There will be another chapter tomorrow or the following day: Dawn.

Stone

Chapter 24 – The Council

One day soon after they returned to Greenstone, Stone and Jason were making their morning trip to the bakeries, when a whimpering sound caught both their attention. They were in front of the tent where Jason and Emily had lived before Rayla and Stone rescued them. The whimpering came again. Jason crawled into the cubby he and Emily had lived in, and let out a cry of delight.

“It is a dog,” he said. “It used to come and sleep with us. It made the bed warmer. I didn’t know she was having babies.” The boy crawled back out, holding a small pup that Stone estimated was less than a week old.

“Put it back before its Momma gets upset,” Stone said. “Keep making friends while I get a box from the bakery. Stone darted off, and soon returned with a small wooden box he borrowed. There were several cloth flour sacks in it. Over the next few minutes, Jason handed out the puppies, and Stone laid them in the box. When the boy was moving the last puppy, the mother got up to see where her pups were going, and Stone lifted her into the box.

“I think we will have to forgo sweets today, and take these back to the house,” Stone said, carrying the box. “Are you going to put that one in too?”

“No, I want to carry him,” Jason said, cuddling the pup to his chest.

“Okay, as long as his Momma doesn’t mind,” Stone said. “Let’s hope your Momma doesn’t mind.”

“Seven dogs?” Rayla said. “What were you thinking? One dog would be nice, but seven?”

“They are newborns,” Stone said. “They have to stay with the mother for a few months. When they are weaned, we will give most of them away. You don’t mind, do you?”

“No,” Rayla said, tearing up a bit. “In the old place I had a dog – just a cur. These look like German Shepherds. It was the only friend I had. I miss him.”

She bustled about, and got a saucer of milk for the mother, and then put a slice of venison jerky into the milk to soften. The kids, who had each been cuddling a pup, were amazed to see the other four pups move to their mother and start to feed.”

“Put the pups in with the Momma,” Rayla said. “They need to get breakfast too.”

The kids spent the entire morning with the dogs, who were getting used to being handled. The kids’ friends, starting with Emily’s little blonde friend, Lillibet, came to see why they weren’t at the play area, and all fell in love with the pups. All claimed they wanted one, but Rayla insisted that their parents would have to come by to claim one. That evening there were a steady stream of families coming to see, and Rayla could have gotten rid of 12 pups, instead of the five she took names for. The other parents, and especially their children, left disappointed. Lillibet was not one of those: her father came early and let his daughter and son choose a pup. He owned the sawmill, and envisioned the dog as an adult, patrolling his business.

But for the next seven weeks, all seven dogs were kept in the box in Jason’s room. He took care of cleaning it and feeding the mother, and then the pups as they were weaned. He kept the pup he had carried home as his own. The mother dog was designated as Emily’s, but Stone soon noticed that it was Rayla who the dog came to when it wanted a cuddle.

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When the family had returned from the trip to Sarn, Stone had decided to follow in the steps of the other towns, and form a town council. He, Euler, and Carlson sat down and drafted up the ground rules for the body, which Stone would appoint initially, and then would be elected annually.

There would be 14 on the council. Stone would be Mayor, and Carlson would be Reeve, the person who filled in when the mayor was absent. In Greenstone this would be an important position, because the Captain still planned on travelling to the other villages three times a year. These would be longer trips, because he wanted to visit the other villages that Sarn had once ruled.

The other 12 spots on the initial appointed council would consist of three industrial reps, three farmers, three shopkeepers, and three women. Carlson and Euler were confused when Stone suggested this: why would women care about governing when men could do it. But Stone insisted, saying that a smart woman often saw things in a different light. The two bachelors agreed: it was Stone’s council. Stone said the council would rule until the Ides of November, several months away. At that time something called an election would be held, and all the adults in the town would vote, either returning the members, or voting in new ones.

At the first meeting of the council, held in the schoolroom, both Euler and Stone explained the duties of the council. It was to be an unpaid position, although a meal would be served, catered by the Duke of Sarn’s former chef, who was building his restaurant at the time. There were two people taking notes at the meeting: Euler and, in a far corner, the printer of the newssheet.

“Why is he here?” one of the council objected. “I don’t want my words to appear in that paper.”

“That is precisely why he is here,” Stone explained. “I invited him, and the fact that our words may appear in the newssheets will make us think a moment before we speak, knowing that all the town will know what we say. It also prevents misuse of the town funds. If any person conspires to get hold of that money, the entire town will know of it by the next Tuesday.”

“One thing I want to point out is that no councilor should discuss, or vote on any matter that will result in them receiving town money, or any other benefit. This is called conflict of interest, when your personal interest might be at odds with the interest of the town. And your spouse or children should not gain by your actions as a councilor.”

As the meeting went on, it became apparent that the council was split nearly evenly in two camps. One wanted to conserve the town cash reserves, and delay as long as possible the period before taxation was necessary, and the other was more open to spending money that would benefit the town. One of the former group spoke after Euler had read out the town accounts of the past month: “Why do we have so many people on the town payroll,” the man said. “There seems to be near a hundred of them. Can we not cut back?”

“Where would you like to cut back?” Stone asked. “The biggest numbers are the soldiers. We could let them all go, and they would probably turn to banditry, if the situation in Sarn is repeated here. And if the slave trade resumes, slavers might come to your home or business and capture you as slaves if there are no soldiers to protect us.”

“Or the healers. You run the coal mines, don’t you Rooney? I think you have had many accidents up there that the healers have helped with at no cost to you. Would you have the town let the healers go, and have them charge for their healing? That might have meant many gold in bills for their services. And we have teachers: I know you don’t read, but I think your children are enrolled. They will be reading you the story about this meeting in the newssheet. Then there are the men who clean the streets. Do we let them go, and see our streets start to pile up with manure? I saw that in Sarn, and it is not a pretty sight. To the eyes or the nose.”

The man agreed that no staff was being paid for by the town that was not essential. Stone then offered a carrot: “But what Mr. Rooney asked is important for the town. If there had been surplus staff, and he could have identified it, the town would save money.”

Rooney objected again later, when some of the progressive camp suggested that the town should pave the main street using some of the surplus funds the town had. “Greenwood has cobble stones,” a man said, “If we want to be the premiere town in the valley, we should also have paved streets.”

“You cannot discuss that,” Rooney said. “It would be a conflict of interest if you vote. You own a bakery on that street.”

Stone interjected. “Again, I thank you for thinking of this, Mr. Rooney. But I rule that the paving of the street would benefit the entire town, not just the merchants. But I would like to suggest that we ask the merchants to pay a portion of what will improve their property. Ten percent is probably what the first tax rate will be. Mr. Euler has worked it out, and that amount would cover the current town costs. After all, no money is going to spendthrift Dukes. If more than half of the merchants agree to start paying the taxes early, then we can have work done on their street.”

“Ten percent is not much tax,” Rooney said. He had paid over 80% to the Duke in Sarn before moving north to start the coalmines. In the end the council split 6-6 on whether to pave. Carlson voted in favor so the motion passed.

At that point, the chef and his staff started bringing in plates of food so the council could eat.

“Chef,” Stone said while the others were eating with expressions of delight. “I miscounted, and missed our reporter. Is there enough for another plate, or should I give him mine.”

“No, there is more. My staff will eat the leftovers, and one will fetch another plate,” the Chef said, flicking a finger so one of his staff would go make another plate.

That plate was presented, and not long after the caterers gathered up the dishes, usually wiped clean with bread. The men and women sat back in satisfaction over the best meal they had ever had.

“I was thinking this council thing was a crock,” Rooney said. “I mean who ever heard of women governing a town. But if there are meals like this each week, then I will probably seek to serve again next year.”

“You may run again,” Stone said. “We have about eight weeks until the Ides of November, when Euler plans to run elections. I will run again for mayor in the next year, although I will not run the following year. So some of you can think about my position after that, although I think that the experience Carlson has gotten will make him the ideal successor. Next spring, summer, and fall I will be making trips to visit the other towns, and not just Sarn, Greenford and Greenwood. There are four other towns that Sarn once taxed, and I have sent soldiers to each to them to maintain order. I want to visit them and see if the people wish to continue to be affiliated with us. After all, they have not had the benefit of no taxes, like we have.”

“How does this election work?” Rooney asked.

“Every man and woman in the town will vote. They will vote for 12 councilors, the reeve and the mayor, assuming that there is a contest in each case. If only one person runs, he or she will be acclaimed,” Euler said.

“Even women?” Rooney said. “Does that mean that a woman might be mayor?”

“Of course.” Euler replied. “We have three ladies on the council now. One or more may run for mayor.”

“They wouldn’t win,” Rooney said. “No man would vote for a woman.”

“No, but a woman may, and if there are two or three men running, the woman might get most votes.”

“Preposterous,” Rooney said. “We must immediately ban women from this council, and from voting. I so move.”

After a moment there was a seconder, and Stone went round the table. One of the women spoke eloquently on the benefits of women on council, and it seemed that she swayed some of the men. In the end the vote was 10-2 in favor of not banning women.”

After this, there was no new business on the agenda, and Stone instead went round the table, asking the council members if they could suggest new business to be discussed at the next meeting. The men went through fairly quickly, with most making no suggestions. Stone called on the woman who had spoken first, and she had a long list of suggestions.

“I would like to see sidewalks, outside the stores on main street,” she said. “There are planks there, which are fine for men and boys, but the women and girls get their dresses soiled when it is dusty, and absolutely ruined when it is muddy. A sidewalk wide enough for two ladies to pass would be a boon for us. It can be done when the street is being paved.” She also presented another half dozen ideas taking up nearly a half hour.

“And the water trough,” another lady spoke, emboldened by the first. “It needs to be drained and cleaned out every week. I don’t think it has been cleaned since it was opened. It is a blessing not to have to pump water, but lately the water has been a bit muddy. We are not like the horses, you know.”

“I will not put that on the next agenda, with your permission,” Euler asked Stone. “I will talk to the pump men tonight, and have them make a daily cleaning of the trough part of their duties. They may stop pumping a bit early to accommodate.”

“Do it,” Stone said. “If there is no more business then we will adjourn to meet again next week.”

After the meeting Stone and Euler waited in the room. Stone started by noting he had an item for the next meeting: he wanted a Marriage Officiant named.

“It is just too many for me,” Stone said. “Rayla likes doing it, but I find it a bore. I guess it is something women prefer.”

“Well,” Euler said. “There are 140 couples scheduled for the coming week. And when I have been booking them I charged each couple a six-pence. I was thinking about the dwindling treasury, and thought even that little bit would help. I mean, who doesn’t have six-pence to get married. Of course, if the soldiers from Orono come in, then we will be okay, but that still isn’t confirmed, is it?”

“No, but I think that young captain will sway his duke,” Stone said.

“There is something else I have done,” the man confessed. “I have opened a separate account for you personally. Up to now you have just given money to the town. You take no salary as mayor, and have paid huge amounts of gold to the town. When you brought back 800 gold from your last trip I only added 720 gold to the town accounts, but put the other 80 in an account for yourself. And I think you should also get 10 percent of any money that comes of the training scheme, which was largely your initiative. If all 5000 comes in, that will be 500 gold.”

“That sounds a bit much,” Stone said. “I do have a family to look after, and a wagoneer to pay, but perhaps five percent will do.”

“Why don’t we let the council decide next week,” Euler suggested.

At the end of three week the initial group of soldiers were trained and another group from Orono came in for training, bringing a supply wagon that contained 2000 gold, payment for the first 20 troops and the 20 coming in. Three weeks later, a larger group arrived: 20 from Orono and the 30 Greenstone troops. Apparently there had been an attack from BrokenTree Duchy. Over 2000 invaders arrived, and were met by 1000 Orono soldiers, 2000 militia, and the 30 from Greenstone and the first 20 Orono soldiers trained at Greenstone. The 50 mounted troops turned the battle, fighting on horseback to the amazement of the BrokenTree invaders. They quickly cut through the attackers, and left the remaining Orono troops to mop up.

The Duke of Orono, after hearing details of the battle, quickly decided to pay the extra 3000 gold to train the rest of his men. Mere gold was nothing compared to the security of his realm.

Over the term of the training, Orono and Green Valley made a peace treaty, and when BrokenTree broke the treaty and attacked again, soldiers who had finished their training repelled them. It was a major victory, and the BrokenTree citizens rebelled and ousted their duke, joining Orono. Slavery was banned in the new South Orono, and slowly the people adjusted to their new duchy.