Chapter Twelve: Bhamori
As the refugee convoy crossed the Bosen Plain, the officials sent by Grand Duke Philip to oversee logistics were old acquaintances of Komer’s father. Though there was no enthusiastic welcome, they didn’t cause much trouble either. A bag of gold shields made many things much easier. By this point, more than half of the refugee journey had been completed; they only needed to reach the southern part of the Bosen Plain, cross the Great Greenland Forest, and arrive at Fortress Bruce, after which most of the task would be done. According to the agreement with the kingdom’s internal affairs department, the garrison at Bruce would be responsible for safely transporting all refugees across the Dalmann Pass, marking their true arrival home.
Seeing that there were no further major issues, Komer finally felt relieved and left the refugee affairs in the hands of Rese, Melbourne, and Hozel. He also allowed Fran to select some brave individuals from among the poor refugees to form the basis of his upcoming lord’s guard. Meanwhile, he led the representatives by carriage to Bruce first, partly to contact the generals of the garrison regarding escort arrangements and partly to learn more about how things had progressed in his domain during the over month he had been away.
During the days since leaving Galle and entering the Bosen Plain, Komer had had several encounters with the representative Hozel. He found that Mr. Hozel could be considered a fairly honest businessman. Although he had also joined forces with Zelin’s group, Komer saw no problem in that. As a business representative, everyone wanted their own group to settle in a place more suitable for survival—the Caucasus was far too remote compared to the Galle region. However, after deciding to completely break ties with Galle, Hozel quickly and wisely began persuading the disappointed merchants to set off south as soon as possible. Komer, who had been observing him quietly, was quite satisfied with Hozel’s performance. He was a very practical and realistic businessman—so long as sufficient interests and benefits could attract him, his loyalty became less important. Komer didn’t particularly like such people, but he admired them.
Further contact with Hozel was only logical. Hozel did not hide their initial goals, nor did he conceal any details about negotiating and staying in Calais behind Komer’s back. Since it had become history, there was no need to keep anything secret from anyone. Komer wasn’t interested in the specifics of the deal between Hozel and Zelin, but Zelin’s demands revealed that these merchants from Main and Susor had considerable funds, enough to pay the settlement fees while still able to develop their businesses in the settlement area. This meant they weren’t as penniless as Komer had assumed—they must have brought substantial wealth with them, a fact that piqued Komer’s interest.
Through several encounters, Komer learned that Mr. Hozel was actually one of the directors of the Main City-State Merchant Guild. Due to his status, he hadn’t been able to stay in the Three City-States. When those nobles obtained residency rights in the Netherlands, Media, and Naples, he, along with Mr. Zip and Lord Melbourne, naturally became representatives of the immigrants from those regions.
Hozel also made it clear to Komer that he was willing to migrate to the Caucasus with the merchants from Main City-State to contribute to its economic development, which was an implicit show of loyalty to Komer. Komer responded by saying that as long as the merchants from Main City-State were willing to work hard to change the current situation in the Caucasus, he would overlook their past mistakes. Moreover, with the establishment of the Caucasus Merchant Guild approaching, the merchants from Main could enjoy equal opportunities to participate like the local merchants. Hozel gladly accepted the invitation on behalf of the merchants from Main.
After settling these matters, Komer, along with the other two representatives, set off for Bruce ahead of time. Perhaps because they had heard from Hozel that Komer would forgive their past mistakes, Zip was extremely attentive throughout the journey, while Lafayette eagerly asked about the entire region of the Caucasus. Komer provided a thorough account of the real situation in the Caucasus, revealing his plans to develop a large iron mine and some yet-to-be-determined coal mines after the immigrants arrived. He also planned to develop large tracts of barren land between Ugru and Middelburg, and between the Dalmann Pass and the location of the iron mine in Bahomon. These lands were extremely fertile, covered with trees and shrubs—trees could be cut down for building materials, and shrubs could be cleared by burning.
The differing behaviors of Zip and Lafayette revealed the gap between the merchant representatives from Main and Susor City-States and those landowners from the Mellen region. Zip was extremely attentive to the geographical location of the mines, transportation conditions, quality of the ore veins, and means of transport; he would ask detailed questions even about matters that Komer hadn’t considered yet, clearly showing great interest in developing these mines. Meanwhile, Lafayette focused on land development, concerned about distances of two days’ travel, safety conditions, the surrounding environment, and soil fertility. Fortunately, Komer already had a general understanding of these aspects before setting out from the Caucasus, so he could provide some basic information. Yet, judging from their expressions, both of them clearly wanted more detailed insights.
The peculiar prosperity of Bruce surprised Zip and Lafayette, who had followed Komer. It was extremely rare across the entire Blue Continent for such a fortified place, with nothing but forests around it, to house as many as twenty thousand people. Komer quickly explained the reasons behind this to them. The fortress commander who came to greet them, Bamo Li, wore a sincere smile, as if meeting an old friend after a long time. Although Komer knew this man was no ordinary person, he was pleased by his enthusiasm.
Bamo Li also watched the three people before him with mixed feelings. The baron lord before him seemed to have changed since leaving Bruce for Jazair over a month ago. Could mages truly possess such great powers, enabling them to constantly improve themselves? It was only after learning from the return of the two-headed dragon that Bamo Li realized this lord was actually a mage—one who had cast two large fire spells in quick succession, killing dozens of people. Bamo Li couldn’t reconcile the horrific scene with the pale-faced, calm-looking young lord before him, yet that was indeed the case. The terrified expressions of the two messengers who brought the news still remained vivid in Bamo Li’s memory.
But what about the orders from the Grand Duke? Resolving this matter without raising any suspicion is no easy task. Not to mention that he is a magician, his status as a Caucasus lord already makes him cautious; if he fails, the kingdom’s Star Chamber will likely send him to the gallows immediately. As for the Grand Duke, Barmoli is well aware that he might even push him further, eager to execute him as quickly as possible to prevent him from spilling secrets. Assassination? That would have to be done on the journey from Leon to the Caucasus; otherwise, if anything goes wrong in Bruce, he will inevitably be implicated. But can assassination succeed? The people in Leon have already been demoralized and surely won’t get involved in such matters. It’s indeed too difficult to find someone willing to carry out such an act while maintaining absolute secrecy.
After some polite exchanges, as usual, he invited the three to sit in his reception room in the fortress. While pondering how to deal with this dilemma, Barmoli also wanted to understand what kind of person this young lord really was. The previous two encounters clearly hadn’t allowed him to see through the kind appearance hiding the man’s true nature.
“Baron, you’ve really gone all out this time—taking in so many refugees at once. The population of the Caucasus is almost on par with that of Leon now. These days, several of Mr. Palermo’s supply caravans have passed through here, showing just how much you care about the refugees.” Barmoli gestured warmly for the other party to try his coffee, complimenting him with a smile.
“Hehe, Lord Bamori, you’re joking. How could the Caucasus compare to Count Poninsky’s Leon? Leon is a famous mining region in our kingdom, filled with coal mines and iron deposits. However, Leon relies on slaves, while these people from the allied nations are free citizens with legitimate rights. Otherwise, I think Duke Poninsky would have taken them for himself.” Komer glanced at the two representatives beside him and explained politely. This Lord Bamori was no ordinary person. Although he had been treated politely by this guy during his last visit to Leon, his intuition told Komer that the gangs in Leon were surely closely connected to Lord Bamori. But just how deep the relationship between Lord Bamori and that old fellow Philip was, Komer couldn’t tell. Back then, if Lord Bamori had intended to kill him, his group would have had no chance of escaping.
“Your Lordship is right. Free citizens have legitimate rights, and no one should deprive them of them. But the infrastructure in the Caucasus is too poor. With so many refugees arriving all at once, I wonder if the Caucasus can handle them. I saw Mr. Kafli and his friends bring in quite a lot of daily necessities to the Caucasus, but I’m still worried that something might go wrong with such a large number of people.” Lord Bamori didn’t hide his concerns. After all, Fortress Bruce was an important passage guarding the southern part of the Homer region. Given the worsening situation in Leon, just a few days ago, Grand Duke Philip sent another 500 soldiers to help strengthen the defenses of Bruce. Whether it was to make it easier for him to deal with this baron or as a precaution against potential problems in the south, Lord Bamori wasn’t sure. But one thing was certain: it definitely had something to do with this baron.
“Thank you for your concern, Lord Bamori. I believe my administrative officer has already made many preparations, and the kingdom’s central authorities also attach great importance to this matter. Duke Tez even reached out to the lords along the route to ensure the safety of the refugees. The Netherlands, Naples, and Media have also allocated special funds to purchase sufficient food for the refugees from allied countries, so they can survive this winter. Fortunately, winters in the Caucasus aren’t too harsh, so tents or wooden houses will suffice. With so many refugees needing to enter the Caucasus through Leon, I’m sure Lord Bamori has also received instructions from Grand Duke Philip from the kingdom’s internal affairs department to send troops to escort the refugees safely through the Leon region.” In truth, Komer didn’t think the Leon bandits would attack these passing refugees, as there were so many of them and most didn’t have anything valuable. But out of precaution, he still hoped they could send troops for protection—even if it meant some cost.
“Of course, there’s no problem. The grand duke has given orders that we will absolutely ensure the safe passage of the refugees. I wonder when Lord Baron will return to the Caucasus—will he return with the refugees or go ahead first?” After going around in circles, Bamori finally asked the key question.
“Oh, Lord Bamori needn’t worry about that. The three of us will return to the Caucasus soon. I’ve already hired mercenaries to go to Ugru to inform them that someone will come to Bruce to pick us up. I may not have much, but my two friends do have quite a bit.” Komer’s reply left Bamori somewhat disappointed yet also a bit pleased. He didn’t want to take actions without certainty, and the grand duke’s orders also required acting only when there was absolute certainty. It would be better to stay inactive in such cases. Subconsciously, after the failed attempt to use the Leon bandits last time, Bamori felt that this baron was no ordinary person, and trying to deal with him might only bring disaster upon himself.
Watching the group cross the floating bridge under the escort of a group of valiant soldiers and leave, Bamo Li stood at the bridgehead with a complex expression on his face. Their figures, growing farther away, seemed to grow larger, even taking on a more solemn air. Whether letting him go this time was right or wrong was uncertain, and what to explain to the Grand Duke was also a problem. Bamo Li couldn’t articulate exactly what he was thinking, but one thing was clear to him: he didn’t want to face such an enemy.