I had decided to go on a little vacation. That was code for Benjamin telling me I need to start delegating more. He said that I was always doing things and needed to act more like a noble. What was I supposed to do, spend all my days hunting? Seriously, I couldn't help trying to be involved in everything. What if we didn't get everything done that needed to be done? Putting off all my responsibilities in Bicman and heading for Pine Ridge was the only thing I could think to do. I decided to drop off Catherine's latest book on etiquette to Emily. While I was at it, I could make sure the road was being completed and see if they needed any help. I just couldn't let Benjamin know what I was planning.

The first thing Catherine had written was a complete mess. The information was all there, but disorganized. If I were going to create the first study book in history, then it had to be done with a proper format. First, I assisted her with the introduction, and then we discussed the order in which she wanted to present each principle. This allowed us to create a table of contents. Then, we created an index.

I thought this revision was great. Unfortunately, our test group was not as pleased. We used those in the barony with the highest reading level to read it and give feedback. People had an overwhelming number of questions, and more details were needed to explain unfamiliar concepts. Also, there was terminology that the commoners were not familiar with. Who knew that creating an understandable textbook would be so hard? You had to assume that things that were common knowledge for you and seem quite obvious are completely foreign concepts for others. Teaching not just the how and what, but also the why. It was a good thing for me to remember.

This led Catherine to simplify some areas and elaborate on others. I also showed her how to create a glossary of terms, and she began to underline words that had explanations in the back of the book. The funny thing was that she was constantly complaining about how hard it was, but then, as soon as she was done, she started working on another book. This one would be smaller and would only contain the basics. We decided to call it "An Introduction to Etiquette." It would be the first book given to all my new nobles and their children. It would also be worked into the school curriculum.

So now that I had the excuse to go to Pine Ridge and had Benjamin to dump all the important things off on, I slipped away before I could be waylaid by anything else. I had no doubt that he could handle all the boring stuff in my absence, and I was getting antsy. Besides, Elizabeth was now pitching in to help with running things thanks to her "merchant's daughter" background.

She was in charge of the underpaid interns. Those who had gotten far enough in their schooling were helping look over and copy reports. In the future, if they seemed to have an aptitude for it, we would have them start generating reports, and then they would be checked over by Elizabeth and Benjamin. It was a good thing that Emily was pumping out so much paper.

Once they were familiar enough with all the ins and outs, we would send them to our other villages to get real-world experiences. I hoped that within the next six months, I would have a group of trusted spies…uh, scholars I could send to the other baronies to unify the processes throughout the county.

I couldn't wait until all the other urgent projects were done and we could start working on the printing press. We would pump out ledger books or standardized report forms and make this place run like a true business. Efficiency was key.

Yes, no department wants to be micromanaged, but I couldn't trust the other barons; until I could, I would be sending my scribes to act as spies. From that group, I was hoping to find qualified people to be Count's Messengers. Then I could pester my Barons like Vaspar's Messenger, Mathew did to me.

I hopped off my horse when we arrived at Em's workshop and walked into utter chaos. Ok, so maybe it was more organized chaos. Her workers were running everywhere. Either grinding, moving, or stacking paper. Various types of paper were being run through four different grinders.

When I walked in, Em had her head down, feeling a sheet of paper, so I called out to her. As one, everyone in the room stood up, turned to me, greeted me, bowed, and then went back to work. I didn't know whether to consider it creepy or funny.

"Hey, Em, how is it going?" I said as I approached.

She ran up to me, very excited. She was so cute when she got excited. "Amos, you know how different types of woods change the paper."

"Ah…no," I said honestly.

"Well, anyway, they do. And we started mixing the different woods together. And the toilet paper turned out a lot better. We will also have enough to send to Fredrick by our next shipment. You called it a luxury good, and I agree. It is easy to make, but with how much it is used, nobles will be buying huge amounts of it. I could see needing another building just for toilet paper to supply the nobles."

"Not to mention you want to make sure you never run out here," I said with a wink.

She blushed, and I did something that was completely taboo. I pulled her in for a hug, which I am sure made her blush even more, but I didn't care. She deserved a hug. "I am proud of you, Em. You are doing such an amazing job."

I didn't let the hug last long, even though I was sure she would be happy if I had. Benjamin's glaring face popped into my mind, and I almost chuckled. Sometimes, the rules around here drove me nuts. I don't even know where the need for formality came from. It certainly wasn't from religious teachings.

"Well, it is good you are thinking of expanding. I got word from Edward that they are doing the same. He had hired more people to create books. He has also found a few wealthy scholars who want their works put into book form. Sooner or later, we are going to have to figure out how to grind more paper at once. Maybe hook it up to a watermill. And then use a cover system for the paper." I trailed off as I began to think of how to do it. I may have to leave it to the engineers.

I don't know how long I was thinking before Emily nudged me. "Hey, what are you thinking about?"

"Oh, just how to make you richer than me. Oh, wait, you already are. What was I thinking when I gave you the paper business? Now, all I get from you is taxes."

"Do…do you need it back?" She asked hesitantly. I could tell she wasn't worried about losing her business; she was concerned about me not having enough money.

I laughed it off. "Don't worry, Em. I'm just kidding. You may be selling me the paper now, but the book business is still mine. That is where the real money is being made."

"So that means I can charge you more for the book paper," she said with an impish grin.

"Ah, no, we have a five-year contract at the price you have given us."

"What are you talking about? You never said anything about that. And wasn't it you who told me I had to write everything down? What did you say, 'If it isn't written down, it didn't happen?' So write everything down so you are covering your assets."

"Seriously, Emily. Why do you have to remember everything I say? I don't even remember everything I say."

She gave me a wicked smile. "Because you are my lord, and I need to remember everything you say. Like that thing you said about me needing to get someone who can negotiate deals with people outside of Bicman. You told me that they would also have to be good at renegotiating as situations change."

"I'm a bad influence on you. Anyways, you got time for a break? We can go for a walk. I have been on a horse for too long. If not, I can wait until you are less busy."

"Are you trying to get out of this discussion?"

"Of course not," I said with an innocent face. "I am a very busy count, though, so I cannot spend time on simple things that my steward can do for me. So can you go?"

"I can go now," she said in a rush, as if I would resend the offer. "Jer, you're in charge," she called out to a young man of about twenty.

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"Yes, my lady," he responded formally.

"Jerrrr," she groaned, dragging out his name.

"Sorry, my lady, the count is here. I don't want him to think-"

"He doesn't care," Emily said, trying to get him to call her by name.

I really didn't care how they spoke to each other when they were all in the shop together, but the boy was right in this case. "Sorry, Em, he is right. To speak informally would be a sign of disrespect. I know it is annoying since you have known everybody for so long, but in public and around other nobles, you are just going to have to put up with it. It is a good habit for them to get into in case a noble from outside Bicman comes along. It's our burden to bear," I said in what I hoped was a sagely tone.

Emily sighed. "Fine, let's go. Maybe Tumlus is done with my glass," She said with a huff of annoyance.

Once we were outside, I gave her my arm, and she began to relax. "I'm sorry, Amos, it's just…I don't like it. I've known everybody for a long time, but now they treat me differently."

"Trust me, Em, if there is one person who can understand how you feel, it is me. I came from a country where Titles weren't a thing. I lived my whole life calling people by their first names, no matter who they were. Well, not everybody, but it was less about class and more about general respect. So, coming here and having been isolated because of my class was tough."

Emily let out a chuckle.

"What is so funny?"

"I was just thinking about the first time you went to the dining room, and you got so mad that nobody would sit with you."

"Yeah, looking back, that was a little embarrassing. Sorry, you have to deal with that now."

This caused her cheeks to turn pink.

I looked at her suspiciously for a moment and then it dawned on me. "Wait! Are you saying people still sit with you when I am not around?"

This caused her to look down and turn an even deeper shade of red.

"Seriously, that is not fair! I am immediately sending out a decree that no one is allowed to sit with you at mealtime."

She started to lose her blush, and she glared at me. "You wouldn't dare."

I took on the most stuck up noble tone I could muster. "A lady shoud not sit with the common rabble."

Then I lost it and chuckled.

"Why do you always have to tease me?" she said with a mock pout.

"Because you are one of my only friends, and if I try to tease anyone else, they take me seriously. But to make up for it, I brought you a gift."

I reached into my vest pocket, pulled out a round brass disk the size of my palm, and handed it to her.

On top of it was an embossed image of a paper grinder standing next to a paper drying rack. She stared at it in amazement for a long time and then rubbed her hand over the elevated surface.

"Turn it over," I said excitedly.

Flipping it over, she saw her name engraved on the back of it. After another excruciating moment, she said the words I was hoping for. "Amos, what is this?"

"This," I said dramatically. "Is the world's first folding pocket mirror."

I then showed her the hinge and clasp. When she opened it, the top half was polished to a mirror shine while the bottom half was left plain. "Having it shut like that should help prevent it from oxidizing. I mean, turning green. I left the bottom blank, so maybe you could put a memorable saying in it at some point. It took a month of collaboration to get this just right. I designed it, but Mathew, Jorb's son, put in a lot of the work. He is really going to make an excellent jeweler."

I am not sure if she heard me, as she was too busy staring at the new invention. So I was surprised when suddenly I found her arms around me. I gladly embarrassed my friend with a hug. "I'm glad you like it. We are planning on making more to sell to the nobles. But I thought you should have the first."

She started mumbling something into my chest, but it was too soft and muffled to hear. I think she may have used the phrase 'It's not fair', but the rest was too soft to hear.

Looking around, I noticed how busy this place was. Fortunately, everyone pretended to ignore the two nobles' moment of impropriety. If this got back to Benjamin, he was going to be pissed. Oh well, I would just tell Jacklyn to calm him down. She was good at reasoning with him.

It was just then that I saw a guard running in our direction. I quickly pushed Emily back, which put her immediately on alert. She turned around just as the guard reached us.

The young man in a black uniform bowed deeply and said, "A pigeon arrived in Fort Cove from the Cooper's Mill lookout. Seven ships were spotted off the coast. They should arrive any time now."

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest at the news. Outwardly, however, I remained calm. "These may not be the ships we are waiting on. They're early. Do we have the latest reports on our preparations?"

"I am sorry, my lord. I was only sent to inform you and escort you to Headman Tarrence."

"Very good. Let's go. Emily, it looks like I will have to take a rain check on that walk," I said as I quickly turned and followed the young man. Tarrance was in the town hall of Pine Ridge, and when I entered, he stood up from the table at the far side of the room.

"Count Bicman, Lady Paper, I am glad you could arrive so quickly," he said.

I turned back and noticed for the first time that Emily had followed us across the growing village. I raised my eyebrows in surprise, but before I could say anything, she spoke up.

"I want to know what is going on, too. Besides, you owe me a walk. Don't think you're getting out of it just because you have to figure this out," she said with a pointed look.

Dang, what happened to that shy little girl I met a year ago? Is this Catherine's doing?

I offered her my arm. "Lady Emily, would you please join us at the table?"

She was surprised but recovered quickly and smiled. "Thank you, my lord."

I held out a chair for Emily and sat down next to her. Technically, Tarrence should have vacated his seat, and we should have switched places, but I wasn't really interested in proper protocol right now.

"What do we have so far, Headman?"

"My lord, the message was quite short. All we know is that a few hours ago, seven ships were seen off the coast."

"How about the other locations?"

"I would assume protocols have been followed, and all messages were sent out to the relevant locations. They will probably already be acting."

I had been thinking, "Our estimates were that each ship might be able to hold up to one hundred soldiers, along with the slaves and other crew members. That means we are looking at up to seven hundred soldiers. Am I correct?"

"Correct, but one hundred per ship is what we imagine as the worst-case scenario."

"Always plan for the worst and hope for the best. It seems the worst was worse than we thought. That is like…" I tried to do the math in my head. "Like ten percent of the entire raider population. On the island."

"How do you get that number?" Tarrence asked.

"I'm just making it all up. That is the way statistics work. Well, not exactly, but from the information Edward sent me from Vaspar, the population of Rabiss is over 200,000. And even though they are known for being raiders, that doesn't mean a lot of them are. It just isn't considered illegal. So I imagine like five percent are actually raiders. That puts us at 10,000 raiders. So… Dang, I am still bad at math. That's seven percent of the raiders. But 10,000 seems pretty high. Ok, ignore everything I've said, except that there are about 200,000 people on Rabiss. Most have nothing to do with raiding, and this group makes up…you know what? The important question is, who is currently in the Fort?"

"It should be Lieutenant Griff, about thirty of the BDF, and a few civilians. General Draves is at the marsh fort. He has probably already been informed by now."

"What about the surprises we have for them?"

"I don't know. The general and the lieutenant were in charge of all that. I can tell you that all the necessary black powder has been sent to the fort, but the little watch towers were not set up yet. Also, they should have plenty of crossbows. Though…now that they have brought so many, it might not be enough."

I slammed my fist down on the table. "I don't get it. Why did they bring so many people? Who in the world is funding this? How much would the council have had to pay them in order to get them to come?"

"I thought they made their money by plundering the villages and taking people," Emily said in confusion.

"True, but that is only the case if they are doing it near their home. Traveling all the way up here is expensive. And they knew there may be resistance. Raiders work best when they can catch people off guard. Baron Sophis already alerted me to the fact that they probably knew that we knew they were coming. That is why we prepared for 400 raiders rather than 200. However, they brought more ships and left during a time that was less safe, so they could surprise us. That means they had good motivation to do so. That motivation was monetary since they certainly didn't come here for how easy it would be."

"I know we should be focused on other things, but why are they spending so much money on this?" I shook my head, then continued. "I don't think that is a bad question at all, especially since I just asked it. Maybe they are doubling down. If they had managed to kill off my family and put in some pawn like Plimgus here, then they would have someone who would just flee with their guards as soon as the Rabiss showed up. This would leave the place defenseless, and the Rabiss would be able to plunder the entirety of Bicman with almost no resistance. If the council were really despicable, they would order the baron to use his guards to help the Rabiss. But I cannot imagine someone so vile that they would hand over their own people to slavers."

"Help? You don't think a baron would just tell his guards to load his own people up onto ships, do you?" Emily looked appalled.

"Well, that might be a stretch, but you get the idea." That was a little bit of a lie; some of these nobles would probably sell their own mothers if it helped them get ahead.

"But they didn't get rid of you."

"No, they didn't, and to make matters worse, Tanya received a vision warning us, so we even prepared for them. Rather than back down, they decided to go all out and get the Rabiss to bring more men and get here early. Everyone knows that Bicman does not have the best land, so what is it that they are after? The council is not united in all their efforts, so in order to uncover the truth, we would need to figure out which member of the council is so interested in this place. It cannot just be a plan to make the king look bad, like we first thought. We may have to beat it out of the baron they are sending."

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

The same young man who had interrupted our walk before stepped back into the room. "My lord. There is smoke on the horizon."

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