Chương 152: Hyrdford

Lord Ceonwin's Domain felt larger when you were riding across it than it looked on a map. We headed west for a week, crossing the countryside on horseback. I rode at the head of the column, leading us over the rolling foothills and through the valleys, with my squad directly behind me. Anchor, then on the same horse, Brawl, Sage, and Morph. They had been riding together for the entire journey. Brawl did have the strongest horse, and we weren't galloping.

We continued on at a trot, moving faster than walking, but not so fast our horses would get exhausted. Romance and Elf and the other riders from the 294th Battalion followed behind my squad. I wasn't sure if we would need them, but it was better safe than sorry, especially since we were heading to lands that were potentially hostile to us. I wouldn't have long to investigate Hinfic's lands and assert a claim over them.

Lord Ceonwin had given me a three-week-long break from our sapper training, and I'd need most of that time to travel between my lands and Castle Urcia, and then to travel back. As the land grew hillier and the topsoil tougher, the crop farms faded, replaced with ranching land. Shepherds led sheep and cattle in packs across the land, moving them across the rocky and shallow streams, grazing on the hills.

Here, the trails weren't as well defined as the Urcia Road, except for the patches of roadways that remained from the days of the old empire. As usual, villages dotted the road, which we stopped at every night when we could. The farther west we travelled, the less fortified they were. Less palisade walls, less guards. No Dupes in the garrisons—they'll all been moved to the front lines, and local security forces patrolled the streets.

Of course, there were still a few workers affiliated with the army who kept us stocked as we passed through, so we didn't have to carry three weeks' worth of supplies with us. For most of our journey, the skies were overcast. The grass was a dull green, safe for tufts of dry, fluffy shrubs and the occasional rock formation poking through. It would probably have a mundane beauty to it if the sky had actually been blue, but as it was, my eyes glazed over. There were no monsters, nothing.

The most potential danger we encountered was a hoard of wild boars grazing on the shrubs, before a rancher rode out and shooed them away. He had to stick one with an arrow when it charged him, but the rest went willingly, fleeing into the windgrass. It looked to me like some kind of eulalia grass, with its fluffy white tufts, but it was taller. Local myths said it often showed the will of the wind, and when King Aelfwine followed it, it helped him navigate his armies into victorious positions.

(I, however, had no intention of letting grass dictate my battle plans.) On the last day before we arrived, I checked the map. Anchor had been navigating for us, and I trusted him, but I just wanted to make sure we were on the right track, and I wanted to orient myself better. I unfolded the map and took a look at it. By my best estimate, Gate as a whole was about the same size as France. Maybe a bit taller, and a little wider if you counted the southwestern spar.

When it came to the southeastern quadrant, though—the segment isolated by a mountain range—it wasn't really a quadrant. It was a little smaller. Lord Ceonwin's Domain was one of the farthest south Domains, and Hinlaw's was just west of it, but it didn't run all the way to the mountains. And then there was my land, which I'd taken from Hinlaw's son, and was now technically part of Ceonwin's Domain.

I'd circled it on my map, marking its borders with heavy ink lines, following the descriptions in the official papers of ownership. Although it was only an eighth of Hinlaw's Domain, it was directly on the border between his lands and Ceonwin's, spanning the entire border and making it very tall and thin. I'd marked out the largest city within my lands, where Sir Hinfic, Hinlaw's son, had ruled from, and that was our destination. Only about a day away.

"I kept track well," Anchor told me.

"Just wanted to check how far we were," I replied.

"Kinda like asking 'are we there yet?' while we're on a road trip." Anchor stared at me blankly, and Brawl said, " 'Road trip' must be a soulstealer phrase, brother." I replied, "Yeah, I suppose. I don't suppose people commonly go on cross-country wagon rides here, do you?"

"The average freeman of Gate may be wealthier than most other nations," Anchor said, "but travel is still difficult." I sighed.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to keep asking 'Are we there yet?' so you can get the authentic road trip experience." I leaned forward, patting Burr's neck.

"Never did get many road trips back home, though." Mom and Dad had divorced far too soon in my life for that.

"Please don't," Sage grumbled. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. We were silent for a few minutes, until we passed over a small and shallow creek, and Anchor announced, "And that should be the border between Lord Ceonwin's Domain and Hinlaw's. At least, the old border." Then that meant we were officially in my lands. Just a little bit longer until we could stop and get to work.

But I still had a year of sapper training to go, and then we'd have to figure out what was going to be done with me. Would I stay as a top-tier soldier under the command of someone else? Or would I act as a typical lord? Or just something in between? In the meantime, though, I was going to need some way of communicating effectively with my lands. Hinlaw wasn't just going to leave me alone, not after what I'd done at the joust, and he'd want to reclaim his lands as soon as he could.

~ ~ ~ We arrived at the city of Hyrdford at noon the next day. It was built on the banks of a river, enveloping an ancient marble bridge from the old empire. Most of the buildings were only a single floor of wattle and daub, with thatched or sod roofs. There were a few closer to the center, which had a level of cobblestone at the bottom and a standard wood-framed second storey, though. Foothills cradled the city. We weren't at the mountains yet, but the hills were taller, as were the river valley walls.

In the distance, farther down the valley, an ancient, crumbling aqueduct crossed the valley. A few farmhouses had been built atop it. Hyrdford had no wall, and I estimated it had a population of about twenty-five hundred people, just from looking. The fields and hills around it had been converted into farmland, but the crops were sparse, and most of their income had to come from ranching.

"Sound the horn," I told Brawl as we approached.

"We're going to aim straight for the main hall and figure out what we're working with." He lifted the horn to his lips and gave it a blast as we trotted toward the city. Civilians darted off the path to avoid us, rushing and pulling their carts out of the way, but I made sure to wait and give them time. They bowed as we approached, and no one met our gaze. Most of the civilians here wore dirty, dusty garments.

Their clothes had been patched time and time again, and every so often, a wet cough echoed through the crowd. There couldn't have been anyone older than fifty years, but most of their gear was ancient. Rusty hoes, rotting wagon wheels.

"Do they take care of their equipment here, at all?" I whispered.

"Wood varnish and cures are likely prioritized in the larger cities," Anchor provided.

"And I wouldn't put it past Hinlaw to hoard it. The metal? I'd bet it's been passed down through generations. It takes effort to take care of it, though." I lowered my head.

"We're probably going to have a lot of work ahead of us…" We trotted through the city. It must've had cobblestone streets once upon a time, but now, they were covered over in dirt and weeds that no one had bothered cleaning up. Some of the buildings leaned, and even though it was the middle of the summer, over half of the civilians had the same terrible cough I'd heard before. Sage covered her mouth with her shawl, as if that would help her avoid the sickness. (It didn't matter to us, I assumed. We were far stronger than the average mortal man, and I hadn't gotten sick once since arriving. I'd never seen Sage get sick, either.) We approached Hinfic's old hall, which stood on a cobblestone plinth on the far side of the town. It was an average longhouse, except for the two pillars out front, which were covered in golden ornaments and topped with carved raven heads. Even they seemed dusty.

I dismounted when we reached the stairs and tied up our horses, then marched up to the plinth, where a troop of local guards met us. There was a single squad of regular Dupes at their head, and the rest were either locals or mercenaries—all mortal men. I reached into my kit bag and retrieved the official deed to these lands, then presented it to the Dupe at the front.

"Sir Hinfic is dead, and I am taking control of his lands. I am Levi, and I serve under Lord Ceonwin. From today onward, these lands now exist as part of Lord Ceonwin's Domain." The soldiers glanced back and forth. A few of them reached for their weapons, but I presented the deed to the soldier.

"Y—you?" the Dupe whispered.

"You're a thegn?"

"Yes," I replied.

"Now, I don't have much time, and I have a lot of questions. Plus a long checklist to complete. I'd appreciate it if you let me into the hall." That, of course, included actually establishing a noble house for myself. I wasn't an Ealdorman yet, but that didn't mean I couldn't make a house. But to do that, I'd need some proper heraldry. The Dupe gave me one last hesitant glance, then gave a short bow.

"Sir Levi. The papers seem in order. Right this way."

"Oh," I said.

"That was…easy."

"One thegn out, another thegn in. Hinfic took control of these lands only a few years ago, and before him, it was another short-lived thegn who only made it a single year. Before him, another who lasted five years. He was the longest."

"I'll serve here far longer than that," I replied.

"If you say so." The Dupe shrugged, then motioned with a flick of his hand. The other soldiers pushed the hall's doors open, allowing us inside. He looked to be about fifty years old, with graying hair and a long beard.

"Is there anywhere to leave our horses?" I asked.

"A stable, perhaps?"

"I will put someone on it," the Dupe told me.

"And somewhere to house my men?"

"We should have room in the garrison." We stepped into the hall. Inside, it was dark. A single brazier smouldered at the center, and the light rippled on the damp flagstone floors. I walked across, watching my step. An empty chair sat at the far end of the hall. It wasn't exactly a throne, but it had intricate, knot-like carvings along its legs and backrest, and I supposed that was the thegn's chair. Behind it was a door, which led to the chambers for the thegn and his family.

As soon as we stepped in, a man in a black coat rushed over, crossing the hall at a brisk pace.

"What is the meaning of this? Where is Hinfic?"

"He's dead," I replied.

"I am the new thegn of his lands."

"This is Portreeve Tunmod," the older Dupe whispered.

"Official administrator of Hyrdford, and acting administrator of most of Hinfic's old lands. He has been instrumental in keeping these lands in order."

"A pleasure to meet you," the man said, raising his hand in greeting and putting on an enormous, sycophantic smile.

"What would your name be, young master?"