Chapter 124: The Land Beyond The City

The first shipment of Althoff-processed Beast materials had barely departed when Raymond discovered another consequence of his territory’s growing economy.

The Beast Processing Complex needed more than hunters and craftsmen to sustain its production.

Its workshops required timber, charcoal, clean water, storage space, and reliable transport routes, while the city’s expanding construction projects were consuming stone and lumber at an alarming rate.

Mara wanted more building materials, Roderic wanted dependable charcoal supplies, and Harlan was already requesting additional land surveys before assigning further cultivation rights to the growing number of settlers.

By the time Alaric brought these requests together, Raymond realized that everyone was asking variations of the same question. What else did Althoff possess beyond the land they were already using?

Ormond provided an answer that was simultaneously encouraging and embarrassing.

He arrived carrying several rolled maps, spread them across the Council table, and placed a finger on the relatively small region surrounding Althoff City.

"This is the territory we have surveyed with reasonable accuracy, my Lord," he explained. "Our existing quarry, managed forests, agricultural zones, roads, and nearby watercourses are documented. Beyond them, however, our information becomes increasingly unreliable."

Raymond examined the maps before looking toward the much larger boundary marked around them. "That’s an impressive amount of empty parchment."

Ormond nodded without amusement. "The old territorial records are incomplete. Some were drawn decades ago, others rely on travelers’ descriptions, and several settlements mentioned in them no longer appear to exist."

Raymond could hardly blame him. Until recently, Althoff had barely possessed the resources to maintain its own town, much less explore the surrounding wilderness.

But the System had expanded his recognized territory from one hundred and fifty square kilometers to fifteen hundred during House Althoff’s evolution.

Ten times the original area. On paper, Raymond governed enough land to support multiple settlements, extensive agricultural districts, forests, mines, and trade routes. In reality, much of it remained unfamiliar even to the people supposedly living within its boundaries.

He studied the maps again and asked, "How long would it take to survey everything?"

Ormond considered the question before answering, "Properly? Months, perhaps longer. We must distinguish useful reconnaissance from detailed measurement. A man riding through a valley can tell us a river exists. He cannot tell us whether its banks will support a bridge."

That distinction shaped the expedition. Kael divided the work into several survey parties, each accompanied by guides familiar with the surrounding terrain and enough armed escorts to discourage ordinary Beast encounters.

One group would follow the western resource roads beyond the existing quarry. Another would investigate the southern river corridors. A third would explore northern forests and abandoned settlements, while smaller teams examined grazing lands and potential sites for future villages.

Raymond approved the plan but refused to strip the city of its defenses merely to explore empty countryside. Boris assigned suitable patrol escorts, and Silas provided experienced reconnaissance personnel for the more uncertain routes.

The surveyors carried measuring chains, compasses, notebooks, provisions, and enough markers to identify important locations for later inspection.

Raymond accompanied the southern expedition on its first morning, partly because he wanted to see the territory himself and partly because the journey passed near Althoff’s expanding agricultural zones.

Spring had transformed land that had looked almost lifeless during winter. Young grain covered prepared fields in orderly green rows, irrigation channels carried water between cultivation blocks, and farmers moved behind plows drawn by oxen.

The original fifteen-hectare basin was no longer the only patch of productive farmland surrounded by barren ground.

The additional hundred hectares and the much larger thousand-hectare upgrade had created room for agricultural expansion, although substantial portions still awaited workers, equipment, irrigation, and cultivation.

Raymond was pleased to see that Harlan had resisted the temptation to plant everything at once.

Near one of the newer fields, Raymond noticed a farmer standing motionless beside a narrow strip of freshly planted soil.

The man held a wooden hoe but seemed more interested in looking across the field than using it.

Harlan, who had joined the expedition for this portion of the journey, recognized him immediately. "That’s Deren, my Lord. Came from Reth during winter. Lost his farm when his village emptied."

Raymond approached and greeted him, prompting the farmer to straighten hurriedly.

"No need for that," Raymond said, gesturing toward the young crops. "How is the land treating you?"

Deren glanced across the field before answering, "Better than I expected, my Lord. The soil takes water well, and the seeds have come up evenly. Harlan says we’ll need to watch the drainage after heavy rain."

Raymond looked toward the neat furrows and asked whether Deren had enough help. The farmer nodded. "My wife works beside me, and my eldest helps when he’s finished with his other duties. We’ve been granted cultivation rights for the season. If the harvest goes well, we’ll apply again."

His voice remained steady, but he kept looking toward the green shoots. Raymond waited, sensing there was something else the man wanted to say.

Eventually, Deren rubbed the handle of his hoe and admitted, "When we left Reth, I thought I’d never plant another field. My father worked our old land, and his father before him. I couldn’t even bring the plow when we fled."

He paused before adding quietly, "I know this land isn’t mine, my Lord. But it’s good to have something growing under my hands again."

Raymond found himself without an immediate reply. He had spent weeks discussing hectares, yields, irrigation capacity, seasonal cultivation rights, and future agricultural leases.

Those were necessary considerations, but none captured what the small field meant to the man standing before him.

Raymond finally nodded toward the crops. "Then let’s make sure you get to harvest them."

Deren smiled, bowed his head, and returned to work. As the expedition continued, Raymond glanced back once and saw the farmer bending over the first row with his hoe. No System notification appeared. No milestone announced itself. Raymond decided he preferred it that way.

The southern surveyors followed an existing stream into a broader river corridor that had appeared only vaguely on the old maps.

Ormond’s assistants measured its banks, recorded seasonal flood marks, and questioned nearby hunters about water levels during heavy rain.

The river was not especially wide, but several stretches appeared suitable for improved crossings and perhaps future movement of timber or other goods.

Ormond cautioned against assuming boats could navigate the entire route.

"There may be shallow sections farther downstream, my Lord," he explained while studying the current. "And we haven’t established where the channel becomes obstructed. But it deserves investigation."

Raymond nodded. "Mark it. A useful river is worth understanding before somebody builds a warehouse beside the wrong bend."

The western teams returned several days later with a more immediately practical discovery. Beyond the established quarry, surveyors had identified extensive deposits of workable clay near a smaller watercourse.

Preliminary samples suggested the material could support brickmaking, roof tiles, and ordinary ceramics, provided firing tests confirmed its quality.

Raymond visited the site with Mara and Roderic, watching workers dig reddish clay from beneath the surface.

Mara rubbed a sample between her fingers and remarked, "If this fires properly, we can produce bricks locally instead of relying entirely on cut stone and timber."

Roderic nodded. "And tiles, drainage pipes, storage vessels, perhaps better furnace linings depending on the composition."

Raymond looked toward the clay-covered workers and grinned. "Excellent. We’ve discovered mud with commercial potential."

The northern expedition brought news of a large forest suitable for managed timber production, along with signs of abandoned woodland tracks that might eventually connect to the western resource roads.

Ormond recommended marking controlled harvesting zones rather than allowing independent logging crews to strip whatever trees stood closest to the roads.

The same party found several collapsed cottages beside an overgrown clearing, but there was little evidence of recent occupation. Their former inhabitants remained unknown.

Farther west, another team collected dark, heavy stones containing possible iron-bearing minerals.

Roderic examined the samples and warned Raymond against celebrating prematurely. "Iron-bearing rock doesn’t automatically mean a profitable mine, my Lord. We need to determine concentration, depth, extraction difficulty, and processing costs."

Raymond sighed theatrically. "You people have developed an alarming habit of refusing to let me become rich immediately."

As reports accumulated, Raymond began updating his private understanding of the territory through the Lord’s Eye. Each evening, alone in his study, he opened the enhanced Family Map and compared its information against the surveyors’ findings.

Previously obscured sections now displayed confirmed roads, rivers, forest boundaries, surveyed resource locations, and recognizable terrain features. Unexplored regions remained indistinct.

The Lord’s Eye did not reveal hidden mineral seams simply because Raymond stared at a mountain, nor did it identify every Beast lurking beneath the trees. Its usefulness came from organizing information gathered through actual exploration.

Ormond’s surveyors discovered the territory; Raymond’s ability allowed him to understand their findings together.

By the end of the following week, the Administration possessed enough information to begin planning beyond Althoff City’s immediate surroundings.

The clay deposits warranted firing trials and a possible brickworks. The northern forest could support regulated forestry. The river corridor needed further examination before transport investment.

The suspected iron deposits required geological testing, while abandoned settlements and old roads deserved separate investigations.

None promised instant wealth, but each represented something the territory might eventually develop through labor, investment, and careful management.

Raymond stood before the growing collection of maps that evening, studying the small cluster of districts surrounding Althoff City and the much larger territory stretching beyond them.

He had spent months thinking about streets, warehouses, farmland, and walls because keeping one settlement alive had consumed everything he possessed.

Now the city was becoming strong enough to support development farther outward. New villages could eventually rise near productive farmland.

Resource settlements might grow around quarries, forests, and mines. Roads could connect communities that had never previously belonged to a functioning economy.

For the first time, Raymond understood the scale of what House Althoff had become.

He was no longer merely rebuilding a dying town.

He was beginning to govern an entire territory.