Roll 7/10/13 for Pre+Charm
«Who are the masters who have good food and ale these days? We have it safe here, as long as we have the boat to use. Meagre maybe, but steady. We did not suffer as badly as the farmers when the warlock raided two years ago. What's your secret, stranger?»
Leofric listens, standing slightly apart from Finn and Hamish. He too is interested in knowing who those "masters" are.
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“Our masters are good magi and are more than capable of defending themselves and their folk. They are not raiders or brigands like those that have plagued these lands for the past few years. They are sworn to kill these evil warlocks and they have the power to do so. Trust me my friend, you will find no safer a place than their village. I may be able to offer a bit of coin to sign you up if that helps but it is the food and drink they have that is the great draw my friends” replies Finn
The fishermen inquire further into what kind of work Finn is talking about. It is not clear to me if Finn tries to recruit servants for the household or renters to produce food on covenant land. The latter is the arrangement with the current peasants and shepherds. Which is it?
It turns out that the fishermen who appreciate the freedom of their work, although they do not own the boat. It is rented from one of the wealthier farmers in the village, and their own share of the catch is only what they need to live. Finn realises that the economy of production is not his area of expertise, and he does not know how much a fisherman can produce, and what the covenant can offer and still make an income.
A post was merged into an existing topic: Chapter 9 where Cath'rinne goes to Edinburgh in Spring 1014
He is trying to recruit servants but as you say his understanding of economics is nonexistent beyond customers paying for his Bardic skills.
Leofric is a bit puzzled by Finn trying to recruit the fishermen as servants, "Don't you have a lake near your community? Every community needs fish." He turns to the fishermen, "And don't you have families who might welcome a steady income? They might be willing to do some work as servants, cooks or laundrywomen." Turning back to Finn, "That pays hard coin, does it not"
“It does my friend, a penny a day worked, a shilling bonus after a month of service, good food and drink, comfortable housing, friendly residence, why it sounds so good I am glad I am allowed to stay” smiles Finn
Edwin, long used to stewarding lands, will ask the fishermen about what their catch is like, and describe the sort of lake near Ungulus that would need working. He also asks who owns their boat, just so he knows who to ask about purchasing boats and whose business he might be interfering with.
Thinking about the lands near Ungulus, he will ask about how hard clearing land round here has been.
The catch is ok. It feeds the family even after Hagard, that's the boat owner, takes a quarter of it. Some weeks are bad, and they need to work all day, but overall it is ok, they say. The village has a carpenter, Godric, who makes boats sometimes.
The fishermen knows little about clearing land. New land has not been cleared for many years, and Hagard owns most of it anyway.
"Tell me more about Hagard. Is he a lord, or does he hold land on behalf of the church? He seems to own a lot around here" Edwin asks.
«Lo-ord?» the fisherman weighs the word in his month. «Hagard is the wealthiest landowner here, and half the village works for him. Nobody calls him Lord though. He is not like barons up towards Carlisle. It is not as if he has an army, or command other villages.»
Chatting for a while, Edwin understands that the church is peculiarly absent in Whitehaven, but the church in Workington is only four miles away, so they can go whenever they need her. The two villages are similar size, Workington has the church and Whitehaven the market.
Those who pay attention elsewhere notice that a messenger is dispatched to announce tomorrow's auction in Workington. Running, they should be there by nightfall.
Hamish looks at the others.
"So we going to stay for the auction? Not sure we're here to buy goods more than we are to recruit people to join our village."
Those who have an eye for such things (e.g. folk ken+perception 6+) notice that the villagers seem better off than people of Carlisle, where you saw beggars and maybe lurking thieves. Even the poorest fishermen seem to have been fed daily.
A little harder (9+) you also had the impression of inland peasants being poorer, although they were not begging, when you passed through Northumbria last year.
Finn rolls an 8. “These people don’t look desperate enough to see the Covenant as a great option. I suggest we move on north”
Hamish nods.
"Probably best to sleep rough tonight and save our coin."
If you camp close to the village, or in the village, the fishermen turn up in the morning offering to sell you fresh fish. The price is very reasonable given what you have come to expect over the last year. They had a good catch in the nets that they pulled at dawn.
On the way to Workington, you meet the vicar and a couple of well-dressed peasants on their way to the announced auction.
Workington looks rather different from Whitehaven. The harbour is smaller, but there is a church, centrally placed, overlooking the harbour. There are fewer and smaller boats too. There is also a dominant manor house on the upside of the village, larger than any building in Whitehaven. The other buildings are rather uniform cottages. Whitehaven had more variation of smaller and larger cottages.
[Feel free to interact where you please, or head on to Carlisle. Even backtrack to stay for the auction if you want to, It would only change the second paragraph about whom you meet.]
"On the way back, perhaps I should try and meet this Hagard. If he's a landowner, he is probably someone the masters don't want upsetting, and either knows how to use land productively or employs someone who does. Workington looks more like your ordinary place ruled by a lord of the manor."
"People inland seemed to be suffering more. Probably because battles don't usually cause them to have less fish, whereas a farmer's field is more vulnerable."
(Leofric rolled an 11 on the Folk Ken.)