"Our people are too poor to buy many of the goods that the merchants from High Fen City brought with them," Heila said with a heavy sigh as she looked at the two pouches stuffed full of coins that Ashlynn had handed her.
She hadnât realized how poor the Vale of Mists had truly become until she reached High Fen City and learned about the vast differences between the living standards of the people in the Vale of Mists and the people of the High Fen. While it was true that the most common folk, the farmers, woodsmen, and laborers all lived very similar lives no matter where they were, many people in High Fen City enjoyed things that simply werenât a part of life in the Vale of Mists.
Heilaâs own wealth had grown exponentially after fighting in the arena in High Fen City, and the chest in her room contained just as many tails of silver as the pouches in her hands with several tails of gold as well, but the gift Ashlynn was giving her felt far heavier in her small hands than just the value of the coins.
They were a reminder of a life and lifestyle that she had only briefly experienced on the far side of the mountains... and a style of life she wished she could share with her family and the other people of the Vale.
"You want us to spend this money so the merchants see hope in the Vale," Heila said, looking into Ashlynnâs soft, emerald green eyes and smiling as understanding dawned on her. "Youâre hoping that if they see success early on, theyâll work harder over the winter to find ways to make their business work here."
"Thatâs part of it," Ashlynn agreed. "But I donât just want you to spend money on foreign merchants," she added. "Many of the merchants in the festival came from across the mountains, but the people running games and selling food, most of them are local to the Vale. The more you spend at their stalls, the more they have to spend elsewhere on the things they couldnât otherwise afford."
"But then, but then doesnât all of the money go to the foreign merchants anyway?" Talauia asked as her wings fluttered in agitation. "Then whatâs the point of spreading it around if they get all the money in the end?"
"Pride," Ollie said as he looked at Ashlynn in understanding. "Our peopleâs pride has been ground down since Lady Nyrielleâs army arrived. The merchants from across the mountains are wealthier, many of the warriors are mightier, and everyone knows that Lady Nyrielle had to go across the mountains for help because the Vale canât hope to win the next war fighting by itself."
"Donât misunderstand," he added quickly. "Everyone is grateful for the rescue, but their pride is also suffering, the same way the refugees felt beaten down when they had to leave their villages behind and rely on handouts just to have a meal every day. But when the village harvested its first crops and finished its first homes... It did a lot for everyoneâs pride," he said, remembering the transformation that had come over the villagers with each new success.
"Ollie has it right exactly," Ashlynn said as she stood up from the table. "Mistress Nyrielle has already asked the merchants from across the mountains to cut their prices in half for the festival," she said, surprising everyone in the room. "Sheâs agreed to make up their losses personally from her own treasury so that her people have a chance to experience some of the goods from across the mountains that theyâd never have had the chance to own before. But even Mistress Nyrielle canât subsidize her people forever," she added.
"But if our own people have more money in their pockets, money they earned with their own labor during the festival," Ashlynn said. "Even if they have no time to shop during the festival, theyâll be able to visit those merchants afterward when they open their own shops in town. My sister called it the Wheel of Wealthâ," she said, wishing once again that her sister was here to help her return the Vale of Mists to the prosperity it once enjoyed.
"According to Jocey," Ashlynn explained. "The more often money changes hands, the faster the âWheel of Wealthâ spins. The faster the wheel spins, the more prosperous peopleâs lives are. Prosperity doesnât come from people acquiring vast amounts of silver and gold," she said. "It comes from having enough that you can part with it easily and receive things in return that enrich your life."
Of course, Ashlynn had simplified Jocelynnâs explanation greatly. When her sister mentioned learning about it she described complex mathematical formulae used to measure how fast the âWheel of Wealthâ was spinning, and ways that the merchant guilds would determine if the wheel was speeding up or slowing down. Bankers in Blackwell City might even adjust the rates at which they lent money based on the âspeed of the wheel,â but all of it quickly became more complicated than Ashlynn could follow.
While her father insisted that Ashlynn develop a lordâs understanding of wealth and how a County or March managed it, the lessons she received focused far more on levying taxes and the management of a treasury than the lessons her sister received to understand the matters of merchants and how their use of wealth supported the rest of the County.
At times like this, Ashlynn was grateful for every scrap of conversation with her sister that she could recall, but she also missed her presence badly and wished she had a reliable family member by her side when she met with the Eldritch merchants who would become spinners of the Valeâs Wheel of Wealth.
"So today, weâre going to spend freely," Ollie said, now fully committed to Ashlynnâs âchallenge.â "To make the wheel spin faster and bring prosperity to the Vale."
"It wonât happen overnight," Ashlynn acknowledged as she saw everyoneâs enthusiasm rising more than it had at the simple idea of having a pouch full of silver to spend on having fun. Perhaps it shouldnât have been a surprise, after all, sheâd chosen people for her coven who wanted to nurture growth in others, but she was still grateful to see their excitement growing at the idea of joining the afternoonâs festivities. "So tonight, I think we can give the wheel a helpful spin!"