that amount of coal either, and selling the medicine and paper there is too risky with Zoricus having eyes everywhere in the town from what Levalas told us.”

Kivamus grimaced at the mention of the rapacious bastard. 

“What about selling the coal outside the kingdom?” he asked. “Farodas might not allow us to sell through Kirnos without asking for taxes which make that route unviable, but we do sit near the border of two other countries.” 

Duvas shook his head. “That's not an option either. With the Tolasi hills considered a buffer zone between the three countries, there hasn't been any trading through there for at least a decade. Even if we tried that anyway, Binpaaz will never allow a trading wagon from our kingdom to enter, thinking they might be spies in disguise, while Girnalica also wouldn't do anything to break the peace treaty which has kept peace in Cilaria for over two decades. And with the Binpaazi raids having started again since last year, I don't think it's going to be an option in the near future either, even if it doesn't lead to a war in the coming future. No merchant will risk his life to go through the hills, and it probably wouldn't even be allowed by our superiors in the first place. If you are thinking that we can hide it like we hide the medicine, that's not possible either. Fort Aragosa sends regular patrols to the hills, so there is no possible way to hide a hundred wagon loads of coal being transported every month through that route.”

“I also advise strictly against testing them,” Hudan said. “While we can still send a single wagon, or perhaps a small group of guards disguised as merchants to sell Acelos medicine to Girnalica—and that probably wouldn't be noticed by Fort Aragosa—but it would only be inviting the devil to our doors. With war brewing in the near future, the moment any of our neighboring countries finds out we can make something as miraculous as that, there would be a small army standing outside Tiranat within a few weeks. The current tensions between us and Binpaaz still might not lead to a full-scale war, but if they find out about our capability to make Acelos tablets, that would be a reason to start a war by itself. We can't risk it.”

Kivamus considered the options and couldn't think of any counters to their arguments. It might change once they had gunpowder weapons here, and the scale to defend against a full-scale invasion, but that was long in the future.

“Alright, I agree that it is too risky to trade with neighboring countries in the current political situation. That leaves continuing the current system of trading with Ulriga as our only real option.” 

Of course, the whole reason they were even having this conversation was because the current road wouldn't allow trading in the winter months once the snowfall started and blocked the road.

“How difficult would it be to create a new road north?” he asked.

“If you mean a proper road cut through the forest,” Duvas answered, “it would take months of hard work and an enormous number of workers. Depending on how many men we assigned and how good of a road do you want to build, it might take over a year, especially if it is going to be anything like the new road being built through the hills—wide and straight.”

“We still have around four months before the northern road becomes blocked,” Kivamus pointed out.

“That is not nearly enough time to build another full road from Tiranat to Cinran before winter,” Duvas said. “Not unless we divert hundreds of workers from the mines, construction crews, farms, and workshops. That road would not repay the cost immediately, while coal and medicine are already providing revenue. We also have the mercenaries and taxes approaching so we can't risk reducing our income right before that by diverting the workers to such a huge project.”

Kivamus could not argue with that. Tiranat did not have hundreds of idle workers waiting for the next project. Even with new refugees arriving every month, every construction team, mine, workshop, farm, and road crew wanted more hands.

He turned toward Hudan.

“How did you bring the wagons back from the limestone quarry of Nokozal? There is no road connecting it to Tiranat.”

Hudan rested both forearms on the table. 

“It was difficult. The guards had to cut branches, roots, and brush every day as we moved. In several places, we had to clear enough ground for each wagon before it could continue, or lift the wagons by hand to get it over a larger root which we didn't have time or proper tools to cut. But it helped that the wagons were mostly empty, which wouldn't be the case when we are trading coal. Anyway, that was why the return journey took so long. It was hardly an easy journey, but we somehow made it work.”

“Would the same path still be usable?”

“No chance. Summer growth would have covered much of it again, especially with the rainy season approaching. I doubt anyone could even find the exact route we followed.”

Kivamus considered that. The quarry route had disappeared because no one had continued using or maintaining it. A northern route connecting to Cinran would be different.

“What if we do something similar north of Tiranat, but maintain it afterward?” he asked. “Not a full road. Just a passable track.”

Duvas watched him carefully.

“We could send a few dozen loggers up north immediately,” Kivamus continued. “They would not need to level hills, build bridges, or create a broad road immediately. They would only need to clear low branches, cut exposed roots, remove fallen trees, and smooth the worst sections—just enough for wagons to pass. Of course, we will still be planning for the future and the road will be built straight even if it is not wide or completely flat yet.”

Hudan frowned. “The forest will grow back, especially with the rainy season nearly upon us. Guards or workers would have to trim the route repeatedly.”

“They certainly would,” Kivamus said. “But once the path exists, we can maintain and widen it over time instead of abandoning it after one journey like you had to do that time.”

Duvas looked toward the north, as though he could see the forest beyond the manor walls. “I believe the current road follows the easiest route to Cinran, but it also passes too close to the mountains. That is why winter snow blocks it. A new route farther from the mountains might have to be longer, which is why it would also be slower even after the snow melted. During summer, merchants would still prefer the current road because it is shorter and would save time. In winter, the new path may remain open because snowfall is lighter farther from the mountains, but it will still get a good amount of snowfall, even if it is not enough to block the road completely. Travel will be much slower, since a rough forest track will never allow the same speed as the existing road which has been used for two decades.”

“At best, the journey may take twice as long,” Duvas added. “A merchant who currently completes four trips each month may manage only two in winter.”

Kivamus sat forward. “That would still be enough to prevent our revenue from falling to nothing. If winter caravans can make half as many trips, we can continue selling at least half our usual coal. Medicine will be easier. The acelos tablets take very little space and can be carried in hidden compartments, so one journey each month could transport all of them.”

“Paper would be harder than that,” Duvas said. “It takes more space, especially if we continue increasing our production. Pydaso is already complaining that it is getting harder to hide the paper since we increased the amount we sell.”

Kivamus nodded. “Then we will send what we can. Even if we lose some coal trade compared with the four journeys on the current road every month, getting half the coal revenue and most of the medicine revenue would be far better than no external sales at all. And most importantly, we do have to make a passable road because otherwise new refugees will not come in the winter, and most of our plans are counting on the village’s population continuing to increase regularly. If nobody comes here for the whole of winter, then we cannot rely on the increase in coal production and the higher availability of labor force to continue more projects like this, as well as other things we have planned for the winter.”

Duvas did not disagree, though his expression showed that he was still calculating the cost.

“As for keeping the route clear,” Kivamus continued, “we will not wait until winter to use it again. Workers will carry on trimming branches, clearing new growth, and widening narrow places continuously. We can send a replacement team every week or two to rest the workers without stopping the work. The path will improve, even if gradually. For the next couple of months, until early or mid autumn, around 20 or 30 workers and loggers can be sent without slowing down any other projects. Their task will not be to create anything comparable to the current northern road, as poor as that dirt track is. But they should be able to make a wagon path that remains passable.”

Kivamus counted the necessary work in his mind.

They would need men who understood logging, a few guards, tools, food, ropes, and someone capable of marking the route so later crews could follow the same path. It would also require scouts to keep the road from wandering unnecessarily between hills and thick forest.

“The first goal is simple,” he said. “Remove low branches, cut roots that block the wheels, clear fallen trees, and fill the worst holes. Nothing more. If wagons can travel north without approaching the mountain route, then we can keep selling during winter. That's all that matters.”

“That still takes those workers away from other work for three months,” Duvas said.

“It does. But Yeden’s crew is nearly done with the new road to the dam, even though it is only a rough, if wide, track at present. And these people already have some experience in making a road. So we will send Yeden to lead this new road-making project along with most of his crew, while the remaining workers can continue making the dam road once we send more laborers to help, even without Yeden being present there every day. This will be a far bigger project than anything he has ever managed before, but if anyone can make sure that the road is completed before winter, it is him.”

“Once a proper road to the dam and the canal is finished in around a month, we will send all those workers to help Yeden. In mid autumn, we may be able to send another couple of dozen workers to widen and improve the path,” Kivamus said. “By then, the wheat harvest should be finished, which will free some farm labor as well. And in late autumn, we can rush this project by providing as many workers as Yeden needs. Just by using the newly free farm workers, and the new refugees coming by then, we should be able to give him another 40 to 50 workers. That will mean he will have a crew of 100 workers working under him in late autumn. That has to be enough to make even just a possible track to Cinran.”

Hudan nodded slowly. “A regularly maintained track is different from what we did at the quarry. If workers use it often enough, and we will, if we are going to send more than eight caravans every month just for transporting coal with Trevalo, not counting the other merchants and Pydaso, the road will not disappear.”

“That is the point. The first path only needs to make this new path viable. We can turn it into a better road over the coming months.” Kivamus looked at Duvas. “Bring me the map. Let's plan it out properly.”

Duvas closed the ledger and stood. He left the hall, then returned a short while later carrying the regional map Pydaso had brought during an earlier visit.

He cleared a space among the ledgers and spread it across the table.

Kivamus placed one hand near Tiranat and followed the current northern road toward Cinran with his finger. Then he began examining the land farther west, away from the mountains, searching for a route that might remain open through winter.

He studied the map for a while, comparing the line of the current road with the open land shown farther from the mountains.

Then he smiled. “This map isn’t detailed enough for proper surveying, but I think we may have made the wrong assumption. A new route might not be longer than the current one. It could even be slightly shorter, if we are lucky. But still, it would be the same length, at worst.”

Hudan leaned closer to the table. “How? Wouldn’t the original road have followed the shortest route?”

Duvas examined the map again before shaking his head. “No. Lord Kivamus is probably right. I was here when the current northern path was made.”

He placed one finger on Tiranat and traced the winding route north. “When the coal mines were discovered here, the only order was to connect the newly founded village to Cinran as quickly as possible. There was no proper survey. The workers cleared whichever parts of the forest were thinnest and avoided difficult ground whenever they could.”

“They did not care whether the path was straight or whether it passed too close to the mountains,” Duvas continued. “There had been no real settlement in these forests before Tiranat was founded, so no one knew the snowfall would be heavy enough there to block the route for the entire winter. By the time everyone understood the problem, the path was already in use, and the previous baron did not have the workers or money to replace it once the Count took back his own workers.”

Duvas moved his finger along the road again. “So the village continued using it. We sold as much coal as possible in autumn before the road got blocked and bought enough wheat and other food to survive until the road opened again in spring.”

Kivamus looked over the map once more. “We cannot change how it was built, but it means the current path was never the shortest route. If this map is reasonably accurate, and as long as we do a proper survey before starting this, we may be able to create a straighter one without adding any distance.”