A young red-head was headed to Grange.
He was around fourteen years old.
It was his first time leaving the county. Although you would consider someone of that age really young, in that era humans had shorter lifespan.
Some would even consider entering adulthood at the age of thirteen.
The boy was no aristocrat but he lived in a mansion as a maid's son and had the luck to be on the good side of the count his mother worked for.
He was a bright one. A solar boy with a sharp smile.
The objective of this trip for him was to learn about the world outside the county.
For Count Abel was instead to spread his name around. He achieved his title few months earlier in his late twenties and wanted now to spread his name around the territory and decided to bring Cyron with him.
Usually, men of the same age as Abel would be married already, but he enjoyed the pleasures of life and didn't want to be bound to someone yet.
In fact he often visited the brothels.
That said, he wasn't as irresponsible as people would think.
He surely didn't get there by sheer luck.
He started just as an artisan's son. His father was a carpenter and wanted him to be one too. But he had the dream of traveling around the world.
So, contrary to his parents' will, he started his business as a merchant.
It wasn't at all a bed of rose.
The biggest problem was to convince his parents that were against the idea of this hazardous change of plan.
He put a lot of thought into that and in the end he concluded to just not give a shit about their opinion.
If he wouldn't have done so he would just be like everyone in that little village of his.
"Abel..." approached the redhead.
The proud man fiercely glared the boy.
"It's Count Abel! I told you to call me by my title."
"Yeah, whatever Count Abel." replied the bored boy "Why even bother with such formalities?"
They were traveling by carriage for hours.
"You still don't get it! It's a form of respect. And people will act with more regard around you when you display your standings."
Abel has always been a proud man so he wanted recognition for his work.
But the boy grow watching him, so he knew how to deal with the older man.
"But I respect you the same as I already did before."
Abel gazed Cyron. Then shifted his attention on the road.
He also liked that sly redhead for that.
"Nevermind... Just call me that in front everyone else, ok?"
He hesitated before replying.
"I'll try."
"What do you mean you'll-"
"Anyway" interrupted Cyron trying to change the subject "you said Grange was your native village, right?"
"What about it?"
"Why heading there as first stop?"
Cyron was curious. There were many other villages before Grange, but they just quietly passed by. If he wanted to expose his new title that much, he could have done so much earlier. But he didn't.
"What do you think?"
His gaze softened.
The boy already had a hunch but it seemed too immature to be it.
So he decided to remain silent.
"I want to let them be the first ones to know."
"That's really... childish of you."
"I know, right? But... you know..." he paused.
Abel already told Cyron about how his parents never accepted his career, even if he had it good, so he now wanted them to see how far he reached.
"I want them to acknowledge me and my efforts."
Why would they not recognize his work? He's making really good money. He is now someone important. Few people could amount to do so.
"Anyway, we are almost there. These field you can already see from here are my uncle's."
Grange was a little human village. It could count at most thirty families, so everyone knew each other.
At that time families were numerous. There were a lot of mouths to feed, but the things to provide to live in such a small village were just that many.
Most of the people there were farmers. Abel's family was one of the few exceptions; they were the only craftsmans in the area.
After all in a small village there is no need for someone with excellent talent in a single job. What was needed was food to eat, wood to cook and to warm up during the cold times, and, rarely, some new clothes - but clothes were expensive, so there was no woman that did not know the basic of tailoring.
Everyone was satisfied with what they had because it has always been that way.
That was part of the reason that pushed Abel on his path. He didn't like that. He was ambitious. He could never stay stagnant there, even if that meant to head to the unknown.
But thanks to his wild character he overcame the hardship of solo traveling and established his business with no major issues.
While the carriage passed by the fields, every villager couldn't refrain to observe with curiosity.
And they all extended an arm to greet Abel.
Everyone knew the merchant. Moreover it was his homeland, so of course he knew everyone too. Well... except maybe some newborn.
The merchant's visit was always a moment of joy. It happened once every month.
Everyone was excited to see what he would bring.
But that didn't mean they were eager to buy.
In fact the only trades that were in places where about food, some minerals, raw material and rarely salt and simple utensil on commission. Sugar and spices were too valuable, even more then glass, to even be on the catalog.
They did business with him too.
After all the only way to earn money was to sell some of their surplus food, but going by themselves would just be wasted time.
In fact, before Abel became a merchant, the village used to regroup all the goods and it would have been the chief's duty to bring and sell it all to the other villages.
But Abel was more skilled in that regard. He knew exactly what and where to sell. It was his work without a doubt.
Usually they sold fruit and vegetable. Cheese was also a good alternative to make good money, but only if needed.
Food that doesn't spoil is a must to have if you want to survive in case of a bad harvest. Same goes for dried fruit and dried meat.
But it goes without saying that it wasn't easy to get money with crops alone. You could sell these only to the biggest cities where progress and development were favored instead of agriculture and farming - an alternative would be to do business with other races, but you'd need to earn their trust first, so it wouldn't have been possible anytime soon.
That said, it wasn't that huge of a problem.
The merchant got it quite early in his career. Money wasn't always needed to exchange goods anyway. Bartering was a valuable asset just as any other skill.
He started with nothing but a caravan and his ability in woodworking so that was his only way to get money in the early stages. And that was the first lesson he taught Cyron.
"We have arrived."