FreeHolds Adventure Cycle 3 Part 9d
Adwin announced himself at the gate to the keep, he and Whyse were admitted. A young woman escorted them to the waiting room. “When you are called, your guard will have to stay here. When you enter the hall, walk up to the blue carpet and bow to Lord Willik. Wait until he speaks before addressing him. When you do so make sure to say his title or his title and family name. Also, leave your weapons here, including knives. Please show me the contents of that box.”
He opened the box, she inspected its contents, “I will take this for now. I assume it is something you wish to present to Lord Willik?”
“It is, ma’am.”
“Squire, if you please. One of the servants will bring the box forward when and if you are able to present it.”
“Thank you.”
“Good day.” She left, three other petitioners were already waiting. They appeared to either be nervous or preoccupied. They did acknowledge him and he returned the greetings, then he and Whyse sat on an empty bench.
The morning slowly passed, other petitioners came, all were seen before he was. Whyse remained quietly patient, only getting up periodically to stretch her legs and take a look out of the small window. Finally, towards midday, he was called.
When he reached the hall, one of the servants asked him to wait a moment. He was announced. After taking a deep breath he walked into the room. He was surprised by the number of people, he had imagined this would be a private or mostly private interview. He recognized the marshal and a handful of others, many of the rest were completely unknown to him. He saw the blue carpet, marched up to it and stopped, bowing deeply. He held the bow for a long time before Lord Willik said anything.
“Relax, Adwin.”
“Lord Willik.” He had only ever seen the lord of the hold from a distance, he was surprised by how aged he appeared.
There was another long silence, Willik seemed to be studying him, eventually the old lord spoke, “You can imagine my surprise when I received word this spring that you had slain a mind-mage and released Aramy Crossroads from her vile control. It was the first I had heard of your whereabouts since you left unannounced the previous spring, apparently heading to GreensBridge. I find it unusual that one of my hunters would feel the need to range so far seeking game. Or, had you forgotten you were in my employ? No, obviously not, old Dawdwin would not have trained up some flighty fool. What say you, regarding your absence?”
Adwin had prepared for this question over the past few eight-days, “My good Lord Willik, if it please you, I, your humble servant, was overcome by a fit of spring fever. In my anxiety I decided to travel to GreensBridge. I had a great desire to see some of the wider world.”
The old man laughed, “When I was a lad, such fits were usually eased by frolicking with one of the local lasses, not embarking on a journey of over one thousand yat. Is your desire to see the wider world resolved? Or, should I expect you to be capering off elsewhere in short order?”
Adwin thought it best to cut to the chase of the matter. “Lord Willik, I am sure that my absence has caused some difficulties, especially in light of the number of folk you took in from Aramy. No doubt the absence of one hunter was felt, especially during the winter. I have not returned empty handed, and have on my person a purse of thirty-nine silver weight, a fair tax on the loss of my services for the past year, this year and the one to follow. I have also brought a set of scales, measures and weights, certified by the Mages Guild of GreensBridge. A gift to you and your kin. If it please my lord, then I beg your leave to also present certain business opportunities that may greatly benefit your hold. As well, your leave to travel abroad in pursuit of this business and other matters.” He bowed deeply, “If my lord would permit such.”
A servant collected the aforementioned purse and another came from the side with the box Adwin had brought. It was opened up in front of Lord Willik, who perused it with some interest. While that took place the count of the coins was confirmed. Willik conferred with a couple of the people who stood on the dais to either side of him, then he spoke again, “Young Adwin, I acknowledge your debt as paid and grant you leave for this year and the following. I am curious as to what business opportunities you speak of, but I think it best to dismiss my court before they faint from hunger. You and your companion will join me for lunch and I will hear what you are proposing.”
Adwin smiled and bowed deeply again. Willik stood and with a wave of his hand said, “Court is dismissed.”
Lunch was held in a room not far from the main hall. Lord Willik and his two surviving children sat with Adwin and Whyse at an ornate table. The heir apparent, a dark haired, pale skinned woman twice Adwin’s age was very attentive and keenly interested in what he had to say. The second child was less than a decade older than Adwin, the only child from Willik’s second wife, he was much less interested. Adwin laid out everything he thought could happen, in regards to the opportunities Roburns Trading Company were offering. A coach and courier station in Hadden’s Fort and a way station at either end of Willik’s holdings, as well Adwin mentioned he would be interested in investing in a general store here in town. Lord Willik and his daughter had many questions, the meeting went well into the afternoon.
When all was said and done, lord Willik looked to his two children and asked, “What do you think? This will be something that has much more impact on the two of you. Speak your minds.”
Lady Felossa spoke with enthusiasm, “I would like to proceed with all of Adwin’s suggestions. It is the sort of thing I’ve been talking about over the past decade, there is a wider world beyond this small holding and much happens that we only hear about years after the fact. One thing I might suggest is that the widow Amretta, she may make a good manager and third investor for a general store.”
Lord Yathri sounded like he would rather be napping, “As my sister says, I agree. Besides, it sounds like the best way to make the connections we will need to modernize our defences.”
“Very well then. We shall talk with Amretta. Adwin, you can draw up the contracts and we will meet again in two days. Courier Whyse, it was a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise, Lord Willik. I’m honoured by your hospitality.” Whyse had been at ease through all of this and seemed very comfortable with the formalities. Adwin was glad she had come with him.
The two of them returned to Crinokk’s homestead. Tipper, Sefla, Breggan and the old man were sitting on the porch, the other two had just gone to the back to get started on the evening meal.
Breggan said, “I was starting to worry. What kept you?”
“I had some business to discuss with Lord Willik, we had lunch and talked about the future of the Hold.”
Breggan look rather surprised, while Tipper frowned and asked, “How long before we’ll be able to leave?”
Adwin laughed, reached over and ruffled her hair, much to her dismay. “We should be able to leave with the dawn three days from now. It’ll give us plenty of time to lend a hand with things around here.”
Adwin and Whyse changed their clothing and then went out to help around Crinokk’s homestead. They worked hard, both Crinokk and Breggan were very happy with the various tasks they had been able to deal with throughout the day. Their labours were cut short before they were called in for the evening meal. Some of the neighbours started showing up and a few people from town had found reason to come out to Crinokk’s, most brought food or drinks, some arrived with instruments. Word of Adwin’s return and subsequent meeting with Lork Willik had spread.
That night Crinokk happily hosted an impromptu feast. Adwin related much of his adventures and was surprised by the number of people who had come by to see him. Sefla found herself to be the centre of attention for most of the musicians, she told a few stories of her own and played the lute throughout much of the night. Calathy oversaw the food and drink situation, insisting Leysha not stress herself, she sang when she had a moment or two to spare. Whyse won numerous games of stones, first against Crinokk and then against anyone else that wanted to challenge her while Tipper drank a bit too much cider and proceeded to wrestle anyone so inclined.
The carousing went on well into the night, in fact Adwin only found his bed shortly before sunrise and there were many of the guests who decided to sleep at Crinokk’s.
He woke near midday feeling hungover. He cleaned up, ate some leftovers then decided he should go see Amretta. He took the long way, going around the town walls. He stopped to chat with a few of the people who recognized him, it seemed everyone had heard about him killing the sorceress in Aramy. He found it strange how people regarded him now, adults spoke to him as an equal, while even those just a year or so younger obviously thought he was very daring to have ventured into the world beyond Willik’s Hold. By the time he had reached the lane to Amretta’s place he was feeling much better.
The dogs raced up the lane to see who was coming, Hops and Cloud were excited to see him and for a while he gave them some attention. He noted that the property was looking good, all the old garden beds had been used this year and the main building had been white-washed. The dogs followed him up to the house and Amretta came out to the porch, “Adwin. Good to see you. How was GreensBridge?”
“Good. Different than I expected, like you said it would be.”
She smiled knowingly, “Lady Felossa came to see me this morning. She had an interesting proposal. Do you have time for some tea?”
“Yes, I was hoping we could talk.”
“Good. Give me a moment.” She went back to the door but did not enter, “Yarlin. Ask Mrae to bring a pot of tea and a bite to eat, for two, I’ll be on the porch.”
“You have someone living with you now?” Adwin asked.
“I took in a few of the folks that came from Aramy. Let’s sit.”
They did so, Adwin asked, “How is it? Living with someone again.”
“Less lonely.”
“That’s good.”
“Yes, I think so. I heard you’re not staying very long.”
“No, I’m headed to Darner’s Hold, then to High Fort after that.”
“Sounds exciting. You saw Leysha?”
“I did.”
“How was that?”
“Alright. Pretty much like you said it would be.”
She smiled again, he was surprised that he found her knowing smile so attractive now.
For that matter, he could see that she was a very handsome woman. How had he never seen that before? The tea and food came, Adwin did not recognize the young woman that brought it, nor did she seem to know who he was. Amretta served the tea, gave him a serious look and said, “Alright, tell me about Roburns Trading Company. I want to know everything.”
End Cycle Three.
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