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    Merchant Ellen

     

    The Crown Surveyor’s Office was one of the nicer buildings in Merriweather. This part of the kingdom had been ‘frontier’ for at least five generations, so it was common for people to request use of various land parcels or even lease them outright from the king. That made this office an incredibly important place, which explained the mortared stone building that extended up three entire floors, all of them stone rather than wood.

    In truth, Ellen hadn’t known too much about how land worked until she’d asked Mister Pulani a few casual questions about it. Her parents and uncle had both talked about ‘buying’ and ‘owning’ land, so she’d been surprised to realize that wasn’t technically true. Ownership of land was under the king, and purchasing a plot simply meant that the ‘owner’ had rights to use it under a specific contract.

    She’d realized this also meant that Hunter Ellen feeding everyone had technically been poaching, but the merchant had assured her that in practice this was never enforced, and most unmanaged land at the edges of the kingdom had explicit exceptions in the rules, since it was otherwise unused anyway.

    Now she was quietly tapping her foot, her nervous fidget for the moment. Her Gambler’s Face kept her body from shuffling too much and made it easier to control her expression, but she was still feeling an upset stomach from the nervousness of what she was doing. This was a huge risk.

    It was also taking forever.

    The clerk had laid out a dozen papers already—more than Ellen had thought possible for such a simple request. Paper and parchment were not exactly cheap, and the office had drawers upon drawers of it anyway. She also knew that almost all of them would be duplicated elsewhere, since this was a satellite office… and that made the amount simply mind-boggling to her.

    At last, the clerk lined up the final paper and sighed. He’d moved slowly, and Ellen had the distinct impression that the skinny, quiet fellow much preferred sitting in the office and being bored just barely more than actually doing his job.

    “So,” he droned out. “The total parcel comes to just under 1200 acres. That includes Mount Onroc, the site of the old town of Onroc, the river frontage, and some of the surrounding land.” He set aside several pieces of parchment for those.

    “In addition, you will be taking over management of the settlement already there. It looks like they’ve been paying a flat presumptive tax for the last… four decades, or so. Probably less than they’re really worth, but that will be your problem now. The new taxes will require a bare minimum of five times what we are receiving right now. I can’t imagine they’re doing that well.”

    Ellen shook her head. “No, they’re not. I plan on developing the area and reopening the old iron mine, which should increase income. Among other possible projects.”

    The man eyed her thoughtfully for a long moment… then shrugged. “Right. So this includes all possible rights to the land usage so long as it does not endanger the Crown. That includes river usage, timber rights, hunting rights, farming rights, mineral rights… everything. It would be cheaper if you leave out farming rights and a few others, you know.”

    Ellen shrugged. “Maybe, but not by much, and maybe I’ll want to have some farmers. Throw it all in there.”

    A heavy sigh, and the clerk selected a paper and set that aside with the others, while tucking some of the untouched ones onto the table behind him. “Very well. The iron mine does drive the potential value upward, but this parcel has been unclaimed for over seventy years. That does bring down the price significantly. Even so, with existing timber export and river access…”

    He went quiet as he did some math, scratching numbers onto an erasable slate next to him.

    “Twenty-two crowns.”

    Ellen made a face, then shook her head. “This is undeveloped land and I’m going to have to develop up the town. That seems extreme given the taxes and obligations. Fifteen seems more reasonable.”

    The clerk raised an eyebrow at the unexpected haggling… but Ellen knew he had some leeway in negotiating initial fees. That’s what she was banking on.

    “That would be basically at cost for the land itself,” he murmured. “Then there is the registration and duplication costs, administrative handling…”

    Once again, Ellen grimaced. “Fine, seventeen then. But I think you and I both know that the terms are already a little rough for this parcel.”

    The two met eyes for a long, tense moment. Ellen’s blue stared into the clerk’s deep brown, the silence of the office only disturbed by the faint, distant murmur of the city outside the thick walls. It was a sudden contest to see who had the most patience: the quiet redhead who walked into the office, or the worker who just wanted to sneak more sleep in before the office closed.


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    The clerk sighed.

    “Seventeen, then.” He wrote something onto another piece of parchment, set it aside, and then read one of the remaining ones. “Initial fee of seventeen crowns, payable immediately. Taxes on the land will be ten percent of gross revenue, payable annual or quarterly, with a two year grace period from purchase. After two years, a minimum of eight crowns must be provided each year, and a total of fifty crowns by the end of year five. If the tax revenue does not cover this amount, the property holder will be liable for the difference in addition to a ten percent fee, subject to forfeiture of the parcel and possible property seizure if the amount cannot be paid.”

    He looked up. “Is this all acceptable?”

    “It is,” Ellen replied. It was the same things they’d discussed before she’d pushed to complete the transfer, and she hadn’t heard any changes.

    “Very well.” The clerk slid a paper over, with a spot for her signature—or ‘X’ if she were illiterate, though that was supremely rare. A small crystal globe was set down beside the paper. “Sign here with your real name, if different from the public name of record. Please place one hand on the globe and state your full System-accepted name for the official record.”

    She’d been most worried about this, but Ellen had given herself time to prepare. She signed her name, and placed her hand on the crystal.

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