Baron Eldric had a bit of everything. A handful of silver coins, and it was truly just a handful. As far as the coinage went, he was poorer than Stephan had been before he had lost his purse to the river. A regret greatly reduced by the fact that Stephan had spent most of the money making donations to various temples.
Other than currency, Eldric owned livestock, horses, fields, a full granary, a mill… He also had three real armors, one of which Stephan wore, the other Eldric’s personal mail shirt and a spare, both pieces similar in quality to the one he had granted his retainer. The swords the guards wielded were the lord’s property, given to his enforcers more as a token of authority than because he had any expectations of their swordsmanship.
What interested Stephan the most were the iron blooms and bars, of which the town had roughly two hundred pounds, with four times as many bars as there were blooms.
That’s enough for ten armors. If we scour the villages, we should find enough for two or three more.
It wasn’t even enough to equip everyone, meaning they would have to make do with leather.
Wait. We have a carpenter. Once he’s done with the shields, he can make wooden plates and we can make lamellar armor with those. Stephan was still thinking about it as Daniel kept listing available resources, including a surprisingly large stock of wool, when Stephan had another idea.
Instead of splitting the armors into iron and wood, they could make the top half of metal and the lower, less vital half, out of wood. That way, the soldiers would be safe from immediately life-threatening attacks and have enough time to survive until they reached someone to heal them.
It’s not like we’ll fight more than small skirmishes against the local barons for a couple of months at least, and those will be over quickly, a few exchanges before the losing side breaks. Especially if we have the advantage in armor and fighting skills.
Stephan could only hope that by the time they got to wage war against more powerful enemies, his troops would have proper arms and armor.
“We have ninety-seven shields,” that earned Stephan’s full attention, “and twenty reinforced gambesons. Five thousand and eighty-nine arrows—”
“Do you lack archers here?” Stephan asked. Back at Cliffort they had prepared over four million arrows for the siege, and Anita worried it wouldn’t last them more than a handful of months.
“No, m’lord,” the steward answered proudly. “We have seven hunters and half a dozen men who own bows.”
That means you barely have enough arrows for three intense battles, assuming each archer shoots a hundred.
“Do you have spare bows?”
“Two, m’lord.”
It was another item to add to the carpenter’s list, but with the shields taken care of, they would have some spare time to do it, after they were done making lamellar armor plates.
Wait. Grace’s village had a man whose family name was Bowyer. Does he know the craft? And assuming he does, did he have the chance to practice it?
Even if he did, it wasn’t his main source of income.
“How much did the baron abuse his people?” Stephan asked all of a sudden, his mind wandering to the topic after he considered what to pay the craftsmen with and how to establish fair prices.
“Not much, m’lord,” Daniel answered without hesitation. “I have heard tell of neighboring lords hanging whoever said something out of line under the excuse of an insult to dignity, and Baron Cole once claimed a sack of silver one of his farmers dug up in the field. I’ve not heard our baron taking anything so far until his men disappeared yesterday, and based on your arrival, I don’t believe he was overreacting this morning either.”
“You’re an educated man,” Stephan noted.
“That I am, m’lord. I’ve lived under a worse lord before and managed to escape here with my wife years ago, back when I was young and foolish.” The man didn’t appear foolish or like he regretted his decision, and Stephan didn’t want to pry. It was obvious he had voluntarily left the kingdom for some reason.
“Would you be interested in working for me? I will need someone to take care of the ledgers.”
Daniel held Stephan’s gaze. “You have the look of trouble about you, m’lord. I am old, my wife is old, and you are thinking about campaigning. That’s a young man’s lot. All I’m hearing is a promise of back pain and sleepless nights.”
“Are you a Courtier?” Stephan lowered his voice while frowning. “You’re spinning words too well to be of common birth.”
“Like I said, I have enjoyed some education,” Daniel neither confirmed nor denied Stephan’s speculation. “And I shan’t pry into your class or origin, m’lord. Nor the reason why you came to the south to stir trouble. I can tell that things beyond my understanding are happening, what with the downpour of new classes, at least two of which are unique.”
The steward straightened. “You can expect me to keep performing my duties as I have until now.”
Stephan took in what he was hearing, his evaluation of Daniel changing with each passing moment. “How would you feel about being a count?”
“I already count all day, m’lord.”
He was afraid of the post and the implication. Daniel had mentioned a wife, and he probably feared for their safety.
“Entertain the thought. We’ll speak again in half a year. Anything else I should be aware of?”
“The king is no figurehead, and he’s dangerous in his own right. He’s a high-level Knight, and his retainers pose greater danger than cobbled-together Artisans, let alone what you’ve seen here. He has a Knight or two in his retinue, and a number of Sentries, all armed and armored well enough to put Eldric’s personal gear to shame. Given time, the force you have could rival them, but all of you will need to grow without being disturbed.”
Daniel delivered his grim warning before moving on to the practical information.
“The social niceties already strained back home are practically nonexistent here, hardly any visits of courtesy save for the ones nobles are forced to. Lord Eldric wanted to go and pay a visit to his neighbor, Baron Cole, in three weeks to settle a dispute over two allegedly stolen cows. Also, taxes are due by the end of fall. You could delay it by a week or two without rousing suspicion, but failure to deliver will mean the count sends his men to see why the taxes are late and if anything is wrong.”
Stephan held Daniel’s gaze. Nobody was close enough not to hear their conversation, and the listing of stored goods must have bored any potential eavesdroppers.
Which could have been a part of his plan. He’s a Courtier. It was definitely planned, and he’s also manipulating me by giving me such a concise report.
Stephan then understood. Daniel didn’t just want to be a count; if possible, he had higher aspirations, and he was showing his worth. But to become a duke, he had to display a lot of competence indeed.
“I heard you,” Stephan said slowly, “And if campaigning isn’t for old bones, what about a wagon or a comfortable carriage for an envoy later on?”
“Well, if it’s comfortable enough, I guess I could leave my duties here to my son, if that is amenable to you, my lord.”
“Certainly, is there anything else?” Stephan smirked at the slight change in the way of address and Daniel’s manner of speech.
“No, my lord, no immediate matters worth your attention. My only advice is to spare the baron and take his holdings from him, but give him another barony after you conquer it. You want him uncomfortable and without support, somewhere his people won’t trust him. His position should depend on you; he shouldn’t keep his power in spite of you.”
Stephan nodded. “Acknowledged. I will need you to haggle with the smiths, carpenters, and other new crafters so we can establish fair wages for the work I have in mind for them.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“You are dismissed.”
Daniel bowed properly and left.
“That’s one slimy eel,” Muriel approached Stephan as Daniel entered the manor.
I guess a Tracker can eavesdrop on a whispered conversation from two dozen yards away. Stephan noted the fact while Muriel continued.
“I don’t think he’s entirely honest about why he’s here and what happened back home.”
“Does it matter?” Stephan didn’t have the resources, nor a good enough reason to turn away what could potentially be a powerful ally covering his own shortcomings.
Daniel certainly had no intention of being the king of the south. He either believed it was a position Stephan himself aimed at, or more likely knew that assassinating the man who put him in power and protected him would soon lead to his power crumbling.
Or he could just be a decent man, or fear the gods, since they are clearly involved.
I’ve become too cynical after what happened at Cliffort. The speed with which the nobles had gathered against the one who kept their back safe from the fae just to win a unique class still stung Stephan and made him wary of men with power or those seeking it.
He forced away those thoughts and looked at the crowd of youths whispering excitedly. “I see Grace finished examining everyone. What do we have and what’s the plan?”
“We have the Ranger and three Trackers, I will take charge of their education. The Artisans will be best employed by plying their trades, as for the Knights and Sentries, I guess you’ll start drilling them?”
Stephan wanted to agree, but there was something more worthwhile for them to do. “We should seek out the local nightmare dungeon and clear it, perhaps a monster or two while we’re in the forest. Everyone can grow, Trackers by searching tracks, Knights and Sentries through fighting…”
Stephan liked the idea and didn’t mention that Grace and Tia could make use of any mistakes the others made and grow even more.