Chương 167: Experience

I walked down the center of the old guild hall's lobby. It took up most of the first floor, with seating areas along the side walls for guests and a reception desk at the very front. When they'd shut the place down, they hadn't even gotten rid of the candles and rushlights. They still sat in their holders, wax hardened in half-melted lumps, half-burnt wicks poking out their tops. One of the boys following behind me lit one, while I threw open the windows to let light and fresh air in.

"I don't mean to be…pushy, Sir Levi," Eadgeat began, stepping up behind me.

"But is there a plan?"

"I won't be able to micromanage the guild," I said.

"But I will put someone in charge who knows what he's doing." If only I could put Abacus in charge. Then again, the Dupe was an accountant, not a guildmaster. I had no guarantee that he'd actually have what it took to run the guild. The better question was if I could even identify those traits in other people myself. But I'd figure out a solution.

"First things first, we need to get production going," I said.

"Since I own the guild and the land, I can do whatever I want with it."

"Not really, sir," Eadgeat said.

"I believe, sir, that Tunmod made many regional laws prohibiting the construction of wells. Moreover, Lord Hinlaw backed him on them, and made them span the entire Domain."

"We're part of Lord Ceonwin's Domain, now," I reminded him.

"Those laws don't apply here." I stepped up behind the main reception desk.

"For today, I will split you up into two groups. Eadgeat, you will lead one group and start digging a new well. I need a few volunteers, however, to stay behind and start cleaning and repairing the guild hall." It was a test, in truth. I wanted to know who was willing to avoid the gruelling work of digging a well, narrowing them down and making sure I knew who to keep an eye on (and who not to make the guildmaster). Once I had a few volunteers, I said, "Excellent. You five stay here.

As for Eadgeat's group, I'll come with you guys for today and help out with the first well." I paused, then chuckled to myself. I might have been getting a little too far ahead of myself.

"However…Eadgeat, or anyone, really. Do you know someone who has experience with digging wells? Anyone here?" All the boys shook their heads and shrugged. However, one of them, about twenty-five, who I was pretty sure was named Hardric, stepped forward.

"I think I might know someone, sir." ~ ~ ~ Before we set off, Hardric led us to the house of an old couple near the edge of the town. I knocked on their door and waited. A thin man in a scraggly, graying beard opened the door for us. He wore a tattered tunic and an ink-stained apron with pockets—one of them contained a quill, though it was rotting, and the fluff was falling off its feather. It hadn't been used in a while.

"Greetings," I said.

"I am Sir Levi, and—""What do you want?" the man grumbled. He glanced back over his shoulder, then yelled, "Cynuise, get the axe! There are some strange boys at the door again!" I glanced back at Eadgeat and Hardric skeptically. They shrugged. Hardric said, "It's him, sir." Inhaling, I asked, "Idnulf?"

"Ah, so the hooligans know my name!" the man scratched.

"Come to take me away, finally? Like the others? I heard you bandits only went after the village's young! No meat left on my bones, anyway." I sighed.

"I am the new thegn here, and we are no bandits. Idnulf the Shovelmaster, didn't they call you? And Cynuise the Bricklayer? Both of you built half the potion-wells around here as freemen on contract for the Alchemical Supplies guild?" The man paused.

"I've heard that title before, yes…" He squinted.

"You are awfully…clean. And the bandits usually come at night."

"Yes, we're not bandits," I stressed.

"I know you may not be in the same physical condition you once were, but we're here to offer you a job. We need you and your wife's expertise in digging wells." Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. He squinted and turned his ear toward us.

"Say that again?" I repeated what I'd said, just a little louder.

"And what of Tunmod?"

"Dead." As we spoke, a woman approached from behind, wearing rugged trousers and a shoulder cloak. Her gray hair was tied back in a bun, and she carried a small axe. That had to be Cynuise. She put a hand on her husband's shoulder and said, "Iddy, dear, is the thegn we've been hearing rumours of?"

"P—perhaps," Idnulf said.

"I don't trust him entirely." I smiled and dipped my head toward Cynuise.

"I'm glad you recognize me, or have at least heard of me. I know, perhaps, you two are tired"—I didn't want to say old, but they were—"but perhaps you could lend us some experience and help us construct a few wells. We would, of course, pay you." Idnulf began, "Ten Gold Sceats for a youngling like you. You're probably trying to run some kind of scam—""We will help free of charge," Cynuise cut in.

"This land could use some help, and a little more trust would do it some good." She set her axe down, resting it beside the door.

"Thanks," I said.

"Do you need help gathering your equipment?"

"Tunmod's men confiscated most of it," Cynuise replied.

"A dangerous threat to public safety, he said," Idnulf grumbled. I grimaced.

"How much do we need?"

"Nothing we can't make on the go." Cynuise stepped forward and passed the axe to Idnulf.

"Once you get back to work, dear, feel the brick and mortar on our hands, you will feel more like yourself again."

"Ah, fine." Idnulf fiddled with his apron.

"Give me a moment or two to refresh myself, and I'll be right with you." ~ ~ ~ We didn't finish the first well that day, but we worked late into the evening. Instead of trying to salvage the old, collapsed well, or to make use of the massive pond we'd dug to trap the gophers, we made a new one in the same copse of trees. Idnulf tapped the ground, performing measurements, and eventually, one of the boys convinced him to explain what he was doing and how.

I would've also tried to listen in, but this needed to be self-sufficient without me, and someone taking initiative already was a good sign. Once he identified an ideal spot for a well, we started digging. Whenever we took breaks, I checked in with the guards we'd left to handle the leftover gophers. Every now and then, one would try to attack, but they'd gotten good practice with the gophers, and it didn't take long to finish them off, now. We returned to Hyrdford late in the evening.

First, I stopped at the barracks and met with Anchor, Lute, and Brawl, who I'd put in charge of training the local militia— our militia.

"The biggest bottleneck is weapons and equipment," Anchor said.

"Tunmod confiscated most of it from the civilians over the years that he was in power." I grimaced.

"What did he do with them? We could just give it back, right?"

"He melted it down and sold it as scrap. Or, in the case of most of the ranchers' longbows, he just burned them."

"How much equipment did we get from the slain mercenaries and local guards at the festival?"

"We're still trying to make an account of what we have," Lute told me.

"We're trying to make full kits for people, sir. Tunmod's men didn't always have full armour, so we can't outfit as many men as he had." I folded my arms.

"I see. Well, keep going as planned. We'll have to make do with what we have."

"What exactly are we preparing for, brother?" Brawl asked.

"Retribution. Against me, against these people." I winced.

"I'll need to pick Lord Ceonwin's mind about it, but something tells me Hinlaw won't attack directly. Not yet, and not without orders. I'm more likely to face a trial-joust, but again, I haven't done anything that could warrant that. Besides, I'm not an Ealdorman."

"So Hinlaw is waiting for you to mess up?" Anchor asked.

"That doesn't sound like him," I said, thinking back to how he'd been speaking when I had spied on him—during Lord Ceonwin's trial-joust.

"I'm sure he has some kind of scheme. We'll just need to figure out what it is. In the meantime, I imagine he'll be sending cultists and other raiders at us, trying to cause problems. We need to have guards ready and capable of dealing with them."

"Our guards are just mortal men," Lute warned.

"We'll have to give them the best training we can give them. It's all we can do." My stomach churned. What if they were right, though? What if we had doomed the village? Hinlaw could send a powerful member of the Blood Tear Order, and what could these people do to stop it if me or my squad wasn't here? Hell, even Jaruwain probably could've flattened this poor village on his own, if he'd actually wanted to. He'd only been a Silver. I looked down at my fingers and curled them up. Was I really that powerful?

If I was a Silver as well, did I have the power to flatten a village? I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind and focused on the present.

"We'll do what we can," I said again.

"Build a wall, arm the villagers and train them. We'll tell the ranchers they can own longbows again, and we'll call upon them if we need help. Hopefully they still know how to make their own. And then, once the guild gets running and we have some cash flowing, we'll be able to buy better gear for our men." Lute nodded, though his expression was skeptical. After that, I returned to the hall. I didn't plan to sleep here, but I did have one last meeting to get to before I slept.

Considering the sky was nearly pitch black, save for a faint tinge of twilight on the western horizon, I'd kept them waiting long enough. Along the way to the hall, though, Elf and Romance intercepted me. Romance said, "We've got a bit of a problem, sir."

"People are wondering, perhaps rightfully, about how you're going to pay them for the public works. The palisade and the floodway, mainly." I held up a finger.

"Come with me to this meeting. I think you'll find out soon enough."