With his first payment in hand, Leech had already sent men to town to buy supplies.
He needed to buy some livestock to start a small ranch in the Porcupine Territory. He wanted to raise more chickens, ducks, cattle, sheep, and pigs to improve their quality of life. Then there were slaves. The Porcupine Territory needed people, and the slave trade was still going strong. But the last batch he'd bought were all women and children—the cheapest on the market. If he wanted strong laborers, the price would likely be several times higher, maybe even ten times.
He also needed iron. The replacement of their farm tools had to be sped up.
Grain still had to be purchased. It seemed that instead of the Porcupine Territory supporting its lord, he was the one earning money to support the entire territory.
Next on the list was talent.
Leech headed to a tavern in Iron Stone Castle. If you wanted to find capable people, you had to go where information flowed most freely.
Pushing open the door, he was hit by the thick smell of alcohol. The sounds of arguments and commotion washed over him.
People were huddled together, strangers and acquaintances alike, all boasting and spinning yarns.
Leech's arrival, his clothes clearly out of place, quieted the tavern for a brief moment. But then, as if nothing had happened, everyone went back to their own conversations.
"I bet those golden horses shit pure gold. They probably have to hire someone just to follow the carriage and pick up the turds, HAHAHAHA!"
"You must not have seen that sword, the one Old Toe has. Forged from Silver Steel, they say it's deadly to evil things. I wanted to draw it for a look, and he tried to charge me a Silver Moon! Dammit, is that Silver Steel Sword his wife's tits or something? I'd rather throw that Silver Moon away at a brothel."
"East Gorge and Giant's Foot are going to war again? Didn't things just quiet down?" "Heard it's because some woman from the Golden Thorn Swords family died there. Gutted her wide open, they did. Something about an affair with a male servant?"
"Go northwest, in the swamps around Pig Head Mountain, there's some kind of scaly monster, looks a lot like a salamander. They attacked a merchant caravan, dragged all the goods and people into the mire. Only one lucky kid who'd stepped behind a tree to take a piss survived." "Shh, the guy's right over there, drinking his sorrows away."
Leech's ears were filled with all kinds of chaotic information—some hearsay, some drunken fabrications.
And some of it, he had experienced firsthand.
"The Iron Hoof Knight kicked another one to death last night, at Simon's ball."
"How do you know?"
"Duh, my cousin's husband's brother is a kitchen hand at the castle. He saw the Iron Hoof Knight get killed with his own eyes! The body's already buried in the cemetery. The biggest mound is his!"
"A mug of ale," Leech said, stopping at the counter. He placed a Silver Moon on the wooden surface. He would have preferred to use copper stars, but all he had in his pocket were Silver Moons.
The tavern owner drew a huge mug of ale, enough to make his stomach burst.
Just as the owner reached for the coin, Leech pressed his finger down on the Silver Moon. "This drink isn't worth a whole Silver Moon."
"What would you like to ask?" the owner inquired. "A customer like you must be looking for some information."
"I'm looking for some capable people to work for me. For a noble lord."
"First time I've seen a noble lord recruiting in a tavern," the owner said. But when he saw Leech lift his finger from the Silver Moon, he quickly snatched the coin and continued, "You'll find all sorts of riffraff here. If you're looking for killers, those mercenaries with the wolf-head badges will do. There are a dozen of them. They do dirty work often enough, but they don't always follow the rules. You'd have to use them carefully."
"I don't need mercenaries," Leech said, shaking his head. Mercenaries had no integrity to speak of, and their combat prowess might not even match his corpses.
"'The Widow' Gelan. He used to work for some lord, but he got his leg broken and was thrown out for sleeping with the lord's widowed mother, who was over fifty."
Leech turned to look at the down-and-out, limping man drinking in the corner. 'A thing for older women?' he thought. 'Among nobles, that's nothing, as long as it's consensual.' He turned back to the owner. "Who else?"
"'Lucky Dog' Joe. A merchant's son. A few days ago, his caravan was attacked by swamp monsters while passing Pig Head Mountain. He's the only one who survived. He's pretty lost right now."
A manager and a caravan merchant. Both were talents he desperately needed.
He was short on talent of every kind.
The tavern owner said, "Perhaps you're looking for the sons of nobles who can perform certain duties, but in a tavern, you'll only find failures."
He refilled Leech's mug and added, "The only thing they're successful at is using a story to swindle a free drink."
But the sons of nobles wouldn't be willing to work for him, and right now, the Porcupine Territory was all about cost-effectiveness.
Leech picked up his ale and walked over to "Lucky Dog" Joe. The young man glanced up at him, then lowered his head again.
"I heard your story," Leech said. "I'm not here to pity you, nor to mock you."
Joe kept his head down.
"I'm a lord," Leech said casually, taking a sip of ale. "The kind with a fiefdom. Do you want to kill those swamp monsters and get your revenge?"
Joe looked up, a light flickering in his eyes.
"I'm short on talented people right now. If you'll work for me, I promise I'll help you wipe out those swamp monsters."
"Are you serious?" He opened his eyes wide, and only then did Leech see the bloodshot veins hidden by his half-drooping eyelids. The massacre must have been tormenting him for a long time.
Leech pointed to the family crest on his chest. "I give you my word, on my honor as a noble."
It wasn't hard to win over a young man filled with hatred and confusion about his future—provided he didn't know how poor the Porcupine Territory was.
After talking with him, Leech gave him a few Silver Moons and told him to pack his things and head to the Porcupine Territory.
'If he takes the money and runs, so be it,' Leech thought. 'I'm just that desperate for people.'
Then Leech walked over to "The Widow" Gelan.
"I know you're eager for talent, Baron Porcupine." Gelan glanced at Leech's family crest. "The Porcupine Territory is dilapidated and barren. I'm not like that kid you just talked to; I can't be so easily persuaded. If he ever sees the Porcupine Territory, he might just turn tail and run."
"That's why I'm letting him go to the Porcupine Territory on his own," Leech said. "I'm giving him a chance to back out."
But there was a good chance Joe wouldn't back out. Because apart from Leech, he was unlikely to find another lord willing to help him get revenge.
Gelan took a sip of his drink. "I can't suppress my love for my elders. It might be because my grandmother raised me."
"Ah, I can understand that," Leech said hesitantly.
Gelan looked at him in surprise. "Don't tell me, you also like..."
"No! My preferences are normal!" Leech said quickly. "But I respect and bless any true love that comes from the depths of the heart. Love is sacred."
Gelan smiled and raised his glass. "To sacred love."
"To sacred love."
But after toasting love, Gelan just lowered his head and went back to drinking.
'What a waste of breath and ale. He's nothing like Joe, not nearly as easy to fool.'