The Monastery's reopening was already steering the Priyell Domain in the right direction.
The hefty budget outlays had become irrigation ditches, waterwheels, and mills under construction. In turn, they had generated orders for agricultural and handcrafted goods amounting to as much as the past several years combined, along with more jobs than all the region's idle hands could fill.
Some of that money would flow back into the lord's coffers as taxes, replenishing his depleted treasury.
And the good times were still ahead. The Knight Order would likely soon begin its charitable relief work, especially the promised monastery clinic, taking charge of social welfare, medical resources, and the introduction of trade.
The baron's experience could be summed up as "Heavenly Father has come down to my side." After waiting more than twenty years, he was finally seeing a return. He felt as though he'd returned to the dreamlike days when his ancestors could simply lie back and collect money, and he'd smoothly embraced the family tradition of relying on the Church to restore the family's fortunes.
The two men, who felt out of place, wandered around for several days. It seemed that everyone but them was happily occupied.
The women and children were busy with handicrafts, making household items that included straw mattresses, brooms, coarse cloth, and candles.
In just a few weeks, the Monastery had become the economic heart of this remote village. Carriages came and went, scattering spare coins as they unloaded, then left packed full of goods. Meanwhile, the building on the mountain—which was only partly visible on clear days—showed no sign of having had its fill. It kept taking in more goods, relentlessly and without turning anyone away.
Every time they handed in a report or chatted with a buyer, they got a sense of how