August grimaced. Kuda was right.
Almost every fortress a Bastion set up attracted its own populace. Bastions were popular, which meant a certain type of people wanted to live near them.
A Bastion's fort was also one of the safest places to live, as they had Champions and soldiers present in large numbers at all times.
And Gharrick Pass was a thoroughfare for trade. August had noted that traders passed through almost every day, sometimes in large convoys.
He had chatted with a few when they stopped to rest or request water. One had even stayed the night, trading some intelligence about the Federation's growing military near the border in exchange for a night's accommodation.
"Why haven't you collected tariffs in the past? Surely that would have solved a lot of financial issues and allowed Anna to lower taxes to attract more peasants," August asked.
"In case you haven't noticed, we have something of a bandit problem," Kuda said drily.
"They're attacking the traders?"
"Enough that if we charged a tariff or toll, they'd almost all go the long way, through Forselle Valley to the north."
"That's a long trip. Easily another week or more for your average merchant," August mused.
"Compared to the cost of paying for guards, paying an eighth of your best product in tariffs, and then risking bandit attack anyway? Only the larger convoys dared to come through when we did have a tariff.
For the most part, that's what we see. The bandit attacks ceased when we stopped trying to collect tariffs a couple of years ago."
August stared at Kuda. "And that's not suspicious to you?"
Kuda laughed. "Goddess, no. Even Bastion Leopold felt that the Federation was funding the bandits.
A lot of the wealthier families in the Federation use this route to trade with the Empire, and it's big money for them."
"And he still did nothing?" August pressed.
Bastion Leopold was August's direct superior, and the Bastion who had appointed him, according to his implanted memories. Although August knew of the man from his own timeline.
"The Empire's focus is to the north, on Trafaumh. Bastion Leopold's hands were tied, I understand.
We tried taking other steps, but they never went anywhere. Politics, you see." Kuda sighed. "Eventually, we applied for and got you. Despite my concerns, you seem a cut above the average Bastion."
"You don't think much of Bastions, do you?" August asked.
"Experienced ones? I think very highly of them. Bastions deserve their legends.
But newer ones are like conscript soldiers. Until they've been blooded, they're useless." The beastkin gave August a measured look. "Typically."
August wasn't sure what to make of Kuda. He looked young, younger than August, and had an oddly handsome appearance to him.
At the same time, he was deceptively knowledgeable, and seemed aware that August knew too much for a new Bastion.
The new arrivals to the keep added a much-needed atmosphere.
Meals became more than August eating in his office, with Fei in an empty dining hall, or a quick snack while patrolling and investigating the leylines and bandit activity.
August made the time to join at least one meal a day in the dining hall. Kuda had brought a few cooks, and at least one of them knew what he was doing.
Technically, August could make food using the binding stone. But it was awful stuff.
Filling, but unsatisfying. Like eating raw dough in the shape of actual food. It had the nutrition of actual food, but nobody would call it food.
It was during breakfast that August found himself being asked about the fortress.
Fei sat next to August, her tail rubbing against him every couple of seconds as it beat back and forth. Kuda sat opposite him, cutting into an omelet.
"What you've done is impressive, but how do you plan to expand?" Kuda asked.
"You could build a separate partition for the fortress, closer to the pass, but you'll lose the height advantage and have to dig up the ditches. Binding stone or not, that's a lot of wasted energy."
August waved off his concerns. "I can shift the wall and ditches out as I expand the hill. No wasted energy involved."
"Shift?" Kuda froze, a piece of omelet hanging in front of his mouth.
"Displace? Move without changing? I'm saying that I don't need to dig up the ditches or rebuild the wall," August said.
He dug into his own omelet while waiting. It was beautifully golden and brimming with chunks of ham.
Kuda slowly lowered his knife and fork. They clinked against his plate. Then he steepled his hands and eyed August closely.
"You're saying that you can make the hill larger. And move the wall and ditches along the hill. After building this place in a couple of weeks," Kuda said, his voice low.
August shrugged. Internally, he realized he might have made a mistake.
Spatial displacement of physical objects wasn't something he learned from his homeland.
Narime had taught him the principles, when he had recruited her while trying to save the Amica Federation from destruction at the hand of Messengers. He didn't know if other Bastions knew much about the method.
Surely if August had picked the technique up from a mystic fox sorceress, then other Bastions knew the technique.
Kuda likely hadn't encountered it, because most Bastions didn't explain to others about their methods of using the binding stone.
"I believe there's someone you are overdue in meeting," Kuda suddenly said. "Lady Nair."
"I'd hoped to have more information on the leylines before I wasted her time," August admitted. "But I'm not having much luck tracing the source of the disruption."
"All the more reason to see her now. I feel she would be very interested in you," Kuda said. He resumed his meal.
"Guess I'll make a day trip of it," August said. "Fei, get your things ready once you're done. We're heading out."
"Eh?" Fei blurted out, spraying bits of food onto the table.
August looked at the mass of food on Fei's plate. White sausages, huge slices of smoked ham, whole hard-boiled eggs. Protein, protein, and more protein, stacked as tall as August's fist.
Fei easily had enough food on her plate to feed ten men.
Half of her plate was a scene of destruction, as it was almost every morning.
Fei ate enough to require her own personal cook, and she had to show up at specific times to get her food. She was never late, naturally.
"I said, we're heading out after breakfast." August took a bite of his omelet, which he felt was plenty for a normal person to eat of a morning. "So finish demolishing your buffet and get ready."
Fei pouted. "It's not a buffet. All of you just eat too little. Especially you, Kuda. How do you even function with so little food?"
"Very efficiently," Kuda said.