I awoke to a loud chittering squawk. I had never heard it before. It had woken me up before my usual time. I wonder if it was like some sort of rooster. Was it the male kayver? I had woken this early yesterday, though. Had it woken me yesterday, I just wasn't fully awake. Oh well, it was good to be awake and feel well-rested. I also didn't feel as sore. This was awesome. I wanted to jump out of bed, but I wasn't quite ready for that. I needed to exercise and didn't want to put on new clothes for it. I got out of my nightshirt and picked off any bedbugs I could find. I rang the bell and asked them to get a bath ready and then started in on my Tai Chi.

When I was done with my exercise, the bath was ready. I was really hopeful that bathing would help eliminate the bugs. I would also have to start making my servants take regular baths. Maybe not as much as me, but I really wanted these bugs gone. It probably would help prevent illness.

When I finished the bath, I dressed and went to breakfast. I was enjoying my eggs and bread when the captain approached me.

"Samuel just arrived, my lord. He brought some things he worked on yesterday and will pull apart the old grind wheel. He also brought news that Jorb and his family left a little before dusk yesterday."

"What! Why would they leave so late in the day? Where would they go?"

"He told Mikel that he would stay with family in Kerisi and then head out early to make it to the Nore by this evening."

"That idiot. He is carrying thirty silver. What if he gets robbed? Didn't I tell him to let me know when he was leaving? I was going to provide him with an escort until he could join up with a caravan or something. However, people travel safely."

"I am not sure the reason."

"He needs to think of his family. Okay, this is what we will do. I hate to do this to you, but I want you to take five men and a cart. We will load it with supplies for the men and extra food for the family. Go find them and have your men assist them until they are safe."

"Have you not already done enough?" Draves said, anger leaking into his voice.

"It isn't about that, Captain. It is about doing more than is required. Success is found in going the extra mile. I could not rest at night knowing I didn't do all I could to keep them safe while they were in my barony. Once they leave my barony that is on him, but I am responsible for the safety of the people in my barony even if they dislike me."

"As you wish, my lord. I will have the group ready in an hour. I will report back as soon as I have brought my men to him."

"Thank you, Captain." I said, "I would go with you, but I don't want my presence to cause distress to him or his family. Now, I have to figure out what to do today. Oh, I think I will travel with you to Kerisi. I could meet with the headman while you travel on with your men. Make sure my carriage is ready as well and-"

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Emily quickly approached my table. She was grinning from ear to ear and holding something in her hand. Forgetting protocol for a serf, she began speaking without requesting permission. "Lord Amos, look at this!" She said while bounding up to the table. She thrust a piece of paper into my hands. It was not a full sheet, but it was almost smooth. It was stiffer than cloth. There was room for improvement, but this is certainly something I could write notes on. I would need it better if I wanted to send out a formal letter, but overall, it was very impressive. I really wanted to muss her hair.

"Excellent work, Emily. Let's go to the workshop, and you can explain your process. Captain, if you will excuse us." We left, and Emily practically flew back to the room. I, however, strolled in a dignified manner to the room. Well, honestly, it was just as fast as my legs could carry me.

When I arrived, I found her with her hands in a bucket, mixing a heap of pulp. There was no actual water in it, and it looked a little dryer than I had expected. "This is your fault."

"My fault," I said in surprise.

"Well, you know how you interrupted me while mixing yesterday. I had to leave because I ran out of time. I left the pulp in the Mortar. When I got back, it was a little dryer than I usually make it, so I broke it up a bit while it was still soft and just pressed it into the frame. There wasn't enough to fill the whole frame, though.

"This is great, Em. Get me a few of these sheets, and I'll try writing some letters on them. Also, we need to start your writing and reading lessons. I want you to ask Marshandra when a good time of day works best for your schedule."

"She is not going to be happy that she has to do more work by herself," Emily said, looking down.

"Nonsense, what grandmother wouldn't want their grandchild to succeed in life? I will have to get her a new helper, though. Once we get the grinder up and running, you will be making a lot of pulp and paper. You won't have time for cleaning."

"Really?" She said excitedly.

"We will be making hundreds of sheets a day. Your paper will be sold all across the kingdom." Then it dawned on me. "Um, Em, what is the name of the Kingdom we are in?" I felt awkward asking, but she had already realized I wasn't the original Amos. What is one more confirmation that I wasn't the old Amos?

She stared at me for just a moment and then burst into a fit of giggles.

After putting up with her laughter for almost a minute, my face started to turn red. "Stop it. I already feel stupid. No need to rub it in," I grumbled.

That only made her laugh harder. Finally, she gasped, "You are so smart but don't even know the kingdom's name." Then, she immediately broke down in a fit of laughter again.

"I'm going to leave," I said in a huff.

"Wait!" she said as she struggled to regain control. It's Falmoren."

"And the Duchy?"

She snorted, trying to stay in control. "Kimton."

"Thanks," I said dryly.

We chatted briefly about how she was doing, and I asked some questions about the kingdom. She really didn't know much at all. It wasn't a surprise. Why would a serf at the far end of the kingdom need to know about anything outside of the village? Soon, though, Draves found me, and we headed out for Kerisi.

Kerisi was about a two-hour trip from Bicman village. It was a nice-sized village and was based entirely on agriculture. Any carpentry, blacksmithing, or stonework came from the other villages. The headman's house was the only one made of stone. The rest were the more common stick and mud houses. Again, kids ran the streets while the women watched wearily from wherever they were doing their chores. Over the last couple of days, I have seen fewer of those looks from the people of Bicman. I had hoped the news would spread, but that was not the case. That, or news of a new and improved Amos, was hard to swallow.

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After inquiring, we found that the blacksmith had left at first light, giving him a four-hour lead. The captain said he would ride ahead and catch up to them since the cart and the men on foot would be slower. He could stop them and wait for the rest of the party to catch up. He had two of the guards from Kerisi act as my escorts around the village until he returned.

After he and the soldiers left, my escorts and I met with the headman, who had nervously been waiting for me to finish up.

"Headman, It is a pleasure to see you this fine day. If I am not mistaken, it even looks like we may get some rain later on. Have the fields been plowed and planted?"

"All the fields have been plowed, but not all have been planted."

"Well, tell your farmers I am very pleased with their dedication. It is always good to have such people in the barony."

The headman's look was priceless. I don't know if he had ever received praise from a noble in his life.

"I know most of our lands did not produce much more last year than the year before. Any thoughts on how to improve them?" I asked.

"The insects were bad last year, and the soil could use some extra rest, but we cannot slow down."

I expressed sympathy over his situation. "I agree. Sometimes, I wish I could stop the taxes for a season. Have you tried rotating to a different crop to cut down on the bugs? I know the bugs that are attracted to wheat and rye are not fond of beans. If you rotate between the two—maybe rotate three fields instead of two—then you may be able to reduce the insects."

The head man considered it: "I don't believe we have enough beans to cover more than a few acres."

"Dang, I should have brought some coin, and I could have had the soldiers pick up some beans after they escorted the blacksmith."

"Excuse me, my lord, but soldiers would probably not be the people I would send to pick out proper beans."

I laughed, "You're probably right about that. I do want to get some beans, though. I would welcome your recommendation on who to send when I get them."

"May I have some time to reflect on the matter?" He said hesitantly.

"Certainly, why don't we walk, and you can expound upon the virtues of Kerisi. You can introduce yourself as well because I have forgotten your name."

"Paul, my lord," He said.

"Well, Paul, let's take a walk."

Jorb

We had made decent time. We had left in the evening, hoping to escape notice until we were well into the next barony. If the baron were as honest as he was pretending, he would send no one after us. If not, I was hoping to be far enough away that they wouldn't get to us. I had an itch in my back, and it probably wouldn't go away until we crossed out of the barony at the Nore River. To truly be safe, I wanted to be past the Vaspar. I had never been to a city before and was nervous. The farthest away I had been was the town of Decmoore. It had been many years ago.

I could tell the family was tired. All our possessions and Mathew were on a hand cart I was pulling. The road was poor, and it was hard to move the cart. We had to stop frequently and rest. I was afraid I had overestimated how fast we could all travel, and we would have to spend the night huddled under the tarp I had brought. I can only imagine the amount of complaints that would happen tonight. The children had been irritable all day. Janice didn't complain, but there was a look of despair in her eyes that haunted me. It made me mad. She just didn't realize what would happen if we stayed. I was pretty sure the baron had lost his mind. He had become entirely unpredictable. Our only chance was to flee.

Then, I heard a sound that dashed my hopes. From down the road in the direction we had come, I heard the trotting of horse hooves. Looking back, I saw that it was none other than Captain Draves. I knew the boy would send someone, but not the captain. Maybe he could be persuaded to tell the baron that he couldn't find us. The captain was a good man. Surely, he wouldn't slaughter us. But then, why come at all? He didn't need to catch us in order to leave us in peace. I started to get angry.

"So the monster sent you to get his money back. I should have known it was a sham. Pretending to be generous just to stab us in the back. I can't believe you are doing this." I yelled at Charles as he rode up to us.

The first look he gave was surprising, and then a look I don't think I had ever seen on his face: fury. "You listen here, you ungrateful fool." He said, "I would strike you right here in front of your family if I didn't know Lord Amous would be disappointed in me doing so. Do you think he would have bothered giving thirty silver if he was planning on taking it back? Five silver would have been enough to be heralded as one of the Endless One's chosen. Then, even if you lost it or were robbed, he would still have enough to take care of his barony. He gave you more silver than most people in the barony would see in their lifetime, and you just spit on his generosity. He didn't send me here to take back the silver. He sent me because he had promised you additional supplies for the journey to make it easier for your family. He also feared you would be robbed, so he wanted to provide you with an escort until you were safely in a city."

"I can't believe I called such a selfish man a friend. First, the lord offers your son an opportunity that any other peasant child could only dream of. You reject the offer and take a bag of silver instead without even saying thank you. He goes even further and offers to help you get to a safe location, and instead of telling him you are leaving, you sneak off into the night. Rather than telling me to chase you down for your rudeness or just wash his hands of the insult, he sends out his personal guards to ensure you are safe. If I didn't respect the man so much, I would turn around and tell him I couldn't find you. But instead, I will do my duty and wait for my soldiers to arrive with a cart full of provisions to help you on your way."

I sat there stunned. What he said couldn't be true. That monster didn't have feelings. He was a devil and a trickster. "No, I can't believe it. You know what he has done. If he is so different, it is because there is something wrong with him."

"No, there is something right with him. Marsh even speaks of how much he is like his younger self now that his family is gone. You remember an angry, bitter youth who drank away his problems. That young man is dead. He died with the rest of his family. He has changed; you just don't want to see it."

"No, I can't accept it." My voice came out more as a plea than the angry retort I meant it to be. "Charles, look at my son. Look what he did to my son. Can't you see he has ruined his life? How can you expect me just to let that go?"

"You are the one ruining his life. He has been offered an opportunity, and you throw it away because you want to be bitter. I see what Lord Amos meant now. He said that sometimes people become angry because they have nothing to be angry about," Charles said while shaking his head.

"I…" the words I wanted to say stuck in my throat.

"Charles," Janice said beside me. When had she come up? "Do you think the Lord would still give Mathew an education if we gave the money back?"

I could tell Charles was still upset when he answered, "I wouldn't, after the insult you gave him, but knowing the lord as I have come to over the last few days, I almost guarantee it."

"Janice, we can't go crawling back. He would just mock us."

"No, Jorb, Charles is right. You are being an idiot. I can't believe you convinced me to give up our child's future to satisfy your pride. You kept telling me, "Watch, you'll see just what an awful person he is." Well, I have watched, and all I see is a young man trying his best to make amends. He is going far beyond what the Endless One requires. I am taking our children, and you can come back when you finally wake up and realize that the lord has changed."

I couldn't believe this. How was I supposed to forgive, Lord Amos? He was a monster. He had to be a monster. If he weren't a monster, then… then I would not… the anger I was carrying, it would mean nothing. Just a burden I was carrying for no reason. I didn't want to let it go. What if they were wrong? What if he hadn't changed? My anger was my shield against… something.

"Jorb, Lord Amos does not expect you to forgive him. He has already told you that, but you do need to think of your family. Mathew needs this," Charles said.

I don't know how long I stood there. I had already decided to stay but was having trouble taking that first step. But then it happened. I turned to Janice and sighed, "Let's go home."

She threw her arms around me and cried.