I don’t remember much of the walk to Conrad’s home after everything that happened to me from the pain, fear and even excitement. They had all gone numb some part of me still feared but mostly I just felt nothing. As we walked I did notice some things like how there were two markets one with nothing but Draconars it was nice with nice stone and treated wood. After walking for a way farther we came to another one this one had mostly wooden booths were Draconars were selling to humans. Some of the humans were dirty some where clean no one looked happy.
After we passed this market I again became lost in my own thoughts. What would happen to me what would I do in this new and terrifying world I found myself in. As I thought about this I realized we had stopped walking I looked around we where standing in the street. I looked up at Conrad to see him looking at me. “boy you can’t keep crying hold your head high and stand strong”
“Yes, Master” I hadn’t even realized that I was still crying. I didn’t understand at the time I hadn’t cried in a long time. As we stood there I took a good long look at Conrad he looked I thought like an over grown dwarf from his long brown haired tied into a thick braid. His face looked fierce with his long-braided beard but there was gentleness in his soft green eyes. His body was thicker than even my father with thick arms and legs. He had no belly and carried himself with dignity. But the more I wanted to stop the more I cried I didn’t know why but Conrad stared at me a second sighed then lifted me up and held me with one arm.
“Get it out of your system now I guess I’m here for you boy” I put my head in his shoulder and just let it go. I thought of everything that happened to me while I cried I barely noticed that Conrad had resumed walking. I wondered if I would ever see my mom and dad again if I would hear their voices and feel their touch. A small part of me even missed my siblings for all our yelling and fighting I missed them. What would they think happened to me would they think I ran away or kidnapped? What would happen to my dog who would care for him? All these questions and more ran through my head. After awhile we came to stop “My lord!”
I heard two voices shout I picked my head up and looked towards the voices in front of Conrad. The two men in front of us were in a soft brown armor with gray clothes underneath. They held thick poles with bronze heads at top end. the heads were shaped like rams they were standing as straight as they could make themselves. They stood in front of a wooden gate attached to a wall that extended both ways for quite a while before I saw the corners. The wall was made from chunks of stone mostly the same size but not square more like they took rocks that were identical and put them together with mortar the wall was topped with a mini roof with tile. It stood at about eight feet tall. ‘“Aww hello Jack, hello Rich got the short end of the stick today did ya “Conrad said with a chuckle
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“Lost a game of dice Jack did my Lord, bet my time without me knowing till afterwards” the one on the right said. The man on the right I know knew was Rich quickly but not a hard-hit on the back of Jacks helmet with his pole. “Ouch, Come on Rich I’ll make it up to ya I promise on my mother’s grave!” Said Jack while placing his hand on his heart.
“Our mother would hit you herself if she heard you!” Yelled Rich and smacked Jack again. I put my hand over my mouth trying not to laugh. Conrad apparently had no qualms and was laughing loudly.
“Now boys simmer down this here is John and he is from today onward my apprentice treat him as my own okay I will tell you all more about it later” Conrad said with a smile
“Yes, My Lord!” they replied quickly straightening themselves again Rich opened the gate for us. They smiled at me as Conrad passed through the gate Jack even wave which resulted in Rich smacking him again. I again tried to hold back my laughter. After watching the duo, I noticed we were In a huge yard surrounded by walls there were men in the middle of the yard dressed the same as the two out front. Some where sparing each other with great effort the armor the were wearing a noticed was thicker I noticed. Others were caring for horses off to one side beautiful animals all but three were uniformly a brown color. The other three were white, black and one that was a red-brown in color.
There was a total I counted of sixty men including the duo out front and sixty-three horses. There were three big buildings in the yard one was obviously a stable it had 2 big doors on either end that were thrown open with small coral on one side it had what I saw a hay loft and one corner was dedicated to saddles and blankets. Where the men were walking the horses. One of the others was probably housing for all the men and one had another two men guarding the outside of it. All the buildings where made of wood and roofed with blue tile one was squat but long and broad with a porch that looked like it wrapped around the whole of it. It had no windows but what I thought might be sliding doors though the edges were made of wood I couldn’t tell what the center of the door was made of. I was proven right when a man slid the door and walked inside sliding it behind him. The other building also had no windows but had a regular door with a small sliding window in the center of it no taller than inch and five inches wide.
“John to the left is the stable and the coral to the right is the southern guard house and the equipment storage.” Conrad said suddenly I looked at him hoping for more anything was better then the inside of my own head. “The North wing holds another guard house and stable the East holds the servants quarter and the West holds the kitchen there are gates only on the north and south wings. The Center is where my family and from now on you live okay”
“Do you own all this?” I asked softly
“Yes and no, Lord Mage Grekian rules the northern province, and pledges allegiance to the god Emperor. The God Emperor owns all Ancients our half-blood children serve the military and the lords as warriors. Both us and them get special privileges we can own money property and have servants and guards. I will tell you the rest over supper okay” he explained with a smile as he opened the gate going into the center of my new home.