Ok sorry for no chapter yesterday. This is a looong chapter though and wanted to try and do it justice and not split it up. Hope you enjoy it________________________________________________________
Harold set both palms flat on the table and looked down its length, meeting everyone's eyes as he went. He ended with Josh winking at him and turning to smack him upside the head.
"Tribune Cess," he said.
"My lord."
"The northern campaign. I want the largest force we can field north without breaking our ability to hold the Basin. I need the numbers and the supply projection — cohort count, materiel, wagons, alchemical support, siege equipment, and the supply line from Landing to what will be the front. I need to know what's left over after we field that force. The remainder will be what we can supply to other Lords."
Cess wrote it down without looking up. “You’ll have it within a week, my lord.”
Harold went on, " Lord Dalen will be leading a Cohort north to meet with the adventurer teams meeting with Adventurer Sarah. A settlement stone from his hold goes north with them. The cohort winters at the site Sarah has been working, and Lord Dalen founds a permanent outpost on the ground while they are up there fortifying. He will winter there and prepare the position for our arrival in the spring."
Fitch was whispering hurriedly to Maren as Harold talked.
"While Dalen is up there, all tasks I have for the adventuring parties will flow through him. He runs the northern effort in my name until we arrive." Harold paused a half-beat, and his voice came down a small step. "Sarah and her team are — overwhelmed, to put it frankly. There is a great deal to do up there. There is not enough time to do it. Dalen going north with a cohort is not just about the Velthari. There are other tasks for them to complete while they are up there. I have not tasked Lord Dalen with an easy task."
The room did not comment. Bethel's cane was tapping a rhythmic sound on the floor.
Harold rubbed the side of his jaw once and took a sip of his drink.
"I feel like I'm hedging my bets. I would rather I wasn't. But someone has been messing with us, things are not as they should be. The reason I'm sending Dalen with a settlement stone rather than just a cohort is that I want a permanent presence up there to ensure the tasks I need done are complete."
He looked down the table at Bram.
"Master Bram."
"Aye, lad."
Harold sighed, “This part is unfamiliar to me and will be to almost everyone in this room. "Six of your gods appeared in my office last night."
Bram inclined his head, and his smile appeared through his beard.
"Aye lad, they did." He whispered reverentially.
"The six of them appearing there settled something hotly contested in my last life. Whether the gods were real or not." Harold murmured in wonder.
Bram set his cup down.
"The gods on this world are real," Harold said firmly. " One of them threw Captain Carter across the room. My soul quivered in their presence; I would welcome a theological discussion about it,” He said looking at Bethel. “But the proof is incontrovertible."
A very small sound of laughter, mostly Caswell, mostly stifled.
"Master Bram," Harold said. "They were dwarven gods; would you name them for the council?"
Bram stood up.
He came up carefully off his chair this time, hands flat on the table for balance, and when he spoke, his voice rose into the same tone he used last night when declaring Grudmoot.
"Six of the Below stood in the count's office last night," Bram said. “Mine gods have not been seen since the first son was killed. They were myth to us as well, though mine clan follows the old traditions.”
He lifted one finger and counted.
"Brokkun. Father of the Forge. Patron of iron, of the hammer, of the true weld and the honest edge. He walks first through any door because his forge is the first fire that ever burned."
He tipped his knuckle to the second position.
"Hethra. The Bearded Mother. Patron of the hearth, of kin, of birth, of the keeping of the home. Second through, because the home is second in importance only to the fire that warms it."
Third.
"Vesgrim. Kiss of Fortune. Patron of gems, of the lucky strike, of the deep vein and the found thing. His mark is on my clan's Stone. He is the patron of mine clan."
Fourth.
"Hrok. Bones of the Mountain. Patron of stone, of the deep earth, of endurance and the long carry. Silent one. He does not speak often.”
Fifth.
"Vargrim. Axe of Honor. The Red Axe. Patron of battle, of oath, of righteous rage. He is the god who threw yer man across the room, Count, yer man drew steel in the presence of gods. Yer man is fortunate to be alive, though Vargrim was pleased with him afterward."
Sixth.
"Skarn. Keeper of the Deep Ways. Patron of memory, of hidden paths, of the elder lore that outlasts the clans that hold it. He is the god no dwarf ever tries to petition. He walks his own road. That he came was itself a matter of note. That he accepted mine oath was..." Bram let a breath out. "It was a matter of gravity."
He sat down.
Bethel's cane thumped the floor. Once, hard.
"They are real, then. The gods."
"They are real, my lady," Bram said. "Our gods are real. And if ours are, then I would be very surprised if yours were not."
"Which is my point," Harold said. He looked at the table. "I have not seen or heard of a human god on this world. Doesn’t mean there aren't any though, and honestly would be more surprised if we didn’t have any. It means either they are quieter than the dwarven gods, or they haven't chosen to speak yet, or there are things in the way I do not understand. My assumption now is we are being messed with by beings on their scale. I can think of no other who can interfere with a Lord’s Trial that way."
The room had gone quiet again.
"I’m telling you because if they are trying to stop us then we are doing something right. I want to accelerate our efforts where we can. Before they can throw a punch I can’t see or prepare for. We are doing well, but we need to maintain the pace."
He let it sit.
"That's the last of the theology for the morning. Because of Lord Bram swore to me, the rest of the dwarven kind will declare war on us. Bram is some kind of long lost dwarven royalty.”“Bah.” Bram muttered down the table.“There is an outpost of a dwarven clan in the Blackjaws we will have to watch. We have some time before they are ready to move against us. We need to make this Basin a fortress of such proportions they won't dare attack us.”He looked around the table, and most of them looked leery. Caldwell just looked sick while Bethel seemed energized. Not the reaction he had expected from her.
"Now we need to address the southern coast." Harold shifted toward Henri. "Lord Henri. Your Grail Quest is to eliminate the pirate outposts on the basin's southern coast. And we didn’t even know we had pirate outpost on our coast. Let me know what you need to complete it, but you will leave to accomplish it within the week."
Henri finally revealed a smile as he rubbed his mustache.
"The Landing will build a watchtower on the closest island to the mouth of our river. Then we will station two cohorts permanently in the south and fortify the river's mouth. We will have Lira's earth crafters raise a portion of the riverbed and create an island in the middle of the river, and we will build ballista batteries on it that will fire explosive bolts at anything that tries to come up that river uninvited. The construction on all of it begins this quarter, and the County pays."
“Which means Tribune Cess, that we will need a way to identify our ships and have a signaling method. Let's get that figured out, and we can check it makes sense with the actual sailors when they get back from Councilor Margaret's task.
Henri inclined his head, the smile still on his face.
"My lord. My thanks."
"Which brings me to the rest of the room." Harold sat back an inch. "I want to hear your Grail Quests. So we know what we are working with, and I can direct support where it is most needed. Lady Renna, we already have. Lucky coincidence that."
Renna inclined her head as she squirmed in her seat.
"Lord Caswell."
Caswell scratched the back of his neck and grinned.
"Mine's simple, mate. Kill Vermak of the Blood Cliffs."
"Vermak?" Harold muttered.
"Sounds like a big bad flying lizard, I guess. Should be a good scrap."
Harold smiled at him. "Vermak is no simple wyvern. He is an ancient wyvern. A rare beast a tier higher than the Thresher King, though not as powerful.” Harold winced. “Maybe. He is rare while the Thresher King was uncommon. But Vermak is not a Region Boss, but he is a named monster. He is east of your town. On the coast of the Silverfin region. He can often be seen hunting within Silverfin Lake."
Caswell looked more excited the longer Harold talked.
Take some time before you leave and get back to me with what support you need. Alchemical supplies, ballista. I’ll make it available to you.”
“Perfect, thanks mate. Er, my Lord.”
"Lord Brennig."
Brennig took the cigar out of his teeth and set it on the table beside his cup. Where he kept getting them, he would love to know.
"Discover an unknown relic, my lord. I was going to find you to ask later about it."
Harold thought about it for a beat.
"I can point you at one. It won't be easy but should be right up your alley."
Brennig's head tipped a degree in thanks.
"The Blackjaws are split into two regions. The Lower Blackjaws and the Upper Blackjaws. There is a small carved chamber tucked into an eastern spur, about two weeks into the range on the goblin side. The chamber holds a relic. I know it's there, but I don’t know what it does. I have never laid a hand on it either." Harold paused. "It is guarded by a warband of Blackjaw goblin berserkers. Numbers vary — last time it was about 400 goblin berserkers led by a few shamans. Though to claim it you must go through chambers where superior numbers don't mean much. To claim it, you will have to match the berserkers' quality across many smaller chambers. I had planned on claiming it myself with my guard and knights. Any other troops, they would just chew through them."
Brennig looked troubled for a moment before relaxing and nodding at him. “Any other information you have, I would love it, Lord. I will get back to you with any support I’ll be asking for.”
Harold smiled at him and nodded. The Grail Quest was perfect for him. If anyone could do it, it would be Lord Brennig.
"Lady Maren."
Maren had her hands folded on the table in front of her. She had not spoken since the morning's roster.
"Restore a lost bloodline, my lord."
Harold’s frown deepened upon hearing it. “Truly? You have a quest to find a bloodline?”
"Not good news if even you are stumped on it, my lord."
He looked down at the map and found the point he was looking for. "The bloodline you are looking for is here, Lady Maren."
She looked at the spot he pointed to on the map. "It’s within the Goblin City?" She asked, surprised.
Harold looked at her and nodded. “Yes and no. It is within the dungeon beneath it. It is a recurring reward for defeating the dungeon boss.” He shook his head, there are other bloodlines I can point you towards, but I know of no others within the Blackjaw peninsula.”
Lady Maren looked troubled as she looked at the map. He could see the calculations going on in her head.“My Lord, there must be another one. Every other lord has a quest they can accomplish on their own. This one requires adventurers to complete.”
Harold nodded at her insightful analysis; he had come to the same conclusion.
“Which is why I suggest you explore these six ruins. He quickly pointed out six sites on the map that were already marked. I was going to have Mark and Evan dispatch teams of adventurers to explore these, but I will give you the first crack at them before dispatching them.”He looked at Mark and Evan as he spoke, and they nodded to confirm. Though Mark was trying to see the sites on the map as he nodded.
"Lord Fitch."
Fitch had raised his head off his palm and was actually paying attention. The kid was new to being hungover.
"Mine's a piece of work, my lord. Found a new settlement in unclaimed territory outside the lands of any human lord."
Harold frowned. “Does it say how far out it needs to be?”
"It gave me a site to do it at."
Harold sighed, already seeing where this was going. “Where does it want you to do it at?”
"Deep in the open plains east of my current town." My Lord as he reached for the map.
He looked over the map and roughly pointed to an area. “Right about here. I had planned on putting that village closer to some natural resources. My area is already kinda sparse, and I need resources to keep expanding.”
He looked at the spot Lord Fitch pointed at. It was about three weeks east of his town, right near where he knew there was a dungeon and a large number of ruins that had been theorized to be the capital of some ancient empire.
“I suggest you follow through with the Grail Quest, Lord Fitch. The map doesn't mark it, but there are many ruins there, and one of the largest dungeons on the Blackjaw peninsula is in that area. As I recall, there are currently no other lords in that area, as they were killed by a named Wyrmshale.”He looked up at Fitch, who was looking at him in surprise. “The guild has a profile on Wyrmshale. It would be a good task for some of the adventurers or even the cavalry when you build it.”Fitch muttered under his breath while Caswell laughed beside him. “So I have to kill a named monster and build another village, while this idiot just has to go kill some monster.” Caswell laughed even harder and pounded him on his back.“Doesn’t seem very fair,” Fitch muttered.
"Lord Dalen has a similar quest. His is in the Blackjaws, though.”
“Lord Arjun is not present. His Grail Quest is to complete a great work. Unfortunately, what the system classifies as a great work is pretty vague. I think he is planning to build a large temple in the mountains to satisfy it.”Bethel looked up in interest. “A temple dedicated to who?”Harold sighed, already seeing the potential conflict. “I asked him to keep it a temple to all gods, Bethel. We have talked about religion a lot here; people are free to worship anyone they want, but I will not sponsor any religion.”
He quickly moved on before she would speak again. “Lady Aiko is also not here unfortunatly. Her quest was related to finding a site within the deep dark. She will have her work cut out for her; it is not an easy place to delve."
Harold looked down the room.
" Your assignment from me, from this morning forward, is to complete your quest. Everything else you are already doing, keep doing. The quests are the priority above everything else. I will support you where I can. Where the council's resources can help you, we will help. Complete the quests. The rewards are worth the effort."
Every lord at the table inclined their head by some fraction.
Harold turned toward Caldwell.
"Councilor Caldwell. Two more tasks for you before we're done."
"My lord."
"First. Between now and the solstice shutdown, I want a list of every good we cannot produce inside the basin at the volume we need. Volume, quality, current source, alternative sources, replacement candidates, and most importantly, I want a trade agreement in place before the window closes for each critical category."
"My lord."
"Second. Between now and the solstice auction, I want you to prepare the lots we will be putting up for the auction. Potions across every tier we can produce. Alchemical goods. Weapons. Anything Rimi's glassworks has that we can spare. This is the largest single window before us to show the rest of humanity what we can do. I want humanity leaving that auction knowing the Landing is a power not to be messed with."
Caldwell wrote it down.
"My lord. That will take some coordination with every section head at this table."
"I’m aware. Get me a list of the lots when you are done, please."
Caldwell nodded. "Done, my lord."
"Josh. Beth."
The two of them came up from their bench half an inch.
"Stay on top of the wall. If anything interrupts your progress on that wall, I want to know before you have finished the sentence. The wall is key to the next year. The city upgrade is roughly halfway through its metric bar, by my read — infrastructure, culture, food, all of that, we are halfway. It’s just an annoying way to know something, because there is no visible meter to check. But I know the wall is a big part of the defense metric, and with us being messed with, I’m tempted to delay our upgrade." He shook his head and kept going. “We can’t afford it though. We need to maintain our lead, and the perk for being the first is one we need.”
Beth nodded once.
Harold looked down the table. "When the city upgrade is triggered, the upgrade test will happen, and the attacking force averaged around forty thousand troops. They had a full siege train. Plenty of ranged support. Cavalry elements. Possible fliers. That number will only get stronger the longer we are on Gravesend. We will not have trouble matching numbers by then. What we the test is really testing is if we can match the attackers' quality. Mana, arms, that kind of thing. Whether we've built an army that can stand off a peer force."
The room had settled hard again.
"Bethel. I want to visit your site when you break ground. That was a place I saw once in my other life.” He paused. “It was beautiful. I would like to see it again. And I hope you build with the terrain there, not against it. Whatever you put on that ground should look like it grew out of it."
Bethel inclined her head.
"That was my intent, child." She looked at him softly.
Harold set his hands back flat on the table and took another sip of his water. He looked out the window. It was getting late. “Mark and Evan.” He motioned towards Adeline. She brought him another map. He looked at it and passed it down towards them. Review this map. It’s got a number of ruins marked on it, and a list of the threats I can remember, and the things that can be found within it. I want them explored, and those items recovered. The items I want are all meant for Lords; everything else your people find they can keep.”The two of them were huddled over the map and quickly looked up to nod at him before getting back to it.“One more thing, I brought back a couple different monsters from the trial. I want the adventurers to create a kind of farm. You will contain and develop monsters for adventurers to farm perks from there for contribution points. I have a list of monsters with Adeline I want you to collect and keep there.”Mark looked up with wide eyes. “You want us to maintain a monster farm?”Harold looked at him. “Yep, there are monsters out there that are simple to keep. Instead of sending our people across the world to search for them. Let’s bring them back here to be, for lack of a better word. Farmed. It’ll be a joint project with the Alchemists and a resource our future academy can use.”Evan rubbed his face and looked at Mark, who shrugged. “Sure, my lord. We’ll get it done.”“Josh, I need a heavy vault constructed in the basement of the keep. Work with Master Bram to make it. It will contain the Path books we have, along with some other items I need kept safe. I will maintain the Path books here, and when someone earns access to the Path, they can travel here to take it.”Josh’s eyes darted over to Master Bram, who motioned for him to calm down.“Margaret, how are we on the screening test for the shapeshifters. That needs to be in place before the winter really gets here.”Margaret looked up, surprised, and adjusted her glasses. Took a moment to sip her tea and spoke.
“We have tokens made of silver for the beastshifters and cold iron for the fae, but we are still working on the mercury for the shapeshifters. I have been working with Lira to find cinnabar, but we haven't found much. Then I have been working with Anil to ensure that, going forward, all meetings start with everyone touching those materials to confirm they are what they are. Except the mercury, of course.” She spoke primly. “Eventually everyone entering our gates will undergo those tests.”
Harold frowned and turned to Master Bram. “We have some lad, probably enough to get you off the ground, but we will help you find some more. Smart of you to check for the tricky races. Once they get their hooks into you, they are impossible to remove.”
Harold nodded. "That covers the business."
"There is one more matter, and then we break. The Baron promotion competition is still open. I said at the last council that two of you would be promoted this spring based on merit earned through the trial until the spring campaign. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is that I have some rewards to hand out for service during the trial."
He reached down beside his chair, and Adeline handed him a small leather pouch.
He set it on the table in front of him.
"Mana body tokens. These are rare beyond reckoning. Even I do not know the full range of what they can do. Having a mana body has made my mana denser and more powerful. It flows smoother and faster. I can reinforce my body more easily and more effectively. Anything you do with mana will be more effective with a mana body. I have six here."
Josh, at his bench, leaned over to Beth and whispered something. Beth didn’t look at him, but he could see Josh wince in pain from Beth's retaliation under the table.
"Lord Brennig."
Brennig came off the wall. "My lord." He said, surprised.
Harold pulled a token from the pouch and tossed it with a smile. He had been looking forward to this part. Brennig caught it out of the air with the hand that had been holding the cigar.
"For leading the effort that recovered the Gemheart stone. For discovering the ritual circle underneath that town. Your work is quiet and decisive; this is a small acknowledgment of both."
Brennig looked at the token in his palm for a long beat.
"My lord," he said, and his voice was rougher than it had been for most of the morning. "Thank you."
"Master Bram."
Bram inclined his head.
Harold pulled two tokens from the pouch and tossed them both across the table. Bram caught them with one large hand, held them together in the palm, and looked at them, and then he laughed.
"One I promised you," Harold said, “The other is for the support you have given this meeting today, and promises you have made. Access to your path and people will do alot for the County."
"Aye, Sunny." Bram wrapped his fingers around both tokens and set his fist against his chest. "Aye. And thank ye. And don’t you be forgetting you still owe me a couple mountains."
Harold turned his chair and looked over his shoulder.
"Jack."
Jack, at his station behind the head of Harold's chair, straightened in shock. Some of the first real emotion he had seen from the stoic man.
"My lord?"
Harold pulled a token from the pouch and held it out.
Jack looked at it. Jack looked at Harold. Jack looked back at the token.
"For me. My lord?"
"Jack, I would not have survived the trial without all the time you spent working with me. You deserve it. Take it."
Jack reached forward. He took the token from Harold's hand.
"My lord," he said.
Harold placed his hand on his shoulder and gripped him tight. "Jack Churchill, I name you Champion of the Landing."
Jack looked up in shock, and his eyes glazed over as he reviewed a system notification. Harold felt like he had taken a shot to his stomach as he gave him that title. Names had power in Gravesend. By naming Jack as he had, Gravesend had no choice but to acknowledge it, though there was a cost to everything. And he was about to pay a heavy price. “Thank you, my lord,” Jack said in shock.“You deserve it, Jack.”Harold turned back to the table. Three tokens left in the pouch. He drew one out and held it up between his thumb and forefinger.
"I have been conflicted on the last three. Two of them are going to institutions rather than to persons. Master Mark, Master Evan — one of them goes to the Guild, to be used at the guild's discretion for the advancement of one of your members. You can choose the recipient."
Mark opened his mouth. Evan put a hand on his elbow to stop him.
"We accept!" Evan accepted hurriedly. “Thank you, my Lord.”
Harold drew the last token out of the pouch and held it up.
"The next token I am giving to the winner of a tournament. Open to any citizen of the County. Terms and rules will be published within the week. The tournament will run in the Landing at the solstice, before the auction. The winner takes the token. I wish I had more of these to give you all, but I don’t.”
He set the pouch down on the table. “The last one I will keep in case of contingencies.”
Harold took a sip of water and spoke again. “Now to address the Path books we have. You have access to the Path books I have here. Lord Fitch, I strongly suggest you take the Heavy Tarantine Path with Lady Maren and bring it back to your towns with you. Then worthy people can come back here to get the true path as needed.”He turned to Josh and Anil. I need names you suggest for the Stormcrafter path. That is the only path book we have for Crafters right now. It is a powerful path though. For once, Josh was looking at him seriously before Beth rolled her eyes and motioned for him to speak. “I will take the stormcrafter path.”
Harold smiled and rolled his eyes. “I knew you were going to say that. If you take the true path of the Stormcrafter, you will not be able to gain any other Prime Perks while on it. It is not an easy path, and you have focused on Earth till now.” Josh hesitated. “So if I just learn the path by word of mouth, I can take another path? But if I take the true path from the book, I will be locked onto that path until I complete it. But when I complete it, I will be stronger?”Harold nodded. “And you will be able to take another true path after you complete it.”Josh's expression firmed, and he nodded. “Then I will take the true path. Who doesn't want to be like Thor?”Harold smiled again; he felt like he had been smiling a lot today.
"There is one more piece of council business before we close. Promotions."
Beth rose from her bench, walked around, took a rolled section of maps from her aide, and handed the roll to Adeline, who handed it to Harold. Beth returned to her place. Josh who looked confused by what she was doing, whispered something to her.
Harold set the maps on the table in front of him and did not unroll them yet.
"There are many people in this room who have supported the County since the beginning. Some of you since the very first summonings. Some of you since earth. Your only reward, for a lot of you, has been more work. Well. That changes now."
He looked down the table.
"Promoting people takes something out of me. Every promotion a real expenditure of my Authority, and I do not have unlimited authority to spend. So the Baron promotions will happen in the spring."
He looked at the room.
"Promotions to Knight, however. Those are much easier."
The room shifted very slightly as they realized what he was going to do.
" A Knight in this system is a member of the nobility. Not someone with the Lord role. You will not have a stele. You will, however, be a landed member of the peerage, with all rights and privileges of the nobility. You will have the right to seat an estate. You will have the right to your title, and be able to muster your own armies. Though under the same restrictions I stated earlier. Knights are restricted to a century."
Caldwell had set his coin down on the table as Harold walked around the head of the table.
"Councilor Caldwell."
Caldwell rose from his bench.
"Since I first reached out to you on Earth, you have allowed this County to expand as fast as it has expanded without ever making me worry about the books. I have absolutely no regrets about reaching out to you on Earth."
Harold met his eyes.
"By the authority vested in me as Count of the Landing, I raise you to the knighthood of this County. Rise, Sir Caldwell, of the Landing. Your title is yours, and your estate is yours to choose. Adeline has the map. Look at it whenever you like, and pick whatever ground moves you. You have earned it."
Caldwell inclined his head. When he lifted his eyes, they held a slyness.
"My lord. These estates are on undeveloped land, are they not?"
"They are."
"Undeveloped land you would like to see developed."
Harold chuckled, "I would, yes."
Caldwell laughed. "So this is a ploy, my lord. You are dressing up a knighthood and using it to get other people to develop your unclaimed acreage on their own coin."
Harold shrugged, but he was smiling.
"Perhaps."
Harold clapped him once on the shoulder.
"Sit, Sir Caldwell. There are more of these to hand out."
Caldwell sat, but he did not stop smiling.
"Councilor Margaret."
Margaret rose. She had already lost the composure she held all morning.
Harold walked to her side of the table.
"You have kept your eyes on us. Your sight sees farther than anyone in this room, and you have shielded the County from threats I’m sure you have not told us all about. This is a small gesture, and it is inadequate to the reality of what you do."
He set his hand on her shoulder.
"By the authority vested in me as Count of the Landing, I raise you to the knighthood of this County. Rise, Lady Margaret, of the Landing. Your title is yours, and your estate is yours to choose.”
Margaret’s mouth rose in a rare smile, and she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Harold's shoulders in a hug, and she pressed the side of her face against his for a beat. "Thank you, Harold."
She stepped back. She wiped one eye with the back of her wrist and sat.
"Councilor Lira."
Lira rose. She had not stopped fidgeting under the table.
"My lord." She spoke quietly. She had always been a small woman but she appeared even more so now.
Harold walked around to her.
"There is no possible way we get to where we are without you. If you had not gotten that first mine open, if you had not spent every hour possible getting the mines working for us, we would not be sitting in this room. You are a large part of why we are where we are."
Lira's eyes had already filled, and she was trying to hold it. "By the authority vested in me as Count of the Landing, I raise you to the knighthood of this County. Rise, Lady Lira, of the Landing. Your title is yours. Your estate is yours to choose."
Lira stepped forward, and Harold met her, and she pressed her forehead into his shoulder and cried openly. Harold set his hand on the back of her head. She was small under his hand. The muscles across her shoulders and back were harder than Harold had expected — a season of hard labor had built the small woman.
"I owe the County everything, my lord," she said, into his coat. "Everything. My family has always been miners." She wiped the tears away. “We never imagined having a member join the nobility.”
"You owe the County nothing more than you have given, Lira. You have given more than most."
She stepped back and wiped her face with the heel of one hand.
Harold leaned in a quarter inch closer, low enough for only Lira to hear.
"There are a few valleys in the eastern ridges I have already had the surveyors quietly map. If you would like an estate with a good site for a mine, I have three sites picked out. Say the word."
Lira laughed, wet, and shook her head.
"I want a nice piece of water, my lord. I want to sit next to it. I want to not hear a hammer when I retreat there."
"You have earned that, Councilor."
She sat. She was still wiping her face. Beth reached across the bench and set a hand on Lira's back. Lira leaned into the hand a fraction and let out her breath.
Harold walked back around to Mark and Evan's bench.
"Master Mark. Master Evan."
They both rose quickly.
"Adventurers are the most dangerous people we produce on this world. It is a choice we have made about what humanity will be. But it’s not an easy job. When you spend your life looking into the darkness, the darkness looks back. This title and estate will give you the chance to remember you are human still."
Mark's grin was already coming up.
"By the authority vested in me as Count of the Landing, I raise you both to the knighthood of this County. Rise, Sir Mark, and Sir Evan, of the Landing."Harold was breathing heavily at this point. The effort of handing out so many titles was getting hard to bear. He took a moment to gather his breath again. Firmed his will and stood straight again.
At Harold's small gesture, Adeline's aide came around the head of the table with three heavy stoneware cups on a tray and set them down — one in front of Mark, one in front of Evan, and one in front of Harold. Two more aides followed her out of the kitchen door with more trays. Cups landed at every place at the table. Cooks and servants came in behind them with a fresh cask on a shoulder rack.
Mark stared down at the cup in front of him.
"What is this?"
Harold picked up his own cup. He smelled it. He beamed.
"This is the first cup of my newest batch. Tell me what you think."
Bram was already coming up off his bench.
His stumble was worse than the last, and he braced both hands on the table.
"Ye've been hiding brew from me, Count, ye little—"
"I would never, Master Bram. Your portion is right there." He pointed to a couple more cups next to the keg.
"Aye. Aye. Right." Bram was already reaching for the cup nearest him with both hands. "For a heartbeat, laddie, I thought we were going to fall out."
Thessa, next to Bram, was calmly pouring hers into her cup. Josh was standing on his bench, egging Bram on and reaching for his own cup, while Beth laughed and pulled on the back of his shirt, telling him to sit down before he fell.
Harold shrugged at the room.
"This was supposed to wait. Now is better than never. I had to get the cups out before Josh figured out where I was keeping the cask."
"You think I would have," Josh said, from a half-standing position, "But you are correct, you’ve been getting low."
"Sit down, Joshua," Beth said.
Josh beamed at her. "Yes, dear."
Harold took a long, slow drink of his beer and let his eyes close for a second. When he opened them, Mark and Evan had both tasted theirs. Mark had his eyebrows up on his forehead. Evan was looking at his with appreciation and already eyeing the full keg.
"Sir Mark," Harold said. "Sir Evan. Your estates. Adeline has the map. Choose whatever ground moves you."
Mark and Evan both inclined their heads over their cups.
Harold looked down the table one more time.
And then he walked back around to Josh and Beth.
They had already risen. Beth had her hand on Josh's forearm. Josh had his hand in the small of Beth's back. Both of them were watching Harold approach.
"My two oldest friends in this world, and in the last," Harold said.
He let himself loose his lord voice as he walked toward them. His shoulders relaxed and…for a moment. It was Harold. Just Harold.
"Every day I have on this world with the two of you is a day I never thought I'd have. I lost you both last time." He drew a breath. "When I used to think of home, I thought of you two."
Beth was crying now. Josh's jaw had firmed up.
"By the authority vested in me as Count of the Landing," Harold said, "I raise you both to the knighthood of this County. Rise, Sir Joshua, and Lady Bethany, of the Landing."
Josh hugged him first.
He hugged Harold hard, with his whole chest, both arms locked around Harold's shoulders, and Harold hugged him back with the same weight. Then Beth stepped in, and Harold pulled back from Josh half a step and folded her into a hug that had Josh's arms still around him, and the three of them stood there for a long breath.
"OK OK," Josh said, half muffled by Harold's shoulder. "OK. I love you. But Bram is looking at us weird. Also—"
"Shut up, Josh," Beth snapped, into Harold's other shoulder.
Josh sighed dramatically. "Yes, dear."
They stepped back. Beth wiped her eyes. Josh pretended he didn’t wipe his eyes.
"Now," Harold said. "For the two of you — I am not going to let you pick your estate."
Josh blinked.
"You picked?"
"I picked for you. With Beth’s permission." Harold chuckled.
He turned toward Josh, his frame standing straight again, and he let a portion of the nice part of his aura out. He was breathing heavily, and his legs were beginning to shake.
"Sir Joshua. The County calls you to service."
"What...."
"I have need of your particular skills." Harold's mouth was smiling in earnest now. "There is a piece of ground I asked Lady Aiko to survey. A ridge on the western slope, where the small river bends down from the forest and pools before dropping into the hills below. There is a granite shelf above the pool, wide enough for a great house. Maybe a white picket fence. From there on a clear day you can see across the entire basin."
Beth had turned to look at Josh. Her tears were running silently.
Josh was looking at Harold in shock.
"That's where you picked?"
"Mmm, I need you to build the fortress there, Sir Joshua. For yourself. For your wife. And for—" Harold turned toward Beth, and he had given up on maintaining his facade. "—the new member of your family."
Josh went completely still.
He looked at Harold in shock, then at Beth, and back at Harold in confusion. He looked at Beth again.
Beth was nodding furiously. She was smiling so widely, small, quick nods, one after another, saying yes without saying it.
"Wait."
Josh's voice had gone up half an octave.
"Wait. Wait. WAIT—"
He turned all the way to Beth and grabbed her by both shoulders.
"WAIT—"
"Yes," Beth said, and it broke into a laugh through the crying. "Yes, Josh. Yes."
The room exploded.
Hargen slammed both hands down on the table hard enough that the cups jumped. Bram's face split into a grin so wide it broke through the beard, and he was on his feet on the bench again with his cup high over his head, and Thessa was hitting Bram in the shoulder like she was going to punch him off the bench for surprise. Caswell was standing up on the floor whooping. Fitch was laughing so hard he was crying too and Maren had her arm around him. Renna had her face in both her hands, and Anil was smiling openly for the first time all morning. Mark and Evan were on their feet clapping loudly. Caldwell had his face in his hands, and his shoulders were shaking. Margaret was on her feet too, one hand pressed over her mouth, tears down her cheeks.
Harold stepped back.
Josh had Beth in his arms as he spun her, crying and laughing and mostly not making sense, and Beth had her arms around Josh's neck, crying and laughing.