Niklos of Twills knew he had gotten quite lucky. Every time he looked around, the high spires of the city of Leberg reminded him of that.
At first, when he had first come to the city, it had felt incredible to him that people could make buildings that high, build cities that stretched on for leagues and leagues and housed what felt like all the humans in the world. Which was a ridiculous thought, of course, even then he’d known the world was much bigger than he knew. He’d known Classes and Skills could do incredible things, but in his home village of Twills, they rarely got anyone above Level 30. By now he’d also heard that most of these buildings had been constructed without the use of special Skills at all, but he still wasn’t sure he believed that.
Either way, he counted himself lucky to be able to see it. He’d traveled farther than most boys from the countryside ever got, except maybe if they were drafted for war. Thank the gods that wasn’t a problem. Anyway, he’d gotten caught poaching in the lord’s forest and been forced out. He could’ve perhaps stayed in his village short a hand, but that wasn’t an option he’d take.
Still, he supposed he’d accomplished his goal when he set out on that ill-fated hunting trip, in a funny way. The spring and summer that year had been wet and miserable, and the crops had started to foul before anyone could do anything. They tried their best, but sometimes there was just no helping the rot. The harvest had been small, and with his family having to give a tenth of each to the temples and a tenth to their lord, in addition to the labor he owed some days so he couldn’t help on the fields then, it didn’t leave them enough. He didn’t want his younger brother to starve, and in his darker moments he’d thought that at least if he was eaten by some bear or caught, his family would have one less mouth to feed. Which they did now. And he’d gotten regular meals since then, even as an indentured servant.
He’d now met several foreigners who expressed distaste at the practice, and although Niklos understood — how couldn’t he, it was him suffering this fate, wasn’t it? — sometimes he was also grateful it wasn’t worse. This wasn’t slavery, Liongen had long banned that practice. He couldn’t just be killed without anyone taking notice, and he still had certain rights. They didn’t send indentures to houses of ill repute or have them be mages’ test subjects. Well, maybe the very worst criminals, he wasn’t sure about that. And since he was a valuable worker now, an asset, he got enough food and sleep so he could continue to work well.
Besides, things had improved even more with his recent assignment.
His indenture was originally held by his lord, since it was him he’d stolen from — or tried to, more like. That made sense even if he didn’t like it. But the lord hadn’t wanted another servant, he’d wanted money, so he’d sold Niklos’ contract, which was what brought him to Leberg. And the city’s lord mayor always needed more workers, apparently.
The conditions hadn’t been bad. Since Niklos didn’t know much of any trade besides farming, he’d been assigned to hard labor. It was backbreaking work, but really not that different from what he’d been doing anyway. Just not on his father’s farm or in his village anymore. And Niklos had been told he was smart, and he’d tried to learn everything he could. He knew he needed to adapt to city life, so he hung onto the more experienced servants, those who’d gotten a little bit of an education, and he tried to teach himself new words and to talk like them and to learn directions and manners and timekeeping. Eventually, his efforts must have been noticed. So he supposed anyway, it wasn’t like anyone explained things to an indentured servant like him, if that anyone was better-off folk.
He’d kept track of time as best he could, and he knew he still had a few years left on his indenture, but he’d been making plans. Some admittedly more fanciful than others. He knew he was already pretty old to not only be unmarried but not even have a girl he wanted to marry, and he did want to have a wife at some point. But most of his thoughts were more practical than imagining the pretty girl he’d fall for. He would make use of the skills he’d learned. Free servants could have a quite good life if they had a kind master.
Like he did right now, he supposed, his current master was rather kind.
“Niklos!” he called as he went to see him that evening. “You leveled up, congratulations!”
“Thank you, Milord,” Niklos answered, bowing his head. He still felt a stab of pride to be acknowledged.
Being a Level 19 Laborer wasn’t much of an achievement, but he was getting quite close to his Class Evolution. He was hoping for a more specialized Class. It was part of why he was grateful to have his current duties.
“We’ll need to talk about potential successor Classes, but not this evening, I don’t have time,” Lord John continued. “Help me with that jacket, will you?”
Niklos nodded and got to work straightening out his lord’s clothes and doing up buttons, then made sure the cufflinks he had chosen sat correctly. He focused intently on his work, aware of his inexperience. The master’s usual valet, Leon, had gotten sick and so he’d stepped us as his replacement.
He didn’t want to waste this opportunity. Working at a noble’s household, even one in ‘irregular conditions’, was good. Sometimes hard work, of course, but still better than most anything else. And gaining new experience and skills was always great, too.
“You’re looking fine today, Milord,” he complimented him as he stepped back. It was even true. “Is there a special occasion?”
He’d quickly learned that questions like that were rather safe. When he’d first arrived in this household, people had told him — quietly, of course — that Lord John Cern was a bit of an idiot and a blowhard, and honestly, they weren’t wrong. But he wasn’t generally cruel and seemed to regard himself as a benevolent lord, which he acted on in an absent-minded and haphazard manner. He’d had servants beaten at least twice for disrespect or other offenses, so there was clearly a limit to it, but he’d also made sure they all had nice, clean clothes. Although that might be more of an appearances thing. And he apparently didn’t oversee the accounts closely, which the housekeeper appreciated.
Now, he preened a little in front of the mirror hung on the wall, although it wasn’t quite high quality enough not to include any distortions. “There’s not truly a special occasion, I suppose I just wanted to look my best today.”
Niklos nodded. “That’s very understandable, Sir.”
“People think I’ve lost relevance and am just mouldering around here, but I’m not. I’m talking to the mayor and the council of priests. They want my input!”
Niklos smiled. Sometimes Lord Cern could get chatty, and he always appreciated it, although he tried not to look too curious for his own good.
He knew the lord’s situation was unusual, although he wasn’t sure exactly how. Lordly politics was a bit above his understanding. But Lord Cern was some kind of exile from Cernlia, fleeing from its recent civil war, probably. He was presumably an enemy of the new empire there. And the rulers of the new Western Confederation — whoever that truly meant in the end, Niklos only had a vague understanding of its structure — had taken him in. And Niklos guessed most of the other servants, like him, had been provided to Lord John to live in accordance with his station. So he must be some kind of important. He certainly seemed to think he was.
“Of course, Sir. You’re the Lord Cern,” he agreed. It would be impossible to spend a day in the master’s household and not pick up on his pride in his name.
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“That I am, Niklos!” Lord John laughed, although it sounded slightly forced toward the end. He turned his head slightly to look at the desk in the study through the open door. “That I am,” he repeated more softly, almost sighing. “And I’ll always be, whatever she thinks.”
“Milord?” Niklos asked before he could think better of it.
Cern faced him again, his face more serious than usual. “Can you read, Niklos?” he asked after a moment.
Niklos blinked in confusion, but quickly regained his composure. “A little, Milord.”
“Then I suppose I can just leave the letter where it is,” the lord said with a smile. His expression was a lot harder to read right now. Then he shook his head. “You see, my cousin wrote to me, which is why I am rather wroth at the moment.”
“Your cousin? You do not have a good relationship, Milord?” Niklos ventured.
He was starting to think Lord Cern just wanted to talk to someone about this letter, but Niklos himself was curious, too.
“You could say that,” he snorted. “She ran off to join the Delvers as a girl, but now she’s suddenly interested in our name and title.” He was snarling now. “She told me to come back, that I would receive mercy if I just turned myself in, as if the harlot knows what she’s talking about! And then she says that she is going to take over the house and the title if I don’t come back. What nonsense! As if I’m some disinherited outlaw instead of the lord she owes her allegiance to. And these bitches in Cernlia might actually do it!” He shook his head. “It’s just a ploy to get me back, Niklos. They just want me under their thumb again. Well, I’m not falling for it!”
Niklos swallowed. Suddenly he felt as if he might have bitten off a bit more than was wise. “Of course, Milord. And surely it’s not her decision to make, Milord?” he ventured cautiously. He didn’t know much about courtly matters, but he thought a title could only be granted by the liege lord or maybe just the king. “It’s up to the king of Cernlia, or the queen I suppose, isn’t it?”
“The queen. Bah!” Cern snorted again. “I should be ruling Cernlia, not that bitch. At least Kiara’s father knew my worth. And she had to go and depose him. Can you imagine the ungratefulness? The dishonor? No wonder she crawled under that monsterblood’s skirt, the little pretender.”
Niklos suspected he was paling slightly. This was getting quite heated. He only had a vague notion of what Lord Cern was talking about, but his words were enough to be fervently thankful that they weren’t in Cernlia and that no one in Liongen was likely to care about slander or treason against its crown. “Deplorable, Milord,” he muttered. One of his better words if he did say so himself.
“Isn’t it just?” Cern agreed. He looked a bit cheered up to get his response, or maybe just to have talked about it. “Well, I should get going. Don’t want to miss my meeting.”
“With the lord mayor, Sir?”
“Indeed!” He smiled again. “I’d take you along, but I don’t think you’re supposed to bring servants. It’s going to be a bigger meeting, some of the high priests will be there and some of the delegates from the other Confederation nations. We’re going to discuss the construction of the new temple and whatever else comes up.”
Niklos nodded. “Very important, Milord. It’s good that you were invited. They’ll want your opinion on Cernlia, won’t they? After all, you’re the expert,” he offered more hesitantly.
Lord Cern didn’t seem to see anything wrong with his words, he just nodded again. “Most likely, yes. They have been asking for my opinion on this Empire business. Although just between the two of us, they don’t truly need it. I’ve been mostly cut off from any contacts back home and they have ways of getting information. Still, my perspective is clearly valuable.”
Niklos had the sudden thought that it may not have been as valuable as his lord thought and they simply wanted to give him the impression that they valued him, but shoved that thought aside. It really wasn’t his business. He was just happy Lord Cern was in a good mood again. Besides, what did he know about Cernlia or the Central European Empire? It seemed to have simply materialized out of nothing one day, the news that the Cernlian war had ended followed by the founding of this new country.
Which, to be fair, wasn’t too different from how the founding of the Western Confederation had gone. They’d just been told their country, Liongen, was now a part of it. At the time, most people had thought it wouldn’t make much difference for them, and he supposed they weren’t wrong. Although things had changed just a little — and mostly for the better.
He would never have reached the city on his own even if he’d wanted to, because peasants were bound to the land. He wouldn’t have been able to leave without permission. But there were rumors the law was soon going to change. And the tariffs to other members of the Confederation had been decreased, which allowed more goods into the city and lowered prices. At least that was what he’d heard. Niklos wasn’t a merchant, but he’d been told the prices at the markets used to be higher, especially for imported goods, which apparently meant a lot of metalwork, ceramic, some fabrics and more expensive things. None of which really concerned him. Lisa had also said that the tariffs to or from Nerlia would get really high soon enough, but he didn’t know if that was true. And they definitely had more foreigners in the city than just a year ago, although, unlike some, Niklos didn’t have any problems with that.
“Well,” Lord Cern continued, ripping him from these thoughts, “I’ll be off. You know what, you can throw that letter into the fireplace. Fire’s gone out, so you’ll have to stoke it first. It’s the one on top of the desk in the middle, can’t miss it. It’s the only letter I got recently, anyway.” His expression visibly darkened at the thought, but he quickly shook it off.
“Of course, Milord, I’ll take care of it.”
“Good man.” Cern clapped him on the shoulder in passing, then was quickly out the door.
Niklos closed it behind him and listened for his steps moving out through the corridor, more out of habit than anything, before he turned to the study.
The letter was easy to find, although it wasn’t the only paper on the desk. Niklos hesitated for a moment, then he craned his neck to try and find out what the rest were. Unfortunately, while he knew his letters his reading still wasn’t very good, and he had trouble with many of the words in them. After a minute or so, he gave up in frustration. It clearly wasn’t anything that concerned him, maybe some kind of bookkeeping? He turned his attention to the letter and picked it up, then hesitantly opened it and read the words. He figured his lord had half-given him permission anyway.
This letter also had some words he was having trouble with, and trying to sound them out, it was hard to get most of them right. He understood enough to get the general content of the letter, at least with the help of what Lord Cern had told him about it. It didn’t seem to be written the way people really spoke, but what did he know? Still, it seemed to be basically what Lord Cern had said. This cousin, a Gwen Cern, didn’t sound like a very nice lady, but maybe he was missing some nuance, he definitely didn’t know anything about their relationship.
Shrugging, Niklos picked the letter up and turned to the fireplace, quickly fetching some logs to put in and then starting the fire with the flint and steel kept nearby for that purpose. He carefully blew on it a few times, making sure the tinder caught, then stoked it a bit, shifting the logs to ensure there was a real fire. When Lord Cern got back, his rooms should be nice and warm. He also figured Lord John would prefer him to burn the letter here rather than in the fireplace downstairs where anyone might stumble on it.
It would be good gossip material, but he still wasn’t sure if he should tell any of the other servants anything of this conversation.
Finally, Niklos threw the paper in and watched the flames eating at the edges for a bit, before he made himself turn and leave. There still was work to do.
For the next half hour or so, he managed to put it entirely out of his mind. The housekeeper wasn’t particularly pleased that he’d been gone so long, and quickly set him to work again, although she did accept his explanation that he’d been told to stoke the fire in the lord’s rooms. So he helped carry some boxes and then chopped some more firewood, even if he didn’t think it was really necessary at this point.
Because of that task, he was outside when an unexpected visitor sought him out. “Niklos?” he called, stopping in front of him.
Niklos set the axe down on the stump and wiped his sleeve over his eyes to catch the sweat. “Good evening, Sir,” he greeted his old overseer.
“I hope you’ve settled in well,” the old man said, his voice almost expressionless. Niklos always found Alexander a bit intimidating. “Lord Cern seems pleased with you.”
Niklos carefully straightened up. “He did?”
“He mentioned you in passing.” Alexander took a step closer. “You work close to him?”
Niklos hesitated for a moment. “I’ve been filling in a bit, Sir.”
“That’s good.” The older man smiled. “You’ll make something of yourself yet. Say, did he happen to mention anything about the meeting he’s attending today?”
He blinked. “Even if he did, I shouldn’t be sharing any of my lord’s words with anyone, should I?”
“Niklos.” Alexander shook his head. “Don’t be difficult. This isn’t my personal curiosity, but just following policy. From high up. Cern is a foreigner here, remember. You didn’t think it was a coincidence you’re here, did you? We don’t wish him harm. If you make it seem like he’s hiding something, it might be worse, for everyone.”
Niklos sighed. “Alright … I suppose. He did mention the meeting briefly.” Hesitantly, he told the overseer what he wanted to know.
Afterward, he set to work on chopping the firewood again with a vengeance, but found it much harder to work up a sweat.