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Message: <blockquote data-quote="sunshadow21" data-source="post: 5687021" data-attributes="member: 6667193">While the workmen are more than happy to get smashed,  and a few even have their own personal supply to assist in the  endeavor, neither Lord Marvox nor Windflower look like they are going to  allow themselves to be that distracted. Between  helping with the hunt and talking with the workers, you've managed to  earn the grudging respect of both, though neither are as yet any closer  to agreeing with each other.Supper goes well enough, and the after dinner drinks  are enough to relax the two foes sufficiently to get full information  out of them.  Lord Marvox lays out his case first before Windflower even has a chance to put her thoughts together. "You are right in your points from earlier that no one uses the road. Why should they when they can use the waterways for the same cost in everything but time, and still have access to at least some of the creature comforts from home while doing so? Even during the previous heyday of the road, it was mostly merchants and caravans traveling through the region, stopping only at night, and that was often done at roadside campsites. Of course such people would be more likely to cause problems; they have no sense of ownership or duty to the surrounding area. Meanwhile, half of the estates neglected and ignored because their noble owners couldn't be bothered to travel beyond the comforts of the city to be the first to establish the necessary infrastructure to support those comforts. It's even worse now; aside from the few truly powerful nobles who still maintain summer houses or hunting lodges, the vast majority of the estates lie largely neglected, empty shells that crumble at the touch. In turn, the peasantry suffers by the lack of a local market. While there certainly is value in restoring the merchant trade, that by itself will not help, when the market once again collapses, as all eventually do, without the support a local economy, the road will be back to being a fleeing memory. I seek to address this by providing a place where the absentee lords can stay in comfort and fellowship as they build up their estates to a proper level. This is what will sustain the future of this road, not trade. I can speak from experience when I say this; trade, by itself, can be a strong catalyst, but on it's own, is a fleeting market that will reroute itself as markets change."Finally managing to get a word in as Lord Marvox stops to access the impact of his words, Windflower's retort is much shorter and much more direct. "And how do you propose to handle it when your precious nobles stir up things that are best left undisturbed? The caravans were bad enough, but they were by their nature incapable of rendering permanent damage. Your nobles could easily stir up trouble and in their stubbornness, keep stirring for the sake of their own pride. They don't have to bother the cursed woods in order to cause havoc, either. Several relics of the past still lie buried in the wilds around the edge of that cesspool, tantalizingly just beyond reach of those who would give much to control them if they were reminded of their existence."</blockquote>

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