Rowan had left Boralus for Southshore early last month. Today was the first of the month, and counting the few days of preparations before his departure, it had been a full month since he had last visited Morris Town.
Once the warship docked, Rowan changed into a light, comfortable outfit. Whether it was because of the growing number of factories or not, Morris Town was a little warmer than Boralus.
David had prepared a carriage in advance, but Rowan did not take it. He planned to walk back to the Council Hall. It was still early, and this break was the perfect chance to see what progress they had made on developing the base.
The low, green-tiled cottages built in the Kul Tiran style had all been fitted with brand-new roof tiles. The town streets had been replaced with clean, tidy concrete roads. Livestock droppings and human waste no longer littered the streets. It looked as though Kande had followed Rowan's plan and laid sewers beneath the town's roads.
With everyone at work during the day, most of the people on the streets were women and children. There were noticeably more small traders and vendors. Produce stalls that had once offered only a few seasonal vegetables now displayed out-of-season vegetables and fruit imported from the nations of the Alliance. The children's clothes were no longer patched, and they were neatly dressed. Children from better-off households, whose parents both worked in the factories, even carried treats from the bakery.
The corners of Rowan's mouth lifted, and his nose stung slightly as he thought of Morris Town seven months ago. The roads had been muddy, and people had struggled even to feed and clothe themselves. Now everything was getting better, and the happiness on the children's faces was the best proof of