NOVEL FROG 56. Incentives
This was the last chapter of short length. From the next chapter, you will get longer chapters of 2000 words!
With your continuous support, future Barons of Tiranat, hopefully I'll be able to continue this pace for a long time. Thank you once more for reading this story, and for all your love!
As the setting sun approached the horizon, painting the sky in hues of orange and red, Kivamus had decided to return inside the manor house again. A chill had settled in the air, a stark reminder of the approaching winter. He and the others were now gathered near the crackling fire in the manor hall.
Earlier, after a productive meeting with Taniok and Cedoron, Duvas had sent them back to the village after finalizing the details of their respective projects. He had also provided the final list of items to Pydas which he had to buy for them from Cinran, including grain, iron ingots, a decent quantity of salt on Nerida's request, as well as enough iron nails for them to finish constructing at least one longhouse. While he had to give a small amount of Reslinor gold crowns as an advance for the extra items, they had decided to settle the final amount after the merchant returned with all the required goods.
Hudan had reported selecting the final twelve recruits, who were now equipped with the bandits' armor and weapons. Half of them were already on duty as new guards for the manor, while the other half would go to the servant's hall to get their evening meal and have a good night's rest before they departed for Cinran tomorrow morning.
Nerida had just left the hall, informing them that the evening meal was nearly prepared. Soon, the distribution would begin outside the manor gates, catering to the growing crowd of elderly villagers and children who had already started to gather.
Helga, her eyes fixed on the now-closed windows, spoke up, her voice laced with concern. "My Lord," she began, "I saw the villagers gathering outside the gates of the manor, many of whom must be homeless right now. Can't we do anything to provide them with temporary shelter until the longhouses are built? These poor souls have little to no protection from the elements, and sickness can spread quickly in such conditions."
"That's a valid point," Kivamus acknowledged. "The evenings are certainly getting colder. But housing them all within the manor itself doesn't seem feasible. Isn't that right Duvas?"
Duvas shook his head with a regretful sigh. "Indeed, my Lord," he replied. "Even if we wanted to house them in the barns for now, both of the coal barns are already full and the grain barn will be approaching its limit soon enough. And after allocating sleeping spaces for the dozen new guards we have hired, we don't even have enough space in the servants' hall now. We could probably take in a few children there, mostly on the upper floor with the maids, but that would be the limit of our available space within the outbuildings."
Kivamus furrowed his brow. "But what about the manor house itself?" he countered. "You mentioned earlier that there were a few vacant rooms here. Couldn't we use those?"
Feroy, who was the only one who had been taking swigs from a tankard of ale, reacted swiftly to Kivamus's suggestion. "Absolutely not, my Lord!" he exclaimed, slamming his tankard on the table and spilling some ale in the process. "Housing a large number of unknown people within the manor walls would be risky enough by itself. But lodging them within the manor house itself? Especially after that recent scare with your life? It'd be madness! Best find another place to house them."
Hudan echoed Feroy's sentiment with a firm nod. "Indeed, my Lord," he declared. "It would be impossible to know where their loyalty lies, and the security risk in that is simply unacceptable. I cannot allow it."
Kivamus sighed, acknowledging the validity of their concerns with a nod. "Very well," he conceded, "housing them within the manor is off the table for now." He looked at the faces of everyone gathered around him for a moment. "Is there any other solution we haven't considered?"
A thoughtful silence descended upon the group, broken only by the crackling of the fire, as they considered it.
After a moment, Gorsazo offered a suggestion. "My Lord," he began, "could we reach out to the villagers who still have houses in decent condition? Perhaps they could be persuaded to take in the homeless folks for the time being."
Duvas added with a skeptical frown. "We can certainly ask them," he conceded, "but very few of them will want to open their doors for strangers, unless Lord Kivamus makes it mandatory." He added, "The idea of housing unknown people and possibly putting their own families' well-being at risk is not acceptable to most people, or they would have already done it. They have nothing to gain from doing that."
Kivamus tapped his fingers thoughtfully against the armrest of his chair. Forcing villagers to take in others wouldn't be a sustainable solution anyway. There had to be a way to encourage them, to incentivize their compassion.
A smile played on his lips as a plan began to form. "Incentives, Duvas," he declared, his gaze sweeping across the faces gathered near the fireplace. "That's exactly what we need."
"Here's an idea," he announced, leaning forward in his chair. "Let's offer the villagers a choice. They'll be under no obligation to take anyone in, but for those families who do choose to open their homes to the homeless until the longhouses are built, we will provide a fixed amount of grains every week, for every new person that a family takes in."
He paused for a moment, letting the idea sink in. "Let's say a family agrees to take in two homeless people. So we'll provide them with enough grain every week to feed two people. But that family doesn't have to actually feed the people they take in - they only need to give them shelter, so they can keep the provided grain for themselves."
Kivamus leaned back in his chair, as he explained. "Remember, manual labor is the only way to earn grain right now in Tiranat. But not everyone is capable of such work. There might be someone who recently suffered an injury, or perhaps a woman who's simply too weak for heavy labor. Those people might have no means of obtaining grain on their own, and wouldn't qualify for the free food program reserved for the elderly and children."
"But with this plan," he added, "we create a fallback option for them. People with spare space in their homes, and especially those who can't do manual labor, can still contribute to the village and earn a living. In essence, they become temporary innkeepers, offering shelter in exchange for a small, but guaranteed income in the form of grain rations."
Gorsazo stroked his chin thoughtfully. "An interesting plan, my Lord," he mused. "The prospect of additional grain, especially with winter approaching, might be enough to sway a lot of villagers." He added, "Since we are already providing meals for the elderly as well as the children, and those who are capable of working will also get grain rations from tomorrow, so the burden of feeding the homeless wouldn't fall on the villagers who are housing them. It's an incentive that benefits both parties - the homeless receive much-needed shelter until the longhouses are built, and the participating families have their own food stores bolstered."
"Exactly." Kivamus nodded with satisfaction. "And to further sweeten the deal, we'll throw in a small amount of coal as well, for cooking and heating. Those extra rations of grain and coal will serve as a valuable backup for them in the winter."
"Of course," he added, "this is only a temporary solution, but there would still be a few people who'd like to continue this arrangement even after the longhouses are built, since many homeless families might still prefer to live with another family until they get their home rebuilt, instead of inside the crowded longhouses. That means many of the villagers, particularly those who are not capable of manual work, can continue to get a fixed amount of grain in the near future by providing housing to those who still want it."
He turned towards Duvas. "That reminds me, do we have an actual inn here? We could offer the same deal to the innkeeper as well."
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