Rohan yawned as his mind and body pleaded to get a good sleep. Usually, he would have complied, but pressing matters kept him awake, and one of them was dealing with these new people before him. Much to his surprise, he received quite a greeting after stepping into his bed-chamber.
Five people stood in a row as he was familiar with all of them. Giotto there was smiling like a brat with his head held up high. While Herakles stood the tallest with a polite stance devoid of any nervousness unlike the rest of the three girls who were still unfamiliar with the young lord. Despite the unkempt look they had at least they had a change of clothes courtesy of Alfred’s help. But the question was, why were they here?
“Did Alfred bring you here?” Rohan asked.
“Do you mean, the old man you greeted after debarking?” Herakles replied.
Rohan nodded as he could imagine what that old man might be saying to him later. Annoying as it was these people were indeed his burden to bear.
“Well anyway, you guys are now freemen, and free to do anything you want. But since I’m your rescuer I have the responsibility of nurturing you all before you can go out there and stand on your own two feet,” Rohan said. “Giotto here will be sticking with me for a while, and for Herakles, I’ll be preparing him to send him back to his motherland. So, do any of you three want to go back to your own home?”
His question was met with silence. The three girls who were thin and badly malnourished didn’t dare look up to Rohan, unlike Giotto and Herakles. “Okay, I might be rushing it a bit here. So, let’s put that aside first. But you guys can still give me a name, right?”
He approached the first girl who stood to the left side of Herakles. The girl meekly pressed her elbows into the sides, making her body as small as possible. Before Rohan knew it, the girl shook uncontrollably like an earthquake right underneath her soles.
“Okay,” Rohan took a huge step back. For whatever reason, the girl was utterly terrified of him. “Well, that didn’t go well.” He turned his glance to the other girls and asked them from where he stood. “It would be a lot easier if I know your names . . . Please?”
“Ma . . . Ki,” a mumble tickled Rohan’s ear as he brought himself closer to the girl who was deemed the healthiest. Her jet black hair covered her whole face, yet at least she was brave enough to speak out.
“Come again?” Rohan asked, hoping he didn’t mishear.
“Horikita Maki,” she said.
Rohan saw the glimmer of her deep brown eyes in between the long strands of black hair. The name caught him off guard as to his knowledge the Orient Continent was way far from where Valeria was. From his knowledge, the Orients were not that different from the East Asians back when he was on earth. Well, he had never seen one before in this land, but considering the description and the drawings in books, it was the only conclusion he could think of.
“I’m assuming you’re from the Orient continent,” Rohan said. “It might be difficult but I’ll try to find a way in getting you back home, okay?”
He received a nod and dealt with the last girl. The last one was quite open when compared to the other two. She was from Laroma Island, a neighboring country of Greco Island. Her name was Novia and her wish was an odd one.
“Let me serve you, milord,” Novia said. She bowed courteously on one knee with both of her hands resting gently on the stone floor.
“No, it’s fine. You don’t have to do that, you’re not a slave anymore, Novia,” Rohan said. The girl must be brainwashed or something for her to be this servile even after gaining her freedom.
“No, milord. As brother Giotto had said before us, bearing your mark will grant us strength to fight against the coming doom that will befall us all,” Novia said, staring at Rohan in reverence with her dark eyes. “He had shown us the miracle he possessed after bearing your mark and if you’re willing, milord, I too request your sacred mark.”
Rohan shot a glare at Giotto as the man in question turned his eyes away, pretending he didn’t hear anything from what Novia said. The cleric even had the gall to whistle away as if nothing was wrong.
Rohan’s whole face was twitching as he was inching closer in pummeling that bastard’s head. But not now. Not when he was in front of these innocent bystanders. He restrained his anger and cooled it down with a smile.
“Giotto is just joking, Novia. You shouldn’t take his word to heart. The man kinda prone in lying through his teeth, right Giotto?” he strained his voice at the end, hoping Giotto catch his drift.
“Lying, Boss? I dare not!” Giotto got riled up, and he did not catch Rohan’s drift. “Hear me now brethren and sisters, if it wasn’t for Boss, young lord of Prynne, I will not be standing here with you lots. His gallant action saved me and our very own Herakles. If it wasn’t for Boss, I’ll still be the man who doesn’t know his own worth. Boss saved me, and the Boss gave me purpose. And yes, I lied about the healing. The dungeon gave it to me and yet it is inadequate. Inferior. Inept! But my Boss, young Lord Rohan of Brightfort gave me the strength and the healing worked wondrously. And I take it back, I did not lie. The Boss really did give me a miracle and it’s a miracle I’ll use it for the better of my Boss. Long live, young lord Rohan.”
Giotto dropped to one of his knees and bowed his head, showing his servitude.
Rohan’s clenched fists were trembling like mad. His face was twitching as this employee of his really made things worse. ‘I’m gonna kill him,’ thought Rohan and probably he would or probably he wouldn’t. But not now.
“Um, milord?” Herakles broke the silence. “Since we’re under your care, do we have a place we can sleep? I don’t mind the corners of your bedchamber though, but I hope you’ll give us a few sheets of cloths to shield us from the cold night.”
Rohan stared at the giant who was almost his father’s height. The big man was considerate as he swerved the direction of the conversation far from the likes of talking about bearing slave marks. It almost made Rohan want to kiss him on the cheek. ‘I love this dude,’ Rohan thought.
“Ah, yes, living quarters,” Rohan said with a smile. “I’ve got the perfect place for you lots. Follow me.”
They went out from the Keep and traveled far east close to the wall. While passing through the inner ward, Rohan noticed these men and women behind him were barefooted. The grieves that once adorned Herakles’ feet were no longer there as it was Simon’s. He made a mental note to supply a few to these people under his care.
After a while, they reached upon an old tower that was so close to the wall that there was an inch of space between them. Their eyes craned up as the silver dome caught their interest. The sun shone on the silver, glistening its beauty even further. It was a sight to behold and it wasn’t weird for the new guests to stare.
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“Enough gawking around, come on in,” Rohan chimed. The rest hurried on their feet as the sole of their foot touched the cold stone floor of the old ancient tower. It was dark and gloomy like in a dungeon. Rohan sparked some fire and a torch was lit.
“Come on, I’ll go show you your room,” Rohan said, smiling. He led up the stairs while at the same time lighted the torch hanging on the walls. Soon they reached the second floor and the lights were bright when compared to the darkness that swallowed the first floor.
“So this is my emergency room,” Rohan looked around the dull wide place he called a room. There was a single bed there close to the wall with a pot right beside it. While the window was opened wide, it didn’t look like it was part of the old structure. “I kinda use it when I get back late in the night. Climbing up to the highest floor after a merry night isn’t a good combination,” he shook his head, remembering a time where he got a huge bump on his head after waking up.
“And I know it doesn’t have a door or anything, but I’ll try to find a way. Perhaps installing a curtain or something. Well, that’s that. Let’s move along now,” Rohan led the others to the third floor. It was a room filled with weird-looking contraptions with huge circular stones at both ends of a pole. While at one side there was a rack filled with smaller versions that came in pairs.
“This is the gym. Not like I use it anymore,” Rohan said. The motivation he had to work out only happened at the start of spring and died down when he reached the middle of it. It was his usual routine during the coming of spring. “I don’t know who wants this floor, but you guys can throw these out and decorate the whole place if you want.”
Their tour through the tower went up to the fourth floor as the ambiance was calmer than the previous one. Books filled every shelf that existed on this floor as it was his own private library. Then they went up to another floor, the fifth. Rohan deemed it as the living room, fashioned similar back on earth. Custom sofas were all around the place with exquisite imported carpets riddled across the floor. The tapestries on the walls enhanced the vibrant colors of this floor as it was a place for comfort and mingling. Not to mention the hearth at the center of it all provided a place to warm up over the winter.
“You don’t need to mind about the smoke as this pipe above here direct it outward,” Rohan showed the clay pipe hanging on the ceiling by metal chains that led straight to the window. “And it’s kinda expensive so try not to break it if you can.”
Then they moved up to the sixth floor, and Rohan was rubbing his hands in excitement. “And now ladies and gentleman, unfortunately, this floor isn’t viable for use as a bedroom. But here comes the best part, this whole floor is what I called the bathroom. I probably should install a curtain or build a wall, but that’s for later. Come along now.”
The rest looked confused. They didn’t understand why a whole floor was made into a bathroom. “Uh, milord? Is the bathroom you mention is for taking a bath? Like the bathhouses in Greco?” Herakles asked.
“And Laroma too,” Novia chimed in. “But from what I see here there’s nothing like a bath.” Even people from Laroma island was accustomed to bathing as they shared quite a lot with their neighboring island in term of bathing culture.
“Oh, yea. You guys are from that part of the country,” Rohan said, smiling. “Well I guess now I’m not the only one here who likes taking a bath every day then.” Unlike the Islanders, people of Valeria rarely took their baths even those in the south as the climate was pretty chill, and once a week was pretty much the normal rate of a nobleman taking their bath.
Yet a finger pointed across the room at Rohan’s most prized possession and invention.
“Is that a toilet?” Maki said. Her eyes were wide, staring at the impossible.
“Wow, you Orients definitely know your stuff,” Rohan was surprised. “I thought your technology was more or less the same as ours, but I guess the records on the Orient continent are kinda outdated then.”
Rohan noticed the quivering eyes of Maki staring at the toilet as if she had seen a ghost. He pitied her. It must be a traumatic experience during her days as a slave that after finding things that related to her home it kinda felt like a dream. He brought them all closer to the weird-looking contraption.
“This here is a variation of a chamber pot,” Rohan said. Immediately the gazes he received questioned him. As the toilet they were seeing was far from being similar to a brass chamber pot.
“Now I shall demonstrate. So watch closely,” Rohan pretended to take off his pant and sat on the toilet seat. “So you shit here and do all your business. Then use the water in the bucket beside you and wash your ass as cleanly as possible. I would have preferred toilet paper, but it doesn’t exist. So, water will make do for now, and yes, you have to use your hand. I know it sounds dirty and all, but don’t worry I’ve got just the thing to clean all of that up.”
He stood up and brought them to the side where there was a sink fashioned inside a wooden table. “You use this soap here and clean everything until it's perfectly clean, and voila. A clean hand,” Rohan said.
“Oh, yea. Don’t forget the last part, after everything is done, don’t forget to flush the toilet,” Rohan rushed back to the toilet and showed them a wooden handle where you pull to flush the toilet down. Everyone looked in amazement as a torrent of water washed the inside of the toilet bowl and went down the drainpipe. It didn’t go to a sewage system since Rohan didn’t make one yet. So he had to improvise.
Outside the tower, a long clay pipe hovered in the sky suspended by metal chains and went beyond the wall that protected Brightfort, resting over a newly made arch on the wall. The mouth of the pipe hang above a green hill and much to Rohan’s dislike, he had to accept the limitations of his ingenuity. It was quite a flawed system since the sewage was thrown out in the open, but it had to make do for now, considering it provided enough comfort to resemble a hint of modern life. Not to mention that all of this was all from his own pocket after the countless errands he did for his father. Much to his dismay, his father wasn’t inclined in sharing Rohan’s thought of innovation. The term wasting coins was the usual excuse his father gave to him.
“Sadly we don’t have a bath yet, but we do have a shower,” Rohan presented to them the state of the art, shower. He twisted the knob and water came pouring like rain from the shower head that hung close to the wall.
The onlookers gawked in amazement as if they had seen magic. And it pleased Rohan of how they reacted as to be fair no one else had seen this invention of his except him, the genius potter, and the eccentric smith from Hopevil City. Those family of his and the rest of the people of Brightfort were a bunch of people who believed too much in superstition. And the reason for that was more laughable than being reasonable. But that’s for later.
“How did you build all of this?” Maki asked. Her eyes traced over the clay pipes that ran up the wall and up through the ceiling. It seemed there was more on the upper floor.
“Desperation, I guess,” a sad smile hung on Rohan’s face. Yet it was quick to turn into a smile.
“So that’s it,” Rohan said, clasping his hand. “The floor above is my personal floor, so no one is allowed there. Unless they want to fill in the water tank, and that is much appreciated. You can’t believe what I went through to fill it up all alone.” He shook his head, trying not to relive those harsh times.
“Okay, with that’s done. What would it be? Does anyone want dibs on which floor?” Rohan panned his sight at these ex-slaves, hoping they would rush for the best deal. Yet he was met with silence.
Gradually, his face showed his annoyance and someone picked that up.
“Sorry for being rude, milord, but am I hearing this right? Are you really letting us ex-slaves have our own place?” Herakles asked. The rest agreed with what the big man said as the words that came out from their young lord felt ridiculous.
Rohan sighed. Realizing how hard it was for these people to believe in such a thing. “Okay, I know you lots had been through a lot. But things are looking up for you guys. Things are going to change. You’re not a slave anymore, and you deserve a fresh start. And for once, accept this kind gesture of mine without question.” He ended with a warm smile.
“If I may, Boss? Can I have your library?” Giotto said.
“Indeed you can,” Rohan replied.
“I’m not good with stairs, so I shall take the second floor,” Novia proclaimed.
“Being the big guy, I think it’s more reasonable for me to take the gym,” Herakles said. “Can’t let these girls carry all those weights.”
“Oh, shit. I miscalculated didn’t I,” Rohan realized they were two left. Yet there was a single floor left. “You two don’t mind sharing a fifth-floor do you?”
The nameless girl shook her head subtly while Maki said she was fine with it.
“Good, I guess that settles then,” Rohan said. At least he had one less thing to worry about. Before he left Brightfort, he gave a task to both Herakles and Giotto to seek the potter and the smith in Hopevil City. He gave a pouch of coins which he deemed enough to cover the cost for a few curtains as room dividers.
“You leaving, Boss?” Giotto asked as it was far too early for his boss to leave as the young man was far from having enough rest.
“Duty calls,” Rohan replied. “I’ve got a business to handle in Shamrock Town.”
“You need my aid, sir?” Herakles volunteered without hesitation.
“No, it’s fine. I’m better off alone with who I’m about to deal with,” Rohan grinned as he could not wait for what would happen over their incoming meeting.