Chapter 153. A visit to another territory (2)- Is the issue worth fixing?

Chapter 153: 153. A visit to another territory (2)- Is the issue worth fixing?

The portal opened just after first light and Carlos stepped through first and stopped.

At first look, one thing was clear. This territory was nothing like Ironroot.

Ironroot had been built piece by piece, and Carlos could still remember when most of it had been open ground. This place had walls better than his. Not large stone walls like a city, but thick ones with timber watch platforms built into them.

Beyond those walls, Carlos could see long fields even in the early morning light.

Most of the land was flat. The grain had turned pale gold near the top, and it spread so far that Carlos could not see where the southern side ended.

The territory was humongous in comparison to his.

Rowan came out after him with the measuring cord across one shoulder. A plain wooden rod was tied beside it. He had the two empty jars wrapped in cloth so they would not break.

He looked at the fields for a long time.

"That is a lot of wheat," Rowan said.

Carlos looked at him.

"You know the grain already? It could be some other species of it."

"I can see it from here, my lord. I can tell with a single glance that this is normal wheat."

Carlos looked back at the fields. It was normal wheat. Nothing shining, nothing special. But the amount of it made normal feel different.

A man in a dark green coat was waiting near the portal with four workers behind him. He was around Carlos’s age, maybe a little older. A sword hung at his waist, but his hand was nowhere close to it.

"Carlos Goldwin?" he asked.

"Yes," Carlos spoke. "And this is my head farmer, Rowan."

The man nodded to Rowan first.

"I am Marcus Vale. Thank you for coming. I know I asked for this on short notice but I am glad someone took the trade deal."

Carlos did not rush to be friendly just because the man was polite.

"As stated in our contract, we came to inspect," Carlos said. "We have not agreed to the work yet."

Marcus accepted that without changing his expression.

"That is fair. I have no reason to ask you for more than that before you see it."

One of the workers stepped forward. She was older than Marcus, with mud already on both boots. Her shirt had a company mark stitched onto the shoulder, a white square with three blue lines running through it.

"I manage the southern field crew," she said. "My name is Hester."

Carlos nodded to her.

"You work for the company the deal mentioned?"

"The land is leased to us for the year," Hester said. "Lord Vale owns it. We plant, manage, and harvest it. He gets his share after the harvest is recorded."

Marcus gave her a small look, but not an angry one.

"The water route was part of my side of the contract," he said. "It was working before. Then the upper gate shifted after the last release."

"How long ago?" Rowan asked.

"Four days," Hester replied. "We tried to close the break twice. The water tore through both repairs."

Rowan looked toward the far channel.

"Show me what you used."

There was no more talking after that.

They crossed the field path while the morning workers watched them from a distance. Carlos noticed that some of them were already standing beside stacks of timber and stone. The Lord had said he had materials. Seeing them made it clear that he had expected help to come.

Rowan noticed it too.

"You prepared these before we agreed?" he asked Marcus.

Marcus did not deny it.

"I prepared them because the water release is today. If you walk away, my people will still have to try something."

That answer showed the desperation Carlos was feeling for a while now. Carlos respected it a little more than he wanted to.

The channel came into view after they passed the last wheat rows.

It was wider than Carlos expected. Water was not moving through it yet, but dark wet lines covered the stone and soil. The upper gate stood between two short retaining walls. One side had sunk lower than the other. Fresh boards had been pushed against it and tied down with rope, but the boards were cracked where the old water had hit them.

Below the gate, the main channel bent toward the southern fields.

At the bend, the earth had opened into a broad patch of low ground. The old water had cut a path through it. It was muddy there now, with broken reeds and loose dirt scattered across the surface.

Rowan walked to the gate without waiting for anyone.

He pressed the wooden rod beside the shifted stone. Then he pushed it again a little farther away. The first time, it went in easily. The second time, it did not.

"The ground is loose under this side," Rowan said.

Hester crossed her arms.

"That is what we thought. We put wood in the gap."

"You put wood where the water was already digging," Rowan said. "The wood did not fail because it was weak. It failed because the ground below it was leaving."

Hester did not look offended. She only looked tired.

"Then what should we have done?"

Rowan crouched near the edge and scraped loose soil aside with his fingers.

"I will tell you after the water moves."

Carlos looked at the broken gate.

"Can you tell if it is repairable?"

"Repairable, yes," Rowan said. "But it will take more than pushing the gate back. The lower ground is pulling water because it is easier for the water to go there. If we only block this opening, it will either go under the gate again or cut another path beside it."

Marcus looked at the low patch.

"Can we fill it?"

"Not before the release," Rowan replied. "And you should not fill it blindly. It may be doing some of the work of taking pressure away from your wall now."

Carlos watched Marcus take that in.

"What do we need to do right now?" Marcus asked.

Rowan stood up slowly. His knees made a small sound, but he ignored it.

"First, we need to see where the force goes when the gate opens. Then I want a marked line across the lower channel. I need to know how fast it rises. If the water is cutting from below, we will see it."

He looked at Hester.

"Do your workers know how to follow a line and move materials when told?"

Hester stared at him for a second.

"Yes."

"Good. That will be enough for now."

Carlos liked that Rowan did not pretend he needed an army of experts. He only needed them to listen.

Marcus led them to a small stone office near the fields. Inside, a ledger lay open on a table beside the company lease copy. Carlos checked the pages himself.

The southern fields were registered as Common Wheat Fields. The company received the crop after harvest, except for the one-fifth due to Marcus as land rent. The document had the Lord’s name, the company mark, and the System confirmation at the bottom.

"Is this the full document?" Carlos asked.

Marcus shook his head. "No, I will only show you documents that will tell you the deal I have made with the company. There is no need to look at the full documents."

Carlos nodded and smiled. Marcus was being straightforward enough for him to like him more and more.

There was a harvest estimate there too.

Carlos did not understand every number, but he understood the final line enough.

According to that number, Carlos could tell half of Marcus’s share would give Ironroot more wheat than Carlos had ever owned at one time.

He looked at Marcus.

"You are really willing to give half of this for a repair? Can’t you get a new water route and add it here?"

Marcus looked at him for a moment, then sighed.

"I am willing to give half because if the water does not reach those fields, I get nothing. And if I lose this company contract, I will not get another one easily."

"As for buying a new one... have you just passed beginner period, Carlos?" he asked, and Carlos nodded. There was no shame in telling that.

"I figured," he continued. "Finding a new water route blueprint in the market is rare as it only drops for domains that are related to it. And once someone gets those routes, they use it in their own territory, nobody thinks of selling them."

"And those who are smart enough to know that already, put them on ridiculous prices that no one in my situation or yours can buy from. Those prices are for very old territories that don’t mind the payment or big companies."

It was simple when he said it like that. Carlos closed the lease copy and nodded.

"Thank you for the information."

"Glad to help."

Carlos spoke again. "We will see the water first. After that, Rowan tells us what can be done. Then we talk about payment."

Marcus nodded.

"Agreed."

They went back outside as the first sun reached the upper platform.

One worker pulled the gate lever. For a moment, nothing happened. Then water came down the upper channel and it did not move gently.

It hit the shifted side of the gate with a heavy sound. The boards trembled. Brown water pushed through the narrow gap, then ran along the side instead of turning into the southern channel.

Rowan had one jar ready.

"Watch the lower ground," he said.

Carlos looked where he pointed. The muddy low patch started to move before the water had even reached it.

Something under the ground was taking the water.

Rowan’s face became serious.

"Do not touch the gate," he said. "Not yet. This is serious."