image [https://i.imgur.com/y32w5qD.jpg]

After scanning through names in the settlement’s interface, I ascertained none of the contest players had infiltrated us in my absence. The contest had sped up during my deep freeze, but knowing it hadn’t changed the settlement quelled my worst fears.

Ida recapped minutiae and gossip that I’d missed. It seemed strange that neither she nor Iris had asked me how my adventures in the south went or why I’d been gone so long. Had they forgotten about me? Everyone had personal concerns and challenges to overcome, so perhaps the fantasy world didn’t revolve around players as much as I assumed. This thought crystalized when Ida brought up concerns about the orcs.

“What makes you think the orcs will be a problem? I remember your fight against the goblins smoked out one mountain along the river. You worried it would bring orcs, but it’s been months since orc scouts investigated. The emperor hasn’t shown interest in Hawkhurst or its trade route. Don’t you think these fortifications are overkill?”

“The emperor almost certainly has the primal relic by now. The orcs haven’t shown interest in us because they’re bogged down in Arweald. If I make a play to assassinate the relic bearer and fail, Hawkhurst might get blowback. Besides, castles are cool.”

“Have you seen the town yet?”

“No. I just came from Otter Lake. Is it different?”

Ida nodded, and I detected a hint of pride.

“What else is new?”

Ida turned to Levina. “I’m going to show the governor the great hall. How is the tanners’ contract coming? Do they still want a permanent stall in the market?”

Levina leaned back in her chair and exhaled. “I talked them down to a two-year contract. But if they’re coming, I must verify the roundhouse vacancies. Their people want to share quarters with one another, but everyone keeps changing bunks.”

“Don’t let tenants push you around. We’ll go over it when I return.” Ida turned to me while she led me upstairs. “We’re negotiating with tanners from Workman’s Weep looking to relocate.

“Workman’s Weep?”

Ida explained as she led me up the stairs. Her slow progress made me feel somewhat guilty for making her climb back up the stairs, but she wanted to show off the great hall. “It’s a failing colony from down south. I contacted several families who specialize in fine leather. Their chemicals can keep dinosaur skins from falling apart. Fine skins might become Hawkhurst’s first export if their reputation is deserved.”

A new doorway on the north side of the stairway opened into the neighboring structure. Greenie customized the audience chamber to fit between the manor and the gatehouse, and since it all used the same granite, it all felt like parts of the same architecture.

The hallway opened to a balcony overlooking a long dining table. Three massive fireplaces along the room’s length stood on either wall. The center hearth served as a cooking station. Rocky and two girls occupied one, chopping vegetables and dividing them into two pans.

Ida wagged a finger at me. “Underground, between the manor and this hall, we have pantries, storerooms, apartments for a chef, a cellar, and a scullery tub—complete with wells to the Orga River. It’s Rocky’s domain—so don’t say I didn’t warn ya.”

I turned to Ida. “Where is Mrs. Berling?” The old woman had served as Rocky’s right hand for meal preparation. Watching him cook without her looked out of character. I hoped she hadn’t died during my absence.

“She runs the show in the town hall. She has her own staff now.”

Neither Rocky nor his adolescent assistants noticed us, so we let them prepare ingredients in peace.

“That’s why so many citizens want to build a clayworks. Stoneware is in high demand. It’s too heavy to haul, and there’s no cross-continental value, so the merchants never carry them.”

The chimneys doubled as buttresses supporting the three-story roof. The arched ceiling created an open space ample enough for Beaker to fly, but the lack of rafters left Beaker to settle onto a nesting platform built especially for him. Ida pointed out great round windows at the ends of the hall. They looked like open rosettes commonly seen in cathedrals. They let smoke out and griffons in.

Two chairs at the table’s head had slightly higher backs. While they weren’t thrones, the high-backed seats identified the governor and lieutenant governor’s position. I silently thanked Greenie for not making them tacky.

My griffon sifted through hay piled on a platform above the entrance. He paid no notice to me while arranging his new nest. Watching him work made me chuckle. “I’m glad they finally made a nest you’ll use. Maybe it’ll keep you out of the governor’s seat.”

Ida ambled along the balcony to a doorway on the east wall. “The balcony goes outside to a terrace connecting to the gatehouse.”

I followed her outside to a walkway overlooking the Orga River. The vantage made it easier to identify new buildings on the opposite bank.

Ida made an offhand gesture. “The inn is still the only residence on East Shore. The new structures are storehouses and an animal shelter. Lloyd wants a second ferry slip to match the one on our side of the lake. It takes half a day to load the ferry from the docks, but we’re not busy enough that it’s become a problem.”

The catwalk arched from the great hall to the roof of a gatehouse connected to parapets atop the castle walls. Another catwalk led to the barbican.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Ida flapped her hand as we walked to the gatehouse roof. “Aside from it being iron, the gatehouse uses the same tricks as the barbican. We spent enough time cramped inside to learn them all. But even I must admit, this view isn’t half bad.”

“The gatehouse is iron?”

“Yep. It switched from blue to gray after Ally completed construction.”

I hadn’t noticed the color difference, but Ida was right. The stone-shaped building had turned a dull iron. The orange core I’d taken from the centaur gave the building metallic and magnetic bonuses. I’d hoped to strengthen it, but this went overboard. The building’s description showed only a change in structural points, from 2,000 to 5,000—an amount that I assumed was a lot. It might rust in a hundred years, but we had an impregnable gatehouse today.

The town’s size and the castle’s engineering competed for my attention. Most new structures amounted to little more than single-story farmhouses, shacks, and sheds. Still, the number surprised me. Hawkhurst’s citizenry had the wherewithal to erect public and private buildings simultaneously while building the castle.

I admired the catwalk connecting the gatehouse to the barbican. Below, a drawbridge spanned the moat between the two structures. Beneath it, a hollowed quarry hugged the base of the castle walls. Ida pointed to a seawall along the river. “Maggie quarried enough to make a proper obstacle. All she needs to do is knock down the retaining wall to flood it.”

“That is what I call a moat.”

“And the more stone we quarry, the wider it gets.” Ida pointed to the town. “Thaxter and Captain Jourdain had their say in town planning. They kept buildings away from the castle. Parceling land gives them tactical control over the town’s layout.”

While Hawkhurst hadn’t acquired new civic buildings, a web of mud and loose boards connected popular village structures—even at our height, smells of fresh earth reached us. I returned my attention to the homesteads dotting distant parts of the meadow. Over a dozen new farms appeared, and twice as many buildings appeared since I’d left. Privately owned buildings almost doubled the town’s size. One couldn’t underestimate the power of a free market.

“A wall around town makes sense. And I can also see how the farms and distant buildings might benefit from protective earthworks. It’ll keep animals out of everyone’s gardens.”

Turning back toward the castle, I admired the first blue tower. It stood one story taller than the castle wall. All sides bore protective crenellations. Two guards in green armor patrolled the parapets, going from one tower to another.

“Green armor? Why green armor? Is it a goblin thing?”

“The boys in the smithy fashioned a uniform for the town guard. They call themselves the Verdant Watch.” Ida smirked at the name, but I couldn’t tell if she approved or disapproved.

I pointed at the guards entering the tower. “That’s worm hide!”

Ida shot me a questioning look.

“I remember harvesting it when we first founded Hawkhurst—actually before we founded Hawkhurst. I’m glad it came in handy.”

Ida shrugged. “They say it’s light and stays cool in the sun—unlike metal armor. The dwarves made over thirty sets, almost double what we needed. It’s nice to have something in abundance for a change. We saved you a pair in the barracks if you’re interested.”

As much as I would like to wear an official uniform, I dismissed the idea. The stats wouldn’t be anything like my robe and mithril chest plate, and letting the guards have a unique look seemed appropriate.

I was a warrior, not a soldier. Belden’s military academy had taught me the difference—soldiers became part of a permanent team. For everything I’d accomplished in Miros, I was only a tourist.

Ida interrupted my daydreams. “The Verdant Watch isn’t the only new name. We call the gatehouse River Gate and the tower overlooking the lake Sea Gate.” She pointed to the closest tower. “That’s Midtower, and the one on the northwest corner is Westower.”

I followed Ida back across the gatehouse and to the wall parapets. We crossed the section of wall still under construction.

“The woodshop helps more than anyone predicted. While our carts won’t give the wainwrights competition, they’re good enough for local needs. You missed all the treadmill cranes that built the towers. There’s a permanent crane by Sea Gate, but seeing one at this height was quite a sight. Arlington rarely builds anything new and uses so much metalwork that scaffolding isn’t as grandiose.”

We reached Westower, where the work crew finished the final wall. Ida stopped. “You’ll find Ally somewhere down there. I’m going to leave you here, Governor. I’ve done enough stairs for one day.”

“That’s quite alright, Ida. I’m probably going to Slipstream to Ally anyway. Thanks for showing me around. Was it Gage who was your gofer?”

Ida smiled, nodding.

“Can you tell Gage to send for Yula and Captain Jourdain? I want a security briefing as soon as possible.”

“Your chances are better just waiting for dinner. Jourdain is rarely in the barracks, and Yula is always on patrol, but they usually dine in the great hall.”

“Very well. Thanks again for the tour.”

Ida waved to me before turning back.

The activity below was more impressive than the new structures. Half a dozen teams of workers raised blocks from the quarry to the walls above. The scaffolding on either side of the wall looked overblown, thicker than the masonry. They used the same technique of using long wooden pikes to lever up the blocks, inch by inch, to whatever height they desired. Engineering’s heavy blocks required patience and know-how, but with enough time, anything seemed possible. In ten minutes, each team raised their block by several yards.

With so many workers, I found it difficult to find anyone I recognized. As I scanned the quarry that would soon become a moat, I spotted Ally studying a blueprint.

I dropped to the ground and Slipstreamed beside her. “Hi, Ally. How are you?”

The move surprised her more than I expected, but she recovered and answered. “Oh! Governor Apache. You gave me quite a start. From what bonnie breeze did ye waft in from?”

“Mine was a southerly zephyr. Ida gave me a tour of the castle walls and great hall. You’re doing amazing stuff.”

Again, Ally searched for words longer than I would have guessed. She seemed flustered to see me. “’Tis grand to have ye back, Guv.”

While Ally recovered her tongue, I gave her a brief account of my exploits in the south. Our awkward discussion ranged from hiccups in the castle’s construction to new arrivals from abroad. Perhaps she had been so focused on meeting her daily goals she didn’t have time to chat. Dinners made for better socializing anyway.

“Ida tells me Commander Yula and Captain Jourdain want earthworks and a fortified fence to protect the town.”

Ally gave me a tired look. “Aye. They’re on the list.” Her befuddled reply made me regret raising the subject. Her work crew neared the completion of a multi-month project, so bringing up the next project might have come off as a little pushy.

“It’s all part of our Good Fences Make Good Neighbors Policy.”

Ally smiled generously at my joke.

“I just wanted to say I could do the earthworks myself and dig holes for the palisade.”

“If ye don’t mind me saying so, still yer shovel on the palisade. We’ve nary a stick of timber to slap into the ground—so holes are a wee bit premature.”

“Right. Well, I suppose we can talk about that later. I didn’t mean to barge in.”

“Thank you, Guv.” Ally sized me up as if she didn’t know what to make of my sudden appearance at her construction site. It made sense. I’d been gone for over four months and hadn’t been part of the town’s chain of command.

I backed off. “You have plenty on your hands already. I’ll let you finish the castle. It’s beautiful so far.”

Ally smiled tiredly and nodded as I withdrew and bid them good luck.

Instead of getting to work on the earthworks, I returned to the manor to relax for the day. Paddling overnight had worn me out, and I needed rest.