by Xander Jade
“No. Thank you.”
The young man had a disappointed look on his face. Estelle smirked, wanting to get a little revenge on her for the uncomfortable conversation she had forced her into with that oaf, Brett. Cori somehow arranged it for them to be in the same carriage when they were traveling back to the castle from the market. Estelle sweetly suggested, “Aren’t you about to go riding, Cori? Why don’t you let Lord Tristen accompany you?”
The king and queen smiled at their eldest daughter’s suggestion. Cori stared at her older sister with contempt but couldn’t say anything in front of her parents. If looks could kill, all of them would be piles of ash. Cori didn’t say anything for about a minute. Lord Tristen had a hopeful gleam in his eye.
The princess sighed and nodded, “Yes, that would be lovely.”
She didn’t say anything else, just picked up a towel to dry the sweat off her face, neck, and arms before walking away. Lord Tristen hurried off to walk with her. The parents of each watched as they strolled off into the distance, then went back inside the castle.
Queen Rebecca whispered to her eldest daughter, “That was sneaky, dear.”
Estelle laughed softly before responding, “Yeah, a little payback is all.”
“Well, I would keep my eyes open,” Rebecca advised. “She won’t forget what you did.”
“I will,” Estelle replied while keeping a safe distance from the duke’s family.
“Have you thought about visiting Lord Trevor?”
“Mom, please.”
Queen Rebecca grinned and shook her head. She had some strong-willed daughters, at least her son wasn’t so defiant when it came to doing his duty. The group chatting about the weather and how the gardens are coming along while Cori was thinking about revenge.
Tristen walked with the princess to the stables. There wasn’t much conversation. When the two came up, a stable boy of about twelve years old strolled over and smiled.
“Princess, you want Lily saddled up?”
Cori smiled and nodded, “Yes, Peter, thank you.”
The boy went and saddled up her horse. An older gentleman came out.
“Greetings Princess and Lord Tristen.”
They responded kindly.
“I see Peter is getting Lily ready. Lord Tristen, do you need yours saddled as well?”
“Yes. Thank you, stablemaster.”
The stablemaster went and got the horse ready as Peter brought out Lily.
Cori and Tristen mounted and had their horses trot out of the city. Again, not much was said. Lord Tristen tried to strike up many conversations with her, but she would just answer with one or two words. She wanted to just be out here by herself and vowed to get even with her sister. She sighed.
“Lord Tristen, I would just like to get something out there so that everything is clear. I’m not in the market for a husband or courting at all. My focus is on training and studying. I hope you understand.”
He didn’t and groaned inwardly. He was desperate to have her on his arm. The young woman was beautiful and intelligent. He sighed. “Well, I can respect that. We all need to be prepared, but will you at least keep me on your list when you do begin searching?”
Not a chance. Cori nodded, “Yes, Lord Tristen. Now, let’s enjoy the surrounding forest.”
She turned to look at the lush green fields, and then at the dense foliage of the forest. He grunted and continued by her side, sulking.
***
In Oakenshore, the search for Lord Gordon Ackley was still going on, but the toll on the Ackleys was noticeable. The city was not flourishing anymore, and everyone was starting to get worried. Some suggested that Lord Blake take over and others were against it. A group of nobles were discussing options in a secret meeting.
Lord Nestor stated with concern, “We have to do something. I know they are mourning their youngest, but Oakenshore needs leadership that is focused on its needs.”
“Agreed,” others voiced their opinions.
“Like who? Blake?” Lord Dresden scoffed. “He is too arrogant and childish to run the duchy.”
Murmurs were heard all around. Lord Nestor shrugged, “He is the heir apparent. Let’s give him a chance. It can’t be any worse than it is now.”
Lord Dresden shook his head, not wanting to agree with them. They bickered back and forth for over an hour.
Lord Foster stood up and said, “I propose we wait for a few more weeks, then let the king know what is happening. Maybe he will send someone to oversee our city until Lord Ackley gets his mind right.”
Everyone nodded and voted for that proposal. They left the meeting, going their separate ways.
***
Sunlight came through the cabin. I pulled gently away from my women to start the day. Getting dressed, I went towards the kitchen because of the smells coming from it and noticed two unfamiliar females preparing the kitchen for our morning meal. I seemed to be the first to arrive, so I introduced myself.
“Good morning!”
They turned and bowed to me, introducing themselves as Rosie and Katrina. I nodded and sat down.
“Can I ask what you’re doing in here?”
They nodded and advised me they were the housekeepers until we moved to the keep when it was built. At that time, there would be numerous people to help, and I wasn’t to worry about anything pertaining to the cleaning, they would handle it. Taking them at their word, I sat down. What was going on now?
“Umm… Who assigned you this position?”
“I did. I thought it would take the pressure off of your ladies. I hope you don’t mind.”
Gordon smiled as he walked into the kitchen.
I chuckled. “No, and I’m sure the girls won't either, but we also have other guests in our home.”
“The girls won’t what?” Tia asked as she and the others came into the kitchen. Each one gave me a kiss and sat down.
“Damn, I guess the first priority will be to get a bigger table, but to answer your question, Gordon asked Rosie and Katrina, who are sun elves, to help out with the cleaning duties for the cabin.”
Elwin and Pelleus came in at that moment and sat down. The women smiled and thanked Gordon for his concern.
Gordon was curious, “You said that we have others living here?”
“Yes, we have a family of brownies helping out with the cleaning duties.”
“What? You have a family of brownies living here?” Gordon asked, mouth agape. The two elves were stunned as well.”
I chuckled, “Yep, Lashane and Shaila will discuss with you about the setup.”
They nodded, still not saying anything. When the food came to the table, they served fresh fruit, nuts, and bread. Thanking the two sun elves, they left with a bow. We ate in silence as I thought about what needed to be done.
Gordon finally cleared his throat, “It’s amazing that you have a family of brownies living here and helping out.” I grunted and while we were eating, I made a list in my head to distribute.
“Gordon, I hope you rested well because we have much to do today.”
He nodded slowly and blushed. “Actually, I was up half the night. Some noises kept me away.”
I looked at Cassie and Val because they were sitting beside me, grinning from ear to ear.
“What can I say, my man knows how to please me. And he did, over and over,” Cass smugly replied.
Val chimed in and said the same, then the wood elves started in, talking about their sessions with me. Stopping them, I chuckled at their remarks and after a few moments we went back to eating. The women talked among themselves. Elwin and Pelleus occasionally joined in.
Gordon turned to me and said, “We are starting the foundation for the keep in a couple days. Elwin spoke to the Leshy and told us after the boundary is marked for our needs that the he will investigate and give his okay to start then. If everything goes smoothly and since we have earth and life mages, the keep should be completed within a few weeks given how big it will be. That’s o
nly the shell. We will have to come up with how it needs to be built on the inside though.”
My mouth dropped open and some food actually dropped on the table. When I got my voice back, I responded with, “Within a few weeks? That’s impressive. Just make sure they don’t overdo it and burn out.”
He shook his head. “We have enough mages to handle this project and others are already in progress. The first buildings to be built will be the barracks and some housing, starting here. We didn’t discuss what else you wanted to build, but those are the starting points.”
“My plan is to have fortifications built. Curtain walls, watch towers, gates, a moat, killing fields, and obviously the keep.”
I kept eating while he seemed to be reflecting about what I said.
Finally, he said, “I thought that would be the case since you wanted the keep built to protect the people living here. I’ll let Stan and the mages know of your plans and get those marked as well if they stretch farther into the forest. What about weapons atop the walls?”
“Yes, ballistae in addition to the archers, but that can happen after everything is done.”
“As you wish, we’ll get it done, but might be a few months. Training starts today?”
“That’s awesome and yes, you will be in those training courses.”
“It’s definitely going to be interesting since I haven’t practiced in a few months or so.”
I chortled. “Yes, it will be interesting, so let’s get started.”
All of us left to our appointed areas: Tia with daggers and hand to hand, Cass on bows, Val on throwing knives, and when Gordon got efficient enough, he would begin sword training. We didn’t have the weapons made yet, so we used practice blades that the life mages made. I was handling the orcs training and was about to do some ass whipping. I arrived at the orc campsite and found Gurak talking to his men.
“Gurak, you guys ready?”
“Ah, Max, yes my men are ready.”
We went over forms for defense and offense for hand-to-hand combat. After they got the hang of it, then it was daggers, then throwing knives. Now, just picture a 6’4” muscled, green guy throwing knives. It’s actually kind of hard to imagine. I had about two hundred to train. It was slow, but in the end, we made progress and that’s all I wanted. I took it easy on them for now, but by the end of the week, I would be ass kicking.
***
The next couple of weeks went by quickly. We came together after each day to discuss progress. The recruits were gaining confidence and knowledge, if training persisted, then we would be an army not to trifle with. The orcs were learning too and having guards that could use any weapon was a tremendous feat. I would continue to train these brutes, turn them into my personal attack force, and kick the shit out of those fucking overlords.
The buildings were coming along nicely, our mages were definitely great at what they did, and it showed. When they first started, I watched for a little bit. I noticed that metal was installed before the walls went up and was advised this reinforced them. The thick walls were made from stone and protected with a layer of granite. I was told the earth mages pulled this from the ground and formed it. They formed all of the walls. It would definitely be a sight to behold when it was complete.
The barracks and the cabin expansions were done. Housing was in the process of being completed and I asked that more forges be built when the housing district was done. The mages were taking their jobs seriously and seemed to enjoy what they were creating. I was ecstatic to have them with us, so complimented them as often as I could, and advised Stan’s builders they were doing an awesome job too.
After the end of the third week, my green war band was right where they needed to be. The warriors were helping out with the defense and security, so these lessons would ultimately help with that too. A few more weeks and they would be hard to take down.
It was some weeks later when Reaper and Hercules pulled me aside.
‘Max, it’s time,’ Reaper advised.
‘I figured it was getting close. It’s late in the day, head out tomorrow?’
Sigmus replied, ‘That’s fine. Tell them you’re going alone. That way you can let your beast out and let him roam so you can get more familiar with him. Your women will bitch but we need to be stealthy when we get in and out of the kingdom where the elemental is. Otherwise, we may have to fight our way out.’
‘I’m going to take Zeus. It will take less time than walking and if I need to go into town then I won’t look suspicious. When we find the elemental and if the two of us come to terms, the bonding will probably make me collapse again, at least Zeus can carry me if need be.’
‘That’s fine. I’ve also notified the Leshy about our departure.’
I nodded and headed to the cabin, dreading the conversation. The usual people were waiting at the table for dinner. Gordon was there as well. They were discussing and laughing and didn’t really pay attention when I walked in. That all stopped when they saw the expression on my face.
Cass and Sasha sighed. Tia and Soph groaned. They evidently knew what I was about to say. I sat down at the head of the table as Rosie and Katrina set the food down. Venison and fresh vegetables, carrot cake for dessert. My favorite.
“Looks great ladies, thank you.”
They smiled and left.
“When?” Cassie asked in a low voice.
No one at the table said a word, even the often rambunctious elven males were quiet.
“Tomorrow.”
No one said anything. The only sound that could be heard was breathing until Sasha questioned carefully, “And how many are you taking?”
Sighing, I replied, “None.”
That was the wrong thing to say it seemed. Everyone at that table started yelling, most of it I just tuned out. When they figured that out, they stopped talking and waited, well, at least until my Cass voiced her opinion.
She spat, “That’s bullshit, Max. You said it would be a group adventure, not solo.”
Leena snarled. “Yes, husband. Why are you changing your mind now?”
“Sigmus advised this, stealth is a factor.”
Tia asked with concern, “How long will it take?”
“Not sure. It will take days to get there, and I’m not going to say a time because you’ll be counting down the minutes.”
The ladies sighed and shook their heads.
Gordon questioned, “Anything else we need to know?”
“No. I will speak with the Inner Circle before leaving.”
The meal was gloomy after that. Gordon went to the others to advise about the meeting early the next morning. The ladies were perturbed for the rest of the night, even at bedtime. No kisses or fun for me. Sighing, I went to sleep.
***
Waking up early, I went to the kitchen for some water then went out to the barn to get Zeus ready. When I was near him, he neighed and ate the apples that I had thrown into his daily oats while I brushed him down. Then I saddled the big bastard. The brute kept hitting me with his head, knocking me back and nickering. I laughed and pushed the stallion back. He nodded and went back to eating. Shaking my head, I went back to the cabin to see breakfast was ready and the ladies around the table, sulking.
Sitting down at the table, I found a plate of food already waiting for me. Eggs, bacon, and fresh milk. They were waiting for me evidently, so I dug in and the others ate too. The ladies stored some food in my pack. No one was in the mood for conversation. We cleaned up and left to our meeting spot.
Everyone was there and clearly knew what was going on. The looks on their faces mirrored the ones that were escorting me. We sat and I immediately advised them of what was happening.
“It is evident that everyone here knows my news. To make it clear, I’m leaving for Mair in a few minutes. Anyone have any questions or concerns before that happens?”
Sasha hissed her comment, “Take others with you and we wouldn’t have any concerns, husband.”
The whole group nod
ded and agreed. I groaned inwardly and spoke again, “Look, I know the last time we met about this, I said a group would accompany me, but the situation has changed. I’m a big boy with four beings that will watch my back and will return before you know it. Now, Gordon is in charge of everyday events concerning our settlement, you have a problem then go to him. My ladies are my voice for everything else. Gurak, work with Gordon and Sean with the schedule for security. Frank and Jacob, continue with training and building up mana pools.”
They didn’t look like they were happy but nodded.
“We will do as commanded, Alpha,” Cass said and bowed her head.
Everyone bowed their heads as well. I stood, nodded to them, then said my goodbyes and kissed my ladies before walking towards the stables. Zeus was already waiting outside, so I mounted up and rode out with my two predators.
***
The Inner Circle watched their leader ride out, thinking about what he might endure in the next few weeks.
Cass stood up and addressed the crowd, “He will come back stronger and we need to be ready. Not sure if you know, but his plan is to go out and find those prisons. Let’s concentrate on getting our projects done so we can start others. If anyone needs help then ask, we don’t need to make stupid mistakes. Gordon, tell us what is next on your list of priorities.”
She sat back down as Gordon spoke, “All right, the keep is the most important to finish. Max wanted more forges, and we need to install stables. They will be in strategic spots in the settlement. Our walls will have three entrances and a stable will be at each entrance. Also, a forge for any repairs needed. In the future, we will get visitors of all kinds. Families, tourists, and even dignitaries or diplomats from other kingdoms, but we’ll get to those kinds of tasks when needed. I don’t really want to put in time or manpower to build extra buildings for them until we have finished our other projects. We will also need to purchase more dairy cows and chickens. I believe we already have a supplier, so we will send people to get them. When the stables are built, we will move Zeus and his crew to the main stable. Since we can’t move the barn, we will build around it. Any other items to discuss?”