KINGDOM OF THE STONE -- a Wattpad featured novel

Chapter Thirty Two

"Ah, yes, well there is a nice large house on the promontory overlooking the harbor I'd like to own, but I can't afford it.  Will you also force the owner to reduce his demands in trade?"

"Now see here, that is not at all the same thing..." Mosond began.

"Hey that's my house you're talking about."  A surprised cry came from the back of the group.

"And it's very nice too," Amantis smiled.

"Thank you."

"Look, no one is forcing anyone to do anything," Mosond began, looking back at the aggrieved home owner.  "...and this isn't about personal gain..."

"But it is about my personal losses," Amantis cut in.

"We're simply asking you to consider the public good!" Mosond finished.

"And will the public consider my good as well?"

"Well, of course, er... that's not really...um," Mosond said.

"It may surprise you to find that I have actually been considering the public's good even when the public did not."

"Oh?"

"After warning the public of the coming danger, and being ignored, I realized that the public cannot always be trusted to act in its own self-interest.  So I devised a plan by which the needs of the public can be entrusted to a man with proven abilities, to manage their resources for them—much in the same way that the council currently manages things like the harbor and fishing rights and the quality and safety of certain trade goods."

"This person would be...you?" Mosond asked.

"Yes.  If you will make me a member of the council and will follow my plan, I guarantee no one need ever starve."

"What?"  The elders all started talking at once.  Some seemed outraged at the suggestion of adding one so young to their council.  Others were shocked by his assertion that no one need ever starve.  These were evenly split between those frowning in disbelief and those standing wild-eyed in hope.

"What is this plan?" Mosond asked after shushing everyone.

"Have every man set aside one tenth of all that the land and river produces to be brought into a public storehouse to be managed on their behalf, so that in times of lack, they can be provided for."

The elders all stood silently, their eyes glazed as they tried to envision the scope of what he had just suggested.

"Where ever would we find store houses so large?" the thin-faced man in back of the group finally asked, breaking the silence.

Amantis shrugged as if it were the simplest question in the world.  "The laborers and those who do not produce anything should be required to give one tenth of their labor.  They can build the warehouses.  It would only be fair that everyone contribute to the public good."

The elders thought about this quietly.  A few began to nod their heads and purse their lips thoughtfully.  "We'll have to think about this," Mosond said.  "You've made a very intriguing suggestion."

Amantis made sure to increase his demands in his trading over the next few days.  The people's unrest decided the issue for him when they demanded the council do something.  The council finally announced their decision to establish public warehouses and Amantis was to be put in charge of this.  Some people loved the idea and came by his store the following day to tell him that they knew he would do an excellent job and thank him for taking it on.  Others distrusted the decision and one could sometimes hear grumbling in the taverns where people go to grumble about that sort of thing.