Mount & Blade; Warbands » Places

         The battle was short and bloody, but Charles was grateful that he lost few men. The men who died were two infantrymen and one crossbowman and, to their credit, they faced their deaths bravely from what he could tell. When the battle was over, he ordered his men to search the area for prisoners and anything of value to take back to Ferry's village. When that was accomplished, he ordered his troops to clear the area and camouflage the mine as best they could. He didn't want anymore bandits or worse, Rhodoks, taking possession of it. By the end of the day, he and his men reached Ferry's Village and Charles personally delivered denars that were owed to the families of those who had fallen for their lives.

Within the manor house, Charles took stock of the situation with Rukil, "I want the mine operational as soon as possible. The iron there should attract weaponsmiths and blacksmiths to the village when the iron hits the market. How many denars and men would it take to defend the mine from bandits and raids from Rhodoks? Can a fortification be built around it?"

"I will take many denars to build an outpost to defend the mine," Rukil warned. Charles frowned, but quickly dictated a letter to a servant.

Lord Despin,

As you know, the fief of Ferry's Village borders the Kingdom of Rhodoks and I have patrolled it vigilantly. Recently, I have found an iron mine in good condition with plentiful iron. I believe that I can get the mine operational very quickly, but the mine is close to the border and may be in danger of raids once word spreads of it. I formally request a loan of denars needed to build an outpost to defend it. In exchange, I am willing to offer you a 20% discount on all iron and weapons produced from its ore until the debt is settled through your savings or I repay the loan with my own denars.

Respectfully,

Lord Charles Hossberg

He also wrote a letter to weaponsmith that had been making his men's armor and weapons about the discovery in order to entice him to move his shop to the village. With luck, the prospect of cutting off the merchants as middlemen for his supply of iron would be enough to convince him to leave for Ferry's Village.