Chương 181: 178. Skills

Madam Helga shook her head.

"I'm not sure, but he is very busy managing a lot of things in the village, so I don't think Lord Kivamus will be visiting the block unless there is an emergency." Hyola thought quickly.

"In that case, can I come with you all as well? I was blaming the baron for wanting to keep us in jail or to execute us earlier, so I really want to apologise for that!" Madam Helga seemed to be thinking about it for a moment.

"Sure, I guess. But we won't be returning back there tonight, so you'll have to share your sleeping space with our maids for the night." Hyola nodded eagerly. This meant she would even get to visit inside the manor of the baron!

"That would be just fine, madam. I won't even take up too much space. Thank you so much!"

~ Kivamus ~ Kivamus and the others had finally reached inside the manor house, with the warmth inside the hall more than welcome to everyone. Duvas had taken the chair closest to the fireplace, while Hudan had also taken a seat inside along with Feroy. Gorsazo was already sitting there as well. When he had entered the manor, he had passed near the cattle shed, and saw the two nodors there for the first time. Hudan must have brought them with him from the quarry.

While shaped similarly to oxen, those beasts weren't that tall, but still looked like they had more than enough muscle to do most of the work done by oxen. But what separated them from the bigger beasts was the deep-red colour of their skin, with some small black patches on them. That kind of color should have given them a more violent look, but it seemed like they had been domesticated well enough that they looked quite tame and safe to keep near people.

Either way, he was glad that he would have at least two of them for help in plowing the fields after the winter. Hudan's words made him come back to the present.

"Milord, I wanted to report that from this rescue mission we got four fur coats, three leather armors, as well as four swords and a couple of daggers from the bandits." He continued, "Of course, you have already seen the two wagons we brought from the quarry, along with the axles for an extra wagon. There were also a couple of healthy nodors there, so we brought them with us and I've kept them along with the cattle."

Kivamus gave a nod, "I already saw the nodors, and I'm glad that we were able to bring all the stonecutters here safely. Getting twenty-six trained laborers to work for us from now on would speed up all the construction in the village." Hudan continued, "After repairing everything we got this time, we can properly arm and equip all our twenty-four guards now - no, twenty-five guards including Calubo.

The armor or even the weapons we have gotten from the bandits are hardly top notch quality, but it's better than arming our guards with a stick." Kivamus nodded with satisfaction.

"That would certainly be helpful after we have trained our newer guards better and they are ready to take the place of our veterans wherever needed." Gorsazo suggested, "Those fur coats will also be helpful for us to give them to the hunting groups, especially those who are going towards the east."

"Certainly," Kivamus commented.

"With Hudan back along with all the eight guards, it means we can send more hunting groups out as well." Duvas added with a rare grin, "That makes it sounds like this was a worthwhile trip, after all, despite my objections earlier." He looked at the guard captain.

"You wouldn't happen to have found some coin there as well, did you? I would have thought Nokozal had some gold stashed there." Hudan's huge frame shook as he chuckled.

"I'd already have reported it if I had, Sir Duvas. We did check any possible hiding places at the quarry, with the help of the stonecutters. It seems Nokozal really was short on coin these days, and if he still had anything left, he must have been carrying it on his own person wherever he went. It's not like someone like him would trust anyone else with the coin anyway." This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

The guard captain continued with a grin, "Before we left from the quarry, we also gave him a parting gift by setting all the huts on fire. When he reaches there now, he will find that his underlings are already dead, all his slaves have vanished along with his wagons and nodors, and he has no place to shelter in the snow." Feroy smirked, "Now this is the kind of payback I like to hear about!"

Before Kivamus replied anything, the outer door of the manor hall opened and Madam Helga walked inside, followed by someone he hadn't expected to see here. Walking behind her was the tall red haired woman he had seen at the front of the crowd earlier. Madam Helga explained before taking a seat, "This is Hyola. She wanted to thank you in person, so I brought her here." Kivamus looked curiously at the young woman who looked quite nervous at the moment. Hyola began with a bow, "Please forgive me, milord!"

Kivamus raised his eyebrows.

"For what? I don't think you have done anything to ask forgiveness for, have you?"

"Please understand, milord," Hyola continued, "the life of the stone cutters hasn't been easy at all. When I saw that we were being taken to the outside of the village, most of us feared that you were taking us to a jail, or maybe you even wanted to kill us so you wouldn't have to feed us..." Kivamus couldn't hide astonishment at that accusation from showing on his face. After he had gone through all the trouble to bring them here from the quarry, they still thought he would execute them? He gave a sigh.

Just how cruel was this world to the common people. Hyola added without waiting for a reply, "When you were giving a speech to us earlier, I even thought that..." But she shook her head and trailed off instead of finishing the sentence. Feroy had a knowing glint in his eyes, but he kept silent as well. Hyola continued with fear in her eyes, "Please forgive me for doubting your intentions after everything you have done for us." Kivamus didn't know what to say for a moment.

"There is nothing to forgive. Just do your jobs well in the future to help yourself and the village. That's all I ask for." Hyola nodded vigorously, but then doubt crept on her face.

"But can we really stay here? As free people instead of slaves?" Kivamus smiled.

"Of course. You all are free to stay in Tiranat for as long as you want. And if you want to leave this village at any time to find a different place to live in another village or town, then you are free to go. Although you'll have to wait until after the winter, since the road to Cinran would not open before that anyway - but I won't stop you."

He continued, "However, you will have to keep in mind that while you all will remain free people in Tiranat - since I refuse to allow slavery in my domain - I can't promise you the same if you decide to leave. I only have control over the barony of Tiranat, after all. How other nobles treat their own people is out of my hands."

"If we can really find work here..." Hyola replied pensively, "and if we aren't going to be slaves of anyone in Tiranat, then I don't think any of us would ever want to leave this place..."

"I know it might be hard to believe for now," Kivamus replied, "but you'll find out more about the village in the coming days and you'll realize that it's all true." He added, "Also, being free means it's up to you to choose which jobs you want to work in, but it will take a few months before more types of jobs become available in the village, including farming and coal mining. Still, that freedom to choose is yours from now on, same as all other villagers who live here.

For now though, working as a laborer is the most likely work you will find these days."

"That being said," Gorsazo remarked, "these people are mainly trained in cutting rocks, and we don't do any of that here. How useful will they be here?"

"No, no!" Hyola interrupted anxiously.

"While all of us know about cutting limestone, some of us have different skills as well, otherwise we wouldn't have survived for long while living in the middle of nowhere." She explained, "Two of us are decent with hunting and trapping, since they often went with the bandits to catch animals there for food. Another one used to work as a carpenter in a different town, before he was sold into slavery when he couldn't pay back his debt.

He was the one who repaired the wagon and tools at the quarry when they got broken, and he also made the bows for the bandits, as well as the buckets for removing water from the quarry when it got flooded." Kivamus glanced at others for a moment, feeling giddy inside. Another well-trained carpenter would solve a lot of their issues. Hyola barely paused to take a breath before she continued.

"One man is also trained as a fletcher, and he provided the arrows to the bandits, and I am a good shot with throwing things." Kivamus couldn't hide his grin. This just got better and better. He saw that his excitement was reflected in others' faces as well. He looked back at the young woman. She was tall and well built, even if she looked malnourished right now. She might be a good addition to their budding guard force.

"We are looking for new guards these days, especially women. Would you be interested in joining up as a guard here?"