Chapter 154. Rowan’s Level-up (1)

Chapter 154: 154. Rowan’s Level-up (1)

Nobody touched the gate.

The workers had been ready with timber and shovels, but Hester lifted one hand when Rowan spoke. They stopped where they were.

Carlos watched the lower patch carefully and tried to understand what his specialty wasn’t in.

The water did not rush into it from the surface at first. It vanished near the cracked side of the channel. The soil around the low patch darkened in a long line, then began to sink little by little.

"It is going under," Rowan said.

Marcus looked at him and frowned.

"Under the wall?"

"Under this side of the channel. The old patch is only where it comes back out."

The water kept pressing against the shifted gate. A thin stream reached the southern channel, but most of it kept finding the broken side.

Rowan moved closer with the measuring cord. Carlos followed him, but stayed behind the marked edge Hester had placed.

"That is dangerous, Rowan," Carlos said.

"I know," Rowan replied. "But I need to know where it starts."

He tied one end of the cord around a fixed stone. Then he walked it along the wet ground and stopped when the soil gave under his boot.

"Here," Rowan called. "Put a marker here. Nobody stands between this marker and the wall."

Two workers drove a bright wooden stake into the dry ground.

Rowan filled one jar from the water above the gate. He waited until the loose dirt settled a little, then took another sample from the thin water returning through the low patch.

The second jar was darker.

"The water is carrying soil from under the gate," he said. "Every time you push wood against the surface, the water cannot pass through the top. So it pulls harder from below."

Hester looked at the cracked boards.

"Does that mean we made it worse?"

"You were trying to stop it," Rowan said. "That is not the same thing as making it worse on purpose. But do not do it again."

Carlos heard the way Rowan spoke. He was not trying to comfort her. He was just telling the truth.

Marcus came closer, but he did not cross the stake.

"Tell me what has to be done."

Rowan looked at the channel for a long while before answering.

"The gate has to be lifted out. The soft ground under this side has to be removed until we reach the hard layer. Then we build a stone foot under it. Not only in front of it. Under it and behind it too."

He pointed toward the low patch.

"We also cut a narrow relief path from that patch back into the lower channel. If the water finds a weak place while we are repairing, it needs somewhere to go that does not take your wall with it."

Hester frowned.

"That will take workers away from the wheat."

"For a day," Rowan said. "Or you can keep them in the wheat and watch water take the field for the whole season."

She did not answer him after that.

Carlos looked at Marcus.

"Can your people do this?"

Marcus did not answer quickly.

"They can. We have stone and clay. I can call more workers from the northern storage side."

"And the company?" Carlos asked. "Will they agree to the channel being cut open near their field?"

Hester pulled a small message panel from her pocket.

"They told me to keep the water moving. They do not care who gives the instructions as long as the field is not lost. I will send the plan now."

Carlos nodded.

That was enough for him. The company did not need to become part of every conversation if their field manager already had authority to approve work.

Rowan stepped away from the edge and rubbed the mud from his hand on his trousers.

"It is possible," he said. "But it is not a small repair. I cannot promise how long the foundation will take until the old gate is out. The water needs to be shut for that part."

Marcus turned to Carlos.

"Then we make the contract if you are okay with it. I need to fix this as soon as possible."

Carlos looked at Rowan first.

"Are you sure?"

Rowan gave him a tired look.

"My lord, there is nothing here that cannot be repaired. It will be hard work, but it is work."

Carlos opened his Lord panel.

"The terms will be clear," he said. "We inspect and guide the repair. Your workers provide the labor and materials. You give Ironroot which is my territory, half of the one-fifth crop-share you receive from this southern wheat harvest."

Marcus nodded.

"Yes."

For a moment, Rowan stepped forward to say something.

"The System records the payment before any of us start. If the harvest is lower because the water already damaged some crop, we get half of the share that is actually recorded. If the company refuses to pay you after the water route is restored, that is your problem, not ours."

Marcus’s jaw tightened for a moment. It seemed Rowan was a lot smarter than anyone would have realized. Carlos looked at him with a grin.

Then he nodded again.

"That is fair."

The panel appeared between them.

--

[Conditional Service Contract]

[Service Provider: Carlos Goldwin]

[Authorized Agricultural Specialist: Rowan]

[Client: Marcus Vale]

[Service: Inspection and repair guidance for the Southern Field water route.]

[Client Obligations: Provide site labor, stone, clay, timber, and access required for the repair.]

[Payment: Common Wheat x3,000, equal to fifty percent of the Client’s registered one-fifth crop-share from the current Southern Wheat Field harvest.]

[Payment Condition: The water route must be restored to a functioning state before harvest evaluation.]

[Accept?]

--

Carlos read every line once more to make sure it was right. It was the least he could do as the lord when all the work was being done by his troop.

It did not promise that Ironroot would carry the whole work. It did not tie them to some endless company problem. And it made the payment part of the System record.

He accepted after reading and Marcus did the same.

The panel flashed once.

[Service Contract Recorded]

The gate above them groaned as the workers moved toward it.