Chapter 4

The guard captain was named Ajax and he was a fine fellow to talk with, he had a steady stream of jokes and observations while at the same time keeping an eye out as we traveled. While we did attract a bit of attention from the players it was not that unusual for the guards to be out patrolling or for the Kingdom to have wagons on the road, Anchar was a port city and goods needed to head inland. As night fell we continued out travels with roaming patrols ahead and behind us. By midnight we had reached the entrance and here I was amazed to see the wagons unloaded and disassembled then brought into the valley and reassembled.

Once we were all in the valley one of the guardsmen a mage went back to the entrance and sealed the valley, I was told that we could leave but no one else could enter without permission from me. We decided to set up camp and soon all the people were fast asleep with a crew of 5 watchmen on guard. Not being able to sleep I walked to the firepit and saw that Ajax was standing there with a hot drink in hand.

“Hello my friend,” I said with a smile. “How goes the night, I see the camp is tucked in for the night?”

Ajax smiled back at me and said, “Yes milord, the folks are tired, it was a long and unexpected day for many of them, but now we have arrived. Now the real work will begin. What are your plans, should we rebuild the Inn first or should we get the farmers and miners working, it has been my experience that if work needs doing it is best to get right to it?”

I asked, “If we put them to work what kind of a work crew will we have to work on the Inn, as well as a smithy and of course barracks for your boys?” I watched as Ajax thought for a moment and then he replied, “If we start on dividing the farmland we can have half the farmers assist each other to build or repair a simple dwelling for themselves the other half can assist with repairing the Inn and all the other buildings that are needed. Tomorrow we will have to set up work crews and then you and I will scout the valley and you will have to divide the land for farming if I might suggest a lottery for the farms, that way it will be fair for all. I would encourage you to take the best land for your farm, milord. It is what is done.”

Ajax continued and said, “Also we must send a team of guardsmen and miners into the mine to see what needs to be done. I sense that you would like to accompany them?

I nodded it was exactly what I wanted but I also had a task for Ajax. “I would like to have you send out scouts tomorrow to explore the hidden valleys and gullies that surround the valley, I would not be surprised if we were to find an entrance into another valley. I want a map accurate and to scale made up that shows everything in the valley. The idea of something sneaking into the valley concerns me, something happened to the people that once lived here.”

Ajax nodded and spoke, “Good thinking milord, I will send out two scouts tomorrow to begin the mapping.” Ajax then turned and looked at the valley lit with the soft glow of moonlight and then he said, “This is a pretty place, it feels peaceful here, I hope that this is true, if it is then once you have established yourself here I would suspect that you might be petitioned to have more settlers come to live here. These folks will tell their family and friends, and so on. If it is a good place to live people will want to come.”

I nodded it was something to think about. Saying goodnight, I went to where my bedroll was and crept under the blankets, I had a lot to think about and I was suddenly tired. The realization that these people were depending on me was settling in and I felt a real sense of responsibility. Closing my eyes, I was soon asleep.

“Good morning milord.” I opened my eyes and stared at a pretty woman who was bent down over me with a hot bun with cheese and meat in it in her hand which was held out to me.

“Good morning,” I replied while commanding my eyes to look her in the face and not on her breasts which were about two feet from my face. Her loose top hung down and I could see her firm mounds and two rosy colored nipples. In this game world, women did not need to wear bras. With an effort, I looked her in the eye and asked her, “What is your name?”

“Bethany milord, I am the oldest daughter of Garrick the chief miner. Master Ajax and dad had a talking and it was decided that I am to be your servant girl. Master Ajax says all Barons have servants and that it is a shame on us that we have not volunteered to serve you.”

I leaned back and took another bite of the hot bun, it was tasty. “All right Bethany, I guess that you are now my servant. Here is what I want you to do, please put away my bedding, and get the wagon ready for today, you will ride in the wagon, I will be busy with Ajax and others getting things organized. Be helpful if I am not around but do not let others take advantage of you.” I smiled at the pretty girl and then stood up, brushing the crumbs off my shirt I walked over to where Ajax and several men were standing.

“Good morning men, “I said with a smile, “I see I now have a servant.”

“Yes, ye lordship, that is my daughter and a good lass she is, I have no need for her to help me now, and I would be grateful for ye to take her in. she is a hard worker and knows her place, ye will not regret it, my lord.”

I nodded and said, “I will make sure she is taken care of, I suppose I need a servant, it will be a help to me especially once I have a Keep built. Thanks, Garrick.”

Ajax spoke up, “Lord it is time that we ride across the valley and survey the land, the wagons will meet us at the Inn later if you are ready?”

I nodded and was handed the reigns to a horse, I stared at it for a moment and then mentally asked, Caspar I don’t have a clue how to ride this damn horse, can you help out here?

Caspar replied, allow me to take over for a few minutes you will soon get the hang of it. Just enjoy the ride for the first half hour.

Trusting Caspar, I allowed him control and was not surprised when I swung up and into the saddle like I had been riding all my life. I followed Ajax and a group of 5 soldiers out of the camp and we began to ride in a rough circle around the circumference of the valley. We spiraled inwards until we reached the lake and then headed over to the Inn.

Ajax had been writing notes and as we cantered along he held them up to me and said, “Milord I have counted enough land here for about 15 freeholdings, small farms of 2 to 4 acres. I have selected the land here along this hill with the creek going into the wooded valley as your personal land. The rest will be assigned a number and then the farmers can choose what they want. The truth is we could use another five or six farmers but for now, this will do.”

I stared at the rough map and realized that the valley was, in fact, larger than I had thought. “It sounds good, let’s set up some work crews and then get going on the Inn and the farms. If we send out two sets of farmers they can help one another get the dwellings in place and then turn to work the land.”

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“Yes, milord and in fact, I think they may be able to get the fall harvest off the fields, it is wild wheat but should still be harvested. This will set us ahead, and I suspect that we will need to set up a grinding stone to make flour, but all in good time.”

Thinking for a moment I asked, “Ajax I don’t know how much you know about farming, but instead of a grinding wheel, would the creek on my land have enough current to drive a water wheel? That would make grinding the grain so much easier.”

“What is a water wheel milord?” Ajax asked with a smile. “I have never heard that term before, well it be able to help us to grind the grain?”

I nodded and with a smile said, “I think it will Ajax, I will sketch out a diagram later and you can let me know what you think.”

As we dismounted I could see that a considerable amount of work had been done on the Inn, the outer stone walls were still standing along with the fireplace, about half the inner wooden walls were done for. Badly burnt and in need of repair, the rest while damage could be cleaned off and still used. The ceiling was gone, but I was told by Garrick who had taken charge of the repairs that a new rough roof would be in place by tomorrow night over the main dining hall. He also told me that my room would be finished by tonight.

The perks of being the boss I thought as I listened to both Garrick and Ajax. After they were done I had Ajax call everyone together and taking a piece of burnt wood I used the carbon to sketch out a rough outline of the valley. I subdivided all the farms I would give out while keeping the land closest to where I would build. I then numbered them and had everyone choose the land they wanted. With only two disagreements about the property, it was all settled quickly. Ajax and I then divided the farmers up into teams and sent them off each with a wagon and some wood and tools to start on making a dwelling. At the same time, I had the two scouts come forth and gave them their orders to explore every nook and cranny in this valley with special attention giving to the gullies and hidden areas. Once they were sent out, I had two guardsmen head out to hunt, there were wild deer and game birds in the valley and we could use fresh meat. Ajax had a team of 5 guards to come with us to the mine and the rest were divided between guarding the entrance of the valley and patrolling.

The remaining farmers and miners were all busy working on the Inn and once that was done they would start on the barracks. Finally, they would work on the smithy, but I had my own plans for that.

“Ajax, I think we will head to the mine now, I would like to make sure it is clear so we can send half the miners to begin operations tomorrow.” With that, we mounted and led the way up towards the mine. Ajax wanted to know how I had cleared it and I spent the trip explaining the fight with the Rat and the Boss of the mine.

Once I was done Ajax nodded and said, “Damn good tactic, but I bet it was a close call still, we will have to get you leveled up sir. Perhaps once we have secured the valley and become permanently established we can have you train and run some patrols with the guards.”

Caspar suddenly mentally said, we need you to level up so that should be a priority as soon as we get things going here. Meanwhile, I will institute a training program of martial arts and weapons training so that your body will not just rely on spells but will be able to handle a regular fight.

He was right, I needed to make sure that my training did not slack off, there was a lot to accomplish but I would make it happen. I had gone from being a serf little more than a slave to being a minor member of the nobility. I was damn sure I would not waste this chance.

We soon arrived at the mine and I studied the gate, it was thick iron and while it had some rust appearing it was clearly very strong. I dismounted and walked up to it and swung it open. Ajax said, “Milord we will let these two go first then me and you then the last three guards. If we engage in combat I ask that you only allow us to maintain aggro and you do not place yourself in danger.”

I nodded I knew he was concerned if I died or was injured it would not look good for him, but still, this dungeon was a low-level mine that I had managed to clear myself, I was not worried.

Half an hour later I was worried, we had one badly injured man and were not finished the first level. Somehow, we were now going against level 10 opponents who would aggro on us at sight. I called Ajax over and said, “Damn it all, how did these damn monsters get in here and at so high a level?”

“Milord, sometimes once a place is cleared other monsters may find it and take residence, it is not unheard of, but here and now we are facing level 10 to I would guess level 15 monsters, we are still on the first level and we are not going to finish this. I need you to leave the mine where we can regroup and bring back more guards.”

“All right lets head back, but I want to cast some healing on the wounded guard.” I highlighted the guard and began to cast HolyHealth I watched my mana drop down and once it hit ten percent I stopped. Holding up my hand I waited until my mana had recovered and then started healing the guard again. I healed 5 times and then waited for my mana to recover 5 times which gave us all a chance to rest up and then with the guard at 60 percent health we began to leave the mine.

It took a while, we were cautious and, on the lookout, but eventually we reached the gate and slipped out. Walking over to where we had picketed the horses and mounted up, then slowly we made our way back to the Inn. I did not feel great about this, it was my first defeat and it must have shown on my face.

Ajax looked at me and said, “Milord do not be hard on yourself here, this was not a defeat but rather a strategic move that probably saved a lot of lives including yours and mine. Now we have the measure of what we are facing we can develop a plan to deal with it.”

I nodded he was right and I should not be moping in front of my men, I turned around and looked back at the mine with my thoughts already moving into high gear. “Men,” I said, “Don’t fret tomorrow we will clear the mine and take what is ours, I have a cunning plan to deal with those curs in there and I give you my word they will be dealt with.” Once we arrived at the Inn I had Ajax send out a couple of people to bring everyone back to the Inn, I would need them all. Eventually, we were all there and I called the men I had chosen to lead my raid together and explained the duties I needed them to do. “Garrick, you will be on top of the mountain to the west of the mine where there is a cave. It is small and I need you to build a large fire in the cave and keep it going. The rest of us will be doing the same thing at the main entrance, I want to use fresh green wood, we need lots of smoke, and Ajax I need a wind mage I don’t care if you have to rid3e back to the city to get one, we need to have a powerful steady wind blowing into the cave that will carry the smoke. I want every living thing in that cave to be dead by this time tomorrow, we will gather wood early tomorrow and then light this fire to burn out our enemies.”

Ajax said, “I already have just the man for your plan, trooper Calhoun is a minor battle mage whose affinity is wind. He will do nicely for what we want. I think that this plan is the best, it won't matter what level those Arghounds are they will all die.” I nodded and we finished off the discussion. I was tired but felt that I had to present a confident appearance to my people.

I spent the rest of the evening walking around and greeting people talking to the farmers about the crops and the miners about the ore. Sometime during the walk, I was joined by Bethany who introduced me to many of the people letting me know their names and a little about them. Eventually, I called an end to the evening and sent everyone off to bed. I walked over to the water barrel and scooped out a bucket and washed then headed towards my room.

Entering the room, I undressed and crawled under the covers to discover a very naked Bethany waiting for me. “What are you doing here Bethany?” I asked in surprise.

“I am here to serve your needs milord, this is part of what a servant girl does.” I looked at her and then lifted the blanket from her and gazed at her body, her breasts were firm with white skin and blue veins visible under her skin. Her nipples were large and chocolate brown fully erect. I reached out and gently stroked her breast teasing her nipple with my thumb. Looking down I saw that her bush was trimmed I reached down and gently touched her. Feeling her wetness, I slowly brought my mouth to her breast as I continued to stroke her.

When in Rome, I thought as I began to breath faster as I continued to touch her with my hand as I kissed her nipples. I could hear her breathing becoming heavy and throaty and she slowly started to moan.

Bethany whispered, “Yes milord, touch me there, oh-oh yes kiss my breasts.”

I continued on, taking my time, I would have time to sleep later. Ya baby it was good to be the king.